Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ghost Hunt.
People did not fall in love at first sight. Or at least, people like Naru did not. So, why then, did he always behave like an idiot around her when he had no problems shunting aside so many girls up till then? He told himself that having the body of a frog was messing with his thinking process; that being transformed had left him green and vulnerable and was subjecting him to alien emotions.
This, however still didn't address how the problem seemed to lie more with the exasperating girl who was lying comfortably on a grassy tussock below his perch on the well. It wasn't as if she was exceptionally beautiful. True, she had a nice, open smile and bright eyes that belied at least an iota of intelligent wit under her apparent ignorance. But then, she was also incredibly clumsy, and whatever else may be said about her sharp wit, she was also very dense about the events that were happening directly around her...
As she stretched out beneath the green canopy of Grimmwood, Mai sighed happily. How pleasant it would be if she could just lie there on the soft grass the entire day. It would be even better, she thought if one annoying frog hadn't followed her out here, but there was no helping it as everybody, including her guardian had practically shoved the amphibian on her. When she had looked pleadingly at Lin, he'd averted his gaze guiltily. "Consider it as a favour to the kingdom," he'd said cryptically from behind his newspaper at last and refused to explain despite being pressed by the puzzled girl. As far as she knew, while astronomy was a perfectly respectable field of study, it was hardly the sort of subject that kingdoms would go to war over.
"Ne… Naru. What does it feel like to be stuck as a frog?" she asked. Naru peered at her steadily, a slight tilt to his head as he considered her question.
"Annoyed. And generally useless," he replied at last. "Why? Do you want to be one? It's not as if you are far from that," he smirked.
Mai huffed angrily.
"Of course not! I was asking because, well, I don't think anyone asked."
Naru looked pointedly at himself. "Do I look like I enjoy being stuck as a frog?"
"Can't Gene or Madoka help?"
He turned slightly away. "They have done all they can," he said after a pause. To his surprise, she patted him gently.
"If there's anything at all that I and Lin can do…"
As they lapsed into an awkward silence, Naru wondered anxiously if now would be the right time. He looked down at the soft brown head and found himself despairing when the carefully rehearsed speech he had crafted seemed to have gone up in smoke. His twin had been right when he'd implied that their personalities were too different. Gene made friends while he made antagonistically blunt comments.
Who was it, he wondered distractedly, who had said that it was a universal truth that every man in possession of a good fortune would automatically be seeking a wife? Whoever it was had never met him. He'd always been the exception to the rule. Most people were either intelligent or good-looking in differing variations and he was both. Most people also weren't royalty or had magic, and unlike most crown princes his age, Naru was not of the marrying mindset; he had a brother after all. In short, Naru was used to having his cake and eating it and he didn't see why it shouldn't apply to dealing with Mai either. He took a breath. There was no time like the present after all, and he might as well get it over and done with...
*** *** ***
"I had not known that Lin had a ward," Naru commented lamely before mentally kicking himself. That hadn't been what he'd wanted to say at all… He had wanted to... he winced inwardly.
Mai half-opened an eye and looked up to where the frog was sitting on the rim of the well and sighed. "It's a long story. After my parents died in a shipping accident, all their debts were called in and I was left without anything at all. The creditors were in the middle of clearing out my home when Lin happened to be driving past." She shrugged. "There was a lot of fuss made at the Merchant's Guild where my parents had been members of… I suppose I was lucky that Lin-san would even he-" Naru snorted.
Mai frowned at him.
"Before you think that I'm going to insult you," Naru said, "I was going to say that it's typical of Lin to extend a helping hand."
"Oh," Mai blushed apologetically. "Wait a minute," she jumped up suddenly.
"You know Lin-san? Funny. I don't think he's ever mentioned you." She frowned thoughtfully. 'Come to think of it, why does everyone call you Naru too? It's not like it rhymes with Kazuya Shibuya…"
If frogs could roll their eyes, Naru would have done so at that moment. "The nickname you gave me is an unfortunate corruption of a ridiculous name which my brother called me when we were younger."
"You have a brother? Lin-san must know a lot more people than I thought he did… Does he know your family well? Where do you live usually?" Mai had latched onto this new piece of information with more interest than he had expected and he quickly interrupted her.
"Surely you know what your guardian has been appointed to do."
Mai smiled wryly. "Oh I don't know about that. I think I messed up. Besides, I don't really think I am good with helping Lin-san at all. He's hardly at home these days." She leaned down and drew her knees to her.
"Lin holds a very important position at the palace," Naru replied, a trifle gentler now that he was getting the drift of the conversation. "Trade is essential for the well-being of Albion."
"If you ask me, there's no point in working so hard if you don't get to enjoy yourself too," Mai said with a wry smile and suspecting correctly that the little frog was really a workaholic.
