Disclaimer – I do not own Ghost hunt in anyway, anything I have not come up with myself I do not own.

Memories

1: Prologue

General POV

Mai was running so fast, her teacher had warned the class that if anyone got into class even five seconds after the first name was called they would have an after school detention every Friday until the end of term. At that point he turned to her and said, "regardless if you have a job or not". Damn teacher, Mai thought, her job was really important, she needed to be there!

She ran up the stairs, three more floors to go, she started to see spots. At the last second she got through the door just as the first name was called. She went to her seat and slumped down, she needed water otherwise she would pass out.

"Mai Taniyama" sir called slightly annoyed that she had been literally less than five seconds away from being late. Guess she had good luck.

"Yes sir" Mai answered, panting. Taking her drink out of her bag she downed it in one.

School was fine that day. Unlike what was common belief in SPR Mai was a straight A student, well almost, and that was when she attended classes (which was when she could, and most of the time she missed she made up during free periods and sometimes after school)

Mai started to space out in maths. It had been six months since Naru had left for England with Lin.

She had not heard from them really at all, maybe an e-mail from Lin here and there, but nothing constant. She saw the others nearly weekly. She, Monk, Ayako, Masako and John had just last night gone to dinner at a good but relatively cheap restaurant. It was good. Mai and Masako still were at each-other's throats all the time, nothing had changed there, except Masako was maybe a little more smug that she had at least got one date with Naru. Mai reassured herself by reminding herself it was not a real and Masako was probably blackmailing Naru anyway.

Mai had had to get a new job after Naru had left and SPR had closed down. She had got herself a part-time job as a waitress at a well known and successful cafe, a part-time job as a baby-sitter, and another part-time job as a shop assistant. Even though she worked about the same as she did for SPR she hadn't missed a day of school since then, and soon had made her way back to the top of the class. Even though she liked her job, and she didn't have to miss school, she missed her old job.

Mai's POV

I miss my old job. The way I always had to make tea, Naru bossing me about, him ignoring me all the time never saying thank-you! (DAMN IT NARU!!!!). The way he would occasionally smile. The look of his eyes. The way his hair swept across his face. I miss his good figure. His... DAMN IT MAI STOP THINKING LIKE THIS!!!! He's gone! Get back to the maths lesson!

"Mai" hmm? Did someone say something? Must be my imagination. I wonder what Lin's doing right now.

"Taniyama-san" I swear I just heard something. Maybe he has to deal with Naru, or they may have gone their separate ways, nah that would never happen. I wonder when they'll come back, that if they...

"MAI TANIYAMA!!!!!" sir shouts, I snap out of my day-dream.

"Urh, yes sir?" he's gonna shout at me I just know it.

"Go to the head teacher's office" well maybe not.

"NOW!" oops spoke too soon.

"Okay sorry sir" I got up and made my way out of the class from there I ran to the head's office.

The door was open, I knocked anyway.

"Come in" the head commanded. I stepped in.

"Mai, what have you done?" he asked me in an understanding tone, if not slightly wearily.

"Urm... I'm not exactly sure; I think I was day-dreaming again. But I don't get why he gets so annoyed I'm basically the only one who gets the stuff he's talking about and am the only one who's finished it." I say, I know I can speak like this to the head. He chuckles.

"Yes you are a good student aren't you?" "Well why don't you go back to class now and say that I have let you off" he says with a dismissive smile.

"Yes sir, but I don't think he'll take that, he'll say something like "don't tell lies! You've got detention next Friday after school, and I don't care if you have to work or not! You can call in and say you've got school you can't miss, they'll understand"" sir chuckled again.

"Well in that case go back and say that I need to speak with him" he dismissed me and went back to talking on the phone.

"Yes Mr Shibuya, when can I expect you?"

Shibuya? Shibuya? He doesn't mean Nary does he?

Naru's POV

Did Mai's head teacher just say she was a good student? Did she just say she was the only one in the class who can and has finished the work? Did the head agree with her? Oh yes, Mai's potentially a straight A student, why doesn't she say when Yasu or I call her stupid? Yes she's naive but stupid? Ah well she is, no matter what her report card says. I picked up my bags signalled to Lin and then we were off.

"You can expect me in three days. I would appreciate it if you don't tell Mai Taniyama about this."

"Well of course but I can't guarantee that she won't find out, she's a bright child and can find out anything that is going on at school, sometimes she knows more about the school than the staff." The head told me.

"One more question, does Mai and her friends still tell ghost stories after school?" I want to know this; I need to know this piece of information.

"Yes, sometimes she quite scares her friends with her stories and her 'creepy voice'" the head chuckled, again. I guess he really likes Mai.

Contradiction to common belief in Japan, I only went to England to visit my adoptive family, go to my brothers funeral, take a few cases, and to tell everyone in England that I was permanently moving to live in Japan and was reopening SPR. I hope everyone will want their jobs back, especially Mai. Her tea is the best, and I strangely like having her around, no matter how annoying she could be. I find that I miss her getting annoyed with me for being rude and never saying thank you. The way she could get easily flustered. Her stubborn attitude. The smile that I loved but dreaded so much as it did things to me. Her... NO! STOP THINKING LIKE THIS NARU! YOU LEFT SHE'S NOT GOING TO WANT YOU ANYMORE! Did I just refer to myself as Naru? Damn she must have got to me. I must admit Naru does sound better than Noll. I put the phone down and resumed packing. I wonder how big of a shock it will be to her when she sees me at her school.