gomen this took so long! but on the upside my spring break started so i should be able to update faster yayness!
disclaimer: i don't own anything other than coming up with the idea to use the plotline for this anime
'Risky. Very very risky.' Mai thought as she bit the end of the pen cap in her mouth. She was currently fiddling with ideas on a piece of notepad paper. Due to being annoyingly ordered to hand over her personal notebook she was using the one the hotel provided with the room. She'd been a bit reluctant to hand over the personal notebook because it was something private but there was nothing really to worry about because it was a fresh one; completely clean of all the notes and doodles she'd been known to create in the margins. That and she knew that if she didn't hand it over Naru would try to take it out of her hands and since Mai knew she was a klutz sometimes she'd end up putting them in a very awkward and compromising situation.
Currently, Naru was reviewing the notes she'd made on the last clue while he'd been outside on the phone. When he'd come back inside he'd been very insistent on going somewhere they could think privately, so they rented another hotel room. It was far less decorated then the previous room they'd gotten, but Naru thought it would be in the best interest not to play the Taniyama card again unless it was absolutely necessary. Instead they paid in cash, much to the wariness and surprise of the clerk and had been able to manage an early check-in.
'Very risky' Mai's thoughts repeated as she glanced over at Naru. His position on the bed wasn't lolling, but it wasn't as though he was sitting stark upright against the headboard either. Initially, Naru had sat over to the side so Mai could share thoughts with him, but Mai just couldn't bring herself to be near him at the moment without worrying that she'd become beet red for one reason or another. Mai had excused herself to the bathroom and had gone to the desk right after coming out. Naru had merely glanced up but didn't comment.
"Any ideas yet?" Mai asked while turning to face the wall. Naru looked at her for a moment.
"None that seem very probable at the moment." Was his reply. His eyes fell back to the notebook and Mai had to fight down a blush as he shifted to make himself more comfortable. Mai knew you'd either have to be blind, blinded by love, or just plain idiotic not to notice that Naru was handsome. Mai also knew that every other woman they came across thought the exact same thing. But was it really necessary for the clerk to mention so while he was within hearing range? His ego was already the size of a mountain; did it really need to be fed anymore? Thankfully Naru didn't mention anything if he heard the comment. Mai was relieved at the fact but now her thoughts were completely crowded with the sudden addition thrust into her life that was Kazuya Shibuya/Oliver Davis/Naru.
Before when Naru had made those narcissistic comments about being attractive she'd brushed them off without batting an eye. But ever since someone other than Naru himself had said that he was handsome out loud Mai was completely consumed with the fact that she was alone in the company of a very attractive man and that it was getting to her. Naru would have been so pleased if he only knew what was going on in her head at the moment. Mai was usually never the type that lost her nerves around a guy she liked or that she thought was cute, well that was until now.
And now? Now she couldn't even do so much as look at him without blushing and it was starting to get on her nerves.
"Mai, is something wrong?" Naru asked breaking her out of her musing.
"What? Oh yeah everything's fine, why do you ask?" Mai replied once she registered he was talking to her.
"You have been staring blankly at the wall for the past five minutes." Naru informed her.
"I'm fine, just a little frustrated that we haven't figured out the clue yet." Mai answered. Then she realized something. "Wait a minute. You've been watching me for the past five minutes?" she asked looking over at him.
Thank god Naru was now so adept at keeping his mask in place no one could tell any of his emotions. Otherwise he would've been blushing like a fool. It wasn't just like he could tell her that he thought her pensive face was cute and was only watching to see it. She'd tease him to no end if she found that out.
"I looked up about five minutes ago to see you staring at the wall before resuming my thought process. When I looked up again you were in the exact same position, indicating you hadn't moved at all." Naru managed to reply coolly.
"oh." Mai mumbled in response.
Naru looked over at her as she now shifted to look down at her notepad. If he hadn't been mistaken earlier the one in her voice when she answered him was; disappointment? He wondered what was wrong with her. Was she just worried over her family? Concerned by the fact that the clues they were getting seemed endless and unsolvable? Wait, that had to be it. Silently Naru slid off the bed and walked up behind Mai. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder; Mai nearly jumped five feet in response.
"Sorry, you just scared me, that's all." Mai told him turning around.
"The action was intended to reassure you, not make you worry even more." Naru replied. He placed the hand that had been retracted when she jumped back on her shoulder, Mai's eyes watching as it did so. Then they moved back to his face. "We'll figure this out Mai." He told her giving the shoulder a small squeeze. Mai shut her eyes and shivered a little at the action.
