A/N: So I started a Christmas fic, but never finished it :/
SO, I decided to do something else! This will not tie in with my other Ghost Hunt fics, so it's just a stand alone one-shot!
I'll be starting my chapter fic soon and I need more ideas for cases that the JSPR team can go on. If you have an idea for a case, just comment on any of my Ghost Hunt fics or PM me with your idea!
I hope everyone had a good holiday and I hope you all have a GREAT New Year!
On with the story! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own this AMAZING thing that is Ghost Hunt nor it's characters (sadly :/)
New Year's Eve
10:00 AM, SPR office
Mai POV
Ahhh… New Year's Eve! No case or appointments have been made for today, per Naru's request. Maybe he decided to just have today as a day off.
"MAI!"
Or not… I look over at my boss' door to see him leaning against the doorframe glaring at me. What have I done THIS time?
"Ye.. Yes?" I ask. I can tell he's pissed off at something. Then again, when isn't he?
"Were you daydreaming again?"
"No!"
I swear I saw Naru roll his eye slightly. Either he did, my mind is playing tricks on me OR I'm just slowly going crazy.
"Whatever," I heard him mumble under his breath. "Tea," was all he said before turning around and heading back into his lair.. I mean office.
I head to the kitchen and put the water on to boil. I grabbed three cups and set them out. As I picked up the tea tin, I noticed it felt light. I opened the tin to see I only had enough tea to make Naru and Lin their cups. Looks like a run to the store is in order.
I finished the tea and went to Lin's office first. I knocked and was surprised that Lin came to the door. He usually just acknowledges my knock and I enter to put the cup on his desk because he is caught up in whatever he usually was typing. Now he stands at the door as I offer him the cup. He takes it and I can see a slight irritation in his eyes.
"Lin, I'm heading to the store to get more tea. After I get back we are talking." I could tell those eyes were eyes of irritation about something that either Madoka, Naru or both have done.
He nods his head and heads over to the window by the couches. Something is really bothering him.
I knock on Naru's door. I enter and place his precious tea on his desk.
"Naru," I start. Sadly, he interrupts me before I can finish.
"You may go Mai."
"Eh?"
"We do not have any potential clients coming in today, so as long as your work is finished you may leave early. But be back tonight at 9:30."
Now I'm just confused. "Why do you want me to come back tonight? And so late, too?"
"The irregulars will be here as well."
I gasped. No way! Is…. Is Naru….
"Are… are you having an office party for New Year's Naru?" I ask him, excitement oozing with every word I say.
But of course, the narcissist stays silent and turns back to his work. I roll my eyes and leave his office. As I reach the door, I turn back around.
"What is it Mai?"
"We're out of tea. I'll be out for a few minutes."
"Fine."
I turn to leave his office. First Lin is acting all weird, now Naru is having an office party. What is going on?
True, once he came back from England two years ago, he's been less of a jerk. But this is so not Naru. And Lin. Don't get me started on that chinese man. He's even more complicated to understand! How Madoka ever broke him, I'll never know. All I want to know is how to get through to Naru. When he came back, it was like that conversation we had at the lake never happened and my awkward confession never existed. Just because he forgot about it, doesn't mean I have. And as more time goes on, the more I know what I told him was true. Too bad he's too thick headed and has a heart made of ice to realize it!
…
Naru POV
As soon as I heard the front door close, I knew Mai was done for the day. I glanced over at the clock on the bottom right of my computer screen.
1500 (3:00 PM)
She must of really wanted to get out. I chuckle to myself as I head over to Lin's office. As I pass Mai's desk on the way over, the office phone started to ring.
"Moshi, moshi. SPR office," I answer.
"Naru?"
"Ayako?"
"Where's Mai?"
"She left early. I gave her permission to leave once her work was done."
"So you do have a heart!"
If only Ayako could see the glare that had developed.
"Kidding Naru," she laughs. "Anyway, the party is still on tonight right?"
"Yes. Now why were you calling the office line?"
"Because of the last time I called Mai at work. You took her phone in the middle of our conversation and ended the call!"
"She was neglecting her work, thanks to you Ayako."
"Whatever. Actually it's a good thing you answered. I forgot to ask when you emailed earlier. What's the dress for tonight?"
"Excuse me?"
"Is it a fancy party or casual?"
…
"Alright! See ya tonight Naru!"
She hung up quick after that. That woman seriously had a knack for giving me a headache in no time flat. How Takigawa could put up with her and the abuse, I'll never understand.
I walked over to Lin's door and knocked. I hear him grunt, or whatever that sound was, and walked in.
"Everything ready for tonight?"
…
Mai POV
As I reached my apartment, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and smiled.
"Moshi, moshi Ayako!"
"Hey Mai! So what are you planning on wearing to the party tonight?"
