gomenesai gomenesai! i'm sorry this took so long! in other news i'm glad people like my other story master and maid but story alerts and favorites aren't exactly what i crave... anyways on with the story!
disclaimer: it should be obvious by this point that i don't own ghost hunt
"Is it a compromise?" Naru asked, being finished and somewhat fed up with the argument he'd been having with Mai for the past five minutes. The sour look she gave told him she was far from done with him. "Mai, as I have said before, I'm not the best with emotions. So I really don't understand why you feel the need to be so moody."
"I'm not moody!" Mai snapped pouting and folding her arms over her chest.
Naru had to keep from rolling his eyes. "Right; and snapping at me for no reason at all isn't being moody?"
"You're being very aggravating right now." Mai replied.
"And you're getting cranky." Naru shot back.
Mai threw him a glare he could tell she didn't mean. He felt a smirk tug at his lips. Mai noticed this and seemed to crack. She now gave him an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry." She told him. "I guess I'm just frustrated."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Naru said slipping an arm around her waist to keep her from getting dragged away with the flow of the crowd. Mai blushed slightly as she kept up with his pace. "The end will be soon, I have a good feeling it's already in sight."
"It's kind of hard for me to believe you're actually worried." Mai replied.
"I do worry; my cousin is in danger in case you've forgotten. But, I'm not letting it consume me." Naru answered after a moment's deliberation. "You absolutely can not let worry take hold of you. You can acknowledge it if it will keep you sane, but letting it consume you is the worst thing you can do in a situation like this."
Mai leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Aren't I always?" Naru asked in response.
"Don't make me hit you." Mai threatened not taking her head away from its position. "But in all honesty, I'm glad you're here with me. I really don't think I could do this alone."
"I wonder how they didn't foresee this turn of events." Naru said seemingly randomly.
"What do you mean?" Mai asked.
"Considering the vast difference in personality, it makes more sense that we wouldn't be able to work together." Naru explained.
"Yeah, that does make sense. But, you know what they say." Mai replied. "Opposites attract."
Naru gave her a look that said 'do you really believe in that kind of stuff?' Mai giggled and slapped his shoulder playfully.
"Oh come on, you really don't believe in that?"
"No Mai." Naru replied. "I find it hard to believe that people who are completely different can be in love and stay in love."
"I think it's because they're so different, it keeps things new and interesting." Mai reasoned. "Whereas, if two people who have the exact same personality get together, it fades faster because you run out of things to talk about and you always have the same opinion on everything."
"A good reason." Naru remarked. "But getting back to compromise. I still believe that the object is located in Times Square."
"And I'm convinced it's Broadway." Mai shot back.
"But you can't give a concrete reason why." Naru pointed out.
"Yeah, what's your point?" Mai asked.
"That is my point Mai. We don't really have the time to be running all over the place without a clue of what we're doing." Naru reminded her.
"You still agreed to check out Broadway with me."
"No. I agreed to investigate the most obvious choice in Broadway. The Lunt Fontanne." Naru retorted.
"I have a sneaking suspicion you're wrong." Mai practically sing-songed back at him.
"Let me guess, you're 'instinct'?" Naru asked suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.
"Yep. But if you insist, we'll check out the Lunt Fontanne first." Mai replied. "By the way, why do you think it's the Lunt Fontanne?"
"It's one of the more popular theatres here in New York." Naru answered picking up from the leisurely pace their walk had slowed to.
"And?" Mai pressed.
"And what?" Naru responded. "Isn't it enough of a landmark to be used in this game?"
"I guess." Was Mai's noncommittal response. "But what if I'm wrong? We don't have enough time to waste on trial and error."
"Must I repeat everything I say to you?" Naru asked looking over at her. "The end of this will be soon."
"And I should trust your instinct because?" Mai asked in response.
"Hmm, I believe I'm the one who's solved more cases similar to this one than you." Naru reminded her. "Trust me."
"Right." Mai agreed. "So which way do we go? I've never been to Broadway before so I'm not familiar with the theatres here."
"You honestly think I remember after being away for so long?" Naru asked.
