Disclaimer: the only characters I own are the ones I made up!!! (Koneko and Karasu)

Authors Note:

Regarding my OC's for this chapter

Their names are Koneko and Karasu

Koneko means kitten/kitty, neko means cat

Karasu means raven, kara means emptiness

This is just a note because I will refer to the meaning of their names later.

Chapter 2

After Mai was finished with school she walked directly to the Shibuya district where she worked. It was one of those days that was still considered winter, but so close to spring, but at the same time still not quite within reach. Mai smiled softly as her senses tingled with anticipation of spring, the sweet smells, the fresh air, and the soft pink cherry blossoms.

As Mai walked into the SPR she was wearing a slight smile. She could hear voices in the background. One she recognized as Naru's voice and the other was one she could not recognize. She let the sound of Naru's words wash over her. She loved the way he spoke. It was strong and at the same to was quite pretty. She caught herself when the other man cut in, his harsh voice contrasting with Naru's. Naru would be needing tea. God forbid Naru ever had to make the tea himself.

In the tiny kitchen of the office, Mai prepared the tea. This was the one part of the office she really loved. It was small, but welcoming in a way. And she loved the smell of tea the kitchen exuded. The whistling kettle brought Mai out of her reverie. She poured the boiling water into the cups and put them on a plate. She brought them into Naru setting one down in front of Naru and the man in front of him. The man was in his fifties, and was rather large. He was dressed in such a fashion that it was obvious he was wealthy. A silver top of the line watch glinted on his wrist.

Before Mai knew what was happening the man stood up, bowed, and thanked Naru. "That's our new case," Naru said to Mai.

"Eeeeh? What?"

"Apparently his house is occupied by a multitude of spirits. He is paying us a substantial sum to investigate and exorcise the ghosts. We are leaving tomorrow at precisely 7 o'clock am, so I would like you to call the others and ask them to join us."

Not even a "Please Mai," or "Thank you, Mai," no acknowledgement of me whatsoever, thought Mai huffily. She felt unappreciated. First she called Bou- san.

"Hi Bou- san," she said cheerily. "Naru has a new case. He would like it if you helped us."

"Hai Mai- chan," Bou- san replied. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow," Mai said matter- of- factly.

"EEEEH? WHAAAT?" was what she heard when she help the phone arms- length form her head.

"Bou- san, I could have lost my hearing," Mai scolded.

"That is so like Naru. Asking us to come the day before the case comes," Bou fumed. "He seems to think we are at his disposal."

"Evidently," Mai sighed.

"Tell him I'll come. But only because I'm free."

"Yeah," Mai said laughing. "I have to tell everyone else still," she sighed.

"Oh, I'm with Ayako so I'll tell her," Bou- san said.

Now it was Bou- san's turn to hold the phone away from his ear. "NANI? You're on a date with Ayako?"

Bou- san laughed nervously. "I wouldn't exactly call it a date."

"What?? You don't consider this a date??" Mai heard Ayako yell in the background.

"Good luck Bou- san!"

Mai heard, "What do you mean good luck??" as she hung up the phone.

She sighed. Two more people to go.

o O O o

John and Masako's reaction were exactly as she expected. John exhibited slight surprise but his usual willingness to follow orders. For Masako, as soon as Naru was mentioned, she docilely agreed to come. For some reason Mai felt exhausted, although she had barely done anything. Perhaps it was just dealing with Naru that tired her out. If she hadn't liked him, things might have been easier for her. She wondered what she should do. Everything was already ready for tomorrow. Maybe Naru would like some more tea? The only jobs she had ever been given were getting Naru tea or doing busy- work. She stared outside. The trees were still bare. However, they seemed to have a bit of life in them. Spring was so close. Mai sighed again. She liked the idea of not doing work and being paid for it, but she felt guilty about getting away with.

Mai opened the door to Naru's office. "Naru- chan," she sang. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"What use would I have for you?" Naru asked. "And don't bother answering, that was a rhetorical question."

