A/N: Wow, is all I have to say. Over forty reviews for only four chapters. Thanks to everyone for reviewing! I'm so happy you're all enjoying it. Now I hope you enjoy the fifth chapter!

Disclaimer: Uh, no owning. Seriously. I wish…

Chapter 4: A Little Luck

"Not a fun first meeting?"

Mai sat up on the bed suddenly, but then sighed. She ran a hand through her already-mussed hair, slowly figuring out who the voice belonged to. The servants-being-objects situation would take a little time to get used to. Mai turned to Yasuhara, who was still smiling like he enjoyed watching all of this.

"How did you guess?" she shot back wearily, barely trying to fit sarcasm into that statement. She supposed he must have heard her scream of fury (who in the castle hadn't heard that?) and her evident frustration. But neither of these two facts was in his response.

"Nobody gets along with Shibuya-san, especially when they first meet him. His people skills… aren't five-star. Matsuzaki-san can be heard yelling at him most days of the week. And don't even get me started on Madoka…" The boy chuckled again, his infectious optimism getting the best of her. Mai smiled weakly, placing both her palms on the soft silk of the bed.

"What do you suppose I do with Naru, Yasuhara-san?" She leaned forward slightly, forgetting that no one else knew of the nickname. The confused silence reminded her of this.

"Oh. Right. Well, you know that mirror he always carries around? Since… eh. Never mind." She didn't want to get into full detail about why she couldn't see herself in the mirror, why he could, or how exactly she had chosen that name for him. "Naru – narcissist. End of story. What do you think I should do about him?"

Yasuhara shrugged. Or… that was what it looked like. His framed glasses flashed as Mai could not help but shudder. Before he could even answer this question, he stopped, gazing at her confused.

"What's the matter?"

Mai looked up again. His voice, laced with concern, (something she had missed greatly during her years alone) sounded much more serious now. Mai sat back against the bed, pushing the nagging thoughts of getting Naru's tea out of her mind momentarily. That could wait.

"I just – when I look at you all… something's different. I don't know. I still don't get how you all are talking objects."

Yasuhara let silence control the moment for a few seconds longer then responded. "I wish I could explain. I really do. And you are…" He dwindled off, normally jolly voice softening to nothing. Mai waited. She was what? Yasuhara still thought before he spoke his mind, slowly and purposefully choosing his words. Like they meant something.

"You will find many things in things manor will make you feel this way. I understand how you feel, but I'm sorry, I have been given specific orders not to elaborate." The bookcase shifted uncomfortably, but did not say any more.

Mai felt herself slump and pout. Rubbing her tired eyes, her response only a mere sigh. She felt in her gut that she would not be getting any decent answers around here. She gazed at the bookcase seemingly blankly, but Yasuhara had seen something different.

"What do you see when you look at us, Mai-san?"

Mai blinked. "Eh?" she asked dumbly. "What… do you mean?"

"I mean what I said," Yasuhara replied calmly. "What do you see when you look at us?" The spark in his eyes seemed to tell her he knew more – way more – than he was letting on. Pursing her lips, she felt that same spark must have been glinting in her eyes. Here goes nothing.

"Well, I see the objects you are…" she supplied uselessly. Yasuhara sighed.

"Now I know something's up. I'll be blunt then," he smiled grimly. "Do you see our human faces? Is that why you look so scared every time you glance our way?"

Mai felt her stomach turn to ice and then drop. Was it really that obvious? As she hung her head and nodded slowly, two voices suddenly spoke.

"You can see us?"

They sounded scared. Nervous. Astonished. And somehow… hopeful. Mai spun around to both Masako and Lin. She cocked her head at the armoire and the clock. Since when had they arrived? Mai slipped from the bed and kneeled nearer to the miniature clock. The armoire shuffled its way forward, somehow delicately and gracefully. Both wore expressions of mixed feelings.

"Yeah, I suppose I can. Why? Can others not?"

