Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt

Chapter 3: Interruptions

Mai jumped out of her skin as she heard Naru shout. She spun away from the stove almost flinging herself out the door. Lin was already at Naru's office door, watching her approach. His hand was on the door knob, but hadn't yet grasped it.

Before she could even open her mouth Lin said, "You should probably go finish making the tea. I'll talk to him first. After that you can bring it to him and make sure he's alright, or interrogate him yourself." He could see the worry etched into her brow. Naru was sure to be even colder now, and Lin wanted to make sure he was in his right mind before Mai braved his icy fiery.

Mai nodded, turning back to go into the kitchen. She stood at the stove, nervously tapping out a rhythm with her fingers, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet. Her mind was racing. Worry filled every nook and crany in her.

Finally, twenty minutes later, Lin came into the kitchen. He looked at the nervous wreck of a girl. "Mai, you should probably take him some tea," he said as he walked up behind her.

She startled. Whirling around, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. "You scared the crap out of me. How is he?"

"Not happy, but he'll live. He's in a pretty foul mood now," he told her, sighing inwardly. "It was just a… lively discussion gone bad." Gone very badly, he added silently to himself.

"Oh, okay," she murmured, clutching the tray in her hands. Her eyes stayed focused on the amber liquid in the small cup, watching the steam swirl from its surface.

Lin sighed uncharacteristically, running a hand through his hair. His eyes darted to Naru's office door before moving to the girl standing in front of him. Maybe a visit from the usually cheerful girl would do him some good. Teenagers these days, he thought despairingly before sighing again.

Plastering on a small, very fake smile he put a hand on Mai's shoulder. Her eyes flicked up to lock with his as he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Why don't you take that to him now?" he prompted.

"Yeah," Mai said, worry still swirling in her eyes, but covered easily with a bright smile. She padded over to Naru's office door oblivious of Lin slipping silently out the front door with his cellphone pressed to his ear. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she rapped quietly on the door with her knuckles.

"What?" came Naru's irritated growl.

Mai's breath caught in her throat, but she forced herself to open the door. "I brought you a cup of tea," she explained, her voice trembling. She forced it not to crack.

He didn't reply. He sat behind his desk, a hand covering his eyes. Mai saw his jaw tighten at her voice though. Something cracked in her. Did he hate her? She wasn't sure. She shuffled over to the desk, setting the teacup in front of him.

Naru reached for the cup with his stinging hand. Blood ran down his wrist from his palm, staining the cuff of his shirt.

Mai gasped, grabbing his hand. At the moment she didn't care if he did hate her or not. "What happened to your hand?" she cried, using the edge of her shirt to dab at the blood. More took its place instantly, welling from a deep gas down the center of his palm.

"It's nothing. It's just a scratch," Naru said, not answering her question. He attempted to pull his hand back, but Mai snatched it back.

"It is not nothing," she told him sternly, pressing her thumb to the but hard. She smiled triumphantly as Naru's face contorted in pain. "See? Not nothing." She took his other hand, dragging him from the room and to the kitchen.

Naru tried to ignore the feel of her soft hand against his as she meticulously bandaged his hand, but that was nearly impossible. She was standing so close that he could smell the perfume she'd used that morning, her usually fruity smelling one. He stared down at her face, her eyebrows pulled together in concentration.

She made an appreciative sound and looked up at him, freezing as their eyes locked. Her breath caught in her throat. She was suddenly highly aware of the small distance between them. Their faces were mere inches apart. It'd be so very easy to bridge that small distance.

At that moment, her imagination decided to take her on a wild rampage, bounding from a simple kiss to more intimate things. Her face colored with the thought, but she didn't have the resolve to look away.

She had no way of knowing that Naru's mind, as rational as it may be, had taken the same course of thought. Yes, that was right. He was a constant surprise, even to himself. His hormones were wreaking havoc on his better judgment as effectively as they already had to Mai's. As consequence, he slowly began to lean slowly towards her. Their lips were just centimeters apart…

Then someone decided to burst through the front door and ruin the entire scene.