Naru noticed this and placed another hand on her other shoulder. Then the first caught her chin and forced Mai to look at him. Their eyes locked, and Mai found herself unable to breath. If she'd been paying attention she would have noticed Naru going through something similar. Mai realized that this was probably her turn to make some sort of a move, she had no idea of what to do but she knew she wanted to do something very badly. Then an image of her parents flashed and Mai forced herself to break the contact.
"I'm sorry." She told him unable to explain what she was sorry for. She felt only heavy guilt in her heart that she was having semi-inappropriate thoughts about Naru when her family was in danger.
"There is nothing to apologize for." Naru replied. He himself was at a loss as to what possessed him to do that.
"Not trying to interrupt or anything…" Gene started.
"But you're going to anyway." Naru finished.
"Alright idiot scientist, have it your way but don't you think you should apologize to her?" Gene replied.
"What for?" Naru asked.
"Hmm, let's see… oh yeah, you were pulling a fast one." Gene informed him.
"That wasn't me." Naru argued.
"Then who was it Noll?" Gene asked. "Because I saw you, not anybody else, you; getting ready for something. But I'm not sure of what."
"It must have been the hormones." Naru replied.
"Sure it was." Gene replied. Naru could practically see his brother rolling his eyes.
"Besides, Mai already has a boyfriend." Naru informed his brother somewhat bitterly. He'd never met Yasu, but he already didn't like him.
A knock at the door spurred Naru and Mai out of their awkward silence and Naru out of his internal debate with his brother. Naru looked at Mai and saw her cinnamon brown eyes start to fill with fear. He felt this protective urge in him flare and, taking one of his throwing knives out of his coat pocket, strode to the door with light footsteps.
"Can we help you?" Naru asked, keeping a small distance from the thin wooden cover.
"Room service." Replied an overly perky and polite male voice that could never belong to Yoshino.
"I'm sorry, but we didn't order anything." Naru told the man on the other side of the door.
"Are you sure?" the man asked. "I had an order for a rare steak, mashed potatoes, and a Cesar salad."
"We didn't order anything." Naru repeated.
There was a moment of silence.
"Then I must be on the wrong floor, sorry to disturb you." The hotel employee said before walking away.
"I can't believe some people actually eat like that." Mai commented after the lackey was gone.
"Like what?" Naru asked. "You mean you can't believe that some people prefer their meat practically alive?"
"I used to think it was just beef juice." Mai said giving a shudder. "I just about flipped my lid when my dad told me it was…" she trailed off as realization came over her features. "blood." She finished looking over at Naru. He nodded as he realized the answer to the clue.
"We're looking for the meat packing district." He said the answer aloud.
Mai gave a smile and kissed Naru on the cheek before he could realize what was going on.
"Thank you for everything so far," she told him. "If I didn't know any better though, I'd say you were starting to care about me."
"yes well." Naru replied detachedly, though not because it was his mask. It was because something in him snapped when Mai kissed him on the cheek and his mind was sent reeling. "Do you know where in the meat packing district we're supposed to go?"
"Good question," Mai said grabbing her bag and sitting on the sole bed in the room. She looked at the clue written in the notebook and the map of the area she'd pulled up on her PDA. "Maybe…" she thought aloud, and then bit her lip in thought. She looked up to where she last saw Naru standing only to find empty space. Turning her head to the side revealed Naru sitting right beside her, and Mai nearly jumped from realization. How on earth was he able to sit beside her without making the bed shift? More importantly what was with the two centimeters of elbow room? Naru gave a condescending look as though sensing the things she wanted to ask. Oh how she wanted to hit him right now.
"You were saying." Naru prompted.
"Hn? Oh right." Mai replied. "Like I was saying before; I think that the first three lines refer to the general area."
"So the last three lines are more specific." Naru ventured.
"And though royalty does not reside there." Mai read off. "Start by browsing under her name. It's the only place where you'll find Fame."
"Odd. The word fame is capitalized; I think that means we're looking for something called fame." Naru observed.
"I guess you know what this means." Mai told him.
Naru almost grimaced. "Shopping. Do you know of any stores named fame?"
"How would I?" Mai asked him as she got up off the bed.
"Past study of girl's likes and dislikes. Shopping is very high up on the likes list." Naru remarked.
"And because of that you make the assumption that I like shopping?" Mai asked.
"Yes."
