Disclaimer: Not mine!!
SPOILER ALERT—from GH anime, ep…19 or 20? Cant rmb, psps… .
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The mood in the car was extremely sullen.
Not even Ayako and Takigawa were in the mood to argue, choosing to take out their frustrations by glaring at the black van behind them.
-Damn you, narcissistic Naru…-
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# Flashback #
Everyone had been stunned.
"Ma…marriage anniversary?"
Keiko sighed.
"Yea. Its their marriage anniversary today. Its one of the few times where Mai actually takes off from school to visit them, so the teachers, no questions asked, give her a special leave of absence on this day. Well, there are other special times too, like her mom's or dad's birthday. As a side note, Mai gets really sensitive on this day, so make sure that boss of hers doesn't rile her up, ok?"
There was silence for a while.
"Hello…you guys listening?"
"Do you know where she'll be?"
Everyone turned around to face Naru.
"Naru?" Ayako asked disbelievingly.
"Oi, oi, Naru…" Takigawa looked a little angry. "If this is about your tea…or work for that matter…"
There was obvious hesitation on the other line. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."
"Fine, then I'll check it out myself. Lin."
"Wait!" Naru looked expectantly to the speaker.
"She…"
# End Flashback #
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"Damn that Naru. As if being a tea- obsessed narcist isn't bad enough!" Ayako fumed. "I'm worried about Mai too, but isn't just knowing where she'll be enough?"
"Maybe Naru's worried Mai can't take the stress?" Yasuhara spoke up.
"Yasuhara- san has a point there. Remember the time when she told us she didn't have any family? She seemed pretty calm then." John said.
# Flashback #
Takigawa sighed as he picked up the equipment. "Ahhh…it seems we might be here for a while. Mai, remember to call home."
"Nah, its alright…I don't need to."
"Nah, all right my foot! Its not okay at the least!"
"But…I don't have any parents…"
It didn't take long for the new information to sink in.
"EH!?"
"Don't have…you're an orphan!?" Takigawa said, clearly shocked. Even Lin had stopped his work, half glancing towards the young girl.
"That's right. My dad left when I was real young. Mom left when I was still in junior high…"
"Then…what about uncles and aunties?" Ayako asked.
"My parents were completely alone in the world." Mai answered, as if she had practiced the same thing over and over again.
"Then…how did you manage up to now?" John couldn't help but ask.
"One of my teachers was really good for caring at others." Mai smiled at the memory as she continued taking notes. "She took me in for a while. But right now, I'm supporting myself." Mai stopped scribbling for a moment and looked at them gleefully. "Aren't I great? My school's really nice towards the poor, so my fees are waived. My living expenses are mainly through scholarships and this part time job, so if I tell them I'm working, I can take as much day off as I like~~"
Ayako couldn't help but smile. "So on days you want to skip, you just tell them its for work…"
Mai was still smiling gleefully. "Right! I can take much time off as I like~~" Then a slight troubled expression crossed her face as she turned to look at Yasuhara. "Oops…"
Yasuhara was clearly imitating Naru. "That would make you stupid." Mai let out a sheepish laugh. "What a great imitation!"
Then Mai found herself unable to breathe as Takigawa glomped her. "If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, you can always come find me…"
Mai pushed him away. "Who needs it, hentai oyaji?" Takigawa whacked her head lightly. "Talk about being uncute!"
And everyone then laughed as Takigawa had Mai in a headlock and poking her, with Ayako making comments on how idiotic they were being. No one said it out loud, but…
What amazed them, was how Mai was answering their answers so calmly without a slightest hint of sadness on her face.
# End Flashback #
Takigawa was frowning. Ever since the revelations, he had started to become more protective of her. No wonder she had been so worked up when they had their case at Yasuhara's school. She didn't want the parents to feel the loss of their child. He squeezed his eyes and hands.
"Mai…"
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Mai let out a breath and glanced behind her, then poked at her stomach.
-Climbing so many stairs, should have lost a bit of weight…-
"Mai- chan?"
Mai looked up in surprise. "Ah, Shima- san!"
The middle- aged monk smiled. "Good to see you again. Come to visit them?" Mai nodded happily.
"Its been a while since I dropped by to talk to you and my parents for a while. Besides, today is a rather… special occasion for…" Mai trailed off, a wistful expression creeping over her face. The monk smiled sadly to himself.
-No matter what you says…its hurts a lot, doesn't it, Mai- chan?-
He clapped his hands loudly, and Mai gave a start before smiling sheepishly at him in return. "My bad, I was day-dreaming again…"
"I'm used to it." The monk said amusedly. "Now, you should hurry, the weather is all that pleasant today. Just remember to stop by later, all right?" Mai nodded.
"Right!"
As Mai bounded away happily, the monk sighed again.
"To tell her that…she might not take it well…"
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Lin watched as Naru flipped through the pages of their current case, looking positively annoyed, and clearly ignoring the nasty aura radiating out from the car in front of them. After all, the case this time round was nothing more than the master of the house having an extremely bad condition of sleepwalking, and of Naru's attitude.
How he managed to avoid the cameras was another question, though…although it was mainly thanks to Mai who had found out the problem.
"Lin." His chain of thoughts snapped, and he took a quick glance at Naru before turning his eyes back to the road in front of him.
"Where did Mai's friend say the place was again?"
"Moriyama Shrine."
"Moriyama Shrine…if memory does not fail me-"
"NARU!"
Naru scowled as he pressed a few buttons. "Can I help you, Matzuaki- san?"
"I just remembered. We accepted a case on a certain shrine, didn't we?"
"…"
"Naru?"
"John- san. You referred the case to us, am I right?"
"Eh…a bishop friend of mine referred his friend's case to me. And so…but, the shrine…"
"…the name?"
There was silence for a while, as Lin started to recall the conversation from that day.
"Moriyama Shrine…"
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A/N: And I finally got the motivation and that bit of time…and I freaking fell from stairs and fractured my leg as a result…# sigh #
Sorry for the abrupt change, but I got this idea when I was in one of my thinking moods.
I've no idea whether it will be okay with you guys, that's why it'll be nice if everyone could review and tell me if you liked the change or would prefer me to change it back to the original idea. Really, I wont mind =)
Well…looking forward to your reviews? (Sounds kinda shameless of me…^^;;)