No Rest, Improved Version

Aka Possessing Noll 2

One day had passed since my last, er, eventful check up on Noll. I just had to hope he hadn't ruined everything I'd done for him. Let's face it, he's socially inept and in love. Anything could've happened.

So I entered the office prepared for the worst. And the worst it was, though not quite as I had imagined it. Yasuhara Osamu, John Brown, Hara Masako and Mai where watching with concern (and in Yasuhara's case, some amusement). Even Naru had emerged from his office, which was as common an occurrence as an oyster leaving its shell. Lin, though, was nowhere to be seen. Probably skulking in his office: he's never liked arguments.

Taking the floor and drawing the crowds was a magnificent argument between Ayako and Houshou, involving objects, as well as words, being hurled through the air. However, I was not interested in one of their little, or in this case rather large, spats.

'Hey Noll'

Gene?

'The one and only!'

Hmmph.

'Come on, you love me really.'

Noll snorted. I'm one of the few people who can actually make him laugh. Possibly the only person. No wait, I'm forgetting his little *ahem* friend, who always makes him smile. Then again, she makes everyone smile. But most people have a habit of smiling anyway.

I walked past him and into his office. Technically I don't have to, I could float if I wanted to, but old habits die hard. I sat on his chair.

"What do you want?"

"Just checking on you." I said. I love speaking to a human. I hardly ever meet any other free spirits (as I like to call them), and when I do we don't exactly speak. The words rolled of my tongue with a life of their own. I smiled.

Like I need checking on.

"Well, you never know. Soo, have you told her?"

"About what?"

"You know. The trip." I gave him a meaningful look.

He sighed and looked away, out of the window.

"No."

"You have to. If you don't I'll do it."

"Well, we all know what happened the last time you said you'd do something."

"And it was the best thing that's ever happened to you. Apart from me, maybe."

"I would hardly say you happened to me."

"Whatever. Anyway, this time I won't possess you."

"Humph."

"And I won't make you kiss her."

Noll was silent. However, the door was not. It slammed shut, and a few moments later the office's door also slammed. Silence radiated throughout the room.

"That wasn't…" I started desperately, fading quickly. The door opened again and Monk popped his head around it.

"What did you say to Mai-chan?" He said, looking disapproving.

"Nothing…" Naru said weakly. Monk looked suspicious, but left.

"That was." Naru said grimly. He was upset, I could tell. He started pacing. Which was never a good sign.

"Noll, I-" I started.

"God, what's she going to think? How much do you think she heard?"

"I don't know." I said miserably. If only I had trusted him for once, this would never have happened. Damn. Trust my nosey, interfering nature.

"Damn. Gene, what have you done?"

"I don't know, but you're going to have to solve it."

"You did it."

"Yes, but she won't listen to me." My heart really went out to my fool of a brother. Right now I was wondering if I wasn't actually the bigger fool.

Looking back at these events, I guess I should have realised what would come next. Poor Noll, he must have felt like his entire family was conspiring against him. Nothing could have made his day worse.

The office door was knocked on. It was a knock which was trying to hide its excitement; too slow and deliberate. Cautiously The door was opened. Naru expectantly, hopefully turned to his own office door. He waited.

"Hello?" A female voice filtered through the walls. There were two thunks as Ayako and Monk tried to surreptitiously drop the objects they were holding. Naru closed his eyes once.

"You've got to be kidding me." He muttered. He swiftly opened the door and stepped out to confront his mother.

"Noll!" Mum moved forward. Keeping his face completely blank he hugged her, moved forwards to shake hands with his father.

"I'm sorry, I have to go and sort something out." He excused himself in rapid English and quickly left. I watched him run down the street.

"After we came all this way too." Luella said sadly. She turned expectantly to the mixed group of people gathered in the office (well, the majority of them squeezed behind the sofa).

"Uh, hello." Monk said awkwardly, bowing. The entire group followed his lead.

"Luella? Martin?" Lin popped his head out of his office door.

"Koujo!" She moved forwards to cheerfully shake his hand, as did Martin.

"Please, sit down." Lin indicated the couch. Nervously John, Yasuhara and Masako pushed it back into its original position.

"How nice to see you all again." Luella said.

"And you." John sat down on a chair. There was an awkward silence as Luella and Martin examined the various objects littering the floor.

