Veritas #2: Heels add oomph to any outfit

Chapter 1: Doesn't Seem To Be Malicious

Naru and Mai got so engrossed in their 'lunch' that it was almost half past two before they realised how long they'd been sitting in the café. Mai had a rehearsal at three. She jumped to her feet, cursing lightly as she reached into her purse to pay. Naru beat her to it, throwing money onto the table without counting it and probably leaving a very generous tip in the process. Mai thanked him, kissed his cheek again, then ran from the café while stuffing her script into her bag. Naru followed at a more sedate pace.

"Mai," he called after her, causing her to stop running down the road and turn to face him.

"What is it?"

"Do you want a lift?"

Did he actually just say that? Well, she'd already seen the car, and she was going to be gone for three hours anyway, so he might as well. She smiled at him, shaking her head and laughing.

"No thanks, Naru, I'll run it; after all the eating out I've been doing this week, I could do with the exercise. I'll be back in the office by six?"

He nodded and watched her turn and run away. On a Friday, Naru usually kept the office open until eight or so, when the weekend party crowd began to show up in the district. Mai, who had no classes on Fridays this semester and so had agreed to work all day, would generally go from work to meet a friend – Michiru, Naru thought the other girl's name was – and join the clubbers while Naru and Lin went home. She was yet to show up on Saturday with a hangover, so he had no objection.

However, he and Lin had both taken to spending the last quarter of an hour of Friday evenings locked in their offices, as Mai had a habit of changing into her evening wear at SPR. After walking in on her wearing a dress that had to be illegal in several countries while she zipped a pair of knee-high boots up her legs, neither of them was willing to risk walking around in case she had something else heart-attack-inducing on. Mai may dress practically around the office, but when she dressed for a night out, she really went for it. Naru had never asked how her night was, as he doubted he wanted to hear the details.

Walking back to SPR, Naru re-opened the office and checked the answer machine – no messages from clients, but one from Monk who wanted to know where Mai was in the middle of the day, and instructed her to call him back. Naru left it on there for the girl to find and sat in his office, only remembering the client he'd decided to accept when his computer booted up. Mai's nightmare and the subsequent conversation had driven it clear out of his head.

In Mai's absence, he graced the client with a rare phone call from the boss himself, got the rest of the details he needed, and made a list for Mai's return of people to call and the information they'd need. The phone rang as he was placing it on her desk, so he answered the handset that rested there.

"Shibuya Psychic Research."

"Noll! How are you? What are you doing answering your own phone?"

Naru winced and sat down in Mai's chair. Where was the girl when he needed her to screen his calls?

"Hello Mother. I'm alright; how are you?"

"Fine, fine. How's your pretty little assistant?"

Naru rolled his eyes. That didn't take long. She wasn't even trying to be subtle.

"Mai is fine. She's at university at the moment."

"Oh, so that's why you're answering. I thought maybe she was ill; I was going to send flowers. Maybe I should anyway…"

"Mother," Naru interrupted, reminded of why he avoided calls from Luella Davis whenever he could. His father, he could talk to on the phone, but his mother was a nightmare. "Why did you call?"

"Oh, right. Lin's plane just left. You have the flight details for when he arrives?"

Naru sighed. "Yes, but he won't be getting here until late. He's finding his own way back from the airport."

"It was nice to see him again, even if it was only for a week. You should come with him next time, Noll; you haven't come home in so long now. You could bring pretty Mai with you."

Naru gritted his teeth. He did not, under any circumstances, want Mai to actually meet his mother. The pair of them talking on the phone was bad enough; Mai would look at him sideways and giggle to herself for hours after those conversations. He dreaded to think what would happen if they met in person.