"Kinda." Mai replied. "Even if you've been away for what, three years?; you should remember how to get to the theatres."
"I never went to any of the plays on Broadway Mai. I was the son who stayed home and studied every night rarely focusing on anything else. Gene would have been the one to ask for directions."
"Can't you ask him now?" Mai asked.
"I doubt it. He's been in D.C for two years and dead for one year. I think we should be lucky he even remembers who he is at this point." Naru replied.
"Hey!" Gene protested. Naru chose to ignore it.
"Of course." Mai groaned.
Then she looked around and saw a doorman disinterestedly holding the door for customers of the restaurant he worked at. Mai went over and began talking to him. He responded animatedly and Naru noted that the guests were getting inside on their own.
He decided that the man was getting a little too close for comfort and strode towards Mai.
"Have you gotten directions to the theatre yet Mai?" he asked putting an arm around her waist and secretly reveling in the way she stiffened under his touch.
"Yes." Mai replied tightly. "Thank you for the help." She said waving at the doorman as they left. Naru bit back a smirk at the look of jealousy and confusion written across the man's face.
"What was that for?" she asked sharply when they were out of the man's hearing range.
"Just a precautionary measure." Naru replied.
"And just why, pray tell, did you need to take a precautionary measure with me just then." She responded.
"Mai, did you even notice the doorman?" Naru asked testing to make sure of something he speculated.
"Of course I did." Mai replied. "If I hadn't, why would I have gone over for directions?"
"Right." Naru said in response. Internally he chuckled; it was obvious Mai wasn't known for picking up on subtlety. She didn't even notice the pitiful flirting techniques the man had been pulling. "Now, since you know where to go, lead the way."
Lin was relieved when he learned that the helicopter would not be the main mode of flight transportation he would be using to get to New York. The transfer from the chopper was surprisingly fast, easy, and simple enough. Now he was settled on a fueled up private jet and they were soaring through the skies. Without checking messages, Lin let his mind wander to Noll and that girl he was with. The name Mai rang a bell for him. But the only Mai he ever knew of and met was Mai Taniyama; the "daughter" of Ayako and Takigawa, former colleagues of his that no one, not even Noll, knew about. But he hadn't heard from them in quite some time, he supposed it was alright since they were always busy with that company of Mai's they took over for her. He looked to the cloudy gray skies overhead and sighed, it was going to be a long flight.
"This place is barbaric." Naru commented grabbing Mai's hand before she was trampled underfoot. "I know Broadway's shows are popular but this is simply ridiculous."
"You're telling me." Mai agreed looking at the sea of people in the lobby. "How on earth are we supposed to find what we're looking for in this mess?"
"Maybe you could use your name to get us in." Naru suggested.
"I doubt it." Mai scoffed. "Like I said before, I'm not well known here in America. What about you Dr. Davis?"
"That would be a truly bad idea." Naru replied. "I am not sure of what exactly would happen, but I am sure it would not be good for either of us. Besides Mai, what can we do during a show? We'd attract too much attention trying to look for the object we need."
"I guess you're right." Mai agreed. "And we don't even know where to start looking. It'd be like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
Naru kept a firm grip on Mai's hand, and a good thing too because in that instant a shove pushed Mai forward and if Naru hadn't had so tight a grip on her hand she would have fallen face first into the cement. He pulled Mai up and helped her dust herself off. The man who had pushed the girl started speaking rapidly in Japanese. Mai replied just as quickly and shook the man's hand before he walked away.
"He did apologize right?" Naru inquired quizzically.
"Yes. But couldn't you tell? I mean you do speak Japanese." Mai replied.
"You forget Mai. I spoke Japanese when I was little. I was raised in England for a good portion of my life before coming here and I haven't been to Japan for a few years. I can understand Japanese in a more normal setting but not when it's spoken in a din like this." Naru replied gesturing to the noisy crowd behind them.
"Right. Well I got some interesting news from him though." Mai informed him as she took out her PDA.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Naru asked.
"Let's get out of here first." Mai said turning towards the exit. "It'll be easier once we can breathe."
"And what happened to getting in there?" Naru asked in response.
