Chapter 10

Sitting on the couch, Jean sighed and stretched. It's great to be back at the Agency, she thought to herself. She looked over at Narumi who was sitting at his desk, hunched over the typewriter. Every few minutes he would place his fingers on the keys, mutter under his breath and then remove his hands. After watching him for a few minutes, Jean stood up and walked over to the desk. "Are you okay?" She asked concerned. Narumi looked up. "Kind of. I can't seem to begin this case file. I'm drawing a blank on what to type."

Jean decided to help him. "Well, this case started when I first found your agency. I was hiding from that mob. You knew I was hiding under your desk but you didn't tell that man who showed up. "Narumi nodded. "Yeah. I was kind of wondering why you were hiding there of all places."

Jean just shook her head. "I guess I just panicked and that was where I decided to hide. Thanks for not saying anything to that guy who came after me." Jean smiled at him.

"You're welcome. I'm not the sort of guy to let a dame get hurt." Narumi responded, looking slightly embarrassed. He looked down at the typewriter and began to type. Soon he had written half a page. Smiling he looked over at Jean. "Thanks for your help. I'm over my writer's block."

"Happy to help." Jean returned to the couch. As she watched Narumi completely absorbed in his writing, Jean smiled to herself. She thought back to when Narumi shielded her from the summoner. Even though he didn't know how much trouble they were in, he was trying to protect her. Then she remembered how she stood up and told to leave Narumi alone. Why did I say that?

Well he's my friend and he did save me from the mob. Plus he did defend me when that summoner wanted me to come with him. And when I got hurt he did look after me, Jean thought to herself.

Then Jean blushed when she remembered how she had buried her head onto Narumi's shoulder. Of course I was in pain but it was still an embarrassing thing to do. Jean decided not to worry about it and tried to focus on something else. Looking over at Narumi she noticed how absorbed he was in his work. She watched him typing and thought back to how his eyes lit up when she reminded him about their first meeting. Before she realized it she was staring at the detective.

Okay I have clearly got to focus on something else. Or someone else anyway, Jean thought to herself. She stood up and headed for the bathroom. Too busy to notice Narumi kept working, which was a first for him.

After taking a shower, Jean picked up her clothes and started to get dressed. As she did, she looked down at her heavily bandaged left arm. After a moment's hesitation, Jean decided that now was the time to check just how bad it really was. As Jean started to unwind the bandages on her arm, she noticed that it had long since stopped bleeding. Once the bandages were completely removed, Jean examined her arm.

It actually wasn't as bad as she thought. Although there were two claw marks, that extended from her elbow to her wrist, it had healed somewhat. Her arm was covered in bloodstains but they had since dried, making the wounds look worse than they were. Jean decided to wash her arm under the sink's taps. But as she placed it under the water, she hissed in pain. It still stung pretty badly. There was a sudden knock at the door.

"Jean are you okay in there?" Narumi called out from the other side of the door. Jean wrapped her arm in a towel.

"Sure. I wanted to wash my arm. Not a smart idea." She answered. Grabbing her t-shirt Jean finished dressing and walked over to the door. "I'm coming out." She told him, turning the door handle. She was instantly greeted by Narumi, who had a very worried look on his face.

"You look a little pale. Are you positive you're okay?" He asked her. Jean nodded. "I'm fine. I tried to wash my left arm. Apparently that made my arm hurt again."

Narumi looked a little puzzled but he moved over so Jean could exit the bathroom. Heading towards the couch, Jean was followed closely by the detective.

Narumi was silent for a while. Then he asked again about Jean's state. Jean was about to point out that her arm only hurt a little and that she wasn't about to fall to pieces over it, when Raidou chose that moment to return to the office.

He looked from Narumi to Jean and back again. Then he seemed to smile.

"What did he do this time?" Raidou inquired.

Narumi threw up his hands in disbelief. "Why is it that every time something happens, you assume it's my fault?"

Gouto wandered in and leapt up onto the table. "Maybe that's because it usually is?" He remarked. Usually only Raidou and other Summoners like him could understand his words. However, much to Jean's instant surprise, she understood every word. Jean sat down suddenly onto the couch, causing both detectives to stare at her.

"See? I did say you weren't looking so good." Narumi pointed out.

"You might be right. I must have hit my head earlier or something because I could have sworn I heard someone speak. But there's no one here except us. "Jean admitted.

"Maybe you should get some rest." Raidou suggested. Jean nodded. "Good idea." Jean curled up on the couch and was almost instantly asleep.

End of chapter 10