Veritas #1: Nightmares can affect your waking life too

Chapter 4: Deliberately Provocative

Naru got to the office at seven fifteen the next day, feeling tired but victorious. It had taken him most of the night, but he'd gotten what he wanted. Now, he had to talk it through with Mai. He glanced at the clock, mentally calculating the odds on her turning up half an hour early as he'd told her to. Slightly better than fifty-fifty, he reckoned. She'd be mad at him for making demands with no apparent reason behind them, especially given what she'd told him about her landlord making issues, but equally she'd want to see just what required her attention that early in the morning. So, it all came down to just how pissed off at him she was. If her ire was greater than her curiosity, then she could well turn up at half past eight, just to spite him.

It was twenty-five to eight when she trudged through the door, casting Naru a look that promised pain if there wasn't a good reason why she was here. He ignored the glare, standing from the sofa where he'd been sitting and reaching for his coat as she shrugged hers off. Confused, the frown fell from her face. He sighed, pulled her coat back over her shoulders and pushed her lightly out of the door, turning and locking it up behind him. Turning around, he saw the dog-hearing-a-whistle posture she bore as she waited for his actions to make sense. Smirking, he wrapped his fingers around her elbow and gently tugged her away from the building. She stumbled a few steps, then jogged at his side, four paces for every three of his.

"Naru, where are we going?"

He nodded his head towards the car waiting at the curb. It was a cheap, second-hand little black thing, but it was all his father and Lin would allow him until he passed their approval. Apparently, passing the test in both England and Japan wasn't good enough for either of them.

Naru had never been overly bothered by the car they deemed appropriate, so long as nobody at SPR saw it. However, this couldn't be helped. The place he was taking Mai was not within walking distance, and Naru detested the subway. It was always far too crowded for his liking. So, he would have to suffer Mai's appraisal of his car, while coming up with painful ways to kill Lin without getting caught. Her reaction was exactly as he'd pictured it, right down to the wide eyes and smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Naru, is this yours? I was expecting something sleek and sexy, and silver. This is…" She trailed off, chuckling. He shot her a glare, opened the driver's door and got in, slamming it behind him. Giggling, Mai scurried around to the other side and let herself in, not bothering to hide her amused expression. Naru turned the engine on and tried to ignore her.

"Buckle up."

She laughed at him, but did so. Shoving the car into gear with more force than strictly necessary, he pulled away from the curb and set off, Mai still snickering at him. She calmed down after a few minutes, asking once again where they were going. Naru didn't answer, instead focussing on getting there unscathed. This stupid ancient car didn't even have power steering. He almost had to wrench his arms from their sockets to get it to turn corners. Mai began to laugh again. Naru seethed silently. Oh, Lin was going to pay when he got back from England.

Ten minutes or so passed in relative quiet until Mai decided that riding in silence was no fun. She reached out to play with the radio, but he slapped her hand away from the device. She pouted at him, rubbed at her fingers, and muttered insults under her breath. So long as she didn't turn the radio on, she could call him what she liked. He couldn't get the bloody thing to tune properly, and every time it was turned on, a horrendous white noise rang through the vehicle and made him want to cover his ears.

"It's broken," he said shortly, cutting her off when she started to repeat herself. She sighed and leaned back in her seat, looking him up and down appraisingly. He raised an eyebrow at her in question.

"What is it, Mai?"

"I was just wondering who you are."

Naru didn't feel a question that idiotic deserved an answer, and turned his attention back to the road. The turning he wanted was up here.

"I mean you can't be Naru," Mai continued, either not noticing his apathy or not caring. "You bought me dinner yesterday, you're actually socialising, and now you're whisking me away to some unknown destination for unknown purposes."

Naru tried to ignore Mai's deliberately provocative phrasing and turned into the road he wanted. He pulled to a stop before a block of flats and turned off the engine. Mai pouted at him.

"Ruin my fun," she mumbled, climbing out of the car as he did and walking around to his side. "So, why are we here? Is the place haunted?"

Naru looked at her. "Can you sense a ghost here?"

She shrugged. "No, but then sometimes I can't until they try to kill me, so that doesn't really mean anything."

Naru decided that comment hit a little too close to the truth and didn't reply, instead striding over to the building and pushing the door open. Mai hurried after him, ducking inside under his arm. He walked over to the lifts, acknowledging the guard in the lobby with a quick nod. The man nodded back to him.

"Shibuya-san."

Mai was looking between the two men, obviously wondering how they knew each other. The guard ran an eye over her and smirked, catching Naru's eye and winking. "Miss," he said, his tone failing to hide his amusement. Naru glowered at him and stepped between him and Mai, gaining a chuckle from the guard and a confused look from Mai. He didn't like the way the man was eyeing his assistant. She opened her mouth, presumably to ask what was going on, but the lift arrived and he hustled her inside before she could speak. Naru pressed the button for the fourth floor and got the doors closed before she managed to get the words out.

"Naru, what's going on? How do you know that man?"

