Disclaimer: We don't own Ghost Hunt!

~Jealousy in the Office~

Chapter 26

Mai groaned as her teacher began to read out a list of students who were paired for their project. After her argument with Naru yesterday, she'd found it hard to sleep and as a result she was more than a little tired right now. She didn't know what to do anymore. Her head shot up when her name was called, effectively snapping her from her thoughts.

"Y-yes, Mr. Nagano?" She asked. He sighed at his student.

"Try to pay attention. You're with Daisuke." He informed her. Mai nodded with a sheepish smile, having been caught not paying attention.

"Yes, sir." She said. She knew who Daisuke was. He seemed like a pretty decent guy, so it should be fun being partners with him. After a few more minutes, they had been assigned their projects and were let out of class for the day, the bell ringing loudly. Standing up, the brunette made her way over to her project partner and tapped him on the shoulder. When he looked up at her from his desk, Mai smiled.

"So when do you want to do this? I have work every day until evening so..." She trailed off with an apologetic look. The guy named Daisuke shrugged.

"How about after you get off then?" He asked innocently. Mai thought for a moment.

"Around six o'clock. You can pick me up from here." She suggested, scribbling down the address quickly. Daisuke took the paper with a nod.

"So we'll just figure out what to do from there?"

Shrugging, Mai smiled. "I guess so." She agreed.

"Hey Daisuke!"

Mai looked to see a few guys, she assumed his friends, in the doorway telling Daisuke to hurry up. The guy in front of her stood up.

"I'll see you in a few hours then." He told her. Nodding, she watched as he walked out of the room before also grabbing her things and leaving. If she didn't hurry up then she'd be late...again. And the last thing that she needed was Naru getting mad at her again. But what was she even suppose to say to him after what happened yesterday? Pretend nothing happened? That probably wouldn't work. She could probably avoid him until she had to leave... But what would she do when he asked for tea or asked her to come into his office? Make Lin go instead? That wouldn't work though... Naru would surely get up on her for doing that. She'd just have to be as quick as possible.

Mai mentally sighed as she began walking off school grounds. She just couldn't get Naru's words out of her mind. Had he been serious? Was today one of her last days working at SPR? Or was he just spouting angry words? He also said she wasn't someone who could be replaced though. That had to count for something. After all, almost everyone is replaceable to Naru. Besides...he said he loved her, and to trust him. And that he would never hate her... Naru doesn't just say things like that so he must truly mean all of it. But still... maybe a bit of time away from him to let them cool off would be a good idea... It had been a whole day though—she wasn't sure whether how much time Naru needed before it was safe to be around him again and not burst into tears.

All this thinking wasn't doing anything but confusing her. She'd just have to see what happened. Besides, she'll know if she's ready to see Naru when she gave him her tea. If worst came to shove, then she'd just hide out in Lin's office until Daisuke came to pick her up. That is if he let her after all the noise he'd told them not to make yesterday.

Mai groaned, then realized she already arrived at the office. Hesitating, she gulped and opened the door quietly, checking for signs of Naru. She didn't see him anywhere in the main room and his office door was shut, so he must be in there. Letting out a little sigh, she walked over to her desk and placed her things down. Maybe if she was really quiet Naru wouldn't know she was here yet. However it seemed that Naru knew her habits better than anyone.

"Mai, tea!"

The brunette's eyes widened, and a sense of dread formed in the pit of her stomach. Would she be able to face him? She took a deep breath and made her way to the kitchen. Give it to him and avoid eye contact. That's all she had to do. Setting the water to boil, she did her best to mentally prepare herself. She could do this; it was very simple. Nothing difficult at all.

But even with thoughts like those she was shaking slightly from nerves.

Once the tea was finished, she slowly walked towards Naru's door, stopping in front of it. She hesitated for a moment before lifting her hand up and tapping lightly on the door.

