Treelow955:- Hey all, we're back!
Naruisawesome:- And glad to be so!
Treelow955:- Thanks to all who reviewed, favourited and followed last chapter!
Naruisawesome:- We hope you enjoy this one and we own nothing but the plot!
Lin couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he saw Naru back away from Mai. He thought something was going to happen! He let out a short sigh and turned to go back into his office.
Mai and Naru were sitting in his office not saying a word to each other when—for the second time that day—the front door opened with a bang.
"Miss Matsuzaki, what are you doing here?" Lin's surprised voice sounded.
"I have come to see if it's true." She announced.
Mai's eyes widened and she turned to Naru.
"Ayako too?!" She whispered harshly.
"They're in Naru's office." Lin informed before his footsteps could be heard going into his office. A sharp knock sounded on Naru's door. Mai cleared her throat and was about to speak.
"Don't let her come in!" Naru hissed.
"I have to! She's going to come in anyways!" Mai hissed back. Naru scowled at her as another loud knock sounded on the door.
"I know you two are in there, Lin told me you were." Ayako's voice rang out.
"Lin." Naru spat. "I bet you anything this is his doing."
"How do you mean Naru?" Mai asked.
"We haven't told anyone else about us moving in together—but Lin. He must have told Takigawa and Miss Matsuzaki."
"Open this door you two!" Ayako bellowed.
"I think we established this earlier, you were going to use your Gene-learned tea-making skills on him." Mai informed him.
"Oh yeah." Naru remembered.
"I'm warning you two, open up." Ayako yelled slamming her hand against the door. Mai slowly stood up and walked to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and paused.
"Mai!" Naru whispered disapprovingly. She looked at him with a 'what can I do?' look. She opened the door quickly like ripping off a bandage. Ayako had her hands on her hips.
"Well, what have you two got to say for yourselves?!" She demanded.
"Aya...Miss Matsuzaki we can assure you there's nothing going on between us." Mai tried to reason.
"Really?! And why don't I believe that?!"
"Well it's true. Naru only offered me a place to stay for a while." Naru said flatly.
"And just why did he do that?" Ayako asked.
"Because I'm having…problems at my apartment." Naru somewhat explained.
"What kind of problems?" Ayako raised a suspicious brow.
"Fire bugs..." Naru mumbled. If Lin believed it then so should Ayako!
"Fire bugs? And what the hell are they supposed to be when they're at home?!" Naru's eye twitched. Mai glanced at Naru before looking at Ayako.
"They're highly poisonous. And they just eat through everything! So I offered Mai a place to stay until her apartment is fixed."
"And now I know you're making things up. There are no such thing and if there are then prove it." Ayako said crossing her arms. 'Gosh Ayako's way smarter than everyone gives her credit for. I mean even Lin believed this!' Mai thought.
"Unfortunately we're not allowed back into the apartment until it's fixed so we can't." Mai tried her best to sound convincing.
"Then I refuse to believe you if that is the only proof you think you can give me. There's something going on with you two and I won't rest until I find out what."
"Apparently you don't trust us when we say nothing's going on. Why?" Naru asked curiously. Ayako huffed and crossed her arms.
"Why should I believe and trust you when the pair of you have given me nothing but a list of lame and made-up excuses for you behaviour lately?" Ayako returned.
"She does have a point." Mai mumbled quietly to Naru so Ayako wouldn't hear. Naru glared at her.
"Just whose side are you on?" He hissed back to her. Ayako raised a brow at the intense looks they were giving each other. Mai shrank back and mumbled an apology. Ayako let out a huff at their strange behaviour.
"See! This is one of the things I was talking about!" Ayako stated.
"Hmm? Sorry, what?" Mai asked. "I wasn't paying much attention to you." She said addressing Ayako.
"This is freaking me out. You always pay attention Naru, even if it's only so you can insert appropriate snide remarks. And since when have you started apologizing?! You are one of the least apologetic human males I've ever come across, even when you screw up royally. As for you Mai..." Ayako ranted, now looking at Naru. " I don't know since when you have been so miserable and moody but it isn't right. You are one of the bubbliest people I know, even when something is bothering you. In fact usually that stupid monk and I have to prize the problem out of you, you're so insistent on keeping things to yourself, but now you seem to act like the entire world has conspired against you and the only way to deal with it is to snap everyone else's head off." Mai and Naru glanced nervously at each other then back at Ayako.
"We have nothing to say." Naru declared firmly but softly. Ayako gritted her teeth and starting turning red from anger. Recognizing she won't be getting anything out of them she turned to leave, but not without one last parting comment.
"I will find out what's going on here, mark my words."
Mai gulped. "Ayako's scary when she's mad." She murmured.
"Not as scary as my mother though." Naru replied.
Mai raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Naru nodded. "Gene was a real hell-raiser when we were little, always playing pranks of some kind, and as it took Mother a little time to work out who was who, especially when Gene insisted on pretending to be me sometimes, I would often find myself on the receiving end of a stern lecture from her. Also, when Gene got me in deep trouble, she had ways of punishing us that we didn't even realize until it was too late."
Mai was intrigued. "Like what?" She asked. Naru looked away with a tint of pink dusting his cheeks. Mai was even more intrigued.