Naru sighed. "He is the guard here, Mai. Some important things are kept in this building; he is there to make sure it stays safe. Not to speculate." He muttered the last bit under his breath, but knew Mai had heard from the puckering of her brow. He shook his head. "I live here, Mai."

Mai's eyes went wide and she stuttered. The lift doors opened before she could gather her thoughts, and Naru pulled her out onto the landing. There was a small hallway, with stairs at either end leading to the upper and lower floors, and two doorways before them. Naru went to the one on the left, with a number six on it, pulled a key from the ring he carried with him and unlocked it. Mai was still stood dumbly, staring at him as if he'd grown a second head, so he grabbed her by the elbow and tugged her inside. She blinked and looked around as he shut the door behind them. Her expression changed to one of bewilderment.

"Um, Naru, you live here?"

The apartment was empty of furniture, decoration and even light fixtures. He sighed.

"No, Mai. I live on the floor above. This apartment is empty for the moment."

She looked at him, still confused. "Then why are we here?"

He shook his head. "Why do you think, Mai?"

He saw her expression change as she suddenly understood. Her mouth formed an almost perfect 'O' shape, and her eyes went wide as she cast another look around.

Naru had only been inside Mai's apartment once, when she slipped getting out of the bath and dislocated her knee. She had managed to reach her phone and call him, and he and Lin had gone around to collect her and take her to the hospital. He had been a little more preoccupied by the towel-clad Mai than the apartment at the time, but he knew that this living room alone was bigger than her whole place. There were four doors off the main room, leading to a kitchen, a bathroom and two sizeable bedrooms. He knew because the apartment he shared with Lin had the exact same layout.

Mai looked back to him and swallowed.

"I can't, Naru. I can't afford this."

He looked at her and quoted a monthly rental that made her choke on a breath. He rolled his eyes and waited for her to regain her breath. Honestly, she could be so dramatic.

"I can't let you do that!" she said finally, taking his sleeve in her hand and tugging at it lightly. "That's only about half what I'm paying at the moment, and this place is huge! It has to worth five times that! I can't Naru, sorry. I'll find somewhere else to live."

She was worried about ripping him off? Naru had to smirk at that. "I don't own it, Mai."

She blinked and let go of his sleeve, once again confused. "Huh?"

"I don't own it. This whole building belongs to BSPR."

"Oh, well then, your parents…"

"Would rather see this place with a tenant than empty," he interrupted. She frowned at him, but didn't say anything more. He closed his eyes shook his head. "Please, Mai, at least think about it."

He opened his eyes to see her staring at him. He frowned at her. "What?"

"Did… did you just say please?"

He rolled his eyes and turned around, making to leave the apartment. If she was going to behave like a child, then he had better things to do elsewhere. She dodged in front of him, making him rock back on his heels in order to not knock her over.

"Sorry Naru, I didn't mean it like that!" she squeaked, waving her arms at him. Annoyed at her sudden exuberance, he leaned back to avoid being hit.

"Then what?"

She fell silent for a few seconds before looking up at him from beneath her lashes. "You want me to stay?"

He blinked at her. Had he said that? Well, in a roundabout way he supposed he had. He hadn't been thinking about it like that; Mai needed somewhere to stay, there was an apartment empty in his building, so he called his parents and told them the situation. They were the ones who had asked him why his 'pretty little assistant' wasn't already living there. He'd taken that as a 'we were saving that room for Mai anyway' and proceeded to make the other calls he'd needed to ensure that she would be alright, including a rather long and mildly threatening one to her current landlord. Whatever she chose, he would not be causing her any more problems.

He realised that she was still waiting for an answer and shrugged one shoulder.

"You can take it, or you can stay where you are. Your landlord won't bother you again. It's up to you."

Mai flushed. "You spoke to my landlord?"

Naru shot her a look. What was wrong with that? He was trying to help, and she was acting like he'd done something unbelievable. Mai shook her head and dropped the landlord issue. Naru nodded and stepped around her, walking towards the door.

"You can let me know by the end of next week."

She followed him from the room, and judging by her face she was weighing up the pros and cons of taking him up on his offer. He predicted the next questions she fired at him with ease.

"How would I get to work?"

"Lin and I will take you."

She grumbled at that. Naru smirked. She'd never be late again, at least. She looked back up, readying her next enquiry as they stepped into the lift.

"What about university?"

"The bus stops directly in front of the building."

She frowned at him. "You've got this all sussed out, don't you?"

He shrugged and turned to face the doors. "I usually do."

She pulled a disgusted face at him and didn't reply. He was used to her distain when he had already anticipated all the problems she could think of, so ignored it. They left the building in silence, broken by the guard (Naru had no idea of the man's name, and after today, no intention of learning it either) calling a goodbye after them. Mai waved at him, but Naru ignored it and got into the car. They were halfway back to SPR before Mai spoke again.

"You never answered me."

He blinked. She hadn't asked him a question, and she was well aware that he was not telepathic, so he had no idea why she thought he would know what she was talking about. She squinted at him, her head tilted to one side.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Oh, that. He thought he'd sidestepped that issue.

"That's your decision, Mai. You're the one who has to live there."

