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Chapter Text

Mai thinks to herself that she should have seen this coming, it is not like her and Naru have been all that careful, especially recently. They had taken things slow when they first got together almost four years ago, but when she had moved in with him six months ago, well, slow went out the window very quickly. Along with it, precautions had also gone out the window. So here she stood, at home alone after visiting the doctor to confirm her suspicions. She was eight weeks pregnant, yet she was only twenty years old. Not like there were not girls even younger than her that had babies, and some were not lucky enough to be in a stable relationship with a man more mature than his twenty-one years. If her parents were still alive, she wonders if they would be disappointed.

Then she thought about Naru's parents, while Martin would be subtly happy about being a grandfather, Mai knew Luella would be jumping through the roof with elation. The woman had been hinting at them getting married and giving her grandbabies ever since Naru had returned to Japan from burying Gene's body in England. So really, the only parents left between the two of them would be fine with it, despite their age. The problem here was how she was going to tell her boyfriend. It is not like he can escape any blame, it takes two to make a baby and be irresponsible about protection, but how he will take the idea of being a father, well, she had no idea.

There was also the matter of work, most of the time was spent in the office filing, taking calls, meeting clients for appointments, but going on cases can end up dangerous, most especially for her. While she did not want to risk anything happening to the baby, she knew that staying at home or only ever being in the office while they were off on cases would make her go insane.

Just the thoughts rolling around in her head caused her to sigh, and she took a peak at the clock, only to jump in surprise. It was later than she though it would be and she had promised to meet with Ayako and Masako for a late lunch. Double checking her hair was still okay, she grabs her purse and makes her way out of their apartment. Another thing to think about, their apartment was definitely not big enough for a baby.

When she finally reached the cafe that the three women often frequented, Ayako and Masako were already there. As usual, Masako was wearing one of her elaborate kimonos, this one a rich burgundy with various coloured butterflies. Ayako, as always, dressed like she belonged in high society, her black pencil skirt accompanied by a silk, navy blouse that flattered what mattered and a stunning pair of black heels. Mai looked down at her mint sun dress and resigned to feeling under dressed as she always did with these two. While her dress sense had gotten more feminine, and mature, since she was sixteen, her tastes remained a lot more understated than the other two women's were.

She made her way through the cafe, passed other patrons at their tables, and took her seat in the chair waiting for her. "Hello ladies, sorry I'm a little late."

"It's not a problem, Mai," Masako replies, a kimono sleeve over her mouth demurely, "we have not been waiting long."

"That's good," Mai sighs in relief before taking a sip of the latte the other two had ordered in advance for her.

"So, what's new?" Ayako asks, getting straight into the gossip, as usual, "It's been a few weeks since you called us all in for a case, are you guys not getting many or they're easy enough to handle with just the three of you?"

This causes Mai to sigh again, but she had anticipated this question coming up, "Well, Naru has been turning down cases, he's been unusually on edge the last couple of weeks, though I'm not entirely sure why."

"Well, what usually puts him on edge?" Masako asks, then seems to think about it, "Though thinking on it, the things that usually set him on edge are you getting hurt on a case or his parents coming to Japan for a visit."

"While you're not wrong," Mai answers, a small chuckle at those very true reasons, "you'll recall I was unharmed on out last case and as for his parents, they were only here last month, so no impending visits yet."

"Hmm," Ayako hums, bringing a hand to her chin, "well, I suppose other things can set him off, though I can't imagine what."

Mai was ready to give a reply when a smell wafted up to her, a waiter was walking passed with a tray of food, and something on there was making her oh so very nauseous.

Her face must have given her away because she had hands of both her companions on her shoulders, concerned looks on their faces. Containing the urge to bring up her breakfast, she finds the energy to speak, "I'm okay, just something on that tray that came passed had a smell that caused my stomach to roll, that's all."

The other two shared a look before turning back to her, Ayako speaking, "That's a bit strange, you've smelled worse things on cases and there aren't many foods that you don't like or even hate the smell of."

Mai looked away, but knew her friends would keep asking until she coughed something up, well, at least Ayako would. She had wanted to tell Naru first, but maybe her female friends could help her with her anxiety. She turns back to face them, watching their expectant looks, "Okay, I've had suspicions for a few days, but only got confirmation this morning."

"About what?" Ayako asks, "Just cut to the chase already."

"Alright, alright, geez," she mutters to herself, before taking a deep breath, "so I went to the doctors this morning, and found out that I am two months pregnant."

Her reveal was followed by blank stares as they processed the information before cheers and congratulations spouted from their lips, though Masako was a lot quieter than Ayako. Mai felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment as almost everyone else in the cafe looked their way, wide eyes in shock from the loud noises coming from the red-haired woman. Mai turned her embarrassment into a strong glare that she sent the older woman's way. Ayako, noticing the glare, finally says something other than cheers, "What's with the glare Mai? This is cause for celebration, pregnancy is something to be happy about. Unless you're trying to tell me Naru isn't the father?"

Mai gave her a bland look, and she could just see at the corner of her eye as Masako gave the same one, "I can assure you, Ayako, that I have never once cheated on Naru, and I don't plan ever to do so. Parentage is not the issue here, I just haven't told him yet, he doesn't even know the reason I took the day off was to visit the doctors. I'm not entirely sure how to go about telling him either."

"You could start with 'I'm pregnant,'" Ayako responds dryly.

"Yes, thank you so very much for your input Ayako, I'll be sure to always seek your advice," Mai mumbles, her tone even drier.

"All I'm saying is, I don't understand what you're so afraid of," the other woman huffs. "This is Naru we're talking about and you two have been together for years. He loves you, not to mention the two of you are even living together now."

"It's not so much that I'm afraid," Mai admits.

"Then I don't see what the issue is," Masako adds, finally using her voice.

"I'm more worried about what that will mean for cases," Mai sighs out.

She gets another round of blank stares, this time Masako speaking first, "You're talking about him keeping you off them because you're pregnant."

"Exactly," Mai nods, her hands going up in the air, "he barely lets me on dangerous cases as it is. I have to fight him on every potentially dangerous case just to be allowed to go. What do you think he's going to be like now that I have another life inside me that is a lot more frail than I am."

"Mai, you're only, what, two months right?" Ayako asks, waiting for the agreeing nod before continuing, "Look, I'm sure the two of you can compromise, he's not unreasonable, and you're not even showing yet. I can understand if you were a lot further along, but I'm sure it would be fine for now. Though the first three months can be the most risky, the dangers of some of the cases are not for the heavily pregnant."

"I know you have a point, but there's still the part of me that is worried about how he'll react to me being pregnant in the first place."

"Oh trust me on this," Ayako scoffs, "That man will be happy, if not only for the fact that you're the mother, but because he loves you and would love any child you gave him."

"Ayako is right, Mai," Masako says softly, a smile on her face.

"I'll tell him, eventually," Mai says, "though I'm thinking not today. We have a client coming in tomorrow, which I am hoping he'll finally take, since it does sound interesting enough for him based on the email. He's already on edge on whatever, like I said, so me revealing the pregnancy might interfere with him taking the case."

"Alright, just promise you'll eventually tell him, and we'll promise not to say a word to anyone," Ayako adds, raising her brow in question.

"I promise," Mai says breathlessly.

It was not like she was planning to keep it a secret from him anyway, this baby was his as well after all.

The next day, it was back to work for Mai and she was in the car with Naru as he drove. They were used to quiet travel when on the way to work, content to just be in each other's presence, though Mai allowed herself to place a hand on his thigh, a reminder that she was there. It was a habit she had picked up a while ago, and he had never seemed bothered by it, so she never tried to kick it.

She allowed him to turn the car off before she opened her door, then followed him up the stairs to the back entrance of their office. As was routine now, she allowed him to help her with her cloak and for him to drop a small peck on her lips, before they went their separate ways quietly. Him to his office and her to the kitchen to make his tea.

Mai was waiting for the water to boil and her thoughts drifted to her current problem, how to tell her boyfriend about the baby after the case, if he took it. All kinds of ideas floated through her head, and it caused her to startle when the kettle whistled. She pours the water into the waiting tea pot, then waited a little while for it to steep to Naru's particular tastes. He was fussy when it came to his tea, something she had learned pretty quickly when she had started working for him. She then poured the perfectly steeped tea into a cup, then placed the cup on a tray before making her way to his office.

