NOTICE: The first half of this story DOES NOT belong to me! It's the half-shot called Best Sellers by iloveanimex, who was kind enough to send this to me so I could complete it.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GHOST HUNT. All credit goes to Fuyumi Ono.
(Also, to iloveanimex herself, I have deleted the first part out of the original to make it shorter for my viewers.)
It's been brought to my attention, that emotions help us write. So after Mai's heart was torn to shreds, she put pen to paper. The ability to write, brought a whole new world to Mai's fingertips... but what happens when her stories burn brighter that she could have ever dream it could, and captures the heart of millions?
"Noll!" Lin scolded, standing outside his young charge's bedroom. Said boy was sitting at his desk, typing away every-so-often. Lin sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy.
"Yes, Lin?" Naru asked, sounding bored, not looking up from his screen.
"Luella is very upset. You should go downstairs, even if it's only for a little while." Lin suggested, his voice hard, yet laced with sadness.
"If it's my birthday, then why can't you let me celebrate it my way?" Naru asked, going back to grading papers. Lin placed his hand on Naru's shoulder.
"Your mother is very upset... would you please except the gifts they got you at least. You don't have to stay downstairs, but this day is difficult for all of us" Lin pleaded, his eyes averted from Naru. Even though Naru wasn't facing him, Lin was sure he looked very sullen right now. If anything was difficult for the two stoic men, it was emotions.
"Five minutes. Not a second longer." Naru agreed, hesitantly, before walking downstairs, Lin in tow.
Luella stood as she saw him walk into the kitchen, quickly wiping her tears before engulfing her remaining son into a loving embrace. Naru even half-hugged her back. "Happy birthday…" She whispered, before slowing loosening her hold on the boy.
"Thank you, mother." Naru thanked her, taking the present that she had held out to him. It was in a big box, with not much depth. It was slightly heavy, so it couldn't have been clothes - or anything, really. Naru placed it on the table, before unwrapping, rather gracefully, might I add.
Inside was a laptop. It was an apple, or the newest range. "I thought you could use it for your work." Luella explained, managing a weak smile. Then Martin handed him another gift. It wasn't wrapped, as much as placed into a gift bag. Martin and Naru didn't see the point of fancy wrapping, but Luella always insisted on something.
Naru took the small box out of the bag. It was a smart phone, also of the newest kind. "Thank you, father." Naru thanked, managing a small smile for his mothers sake. Luella bit her lip to stop herself crying. A smile broke across her face.
Naru then allowed his father to show him how his laptop worked, seeing as it was different to Naru's current one, before stalking to the stairs.
Before he could climb the stairs however, Madoka bounced through the door. She yelled for Naru, who was going to ignore her, till she practically dragged him back.
"Happy birthday Noll! I have your gifts! Lin asked me to look after his one for you." Madoka explained, dragging him back to the kitchen and forcing a gift bag into his arms. It had two individually wrapped presents. Naru picked out the blue one, leaving the bright pink one till last. The colour was so bright and distasteful; he knew it was from Madoka. "The blue one is from Lin."
"I guessed." Naru teased, before turning to face Lin. He opened the gift, seeing it was a Rolex. "Thank you."
"It's fine." Lin answered plainly. Naru then turned to the last gift, knowing it probably wouldn't be something of use.
Upon closer inspection, Naru could tell it was a paper-back book. He sighed, opening it.
He raised a brow, seeing it was a romance novel. A confused frown made its way to his lips. Madoka just grinned at him.
"You like it?" She asked, her voice teasing and playful.
"Not really." Naru admitted bluntly. Madoka put a hand to her heart, pretending to be upset.
"But you haven't even read it! Or looked at the author, for that matter!" Madoka pointed out, in mock sadness. Naru rolled his eyes, and turned the front page to look for the author, just so she would be happy.
His eyes grew wide, and his breath caught in his throat. If there was anything he wasn't expecting, it would have been that. Under the word 'author,' was the name Mai Taniyama...
Naru spent the rest of the day in his room, typing away. He had left the book on the kitchen table, and walked out. He didn't need this, on one of the most depressing days on his calendar. It wasn't fair, that he got to celebrate his birthday, yet his brother couldn't... Even if Mai picked Gene over himself, it didn't change how he felt for his brother.
He guessed the book was some sugary-sweet story, about how she fell in love with a ghost. A cliché if there ever was one. And yet, he still felt compelled to read it. Didn't he deserve to know how she portrayed him, if she had added himself in the novel? Then again, it may have been a story that had nothing to do with anyone. Maybe she got bored and wrote a best seller.
He looked at his watch, seeing it was a few minutes to eleven pm. His parents were likely sleeping, and Madoka and Lin were most likely at their place...
He knew he wouldn't be able to get any work done, till he knew. It was a only natural that a man such as himself, would want to know about it. He was a scientist after all.
Closing his laptop, he stalked downstairs, and into the kitchen. He was surprised to see his mother in there, sipping a tea at the table.
"I read the book..." She admitted her voice weak. Naru could tell she had been crying.
"Was it good?" he asked, making conversation. Luella nodded, turning back to her tea.