"We don't want to go in there. The man told me that the show for tonight was cancelled. With it shut down we'd be in there totally alone. Tell me that's not freaky coincidence." Mai replied.
"Okay, so are we going to times square like I thought?" Naru asked.
"No, it's still Broadway, but we've got the wrong theatre and I have a feeling I know what the right one is now." Mai answered.
"And what would the theatre be?"
"I think it's the Majestic Theatre." Mai said after a few more taps on the touch screen. She held it up for him to see the website. "A ton of shows got their start there. And half of said shows that have been performed there have been made into movies; justifying 'lights, camera, action'."
"Hmm," Naru pondered it for a moment. "What else does it explain?"
"It's been torn down, rebuilt, and renamed." Mai went on. "I personally think this is the one we're looking for, but what about you?"
Naru was silent for a moment. "I believe you're right." He finally said.
"Great! But to add to the list of creepy coincidences; my parents donated a huge amount money to aid their production of 'The Phantom of The Opera' last year." Mai's voice dwindled to a whisper as she neared the end of the sentence.
"Oh." that was Naru's response. "That's a very big coincidence."
Mai nodded in response. "Well, we should go to the theatre and find that clue." She said walking in its direction. Naru followed after her.
"I thought you said that you didn't have much to do with the company at the moment." Naru said recalling one of their earlier conversations. "How did you remember that your parents donated money for the production of the show?"
"I didn't." Mai replied as they reached the door. "It was on their website."
"Alright then. Do you think you'll be able to get us in house?" Naru asked once inside the lobby.
"What?" Mai asked, blinking in confusion.
"The seating for the audience in a theatre is called the house Mai." Naru explained slowly.
"Oh." Mai said in that tone that blatantly told the other person they got it. "Well, I'm not exactly sure they'll believe me when I tell them who I am. Either way, just play along. But I wonder; can you do it?"
"What do you mean by that?" Naru asked, slightly unsure of what she was implying.
"I mean you will have to show emotion to help convince them of whom I am and why we want to get in there." Mai explained. "And I know how you love to show emotion."
"Contrary to popular belief Mai; it doesn't take a complete genius, though it helps to be one, to act. I can act like I emote like any average person does." He said the word average like it left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Whatever." Mai rolled her eyes and walked to the ticket booth to request a tour of the establishment. After a minute's conversation with yet another disinterested worker –Mai had to wonder how many people in this city hated their jobs and if so why did they applied there in the first place- a manager was called to attend to the needs of the two sole people inside the building at the moment.
"Can I help you?" the manager; a pleasantly plump gray-haired man, asked with a polished smile in place.
"Yes, my friend and I would like a tour of the theatre this evening." Mai smiled sweetly.
"I'm sorry," the manager began. "But unfortunately we've been having some electrical problems as of late so the entire theatre has been shut down until the repairs are made."
"Really?" Mai questioned, feigning innocence as though the teen at the box office had not already told her the same thing moments before. "That is too bad. You see, my friend here is only in town for the night and one of the things he wanted to do whilst in New York was see a Broadway show here. And since the shows had been cancelled I thought a tour might make up for it." Naru could practically taste the sugar that was coating Mai's words. "Are the electrical problems really that bad?"
The manager began his response when another worker ran up to the group, bid a quick apology for interrupting before whispering something into the older man's ear and running off without so much as a farewell.
"Well," the manager began as momentary shock was washed off his face. "Surprisingly enough the electrical problems seemed to have sorted themselves out."
"Oh!" Mai's voice was almost squeaking. Naru could see her face light up earnestly as though it was the best news she'd gotten all day. Wait a minute; scratch that, it probably was. "Does this mean you can give us a tour now?"
"I'm terribly sorry miss." The manager replied sincerely. "But I'm afraid we just…" he trailed off.
Mai nodded understandingly. "I understand. You simply 'can't'. Not even for the daughter of a donor right?"
"Daughter of a don-" the manager faltered. "I'm so sorry miss; do you think you could remind me of what your name was?"