Luella had seen photographs of Mai, and evidently Lin had been telling tales on him, because ever since Mai was first mentioned, she had been dropping 'hints' that she would quite like Naru to think about dating her. After speaking to her on the phone, Luella had apparently decided that Mai was perfect, and took great pains to point out all her good features to Naru, who was already well aware of them all and got very annoyed very quickly. He had refused to take calls from Luella for a month after that, and she hadn't been quite so blatant since. She did, however, always refer to Mai as 'pretty'. It was her not-so-subtle way of reminding Naru how much she liked the girl.

"I don't think so, Mother. We have responsibilities here."

"Oh, but Mai was telling me how much she wanted to see England! She's been learning the language you know; she's very good. Coming over here would only help her with that."

"Mother…"

"And it will be good for you both to get away from work for a while. You need a break every now and then, Noll. Besides, your father and I miss you."

Naru sighed. There was only one way to get out of this.

"I'll think about it," he said. His mother would take it as a 'yes, we're coming', but that couldn't be helped. It was the only way to make her stop pestering him about it.

The door opened and John Brown walked in, smiling at Naru. Naru nodded back, mentally praising the priest's timing.

"I have to go, Mother, somebody just came into the office."

"Well, alright Noll, be careful! Love you!"

"You too," he said softly, hanging up. His mother was 'nutty as a fruitcake', to use his father's phrasing, but he did love her. He just couldn't stand her sometimes. She was too… eccentric didn't begin to cover it.

"I didn't mean to interrupt, Naru," John began. Naru shook his head, moving from Mai's desk to sit beside the priest on the sofa.

"You didn't. What did you need?"

Unlike Monk and Matsuzaki, John didn't have an irritating tendency to drop by SPR for no particular reason. Out of all the Irregulars he had on retainer, Naru respected him the most. He was good at what he did, and he didn't make a big fuss about it. Naru liked that.

"I'm here on behalf of a friend of mine. She has a problem with a ghost that keeps possessing her children. It's not been harmful; it seems just to want to play, but she's worried about what might happen if one of them stays possessed for too long. Exorcising it only stops the problem for so long; I can't convince the spirit to move on."

Naru nodded, cutting John off before he could go any further. "I'm aware of this case; I just called to tell her that we will be there on Monday. Mai will call everyone when she gets back."

John smiled at him and nodded his thanks. "She'll be relieved to have it gone. It doesn't seem to be malicious, but she's scared none-the-less."

"You will come with us?" Naru asked. He hadn't counted on John having met this spirit before, but it would be helpful. The client was also likely to be more accommodating with John there, which was half the battle already won. Sometimes, the clients could be more trouble than the ghosts.

John nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't miss it. Life's actually a little boring without Mai calling me for cases all the time."

Naru nodded. He knew how that felt – it was, after all, why he made a habit of irking Mai when they were around the office.

"Where is Mai?" John asked. Naru looked at the clock. It was close to four o'clock.

"At a rehearsal. She should be back in a couple of hours."

John frowned for a minute, then brightened. "Oh yes, Monk told me about that! It's an English musical, he said."

"My Fair Lady. Mai got the lead."

John whistled. "That's not going to be easy. Even for a native speaker, that's a tough part. Can she sing?"

Naru chuckled. "I have no idea. She just smiles when I ask. I assume so, or I doubt they would have given her the part."

"When is it on?"

Naru gave John the details, and the priest thanked him and stood.

"I have to go now; tell Mai I said congratulations?"

Naru nodded. John waved and left, shutting the door behind him. Naru sat in silence for a moment, then stood and relocated to his office. He had two hours or so of quiet in which to work, and he intended to put them to good use.

Yasu's case notes

Ah, Luella. I love her so much. She gives me so much material to use against the Boss-man.

And everyone else too.

Hang on a minute; she tells you things about people other than Naru? Like Lin? She gave you dirt on Lin-san? Why didn't she tell me?

I suspect your theatrics might have something to do with it, Yasu. I, at least, know when to be discreet.

What? I'm sorry, say that again. I think I misheard you.

Ha ha, you're so witty. Can we move on?

Right.

Next time: It's Friday evening; Naru really should have kept his door locked.