A/N: I know its been awhile, but I just found the rest of this story on my computer. I had completely forgotten about it -_-"
I'll post the last chapter after everyone's read this one.
Please Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Ghost Hunt...
Chapter 4: OMG
Mai wasn't sure she could meet Naru's eyes. Especially since now she knew his secret.
She felt really guilty as they walked out of the arcade. Mai had a stuffed animal shaped like one of those ghosts from Danny Phantom tucked under one arm. In a brief splurge of friendliness Naru had handed her his tickets and both of theirs combined paid for her prize.
She almost wished that she was stuffed and soft and could be tucked under an arm. His arm.
"Mai Taniyama," Naru said harshly, making Mai look up. They were standing in the parking lot of their favorite café. It was on the first floor of an office building and upstairs Mai could just see the For Rent sign hanging above the neglected office doors.
"What is the matter with you?"
Mai ignored him and vaulted forward, racing towards the stairs of the office building, "Look Naru! That office is still For Rent! It's been at least five years since anyone's worked there. You should buy it and put that business you want in there. I could make you tea and Lin can be your assistant. Takigawa, Ayako, Masako, John and Yasuhara can all come and visit with us too!"
Naru's eye twitched, "My office will not be used as a café."
But just as suddenly his eyes softened as he looked over at Mai. She hung on the railing that led up to the offices. Her stuffed prize hung precariously from one of her arms. Her school uniform wasn't up to code. In fact her sleeves were rolled up, her jacket unbuttoned and her socks had scrunched up around her ankles. Naru had never seen anything so-
"Hey Naru lets go in the café, alright?" Mai asked, pulling on his sleeve. He nodded placidly, following her along.
Only as a means to start up the conversation did he mention her name.
"So what about Madoka? I thought that since Lin has taken to her then we would be including her more. She won't visit with us too?" Naru asked lightly.
Mai spun around, her eyes swimming with water. She looked all over Naru's face but it was as impassive as ever.
"Madoka, huh?" Mai said slowly, "It's Madoka you like then? When did you get a crush on her? Why did you never say anything?"
For once in his life Naru truly had nothing to say. Mai's head sunk lower to the ground, her hold on Naru's sleeve forgotten.
She wasn't going to cry.
She wasn't gonna cry.
She was not crying.
Suddenly a sound spewed from Naru's lips. Only for a very brief moment. Naru lost his cool.
Mai's eyes widened as she let go of Naru's sleeve and backed away slowly.
Naru the narcissistic, freaking, moronic jerk-wad w-was…..laughing.
"Operation: Get Naru to Spill, was a fail," Mai reported at school the next day.
Madoka had already left in a splurge of emotion just after taking attendance and had left the class to its own devices. It was a wonder she was even paid.
Ayako nodded and patted Mai on the arm. She knew. She had seen the whole thing unravel from where she and Houshou had hidden in the parking lot by the café. Naru had laughed at Mai's announcement. Mai had slapped him and ran away. Naru had caught up with her and walked her home.
Really, those two were like an old married couple.
Mai laid her head down on her desk and sighed. Yasuhara was in the library. John and Masako had gone for a 'walk' to the water fountain ten minutes ago and hadn't returned. Houshou was sleeping with his feet up on his desk and Mai was so bored she could have screamed.
Absentmindedly she glanced at Naru's and Gene's desks which were empty. Lin was gone too. None of them had shown up for class this morning and so far no one had heard from them.
"So Mai are you going to the dance tomorrow night?" Ayako asked, peering at the girl over her Teen Magazine.
"I don't know, I was supposed to have figured out who Naru is in love with by tomorrow and I still have no idea. Going to the dance after losing his bet will be like rubbing sugar in the wound won't it?"
"Mai, its rubbing salt in the wound not sugar, and anyway just come and have fun with me and Masako. Otherwise us single and beautiful ladies will be all alone and we will look like idiots," Ayako declared. She was so loud that Houshou stirred in his sleep and his hands which had been crossed over his chest fell to his sides.
"If that's the case then why doesn't John go with Masako and you can go with Takigawa? You all would make nice couples. You…suit each other."
Ayako stared at Mai for a moment and then slapped her magazine on to her desk in horror, "You want me to go the dance with Takigawa?"
With this Takigawa woke up in a flurry and fell out of his desk with a 'flop'.
"Why the hell are you screaming my name you crazy old hag!" he yelled, "I was trying to sleep!"
Only then did Ayako's face turn entirely red. She got up out of her desk and smacked Takigawa with her magazine a dozen times or so while Mai rested her own head on her cool desk in order to process her thoughts.
She knew that she loved Naru. She always had loved him and somewhere deep down she knew that she had a special place in his heart as well. But she was like a little sister to him, something to protect, something to take care of, not something to love.
She sighed. Was she good enough for him?
This question echoed in her mind like the ping pong balls at the arcade.
She knew that she couldn't spend any more time looking for who Naru liked. She had to confess her own feelings. She had to do it tomorrow night. At the dance.
As the last bell rang at the end of the day Ayako looked up at Naru's empty desk.
"Wow, that narcissist never misses a day of school. Come to think of it neither does Gene or Lin. Something must be up," she commented as everyone but Mai raced for the school doors and freedom, "Hey Mai why don't you check your phone. Maybe he called you today?"