"What was it?"
Naru sighed. "She would get us to try things out. Girly things like dresses and perfume for our female cousins. Sometimes she would get us to do other things like stay outside all night in a tent to protect the house from non-existent ghosts using only a hairbrush and a Barbie CD or paint the fence pink or something. The worst one would be when she'd make us cook a meal and then eat it or worse still eat Madoka's cooking!" Mai's smile grew wider as Naru was telling the stories. She bit her lip as an attempt to not laugh but was failing miserably. Her vision started to get blurry with the tears of laughter coming in. All of a sudden Mai let out a loud snort and collapsed on the floor in fits of laughter. Naru glared at Mai while she was rolling on the floor.
"Get up." He huffed. "You're making me look like an idiot."
Mai sat up and wiped the tears away still laughing a little. "You need to look like an idiot sometimes."
"I resent that."
"Why?" She asked finally calming down.
"I do not believe there is any point in time where I need to look like an idiot. Only a moron like you would say such a thing."
Mai huffed. "All I'm saying is that you need to loosen up."
"I am loose enough, any looser and my trousers would fall down."
Mai raised her eyebrows and tried to repress a smile. "Sure you are."
Naru let out a sigh. "You obviously don't get the concept of a joke."
Mai frowned and glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Exactly what I said, you don't seem to understand a joke."
Mai rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Naru huffed and got up.
"Where are you going?" Mai asked.
"Toilet." Naru responded curtly. "Your damn body keeps requiring it."
Mai smirked. "Yeah it'll do that especially when you're on your period."
"Brilliant, just flipping brilliant!" He muttered as he left. Yep, that's one thing she's not gonna miss! She sighed and relaxed into Naru's desk chair. 'I could get used to this.' She thought. She put her hands behind her head and propped her feet up on the desk. Naru came back in as she started to lean back into the chair even more causing a rather suspicious noise to erupt from it.
"That wasn't me, I swear!" She blushed. Naru narrowed his eyes before rolling them and muttering 'childish' under his breath. Mai wriggled slightly and the chair groaned and squeaked some more.
"Will you stop that?" Naru asked, annoyed.
"It's not my fault I'm uncomfortable." Mai muttered.
"Then get out of my chair." He simply replied.
"No can do Naru, there's nowhere else to sit in here." Mai pointed out. "Has your butt always been this bony, because I think that's what the problem is?"
Naru gave her an 'are you stupid?' look. "It's none your business."
"Touché. Still, just tell me because it kinda hurts when I sit down." She said getting up and squeezing her bum a bit before patting and rubbing it and then sitting back down.
"Don't do that! It's not your body to touch." He declared. "You don't see me touching your breasts all the time."
"Like you would anyway, you're too much of a prude for that. This is currently my body now anyway so I can do as I please with it. If I want to pat my butt then I will!" She affirmed.
Naru scoffed. "I should just do it anyways to see how she likes it..." He grumbled quietly to himself.
"Got something you'd like to share?" Mai asked.
"No, nothing." He replied absently. Mai narrowed her eyes at him then shook her head. Several minutes of silence passed before Mai broke it.
"Aren't we supposed to be getting revenge on Lin or something?"
Naru smirked. "Silly Mai, right now he'll be expecting it. No, we must wait until his guard is dropped for maximum effect."
Mai nodded slowly. "Riiiight...Don't you think you're enjoying this too much?"
"Not at all Mai, I think I could probably stand to get more enjoyment out of it, but as it is..." Naru shrugged in a helpless gesture.
Mai shook her head at him. "I just don't get why he told them..." She said.
"Neither do I, but we'll find out..." Naru said ominously.
"It seems like he knew they'd act that way..." Mai whispered thoughtfully. Mai mentally shook her head to get rid of those ridiculous thoughts. Why on earth would he do that?!
"It is rather unlike him to stir up trouble." Naru mused. Mai nodded in agreement. Naru just shrugged, sighed and sat down, unable to figure out the thoughts running through his head on the situation. Lin has just been acting so strange lately!
Lin meanwhile was planning how he was going to survive Naru's eventual wrath over him telling the monk and miko the details of their living arrangement. It may not be today or even tomorrow that he would strike, but it would happen, that he knew. Though Naru couldn't do any physical harm to him in that little body. Then again, what he did to that Kit guy was pretty harmful. Maybe the attack wouldn't be physical though...hmm; he would have to be very careful from now on as a strike could come from anywhere. And knowing Naru it will come. He's too relentless to let something like this go. Lin scratched his chin and pondered what he should do. Maybe he could try to see if Mai knows something? Allude it out of her? She probably wouldn't fall for it though, she's too loyal to Naru sometimes. Plus there's no way of telling if Naru told her of his plans. He probably did but there's no evidence to go by. Well, he guessed he would just have to wait it out.
Naruisawesome:- So did you enjoy?!
Treelow955:- I know I enjoyed writing parts of this!
Naruisawesome:- Oh yeah, you and your strange imagination! 'a hairbrush and a Barbie CD' indeed!
Treelow955:- What?! You laughed when I wrote it!
Naruisawesome:- Touche!
Treelow955:- Please read and review!