Disclaimer: We don't own Ghost hunt!
Twisted Fate
Staring up at the two boys Mai had thought she could trust, she cursed herself for the slight tremors she could still feel wracking her body. It wasn't like they'd done anything but help her, but this—this wasn't normal!
"S-So, you're telling me that you have these...p-powers..." She said incredulously. They had just finishing explaining everything to her, but still... None of this seemed possible!
Naru gave her an irritated look. "That's exactly what we're saying. PK to be more specific. You saw for yourself." His body still felt weak after what he'd just done.
Mai opened her mouth to speak, but she snapped it back shut a moment later. What could she really say in this situation anyway? It was all too much to take in. How could she be expected to understand any of this?
"Noll!" Gene hissed at his brother a bit, telling him he should be more gentle about it. He knew Mai was freaked out over all of this. Noll huffed a little at his brother but didn't say anything else. Though he did notice how Mai kept looking back and forth between them with her eyes slightly wide. In retrospect, it probably wasn't something that a girl like her could be expected to understand but that didn't mean he appreciated the looks.
"Wh-what are you guys even doing here anyway?" Mai asked warily. Honestly, lately, it just felt as if they were following her everywhere. It was almost as creepy as the powers that she'd just seen.
"I'd like to know why you were over here. This area's closed to the public." Oliver informed her with an accusing look. Mai couldn't help but puff out her checks as a wave of annoyance hit her.
"Well, the same goes for you! And I asked you first!" She retorted. Gene couldn't help but laugh a little at them.
"She is right, Noll." He pointed out just to irritate his brother further. Noll scowled at his twin before turning back to the brunette in front of him.
"We're working. We were meant to take a preliminary look at the spirit." He explained reluctantly.
"Yeah, and then look at what you did." Gene muttered under his breath. None of this really made much sense to Mai. The additions of information, even if she had asked for them, was making her even more confused.
"What does that mean?"
Gene smiled patiently. "Remember what we said when we talked about Linda? And you said Noll and I were 'experts'?"
Mai nodded slightly. "I guess..."
"Well, that's true. We're...ghost hunters to put it simple." Gene continued. Mai couldn't help but giggle when he explained it that way. It did sound a little ridiculous, despite everything she just saw. But then again it did start to make a little sense now. They certainly knew things they wouldn't teach in a school.
"But isn't that a job? You guys are still in school, right? How does that work?" Mau asked in confusion.
"Well..." Gene began, glancing at his brother. "Noll here is actually in university. I'm still in high school, by choice."
"WHAT?!"
Oliver winced at the loud tone she used. Why did his brother have to go and say that? If she didn't flaunt herself at them previously, she surely would now. Only that wasn't what was happening. So far she was just looking back and forth between them with a look of disbelief. Oliver stared back at her with mild interest. She wasn't like any other girl he had met before. Or he was staring until he saw his brother give him a look.
"Let's get going." Gene suggested. "Your group is probably wondering where you went."
"Oh, right..." Mai gave a sheepish smile as Gene held his hand out once again to help her stand up. She took it with a grateful look. As they began walking again, Mai's eyes drifted back to the twins. They were completely different from other people she'd met before. They were so mysterious yet they were always kind to her, a complete stranger, and always helping her out—or at least Gene was. Naru was... well narcissistic. But he wasn't completely bad she supposed.
Sighing a little, she ran her hand along the wall lightly, still curious about the building she was in. She could just kick herself for missing the tour of this beautiful place. Although seeing the twins was an interesting surprise. She wasn't sure if it was really welcome though. But the fact that they saved her, again, was very welcomed.
"You're staring again." Gene sing-sang, grinning at her. The brunette looked away with a flustered blush.
"I didn't mean to." She mumbled, embarrassed at being caught. "I was just caught up in my thoughts."
Oliver couldn't help but scoff. "I didn't think you knew what thoughts were."
Gene let out a silent sigh at seeing the sharp look Mai sent his brother, already knowing where this was headed. Why couldn't Noll keep his mouth shut? Or at least not say something like that. He thought. It was amusing to watch, but he was anxious to see what could happen if they just stopped fighting for a moment. Really, if only they would spend a little more time alone together they'd see how perfect they were for each other. He schooled his face into his normal grin to make sure that Noll didn't notice him plotting away. He didn't want to be shut down before he's even started.
