Chapter Fifty-Three
May 24 12:09p.m
Mai continuously stared at the clock in front of her. It was a slow day at S.P.R, but that does not mean that she is bored today. On the contrary she feels like she is about to be sick.
"Come on- he should be calling my name any second. I just want to get this over with. Come on Nar...,"
"Mai-Tea."
She quickly stood, "Hai."
Mai quickly made her way to the kitchenette and put the kettle over the small flame. It had been a week since their last cast. Ayako is back at work, after having a few stitches on her back. Everything had pretty much turned back to normal, well pretty much.
As soon as the kettle whistled Mai grabbed it and poured it into the cup.
She cautiously made her way to the door with the gold plated CEO on it and took a deep breath.
"Come on Mai- you can do this!"
She then knocked on the door and heard a voice say, "It's open."
Mai opened the door to the dark room. Sure enough her boss was in the centre of the room with his nose in a book. She placed the cup on the mahogany table and reached for the old one. After staring blankly ahead he finally made eye contact with her.
"Are you going to stare at me like a dunce or say something?"
"Eh! Hey that's not..,"
She then coughed and calmed herself down.
"Ne-Naru?"
He then sighed and put his book down. Naru placed his chin on the back of his hands and glared at her, "yes Mai."
"Um well- I was wondering if I can, getoffearlytomorrow?"
"What."
"Erm- can I get off early- tomorrow."
"Are you going to school?"
"No."
"Well then I see no reason for you to..,"
Mai then place her hands on the desk and leaned forward, " Please Naru! I don't usually have time to do this, but tomorrow is really special to me. I won't ask off work again, just please let me go!"
Naru's eyes suddenly dodged down and he took a deep sigh. This only added to Mai's anxiety.
"Oh crap, I must have gotten him mad."
Everything was quiet for a moment until Naru broke the silence by saying one word.
"Fine."
Mai's mouth dropped and she looked dumbfounded at her boss.
"Fine?"
"Didn't you hear me air head? I said you can go."
Suddenly Mai could not fight off the grin from her face.
"Oh- Thank you Naru-Thank You-Thank You- Thank You!"
"Just remember to still come into work that morning."
"Yes- defiantly."
Mai then left his office without another word.
"Wow- that was easier than I thought."
The next day came swiftly. Naru walked into the office and silently hung his jacket in the closet. He could hear Lin steadily typing from his office. He then looked up at the clock, it was 8:00 on the dot. Of course he would be right on time.
He then steadily walked his way to the office, without a second thought in his head. As he sat down he immediately began to scan through pages after pages of case request.
"No- Not good enough. That is obviously a prank. This man is a loon. Not enough evidence. I could solve that one in my sleep. Not enough pay. Too public of a case. Just pipes in the basement. Probably teenagers, and..,"
Naru continued to scan through the papers, and crumpled most in the trash. Soon he heard the door ring open, and instinctively called out, "Tea."
No answer came forth, but he continued to scan over papers. After a few minutes he heard a knock as the door, "come in."
When the young girl walked in his eyes immediately left the pages before him. Without haste his heart began to pound as he looked at his assistant. Mai was wearing simple Mary Janes with a matching black skirt. She was wearing a semi-elegant white top with a black sequined bow around her waste. The clothes went perfectly with her newly forming young adult body. Sure, it might have been simple, but it went together elegantly. When Naru looked at her face he noticed Mai had her hair tied back in a pony tail, with the banes still hanging over her eyes. He then noticed her lips were covered with a faint pink gloss. His tongue instinctively licked the inside of his lips.
As this happened Mai stood as stiff as she could. She was ready for any insult he could through at her. But as time moved on she notice that none came her way. Her shoulders began to relax and she looked at her young boss.
"Ne-Naru."
The black haired boy then felt a chill go up his spine, "crap- what am I doing!"
He then cleared his throat and sat straight up, "Mai."
Mai began to tittle her thumbs as she looked at him, "well- I was wondering what time can I go."