"Would you like some tea?" Luella asked. Naru shook his head no. He had been put off tea since leaving Japan."…I think you should read it." Luella suggested. Naru took the book off the table to read the blur. Luella stood, put her cup in the sink before kissing Naru's forehead, and walking upstairs.
Most girls, wish for happy-endings, with prince charming. But when some people reach their expectations in life, others are forced to wake from their cruel dream.
A tale of a girl who is pulled into something bigger then herself, leads her to love the people around her, and to fall in love for the first time. But despite her desire to be with him, it didn't mean her feelings could be returned...
Naru gritted his teeth, needing to know what it meant. He took the book to his room, before sitting on his bed and turning to the first page.
It took him less than two hours to read all 300-and-something pages. After shutting the book, he tossed it on the floor. His hands went to his face and covered the entire thing. An abundance of mixed emotions - different ones that he couldn't single out - threatened to rob him of his calm and collected exterior.
There was only one thing to do at this point. Something he needed to do.
Picking up his phone, he dialed up Lin. When he picked up, even at this late time, Naru uttered one sentence.
"I'm going back to Japan..."
Lin was about to shout into the mouthpiece of the phone for Naru to use his head and think for a minute, but the dead tone rang and Naru had already hung up.
Lin ran a pale hand through his hair, sighing outwardly as he dropped the phone back on the receiver.
"Has he no sense..?"
At Naru's House…
Naru stood from his bed, phone in pocket. He paced the room, a hand to his chin, thinking about what he was going to need to pack to get back to Japan and stay.
Yes, this idea seemed extreme to everyone else – but not to Naru. All he cared about was getting back to Japan and seeing Mai again, wanting to know how the hell she thought up that entire book.
Naru struggled to remember a paragraph from the near-end of the book when it came across his mind.
"When will you be back, Narumi? …Will I ever see you again?" I asked. Narumi gave me a blank look. "…I don't know." He averted my eyes and looked to the ground.
I pursed my lips and pushed out a single word. "I…"
Narumi looked up at me. "You… what?" He furrowed his eyebrows. I felt a heat behind my eyes and a single tear fell from them. I looked Narumi in the face and spoke the rest of the sentence that I had held back for almost an entire year.
"I… love you." The blush on my face darkened.
The man in front of me blushed ever so slightly himself, but looked to the ground as I had. His eyes hardened and he looked up at me again.
"Me, or Yujin?" His voice was cold.
"W-what?" I stammered.
"You claim to love me, but don't forget that there is another one who is like myself. You say that you see him in your dreams. That you like it when he smiles. Who's to say that you love him and not me?" Narumi's fists clenched.
I was at a loss for words, the tears falling faster. How was I supposed to confess to someone who didn't know how I felt? We had been through so much together, and this is the thanks I get for loving him for who he is. He may think that I love his brother, but why can't he figure out the truth?
Narumi turned heel and walked away, leaving me in his dust in the afternoon sun. The warmth had turned to cold, the sunlight paling in its own reflection off of the lake that I had stood at.
It wasn't Yujin's smile that I had loved so much.
It was Narumi's.
Now… why couldn't he see that..?
Naru slammed a fist into his suitcase, causing a dent to form.
"What – does she think I'm stupid?!" Naru paced around more, grabbing random sets of clothes off of his coat rack, his dresser and his closet. Anything would be fine to wear, really.
All Naru cared about was getting back to that godforsaken country and seeing Mai.
"She-doesn't-think-that-I-can't-see-what-she-thinks?!" Naru shoved an article of clothing into his suitcase for every syllable spoken. "How stupid does someone have to be to not be able to understand feelings?!"
"Fairly stupid." Someone spoke, walking into Naru's room. Said man turned around to see Madoka, a faint, sad smile upon her face. She pointed at the suitcase. "What are you packing for, Noll?"
"I'm going back to Japan." He stated bluntly.
Madoka furrowed her brows, yet smiled even more all the while. "So. She got to you, didn't she." It wasn't a question.
Naru looked away at the suitcase and continued to pack clothes and personal items inside.
"Well, I don't think any of us will be stopping you."
Naru's hands froze in midair, and he turned slowly to face Madoka. "…Why wouldn't you?"
"Because coming back here wasn't such a good idea." Madoka stated.
Naru's mouth hung open slightly. "So –trying to get away from the scene of Eugene's death was a bad idea?"
"No, not that. You already found him and took care of that, did you not? Coming back here was a bad idea because you left the others behind in Japan."
Naru's breathing became slower and his eyes narrowed.
Perhaps that novel was Mai's revenge for me leaving her…
"And don't forget how surprised and upset they all were when you said you were going to close up the office. Especially Mai. You know, the only reason why she wrote that book was because it was probably an outlet to relieve her of the grief of not being able to see you again, Noll." Madoka smiled sadly. "Think about it for a minute." She remained silent for a minute, letting Naru relish in the moment.
"That's why we won't stop you from going back." Madoka turned around and left the room, closing the door silently behind herself.