He had just thought of the perfect plan.
Surveying the doors as they walked passed them, he mentally shouted in success when he noticed one slightly open. He glanced at the two beside him who were still bickering away. Luckily they're so focused on each other that they probably wouldn't notice him. He sighed once more before smirking. They were a little like an old married couple. If he thought about it like that then it became less exasperating. And it's just their roundabout way of flirting with each other. He mentally grinned.
Thinking quickly, he leant on his brother heavily out of nowhere to knock him off balance, pretending to look shocked. Just as he had hoped Noll tripped as well and bumped into Mai. Luck was on his side though and just as Noll was knocked off balance, the not to even stone flooring tilted him in Mai's direction, knocking her down as well, right into the open door. Grinning to himself, Gene quickly slammed the door shut before the two could gather their bearings and notice what was happening. Just as he predicted when they finally caught up to what was happening and tried to open the door, it was stuck.
"Gene?!" He heard Mai tell from the other side. Pushing against the door enough to shake it but not enough to force it open, Gene smirked.
"It's stuck. I'll go find someone to help you out." He promised. Before he left, he needed to find a chair or something to prop up against the doorknob so Noll wouldn't be trying to open it. He just knew his brother wouldn't take his "word" for it that the door was stuck. Looking around, he grinned when he spotted an old wooden chair nearby. Grabbing it, he forced it under the handle. It wouldn't hold forever, but it should last long enough. "I'll be right back." Gene assured them, hoping he sounded as sincere as he was attempting to be.
"Just hurry up, you idiot!" Noll yelled to him. Gene chuckled quietly, walking away from the door.
"Be patient." He called back. He waited a moment before hurrying off to go find Mai's friends. He had another good plan and he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way.
Sighing, Oliver glared at the door that was currently blocking his path of escape. Pushing against it, just to be sure, he mentally screamed in frustration. He didn't trust this situation for a moment. His mind was already thinking of how orchestrated this felt.
A broken whimper broke him away from those thoughts. He looked to see Mai a few feet away clutching her ankle with a pained expression. Forgetting about whatever his brother was up to, he walked over to her and crouched down.
"What'd you do, idiot?" Naru demanded.
"It's nothing..." Mai breathed out. Noll scoffed.
"Obviously. Which is why you're holding it like your life depends on it." He agreed sarcastically. He was going to kill his brother. He was almost certain this was Gene's doing again. However stupid he may be sometimes, his brother was never clumsy.
"It's fine." Mai insisted, trying her best not to grimace. Sighing, Naru glared at her.
"Then you won't mind if I take a look to check." He said. The brunette bit the inside of her cheek, hard, and looked away with a scowl. He waited several moments more before taking her silence as a sign of reluctant approval. Pushing her hands away, he frowned at the swelling he could see. Carefully, he felt and lifted her foot. "Can you still bend your ankle?" He asked. He watched as Mai squeezed her eyes shut.
"...It makes me nauseated just at the thought of it."
"I need to know if the bone is broken. If you can't physically bend it then chances are there's a fracture or break in the bones." He explained, more patiently than he thought was possible. Mai gave him a look that made him raise a brow, wondering what she was thinking.
"You want me to move it?" She asked incredulously. Naru rolled his eyes.
"I want you to tell me if it's possible so that I know if you've broken the bone." It was obvious this tactic wasn't going to work.
"I just said the very thought nauseated me. So, no, I can't move it!"
Glaring at Mai, he pressed lightly at the wounded area, applying what he did know about first aid into practice.
"You need to calm down. Your raised blood pressure when your angry isn't going to help you any." He scolded. Mai scoffed and looked away again, trying not to wimper when he touched her ankle. Sighing as he looked the injury over, he came to the conclusion that it wasn't broken, but he couldn't rule out a minor fracture. "You won't be walking on this again for a little while and it needs to be checked out by a professional." Noll informed her.
"Great..." Mai mumbled sarcastically. Moving around, Naru sat on the ground next to the brunette, leaning against the wall.
