2009!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!! And to start out the year, I come with a peace offering and a present!
A lot of people have been asking when I am going to update my other stories and I keep telling them that it will happen soon, yet no update is out there. For that I am really, really sorry. I am really stumped on both of them and to be truthful, knew I would be when I posted the stories. But, I am trying.
So, to make up for the wait, I give you this to help satisfy. I hope that the wait will not be much longer. Thank You so much for your patience.
Also, I have relized that I have not put a Disclaimer on any of my stories. So...
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its Characters. I do however, own the plot and the ideas for this particular story.
And so, without further ado, the story!
Everyone was gathered in Osamu Yasuhara's apartment. Glasses were in one hand of each person, most people talking animatedly to each other. Ayako was talking with Houshou with, surprisingly, no fighting in the mix. Masako was chatting with John, both finding what the other was saying rather fascinating. Mai was expressing rather cheerfully what she was talking about with Osamu with her hands. Even Koujo was offering up some small talk now and then.
The only person not talking was sitting in a chair, relaxed, and watching what was going on around him contently. Though this did not show on the outside, he certainly felt it on the inside. Mai turned to look at him and grinned. She lifted her glass full of sparkling cider to him then turned back around to continue talking with Osamu.
Kazuya Shibuya had not celebrated New Years in a while. So doing it now felt foreign to him. He hadn't put up much of a fight though, when Osamu came into the office three days earlier and had insisted that they all come to his apartment for New Years, no excuses.
Now, it was ten minutes to midnight on New Year's Eve and everyone was starting to gather out onto the balcony; everyone except Kazuya. He sat and watched as Osamu herded the group outside to get ready for the countdown and fireworks. He saw Mai look around for a second before looking back into the house and at him.
She walked back inside and set down her drink on the table as she went, and then she was standing in front of him. Mai watched him for a second before reaching down and grabbing the hand that was not holding the glass and giving it a tug.
"Come on Naru," She said tugging on his arm once more, trying to get him to his feet "You'll miss it."
Kazuya shifted in the chair as she tugged on his arm again. "What if I want to miss it?"
Mai gave a soft sigh and stopped tugging.
"Can't you at least try to enjoy this one thing," She inquired "Just this one time?"
He gazed at their hands then up at her face. Suddenly a small smile graced his lips. It was so small that you wouldn't have thought it was there. But it was, and it was meant for her.
She beamed at him and tugged at his arm again, and this time he let her pull him to his feet. Still holding his hand, she led him to the balcony where the others were gathered, picking her cider back up as they went.
Osamu grinned when he saw Mai leading Kazuya to the front of the group. It was funny, what she did to the genius. She had grabbed hold of him and he didn't seem to want to be let go any time soon. She always managed to change his mind about something. Everyone goes to her when they have trouble getting him to agree to something. It was rather amazing.
Osamu look to the clock on the wall in the living room then turned to address the group.
"New Years in one minute," He announced, getting a round of cheers.
Everyone turned to look out at the sky, anticipating the oncoming show.
Surprisingly, it was Masako who started the countdown.
"Ten…" She shouted out in excitement.
"Nine…" Everyone else joined in with the countdown, joy rippling through the group.
"Eight…"
Mai looked up at Kazuya to see him just standing there.
"Seven…"
He wasn't even counting down.
"Six…"
She nudged him in the side with her elbow, making him look down at her.
"Five…"
He watched as she said the number while looking at him. She wanted him to count down. He rolled his eyes at her before opening his mouth and saying,
"Four…"
Mai grinned at him and turned back to looking at the sky.
"Three…"
Kazuya watched the excitement across her face. He liked it when she was happy. It made him feel better, if just a little.
"Two…"
He turned back to the sky.
"One…" Everyone started cheering as fireworks lit up the sky at the stroke of midnight "Happy New Year!"
Mai jumped up and gave Houshou a hug.
"Happy New Year," He shouted over the fireworks as he returned her hug. She responded in kind.
She let go of Houshou and turned to look at Kazuya. He was watching the display. She watched him. The colors from the fireworks were playing on his face and reflecting it his eyes. Something else was reflecting there too, she noticed.
Contentment. Joyous contentment.
She had a feeling that it had been a while since he had felt like that.
Kazuya glanced down to see her watching him. He cocked an eyebrow. She just shook her head. He shrugged and looked back to the sky.
Mai saw a faint smile on his lips. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy.
And for some reason, that made her ecstatic beyond belief.
Again, Thank You for your patience. I hope you enjoyed the story. Please, tell me what you think!