"Very bad assumption, but I do like to shop occasionally." Mai replied. She could practically see Naru's smug smirk. "I know on the inside you're smirking because you think you've won. Knock it off, because I have no idea if there's a store called fame there." She told him.
"Well there are more than just stores in the district." Naru said getting up as well. "Maybe one of the nightclubs is called fame."
"I doubt it but I won't say you're wrong because I don't go down there often. It's too expensive."
"Well, you're completely sure that the next clue is in the meatpacking district?" Naru asked. Mai nodded. "Then we'll only find it for certain if we go down there."
A perk of living in such a big metropolitan city such as D.C was that people didn't mind helicopters flying around in the middle of the day. It was only when a chopper or plane didn't arrive on time without notice that people freaked out. Be that as it may it was also nice to have a friend who could pull strings at a local transportation department so you could have a ride anywhere at any time.
"Do you know how much you will owe me when all this is over?" Madoka asked for about the fifteenth time that day.
"I'm sure I have a pretty good idea." Lin told her.
"I'm serious Lin; you might as well just sign the rights to your first born child over to me. And that won't even be the beginning of my payment for this." Madoka replied.
"How about I buy you a diamond ring instead?" Lin asked.
Madoka went from mid-rant to red as a tomato. "Why…you! Just get ready to speak with my friend okay."
"Alright." Lin replied as they made their way to a small metropolitan airspace. A man at the front door of one of the hangers caught sight of them and started running.
"Madoka!" he cried.
"Willy!" Madoka called back as he wrapped her up in a big hug. When he let go, Madoka gestured to Lin. "willy, this is my good friend Lin. Lin; this is one of my best friends William."
"Nice to meet you." William replied to Lin. "you can just call me Willy though, everyone does."
He led them in from the earlier drizzle that was now growing heavier.
"So." Willy said as sat down behind his desk. "Madoka said you wanted to talk about something on the phone. Is there anything I can do for you?" Lin opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a phone ringing. Willy looked at them. "Excuse me for a moment." He said getting up and walking out of the room.
"Well, he's certainly" Lin paused trying to find the right word. "Interesting?"
Madoka smacked him. "Be nice." She hissed as Willy came back into the room.
"Sorry about that." Willy said apologetically. "So what can I do you for?"
"Lin needs a ride to new York city." Madoka replied quickly.
"No problem." Willy said cheerfully. "When did you want to go up?"
"Within the hour if possible." Lin replied.
Willy stopped taking out the flight book and pen. "You're kidding, right?"
"No." Lin said shortly. "But I wouldn't ask if there wasn't a problem."
"What's wrong?" Willy asked.
"A friend is in trouble." Lin replied vaguely. "More than I think he realizes."
Willy studied the two for a moment. "I do hope you realize that I can't send a chopper out at will right? There has to be a set schedule because if you're in unauthorized airspace you're gonna get some serious trouble."
"I understand completely." Lin answered.
Willy gave a pensive look. "Okay, I'm going to make some calls and see what I can do for you guys. But no guarantees alright?"
Madoka beamed. "Willy, thank you so much!"
Willy waved it off. "You guys should get back to work. I'll call you if I can arrange something."
"Thanks again Willy." Madoka said as she and Lin exited the room.
"No problem." He waited until their footsteps faded to pick up the phone and dial a memorized number. "Kojou's on the move." Was all he said before a click and static told him the other person had disconnected.
Mai sighed, they had opted to take the subway to get to the meat packing district but it seemed like it was taking forever, especially since as the seconds ticked they took the chances of being able to rescue Kasai and her parents with them.
"Don't look now, but you seem to have acquired an admirer Mai." Naru whispered to her.
Mai looked up to see and older gentlemen sitting across from them staring at Mai like she was a piece of meat he was going to buy and devour. She fought down the urge to scowl at both the man and Naru. "Just focus." She hissed.
"I am." Naru replied putting an arm around her shoulder and bringing her closer. He couldn't explain why, but he felt this bigger surge of bitter rage towards the man across from him than he did with Yasu. Probably because of the way the man was looking at his Mai.
Wait a minute, his Mai? Where did that come from. At any rate, he probably still would have been mad even if it wasn't Mai that the man was staring at. Naru might not have liked all women he came in contact with, but he had enough class not to eye them up like a lecherous pervert.
Thankfully Mai shifted to rest more comfortably against him and that kept the pervert's wandering eyes away from them.
"Any ideas yet?" Naru asked.
"No, I keep thinking of the shops I know and nothing seems to fit the bill." Mai replied.
"Just calm down, it will come to us in time." Naru told her.
