"Talking" - Japanese

"Talking" - English

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4

Stepping Into Chaos

She thought he was stupid…and a jerk. Who waits till the night you leave for a case to tell your employee that you are leaving for a case that night? And only give them an hour to pack? Seriously?

Mai sighed from her position in the plane seat as she crossed her arms. She couldn't really be mad at him though. After all, she was the one that avoided him like the black plaque. He didn't really have much choice in the matter. So, she packed what she could and two hours later was being whisked off in a private airplane to Whitechapel, London, England to face what awaited their little group.

Though, two minutes later when she glanced out the grounded plane's window, she wasn't very happy by what she saw. No, her semi-calm Zen had suddenly been replaced with terror. She quickly glanced to the seat next to her where Naru sat to see him rubbing his eyes tiredly before she whipped her head back around to stare out the window again.

"Uh…" was all she could manage and even then it was more like a squeak.

Just then the seat belt sign turned off and all of SPR stood to gather their respective stuff as one. She heard Naru heave a sigh next to her as he steeled himself for what was waiting once he stepped foot off the plane. Resigned to his fate he stood and started to gather his things but Mai stayed glued to her seat.

"Mai," he gently coaxed as he bent down and nudged her legs out of the way so that he could grab her carry on out from under her seat, "we need to get off. I know you're a little shocked but we can't stay."

"But," she croaked not taking her eyes off the ground below.

"No buts Mai," he had put her bag in the seat he had been sitting in and had leaned against the back of the seat in front of him while he watched her, "we have to get off. Besides, we are the last ones on the plane."

She looked at him, her mouth open to argue before it snapped shut as her eyes took in the rest of the plane. They really were the last ones to go.

"But Naru," she suddenly burst out with renewed vigor but still clutching the arm rests and still parked in her seat as if gravity was trying to suck her into the core of the earth, "there are so many cameras and news trucks; so many people who look like vultures waiting to dive for the kill as soon as you drop. How are you not nervous?"

Mai's voice had suddenly gone shrill at the end of her little triad and - much to Naru's amusement – seemed to be having a miniature panic attack. He choked down a laugh knowing it would only serve to anger the girl and made his face seem passive before trying to calm Mai down.

"After spending ten years of my life under the constant watch of a camera and journalist of some kind, I learned to get used to it quite fast. Just ignore them, don't speak to them unless absolutely necessary or I tell you otherwise, and always watch what you say when they are around. If you do that you'll have nothing to worry about."

Mai gulped as she and their stuff was hauled off the seats and dragged to the door before nearly bumping into Naru's back when he pulled up short. Curiously she looked around him to look at Lin who was standing just inside the door looking down the steps. His frame took up the entire doorway and his stance screamed intimidating and Mai suddenly understood why he was Naru's bodyguard. Just looking at him would make someone definitely think twice about approaching.

She watched as he glanced at Naru who nodded slightly before chancing a glance at her and then seemingly mentally and physically prepared themselves for something. That something, she assumed, was what was waiting for them at the bottom of those steps. Mai became more worried. Was it that bad?

Lin took the carry on bags from Naru then started down the stairs and she heard him immediately get swarmed with questions that got no answers. She heard Naru sigh tiredly just before he went to stand in front of the doorway making Mai stumble from her position of leaning on him. He glanced at her as he gestured for her to go stand by his side. Hesitantly she did so and squeezed his hand tightly when he laced them together.

"Are you ready," he asked quietly as he stared at the crowd of people.

After a second she nodded.

Taking another cleansing breath he stepped out onto the first step. The noise level increased tenfold. She could hear them calling his name, each one a different way.

"Oliver Davis…"

"Professor Davis…"

"Mr. Davis…"

"Professor Oliver…"

"Oliver…"

That one annoyed her the most. What right did that person have to call him by his first name? Although, she supposed they might do things differently there in England.

She watched him scan the crowed as he stepped down to the second step then turned and held his hand out for her to take. Confused mummers ran through the crowd. Mai stood frozen as she stared at his hand and gulped again. She looked up and saw the reassuring look on Naru's face and instantly relaxed. She squared he shoulders, took his hand, and let him help her out onto the first step.

Just as instantly as when Naru had stepped out the crowd fell silent. Mai looked up and finally got a real look at all who was there. Reporters for what looked like everywhere had gathered at the bottom of the stairs where the rest of SPR had positioned themselves to make a kind of barrier to keep anyone from going up the stairs. The crowd was ten rows deep and fifteen rows wide and everyone seemed to either have a camera or a microphone. And they were all staring at her. To say it was overwhelming would be an understatement.

"Why are they all staring," Mai whispered as they made their way the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Apparently," Naru replied in English with a hint of resentment in his voice and not bothering to be quiet, "It's hard not to stare when the great Oliver Davis comes home with a woman."

Mai, Monk, and Yasuhara desperately tried not to snicker as many of the reporters turned away at his words.

They had reached the ground by then. Mai shifted as the silence continued and almost sighed in relief when a man at the front of the crowed cleared his throat and asked a question.

"Doctor Davis," the English speaking man managed not to flinch when Naru turned to him. When Naru continued to watch him the man took that as a good sign and forged ahead, "Everyone in England is very much aware that you and your brother both disappeared sometime last year with no contact from Eugene and very little from you-"

Mai jerked her head around to Naru and saw him pinch the bridge of his nose for patience. Out of the corner of his mouth he said to her, "There is still quite a lot to the story. You have to understand that we really haven't had a chance to actually sit down and talk."

