Recently I read 2 light novels in a series. The series was called Missing. The titles of the books were 'Spirited Away' (AKA Kamikakushi no Monogatari) and 'Letter of Misfortune' (I don't know its Japanese name). The series is by Gakuto Coda. Theres a character in it who reminds me quite a bit of Naru, less the whole bit with for some reason constantly requiring tea. You don't get much about him in the first book, but in the second one he plays a huge part. Theres a manga based on the first light novel. I haven't seen that, but I really live the light novels. I'd say if your interested, check it out...

Disclaimer: In chapter 1

3-

Naru was in his office. He had put Mai on the couch just outside of the room. On his computer, he tapped keys without really paying attention. It was only to keep busy. After spending a few minutes pretending to do something, he gave up on that, and was about to call out for tea.

It wasn't until he had already opened his mouth to speak that he remembered Mai was out of commission.

So he stood up and found himself on the couch opposite her.

Takigawa looked over the two intruders. He wondered what was going through their heads. It didn't matter. Yasuhara took lead and decided to find out.

"You." He said in a tone no one present had ever heard. It reminded them of Naru a bit. Although, surprisingly, it was a bit more cruel "What is this." He didn't ask it, he demanded.

Yuri couldn't say anything. Shohei on the other hand, stood up. He figured that if they worked together they could take nearly every person here down. His own attacker's eyes were blue, so he must have left. But he remembered black hair. So that person may have left. After all, Mai was nowhere to be seen. That concluded that there didn't seem to be any threats. The two women were frail looking, and he doubted either of them were violent, especially the small one with black hair. The one who had asked him the question had said himself that he was a researcher, not the kind to get hands on and hurt someone. That left the two older looking men. The brown haired one looked like he would be half decent at fighting. And the last, the one with black hair looked to be the most threatening. If they couldn't take down one person, he was the one.

Shohei prided himself with fast situation analysis. He Stood only for a moment and had a good idea of exactly what his situation was.

"I have no intention of telling you anything." Shohei said, adjusting his stance. Yuri noted this, and began standing up as well.

"Wrong answer." Ayako said slapping Shohei much more forcefully than she had ever slapped Takigawa. Takigawa himself cringed looking at how strong Ayako really was. The kid crumpled over, and her nails had cut a gash in his cheek.

Yuri caught his stunned companion. Shohei gasped, partially at his miscalculation, partially at the pain. Both were devastating shocks. Shohei now regarded everyone in the room as a powerful adversary including the doll like girl in who seemed to hide in the back.

"Ahh... um..." Yuri started to stutter. Ayako wound up another slap. "No!" Yuri cried. Shohei was once again unconscious. Yuri did not want to know what that felt like.

"I'll talk."

The group stared expectantly.

Mai woke up on the couch in the SPR office. It was a bit of a surprise, especially since last she remembered, she was thirsty, and going for a late night drink in her own house.

Naru sat on the couch across from her. He appeared to be asleep. Mai stared for a moment, then decided that she was still thirsty. She made her way to the kitchen. In it, she found there was water or tea. She chose the latter.

She knew how to make tea. It was an important part of her job. Yet somehow, she was drawing a blank on the first step. What did she have to do now?

Logically, there must be water in tea... right? Mai poured some water into a tea cup. And now... I... the box of tea must have instructions. She looked back at the box of tea. No such luck. It was not in its original container, and it was all that was in the cupboard.

Oh well. Mai opened the small bag that the tea leaves were in, and poured it into the cup, stiring it carefully with a spoon. She discarded the soft package the tea leaves had been in. She drank a sip, and tasted water with nasty gunk in it.

"Tea doesn't taste like this..." Mai muttered, wondering where she went wrong. "Why can't I remember?"

Yuri told all present that he (He called himself Yu) and his friend (Whom he called Sho) Had met each other a while ago, and lived on the streets. They broke into peoples houses after pretty much stalking them for a while. Then the held the person for ransom, careful about all their steps. Yuri told them that they were usually very careful, but this time they hadn't been careful at all. They didn't even realize she was an orphan.

"After everything going smoothly for so long, we seem to be getting lazy..." Yuri finished. "It only to survive. We still don't have the luxuries people like you live with."

Takigawa narrowed his eyes. "You wont get pity from us."

Yuri nodded a bit. "I know, but I just can't expect you to understand what my life was like before we started doing this. People with everything have no idea how bad it is with nothing."

Masako spoke up. "There are people willing to help children like yourself, if you only ask. And they can forgive you of what you have done for your survival. But they will take care of you, and help you get back on your own, legally."

Yuri nodded. "I know, I tried before I met Sho. People would choose to sponsor a child. They picked all the adorable ones. I escaped that place before I felt even worse. Naturally no one would pick me, I didn't need to spend another year seeing tens of adorable children's lives be saved."

