shadow | ...Because Really I Can't A: Albion SS

And before

ginny_t decides to find some means of creating a wormhole and reaches through the screen to strangle me, I think A: Albion SS shall go up. It's gone past SSS length straight into SS. >.> Yeah, I seriously fail. ^^;

A: Albion
Mai in England (and any others that belong)
for

hezziwig
Length: 3270 words
Genre: General/Drama

Minor bits mentioned from the novels.

A: Albion for

hezziwig;

It was 3:00 P.M. by the time nineteen-year-old Taniyama Mai finally reached her workplace. While her classes had finished at 1:00 P.M., she had some things to take care of at university before coming in. Thankfully, despite being summer, the temperature outside was much milder than the extreme heat and humidity typically encountered during that season in Japan. Unfortunately, she wasn't the least bit prepared for what could only be described as frigid, Arctic air that swirled around her ankles the moment she opened the office door.

Mai frowned as she entered the office. Considering how her boss had the temperature at the office nailed at 18C throughout the year, there was only one thing that could cause such a chill: her boss himself. Whenever Shibuya Kazuya, or more accurately Oliver “Noll” Davis, was in a bad mood, he had the eerie ability of making the air around him seem to turn frigid. Of course, it was probably part of being able to sense his mood, but still. Mai had the distinct feeling things were not going to be comfortable at work that day.

“Good morning~!” she said trying to remain cheerful despite the chilly atmosphere that dominated the office. Glancing around, she noticed that her co-worker, Yasuhara Osamu, wasn't in yet, and the only person in the reception area, other than herself, was her boss.

As always, Noll was dressed completely in black. Despite over three years having passed since the death of his twin, his wardrobe had yet to change. A part of Mai couldn't help wondering idly if it might also be because it was much easier for him not to change his manner of dress, especially after all this time. Mai cocked her head slightly as she looked at her boss. He didn't seem any different from normal, but he was often poker-faced and difficult to read, so she had no clear indication of what was annoying him.

“Umm... did you want some tea, Noll?” she asked hesitantly.

Noll looked up from the book he'd been reading and looked at her. “In a minute, but that can wait,” he said quietly. Noll closed his book and got to his feet. “Madoka phoned.”

Mai looked surprised at the name Noll mentioned. Madoka was his superior at the British SPR. Worse for Noll was that Madoka could somehow get him to agree to take on just about anything she wanted.

Noll looked away from Mai, refusing to meet her inquiring gaze. “I'm going to Albion. Will you come, too?” he asked neutrally.

A look of confusion crossed Mai's face. 'Albion? Where's that?' she wondered. 'But if it's work-related...'

“Is it a new case?” she asked. “I've got one last exam before my summer holidays begin at uni, so as long as it can wait until after that, I'll go.”

Noll glanced at her briefly, then nodded. “Madoka hasn't given me many specifics about the trip yet. Yasuhara-san will be taking care of most of the arrangements.” Noll looked at Mai again for a long moment. “Mai, tea, in my office.”

“'Kay~” Mai said as Noll slipped into his office and closed the door behind him.

Inside, Noll leaned briefly against the closed door behind him and closed his eyes. For over a year now, Mai had declined Madoka's invitations to go to England even though the SPR would cover the expenses. Mai didn't see the need for a part-time worker to go out there and didn't have the wherewithal to take such time from her studies or her work. As a result, Madoka had badgered Noll into making sure Mai made it out this time. While Mai wasn't working full-time, she was considered to be one of the investigative staff, and many people at the English SPR were apparently getting quite vocal about wanting to see Dr. Davis and meeting the rest of his team.

He'd been counting on Mai not knowing what or where Albion was and that she'd hopefully assume it was for work. While the trip was primarily work-related, contrary to Mai's assumption, it wasn't for an investigation. Fortunately for him, Mai had reacted exactly as he'd expected, and she gave her assent to go to England. Unfortunately for him, this was something he'd only be able to use once, and finding another similarly effective tactic might be difficult.

