CHAPTER 2: TRYING HARD…
"Naru!!!" Madoka screamed the moment she entered the SPR building.
Naru came out of his office glaring at his teacher.
"What do you want now?" he asked obviously annoyed.
"Ayako called me. And she said Mai isn't here yet?" Madoka said.
"So?" Naru said.
"Well, aren't you even worried? What if something bad has happened to her?"
"Nothing's gonna happen to her. She's a big girl now."
"Oh my god! I can't believe your such a jerk!" Ayako shouted.
"Matsuzaki-san calm down." The ever peace-loving priest said.
"How can I calm down? This guy right here is such a jerk! How could you be so insensitive?!" Ayako shouted again.
"Matsuzaki-san, I am not paying you to insult me." Naru said coldly.
"Hmph! Well, guess what?! You won't have to pay me! Unless you straighten up your attitude or Mai comes to work, I am not going back here!" Ayako said and then walked out.
"Naru, I think the miko is right. Mai is your employee and your friend yet you don't seem to care about her even one bit. I'm sorry. But I agree with Ayako. I'll come back once you straighten up your attitude or if Mai comes to work." Bou-san said and walked out of the room as well.
Madoka just glared at Naru and then walked out of the room as well. John being all polite and kind even if he was disappointed with Naru as well, still said goodbye properly and left.
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"Mai! Mai! Open the door!" Bou-san said banging the door.
"Mai, are you there? Please open up." Ayako said feeling worried.
"Mai-chan! It's us. Open the door." Madoka said.
"Taniyama-san! We're here for you." John said.
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"Mai… You need to wake up. Open your eyes now, Mai." Gene whispered softly in her ear.
"Huh? Gene?" Mai said as she opened her eyes and saw Gene standing near her.
"What's that? Someone's calling me? Bou-san? Ayako? Madoka? John?" Mai said.
"They're here for you." Gene said, smiled and disappeared.
Mai at first hesitated if she should open the door. Then she decided she should, so they would all stop worrying. As she opened the door, Bou-san and Ayako hugged her instantly.
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They all went to the living room and Mai served tea for them. They noticed at once the dried traces of tears on her cheeks. They all were worried about her. And they felt all the more mad at Naru.
"So, what brought you guys here?" Mai asked smiling.
"Mai, are you okay?" Ayako asked instead of answering.
"I'm fine. Why would I not be fine?" Mai replied.
"You don't have to lie to us, Mai-chan." Madoka said.
"Well, I'm not lying. Why would I lie to you guys?" Mai said.
"You know why you're not fine, Mai. And you also know well why you would lie to us." Bou-san said.
"I-I-I don't u-u-understand what you guys are s-s-saying…" Mai whispered losing her conviction to pretend that everything's fine.
"We know you're hurt because of Shibuya-san and Hara-san. But believe me, we didn't want that either. We all know how you feel and we understand." John said.
Mai hugged John and cried to him. Everyone else just looked at them. Pitying the girl and wondering why John hugged Mai back.
'Maybe he likes Mai…' Ayako, Houshou and Madoka thought.
The three thought that the young priest might have feelings for Mai. And they decided to leave the two alone. Thinking that maybe John would be better taking care of Mai than Naru.
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"I wonder why they left suddenly…" Mai said to John.
"I think I have a clue why, I guess." The young priest said.
"Really? What do you think is their reason to leave?" Mai asked.
"I guess they thought I like you. Hahahahaha!" John said and laughed heartily.
"Eee!!! That's impossible! I mean, you're a priest! Aside from that, I know you like someone else…" Mai said and smiled a bit.
"Huh? I-I-I don't l-l-like anyone. I mean, I like all of you but r-r-romantically s-s-speaking, there's n-n-no one!" John said raising his voice a bit.
"You're so defensive, John-kun! Hahahahaha!" Mai teased and laughed.
"Well, I guess it's okay if you know, as long as you don't tell anyone about it. Besides, I'm just glad you're laughing again now." John said.
"Do you really think I know who that girl is?"
"Yes. I think you really know. Because you're the very sensitive and mindful one when it comes to how your friends feel. Although, I think you're not good when it comes to your own feelings and the feelings of the guy you like."
"Yeah… I guess so."
"Do you know that Bou-san and Ayako told Shibuya-san that they won't work for him anymore if he doesn't straighten up his attitude or if you don't come to work again?"
