Hey guys! For those of you who read my stories, thank you for your continued support and I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to post anything. I've had very serious personal events occur and a hectic school schedule that just wasn't conducive to writing. Right now I'm trying to deal with my parents splitting and I discovered writing makes me happy so here I am! Back in business, baby! Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Oh, and make sure to review and tell me what you think!
~Case 1 - A Mother's Love - Part 1~
Mai's eyes snapped open with a gasp. She looked up at the onmyouji who sat across from her. He looked at her calmly and gave her a small, comforting smile. "What did you see, Mai?"
She glanced down sadly at the diamond ring she had pinched between her slim fingers. "The owner was a woman- I think she around her late 30's, but I'm not sure- and she had a fight with her fiance. She threw her ring at him and ran out, but because she was so angry she didn't look to see where she was going when she crossed the street. She walked straight into traffic."
Lin looked at her and tilted his head. "That's spot on, Mai. Good job. I told you you'd be a natural."
Mai beamed. "Thanks! I'm glad I'm getting better," She held the ring out to him.
"You were never bad," He smiled reassuringly and patted her knee. "You can keep that ring, if you'd like. Madoka gave it to me to help you. She won't be wanting it back."
Mai gaped. "Are you sure? I think it's all real. It's got to be worth a lot."
"I'm positive," Lin stood up and held a hand out to her.
She took it and pulled herself up with an extra excited bounce. "Thank you so much!" She squealed and threw her arms around his neck, tensing as she realized she wasn't quite sure if she was crossing a line of some kind and relaxing when Lin only laughed and gave her a half-hug in return.
Mai stepped back after a moment, a huge grin on her face. "Well, time to do paperwork," She sang, slipping the old ring onto her right middle finger. She gave Lin a parting wave as she left his office.
It had been nearly 5 months since Naru had gotten out of the hospital- meaning it had also been nearly 5 months since SPR had had their last case. Naru kept insisting the cases were far too dull for him to waste his time on, but Mai was beginning to suspect that he'd take any case because any ghost, no matter how boring, was still more interesting than the office.
Still, although the office and office work were tedious Mai was getting along better with both Lin and Naru than she ever had. She had been worried after the first couple weeks of no cases that the three of them constantly being together in such a small space for so long would make her relationship with them even more strained than it already was, and was extraordinarily surprised and pleased to find it had the opposite effect.
Lin had been a bit more cordial to Mai after the Urado case, but she wouldn't go so far as to say they were "friends". Subsequently, Mai was dubious when Naru suggested that Lin work with Mai to try to develop her psychic abilities. Spending hours every day with a man she was fairly sure didn't like her sounded like an uncomfortable situation in general. Lin had agreed, though, so she went through with it.
The first few sessions had been awkward and tense, but after a while they grew more comfortable around each other. Now they talked and laughed together, and Mai knew that they had morphed from a casual co-worker acquaintance into something that was like what she had with the rest of their group- familial.
And then there was Naru. The more time they spent together, the more Naru was willing to talk to her. They talked to each other before, of course, but this was more banter-like. More...friend-like. He teased her constantly (of course he did- how could anyone expect any different?), but there seemed to be a kinder tone behind it now than there was. Naru even came out and did his work in the main room with her on days when he wasn't too busy. Mai smiled fondly at the thought.
"Naru?" Mai called as she rapped her knuckles against his office door. "Do you want some tea?"
There was a short pause before Naru opened his door to her. "Yes," He said with a handful of files in one fist.
"Okay," She turned and walked to the kitchen, poking her head into Lin's office as she passed. "Tea, Lin?"
"Please," Mai nodded and closed the door again. She glanced over her shoulder to see Naru right behind her.
She grabbed a teakettle and began filling it with water. "We have a client coming in today."
"I know. In about an hour, actually," Naru leaned against the counter next to her and flipped through a file.
"Are you going to take it?" Mai reached into the cupboard and grabbed two containers of tea. She held them out to him.
"Earl Grey," He gestured to a jar. "I don't know. The case seemed interesting on the phone, but then so have the others that have contacted us recently."
"Yeah, but anything's better than just sitting in here all day," She complained, facing him while the water boiled. Naru smirked.
"Are you implying that our company is unfavorable?" Mai rolled her eyes.
"I'm implying that you need to redecorate the office. Do you know how boring it is to look at the same solid-color walls everyday?"
"This is an office," Naru reminded. "Wallpaper with flowers on it would hardly be appropriate."
The teakettle whistled and Mai turned to finish the tea. "I'm not saying flowers!" She giggled. "Although I do have some pretty pictures at home..."
"Mai, if you come into this office and attempt to hang anything up on my walls, you will be fired on the spot," Naru warned. Mai caught the amused quirk of his eyebrow and smirked.
"Yes sir, Mr. Big Bad Boss sir," She handed him his tea and gave a mock salute, receiving an eye roll in return. Mai took the remaining cups in each hand.