Masako looked a bit downcast, but continued "Many people have sad things happen to them. Many people will have sad things happen to them. You are the cause of that sadness to many people when you do stupid stuff like this. So is this your personal revenge to every sponsor who looked away because your weren't as pleasing to the eye as all the other orphans?"

Ayako spoke again. "Not only that you picked someone with something looming overhead." She spoke too soft for anyone to really understand clearly. "Our Mai had to have something like this happen to her, before I could even tell anyone what I knew!" She cried.

Yuri looked downcast. He had no idea what the lady was talking about, but something had to have happened. "It can't be helped. Whats done is done. And regrets have no effect on that. As for a punishment for us, I suppose it wont simply be turning us over to the police." He said, mostly under his breath. He was sitting seiza style in front of the group now.

"Count on that." Said Yasuhara, speaking again. His tone wasn't as bad as it had been before. Takigawa took a few steps towards the youth.

"Lets have Naru decide what to do with them." He said to Yasuhara, who nodded. Yasuhara took a more neutral unreadable expression, before he allowed confusion to take over.

"Does Naru know about Mai? From the sounds of it, you had only told Lin, Matsuzaki-san."

Ayako nodded, "I guess he doesn't." She frowned a bit. "Unless Lin..."

"No." Lin said. "Although even if we were to not tell him, as soon as symptoms became present, I assume he would find out what it is."

There was a general sense of agreement from the group.

"Now then, lets escort Yu and Sho out of here." Takigawa said.

Mai was still drinking her somewhat tea when Naru woke up again. When he saw her with a cup, he thought that she probably wasn't sure what had happened. If she knew what had happened, she would probably be crying or something.

But if she was okay to make tea, "Mai, make me some tea." he said.

"Oh! ... You're up! Um... I..." She was about to explain that she wasn't sure exactly how to make tea anymore, when he threw her a look. She stood up, and once in the kitchen prepared another cup just as she had prepared her own.

Naru didn't hear the water being heated, so he walked into the kitchen where he saw Mai carefully cutting open the tea bag, pouring the leaves into a coffee mug that was full of cold water.

"What are you doing?" Naru asked.

Mai frowned. "I knew I was wrong! For some reason I just can't remember how to make tea!" She sighed and racked her brain. "What is it that I'm doing wrong?" She closed her eyes and put one hand to her head.

Naru was stunned. She had forgotten how to make tea? There was no way she could be that mixed up... maybe she was subconsciously forcing thoughts about what happened to the back of her mind, to forget about being held for ransom. And along with it went other key memories. He didn't know how to react.

"Oh gosh, I suddenly feel so tired!" She said, her eyes opening wide. "Should I sleep?" She asked Naru.

Naru was still stunned.

"Okay." She said, taking his silence as a sort of sarcastic 'if you're tired, what else do you do?' look.

She promptly fell to the ground. Naru had no idea what was going through the girl's head. He picked her up and set her back down on the couch.

"Maybe she got hit in the head and is now more stupid?" He voiced aloud, returning to the kitchen to glance at the mug of 'tea' she had made.

He didn't really think that. The phone in his office rang before he had to admit to himself anything. He took the mug with him. On the line was Lin.

"We are bringing the two over to the office. Unlock the doors." Naru replied with a look, before realizing that his glare wasn't visible.

"Fine. How long?"

"5 Minutes maximum."

"Understood."

Naru hung up, and moved Mai to a small sofa that was in his office. He wasn't sure why he had it in there. No one ever went into his office, save himself, and he sat in his computer chair.

5 minutes and Naru would be able to face the kids who caused all this. And from the sounds of it, he would be in charge of the punishment.

When Lin and co arrived at the SPR offices, Yuri looked at the door with a gulp. Psychic researchers? Did that mean they could read his mind? He shivered as Takigawa opened the door. Lin carried Shohei, and they entered where Naru was sitting on the couch. He had a mug of water in front of him. He had his eyes closed.

Yuri did not like the way he sat there.

Yuri may not have been as fast as Shohei when it came to identifying people and analyzing them as fast, but he wasn't bad. His impression of Naru was not a positive one.

First of all, he appeared to be in charge. The person who carried Shohei was older, but this person in black on the couch was a different story had an air of complete control. He would definitely be the person who would decide the fate of the two thieves. Second of all, he was not a kind person. Yuri doubted they had a chance to convince him anything. This took about 10 seconds. Meanwhile, everyone else was talking.

"Here we are. This one has introduced himself as Yu, and named the other Sho." Ayako said.

Lin dropped Shohei on the couch, and Yuri sat next to him, eyes downcast. Naru opened his eyes.

Masako looked at Naru's cup. "Is that supposed to be tea?"