"Mai! Naru-chan! We're finally here!" came Monk's loud, deep voice, "Thanks to someone we are late."

The sound of a purse connecting with the back of someone's head rang out. "Well, excuse you! It's all your fault that we're late, not mine!" Ayako shouted.

Mai and Naru snapped back to themselves, their eyes growing wide with realization. They jumped away from each other, refusing to make eye contact again.

Mai's face burned bright and hot as she stumbled from the kitchen in her haste to leave it. "Hey Monk," she said too cheerfully, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Uh, we're leaving for the case today?" Masako said in a 'you're dumber than you look' tone.

"Oh," Mai said dumbly, not knowing what to do next. Naru walked out of the kitchen behind her, and a mischievous grin spread across Yasu's face.

He sidled up beside Mai, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "So Mai, I was just wondering… what were you doing in the kitchen with Naru-chan just now? You look a little red in the face," he said casually, grinning evilly as he received the desired reaction.

"W-what are you talking about?" she sputtered, "We weren't doing anything." She could feel her face growing hotter by the second and knew that her face would be fire engine red in no time.

Ayako, on her own bandwagon, pointed to a single red rose on Mai's desk. "Looks like you've got an admirer," she said, throwing Yasu a conspiratorially grin.

"What?" Mai asked, ducking under Yasu's arm and hurrying over to her desk. She plucked up the card from under the flower and stared at what had been written.

A flower for the pretty flower, the card said in bold, curvy handwriting. There was no name, but she knew who it must be from. As she stared at the card her eyes slowly went unfocussed. She felt herself growing lightheaded. It was the feeling she got right before she went into a daze.

Before her subconscious could push her down any further or the others could begin the teasing, Naru cut in with a steely tint to his words that promised death. "We must be at the Hanagawa household by one this afternoon. We have a four hour drive and the van is not packed. Stop screwing around and get to work." With that, he slammed his office door behind him.

Everyone stared after him, even Mai, with wide eyes. Finally, Yasu broke the silence. "Geez, what crawled up his ass and died?" he commented, moving away towards an open box.

…..

"Mai!" Naru shouted, finally succeeding in pulled Mai out of another one of her dazes.

"Huh? What?" she asked, shaking her head to clear it of the dizzying fog and staring at him. The van had finally come to a halt after four hours. Naru stood outside the van, the passenger door wide open letting evening sunlight and the sweet smell of grass and strawberries fill the front seat. "What is it?"

"We're here," he said, regarding her with a calculating glared. Somehow, Mai knew she was a huge reason for his foul mood, but she didn't know in what way. What had she done in her daze this time?

"Oh. Oh!" She scrambled from the front seat, tumbling from the car in a frilly mess. For the first time that day she noticed what she was wearing. A frilly pastel green top over a frillier brown and forest green skirt. She made a face. Something about her attire made her think of the boy, Ash, from the subway with the eyes that were so different from Naru's. Jumping to her feet, Mai dusted herself off and stared up at the house.

It was a rather small two-story with huge windows everywhere. Old wooden steps led up to a small porch with a comfy looking love seat in front of one large window. Farther back, a dark brown door was visible. The house sat on fifteen acres of sprawling orchards and strawberry fields. A small gravel driveway led up to the house from the road which dead-ended in a cul-de-sac.

Behind them, Monk's car lumbered up the drive, parking next to the van. Out of it spilled John, Masako, Yasu, Monk and Ayako, most of who were moaning and groaning. Monk cracked his back before coming to stand with Mai and Naru.

"So when are we getting this party started?" he asked, looking to Naru with his hands on his hips.

"As soon as everyone stops pissing and moaning, and grabs a box. If you hate it that much then you can just go back home. I have no patience for whiners," Naru said icily, a box already in hand as he walked away.

Everyone instantly shut their mouths.

"Looks like someone is on his man period," Yasu muttered under his breathe to the team. They struggled to smother their giggled as they grabbed a box or monitor.

Sorry for the short chapter this time. I promise the next one will be longer. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for next week's chapter. Review please :D