34. Shizuo takes out his half-empty box of cigarettes, but she puts her hand over his. The sudden contact startles him, and he nearly yanks his hand away. Mai's voice is quiet. "Could you….not do that right now? It smells awful." He hesitates. After sitting through a two-hour movie, his need for a cigarette has become somewhat unbearable. "Just for a little longer? Or you can head home, and I'll walk back by myself."
They're almost back to her apartment, he considers. A few more minutes won't kill him, so he drops the box back into his pocket. Her face brightens. "Thank you."
Normally, it doesn't bother her that much. He's smoked in front of her numerous times, and she never complained. Well, not really. He's noticed her wrinkling her nose, or sometimes suppressing a cough, yet she's never said anything up until now. Odd…. "What did you think of the movie?"
Mai laughs. "It would've been more scary if I wasn't an actual ghost hunter. I kept seeing all kinds of references to some cases I've done, so it was more funny for me. Masako must've had a bigger influence with the scriptwriters than I thought. Especially that part where that spirit was inches from her face."
"That actually happened to her?" That scene in the movie even unnerved him when he saw that ghastly pale face staring Hara Masako-or her character rather-directly in the eye, their noses a hair's breadth apart.
"No, that was me." Shizuo turns to stare at her in shock but is unable to think of a response or question to counter her statement. "I'd never been so scared in my life before. Or since, really. I don't count my nightmares as my own personal experiences because they're someone else's, so the moment I stared into the face of death wins. Seriously, he could've leaned forward and kissed me if he'd wanted to."
Despite himself, he cracks an uneasy smile. How in the world she did find the nerve to continue what she does? An encounter like that, even if it had been a nightmare-
Mai stops walking and looks up at him suddenly. "Speaking of kissing, isn't it about time you made an attempt like that?"
Shizuo's mind is blank for a second before he realizes what she's implying. "Uh…."
She crosses her arms behind her head, grinning slyly. "Oh, no rush, really, I just think it'd be really sad if a ghost succeeded before you did."
He flounders, backing two steps away from her, which makes her frown and laugh. "I don't see you making the effort." That's a dumb thing to say, and he mentally kicks himself for it.
"You're a head and a half taller than me!" Mai points out in disbelief. "What do you want me to do? Stand on the guardrail? Fine, then, help me up there."
"What?"
"You heard me." Mai retorts, putting one foot on the rail, then thinks better of it and climbs over the side, holding her longcoat out of the way so it won't snag, then tries again. "Making a girl work this hard. For shame, Shizuo."
He catches her flailing hands as she totters dangerously on the railing, automatically steadying her. She's taller than him now, though not by very much. "Hey, you should get down. This isn't really safe."
Her face is right in front of him. "I know!" She cries, impatience bubbling over. "I've been waiting for you to kiss me since we visited the shrine. So do it already!"
He does.
-0-0-0-
Author's Notes: If these last few chapters seemed a little frustrating or pointless, I apologize. This was the effect I was intending, as Mai and Shizuo were (and kinda still are) at an iffy point in their relationship. It'll be smoother from here on. Well, as smooth as it can be with these two.
Ghost Hunt is owned by Fuyumi Ono and Shiho Inada.
Durarara! is owned by Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Akiyo Satorigi.