Knocking twice, the indication that it was her, she opened the door and walked to his desk. He appeared to be reading something on his computer as she placed his cup on the desk, in reach of his hands. It was completely unexpected, that as soon as the cup was out of her hands, an arm had wrapped around her waist, pulling her to be on Naru's lap. "Naru, what are you doing?" she asks in shock, her face turning at least five different shades of red.

"Don't act as if I don't do this now and then," he says, that narcissistic smirk on his face, causing her face to turn another shade of red, "besides, I have something to discuss with you."

His tone had turned serious with that last statement, causing her to gulp, "And that would be?"

"Well, I couldn't help, but notice that you have been unwell recently. Most mornings you appear to bring up dinner. So when you asked for the day off yesterday, I assumed you had finally booked a doctor's appointment," he answers, his every word causing her more dread as he talked. "So, did you find out what was wrong?"

Her throat had clogged up, she had no idea what to say, it figures that he had figured out what she had planned the day before. Sure, she had finally decided she was going to buck up the courage and tell him about the pregnancy, but not right now. Just when she was really starting to freak out, she heard the unmistakable jingle of the bells on their front office door and the anxious lilt of a prospective client's voice asking if anyone was around. Mai is quick to stand up from her place on Naru's lap, "Looks like the client is here, I'll get her comfortable and make some tea."

"This isn't over, Mai," she hears behind her as she tries hard not to run her way out of his office. That was too close.

Chapter Text

Naru was watching as Mai left his office, ready to perform her usual duties to make tea for their guest so that they might feel more comfortable while expressing their concerns. Mai had appeared anxious by his questioning, and Naru could tell she was hiding something. Something that he was determined to find out. With that thought in his mind, Naru stood and made his way out of his office as well.

Upon entering their sitting area, he found the client already occupying the couch, waiting patiently to start her interview. “You must be Mrs. Koiya,” Naru greets as he sits down in one of the single chairs across from her. “Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research.”

“Yes, thank you. My name is Arika Koiya, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m hoping you might be able to help me, I believe my house to be haunted,” she replies, looking thoroughly nervous, looking up from her hands where she had been fiddling with them.

“The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Koiya. My name is Kazuya Shibuya and I’m the director here at SPR. What is it about your house that makes you believe it to be haunted?” he asks, barely registering out the corner of his eye as Lin takes his place beside him with his laptop, ready to take note of the client’s request.

Mai also made her way into the room, returning from the kitchen with four steaming cups of tea for each of them. As she places a cup in front of the nervous client, the older woman sends her a small, grateful smile. Mai returns the smile, giving the woman reassurance as she sat beside her to listen. The client took a sip of her tea before starting. “My husband, Shinta, and I have heard strange knocking noises on our windows and bedroom door during the night. It prevents us from getting much sleep until it eventually stops, usually around midnight.”

It seemed pretty mild so far, as far as Naru was concerned, but he could tell by the way she started wringing her hands, she was far from done. “When we wake most mornings, we find our kitchen and living room have been messed up. Cutlery has been thrown across the room, the couch turned upside down and some of our heavier furniture has even been moved around,” she continues, her voice getting shakier by the minute as she spoke. “Some of our maids have hand-print shaped bruises on their arms and legs, but they have no idea how they got them. Whatever the bruises mean is nothing compared to the worst part.”

“And that would be?” Mai prods her gently, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder as she noticed them start to shake.

“Two of our maids,” the woman sobs. “They went to sleep, but never woke up. They’re dead.”

Mai pulled the woman into a hug as she began to cry heavily at the memory. Over the woman’s shoulder, Mai was giving him a look and Naru knew that look very well. His very sympathetic girlfriend was pleading with him to take the case, she wanted terribly to be able to solve the case and help the poor woman who was clearly in distress. Naru sighed, never being able to deny her. “Very well, Mrs Koiya, we will take your case.”

The woman pulled away from Mai to look back towards him, her eyes showing her surprise even as tears still leaked from them. “You will?” she asks, her voice slightly rough from her crying.

“Yes, there are a few things that we will require before we arrive,” Naru says, explaining the usual spiel he gave to clients he had accepted cases from. “We require rooms for sleeping. If the full team is able to make it, it makes nine adults and a child. We will also require a room to set up our equipment. The more power sockets available, the better, though we always bring multiple power boards just in case. Hopefully, we shall arrive sometime tomorrow morning, the earlier, the better so that we can begin as soon as possible.”

“Thank you very much Mr. Shibuya,” the client says, dipping into a small seated bow in gratitude. “Though, is it safe for a child to some with you?”

“It will be fine,” Naru assures her, before pointing towards Lin. “His father is a capable protector and both of his parents are team members, it is quite normal for him to join us.”

“If you’re sure, then I shall leave you to prepare here while I myself prepare the rooms you have asked for,” she says before standing carefully, Mai at her side to assist her.

Mai walked her to the door, and after giving a final farewell and wishes for safe travels, Mai was closing the door back up. She made her way back over to the coffee table and retrieved the empty tea cups, appearing to not notice as Naru followed her every move with his eyes. “Is everything alright?” Lin asks, noticing the way Naru was watching Mai.

“I’m worried about her,” Naru replies softly. “She hasn’t been well the last few days and has been off in her own little world frequently.”

Lin chuckles, causing Naru to frown at him in irritation. “For a genius, you can be so ignorant sometimes,” Lin comments affectionately. “Think about a conversation we had a couple of years ago when I said the same things about Madoka. It turned out there was something she was afraid to tell me and it took her almost a whole month to spill.”

Naru furrowed his brow as he thought back. “The only conversation I can recall was when Madoka had been hiding that she was…oh,” a light bulb went off in his brain at the realisation. “You don’t really think it’s that do you?”

“I don’t know,” Lin shrugs, standing from the couch. “I just recognise the situation from my experience. I could be wrong and maybe it’s something else, but the only way you’ll know for sure is if you ask?”

“I’ve tried, just this morning before the client arrived,” Naru reveals, a sigh of frustration falling from his lips.

“Then try harder,” Lin suggests. “She’s stubborn, but eventually, Mai usually tells you anything.”

Naru sighs again, thinking about how to go about it. Was it true though, could Mai really be pregnant and just too afraid to tell him?

Mai was standing around in the kitchen, her mind occupied by the client and her suffering. Her heart was going out to the poor woman and also, she cried inside at the knowledge that those maids had lost their life over this haunting. She hopes they can solve the case, and quickly, before anyone else got seriously hurt or worse.

As she thought about the dangers, her hand went towards her belly, thinking about the life that was growing inside her. This was her position when Naru walked into the kitchen, his quick eyes not failing to notice the position of her hand. Mai turned towards the entryway of the kitchen, jumping in surprise upon seeing Naru standing there with a frown on his face. “Na-Naru, is something the matter?” she asks nervously. “You’re frowning.”

“What’s making you so afraid to tell me?” he asks, not beating around the bush.

It was Mai’s turn to frown, her mind not realising what he was talking about. “What are you talking about Naru?”

Naru scoffs, both at himself for taking so long to realise, and also at Mai for being oblivious right now. “I’m not an idiot Mai,” he says. “Though I didn’t notice until Lin pointed it out, but it all makes sense now. The vomiting in the morning, your craving for chocolate at almost all hours of the day, that faraway look in yours eyes that tells me you’re hiding something. When I tried asking you about it this morning, you were relieved when the client saved you from answering. So is it true? Are you pregnant?”

His slightly irate tone and increasing volume as he spoke set her off, the tears streaking down her face. The sudden waterworks have Naru’s eyes widening in surprise. He moves closer to her swiftly and wraps his arms gently around her waist, pushing her head softly to be against his chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he whispers into her hair.

“No I’m sorry for not telling you sooner,” she mumbles into his chest. “I just wasn’t sure how to tell you. Plus, I didn’t want you to take me off the cases.”

The last part was spoken more quietly that he had to strain to hear it, but when he realised what she was saying, he sighed. “Mai, while I would prefer you to be out of the danger that our cases usually present, it’s up to you if you want to come along on cases. On one condition.”

“Which is?” she asks, her head now leaning away from his body at the realisation that she had no reason to have been so hesitant.

“That when you reach your third trimester, you sit back from cases,” he explains. “That far into your pregnancy would be pushing it, you would not be as nimble or able at that point.”

Mai smiles up at him, remembering the conversation she had had with the girls, “Ayako said something similar. But I promise, I’ll take some leave from cases at that point.”

“Good,” he says, his mind more at ease. “Just, while on cases for the time being, please don’t go running off like you usually do. I can’t protect you when you do that, and you always seem to get hurt. If you can’t think about your own safety, at least think of the baby’s.”

