Thanks to Blue-Starlight92 for the beta-read. Would never have finished this without you! 3
It started out innocently enough.
Actually, John would say it started out quite Christian in intent. Going with Masako to the hospital was merely an impulse to do good. To help. To show, as it were, God's love. He does try to do that as much as he can. As far as he's aware, none of the team are closely affiliated with any other Christians. It's up to him to give them a positive experience rather than chasing them away from the faith. Besides, he's always tried to be nice to people. He just can't stand the thought of hurting someone.
But... Well.
It was the school haunting case – not the first time Masako had ended up in trouble, but not the last, either. He does worry about her. Spirits seem to target her so often, perhaps because she's a medium, but regardless of the reason it often leads to physical danger. How had he ended up in the ambulance? It seemed to happen by unspoken agreement. Get John, he knows how to comfort people, it's part of his job. Which is true, to a certain extent, and so he was silently elected.
He's a priest, which means he's supposed to be immune to feminine charms. And he's a human, which means he's fallible. He can't be perfect and, in fact, he's never tried to be. He just wants to be the best he can.
But...there's something about Masako. He can't articulate it. On the surface there isn't anything much to draw him in. She's not of his faith, and she's not immediately obvious as a kind and caring person. She's admittedly extremely pretty and a celebrity besides, but pretty girls are everywhere and celebrity holds no fascination for John
He thinks maybe it's her hidden vulnerabilities that really draw him to her. Masako has a strong personality; she always seems sure of herself and her abilities, positive of what she wants; ambitious and unafraid to take any path to fulfilling those ambitions. And yet, she's not brash about it. Instead, she is demure and feminine, speaking rarely, precociously mature and dolllike at once.
There's a certain appeal to that, of course, but that's not what gets him. Because underneath her velvet-wrapped-steel persona, she's scared. Masako is more a normal teenaged girl, more prone to the same fears and jealousies and joys, than anyone but him seems to pick up on. That's why she snipes at Mai even though they should really get along given all they have in common. John thinks she's probably jealous of Mai's position in the group: everyone's little sister. Masako wants to be fawned over the way Mai is but can't seem to warm up.
And then there's Kazuya. John's not oblivious; he's seen the way Masako looks at Kazuya.
She's extremely fond of him, no doubt. Meanwhile, Mai's known him longer and seems to have more of a connection with him, although John's not sure why. Certainly it's true that while Masako is Miss Hara, Mai is Mai.
Sometimes, deep in the bits of his heart most given over to sinful nature, John thinks Kazuya doesn't deserve Masako. It's uncharitable and selfish, but he really can't help it. Not in light of what he'd learned at the hospital.
...by the time they'd gotten there she'd been awake, but the doctors wanted to hold her for observation.
"I'll keep you company," John says cheerfully. "It's not fun, being alone in an unfamiliar place."
"Thank you," said Masako, and turns politely towards the wall with the air of one who has had a disappointment. John feels a little stung by this, but doesn't let it get to him, sure she has a good reason.
"Is something wrong?" he asks. Masako turns back and almost snaps, "I fell down a flight of stairs and might have a concussion, remember?"
He shakes his head. "Not what I meant."
She sighs, and shakes her head. "Never mind. I'm sorry. It was kind of you to stay with me."
"But?"
Masako raises an eyebrow. "Are you a therapist as well as a priest?" she says, but with less than average coldness in her voice.
"It sort of goes with the job."
She sighs. "It's not important."
"You're in the hospital and we have nothing else to do," he says. "Maybe it'll make you feel better."
"You won't tell anyone?"
He puts a hand over his heart and assumes his most sincere expression. "I promise. Complete confidentiality."
Masako glances at him, then looks away and begins: "I know he's busy. And I know he has to supervise the scene. It's just..."
"Kazuya?"
"Yes."
"You wish he was here instead of me."
A shrug. "I do appreciate your coming along. But, I can't help thinking if it were Mai, he would have gone with her." She looks down at her hands. "I think he hates me."
"I'm sure that's not true," John begins, but she waves a hand.
"You don't have to try to make me feel better," she says. "He's so formal around me. At the very least he's not as comfortable around me as he is around Mai."
"Well, she is his subordinate. He might be less certain of his authority in regards to you."
Masako snorts. "Is Naru ever uncertain of his authority?"
And this is a good point. It's not that John dislikes Kazuya. He tries not to outright dislike anyone he sees on a regular basis. But Kazuya is a little high-handed, sometimes. There must be a lot of things hidden behind that mask of his: John is sure self-doubt isn't one of them. But saying so won't do any good, so he keeps silent.
She shakes her head, and lays back down. "I'm sorry. It was very silly of me to speak up. You may go now."
"No, it's not," John protests. "It's not such an unusual feeling. I mean, you care about him, it's natural you would want him to be there for you even when – " He almost says 'even when he doesn't feel the same way' but realizes that would be cruel, so instead, he changes to " – when it's not strictly practical."
"Well, thank you." But she's shut down now; he can see it in her stance. So he nods at her and says to call him if she needs anything, and leaves.
He promises himself he'll revisit this subject with her sometime later.
Okay, confession time. I don't actually technically ship this pairing, although I do like it. But Blue-Starlight92 and I had discussed the fact that most John pairings do not focus much on his profession, treating it as an issue to be handwaved rather than the focus of the fics. And we both wanted to do something that kind of dealt with that more. So I agreed to do John/Masako and she is doing John/Mai and here's mine.
Hope you enjoy?