Setting the Scene

4 years later….

Mai groaned as she leaned against the closed door of her apartment. Somehow, she knew that delving into selfish fantasy would come back to haunt her. She'd known and ignored it. Toeing her shoes off and turning on lights as she went, Mai dropped her portfolio carelessly on her office desk not caring to wince at the loud thudding sound that it emitted.

Six months ago, when discussing her next book, her editor had made a request. Nevermind that she had come to them with four books that were in a publishable state within a just few weeks or that she had since written three more despite taking extra credit hours to graduate early. No, that wasn't enough. Taniyama-sensei's readers wanted more than horror and humor. They wanted romance.

"Everyone agrees, Mai. Your Aiya is fun and people love her, but they want to see her get her own love story. So, we want you to give her a love interest. Even if it is only one case, give her someone to flirt with a bit."

Of course, only one person came to mind when this request came up. And that was why she had kept romance from her books. All of her friends knew that she had based the main character loosely on herself. Romance in the books would have just opened the door to teasing and speculation.

But, by that point, most of them had stopped actually reading her books. Happy to support her, they also openly admitted that they had no need to relive those particular events. (Bou-san did love to discuss how she could adapt some of the cases she helped him out with into novel form though. As did Ayako and Masako actually.) So, when she got the request, she only hesitated a little in embarrassment before adding in her own dose of wish fulfillment.

Thus, Aiya was challenged by the handsome foreign born Ichiya as they competed against each other on a high-profile case. His cleverness and her intuitive passion eventually led to their teaming up to defeat the violent haunting – punctuated of course with a couple of make out scenes and a tender farewell as they parted ways at the end of the story.

Any of her friends that read it would immediately know, but they weren't supposed to read it. It would have been published, made her a nice paycheck, and she could then graduate in peace. After that…well, hopefully she would talk to Madoka about apply to BSPR and being an author of pulp fiction wouldn't matter anymore.

But of course, that wasn't going to happen.

Mai dropped her head onto the desk with another groan, thinking once more to their meeting earlier. The good news that was positively awful.

"Mai! I am so excited to tell you that they want to start publishing your works internationally starting with this book!"

"Internationally? You mean it's going to be translated?" Mai stuttered looking at her practically effervescent editor.

"Yes! Into English first and then maybe into Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and French if it does well. There has been a huge rise in demand for Japanese light novels in America and Europe and they think your books are a perfect candidate!"

"That is amazing," Mai stammered, stunned mind thinking about her book sitting on English bookshelves. "When does the translation start?" When did she need to change her name and hide?

Her editor had the courtesy to look a bit uncomfortable at that question.

"Well, since you are mostly bilingual thanks to your efforts, they want you to do it."

"But, I mean while I like the idea of having control over the translation, there is a huge difference between being fairly fluent and being able to do creative writing. There are a lot of nuanced adjectives and verbiage that…."

Her editor nodded. "It is a big ask and the company is going to pay you a separate translation fee. However, it makes the work seem more valid if the original author does the translation. Also, I did take the liberty of reaching out to Mori-san before I talked to you and she has agreed to help you with some of the finer parts."

"You asked Madoka to help?" Mai practically whispered, blood draining from her face.

"Was that wrong? I apologize but she had always been so supportive I assumed you would not mind her help."

"No, its…fine. I just…don't want to impose."

"She said it would be no imposition. She already has a copy of the original, per her request, and is looking forward to helping you!"

So it was that Mai's success became her downfall. Not only did her book being published in English increase the likelihood of Naru finding out about it, but now one of the people who worked directly with him was reading it, probably at that very moment. Mai didn't know if it would be possible to die of embarrassment, but she was sure she would find out in the coming weeks.

Coward that she was, she turned to emails.

~~x~~

Madoka,

I understand that my editor has already reached out to you for help with the translation of my latest book. As we are heading into summer break from school, I am going to spend the next month attempting to do it on my own. However, I would appreciate having someone look over it and helping me get certain terms right for mood, setting, etc.

Please let me know when assistance can be provided.

Mai

~~x~~

Mai!

Yes! I was very excited to learn about the translation! It just so happens that there is an international panel on the topic of bias in parapsychology in Tokyo in early September. Of course, BSPR has been looking for a representative to send so helping you with the translation in between talks should be no problem!

Madoka

~~x~~

Madoka,

I remember hearing about that so that really is great timing. I have a spare bedroom in my current apartment so feel free to stay here! It is the least I can offer for the help.

Mai

~~x~~

Mai,

That sounds like a wonderful idea. Thanks for the offer.

Looking forward to September!

Madoka

~~x~~

When the first week had gone by and Mai had not suffered any of Madoka's teasing, she relaxed a little. Sure that it was still coming, Mai assumed that the woman was waiting for her to be there in person first. That was something that Mai could handle, even if she was not looking forward to it. Still, the weeks passed and by the end of August, Mai was able to send Madoka a rough draft of her English translation along with a few notes about needing some handy atmospheric adjectives and asking to pick out places where the translation felt too stiff and awkward.

A week later, Madoka had confirmed receipt and that she had made some notes that could be gone over the following weekend when the conference panel began. She also confirmed arrival for Friday night, denied the need to meet at the airport, and double-checked Mai's address.

Despite the impending doom, Mai was looking forward to having the woman come stay with her for a few days. While she did keep up with the irregulars and met with all of them frequently, they only came to her apartment about once a month for their get togethers. It had been that sort of lively fun that she had envisioned when she had used her generous signing bonus to get the much larger apartment in Shibuya. Having a dedicated office for writing and studying along with a spare bedroom for guests had seemed like a wonderful idea at the time. However, more often than not, she felt lonely in the big empty space. Madoka's lively presence would do much to bring her spirits up.

On the Friday she was due, Mai ordered sushi in and had just set the tea kettle to boiling when she heard the door knock. Glad that the delivery was being made on time, Mai quickly went to open the door, wallet in hand a smile on face. However, the shock that met her when she saw who was standing there caused her to drop her wallet completely.

"Naru?!"