"Uhhh…" I seriously didn't think much about it. "A jean skirt and a sweater with my black boots. Why?"
I hear Ayako groan on the other end. "That's not gonna do."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"I'll be over at your apartment in 20 minutes. Be ready because I am taking you shopping!"
And before I could even protest, Ayako hung up.
Crap.
…
I looked in the mirror and could not believe my eyes. Ayako bought me the most perfect dress! It was very simple. A strapless, knee-length red dress. The body had a sweetheart shape and a black satin sash across the waist. We paired it with black peep-toes heels, a silver bracelet, a simple silver necklace that had a diamond dangling from it that landed just below my collar bones, matching earrings and a black, long sleeve, high waisted cover. My makeup was done very simple and Ayako pulled back the sides of my hair, braided the strands and connected them in the back.
Ayako was just as breathtaking in her strapless black dress with hints of silver sparkles embedded into the material. Her dress was floor length that had a slit up the right side. She wore silver strappy heels and only had on the necklace Bou-San bought her for her birthday (a gold chain with two hearts attached to each other. One silver, one gold). Her red hair was put into a high ponytail and she curled the ends that left her hair cascading down her neck and back.
I looked over at the clock and saw it was 9:00. All we were waiting on was Bou-San to pick us up.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. As I opened the door, Bou-San took one look at me and engulfed me in the tightest hug I think I have ever gotten from him.
"My Jou-Chan is growing up too fast!" He exclaimed as I was being suffocated. The next moment I could breathe as Bou-San stated rubbing his head.
"OW!"
"She was turning blue you idiot!"
"Was not," he mumbled back.
I giggled. "We ready?" I ask.
For some reason I had a feeling that tonight was going to be a perfect night. I just hope I'm not wrong and everything goes horrible.
...
Naru POV
I looked at the clock on the wall of the office.
9:30
As if on cue, Miss Hara, Father Brown and Yasuhara walked into the office.
"Evening mate!" John said as he extended his hand.
"Evening Father Brown," I said as I shook his hand.
"Evening Naru! So,..."
"Don't even start Yasuhara," I glared at him. Might as well stop him before he can begin to say something he will regret.
"Good evening Naru," Miss Hara said with her hand covering her mouth with the sleeve of her houmongi kimono.
"Evening Miss Hara."
She stands in front of me for a moment before moving on to the sitting area. Just as soon as she sat, the front door opened again. I turned around and saw Miss Matsuzaki and Takigawa walk in, matching in their evening wear.
"Evening Naru!" They say in unison. They are in a surprisingly good mood tonight. Either that or they both have something up their sleeve. Knowing them, it's probably the latter.
"Evening."
As they walk past me, smiling I might add, I glanced back at the door, knowing that Mai would be the last one to walk in. What I saw took my breath away. Luckily Mai had her head down so she didn't see the secondary show of emotion on my face. As her head lifted, so did my mask. I saw a tint of pink grace her face.
""E.E..evening N..Naru," Mai said.
"Evening Mai," I responded. Although I had to clear my throat before I did.
She walked past me as her blush grew. My gaze followed her. She was…. I can't…
I shook my head. Mai was leaving my mind a jumbled mess. I collected myself before joining everyone. I did not want to lead them onto my thoughts, or my feelings. Not yet.
…
"THE PARTY IS GOING TO BE WHERE!?" The whole team, minus Lin, said in unison.
"I reserved a table at the Tokyo Tower tonight. We will be guests at the Tower's New Year's party."
"Wait," Miss Matsuzaki stood, "You mean to tell us SPR got INVITED to the Tokyo Tower's most prestigious party OF THE YEAR!?"
"Yes," I answer flatly. "We are to arrive at 10. Lin, has the limo arrived?"
I turned towards Lin, who was standing at the open door. He looks at me and nods. I turn towards the team. Before I could get a word out, Miss Matsuzaki, Takigawa and Yasuhara were out the door. I sighed as Mai, Miss Hara and Father Brown stood and left the office. I turned out the lights and locked the door. Lin and I headed down the steps towards the awaiting limo. Thankfully only Lin saw the smirk growing on my face.
…
Mai POV
I stood in front of Tokyo Tower in awe of how it was light up. I never saw Tokyo Tower in person on New Years, so the sight before me dazzled me.
"Mai," I heard Masako's soft voice almost scolding me, "close your mouth. You're catching bugs."
I glared at her. Although she seemed innocent in her blue houmongi kimono that had pink, white and purple flowers adorning the fabric with a red obi, I could see (and hear) the hatred she held deep inside that she reserved just for me.
I rolled my eyes at her. I will not let someone like Masako ruin my night!
...
Third Person POV
The night went as smooth as you would imagine. Ayako and Takigawa surprisingly did not fight all night. Yasu was busy chatting with the other ladies in attendance while Masako and John sat at the table talking. Lin stood at the windows and gazed at the city. This was the first New Year's Eve he spent apart from Madoka in a couple of years.