Mai knew he was right. She sighed and nodded her head before turning to catch the rest of what the reporter was asking.

"-What no one seems to know is where you went, what happened, or where your brother is now. Do you care to give some insight to that?"

The man held out his mike to Naru and the rest of the crowd waited with bated breath for some sort of reply. It felt like an eternity before he opened his mouth to speak.

"No comment."

He turned away and the crowd erupted into talking, questions, and picture taking. Lin stepped in front of the two of them and as if on instinct Monk took up one side and John and Yasuhara took up the other while Ayako and Masako took up the end. The formation made up a sort of casual barrier around Naru and Mai that confused the girl.

"What's going on," she asked as she watched Lin start to part the crowd with the others help.

"We're going to the car," Naru replied calmly before giving her a light shove to get her moving forward.

Mai's eyes widened and she looked on as they started to make their way through the crowd, "Through all that!"

He merely nodded. She suddenly felt the need to gulp again-repeatedly. And so the journey through the sea began.

It went fairly well. As a matter of fact they were almost to the car before anything exciting happened.

A hand snaked through the gap behind Monk and grasped Mai's arm making her gasp in surprise and jerk back a bit. She whipped her head around to look at who grabbed her and saw a man. She instantly didn't like him. He was the very description of tall, dark, and handsome. His short cropped black hair was artfully gelled into place making it lightly frame a chiseled face and steal grey eyes. His grey suit was pristine with crisp lines and polished dress shoes. He was freshly shaved and had a smile that should have made anyone feel at ease. It didn't with Mai.

"Ma'am," he asked in English as he flashed a quick smile at her that for some reason made her shiver, "I was wondering what your relationship with Professor Oliver Davis is?"

The man had barely gotten the question out before a pale hand grabbed the strangers hand and pried it off as Monk pushed the man back toward the crowd.

"We are not taking questions right now Anderson. It'll have to wait," Mai heard Naru grind out next to her ear.

The man, Anderson as Naru had called him, held up his hands in surrender and took a step back, smile still in place, "Sorry Doc. I didn't mean any harm. Just curious is all."

Naru just grunted and pulled Mai the last few feet until they were finally free of the reporters. Mai turned back to where the guy had been but he was gone.

She turned back to the car, which she now realized was a van, and saw that almost everyone was in a seat. Naru was just waiting for her to get into her usual seat between him and Lin. She gladly did so, giving a sigh of relief when he shut the door which cut off all the noise from outside

There was a long moment of peaceful quiet until Mai's curiosity got the best of her.

"Who was that man?"

Naru glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "His name is Dæmon Anderson. He's the owner of one of the more successful newspapers in England. Most newspaper owners usually hire reporters but Anderson always liked to be in the action."

Mai hummed in thought, "Has he ever had a reputation of being a sleazy reporter?"

He turned to her fully now an eyebrow raised, "No. Why?"

She just shrugged, "I just don't feel right around him is all. It's probably nothing."

Naru watched her for another moment before turning to look back out the window just as they turned onto the highway and started for Whitechapel.

~R~

They pulled up to the Mayors house, more like mansion, just after five in the evening. Mai stared in awe as she tried to look at everything around her; a feat that was proving to be impossible. Thankfully there was no one in sight.

Just as Lin turned off the ignition the front doors opened and the mayor came rushing out to meet them and to show them to their rooms.

Naru had explained what had been going on as they drove.

So far three women had been found dead, brutally murdered in ways that many found hard to comprehend. All of them had been cut open and torn apart from the inside. Each body had been found in a different part of Whitechapel. One was missing an organ.

Each area that a girl had been found had begun to have problems. Screams, cries for help, ruined furniture, things being thrown.

The place that wasn't consistent with the haunting was the mayor's house. The place has no connection with the killings what so ever yet it was experiencing problems of its own. Things would go missing; maniacal laughter would echo throughout the house at random points in the night; the scent of blood would flow through the house for hours at a time but no one could ever find the source.

The thing that chilled the residents of Whitechapel most was that at midnight every night, not a second sooner or a second later, screams so chilling, so pain filled and so loud would sound through the entire town. It would last for a half hour and then suddenly stop as if someone had flipped a switch.

The first time the screams were heard the first girl was murdered.

So, as a result, they were going to be setting up base in one of the rooms in the mayor's house as well as stay as the mayor's guests. They would then figure out a way to keep an eye on the town of Whitechapel.

Naru opened his door first and got out to meet the mayor, Mai close behind. Or, she would have been if she hadn't stopped the second her feet hit the ground.

"Mai," John watched as she seemed to become sick and horrified all at once, "are you alright?

Everyone halted what they were doing to turn and watch the girl. She had put one hand to her ear as if to block out noises and the other to her nose then to her stomach then back to her nose.

"Naru," she cried faintly. He was making his way towards her instantly, "Make it stop."

"What is it Mai," he asked as he reached out a hand to steady her when she swayed, "Make what stop?"

She looked up at him with terror in her eyes, "Them. Make them stop. I don't want to hear anymore. Plea…"

She never managed to finish what she was saying. She swayed to the side suddenly once again and hollowly she heard everyone call her name.

She felt hands grab for her as she fell and then all went black.

Hey everyone. So sorry for the late update. All my fault. Hope you liked it.

Update soon,

-Twilight

I must say I loved it personally! I'm glad twilight's back!

-mytruthaboutlife