Just realized I didn't do this on the first chapter (or at least I don't think I did) but anyway:
Disclaimer- Ghost Hunt doesn't belong to me, that credit goes to its wonderful author.
Objective 2 – Partner in Crime
Lin paused mid-type and leaned back in his chair, dark eyes scanned over the woman with a skeptical look; barely noticeable through his blank expression. She had his full attention, but he was sure that whatever her plan was it would be troublesome. Especially since it seemed like she needed his help. Exhaling he braced himself and waved a hand carelessly—signaling her to go ahead and begin explaining her 'preposition'.
Madoka grinned, a mischievous air seemed to admit from her causing Lin to tense slightly. Now he was sure he wouldn't like it. A devilishly grinning Madoka meant trouble—bothersome trouble.
"Well," she began as she nonchalantly circled his desk—reminding him a bit of how a shark circles its prey. "I've been doing some thinking and a little observing and have come to the conclusion that there is just a whole lot of emotional tension that seems to have been circulating SPR for a while now." She crossed her arms and scuffed her shoe against the carpeted floor as she continued, "Most of which is coming from two of the youngest members of our lovely ghost hunting branch—Noll and Mai. They just don't know how to express themselves, it's been two years since Noll's return and the two have made absolutely no progress. If anything they've been knocked down a few pegs all thanks to the whole 'you don't love me you love Gene' thing."
Lin mentally sighed, he should have known this was going to be about those two, Madoka's sharp eyes were following them around like a hawk all day. Setting his elbow on the arm of his chair he rested his head onto two of his twig-like fingers and watched as she prowled around his office. "Just what are you getting at, Madoka?"
The woman rolled her eyes at his 'what are you up to now' tone of voice and grabbed hold of the back of his chair, leaning forward she cupped her hands over his ear before whispering lightly into it.
As moments passed Lin's face began to change ever so slowly. His jaw tightened. His eyes widened slightly before narrowing. All the while he became dangerously silent, so much so one might think he had stopped breathing. Madoka leaned away, eyes pinned on his face as she waited. She could already guess that his answer would be one she wouldn't like and of course she was right.
"No."
"But—"
"Madoka." He cut her off with a tone of voice that held no room for argument—well at least it would have had it been anyone other than her.
"Lin." She mimicked.
In an attempt to ignore her—hoping she'd go away—he turned back to his keyboard to get back to his work, only for the bold—stubborn—woman to squeeze herself in between him and his precious computer. Lin's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he glared at her midsection not daring to look up at the pleading look on her face—the same look that had undone him in the past. "Madoka," he warned a second time, his voice much more firm.
"Lin," she called calmly this time, squatting a bit so she could get him to look her in the face. "I think this could really work. With you as my partner in crime we could pull this off. I know I'm kinda asking you to be the bad guy here but I'll be right behind you every step of the way—pulling the strings from the sidelines. Noll's not getting any younger, Lin. He's already twenty-four and has yet to have anything close to a solid relationship or a relationship at all for that matter."
He shook his head, "No. Do you realize how wrong this could go?"
"Of course! But it won't! Those two just need a push—no more like a shove—in the right direction. It'll all work out."
"No, Madoka."
"But, Lin—"
"Enough," he snapped.
Madoka pouted, a sad puppy-dog look covered her features, "Fine." The bitter word brought a wave of disappointment with it, but the man ignored her.
Sliding out from her spot wedged between Lin and the desk, Madoka turned sharply on her heel and headed out the door, swinging it out harshly. Unexpectedly, she stopped before making it fully out the room and placed her hands on her hips as if an idea had just struck her.
Lin had a bad feeling.
Mai watched Madoka disappear into Lin's office, strolling in as if the woman owned the place. The youngster giggled, partly wishing she had the audacity to just barge into Naru's office that way but she knew she would suffer the wrath of the man's cold glare if she did… and no one was ever really prepared for that.
Taking a deep breath Mai shifted her weight and tapped lightly on her boss' door. Eventually a deep, "Come in" commanded from behind the thick wood.
