Hi guys! I decided instead of doing a sequel to Home Coming Case I'd do a prequel! It will be rated T and I'm dong things a little differently than usual. I wanted to try something different and challenge myself for my birthday (Today!) and one of my favorite fanfiction writers does this thing where she limits her chapter by their word count. So I wanted to try her method and do "perfect drabble" chapters (100 words) punctuated by having longer fleshier chapters that are 1,000 words. I decided to start with a fleshy chapter since it is my birthday and I'm a firm believer in giving as well as receiving on my birthday! Tell me what you think!

"Mai! Tea!" Kazuya Shibuya snapped as soon as I walked into the Shibuya Psychic Research main office.

"Jeez Naru! Gimme a minute to put my bag down!" I shot back.

There was no response, not that I had expected any. In the two years I'd worked for SPR I'd tried to teach my boss some manners. I likened the experience to trying to play poker with a toilet seat; no matter how you approached it all it expected from you was shit.

I noted that there were two silhouettes through the frosted glass of Naru's office door and dropped my bag next to my desk. After almost two years of playing secretary Naru had-at my insistence-finally caved and gotten me my own desk. Takigawa had even bought me a nameplate in honor of the occasion.

I put the water kettle on and pulled the tea pot down from the cabinets and four cups since we had a client. As I prepared Naru's usual afternoon cup of Earl Gray separately I considered the unusual events of my day.

It started out normally enough, running to school as despite the utmost care and planning I was, once again, running late. I'd barely made it on time for my first class and taken my seat seconds before roll-call. Kaien, the guy who sat next to me, gave me a thumbs-up and grinned. I'd smiled back, earning myself another grin.

Kaien reminded me of a younger version of Takigawa, all jokes and smiles and an unhealthy obsession with looking like a rock star. But where Takigawa had colored all of his hair and dressed like a color-blind five year old, Kaien actually had some sense of style. His black hair couldn't decide if it wanted to be floppy or spiky and he had as many piercings as the school dress code let him get away with—most obviously in his ears but one subtle lip-ring stubbornly remained despite orders to remove it.

I hadn't been sure how to deal with him at first but after a few months of doggedly hanging out with my friends he sneakily grew on me. Everything was going fine until today, when I'd realized that there was one MAJOR unavoidable difference between Takigawa and Kaien, their age.

"Hey Mai!" Kaien hailed me after homeroom.

The friends I'd been intending to have lunch with fled when I was distracted, leaving me and him alone.

"Hey Kaien, what's up?" I greeted, smiling at him.

To my surprise he'd blushed and looked out the window. "Nice day huh?"

"Uh… yeah… if you like rain." I tilted a look up at him.

He went on haltingly as if he hadn't heard me. "I was… I was wondering if… maybe you wanted to go to a concert with me on Friday?"

It took me a second to understand the double-meaning of what he was saying. "Are… you… asking me on a date?"

"Yeah… I think I am." He looked sheepish.

"I… wow…" I blushed and tried to make my brain work. It was the first time any guy had really asked me out on a date. "I can't really give you an answer right now…"

"That's cool, it was just an idea." He shrugged and turned to leave.

"I mean!" I hurried to add before he retreated. "I'll have to ask for the time off and my boss can be an ass. Can I let you know tomorrow?"

"Sure." He grinned. "So that's not a no?"

"It's a definite maybe." I smiled.

"Great! It's not as good as a yes but it's way better than a definite no!"

I smiled at his exuberance. "I'll let you know tomorrow okay?"

Which left me with the sticky predicament of dealing with Naru.

I sighed and balanced the tea tray on one hand and carried one cup to my desk, taking a firmer hold of the tray before I could do something clumsy and tapped on Lin's office door, opening it when he paused in his typing.

"Hey Lin." I smiled and put a cup within easy reach. "How's your day been?"

"Fine." He met my eyes and I could tell by the lack of tension in his expression that there'd been a minimum of stress in my absence.

"Hopefully we'll get a new case soon!" I went back to the door with a sigh. "I'd better take Naru his tea before he gets his panties in a twist." I grinned when Lin's mouth twitched in amusement and shut the door.

With Lin's stoicism and Naru's iceburg-like disposition I'd become quite the expert in reading their faint micro-expressions. Yet another useful skill learned from the anti-dynamic duo.

I knocked once on Naru's office door before pushing it open. A man sat in the chair opposite Naru's and I set Naru's tea down first, then turned to the client.

"Tea sir?"

"I LOVE this country! Japanese schoolgirls serving tea! That's just awesome." He grinned at me. "Sure thing sweetheart just put it there." He waved to the desk in front of him.

"So do you pay her extra to wear the uniform or is that just a bonus?" The man asked in English.

My English wasn't perfect but it HAD been part of my school curriculum since third grade. I gripped the tray so hard I felt the edges biting into my palms.

"That will be all Mai." Naru dismissed me.

I nodded and turned to leave, more interested in getting out with some vestige of my dignity intact than trying to force him to mind his manners and thank me.

"Obedient little thing isn't she?" The man said.

I turned again and raised the tray behind his back, ready to brain him with it but a warning glance from Naru froze me in the act and I swallowed back a growl, spinning on my heel and stalking out of the office. Only the feel of Naru's cool gaze on me kept me from slamming the door shut.