"I know, I have faith in you." Mai informed him.
"I have complete faith in my ability to get through this. The person I'm slightly more worried about is you." He replied.
"Nice to know you have faith in me too." Mai retorted. "But why are you worried about me?"
"I might not know every minute detail about you Mai, but you are an open book."
"How so?"
"Well when something bothers you; the first thing you do is pout, then you worry, but you usually bounce back pretty quickly."
"R-really? It's that easy to see?" Mai squeaked turning red.
"Yes, but it could be considered cute to anyone else." Naru replied.
"And just what is it to you then?" Mai asked.
"Annoying." Naru answered bluntly. "But necessary to know that you are still functioning normally."
"hmph." Mai grunted. "Well it's not like there's anything wrong with this but you seem to be neutral no matter what kind of situation you're in."
"Part of the job as a field agent is to school your features so you don't let people know you're afraid. If they know that then they have the upper hand."
"I'm not trying to pry but it feels like you're speaking from past experience." Mai told him.
"Once being a child, the imagination often gets the better of you. Being afraid of a monster you create means it's more likely to manifest itself somewhere in your life." Naru replied.
"But it happens, and after all; if we didn't we wouldn't be human." Mai bantered.
"How do you think so?" Naru asked her.
"I might not remember everything from all my college classes, but the one thing that always stuck out to me was the fact that the only thing that sets us apart from animals is our ability to think and rationalize." Mai answered. "More importantly, you chose not to show fear so it doesn't get the better of you."
"And now you're making it sound so simple." Naru informed her.
"The English major in me." Mai replied. "I was always taught that at the root of absolutely everything was some form of basic human nature. Yours being the classic but not famous struggle between fearful emotion and heartless courage."
"Can you hear yourself Mai?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth." Mai replied flatly.
"I didn't think it sounded crazy, I was just surprised you had actually used your brain." Naru responded as the train slowed to a stop. "Here we are."
The two got out and Naru grabbed Mai's wrist as they headed to the exit. Mai wrote it off as Naru assuring she didn't get separated from him and broke the grip once they hit the street. She ignored the slight eye-widening from Naru. Before leaving the hotel Mai resolved that she wouldn't let the fact Naru made butterflies appear in her stomach dominate her thoughts. Her parents were most important right now and she needed to focus completely on that.
"Come on Naru, this way." Mai told him pointing in the direction where she knew quite a few high end stores resided.
Naru followed shoving his hands into his pockets. While Mai looked around at the shops he kept an eye out for Yoshino or the unknown assassin that had attacked them earlier. As Mai window-shopped she often saw something she really liked. After the third time she sighed about wishing she could afford one of the objects she coveted Naru was close to scoffing.
"Mai, I didn't think your brain cells were so damaged that you forgot the fact that you're one of the wealthiest people under the age of twenty-five. If you had the mind to you could probably buy most of these stores." Naru told her.
"Mai Taniyama could. Unfortunately, Mai Matsuzaki is on a strict budget. Besides, Yasu would get suspicious if I came home with stuff from these types of stores."
"Why not hide them then?"
"Why buy clothes if you're never going to wear them?" Mai asked in response.
"I might be a genius when it comes to the paranormal, but one mystery I don't think the world will ever solve is the mystery of girl's affection for their clothes."
"Yeah I know." Mai looked through a window and let out a heavy sigh. "I love this store."
"Do I dare ask why?"
Mai shrugged. "No real reason at all. I just think Alexandria Kingsleigh has really great taste." She stopped short and looked over at Naru. Then grabbed his arm and dragged him through the doors. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before, I have a daily update alert on her latest fashion designs."
"Kingsleigh, it's a perfect fit." Naru muttered under his breath. "We need to find something in here called fame. Do you know of it?"
"Nothing in mind yet, but look around; they might have something on one of the racks." Mai replied. "I'm going to ask at the front desk."
Sitting behind the desk was an immaculately dressed saleswoman probably close to twice Mai's own age. She gave the pair a flawlessly trained smile. "Welcome, what can I do for you?"
"We were looking for a product called fame." Mai told her.
"Fame… oh! You must mean the special package." The woman went to the back for a moment and returned with a carefully wrapped box. "Of course I'll need some identification." She told them placing the box beneath the counter.
"Oh, what name is it under?" Mai asked.
"Excuse me?" the woman asked with her politeness becoming less believable.
"Well, um I, I was divorced recently and I just-"
"I highly doubt it's under your name." the woman cut Mai off. She glanced at Naru quickly before resuming focus on Mai. That was what made Mai think it was under a man's name.