Naru closed the briefcase quietly and sat on his bed, tucking the left knee up to his chest in silence. He wrapped both of his arms around the base of his leg and dropped his forehead to meet his knee.
"How could I have been so blind…" Naru ran a hand through the hair at the back of his head, sitting in the silence for minutes on end.
Naru picked up his suitcase and left the room, walking briskly, heavy footfalls sounding through the hallways as he walked out the front door and into the day, the thought of seeing Mai again dancing in his mind, mingling with that of an aiport.
She won't have to live with the grief…
Naru walked off the plane, out of the airport and flagged down a taxi to come get him. Looking around, Naru found himself feeling slightly nostalgic. The sun was setting in the west, and coming back to this place felt almost… overwhelming. The air was different (and also the time zone, which he'd have to get used to. Again.) and the people were different. It made Naru feel somewhat uncomfortable.
But no feeling was compared to that of how he felt about seeing Mai again. How would he even come close to her when she thought that she'd never see him again? Would she be angry that he had lied? Would she be overwhelmed that the book reached him and he found his way back to her? Naru had no idea what she thought, and it dragged his heart down.
Naru sat in the back of the taxi that just pulled up towards him, and handed the driver a twenty.
"Shibuya, please."
After all that time of relishing in the thought that I had "been able to know what she thought"…
I realize how wrong I am…
And… I still don't know what possessed me to even come all this way…
The taxi came to a halt after a few minutes and Naru walked out after waving thanks to the man who drove him, and stood on the curb.
He looked at the street for a moment, then turned around and looked up.
What greeted him was an all-too-familiar sight…
Mai's apartment.
What Naru still couldn't get over was how close he was and yet could still be so far away. With every step he took up the stairs and into the hallway, his heart sunk further and further in his chest.
How in the hell was he going to do this?
Naru let his shoulders slump down, almost in defeat, exhaling loudly, but just quiet enough so that if Mai was by the door, she wouldn't hear him. He lifted an extremely pale hand to the door, and made a knock that was terribly different from his normal one, nervous breaths wracking his entire body.
It was almost as if Naru wasn't even himself at the moment.
Muffled footsteps shuffled across the floor from inside, and the door opened swiftly.
Naru almost teared up at the sight, no matter how odd that would be for him.
Mai had her hand still on the doorknob, a book in hand. She wasn't looking up at Naru, but she was deep in conversation with someone else on the other end of her phone.
"Yeah, I know, I'll get on it. What chapter are you on, anyway? This one's taking forev-"
Mai stared up into Naru's face, deadpanning, an expression of indescribable shock and sadness on her face. She backed up slightly, hanging up and dropping the phone accidentally and running her hands through her auburn hair. Mai walked backwards in her house until she reached the sofa, where she tripped on the cushion and sat down.
Naru let a small smirk dance across his face at her clumsiness, but it faded away just as quickly as it had come.
"Can… can I come in?"
Mai still stared at Naru in utter shock, her hands sliding down her face. She nodded slightly, and Naru walked into the room quietly, gingerly closing the door behind him.
Naru didn't dare sit on the couch, but continued to stand sentry at the door.
After a while of continuous staring, Mai proceeded to blink and look at the floor. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked up at Naru, the sadness she had felt when he left returning to haunt her.
"Why did you come back, Naru?" Her voice cracked through the tears.
"…I…" Naru tried to look Mai in the eyes and stay brave, but he failed miserably and his gaze dropped to the floor. "I don't know…"
Mai's tone turned bitter. "If you don't know, then why are you here?" The venom in her voice made Naru cringe slightly.
"Because I-"Naru was interrupted when Mai stood surprisingly quickly. She looked him dead in the eye, crossing the room in a few strides and filling the space that was between them.
"You WHAT?! You felt sorry for leaving me here? Leaving me behind? Making me feel more alone than I ever have in my entire LIFE?!" The tears were falling rapidly from her chocolate eyes, which were fixed on Naru's indigo ones.
"I'm sorry for never listening. Never understanding how you feel. Leaving you behind. Giving you the silent treatment. Everything." He took Mai's hands in his own.
Tears began to brim in Naru's eyes, but he wouldn't dare let one fall. Not in front of Mai, while she was this vulnerable.
Mai took her right hand from Naru's and pulled it close to her chest. "Naru…"
"You are the reason why I came back."
Mai let her face break into a small smile, the tears coming down faster.
"To stay."
Mai's eyes widened with hope and she rushed her entire body into Naru's. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you, Naru…and Happy Birthday…"
Naru's eyes widened in shock, but they slowly closed as he wrapped his arms around her in a soft and warm embrace, his head resting on hers.
"I love you too, Mai. I always have."
WELLLLLLLLLLL, iloveanimex, DID YOU LIKE THAT OR WHAT?!
(Sorry, just excited over here. Hahhah… Woot woot!) *rubs arm awkwardly*
Anyway, so glad to finish this when I wanted to and a VEERY BIG THANKS to iloveanimex (AGAIN) for letting me finish this and use the original dialogue.
Well then, I shall see you all in the next fiction!
-xXxNaru-LovexXx