"Tea, anyone?" Ayako asked.

"We're going out for lunch, do you want to join us?" Martin asked, as Luella and him grabbed their coats. Masako glanced in my direction.

"No thanks. Thanks for the offer though. We have something very important to do." She said, looking at every person in the room so they got the message. I was surprised. I'd have thought Masako of all people…

Then again it had been a while since Naru had returned to Japan (you can thank me later), and she must be over him. Especially with the immense hints Noll had been dropping in their last case. Immense for Noll's standards anyway.

Martin and Luella left. Everyone turned to me, even Lin.

"Well Gene?" Masako said impatiently.

"Gene's here?" Monk said, baffled.

"Yes." I said. Monk jumped as I materialised next to him. I gave him a look. Seriously, I'm not that scary.

"Why?" John asked, completely unfazed. I sighed.

"I completely mucked up." I started, glancing at Lin. He raised his eyebrows. "I didn't mean to!"

"To do what?" Ayako asked. I explained. A silence followed my speech.

"You didn't." Monk said, completely shocked. I hung my head. There was another silence, broken this time by Yasuhara.

"Well, it seems to me, that what you need is an expert." Everyone looked at him.

"An expert?" Ayako asked, confused.

"Namely… me." I glared at him. How dare he say he was more expertly then me?

"Yasu, you hardly qualify as an expert." Monk scoffed.

"Seeing as I'm in uni, I think I qualify as an expert."

"Only in your subject."

"I didn't say what I was an expert in!"

"You implied we need an expert in match making."

"We do."

"But we don't have one."

"But we do have experts."

"But not in match making."

"Who cares? I said we need an expert. We're all experts."

"Oh shut up." Ayako glared at both of them. "Clearly they need our help, 'cause Naru's taken two and half years to tell Mai he loves her, and even then it was only because of Gene and Mai."

"What do you suggest?" John asked, looking like the conversation had gone a bit beyond him.

"For a start we need to know where they are." She looked at me.

"I know where Naru is, but not Mai…"

I have to say, this is actually the most foolish I've felt for a long time. And no one can even see me. I folded my arms, one eyebrow raised. I glanced behind me at the five people peering round the corner like some ancient spy film/comedy where the five heads are on top of each other. Not surprisingly, the general population of Tokyo was giving them rather funny looks.

"Which way did he go?" Monk asked.

"Left." I said. Sneakily, or what I guess they thought was sneakily, they slipped round the corner and jogged up the street, only to do the same antics at the next corner. I hovered along behind them, arms still folded.

"You do know he doesn't have a clue where he's going?" I asked. They looked at me in surprise.

"Naru…" Ayako started.

"Doesn't know something?" Yasuhara finished.

"Seriously guys, he's not that intelligent. Take Mai for instance, he didn't realise he liked her until… yesterday."

"Yeah, but that's completely different." Monk said dismissively.

"Why's he sped up?" John asked.

"He's just worked out where she might be!" I said, his excitement catching.

"Uh-oh! He's coming this way!" Ayako said, and they quickly scrambled backwards, tripping over each other as they tried to squeeze into a tiny alley.

Naru passed by, walking hurriedly back the way he came. Relieved, they piled out of the dingy street.

"Where's he going?" Yasuhara asked. I quietly listened to the rapid stream of consciousness that was Noll.

"Mai's flat."

"Of course!" Monk clicked his fingers.

"Personally I'm surprised he's going after her. I'd have thought he'd be the kind of guy who waits for her to come to him." Ayako said.

"I made him go."

"Maybe you should have let them work it out themselves."

"How long would that have taken? Another year?"

"Fair play."

We hurried through the streets of Tokyo. Well, they hurried, while I glided serenely along. There are some perks to being a ghost.

We rushed into the apartment and up the stairs. We sneaked up to Mai's level, and they poked their heads over the edge of the stairwell. Noll was standing in front of Mai's front door, glaring at it intently, as though he could somehow scare it into opening. He reached up and checked the edge of the door, then, after wiping the dust from his fingers, lifted the plant pot. He took the key and opened the door. I drifted in after him, quickly looking around, then quickly left.

"She's not there, quickly, quickly…" We rushed back down the stairs and hid on the floor below, waiting for Noll's slow footsteps to retreat.

