Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt

Chapter 14: High and Mighty

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Naru shouted, glaring down at me as we sat in Base, "All of this could have been prevented if you had told me sooner! How many times do we have to go through this before it's drilled into your helpless brain?"

I flinched, but I deserved it so I kept my head down and my temper in check.

"If I may be so inclined to point out," Damien interjected, narrowing his eyes at the smaller man, "None of this would have been prevented, you just would have possibly known a cause to the original. That doesn't mean you could have stopped it from happening. So back. Off." He threaded an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side.

I leaned my head into his warmth, keeping my eyes down. "I'm sorry, Naru," I murmured, "I just… I don't know. I'm sorry."

Naru made a side of aggravation in the back of his throat before turning his fury on Annabeth. "And what's your excuse? This entire case may have been solved by now if you had told us about the shooting."

Annabeth jumped to her feet, glaring right back at Naru. "Well, it's not getting solved by you standing around yelling at everyone! Stop being a little bitch and just back to what you were doing!" she shouted at him, storming from the room in a rage that could be heard down the hall.

Surprised eyes followed her out, followed by Gene rushing after her. Our eyes snapped to Naru. He looked utterly insulted, and I knew today would be hell for anyone and everyone. At first, I thought I'd have the worst day because I was confined to the room with him, but it quickly came to light that that wasn't the case.

Mostly, Naru ignored me. He seethed quietly in a corner on his own while I tried to find random things to do around Base. Whenever one of the others would walk into the room, he'd immediately send them out on another ridiculous errand. He even sent Lin out a few times leaving us to wallow in uncomfortable silence.

"Noll, we need to talk," Gene snarled as he entered Base hours later. Anger rolled off of him. My eyes went wide and I inconspicuously hid behind one of the large chairs. I'd never seen Gene so angry before. It simply wasn't natural, and to be honest, I was a little afraid.

"About what?" Naru shot at him, spinning to glare daggers at his twin.

"About you being a blatant asshole!"

"And what about my behavior?" Naru leaned back in his chair, tenting his fingers in front of his mouth.

Gene narrowed his eyes at the younger twin. "You need to quit it. Just because you're pissed that you weren't told some things doesn't mean you can take it out on your employees or employers. You need to get off your high horse, or I'm going to shove you off."

"Why shouldn't I be angry? They kept relevant facts from me-"

Gene cut him off. "You want to know why they didn't tell you?" He didn't give Naru time to answer. "Because Mai knew you'd do this to her! She was afraid you'd kick her off the case and send her back home, or keep her quarantined to Base. Annabeth didn't tell you because she didn't want you running off to rat on her deceased co-worker to her asshole of a boss! If he found out what she did, he'd release that information to the press, and disgrace her and her family. Maybe you should open your eyes for once in your life and take a peek at other people's reasons for their actions. You know what? Take your idiotic, righteous pride and shove it up your ass!" By the end of his rant, Gene had adopted a British accent that left me a little confused. He turned on his heel in a huff, hands clenched at his sides, and exited the room, slamming the door shut as loudly as he could.

Naru stared after his brother with wide eyes. After a long moment, he released a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I really should have seen that coming," he muttered, spinning back towards what he'd been doing before. The anger around him had dissipated, leaving a dying charge to fill the air.

I crouched behind the chair, unsure of how to proceed. I could slip from the room and try to find the others, but risk Naru's fury later. I could stay behind the chair, and contemplate the outcomes of my decisions. I could make myself know, and actually go talk to my boyfriend. I could even curl up behind the chair and take a nap. Really, the possibilities were endless.

I contemplated my options for only a moment before painfully making my way to my feet. My joints cracked like I was an old woman alerting Naru to my presence. He turned to watch me approach him, his mouth sealed as if with superglue.

I came to stand in front of him, staring down at my pigeon-toed toes. I felt heat slowly creep across my face. "Look, Naru…" I trailed off, wondering what I'd been meaning to say.

Instead of giving me the time to consider my words, Naru wrapped a gentle hand around my arm above my wrist, pulling me down into his lap. "I'm sorry I've been such a dick today," he murmured in my ear.

"No, I understand why," I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my nose in his neck, "I just don't like it when you're mad at me, even though that's most of the time."

"That's because you're so infuriating," he chuckled into the crook of my neck.

"But that's why you love me, right?" I joked, leaning back to grin at him.

"Definitely," he agreed, wrapping his arm around my waist, "and everything else about you, of course." He smiled a small, happy smile.

My face felt hot with embarrassment. "Don't say stuff like that!" I cried, hiding my face in his hair, "It's embarrassing!"

"And that's why I keep saying those things," he quipped, grabbing my side playfully. I let out a screech of laughter, wiggling on his lap. He smirked continuing his ministrations without a care in the world.

We were long into out tickling match when something on the screen caught both our eyes. We paused, staring up at the screens. In one of the middle screens, Annabeth and Gene were wrapped tightly in each other's arms.

"Aww, how adorable," I cooed, pulling Naru closer to me.

"My brother likes someone," Naru laughed, but suddenly cut off, "Something seems wrong."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking between the screen and him.

"I don't know…" He trailed off, standing up slightly while still holding me against his body to stare at the screen harder. Suddenly, his eyes went wider than normal. He dropped me in the chair, and bolted from the room.

I scrambled from my sitting position, landing on the floor first before getting to my feet. "Wait, Naru! What's the matter?" I called, running after him without a second glance at the screen.

Oooo, wonder what'll happen next. I guess we'll have to wait to find out *dramatic pause* Alrighty, then! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter I have given you. Drop me some reviews… please? I feel like talking to some of you guys :P