Mai nodded reaching for her backpack. It was worth a try. Mai had a cheap pharmacy brand phone for emergencies but Naru had the number. If something was wrong he would have texted or called her.
She opened her front pocket where she usually kept her cell but even as she did she realized that it wasn't there.
"Oh my gosh Ayako! I totally left it at the old school house the other day!" she screeched, emptying out the contents of her bag on to her desk to double check.
"Are you sure? You could have just left it at home-"
"No, I was spying on Naru and I put it on silent and left it in the kitchen on the counter. I can see myself doing it too! I'm so stupid…" Mai said, shaking her head crudely.
"Hey don't worry about it," Ayako said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'll run by there with you and get it."
"No, you have clean up duty today remember?"
"How could I forget, that narcissist was supposed to help me and he missed school. That jerk."
"Anyway, I'll run by on my way to work. Its no biggie. I'll text you and tell you where Naru is if he called me!" Mai said backing towards the doorway, "Catch you later!"
With a smile Mai ran from the classroom and Ayako shook her head in amusement. That girl was always so full of energy. As for Ayako, she was just a lonely and bitter person. She was tired of pretending to be mad at Houshou when most of the time just wanted to smile and laugh at his dumb jokes. About 15 minutes later she sighed morosely and got to work sweeping the floor.
Maybe she should confess-
"Ms. Matsuzaki, I am sorry I'm late."
Ayako looked up only to find none other than Naru the narcissist standing at the head of the classroom reaching for a sponge in the broom closet.
"And where the hell have you been all day?" Ayako asked simply. She tossed another wad of gum in her mouth and stared at the boy with a twinge of annoyance.
"Didn't Mai tell you? I did text her." Naru said as he began to clean the black board. The soapy water left the chalk smudges oozing from the sponge in Naru's hands.
"No, she forgot her phone today. What's up?"
"Idiot," Naru said, shaking his head, "I was at the old school house. Lin had someone inspect it so we could possibly buy the land but they found that the old place is falling apart. It could crumble any day now so Gene, Lin and I spent the day carefully removing all of our equipment and junk from the back room. We found a whole box of stuff from when we in the first-"
Ayako's broom clattered to the floor and Naru spun around to see the girl standing dumbfounded in the middle of the aisle. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her mouth was hanging open.
"Ms. Matsuzaki-"
"Mai forgot her phone in the kitchen! Naru, she is in the old schoolhouse right now!" Ayako yelled.
Without another word Naru dropped the sponge and sprinted from the classroom faster than Ayako could process his movement. She was standing in an empty classroom with Mai's cheerful smile echoing behind her eyeballs like an instant replay.
What if that was the last time she saw her friend's smiling face?
Pulling herself together Ayako threw her backpack over her shoulder and followed on Naru's heels. Out the door, in to the hallway, outside of school. The sun was setting. Twilight was coming.
She hoped they made it in time.
Mai walked in to the old schoolhouse absentmindedly. The front door creaked when she opened it, per usual. She walked in to the kitchen and found her phone resting on the far side of the counter. Where Naru would never have seen it. With her phone in her pocket she looked up at the room and stopped mid-step.
Everything was wrong. The table was gone, the chairs too. The coffeepot, Naru's favorite kettle, missing. Mai ran in to the backroom where they kept their equipment but when she threw the door open all that met her eyes was emptiness.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
All of their memories and priceless ghost hunting equipment. It was all gone.
Who would take it?
Mai walked around the first floor for a bit. Opening the doors to a few classrooms. Peering in at the dusty desks and tables. The chalky whiteboards and the smudged floors. She and all of her friends had loved this place ever since they were little.
Even though they had never found any ghosts they had connected and become good friends here. She almost couldn't bear walking now, through empty halls and stolen memories.
Tears slid down her cheeks but she didn't wipe them away.
Suddenly her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a faint vibration, probably an old text that she had never bothered to check. She dug it out of her pocket and flipped it open. There were two texts from Naru and one from Gene.
The first one read: Naru Davis, 7:51 AM, Hey idiot, I'm not coming to school today, have fun without me.
Rolling her eyes Mai scrolled to Gene's text that read: Eugene Davis, 7:52 AM, that's some tough luv there Mai. My brother's a jerk, why do u like him so much? :P
Scrolling back up to Naru's last text Mai felt a faint tremble beneath her feet and looked up at the ceiling. Through the cracks in the walls Mai had always been able to see the second floor and now she see almost too clearly that second floor was no longer. The trembling turned in to a chorus of thunder as Mai's feet carried her to the entrance and the roof of the old schoolhouse fell in on itself.
She had to get out quickly. It was only a matter of time before the whole building fell apart.
It was just as she was heading outside and could see the door. A few more steps and she would have been home free but with a gut wrenching screech one of the many wooden lockers that lined the foyer was ripped from the rusted steel nails that held it against the wall. As if in slow motion Mai saw it fall towards her and she closed her eyes.
Her phone clattered to the floor with Naru's last text message still flashing across the screen. It read: Naru Davis, 12:45 PM, Just finished emptying out schoolhouse, its too dangerous to go in there anymore. See you soon, Naru.