FANfiction, you know the drill.
Completely random. Inspired by someone doing a Naruto version of 'A Christmas Carol.'
I'm basing Lin's actions and reactions on what I've seen of him in book 6. Yes, people, he has a sense of humor and doesn't hate Mai. He even said so.
I wish I could have done this with Monk-san (yes, I do know his real name, but why bother?) instead of John. I do sarcasm better than I do 'nervous nice-guy.'
"John, what's that you're reading?"
Startled, the young priest looked up from the tattered book he'd been reading. He blushed a bit and looked nervous, but since neither look was unusual for him, the speaker paid no attention. The waiting room of Shibuya Psychic Research was otherwise empty, whether that was because ghosts weren't acting up, or whether people just didn't feel like dealing with 'ghost hunters' a few days before Christmas was unknown.
"Ah, hello, Mai-chan." He stood up to greet the girl, smiling at her cheerful grin. Of course, her cheerfulness was just as much a part of her personality as his nervousness was--though it was possible that his nervousness stemmed from his energetic and mildly exasperating friends.
"It's 'A Christmas Carol', I was refreshing my memory, since I'll be telling the story to the children on Christmas Eve."
Mai nodded, her short hair bouncing enthusiastically. John's friend had a home for children whose parents couldn't take care of them; she, John, and a few of the other SPR members--her cranky-but-handsome boss Naru, the quiet, calm Lin, and her teasing friend she generally called Monk-san--had visited for a case. It had turned out all right, though Mai still wasn't too clear on the details, since she'd evidently been possessed by the ghost they were there to exorcise.
"What is it about? I've heard of it, but I've never actually heard the story." Mai began making tea; Naru and Lin would want tea with the lunch she'd just returned from buying them. Vaguely, she wondered when they went to the bathroom, since they never seemed to leave their offices and yet drank at least three cups a day.
John settled back into his chair; he'd only meant to stop by, but as long as he was here…Besides, he knew Mai got bored on slow days, and most of their other compatriots--ie, Monk-san, the Miko Ayako, and the medium Masako--had already gone home to visit their families for a few days. He was the last to leave, possibly because he wasn't going home to a family. Of course, neither was Mai. He briefly wondered what her plans were for the holidays, before dismissing it as something she probably wouldn't want to talk about.
"Well, there's a rich old man named Scrooge, and even though it's Christmas, he's still acting as mean and miserly as always. So, on Christmas Eve, he's visited by three ghosts--"
"Ghosts?!" Mai interrupted, raising her eyebrows. She hadn't realized that it was a ghost story; had Naru read it?
"Not ghosts as we think of them, Mai-chan, more like spirits of the season. Though," John looked thoughtful, "before the spirits come, Scrooge was warned by the ghost of an old business partner. A completely fictionalized account, of course, but still…"
"Okay, so there's one ghost and three spirits? And they're visiting him? They're not attached to the house or anything? If they only appear to him, maybe it's a curse?" Mai was no expert, but she had learned a thing or two by working for one.
"Mai-chan, it's just a story," the priest laughed. He should have known better than to tell this story to someone who worked as a 'ghost hunter,' teenage girl or not. "Anyway, the first 'ghost' is the Ghost of Christmas Past; it shows Scrooge happy Christmases he'd had. The next was the Ghost of Christmas Present, which showed Scrooge his poor secretary, with barely enough food for his large family, blessing Scrooge for giving him a job at all. As well, it showed him his nephew, who he'd been nasty to, wishing that Scrooge would come to his Christmas party."
"Finally, there was the Ghost of Christmas Future, this was the one that really got to Scrooge. It showed the old man his grave, dirty and uncared for, with no flowers and no visitors." John took a sip from the cup Mai set down in front of him. "After that, Scrooge found himself back in his bed, with dawn just breaking. So, he got up, bought a gigantic turkey and sent it to his secretary's house. As well, he stopped by to tell the man that he had a paid vacation. Then, he went to his nephew and apologized for his past actions. He was accepted back without a word. From that day onward, Scrooge was a generous, kind man."
Mai had stopped preparing lunch and turned to stare. "Wait a minute. He became a nice guy because some ghosts scared him into it?! That doesn't seem right. Shouldn't he have been punished or something?"
"Mai-san, the story is about looking at your own faults and changing yourself for the better. Punishing him at the end would have ruined it." Both Mai and John jumped at the new voice, before turning guiltily to the man standing in the now-open doorway.
"L-lin-san! Um, your lunch is right here! I was just bringing it in." The girl turned and tried to look busy. She wasn't quite as nervous around her co-worker as she'd been when she hadn't known him--though she still knew little enough--but still, she didn't want him thinking that she'd been slacking off.
"I know." The older man nodded at John before taking his lunch at tea. "I liked that story when I was young. A theater troupe performed the play, and I liked it so much I went out and bought the book."
John blinked. He had known that Mai and Lin had become friendlier in the past few months, but still, this was the most he'd ever heard the man talk. He glanced at Mai to gauge her reaction.
"For me, it was The Nutcracker," the girl smiled. "My mom took me to see every year. Now, I play the CD on Christmas Eve while I'm cooking."
"Cooking?" John still couldn't understand how casually Mai talked about her parent's deaths, but he'd seen the same thing in other orphans, so he was no longer surprised.
Mai nodded, "yep, I spend Christmas day with my friend and her family; her mom insisted. So, I insist on bringing dessert. I do the same for New Years, with a different friend."
John smiled, desperate to change the subject. "My favorite story was a movie called A Christmas Story. It's an American movie about a ten-year-old boy's family, seen from his adult point-of-view. In the end, their Christmas dinner is destroyed, so they go out to a Chinese restaurant…" Maybe he shouldn't have brought this up…
BANG.
