A/N: Here is the next chapter! I don't own anything! If you want a hint about where this is going before it is revealed...look at the quote at the begining of the story!

If you like Naruto check out my friend's story called "Let's go the Distance" by shoujolover22! I pretty much forced her to write it so please check it out! Thanks! Don't forget to review!

The day went by rather slowly. The hours crawled by painfully as Mai was desperately trying to push the terrible thoughts from her head, but no matter how hard she tried the situations continued to play in her mind. Mai glanced out the window at the darkened surroundings.

It was already dark out and she would have to go home soon…she didn't want to go home…

Mai gave up on the last bit of filing she was trying so hard to complete. She grabbed a small stack of papers she had stuffed in her bag and dropped them on the table in front of the couch where she took a seat. She hung her head in utter despair and anguish…

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Naru impatiently looked at the clock. It was getting late and he dearly wanted to get home and maybe offer Mai a ride, then casually ask her if she wanted to stay over for dinner. Ever since she had left to go back to her apartment Naru worried incessantly about her well being. Was she eating like she should? Was she sleeping well? Was she okay being alone?

Naru didn't like the fact for one second that she was alone. He wanted her close, by his side, as much as possible. But as things were, he really had no claim to make her stay. He had offered to her that she could stay with them after she had fully recovered from her injuries. She had merely smiled at him and said that she didn't want to burden him anymore than she already had and that she had been away from home long enough already. She assured him with a smile that she would still stay close since she had to come into work after all...but for some reason that had not satisfied him in the least.

He should have told her then that she was not a burden and that it caused him more trouble when she was away. He should have told her then that his home should be her home…

But he didn't. He saw her off safely to her apartment and left her there…alone. Why couldn't he just tell her straight what he wanted? Demand that she stay with him? Why…why couldn't he treat her like he normally would? It troubled him to no end.

He knew he loved Mai more than anyone, seeing her almost die painfully reminded him of that fact. He knew she loved him back. She even went so far as to remind him of the fact, yet he still found it exceedingly difficult to tell her his feelings. The words 'I love you' were already spoken so why was it so hard to face?

He had captured her lips countless times since then, yet it never felt like the distance between them decreased. If anything it had grown larger since she had left his house.

Naru silently opened his office door with a soft sigh. He was tired of thinking. He decided it would be best to take things one step at a time, and right now he wanted nothing more than to get Mai to eat dinner with him. Naru was about to open his mouth and tell Mai to get ready to leave and that he would give her a ride when he stopped dead at what he saw.

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Mai was sitting on the couch hunched towards the table. She apparently had not heard him exit his office for she remained still and unmoving. Her head was hung low and even though her hair was obscuring her face it was not hard for Naru to tell that she was deeply troubled.

The look of misery clearly showed on her face. Her elbows were rested on her legs and her hands weaved through her hair on either side of her face; if Naru didn't know better he would have thought she was crying.

He felt his breath catch and his chest constrict. What in the world was going on that would make Mai show such depression? If he faced her with the question directly and revealed that she had been caught, Mai was likely to turn heel and flee. She would bury everything and lock it away if she was confronted in that manner. Naru decided to take the second strategy; rather than corner her he would approach her in a round about way in which he would herd her in the directions he wanted and eventually he would coax the truth from her. In such a situation Mai would be more likely to choose fight than flight and he would be able to get at the problem much easier if she didn't decide to run away from him.

He slowly inched the door shut but not latched. He took a deep breath before grabbing the handle and entering the room. "Mai" he stated in his usual tone, "it's time to go. Grab your things. I will give you a ride home."

He watched as Mai practically fell forward onto the table in front of her from shock. She had been so lost in her own little world it was apparent that she was finding it difficult to adjust back to reality. "A..ah…" she stammered. "Yeah, let me get my stuff!" She shuffled up the papers that had been on the table and shoved them in her bag before returning to the center of the room. Naru eyed the papers but said nothing.

A/N: Sorry that it is another short one (will be for awhile...) but I hope it was good none the less! Please review! Thanks!