Theatre Wars
Chapter 1: Reboot
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ghost Hunt.
Gentle Reminder: This is a sequel which follows from Fortune's Wheel and while I am not fussed with the order in which readers read (I for one read Lord of the Rings out of order) do please note that I've built esp Mai and Naru's relationship around the ending of the prequel to this fic.
The clock is ticking. I glare at the offending object on my desk in SPR. "Why can't you go faster," I grumble at it when Naru walks out of his room, a stack of files under one arm. "If you feel bored Mai, don't hesitate to ask for more work," he says as he drops the entire lot in front of me. I sigh. Jerk.
"Oh, and Mai? Tea."
Ugh.
"You could say 'please', you know."
No reply. Not that I am expecting any from that arrogant narcissist. I flop onto the desk and stretch out over the new pile of paper with a groan. An empty silence greets me. Lin has gone out and nobody has seemed inclined to drop by (as they do on a seemingly regular basis). Even Masako, who seizes every opportunity she has to lure Naru out of his den-like office isn't here. Perhaps the blazing sun outside has prevented her from stepping out for fear of ruining her complexion? Though I have my back to the window, I can feel the warm afternoon streaming in behind me and when I close my eyes, hear children laughing in the playground opposite.
"Stifling, more like," I continue to myself. Why do I have to be stuck in here on a day like this?"
Naru's door opens again and he glowers at me. "Where is my tea?"
"Hai, hai," I mumble, still glued to my desk. Naru waits a few seconds and when I haven't moved, he sighs, a single light fluid action. I roll my eyes. Only that narcissist could make sighing look so attractive. "It's not fair," I whine. "It's too nice today."
His eyes flicker briefly to the window. Momentarily, the bright blue of the sky outside is caught in his gaze and I reflected sadly how even that is not a patch on the deep periwinkle of his eyes. His voice, however, is cold. "Do I have to remind you that I pay you to do your job regardless of the weather?"
"Yes boss, I mean, no boss," I reply and finally peel myself from the table. "Getting your tea now boss."
The phone rings and we look at each other. "Your tea will be done faster if you answer your own calls," I say, trying for a bribe. To my surprise, he actually complies, though he gives me one of his warning looks as he disappears back into his den – I mean – office. Hah! I think, smirking when his back is turned. Naru would probably never acknowledge his weakness for tea, not even if he was hit on the head with a bag of his favourite Assam. I smile wanly into the kettle, wondering if I haven't been fired only because I happen to be the only source capable of providing him his tea fix. Reaching for the tin of tightly rolled dried leaves with practiced ease, I consider our 'relationship' as it currently stood.
Since my rashness in declaring my love for him a second time, things have gone back to normal. I don't talk about it. Naru doesn't make any mention of it. With the amount of attention I receive from him you'll think I'm no different from the artificial potted plant in the corner of the office. In fact, for the past three weeks, I've seen more of his yellow memos than the man himself. Even Lin, who is taciturn to the point of exaggeration, has spoken more words to me than he has the entire month. Forget it, Mai. I give myself a mental shake. Even if I paraded on his desk in a bunnygirl outfit, he would only lower his book to say, "Mai, get off my desk before you ruin it permanently with your six-inch heels."
I had barely begun filling the kettle with water when Naru comes into the kitchen, shrugging on a light jacket as he did so. "What's this about six-inch heels?"
I squawk and nearly drop the kettle. Naru raised one elegant eyebrow as he leaned against the counter watching me. "Get your coat."
"Huh?"
He smirks at me. "Surely you've the brains to follow such simple instructions."
"Aren't you in a good mood today," I say as I place it back on the counter and wipe my hands. "Don't you want the tea anymore?" More importantly, weren't you avoiding me?
"I can't keep the clients waiting."
"You're going to meet the client? The ones from the theatre?"
"Yes, Mai. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out."
"But why?" I persist as I follow him to the entrance.
"On a day like this when we could be going outside?" he mocks.
"Very funny." I mutter sourly though I am privately glad that he is at least speaking more normally to me again and I silently thanked the forces that dropped this case on us. Naru can't very well ignore me forever. "What about Lin?"
"He'll be coming to fetch us in a few minutes."
Well, so much for the day out. In a matter of minutes I'll be shut in an enclosed vehicle with two of the most reticent men on earth.
"Mai."
"Hai?" I answer, watching him curiously.
"Before Lin arrives…" he trails off hesitantly. "What happened at the theme park shouldn't affect our working relationship on this case."
I nod my agreement despite my puzzlement. Whatever does he mean by that?
"It's a potentially dangerous case. People have gotten injured."