“I understand, Naru,” she huffs, agreeing only because she knew he was right about her penchant for running off.

Another weight lifted from his shoulders, he pulls her back into him. “You know I love you no matter what, right?” he says to her softly. “You didn’t need to be so afraid to tell me.”

“I know,” is her reply.

He then pulls her into a tender kiss, not being able to control himself now that the necessary parts had been addressed. His beautiful girlfriend was pregnant with his child. While the timing and circumstances were terrible, he was beyond happy at the news.

He pulled away from her after a few moments, smiling down at the blissed look on her face. “Alright,” he chuckles. “Give the others a call, see who can make it tomorrow.”

She gives him an exaggerated salute and a playful “Yes, sir,” before making her way from the kitchen.

Naru shook his head at her childishness as he watched her leave.

Chapter Text

Mai thought about when the last time it had been that she had seen the SPR irregulars. It had only been a few days since she had seen Ayako and Masako, but it had been even longer since she had seen any of the others. It would have been the last case about two weeks ago that she had last seen them and she was looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Naru, Lin and Mai had already finished packing the van with their equipment, they were ready to go. However, right now they were waiting for the others, all of which were late. Naru, looking as impatient as ever given his complete lack of patience, was growing visibly agitated. Not wanting him to be completely annoyed when the first person eventually arrived, Mai walked into the kitchen to make him a cup of tea. Tea always mellowed him out and she hoped it would do the trick right now.

After returning, and placing a cup of tea in front of the two men, Mai sat down with her own cup of tea. She watched as the furrow in Naru’s brow steadily went away, but she was not stupid enough to believe all his ire was gone. So five minutes later, when Madoka came barging through the door, Mai spoke first to avoid Naru saying something scathing to piss off his former teacher.

“It’s so good to see you again Madoka,” the woman cheered as she made her way over to her friend.

“Hello Mai,” Madoka greets back with a bright smile.

Well, as bright as she could manage around her clearly frazzled appearance, three-year-old Sora on her hip wanting to be put down. “I’m sorry I’m late, but Sora wouldn’t stop pulling my hair every time I put him down to finish packing. Should have let Lin take him because look, now that he sees his daddy, he finally wants to be put down.”

Madoka sighs as she allows her son to put his two feet on the ground and watched as he toddled over to Lin, the man picking up his son to place on his lap. She turns back to Mai, who had also watched the toddler’s movements, before she looked around the room. “Where is everyone else? I’m late, but am I seriously the first person besides you three? Damn, I heard you had something to tell everyone, Mai. I’m eager to hear it.”

“I’ll tell you when everyone else arrives,” Mai chuckles nervously.

Madoka looked ready to reply when the door was roughly opened a second time. It was conveniently the rest of the team, sans Yasu who would be meeting them there, and they were barging their way into the office. With the exception of Masako who was demurely walking up the stairs still. “Well it looks like everyone is here now,” Madoka chuckles.

“So sorry we’re late,” Monk says, panting slightly from running up the stairs. “The traffic was crazy, both John and I got caught in it. It amazes me everyday that some people even have their license because there are just those out there that cannot drive.”

“I’m just glad that you were able to make it,” Mai brushes off his comment about the traffic, wanting to say something before Naru inevitably exploded. “But we don’t have time to hang around and chat, we have to go.”

Monk and John looked a little dismayed at the realisation they would have to get back on the road after their struggles just to get here on time, but with resigned sighs, they walked back out the door. After locking up the office, Mai joined Madoka in the back of the van with Lin and Naru up front.

The drive to their client’s house would take around three hours and given that it would end up being a boring ride, Mai decides to take a nap to pass the time.

When Mai opened her eyes, she could tell by the black nothingness that she was already caught in one of ‘those dreams.’ She looked around, hoping to find Gene, but quickly realised her spirit guide was nowhere to be found. Mai barely had time to be disappointed before she found herself thrust into a different scene, a memory given the restrained presence in her mind that did not allow her to move on her own. Mai was startled by the sight before her.

A man, dark hair and deep blue eyes, was staring at Mai with unfiltered loathing in his eyes. Or rather, he was staring at the woman whose memory she was experiencing with loathing.

“You betrayed me Rina,” he spoke up, addressing the woman. “You cheated on me with my own brother of all people. I loved you, I cherished you and you betray me.”

“I didn’t,” the woman, Rina, insists. “I love you and only you Kiseki. I have no feelings for your brother and most definitely did not cheat on you with him. I swear it, my love.”

He says nothing and as Rina backs up, Mai feels when she reaches the end of her space. Rina turns around and Mai can now see that he has her backed onto a balcony. Mai feels dread seep into her soul, because the only memories she ever saw, were from those who were already dead.

Rina turned back around just in time to catch as Kiseki pushed her, causing her to go over the railing. Mai feels the scream rip through her throat even when the world goes dark.

“-ai, Mai,” and when she opens her eyes, Madoka is before her, looking into her eyes with concern.

Mai is unable to hold herself back and she bursts into tears while wrapping her arms tightly around the older woman. “Oh Mai,” Madoka sighs, wrapping her arms around her. “It’s okay, you were only dreaming. Naru, Lin and I are all here and we won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Is she okay?” Mai hears her boyfriend’s deep voice asking.

Mai pulls away from Madoka to look at him as he has his body shifted to look at her around his seat. She gives him as reassuring a smile as she could manage. “I’m okay now Naru,” she says. “It was just one of ‘those dreams.’”

“Lin, pull over, I’m swapping with Madoka,” is his only reply, turning back to face his friend at the wheel.

Lin does not argue, quickly finding a safe place to pull over before doing so. Madoka does not argue either as she allows Naru into her place before taking his in the front. As Lin pulls away to get back on the road, she gratefully accepts as Naru pulls her into him, placing her head on his shoulder and then his own head on top of hers. “As Madoka says,” he whispers into her hair. “Nothing is going to happen to you with us here, I won’t allow it.”

The words and his reassuring presence allow her to fall into a dreamless sleep.

“Mai, it’s time to wake up,” are the words that bring her back from her sleep.

In front of her, Naru is leaning her way from his seat beside her as he wakes her up. “Oh, we’re here,” she says as she takes in their surroundings.

The were pulling into the driveway of one of the biggest houses she had ever seen, it was more like a mansion if she was being honest. Even the house on the Urado case was not this large. “This place is huge,” she whispers to no one in particular.

“Well Mai,” Naru whispers into her ear, causing her to shiver. “Would people living in an ordinary house have maids?”

She barely registers his words, despite them pointing out something she had not though about until now, as the tickle causes her to blush crimson. “Naru, don’t do that, it tickles,” she whines softly to him.

“Why do you think I do it?” he says, a smirk across his beautiful face.

He then leaves the van, Mai remaining behind with a tomato-coloured face. She takes a few deep breaths before making her own way out of them van, hoping no one had seen the exchange and definitely not her blush.

She gives the mansion a careful examination once she is standing up straight. A gorgeous Victorian style building, pale beige walls with a slightly darker shade colouring the roof. The Koiyas’ driveway became a ring at the bottom of the entry staircase and inside the ring was a massive fountain. It was three-tired and had angel sculptures all over it. The fountain even had a flower bed surrounding it, and there were more gardens lining the driveway from house to gate. The scent of flowers and the beautiful architecture, Mai almost forgot the place was supposed to be haunted.

As far as she was concerned, it neither appeared nor felt haunted. That being said, a lot of the places they went to on cases appeared fine, but quickly proved to be otherwise. Despite that, Mai did get one feeling from it.

The size aside, this was no ordinary haunted house.

Chapter Text

Mai snapped out of her musings of the mansion when she noticed the others were leaving her behind. Not wanting her workaholic boyfriend to make some snarky comment about what she had been doing, she tried to quickly catch up. She was too late as, with that usual business tone he was known for, he says, “Mai, if you keep looking at the house like that, the staff will think you have no brain.”

Mai’s face began to turn red with anger, “Why you…”

She was interrupted from her explosion when the door is opened ahead of them. The woman who opened it appeared young, she was rather baby-faced, her blonde hair and blue eyes implying she might not be completely Japanese. Mai assumed, based on what she was wearing and that she did not look to be a member of the Koiya family, that she was one of the maids still employed.

“Hello,” she greets them, her voice could easily be compared to the angelic pitch of a child. “You must be the SPR team that Madame Koiya told us to expect. Please follow me and I will take you to the room that you have required for your base.”