"Come in, Mai." Naru's voice reached her ears. She took another deep breath and walked inside the room. Doing her best not to walk excessively fast, she made her way over to his desk, placed the tea down, and turned around to walk back out. Please don't say anything, please don't say anything... She mentally chanted. She knew she'd have to talk with him sooner or later, but right now...she wasn't sure. When she thought she could hear him go to say something, she sped up her pace, opening and closing the door as she stepped out to safety. She let out a slow breath of relief. She got out of that one, but she probably wouldn't be as lucky next time.

Carefully holding the other cup of tea, she made her way over to Lin's office much calmer than before. She knocked on his door as well, and when he gave her his consent, she went inside. Walking over to him slowly, she placed the cup down quietly. As she turned to leave, she surprisingly heard the tall Chinese man speak.

"I do hope you have talked to Naru."

Gulping, she turned around, suddenly more nervous than before. "Um... Not exactly..." She trailed off. The man frowned at her, in which she quickly adverted her gaze from him.

"Well, I hope you don't think he meant what he said. After you left yesterday he told me he didn't and would set things straight today."

Smiling slightly, Mai nodded. "Thank-you... I'll talk to him later, but right now I just—I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing now." She groaned. Why did she ever think for a moment that being in a relationship with Naru would be easy?

Lin watched her carefully. "I hope you think he's worth it, because he really does care for you." He told her reassuringly. Mai blinked, snapping out of her thoughts, and refocused her gaze back on to Lin. She smiled softly.

"Yes, of course I do." She said. He nodded.

"Good. Now you should go get some work done. Unless of course you plan on talking to him now." He suggested.

"Err, um...right..." Mai excused herself and hurried back to her desk. Next time... The next time Naru called her into his office she'd talk to him.

Luckily enough for her, Naru was well known for his tea addiction and it was less than an hour before he was calling for more. She actually made the tea a lot quicker this time than the last. She'd never be able to get any work done if she doesn't talk to him soon, not that she wasn't still nervous. What if something went wrong? She immediately pushed those negative thoughts away. Thinking like that weren't help their situation any. All she needed to do was walk in there, talk out there problems and walk back out. Simple. Well...honestly she hoped there would be some kind of make up kiss somewhere in there, but that was a minor detail right now.

Knocking lightly on the door, she took a deep breath. No turning back now.

"Come in." Naru told her. Stepping inside, Mai made her way over to Naru's desk for the second time that day much more slowly than the first. This was her silently telling him she wouldn't run away again. For a minute the room was quiet before Naru looked up from his work. Mai was staring at him with a guilty expression.

"I...I'm sorry about earlier." She said. Naru couldn't help the look of surprise. Mai was apologising? Coughing slightly, he nodded.

"It's alright, I understand."

"No...it's not..." Mai shook her head a bit. "I...I ran away even though I knew you were going to say something to me. I just...I got scared, I guess."

Naru nodded towards her and motioned for her to take a seat. "It's fine Mai." He re-stated before taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "It was my fault. I let my emotions get the better of my judgement and I said some...hurtful things." He tried to explain his bit the best he could. He knew he had to set things right with her, but that didn't mean he knew how.

"S-So you didn't mean...?" Mai trailed off, looking down at her lap. She didn't think he meant what he said, even Lin said so, but she wanted to hear him say it with her own ears. Sighing, Naru nodded.

"No, I didn't mean what I said." He assured her before adding, "I'm sorry." as an afterthought.

"Thank you..." Mai whispered. Standing up, Naru walked around the desk and over to the brunette—his brunette. Their eyes stayed locked as he came to her.

"There's no need to thank me." The 'I don't deserve it' hung in the air without being said.

"...Naru, I..." Mai bit her lip before continuing. "I don't want to keep fighting about these stupid things..."

Nothing happened before he sighed. "I don't want to fight either, but some of these 'stupid things' aren't all that stupid to me."

Mai tried her best not to frown, instead she just looked at him with confusion and mild curiosity. "What do you mean?"

Shaking his head, Naru lent against the desk. "Don't worry about it." He stated. "It doesn't matter."

"Well, Naru..." Mai stood up. She took a couple of steps closer, so she'd be right in front of him, and looked up. "If it's important to you, I think I should know so we can talk about it...or attempt to." She muttered, knowing Naru wasn't big on talking that much. It shouldn't have shocked him as much as it did, but he couldn't help the slight, slight smile from appearing on his face.

