Disclaimer: We don't own Ghost Hunt!

~Jealousy in the Office~

Chapter 19

A groan escaped her lips as she tilted her head back to rest it against the back of the couch. She was such an idiot. She then felt Naru squeeze her hand. When she looked at him, he was giving her a questioning look.

"What's going through your mind?" He asked. As a frown formed on her face, Mai furrowed her brows.

"I figured out why the spirit hates me so much..."

Naru raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah..." Mai whispered, shifting her gaze down and she subconsciously stared at her bandaged wrist. "It's because of Takumi." He stared at her for a minute before realising what she meant. So that was why...

"It's not your fault." He claimed sternly. With wide eyes, Mai snapped them back on to him.

"Wh-what?"

"Whatever you're thinking about remember that this is a twisted spirit and her hating you isn't your fault." Naru repeated.

"I shouldn't have slapped him though..." She mumbled.

"Slapped who?" Monk asked confused, standing behind Mai. Mai cringed. She had said that too loud...and now she'd have to tell everyone the truth.

"Ah, uh, Takumi.." She mumbled quietly. Everyone's eyes widened.

"Wait, you slapped Takumi?" Ayako asked. Mai gave a small nod. "Mai! How could you do that?!" The red-head questioned. Said girl sucked in a deep breath and whimpered, cuddling into Naru and the feeling of safety.

"Unprofessional, Mai." Masako reprimanded. Mai ignored her in favour of the warmth and safety Naru was offering.

"So I'm guessing he's your ex-boyfriend now?" Monk joked whole-heartedly, but he kept a straight face. Naru let out a silent growl at the mere thought of Takumi being that close to Mai.

"Monk!" Mai whined. "That's not funny!" He just grinned—not that she could see.

"So why'd you break up with him?" He continued to tease her. "Because you found a new guy?" He allured, causing Mai to blush madly since she knew he was talking about Naru.

"He wasn't my boyfriend, he was a jerk." She muttered, turning her head slightly to glare at him.

"So you're not denying the second thing he asked, Mai?" John smiled amiably. If he just got them to admit it, then he can get that money...

Mai moved her head to look at him in confusion. "Huh? What second thing?" Bou-san shook his head smiling, ignoring the scowl on Masako's face.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Mai! He meant are you and Naru dating now or what?!" Ayako blurted irritably. She wanted to know and she was tired of Mai being so clueless!

A deep blush spread over Mai's face. "Oh..." Her gaze fell on to her lap from embarrassment. What was she suppose to say to that? Yes, Naru said he loved her, but did he really want to be in a relationship with her? He hadn't said anything about that part...she could only guess that maybe he would...

"The personal relationship between Mai and myself is none of your concern." Naru stated. Mai's blush deepened at his words but... Was Naru ashamed to say they were together, or did he really think that it wasn't their business? She bit the inside of her cheek in thought. Then again Naru was a private person... But these people were her family! Plus they'd see them on a regular basis. Sometimes he really confused her.

"Oh come on! Just say yes or no!" Monk probed. Mai looked up at Naru wondering what he would say this time. Would he deny the truth, ignore them, or tell them that they were together? She swallowed thickly, just now realizing how nervous she was. Her rational mind was screaming at her that he loved, her but a small part of her couldn't help but wonder.

"What is it to you?" Naru shot back.

"Just answer the question." Ayako insisted. Naru glanced down at Mai, whose eyes were slightly wide and her cheeks were bright red.

"Why should I?" He inquired. Mai suddenly felt a weight in her chest. He kept avoiding the answer—she knew it was too good to be true. She let out a deep shuddering breath.

"I think they are." She heard Monk comment with a grin. Naru glanced down at Mai and sighed when he saw her saddened expression. Idiot. He scolded himself. He should have known she would react like this. It wasn't that he wanted to keep it a secret. He just didn't feel it was any of their business. But obviously, from Mai's reaction, it was going to have to be their business.

"So what if we are?" Naru scoffed. Monk's grin widened.

"That's a yes. They are!"

Mai looked up at Naru with wide eyes. He really meant it? He actually wants to be in a relationship with her? She could now feel Masako glaring at her from across the room. She froze and inwardly cringed. The medium really was going to hate her now. Even more than she already did. She was suddenly broken out of her thoughts when she felt Naru squeeze her hand. She offered him a small, unsure smile. She just hope Masako wouldn't kill her in her sleep.

