Chapter 12

Mai began to cry. Masaru looked on in horror. Mai was blubbering. She reached over for the box of tissues and blew her nose.

"I have a stalker who some how got into my home and got a hold of police evidence from years ago." Mai sobbed

"You mean that serial killer case that you were a victim in?" He asked.

"Yes." Mai cried. "I didn't think that many people knew about it. They had tried to keep a low profile."

"Well my uncle is a cop so I do hear things most people don't…" Masaru said awkwardly as he tried to calm her.

"So now their taking pictures of me while I'm doing housework and sending me pictures of my dead brother in law's decaying corpse."

"Harsh." Masaru handed her a chocolate bar. Mai began to wolf it down.

"That's not even the half of it." She tried to say through sobs and a mouth full of chocolate. "I'm working on this and having to be around crazy people. Megumi, that investor woman and her husband, and that agent, and you! No offense, but your mean." Mai took another bite of chocolate.

"None taken." He said coolly. "I thought you and Megumi were close?"

"She's still nuts though." Mai mumbled. "She still bows and crys and faints and kisses my feet all the time."

"You don't like it?" he asked

"No!" Mai glared. "Besides what you think. I'm not a spoiled princess."

"Prima Donna" He corrected. Mai glared "Sorry continue."

"I don't want that kind of attention. People look at me funny and whisper things about me "poor girl got married and now she's lost her chances of ever being famous" or "what was she thinking?" or even better "what a waste of talent." I keep telling them that I don't want it." Mai ranted.

"Are you telling them or telling yourself?" He asked her.

"What do you mean?" Mai had never thought of that.

"If you don't care why would you even bother to tell everyone else?" He explained. "You're really just trying to convince yourself that you're fine with it."

"Really don't want the fame." Mai said.

"No, maybe not the fame, but you wouldn't be where you are if the urge to test yourself and see how far you can go wasn't there." He took a sip of his tea. "You may be a great dancer, but you still had to fight to get there. Natural talent only goes so far."

Mai looked confused. He mouth was slightly open. She wasn't sure if it was because he was making sense or that she hadn't figured this out before.

"Look I'll use myself as an example." He took a bite of a chocolate bar. "I have natural artistic ability. Talent. When I was a kid I was better at art then the rest of the kids, but that didn't stop me. I pushed myself. I took every class I could get my hands on. I wanted to see how far I could go. I wanted to prove that I wasn't just a wannabe." He took another bite and continued.

"So when I got older and it came to college, I decided to study in New York. I fought hard to get accepted and get the scholarships I would need. I was good, but it wasn't easy to get my stuff noticed. So I got my lucky break. I have a gallery in New York and have plans to open one in Tokyo. Now my work is going to get even more publicity when people come to see the show and my work is the backdrop."

"You care about the publicity?" she asked.

"Yeah. You seemed surprised?" He smiled. "I may be the tortured artist who shuns the world, but I still have pride. I like it when people see my work and like or hate. I especially like it when the ones who like it and the ones who hate it get into big fights." He smiled to himself as if he were remembering an incident. "You're no different."

"I told you-" Mai protested.

"Your goal isn't fame, but you still want people to see you and you still want to push yourself. Therefore you are torn between wanting the domestic life and seeing where your career takes you." He looked smug there was a long pause before Mai answered.

"I still hate you." Mai glared.

"The feeling is mutual." He smiled and started to eat another chocolate bar.

A few days later

Naru had called Mai later that evening from a payphone. She explained to him about the incident so Naru and the rest of the team rushed back.

Now they were back to sitting in the office discussing the events.

"So who could have taken the pictures?" Monk asked.

"Anyone who was watching could have." Mai said for the hundredth time. "We're going around in circles. All of them could have. They all could have found a way of getting a hold of Gene's autopsy picture."

"So what about the posters?" Masako asked.

"What about them?" Mai was getting tired of going around in circles.

"Well how were they laid out? Did they look professional or amateur?" She elaborated.

"I guess professional. I was too angry to really judge." Mai tried to remember.

"This would have been easier if you hadn't ripped them up and threw them away." Naru said.

"Oh so what would you have done if it had been you?" Mai asked. Naru didn't respond. Mai already knew he would have probably torched the place with lighting.

"Well we do have some of the remnants." John held up a piece of the poster. The had fished through the trash and were trying to put them back together.

"So you don't think it's Masaru?" Ayako asked Mai.

"Well I don't know." She sighed. "He might have been putting on an act to try and get close to me or throw us off, but why would he want to ruin me before the show that is going to give him free publicity?"

"Maybe he is bitter about selling out and want to ruin the show through you so the blame won't be on him." Monk suggested.

"The Trinity and Mei would want to ruin you because you have pissed them off by rejecting them." John suggested.

"Or Megumi could want to ruin you because she's just crazy and doesn't want you to have more adoring fans and make her less important or something like that." Yasuhara said as he examined a scrap that appeared to have Mai's butt cheek hanging out. Masako smacked him in the head and he put the piece back down.

"I don't know." Mai slumped down. "When you say it like that I guess it could be anyone, but it's just hard to accuse people like this."

"So what the plan now?" Ayako looked to Naru. He placed his cup back on the tabled.

"It would seem the best option is to continue like nothing has happened." Naru held his chin in his hand. "The police don't seem to know who it could be. Even if Mai were to quit, that wouldn't solve anything. This person would continue to harass us."

"It has to be someone from the theater." Lin sat at the computer typing. "The incidents started occurring after Mai began to work on this ballet."

"But does that mean that the person who is behind this began when he or she met Mai at the theatre?" Monk asked.

"No." Naru answered. "This isn't something that just started. It began long before. It would be safe to assume that whoever had been watching us for much much longer. It was only through the rehearsals that they were able to get Mai's keys and enter the apartment."

"We still don't have a plan?" John pointed out.

"The plan is to catch them in the act." Naru looked grimly at his cup.

"I don't like this plan!" Ayako go up from her spot. "You're basically saying were using Mai as bait and waiting for them to act. That's insane!"

"It's the only thing we have left." Mai got up and stood by Naru. She placed her hand on his shoulder. He reached up and held it. "We have to end this."

Ok i hope you guys are enjoying this. Please Review. If you want to guess who you think it is then feel free. Please Review.