Without any other words being exchanged, the team follow the girl down the long halls. The room they were brought to had everything that they would need. It was large and had many shelves that they could easily stack the monitors on without needing to set up their usual temporary one. The was a large table with many chairs surrounding it, making it a great meeting table. There were even couches for relaxing scattered around the room. The multiple power outlets they had requested were also accounted for.

Once every member of the team were inside the room, the maid who had brought them into it was gone again. Mai found herself getting a bad feeling about the girl, not liking her for some reason.

“Monk and John,” Naru’s voice cuts through her thoughts. “Bring in the equipment and start setting up. We don’t need the shelves since the Koiyas have given us a room with all the shelving we need, but all the other equipment can come in. “Masako and Ayako, start taking temperature readings of all the rooms, and Masako see if you can detect anything as you go. Lin, Madoka and I are going to get started on researching the area because Yasuhara is quite obviously late.”

Mai could not help but notice he had yet to give her any instructions. “Naru? What do you want me doing then?” she asks hesitantly.

His eyes soften as he turns to face her, “Mai, I just want you to relax for now, I know you slept on the way here, but you still look exhausted.”

She goes to protest, not wanting to be put on the sidelines, but he put up a hand in a stopping motion, “Please Mai, and I don’t want you leaving this room alone, in fact, I don’t want you out of my sight at all. So please, just get some more rest.”

Mai though about protesting further, but even she could admit to herself she was still tired. That being said, she was pregnant, not useless. Yet she ended up releasing a grumbled ‘fine’ and walks over to one of the couches along the wall. Grabbing a cushion to use as a pillow, she lays down and, as usual, drifts off to sleep in no time.

In yet a familiar fashion to previous cases, when Mai opens her eyes, she is again inside a dream memory. She knew this as before her was Kiseki, the same man from before. Mai was concerned over yet another dream without Gene anywhere in sight, it was unusual to go two dreams in a row without seeing him. She barely had further time to think about her missing spirit guide, because she found herself getting a repeat of her previous dream.

She was moving backwards as Kiseki yelled in her face, the same words of accused betrayal. Rina’s same fearful tone denied the accusations he was laying upon her, her pleads to him that she had remained faithful to him.

Yet again, Mai finds herself, or rather Rina, being pressed against the railing of the balcony. And yet again, a terrified scream rips from her throat as he pushes her over the edge. Her world goes black.

Her eyes snap open into the real world to find Naru hovering over her, an unusual amount of concern in his eyes. “Mai, are you okay?” he asks her gently.

She was definitely not okay as she launched herself into his arms, crying up all the tears she had not released the last time she had experienced the memory. The sound of the door opening and the shuffles of the rest of the team entering the room go ignored by the couple as Naru holds her close. “What happened?” he whispers into her hair.

She sniffles, barely having calmed down, as she answers. “It’s a memory, or at least I assume it is given the situation. I’m a woman named Rina and standing before me is a man whose name is Kiseki. They’re arguing, him accusing her of cheating on him with his brother. She tries to defend herself, saying that she had done no such thing and that he was the only one she loved.”

She paused, trying to remain calm when thinking about what happened next. The others allowed her reprieve knowing that sometimes the dreams she had could be traumatizing. After taking a moment to center herself, she continues. “He doesn’t believe her and he advances on her menacingly, enough that she keeps moving back away from him. She runs into a railing and I can now see they were on a balcony. He had her leaning against the railing and before she can protect herself, he’s pushing her over. I experience her scream, and the feeling of falling is there. Thankfully though, everything goes black before she…before she hits the ground.”

Naru gives her a searching look, and she knows what he is asking. With a nod of her head, she tells him that it was indeed the same dream she had had on their drive over. He pulls her closer in comfort before turning to face the others. It was the first time Mai noticed that Yasuhara was in the room, and she wondered how long she had been asleep that he had arrived without her knowing.

“Yasuhara,” Naru addresses him. “Look into the names Rina and Kiseki. We need to know who they were and if they lived here. If they did live here, I want to know how long ago it was and anything you can find that pertains to what Mai just saw.”

With a playful salute, Yasuhara made his way towards the door and Mai could guess he would be on his way to the nearest public library. Once he was gone from sight, Mai finally notices the looks her and Naru were receiving from the others in the room. Then the realisation comes about her current position, which happened to be in her boyfriend’s lap. Her face turns ten shades of red just as the teasing starts. “You two are looking pretty cosy right there,” Monk says, wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis. “A pretty suggestive position if I do say so myself.”

Without releasing her, Naru sends the older man a withering glare. “How Mai and I sit is none of your concern, perverted old man,” he says coldly.

“Hey, no need to get so defensive,” Monk replies, raising his hands in surrender. “Just saying it looks cute, that’s all.”

Coming to the conclusion that now would be an opportune time to fess up, Mai turned to face her boyfriend. “Hey Naru, can we tell them now?” she asks, both because of the opportunity and because the current conversation was getting embarrassing.

He looks into her eyes, trying to see if she was sure about the timing, and when she nodded back at his searching gaze, he sighs. “Mai has something she wants to tell you,” he says, speaking loud so as to address the whole room.

Mai glares up at him, not believing that he was passing it on to her. They have a silent exchange that ends up in her scoffing from defeat before turning back to the group. “As Naru says, I have something to tell you, or rather, we have some news,” she says.

“Oh? You mean about what you were supposed to tell us before we left the office?” Madoka inquires, getting excited by the prospect.

“Right,” Mai agrees, wincing at the previously lost chance. “Well, without beating around the bush. I’m pregnant.”

Mai felt herself blush again at her straight forward approach to the news, but knew there was really no other way to say it. The three people in the room who already knew were grinning. Well, Masako and Ayako were grinning, Lin was just looking smug. “WHAT?” Monk shouts when the news finally clicks in his brain.

“Geez Houshou,” Ayako sighs. “Do your ears need checking? She said she was pregnant. P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T. Pregnant.”

“I heard what she said Ayako,” he responds flatly, a little miffed his own wife had talked to him life that. “I’m just a bit concerned. You two are still young, Mai only turned twenty a few months ago. Not to mention you guys aren’t even married.”

“It’s not like it was planned, Monk,” Mai defends, crossing her arms. “It just happened.”

“I actually though you were going to wait until this case was over, Mai,” Masako cuts in, not wanting to humour Monk’s conniptions.

“I was,” Mai sighs, “but then it appears Lin figured it out and told an already suspicious Naru. So I decided I’d tell everyone before we left rather than after we got back.”

“Hang on,” Monk pipes up again. “Ayako and Masako knew about this already?”

“Yeah, they were actually the first to know,” she answers sheepishly. “I wasn’t sure how to tell Naru, so I kind of spilled to them.”

Naru squeezes her in comfort, hearing the remorse in her voice that he had not been the first to know, telling her without words that it was okay. She gives him a smile before then giving the rest of the team a smile as well, glad that it was finally off her chest.

“Alright,” Madoka suddenly says. “Time for bed.”

She does not wait for anyone to counter her words, because she is quick to stand with Sora already sleeping in her arms and walks from the room. His pinky red hair was smashed up against his mother’s neck and he was looking absolutely adorable. Just seeing him made Mai think about what her and Naru’s baby would look like, making her excited to meet them.

Despite having just woken up from a half day sleep, Mai felt like she could sleep some more. Those nightmarish memories took the energy right out of her. Yet, with the happy thought of her baby on her mind, she follows Naru to their room. She was hoping that she would dream of her unborn child and what they might look like rather than suffer that memory for a third time.

Chapter Text

Thankfully, Mai woke from an uneventful slumber the following morning, only to be greeted by Naru’s still sleeping face. She was unable to help herself, deciding to just lay there and stare at his gorgeous face as she had very few opportunities to do so. He always tended to wake up first, but she had slept a lot the previous day, it made sense she would wake up early. She is surprised when without warning, Naru is pulling her closer and his eyes open for her to stare into those deep blue orbs.

After a few seconds of staring back, he leans forward to press his lips on hers, the usual morning kiss that he granted her every day since they moved in together. Even when he pulls away, he does not loosen his grip on her waist. “Is it that much fun to stare at me while I sleep?” he asks teasingly.

“Y-Yes,” she stutters back, thoroughly embarrassed.

He just smirks at her shyness. “That’s good to hear, I would have to keep you in bed without letting you up if your answer had been in the negative,” he whispers into her ear suggestively, sending a shiver up her spine.

“I’m pregnant Naru,” she says in a way of protest.

