Due to an unexpected positive response I decided to turn the one shot into a three-parter. I may turn the fic into a one shot collection after the third part. It will then be updated whenever I feel like it. This means the ratings and genres might change over time.
Edit (May 10, 2017): This chapter was originally posted on May 3, 2017. However, none of my followers received an email notification due to a week-long email notification problem. I have reposted this chapter for those who missed out on this update.
Read this already? Then I'd like to take this opportunity to point you to my new Ghost Hunt fic "A Matter of Contention":
Summary: Only a month has passed since Mai started obsessing over the "Ghost of the Channel" series. To quench her thirst, she asks for fanfiction recommendations at the message board of GhostChannelers. But who is this 'you-know-who' the board members keep mentioning?
"A Matter of Contention" is only available on Archive of Our Own (you'll know why once you read it) and posted under the same username Agwen. I hope I'll see you there!
Dinner Date Confessions
A rucksack was strapped on Mai's back, filled with spare clothes and toiletries.
She fidgeted as she stared into the direction of the train station. Still no sign of Yasuhara.
Mai sighed and briefly glanced to the other side. Naru stood next to her with his arms crossed, wearing a bag over his shoulder.
They were waiting in front of a small and inexpensive Western restaurant outside Shibuya, somewhere near Yasuhara's apartment.
Currently, Yasuhara himself was nowhere to be seen. Mai did receive a text from him five minutes earlier. It informed her that he would run a couple of minutes late due to an errand. When she got here, Mai found Naru already waiting in front of the restaurant.
"Did you get Yasuhara-san's text?"
He had returned a brief reply: "Yes."
Then Mai stood next to him, not knowing what else to say. As expected, Naru himself didn't bother making small talk. Therefore, the next minute was spent in awkward silence. At one point, a waiter invited them in, mistaking them for a couple, but Mai politely explained they were waiting for a third person.
No, they were not a couple. They had a relationship of an employer and employee, and while on good terms, they were friends at most. …Though the latter had turned questionable over the last couple of hours.
Mai looked down the road again. Yasuhara was still nowhere to be seen, but she hoped that he would come soon. The atmosphere was awkward enough.
However, Naru didn't seem as bothered like she was. Though he looked rather tired rather than confident.
Mai frowned slightly. Why did Naru insist on coming along with them?
Her frown deepened.
Could he possibly be…?
Mai shook her head a little.
She didn't want to assume, but… still. It was questionable enough that she started worrying about the future of their relationship.
After all, the relationship she had with Naru seemed too brittle to survive a potential love triangle.
Mai recalled the conversation by the lake in the summer of last year, when it became clear to her that she did not love Naru. She had hoped that Naru would eventually smile at her like in her dreams, but… the boy in her dreams turned out to be an entirely different person: Gene. She had liked Gene… She had been attracted to the kind smile on Gene's face. Mai liked that kindness. But she gradually realized that she didn't know much about Gene after all. Going by how Madoka, Lin and Naru spoke about him, Gene seemed to have had sides that he never showed when they talked in her dreams.
So how could she say that she liked Gene for who he was?
Or rather, what she had liked was a fantasy of Gene.
She fell in love on her own. In love with a fantasy.
Suddenly, running footsteps into their direction took Mai out of her thoughts. A voice called out.
"Shibuya-san! Taniyama-san!"
Mai turned her head.
"Ah, Yasuhara-san."
Yasuhara stopped in front of them.
"I'm sorry. Have I kept you waiting for too long?" He said, catching his breath.
Mai shook her head.
"Not at all!"
"Okay then, let's go in," Yasuhara said.
Mai and Naru followed him into the restaurant. It was rather spacey and cosy. Most tables were filled with people of college student age.
A waiter greeted and guided them to a free table in the back near a window. Naru sat down. Mai and Yasuhara took the seat opposite him. They stared down at the drink menus placed in front of them. Naru decided quickly; tea, of course. On the other hand, Yasuhara seemed to be in an adventurous mood and took longer on his decision.
