Veritas #1: Nightmares can affect your waking life too

Chapter 3: Yet Another Unsolved Mystery

Naru had actually managed to lose himself in a report from his father when a knock at the door dragged his attention from his computer. Mai entered without bothering to wait for an invite, as usual, and danced lightly from foot to foot in front of his desk. He sighed. She only did that when she wanted something that she wasn't sure he was going to give.

"What is it?"

"Bou-san and Ayako have gone."

Engrossed in his work, he hadn't heard them leave, but he nodded anyway. He didn't speak though, merely watched her. She hadn't come in just to tell him that. She stayed mute for several seconds before cracking under his gaze.

"Would you help me with the play?"

He blinked. He hadn't been expecting that. Mai apparently took the movement as permission to elaborate.

"I can read it and stuff, that's not a problem, but I'm not sure what all of the words mean, and Sensei said I have to do a 'cockney' accent. I have no idea what that is. Please, Naru?"

Naru sat still for a second, contemplating the pros and cons of this plan. It would take time away from his work schedule, but it would also give him time in which to prise information from Mai. He might also get an answer for that mysterious look she'd given him when he'd asked if she could sing. He nodded and Mai relaxed visibly, beaming at him.

"Thank you, Naru!"

He nodded again and turned back to his report, but Mai didn't move. He looked back up at her curiously. Did she expect him to start now?

"I'm busy, Mai. Why are you hovering?"

She blushed. "Oh, well, it's almost one o'clock, and I forgot to bring lunch with me because of… what happened."

She was referring to whatever had made her blow up at him that morning. Yet another unsolved mystery concerning his assistant. Naru shrugged one shoulder and returned his gaze to the computer screen.

"Then go and buy food from one of the places down the road."

She danced from foot to foot again. Naru minimised the document from his father. He wasn't going to be able to read in peace until she stopped fidgeting.

"Yes, Mai?"

She shuffled a little more, then spoke to the floor. He could just about make out her words.

"You haven't eaten either."

He raised an eyebrow. She was inviting him to lunch? Judging by the colour of her cheeks, she was. He was willing to bet money that Matsuzaki had pushed her into this. Still, it might give him a chance to work out some of what was happening to her. And his lower back was beginning to ache from sitting in one position for so long. He turned the computer off and stood up, making Mai's eyes go very wide. Pretending not to notice, he walked out of the office, pulling his coat from the stand and shrugging it on. Mai followed at a distance, staring at him. He shook his head and took her coat from the rack, holding it out to her. She didn't move. He sighed.

"Are you coming?"

She blinked out of her stupor and ran to him, sliding her arms into the coat and grabbing her bag from the back of her chair. Naru let her exit the building before him and locked up. Mai was still staring at him as though she couldn't quite believe he was there. He rolled his eyes.

"I know I'm good-looking, Mai, but is there a need to stare?"

She huffed and spun around, stalking away from him down the road. He smiled and followed her. That was better.

He didn't manage to get the information he wanted out of Mai – she successfully managed to distract his attention by producing a script from the depths of her bag and roping him into helping her read it. He couldn't bring himself to mind too much - the smile on her face when he complimented her ability to read English was worth it.

Xxx

That Saturday afternoon set up somewhat of a pattern for the following week. Mai would come to the office after class, head directly to the kitchen to make tea for Naru, then hover and generally impede his efforts to work until he conceded and followed her down the street to a café. Mai had, apparently, decided against eating during the day in an attempt to ensure he wouldn't turn her down, as she always ordered actual meals during these trips. He called her an idiot and would have stopped going, but he found Mai was actually correct when she said that this was a better place to practice her English than at the office. For one thing, there were no monk-shaped interruptions. For another, Mai was much more relaxed and content to joke around with him like she did with the monk and Yasuhara. At the office, she only spoke to him to ask questions about work or to shout at him about his tea habits. Here, she was almost his friend. He found that he quite enjoyed the difference.

"So, how do I say this again?" she asked him on Thursday, her nose crinkled up and she leaned over their table and pointed a specific line out to him on the script. He looked at where she pointed and sighed. English Naru may be, but he had never, and would never speak with a convincing cockney accent.

"The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain" he said slowly in English. She frowned and imitated his intonation. He nodded. "That's it."

She sighed and put the script down on the table, shaking her head. "Why did I think this would be a good idea?"

Naru frowned at her questioningly. Up to this point, she had been excited about the play.