“You’re not even showing,” he chuckles. “And I’ll be gentle.”

Without letting her protest further, he has her pinned to the bed and kisses her passionately. Mai gave in easily enough, but never thought that Naru would be the type to do this on a case.

By no means was she complaining though.

Later on, when they were finally making their way to base, Naru was chuckling softly to himself. The adorable shade of pink dusting Mai’s face was both endearing and humourous for him, he loved getting a rise out of her. That being said, as soon as they walked through the doors of the base, everyone was giving them strange looks, including Mrs Koiya. This had Mai’s face blushing even darker at the realisation that they had probably been overheard.

“Is there something about your girlfriend being pregnant that makes you horny enough to drop your usual professionalism,” Monk asks hesitantly.

“Our room is right next to yours too, Noll,” Madoka deadpans.

Mai wanted very much to be swallowed up by the ground in this moment, the mortification was so very high. “Wait,” Mrs Koiya cuts in before anyone else could comment on what had happened this morning. “She’s pregnant?”

“She is,” Naru admits carefully, noticing the woman’s tone. “Is that a problem?”

“Well, I can’t know for sure, but those two maids that were killed, they were both in various stages of pregnancy,” she answers sadly. “While it’s a small number, and not really enough to go on, I still feel that there is some concern.”

Naru wastes no time with that knowledge, immediately turning to face Mai. “Okay, I want-”

“No,” she interrupts, knowing what he was going to say. “I’m not going home, you promised I could stay on the case as long as I didn’t leave your sight. I’m not letting you go back on that.”

“That was until we knew that pregnant women were being targeted,” he glares back, speaking harshly.

“We don’t know that,” she argues. “We just know that the two maids who have died happened to be pregnant. That doesn’t mean it was why they were the ones who were killed.”

“You’re the only pregnant woman in this house right now Mai, I don’t particularly want to risk it. If this hadn’t come up, I would let you stay to see the end of the case, but not after hearing that,” he counters, his glare not fading. “Plus, it’s not just you I’m trying to protect, but our unborn child as well.”

“I’m not leaving, Naru,” she says, remaining stubborn and refusing to budge, sitting harshly on the couch for emphasis.

Naru lets out an uncharacteristic groan at her insistence, rubbing a hand down his face in frustration. He turns away from her after that, trying to reign in his anger at the situation. Mai knew he was worried, but this changed nothing because in truth, she was used to being a target from ghosts and other specters. While the situation was different now, having a second life inside her to consider, she refused to leave them all behind.

He finally let out a sigh and turned back to face her, taking in the stubborn set of her shoulders and the frown on her face. “Fine,” he relents, releasing another sigh. “On one condition. At the first sign that you and our child are in fact in danger, you will be out of here. Even if I have to drag you out of here kicking and screaming, so help me Mai, you won’t be staying in this house a second longer. Am I clear?”

She does not appreciate his tone, but she knows it comes from the part of him that is always afraid for her safety. “Fine, but nothing is going to happen,” she says resolutely.

This just has him snorting in disbelief, “You literally say that every time you are at risk of danger and look how that turns out. You’re always wrong. I don’t believe in jinxes, but you certainly are a walking promotion for the concept.”

She pokes her tongue out and turns away from him with a childish humph. He rolls his eyes and walks over to the monitors, not acknowledging the suppressed giggles coming from the rest of the team. Nor the look of concern on Mrs Koiya’s face as she eyes them all.

Mai had spent a few minutes huffing on the couch. It’s not like the ghost was specifically targeting pregnant women, because while the two who were dead were indeed pregnant, the other maids had also been attacked. Mai reasoned in her head that the ghost probably just targeted young women in general and it was just a coincidence that the dead ones were pregnant.

She lets loose a sigh and looks over to her worrywart boyfriend who was not frowning at one of the monitors. She could only think to herself that he was probably still sour because she had won another argument about her and cases. Her eyes then stray to everyone else, who were decidedly not doing anything productive. They were suppressing their laughter because their boss lost another argument to his accident-prone girlfriend. Feeling the need to pick back at them for laughing, she settles her gaze on Monk. “Monk, I don’t know why you find this so funny,” she says teasingly. “You’re no different when Ayako wins an argument, which I believe happens quite frequently.”

At a second male member of their team being put in their place, everyone else finally let loose their pent up laughter. Not being able to control herself, Mai also cracked up laughing at her boyfriend and brother-figure’s expense. It was just too funny, so she sat there laughing with a hand wrapped around her stomach as her muscles contracted from the heavy laughter.

It seemed being laughed at cut the thin rope that was holding back Naru’s patience, him harshly closing his notebook loud enough to bring silence to the room. “Now that you have all finished laughing at our expense,” he growls in a cold tone. “I would quite like for us to actually get some work done so that we can finish this case and leave. With that in mind, Yasuhara, what did you find yesterday about Rina and Kiseki?”

Everyone no longer felt like laughing as they waited to hear what Yasu had to say about the two figures haunting Mai’s dream.

Chapter Text

“Honestly, I didn’t find much,” Yasu explains, rubbing the back of his neck. “But their names were Rina and Kiseki Fudoka, married three years before she was killed. His brother was Kyo Fudoka, they were fraternal twins, one taking after their mother while the other took after their father. Kyo had moved in with them a year before they were married after the death of his girlfriend and remained in their house even as they were newlyweds.”

“Seems a little uncomfortable,” Ayako mutters, trying to think what it would be like if her and Monk had had someone living with them even after they had just gotten married.

Naru though, Mai had noticed his flinch at the mention of twins, so she had saddled up to be next to him as they silently waited for Yasu to continue. “Maybe not as uncomfortable as you might think,” he says ruefully. “Kiseki had to work a lot, and so Kyo and Rina became really good friends. Which was probably why Kiseki eventually believed it to be more than that. Mai only saw what happened to Rina right? Because she was experiencing her memories. However, having gone mad after killing his wife, he then let loose his rage on his brother, stabbing him three times in the heart. Yet after that, he came to his senses enough to realise he had killed the people he loved. In despair, he shot himself in the head with the pistol the three of them kept in the house for self defense.”

“That’s horrible,” Mai whispers, leaning into Naru’s side as tears leaked from her eyes.

“That’s not the worst of it,” Yasu adds cautiously, eying both Naru and Mai where they were standing by the screens. “According to her autopsy records, she was four months pregnant, and in fact, she had already known this when she was killed. She had gotten the results from her doctor only three days before the incident.”

“Okay, so that puts some credence on the idea of pregnant women being targeted,” Monk says slowly, also eying the couple. “If she was the only one that knew about the pregnancy, then it would make her a top contender for the ghost on our hands.”

“We can’t rule out the other two either, they both died tragically,” Ayako points out.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Mai adds. “Why would Rina kill pregnant women when she herself was pregnant?”

“Jealousy perhaps,” Lin speculates. “In life, she was unable to give birth to her own child because she was murdered. So it’s entirely possible she believes that others should not be allowed to give birth to their own children because of the unfairness of her situation.”

“We don’t have enough to go on for anything concrete,” Naru finally says, his hand on his chin in his usual thinking pose. “While it does look more likely to be Rina, as Ayako says, we can’t discount the two men either.”

“All we can do is guess right now,” Monk sighs with that realisation.

“In that case,” Madoka cuts in cheerfully. “Ladies, it’s time for some chatting time.”

“Madoka, now is not the time for this,” Naru says dryly. “We are in the middle of an investigation.”

“We just hit a wall,” she reasons, pulling Mai away from him as she spoke. “I think the girls and I haven’t had a proper chance to dote on Mai after the reveal.”

She does not wait for a reply before she was pulling Mai out the door, the other women following behind easily.

The men stared at the door, even after the women were out of sight. “Seriously,” Monk groans. “Why now? We may have hit a wall in our research, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done.”

“I just hope this chat of theirs doesn’t go on for long,” Naru adds, eyes back on the monitors. “Because you’re right, there is still a lot of work to be done today.”

Naru would have said more, but a familiar scream reached them from down the hall, all of them rushing to find the girls.

The girls had barely settled in Mai and Naru’s room when the temperature suddenly dropped, a sign that a spirit was present. “It’s too early for an incident isn’t it? We’ve barely been here twenty four hours,” Mai says with dismay.

“She’s already here,” Masako pipes up, looking off to a corner in the room.

Mai, gathering that it had to be Rina if the ghost was female, turned to where Masako was facing, finding a female ghost. She had flowing blonde hair and her pale blue eyes were lifeless. She can only assume that this would be Rina given she had never actually seen her face in the memories. The most chilling part was that she was staring straight at Mai.