"It's Mai." Mai replied. "Mai Taniyama. Well, I'm sorry Kazuya" She said turning to Naru. He thought about how accustomed he'd grown to her little pet name for him in the course of less than a day and how foreign his alias sounded falling from her mouth. "Maybe the next time you come to visit right?"
Naru kept his head facing towards the ground and nodded slowly, almost dejectedly. Mai turned to start making her way out of the theatre.
"Wait!" the manager called after them. "I believe something can be arranged after all Ms. Taniyama. Wait here just a moment." They watched him run to the back.
"It's nice isn't it?" Naru asked as they waited for the man to return.
"What is?" Mai replied.
"Knowing you'll get whatever you want simply by snapping your fingers." Naru answered.
"I'm not like that and you know it." Mai chided him. "And what? Like you've never had that kind of advantage before in your life? I find that hard to believe." She replied once more.
"And just what are you implying by that?" Naru pressed.
"A guy who was able to get a doctorate degree at age fifteen must have at least three major things." Mai explained. "One; a very skilled mind. Two; a lot of time on their hands. And three; major connections to a leisurely life to allow for so much spare time and thus allowing them to be able to receive a doctorate degree at an otherwise unheard of age." She clarified. "And besides; your attitude towards everyone and everything practically screams 'young master'."
"Impressive deduction." Gene commented from the sanctuary that was Naru's head.
"Why do I get the feeling you're going to use your eternal unresting afterlife to continuously torture me?" Naru replied.
"Aw, baby brother knows me so well." Gene replied. Naru could almost see the smirk settle itself on his older brother's face, the tone making it seem as though Gene actually was talking to a baby. He was also sure that if Gene were still alive right now he would have ruffled the younger twin's locks in jest.
"Naru? Naru? Earth to Naru; we need you to wake up now." Mai sang in his ear.
"What?" Naru shook his head and blinked.
"You were spacing out." Mai informed him.
"I was not as you so like to call it 'spacing out'" Naru replied.
"Oh? Then pray tell, what were you doing staring at a wall for a good, I don't know, five minutes?" Mai's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Talking with you-know-who." Naru said as the manager came back out.
"Oh. And what did he have to say?" Mai asked while the man returned to them.
"I really think that's none of your business." Naru replied. "Now let's get this tour started shall we?"
A little over forty-five minutes later, Mai had known more about Broadway, running a theater, and the history of the Majestic Theatre than she wanted to know about anything on Broadway ever. More than she ever thought there was to know about it. Dutifully she listened diligently as Mr. Grayson, the evening manager, tool them through every centimeter of the establishment. Naru and she kept their eyes peeled as they were maneuvered through, but the only place that seemed to make sense –as Naru had stated before- was the house. Being led into the seating area Mai felt a shiver run down her spine. Without the people eagerly waiting for the show to start the place looked gloomy, desolate, and just plain creepy. Mai looked up at the stage to see Naru already standing up there and looking at her with a sweet smile.
Mai blinked a few times before looking over to her right to wonder how Naru had already made it up onto the stage without making a sound of leaving her side. Naru was still by her side, Mai looked back to the stage and let out a squeak; the Naru that was up on stage was still there.
"What's wrong Mai?" the Naru by her side asked.
"But you, you're here. Why are you up there too? How can you be in two places at once?" Mai spluttered quietly so Mr. Grayson wouldn't overhear and think her crazy, though Mai was starting to doubt her own sanity at the moment.
Naru looked towards the stage; he saw nothing, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything there. He had a good feeling that he knew what the something there was.
"Mai, did you forget I'm part of a set of identical twins?" Naru whispered back. Mai, still looking at the stage, nodded mutely. "And it is not scientifically possible for one person to be in two places at once?" Again, Mai merely nodded with her eyes glued to the stage. "Then Mai, I'd like you to meet my brother Gene."
The lookalike on stage gave another smile and a little wave to the young woman.
"Okay." Mai breathed. "I think I can handle this." She turned to Mr. Grayson; who was staring at the two of them quizzically. "Can I go up on stage?" Mai asked him. "I've always wanted to see what the actors in plays saw staring at the audience."