"I understand," I say coldly, bristling at the underlying implications of his warning. "Clumsy me will take note." He stares at me pointedly. "I mean it Mai," he replies, his voice softening abruptly.
Eh? This is so unlike him that for a moment I am convinced he has been possessed.
"No, I've not been possessed," he says coolly. I scowl at him and he smirks. "You have been spacing out more than is usual, even for you. Have you been thinking about what I've said?"
It's a shame. If he knew just exactly how much time I've devoted to turning over and over that little conversation, his ego would have a field day. I grit my teeth and answer sharply, "No."
"You're a very poor liar." There is a hard edge under the artfully careless comment and I know I need to tread carefully.
"Ok, so I have been," I acquiesce. Acquiesce. A word I had no doubt picked up from being around Naru too much. The thought worries me and I start down the stairs instinctively, suddenly wanting very much to be away from him. Unfortunately, he trails after me. "Relax, Naru. I know better than to moon over your face on a case…" I start to say, only to have him cutting off my escape route when he steps in front of me. Standing as I am on a higher step, I can look directly into his face instead of craning as I have to usually. "After all this time, do you think I can't read you? It's of course made easier by how you wear your heart on your sleeve."
Of course. Unlike somebody's permanently bland expression, I must be an easy read. The thought is somehow frustrating and I glare back, anger rising like a hot bubble.
"Naru. I don't hope to be your girlfriend. In fact, I pity the girl who is. You don't do romance. I can take that. But you are an idiot if you think anyone fancies you because of your arrogance."
Ahh! I shouldn't have said that. Not that it wasn't uncalled for, but I shouldn't have been rude either. I can feel my own face heat up and I flinch instinctively, prepared for a sharp rebuke. To my surprise, nothing happens in the next few seconds and I risk opening one eye.
He is at the bottom of the stairs, his expression unreadable. "That may very well be a good thing," he says when I pass him. Which – had he meant his arrogance or that he doesn't want a girlfriend?
Mercifully, I am spared standing around him for too long as Lin drives up in the new car. He looks askance at the sight of us but doesn't say anything. Knowing what a mother hen he actually is, I'm quite sure that Naru won't be getting away though. Naru turns around when I snort and gives me an inquiring look. "It's nothing," I smirk as I get in, though not before Naru unceremoniously dumps two folders on me first. So this was why I had so little paperwork. Naru has been hogging them. "
Here, take these. The client faxed them over last week," he announces smugly as I groan at the amount of data in them. "Do you really expect me to read all of these during the ride?" I complain.
"Don't flatter yourself Mai. Your level of intelligence won't be able to understand it."
I sigh, trying to get my mind away from Naru and onto the case instead. "Then…"
"As such, for your benefit, I will summarize the contents."
Right… Resisting the urge to throw Naru over the roof of the black vehicle, I slide into the comfortable leather seat, tucking the files tidily beside me. He clears his throat.
"Our client, or perhaps I ought to say, clients, are the Aoi Amateur Theatre Company and Ichibara Theatre Group and have a long standing rivalry with each other. In an effort to reconcile their differences, the heads of the respective companies decided to produce a double bill together. However, shortly after moving in to rehearse on location at the Ginsui Theatre, both groups claim to have become targets of curses which have been occurring in increasing intensity and frequency."
Naru flips a page of his own (much slimmer) black file as he gazes briefly out of the window. We are driving past wide open fields now and he goes back to his notes. "The real problem, however, is that both groups claim the other to be the culprit behind the curses."
"Whoa," I breathe. "Sounds complicated without even involving ghosts yet."
Naru hands me a blue clipboard with a clean sheet of paper. "Yes, which is why when we reach, I expect you to interview all the members of both groups."
"Hai…" I mutter, unhappy at the prospect of more work.
As we drive on, the skyscrapers gradually gave way to factory blocks and then scraps of empty green spaces full of unkempt grasses before opening into tamed fields of yellow mustard in bloom stretching out in an unbroken sea to the clear blue sky. At first, I had looked outside eagerly. But then, when after an hour had passed and the mustard fields stretch on, I yawn, drifting off to sleep just as Lin turned into a smaller path jutting off the main road.
"Mai."
Blinking sleepily I looked up as Naru's face swam into focus and I smiled vaguely when I caught a whiff of his cologne. He eyes me impassively and then turns away.
"People might think you are mentally inept with that expression you have on."
My second of bliss evaporates and I scowl at his retreating back. Jerk.
Ah, and Mai has been mean this chapter and Naru retreats... for now anyway. I'm concerned they've been OOC but this chapter has been lurking in my laptop so long it'll grow mouldy soon. I'll tweak anything if it seems suspiciously off.