CHAPTER 3: DÉJÀ VU!!!
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"Mai… Mai… Help her… I beg of you… Mai…" a familiar voice was calling to her.
"Huh?!" she woke up again from that strange dream of someone calling out to her.
'Gene… What does that dream mean? Who is that girl who's calling me? Her voice is familiar…' Mai started talking to Gene telepathically.
'It's Yuui… She wants you to help Taki…' Gene answered.
'Of course! I remember, that was Yuui's voice. Taki? Isn't she the one who killed her?' Mai asked.
'Things aren't always as they appear to be. Maybe there's something else behind her death. Maybe we have to find Taki to find out. You have to help her Mai. This may mean that the first case isn't really finished yet…' Gene said and disappeared.
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They all gathered in the living room of SPR. Talking about stuff, laughing about stuff and arguing about stuff. Yasuhara was the only one who remained silent aside from Naru and Lin who always were silent. Mai seemed tense as well, although she didn't let anyone notice. Not even Naru.
'I wonder if this Tenshi, Yasuhara-kun is talking about, is somewhat connected to Taki-san? If she is… then I have to do my best to persuade Naru to take the case.' Mai thought.
'I really wan to help her… I have to do my best to persuade Shibuya-san.' Yasuhara thought.
Then, they all became silent when someone knocked at the door. Mai stood up and opened the door.
'An angel?' Mai thought the moment she saw the beautiful face of the young lady who knocked on the door. 'Perhaps she is Tenshi-chan…' she thought again.
"Come in, ma'am." Mai said politely and lead the guest to the living room. After that she went straight to the kitchen to prepare some tea.
'An angel…' everyone thought the moment they saw her.
"Ahm, good afternoon…" the client said shyly.
"What can we do for you?" Naru asked right away.
"My name is Tenshi. I suppose Yasuhara-san has already told you bits about my case…" she answered.
"Yes, he did. But it seems to be lacking in information." Naru stated.
"Well, yeah. I haven't told him everything yet… But I just wanted to ask… when you heard what he said, what was your answer for my case?" the girl asked bravely.
"I told him that you should just consult another doctor for a second opinion." Naru replied.
"I thought so… I assumed as well that, that would have been your answer." The girl said honestly. Then Mai came walking in, gave them some tea and sat beside Naru.
"Can you tell us more things about this case?" Naru asked.
"Would it change your decision if I tell you more information? 'Cause if from the beginning you have already decided to disregard my case, then I suppose there is no need for me to spill any private information about our life." Tenshi said looking straight in the ghost hunter's eyes.
'My gosh! This angelic-looking girl isn't afraid of Naru! She sure is brave…' Ayako thought.
'I can't believe she has the guts to say that to him…' Bou-san thought.
'He's not afraid with Naru-bou…' Yasuhara thought.
'They are looking at each others eyes… This kind of makes me jealous… She's so beautiful… What if Naru starts liking her?' Mai thought while her brain starts panicking.
'Don't worry, Mai. My brother loves you…' Gene whispered to her.
"Well, actually Tenshi-san, I have already made up my mind." Naru said.
"And what is your decision?" Tenshi asked.
"We accept your case." Naru said and everyone was shocked.
"Thank you, Shibuya-san!" Tenshi exclaimed and her serious face lit up and smiled.
"So, can you now tell us the information I am asking for?" Naru asked again.
"Yes… You see, it has been six years. Taki-neechan took me in when she found me on the streets. She took care of me and became my elder sister and protector. Then, I also met her friends. After a year of staying with her, she has always been good, sweet and kind. Until suddenly she changed, I am not the only who noticed the changes in her attitude. Even her best friend did. I knew something was wrong. At first, I blamed myself. Because she only seemed to change when she took me in. I thought that maybe I was cursed or something. But Yuui-chan told me it probably wasn't because of me---" Tenshi said and then Mai cut her off.
"Wait! A while ago you said Taki, right? Do you mean, Taki Kawamura? And by Yuui, is it Yuui Reijin?" Mai asked.
"Yes! Do you know my sister? Yuui too?" Tenshi asked looking confused.
"You see, the last case we handled has something to do with Yuui-chan's death… Ayako answered.
Tenshi gasped and her face turned sad… "So you already know? My sister killed her…" she said.
"You should have handed her over to the police if you knew." Bou-san said.
"It's not that easy! She's my sister, my only family. And a voice within me was saying that everything wasn't her fault at all." Tenshi said and her eyes were already starting to well up with tears.
"Everything wasn't her fault? How could you say that? She killed someone and she deserves to be punished." Bou-san said growing impatient.
"Bou-san, stop it!" Mai shouted.
"Why are you defending them, Mai? You were the one who saw all of Yuui's sufferings weren't you?" Bou-san asked.
"Yes! But if, Taki is the client now… I am ready to help. It is a request after all from a client during the last case." Mai said.
"A client during the last case? One of the Yamamoto's?" Masako asked.
"No… But Yuui herself asked me. She begged of me to look for Taki and help her. And Gene said that maybe things aren't always, as they appear to be. I mean, what if Taki-san was possessed when she killed Yuui-chan?" Mai explained.
"Mai-chan, arigatou… Thank you for your kindness. But if the members of your team doesn't like to take this case then I guess that would mean you would no longer accept this…" Tenshi said.
"No, Tenshi-san. If they have objections then they are free to leave. I already said yes to your case and I intend to keep my word. Besides, Mai wants to help. And I bet that if I refuse this case she'd be extremely sad and not to mention mad at me." Naru said.
"Thank you again Shibuya-san, Mai-chan." Tenshi said and smiled.
"Your welcome, Tenshi-chan." Mai told her.
"Shibuya-san is there anything else you need to know?" she asked.
"Just one thing, when Taki-san found you, do you have your memories of your past intact?" Naru asked which earned him a surprised look from everyone.
"Does that actually have a relevance to the case, Shibuya-san?" the girl asked the same question floating in everyone's head. Only Lin knew why Naru asked such question and he decided to keep the reason to himself.
"Yes, Tenshi-san. I for one do not ask questions that are irrelevant from the case." Naru answered.
"Well, if you say that it would be helpful… No. I am afraid not. When Taki-neechan found me on the streets, I seemed to have lost my memories of my past…" she said sadly.
"That is all we needed to know. You can expect us to come by your house tomorrow at noon. Please prepare a room we could use as base." Naru said.
Tenshi stood up and offered Naru a handshake, which the latter accepted. "Once again I thank you, Shibuya-san. I hope you would all find a way to help my sister." She said and gave a quick nod to everyone else as a goodbye then Yasuhara accompanied her to the taxi waiting outside.
Naru went inside his office to talk to Lin in private. And the others seem to be gossiping about the young boss and his behavior towards the "angel"…
"Mai-chan, not to scare you or anything… but you have to keep an eye on Naru-chan!" Ayako said.
"Yeah! My gosh! Did you see how he looked at Tenshi-san?" Masako exclaimed.
"C'mon you guys. It's not as if N-N-Naru's into h-h-her… r-r-right?" Mai asked nervously.
"We're not sure. But just to stay on the safe side. Keep an eye on your boyfriend…" Bou-san said.
"Oh c'mon you guys. Don't scare Mai-san. Why don't we all give Shibuya-san the benefit of the doubt?" the ever-kind ex-priest told them.
They fell silent…
'What if he does develop feelings for a very beautiful angelic girl like Tenshi-chan? I don't want to doubt him… But I feel so insecure… Naru's really handsome… Perfect for a very beautiful angel like our client…' Mai thought and silently started crying inside.