After a short staring contest, she was suddenly moving towards Mai quickly. Mai let out a frightful scream just as the ghost pins her against the wall, cold hands wrapped around her neck. “Mai,” the others shout in fear as Mai’s vision starts to be speckled with black dots.

“I never got to give birth to my child, so neither will you,” a voice whispers in Mai’s ears, confirmation that this ghost was definitely Rina.

Mai’s vision goes tunneled as her heart pumps faster in fear, yet as the door slams open and she hears the familiar voice of Monk’s chanting, she was falling to the ground in a heap. Naru rushed over towards her, puling Mai into his arms with relief. “Are you okay?” he whispers into her ears, the fear also still evident in his voice.

She only manages a weak smile and a small nod before her vision went black. “Mai,” Naru calls in alarm, catching her before she fell from his arms before turning to face Ayako. “Can you have a look at her Ayako?”

The older woman moves towards them swiftly and Naru notices the hand shaped bruises steadily forming on Mai’s neck. He picks her up bridle style to lay her on the bed and give Ayako easier access. He steps back a little to give her room, reigning in his urge to pace with his anxiety. After a few minutes, Ayako was done and moved over towards him. “How is she?” he asks.

“Don’t worry Naru, she’s fine,” she assures him with a gentle smile. “Other than the bruises on her neck, she’s okay. She passed out from the shock, but should wake up by tonight.”

“And the baby?” he asks anxiously.

“I can’t know for certain without the proper equipment, but I believe the baby should be fine. Mai was under distress, but it was a lack of oxygen that had her passing out. The baby shouldn’t have been effected too much outside of feeling her anxiety, so as long as Mai is fine, the baby will be too,” she explains, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

Naru sighs in relief and moves towards Mai, moving her to be lying properly and covering her with the sheets. He tucks in and drops a small kiss on her forehead. “Wake up soon,” he whispers on to her skin.

Chapter Text

Mai stared into the dark void and knew she was dreaming. Yet again, Gene was nowhere in sight and Mai was truly beginning to think something was wrong, he never went this many dreams in a row without appearing before her.

She is suddenly ripped from the dark void, the vision turning into an unfamiliar bedroom. A man is lying asleep under the covers, his face covered by the sheets so Mai could not determine who he was. Then she heard running and turned to face the doorway, the shuffling behind her indicating that the sleeping man had awaken from the noise. Mai did not recognise him when she took a peak at his face, but the man who banged open the door and entered angrily was Kiseki.

“Kiseki?” the man in the bed, quite possibly Kyo, asks with surprise. “What are you doing running around at this time of night?”

“Why did you do it?” Kiseki shouts instead of answering the question, pulling a knife from behind his back.

Mai felt her heart plummet, coming to realise what was about to happen. Kyo’s eyes widened at the sight of the knife, “Why did I do what?”

“Try to take Rina away from me?” Kiseki yells as way of explanation.

“What are you talking about Kiseki?” Kyo asks with confusion, his eyes never leaving the weapon. “I’ve done no such thing.”

Kiseki clearly did not want to hear anything to the contrary, because the next second, he was descending upon his brother. The first stab to the heart took Kyo by surprise, but even if he wanted to react, it was too late to stop his brother from stabbing him two more times.

Mai could feel the tears streaming down her face as Kiseki took a step away from his brother, staring at the blood on his hands with horror. “What have I done?” he asks himself, his voice strained in pain.

He drops the knife and his hands are shaking before he is running out the door. Mai thought that would be it, but then she pops up into a room that looks like it could be a study. Kiseki comes storming in and runs over to a desk in the far corner. Mai should have known it was coming, but even as he pulled the gun from the draw, she was unprepared to watch him put the gun to his temple and pull the trigger.

Her eyes snap open to find herself back in the room she shared with Naru, the mahogany ceiling the only thing in her vision. Then the face of the man she loved popped into her line of sight, concern showing on his face. As was her custom after traumatising dreams, she sat up and launched herself into his arms, crying to her heart’s content.

Naru simply holds her in his arm, whispering comforting words in her ear as he waits for her to calm down. As her crying eased up, Mai remembered why she had been sleeping in the first place. She jerks her head away from him to look into his eyes, placing her hands on her stomach. He knew what she was thinking, and answered her unspoken question. “The baby is fine, Mai,” he assures her. “Ayako says that since you came out okay, the baby should be unaffected.”

She sighs in relief, smiles up at him and then the smile is replaced by a frown when she remembered her dream. “What’s wrong?” he asks, immediately noticing her shift in mood.

“I had a very disturbing dream,” she mutters, leaning back into him.

“What happened in it?” he asks, pulling her tighter.

She spends the next few minutes explaining to him what had occurred in her dream, yet she also realised as she recounted that it showed her nothing they did not already know. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he says into her hair when she is finished. “It’s unfortunate that you still have to see things like this. Was Gene there this time?”

“No, I haven’t seen him at all this case and I admit, I’m getting quite concerned,” she replies, frowning again at the reminder.

“Mai,” he says hesitantly. “I really don’t like that you insist on staying, especially now that we can confirm you are being targeted. If Monk had not driven her away, it’s possible you and our baby could have died. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you both.”

She looks into his eyes and gives him a soft smile. “I know you are worried,” she says gently. “But I promise this time I really will not leave your sight for a second. I want to help this woman move on, I almost felt what she did, dying before being able to give birth to my child. I can sympathise with her and it’s tragic that she hasn’t been able to move on. I want to see her at peace, so I can’t leave without helping to solve this case.”

“I was afraid you might say that,” he sighs, closing his eyes. “However, I’m going to give in. Again. You can’t leave my sight Mai and it’s the last chance. No arguments, but if you get attacked again, you’re going home. It’s already bad enough I’m letting you stay after this incident, but I’m not going to give in a third time. Clear?”

“Very clear,” she whispers with resignation.

“Good,” he sighs, pulling her in tighter.

They sit like that in silence for several minutes, just basking in each other’s company. However, they had a case to solve, so he eventually pulls back and plants a chaste kiss on her forehead. He then stands, pulling her up with him as he went. “Let’s go to base and show everyone that you’re okay,” he says.

“Okay,” she replies, smiling again as he leads her out, hand in hand.

An hour later saw the pair of them walking with Monk, for added protection Naru explained, to change the tapes on some of the cameras that Mai did not know had even been put up. Mai was feeling a little embarrassed with Monk joining then since Naru almost always had an arm around her as they walked, not willing to have her out of reach. With a crimson blush permanently on her cheeks they eventually walk into what appears to be an old bedroom.

Mai took it all in, the four poster bed against the wall, beige mat on the floor, the door that clearly led to a bathroom, a door window that led to a balcony.

Mai froze, her gaze having settled on the balcony she could see through the glass, a very familiar balcony and Mai tried very hard not to run from the room in panic. “Naru,” she strains, grabbing onto his arm where is rested on her hip. “I don’t think I should be in here.”

He raises a single brow questioningly, asking her why without any words. She wordlessly points towards the balcony and as he follows her gaze, he gets the picture immediately without an explanation. He tuns around to address the other man in the room. “Monk, I’ll let you finish in here, we’re going to wait for you outside,” he says, his words brokering no argument.

“Ah, sure,” Monk replies with confusion, but chooses not to argue.

While they waited, he pulled her into his arms for a hug, having sensed her anxiety, wanting to ease it. Having him hug her was always calming and she easily let him hold her. It was only a few moments later that they heard a cough, and they turned to find Monk waiting with a smirk on his face. “I know you two love each other, but please can you save this kind of behaviour for the bedroom when no one else is present?” he asks teasingly before walking away from them.

They both roll their eyes, but follow behind him back to base.

Chapter Text

When the trio arrived back at base, they were surprised at what was waiting for them; one of the maids was sitting on the couch as she dried her leaking tears with a tissue. Mai wasted no time in racing over to the woman and wrapping an arm around her in comfort. “What happened?” Naru asks the group.

The are many hesitant looks, and Naru would have snapped if Ayako had not finally spoke up, “She went into the kitchen and found something you need to see for yourself.”

Mai stood up with a pat to the woman’s shoulder as she followed Naru out of the base and to the kitchen, curious to know what it was. Mai released a gasp of horror when her eyes settled on exactly what it was, another one of the maids, gutted like an animal. Mai felt sick at the sight and the smell, it was horrible. Then her eyes trailed to the wall beside the dead woman to find words written in her blood. A chill went down her spine as she read what was written there.

