7- "This is written by the well-known psychic researcher, Oliver Davis! Don't you know him?"
Mai yawned.
Bored was an understatement. She was beyond and horribly tired and bored of sitting in front of the desk and doing nothing. Not exactly nothing. She still hadn't file the remaining papers that Naru asked her to hours ago, but who one earth has the energy to do such mundane stuff early in the morning?!
As a plea was ringing in her brain, praying that some client would just popped into their office, the door opened on the cue and Mai literally jumped up from her seat with a bright smile on her face in an instant. Finally, there would be something for her to do instead of-
"Where's Naru?"
Her face fell. Standing by the door was Masako, in her usual kimono dress as she glanced around the office to seek for her own answer. When she couldn't find Naru, she sent a pointed look over Mai and a vein appeared on the latter's forehead. 'Would it kill her to acknowledge me before asking for Naru?'
"Good afternoon, Masako-chan." Mai gritted her teeth before she gestured her thumb to her back. "In his office, like always." She drawled.
"I see." Masako walked past Mai's desk without a second look and was about to knock on Naru's door when it flung open on its own.
"Good afternoon, Naru." Masako smiled.
Mai tried not to roll her eyes.
"Good afternoon, Hara-san." Naru didn't sound good in his greeting at all.
He then turned towards Mai and she stared back bitterly at him. 'What does he want now? Don't tell me he wants tea.'
"Mai. We're going out."
Her heart began beating so loudly that she was afraid that the two would hear it in the quiet office. If she didn't see the horrified look on Masako's face, Mai would have thought she heard wrongly. She took in a deep breath to relax a moment.
"G-Go out?" Mai confirmed again.
"I want you to accompany me to buy some things."
Oh. So it was that meaning. Mai glanced over at the relief look on Masako's face and grimaced inwardly.
"Why don't I accompany you instead?" Masako offered.
"It's fine." Naru slightly pushed her aside as he stepped out of his room and frowned at Mai who was still rooted in her position.
"What are you doing? Let's go."
"Uh- yeah. Sure." Mai watched Masako who was still standing right there, looking lost. Even if they weren't always on the same side of the page, Mai still pitied her effort in making her way here and ended up being cast aside just like that. "Then what about Masako-chan?" Mai urged Naru.
He was already by the door and without looking back, he opened it and stepped out. "If you have any inquiry about a case, you can consult Lin."
Mai gulped and awkwardly smiled at Masako. "Lin-san is in his room." She pointed at the end of the office before skipping out of the office. There wasn't the time to dwell any longer since Naru gave no sign in being patient enough today to wait for her.
And she was right. Naru was already on the street, hands in his black pants and marching to who-knows-where. Mai jogged over as quickly as possible and she finally was able to synchronize her steps with his. Mai noted a few girls gawking at her boss and giggling among themselves but well, she couldn't blame them.
"So what are we buying?" Mai broke the silence.
All of the sudden, he stopped in his track and Mai followed too. Slowly, she followed his gaze and realized they were both standing outside a bookshop. Before Mai could prompt him, Naru was already making his way inside and she shook her head as she quickly rushed inside too.
Naru had disappeared just a second she let her eyes off him, but it was still easy to spot him with the way he dressed in the colorful bookstore. Mai walked over to the corner of the store and to where he was as she slightly bent over to see the cover of the book he was already holding and reading.
"Pa... Para..." Mai squinted and her lips curled down. The word was too hard for her to pronounce. A typical book suited for Naru.
Without even looking at the cover, Naru turned a page. "Parapsychology."
She stuck out a tongue and began lingering among the books before them. "It's weird that they have a section for supernatural and psychic stuff."
"This shows how often you come to a bookstore."
Mai pouted. "Yeah yeah." And under her breath, she muttered "Nerd."
"I heard that."
"So!" Mai chimed innocently. "You came out today to buy books?"
He merely grunt in response and slotted the book back to the shelf.
"Wait, isn't that-" Mai squeezed in between Naru and the shelf and pulled the spine of the book that caught her eyes. He watched her as she began bouncing on her feet, extremely excited over the book in her hand. "I found it!"
"What?"
Mai showed the thick book in her hand. "This is written by the well-known psychic researcher, Oliver Davis! Don't you know him?" She flipped the book and stared at it in awe, not bothering to listen to his reply. How could Naru not know him when he was basically a walking Wikipedia? "He seemed pretty cool too, from what Bou-san said about him."
Naru stared at her from the corner of his eyes. "Can you even read pass the first page?"
On that very said page, Mai cringed hard at all the English words. Not even pass the first sentence, her head was already spinning. "Apparently, no." She answered the obvious.
He picked out another book from the shelf again. "There were several copies published in Japanese, but it was discontinued because of some legal issues."
Mai blinked. "Really? But how do you know that?"
"Because I know."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I forgot. You know everything." She turned to the back of the book and sighed even further in disappointment when she noted the price tag. "The price is a little out of my league too." Shrugging as impassively as possible, she put the book back into the slot.
Naru resumed in reading the book he picked. "If you're done wandering around, go buy a few pens. We're running out."
Mai made a face before sticking her hand out.
"What?"
"Money. I left mine at the office."
He stared at her and she stared back. And only after a long while, Naru finally replied.
"I didn't bring mine too."
.o.
"Here's your paycheck."
Mai gleefully accepted the sealed envelope and rubbed it between her two hands. It seemed like forever since she last received her pay and when she felt the thin slip of paper between her hands, she felt like her life was a lot more blissful than she imagined.
"Thank you!" She chirped. "Do you want some tea?"
He stared at her. "You just brought it in twenty seconds ago."
Mai glanced at the filled teacup she just placed on his desk when she came in to take her paycheck. "Opps." She was just too happy to remember that.
"Anyway," Naru scooped something from the bottom of his desk and lifted a gift bag. "Take this."
Mai blinked and stared at the bag in his hand. "What is that?"
"See it yourself."
She accepted the bag tentatively and peered what was inside. Instantly, Mai gasped and glanced up at Naru who was already reading his report, completely nonchalant to her reaction.
"This is-!" Mai exclaimed as she fished out the book from the bag, leaving her paycheck aside. To confirm her suspicion, she opened the book and flipped through the pages of Japanese-filled words. "How did you get this?! Didn't you say that they discontinued the publication?"
"I have my ways."
She stared down at the book, her knuckles turning white from gripping the cover too hard. "I don't know what to say..."
"I thought you like to educate people about their manners?" He said, tone tainted with sarcasm.
"A thank you wouldn't be enough..." Mai bit her quivering lips. "And to think that you would do this for me."
Naru sighed. "So do you want it or not?"
"Of course!" Mai blurted and hugged the book tightly to her chest. After regaining her composure, her lips twitched up to form a smile. "Really, thank you Naru."
He waved her out and Mai couldn't have the heart to be angry at his usual rude gesture. Instead, she giggly stroked the book in her arms and skipped out after taking the gift bag and her paycheck too.
She couldn't wait to get back home and read the book all night.
A really quick update in between! This idea had been haunting me since last night and I couldn't help but type this all in one go. Hope you guys like it though.
Reviews are appreciated!
