Because I just crunched my budget numbers and feel like crap now because of it, so bam. A chapter. Enjoy.
And screw the world.
Chapter 1
We came back to Naru's modern downtown apartment, which I had been to more in the last week than I have my entire life. It wasn't much and fit Naru to a tee in the fact that it the furnishings were black, sleek, and few. Nothing was there that wasn't used often. The most superfluous furniture in the whole house was his coffee table. He had no bookshelves, no pictures, no decorations, and his bedroom was only a bed and a black wardrobe.
I asked if his favorite color was black and he gave me the very boring answer that it was just easier to get everything to match if you went with black. To think Naru was the kind of guy who worried about color coordination.
I let Luella do most of the rundown of our shopping trip in mixed English and Japanese, as I was exhausted. Naru's father listened with his usual impassive face in the arm chair. Naru didn't even bother to make a show of listening from where he sat at the end of the couch, reading and sipping at a cup of tea. This suited me all the same. I wasn't that into wedding planning either, and I managed to find an optimal cuddle spot to sneak my head onto his lap and lounge across the rest of his—so exciting!—black couch. He fidgeted a bit, never being the one comfortable with any display of public affection, even front of his parents. Especially in front of his parents. But as he had his hands full and didn't want to cause I scene, I got my Naru pillow and life was good.
"Oh! And we found a case for you two!"
Neither of the men reacted. The most Naru did was put down his tea on the coffee table, which was a feat as my head was on his lap and he didn't want to smother me with his stomach. I didn't mind. Not a freaking bit. More warm Naru flesh. Boy, I was so bushed. Even if I was rich, I think I'd hate shopping all the same. Man, my feet!
When no one responded, she went on, all bubbles and popping excitement. "Apparently there's this story at Tokyo University about if you walk between two old buildings in the back with the one you love, if they're unfaithful they'll get the kanji for liar on their foreheads and—"
"Let me guess," drawled Naru with a snap of his book. "They die. Has anyone actually died?"
"That's the thing!" she squealed, not bothering to get on her son's case about rudely interrupting as I would have. "The girl who told us about it said that her friend's boyfried died shortly after that in an accident on his scooter, and before that an upperclassman in her dormitory also had a boyfriend who died in an accident. She had all these other stories too of all these boys who had died in the pass in seemingly random accidents!"
"So men. Not lovers."
She puffed up her bangs and pouted at him. "Why does it matter? We already said you'd help, so you want to check it out?"
This wasn't entirely correct, as we had said we'd tell the guys about it and see what they were interested, but, hey, I had my nose full of Naru scent and I totally got to feel his abs through his shirt on my cheek. Did I mention how tired I was?
"Sounds like a rehash of the white woman story," said Naru with a sigh, before asking his father a question in English. While the man could pick up some Japanese from being around his wife and sons, he still was probably in bad need of an explanation. Surely enough, as Naru spoke, comprehension dawned on him and he said something back in his low, rumbly voice. I loved his voice. He used it so little, though, but when he did it was like the whole room rumbled with it, like low key thunder.
Luella frowned at whatever her husband said. "Now that's not fair."
"What'd he say?" I asked, closing my eyes. Maybe, if I was really lucky, Naru might let me sleep here.
"He's not comfortable doing a case in the Japanese setting, as he doesn't have a good grasp on the language and doesn't know the customs here as well as Gene did," he said, glancing down at me. "Could you be a little more appropriate?"
"Oh, leave me alone. I'm tired and you're comfy."
"You're wearing a skirt."
I peeked under my eyelids and closed them again. "Yes, and it's completely flipped up and displaying all of my luscious thighs and cute pink panties to the world. Leave me be, won't you?"
During our exchange, Luella had focused her attention on her husband and was speaking in English. As she did so she put her purse by the door and took a seat on the chair's armrest. Professor Davis also had a book, which he had politely set on his lap as he spoke to his wife—or mainly listened.
"Girls don't wear as short of skirts in England. You'll embarrass my dad."
"My skirt is knee-length, you prude, and your dad hasn't even said a word or even looked over. Besides, it isn't like he's going to go eyeballing his son's fiancé."
"Just sit up."
I groaned. "You are so mean." And sat up. I pulled up my bare feet to massage them. "I hate shopping. But we got a dress and, you know, wedding stuff."
"Mmhmm." He had picked up his book again and flipped it open to a page.
"Oliver dear! Say you'll take the case for your father, won't you?" When Naru didn't answer, seemingly engrossed in his book once more, she pouted, stomped over, and snapped the book close. Naru gave an exasperated sigh that he often times gave me, and which made me smile.
"Why doesn't dad just take the case?" he asked. "It most likely has to do with P.K.-L.T. Psychics are his department. I prefer ghosts."
"What makes you think it's not a ghost?" I asked.
"Simple. It's crowded," he said. "As you know, spirits are easily influenced by those around them. Because of that, spirits that reside in places where there isn't much traffic tend to be stronger. Those in high traffic areas are weakened by all the minds that brush against them and eventually are blended in to the background or move on due to having forgotten why they're there in the first place. For example, have you ever heard of the haunted metropolitan? The haunted mall?"
"But what about those cases we had at schools. There were spirits there."
"Those spirits were brought there by some outside means, such as the suzhou curse, use of the hitogata, and the kodoku. The spirits weren't there naturally, meaning they weren't 'haunting' in the strictest sense of the word."