Takigawa, for a moment acting less seriously "Is that what happens when Naru makes tea on his own?"

Naru calmly looked at the cup. "Mai seems to have forgotten how to make tea."

Naru expected a reaction of some sort, but nothing like what he saw. Every member of SPR aside from himself had a look that combined both immense shock and sadness, and slight bit of hopelessness. Lin too, was surprised.

"You will all explain later why you are more shocked than myself. I would certainly like to know what you know, but for now, we have guests to deal with." Naru fixed his gaze firmly on Yuri. Yuri felt it without even looking up.

Shohei was waking up again. He sat up to find himself looking at a person with dark hair and blue eyes in an unfamiliar situation. He recognized them to be the same blue eyes that had knocked him out earlier. This time, after recognizing that he had already made incorrect judgments of other people present, he did not try to stand up or take control of the situation.

Knowing Yuri, the people present probably knew about their sad past. And if they still acted with such animosity, then they must not care. They had lost the game. Now they had to pay, and their lives sat at the whim of the person in front of them.

Naru however had no idea what to do. What would he do that would be a suitable punishment?

"Firstly, I think that you should tell me how many times you have succeeded at what you just failed to do."

Yuri frowned. Its not like they counted.

"Who knows." Shohei said angrily.

Naru narrowed his eyes at Shohei's tone.

"So you do this sort of thing to people all over, and you don't even have the courtesy to number them, let alone name them?" Ayako asked, matching Shohei's tone of voice.

Naru stopped her with a look. "You will go back to Mai's apartment under the supervision of Matsuzaki-san and Takigawa-san. You will clean it up and determine what needs to be replaced. When you are done, you will be escorted here. I will tell you your punishment. After you have received that, you will confess to the police."

"that will begin immediately. Stay the night there if necessary." Based on the colour of the sky, Naru knew that would be necessary. "Matsuzaki-san and Takigawa-san, take turns watching the door to prevent escape." Takigawa and Ayako led the two teenagers out of the room.

"Naru, may I use your computer?" Yasuhara asked, intending to contact Madoka immediately.

Naru nodded. "Wheres Mai?" Asked Masako.

"She's in my office as well."

Everyone entered the office, where Mai sat sleeping on the couch. The computer was on, so Yasuhara immediately began writing a letter to Madoka.

Mori-san

Something has come up in regards to Mai after a case we had a while ago. The one which she fell off the roof of an inn. It turns out there were unexpected complications. Matsuzaki-san found out about it right then, and her own research turned out one article by someone named Kuzasu Aoyame. The article outlines symptoms very similar to what Mai experienced, and now theres something else. She is progressing through the symptoms listed in the article. The patients the article talks about both died. Even if the chances are slim, we want to at least rule this Psy-Flu out. After all. What are the chances of spontaneously forgetting how to make tea, considering the amount she makes? Some other stuff has happened, but it would be much better to talk in person. If you can, please make your way to the SPR office as soon as possible.

Yasuhara

Yasuhara looked over the top of the laptop as he signed out of his e-mail account. Mai was waking up.

"Mai!" Masako said, relieved. Mai looked around, a bit confused. She looked around the room.

Lin stood by the door, near Naru.

"Masako... who is that by the door next to Lin?" Mai asked, genuinely confused.

Masako stared at her. Yasuhara, who heard it even though Mai nearly whispered it replied. "What do you mean? Thats Naru."

"Oh... Yasuhara-san. But... Why is he here?" She asked.

Naru turned to look. Mai sat with a stupid look on her face. "Is he someone looking for help because there is a ghost at his house?"

"Mai?" Masako asked. Lin exhaled a bit. Naru looked around.

"Its nice to meet your Naru-san. Thats an interesting name." Mai said.

"What is going on?" Naru asked, while Mai stared at him curiously. "I guess this has something to do with what everyone seems to know except me." He said curtly glaring at everyone in the room.

"If you're going to be so rude, go away." Mai said. "I can't stand people like you. They're so annoying. You live of the sadness you cause in others." Mai said turning to look out the window. "I don't think we should help him."

Silence filled the room. Masako gave Mai a hug. "Oh Mai..."

"What is going on!" Naru demanded, loosing his cool. While it was doubtful that anyone could maintain a cool exterior in Naru's position, he probably looked angrier than he had intended.

"Its not all about you!" Mai yelled back. "For heavens sake the world doesn't revolve around you. What makes you so special? Maybe it would be better for you to stay in the dark!" Mai looked to Masako. "Can I go home?"

Masako looked to the rest of the room and made a decision. "Why don't you spend some time at my house to cool down?" Mai agreed, and the two girls left.

Yasuhara looked to Lin. Naru stared at all of them in turn, eyes falling to Lin. "What just happened?" Naru asked, furious and confused.