Mr. Grayson nodded and guided her up while Naru stayed behind in the seating. Naru went to the center of first row, checking under the seat discreetly while Mai distracted the manager.
"Wow." Mai was awestruck as she stood center-stage looking out at the sea of empty seats. Gene had disappeared once she'd come up the steps. "That's the last point a person from the audience would see right?" she asked pointing where Naru was sitting. Mr. Grayson nodded. "So N-Kazuya's seat is the best in the house right?" along the way of the tour Naru had figured out that the best of the best was the best seat in the best theater, so if they figured out where the best seat was; they'd find the clue.
Mr. Grayson chuckled. "Most people might think that. But in actuality the more preferred seats are the ones in the center of the second and third rows. That way they're right in the middle, and they don't have to strain to see the actors on stage."
"Oh really? So the centers of the second or third rows are the best of the best?" Mai asked loud enough for Naru to hear.
"Yes." Mr. Grayson replied.
Naru had already moved to the center of second row and sat down; once more checking under the seat whilst Mai was distracting.
"Personally, I think this seat has me straining my eyes just a bit too much." Naru commented as he got up and moved to the third row. When he got to the seat he bent down, apparently stopping to tie his shoe. When he was finished he sat in the seat and made no move. He looked up at Mai. "This has to be the best seat in the house." He said finally.
"How on earth did you get it when you didn't move while sitting in the seat?" Mai asked once they were out of the theater.
"I looked when I stopped to 'tie my shoe'." Naru replied as he took out the box with the hitogata in it. "And I slipped it in my coat pocket before getting up and sitting down."
"Oh." Mai annotated.
"Yes. Now where exactly are we supposed to drop this off?" Naru asked.
"Um," Mai replied pulling up the site. "Somewhere near ground zero. Left sign of Janus? What the heck does that mean?" she asked looking over at Naru.
Naru filed through the expanse of his brain and the facts stored there until he came to the one he was looking for. "Janus was a roman god; more specifically he was a minor god whose territory included doors." He answered. "So we need to drop the hitogata on the left side of a door."
"Ah." Mai's sound of understanding reached his ears seconds later. "So what door are we looking for?"
"Try an exact search of the address." Naru advised.
Mai did and when the name of the spot came up she blanched. "It's a church called St. Paul's."
Naru let his somber look gain a whole new level. "Really?" he choked out. "They must love to torture us then." He said not really believing that they would have to put an object that could be of no possible good to the world in a place where people who had been rescued from the rubble of the falling twin towers had been placed during the mass hysteria.
Mai nodded. Though she'd lived here less than a decade she already knew what most people in the world knew. Ground zero was equal to sacred ground and so was St. Paul's church. There was no way she was going to be able to do this without feeling extremely guilty. It was already bad enough that whoever came up with the game was sick enough to pull it into the twisted game of revenge they had for Mai and Naru, but if they didn't want their relatives iced they had no choice but to leave it there.
Mai looked at the clock on the PDA and sighed. "I'm not entirely sure we'll be able to get in and I don't care if you want to; I'm not breaking into a church."
"Then that makes two of us." Naru replied hailing a cab. "I won't break into a church either. It's against my morals no matter what the situation. And besides that, I'm not sure Father Brown would be too happy about it either."
"Father Brown?" Mai asked.
"The blonde man you saw when you found me earlier this morning." Naru replied. "At any rate; if we can't get in then we'll find a safe hiding spot and leave it outside."
"Right." Mai said stepping into the cab. "St. Paul's at 211 Broadway." She told the driver.
When he pulled into traffic Mai stared out the window, the slow moving traffic and sounds of the city were slowly becoming like a mother's lullaby to her. She subconsciously heard Naru say something to her and snapped out of the dazed she'd put herself in.
"Huh? Did you say something Naru?" she asked sleepily, turning her head to look at him with heavy-lidded eyes.
"Getting a little sleepy, aren't we Mai?" Naru repeated what he had said before.
Mai yawned. "Yea, a little I guess."
"I told you to take a nap back at the hotel; don't you wish you had listened to me now?" Naru replied with a small smirk.
