"Mai. Tea." The voice of Kazuya Shibuya drifted from his office.
"Okay! Tea for everyone, too, except for Bou-san?" Mai Taniyama looked expectantly at the others.
The Irregulars, the part-time receptionist, and the Chinese sorcerer slowly nodded as she hurried to the kitchenette.
The light banters that the black-suited president and his assistant exchanged at least ten times a day was a daily routine and was considered a trademark of the company. It was therefore painfully obvious and undeniably unnerving when the provoke-and-retaliate interactions stopped, such that the rest of the team shot each other baffled and explanation-demanding looks, to which everyone else responded with a confused shrug.
"Oi. What's happening here?" Houshou Takigawa leaned in and whispered. "Jou-chan didn't even complain." Koujo Lin hovered behind him.
"Maybe Mai-san was simply in a good mood today?" John Brown suggested, unconvinced.
"Maybe Mai finally gave up on Naru." Masako Hara whispered behind her kimono sleeve.
Ayako Matsuzaki scoffed at the last statement. "Dream on, Masako. Mai's not one to give up easily, you know?" The psychic medium huffed in reply.
"Maybe…" Everyone eyed Osamu Yasuhara, and he continued in a low voice, "Maybe it's a case we have to investigate?" They all looked at each other with new purpose.
"You're right, shounen. Okay. Ayako and Masako will confront Mai about it." Takigawa pointed to the shrine maiden seated on his left and the celebrity medium sitting in front of him across the table. "John, shounen, we observe the two and see what happens next." The two young men nodded. "Lin." He turned to the older man behind him.
Lin nodded. "I understand. I will observe Naru."
"That'll be a great help."
The part-time receptionist smiled. They had not received interesting requests for some weeks now, and it was about time they started working on a case.
"What're you guys talking about? Did someone finally bring us a request?" The unaware client handed them their drinks then headed for the president's office to hand the president his.
"Nah, it's an easy case. Not everyone's needed," the monk attempted at nonchalance. She hummed as her attention moved to her fellow part-timer. "Oh, right, Yasu, I left a reference book at your place."
"Ah, I'll give it to you tomorrow."
Osamu Yasuhara believed that solving this particular case was a group task, and he took it for granted that the group included him. But the next afternoon, his claim was harshly invalidated.
"My, everyone, why do you look like you saw a dirty old man?" He greeted the severe looks of most of the Irregulars and the blank look of Lin-san.
"Oh, I don't know, sweetie. Maybe because you are?" Matsuzaki-san retorted.
"And what does that make you, Ayako?" Takigawa-san risked. A purse came flying in response.
"Is Mai here yet?" The receptionist asked as he placed his bag under his desk. The others reluctantly shook their heads. "Great! Matsuzaki-san, Hara-san, have either of you talked to her already?" His eyes sparkled in interest. "What did she say? Had she and Big Boss finally reached a new stage?"
When silence ensued and everyone, even Lin-san, looked everywhere but his direction, his mind instantaneously reached a groundless but obviously valid conclusion. His spectacles reflected the setting sun as he adjusted them. Something drastic had happened. They all knew what it was. And they were not planning on telling him outright.
"I see."
He had to hold his own investigation.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters.