Me: Finally an update!
Mai: Isn't that what the reader is supposed to say?
Me: Shumer...
Naru: English is my preferred language.
Gene: Which explains why he can't read kanji.
Naru: *glares*
Me: Um, I don't own Ghost Hunt.
Mai: Please R&R!
Mai's POV:
"Now then, care to explain what had happened?" Naru asked once we got back to the base. Kaguya was seated next to me across from the narcissist while I had Ayako checking me over for any injuries from earlier with Gene doing the same to her.
"We were making dinner and then things got a little weird." Kaguya said, crossing her legs as she looked at Naru with the same intensity as he did us. His attention then turned to her with a slight look of disbelief in his eyes. Most likely due to him always use to past clients freaking out about anything paranormal. This was probably the only case he's had where the client was as calm as they were and weren't truly phased by the experience.
"A little weird?" Monk asked, looking at her as if she had grown another head. Then again I guess if it were any of us it would have been a little weird, but this was someone who wasn't involved in the supernatural twenty-four seven. Kaguya however just shrugged and sighed with a small smile.
"Explain." Naru demanded, glaring at us with an air of intimidation around him. Kaguya huffed at this and opened her mouth to retaliate, but before she could Gene wrapped an arm around her, pulling her onto his lap.
"Please Angel." He said, giving her puppy dog eyes. She stared at them unfazed for a moment, but then sighed and gave in.
"Well we were talking and then the air got cold." She started, crossing her arms as she looked away from Gene and Naru while glancing at the floor. Deciding that she probably wasn't in the mood to say anything else as of yet I cleared my throat and picked up where she left off.
"After that Kaguya saved me form getting hit on the head from a bowl that fell from the fridge." I explained, giving her a look of thanks once again. She replied with a wink and smile before turning back to Naru's glare. Unfortunately for me that glare was sent right at me, causing me to sweat drop at my situation.
"And you didn't try to leave?" Ayako asked after finally deeming me okay. I sweatdropped at her question, mainly cause I didn't have an answer for it, and remained silent.
"Oh we tried, but then the door was slammed in our faces, literally, and this loud banging was echoing throughout the room." Kaguya defended, coming to my aid.
"I tried my chant, but then we were flung across the room and pinned to the walls, and then you know the rest." I added, looking down at my hands in shame of my failure.
"How many times have we told you not to go running off alone, Mai" Naru said, scolding me as if I were a small child. Again I didn't have a comeback to this, but apparently Kaguya did for she huffed at him and glared.
"But she wasn't alone, I was with her."
"And I told you where I was going to be!" I added, rerunning the situation before it had happened in my mind. Naru glared at both of us for our protests and sighed.
"Regardless, you should have paid more attention to your surroundings." Naru said, annoyance lacing his words.
"But Naru-"
"No buts Mai." he said with a harsher tone replacing the annoyance that was there a moment before.
"What would have happened if we hadn't gotten there in time?" John asked, a look of concern flashing in his eyes.
"But you did." Kaguya commented, earning a glare once more form Naru.
"I don't believe he was addressing you."
"Too bad." She said, shrugging her shoulders, not caring what he had to say.
"Gene, do something about her." He pleaded, rubbing his temples while trying to keep his calm. Kaguya threw a look at him to butt-out, but he threw his own right back at her.
"Angel, Noll's right." He said, using a sweet and caring tone to try and sway her. She raised a brow and bit her lip before she made her resolve while pouting at him.
"But we're fine." She defended, not happy that he was taking his brother's side in this. Then again if I were in her shoes I'd feel the same way, but then once again, they're twins. It's kinda a given he'll fight for his brother.
"For now, Mai's a danger and spirit magnet." Ayako said, making me sweatdrop at her statement.
"And so are you." Gene said to the girl in his lap. This took everyone by surprise as a hush fell across the room while all eyes landed on the duo. They both noticed this and Kaguya blushed red then glared at her boyfriend, while said boyfriend sighed and shook his head at his girlfriend. "The spirit's attacked her on multiple occasions already."
"They weren't bad." She mumbled, curling up slightly, not quite enjoying the attention she was being given or the fact that one of her flaws was brought out to light.
