Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ghost Hunt.
Mai sat down in front of her guardian's desk with trepidation. Lin had not sat down but was fiddling with the decanter of brandy and Mai watched as he poured a liberal amount for himself before finally settling into his chair and contemplated her silently for a few minutes, one hand still curled lightly around the glass. Two years ago, it'd been that hand which had been extended to her, then a penniless orphan in the streets outside her own home. Looking at that hand, Mai was struck once again by how he'd selected her out of the rest to lend his aid to. Now, two years later, she wondered if he was disappointed that she had turned out so…normal.
"I'm sorry about not informing you," she said and looked down. "And with Masako-hime and Yasuhara in the house and then Gene-san turning up, I clean forgot… I don't actually have a good excuse," she mumbled. "I wish I did though. I'm truly sorry."
Lin's lips twisted wryly. "Wishing won't changed the fact that in the past four days, I've wandered in wet fields, been yelled at, consulted mad professors, and had my sanity doubted by His Majesty, among other things, and all because of one little frog."
Mai cringed.
He broke into a small smile. "With so many things happening, I must have really lost it. Will you forgive me?" he asked gravely.
Mai blinked. "W-what?" she stuttered. "I mean, yes, of course."
"I've also additionally, to apologise for leaving you to deal with the princess alone. At the least, I should have sent my assistants at the Trade Office to help you out. As someone who is used to working independently, I tend to forget that others might need assistance where I don't."
Mai smiled back. "We really need to work on this whole guardianship thing don't we," she said shyly.
The older man laughed. "You mean I have to work on it." He ruffled her hair. "You on the other hand have been an exemplary ward," he replied. "Now, if everything's settled..."
"Wait! I er…" Mai's face reddened and she looked down at her palms.
"Is there anything else?"
Twisting the material of her skirt anxiously, Mai took a deep breath. Now that Lin's good mood seemed to have been restored, she decided to go ahead with the questions that had been gnawing at her all day. "Umm… Who… who exactly is Naru, or should I say, Kazuya Shibuya?"
Lin regarded the faint blush that coloured his ward's cheeks with a raised eyebrow. Clearly, someone had let slip something. He sipped his brandy thoughtfully. The prince had specifically not wanted his identity revealed, and while he had not said so in so many words, Lin suspected the boy's inflated pride to be at the bottom of it. Nevertheless, there was the official reason that Naru had given as well, a reason that Madoka had concurred with. Malfina had been sighted close by and it would be better if Naru's predicament was not spread about. But, given how Mai was now implicated in the mess as well (even if she didn't know exactly how much); he felt he owed her an explanation of sorts.
"He…is someone important," Lin said, choosing his words carefully.
"I think I got that from how you flipped out earlier."
Lin had the grace to look sheepish. "Well," he began, "Naru has his reasons for not revealing his identity. As you might have guessed, Kazuya Shibuya is a pseudonym. Part of it is a safety measure; though his reticence is due also to how he is not the most forthcoming of persons."
"Oh, but now that you've found him, does that mean he can go back to being normal?"
Lin grimaced involuntarily. Normal is hardly the sort of word used to describe the daily dysfunction of the Royal household, that and how the nature of the spell breaking was, for a lack of better words, 'iffy'. "That depends on some…unknown factors," he said as he considered the said iffy unknown factor sitting across the table from him.
Mai pouted at the evasive answers she was receiving in apparent dissatisfaction.
"Why?" Lin asked quickly. "Is he that horrible a room mate and you can't wait to get rid of him?"
"What? Oh, no, compared to the time when Yasuhara..."
Lin frowned severely at the preposterous notion of the university student spending nights in his ward's room but that led back to the even more outrageous one of Naru doing so. He shook his head and tried to focus on what Mai had to say instead.
"…he's actually been really quiet and nice. I mean, not that Yasuhara-kun is irritating. He's really sweet too but he does tend to get carried away…"
Nice? Lin smirked at Mai's choice of description for the arrogant prince. Mai had evidently caught herself on that though, because she shook herself, still blushing fiercely. "But, even then, Yasuhara isn't as bossy, narcissistic, irritatingly smug and tea-addicted as Naru is. You wouldn't believe how much tea one small frog can down!" she complained.
"I…see…" Lin said as if not quite willing to believe that he was hearing the numerous faults of the crown prince of Albion being so aptly captured by a girl who had only known him for a few days. It was a pity he wasn't there to hear it himself.
"He is a jerk and an idiot, has no sense of timing, emotionally repressed, too smart for his own good, a wet-blanket and unhelpful. I mean, being stuck as a frog is horrible, and he's excused for sulking, but I… he…" Mai had evidently run out of steam and Lin tried not to snigger.
"Well, I might be presuming too much, but I assume that means you don't actually mind him?"
