Hello again! Turns out my fingers and toes and eyes crossing didn't work out and I couldn't find my plot paper. Serves me right for leaving pieces of paper everywhere. I remembered the big parts of my plot, like the ending, but I had to make up a whole new story between here and the end. Sigh. Maybe it's better this way.
But anyways: let's get on with it!
Quote of the day: Don't ever change just to impress and please someone else. Change because it makes you a better person and it leads you to a better future.
"Naru."
"Naru."
"Naru."
Her boss heaved a heavy sigh. "What is it, Mai?"
"I'm bored to death!" Mai complained. "I can't take this anymore!"
She had been sitting in the backseat of Lin's car with her two mute coworkers for what seemed like forever. She couldn't believe Mr. Daichi had driven all this way to get to the SPR office. Maybe he did really have a supernatural problem. Whatever it was, it sure was big.
"Mai, it's only been half an hour."
"How much longer?" she whined.
"Only two minutes less since last you asked."
"You're so mean. Entertain me."
Naru dropped a thick book into the back seat. "Read that."
"What is it?"
"My dissertation."
"What? I don't want your dissertation! Why do you carry this around with you? Are you that much of a narcissist? What the heck is a dissertation anyways? No - don't tell me." Mai threw it to the side and leaned her head back on it, using it as a pillow. She sighed. "How much longer?"
"Still an hour."
"Lin! Naru is so boring. How do you stand car rides with him?"
"It is not that difficult."
How could I forget? Mai thought glumly. Lin is even less chatty than the Master Narcissist.
On impulse, and because she just wanted to, she leaned forward in her seat and kissed Naru's cheek.
"MAI!" he shouted, and Mai giggled wildly, thrilled that she could produce such a reaction from him. He looked back to face her, two splotches of color in his cheeks. "Lin is driving!"
"But you aren't," Mai sang, and, smiling to herself, she laid back down on Naru's dissertation and was content for the rest of the ride.
They arrived around noon. Because Naru didn't yet know whether their work at the Daichi Hotel was supernatural or not, he hadn't called in any of the other SPR members just yet, so Mai had to carry her fair share of monitors and cameras and mics and all sorts of equipment into the building. As she had requested, the conference room that was to be their base was - mercifully - on the ground floor and not too much extra work on her aching arms. They spent the better part of the afternoon setting up the equipment to Naru's wishes.
When Mai finally collapsed on the sofa around three o'clock, Naru poked his head in and demanded, "Tea."
"Stuff it, Naru," Mai groaned, sprawling herself wider on the couch. "I'm not getting you your stupid tea."
"I'm paying you, Mai."
Mai closed her eyes. "I don't care."
"Then go take temperatures of every room in the entire hotel."
"I'll stick with the tea."
"You have to do both anyways."
"I'll go in ten minutes."
"You have to go now."
"I'm not kissing you anymore."
"Just get on with it."
Mai was a little disheartened that her threat hadn't gone through his thick head. Did he think she wouldn't do it, or did he really not care? She looked away from him and tried not to feel distressed. It was true that he kissed her and let her kiss him and was kind when no one was looking, but sometimes, she looked at him and wondered if she had really, truly gotten through to him. It was all too surreal, and she feared that he might slip through her fingers if she wasn't careful.
She rose from her comatose position on the sofa and walked glumly to the kitchen. She made Naru his tea and hurried away without giving him the usual kiss she did when she presented him a cup, and then gave one to Lin as well. Then she took a thermometer and a clipboard, stuck her tongue out at Naru's back, and marched off.
She began on the ground floor, in the lobby, then moved onto the restaurant, swimming pool, conference rooms, and ballroom. Every room's temperature was normal and exactly the same. Bored, she moved onto the last room, the kitchen. She chatted with the chefs awhile, and then took the temperature. There the temperature was slightly warmer, but that didn't come as a huge surprise, as there were at least 3 ovens in the kitchen.
She began taking temperatures of the hallways down each floor, talking to the maids and people walking by. Soon, her arms were hurting from holding her clipboard, and her mind was thoroughly numbed from reading the number 22.7 over and over again.
"Hello, how are you?"
Mai jumped and then smiled sheepishly at a boy that had suddenly appeared next to her. His dark hair fell across his forehead in thick curls, and his eyes were a bright, dancing green that smiled even when his mouth did not. His energy was contagious.
"Oh, hi!" Mai greeted him. "I'm good, how are you?"
"Well, thank you. I see you've got some equipment." He pointed to her clipboard and thermometer. "Are you part of the team that my father called in?"
"If you mean Shibuya Psychic Research, yes that's us. I'm Mai Taniyama. And you are…?" Mai asked, shaking his hand with her free one.
"Makoto Daichi. My father owns the hotel." He flashed her a bright, dazzling smile. "How are you finding the hotel?"
"It's very lovely," Mai said, and she suddenly wished that their elevator trip together could have been a little bit longer. The elevator bell dinged, and she stepped out. "I'm afraid I have to finish taking these temperatures here now."
Makoto smiled again. "I have nothing to do. I'll accompany you."