"You almost ended up in the hospital." He snapped while glaring at her with what seemed to be a mix of concern and anger. This took us all aback for a moment. Even Kaguya was taken by surprise at this, for her eyes were wide with shock. However, she overcame it much easier than the rest of us for she narrowed her eyes and gave a frustrated sigh.
"But I didn't." she replied, matching his glare head on just like how I usually did with Naru.
Looking at the two I could see them as like an old married couple bickering over something random like Monk and Ayako usually did. It was actually kinda cute and I began to wonder if it was like that when Naru and I argued too. 'Please Mai, we're not a couple. The only reason it's cute with Gene and Kaguya is because they're a couple while Monk and Ayako like each other and are too stubborn to admit it. Naru and I aren't cute cause I like him, but he doesn't like me.' I rationalized, shaking my head to rid the slightly depressing thought from my mind.
"Due to the evidence that we have here. Mai, Kaguya, you two are not to be alone in this house."
"Mai, buddy up?" Kaguya asked, raising a brow at me with a smirk on her face. I smiled back and nodded at her plan, very glad I had gotten to know her at school and had the chance to become her friend before all of this.
"Sure."
"There you go Naru, taken care of. Now we won't be alone." She said with a smug smile on her lips.
"That wasn't what I meant. You two need to be under the super vision of spiritualists."
"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Hold the phone. Are you telling me that we need to be babysat?" she spat, a look of disbelief on her face. A smug smirk spread across Naru's lips that sent a shiver up my spine. Cautiously I looked over at Kaguya and saw that her disbelief turned into a harsh glare. It was in that moment that I realized that Naru didn't like Kaguya, why, I don't know, but he just didn't like her, and he voiced it in his own special way.
"In short, yes."
"Naru, come on, we don't need the constant watch!" I said, butting in before Kaguya had a chance to have a go at him. Luckily I also noticed that Gene had a tight hold on her as well, most likely feeling the animosity between the two as well.
"Yes you do. Need I remind you of what happened not even ten minutes ago?" he asked, making me blush at my failure.
"But that was one time." I whined, not liking how after a little attack I get bodyguards. In some of our later cases I had gotten beaten up way worse and I was still able to be on my own.
"According to Gene it was one of multiple for Kaguya, and knowing your history it is only the beginning for you." He stated, receiving a glare form Kaguya which he simply brushed off.
"Hey, I'm not a helpless child." I snapped, jumping up from my seat on the couch.
"Yet you were as useful as one not too long ago." He said, crossing his arms while glaring at me from his spot on the couch.
"I was not! I did something!" I defended, knowing that I may not have been the strongest member of our team, but I was still capable of protecting myself if needed.
"Yes, you angered the spirit." He said as if he were looking down at me even though I was the one standing while he sat on his big, fat ass.
"Honestly Naru, why do you always look down on me?!" I shouted, feeling tears pricking my eyes from all the frustration that was welling up inside of me.
"Enough." Kaguya interrupted, shocking both Naru and I at her outburst. In our moment of shock she turned to Gene with a defeated look on her face. "Kane, do you think it would be best?" she asked, shocking us all again by her answer. He took a moment to process her question before smiling softly at her and nodding.
"Yes, also it would help my psyche knowing you had some protection." He said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it in a loving manner. She took this into consideration and sighed in defeat at our situation.
"Although I'm not happy about it, I'll agree to the terms." She said, with a tone of voice that clearly stated how unhappy she was with the decision made. From the corner of my eye, I saw Naru smirking at his victory, and it made something snap inside of me, but luckily I was able to hold it in. For now at least. 'Naru is so going to get it when I get a chance to have him one-on-one. I mean seriously, what is up with him and his issue with Kaguya!?' I wondered, eyeing him carefully before returning my attention to my new friend.
"Thank you." Gene said, smiling happily at her before kissing her cheek.
"On one condition that is." She said randomly, making everyone pause. Gene's smile vanished while Naru's glare returned, and what she had to say suddenly became very interesting.
"And what might that be?" Naru asked through his gritted teeth, obviously extremely annoyed by the girl in his brother's arms.
"That you two spend some brother bonding time together. You've been apart for way too long and I think some catching up is in order. Does that sound reasonable?" she asked, eye Naru with a look of superiority. She threw a glance at me and I realized that what she said was true. They did need to bond. They've been separated for four, nearly five, years. And one of them thought the other was dead.
"Works for me." I sighed, sitting back down again. Gene eyed his brother before looking back at Kaguya with a look that made me think that he was trying to figure out how to word everything so that he didn't upset his significant other.
"Kaguya, he doesn't do bonding- he's too-"
"Very well." Naru said, cutting off his brother and surprising us all.
"Huh?" Gene asked, looking at his twin in disbelief, wondering if he had heard right.
"Gene and I will spend some quality time during the case to catch up." He stated, most likely to verify for his brother of what he said. A smile graced Kaguya's features as almost all the animosity that she had against Naru melted away.
"Great, now who wants to go with me to the kitchen so that I can clean up and finish making dinner?" she asked, jumping up from her seat and clapping her hands together.
"I'll go." I volunteered, wanting to get away from this all together.
"Lin." Naru called, making him snap his head up from the monitors that were placed before him.
"Yes?"
"Go with them." He ordered, catching me off guard.
"Huh, why Lin? I thought you would send Monk or John, or even Ayako, not Lin." I said, voicing my question as Lin stood from his seat.
"Hey!" said priestess complained, obviously not happy with how I had put in the 'or even' part about her. Rubbing the back of my head, I smiled awkwardly back at her.
"Sorry Ayako." I apologized, only receiving a huff from her in response.
"Lin already knows the details of the case." He explained, making me stop and think for a moment before nodding in understanding.
"Oh, alright then." As we moved to the door Kaguya looked at the tall man approaching us and bowed down to him in respect.
"So uh, nice to meet you Lin-"
"Koujo." He finished. A light shone in her eyes at the name and instantly I remembered that she had told me that she spoke Chinese in class earlier today.
"Nǐ shì zhōngguó rén rènhé jīhuì ne?" she asked, making everyone, even Naru and Lin for once, look at her as if she had just said that Naru was gay and wearing pink boxers. A small smile curved onto Lin's lips as he nodded back to her.
"Shì." He responded almost breathlessly.
"Wǒ xīwàng wǒ méiyǒu xiàzhe nǐ. Zhè zhǐshì yīgè màncháng de shíjiān, yīnwèi,wǒ yǐjīng nénggòu jiāotán de rén zài zhōngguó." She said, a happy smile on her face as the twinkle in her eye grew along with the excited vibe that she was now giving off.
"Wǒ zhīdào nǐ de gǎnshòu." He said, in a tone that sounded like he had agreed with her on something.
"Lin, Japanese." Naru said, pinching the bridge of his nose and also breaking the spell the trance that the two had been in.
"Please." Gene begged, rubbing his temples while having a desperately confused expression on his face.
"Sorry, we'll be going now." Kaguya said, blushing slightly at this before, turning around and taking her leave of the room. Quickly Lin and I followed after her as a comfortable silence filled the air. Eventually after a while of walking in it I got bored and turned my attention onto a still surprised Lin.
"So Lin, how does it feel to have someone you can speak your native language to?" I asked, watching as his eye lit up like they did when he first heard her speak it.
"To tell the truth, it's a joy I never expected to experience in Japan." He said, with his softer side shining through. A small smile made its way onto my lips, glad to have the chance to see it, for it was a rare sight indeed. Almost as rare as Naru's true smiles.
"Well I'm glad to make your day." She replied, now having a slight bounce to her step as we made our way down the hall.
"Gene made a well-made choice in choosing you. Now all that's left is for Noll to make one." He said, smiling proudly at her as if he were a proud father.
Kaguya realized this and blushed slightly while looking up at him with a wistful look that I could easily understand. It was a look I had given Monk and Ayako many times, for it was the look of seeing them as a parent figure. It made me happy to see her making a connection to the group already, but what Lin had said was over taking my mind as it made my heart leap painfully, knowing that I will never be that choice.
"Yeah, well they'll all be wrong unless it's Mai here." She stated in an irritated tone while jabbing her thumb at me.
"Eh?!" I said, just about ready to deny it before Lin chuckled at her statement.
"I agree." He added, making my jaw drop at the information that was being presented to me.
"Eh?! You too Lin-san?" I exclaimed, while getting the feeling that I was going to get ganged up on in the near, very near, future.
"Well it is obvious." Kaguya sighed, shrugging her shoulders at me as if I were a hopeless case.
"Is not."
"It is Mai-san." Lin stated, making me look at him in utter disbelief.
"Lin, I thought you were supposed to be on my side?" I questioned, only to get a chuckle in response.
"I am." He said, reassuring me even though I wasn't convinced.
"Doesn't seem like it." I pouted, crossing my arms while glaring at the two companions I was currently with.
"So, how long have they been going around in circles like this?" she asked, no longer regarding me, most likely due to my pouting, and tuning her attention onto Lin.
"Four years."
"You've got to be kidding me." She whined, looking back at me and then him in awe.
"If only I were." He sighed, shaking his head at the entire situation between Naru and I.
"That's it, if you two are gonna talk about this then I'm going back to base." I said, finally getting fed up with their talking about my non-existent love-life with Naru as if I weren't even there in the first place.
"Very well." Lin said, making no move to stop me as I turned and headed back down the hall where we had came from.
"Try not to fight with the boss man now." Kaguya called, making me smirk at her comment since she probably knew full well by now that, that wasn't going to happen. When I finally got back to the door I was about to open it when it suddenly did so on its own, revealing John behind door number one.
"Mai-chan, you're back already, where are Lin-san and Kaguya-chan." John asked, looking behind me and down the hall with a curious look.
"Kaguya and Lin-san stared to speak in Chinese and I decided to come here before I got a headache." I explained, walking past him and sitting back down on the couch where I was a few moments ago next to Gene.
"Makes sense, after all your small, feeble mind can only take in so much at one time." Naru stated, making my head snap over to the direction to where he was.
All that I could say was that he was very lucky that he was sitting over by the monitors and away from my arm's reach. I doubt that I would actually do anything, but it was still good to have him a fair distance away incase my temper took me a little overboard like it did Ayako. 'He's just lucky I have better control over my anger and that I don't have a purse.' I thought, imagining all the evil I could have done to him had I been a bit more like my mother-figure in this group.
"What'd you say?!" I yelled, my temper from before flaring up as the insults from before resurfaced in my mind along with what he had just said.
"Now, now you two, don't fight." John said, trying to intervene. However, it just feel upon my own death ears as I planned out how to get back at Naru always teasing me.
"John." Naru said, pinching the bridge of his nose once again.
"Right, sorry." He replied heading out the door before anything else could be said. I sighed at this and shook my head not even sure what to say to him about his manners, or lack thereof, anymore.
"Wow, you two really do get along well." Gene said randomly out of the blue. Naru and I looked at him for a moment as if he were nuts, but I then shoo it off as Naru sighed in annoyance.
"I think you need to look up what getting along means in the dictionary before you say that Kane-kun." He said, accenting his brother's nickname in a teasing manner. Almost immediately I saw a tickmark on Gene's forehead while a tense smile was stretched on his face.
"Oh don't be like that Naru-chan." He teased back, using my own nickname for him as his arsenal. Naru glared at his brother before sighing and sitting back down across form him.
"So tell me how did you get such a ridiculous nickname as Kane?"
"She took the Ka- and –ne from Kazune, but then switched it up a bit once she found out I was really Gene." He said, shrugging it off since it really had no other meaning unlike Naru's.
"So the Ka- from Kazune and –ne from Gene?" I asked, making sure that I got the switch-up part right. Gene smiled gently at me and nodded, making a smile of my own decorate my face.
"Yep."
"Good job Mai, you were able to deduce something." Naru said in a sarcastic tone with his typical smirk painted on his lips.
"Hey! At least I'm trying here!" I defended, not liking how he always belittled me no matter what I did. Even if I did something right he would still do it just to piss me off.
"And you did a good job." Gene said, taking my attention right off of his twin and onto his radiant smile.
"Thanks Gene. I'm glad someone appreciates me." I said, smiling happily while sending a quick glare to said someone.
"So tell me brother, how did you get your nickname?" he asked, making Naru go a bit ridged before turning away and staring at the open, little, black book in his hand.
"Ask the genius over there."
"Hey!" I defended, pouting at his statement, knowing full well that he meant it as an insult instead of a compliment.
"So Mai-chan, why did you deem Noll here Naru?" Gene asked, keeping the conversation going instead of letting me get side tracked by Naru again. Suddenly pride and the need for revenge filled me as I looked up at Naru with a satisfying smirk.
