A/N: Happy Almost Halloween! Okay, if you are with me this far you will finally get some plot! I know lots of you have so many questions so I hope you keep reading to find out the answers! Still don't own...please review!
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A Few Days Earlier…
Rain splattered gently against the window making a slight ping noise as it hit. The room was dark since it was overcast but that didn't bother the man that sat inside. He was use to darkness, and in fact he rather liked it being dim. He smiled to himself as a thud followed by several colorful curse words echoed through his door. He wondered momentarily what mishap had befallen his assistant but then he decided he rather not know… since it probably involved her stupidity and from what he could hear Mai did not sound as if she was harmed.
The dismal weather had lasted for two days already making his usually bright assistant rather irritable, though she was easily angered even when the weather was nice he noted. The forecast promised that the weather would improve and that tomorrow would be a nice sunny and clear day. Naru was pleased that he would not have to put up with rain on the way to their new case he had accepted a few days before.
Some more crashing sounds filtered through his door and broke Naru from his thoughts of the weather. He sighed and decided that he should go and at least make sure she was not destroying the office or anything of importance.
"What is with all the noise" Naru said as he pushed his office door open, "you better not be destroying anything…"
Mai was sprawled on the floor with a pile of books and files strewn around her. Lin was by her side with his arms already full of books he was picking up off the floor. "What were you doing?" Naru asked in an annoyed voice. He didn't even bother to help and only watched and waited for a response.
"I was organizing;" Mai shouted as she pulled herself up off the floor and began to gather files into her arms, "It wouldn't kill you to help us out you know."
To this Naru merely shot the girl a glare and made it painfully clear that everything better be picked up and properly put back in its rightful location before she left. He promptly returned to his office and she winced as the door shut rather loudly.
"I am sorry Lin-san, you don't need to help me I can take care of the rest of this" Mai sighed as she plopped the stack of files onto her desk and returned and crouched down to gather the few remaining books.
"It's alright" Lin placed the stack of books he had gathered beside the pile of files the girl had already placed on the desk "is there anything else I can aid you with?" Lin asked as he looked at Mai who had just gathered the last of the fallen materials.
"No, thank you! You have helped me enough already! Naru would probably get angry with me if I detained you any longer…that jerk…" Mai grumbled and Lin could only smile to himself slightly.
"You are probably right" Lin said hiding his growing smile, "I will be in my office if you need anything."
"Thank you!" Mai watched as Lin returned to his office and then glared at the pile of material that now cluttered her desk. She knew glaring at it would not make the problem go away but she felt like shooting daggers at it anyway. Tomorrow they were going to investigate a new case. Naru had accepted the case a few days ago but due to prior engagements it was not until tomorrow that those involved found it convenient to start the investigation.
"Stupid files…stupid Naru" Mai grumbled as she placed the files into the cabinet, "he could have at least asked if I was alright, I mean that's what you would normally do when you see a girl who fell on the floor…but no, not Naru!" The new case was about two hours away from town located at a recently built western style mansion. Apparently from what we were told several people have been injured, some seriously and there has been at least seven deaths in total. Mai decided it was best to think of the up coming case rather than brooding over Naru's thoughtless actions, which never seem to change no matter how much she wished for it.
The deaths and injuries were what triggered the owners to look for help not from the normal avenues but from 'ghost hunters' like us one could say. It seems the circumstances surrounding the deaths and injuries were not in the least bit normal and some may describe them as coming from some horror film. A maid had been critically injured when her entire body was covered in lacerations that appeared suddenly one evening; a family member fell over dead at the dinner table with hand shaped bruises on his throat; a guest claimed that he heard a man's voice before he was burned by a lamp that shattered on its own over his head.
The client had exhausted all other means of investigating the mysterious deaths and injuries and finally turned to SPR. He was quite frantic for our aid and would surly be more than glad when we finally arrived tomorrow. The click of Naru's door opening forced Mai to stop thinking of the case and focus on her boss.
"Mai, you can go home once you finish that. I want you to go home and pack for at least three nights stay to be on the safe side, but please do not over pack; the van will not have enough room for the equipment if you do" Naru stated coolly.
'That bastard' Mai thought while glaring at her boss. He could never just say anything nicely. What an arrogant jerk. Despite his obvious flaws Mai found herself unavoidably attracted to his cool, aloof nature. She was not sure when it started but it grew gradually like a growing flower and it bloomed beautifully if she did say so herself.
"I know, I know" Mai said forlornly "I won't pack too much. If there is nothing else then I think I will head home."
"Don't be late." Naru looked at her before he returned to his office and shut his door.
"Arrogant bastard…" Mai huffed as she gathered her things and headed home for the night to pack "couldn't he be nice to me once in awhile. Normally one would say something along the lines of 'be safe' or 'take care' but no, not Naru, he has to be so…impersonal."
Naru was defiantly not one to show his emotions by any means but Mai knew that he was a genuinely good guy. If she ever needed help with anything she knew that he would be there for her, even if he was less than pleased about it and let his displeasure be known with cold sarcastic words...he would be there none the less. Whenever she found herself in real trouble, which was actually quite often, Naru was there to rescue her.
In fact…he had done more than he knew; he rescued her from an unimaginable darkness, a lonely world in which she was alone keeping herself behind guarded walls and a pleasant, well placed façade. Naru had inadvertently given her a family. When he hired her as an assistant for SPR Naru had given her friends; people that she could look up to and rely on, people that she could talk to and associate with, people that she could think of as family that she no longer had.
For this alone Mai was eternally grateful to Naru, because even if it was not his intention…the results were still the same. She loved her friends and she loved Naru, though her love for Naru was of a different sort, but he didn't need to know that. Mai shuddered at the thought of Naru's reaction if she came right out and told him that she loved him. He would probably not be able to comprehend it and brush her off and call her stupid.
She shuddered even more at the thought of losing Naru before even telling him of her feelings. She refused to even think about the possibility of Naru dying in some awful event and leaving her alone again. Mai decided she would give her life before that happened. She would protect Naru with her life just as Naru protected her with his, or so she hoped that was how he felt. Mai could not imagine a life without Naru or the others anymore; they were already deeply ingrained in her life and it would be hard to remove any component of that now.
Mai hummed an unknown melody as she strolled down the street towards her apartment, it had been a long day and she wanted nothing more than to get back to the security of her bed and get some sleep. She knew that Naru would be furious with her if she were late so she decided that she had better hurry up and pack so that for once she might be on time.
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A/N: Well. I am going to try and post the next chapter before I leave tomorrow for home but in case I don't get the chance I will post it as soon as I get back on Thursday! Please let me know how you liked this chapter!