"Well, for one thing, I didn't ask you," Naru retorted, though inwardly, he felt that she had a point (not that he was going to tell her anytime soon).
"And a frog without a care like you would know, right?" she laughed and poked at his side. Naru yelped involuntarily and fell backwards into the well ungracefully. When he resurfaced, he could see Mai leaning down and grinning toothily at him.
"Just for that, I think I could forgive your narcissism," she announced before leaning back against the cool stone wall to look up at the bits of cloud drifting serenely by. "Besides, she smirked, "you owe me one for not telling me who you really are."
"If anything, you ought to have realised that talking amphibians are not a usual phenomenon in this world, even with magic." He glared at her as he hopped back out in disgruntlement. Thoughts of reducing Lin's workload were being rapidly replaced by ones which involved giving the insolent girl the lecture she totally deserved.
"Yeah, and I would know a lot about that," Mai mumbled defensively.
"Narcissism, in my case, is a virtue, and I'm not really a frog. You know that."
"I do! And the next time you'll tell me you're really a prince," she mocked. "I may not have the brains of an astronomer but I'm not stupid. This is life, not some fairy tale."
Naru stiffened.
"What if it is?"
She dusted down her skirts. "Mmm? What is?"
Then, before she had time to even look up, Naru abruptly leapt right at her.
"Look out!"
Stumbling on a tree root that hadn't been there earlier, Mai fell heads forward onto the frog.
"Oof!" she mumbled dazedly and tried to get her bearings righted. There seemed to be someone new in the woods.
"Curses," this new person muttered peevishly and bent down to pick up the limp body of the frog.
The housemaid wrinkled her freckled nose as she held Naru up by his webbed foot. "This. Is disgusting," she grumbled before shrugging. "Well, no harm done, even if the spell missed. I've got what I wanted anyway." Slipping the unconscious frog into her apron pocket, the housemaid tossed aside her cap. "And, the great thing is that I can finally get rid of this ridiculous costume."
Mai blinked. "Wait! W-where are you t-taking him?"
The other girl stopped in the act of leaving the clearing. "Somewhere you won't get to see him again," she answered coldly. Mai shuddered. The mere voice of the enchantress was enough to send an instinctive chill down her spine and in spite of her earlier annoyance, Mai found herself feeling a sense of protectiveness for Naru now.
"You can't!" she yelled.
Malfina's deep amber eyes flared. "I've waited this long to get my revenge and you aren't stopping me!" She raised a hand and brought it down swiftly in a burst of blinding white light.
When he woke up, Naru found himself wincing slightly as a shaft of bright light pierced directly into his vision. As he lifted a hand to shield himself from the glare, he frowned. Something felt not quite right… or rather, something did. As he lowered his hand cautiously, a pair of eyes leapt out at him. Instinctively scrabbling back, Naru felt a little foolish when he realised he was in fact looking at a red-rimmed and mussed up reflection of himself. Wait. Mussed up hair? Red-rimmed blue eyes?
Author's notes: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I hope it delivers and that the changes in perspective is not too confusing. And spot the reference to a certain novel? hint hint - "J.A."
By the way, I am thinking of replying directly to reviews as I can't say when I'll update again. Would you, dear reader/reviewer/potential reviewer prefer that?
Ariana Taniyama: Argh! Thank you for pointing that out! And I agree that it's really too bad, but I don't think I can eke out the energy for another madcap dinner (which would no doubt involve Yasuhara). Perhaps later... if I can find the space to squeeze in one.
Azamiko: Haha. He's awfully protective of her. I think I can put a hint out for the next chapter - you can expect a little more of what Lin thinks about this whole fiasco.
blackwitchkarma: And she would happen, of course to be! lol.
FallenRaindrops: *Grins* You've really made my day. Thank you for waiting and still enjoying my fic after all this while.
HarunoRin: Here it is in it's updated form. Hope you liked it.
Jillian Rachel: Maybe I'm not a newbie to the writing thing, but I am for fanfics at least. XD I believe a few chapters back, she shoved him unceremoniously into her drawer. Stands to reason that he'd get back... eventually.
lionwhizk: So am I! =D
miss koneko: Haha. Well. To more MaixNaru moments! *toast*
Somnium Mos: No worries. It's ok to cheat =p Whoa. AP Physics? Would that be work or school? Either way, you have my mutual sentiments when it comes to being thwarted in doing things one enjoys. Nice new name by the way.
Toyama-chan: It's weird. I never thought I could pull a Yasuhara off. Haha. And of course Mai won't change in front of Naru. =p *will think of a situation for her to in future, if only to, as you so aptly put it, torture Naru*
Twilight Journey: Thank you for the compliment!