"Because he's Naru-chan the narcissist!"
Gene took a moment to process what I said and then like a switch had been flipped he went from quiet and calculating to full on hysteria. He had doubled over laughing and pointed at Naru. Taking a good look at Naru, I saw a very faint blush on his cheeks as he closed his eyes in embarrassment and for once I actually felt bad for him. However, it quickly faded since it was Naru that we were talking about here.
"That suits you perfectly brother." Gene said, snickering at Naru's expense. Naru then sent a glare at me, most likely cursing my name for giving him such a nickname and the need to find a new conversation topic became my number one goal.
"So um, where's Monk and Ayako?" I asked, feeling the cold sweat running down my neck as Naru's glare continued to burn holes in my head until he sighed and looked away.
"I sent them off to adjust the microphones and cameras in the hallways to face out towards the ocean to see if we could pick anything up."
"Oh, makes sense." I said, already figuring out that John was sent on a mission of his own since he was already on his way out when I had came in.
"I meant to ask, but are those two usually so quite?" Gene questioned looking between us while he waited for an answer. I rose a brow at this and turned to Naru, only to see his nose buried in his book. Typical.
"You mean they weren't arguing?" I asked, deciding to just clarify with Gene and deem if it was normal behavior or not instead of asking the oversized ego across from us.
"Nope, quite as Naru usually is." He smirked, jabbing his thumb over at him.
"Funny." Naru said, glancing up from his book.
"I thought so." Gene said, placing his head in his hand while grinning happily at his younger twin. Watching the two interact made me smile and realize just how human Naru actually was even when he was still being Naru.
"I think I can understand why they were quite." I said, smiling softly at the two of them. Both twins stopped and stared at one another before looking at me with a raised brow.
"Why?" they asked simultaneously, making me sweatdrop at the stereotype that they were proving to be right about twins.
"Because it's strange for us to see Naru talking so much and pretty funny to watch you two fight." I explained, giggling at their reactions of confusion.
"I don't think it's funny, unless it's cause Naru's funny looking. Then I could understand." Gene said, again sending a smirk over to his brother.
"Let me remind you that I'm not the one that has piercings in ridiculous places." Naru said, stating once more his distaste for his older brother's choices on how he treated his body.
"True, but I at least smile and don't have frown lines." Gene responded, flashing said smile to help him prove his point.
"I do not have frown lines." Naru defended, giving an expression that almost could have been deemed as pouting if he hadn't still kept part of his indifferent mask up.
"Not yet, but you will." Gene said sureness in his voice while he nodded at his own statement.
"At least it won't look bad like those piercings will in twenty years. At least you didn't get a tattoo." Naru said, sighing a bit in relief for that fact.
"Well not yet anyway." His brother added, sticking his tongue out so that his piercing could be seen. Immediately Naru got defensive and glared right at his brother's playful smirk.
"Oh no you are not getting one!"
"And who's gonna stop me?" Gene asked, looking with an amused expression at his brother.
"I am." Naru stated, crossing his arms and giving Gene a look that just dared him to try it.
"Last time I checked I was the older brother." He said, smirking at his good luck.
"By two freaking minutes!" Naru shouted, starting a whole new round of arguing between the two.
Sitting back I watched, entertained by their bickering. This continued on and on for the rest of the time and even lasted past dinner. The two were so caught up in their arguments they didn't notice when everyone came in. It was pretty funny to see in all honesty. To anyone else outside of the group, if they had seen this they might think that they hated each other, but since we knew them, we saw that through their arguing they were making up for lost time. Truly happy to be reunited with their other half and they were just showing it in their own special way.
Me: This. Took. FOREVER!
Gene: The translations to the Chinese can be found below.
Naru: Nǐ shì zhōngguó rén rènhé jīhuì ne?-Do you speak Chinese?
Shì-Yes
Wǒ xīwàng wǒ méiyǒu xiàzhe nǐ. Zhè zhǐshì yīgè màncháng de shíjiān, yīnwèi,wǒ yǐjīng nénggòu jiāotán de rén zài zhōngguó.- I hope I didn't startle you. It's just been a long time since, I've be able to talk to someone in Chinese.
Wǒ zhīdào nǐ de gǎnshòu.-I know how you feel.
Mai: Please Review! XD