Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt

Chapter 4: Provoking

"Great!" I cried excitedly, jumping from my chair, "I'll go get Naru right now. It'd be really funny if you and Gene had the same case wouldn't it?" I talked over my shoulder to Alice as I made my way over to Naru's office once more.

"That would be hilarious!" she cried, giggling girlishly at the thought.

"Be right back," I told her and slipped through the door into Naru's office. Naru sat at his desk now, reading over the file Gene had been waving around while Gene yammered off about nothing in particular. I stood in front of the closed door, hands on hips. "Sorry to interrupt this brotherly get-together, but we have a potential client," I said, glaring pointedly at Gene who gave me a toothy smile.

Naru threw the folder aside as if he were happy to get rid of it. Something told me it had something to do with the fact that Gene had barged in on us. "Hey!" Gene cried indignantly, but he ignored him.

Instead, he said, "Who is it?"

"Alice," I said with a bright smile. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I just swung back and forth on my heels with my hands clasped behind my back.

"Alright," he finally said, standing up. He had his shoes back on though his pants were a bit rumpled. Whether it was from sitting cross-legged or from me sitting in his lap I wasn't sure. He crossed over to me, wrapping his arms around me waist. He pulled me flush against his body and brought his mouth down to meet mine.

Gene made a retching sound in the back of his throat. "Get a room," he groaned, rolling his eyes at the ceiling, "Why do you treat me so, oh merciful lord?"

"We do have a room, you're just standing in it right now," Naru shot at his twin, a smirk coming across his lips. I laughed into Naru's chest.

"Well then," Gene scoffed, moving towards the door, "I see how it is."

Now it was Naru's turn to scoff. "Yeah right. You wouldn't know a transvestite if she ran up to you and slapped you across the face."

I listened to their brother banter, once again wishing that I had siblings of my own. I laughed, pulled away from Naru and walking to the door. "Come on you guys. I'm sure Alice is wondering what the hell we've been doing in here for so long by now," I told them, turning to watch them.

My words silenced them. They gave each other a look that gave me that feeling like they were telepathic. Then Gene burst into laughter. "Alright, let's get out of here before she gets any ideas. I shudder at the thought of what she might think up," he said, literally shuddering as he made his exit.

I took a second to mull over the idea and felt a shiver run up my own spine. I didn't know Alice all that well, but suddenly I felt kind of sorry for John. "Yeah, let's go before she gets ideas," I said, rushing to get to her and calm her overactive imagination.

A hand wrapped around me wrist. Naru pulled me back against him. He kissed me firmly before releasing me, leaving me woozy and lightheaded. "We'll finish our 'conversation' later," he said in a tone that sent shivers down my spine. Yes, it was official, Naru was a fully-fledged, little-less-than-normal, hot blooded male.

…..

"Where is your case located?" Naru asked, sitting across from Alice now. Gene sat beside Naru, Lin sat at the head, John sat next to Alice, Jessica leaned against my desk, and I sat across from Lin. My hamster was still having a hard time getting back on her wheel so it was a bit difficult to concentrate on the conversation.

"My school," Alice said matter-of-factly with the type of confidence I could only dream about.

"And why do you believe that it is haunted?"

"Well, this boy committed suicide a month ago on the roof of the school right as term started back up," she started explaining, twirling the end of her long braid around her finger, "A week after his death, one guy a day would act like a totally different person. He would pull pranks and act like a total dick-"

"Alice," John warned softly, looking at her with wide, shocked eyes.

"What? It's true," she told him with an unabashed shrug of her shoulders. Gene seemed to be getting more excited as she explained. "Anyway, they'd act completely different and then something would happen to a girl. I never heard where, I just know that it was usually something irreversible and it always happened to the girl that boy loved most. The other odd thing is that the boys never remember anything from those days. Most of the girls are too scared to go anywhere by themselves. It's getting out of hand. Can you please help us?" She clapped her hands together, looking pleadingly over the tips of her fingers at him.

Naru gave Alice a considering look. "Has your principal approved of you contracting us for this case?"

"Of course! I have his card right here," she said. Standing up, she pulled up the edge of her skirt to reveal a thigh holster for a knife. She pulled the out the knife and fished around the bottom of the holster for a moment. She held out a folded business card, still holding the hunting knife.

Naru took the card, unfolding it to look it over without a second glance at the weapon in Alice's hand.

I stared at her wide-eyed along with Gene and John. Jessica seemed to have become uninterested with our conversation long ago and had subsequently zoned out. "Uh, Alice, why do you have a knife strapped to your thigh? And a really large one at that?" I asked, trying to force myself not to lean in towards Naru. I wasn't succeeding.

She looked at me with a confused look. "What do you mean? It's for protection of course. Can't take any chances in a foreign city where you can hardly speak the language," she told me in that matter-of-fact tone, sliding the knife easily back into its holster and dropping her skirt.

"You know how to use it right?" I asked, staring dubiously where it had disappeared. I honestly thought Alice was the last person who needed a weapon. She'd probably beat her attacker to a pulp before she got that chance to use it.

"Of course I do, I took courses from a private instructor as a girl. And I grew up on a ranch. I'd prefer something bigger like a rifle of some sort or even a handgun or a sword, but they're too bulky. It's quite hard to hide them. Trust me, I've tried," she told me, shaking her head in disappointment.

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide. I was seeing Alice in a new light now. She wasn't just so girly girl that relied only on her looks and boys. She was a woman who could protect herself without the help of another. I kind of… admired her in a way.

Now, I was the last person who needed to be running around with a weapon.

An image of me swinging a sword or shoot a gun popped into my mind. I could already see myself tripping or tumbling over. I giggled behind my hand, looking away from her. Luckily, John was lecturing her about the use of her weapon so she didn't see me laughing. Naru on the other hand did.

He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. He turned back to Alice and with a resigned sigh said, "We'll take your case. Inform your principal. We'll be there tomorrow."

"Yes!" Gene cried in triumph, jumping to his feet and doing a victory dance.

"Thank you very much Mr. Shibuya. See you tomorrow Mai!" Alice called over her shoulder as she dragged John out. That poor boy.

Jessica sighed, pushing off from the desk. "I'll get going too then. See you tomorrow," she said, missing her usual verve.

"Okay," I said slowly, "See you tomorrow." I watched her walk out before turning back to the twins on the couch. Lin had already disappeared into his office.

"You took my case! You took my case!" Gene sang excitedly, still doing his victory dance.

"Gene, are you sure you want to be prov-" My question was cut short by Naru kicking out a leg and sweeping Gene's feet out from under him. He crashed to the floor with Naru smirking all the while. "Too late." Sighing, I smiled and went to make tea.

I hope you liked this chapter. I rather enjoyed it. Review please :D