~ Bookends ~
Halloween Edition
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ghost Hunt
This is dedicated to Emina105 who wanted to see a sequel of sorts to Bookends. Hope you enjoy it if you're reading this!
1. The Night Before
"So… do you prefer the mini purple hats or the black spiders?" The girl with the soft brown bob tilted her head to one side as she considered the long chain of shiny ornaments.
"Hmm…" she murmured, evidently undecided. Takigawa Houshou chuckled.
"What?" she asked in a mock-threatening tone. He smirked.
"I can see why good ol' Naru likes you. You look so adorable when you're thinking." Mai threw a packet of orange streamers at him.
"Oi, oi. Be careful! That's my boyfriend up on that ladder," a voice warned from the entrance.
"Ayako!" Mai grinned and waved as the President of the Library Board sauntered in. She surveyed the half-decorated room critically. Most of the senior staff had remained behind after hours to decorate the library in preparation of the seasonal celebrations. As a result, unlike its usual scrupulously tidy appearance, the General Reading Room of the National Library had been turned into an unkempt mess of craft apparatuses, coloured streamers and glitter while a skeleton even graced the main desk.
"How do you like it so far?" the younger girl asked anxiously.
"It's not bad," Ayako said as she draped herself lazily onto a nearby couch.
"I'm exhausted," she whined as Takigawa climbed down from his precarious perch.
"I'll get you some tea," he offered. Madoka looked up from consulting a list and smiled empathetically at her.
"Bad day?" she enquired. The red haired woman sighed. "The usual. The board's still quibbling over upgrading the computer system." She tossed her hair over her shoulder casually.
"So, what have I been missing?" she asked as she accepted the steaming cup of tea from Takigawa, who went to sit next to her.
"Hmm, we still have to put up all the ornaments, move some of the tables for the caterers…" John rattled off the list before shrugging helplessly. "Nothing's really done because we've just started."
Ayako looked at her watch and frowned. "The children's festivities start tomorrow! We don't have all night," she nagged.
"Hai, hai. And that's why we, the significant others are here to help out, right?" Takigawa announced with a wink at Mai, who blushed furiously.
"Naru and I aren't exactly dating," she protested. Most of the party present made noises of disbelief.
"Aww, come on… You know how busy both our schedules are, right, Lin-san?" she asked, appealing to the stoic security head. Lin, who was typing away busily at his laptop, paused. Swivelling round on his chair, he looked right at her.
"In that's the case, what would you call the dinner you were both having together at the coffee house opposite last week?"
She scowled around the room as they broke into giggles. "Come on, Mai. There's no need to be shy. What're your plans for Halloween?"
"Uh… helping out here?"
"I meant afterwards, with Naru," Madoka said, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "Nothing," she retorted airily before stalking over to help John untangle a string of sparkly silver stars.
Two hours later, as they were putting the finishing touches to the room, Naru and Yasuhara both came in, laden down with snacks and various kinds of candy in preparation of the week long festivities.
"We got loads of stuff. Toffee apples, pumpkin candies, licorice sticks, you name it we probably have it," Yasuhara said as he put the cartons down on one of the reading tables.
Meanwhile, Naru had discovered another sort of skeleton, specifically the kind that was occupying his chair. "What. Is. That?" he demanded with a jerk of his chin in the direction of the bony frame which had a placard with the word WORKAHOLIC strung around its neck and a plastic mug in fleshless hand. "
Eheh… It was Mai's idea," Takigawa said nervously. Mai glared at him. Coward!
"I didn't add that placard!" she huffed. Naru however only raised an eyebrow at her.
"Where am I supposed to sit tomorrow then?" She wheeled another desk chair over.
"You could share?" she asked in what she hoped was a mollifying tone. An evil look crossed his face and Mai gulped when he leaned over the desk to gaze intently at her eyes.
"Or," he announced loudly, "I could sit on your lap tomorrow when you're giving out the candy."
Flushing beetroot red and speechless, Mai backpedalled into the couch. Naru smirked before disappearing into the safety of his office as Yasuhara, Takigawa and Madoka tittered appreciatively. "Hey Mai, I thought you said you two weren't dating," Takigawa sniggered as he held back the flustered girl.
"We aren't! Naruuuuu! You jerk! Come back down and help! Just because you don't like holidays doesn't mean you can hole yourself up there!" she hollered on having found her voice again. "Oh leave him be," Ayako said. "We're almost done anyway. All that's left are the costumes." She looked pointedly at them. "And, I expect everyone to take part this year."
Author notes: I've written out the whole thing already and will be posting them once a day or so up till Halloween this weekend. Enjoy!