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~Jealousy in the Office~

Chapter 17

Naru watched in amusement at the cute facial expressions Mai was making. He enjoyed watching the different colors that adorned her face. Leaning over, he placed a kiss on her cheek. As predicted, a new shade of red covered her face. She wasn't going to pass out or anything right? He wasn't sure if it was possible but if it was Mai there was always a possibility.

"Mai..." Naru said in a hint of amusement. She avoided looking at him to try to hide her blush.

"Y-yeah?" She stuttered. One more thing should sent her over the top. He thought, inwardly smirking. She was such an easy target.

"I love you." He stated, leaning over to whisper it into her ear. Mai shivered at his words, her eyes widening slightly before she hugged him tightly.

"I love you too." She confessed. Naru gave a half-smile and a half-smirk. Leaning over he pressed his lips to hers gently. The brunette's eyes widened momentarily before she closed them and kissed him back just as softly. She could feel him wrap his arms around her tightly—pulling them closer. Both of them had completely forgotten that Lin was still in the room with them. Coughing he smirked at them.

"As much as I'm relieved you two are finally together, I believe now is not the time." He commented. The two teens immediately broke apart at the sound of his voice. One was beet red while the other one glared.

"No-one's keeping you here." Naru scowled.

"Na-Naru!" Mai stuttered once she scrambled off his lap. He smirked at the embarrassed girl.

"What?" He asked as if nothing had happened. With her face still ablazed, Mai adverted her gaze to her lap. It was hard to look at him without blushing and feeling the need to squeal. Of all the girls he could have had, he chose her. Although Mai still wondered exactly why he chose her. I mean what had changed between when she had confessed before and now?

Sensing her current train of thought Naru placed his hand on hers. She looked back up at him with owl-like eyes. Leaning over he kissed her cheek. He couldn't comfort her the way most people could, but he hoped she understood what he was saying. In return Mai gave him a small smile. Who cared why? After all they were together now and knowing reasons wouldn't change that. She guessed all that really mattered was that they loved each other.

Hearing loud voices she glanced up at the door. It was just her luck to see Monk and John walking back into base. Pouting slightly at the interruption, she watched Naru for a reaction. He just seemed to scowl as they walked in and when Monk grinned.

"So Mai, anything happen?" He asked giving her a knowing look. Mai laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. A small blush still on her cheeks.

"I-I don't know what y-you're talking about." She stuttered, finding her hands extremely interesting.

"Aww, come on. Don't be like that, Mai. You'll make someone sad." Monk teased. John tried his best to try to hide his victorious smile. He wasn't one for betting, but this was one bet he was willing to make. It was, after all, for a good cause. Mai peeked at Naru to see if she had upset him. He just seemed to still be glaring at Monk and a little at John. She attempted to move closer to him discreetly. Before she could though, Monk grabbed her arm and pulled her into his chest. "My little Mai is growing up!" He cried out fake tears. She immediately began to struggle against his hold in the hopes of escaping.

"Mooooonk!" She whined as he slung her from side to side. Just when Mai felt like she was going to pass out from lack of air, she heard the door open and a loud smack echoed around the room.

"You're going to kill her, you idiot!" Ayako's voice rang out. Mai breathed in a gasp of air when the arms around her disappeared.

"Stop hitting me!" Monk yelled back, now ignoring the girl he released. Ayako glared at him.

"I'll stop hitting you when you stop being an idiot!"

"I was just hugging Mai because she's growing up!" Another smack resounded around the room loudly.

"You nearly made her pass out!" She screeched at the monk. Mai cringed at their loudness and subconsciously backed up until she stood next to Naru. He looked up at her and sighed.

"Miss Matsuzaki, Takigawa...be quiet." He ordered. Ayako turned to glare at Naru and give him a piece of her mind only to stop short when she noticed Mai. Her brows furrowed in concern when she noticed the brunette had her hands covering her ears.

"Mai?" She asked speaking quietly and soothing. "What's wrong?" As she removed her hands, Mai snapped her cinnamon eyes open and looked at them with wide eyes.

"N-nothing." She mumbled, inwardly cursing herself for stuttering. Yes, their screaming was loud, but that wasn't the reason for her actions. She suddenly had started hearing the words that Takumi's mother said to her last night all over again. Those words taunting her, daring her to be happy and relax. They kept resounding over and over in her head. She didn't know how to make it stop. Subconsciously she found herself moving closer towards Naru. He would keep her safe, he would know what to do. After all, he promised and she promised she would believe in him.

Mai sat down beside Naru as her hands flew up to her head again. Her breaths became harsh; the words seemed to be getting faster and louder inside of her mind. Naru wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

"It's okay Mai. I'm here." He whispered loud enough that only she could hear. She let out a whimper but still managed to nod.

"Mai? What's wrong with her?!" She barely heard Monk ask in concern. Naru looked down at the trembling girl in his arms.

"I don't know..." He confessed, holding her tighter against his chest. Mai felt tears leak out of her eyes and she curled herself into Naru more.

"Make it stop." She pleaded quietly.

"Make what stop...?" John asked in confusion. She shook her head.

"Useless, worthless, weak..." She mumbled to herself. Naru's eyes widened slightly in realization.

"No, Mai." He denied. "Remember what we talked about last night?"

The young woman squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of the thoughts she was having. When that didn't work she attempted to focus on her conversation with Naru last night. He said none of that was true and that they all loved her. If Naru said it, it had to be true. He didn't lie, he kept her safe. Mai tried taking deep breaths to calm herself. She relaxed slightly but didn't move. She felt safe. She didn't want to get up and leave Naru again. She snuggled closer to his warmth.