She didn't really know what 'others' had been here, in this mansion away from anything and everything else. Completely isolated. Her father might have been able to see them. But that ironic sinking feeling punched her in the gut again, bringing back sharp stinging to her eyes. She would never know if he did or not.

"Well…" Masako began lightly.

"I believe that is not our business to disclose to you, Taniyama-san. If you wish to ask Naru—" (really, how long had they been listening?) "—then I'm sure he'll give you a reasonable enough answer. We have our orders." Lin seemed like a broken record, again ranting off on that lecture about 'their orders.' She didn't care about their orders! She wanted to know!

Mai huffed impatiently and scowled at him. "That doesn't explain anything," she said bluntly and crossed her arms.

"I don't think I said that it would," Lin replied just as candidly. She couldn't help but let out another intolerant sigh. He had a quick tongue just like Naru, obviously. She wondered if this had been learned by fighting with the young master for the past who-knows-how-many years.

Definitely.

"But just to be safe, Taniyama-san, you may want to get Naru his tea. What you just experienced was his good mood."

Mai sped off down the halls before any of them could get in another word.

"John will show you where Shibuya-san's office is, Mai-san!" Yasuhara called out before she was completely out of earshot. "The kitchen is on the second floor…!"

"Second floor, got it!" she called back over her shoulder. Mai was too far off to catch his last words.

"But don't set foot in the West Wing!"

That warning was too late now.

"No one ever said the second floor was so huge…" Mai muttered to herself as she passed the same set of armor for the third time in fifteen minutes. Naru was, without a doubt, going to explode at her when she (eventually) made it back to his office, wherever the hell it was, anyways. Hopefully she would find John or the kitchen before Naru could find her.

There was really no doubting it. She was lost.

From the outside, the manor looked like it had two, maybe three stories. It looked bigger than a normal house, but not that much bigger. Nevertheless, when inside (once she was good and confused in this maze) she realized the mansion… was way more like a castle.

Pushing open door after door along the darkened hallways, she found nothing of true importance. Not even the kitchen was near in sight. No noises, no movements, nothing. She could have heard a pin drop. Except for the fact that she was muttering heatedly under breath, again, about how much she hated this place.

Her prison.

Mai reached the next door, at least three times bigger than the rest of the doors. She gazed up and the framework meters above her head, embellished with gold. She couldn't believe just the day before she had been living in the worst conditions, with no money, and alone. Now she had the opposite: people to actually talk to, some kind of pay no matter how small it would be, and a warm house.

It wasn't her home, though.

She placed her hand on the handle and, shoving it open with her hip, started to walk inside.

Pitch darkness met her view. She strained for stray light, impatiently wanting for her eyes to adjust. Squinting, she could only make out a few lines, a few objects. There was an open window in the far corner of the room, moonlight only just glinting off the panes. She cast her gaze to the floor, the room growing slightly clearer. A twinkle of silver. A flash of ruby. And—

"Oy!"

Mai jerked backwards, stumbling out the tall doors, and turned hastily to face the owner of the voice. Burning shame in her stomach and the tone in Takigawa's voice told her she had been somewhere where wasn't supposed to be.

That tiny fact sparked her interest even more.

The candelabra bounded up to her, severity flashing in his dark eyes. "What were you doing in there?"

"I was looking for the kitchen. I'm supposed to bring Shibuy—Naru," she corrected herself, "tea. But I can't find it. Yasuhara-san said it was on the second floor, but I've checked everywhere and—" She was cut off by his laughter. Pulling her eyebrows together, Mai looked at him, confused.

"What?"

"You're on the third floor."

Mai threw her head back and groaned, her hands clasped over her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Ah, sorry, Mai-chan. I'll bring you to the kitchen if you'd like. But… er… who's Naru?"

Mai sighed, dropping her arms. She looked down at him blankly. Did no one else see how much of a narcissist Shibuya was? Was she really going to have to explain this to everyone?

