Next Chapter up! Enjoy!
I Do NOT own Ghost Hunt or its characters!
-Friday April 16-
Naru walked into the small common room for the SPR office and stared at his friends and coworkers: Mai, Lin, Ayako, Masako, Monk, John, and Yasuhara. Naru had noticed that Mai and Yasu exchanged nervous glances; Yasu seemed to be pushing her on or encouraging her to do something she was undecided about. Though slightly curious, he decided it unimportant.
"Hello everyone." He said, calm and collected. Mai stared at her feet not paying attention. "Mai, if you continue not to listen when spoken to then I'm afraid you will be hopeless in anything you decide to do." Mai's head shot up with rage and frustration.
"Well I'm working for you aren't I?" She shouted. Ah, that's better He thought.
"We'll see about that for long." He then turned back to the group who seemed to be amused by their little 'conversation'. Mai knew that he wasn't serious about firing her, they had had similar arguments in the past but none of them had ever held any promise. "Anyway, I have decided to take a case and I was wondering whether or not Ms. Hara, Monk, John and Ayako would mind joining us for this one."
"Wait a second, what are we up against here?" This was from Monk, who got out of his chair and walked to lean against the windowsill.
"Yeah, what exactly is this case?" Ayako crossed her arms and shifted her weight to the left leg. Oddly enough she stayed rooted on the ground she stood on.
" Our client, Mr. Minoru, claims to be living on a haunted estate. He says there are shadows in certain rooms, knifes appearing and stabbing the walls, strange whispers, and the spirit of an old woman possessing young adults. He may be familiar to some of you; he was a TV actor from the late 70's in America, however he retired many years ago." Naru had finished speaking, but everyone was silent.
Everyone was no doubt wondering what could be going on in that house… and why the house of a retired actor? Mai was the first to speak up afterward. "When are we going to go?"
Naru stole a small glance in her direction and looked around to the rest of the group. "Well, if the others decide to come, then we would be departing in about three days. If not, then tomorrow."
"I don't know about them, but I'm definitely in." Monk said with a smile and a big 'thumbs up'.
"Of course I shall accompany you." Masako said softly underneath the sleeve of her purple floral patterned kimono. John nodded in approval that he would also come.
"Well of course I will have to come! You could benefit a great deal with my presence." Ayako said confidently.
"Yeah, benefit from a headache…" Monk grumbled.
"Wha-What did you say?" Ayako turned to face him. And then they were at it, it was no use trying to break up a fight by those two. Naru remembered that the last major fight they had they wouldn't speak to each other for days; just tiny insults from a distance.
"Will both of you kindly shut up…" Naru said slightly irritated, not that anyone could tell. When they finally silenced down, Naru noticed Mai eagerly looking at her thumbs as if that if she looked away they would disappear. "So now that that's settled, I suggest you all go home and pack for the upcoming case." And with that everyone seemed to up and leave. Naru himself was about to head out when he heard his assistant call his name.
"Naru! Wait up a minute.. I have to tell you something." She walked over to where he was standing. Naru was partially out the door but he paused and brought himself fully back into the room and sighed.
"What is it Mai." He said monotone.
"It's really important." Her eyes sharpened and all of the previous nerves seemed to disappear in that instant. Whatever she wanted to talk about, he knew that it was serious.
"Very well." He said as he grabbed her wrist and brought the both of them into his office for more privacy for the conversation; afraid that others lingering around would hear. He wasn't sure if what she had to say was really a secret or not but the information best be assumed a secret… just to be safe. Nary then let go of her wrist and she brought it up to her chest, cradling it involuntarily with the other hand from his hard grip. "Now then… what is it you have to tell me?"
"Well, last night, Gene came to have a little chat with me." She said releasing her hand, letting her arms drop to her sides; she stared at Naru as he tensed. Naru wasn't the biggest fan of Gene violating Mai's dreams. And for some reason, his chest felt slightly heavier whenever she talked of him. He didn't know whether or not it was from grief and pain… or something else. "He told me to watch out for you, and to keep you from taking cases that you might not be able to handle."
"Gene said that?" Naru was tenser than ever, and from the way he spoke, Mai could tell he was irritated.
"Yes." Mai whispered, afraid to make her boss angrier. In truth, what Gene told her had frightened her a little, and she didn't want Naru to end up in the hospital again. "I was wondering, maybe this might be the case Gene was talking about… can't you just let your heath be first priority for once?"
"Mai. I don't need you looking out for me. I know what I'm doing; I am quite good at my job. I won't take I case I feel we can't handle. But we can handle this. Now, have you told the others?" Naru was mad now, she could tell just by hearing his voice, even if his face was completely impassive.
"No… Well, I did tell Yasu. He told me to tell you, I originally planned on keeping it a secret from you. Yasu talked me out of it." Mai lowered her head, finally at a loss for further words.
Naru turned away from her and walked out into the hallway. "Mai," he said without turning to her. "We will be leaving on Monday. Try not to be late… Again." And with that he left.
Mai couldn't help but to have a small, sad, smile on her face. Naru… just admit it when you can't handle it… we, I, will always be here for you. She stood there for a few minutes, thinking. She was startled when Lin came into the room, slightly surprised to see her there. "Mai?"
"Uh, sorry! I'll be going. I just had to tell Naru something, that's all…" startled, she rose up her hands as if protecting herself from an invisible force and gave a nervous little laugh. She calmed down and looked at Lin. "Lin, has Naru always been like this?"
The tall Chinese man looked blank, no doubt confused slightly by the sudden question. "What do you mean?"
"I mean… has he ever depended on anyone? Ever known when enough is enough?" She almost felt sorry for her boss.
"Well, we are talking about Naru here," Lin walked into the room and looked at Mai, seeing the worry in her face. He had never seen her so seriously worried about Naru. Something must have happened… He stood for a moment and sighed. "Take a seat, Mai. There is something I think I should tell you."
Me: Thank you all for reading! Wow, I can't believe how many people read this in such a short amount of time! I even got a review :3
Ayako: well don't get too excited… its only one…
Me: Well that's one more than you have!
John: Why don't I have any lines?
Me: o_o You can tell the readers right now to read & review if you want…
John: Read and review everyone!
Me: Happy?
John: Quite