"Thank-you."

Mai blushed and adverted her gaze to the floor. "D-Don't mention it..." She stuttered. Mai mentally took a breath, too nervous to do it on the outside where Naru could hear. At the skittish look of Mai, Naru found himself smirking unconsciously. She just looked too adorable at that moment.

"Do I make you nervous all of a sudden?" He asked blankly, his eyes sparkling in amusement. The petite girl's eyes snapped on to him and her blush deepened.

"O-Of course not!"

"Then why are you stuttering?" He countered. Mai opened her mouth before thinking better of it and closing it back. If she did say something she'd probably stutter again. "That's what I thought."

The girl pressed her lips together and looked away. Naru watched her for a moment later before sighing. He hated it when she didn't look at him. He reached out and gently grasped her chin.

"Look at me." He stated quietly. Mai looked from side to side, then decided to give in and look up at him. Hesitating for only a short moment, he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. As Naru pulled away from her slightly, breaking the kiss, Mai let out a small shaky breath and smile. "Better?" Naru asked. With a shy nod, the girl answered silently. He sighed once more. "Is it impossible for you to talk now? Or have I managed to kiss you senseless?" He smirked with a raised eyebrow. Mai blushed deeply.

"Jerk!"

That was more like the Mai that he'd come to know. Loud and hot-tempered. His smirk only widened.

"I guess it didn't work then. But you know...an experiment should always be repeated at least three times for optimal results." He continued, finding pleasure in the outrageously dark red blush on his girlfriend's cheeks.

"Is that so?" Mai mumbled, looking down in embarrassment. Naru chuckled slightly at her reaction. There was nothing better than seeing her embarrassed like this. The fact that he was the one who caused the reaction was certainly good as well.

"Yes." He simply replied. Mai shifted under his scrutiny. At this point, she didn't know what he'd do—let her go and get back to work or kiss her. Either way she wished he would just hurry up and do it because the way he was looking at her was nerve wracking. She instinctly closed her eyes when Naru leaned down to kiss her again. Just when Naru was about to close his eyes as well, a loud knock interrupted them. Lin raised an eyebrow at their compromising position and smirked ever so slightly.

"You two might want to make yourselves presentable. Someone's here to see you, Mai." He informed them both. The brunette's eyes widened in realization.

"It's that time already?!"

Naru gave them both an irritated look. "Explain."

"Today one of my teachers assigned someone with a partner for a project. And that's my classmate outside, so can I please leave a little earlier for homework?" Mai asked, smiling hopefully. The look she got in return made her wince slightly. So maybe she should have mentioned this earlier... "Please? You're always telling me I should apply myself more to my school work anyways." She pointed out. Thinking about it for a moment, Naru sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Fine, but I expect you to make me some more tea before then." He demanded.

"Thank you! I will!" Mai exclaimed gratefully before tippy-toeing to give him a peck on the cheek. Then she hurried passed Lin and went into the main room. Lin smirked.

"I assume from the lack of screaming that you sorted things out."

Naru gave a small glare. "Yes, not that it's any of your business though."

Shrugging, the older man turned to leave the office as well.

"I wish that were true." He muttered under his breath in exasperation. Naru stood in his office for a few moments before deciding to go and see this girl that would be Mai's partner. Stepping into the main room, he glanced around and frowned. The only person he saw was a teenaged boy, around his and Mai's age, lounging on the sofa. He definitely wasn't a client, so does that mean... Mai's project partner was a boy?

Naru narrowed his eyes at the oblivious boy, who didn't seem to notice him yet.

Oh.

Hell.

No.

Naruisawesome: Hehe~! And so another jealous streak has come!

MzShellSan: XD Yup. I can't wait to see what Naru will do! Though this also means the story really is going to end soon...

Naruisawesome: *eyes tear up* I know! No need to remind me! T_T

MzShellSan: *hugs NIA and pats head* There, there... It'll be okay. *turns to readers* Please review! ^_^