"Naru – like narsissist. You know, that mirror he carries around only shows him." Her matter-of-fact voice somehow amused him. Scowling, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Again, I don't see what's so funny."

Replying with a smile on his face, he said, "Naru's already fooled you."

Mai cocked her head.

"Never mind. I guess you'll find out about that mirror soon enough."

She did not like that twinkle in his eye one bit. Mai watched him suspiciously as he leapt to the doors and shut them. Being barely tall enough to even reach the door knob, Mai wondered curiously how he managed it. Takigawa began speaking too quickly for her to contemplate it.

"Let's go to the kitchen then, shall we?"

A bright smile spread across her face and she nodded once, eager to actually get something done. She fell into step with him and began a conversation. "Takigawa-san…"

But that was as far as she got.

"Y'know, you can call me Bou-san if you'd like. Everyone else does."

Mai stopped momentarily, considering that name, and finally came up with a decent response. "Y-you're a monk?" she asked slowly, carefully, scrunching her nose with uncertainty. Takigawa gave a few laughs, followed by a heavy sigh.

"You don't believe me?" he teased innocently, smirking.

Mai giggled and ran a hand through her hair. "I just don't see how a candle holder could become a monk. Isn't that a little… difficult?"

He laughed once again, but she only just caught the slight trace of bitterness. Another story to be discovered. More secrets about this house and the people who live inside. Just what was happening here?

"It's a long story. Maybe someday I'll tell it to you. Maybe…" he sighed, trailing off. "But don't mind that. Naru's tea awaits!"

He nudged her down the stairs with false cheer and determination, making her laugh all the way. He pushed towards a small wooden door off to the side of the hallway, a door she would have normally never noticed. She swung it open, Takigawa at her heels, and breathed in the sweet fumes… that oddly smelled like tea.

The kitchen was small, cozy, and warm. Mai could not help but genuinely smile. Wooden cabinets lined the walls, stuffed with glasses, plates, silverware, and anything else that could be placed in a dinner table. The gas stove was in one corner, the deep sink piled with soap bubbles in another. Five damps rags hung from the rack nearby and a small fire was crackling in the black oven next to it.

Mai stepped toward the clear island in the center of the room, rummaging through drawers and lower cabinets to find a teapot, tray, a glass, and… well, tea.

"Hello, Mai-chan! Is Naru completely fed up yet?"

She snapped her head up quickly, finding Madoka already pouring tea into a cup. And then she caught the nickname. "How did you—?" Mai began, but Madoka just clicked her tongue, grinning cheekily.

"Aw, Mai-chan, nothing stays quiet around here. Even in the span of a few minutes. I know everything. It was very clever though. It's finally time someone else with a backbone came to this place."

A pleased blush dusted her nose as she carefully picked up the tray of tea, the steam wafting out in front of her nose. She could feel its heat upon her face. "Thanks, Mori-san. Now maybe he'll only get mad – not absolutely furious."

"I think you're a little late for that, jou-chan," Takigawa chuckled from the corner.

"Bou-san," John piped up, slightly scolding. Mai blinked at the new voice, only just noticing the tiny white teacup had been there all along. The candelabra only grinned and turned back to Mai, candles flickering happily.

"I told you I was a monk," he joked and Mai feigned defeat.

"Fine, fine, you got me. Brown-san, can you show me to Naru's office? I want to get there as fast as possible, and I don't want to get lost again." She smiled sheepishly, catching Takigawa's knowing glance (but missing the shared serious look between Madoka and him) and John nodded.

"But please, Mai-san," he added politely as they walked out the door together, John in the lead, "you can call me John. We all know each other very well here and I would hate for you feel left out."

"Will do," she noted, glad that no one else in the manor was as rude, detestable, and just plain cruel as Naru. Lin was on the border.

"Shibuya-san's office and room are at the end of the hall, Mai-san," John left her there and disappeared into the shadows. She could have sworn she heard him whisper hopefully, "Good luck."

Because she was definitely going to need it.

A/N: I honestly have nothing to say here… so please review!