Putting on a light smile, Mai opened it and slid into the darkened office. Her smile grew slightly when she spied her boss working diligently, not bothering to look up at her as she approached-like usual. Normally, she would have been offended, but her mind was still dwelling on the fact that Naru was back. Even after two years she couldn't get over it. It took him three whole years to come back from the main branch. Madoka had been left in charge of SPR in his steed as vice-president and even though she was a great boss it hadn't been the same. So to see him sitting there like that brought back so many memories.
"Do you plan to become a living statue?" a slightly peeved Naru asked glancing up from his work. "If you are, I'd rather you not hold my tea hostage in the process."
Rolling her eyes, Mai pursed her lips and took her time getting to his desk, much to Naru's obvious displeasure. Setting the cup just within the tea-a-holic's reach she stood there, hands clasped behind her back, waiting for the thank you that would ultimately never come. A habit she had never broken for whatever reason.
Mai's brown eyes took in the silently working man with slight nostalgia. Naru had defiantly changed a bit in the past five years—if you counted the two years after his return and the three years spent in England—, he now let his hair grow an inch or two longer than he use to before cutting it and he had grown ever so slightly taller too. Lin was still the tallest but Naru was pretty much the same height as Bou-san now… give or take a few inches. Though, his physical appearance aside, his personality hadn't changed. He was still the same ol' narcissistic Naru as before… and surprisingly, she was ok with that. It comforted her for some reason.
"…I said, is there anything you need?" Naru's voice broke her out of her train of thought, "Have you gone death?"
Mai's face heated up in embarrassment under his icy blue stare. How long had she zoned out? "I… uhh…. Huh?" 'Oh yeah. Real intelligent Mai.' She grumbled to herself mentally.
Naru sighed. "Stop zoning out and get back to work," he ordered, resting his chin in an open palm, "or would you rather stare at me all day?"
"Yes. I-I mean no… I-I mean…" she wanted to kick herself, "Back to work I go!" the girl saluted idiotically, a light shade of pink flushing her cheeks as she exited the room in a hasty manner, not catching the man's small smirk.
Shutting the door softly she sighed and leaned against it in an attempt to calm her embarrassed features. As her face turned back to its usual color, Mai let her eyes wander over to Lin's office door. Had Madoka not come out yet? The woman wasn't in the reception area so Mai assumed that was the case. She couldn't help but wonder what was taking her so long…
Mai didn't have much chance to dwell on the thought as her attention was pulled toward two figures making a rather loud entrance through the front door.
"Move it you shady Monk," Ayako growled elbowing Takagawa in the ribs.
"You're in my way you useless Miko," Monk countered, earning him a harder nudge to his side.
Neither of them seemed too keen about their rather awkward predicament. They had obviously both tried to beat each other to the door only to have somehow gotten themselves wedged together in the door frame.
Mai snorted and walked up to the two, "What are you guys doing?"
Monk grinned, "Oh… we're just, you know… hanging around. How's it goin'?"
Ayako took advantage of his momentary guard drop and rammed him against the door frame, his head hitting the wood rather painful 'thunk'. Monk dropped to his knees in agony clenching his forehead, "What the hell, Ayako?"
The red headed miko 'humph'ed and straightened out her blouse. "Ladies first," she purred triumphantly and walked over to the sitting area.
Mai sweatdropped, "I'll go get you some ice, Bou-san."
To Madoka's surprise and pleasure Ayako and Bou-san were sitting comfortably in the seating area, looking a bit more civilized that usual—though the rather large ice pack the monk was holding against his head told her it hadn't been that way too long ago. She tilted her head slightly, placing her hands on her hips, just when had they come in?
Glancing back at Lin—who seemed to be trying to figure out her next move—she smirked. An idea forming in that pretty little head of hers.
Ignoring the deepened frown that found its way onto Lin's face, Madoka glanced back to the two adults speaking with Mai, clapping her hands she got their attention. "Bou-kun! Ayako-chan! Long time no see~!" she chirped loud enough for Lin to hear through the open door. "Do I have a few stories for you."