Mai looked away from Naru only to notice a suspicious exchange of money between the others. Lin and John had smiles on their faces while Monk and Ayako grumbled incoherent words but yet they looked happy also. Naru followed her gaze and glared. What were those idiots doing now?

"What did you do?" He demanded. The four of them froze at the sound of his voice and slowly turned their gazes on to him.

"U-umm. N-n-nothing..." Bou-san stuttered. They quickly placed their hands behind their backs to hide the money. Naru's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Reluctantly getting up and leaving Mai, he took a few steps towards them.

"I'll ask one more time. What. Did. You. Do?"

John, Monk, and Ayako took a giant step back so only Lin was in front. "It was just a small bet" Lin stated nonchalantly.

"A bet about what exactly?" Naru questioned, narrowing his eyes into slits. The Chinese man—despite appearing calm—inwardly cringed. If Naru knew, he'd kill every one of them.

"It's nothing." He alluded, waving his boss off.

"Lin." Naru warned. The elder man couldn't help the tightness in his throat as he spoke.

"It was about when you two would finally get together..." He relented. Monk and Ayako tried to slip away innocently out of Naru's sight, but of course, he saw them.

"You were what?!" Mai screeched. Her eyes were wide from shock and a blush was forming on her cheeks. What the hell were they thinking!? "I can't believe you guys!" John opened his mouth to speak but quickly snapped it closed again. He'd rather not suffer her wrath.

Masako sneered at Mai jealously from across the room. It just always had to be Mai. She got everything. But why? There was nothing special about her. The medium openly glared at her.

Feeling the medium's heated gaze, Mai moved closer to Naru on instinct. Naru glanced behind his shoulder at her and let out a sigh. What was wrong now? Surely she didn't want him not yelling at the others because they really did deserve it. He scanned the room for other possible reasons. When his eyes landed on Masako, he mentally scowled. Naturally the medium stopped glaring at Mai and tried to blink innocently at Naru. He narrowed his eyes at her warningly before turning back to Mai. Masako huffed at the hid warning though.

"Well," Monk began, trying to get out of the situation. He grinned. "Congratulations you two! But we really should be getting back to work..."

"What are we going to do then, wise guy?"

Monk turned and glared at Ayako. "I don't know ask Naru, he's the boss." He shot back. "Or did you forget that in your old age?" Fuming, Ayako whacked him on the head. Hard. The monk immediately moved his hand to where she hit him and rubbed it gently. "What was that for woman?!" Ayako, however, only crossed her arms with a huff and looked away.

Naru glared at them. "I've had enough of you two arguing on this case." He said in annoyance. Ayako turned to him and huffed.

"He started it."

"I did not!" The monk retorted, making Naru pinch the bridge of his nose.

"What are you two, five?"

Monk began to grumble incoherent words. Ayako scoffed crossing her arms. Stupid brat. Naru glared at her as if he somehow knew what she thought. It wouldn't really surprise her if he did though.

Hesitantly, Mai gripped the back of Naru's shirt. She still feel Masako's gaze on her. When was she going to stop? It was unnerving!

"Kazuya?" The medium called out. Naru glanced at her in growing annoyance.

"Yes?" He asked coldly. Masako stood up gracefully in her kimono and walked towards him.

"Could we speak in private for a moment?" She asked. He narrowed his eyes.

"What is so important you deem in necessary to take me away from my work?"

Subconsciously, Mai tightened her grip on his shirt. She didn't trust the medium. What if she blackmailed him again? Or if she did something else stupid? Mai would just break if Masako tried to kiss him. And she wasn't sure what she would do if Naru decided that Masako was the one he wanted to be with. But...if he wanted that then wouldn't he already be with her? Why was he so complicated? She mentally complained.

"It won't take long." Masako promised. Narrowing his eyes, Naru gestured to a corner of the room. Mai suddenly felt the material slip pass her fingers. She watched as Naru walked over to the corner of the room and stood in front of Masako expectantly. He had his arms crossed over his chest as if guarding himself off from the medium. "I just wanted to let you know that you can always come to me if you ever get bored or stop feeling pitiful towards Mai." Masako batted her eyelashes flirtatiously, her kimono sleeve hiding the smile on her face. Naru's eyes widened slightly before he managed to control his anger.

"I don't believe that will ever happen."