"Really? They did that just for me?"
"Yes, of course. And we all walked out on him too. But I said goodbye to him though." The priest said and smiled.
"You're not the type of guy to that anyway. You're too kind to walk out on anyone even if you are mad."
They talked more about some stuff. Her problems about Naru and his problems because of the girl he likes. Then, after three hours of nonstop talking, he decided that it's time to leave. Mai walked him to the door and promised that she'd go to work tomorrow.
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Mai came in early the next day to work. Ayako and Houshou were there. They came because John told them he has persuaded Mai to come to work. Madoka also came. They were talking about stuff when Naru and Lin arrived.
"Lin-san, Naru, I'm sorry for being absent yesterday. I was feeling bad and I had a fever." Mai said.
"That's okay. By the way, tea!" Naru said and headed towards his office.
"Ignore him Mai. Anyway, are you feeling okay now?" Lin asked.
Naru was secretly listening to the conversation just outside his office door. He was also worried about Mai and just didn't have the guts to admit it.
"I'm all okay now, Lin-san. John and the others came yesterday to keep me company and take care of me." Mai answered.
"Oh c'mon, Mai. We just had a little chat and then we left you and John to talk." Madoka said.
"And speaking of leaving you two to talk yesterday… What did you two talk about anyway?" Ayako asked, teasing was evident in her voice.
"Well, We talk about ourselves. Problems… Experiences in life… Feelings…" Mai said while looking at John.
"Do I smell romance in the air?" Bou-san asked teasingly.
"Takigawa-san! I'm a priest you know!" John exclaimed, surprised at what the ex-monk said.
"C'mon, John-chan! So what if you're a priest? Houshou-san is an ex-monk! And you definitely can become an EX-priest, right?" Madoka said.
"Well, yeah… I guess so." John said and smiled.
Mai brought Naru his tea after a few more talks. After that she went back to the living room. They kept on talking about stuff and Lin even joined them and just brought his work in the living room. They had lots of fun, talking and teasing each other about different things.
Naru was all alone in his office. Thinking about what he heard earlier.
'Is John and Mai together?' he asked himself.
'Well, dear brother, are you perhaps jealous?' Gene's voice said in his head.
He ignored this and continued burying himself with work so he would no longer think about what he heard. The day ended so fast. When Mai said goodbye he didn't say anything. And outside he can hear John saying he'll accompany the girl home. He felt bad somehow. And he didn't understand why.
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"Do you really think this will work out?" Mai asked as she and John were walking in the sidewalk.
"Yes, Mai-chan. I'm sure this will work." John replied smiling.
"But what if he doesn't even care? I mean, he's dating Masako-san. Why should he care if the two of us are acting all sweet with each other?" Mai asked again feeling a bit hopeless.
"Don't worry. I'm a guy too, Mai. I'm sure Naru will get jealous. He may be dating Masako-san but I kind of feel like he himself isn't sure yet about what he truly feels." The young priest explained.
"Well, if you're really sure. Then, I guess it's okay. I trust you!" Mai said and smiled warmly to John.
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'John is very kind to me. I'm glad he's there for me. And he's helping me out. I wish I can do something for him too…' Mai thought.
As she entered her apartment, she felt the loneliness again. She doesn't know how good she was at pretending until today. John and her began their little scheme that the priest surprisingly came up with. He said he didn't want to see her crying or sad. His concern made her feel warm inside. Everyone's concern has truly touched her heart.
"At least they care for me… Even though I would really want him to be the one to care…" Mai whispered.
Every time I try to make you smile
You're always feeling sorry for yourself
Every time I try to make you laugh
You can't you're too tough
You think you're loveless
Is that too much that I'm asking for?
She closed her eyes and thought about Gene's smiling face. How she wished that Naru would smile to her that way. Well, yes Naru did smile to her before, during the case in Yasuhara's school. But that never happened again. It only happened in her dreams. But then she found out it wasn't Naru but Gene.
"I want to see him smile for me at least once again. I want to hear him laugh with us even once." She said.
'That's impossible. He'll never smile for someone like you. And he'll never laugh with you guys. Maybe only with Masako…' her pessimistic self thought.
"I guess you're right… But I want to trust John-kun. When he said it will work out, I felt happy. And somehow, I hope my belief that things will be okay would be enough to make things really be okay…" she whispered as sleep slowly pulled her.