"Go?"
She nodded, "yes- remember you told me I could get off early today."
Naru felt his hand's began to curl, "that's right I did."
His head then turned to the clock to his right to see it was already past nine thirty. He then turned back to the brunette with a chilling gaze.
"I suppose I can let you off around twelve."
A smile then surfaced on her face, "thank you Naru."
She got no response as he began to look over case request again. She then turned and walked out of the office and to her desk in the main part of the building. She sighed when she saw the folders Naru had already put on her desk, "great-work. Well I am still happy you are letting me off early Naru."
Shortly after she began to sort through the tangled mess of files she heard an order for tea.
When Mai got to Naru's office she was slightly shocked at what she saw. Naru was not even reading, he was looking straight up as though he was anticipating her next move.
"Was he- waiting, but wait. Naru never does that."
Mai then placed the tea and picked up the old cup. Amazingly, she did not even wait for any sign of gratitude from him. She quickly shuffled to her desk and sat down once again.
"That was awkward, what was Naru doing."
She then began to sort the files again, but this time after five minutes she heard another call for tea.
"Stupid, tea- addict jerk," she muttered underneath her breath as she stood up. Soon enough she was back at his office. Once again she was puzzled at what she saw. He was waiting for her with his piercing gaze. Mai swallowed hard and began to replace the cup on the table as Naru watched her.
""You know, while you are checking out your assistant..,""
"I am not 'checking her out'!"
""Yeah- whatever, but one thought has not even occurred to you.""
"And just what is that?"
""Who is she dressed up like that for?"
Naru suddenly leaned forward and began to almost choke on air. Mai stared at him confused, "Naru- are you okay? Are you sick- do you need a doctor?"
After Naru could control himself he straightened back up in his seat, "No Mai- why would you ask such an idiotic question?"
"Oh- um."
Mai could feel blush creep onto her face, "because you have been acting weird."
Naru then began to ignore her, and picked up the papers to read through. Mai slowly made her way back out of the room. As soon as the door closed and she was out of earshot Naru dropped the papers and shot up. He began to pace in front of his desk.
"Why would she be dressed like that. She did say it was a special occasion, but I never realized it was that special to her. Think, where is she going that is so important. Wait, of course I can figure it out! I just need another look at what she was wearing."
Naru suddenly reached for the handle of the door and then pulled back from it.
"Wait- how would that make me look?"
Naru then shook his head and grabbed the door, "you know what it does not matter at this very moment."
Naru then yanked the door open and walked out.
Mai suddenly heard footsteps and looked to her right. Much to her surprise she saw Naru again. He did not even glance her way as he made his way to a spare supplies closet. He stayed in there briefly to grab an arm full of old files before making his way back to his office. As he walked back he slightly glanced at Mai again and studied what she was wearing.
"A wedding..,no. A graduation, definitely not. A funeral, wait she would probably be crying and she is wearing white. Then again this is Mai we are talking about. I need to get another look to see."
Mai was oblivious to this as she pulled open one drawer in her desk, which were filled with pictures. She carefully picked them all up, and began to shuffle through them. Most of them were pictures of her 'family' as S.P.R. She grinned at seeing every one, and watching Monk and Yasuhara pose in strange ways for the pictures. She continued to shuffle through them, and chuckled at a few funny memories. Finally she got to one picture and paused. It was the only picture she could get of Naru out of a roll of film. Well the only clear one, most only showed a black blur or the back of his head. And this one actually turned out perfectly. He did not exactly know she took the picture of him, but she hid the camera and turned off the flash. When she called his name he turned to her and she quickly flashed. Even if he did not mean it, it was the best picture out of all the rest. The light in the room was hitting his face just right, and the sudden turn made his hair seem even more disarrayed than usual. It honestly look with his clothes and looks as though it was the picture from a magazine of a model. Her grin then broadened, "you are really going to love these pictures."