Mai blankly stared at the drink menu, completely lost in thought.
Over the past months, she gradually untangled the confusion in her head. Mai came to the realization that she couldn't get stuck in this situation for the rest of her life. There was no point in waiting in an afterlife with Gene. She still had a life to live! No matter how hard it would be, she would put the painful matter of Gene behind her. The fantasy was over.
Mai had vowed to fall in love with someone new – a real person.
"Taniyama-san, have you decided on your drink?"
Mai blinked and found both young men staring at her.
"I…"
"…You were giving the menu an intense stare of death. It's kind of scary," Yasuhara said in an amused tone.
"She's daydreaming," Naru muttered.
Mai huffed.
"I wasn't daydreaming!"
Naru sighed.
"Then give the waiter your answer."
Mai turned her head. The waiter stood there with an awkward smile.
"Oh! Uh, I'm sorry… I'll take the, uhh, the matcha latte, please!"
"Black tea."
"I'll have the rooibos ginger tea."
As the waiter left, Mai frowned at Yasuhara's choice.
"That's kind of ordinary. I thought you were going pick something else."
He shrugged.
"Unfortunately all the good ones on the menu are alcoholic," Yasuhara said. "I can't wait until I turn twenty next year!"
Mai sighed. Alcoholic drinks weren't very high on her priority list so she couldn't share that sentiment.
"Okay, let's pick our food now," she said, grabbing the other menu card on the table.
"Choose whatever you want," Yasuhara said.
"Huh?"
"I'll pay for the three of us."
"Eh? No, seriously. Let's just split the bill!"
"I invited you guys on a date. Please let me –"
"But Naru invited himself on our date!"
Naru shrugged.
"Let Yasuhara-san pay for us."
Yasuhara laughed. "Two against one. I'll pay."
Mai groaned and unfolded the menu card.
The menu conveniently contained a section with vegetarian dishes.
This is why…
She secretly glanced at the person beside her.
It seemed like Yasuhara had wanted to take Naru out to this place since it had a nice variety of vegetarian dishes. Naru rarely ate out due to his dietary restrictions. It was a nice gesture by Yasuhara. However, Mai couldn't help but have mixed feelings. Would Yasuhara have taken her to this restaurant if Naru wasn't here?
After passing their choices to the waiter, Yasuhara explained the reason for his late arrival.
"I went out to buy some massage oil. Unfortunately, the nearest drug store was out of stock, so I had to run to a different one…"
Mai gulped.
Did that mean she – all three of them had to take their tops off?
A blush crept on her face.
Yasuhara had been serious about that after all. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether he was joking, but this time he seemed serious about the backrubs. What's more, not only they were going to massage each other, but Yasuhara invited them to sleep over at his apartment. For this reason, Naru and Mai went to their homes first to pick up their essentials. Mai felt quite nervous about the entire affair, but she couldn't turn Yasuhara's offer down. This was a chance and she had to grab it with her own two hands.
It had been a few months since she started to feel overly conscious of Yasuhara. Earlier on she had been blinded by the situation with Naru and Gene, but once she started looking at the other people surrounding her – Yasuhara stood out like a lightning bolt. Smart, good-looking, kind, responsible, and funny. Not even the most popular boys at her high school could compare to him. She could make a long list of things that she liked about him, and it wouldn't end. At one point, she even wondered why Yasuhara didn't have a significant other.
In short, Yasuhara Osamu was an excellent catch and she could repeatedly bang her head against the wall for not realizing it earlier on.
When this notion formed in her head, a whole weight came off her shoulders.
Could it be? Was she finally able to move on from Naru and Gene?
She stared at Naru.
Naru was talking to Yasuhara about something that had happened at the most recent case, but the words didn't penetrate her mind.
The fact that Naru just crashed their date under the guise of 'wanting a backrub' didn't help her to move on.
However, deep on the inside Mai was grateful that she wasn't going to spend a night alone with Yasuhara. She wasn't quite ready for any possible intimate events. But staying over with two guys could be called a sleepover. It's not like it was the first time they slept in one room in a case due to certain horrifying circumstances…
"Taniyama-san, what's the matter? You've been out of it for a while."