"Gene will be back soon." He told her and then paused after a moment at hearing the reassurance in his voice to her. Mai looked at him in surprise, biting her lip a little. For some reason that made her feel a little better. Oddly enough she felt calm—aside for the pain radiating from her ankle. Looking back down with slightly pink cheeks, the brunette tried to think of something to say. The silence was killing her and maybe talking could get her mind off of her injury.
"Um...yeah..." She began awkwardly. Looking at her, Noll couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in question. He wasn't used to being in situations like this and he wasn't sure what to say or do. But at least she seemed calm enough now—instead of being scared and mad like before. "What's taking your brother so long?" Mai asked feeling unsure. She watched as Naru turned his head towards her.
"He just left about three minutes ago. I'll take him a while longer to get back to the entrance and find an employee."
"Oh..." Twiddling her thumbs together, she sighed a little feeling stupid. It felt like they'd been in here for at least ten minutes. It must have been just wishful thinking. Sensing how tense she was, Noll tried to think of something he could do to calm her down. Not because he cared, just because her being tense was irritating him. She seemed easy to entertain, like Gene. Hesitating for a moment he reached into his pocket and felt for his special coin. Feeling it touch the tip of his fingers, he grasped it and held it in his palm. Pulling it out, he showed it to the brunette. It had been a while since he'd done this so he wasn't sure if it would be enough. However he was sure that even if it wasn't, the girl would find it funny anyway. She seemed simplistic like that.
"Do you want to meet my friend, Mai?" He asked causally. The brunette looked at him in confusion before glancing down at the coin curiously. She looked back at him with an eyebrow raised.
"A coin is your friend?" She asked, trying and failing to mask the amusement that leaked out of her voice. Noll couldn't help but raise a brow at her, smirking inwardly as the coin disappeared from his hand.
"That was rude. Now he doesn't want to talk with you anymore." He informed her. Mai's eyes widened in disbelief, her mouth gaping open.
"No! How did you do that?!"
Naru felt amused as he watched the expressions play over Mai's face. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything." He denied.
"Naru!" She exclaimed, exasperated. "Yes, you did! It disappeared!" She pointed to his hands, which he had in front of him, palms facing forward. Noll could help but smirk.
"I don't know what you mean. It's right here." He claimed, reaching out to pull the coin from behind her ear with practiced ease before holding it in front of her. He watched as her eyes lit up as she smiled, her eyes widening in surprise. For some reason it made him feel almost... happy. It wasn't normal for him to react to anyone. But then again, nothing about this girl seemed to be normal. He mentally shook his head when he realized he was staring at her far too long for his taste. Glancing down at his hand, he closed his fist over the coin before opening his hand again and relaxing. That was enough for the day. He didn't want to push it, especially since Gene wasn't here at the moment.
Mai couldn't help but stare in wonder at where the coin had been. "Where'd it go?"
"He hid because you wouldn't stop yelling." Noll said quietly, smirking a bit. Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Mai's cheeks flushed, her mouth gaping.
"I wasn't yelling!"
Naru couldn't help but look at her in slight disbelief. "So what do you call that?" He asked.
"I—" Mai broke off when she realized her voice was kind of raised a bit. Huffing, she crossed her arms, pouting a little. Before Naru was even being kind of nice. Why'd he have to go and be a jerk like that again? She leaned back against the wall beside Naru, their shoulders only inches from each other, realizing she momentarily forgot the horrid pain in her ankle. Glancing at him in an attempt to be subtle, she wondered if he'd done it on purpose. What other reason would he have randomly started a magic trick? But that didn't make sense. Naru seemed like he hated her for the most part.
Mai sighed silently, leaning her head against the wall, and closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about the complicated human being sitting not even a foot away from her. She just hoped his brother came back with help soon.
MzShellSan: Finally! We finished the chapter!
Naruisawesome: Yup, and Gene strikes again! XD
MzShellSan: I wonder just how far he'll go... O.o
Naruisawesome: ...I don't wanna think about it. It frightens me lol.
MzShellSan: Haha true, true!
Naruisawesome: Please review everyone! Sorry for never being able to update quickly!