"That's not what I asked. Do you want me to live there?"

Naru could see where she was going with this; given her behaviour over the last week or so it wasn't hard to spot. He rolled his eyes.

"So long as you have a roof over your head, Mai, I don't care where you live."

She huffed and gave up, crossing her arms and staring out of the window for the remainder of the drive back. He smirked at her. It wasn't the last time she would try sounding out his feelings, he knew, but hopefully by then he would have a better understanding himself of what they were. Currently, he wasn't quite sure.

Xxx

Once they had returned to the office, the atmosphere between them had returned to normal. He had asked for tea, she had obliged, grumbling under her breath and waiting in front of his desk for a thank you that wasn't forthcoming, then she had returned to her filing and he to researching a potential case. By twelve fifteen, he had read enough to convince him of its authenticity and stuck his head out of the office to instruct Mai to call the client and accept. She was asleep on her desk, twitching every now and then and frowning intently. He walked to her side and shook her shoulder.

"Mai," he called. She twitched again and came awake with a start, sitting bolt upright and looking around, wide-eyed. Naru jerked backwards to avoid behind head-butted in the nose. Her breathing slowed and she closed her eyes as she realised where she was.

"Mai, are you alright?"

She looked at him over her shoulder, trying to smile. "Yeah, fine. Sorry Naru, I didn't sleep well last night. It won't happen again."

Naru brushed her apology aside, leaning against her desk and forcing her to meet his gaze with a hand under her chin. "What happened?"

She laughed shakily and stood, pulling away. "Nothing. I'll just make you some tea…"

"Mai."

She sighed and stopped trying to escape. "Urado," she said with a shudder. Naru felt his eyes widen. That case had been almost three years ago. She still had nightmares about it? Swallowing surreptitiously, he moved his grip from her chin to her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, smiling more genuinely this time.

"You woke me up before the throat-slitting part. I'll be ok."

The fact that she could say that so casually told him how often she'd had that same dream. He gripped her shoulder again, upset on her behalf that she had to keep reliving that over and over. He had first-hand experience in recurring nightmares, but he hadn't dreamt of Gene's death in almost two years now. His dreams had stopped after the funeral, when he'd come back to Japan. He wasn't sure how to help Mai with hers. He could monitor her caseload, he supposed, but she'd never forgive him for that. Besides, despite the lack of control she had over her abilities, he found himself relying on them to help the majority of cases along. Without Mai, it would take twice as long to gather information. He would make do without her if he had to, however.

"Would you like me to take you off field work for a while?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously.

"No! No, don't do that! See, this is why I didn't say anything…"

Naru let his hand run down off her shoulder to her upper arm. She stopped talking and squeaked at the sensation.

"I won't stop you," he said quietly, "but if this becomes too much, you will let me know."

"Naru…"

"I won't have this job drive you insane. It's not worth that."

He was still talking quietly, but his words were firm. He would not risk Mai's health. If he thought she couldn't handle it, he would stop her going on high-risk cases. She nodded at him silently. Relieved to have her agreement (it made everything much easier if she wasn't fighting him every step of the way), he relaxed. His hand slid down her arm until her fingers snared his own and held them in place. She leaned closer, eyes half closing.

"Naru," she breathed. He closed his eyes for a moment, then leaned back and broke free. She stumbled and blinked rapidly at the loss of his touch. He threw her coat at her, pulling his own on over his shoulders.

"Where are we going?" she asked, mimicking his actions. He smirked at her.

"Lunch."

He strode out of the office, catching the grin she shot after him. He locked up and walked off with her, allowing her to loop her arm through his as they bickered.

"Can you go over my lines with me again?"

"I suppose so. Are you ever going to practice the songs?"

"In front of you? Hah, you must be joking."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'll hear you sooner or later; did you really think I'd go through all this and then not go to the performance?"

She chuckled at him.

"Yeah, but then it'll be too late for you to comment and make me all nervous about singing in public."

"I wouldn't do that. I'm trying to help you, remember?"

"Yeah I know." Silence for a few heartbeats, then Mai stopped and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks."

Stunned by her brashness, he could only follow as she led him into the usual café, to what he was beginning to think of as 'their' table. They ordered and sat down; Mai pulled out her script and placed it between them on the table, then spoke quietly, looking at the paper.

"And about the apartment?"

He looked at her searchingly. She smiled at him.

"I'll take it."

Yasu's case notes

All together now: Aww...

Shut up Yasu.

No, I want to mock. For a smart guy, Naru can sure be dense. Honestly, all that, and he's not sure how he feels? Are you sure you transcribed this properly, Mai?

Yes I'm sure.

Positive?

YES

Oh, good. Then tell us all about the part where you were naked and Naru came over?

YASU!

What? I'm sure our readers want to know...

Move on. Now.

Err, she's giving me that look Naru gets just before he lets his PK explode something. I'm going to run away now.

Next time: Ok, truth number two is up! This time, we're going with 'Heels add oomph to any outfit'.

Yasu!

What? It's true! Anyway, it starts off with a phone call from a mother and a case from a priest. See you there!