Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.
"Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler."
I-Thoughts
He sat on a chair in the corner of the office, with his back in a perfect posture, a cup with it's content half emptied in his hand and a monotonous look on his face. His fingers stuck to a single page of a whole bunch of papers, which seemed important. His eyes on the scribbled text on the paper, his mind elsewhere, he slowly sipped tea from the cup held tightly in his hand.
Enjoying the tea made by his assistant, the few last remaining thoughts of his surroundings disappeared. Instead, his concealed thoughts of his unconscious mind began to surface. He began to think of those moments that gave rise to those irritated and unanswered feelings. The source of all these unanswered feelings integrated together, was just one person. The person who was so close to him, yet so far from knowing his feelings. His true feelings, that is.
He was hopeless with women, his good looks attracted them; his uncaring demeanor pushed them far away. And yet he was not really unsociable. He longed for companionship and sympathy that any man would crave for, yet he couldn't bring those surging feelings to the surface at the right moment. Forget 'right moment,' he couldn't even express them at any moment.
Slowly, he placed the cup on the table right in front of him. His thoughts still unanswered, he looked at the file with his wooden face discolored.
He needed something to keep him entertained, a good case could satisfy his desire. He was waiting for the phone to start ringing and a certain somebody to start harping about how his house was haunted or so on.
Few knocking sounds soon disrupted his thoughts and brought him back to reality. The color finally returning to his cheeks as his assistant brought some more tea.
"Naru." She stopped with a momentary pause, almost urging him to ask her what she needed. "Did something happen?" Setting the tray containing the tea cups aside on the table, she looked at her boss.
"Nothing." He decided to answer.
"You seem tired." She looked concerned.
"..." He decided not to answer such an obvious question. He had been reading through numerous files since yesterday and definitely, he was tired. Noticing that her boss seemingly ignored her, she quickly changed the topic.
"Masako called up." She started. "She said that she will be here around eight in the evening to discuss something important." He nodded as an answer.
"Um." She began once more before deciding to stop. She picked up the previously emptied cup and took it away to the kitchen.
The source of all these unanswered feelings integrated together, was just one person. Mai. He brushed the wrinkles off his coat and looked at her leaving the office. The girl tried to please everyone, give them moments to smile, to make them happy yet she hid the fact that she herself needed company.
But the loneliness that she had in her eyes which he had seen on the first day, had disappeared completely now. She nowhere had those feelings anymore. After all, she had a whole bunch of family members now.
His feelings were rather simple, he realized. But it took him an eternity to admit them. A few words could resolve the situation, yet somewhere in his heart he had fear. Fear of being rejected. He was perfectly aware of the fact that Gene was the one Mai probably loved. He was still unsure of the fact whether she had realized the reality of her dreams, that he wasn't the one who was smiling at her and making her heart beat like crazy.
He was far from breaking down the truth to everyone, that he was Oliver Davis. He sipped his tea quietly. A man who fascinated Bou-san to the point that he couldn't help but stare in awe. He almost choked on his tea when he remembered the moments during the Urado case. He chuckled as he remembered the awe struck face of Bou-san on seeing the fake Oliver Davis. As if he had seen God.
Mai peeked into the office, with an awkward look on her face.
"Did you just laugh...?" She asked him. He stared at her, trying to hide the fact that she had stated.
"Mai. Go home if you're tired." He said, his voice calm and stable. She looked at him, her eyebrows quirked in a funny fashion which a detective usually uses while looking at the suspects of a certain crime.
"Uh, I'm not tired. Are you sure you weren't lau-" She was cut off rather easily by the narcissist.
"Tea." He ordered.
"Alright..." She muttered, still suspicious. Finally closing the door, she left for the kitchen once again to mend some tea for the narcissist. She wondered if she should just prepare buckets of tea at one go.
A few hours later, true to her words, Masako entered the SPR with a formal look on her face. Dressed in traditional Kimono, she cleared her throat to grab the attention of a certain frenzied assistant who was sorting out papers with discomfort of them flying everywhere. Mai raised her eyes to meet Masako's eyes. Her mouth open wide, as she looked at the beautiful red kimono with embroidery of flowers and other pretty structures done in golden and black. Masako stared at her and Mai decided to break the silence.
"Naru is in the office." Mai said, with much trouble while holding on to papers that were ready to fly away. Masako bowed as a token of appreciation and picked up a fallen paper for her. Mai smiled and thanked her.
With full preparation, Masako knocked on the door and politely asked for permission. With a grunt of approval coming her way, she entered the small, congested yet neat office of Naru. Numerous books were stacked in an orderly fashion in one of the shelves. The others contained innumerable files, a little disorganized with some papers hanging loosely from them. His table was strewn with folders, some open and being read while the others looked like a tornado had gone through them.
"What is it?" Naru asked with his eyes fixed on her while she took a seat opposite to him. A certain knock on the door disrupted Masako from speaking. Mai entered with an apology of interrupting their discussion and placed two tea cups on the table and hurried off.
"A friend of mine has requested for investigation. I assured them that we'll try our best." She began with a positive note. "The request was rather simple. My friend's husband owns a chain of lodges across Japan. And one of them is rumored to be haunted."
"Details?" He asked.
"As a matter of fact, I know none." She said, hoping not to disappoint him. "But well, the only thing I know is the location."
"Yes?" He asked, with some interest.
"Aokigahara."
Naru looked surprised for a moment but decided to conceal it. His eyes on her before drifting to the blank wall.
"When can we meet you friend?"
"Nakazawa Seiko is her name. Nakazawa Keisuke, her husband's." She said. "She hoped that we could discuss the matter at the end of this week, most preferably at her place or the lodge. She apologized for not being able to come down to the SPR itself."
"Give her contact details to Mai." He said. Satisfied with his reply, Masako prepared to leave.
"Yes." She got up and bowed. She walked to the door and exited with another bow as appreciation of his readiness to accept the case. While the subdued voices of Mai and Masako were audible across the wall, Naru whispered something that put him deep in thought.
"Aokigahara..."
A/N: Hey, I'm new here. A first attempt at a full fledged short story and I'm starting with a chapter of short length so as to keep things simple. I like short, snappy chapters. To be honest, they are just easy to write. XD Please do leave some feedback that could boost my confidence. Thanks.