Yo! Thank you to all readers so far!
Mai was off the couch and at the door in less than three strides. "Where is he!? Where the fuck is he!?"
Naru grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back towards him, but Mai fought back roughly.
"Let me go!"
"Mai! Calm down."
"No! I will not calm down! That son of a bitch killed my family!" Mai cried.
"Mai, listen to me," said Naru calmly. He cupped Mai's face in both of his hands. "Listen, we're not sure whether Hideki-san actually did it or not. It's a possibility, but not proven. It may not be him, so until we find out, you can't let on that you're suspicious of him. Alright?"
Mai dropped her head, still breathing heavily, but beginning to calm down. "...Okay."
"Good. Come here." Naru pulled her back into his arms. He knew Mai was angry, understood why too, and he couldn't blame her either, but he still found himself relieved when Mai returned the embrace.
Once the others had woken and had had some breakfast, they regathered in the Base, and it was only now that Mai noticed something.
"Hey, where's Masako?"
"She left yesterday evening," said Ayako. "You were still passed out when she left."
"Oh, oh yeah. Right, I forgot she said she had something else to do and was supposed to leave." Mai nodded to herself, satisfied.
Naru had only just opened his mouth to speak, when Yasuhara and Madoka suddenly sauntered into the room, drawing everyone's attention to them.
Naru blinked. "Where have you two been this entire time?"
"The library," said Madoka cheerfully, not even slightly fazed by Naru's harsh glare.
"You were supposed to come back when it closed. What did you do all damn night?" said Naru, not looking particularly pleased.
"We snuck back into the library after it closed," said Yasuhara mysteriously.
"And did what?" Mai asked hesitantly.
"Research."
"We only just managed to find something when the library closed. It was some pretty strange information and we didn't want to wait, soooo we went in through a window." Madoka sounded quite proud as she said this.
Naru resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. "What did you find then?" he asked.
"Well, we didn't need to research the property, since I'd already done that. We read up on Hideki-san instead," said Yasuhara.
Both he and Madoka suddenly looked serious. Everyone looked around at each other in confusion, since those two being serious at the same time was indeed a strange occurrence. Kind of creepy too.
"There is no Hideki-san," said Madoka.
"...What?"
"Hideki Kiyoshi doesn't exist," said Yasuhara.
"Are you sure?" said John with a frown, his brow creased.
Both researchers nodded.
"There's no record of him at all," said Madoka. "This house was bought thirteen years ago by someone named Yaoshima Akira."
"Yaoshima Akira...?" Mai repeated quietly. She looked down, thinking.
"Mai?"
"I-I know that name," Mai said slowly. "Why do I know that name...?"
"Try and remember," said Naru. "It's important for us to find out."
Mai nodded and rubbed her brow. "I'll keep thinking," she promised.
No one commented on Naru's hint of kindness. They knew that for Mai to remember, she couldn't afford to be distracted. No one except Lin seemed to realize that Naru and Mai had hooked up. Of course, Lin had actually witnessed the moment on the monitors, not that he had bothered watching for long.
Mai went to the kitchen by herself to make tea some time later, saying she needed time alone to think. Naru agreed, though it was an incredibly reluctant agreement. In fact, as soon as Mai had left the Base, he basically ordered Lin to watch the girl on the monitors, making sure to inform him if anything happened.
Naru sat there, waiting impatiently. Mai was taking too long, much too long. He left the Base barely two minutes after Mai had left, earning a smirk from Lin, though he didn't see it.
Entering the kitchen, Naru spotted Mai standing in the middle of the kitchen. It didn't look like she had even started on the tea yet.
"Mai, what's taking you so long?"
The girl didn't respond. Naru moved closer. He noticed Mai's expression was oddly blank. Cautiously he reached out, touching Mai's shoulder.
"Mai? Are you alright?"
Mai blinked, and then glared at Naru viciously. "I don't like you," she declared firmly.
Naru stared, more than a little confused about the sudden and very unexpected declaration. "Mai…?"
"I can't believe my little sister fell in love with a jerk like you."
That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!