"Could it be under your ex's name darling?" Naru asked.
"I really doubt that sweetheart." Mai replied throwing in her own term of endearment as payback.
"Well, I suppose it is a problem since I wasn't completely sure if you were giving out his name or mine as your significant other at the time." He explained. Then he turned to the clerk and gave a polite smile that Mai instantly recognized as fake. "Matters such as these are so complicated now-a-days aren't they?" he lamented. "Who's with whom and who broke up with whom and such." He leaned slightly closer. "Do you remember who placed the order?"
"Aah, let me check. Just a moment please." The woman said going from perky clerk to love-sick teen in a matter of mere seconds. As she check the computer and Mai silently admitted that Naru was a real woman charmer. Precisely one second after this she vowed not to let him do it to her. "Oh, I'm sorry but it doesn't say." The woman told them.
"What I'm going to assume happened was that my dear little fiancée ordered this package quite a while back and can't seem to remember what name she placed it under. Since divorces are such messy affairs so I believe she reserved under my name so he ex-husband wouldn't know she was still using his money." Naru rationalized.
The woman sobered under the admission that the two were "together". "And your name would be?"
"Kazuya Shibuya." Naru replied.
"ID please." The clerk said as the polite intonation returned. Naru handed her an ID that gave the alias he was now working under since 'Oliver Davis' had been killed.
"Very good Mr. Shibuya." The clerk said returning the Id and handing the package along with it. "Have a good day and thank you for shopping here at Alexandria Kingsleigh's ."
Naru gave another politely fake smile, said his thanks, and steered Mai out of the shop. Only when they hit the pavement did Mai let out the breath she'd been holding.
"I'm very pleased with the choice of names they picked." Naru said.
"Why?"
"It was the name that I used when I dealt with that case in Japan. I don't really like publicity if you haven't noticed yet." Naru paused for a moment. "Also, if that had been the wrong name I think the clerk wouldn't have handed over the package so easily."
"Good thing you're quick on your feet like that." Mai commented. "Though I do think we're rushing things a bit."
"What do you mean by that?"
"At six o 'clock this morning we didn't even know of each other's existence, by nine we were boyfriend and girlfriend, and now we're engaged to be married. I think for right now we should just stick with being friends right now." Mai said snickering at the end.
"Very funny Mai."
"If I'm not funny then what good am-" she froze before uttering the last word. Swiftly and silently she latched onto Naru's arm and pulled him back in the store.
"What's wrong Mai?" Naru asked in a low voice.
"It's that girl from before." Mai practically hissed through her teeth.
"The woman from the park?"
"Yes." Mai replied not bothering to get mad at the correction he made.
"Is there anything wrong?" the woman from before asked.
"Pardon me for asking but do you happen to have a rear exit?" Naru asked as he pulled Mai close to him and kept and arm around her.
"Yes we do for fire hazards and protocol like that but it's for employees only." The woman replied.
"It would be much appreciated if we could use it." Naru told her. "I happen to have a very possessive and jealous ex-girlfriend who's just outside the store. My fiancée has been threatened by her before so we had to get a restraining order against her. Right now I believe it would be a clear violation of the document."
The woman quietly gasped as she took into account Mai's frightened face and the paleness of her already white skin. "Oh my. Do you want me to call the police?"
Naru shook his head. "It would be better for us and the establishment if we just left as quickly and inconspicuously as possible."
"well I'm not entirely sure I can do that…" the woman trailed.
"if you would like, feel free to open an account under my name. I can assure you we'll come back often and give you enough commission to pay for this little favor." Naru was ready to say just about anything to keep that right-wing nut job from catching them.
The woman was impressed and quickly led them to a door marked 'employees only'. It led to an alley way.
"Thank you so much for that." Mai said jogging to keep up with Naru's strides. He stopped short, grabbed her wrist and didn't let go until they were a good distance away from the store. "I'm going to need a big pot of tea after all we've gone through today." Naru put his hand to his mouth to hide the small smile, he'd been expecting her to name an expensive brand of alcohol or something, but not that.
"I do believe you're right. A little rest will settle our nerves a bit and there's a small café right over there." He told her once more taking her wrist and walking briskly.
Upon entering he let go and went to stand in line.
"Would you like something?" he asked her.
Mai shook her head. "Just water please." She said taking a seat at a table near the back and pulling out her PDA. She'd pulled up the site when Naru returned, two hot drinks in hand.