"Narcissistic jerk." Mai muttered before her eyes closed once more and she snuggled up against Naru's shoulder.
Naru wished the ride could last a little longer so she could get a few more minutes of rest. The poor girl must have been exhausted with all of today's -for lack of a better word- excitement. Alas, the world did not –although others might believe differently- revolve around him and his wishes and so the cab slowed to a stop right outside the building. Naru pulled Mai out and paid the fare before she could even touch her money. He made to reach for the strap of Mai's bag but she held it close and wiggled out of arm's reach.
"What?" She asked when he reached for it again.
"You're obviously tired you idiot." Naru explained. "So I'm going to hold the bag for you."
"But," Mai protested. "You have to be tired too. Just let me keep holding the bag."
"I believe that I, unlike you, had a decent night's sleep last night. Besides, I'm already used to staying up for hours on end without sleep. Some of those previous cases I mentioned earlier had enough paperwork to keep me up until midnight." Was his response. "Now let me carry the bag."
"If you say so." Mai sighed as she handed over the bag to Naru. He adjusted it to fit his height and Mai thought it made him look like he was a college student carrying all the assignments he needed to complete tonight.
"Now," Naru said making the previous thought disappear completely. "Any ideas on how to get in?"
"Try the door." Was all Mai said in reply. Both were too grim just being in the same place as the tragedy to say much to each other.
The front door and main entrance to the church was locked, but upon closer inspection of the building they found a small side door that had been left unlocked. Naru went to pull it open for them.
"Knock first." Mai said stopping him.
"Knock?" Naru repeated.
"Yes knock, I feel guilty enough that we have to leave this object of complete evil in this place that has so much meaning for families of 9/11 victims. The least we can do is let someone know we're here rather than just go in, drop this thing off, and leave." Mai replied.
"Very well." Naru sighed as he knocked solidly on the heavy wooden doors.
A few minutes later a priest arrived looking puzzled that two people as young as Mai and Naru were; were here at this time of night.
"I'm very sorry father." Mai began. "But do you think we could take a look inside?"
"We won't be taking up much of your time." Naru added. "We just wanted to say a small prayer while we were in the area even though it's not typical operating hours for the church."
Mai somehow knew Naru was not lying when he said this part. And even if he was that wouldn't stop Mai from offering up a prayer of her own.
"I would never stop that." The father replied. "But since it is after hours I'll just be watching over from nearby. You don't mind do you?"
"Not at all." Mai assured him. The father let them inside. "Whoa. What happened to all the pews?" she asked noticing that the majority of the seating arrangements were chairs.
"The seating is like that so we can maximize the small space for events." The priest, a man by the name of Father Mychael, explained. "Most of the other pews were removed for the exhibit on 9/11. The few that remain are more historically famous. But I'll let you say your prayers."
Mai and Naru knelt in a pew and Mai said a quick prayer for the spirits of the dearly departed. She felt a shiver run down her spine and she looked up quickly. She nearly screamed. Standing at the altar were transparent people, all looking at her and Naru with sad and wistful smiles on their faces. Mai blinked and rubbed her eyes, they were gone. Naru finished his prayer and looked up to find Mai staring off into space.
"Mai?" he asked. She didn't respond. "Mai? What are you looking at?"
"People." She said with her right eye slightly twitching. "I saw dead people standing at the altar Naru. I saw dead people!" she shouted in a whisper.
"Oh? Then it appears you must be able to see spirits as well. Very interesting…" Naru trailed off.
"Can we focus on the fact that I have powers no one else I know has later?" Mai asked. "We still have to drop off the box."
"Right." Naru agreed. "Father Mychael? Where can we leave a donation?"
When at the donation box Naru placed the box with the hitogata in it inside and covered it with some money he tossed in as well. Mai added her amount which Naru was currently unaware of how much it was. They made their way out of the church quickly and Mai panted once on the sidewalk.
"I feel guilty." Mai said. "I'm really gonna need to go to confession after this."
"Now is not the time for jokes Mai." Naru reminded her. "I feel slightly guilty as well, but we had no other choice unless we wanted our loved ones killed."
