Chapter One – Introduction.
Okay so this is going to be a series of one-shots which will all be written from prompt words. I currently have a list of 100 prompt words so that is my aim for this story. All stories will be NaruXMai.
Each story will be different and they will not necessarily follow a chronological timescale. Certain characters (OCs) that are mentioned in certain chapter may not exist in other chapters.
I hope you enjoy reading.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ghost Hunt, any characters, plot points or settings used are property of the original owner, I just mess around with them.
Prompt 001: INTRODUCTION
Thinking back now to the day that they'd met, Mai realised that her and Naru had never achieved a proper introduction.
When he had introduced himself to her friends she hadn't been listening, instead thinking about how his fake smile didn't reach his eyes and how strange the way he spoke about himself was.
Yet now, she realised, a formal introduction hadn't been necessary because she'd still managed to fall in love with him anyway.
She had, of course, introduced herself to him upon meeting for the second time, it had been the polite thing to do yet he never seemed to call her by her family name, it was always 'Mai'.
Maybe she had loved him right from the start, though if you asked her now she wouldn't be able to give an honest answer. She'd loved him for so long that she was unable to pinpoint the exact point at which she had fallen.
She had fallen hard. It had been difficult being around him at times, his personality being stoic and silent at best and at his worst he was cold and uncaring.
Despite this, if you asked her what she liked about him, she'd be able to write a book about it.
When he'd found out that she could see Gene, he'd jumped to the conclusion that she loved him instead. That had been one of the most painful times in Mai's life, having to wait for 2 whole years before he decided to return.
Once again given the chance to prove her feelings, Mai had been relentless in her pursuit of the stoic man.
It had taken time but slowly, his stoic exterior began to crack, showing more and more of his true personality. The one that Mai had seen shining through all along.
Even when they started dating "officially" he still treated her as he would any other employee. He constantly asked her for tea and berated her for slacking off when she should be working.
The major difference now was that she could see the way his eyes softened when he spoke to her and when he berated her, his tone always had a teasing lilt to it, emphasising that he was indeed enjoying her company.
Like any normal relationship, theirs had been far from perfect. They often fought over menial things which had lead to more than their fair share of anger and tears.
Somehow, Mai knew though, that a proper introduction at the beginning would have done nothing to change that fact.
The way in which Naru had decided to introduce himself was nothing more than a clear reflection of his true personality and Mai wouldn't have had it any other way.
It had been said that an introduction was much like a first impression in that it could shape your relationship with a person for the rest of your life. Mai's first impression of Naru hadn't exactly been a good one, he had come across as cold, uncaring, rude and pompous; yet Mai couldn't seem to fault him for that fact.
He had come to Japan is search of his twin brothers body. A grim prospect; having to search for somebody who you'd seen die right before your eyes and who was very dear to you in life.
Having met both of the twins; one through her dreams and the other with her own eyes, Mai knew that the two where well and truly separate people.
They may look as identical as it was possible to look, yet the two had so many differences that Mai wasn't sure how anybody could possibly mistake one for the other.
Mai's introduction to Gene had been almost as strange as Naru's.
She'd spent months believing that she was in seeing her boss in her dreams, only to find out that it was in fact his twin brother.
The reason for which had become apparent when Naru made the decision to return to England immediately after Mai had revealed the location of the boys body.
Yet Gene hadn't moved on when his body was put to rest, instead returning to Mai's dreams. This had confused not only her but Gene as well.
When Naru returned two years later his personality hadn't changed at all, this both relieved and aggravated Mai.
He still treated her as though she was beneath him despite the fact that in this span of time she had graduated high school and gone on to study parapsychology at college.
When SPR reformed Mai was relieved to have her family once again together and she wouldn't admit it aloud but she also enjoyed being able to make Naru his tea again.
His return however brought about yet another sour introduction. This time as Oliver Davis instead of Kazuya Shibuya.
It seemed as though Naru just didn't have a way with words, sure he was the most intelligent person she knew but he really didn't know how to talk to people when it came to emotions.
His second introduction was a simple tilt of the head in acknowledgement of her presence and the words "I have returned, not as Kazuya Shibuya but as Oliver Davis. I do not know why I am telling you this as I know you will continue to call me Naru no matter what I say."
It had almost seemed as though Naru was trying to erase his past as Kazuya Shibuya and instead pretend that this was his first time stepping foot on Japanese soil.
In the past 3 years since they had gotten together, they had faced many challenges and struggles...
Mai was pulled out of her musing as she heard the front door close gently.
She turned to se Naru hanging his coat and removing his shoes. Approaching him from behind, she wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear "We never did introduce ourselves properly, I'm Mai", she said.
He turned and opened his mouth to speak, "Oliv..." he stopped as his mouth turned up into its normal smirk "Naru" he finished.
Thank you for reading the first chapter of 'Reflection of a Mask' and I hope you enjoyed it. I will try to make all of the one-shots of a similar length.
Please leave me a review to let me know what you think
I will be updating 'Of Love and Loss' again soon so keep your eyes open.
Saika-Chan Xxx