The medium gritted her teeth in anger. She glanced at Mai testily. "What's so special about her then?" She asked quietly, the reference of Mai spoken as if it were poison. "Why would you want her?"

From her current position, Mai froze. Their voices were quiet, but she could still hear their conversation. She kind of wished she couldn't though. Why did Masako have to be like this? Did she really like Naru so much that she hated Mai with everything she had? The thought both saddened and angered her. It wasn't her fault that Naru didn't like Masako... Tears welled in her eyes and she rushed to wipe them away. She couldn't cry right now, especially in front of everyone. No matter how much she wiped them away though, they continued to fall.

"Hey...Mai?" She heard Monk ask worriedly. She quickly attempted to remove them again.

"Y-yes?"

"What's wrong?" He furrowed his brows. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying." She denied. She tried not to notice that they had caught Naru's attention. She really didn't need this right now.

"Mai..." Monk softly chided. The brunette shook her head. She quickly tried to wipe her tears again. If she was caught crying she'd worry everyone even more. I can't let them see me...I have to do something... Mai thought. She kept her head down as she hastily made her way towards the door.

"Mai!" She heard someone call out to her, but she ignored them and kept walking.

"Where are you going?" Another voice called out. Mai abruptly stopped and looked up to see Takumi standing in front of her in the doorway.

"Somewhere." She muttered quietly.

"Are you...crying?" Takumi tilted his head down to try to look at her face. Mai looked away.

"N-no!" She denied. Why did everyone just keep asking her that?!

Takumi just sighed. Turning to the group of curious—and some angry—eyes, he looked around to find the source of her pain. Of course it always came back to that guy some way or another. He glared at Naru. He noticed Mai wiping her eyes from the corner of his eye. He'd like nothing more than to give her boss a piece of his mind, but right now, he needed to ask Mai to do something for him. In private.

"Would you mind accompanying me to have a cup of tea?" He asked, directing his question to the brunette. Mai blinked up at him.

"Wh-what?"

Takumi sighed. "You look like you could use it." He added to quell the suspicions of the others. Before Mai could even answer, he grabbed her wrist and hurriedly drug her out of the room. She struggled for a few moments before giving up. She heard Naru calling her name, but that just made Takumi walk faster. Mai felt herself go to tell him to stop when she snapped her mouth closed again. Why you ask? She wasn't really sure herself. She just felt that there was more going on then what they knew about.

"Where's a place where they can't see us going?" Takumi asked. Mai looked up at him, stumbling over her own feet trying to keep up with him.

"Can't see us going? What are you talking about? And slow down!"

Takumi hesitated a bit, clenching his jaw. "I need to talk to you about something...and we need to go somewhere where they can't hear or see us with your cameras...do you know a spot?" He asked. Mai blinked before recoiling her hand from his.

"You want to talk to me about something away from where I can get in touch with them if I need help?! I don't know if you've forgotten, but there is a ghost in this house, and she wants nothing more than for me to be dead!"

Takumi turned sharply to her. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Mai gave him an angry look. "I'm not going to willingly put myself at the mercy of a ghost that nearly killed me. If you want to talk, but don't want the others to know, then we'll go somewhere without voice recorders but that's it." She compromised. Takumi pressed his lips together, debating on it. On one hand it seemed like she wasn't going to budge on this one, but on the other...if someone could lip read they'd know what's happening.

"Please Mai..."

The brunette crossed her arms. Naru won't be happy...probably mad in fact... She thought to herself. But then again, he's already mad at me She bit her lip. What a great way to start off a relationship with him... She hated arguing with him. And it's not like it was his fault in the first place. Mai's gaze turned on to Takumi. He looked pretty serious and desperate about whatever it was that he wanted to talk to her about though.

"Alright, but only for a minute." She relented. She could see the tension in his body leave as his shoulders slumped a bit in relief.

"Thanks...come on then..." He beckoned her to follow him, and so she did, although a bit hesitantly. As they started walking again, Mai could've sworn she heard Naru's voice calling her name again faintly in the background.

Naruisawesome: Ooh, so what do you think Takumi what's to talk to Mai about?!

MzShellSan: ... -.- It better not be just an excuse to get her alone.

Naruisawesome: *sighs and shakes head in a 'what am I doing to do with you?' way*

MzShellSan: *ignores NIA* Please review! ^_^