Disclaimer: Yes, this is still a work of fanfiction, for entertainment, not profit. I don't own, please don't sue, etc.

Chapter 6

Yasuhara wasn't sure why Naru had felt the need to distract Ayako and Bou-san, but it confirmed his suspicion that something was up with the Narcissicist. Shibuya-san's usual response to Bou-san's needling would be to heave a sigh, roll his eyes, and either ignore him or call them back to order, as the situation warranted, with the air of being the sole adult in a room full of rowdy brats. The only explanation that presented itself was that the monk's comment was too close to the truth.

Intriguing. Did that mean that Naru actually was interested in Mai, and was using the pretext of work to insinuate himself into Mai's life by slow degrees? That sounded like something that he would do, once you got past the actual 'dating' part of things. And the being interested in another human being part. Well, okay, it was unlikely. But something was up, and Yasuhara, as a good investigator in-training, couldn't in good conscience leave it alone. Plus, he was really nosy.

He shot a quick email to his mentor, to see if she knew what was afoot, but Madoka was as much in the dark as he. She did agree that Naru's behavior sounded suspicious; there was nothing in her better knowledge of his character that suggested the Narcissist would drag his assistant to lectures and art exhibits out of altruistic motives. He had the occasional charitable impulse, but he only indulged it if it didn't inconvenience him too much; usually, they ended up benefiting him as much as the recipient. Madoka declared herself mystified, wished him luck with his investigation, and ordered him to keep her updated on the latest developments.

Mai was the obvious source for information. She loved to talk, and was in the habit of using him as a sounding board for sorting out her thoughts as they worked. He would quickly get whatever she knew out of her, and while Naru wouldn't have told her much, he might not have been particularly cagy about masking his motives with her. Naru knew as well as he did that Mai seldom saw below the surface of people's behavior. She didn't need to; her intuition told her who she needed to avoid. Besides, Yasuhara had observed that Naru tended to drop his formidable guard a few degrees around Mai. She, with Lin, formed the select circle of people that he wasn't wary around.

A quick prowl of the office revealed a line of uninformative closed doors; Naru must have stashed Mai someplace. Yasuhara knew his boss well enough to know that he wasn't going to get a tete-a-tete with Mai if Naru had decided that he wouldn't, so he gave up for the day and headed home.

He arrived at the SPR bright and early the next morning, to find that Naru had already departed the scene, with Mai in tow. Yasuhara winced in sympathy—Naru must have wanted to keep him away from Mai pretty badly to get going that early; he was doubtless in a foul mood. Yasuhara didn't envy Mai dealing with grouchy Early Morning Naru. Lin was waiting for him in the reception area, with directions to a private occult library housed in a shrine. It had been accumulated by the late head priest, a man well known for his knowledge of the supernatural. Naru had secured permission to send a representative to take a look at the collection.

It was a long, tiresome trip across town on the subway to reach the shrine, located in a quiet, residential district. The shrine itself was moderately large, and immaculately well cared for. A tall, handsome boy in traditional hakama and gi was sweeping the courtyard when he approached. The boy looked up, his amber eyes disconcertingly sharp and watchful, but he relaxed once Yasuhara explained his errand. He nodded, and conducted Yasuhara to the library, explaining briefly that the late head of the shrine had been his grandfather. The boy was not, apparently, one to waste words—he was even less talkative than pre-tea Naru.

The library, housed in a separate building with an insignia of crossed arrows over the door, was meticulously neat and tidy. There was none of the dust and grime that Yasuhara had feared, and the atmosphere was light and airy. The collection, however, was HUGE, and his eyes ached just imagining how cramped the script on some of them would be. It would take days to make even a cursory survey of all of this—a fact he was pretty sure Naru had realized perfectly well.

The boy left him with a sharp admonition to be careful with the materials; the look accompanying the command suggested that any damages to his grandfather's precious collection would be taken out of his hide. Yasuhara raised his hands in reassuring protest, but the boy was gone before he had finished. Apparently, interpersonal communication just wasn't his thing.

Sighing, Yasuhara opened a notebook and turned to a shelf with the feeling of Sisyphus facing a big old boulder and a steep hill. It really wasn't a good idea to get in Naru's way—the ruthless bastard was evil.

Next Chapter: Naru's plan enters the critical phase! With Yasuhara out of the way, Naru braces himself for an encounter with pop culture.

Authors notes: Cookies for miss koneko, nebulia, Azamiko, Lynna, and AngelMiko289! They correctly spotted the xxxHolic cameo—and yes, Yasuhara doing research in Doumeki Haruka's library. I couldn't resist!