I will take your life Mai, or the child will die.

At first, Mai was confused, of which child did Rina speak, but then she remembered with startling clarity. She ran back to base, ignoring Naru’s cry of her name as he followed behind her. She bangs open the door to base, searching the room for the person she was looking for. Not finding him, she turned to someone who should know where he was. “Madoka, where’s Sora?” she asks desperately.

“In our room,” is Madoka’s confused answer, yet Mai was running back out the door before she had finished responding.

Mai ran straight for Madoka and Lin’s room and saw exactly what she had feared; their three-year-old son was not where he was supposed to be. “MADOKA!” she yells, wanting her friend to get here quickly.

Lin and Madoka must have already moved to follow her because they arrived only a few seconds later. It is not hard to guess why Mai had yelled out for Madoka based on her question to the older woman and the glaring lack of their son. Madoka breaks into tears as she realises her son is missing, pressing her face into her husband’s chest as he holds her. Everyone else, who had still been in base when she had yelled, eventually arrived. Their confusion at Madoka’s state is cleared when Lin looks over to Mai, “Where is he?”

“Rina has him,” she replies sadly, her own tears threatening to fall. “That message that she left, Sora is the child she mentioned, I should have realised immediately, he’s the only child around.”

For all that Rina was angry at her death and the death of her unborn child, Mai could not fathom why she would put an innocent child at risk because of her own vendetta. She was giving Mai an impossible choice, to decide who lived between her pseudo nephew or that of her own life and the life of her child. She moves over towards Madoka and wraps her arms around the parts of her not crushed against Lin. “We’ll find him,” she whispers into Madoka’s back.

Having said the only thing she could say to her friend, Mai made her way over to Naru and pressed her face into his chest, letting loose the tears she had been holding back. The atmosphere in the room was morose, the other members of the team in similar states to the two couples. Yasuhara had a rare look of seriousness on his face as they all tried to comprehend that this had happened as in most of the cases they took, the ghost tended to leave Sora alone.

When Madoka had calmed down a little, the group made their way back to base, finding Mr and Mrs Koiya waiting on a couch. It was clear they were both grieving for their maid, as shown in the tears on Mrs Koiya’s face. They looked up as the team entered, and upon noticing their expressions, Mr Koiya asked if something else had happened.

“The ghost has taken Sora, the bloody writing on the wall was an ultimatum for Mai,” Naru explains, his tone not showing his fear and anger, though Mai could hear it. “She is giving Mai and impossible choice, either she dies or Sora does.”

The older couple stare in horror at the news, and Mai knew Naru also felt guilt after he had assured them Sora would be fine. “I apologise for bringing you in to this and the boy has been taken,” Mr Koiya says, addressing the last part to Lin and Madoka. “Such a horrible decision she is forcing upon you, I hope now, more than ever, that you are able to deal with her. Hopefully the boy is also returned to you unharmed.”

Madoka manages a weak smile and a thank you towards him, Lin also letting loose an almost silent thank you. It was not unexpected when the scared parents made their way from the room. “Naru, we should leave them alone for a while,” Mai whispers to her boyfriend.

“Of course,” is all he says as a response before turning back to face the couple sitting on the couch. “I apologise that we have been unable to solve this case and that as a result, another of your maids has been murdered. I ask you to please be patient with us further so that we can solve the case and save the ones in danger. Though I wish not to sound rude, if you could please leave us so that we may get back to work?”

They only shake their heads, brushing off his words about sounding rude, and solemnly make their way from the room in much the same fashion as the last couple who had just exited. The team, despite Naru’s words of getting back to work, fall into the couches from exhaustion. For the moment, all they could do was pray that Sora remained unharmed and that they could solve the case soon .

As Mai settled herself on Naru’s shoulder, she was unable to stop herself from falling asleep.

As is a constant, Mai was unsurprised to find herself in the darkness again. Though in a much more rapid fashion, she is thrust into Rina’s memories, though this time the incident of her death happens in a series of flashes. Most likely because the incident where Kiseki kills his brother and then himself comes in a similar fashion.

The images will not leave her head, and to make matters worse, she then watches as women she did not recongnise die in their sleep. It is only when she sees the most recent death of the maid killed by a floating knife does she realise she was witnessing the deaths of the other maids as well. Though it does make her wonder why the first were killed peacefully in their sleep while the most recent one was killed more brutally, was it just because of her attempts to threaten Mai?

Mai closes her eyes in an effort to block out the visions when she suddenly feels strong arms wrapping around her. She looks up into the face of someone she was not expecting.

“Gene.”

Chapter Text

“Gene.”

Sure enough, the one who had wrapped his arms around her was Gene. As happy as she was to see him, the ongoing years have made it more obvious that he was dead. While Naru had aged into the young adult he was, Gene remained the same fifteen year old he was when he died. Gene had not aged, and it was a painful reminder.

“Hello Mai,” he says with that familiar smile, unknowing to the thoughts in her head.

She wraps her arms around his waist, “Where have you been?”

“This ghost, Rina, she has been successfully blocking me from you, at least up until now she has been,” he explains as he hugs her back.

She frowns up at him. “Then what changed that allowed you to reach me?” she asks in confusion.

“She’s angry and distracted,” he replies, looking thoughtful. “She’s losing her composure having failed to kill you once, she’s never been thwarted before. Now she’s fixated on figuring out how to both deal with you and keep you away from Sora.”

“Is that a good thing?” she asks hesitantly.

“I don’t think I’m going to be much help,” he admits with frustration. “But Mai, you have to understand that she is turning into a monster, and she will still kill Sora even if she gets to you. So you can’t be a hero just to save him, do you understand? Once you get to him, you must get him and yourself out of there as fast as possible. Now wake up and tell Noll what I have said, leave nothing out.”

“But-” she tries to argue, but before she could finish her sentence, she woke up.

When Mai opened her eyes, she found herself lying down on the couch rather than sitting against Naru like she had been before falling asleep. She looks over to the monitors and sees Naru watching them. She sits up and looks around to see if anyone else was around, but she discovers that they are alone. So she stands and makes her way over towards him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and putting her head beside his. “How long was I out?” she asks him.

He grabs her by the hands and turns to face her, keeping her arms in place. “A few hours,” he answers. “It’s already ten o’clock. Learn anything new?”

“Well for one thing, Gene is back,” she reveals. “Rina was blocking him somehow, but her focus has shifted to me and Sora. She has apparently lost her cool and Gene was able to slip through. That’s what he says, but he also says that it doesn’t matter whether she gets her hands on me or not, she’ll still kill Sora. At least as long as I’m alive, so is he, but once we find him, Sora and I need to leave.”

“Oh, you’re willing to leave?” he asks cheekily, brow raised in question.

“Hush you,” she weakly slaps his arm. “This is serious Naru, there is so much more at stake here.”

“I’m well aware Mai,” he replies, joking tone gone. “This ghost threatened the woman I love, who is also pregnant with my child, and now she has kidnapped my godson. I’ve been aware this whole time.”

Mai felt a little guilty now, especially since she had insisted on staying even when it was revealed she could potentially be a target. Now Sora was at risk and she felt useless.

Naru could tell what she was thinking from her expression, so he pulled her closer. “Monk will be here soon to take over, and then we’ll get some sleep.”

She was too tired to argue despite the nap she had just had, so when Monk walked in a few seconds later, she allows Naru to pull her towards the door. “Oh, you’re finally awake Mai,” the older man comments when he sees them. “Off to bed you two go, I’ll handle the monitors now.”

Naru gives him a small nod as he and Mai leave the base, heading towards their room. “I hope Sora is alright,” Mai says out of the blue. “I feel so guilty that I’m the reason he was taken.”

He stops them from walking and grabs a hold of her face gently, his eyes staring intently into hers. “Please don’t ever feel guilty about not dying, no one could ever have guessed that she would take him, it’s completely against what she has done so far. Never regret living Mai, I don’t know what I would do with myself if you died,” he whispers, his eyes full of pain at the thought.

She can see the myriad of emotions that cross his features as well and tears steadily fall down her face, “I’m sorry.”

He pulls her into another hug as he waits for her to calm down. Once she had stopped crying, he looked into her eyes again. “Never leave me,” he pleads. “I would be nothing without you.”

With those heart felt words in the air, he led her to their room.

Mai wakes up from a dreamless sleep, both worried at another night without seeing Gene, and relieved at not having a nightmarish vision. She felt the arm around her waist and turned around to face Naru, still in a peaceful sleep. You would never believe this angelic face was such a cold narcissist when he was awake.