"Anything yet?" Naru asked before taking a sip of his drink.
"A new link." Mai answered flashing him the screen. "An address and what appear to be numbers in a nonsensical order."
Naru took another look at the screen. "There's letters there too Mai. This address appears to be near Penn station."
"Hmm…" Mai tapped the PDA a couple times. "Says here it's Madison square garden."
"So then the numbers and letters are section, row and seat." Naru responded.
Mai pulled up a map of the enclosed arena. "I'd say you're right on the money." She took a sip from the cup Naru got her and was surprised to find that it was herbal tea. She looked up and saw him glancing at her over the rim of the lid. She looked away with a slight pink tingeing her cheeks.
"Well, if we're going to visit Madison square garden we might as well pay Sakauchi a visit. He hasn't called me back and he hasn't responded to the email from earlier. It's not normal to say the least."
"You think he might be involved with all this?"
"With him you never know for sure, he can be very difficult to figure out at times." Naru answered getting up. "Come on, let's go."
The two got up and caught a train towards the garden. They decided to open the box and there, nestled inside was a small lantern shaped bottle.
"I didn't know Kingsleigh had a perfume line." Mai said plucking the bottle out of the box. She looked down into the empty space and saw another hitogata. "Ah, just a cover if anyone opened the box before us."
"Clever deduction." Naru remarked.
Mai sighed and put the bottle back in the box, pulling the hitogata out instead. "This just doesn't make sense Naru. I mean we're placing objects that look like dolls that are used for cursing all around the city randomly. Something about this whole setup doesn't feel right."
"True." Naru said an octave lower so she'd get the hint to quiet down.
After getting off the train the two headed to the arena in silence. Mai worrying over her parents, and Naru talking with Gene about trying to find where Kasai and the others were.
At the entrance they noticed a security guard standing watch.
"So, how do you plan on getting us in?" Mai asked observing the guard's actions.
"And you're asking me this because…?" Naru replied.
"Aren't you the one with all the brilliant ideas today?" Mai asked.
"As much as I appreciate being called brilliant, I've never been in this type of a situation before since I've always had clearance wherever I go. It appears we'll have to rely on your own wit to get through this." Naru told her.
"Uggh. Fine." Mai gritted her teeth and walked over to the front desk. The girl there said nothing and called the guard at the door over.
He looked like a mix of English and some sort of Latin-American descent; it was hard to tell exactly where because the European English dominated his features. His black-brown eyes settled on Mai and they made her look like an object at an auction, one he was going to buy at any cost.
"Hello, I'm Manny." the guard introduced himself. "Can I help you with something?"
Naru muttered a silent; 'here we go' and ignored the glare Mai sent him.
"Actually there is. I think I left something in the stadium and I was wondering if we could go in and look for it." Mai gave Manny a flirtatious smile.
"Hmm, have you checked the lost and found yet?" Manny asked returning Mai's smile with one of his own.
"Yes." Naru said flatly. "It wasn't there." He lied.
"Well if it wasn't at the lost and found then the chances of finding it at your seats are pretty slim." Manny said regretfully.
"Oh." Mai replied letting her face droop forward ever so slightly.
"However," Manny responded almost immediately. "I can take you to your seats and let you check."
"Really? Oh thank you so much!" Mai practically squealed. Naru glowered as Manny grinned at Mai, simply because Naru knew what that grin meant and he was pretty sure that Mai didn't.
Mai went on to tell Manny where they'd been sitting while Naru trailed somewhat moodily behind.
"You know your friend doesn't have to come with us right?" Manny asked as he and Mai walked along.
"It'd be better to just leave him. He's got big brother syndrome right now." Mai replied.
"A close friend?" Manny asked once more. Mai had to wonder why they were playing a game of twenty questions at the moment but decided to ignore it.
"Yeah, we've known each other since we were little and were just out doing some shopping together. You know; killing some time before going home."
"Shopping?" Manny raised an eyebrow at this.
"yep." Mai answered firmly. Then she leaned closer and whispered; "he's as gay as gay can be." Right now she was fully aware that Naru could hear them and was enjoying this immensely, mostly because she knew Naru would make her pay for it later.
Manny didn't say anything; instead he gave a long hard look at Mai's left hand. Mai noticed but said nothing.
"Here we go." Manny said gesturing to the door they'd reached. He pulled his key ring out and unlocked the door; then ushering Mai, and reluctantly Naru, forward inside.