"You're in a bad mood. Have all your well thought out plans gone wrong?" Mai said mockingly, feeling bitter of Naru's treatment after all. "Anyways, didn't you hire me even though you has insurance on the camera?"

"You caused my assistant to become injured and left me without anyone to help."

"What about afterwards?" Mai asked, now really curious as to the real reason Naru had hired her.

Naru ignored the question. He had suddenly become reminded of exactly why he had hired her. He put the thought out of mind.

"Naruuuu," Mai moaned. "There must be something I can do. Anything. Let me organize files. Please. Naruuuu."

"I finished organizing the files this morning, because you had failed to do so last night," he responded curtly.

Mai sighed. She noticed she had been doing that a lot lately. Naru was getting more frustrating.

"I have never seen someone so desperate for work," Naru continued. "But if you really want something to do, you can refill my tea." Naru thought for a second. "You can make some cake. I would like some cake right now."

What did he think she was? His personal maid? Was she supposed to call him master or sir or something? She wondered if Naru was serious about the cake. Was Naru always serious? Perhaps he was joking. Did Naru joke? Perhaps this was the first time Naru had ever joked about something! It was then Mai decided she might be going insane. She was thinking about Naru way too much. Perhaps on the brink of becoming obsessive.

She stood in the kitchen looking around. Were there even ingredients to make a cake? If there were what type of cake would Naru like? Ahhhh, Naru again. She really had to stop thinking about him. She looked in the cabinets which were ultimately bare, besides tea cups and plates and concluded there were no ingredient for cake present except for sugar.

"Naru- can," Mai sang again, tentatively peeking into Naru's office. "There are no ingredients for a cake.'

"Take the van to get them," Naru responded automatically. Damn, he was serious.

"Naru."

"What?"

"I can't drive."

"Can you walk?"

Sigh. "Yes."

"I assume you can figure out the next logical step."

Really, Naru was incredibly infuriating.

o O O o

At the store Mai bought the basic ingredients for the cake. She wondered what flavour she would make it. She paused, scanning the shelves for any inspiration. What type of flavour would Naru be. Would Naru like chocolate? She doubted it. She decided to stick with a simple vanilla. It did seem like Naru after all.

Mai got into the checkout line, looking around blankly. She automatically gave the cashier her items and took the bags and receipt. When she got outside she sat on one of the benches in front of the store. She dug around in her grocery bags looking for something. Finally she pulled out the small vial of vanilla. Slowly she twisted off the cap. She raised the bottle to her nose and inhaled deeply. She loved the smell of vanilla. It was strong and warm and sweet. It reminded her a bit of Naru, except for the sweet part of course. She put the cap back on, twisting it tightly into place. She placed it carefully inside the bag, and got up slowly and left.

o O O o

It took Mai two hours to prepare the small cake. It had been such a pain. She flopped down on the couch wiping the nonexistent sweat off her brow. She immediately stood back up realizing she still had to give the cake to Naru. She went back into the kitchen. She cut a large piece of the cake and put it on a plate. Walking over to Naru's office, she opened the door.

"Naru, your cake is ready." She handed the cake to Naru, feeling the slight caress of his fingers on her skin when he took the plate for her. He stared at it blankly for second. Mai realized she forget the forgot the fork.

"Sumimasen," she cried out quickly. She rushed back into the kitchen. She pulled out the utensil drawer and grabbed a fork, leaving the drawer ajar as she hurried out of the room. She handed Naru the fork, slightly breathless. She watched as Naru took a bite of the cake. He chewed slowly as if to process the exact flavour and texture of the cake, like he did with everything else. She wondered if she should leave now. Naru had not dismissed her so she decided to stay. She watched anxiously as Naru finished that cake.

Naru paused thoughtfully and put the spoon on the plate. Finally, he said, "That was good." Mai's eyes widened in shock. "Thank you." Mai surely had to be hallucinating. Or perhaps she was going insane. That would explain a lot. She grabbed onto the door frame, about to fall on the floor. She was going through the traumatic shock of having Naru thank her. Naru ignored her and stepped out the room. As he pulled on the coat, he called over his shoulder, "We should leave now."