By this time she heard footsteps going down the hall. She quickly his the pictures as Naru came back to the centre of S.P.R. Once again he did not pay the girl any attention and went to the same supply closet to get more files. This time as he came out he took more time to examine her. He could only think of one more thing that she could be doing, and once it surfaced there was no going back.
"A-a date? That would explain the clothes, but skipping work for a date! And- for-..,him."
An image of Kouki came to his mind and Naru instantly tightened his fist as he went back to his office. His blood was boiling, but it was not fast enough for emotions.
"Inexcusable, irresponsible, unreliable, unrespectable, undependable, IDIOT! IS SHE EVEN USING HER HEAD! Does she realize that, that, that."
Naru groaned and plopped down in his seat. Furious could not even begin to describe how he was feeling at that time. His heart felt like it was about to burst from trauma.
"Get a hold of yourself, you already agreed to this and you always keep your promises. No more, no less. Now allow her to g-g-go on this, and do not say a word about it."
Naru then began to open up the files to get his mind off the situation at hand. Though it seemed liked the harder he tried to get his mind off it, the harder it pushed to be his main thought of thinking. Too soon for his liking he heard a knock at the door and said, "come in."
Mai walked in timidly with a bag clinging to one of her shoulders, "Erm Naru, it is twelve. I am going to take off now."
He looked up at the clock and his stomach dropped, "of course, you may go."
She grinned, "Thank's again Naru. I'll see you tomorrow."
She then happily made her way out of his office, and once she told Lin goodbye she was off. Little did she know as she left Naru's thoughts began to get more violent. After what seemed like forever (five minutes) he stood.
"I won't stop her, I just need to know what she is doing."
He made his way out of the office and slipped on his jacket. When he was sure Lin would not be able to hear him he slipped out the door. It was lunch time and the streets of Shibuya were crowded. As Naru looked among face after face he still tried to find only one. Naru quickened his pace down the street, making sure she would not go too far. As he walked by a shop window something caught his eye, making him stop. Mai was in a flower shop, buying a bouquet of varying flowers. This only made Naru's anger worst.
"Wait, she might see me."
Naru quickly turned and leaned at the edge of the building, "It must be a date! But then why is Mai buying the flowers. I know that guy she is dating it a punk, but making her buy fl..,"
He suddenly saw Mai leave and continue to make her way down the street. He quickly dodged his way among the faces in the crowd, making sure that he did not lose her. Though he did make sure that he stayed far enough back, that if she was to turn around he had a good minute to hide. He then paused as Mai went into a general store. He stood by a lamp post, to make sure no one tries to get the bright idea of shoving him out of the way. He did not feel like dealing with someone like that at the very moment. Soon Mai came out with a white bag and began to walk again.
"What did she get this time?"
As Naru walked by the store he noticed there were men behind counters preparing bentos. Across from there were candles and drinks for sale.
"This guy really is a punk for doing this. How could he make Mai do something like thi..,"
His mind began to trail off as and image of Mai and Kouki having a picnic took over his mind. He saw Mai trying to prepare the meal and suddenly Kouki grabs her and begins to drop his lips on hers. Naru violently shook the image from his head as the anger began to drain back into him.
"Wait, I can't loose Mai."
He quickened his pace to make up for lost time. As time grew longer the streets of Shibuya were growing thinner as people returned to work. During this time Mai never turns back once.
"That proves it, she is too dense."
Naru heard her begin to hum joyfully as she turned to a sidewalk. Naru began to follow after her, but stopped as he saw where she was entering.
"A graveyard?"
He began to make his way up the winding path. As the noise of the city began to fade Naru started walking on the grass to dampen his own footsteps. Suddenly Mai stopped and Naru quickly dodged behind a large tree. When he was positive she would not turn around and glanced around the tree to see what she was doing. Mai shuffled through the bag and pulled out candles, she placed them on two graves. She then fumbled with a box of matches to light them.
"What is she doi...,"
Mai grinned as she looked at the graves. And when she saw the candles would not burn out by the slight wind she relaxed.