"What's the problem? Your grasp of the language is fine."

She looked up at him, a small smile on her lips at the compliment, then shook her head and sighed again, sounding rather despondent.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what?"

She didn't answer for several minutes, choosing instead to stare at the script in silence with her brow furrowed. Naru let her sit in silence, then stood and made his way to the counter. He felt her eyes on him, curious. He had accompanied her on these trips, but had only ever ordered iced tea, and he still had a half-full glass on the table. He spoke to the waitress behind the counter, ignored her attempts to flirt with him, then returned to the table and placed a chocolate muffin on the counter in front of Mai. She looked up at him with wide eyes. Ignoring her expression, he sat back down and sipped at his drink.

"Um, thank you?" she said uncertainly. He nodded and locked gazes with her, waiting in silence. She was going to tell him what was bothering her if he had to sit there all evening waiting. She swallowed hard and looked down, breaking a piece off the muffin and eating it slowly. When she reached out for another, he stilled her hand with his own and shook his head.

"Tell me, Mai."

She sighed and dropped her hand, somehow contriving to have it land on top of his on the table. She intertwined their fingers before he could move it, and he glanced at the contact before deciding to ignore it. She seemed pleased at his acceptance.

"Mai?" he prompted. She winced, sighed again, and ran her free hand across the back of her neck before giving in.

"My landlord is a bastard."

He raised an eyebrow at her language. He'd never heard her swear so blatantly when she wasn't in the middle of a row.

"Yes, you said that on Saturday. Why?"

"Because…" she sighed again, letting her face fall into her hand as she squeezed his fingers with the other. He didn't reciprocate, but neither did he pull away; he just sat and waited for her to continue. Finally, with a huff, she continued.

"Because of you, actually."

He blinked at her. "What?"

"Because of you. When I'm not at university, I'm at the office, or I'll be out of the apartment for days when we're on a case. Now I've got the play taking up what time I have left. He's threatening to kick me out."

Naru felt cold anger settle over him. His hand tried to fist, but as Mai's was wrapped around it, he ended up just holding her tighter. He didn't notice.

"He can't do that; you pay your rent, it's nothing to do with him how much time you spend there."

Mai sighed and shook her head. "It's not just that; when I am there, my neighbours complain."

Naru frowned at her again. He couldn't picture Mai upsetting her neighbours; when she wasn't snarling at him like a sabre-toothed tiger, she was very bubbly and generally pleasant to be around.

She closed her eyes, her expression going blank. She'd picked that up from him, and only used it when she felt backed into a corner. She didn't want to tell him this, but he'd left her no alternative.

"My powers don't switch off just because we're not on a case. When I'm not dreaming about the lives of the past residents of the building, I'm reliving old cases. You guys all know why I wake up screaming, but try explaining to your neighbours that you've woken them up at three in the morning because a boy was stabbed three provinces away sixty years ago. They get sick of it."

Naru's hand twitched again, this time pulling her arm across the table towards him. Usually this would have gotten a blush from her, at the very least, but she was too busy trying not to emote to notice. He forced himself to relax, and his hand went limp around hers. Better. With his free hand, he lifted her chin so that she met his gaze. The look in her eyes was an amalgamation of negativity he'd never seen in the happy-go-lucky girl before – sorrow, fear, anxiety, and resignation. He didn't like the twisting feeling in his chest that the look gave him. Shaking his head, he let her go and pushed the muffin towards her. She blinked, stunned back into normality by the suddenness of his actions.

"Naru?" she asked, cautious. He stood and delved into his pocket for cash, throwing enough down on the table to cover their drinks and Mai's food. Folding his wallet away, he met her confused gaze and told her to be at the office at seven thirty the next morning. She wailed at his back as he walked away.

"Naru? Did you hear a word I said? Naru!"

He ignored her, the door to the café swinging shut behind him as he left. He had phone calls to make.

Yasu's case notes

Boy, was Mai pissed after he pulled this.

Can you blame me? I say all that, and he tells me to get in early then walks off without a word of explanation. He's lucky I didn't follow him and tell him what I thought of him!

No, instead you call me up and whine for hours about it.

Whine? Excuse me?

Err... oops?

Oops?

...Here, have a muffin.

I'm not falling for that one, Yasu.

Are you sure? Moving on quickly...

Next time: Naru interferes in Mai's life, and she's not quite sure how to take it.