Day 1 – Afternoon

When Takigawa and Ayako walked into the room with arms loaded full of equipment, all conversation in the room ground to a halt. Both SPR specialists stood still, rather surprised at the sight that greeted them, while the skaters stared in annoyance at the interruption.

"Er – Hi. Wow, we hadn't seen a single other person in the building, so this is where the party is eh?" Takigawa tried.

"Hi Monk." Mai chirped, both her and Yurio letting down the foot they'd been holding in the air, stretching. "Yeah this and the arcade are people's hangouts for when not practicing."

"Why Mai I had no idea you were so flexible. I'm sure Naru will appreciate it." Monk teased, cheering at her happy tone.

Mai laughed somewhat awkwardly, feeling the absolute shock of Yurio in his disbelieving gaze. "Like he could get close enough to know."

Yurio's eyes flicked to the newcomers, glaring deeply. "Ve have to stay off za ice because of you freaks and setting up your dumb equipment in za rink. Stop adding to za list of reasons you don't belong here, we don't need any more outsiders or idiots." The Russian Fairy growled venomously at them, accent plaintive.

Mai stifled her laugh with a cough, choking just a little bit and covering her mouth to hide the smile. Yurio huffed, snatching his bag and walking out the side door towards the mens lockers.

Mai couldn't take it and burst out into giggles.

Takigawa and Ayako, who for their parts had looked incredibly offended, frowned.

"You find him insulting us funny? How rude." Ayako sniffed.

"You guys cut him off from the ice- He's… he's like a puppy with separation issues freaking out at the window, when his master goes outside to get the mail and pets another dog passing by! That… that was..." She explained breathlessly, holding her sides as it brought on an even stronger wave of laughter.

At the image, the triplets, whom had been over in the corner coloring, joined her in laughter.

"Oh, oh! What kind of dog would he be Nee-Chan?" Loop asked excitedly, racing over to bounce at her heels.

"A poodle." Mai answered immediately. "He's way too self confident in how pretty he is, thinks he owns the house, likes being active and if he gets bored we're all done for."

The triplets paused.

"You're right, he's a poodle." Lux acknowledged softly after a contemplative moment.

The few other skaters dotted across the benches and exercise equipment cracked up.

"I don't get it." Ayako sighed, "But I really don't care. I'm going back to base, I've been hauling these cameras for hours now, and I need tea."

Mai gave her a small wave. "Bye Ayako! I'll see you later, okay!"

The door shut behind her with a click as the same time as the door to the locker rooms opened again, Yurio in the doorway with his skates dangling from one hand and bag tossed over the other – he'd changed from his gym clothes to the casual stretch ones they used in the rink, no doubt waiting for the moment SPR finished taking the temperature and other readings so they could go out on the ice.

Everyone stared at him.

"… Vhat."

The room burst out laughing again, Takigawa glancing around cluelessly.

Yurio threw his gym bag at Mai, knowing it was somehow her fault, which she dodged.

Takigawa finally seemed to just shrug it off, heading over to the corner of the room to set up the camera, take wall measurements, temperatures, and do the marble test to check if the floor slanted. Mai helped out of habit, forgetting she was supposed to be not working to spite Naru, getting lost back in conversation with Yurio as they continued their debate on what to expect from the next routine, talking over each other but easily understanding the full intent of each sentence as they parried.

"So you really think he'd make us do a quad-combo with such a small time left-"

"Nah, maybe not, ve wouldn't vant to risk it, but he does vant us to keep improving even zough pair skate isn't as important as Vorlds, he'd have us do something new that is beyond our last level at least once-"

"We already managed a combination spin-"

"Exactly, za only thing ve can't get is some of za jumps vith more airtime-"

"Well there's no way he would make us do a Lutz! I can barely land one as it is, I'm not good with edge-" Mai paused working in horror at the idea.

"But you can, so he might, just like in first competition vith Katsuki, and he did say we vould do some high-attitude sequences in za next-"

"But they haven't given a bye or even announced what sort-"

"It's just a small niet-discipline type, I'll most likely be free, so they might use Zayak rule, he'd vant us to-"

"True." Mai agreed, frowning. "But I still can't manage a clean loop yet. Heck I just managed to get right attitude for the pair deep outside edge since we were working on the jumps so much-"

"We could do it cross, after step sequence split-"

Monk interrupted. "How are you guys even understanding each other?" He asked, half amused half dubious.

Mai and Yurio, distracted, stared at him in confusion as they tried to comprehend the sudden switch from discussing the routine to normal conversation.

"Ehhh?" Mai finally managed vaguely, confused.

"You kept interrupting each other, I couldn't even follow the topic!" Monk snickered.

Both of them stared blankly. "… Oh…"

"How long have you two known each other anyway?"

"Ummm..." They exchanged a glance. "Well, we distantly knew each other for like five years before actually talking for the first time." Mai explained, wording herself carefully. "And then a couple years ago through luck of the draw at a friend's interview, we got partnered up for a two-person skate – freak'n Viktor and his insistence on showing off his students' versatility! -, and he coincidentally moved here soon after. So from then on since we have experience working together, we always apply for any pair competitions as a team."

"Ooooh, okay. Wait, you skate?"

Yurio smacked himself in the face, sighed, and walked over to the ballet bar, and he stuck one leg straight up in the air in a standing midair split, leaning on the bar to keep his balance, and decided checking his phone was more productive then socializing.

Monk gave him a wide-eyed stare. "That… that looks painful." He said when Yurio glanced at him for staring.

"Vhat does." Yurio returned, uncomprehending. After another moment of Takigawa staring, he turned to other sources. "Mai?"

"He means the Beillmann stretch." Mai explained.