"Where now?" They looked at me expectantly. Suddenly something clicked.

"I know where she is!" I exclaimed.

Noll. Noll listen to me!

What do you want?

I know where she is.

Where? There was something so hard and desperate in his tone that I felt suddenly incredibly sad.

In the park.

I felt the realisation in his mind. He started off.

I returned to myself. SPR had jumped up and crowded around me. They looked like they were waiting for something. Oh yeah, me to speak.

"The park. Underneath that ancient Sakura tree." I blurted out. They started running out, threading back through the crowded streets.

"This way, I know a short cut!" Monk said, leading them through less crowded smaller streets. Eventually we emerged on the edge of a wide road which circulated part of the park. We crossed swiftly and ran through the park. Startled faces flashed past, little children watched us run past, the flowers blowing from their loose grip.

We slowed down as we approached the massive tree in the middle of the park. It was haloed with the soft pink of blossoms, which covered the ground around its roots. And leaning against it, creating a flower out of the single petals that had fallen, was Mai.

"He's coming…" I muttered, trying to drag Ayako and John behind a handy bush.

"Ow." She protested, but they all ducked behind the bush. Mai looked up, straight at me, but then turned away. She shrugged, held up her flower and let the petals blow away with the wind. The effect was marred slightly by the breeze blowing the wrong way, so they got caught in her hair.

Noll sat down next to her. She jumped, and seeing that it was him a mixture of emotions played across her face. Embarrassment, hope, fear, anger, grief.

"What's he doing?" Yasuhara whispered.

"He's not saying anything."

"Oh for goodness' sake!" Ayako said. She called out. "Just hurry up and kiss her, you idiot!" Monk's hands covered her mouth.

"Shh!" They all whispered. Mai's and Noll's heads snapped in our direction. They got up and approached the bush cautiously. I sighed. I'm never telling this lot anything ever again.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Mai shouted at them, her eyes wide. They looked guilty. I tried to sneak away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Noll and Mai said simultaneously.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be able to see me!" I complained, narrowing my eyes at Mai.

"Your irritatingness leaves such a big indent on space I can't help but see you!"

"That's a lie." I said, while Monk pointed out that 'irritatingness' is not a word.

"I don't care!" She said. She huffed and went back to the tree, muttering dark words under her breath.

Thanks Gene. You just had to follow didn't you? After mucking up already I'd have thought you would have trusted me. He spoke bitterly.

Noll gave me a disappointed look.

"It wasn't like that…" I protested.

"I don't care." He said quietly.

That hurt. Noll always listened to what I had to say, no matter what I had done. I felt chastened, humbled somehow. He was right, I should have trusted him. I should have just left him alone.

"Come on guys." I left, the group following me dejectedly back to the office. We came in, and slouched into the couch and chairs. Lin came out of his office.

"Well?"

"We don't know."

"Yeah, thanks to somebody here!" Monk said, glaring at Ayako.

"Well, someone needed to tell him."

"Maybe you could have picked a different moment!"

They descended into fighting. Yet again things were flying through the air, just to bounce off the wall.

"Can't you do something about them?" John asked desperately. I smiled evily.

I walked into the office the next day. I'm starting to feel like I actually work here now… to be honest,I probably do about the same amount of work in SPR as the rest of them. Except Lin and Noll of course.

The place was deserted. Completely empty. There was a definite lack of raging miko, ducking monk and amused bystanders quivering behind large pieces of furniture. Mai was nowhere to be seen either. Probably late, or lost, or somewhere else. Well, that didn't matter too much, as I was here to see Noll. I stepped into his office.

My apology withered away somewhere in my brain. Noll was… busy. To say the least. I stood there, awkwardly, while my flabbergasted brain tried to catch up with what I was seeing.

Mai and Noll were kissing, but it was so gently, and tender, and everything you wouldn't normally associate with Noll, I felt suddenly guilty. I was watching a mysterious side of him that I had only caught glimpses of a handful of times in my life. And it felt wrong.

Quickly I fled the room. My half-baked apology could wait.

And if I have learnt anything at all, it's to knock before I enter…

Much better ending I think. It just suddenly hit me, after about 2 weeks or ending block.

Thnaks for reading, please review! =]