"I…" Mai gaped, at a sudden loss of words. "I suppose not," she muttered, still red-faced.
"Well then, if that's finally settled," Lin announced (more to his own benefit though, as Mai's question hadn't exactly been answered), "why don't we go see what cook has prepared for dinner?"
On opening the door however, they discovered Madoka crouching at the keyhole. Lin raised an eyebrow at her. Unabashed, the enchantress hugged Mai.
"There, see. The grumpy bear turned out to be cuddlier than you thought right?" Lin frowned at them in disapproval. Still laughing, Madoka kissed him lightly on the cheek as a red-faced Mai looked pointedly down at her grubby dress. "I-I better go get changed," she said hastily.
As Mai ran towards the room, she knocked into the housemaid again. Ow, she winced and massaged her arm tenderly. The housemaid, whose cap had been knocked off, glared at her. "I'm sorry," Mai said anxiously. "Does it hurt a lot?" she asked, misinterpreting the glare as a grimace of pain.
"Yes, you foo- I mean, no, of course not, ma'am." The maid eyed her warily. "If you'll excuse me, I had better go see if the cook needs help," she muttered and went down the corridor rapidly.
Safely ensconced in her room, Mai found herself faced with a new difficulty, or, to be exact, two difficulties. The first was that Naru was currently sulking on her desk beside his basin, and the second, though far less important, nevertheless posed a problem as well – what dress she ought to wear to dinner. Lin was back, and the occasion called for more formal clothing. Naru watched as the girl pulled dress after dress from her cupboard and growing more and more frustrated as she did.
"Don't say a word," she grumbled when Naru hopped over to the bed. "I'm still mad at you."
"Wear the navy blue one," Naru said with his usual habit of appearing not to have heard her.
Mai put her hands on her hips and frowned at the frog. "Given your narcissism, I thought you would say green."
"I'm not usually green."
The girl snorted. "Huh. Excuse me if I say that you deserve to be stuck being green, Kazuya Shibuya." Mai smirked at the frog's wary expression.
"Don't think I don't know who you are. I noticed that you happen to be interested in astronomy and one of Lin's new books happens to be that title too. You're that professor who's fallen 'ill' aren't you? Lin wouldn't tell me how he got to know you, but you must have links with the palace, or you wouldn't have known him at all." When Naru still remained stubbornly silent, Mai grinned smugly.
"Very well," she said airily. "Silent means agreement. I'll even take your suggestion, since you were nice enough to let me choose the tea just now."
"Mai."
"What?" She asked as she began reaching for the buttons on her dress. It was Naru's turn to smirk.
"Are you going to change in here?"
Still red-faced, Mai rushed down to the dining room twenty minutes later. Serves Naru right if he's locked out tonight, she thought as she eyed her reflection critically in the hall mirror once more. The square neck with the delicate lace ruffles was lower than she liked and she was still trying to adjust it when Masako drifted past in a turquoise kimono with gold dragons stitched on it.
"Ara… If only there was something down there to examine in the first place…" she murmured serenely behind her fan as Mai rushed after her furiously.
"Take back what you said you said you coward! And stop getting your servants to shield you!" she hollered when she found her way barricaded the princess's formidable black-clad bodyguard.
"Oi, come on. Let the injured man pass through," Sir Takigawa shouted good-naturedly from behind and waved his crutch at the silently immobile figure. The next instant however he was clutching his head where Lady Ayako had whacked him. "Why do you insist on hitting me?" he protested as Mai giggled. The countess snorted loudly.
"Huh! It's a wonder you didn't manage to break your other leg going up the stairs to see your reprobate student's by yourself just now," she replied brusquely before brushing past the imposing looking bodyguard as if he'd been of no more consequence than a decorative pillar.
Sir Takigawa gaped after her and then shook his head in admiration. "That woman…" he turned to Mai and offered her his hand gallantly, "Shall we?"
Author's notes: Argh! This chapter got so unwieldy that I had to chop some of it out. (Here it is anyway)
Ariana Taniyama: And here, we have a litany of a different sort. Thank you for being so patient!
Azamiko: Aye! Sheep are so cute and fluffy!
FallenRaindrops: Glad you like the way its been going. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.
Jillian Rachel: Thank you! That means a lot to me, newbie that I still consider myself to be.
miss koneko: From my perspective, it's always better late than never. XD
Toyama-chan: My dear Toyama-chan, firstly, if you refer back to Chapter 5, you would notice that the person who informed Yasuhara of Mai's disapperance was the head cook and not the maid. Secondly, I understand that I've not quite dealt with all the characters' background, this of course including Yasuhara's. I imagine that he is a good friend of Mai's and who lives nearby and is always stressing Lin out when he visits - an unwelcome guest of sorts. (And yes, sheep are adorable)
TrueShiningStar: And you are awesome for saying so =)