"I wasn't joking about that confession thing. But you're right about having no other choice." Mai agreed. Her cell phone rang at that exact moment. Mai pulled out the device in confusion. "Yasu?" she pressed the answer button. "What is it Yasu?"
Naru decided to tune out the girl and instead pulled out the PDA to find the next clue. A little disgruntled when there was nothing her decided to wait a few minutes before doubting that this was the right location. He looked over at Mai, who was hanging up quickly and forcefully. She was annoyed, and Naru was not going to doubt that she'd take out her aggravation on the nearest object; namely, Naru.
"Argh!" she shouted out to the sky. "He's coming." She said turning to Naru. "I already told him I didn't want him involved and yet he insists on following me here. We need to get out of here now."
"We can't leave yet." Naru replied. "There's no new clue yet so until we know this is right I'd rather not be far away."
"He's less than a block away Naru." Mai informed him. "We need to get out of here now."
At that moment Mai was aware of a presence behind her and she saw Naru reach for his pockets to get his throwing knives. She felt a large hand grab hold of her upper arm and she heard the sizzle of electricity as the world around her went black.
Naru kept his face schooled on the outside but on the inside he was fighting between feeling horror and rage. A lackey supported Mai's body as it slumped forward from the taser's effects while Yoshino grabbed him from behind. The lackey kept a knife of his own pressed to Mai's throat. The unconscious girl's head lulled forward and sliced through the first layer of skin, a thin necklace of blood running down her neck. Yoshino tied Naru's hands behind his back with thick zipstrips before reaching into the coat pockets and pulling out the weapons he had stashed there.
Once he'd been emptied of any and all weapons Naru watched the lackey tie up Mai before practically throwing her into the white van parked in front of the church that he had only now noticed hadn't been there before. The capture went off without a hitch thanks to the shadow of the other buildings they'd been standing in.
"Hurt her and it's the last thing you'll ever do." Naru threatened as he was pushed forward.
"I'd remember my place if I were you right now Dr. Davis." Yoshino laughed as he shoved Naru into the van from the middle of his back.
Once Naru was in the two felons closed the door and got into the front. Naru noticed that the windows on the van were vinyl stickers that would keep the police from suspecting anything and they were able to see through the back thanks to a closed circuit camera system. As soon as his eyes had adjusted Naru stood to try and weaken the metals of the door so they could break out when the van rolled forward with a start. Mai's rolled from one side of the van to the other and Naru decided to sit down and help situate her for when she woke up. When her head was settled in his lap he let out a sigh of relief. The blood was already dried and she didn't look too bad considering the level they must have had the taser set to.
"Uhh…" Mai groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She looked in front of her to see a wall of black that was, moving? She looked up and her face turned red with embarrassment when she saw Naru looking down at her. "Naru? What happened?" she asked.
"Yoshino and some lackey finally caught up with us and the idiot grunt tasered you." He explained keeping his voice low so the passengers in the front seat wouldn't hear them.
"That answers one question. But where are we?" Mai asked.
"At the moment we are in a van heading to who knows where." Naru replied. "Are you feeling okay?"
Mai swallowed and noticed that her neck felt weird. "Naru? Did they do something else to me? My neck feels weird."
"The idiot held a knife to your throat to get me to cooperate. They took all my weapons too." He told her and watched her eyes droop at the mention that all of his weapons were gone.
"We're in trouble aren't we?" Mai asked him quietly.
"Not yet." Naru assured her. "Gene and I are doing all we can to try and figure a way out of this."
"No offense Naru," Mai began. "But Gene's dead. What can he do?"
"You'd be surprised." Naru replied cryptically.
Meanwhile Yasuhara was pacing the sidewalk and muttering Japanese profanities under his breath. What else could he do when he saw his best friend and her new friend kidnapped without anyone doing a single thing. Mai already told him not to go to the police but he had to do something. But what?
As if he'd just been struck by lightning Yasu tore open his backpack and dug out the folder Mai had given him not too long ago and rifled through papers until he found what he was looking for. The address of a church with a Father John Brown presiding as one of the priests and manager of the orphanage there. He hailed a cab as fast as he could and hoped he could find John.
