When Mai came into work that evening, the last thing she expected to find was a small boy sitting on the sofa.

"Uh…" She looked around the office. Surely there had to be a parent or a guardian? But the room was empty.

The boy looked surprised to see her too, blue eyes widening as he looked up from a thick book that seemed way too advanced for his grade level. Not to mention, judging from the cover, it was likely an English parapsychology book borrowed from the office.

"Hi, there," she said kindly, approaching him. "Where's your mommy or daddy?"

The boy didn't answer. He looked about seven or eight years old, and now that Mai saw him closer, she realized that he was absolutely adorable. He had black hair, long eyelashes, and fine features, with just a bit of baby fat in his cheeks to balance it all out.

Actually, he looked a lot like Naru, now that she thought of it. But just young enough that she felt seriously tempted to squeeze his cheeks or give him a big hug.

"Are you here alone?"

Still no answer. He just stared up at her, eyes wide.

Mai tilted her head. "Can you speak Japanese?"

The boy hesitated, before finally opening his mouth. "A little…" he squeaked.

Oh, he was so cute she could barely stand it.

"I'm Mai. What's your name?"

"N…" He hesitated again. "…Neil. Neil Griffith."

A foreigner then. "Nice to meet you, Neil-kun! Do you know where your parents are?"

"…Away."

"Away?"

"Not here." He looked away.

Now she was really at a loss. What was this kid doing here? Was he a client? Did he come by himself?

Thankfully, the door to the reference room then opened, and Lin came out. He froze. "T-Taniyama-san. You shouldn't be here."

"I shouldn't?"

"I believe I left you a message. That you don't need to come in this evening."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry! My phone ran out of battery! By the way, who's this?" She gestured to Neil. "Does Naru know there's a child here?"

"Naru…is not here."

"Huh?"

"He left for England this morning."

"Whaaat?! So suddenly?! Why?!"

"He was summoned by SPR for urgent business. I'm afraid he will not be returning for quite some time, and we will not be taking any cases for the time being either."

"Bummer," she said, then glanced at Neil. "So, uh…about this boy…"

"Ah, yes." Lin coughed. Was he sweating? "This is…"

"Neil Griffith," Neil muttered.

"Yes. Neil Griffith. He is…Naru's long lost cousin. From America."

"I thought they looked alike!" Mai gasped. "But what is he doing here?

"His parents just recently passed away, and Naru was discovered to be his only remaining blood relative. So he was sent here to be looked after, for the time being. Unfortunately, Naru had to leave soon after he arrived…"

"That's horrible!" She looked down at Neil again. Poor thing. "So you're an orphan too, huh…" she said, kneeling next to him.

The boy nodded uncertainly.

And she'd asked about his parents earlier. That was so insensitive. Mai began to tear up. "I'm sorry. This must be really difficult for you. And Naru having to leave, now of all times…" She sniffled, wiping her eyes.

But in the next moment, she balled her hands into fists determinedly and stood up. "But don't worry! Big Sis Mai is here! I'll look after you while Naru is away!"

"Taniyama-san, that would be quite unnecessary," Lin cut in hastily. "We have already arranged for Na—Neil to stay with me for now."

"Oh, really? That's great! Well, I guess I wouldn't be able to take care of him either, I'm barely getting by as it is…" She scratched her cheek. "But if you ever need anything while you're here, don't be afraid to ask! Okay?" She smiled down at Neil.

The boy sighed and nodded.

Naru couldn't believe this was happening. He currently sat in Mai's lap while she read a children's book to him. How did this happen.

Mai paused in her storytelling to take a sip of tea. How he longed for tea. Mai only served him milk now. Why did she assume that because he was a child, he only drank milk? The nerve of her.

The front door to the office opened and they heard familiar voices.

"Hey, everyone! What's up— whoa!" Monk froze in the doorway. "Who's that?"

Ayako was right behind him. She let out a large gasp. "Oh my god, Mai! Please don't tell me you had a kid! Is it Naru's?!"

Mai spat tea all over her book. Oh, disgusting.

"What?!" she screeched, red-faced. "Of course not! Why would you even think that?!"

Naru plugged his ears with his fingers while the three of them screamed and bellowed until the misunderstanding was cleared. How tiresome.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, Neil," Mai cooed afterward. "Did we scare you?"

On the other hand, he was starting to see some advantages to being in this state. Naru sniffled pitifully. "A little…"

"Awwww," said all three people in the room.

"I'm so sorry! We'll try to be more quiet, okay?"

Miracles upon miracles. Dare he try his luck? "I-I'm feeling a little cold too…may I have something warm to drink?"

"Of course! I'll heat up your milk right away!"

NO.

"Can I have something else?"

"Hot cocoa?"

Could she not take a hint?

"I want a grown up drink," he frowned.

"Kiddo, I think you're a bit young for coffee," Monk chuckled.

Tea, dammit! TEA.

"Honestly, you're both hopeless," Ayako sighed. "Mai, don't you have any blankets around here?"

"I'll get one!"

And that was how Naru found himself bundled up in a warm blanket.

"Feeling better now?" Mai beamed.

There were quite a few things he would have liked to say then, but all would betray his identity. So Naru just sighed.

"What's wrong? Are you sad? Are you hungry? Do you want me to get you something?"

"Mai, you're smothering him," Monk pointed out. "Just let him be."

"B-but he's in a foreign country and Naru left him and he just lost his parents!"

"Shh, don't remind him!"

"Mai, calm down!"

"You don't know what it's like!"

Mai began wailing and the other two began shouting. Naru wanted to plug his ears again, but his arms were weighed down by the heavy blanket covering him.

He was starting to get a headache.

Naru took a deep breath. "You're all scaring me WAAAAAHHHHHH!"

And like magic, they shushed each other into silence.

Perhaps this wouldn't be entirely awful after all.

Note: Ten years ago, I wrote a brief one shot for Fullmetal Alchemist with the premise of Detective Conan, where Ed was shrunk. And now, I am doing the exact same thing, but for Ghost Hunt. I guess this just proves that this premise never gets old!

To be continued...?