Noll let out a long sigh before he finally moved away from the door to sit down at his desk.

Several minutes later, just as Mai closed the door to Noll's office, she heard the front door to the office open and the bell attached to it ring out. Glancing over to the entranceway, she saw Yasuhara and Lin entering.

“Ah, Yasuhara-san, Lin-san, welcome back,” she said cheerfully. “Did you want anything to drink?” she asked as they both returned her greeting.

Much to her surprise, despite the heat outside, neither of the men wanted anything.

Remembering her conversation earlier with Noll, Mai decided to ask the others if they knew anything about the trip to Albion.

“By the way, do either of you know where 'Albion' is? Noll asked me to go there with him. I guess he's going because Madoka-san asked him to? Anyhow, I agreed, but I have no idea where it is,” Mai said.

Yasuhara and Lin exchanged confused looks.

“I'm afraid I've never heard of it myself, Taniyama-san,” Yasuhara said slowly. “What about you, Lin-san?”

Lin considered the word and what he knew of Madoka's request when he suddenly remembered the word's meaning. “It's... an archaic name,” he said carefully. “Did you say you agreed to go, Taniyama-san?”

Mai nodded. “Noll didn't really say much about it. It's for an investigation though, isn't it? Do you know anything about Madoka's request? The two of you are coming, right?”

Lin nodded slowly. “I've heard a little from Madoka and will be accompanying you,” he said quietly. He didn't add that Madoka had used the country's current name rather than the more obscure archaic name Noll gave Mai. Likewise, he didn't tell her that, as far as he knew, they weren't going for an investigation.

Yasuhara had likewise been told about the trip earlier that day by Noll. However, when Noll spoke to Yasuhara, he didn't use the name he gave Mai. Realising that Noll had managed to trick Mai into agreeing to the trip, Yasuhara didn't say anything about their destination and smiled. “Shibuya-san mentioned the trip to me as well, but I have a couple more exams to write. If the trip can wait until after they're over, I'll be joining you.”

Mai smiled in relief as she realised that, at the least, the rest of the office regulars would be going on the trip as well.

Mai sighed depressed as she sat down at the foot of her hotel bed. She and the rest of the office regulars had touched down a few hours earlier at London's Heathrow airport and would be staying in London for several days. Fortunately and unfortunately for her, she'd slept through most of the trip; somehow, the rest of the office members had managed to hide their true destination from her the entire time before she got on the plane. She had no recollection of going through passport control in Japan making her wonder if Noll might've done something to her.

'That mad scientist, he's a master at hypnosis, so I wouldn't put it past him...' she seethed. 'And since I agreed to go to “Albion” with him, he probably figured he had my permission, too!'

She remembered waking up on the plane and receiving a number of glares from other passengers and the flight crew when she discovered their real destination and made a scene. However, seeing how the plane had long since taken off, it wasn't like she could back out of the trip at that point.

Mai sighed as she looked at the schedule Madoka had given her. The good thing was that they weren't staying long. The bad thing... Mai glared at the schedule. Surprisingly, while the trip was for work, the office wouldn't be going to Cambridge; in other words, they wouldn't be visiting the lab, they didn't have time to see Noll's parents... and they wouldn't be visiting Gene. Mai didn't quite know how she felt about being in England yet unable to visit Gene, but at the same time, she found the idea of going to the grave of someone she often saw and chatted with on investigations a bit strange. The other and bigger problem at the moment, however, was a formal affair close to the end of the trip. Apparently, Noll's latest paper was to be presented at a symposium in the afternoon and a formal dinner and reception were arranged in the evening. While an afternoon tea was also scheduled the next afternoon, it was to be a much more informal affair. The dinner however...

As soon as Mai received the schedule, Noll told her that he wouldn't be presenting the paper personally; one of the people who normally presented his work would be doing so. He also stated flatly that he hadn't agreed to attend the formal. Mai flung herself backwards onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

'That guy! He tricked me! See if I ever believe anything he says again!' she thought angrily. Unfortunately, Mai was supposed to be getting ready for dinner at the moment and didn't have time to seethe. She sighed as she slowly climbed to her feet to get cleaned up and change for dinner.

“Lin, have you seen Noll?” Madoka asked as she entered the hotel restaurant. Lin and Yasuhara had arrived several minutes earlier and were seated at a table waiting for her. Several days had passed since the group first arrived in England. As this was the one semi-free day they had during the entire trip, the office members had scattered after dinner the night before and hadn't seen one another since. Noll's latest paper had been presented at a symposium that afternoon by Sir Dree – the person who usually presented Noll's work and one of Noll's main sponsors – so the members had instead arranged to meet at the hotel restaurant for a drink before proceeding to the formal dinner.

Lin looked at Madoka surprised. “I haven't seen him since last night,” he answered.

Yasuhara shook his head when Madoka turned to look at him. “I haven't seen him either.”

Madoka wrinkled her nose as she pulled out a slip of hotel notepaper from her purse. “I expected he'd either go in to the office or stay here at the hotel today, but he left this note at front desk for me,” she said a bit put-out.

A few simple lines were written on the paper in Noll's neat handwriting:

Madoka: Gone to Albion with Mai. Will be back in time for the tea party. --Noll

Yasuhara and Lin looked at one another in surprise after reading the note. They remembered Mai asking about the place name and not knowing where it was, but they'd both thought it was a trick Noll used to get Mai to agree to the trip to England.

“Madoka, you told Noll about the formal when you first called about coming here. Did he ever say he'd attend?” Lin asked cautiously. The image of Noll telling Mai he hadn't agreed to the reception after she received the schedule at the airport flashed through his mind.

Madoka shook her head. “Not yet. He was being really stubborn about it for a change, so I was hoping to get him to agree while he was here,” she said.

Yasuhara looked at Madoka and Lin. “Um, Lin-san, I thought you said 'Albion' was an archaic name. By that, I took it you meant an archaic name for England?”

Lin frowned. “It's an ancient name for Great Britain,” he said slowly. “I thought he was using it to trick Taniyama-san into agreeing to come here since Madoka insisted he get her to come this time.”

Yasuhara frowned as he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small electronic dictionary. “This is starting to bother me,” he said as he looked up “Albion” in his dictionary.

Albion: <poetic/literary> Great Britain or England; prob. Of Celtic origin and rel. to L. albus 'white' (in allusion to the white cliffs of Dover)₁

Madoka frowned after hearing Yasuhara read the description for the name.

“The white cliffs... of Dover?” she repeated slowly. “You mean he got away?!” she shrieked.

“Madoka!” Lin said trying to shush her.

Mai stared at Noll not quite believing that the two of them were in Dover on their own. Immediately after dinner the night before, Noll stopped by her room, told her to pack a light bag for two nights, and to be ready to leave in 15 mins. The trip to Dover had taken two hours, and they arrived at their hotel very late at night. When she asked Noll where they were and what they were doing there, he reminded her that she'd agreed to go to Albion with him. Mai decided against asking why Yasuhara and Lin weren't there; she probably didn't want to know.

Mai stared at the castle grounds that spread out before her and Noll. “Noll, didn't you say we were coming here for an investigation?” she asked uncertainly. Any way she looked at the place, it was a tourist destination, and it was highly unlikely they'd be able to investigate the property.

Noll looked at her steadily. “I never said anything about an investigation,” he said coolly.

Mai frowned as she tried to remember their conversation at the office. “But this is supposed to be a working trip, isn't it? If we have time to come out here for sight-seeing, shouldn't you be going to Cambridge and visiting Martin and Luella... and Gene?” she asked.

Noll sighed slightly as he took her by the arm and steered her towards the castle entrance. “Who said anything about sight-seeing? For your information, Taniyama-san, Dover Castle is said to be one of the most haunted castles in England. There are supposed to be up to nine ghosts here. While we aren't doing a formal investigation, there's nothing wrong with coming out here to take a look and seeing if you can sense or see anything.”