"Stories?" Ayako asked in slight interest, as much as the woman would probably try to deny it, she could be a bit of a gossip.
A cat-like grin spread across Madoka's face as she took a few steps toward them. "Did you know that Lin wasn't potty trained until he was five years old? True story. Poor boy was afraid the toilet would eat him."
Monk cracked a smile and stiffened a laugh, "What? No way!"
Ayako chuckled and Mai giggled in surprise, but felt a bit of slight embarrassment for Lin.
"Mmhm. And when he hit grade school he had this cat named 'Huāshēng', who happened to be a bit violent. It clawed at him a lot, but he refused to give it up because his first crush had given it to him as a gift."
"D'aww that's so sweet!" Mai squeaked.
"Isn't it?" the pink haired woman agreed, "It's too bad that the girl didn't like him back. Our handsome Lin was a bit of a troublemaker, he was the kind of little boy that picked on the girl he liked."
"Where'd you get all this info from, Madoka?" Monk asked a bit curious.
The woman chuckled, "I have my sources."
"What else was Lin like?" Mai asked, wanting to know more about her silent co-worker.
Madoka was more than happy to comply. "Well… there was this time when Lin was little and he was tricked into playing—" Madoka's words were cut off as she was tugged back into Lin's office, the door slamming shut leaving two confused—but amused—adults and a dumbfounded young lady in its wake.
Naru frowned at the sudden racket plaguing his business as he heard the arrival of two loud and obnoxious voices that could belong to no other than the always vexing Matsuzaki and Takigawa. He sighed for what seemed like the fifth time that day. Didn't those two know how to walk in silently? He had told them many times before, SPR was not a zoo. Where was their professionalism? They were representing him, which meant everything they said and did reflected on him. They were a part of SPR after all…. Technically.
Skillfully blocking out the ruckus, the ghost hunter focused back on his work. Shifting through various possible cases, he soon came to the conclusion that there wasn't really much to look at. A fact that pulled his mouth into a frown. None of them caught his interest. They all seemed too textbook and/or had claims that had obvious non-paranormal explanations. With a sigh, he tossed them off to the side without a second look.
Honestly… was it so hard to find a decent case?
Rubbing his temples in annoyance he glanced around his office, his eyes landing on his row of bookcases. The overworked gears of his mind reeled and the man stood, suddenly determined for a good read. Something to lighten his mood a bit—if that were possible.
Walking along the shelves, blue eyes scanned over the book spines until they stopped on one labeled, 'The Mysteries of Astral Projection'.
Instantly his mind went back to Mai. The girl had made quite the progress over the years with Lin and Madoka in improving her abilities, but she was still far from perfect. He couldn't recall how far he had gotten in the book but he did remember starting it. Perhaps with more insight he might be able to give aid in her training. She wouldn't be able to rely on the spiritual guidance of his brother forever... at least, that was the ideal. Gene deserved to pass on.
Reaching up to grab hold of the book, he was startled by the sound of a slamming door resulting in him losing his grip on the object. It fell off the shelf, hitting him in the head. Silently fuming, he let the pain pass for a moment, his fists clenching in annoyance.
Enough was enough.
Leaving the book forgotten on the floor Naru stormed out of his office glaring intensively at the three awestruck hooligans staring off dumbly. Each holding various looks of confusion and curiosity. Before Naru opened his mouth to speak Bou-san spotted him and held up the hand not holding a bag of ice to his head in defense, "It wasn't us."
Mai nodded, backing the older man up. "Madoka's teasing Lin-san… I think…"
Ayako stayed silent holding in a chuckle.
As if on cue Madoka came skipping out a minute or two later, a pleased look prominent on her face. It was obvious she had just gotten her way with something. As for what? Naru didn't care. "Stop causing a commotion," he reprimanded in a harsh tone.
Instead of cringing like a normal person, Madoka smiled, "Yes. Yes. Of course." Her words were passive—Naru realized—and seemed to just brush off his command as if it were nothing.