She did not know how long she stared, but eventually his eyes slowly opened to those familiar blue ones. “Good morning,” she whispers when his eyes land on her.

“Good morning,” he whispers back, gently pressing his lips to her forehead.

His eyes then trail over her shoulder, what ever he sees has his eyes widening in shock and him sitting up abruptly. Mai looks over in that direction to see the clock, revealing the reason for his alertness was that it was already one o’clock in the afternoon. Mai was surprised they had managed to sleep into the afternoon and that no one had bothered to wake them up.

The couple quickly get dressed and Mai was cautiously watching Naru’s irate face. The pair make their way to base and Mai could only feel sorry for the others given the aura Naru was currently putting off. They make it back to base in record time, Naru banging open the doors, showing off his anger and startling the people in the room. As they take in the person who had just entered, Mai watched as they tried to cover up their fear at seeing Naru’s face.

“Why didn’t anyone wake us up?” he demands, eyes skipping from one person to the next.

Mai took in the room, noticing the absence of a certain pink haired woman. “Where’s Madoka?” she asks.

“Um, she’s in her room,” Ayako answers. “It was also her idea to let you two sleep in.”

Ayako looked a little guilty for throwing the older woman under the bus, but Mai was more focused on her boyfriend who was about to storm out of the room. She grabs him by the arm to stop him. “Just leave her be, I’m sure she did not do it to annoy you,” she pleads with him.

“Madoka went to see why the two of you weren’t here yet,” Monk explains carefully. “When she entered your room, the of you were sleeping so peacefully and she didn’t want to wake you. She figured it would be good for you both to get more rest, you’re both under stress right now and you also stayed up pretty late on the monitors Naru.”

Naru sighs, but Mai knows by the way his shoulders sagged slightly that he had calmed down. “Fine, I’ll let it slide for now,” he says, “but she better not do it again.”

Mai watches as he pathetically sits over by the monitors, clearly sulking, and she rolls her eyes.

Chapter Text

Naru was still sulking by the monitors, still angry at Madoka for letting them sleep in, when his phone rang. Not in the mood to talk to anyone, he ignored it. Mai however, was soon shoving it in his face giving him a look that displayed how unimpressed she was. He sighs and takes the phone from her. “Hello?” he grumbles into the receiver.

“Noll!” a familiar voice cheers through the phone, causing him to pull it away from his ear, wincing from the volume.

“Mother,” he greets crankily as he puts his phone back to his ear, switching flawlessly into English. “What do you want? We’re in the middle of an investigation.”

“A little birdie told me you had something important to tell me,” she says cheerfully.

“Would that birdie’s name happen to be Madoka Koujo?” he asks, though he knows the answer already.

“I will neither confirm nor deny,” she laughs. “So what is it you need to tell me?”

Naru glares at the wall, not wanting to have this conversation with his mother right now. Then he caught sight of Mai in the corner of his vision and made a split second decision to pass off the problem. “Mai can tell you, I’m busy,” he mutters.

Mai gives him a questioning look as he motions for her to take the phone from him. She takes it and puts it to her ear. “Hello?” she greets, though she knows who it is.

“Hello Mai,” Luella says back. “It’s been far too long since we last spoke, how are you my dear?”

“I’m well, how are you?” she replies, feeling slightly awkward to be talking to Luella so casually, and still hesitant with her English.

“I’m doing great,” the older woman near shouts. “On to the matter at hand, there is apparently something you and Noll need to tell me, but my son has decided you are going to be the one to tell me.”

Mai gives her boyfriend a glare, not exactly happy to have to be the one to tell his mother the news. Mai hears Luella hum through the phone and she realises she had gone quiet while she thought of the best way to say it. With a sigh, and a realisation that the best way was just to say it bluntly, she spoke. “I’m pregnant,” she near whispers, almost hoping Luella would not hear her.

This time, it is the other line that goes silent. “Luella?” Mai prompts after the silence started to drag.

A scream suddenly comes through the speaker, causing Mai to pull the phone away in a similar fashion to Naru. “That’s wonderful,” Luella continues, shouting extremely loud. “I don’t care that you’re not even married yet, I’m going to be a grandmother. MARTIN! Come down here and listen to what Mai has to say.”

Mai can hear the running in the background, followed by some rustling, before Martin’s deep voice was coming through, “Mai? What is it that has Luella so excited?”

She sighs at having to say it again, the awkwardness was excruciating, but answered in the end, “I’m pregnant.”

“That’s wonderful news,” he replies, Mai a little surprised that he was not even the least bit concerned over their ages and lack of marriage. “Tell Noll-”

Before she could find out what he wanted her to tell Naru, their was a sound of a small struggle and then Luella’s voice was back. “Mai, we’re on our way to where you lot are on your case,” the older woman says. “So glad we decided to come to Japan.”

“Wait, you’re coming to Japan?” Mai asks in confusion, not having heard anything about it.

“No silly,” Luella chuckles. “We’re already in Japan. We’re about an hour away from where you are, we’re at a little resort that we planned to stay in until you finished the case, but now I can’t wait. See you soon.”

Mai was unable to even reply before Luella was hanging up and she just stared at the phone in shock. “What did she say?” Naru asks apprehensively.

“She’s very excited and they’re in Japan,” she answers robotically.

“And just how long have they been here?” he asks, eyes widened in horror.

“I have no idea, but your mother says that they’re coming here and they will be about an hour,” she answers, feeling extremely exhausted already.

“Wait, they’re coming here?” he asks incredulously.

“Yes Naru,” she sighs. “They’re coming here.”

“Dammit,” he mutters darkly as he heads for the door.

“Where are you going?” she asks as she trails behind him.

“To talk to the culprit,” he grumbles in reply.

“The culprit?” she asks in confusion.

“Madoka.”

“Oh right,” she chuckles, “Luella’s little birdie.”

He nods his head as they make their way to Madoka and Lin’s room. When they enter the room, they find the couple sitting up in bed, both with books in hand, but it was clear neither were actually reading. They both had looked up at the sound of the door opening, Madoka’s eyes opening in surprise. “What is it Noll?” she asks him, putting down her book.

“Why are my parents in Japan?” he asks without beating around the bush.

Madoka’s eyes widen slightly, the only indication she had realised she has been caught, but she puts on a guise of nonchalance as she answers, “And what make you think I would know such a thing?”

“Because my mother mentioned a little birdie that told her we had something important she needed to hear,” he replies flatly. “You are the only person who could possibly be said birdie.”

“Okay fine,” Madoka sighs, knowing there was no point trying to lie further. “I told your mother that there was something you needed to tell her and that she would want to see you as soon as she heard. I suggested she come to Japan to hear about it in person.”

Having no words in which to reply, the anger too much, Naru stomps his way from the room. Or as much of a stomp as Naru ever did. Mai followed him at a more sedate pace, trying to remain calm in the face of his ire. “Naru,” she calls softly, only a few paces behind him. “It can’t be all that bad if they come, it’s been a while since you saw them. Not since we returned to Japan almost a year ago after visiting them. It could be good.”

“Good?” he scoffs. “My mother is going to gush all over you about the pregnancy. She’ll take you shopping for baby things and maternity wear when you’re nowhere near needing it. She’ll go overboard as she always does.”

Mai had flashbacks to when they were in England. After Naru had returned from Gene’s funeral, they had talked about her meeting his parents. A few months later, they took that trip and she met his parents for the first time. Luella was so enthused that her cold, narcissist of a son had found a girlfriend that she had taken Mai on a shopping spree the likes of which she had never done before. She had also gone on about how he should propose, how they should get married and how they should give her some grandkids. It was the most embarrassing conversation of her life, so she could understand where he was coming from right now.

“Okay, I see your point,” she says, biting her lower lip as she shivered at the idea.

“I’m also pretty sure she wants to see Sora,” Naru hesitantly explains. “I don’t really want to see her face when she learns the ghost has taken him.”

“We’ll find him Naru,” Mai reassures, knowing exactly what he was not thinking about. “Then we’ll get out of here so the others can deal with Rina.”

“I know we will,” he says confidently. “Though I wish you wouldn’t use her name. She’s no longer just a spirit Mai, a monster does not deserve a name.”

Mai sighed, knowing he was still angry at the situation and she could hardly blame him. “Okay,” she says, humouring him.

He gives a satisfied nod and they both walk off to base, Mai wondering what the others were now up to.