"Excuse me," Lin began. "But do you know where Kazuya Shibuya is?" asking a worker for the church.
The guy shrugged. "He's a popular guy today. Wonder why?" he went off into thought for a minute before calling over his shoulder. "Yo John! Someone's here for that stick in the mud again!"
"Hinata, could you please not address me like that?" a voice with a familiar Aryan accent replied. Lin saw John come into view. "Lin!" John said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Same reason as always." Lin replied. "Trying to keep Noll out of trouble. Is he here?"
"Sorry," John apologized. "He hasn't come back since he went out with that Mai girl this morning."
"wonderful." Lin almost groaned.
"Excuse me," a new voice came across. "I'm looking for a Father Brown."
"That'd be me." John replied. "Can I help you with something?"
"I'm not sure," the other person admitted. "But you were the first person there. So I came as soon as I could."
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're saying." John said.
"I'm Yasuhara. I'm a friend of Mai Matsuzaki." Yasu introduced himself. "Does that mean anything to you?"
"It might." Lin said turning to face the young man.
"Who are you?" Yasu asked in reply.
"Lin Kojou." Lin replied. "I'm an affiliate of Kazuya Shibuya." He added hoping the boy would recognize the name.
Yasu's eyes narrowed. "You're friends with him?" he spat out the final word like it was laced with arsenic.
"I wouldn't be talking about Kazuya like that if I were you." Lin warned darkly.
"Now please gentlemen," John broke in trying to keep the peace. "Let's remember we're in a place that belongs to God."
"I'm sorry." Yasu said letting his head hang towards the ground. "it's just, I'm worried about Mai and I was sure that that Kazuya guy was bad news."
"How so?" Lin asked.
"Mai told me that the two of them were being blackmailed and that they were trying to get something back." Yasu explained recalling what Mai had told him earlier in the library. "And to top it all off, I just saw them get kidnapped, Mai had been tasered and your friend was bound with zipstrips so whatever's going on can't be good." He noted the surprised looks and Lin and John's faces. "and… I guess you two know even less than I do about all this."
"And you haven't informed the police?" Lin asked in surprise.
"Mai told me not to." Yasu offered up as an explanation.
"At any rate, Kazuya and I work for the FBI; we're the law whether people like it or not." Lin replied. "The only thing I can currently think of right now is that they're trying to find Kazuya's missing cousin Kasai."
"But what does that have to do with Mai?" Yasu asked. "Why does she need to help him?"
"Maybe someone's got a family member of hers too." John thought. "I mean, she did come to Kazuya seeking him out rather than the other way round."
"Well we better move quickly." Lin replied. "It'll only be a matter of time before they connect Noll's missing cousin to him and then the law will be involved no matter what anyone says."
"Why?" Yasu asked not understanding why all of this was happening.
"To make a long story short; Kazuya's a better detective than most and the main character of one of his more, unstable cases has a business here in New York. Unless I miss my guess she's out for revenge and that's why he and your friend were kidnapped. The only problem is that Noll came up here to disappear for a while and currently has a GPS blocker on his phone so we can't track him."
"I think you should be able to track Mai's though." Yasu piped up.
"She has a GPS tracker on her phone?" Lin asked.
"She's all about the high tech and I know how her father worries about her. It wouldn't surprise me if he'd gotten her a phone with one in it." Yasu replied.
"Well then, give me her number and John and I will go get her." Lin said getting out his cell phone.
"I'll only give it to you if I can come with." Yasu said seriously. "I want to help Mai, she's my best friend."
"We don't really have time to argue so fine." Lin agreed and quickly punched in the numbers Yasu recited for him.
"Do you think we'll find them?" Yasu asked. "Will we be able to help them if we find them?"
"I sure as heck hope so." Lin muttered under his breath. "But I hope you know some self-defense techniques just in case."
"I'll be fine." Yasu replied. He hoped they would be able to help the two who were heading God knows where in time.
so there you have it! i'm pretty sure i might have butchered Gene's character in this one but i never read the manga so i'm not entirely sure if this is how he would act...
well, until next time review!