Mai sent Naru a look before looking down at the hitogata in his hand and back to him. Naru got the message but was starting to regret letting Mai take the lead on this one. However, he said nothing as Mai and Manny flirted blatantly as they walked in front of him. Naru fought the same jealousy that rose in his chest whenever Yasu was mentioned; this was harder since he could actually hit the man he was jealous of at the present moment.
When they reached the seat they were supposed to, Mai made a show of searching under it before standing back up.
"Oh…" she groaned in disappointment. "I thought for sure it would be here."
"I told you the chances of finding it at the seat it was left were slim. Honestly this town is a den of thieves." Many replied.
Much to Naru (and Gene)'s disgust Manny put an arm around Mai to comfort her as he led her forward. Naru lingered back a bit to wedge the hitogata in the space between two of the seats. When he caught up to them Mai was writing down information for the guard. Naru grabbed Mai, gave Manny a polite thank you goodbye, and left as quickly as he could manage.
"You were able to leave it there right?" Mai asked once outside.
"Yes." Naru replied shortly.
"Jeez, what's got your panties in a bunch? Aside from the usual I mean." Mai asked as they walked down the street.
"Nothing, I just didn't think it was a habit of yours to go around and flirt whenever you need something." Naru replied once more.
Mai looked at him and laughed. "Don't tell me you were jealous." She told him. "Besides, you've been flirting with girls all day, but the one time I do it to move forward with the game I get scolded for it? That's not fair and you know it."
"I have not been flirting with all those girls. If anything they've been flirting with me." He caught Mai's speculative look and continued. "It's the truth. Speaking of which, was it really necessary to make the guard think I was gay?"
Mai laughed again. "It was the only way to keep his attention away from you completely. After that, I was able to flirt with him enough so he didn't notice you leave something behind."
"And it would appear you got a date out of the bargain as well." Naru finished.
"What?"
"I arrived just in time to see Manny getting your information. Care to explain that in any other way?"
"Junk email and old cell number." Mai replied. "Believe me, guys like him are the farthest you can get from my type."
"And would that be?" Naru asked.
Mai rolled her eyes. "Japanese doctors with English names that specialize in the field of paranormal research." She said dryly. "There, have I stroked your ego enough for now?"
"No, but for now it will have to do." Naru replied. "But now we should head to Sakauchi's house."
"Fine by me." Mai answered and followed him as he hailed a cab and gave the driver directions. "But are you sure he'll even be there?"
"I can practically guarantee it. Sakauchi never leaves home unless it has to do with the occult. Since I won't tell him any of my cases he has to hack the system to find out himself. He has yet to succeed." Naru replied.
"Don't you think this is breaking a rule? We only have two strikes left." Mai reminded him.
"We'll be absolutely fine involving him." Naru assure her.
"Well, if you're sure…" Mai trailed and went to looking at the scenery.
The cab arrived at the somewhat stately townhouse and Naru went in as if he owned the place. He made a motion to Mai to stay on the porch and left her there for a moment. Mai looked in to see Naru talking to a speaker on one of the walls. When he was finished he made the universal gesture of 'come here' and Mai obediently followed; the door automatically shutting behind her.
"What was all that about?" Mai asked as Naru led he to the basement door.
"Disabling the security traps." Naru answered. "As long as Sakauchi hasn't been fooling around with his burglar alarm we'll be fine." He opened the door
"And if it was changed?" Mai asked looking into the darkness below.
"Stay by my side and it'll be perfectly safe. Besides; you're agile enough aren't you?" Naru responded starting down the stairs.
When they reached the bottom step a whole bunch of flashing lights and weird sounding sirens started up. Naru sighed in annoyance.
"If you're trying to replicate a ghost's wail you're doing a very poor job of it." He called into the darkness of the room.
"Cry me a river." A voice responded as the man Mai could only believe was Sakauchi stepped into the rays of one of the overhanging lights.
"Still as predictable as always Sakauchi." Naru said to the man.
"Yeah, yeah. Wait a minute, it's bad enough when you come here alone, who is this?" Sakauchi asked looking over at Mai.
"A friend of mine, Mai Matsuzaki." Naru replied.
"I thought he was a friend of yours." Mai whispered to Naru.
"I did say it was for lack of a better word." Naru told her.
Sakauchi looked at Mai, then back at Naru. "You're lying to me again." He said.
"Prove it then." Naru answered. "Who do you think she is?"
"Mai Taniyama; heiress to the Taniyama electronics company, run by adoptive parents Ayako and Houshou Takigawa." The other man responded.
"You seem confident." Naru observed.