Naru trailed behind her as she walked to Lin's office to deliver the tea. "Earl Grey," She informed him matter-of-factly. She was halfway out the door when the bell attached to the front door rang.
Mai balked, looking frantically between the door and the cup. "They're too early! Um..." Mai eyed her cup of tea. After a second of thought she thrust it into Naru's hands, ignoring him as he struggled to balance the two full cups and the files. "Hold this!" She told him unnecessarily before rushing to the front door.
"Hi, welcome to SPR. How can-Guys!" Mai yelped when saw who it was at the door. She ran and threw her arms around Ayako and Monk.
"Hi Mai," Ayako smiled at her and gave her a tight squeeze. "It's been a while!"
"Yeah, way too long!" Monk agreed. He stepped back and gave her a playful glare. "Why haven't you been calling us?"
"We haven't had any cases since the last one we went on together!" Mai defended as Naru walked into the room.
"Mai, I am not your table," He glared. He held out his files which had her tea sat on top of them.
"Sorry," She winced apologetically and took the cup from him to set it down on the more conventional table. "I'll go get you guys some tea too, give me a second."
After everyone had their tea and were sitting comfortably on the couch, Naru looked at the two visitors. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to find out why we haven't been contacted in forever!" Ayako scolded.
"Together?" Mai grinned teasingly.
The adults both flushed but chose to ignore the comment. "We were talking and when we found out neither of us had heard from you we decided to come see what was going on," Monk said.
"So you haven't talked to Masako in 5 months?" Ayako asked, brushing off her embarrassment with a cough and flip of the hair. "She must be worked into a tizzy."
Naru shrugged, looking largely unconcerned with the idea. "She'll get over it."
"We have a client coming today," Mai said, redirecting the conversation. She looked at the clock. "They should be here really soon."
"A perfect reason for you to leave," Naru added.
Monk waved a dismissive hand at Naru. "We aren't leaving. The client won't care that a couple extra people are hanging around."
Mai grinned happily as Naru opened his mouth to protest. Before he could, the door opened with a jingle.
"Um, is this Shibuya Psychic Research?" A middle-aged man asked. Mai stood up and gave him a brilliant smile, well aware of the glower Naru was aiming at their friends behind her.
"Yep, that's us! SPR for short. Are you Tai Oita?" He nodded and Mai led the man to the chair she had been sitting at and handed him a cup of tea. She went and informed Lin that the client was there before going and standing behind Naru.
"Mr. Oita," Naru began once Lin sat down and opened his laptop. "When did you first begin noticing the activity?"
The man scratched his head. "I believe we began noticing activity about a month after we bought the house, so that would have been around four months ago." Naru nodded.
"And what is the nature of the activity?" Naru asked.
"My wife..." Tai began, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and tried again. "My wife Sei. Someone- no, something keeps attacking her."
Naru leaned forward interestedly. "What's happened?"
"Well, it started out relatively small. She mentioned a couple times that she thought she heard crying when no one was home and that she'd walked into the kitchen to find containers had been knocked over but our kids swore it wasn't them At first we just thought it was all in her her head and that the kids fibbed, but it got worse. Her hair kept being pulled and things would just fly at her when she walked by. Once she felt hands lightly squeezing her throat. She said it didn't hurt but for someone reason she felt like it was a threat. More than once she's been playing with our children and something pushed her and locked her into a room alone. And then..." The mans's voice got caught in his throat. He paused a moment to pull himself back together and took a deep breath before starting again. "Yesterday she was pushed down the stairs. I just can't imagine would've happened if I hadn't caught her." Tai looked up at Naru desperately. "We live in a big house, Mr. Shibuya, that flight of stairs is enormous."
The room was silent for a moment, save the clicks from Lin's rapid typing. Mai watched as Naru rested his chin on his fist and looked at the wall contemplatively. A few seconds passed and then Naru looked up to meet the man's gaze.
"We'll take your case. We will be able to arrive around noon tomorrow and once we're here we will need at least two bedrooms and another to set up our equipment in. Is that doable?"
"Of course! They'll be ready by the time you all get there." Tai stood up, positively beaming and shook Naru's hand. "Thank you so much! You have no idea what a relief this is."
The group in the main office were quiet while Mai led Tai out the door. As soon as the door closed, Mai, Monk, and Ayako jumped up and cheered. "Thank you!" Mai exclaimed, practically glowing in her excitement. "It's been so long!"
Naru shook his head at the three he called co-workers. "Mai, inform Yasuhara, Ms. Hara, and Father Brown that we have a case," He ordered, picking up his work and retreating to the sanctity of his office.
"You got it boss!
Woo hoo! First chapter of our new story is up! I'm pretty happy with how it is right now; I spent an insane amount of time going through and editing and I really liked how it turned out. But, it's not just my opinion that matters! Please review and tell me what you thought about it! Say what you liked, what you didn't like, what made you laugh, etc. because I am writing this for you guys and your feedback is what drives me and helps me grow! Thanks so much for reading! I love you guys!