"Hey Mum, Dad- it has been a while, hasn't it. Sorry I have not been able to visit you earlier, but I would not turn down today."
She then turned to the grave on the right and her grin turned into a smile.
"Happy birthday Daddy."
Mai then took the flowers and put it on her mother's grave.
"You did always like it when I brought you flowers. You told me it made you smile in a way you could not if I was not there."
She then turned back to her father's grave. The young brunette shuffled through her purse, until she found a white envelope.
"I followed her to her parent's grave? She is not going on a date with Kouki?"
His thoughts were put on hold as Mai began to talk again.
"Mum told me how you always took pictures, I thought you would like to see them. Even Mum too. I guess Mum is right, I am a lot like you. Though I am reminded that I am stubborn all the time by someone. Oh yeah, I have a job. Everyone there is very nice, they feel like family to me also. Look you see there is Monk, Yasuhara, Ayako, John, Lin, Madoka and even Masako too. They really take care of me when I am down."
Naru felt his muscles tense, "why didn't she say my...,"
"Oh and there is Naru."
She pulled from the deck of pictures the one of the black clad boy.
"When did she..,"
"He is my boss, looks really young right? Well he is, he is only two years older than me. Though he might look young he still is very smart. Maybe one day I can get him to come here. Though I wish he could stop calling me an idiot all the time. Now don't get me wrong, he is nice- well sort of. He has.., He has.., He has..,"
Naru was about to be completely out in plain sight as he kept leaning over to hear what she had to say.
"He has.., given me a job. Sure it might have been for me messing up his camera, but he gave me a job. You see, he is not entirely heartless. I guess I should also thank him for giving me half a day off. I don't think I would have had the courage to do it unless I saw what he did at another grave for a little boy. "
Mai then sighed and looked at the ground, "I really need the money."
Naru grabbed the leg of his trousers and began to claw at it with fury.
"Am I really so 'heartless' to her?"
Mai suddenly looked up and smiled again, "what am I doing, it's your birthday- I need to be positive."
Naru suddenly turned back at hearing this, "if she is going to be positive, let's see if she has anything positive to say about me.
"Well.., I have a boyfriend!"
Naru suddenly snapped back and began to claw at the ground, as his anger rose.
"That- is- positive- to- her?"
He could barely control his shallow breaths and his heart rate as Mai began talking again.
"Yup- I sure do. He is funny, cute, kind, athletic, and edgy. His name is Kouki Sohma, I think I can get him to come soon also! He might not be the 'college professor' that you always wished that I would marry one day, but he does make me happy. I think both of you would have liked him."
Mai then placed the photographs on her father's grave and pulled a bento out of the bag.
"I thought it would be fun to have a picnic here with the two of you. I could only buy a piece of each of your favourite foods. Yeah- Naru doesn't really pay much. Oh well- I am just happy to be here with both of yo...,"
Naru could not take anymore of it. He shot up and began to walk away with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I am so mad I myself I can through up! And I feel like a stalker!"
He continued to make his way as far as he could from the graves. Soon he was surrounded by the white marble of the older part of the cemetery. As he continued to walk his anger began to go away, just leaving the hollow feeling inside him. His pace quickened, he began to get faster and faster. Suddenly he stopped, among the heads of white marble one stood higher than the others. It looked older than the rest, but extremely taken care of. It was covered with an array of flowers.
"Why could have been so adored to have so many mourners?"
He brushed old petals away from the name plate. It had not a date or name upon it. The only thing to recognize it by was a title.
"The Unknown Mourner."
"Who have you come to see sunny boy"
Naru turned to see an old man wearing overalls and a baseball hat. His face was careworn, but years of kindness has shaped it into a friendly form. Naru glared at the old man.
"I have not come to mourn."
The man then smiled and put his can on Naru's chest.
"Yeah right, you can't fool me Sunny."
Naru pushed the cane away and looked back down at the grave. Instead of the man backing away from his rigid response he walked even closer
"I see you have found The Unknown Mourner."
"It is difficult to miss."