"To where?" Mai said slightly dazed. The trauma had not quite worn off.

Naru simply stared at her. It was amazing how he could communicate with people by only looking at them, in his usual condescending way.

"Ah right, home," Mai said smiling. It was odd living with Naru.

Mai slept through the drive home. She was awoken up when Naru began to gently prod her arm. She yawned, and got out of the car. She trailed after Naru as he climbed up the stairs. She immediately showered and got dressed. When she got out of the bathroom she Naru sleeping on the bed. He must have been tired, she thought, smiling softly. She sat on the edge of Naru's bed and stared at him. She was perfectly happy just watching him sleep. She noticed that whenever he breathed out he made a slight whistling noise. It was cute. She pushed the hair out of his face. It was so smooth. She began to stroke his hair, and was strongly reminded of a nameless pet cat she had had as a child. The cat had been proud and independent but it could be sweet. The feel of Naru's hair reminded her of the soft dandelion fur of the cat. Mai floated off into her dreams on a dandelion seed.

Mai was woken up by the irritating beeping noise of the alarm clock. Her whole body hurt. She had fallen asleep and Naru, her back arched and her legs sprawled awkwardly off the side. She slid off the bed and onto the floor. As she bent forward she could clearly hear every bone in her spine crack. Mai groaned. Slowly she lifted herself up. She turned around to see Naru getting up.

"You really can't seem to stay out of my bed."

"Naru!" Mai said, quivering in an unusual combination of fury and extreme embarrassment.

Mai went to her room and got dressed. She was startled when she opened the door and saw Naru outside.

"Naru! What is it?"

He handed her a suitcase. "We are leaving today for the case. Which you have already probably forgotten."

"The case," Mai repeated. "Oh, the case…"

She took the suitcase and proceeded to pack her clothes. She didn't have much in the way of clothes, but she wasn't particularly concerned about that. She zipped up the suit case and scanned her room absentmindedly for anything else she might need. There was nothing. She picked up the suitcase and advanced into the foyer where she found Naru. The left the apartment and joined Lin- san in the hall before proceeding to the van. The items were placed in the trunk and they left to meet the others at the SPR.

Bou- san and Ayako were already there waiting for them. Bou had brought a van to transport the other members of the SPR. When Mai stepped out of the van she heard Bou- san and Ayako arguing. Apparently Ayako was still upset over Bou- sans comment from last night.

"What do you mean last night wasn't a date?!? You asked me out?"

Looking for salvation Bou- san called out to Mai and Naru. "Aaah, Naru, how nice of you to drive Mai here from her home."

"I didn't," Naru said simply. He walked away to retrieve his laptop. Bou- san stared at Mai. Mai blushed. It was so like Naru to leave her to explain all the awkward bits. But Bou- san was quickly distracted by Ayako, who was now carried away and had begun hitting him with her purse.

"Uh, see you Bou- san," Mai said and waved as she ran to the entrance of the SPR. She had suddenly remembered the remainder of the vanilla cake. Perhaps she could eat it on the journey there. Mai pulled out the foil and wrapped the cake in it. She hadn't noticed Naru come up behind her.

"You know foil causes cancer."

Mai jumped and turned around. When she saw Naru she laughed nervously. "I thought only crazy British people believed that."

Naru frowned, suddenly deep in thought. Mai watched him wondering what could be so thought provoking about foil. They left the building, Naru still deep in thought. Outside, they found Masako and John had also arrived. Naru gave direction to Bou- san who would be driving Ayako, Masako, and John there. Mai was going with Naru and Lin in the van. It was rather squished, but Mai got the seat by the window, which made up for it. She watched as the beautiful scenery became a green blur while the mist covered mountains in the distance seemed unmoving. She turned to the other side and watched Lin. He was a formidable person, but she wanted to like him none the less. She felt it would be to obvious if she watched Naru, after all he was only a couple of inches away, so she turned back to the window. She was so tired. Mai yawned once and promptly fell asleep.