Mai was a little surprised. She had been bracing herself for an isolated, boring afternoon full of 22.7 C. "Um, okay. That would be great! I just have to do this one last floor and then I can get back to the rest of my team."
"So, what're you doing? Taking temperatures?"
"Yeah," Mai said, leaning the thermometer against a wall. "We're looking for evidence of the supernatural, and that usually means a drop in temperature. Right now….it looks totally fine. No sign of anything supernatural on this floor either."
She picked up her things and they began making their way back to the elevator. "I've taken temperatures of every floor past the ground floor, and every room on the ground floor. So far, nothing's come up."
"And that means there's nothing supernatural here?"
"It could just mean that the spirit, or whatever it is, is not active right now. It could be hiding and watching us. Sometimes everything's fine, and then the temperature drops ten degrees when something bad happens."
They stepped into the elevator. "Sounds like you've been doing this a long time," Makoto said. "You're pretty good at it."
Mai blushed and looked at her feet. "Well, I've only been working with Mr. Shibuya for a year, but you learn something new on every case." She looked up at him. "What about you? How long has your father owned this hotel?"
"Since just a few months ago. He spent a lot of money renovating it, and he's worried that word will get out that we are having problems, and he'll lose his investment."
"Don't worry," Mai reassured him, just as she had reassured his father a few days ago. "We'll figure it out before there's too much bad publicity."
The elevator dinged, and Mai stepped out with Makoto. "I'm sure you will," said Makoto. He flashed her his brilliant smile again. "See you around, Mai." He tipped his head a little and walked away.
Mai found herself staring at his retreating form and jerked herself from her stupor. What was she doing? Just because he had a nice smile didn't mean he was nice! If there was one thing she had learned from Naru, it was that pretty faces didn't mean kind interiors.
But, as she had also learned from Naru, they could.
Shaking her head, she found her way back to base.
Lin was sitting at his computer, typing away at his inhuman speed, and Naru was sitting on an armchair, halfway through a stack of papers.
"What're those?" she asked him as she walked in, forgetting his unbearable silence at her comment that morning.
"These are a collection of newspapers, articles, and essays of researchers in the paranormal field about doubles of people or twins of any kind."
Mai looked at the stack dubiously. "Are you really going to go through all of those?"
Naru looked up from his stack of papers at that. "Of course not." He inclined his head to the mountain of papers by his knee. "Remember to take notes."
Mai made a face. "Ugh, you are insufferable!" she yelled at him, and slumped down on the couch next to him. "Why can't you give this job to Lin?"
"Lin is writing the case report."
"We haven't even done anything yet!"
"We've set up the equipment, and you've taken temperatures."
"How hard is it to type out that stuff? I could type that out while he does this."
"It's in English."
"Since when does Lin know English?"
Naru fixed her with a death glare. "Mai."
"Fine, fine! I'm doing it!" Mai slid down deeper into the couch, snatched Naru's notebook from him, and started reading.
Most of the information was useless. There were suspected kidnappings, fake incidents, and the occasional touching story about reunited twins. Mai's mind kept straying to Gene, and the life Naru must have led when his twin was alive and well. She remembered the picture Naru had given her when he first left SPR to go London. Naru and Gene had been standing side by side, and although Naru wasn't smiling, he looked...content.
And Gene was full of life, full of hope and happiness and excitement. He had plans, he had ideas, he had a brother he loved.
No.
Gene was dead.
"Mai?"
Naru's hand was on her arm, his voice quiet. "Are you okay?"
Mai realized she had been staring at a picture of twin boys for more than a few minutes, lost in thought. She turned the page so she didn't have to see their beautiful, happy smiles. "Sorry," she said.
"Don't apologize."
What was wrong with her? She hadn't even ever known him when he had been alive. "I just miss him."
She thought he would say something caustic, something pertaining to the fact that she had never known him in life, that she had no right to miss him, that he was the one who had the deepest grief, that she didn't know what loss was.
But he didn't do any of that.
"I know," he said gently.
"Do you still miss him?"
Naru looked away from her and turned his gaze back to his paper so she couldn't see his eyes. "Always."
Mai took a deep breath and let it out. "Thanks."
He didn't say anything, but it didn't matter. His presence, his kind word was enough.
When she finished going through her half of the papers - which Naru seemed to have removed all the boring essays and articles from - she only had a few notes on the page, all of which looked useless. She tossed Naru's notebook back at him and stood up and stretched.
"Naru, there's nothing."
"That's because I gave you all the easy stuff. You're welcome."
Mai rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Your Highness."
Naru didn't miss a beat in his reading. "Call Mr. Daichi and let him know that we're ready to do the interviews now."
Mai picked up the phone. "Who are we interviewing?"
"Anyone who's seen the double, or seen anything unusual. Tell him we also want to interview all the staff, and check his records book."
"Got it."
So there's nothing really serious going on, EXCEPT MAYBE A CUTE NEW BOY, but for the creepy stuff, you'll have to hold out a little while longer.
I'm thinking of not introducing the other SPR members for a while, just to build Mai and Naru's relationship in a different way, but I really miss writing John and Ayako and Monk. What do you guys think?
For next time: A business card, a change of plans, and a few interviews.