Inevitability

Chapter 3:

"Mai...?" he asked out loud.

The girl looked at him questioningly. "My name is Maaya Kudou. I was told that Kazaya Shibuya wanted to see me so I came here and I thought you might like some tea so I brought some with me... Is there something wrong?" she paused as she saw that the person dressed in black really wasn't following the conversation and looked like he had seen a ghost.

Naru unfroze after a moment and tried to make sense of the situation. First, a client came to SPR and mentioned a very knowledgeable sleep talking daughter, then he saw a child that could be another identical twin of him and now someone who makes tea and looks like the missing Mai appears, but her name is Maaya and she has a son...

"I'm fine...Kudou-san," he answered slowly. "Please sit down."

Maaya sat down on a chair opposite him. "Aren't you going to thank me for the tea? I did go out of my way to make it for you."

Naru raised his eyebrows. She had to be Mai, it had been one of her complaints when she had worked for him at SPR.

"Kudou-san, by any chance were you involved in a car accident two years ago that caused memory loss?"

"Yes," she replied with a slight smile, assuming that he had already been informed by Hana. "But I'm fine about it now, I only have a couple of scars."

The corners of Naru's mouth twitched. Her answer was yet another hint that she really was Mai. His former assistant had always had the ability to perk up almost straight away after something bad happened.

"Is Yakumo your son?"

She blinked in surprise before answering. "Yes, he is. Um, what does this have to do with the case?"

"Who is his father?" Naru demanded immediately as soon as she confirmed that he was her son. He was absolutely positive that the girl was Mai and he didn't like the idea that she had disappeared to have a child with some other man.

Maaya looked down at the tatami mats on the floor. "I don't know. My amnesia..."

The narcissist knew that he had gone too far with her. The paternity of her child was clearly a sensitive subject for her. He reached out slowly to pat her on the head, the he stopped. It wasn't in his character to comfort people- that had always been Gene's job.

"You can cry on my shoulder if you like," he offered awkwardly, half hoping that she wouldn't take him up on the offer.

She looked up at him with strange expression on her face before breaking into a smile. "It doesn't suit you to say something soppy like that-" she broke off. "But it does sound familiar."

Naru realised that something similar had been said at the lake two years ago. The fact that she recognised the phrase was another sure sign that she really was Mai Taniyama and not Maaya Kudou.

"Kudou-san, did your amnesia cause you to forget your real name? Maaya isn't your real first name," he probed to confirm his suspicions.

Maaya gasped. "How did you know?"

"Hana Kudou-san isn't your real mother either, there's too much of an age gap between you two," the narcissist continued, pleased that he had got it right.

"That's right. We met in hospital and I was struggling to remember my real name so she suggested lots of names. In the end the only one that sounded vaguely right to me was Maaya."

The name Maaya was similar to Mai, Naru mused before moving on. "I take it that she adopted you out of sympathy for your plight as you are an orphan and because you were pregnant."

Maaya's face twitched. The head of SPR was beginning to get on her nerves, he clearly had an elevated opinion of himself. She was willing to bet that he admired his own reflection too. What was the name for someone like that? A narcissist...

"For your information we became friends and I only found out two months after she adopted me that I was pregnant, Naru-cissistic Naru-chan!" she said angrily.

Naru's eyes widened in surprise. This girl was definitely Mai. The reincarnation of his nickname confirmed it. No one expect for Mai had ever thought of calling him that, or been brave enough to say it to his face. Mai's mind had always been unique to say the least.

"You can call me Naru if you like, as an apology," he smiled. "How far back does your amnesia go?

The amnesiac was surprised by the sudden change in attitude. Did he actually like being called a narcissist? She decided that he must be a secret masochist.

"Well, Naru, four years completely, but I'm also missing parts of memories that tell me my real name or exactly where I used to live. I used to try to remember, but I was advised to stop as my brain was trying to suppress some of the memories."

"Do you want to get your memory back?" he asked curiously.

Maaya considered the question carefully before answering. "Yes and no. It would be good to actually know who Yakumo's father is... but I am happy here and I don't mind not remembering anything I learnt in high school- I don't need detailed knowledge like Q=mcAT to work here."

Naru groaned, that answer was just so... Mai. Now he didn't know what to do. He wanted to bring Mai's memory back so she would know what she had friends at SPR again and know who the father of her child was. On the other hand she did seem to be content living as Maaya Kudou and who knew what kind of personality the father of her son had. His brain produced several unpleasant possibilities which he didn't want to even consider.

The sound of the door opening punctuated his reverie and he turned to see the monk, Yasuhara and the Australian priest standing in the doorway, all in various states of shock at the sight of Mai.

Bou-san was the first to regain speech. "Jou-chan?"

Maaya looked puzzled at the shocked expressions on the three men's faces. "Excuse me, who are you?"

"As predicted she is the amnesiac," Naru offered as an explanation.

The monk's expression cleared. "I see. What is missing?"

"Four years and anything involving her name."

"Are you Maaya Kudou?" Yasuhara asked with a friendly smile. "We all saw your cute son playing outside?"

This elicited a reaction from her. "He's always sneaking off to play alone. The moment I turn my back..." she complained and stood up. "Thank god this place is almost empty. I'm going to find him. Good bye and enjoy you tea, Naru."

She rushed out of the room and Bou-san moved out of the way to let her pass. As she hurried down the hallway, he shouted:

"How old is your son?"

"About 1 and a half, " she shouted back before turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

"That was Mai, wasn't it?" John commented. "Despite her amnesia she still has the same personality."

"Was it really a coincidence that just after we asked Shibuya-san for help, her foster mother consulted us?" Yasuhara asked wonderingly.

"There is no such thing as coincidence, there is only the inevitable," Naru murmured under his breath.

"Was it me, or did someone who looked like Mai just speed past me?" Ayako's voice enquired from behind Bou-san.

"That was the amnesiac Mai Taniyama or Maaya Kudou as she is now," Yasuhara answered sagely. "Inevitability is an amazing thing."

"How for did you get with her, Naru-chan?"

Naru stood up and put down his now empty teacup. "I said some phrases that I have said to her before and there was a reaction. She also called me Naru as well, within two minutes of meeting me; it took her a couple of days last time, so it is possible that she will regain her memory."

"But she may not want it back," Masako interjected.

"At the moment it remains a decision to be made. Please do not forget that we have a case to solve," the scientist reminded everyone, although Mai was a pressing issue for him, but he didn't want everyone to know that.

Masako passed him the clipboard. "We recorded all the temperatures as per your instruction. All the locations inside were at room temperature and the exterior temperature match the weather forecast for this area."

"Thank you, Hara-san."

He turned to face the monitors to check that all the cameras were still working and were positioned correctly. He could see Lin making tea in the kitchen from various angles. Naru was about to look away when something caught his eye. His lookalike and Mai's son ran through the kitchen past Lin who had to move to avoid a collision.

"I wonder who the father is?" he muttered quietly to himself.

Despite his quiet volume everyone in the room heard him.

"Isn't is obvious?" Ayako asked.

" Matsuzaki-san, I would not be asking if it was obvious," he said coldly.

"...It's you."

Q=mcAT was one of the few things that I could actually do in my most recent Chemistry exam...

As random trivia, which manga was referenced in this chapter? (Besides Ghost Hunt)