"Eh?"
"You were giving the boss a death stare."
"Uh, no. I didn't."
Naru took a sip from his cup of tea. Mai stared down and found her matcha latte already on the table.
Yasuhara chuckled.
"I thought you were plotting murderous revenge against him since he invited himself on our date."
Mai shook her head at Yasuhara's teasing.
"Geez. Why would I? Stop joking. I'm just a little tired and want to eat something."
"Really?" Yasuhara said, and glanced into the back of the restaurant. "Ah, speaking of food, here come our dishes."
Two waiters arrived and placed the dishes on the table.
Mai dug into her food.
It was only just now that she realized that she had barely eaten today. No wonder she kept zoning out.
If this had been a normal dinner date with Yasuhara, perhaps she would have behaved differently. More nervous? No way. Yasuhara would take care to make her feel at ease. Or perhaps they'd both be so embarrassed that they'd laugh it off at the end. As it is now, Mai didn't know how to behave with Naru around. This obviously wasn't a work dinner. This was entirely private. If it had been a different person, perhaps she would have politely told them off and begged Yasuhara to change his mind, but she quickly gave up on that.
The guilt inside of her made it difficult to face Naru. Their relationship was already in a vulnerable position. She never truly bothered to get to know Naru before the shocking revelation. Knowing that she liked the Gene in her dreams over Naru, made her realize that she didn't like Naru for who he was. That much was clear. When he asked her whom she liked, she couldn't reply. Deep inside, Mai knew that the answer was Gene. She had fallen in love with Gene's kind smile, while mostly tolerating Naru's presence in her daily life. Naru must have known the answer as well going by her lack of reply.
How could she even claim to like Naru after realizing such a thing? How must Naru have felt when she told him that she liked the 'good personality' over him? Mai didn't know if he had any kind of feelings for her. Whether it was romantic, how unlikely it may be. Mai didn't want to think about it.
For this reason, she felt uneasy that Yasuhara let Naru on their impromptu dinner date. Mai had wanted to look to the future and rebuild a new friendship with Naru. She wanted a friendship based on reality rather than a fantasy. No longer compare Naru to his twin. No longer hurt their relationship anymore.
But now they were thrown into an entirely new situation. And what will the outcome be for them in the end? Who would end up hurting the most?
"My idiotic brother told me to loosen up."
Mai blinked at the unfamiliar English phrase.
"Eh?"
"Loosen up means 'to relax'," Naru explained.
"Ah, so that's why you asked for a massage?" She said.
He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Yes, Yasuhara-san just asked me that question. You're really daydreaming, aren't you?"
Mai returned an innocent smile.
"No, I was just thinking about something."
"About what?" Yasuhara asked.
"Nothing that concerns the two of you."
The young men snorted.
"What?" Mai said, frowning.
Yasuhara chuckled.
"Ah, Taniyama-san. It's written all over your face. You were thinking about the massage, didn't you?"
"Well, uhh…"
"Don't worry about it, Taniyama-san. If you don't want to undress, you're free to keep your shirt on. No one will be forced to do anything they don't want to."
Mai blushed at his words. Why did he have to bring that up in the middle of a restaurant? Someone could be listening! She quickly looked over her shoulder, but found no one at the neighbouring table.
She gazed back at him.
"That's not really the problem here…"
"Oh? So you do prefer skin-on-skin contact?"
Mai felt her skin growing hot. The mere thought of his fingers touching her bare back…
Now she couldn't help but be extremely aware of Yasuhara's presence beside her.
"Yasuhara-san, Mai has an overactive imagination, if you remember. Please don't stimulate it too much."
Naru sent a smug grin into her direction.
"Naru!" Mai snapped.
Yasuhara laughed. "Haha, I'm sure it would turn anyone's imagination wild. But… your fantasy will be a reality in a couple of hours."
A wink appeared on his face.