Bit by bit, the torture in her mind completely disappeared. She turned her head up slightly to see Naru. He was staring down at her with concern swirling in his eyes, so only she could see it. She gave him a small smile. Then she placed her head back on his chest.

"Are...Are you okay now, Mai?" Ayako questioned worriedly. The brunette mumbled a small tired 'yes'. She just tightened her grip on Naru as if he'd disappear if she loosened her grasp any. Naru looked down at her, feeling her grip strengthen to the point when it was painful. But he would never tell her that.

"What happened though?" The monk asked glancing between the two teens.

"I'll explain it later, preferably when Mai's asleep." The others just nodded silently, not wanting to upset Mai any more than she already was. Mai yawned sleepily. She was still tired despite waking up late due to the emotional turmoil that she had been through the past night. And being in Naru's arms just felt so warm and comfortable that it heightened her sleepiness. "It's alright to sleep." He assured her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"But...I need to..."

Naru gave her a stern look. "Whatever it is can wait a couple of hours."

"I don't...need to...sleep..." Mai's words were slurred. Naru chuckled slightly, the sound making Mai smile happily. She felt him place a hand on her head lightly.

"Yes, you do."

This time Mai just didn't have the strength to argue. Sighing she closed her eyes with little reluctance. After a bit Naru felt the grip she had on him loosen some. He silently breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could finally breathe again. Gently he tried to maneuver Mai into a more comfortable position so she didn't hurt herself while she slept. She didn't need to wake up screaming in pain again. Least of all in his explanation.

When the dark-haired man looked up from the girl in his lap, he saw all the others staring at him expectantly. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance feeling the beginnings of a headache. Whatever it was that they wanted to pester him about, he didn't want to answer. Not that he really had much of a choice at this point. Even John seemed ready to shout at him. Letting out an irritated sigh, Naru looked at them in annoyance.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Start explaining." Ayako demanded in a no-nonsense tone.

"Explain what?" Naru raised an eyebrow even though he had a pretty good idea of what it was. The miko looked ready to scream.

"What the heck do you think?! What just happened!?"

"If you don't keep quiet, you'll wake Mai up again. She doesn't need that right now, she needs to rest." Naru glared coldly at the woman, causing her to huff, but she said no more and waited for him to explain. Naru nodded in approval before getting ready to explain. Although Mai didn't say what exactly was happening, he knew enough to tell the group everything.

After the brief explanation the group of over-protective friends decided to chat among themselves—much to the relief of Naru. To be honest he had expected them to ask about him and Mai. But he was glad they hadn't yet. That was when he noticed the sour look on a certain medium's face. Oh, great... Naru mentally scowled. He had definitely jinxed that one. He didn't care what she thought; it would be in her best interest to leave him and Mai alone though. Interfering in their relationship when they had just gotten together seemed low—even for her. No matter what was going to happen from now on, he wasn't going to let Mai go now that he finally got her. He had dreamed of this far too often to let it slip out of his fingers.

A few hours had passed since Mai had fallen asleep and Naru still hadn't moved from his postion on the couch, refusing to leave her until she woke up. Monk and Ayako had even went and got breakfast for everyone not long after Mai fell unconscious.

Naru glanced over when he noticed her shift slightly. Part of him hoped she would wake up and the other part wished she would stay asleep to rest more. She certainly needed it after last night. Today, it was time to get closer to giving the spirit extreme pain. He breathed deeply to try and get his emotions in check. It wouldn't do any good to lose control right now. It would only make things worse and most likely worry Mai. She had enough going on as it was.

He sighed when he realized that he was going to have to explain what was going on to his client. It was no doubt that his deceased ex-wife was haunting them.

"Takigawa, go find Mr Nakamura and bring him to base." He ordered. The monk stopped talking among the others and looked towards Naru.

"Takumi too?" He asked, thankfully his tone of voice wasn't teasing or anything of the sort. Naru narrowed his eyes.

"If you must." He replied after a long silence. Monk gave a nod, flicking his gaze on to Mai for a moment before walking out the door. Naru couldn't help but turn to look at the brunette. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. She looked even more vulnerable than she does when she's awake. He hated to wake her, but the thought of Takumi—he spat the name even in his head—seeing her like this made irritation bubble within him. He had to wake her. He didn't really have much of a choice—in his perspective. Realizing that dwelling on the subject wasn't going to make it any easier, he leaned over and shook her slightly. "Mai."

When she didn't move he shook her again. Getting increasingly irritated with the lack of response, he mentally thought of different things he could do to wake her. Though he wouldn't really do any of that in front of the others. Shaking her again and seeing no change, he could feel himself getting more and more annoyed. He sighed in frustration and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"You don't want to know what I'll do to you if you don't get up right now." He half-heartedly threatened. Mai groaned slightly and mumbled in her sleep.

"Five more minutes."

"Takigawa is on his way to get our clients and bring them back here. I'm sure you don't want them to see you sleeping." Naru stated. Mai grumbled something incoherent before opening her eyes and blinking at the sudden light. She groaned a bit more, cradling her wrist to her chest before trying to sit up. Wobbling slightly, feeling dizzy, before she felt Naru steady her.

"Thanks..." Mai mumbled, trying to hide her pain. Naru narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could ask if she was okay, the base door opened.

MzShellSan: Gaaaah! Why can't the spirit leave Mai alone?!

Naruisawesome: I know, I know! Poor Mai...

MzShellSan: Anyways, how do you think Takumi and his father will react to the news?

Naruisawesome: Please review! ^_^