"Well, there is an interesting story behind it. You see this entire graveyard used to be a field a long time ago. Shibuya was still just a village and Tokyo was just a shadow of what it is today. One day two children where playing out here when they found a dead man. No one knew who the man was or his origin, so they could not send his body back to his loved ones. So they buried him and gave them a name the children first called him."
"The Unknown Mourner."
He nodded, "yes, when the children found their parents they told them there was a sad man in the fields. Soon the town's craftsmen pulled together to make him a magnificent headstone, and because no one knew who he was related to so everyone came and cried."
"Why cry over something you barely understand."
The old man then gave Naru a daring look, "Now listen hear, it is perfectly alright to cry. It helps your heart heal. Now where was I? Oh yeah- villagers after villagers came to see him, some even from other parts of Japan, just to see if he was part of their family. Now it has become a tradition that if anyone has a lost loved one they come to this grave. This is a place for them to mourn like anyone else until their body can get back to them. Well it is not so boring anymore, isn't it?"
Naru looked back at the grave, "that explains all of the flowers."
"Now doesn't that make you feel better?"
"Why would that make me feel any better, it is just a body in the ground."
This earned Naru another look from this man, "It might be that to you, but to others it helps them. It helps people get on with there lives if they can shelter things from their past. You don't have to be so cold to things if you just accept this."
"Why would you ever think I am acting, cold."
The old man chuckled, "no human on the face of this earth is born as cold as you are acting right now. Something has had to happen to you to make you like this, maybe more than one thing. First of all if you are not visiting anyone then why wear black. It is such a dreadful colour, and I must look at it every day. I have been caring for graves for sixty years and every now and again your kind shows up. Young, arrogant, has the world at their feet but continues to let a memory hold them back. Though I must say, you are different from the others, I have never seen a teenager so stubborn."
The old man then got another hard glare from Naru making him sigh.
"Alright, I'll go- what does an old bat like me know anyway? Just remember what I told you, The Unknown Mourner is not for just one person or purpose."
He put his cane to the ground and began to hobble off. As soon as he was sure the man was gone he turned back to the grave, "what was wrong with that man and this grave. The Unknown Mourner, it is more like a memorial than what it is, a tomb."
The man's words then flashed into his head just as he walked away and Naru could not get it out of his mind. Before he realized what he was doing he grabbed a rose from a bush near by and let it fall on top of the grave.
"You will be home one day Gene, I promise."
Naru began to make his way back to Shibuya.
"Lin is probably having a fit right now."
Everything was quiet, he could only hear his footsteps on the cement path before him. As he continued walking something caught his eye. Mai's parents graves were abandoned. Some still came off the wick of candles, showing she just recently left. Before he realized it he was right at the graves. His eyes quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking, and the psycho man was gone. He them put his hands at his side and took a small bow.
"Taniyama-sans, I am the one your daughter calls Naru. I suppose what Mai said is true, I am standing at her parent's graves. She seems to care very much for both."
Naru looked at the flowers she left on her mother's grave and then looked at all the pictures she had laid out on her father's grave. He bent down to her father's grave and looked at the date of death.
"She was very young when she lost her father."
A black haired woman began to groggily come to his mind, but he shoved the image away. He began to look at all of the pictures she had on the grave, and picked up one that Mai took of herself.
"She looks really happy."
The corners of his mouth began to twitch as he fought off the urge to smirk. Some of the pictures were of Kouki and he shoved them away in discussed. Suddenly the picture at the far right caught his eye. He picked it up and carefully examined the picture of himself.
"So that is why she called me around, well at least I look good."
OMG!
My Computer crashed again!
I finished this chapter early in the week, but my adapter shorted out! Well it is working for now, so I am just going to upload it.
Oh yeah- I got a new Ipod- YES!
Well I made the chapter longer because I just think you guys deserve a long chapter due to the fact I have not been able to be on much for the past couple of months.
So tell me what you think- RxR
Next chapter will be up soon.