Mai looked away from him. If she stared any longer at him, her face would turn redder than ever.
They quietly finished eating their food. The plates were empty at the end.
"I presume you liked it?" Yasuhara asked.
Naru nodded. "Yes."
"Great! I was hoping you liked it. I've come here twice with my university friends."
Mai turned to look at Yasuhara's face.
Yasuhara continued to talk about how he discovered this place and recently started to use it for post-study session dinners. He looked happy, but slightly embarrassed as he spoke to Naru who quietly listened.
Come to think of it, Yasuhara rarely talks about his university life…
"Taniyama-san, how about you?"
"Huh?"
Mai blinked.
For some reason, she had been unable to keep her eyes off Yasuhara, and Yasuhara had noticed.
Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted a tiny grin on Naru's lips.
Damn him.
"How was the food?"
The food? She hadn't even noticed the food.
"Um, yeah. It was great! Really tasty. See? My plate is empty too."
It barely registered on her mind what she had eaten. All she could think of was Yasuhara's earlier proposition of taking their shirts off during the massage session. How could she handle seeing them both half-naked? Touching their skin, and letting herself be touched… How in the world did she get into this situation?
Despite her awkwardness, Yasuhara smiled as usual.
"That's great to hear."
Just the usual smile. Somehow she felt disappointed. It wasn't the same.
Mai wanted Yasuhara to smile the way he smiled to Naru. She liked that side of him. He was naturally confident and enthusiastic, but Mai liked the little more awkward and shy side of Yasuhara too.
Naru turned his face away from them and stared out of the window. He still looked a little tired, but rather content after eating a good dinner.
Beautiful. Like a painting. Mai sighed. Even better if he is topless.
The moment she caught herself with that thought, her face turned red.
At that moment, she felt a light breath against her ear.
"What are you thinking about?"
Mai turned to see Yasuhara leaning forward into her face. Her eyes widened at the proximity. She averted her eyes from his face and unintentionally stared at the skin between his neck and shoulder.
She pressed her eyes shut for a moment.
"N-Nothing!"
"Really?"
"Yes. Really."
Mai opened an eye. Yasuhara quizzically stared at her.
"Hmm."
He didn't seem convinced.
Of course not. It was written all over her face that she had been thinking about them in various states of undress.
Suddenly, she felt his hand on her shoulder. Mai nearly jumped at the touch.
"Could you move aside, please? I need to go to the toilet."
"Oh right."
Mai moved away a little so that he could pass through. Yasuhara's hip brushed against her own. She nearly shuddered at the contact, and promptly dropped back into her seat. Her heart raced. Naru's curious gaze on her did not help. It felt invasive.
It couldn't be helped. Her emotions were displayed for all to see. Yasuhara and Naru must have thought she'd gone mad.
Mai took a deep breath, trying to regain control of the situation.
"Is there something… Naru?"
"…No."
He took a sip from his tea and put the cup back on the coaster. Empty, just like all the plates on the table.
Mai closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down. Ever since the very idea of seeing them half-naked entered her mind, she had become incredibly conscious of them. Especially Yasuhara. She had been attracted to Naru before, but Yasuhara succeeded in riling her up in a very sneaky way. Out of the blue. His shoulder massage was out of the world. It was wonderful. She longed for more touches – she desired more. How could a simple shoulder massage turn her on so much? Just now, when Yasuhara placed a hand on her shoulder, her body –
"Mai."
Naru had interrupted her thoughts.
"…Yes?"
She opened her eyes and found Naru gazing at her.
"You seem bothered by something."
A moment of silence passed.
"Yeah, I am bothered."
"I assume it concerns me," Naru said as he circled his finger against the table.
As usual.
"Well, yeah." She let out a breath. "Okay, so... why did you decide to crash our date? And don't tell me you simply wanted a backrub."
Naru stared straight into her eyes with a half-amused smile on his lips.
"Because I like Yasuhara-san."
Mai's eyes widened.
He's not joking.
Her lips trembled until she formed more words.
"...So you like him in that way?"
