Veritas #3: Children like Mai

Prologue: Tell Me Immediately

By the time everyone was assembled at SPR on Monday morning, Naru and Mai's relationship had returned to normal. He did catch her looking at him from the corner of her eye a few times and smirking to herself, but she didn't say anything, and Lin, who was more observant that any of the Irregulars gave him credit for, hadn't noticed anything off about their behaviour. If the Chinese man didn't think there was anything odd going on, then none of the others would.

Naru emerged from his office at twenty to ten, shushing the already raucous monk and shoving a camera into his arms.

"Help Lin load the van," he said, as if he hadn't just knocked the breath from the older man, then turned and indicated the remaining boxes of equipment with a wave of his hand. Lin lifted a monitor to carry down, as did John. Matsuzaki gathered a coil of cable and followed them. Naru caught Mai's arm as she bent to pick up a microphone and pulled her to one side.

"If you need to take a break from this case, at any point, you will tell me immediately," he said, catching her gaze so she understood that he was serious. She opened her mouth to complain, so he squeezed her arm lightly. She shut up and let him finish.

"The spirit has so far only possessed children, so it is likely a child itself. The way they behave while possessed also points to the spirit being young. My research has not turned up any child deaths on the property, so it is likely connected some other way, but that means I don't know how it died."

Mai swallowed. His fingers tightened around her arm, pulling her marginally closer.

"If you have to leave the case, tell me immediately. Do you understand me, Mai?"

She nodded. Glad that she got the point, he nodded and released her, turning away as the others returned to gather the rest of the equipment. He had given her similar warnings before, but never meant them quite as seriously as he did this time. Mai liked children, and they liked her. The likelihood of this spirit taking a shine to her was much higher than he was happy with, and he was not about to put her in danger because she was compassionate. He didn't think that the ghost would harm her, but dreams of its death certainly would. She had more than enough nightmare-inducing material already. He would spare her this one, if she would let him.

Ignoring the looks the monk and miko traded when they saw how close he was standing to Mai, he stalked past them to the van, which Lin and John were packing the last of the equipment into. Mai would lock up. Lin shut the door and turned to climb into the driver's seat. Naru stopped him with a look, speaking loud enough for John to hear also, but careful to ensure that Mai would not.

"Keep an eye on Mai. If I am correct, and this spirit is a child, she'll have a hard time with this case."

The two men didn't need any more encouragement. Both nodded at him. He wasn't the only one who knew how hard-headed Mai could be; just because she said she would tell him if she needed to leave, that didn't mean that she wouldn't torture herself with visions for a while first in an attempt to help. He couldn't keep an eye on her the whole time, but he could make sure that she was never alone. The monk and miko wouldn't need to be told to keep an eye on the girl; they already hovered over her like over-protective parents. Likewise, Yasuhara tended to spend a lot of his time on cases with Mai, joking and playing pranks to keep her mood up. Hara would have required telling, but she would not be joining them on this case.

Now twenty years old and with the grace and beauty those extra years had granted her, Hara had become very popular in America, and spent a good deal of her time in the other country. She was currently in the middle of a three-month tour around some of the southernmost states, which was annoying. Naru would have liked her services for this case; Hara didn't have Mai's maternal tendencies, but she was always compassionate to the spirits and would probably have been an asset.

Mai, Monk and Matsuzaki trailed towards them from the office. Naru made sure that Monk knew where they were going, then gestured for everyone to get in the relevant vehicles. Mai jumped into the van beside Lin as the others wandered off to Monk's car, and Naru followed her in, shutting the door. Lin waited for the Irregulars to get settled into the other car, then pulled away from the curb, leading the way to the client's house.

Xxx

The boy ran down the garden, chasing the ball that rolled away from him. It hit the cat that had been sleeping in a patch of sunlight, waking it instantly and making it jump and hiss. The boy giggled as it turned and ran away into the trees at the end of the garden. He picked up his ball, then ran back towards the house where his father was waiting.

"Kitty ran away," he chuckled, handing the ball back. His father laughed with him, ruffling his hair.

"Yes she did, but she'll come back."

The boy nodded, glad that he hadn't scared the cat off for good. He would miss Kitty if she was gone.

Yasu's case notes

Ok, I know, it's another short one, I'm sorry, but the next chapter will more than make up for it; it's brilliant!

You're just saying that 'cus of what happens to Naru.

Yes. Problem?

... Fair enough.

Next time: The client's children are the cutest things Mai has ever seen, and Mai dupes Naru brilliantly.