Disclaimer: We don't own Ghost Hunt!

~Jealousy in the Office~

Chapter 24

Naru glared at her. "We'll discuss this more later." He dismissed.

Mai's gaze immediately broke from his and landed on the floor. Forget about being relieved, the uneasiness in the pit of her stomach was back. She couldn't blame him though. She'd betrayed his trust. He was probably furious at her. No, scratch the 'probably'. She knew he was. The look on his face said it all. She just hoped that Ayako didn't get dragged down with her... She had told the red-head before that she would take full responsibility for whatever happened.

For a moment it seemed as though Naru was going to say something before he simply decided to turn around and begin walking back to base. When Mai heard the sound of footsteps, she snapped her head up with dread. Seeing Naru walk away like that brought tears to her eyes, but she wiped them away harshly. She had made her choice. And she knew the consequences that were most likely to happen. Ignoring the looks of worry she'd gotten from Ayako, she followed after Naru quickly. Though it might not do any good, she still had to apologize to him and explain her actions...and then apologize again.

"Naru." She called out softly. She had to reach him before he went back to base.

Said boss tried too ignore her. He was too mad at her to stop.

"Naru!" He heard her call louder. Stopping, he sighed. She sounded distressed. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but if they talked now, then he was sure he'd say something he'd regret. He didn't say anything when she stopped next to him. He could hear her breaths coming out slightly irregular.

"What is it Mai?" He asked slowly. He had to keep calm. He couldn't look at her though. If he did, then he doubted he could stay composed.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed before her voice faltered. "I'm sorry, I just...I had to do it..."

He sighed. "I said we'd talk about this later. I know you feel the need to help everyone around you, but at some point, you have to draw a line."

"Draw a line? What's that suppose to mean? Nothing happ—"

"Later, Mai." He said a little more coldly and not calm like he had wanted. Flinching visibly, she tried not to cry at how distant he sounded. She hated it when he spoke to her like that.

"Alright." She whispered meekly. She balled her hands into fists, trying to keep them from trembling. Naru mentally screamed at himself to calm her down. They were together now. What good of a boyfriend would he be if he let her stand there attempting to be strong?! As he closed his eyes for a few moments, Naru's fingers twitched at his side. He needed to tell her he wasn't angry at her, per say, but more of what she did—heading straight for danger without telling him, and after he specifically told her not to do it in the first place.

"Mai..." He began, opening his eyes back up. Wincing a little, the brunette focused on the ground.

"Yes?" He's going to yell at me...I know it... She mentally said. She waited for him to say something, and just when she heard him say a word, they heard Monk's voice instead.

"Hey, there you guys are! Masako told us the spirit—" He stopped when he reached the two, seeing the way they were acting towards each other. "Uh, sorry. Did I interrupt something?" He asked, slightly put out. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of Naru's wrath. His boss glared harshly at him while Mai wouldn't even look up at him.

Yup...he definitely interrupted something.

"I'm just gonna go now..." He trailed off, turning around to walk away and hopefully lessen any later glares from Naru.

The dark-haired man let out a silent breath. Stupid Monk... He thought as he turned to finally face his girlfriend. However, when he did, she was gone. Cursing mentally, he tried to spot where she ran off to this time. He'd been so careless to lose sight of her. Though it was his fault for she running off in the first place. She saw a chance to do it when Monk was leaving so she took it. At least there wasn't a spirit to worry about now.

Maybe she went back to Ayako and...Takumi. He growled at the thought and couldn't help but hope she hadn't. Nevertheless he started walking back to them just to make sure. He needed to find Mai now. Before that stupid monk interrupted he was going to say something very important to her. He needed to before she got the wrong idea. And knowing her, she always does. It was irritating how much he loved that about her.

After a few minutes, he surprisingly—not that he let it show—found the priestess and Takumi still there talking. It was clear that Mai was not with them.

Ayako noticed him and was confused. Why was Naru back here? And why wasn't Mai with him? Where did she go?

"Naru? What are you doing?" She asked cautiously.

"Have you seen Mai?" He demanded, ignoring her question. Ayako's eyebrows furrowed in confusion while Takumi looked enraged.

"You mean you lost her!?" He shouted angrily. In response, Naru glared darkly at the boy in front of him.

"I did no such thing. Not that it's any of your concern."

Takumi huffed. "Well, if you didn't lose her, you wouldn't be asking where she is!"

Irritated by the lack of effects his glare was having, Naru narrowed his eyes even more, a murderous aura surrounding him.

"It's none of your concern." He repeated, turning to walk away. If Mai wasn't here, then he needn't be either. She could be anywhere in this damn house by now, or maybe even outside for all he knew. Even though the spirit was gone, he wouldn't put it past her to find some sort of trouble if left to her own device—especially if she's upset. He decided to check in base first to make sure she hadn't gone back there. Even if she hadn't, the monitors still were up, and he could get Lin to check around the house with them.

Turning around once more, he headed towards where he had been going only minutes earlier. He walked faster than he had gone before. Opening the base door, he looked around the room. He mentally cursed again when she wasn't in there. He saw the Chinese man still at the monitors and went over to him.

"Where's Mai?" He asked without looking down at the man.

"East corridor." Lin curtly replied, he too not bothering to look up at him. It's not as if this wasn't a common enough occurrence, what with how often Mai ran off.

"How is Mai already missing?" He heard Monk ask in disbelief. "She was just with you five minutes ago!"

Naru promptly chose to ignore the statement and instead turned and walked back towards the door. If he answered the monk, then that would just waste time. Besides, it wasn't any of his business. It's not as if the stupid monk was the one looking for her anyway.

Naru would do it by himself. It was his responsibility to go his girlfriend after all.

She knew she shouldn't have ran away like that, but she couldn't help but do it. She couldn't risk about what he had been about to say to her.

Mai looked around and frowned when she realised that, in her haste, she didn't pay attention to where she was going and now she was lost.

Again.

Just great.

Why me?! She thought. Why do I always have to get lost? You'd think I would kinda know my way around this place by now! With a resigned sigh, she looked around for something to help her get back. Yeah, right, Mai. Bad luck remember? She pouted as she continued to walk a bit more, hoping she'd remember where she was again. She half regretted running away from Naru now. But it wasn't like he gave her much of a choice. He had said they'd talk 'later' but she couldn't help but feel he was going to start yelling at her right then and there. And that would have been bad. Very bad. She wasn't sure how much more of this drama she could handle.

Mai sighed to herself, her shoulders slumping. She'd been lost for ages it felt like.

"Why is this house such a maze?" She grumbled. Someone would probably come looking for her soon though. They always did. Turning left, she grinned in relief when she spotted someone. She instantly recognized the person as Hikaru, their client and Takumi's father. Perhaps she didn't get all the bad luck. "Mr. Nakamura!" Mai called out to him. Turning around, he smiled at her.

"Ah, hello." He greeted. "How is everything going...?" He asked uncertainly once she reached him. From the tone of his voice, Mai realized he was talking about the investigation. Smiling brightly, Mai motioned for him to keep walking.

"Everything has been pretty good. We just finished the case actually. We should be out of your way soon." She explained.

"Really?" Hikaru sighed in relief. "So the exorcism was sucessful..."

The brunette looked down at the ground. "Ah, actually...we didn't exorcise her. We cleansed her..." She trailed off nervously. The man stared at her in disbelief.

"Cleansed her?"

"Yes, she... That is we got her to crossover willingly without forcing her to leave this place." Mai explained the best she could to someone who wouldn't understand anything about the paranormal. He nodded after a moment.

"I see... Well as long as you got the job done." It was almost like he was doubtful of the method used. Mai only gave a small nod. There was no use in explaining anything further.

"Well, she's gone now, so we'll be leaving soon." She told Hikaru. With a smile he nodded once more.

"Of course. That makes sense after all. Do you have plans on seeing my son again anytime soon?" It was more teasing then anything, but he truly was curious to know. Mai's eyes widened.

"Ahh, n-no, sir..." She said. Although the idea appalled her, she couldn't be rude to the client. Deflating slightly, he made a noise of agreement.

"I figured as much. He really was too pushy. I apologize."

Mai blinked. He actually wanted her to be with Takumi?

"Ah, I'm sorry." She apologized. "It's not his fault. Actually, I have a boyfriend." Of course at the time she didn't, but that was beside the point. Hikaru'a face paled.

"Oh, no... And my son was trying to... I'm so sorry, Miss Taniyama."

The brunette waved her hands in front of herself frantically. "You really don't need to apologise." She insisted. "He didn't know either! It was just a recent sort of thing anyways!"

Hikaru seemed reluctant but nodded anyway. "I see. Well, I wish you the best. I have to ask though, who is your boyfriend?" He asked, genuinely curious. Who had caught this girl's heart and made it so that she couldn't be swayed by even his son?