"I know this for a fact." Sakauchi replied walking over to the computer and pulling up several files. Mai noted that they were all articles that had to do with her family's company and she was in every one, albeit younger then she was now. But the baby face from back then had stuck with her so it was impossible to deny who she was to this man.
"Kind of creepy." Mai commented, because no matter what he said in response it would still be creepy.
"Not really." Sakauchi answered. "I'm a big fan of the company."
"Why? It's a gaming industry, and you're into the occult." Mai replied.
"Clearly you don't know a think about your birth or adoptive parents." Sakauchi observed. "The truth behind it is that every one of the games the Taniyama corp. produces has some theme to the occult. Your birth parents were huge fans of psychic research and often supported the English center for psychic research, run by your parents Oliver, and your adoptive parents are both former exorcists. Ayako was a miko, and Takigawa was a monk. Your entire life revolves around the occult now that I think about it." Sakauchi remarked.
"W-what?" was all Mai could say in response.
"Might be hard to take in but it's the truth." Sakauchi answered. "Trust me; I never lie when it comes to matters of the occult. Your parents were some of the most famous exorcists in the business."
"At any rate," Naru interrupted. "We came here on business, not leisure. So what can you tell me about those pictures I sent you earlier this morning?"
"What pictures?" Sakauchi asked in response.
Mai looked at Naru for a moment. "Can I use your restroom?" she asked.
"Up the stairs and to the left, first door on the right." Sakauchi replied. Mai left the two alone as quickly as she could.
"Alright, now what about those pictures I sent you?" Naru asked once more leaving no room for denial or refusal from Sakauchi.
The other man pulled up the pictures. "It could be something but at the same time it could be nothing at all. If you want a full report on it I'll need some more time to study it more thoroughly." He replied.
"I'll check regularly on you every hour through the phone. So answer it or I will come back here and force you to tell me." Naru told the boy.
"I get it I get it." Sakauchi replied. "The only thing I'm worried about is what you're doing running around New York with Mai Taniyama for."
"Classified information." Naru answered stiffly. "I wish I could tell you more but there are lives at stake so this is the only explanation I can give at the moment."
"Whatever you say." Sakauchi replied as Mai came back downstairs.
"You ready to go Naru?" she asked.
"Yes." He answered going towards the stairway, Sakauchi following behind.
"You have everything you need?" Mai asked.
"I think I'll take an aspirin before we leave. All of today's excitement has given me a headache which isn't good for controlling my powers." Naru replied walking towards the bathroom.
As soon as the door clicked shut Sakauchi turned toward Mai.
"Don't trust Oliver." He spat.
"Why not?" Mai asked in reply.
"Let me guess, the story he told you was that he convicted some crazy teacher of cursing her students and sent her packing right?" Mai nodded. "Only half the story." Sakauchi continued. "After he ousted her out of japan, his brother got his by a car and he went off the deep end too. He works for that crazy lady now and she's the one that's got your parents."
"how do you know about my parents?" Mai asked in a scared whisper.
"there's no time to explain, just remember what I said." Sakauchi replied as Naru came out the door.
"Mai, we're leaving." Naru told her as he walked past. Mai followed without a word.
When they were gone, Sakauchi picked up a phone and dialed a number. "I warned her just like you told me to." He said to what seemed like dead air.
"Good." There was a click and the person on the other end hung up. Now Sakauchi was more confused and worried than ever before.
When they got back to the hotel room Mai simply sat on the lone bed and looked down at her bag.
"I trust you, you know that right?" Mai asked out of the blue. Naru came and stood beside her.
"I know." He replied.
"Today is just insane. And I have no reason to trust you, but I do. Crazy right?" she continued.
"Not at all." Naru said somewhat soothingly.
"Naru, please tell me the truth, who are you?" Mai asked.
"Excuse me?" Naru said raising an eyebrow.
Mai stood suddenly to be more or less at eye level with him. She looked deeply into his eyes and leaned forward. Her lips pressed to his, and Naru's eyes widened. He tried to pull away; out of shock, not disgust, but Mai followed and wrapped an arm around his neck to pull him closer. Before Naru could really do anything to respond in a good or bad way Mai pulled back. Naru found his pistol trained at his heart.
"I'm sorry Naru." Mai said keeping the gun steady. "But I won't go through the hell I went through when I was five. My family comes first and that's all there is to it."
okay i have a request to make. i want to hit at least 45 reviews before i publish the next chapter. since at the moment i have 29 I don't think it's that much to ask. but review as always!