"So…you're not interested in this case because…?"
He sighed. "I thought I just said why."
"You should really be more patient," said Luella, as she has been prone to do whenever around when Naru talks to me. Sometimes I got the impression that she was in constant fear that I'd get mortally offended by Naru's lack of finer feelings and run off. I thought she'd realize that I had three years to do that. Besides, I knew just as well as she did that he was just a big self-conscious softy underneath his icy, confident front—which I was finding more hilarious every day.
"And you should take the case," she said, beaming. "I've never seen you at work."
"It's just work, Mom. It's not much different from what Dad does."
"Oh, but I want to see you and Mai work together! Come on, humor me, I've been trying to imagine what you're up to for the past three years! Don't you have any idea how much I missed you?"
"I know perfectly well, as you keep reminding me." He gave another exasperated sigh. "Fine. On one condition."
She perked up. "You'll do it? And you'll let me watch?"
Professor Davis looked up from his book, his stormy eyebrows morphed into one in consternation. Apparently anything that made his wife excited was something to be concerned over. That, or he was misinterpreting her sudden pitched voice for dismay.
"If you or dad can get me license to research on campus grounds, I'll do it. That's my condition."
She squealed, fluttered her hands at shoulder height, and went back to Professor Davis like a happy puppy. I couldn't help but smile. She had the energy of someone even younger than me. Then I frowned. If his mother came, that mean Naru would be uptight the entire case. He wouldn't let me so much as hold his hand or kiss him or…aw man.
"Perhaps having someone to watch us is a good thing."
I scowled at him. "Why can't you read my mind when it's actually useful? And I don't see what's so good about it."
"You know what I'm talking about."
"Fine, but then I want us married by the end of the summer."
He stopped mid-reach for his tea to give me a displeased glare from beneath his eyebrows. I didn't miss the sudden rise in color in his ears, however. "Really, Mai, you can't go changing dates like that. My mother's already going to be cramped for time to organize everything by fall. Now shh, we shouldn't be talking about things like this in public."
"You brought it up." And he did. Not to mention his living room with his parents wasn't exactly public. "Besides, all I want to do is cuddle, not—"
"Mai, stop. Please."
His ears were pink now and he looked cooler and more composed than ever as he perfectly sipped his tea. I half expected him to stick out his pinky.
Luella and Professor Davis were still speaking in rapid English. Professor Davis had sighed and was reaching under his leg for his phone.
I grinned, suddenly mischievous. I wanted a little fun after such an arduous day.
"Sex."
Of course Luella and her husband didn't stop what they were doing and started screaming. They carried on in their conversation like sane, mature human beings. The way Naru flushed and spilled a bit of tea over his knee was as though they had anyways.
"Can you please behave like an adult?"
"Why? This is funny. Besides, you should hear your mom talk." I grinned wider, wondering if I should push my luck. "You know she talked to me about birth control today, right? Was all set to persuading me to not even bother and just have babies right away."
By the flinch to his eyes—the knee-jerk reaction he had whenever he felt the urge to look away in embarrassment, but then habitually fought it—told me she had talked to him about it too.
"Mai—" he said, half warning, half pleading.
"She actually gave me my homework to talk to you about it." Oh, how he squirmed. "I don't know why you're so uncomfortable about it. You're the one who so confidently bought me lingerie the other week."
Now his parents stopped talking to look over at us curiously. Naru didn't wait. Putting aside his book and tea, he stood and walked out of the room and to the bathroom, where he closed it with a perfectly controlled snap. Not too loud. Not too soft. Because you know we'd be paying perfect attention to that so we could gauge just how much we had riled him, because we're that obsessive.
I laughed. Oh God, he was cute.
"What did you say to him?" asked Luella curiously.
"Oh, nothing." I hadn't even been talking particularly loud, so I doubted she had heard our conversation. Her own voice had been louder than my own, but still he—oh gosh. So cute.
The rumble through my toes told me that Professor Davis had begun to talk. He had found the number to call and was settling himself to stand from his armchair, which the rectangle man always took his sweet time doing, even though he was nowhere overweight.
"I think I'll head home for the night," I said, wiping at a tear in my eye. So funny. "I don't want to distract from time with your son."
"Nonsense! You're going to be ours soon too!"
"Nah, I think I've pushed Naru's buttons enough." Besides, I wanted an excuse for him to come to my house so I could get my cuddles in, or at least some alone time with him so he'd at least let me freaking hold his hand…I suddenly didn't feel so bad about humiliating him anymore.
Luella looked to the bathroom door, but didn't seem to make much of it. "Oh, he's fine. Must you really go?"
If I'm to get any time with Naru to myself, yes. "Yeah. Sorry about that. You guys are still here for the next three days, right?"
"Right." But she didn't look too happy about it. She had already asked if she could take me home with her, but two weeks notice wasn't long enough to get a passport or a plane ticket to England, even if you did have money—and I was well and burned out on having money spent on me.
With that, I waved good-bye, and slipped my sandals back onto my sore feet.
Side note: I still have 50 free copies of my book on Inkitt that I need to get rid of for reviews, if any of you are interested. It wouldn't hurt to check it out, right? Just go to Inkitt and look up 'Erase Me' in that iconic search bar in the upper right hand corner. There are two of them, but it's pretty obvious the one written by 'Lowefantasy' is mine. But, since, you know, the internet has a way of bleaching out our brains sometimes, I thought I'd tell you anyways.