Mai instantly flushed, opening her mouth to speak before closing it back. Then the action repeated itself. Would it really be okay to tell him? What would he think of Naru if he knew Naru was dating his own assistant? Would Naru even want her to tell anyone?

"I hardly think that's any of your business." A voice came from behind them. Mai jumped from being startled. She turned around to see Naru standing right behind her. Great, he found her... Hikaru seemed a little shocked at the sudden appearance as well.

"Ah, of course." He agreed with a knowing look. Subtly, Naru grabbed on to Mai's wrist before, and if, she decided to run away again. This effectively shocked Mai from her thoughts, and she glanced down then back up at him in confusion. However, instead of looking at her, he was looking at Hikaru. They appeared to be having a staring contest as Naru tried to convey his irritation at the other man's presence.

"We'll be leaving soon, as the spirit has been dealt with." Naru stated in dismissal. Hikaru gave a single nod, shifting his gaze towards Mai briefly.

"Yes, your...assistant already informed me about that." He said. Naru glanced at the brunette briefly before turning back to him.

"I see. Well then I'm sure you have other things to attend to. We'll be out of your way now."

"Of course, Mr. Shibuya, Miss Taniyama. Thank you for your help." The older man smiled politely before taking his leave. As soon as he was gone, Mai started to back away from Naru slowly, praying he wouldn't notice. But Naru, of course, felt her trying to escape and only tightened the grip he had on her wrist.

"Naru, let go." The brunette whispered, avoiding his eyes.

"No." He spoke quietly but sternly. She sighed. Of course he wouldn't.

"I already know what you're going to say though." She muttered. Naru moved his eyes on to her, raising a brow slightly, but not that she could see.

"Do you now?" He questioned. Nodding quietly, she looked at her feet.

"Yeah. You're going to get on me for being an idiot..." She said. Naru made a sound for her to continue. "And tell me that I should've listened to you and that it was dangerous to do this on my own—which it wasn't. I had Takumi and Ayako with me, not to mention we did plan things out...sort of." She rambled, inadvertently trailing off of the initial subject. She still refused to look at him. She didn't want to know what he was thinking right now. Naru wasn't quite sure what to say to her words. While what she said was true, he didn't want to get on that subject right now. He only needed to reassure her at the moment that he wasn't techincally angry at her, but at what she had done. Although how to go about that was entirely different problem. Most of them time when he tried talking to her he made her even more upset.

"Mai..." He said calmly, briefly tightening the grip he had on her. She tried not to look up at him, but when she felt his other hand grab her chin and make her look up, her eyes got caught in his.

"Y-yes?"

Naru waited a few moments before speaking. "We'll talk about this later, like I said before, understand?" He asked. When he received a timid nod, he continued. "Just know that I'm not angry with you."

Her eyes widened. "B-but you are. I know you are." She argued.

"I'm furious at what you did, yes, but not at you."

She closed her eyes and shook her head furiously. "No, no, no. I don't believe you." How could she? She betrayed his trust and lied to him. Why would he be saying something like that? He should hate her for it...

Naru's eyes softened as he looked at her. "I'm serious, Mai."

"Why wouldn't you..." The brunette trailed off, looking as though she was about it cry. He panicked a little at that. Mai crying was something he did not want to experience again. Especially not if it's his fault. Naru sighed quietly. Why does it always end up this way?

"I couldn't stay made at you even if I wanted to. And I don't want to." He admitted, trying not to scowl at how he sounded. Only Mai could get him to say such things that were completely out of his character...

Mai's eyes watered. "I don't understand." She whispered brokenly. Naru tried not to flinch at the sight. Instead he released her wrist and cupped her cheeks with both of his hands.

"You don't have to. Just trust me, okay?" That's all he needed. Her trust. Mai's eyes widened again, her tears shining in her eyes, and then gave a small nod after a while. He relaxed at her words. She understood. Although the tears were off putting. Their foreheads touched for a moment before Naru pulled away, removing his hands from her face as well. "Come on. It's time to leave."

Mai nodded silently before wishing she didn't have to take down all of the equipment. She would ask Naru, but he'd probably just glare at her. At least she had Monk and John to help her, knowing Ayako would probably just complain and Masako would never do something so 'strenuous'. Honestly it wasn't fair that they got out of it so easily.

Unknowingly pulling her out of her thoughts, Naru gently took her by the arm and led her back to base.

Naruisawesome: Well, hopefully Naru and Mai will get things straighten out completely soon.

MzShellSan: Lol yup... Please review! ^_^