Saved! John breathed an inner sigh of relief. He really didn't want to explain the humor in Chinese-Americans singing Christmas carols poorly to a Chinese man who was big and not known for being friendly.
Naru, in all his glory, stood in his office doorway, much as Lin had earlier, except instead of the Chinese man's almost-smile, Naru wore his familiar irritated scowl. Mai automatically scowled in return before putting on her best I'm-a-good-worker face.
"Mai! Where's my lunch? And I've told you before, this is not your hang-out!"
John looked nervous again; he really had meant to only stop in for a moment. It seemed that even without the others around, he and Mai were easily distracted. He really hoped that he hadn't gotten the girl in trouble.
"Right here, boss!" Luckily, Mai had just finished pouring Naru's tea when he decided to make an appearance. Of course, it was like that with him; he didn't enter a room, he made an appearance.
Lin almost laughed at how easily Mai was able to diffuse Naru's rant before it even began. When she'd first began working with them, she hadn't been exactly shy, but still, he could see how much more comfortable with them she now was.
"Naru-chan, do you have a favorite Christmas show?" Mai smiled at Naru's frustration at his lecture being cut off. She loved the rare times when she actually got the best of her intelligent, capable boss. Of course, the score was grossly uneven, considering she'd had no idea what she was doing for most of the time she'd been working for him. But she had learned a trick or two from watching the way that Naru's master, Madoka, had dealt with the stubborn young man.
Strangely enough, though, neither Mai nor Naru held any snips or arguments against one another. No matter how many times he called her stupid, Mai was never mad for more than a few minutes, and no matter how many times Mai did something wrong, Naru never brought it up once it had been fixed.
"I don't have time to sit around watching those ridiculous things. They're all pretty much the same, anyway." Naru huffed before turning and stalking back to his office with his lunch.
Mai felt that it was her duty, as soon as the door was shut, to point out, "That means that he's seen enough for comparison's sake."
Lin snorted, and John, who'd just taken a sip of tea, found himself choking. After he'd regained his breath he thought to add and addendum to his story. "Mai-chan, you know that that story is where the tradition of calling a person who's grouchy around Christmas a 'Scrooge originated."
By this time, Lin was covering his mouth, trying to hold his laughter in. So much for tall, dark, and mysterious. Mai wasn't even trying in her giggles; it was rare for John to make jokes like that, so she often forgot that he even had a sense of humor.
"You know, of anyone, our group would probably be able to pull something like that off," she began.
"What do you mean, Mai-chan?"
"You mean fake a haunting for Naru?" John and Lin spoke at the same time. Mai nodded.
"Do you really think he would fall for something like that? Even if we pulled it off perfectly, he would be too interested in the 'spirits' to bother about their message." Lin pointed out.
"Didn't you say that the last time he was haunted at home he had a staring contest with the ghost?" John added. At that, Mai cracked up again, while Lin looked a little frustrated.
"He has no sense of proportion when it comes to his investigations." By this time, Lin was settled on one of the chairs, almost finished with his lunch. It was unusual for him to socialize with the group, but, John supposed, even Lin relaxed a bit around the holiday season. It was rather sad to think of Naru eating alone in his office, thinking about nothing but his work.
"It's too bad; it would have been fun." Mai sighed. Naru really needed to relax every once in a while, and jokes were fun. Then again, he might be the type to just get mad over practical jokes, no matter how they were meant.
"To dress up, or to see Naru's reaction?"
"Both. I like putting on costumes, and can't you just imagine Naru spending the entire night trying to figure out where the 'spirits' were coming from? He would have been so frustrated."
"Yes, well…" John really had nothing to say to that. He glanced at his watch before practically jumping out of his seat. "Oh! I'm sorry Mai-chan, I have to go; I have a few more stops to make and packing to finish."
"And I should be getting back to work." Lin stood as well.
"I guess I'll clean up a bit." Mai ushered John to the door, hugging him goodbye, and turned to face the now-silent office.
She wiped off the tables before ducking into Lin's office to take his garbage. The little bag safely tied, she stuck it into a larger bag, along with the little bag from the trash bucket in the reception area. Then, not even thinking about Naru's mood from earlier, she knocked at his door.
"Garbage pick-up, boss." Naru moved his chair to the side, allowing Mai access to the almost full can. He still hadn't taken his eyes off of the book in front of him. However, when Mai was about to leave, he stopped her.
"You do remember that it's a half-day on Christmas Eve, right, Mai?" The girl rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Naru, and the week in between Christmas and New Years will be busy. You told me already." Did he really think she was that much of an idiot? She hadn't missed a day of work yet!
"Fine. Did I also mention that you'll be getting holiday pay for those days?" Huh?
"Holiday pay?"
"Yes, Mai, holiday pay. You know, extra money?"
"I know what holiday pay is! I just didn't expect it. Not a lot of part-time jobs do that." Mai didn't know anyone else her age who received holiday pay. Then again, she knew of no one else whose job compared to hers in any way.
"Yes, well, I'm not a miser." Mai flinched. This sounded familiar. Had he heard what they'd been saying? No, he would have come out to yell at them, wouldn't he?
"That will be all." He dismissed her as casually as he'd stopped her. Now, she didn't know what to think. He probably hadn't heard, since he was acting, well, not exactly politely, but really, it was about as polite as he ever acted towards her. She was half-way out the door when he stopped her again.
"Oh, and Mai?" The girl turned, all suspicions flying from her mind at the smile that greeted her.
"I always liked 'The Nightmare Before Christmas,' myself."