Naru stopped moving his finger and pulled it back to his side.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, are you… in love with him?"
He turned his gaze to the window. It was only then that Mai noticed that the sky had turned dark.
"I suppose you could call it like that," he replied.
Mai swallowed. He just confirmed her biggest worry.
"…Seriously?"
Naru looked back at her with an intense gaze. She couldn't look away.
Will we be able to stay friends?
"Do I need to repeat myself?" He said, slightly irritated.
Or do we become enemies?
"No," Mai said as she crumpled up a white paper towel.
She wanted Yasuhara, but she didn't want to hurt Naru either.
In the end, one of them would have to keep distance.
"…No, it's just… surprising."
He leaned back against the seat.
"Why?"
"Well... You're so blunt about it. It's unusual. People around here don't talk about it casually."
Naru shrugged.
"I'm not from here though."
She sighed.
"Right."
Mai pinched the bridge of her nose.
It can't be helped. I should tell him.
"But... that means we're rivals..."
Naru tilted his head.
"Rivals?"
Mai lowered her hands on the table and steadied herself.
Well, here goes nothing.
"I like him too."
Naru gazed at her and didn't show any immediate reaction.
She continued, "He's great, funny, a good listener, easy to talk to ...and handsome. I mean, what's not to like about him?"
Mai blushed deeply at her own confession, but kept a hesitant eye on the other side of the table.
How will he react?
Naru smiled a little.
"I agree, but..."
"But what?"
"I don't think of us as rivals."
Mai blinked. "…What do you mean?"
He shrugged.
"I'm sure Yasuhara-san can explain it better than I do."
She frowned at his vague answer. Why would Yasuhara…
A sudden thought entered her mind.
"Hey Naru, does Yasuhara-san know that you-"
She stopped talking when Naru's sideway glance alerted her to the presence next to her.
Mai froze when she looked up. Yasuhara stood there with a frown on his face. She panicked. How long had he been standing there? When did he start listening?
"Know what?" Yasuhara asked.
"No-nothing important!" She blurted out.
"It's not nothing if you react like that," Yasuhara pointed out.
Mai looked at Naru with pleading eyes.
"Naru? Please?"
Naru sighed and decided to put Mai out of her misery.
"The dinner is on me," he said.
"Yes, that. I was just making sure that you weren't going to pay for us. I mean, Naru is crashing our date! He should pay up. Two against one, right? Ahahaha!" Mai laughed nervously as regret filled her mind.
"Oh, so that's the revenge you were plotting against our boss, huh," Yasuhara said, impressed by her non-existent slyness. "Not bad, Taniyama-san!"
At that moment, Mai felt the cold glare of her boss bore into her soul.
Crap.
Author's note
Writing this got me to think about the 'Naru rejected and abandoned Mai' trope. It's completely wrong. Allow me to explain.
Naru never rejected Mai. He never told her about his own feelings. If anything, Mai rejected Naru. She told him that she would pick Gene, "the good personality", over Naru, "the bad personality". Secondly, Mai and Naru weren't even in a relationship, so you can't say she was ever abandoned. Naru's intention from the very beginning was to bring Gene's remains back to England, and Mai had nothing to do with it. How could anyone blame Naru for wanting to bring his brother's remains back home in England and resume life there? Mai isn't entirely faultless, she was the one who mistook Naru for his twin. She chose Gene over him, thereby rejecting Naru. She rejected Naru right after he found his brother's body. Isn't that inconsiderate? Anyway, Mai and Naru parted on friendly terms at the end of the series and reunited less than two months later in the sequel Akumu no sumu ie... No drama, no revenge. Just back to business.
Leaving that aside, I don't know if I did Mai's POV well. I usually try to avoid it, but it was essential to clarify her confusion amidst this massage affair. Her mind is a bit of a mess after all. Unfortunately, the chapter was very introspective, so some of the funny got lost. But rest assured, the humor will be back in the third part! Let me know what you thought about the chapter, or tell me how much you (dis)agree with my rant. :P