When Mai woke up she found she was resting on Naru's shoulder and that Naru had been resting on her head. It was a somewhat painful position for her. But she didn't want Naru to wake up so she moved him so his head was resting in her lap. She saw Lin watching from the corner of his eye and blushed heavily. She could even feel her ears burn. She looked away, trying to ignore the fact that Naru was resting in her lap. How could she be so obvious like that? She wanted to push Naru back up, but that would be even more obvious.

o O O o

Suddenly Mai was jerked forward. They were in front of a huge mansion. Mai couldn't remember falling asleep. There had been a large lapse in time, from the time she had been staring out the window to the time they arrived here. Naru was no longer resting on her. In fact, he was getting out of the van. Mai quickly followed and opened her door and stepped out. She saw Bou- san driving his car up and stopping near them. Naru assembled them and then led the way to the front door. He knocked on it, and the man who had been at the SPR answered.

"Oh, you're here," he said and moved aside allowing them to enter. Mai stepped nervously into the entrance hall. It was large and rather extravagant.

The man stood in front of them and bowed slightly. He introduced himself as Amasawa.

Naru bowed in response. "I'm Kazuya Shibuya." He then motioned to Mai and Lin. "These are my assistants Mai Taniyama and Koujo Lin. The others are my associates who have come to help me on the case." As the man began talking Mai decided to look around some more. She saw a room just beyond the entrance hall. She could make out two figures. One was a tall figure and the other appeared to be that of a child. They stood in front of a large grand piano. They seemed to have noticed the entrance of the SPR , and began making their way towards them. As they stepped into the light of the entrance hall, Mai saw the smaller figure belonged to that of a young girl. She was the palest person Mai had ever seen. Her skin was white like fresh snow. Her hair was gossamer- like and her eyelashes reminded her of powdered sugar. When she looked at Mai, Mai saw that her eyes were a very pale blue. Mai realized with a shock she was albino. She noticed the girl also carried an umbrella. Mai remembered that albino people burned easily. The girl next to her was extremely tall. She appeared to be a bit taller than Bou- san. She had red hair and green catlike eyes. She was wearing a trench coat that strongly resembled Naru's, but was slightly more feminine. She carried a long cylinder- shaped package on her back.

The taller of the two stood in front of Naru and bowed deeply. "I'm Koneko- chan." Her voice was surprisingly childish. She motioned to the other girl. "This is Karasu- chan."

The small girl nodded. She bowed and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you." She had the voice of an adult. It was slightly unnerving to hear her speak. Mai had never heard people introduce themselves as – chan. She wondered what their last names were, and whether there was a reason they chose not to say them. She also noticed they had odd names. Almost if they had chosen the names themselves. They definitely stood out, Kitty and Raven.

"I'm Kazuya Shibuya.," Naru said and bowed as well. He did not seem to feel the need to introduce the rest of them.

As a small revenge, Mai said, "We call him Naru- chan." Naru turned to glare at him.

Koneko seemed overjoyed when she heard this. "Why do you call him Naru- chan?" she asked smiling.

"'Cause he's such a narcissist," Mai said ignoring the look Naru was giving her. She could hear Bou- san and Ayako laughing in the background.

The girls smile grew wider and she looked pointedly at Karasu. "He does seem like he would be a narcissist," she said.

Authors Note:

Yay second chapter down. Sorry if it is a bit choppy. I was working on it at a lot of different times. Also sorry if it's so long.

Also, I might now update for a week or so, I have finals coming up.

Just curiously what months are spring in Japan.

Also, is it just my imagination or is a Lin- san a lot like Hatori from Fruits Basket. They both have the same stoic personality, and the same hair thing.

Anyhows thank you for reading, and for those of you who review, etc. De arimasu!