Mai had been approached all night by other guys and had been asked to dance a few times. Naru hid his jealousy well, until he saw one guy continuously annoy Mai. He saw it on her face. That guy would not take no for an answer. Naru finally intervened.
"Excuse me," Naru said.
The annoying guy looked at Naru and smirked. "What do you want kid?"
"I believe she has continuously shot down your advances."
"What I do is none of your business kid."
Naru smelled the alcohol on the guy's breath. No wonder he couldn't take no for an answer. He was wasted.
"No, but if it involves my assistant, then it IS my business," Naru retorted with ice dripping off every word he said.
"Pffft… whatever!"
The guy started to walk away when he suddenly turned back around. His fist flew towards Naru's face. Luckily, Naru expected this to happen and caught the guy's fist. He pushed the guy's fist and he went flying backwards and skidded across the floor.
"NARU!" Mai exclaimed.
Naru grabbed Mai's wrist and pulled her away from the scene. He pulled her over to the elevator and pressed the button to call it down.
"Naru! Let go of me!"
Naru kept a hold of Mai's wrist until the doors opened. He pulled her inside with him and pressed the button to go to the second floor. As soon as the doors closed, he let go of her wrist. Mai leaned on the wall as she crossed her arms. They remained silent until the elevator stopped on the second floor observatory and Naru stepped out. Mai remained there for a moment until she caught a glimpse of the Tokyo skyline. She darted out of the elevator and made her way over to the windows.
"Wow…" She gasped under her breath.
Naru went to stand beside her.
"Mai."
"Huh?" Mai responded, dazed still by the sight in front of her.
"Mai," Naru said again, letting his voice grow softer.
Mai noticed and turned her attention to him.
"What is it Naru?"
"Mai, there's something I need to tell you."
She held her hand up. "Actually, I have something to tell you as well."
Naru nodded. "You go first then."
Mai took a breath and let her heart out.
"Naru, ever since you came back, it's felt like the conversation we had at the lake never existed. True you haven't been AS bad of a boss as you were then, but for you to just forget about…"
"I didn't forget Mai."
She glared daggers into him. "Please, don't interrupt me. Anyway, for you to even act like it never happened… All I know is that I never forgot. And I never forgot your wonderful parting words, 'Me or Gene'. Seriously Naru? You actually think I was IN LOVE with your dead twin? How could you even think that?! Do you know how much that hurt? That you would pass off MY feelings like you knew them over to your brother? After you left, I did think about it. But what I said then is still true now. I love you you idiot scientist! Why can't you just accept it? I don't care it you don't feel the same way, I just wanted you to know."
"You done?" Naru asked.
Mai nodded. During her speech, her voice cracked and she started to cry.
He took her hand and looked at her with soft eyes.
"I want to show you something."
Mai simply nodded and followed Naru. He led her to a glass case that had a smaller version of the Tower made out of pink and white jewels. Mai looked at the base of the case and noticed that it said "Tokyo Tower Love Power Spot," and underneath it "Another Diamond Veil."
"Naru?" She turned towards him and jumped back a bit. He had moved closer to her and looked into her eyes.
"Mai, I know what I did was wrong. Blindsiding you like that with such a ridiculous question, then coming back and acting as if it never happened. The truth is…. that moment has haunted me. The reason why I shoved your confession off to my brother is because I thought no one could love me. My brother was the one that got the love confessions. I never even got chocolate on St. Valentine's Day. So, when I heard your confession, naturally I thought you were only confessing because maybe you thought I could become a substitute for Gene."
"I never would've asked that of you! There's no way I would want you to be like Gene. Sure he was nice and all to me, but I fell for my jerk of a boss. NOT his identical twin brother."
Naru hung his head. "Yeah, but I figured that out too late. After I came back, I didn't know what to do so I decided to act like nothing happened."
Mai placed her hand softly on Naru's cheek. She looked into his eyes as he looked back into hers.
As their lips touched, fireworks started going off behind them. Mai broke the kiss as she heard the fireworks pop. The light reflected off her eyes, captivating Naru's attention.
Naru captured Mai's chin and turned her head back to him.
"Happy New Year, Mai."
"Happy New Year, Naru," Mai smiled back.
As the fireworks continued behind them, and the party continued downstairs, Mai and Naru spent the first few minutes of the new year together and getting lost in the feeling of their kiss.
A/N: Whew! That was long! Anyway, Happy New Year everyone! I'll see you again soon!
If you haven't read "Afterglow" and "Reunion" yet, PLEASE do so before you read my upcoming chapter fic!
And sorry if there might be some OOC'ness on Naru's part. I always feel like I get him OOC. So sorry if I did! Well, see y'all soon!
PEACE!
KassieMarie