"Huh? Why vould it be painful?"

"Normal people can't do that, Yurio."

"… They can't?"

"Nope."

"You call Mai by her first name?" Takigawa asked in an odd tone of voice.

"What is it with all za questions?" Yurio growled, annoyed again, and went back to his phone.

Takigawa frowned, finishing the room set up by clicking the SD card into the camera, where it was unobtrusively set up in the corner of the room. "Mai-san, would you show us the way to any other rooms that may be a source?"

"Sure." Mai nodded. "The storage rooms would probably be the most likely, upstairs."

"Oh, Naru and Yasu are up there looking for blueprints and checking it over for haunted items."

"Well, let's go see how they're doing." Mai chirped, heading for the door. Yurio leaned back so he was on both feet again, picking up his gym bag and skates and tossing them in the equipment cubbies on the way by as they passed, following a few steps behind.

Takigawa glanced over his shoulder at him awkwardly. "You're coming too?" He queried, disconcerted by the bad-tempered 17 year old. Yurio gave her a look as if she'd said the strangest and dumbest thing he had ever heard.

Mai was struck by sudden inspiration. "Oh! That's it, guys, I have an idea! Monk, just ignore Yurio once we reach Naru and Yasu! Pretend like his presence is completely normal, thin air, don't respond if he says anything, if they ask who he is just play innocent and look around then ask who they mean. Yurio, just like… drift along behind me like you usually do, don't touch anything, and don't say anything either! Be a ghost! You get the plan?"

Yurio gave her a sideways smirk of understanding and a salute. "Brilliant. I've taught you vell."

"You're a bad influence on me." She informed him.

Mai snatched the pen and notepad form the pile of supplies Monk was carrying, quickly scrawling out a note to give Yasu explaining the prank and what to do. Just in case, to make sure he went along with it, she wrote a small blackmail note at the end about spreading the pictures she'd taken of an incident last year involving a pizza, a random pair of satin women's underwear Masako had been given with a gift set, and a passing dog.

"In Soviet Rrrussia," Yurio began, intentionally playing up his accent until it was so thick it slurred his Japanese, "Ghost run avay from Russian Voman screaming for help. Except if ghost Russian also, zen both end up playink kards forrr vodka shots."

Mai giggled, and returned the salute. "Operation Prank Naru Phase Two, begin! Oh and just a reminder about what I said before Yurio, about keeping that fact and the other thing secret from Naru until the right moment."

Yurio nodded once, sly grin still in place. "I remember. Ahh, destroying people is so fun, I can hardly vait."

"What are you planning?" Takigawa asked, half amused half apprehensive. "Don't go overboard okay..."

"Define overboard." Mai shot down impassively as they reached the storage room, opening the door for the others to pass through since Takigawa and Ayako had their arms full of cameras, wires, and other things to set up. Yurio leaned against the door frame once inside, eyes flickering over the new faces.

"Hello Yasu." Mai greeted calmly, slipping the note into his hand as she hugged him in greeting, glanced at Naru, then back at the note meaningfully.

"Hey Mai-san, Nishigori-san said the rink's blueprints were in here somewhere?" He asked, turning away from Naru to hide it as he unfolded the note and scanned it.

"Yep." Mai nodded, glancing at the boxes scattered around. "This is where they keep anything like decorations or the family's memorabilia, so if the ghost came in attached to an item it would be here. The storage rooms for stuff like ice tools and the toolbox they keep downstairs. The blueprint though isn't exactly used much so would most likely be here."

Naru gestured to show he'd heard, rifling through a pile of papers he'd found in one box.

Mai's gaze lit on the contents of the next box Yasu pulled from the shelf. "Ehh, the nerf guns! I remember those, from rally day last year!" She reminisced, pulling out the two belt-loaded machine nerfs, one in each hand. After a moment of considering, she turned and placed them on the small table a few steps away then returned to help Yasu lift the next box.

Yurio took a couple light steps away from the door, hands folded nonchalantly behind his back, leaning over a bit as he pretended to curiously observe the nerf guns without touching them.

"Hey, you. This is staff only area." Naru waved him away distractedly.

Yurio, for his part, completely stopped any movement and looked up, locking his eyes intently on Naru, expression blank, and didn't say a single word.

After a moment Naru seemed to become uncomfortable with the piercing green gaze, and glared a bit. "Yes you, did you not understand? We're working, please leave. We don't have time for civilian questions right now."

Mai took the chance, feigning hesitance. "...Uh, Naru? Who are you talking to?"

Naru blinked, breaking the stare to look at her, then back to Yurio, then at her again. "Do you sense anything?"

"Huh? No, why?" Mai wondered, glancing around as if scanning once, not letting her eyes rest on Yurio.

Naru pointed at him. "Then tell the customer to get out."

Takigawa, with a hidden air of mischief, decided to chip in. "… There's no one here, Naru."

Mai took a hop skip over to Naru, putting a hand agains this forehead before he could stop her and drawing on her very best acting skills to seem worried. "Naru? Are you feeling okay, do you have a fever?"

Naru swiped his hand to the side to lightly remove her hand, glaring in annoyance. "I'm fine." He replied shortly, turning back to rifle through the boxes.

"… If you say so. Don't be paranoid just because we haven't had a case in a while, okay?" She returned disbelievingly. Yurio took a few steps forward to hover directly behind her shoulder, giving Naru a disapproving frown then nod as if telling him he should listen to her advice.

After that he stuck to her like glue as she moved around the room and shelves, using his knowledge of her movements from training to predict her and lean over her shoulder to peer at what she was doing when she went through boxes.

This went on for quite a while, Naru occasionally glancing at Yurio with a very strange look on his face.