Mai cocked her head slightly at Noll's statement. Something still wasn't adding up. “......Noll, you said to pack for two nights. What about the formal affair tonight?” she finally asked.

Noll gave her a cold, amused look. “I was unaware you were so interested in attending that party, Taniyama-san. Had I known, I wouldn't have invited you here with me.”

“Eh? You mean you invited me here... to avoid the party?? But...” Mai's voice trailed off as she remembered Noll telling her at the airport that he hadn't agreed to attend the formal dinner. “Eh?!”

Noll smiled cynically. “When I told you Madoka phoned, I also told you I was going to Albion. And when I asked, you agreed to accompany me. Madoka might've thought she could try to convince me to attend the party after we arrived in London, but, I hardly think it appropriate to agree to attend when I'd already made other plans.”

Mai nodded slowly, uncertain if she agreed with him or not. Still, it meant that she didn't have to worry about attending the formal party she'd been dreading, and since they were there for work, sort of, perhaps it would be alright. Even so, she couldn't help wondering if Noll's running away like that might cause him trouble later on.

Noll glanced down at Mai. “It's up to you if you want to fall asleep and run into a certain wayward spirit. If you do, tell him to move on to the afterlife, and tell him we're not stopping to visit him this time.” He paused a moment. “Of course, I'll probably leave you behind if you do fall asleep,” he said before striding off towards the castle entrance.

Mai blinked in surprise. '...Does that mean I'm not supposed to fall asleep?? Of course, if I don't, it's unlikely I'll be able to see anything and I won't meet Gene...' Mai cocked her head as she stared after Noll for a long moment. 'Ah, who cares. Even if this place is supposed to be haunted, it looks amazing! I'm going to enjoy myself and not worry about anything else.'

Seeing Noll striding off without her, Mai called out “Wait for me!” and quickly ran after him. When she caught up to him, she took his arm as Masako often used to do and smiled impishly when he looked down at her. She wasn't about to let go; it was a small price for him to pay for the things he'd done in tricking her into coming all the way to England.

Much to everyone's surprise, a slightly dishevelled and tired looking Noll and Mai came rushing in to the hotel the next afternoon. Because there was little time to get cleaned up before they needed to leave for afternoon tea, Madoka was asked to helped Mai get ready, while Lin and Yasuhara went with Noll. Until the two arrived, Madoka had been panicking that Noll might no-show for tea as well. She'd had to make a lot of excuses and do quite a bit of damage control the night before when he hadn't shown up for the formal dinner. And the fact that he'd disappeared with Mai had made matters worse.

Sadly for Madoka, when she tried cornering Lin and Yasuhara later about whether Noll and Mai were seeing each another, both men were quite tight-lipped about things. She'd at least expected Yasuhara to be a willing fellow conspirator when it came to keeping an eye on Noll's private life, especially since it meant keeping Martin and Luella informed. However, nothing she said could get Yasuhara to open up, so she eventually had to back down.

At tea, Noll managed to deflect the many questions people asked about his whereabouts the night before. Much to Madoka's frustration, despite being bombarded with questions, Noll managed to intercept her every time she tried to get close to Mai; she hadn't had time to ask Mai any questions while helping the girl get ready. The other office members also seemed to be watching out for Mai either by making sure one of them was always with her or by keeping the other attendees a safe distance away. However, one woman managed to slip past their defences. And unfortunately for the Japanese branch office members, the woman had the audacity to ask a very rude and personal question of Mai.

“Did you enjoy your evening alone with the doctor?” the woman asked.

Mai looked at the woman wide-eyed; she was stunned that anyone would have such poor manners as to ask such a question of a stranger. However, the next instant, Mai remembered the events from the previous night and paled.

By the time Noll managed to make his way to her, Mai was shaking badly and almost in tears. And while the other attendees had been surprised by the woman's behaviour, they couldn't help being even more curious about Mai's reaction...

--to be continued in B

Oh yeah, I fail. >.>; 32.7 drabbles in length and that's with severe restraint. *sigh*

For being "Mai-centric", *someone* took over. >.>