Hey guys! New chapter I know it's kind of shorter than the last one, but enjoy.
"Mai, Yasuhara, Miss Matsuzaki and Takigawa; I want you to begin bringing the equipment into the base. No one is to go wandering off on their own. Are you listening, Mai? This usually means you." Naru began handing out orders the moment they were shown to base.
Mai huffed in irritation. He was always such a jerk towards her. She had no clue how she had such a huge crush on the guy who made her life so difficult, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stay mad at his royal jerkiness, it was just impossible.
"John and Hara-san, I want you two to walk around and see if you sense anything." Naru finished before walking away.
If anyone wondered about his brisk attitude or unusual pairings, nobody said anything. They got to work right away, chatting among themselves. Mai hadn't realized it but she somehow had ended up walking down the corridor to base all by herself. She shrugged and kept moving. She nearly shrieked in surprise when her load was suddenly lightened. Shinji grinned at her around his now full arms.
"What's a pretty girl like yourself doing, carrying in this heavy equipment?" He asked her a humorous lilt to his voice.
Mai blushed a fair shade of scarlet and shrugged her shoulders. "That's my job. That and to make tea, of course." She said cheerfully.
He chuckled and they walked into base together. Shinji sat his haul down and turned towards Mai.
"Thanks, really. But you didn't have to do that Shinji-san." Mai said with a genuine smile for the young man.
Shinji stepped forward until he was directly beside her then he put his arm around her shoulders and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Really, it was my pleasure. It's not every day I get to spend time with a girl as adorable as you are. And please, just call me Shinji." His voice sent shivers down her spine and her mind reeling. Was he really flirting with her?
Mai, while used to guys flirting with her every so often, was caught off guard by Shinji's not-so-subtle ploys. The gesture was not unappreciated but she couldn't help but feel guilty for enjoying it. Her mind flashing to Naru, she immediately shook the thoughts from her head.
Just as he had gotten done whispering in her ear Yasu, Ayako and Monk walked in. Ayako's eyes nearly bugged out of her head, while Monk's face turned red in his efforts of trying not to explode. Yasu just grinned devilishly and sauntered forward. Mai was terrified at what she knew was about to be a very embarrassing moment.
"Tut, tut. I am very disappointed in you Mai. Naru turns his back for one second and you're already all over the first attractive guy you find. You're gonna break poor little Naru's heart with your loose morals. Besides, I don't think Bou-san could handle it if you went and got together with that guy." Yasu spoke with an air of false scorn and disdain.
Mai's face burned in embarrassment and Shinji removed his arm from around her petite frame. Just as Monk began to calm down Naru walked in to base with his usual holier-than-thou strut that he had down to perfection. He glanced at Mai and Shinji for a moment before moving on to tell the others what he wanted them to do. Lin walked in shortly afterwards and began hooking the equipment up, silent as usual. Shinji glanced at Mai, something glinting in his eyes that Mai could not name. He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. He walked out the door with his hand raised in farewell over his shoulder.
Mai felt slightly harassed and very confused as she turned to find out what she needed to do. She was going to kill Yasu in the most painful way possible when this case was over. She stalked up to Naru and waited for him to finish speaking to Monk and Ayako.
He sent them off to take temperature readings and nearly sighed when he realized he still had to talk to Mai. He could hear the tail end of what Yasu had said from in the corridor. He had not been pleased when he had seen Mai and Shinji standing together. He didn't know why, but he didn't like that guy. He was by far too comfortable with his assistant and he had to be bad news. He decided he would watch him closely over the duration of the case. Until then he would just have to keep Mai close to be sure that she wouldn't fall victim to his charm. She was very gullible and he didn't need her being distracted during the case.
He squelched the unpleasant feeling in his stomach at the thought of Mai being with some stranger. Not that he really cared, after all she was just his assistant, he didn't care who she 'got together with' in words of Yasuhara.
"Mai," he said with his usual emotionless voice. "I want you to stop talking to the client in such a friendly way. It's un-business like and you will only get distracted from the case at hand. Also, tea. And take Yasuhara with you. Try not to get lost."
Mai moaned at the idea of making tea with Yasu there to harass her. She walked off before she could yell at Naru for insinuating that she acted in an un-businesslike way. She walked down the maze-like hallways with Yasu following behind her waiting for the right moment to pounce.
The old hospital still had some floors in-tact for the most part. There were only three floors though, that were still usable, while all the others and the basement were under construction. The kitchen and base were on the same floor, but on clear opposite ends of the hallway. They decided to make the bunker-like storage shed outside the hospital their place of residence while they were there.
They made it all the way to the kitchen before he decided to speak.
"Mai, I want you to promise me you won't pursue that guy. He's bad news. And as your friend and brother figure I don't want to see you get hurt." Yasu had seriousness to his face that was rare.
She sighed and hung her head. She felt like a small child who just got reprimanded for doing something she shouldn't have. She wanted to yell at Yasu and tell him he was wrong. Shinji was different. He was just too sweet to deceive her like how Yasu was implying. But she knew better than to argue with the eccentric teen.
"Okay Yasu." She mumbled just loud enough for him to hear over the whistling of the tea being done.
He grinned and snapped back to his usual carefree self. "Good, because I thought Naru was gonna strangle him. He has it bad for you Mai." Yasu said with renewed enthusiasm. Grinning like an idiot all the while.
Her face burned and she yelled at him to be quiet before pushing him out the door. Following closely behind with the tray of tea in her hands. Just as she was about to walk out she ran right into the door which had been open just seconds ago. She fell to the floor, tea flying everywhere. She got up and began to pound on the door.
"This isn't funny Yasu! Open the door!" She tried and failed to keep the fear from her voice. She couldn't help but hope that it really was Yasu's fault she was in this situation. But she knew as the temperature began to drop that it wasn't Yasu. She backed up until her back ran painfully into a cabinet. Yasu continuously pounding on the other side of the door trying to get to her.
The lights flickered then went out. Mai began to shake from the chilly air that surrounded her. She grabbed at the first thing her hands came into contact with. This just happened to be a broken shard of a tea-cup. It sliced into her palm and she gasped with pain. She heard the sound of something breathing down her neck and craned around. What she saw made her scream bloody murder then she passed out in a dead faint.
Thanks for the great reviews, follows etc., they meant a lot. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was kind of rushed but I don't have access to the computer too often but, I will try to update as often as I can.
Anyway, review if ya want.