"I mean it," and with that he returned to his bat cave.
Lin watched Madoka cautiously as a smirk slowly grew on her face. It was enough to make anyone that knew her nervous. Madoka going from a disappointed pouty look to an 'I've got you where I want you' smirk was anything but a good thing. This worry was confirmed when the woman began to speak obnoxiously loud to the figures outside his office—who were identified as the oh-so aggressive Monk and Ayako. Lin grunted to himself and turned to his computer. Whatever she was planning he wouldn't let it get to him, he refused to play her games.
"Did you know that Lin wasn't potty trained until he was five years old. True story. He was afraid the toilet would eat him."
Lin twitched. So that was how she was going to play things? His lips tightened, 'Don't let her get to you.' He warned himself.
"Mmhm. And when he hit grade school he had this cat named 'Huāshēng'. That was a bit violent and clawed at him a lot, but he refused to give it up because his first crush had given it to him as a gift."
'Don't let her get to you.'
"Isn't it?" the pink haired woman agreed, "It's too bad that the girl didn't like him back. Our handsome Lin was a bit of a troublemaker, he was the kind of little boy that picked on the girl he liked."
'Don't let her get to y—'
"Well… then there was this time when Lin was little…"
The Chinese man shot up out of his seat and snapped his head in Madoka's direction. She wouldn't bring that up would she?"
"…and he was tricked into playing—"
Oh she would—if he didn't stop her that was.
Lin acted fast and darted toward the open door. Reaching out he grabbed the bane of his existence by her collar and dragged her back into his office, slamming the door behind him. He glared daggers in her direction, "How long do you plan to play this little game?"
Madoka smiled, amused at his disgruntled look. "Depends."
"You're blackmailing me?"
"No… of course not. I'm just… being very persuasive."
"Madoka stop being so childish."
"I'm not."
"Madoka—"
"Lin Koujo." The use of his full name shut him up for a second, a trick that his mother had no doubt taught her. "Look. I really, really think this could work," she told him wholeheartedly, her pure intentions evident. "Please help me out with this. I swear I'll take full responsibility if anything goes haywire. Scouts honor."
The man let out a tired sigh, eyes looking over her determined features. He doubted she'd let this go anytime soon and it wasn't that he couldn't do what she was asking of him… but he knew there would be repercussions. She said she would take on the blame, but it would be his fault too if he were to accept. Her want to help Noll and Mai out was admirable; he too had felt the two had gone one step forward just to take two steps back.
Truly, Lin was torn. He could help the woman and risk being shunned and hated if the plan were to somehow fail or reject Madoka's will and have her bugging and/or blackmailing him for the rest of his life. He wasn't sure how much dirt she had on him, but it was most likely a lot. She was just that good at digging up information.
Finally coming to a decision he closed his eyes and relaxed his tense shoulders. "Fine," he said eventually, the word coming out low and was barely caught by Madoka.
"Hmm?" She brightened instantly, leaning in closer as if she hadn't heard him the first time though they both knew she had.
Lin exhaled, "For Noll and Taniyama-san… I will help you with your little 'mission', so to speak."
"Oh wonderful!" the woman's eyes twinkled, "We'll start as soon as the moment arises. I'll let you know," she spoke quickly as she headed toward the door. "Don't worry Lin everything will work out just fine," she promised, and with that she left.
Lin slugged over and slumped into his seat, a rather tired and slightly sulking look covering his face—which unsurprisingly was the usual side effect when dealing with a Madoka on a mission. Leaning his head back the last few words of what she had whispered in his ear echoed in his head.
"Noll needs a rival. You could play the part rather well, I think."
Just what had he gotten himself into?
Ehehehehehe. Poor Lin, ne? I felt kinda sorry for him as I was writing this… xD
Weeee, it took me a bit to write this (I was writing this during my study halls and lunches and was having a blast!) and of course I was also being my lazy self…. I still have yet to update my other lovely stories, but I shall get around to that do not worry!
Review and tell me what you think! I'll love you forever ~
Bai Bai!
Edited 05.07.2015
