"Naru!" She yelled following him to the kitchen. When she entered Naru was placing his cup on the counter next to two other already empty cups. "Naru, are you making fun of me right now? What did you mean?" She asked. Her expression serious. Joking and all was ok but this kind of joke would be going too far.
Naru didn't answer. Instead, he gave Mai a quite heartwarming and genuine smile. Yeah, really. What did he mean? He himself wasn't sure. He knew he liked Mai. That was one of the main reasons to return to Japan. But he thought he wasn't ready to tell her yet. Naru, even tho he doesn't look like it, has things he worries about. He decided he would tell Mai about his feelings only when he was sure he is ready to. Was he ready? Or is it because Mai's presence is so welcoming?
"Forget it." Mai said bringing him back to earth. She was understanding even if it hurt her. Naru's smile however did make her a little at ease.
"What's going on?" Mai turned around and saw Gene in the doorway. "Nothing." She blurred. Gene smirked as Naru passed him to get out of the kitchen. "Lovers quarrel?" Naru who heard the remark doubled his speed and soon vanished in is office. "I said nothing." Mai repeated slowly and dryly. She hated being teased. She would blush every time. Mai however did not know it was the reason Naru liked to tease her so much. "Anyway." she started. "We might be going on another case soon." The girl then passed Gene and left. "I have a few calls to make." He heard her yell then saw her crossing the room with a phone in her hand. "It's so boring here today." The boy sighed.
Right after, his attention shifted to the sound of the door, opening door. "Hii~" Yasu yelled as he entered and closed the door. Ignoring the death glare Mai was giving him as, as we remember, she was talking on the phone with the client, he headed to the kitchen. Actually, his goal was Gene not the kitchen itself. "I finally cleared the level." He said really exited. Gene also reacted happily. "Really? Can you do mine too? I'm stuck since the case in the hotel." He took his phone out of his pocket pointing at it with a pleading look in his eyes. "Sure." Yasu agreed and both of them sat on the sofa.
A bit later Mai joined them with freshly made tea. She made it while talking with the client. "A new client will come in about 2 hours. We might take the case." She informed. She mostly was talking to Yasu as Gene already knew it but both of them ignored her completely. Mai got up and headed to Naru's office where she actually was just a minute ago to bring him his tea. "Back already?" Naru asked as he noticed Mai entering. "It's so boring today." She sighed while sitting down in 'her' seat. "Actually, there is that one part in your report from last case that I would like to ask about. The last part. About the twins." Naru informed not even looking up from his laptop like always. "You know what. I'm not that bord after all." The girl quickly got up and headed to the window. She stared at the busy streets for a minute but it wasn't as interesting as she thought it would be. While moving away from the window she noticed the old bookshelf in the corner of the room. Mai went over and reached for the book with the most interesting title. "They are all in English." Naru said suddenly. The girl pulled the book from the bookshelf. "It's ok. I'll manage." She then returned to her seat and started reading while Naru kept on working.
For the next two hours, the office was pretty quiet. Lin was in his office as always. Madoka had a day off. Apparently, she had some business to take care of. Mai kept reading in Naru's office while he was writing. Only the two other boys occasionally made a bit more noise. A lot of time passed since the last time the office was this peaceful. Normally, the whole gang would be sitting around in there for hours. When full of people she loved the office seemed to Mai like a second home. Even now, it felt like they are going to 'come home any second now and make the office a lively place again.
Mai twitched at the sudden sound of the door. "The client is here." Gene informed. "Will you come out or should I let him in here?" Mai quickly got up from her seat and went out of the room. There she saw two men both dressed in suits. "Welcome. I'm Taniyama Mai. Please take a seat. My boss will come out in a second." She pointed at the sofa then disappeared in the kitchen. She knew very well that Naru was not gonna let any stranger into his office. Mai grabbed her notebook and headed back. She would offer the clients some tea but taking notes and making the tea at the same time was impossible. Normally, she would have prepared it earlier but she lost the track of time while reading.
Once she got back she saw Naru coming out of the office. He took a seat and Mai sat beside him. "My name is Oliver Davis. I've called you to talk about your case." Naru started. "I'm happy that you responded. The situation at our school hasn't changed a bit. I'm Ogawa, the principal." The older looking man said. "This is Nakajima, the vice principal." He then pointed to the man beside him. "Well, I decided to accept your case. I read the files but is there something you would like to add?" Mai noticed that the man was a bit torn. Like he wasn't sure if he should answer Naru's question. "We had an accident three years ago where one of our pupils died." He said finally.
"That's useful information. Thank you. If there is a possibility I would like you to tell me the details of this accident once we arrive at the school for the investigation." Naru wanted to return to the office as quickly as possible. Or even sink right where he was standing. He himself couldn't believe how politely he was speaking. It's because Mai was always nagging him over the way he spoke to the clients. "About the investigation." Ogawa spoke up as Naru was ready to send him off. "If possible could you bring the least amount of equipment with you? Maybe none at all? Our school is a very prestigious one that puts a lot of pressure on the grades. I don't want to cause the pupils any more stress. I don't want them to notice how serious the situation became."
Naru stared at the man like he was some kind of alien. Mai tried to process the request while Gene and Yasu were standing at the side holding in their laughter. Naru was about to stop being polite. "Wouldn't we still distract the students by running around? And without the equipment, our work won't be as productive." He tried keeping himself calm. His questions were answered by the vice-principal. "That's why we thought. Would it be possible for you to pretend to be the new students and teachers at our school and investigate this way? You could install the cameras for the night time and remove them again in the morning."
Deep inside Naru knew the two of them were serious but he really hoped they were joking. "What are you taking my team for?" He asked in a dangerously deep ton. Gene and Yasu quickly withdrew to Lin's office before they burst out laughing. "Naru." Mai whispered. "You already agreed to take the case. Don't go back on your word." Naru kept glaring at the clients. "I hope you understand this request will change the price of our service."
"It doesn't matter. The school has the money."
Once the door behind the men closed Yasu and Gene ran out of Lin's office. He kicked them out. They spotted Mai on the phone. "He took the case?" Yasu asked not convinced. Mai nodded as she started to speak to the phone. Naru told her to inform everyone about the unusual case. He thought he saw it all. He thought there can't be any more 'unusual' in his unusual profession. He was wrong. "This is gonna be fun." Gene yelled. The boy then opened the door to Lin's office. The man gave him a long glare. He was already annoyed with those two. "You get to be a teacher." Gene exclaimed before the man had a chance to speak. Lin's glare got more intense. "Excuse me?"