Well, I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. This update will be my last for probably the next two weeks, but I did want to get this up to you guys so that you had something to read while I'm out of the country and away from my laptop! Also I'm glad I was able to get a few of you to laugh as I hope you will again with the next few chapters. Glad you enjoyed Ran, I always thought it would be funny if Madoka had a kid or niece or nephew who liked Lin more than her and Lin being so straight faced and no nonsense would be forced to accept it lol. Anyway enjoy the chapter and all of its awkwardness!
Chapter 2-Arrangements
Before you get angry with me, you should know there is one more thing to know about the spirits haunting this hotel. They target romantically involved couples and what better way to draw the spirits out than to be live bait! Also, because walls have ears the only place we can openly discuss this matter is in Base, where I am making sure it is sealed with charms. Now get ready for dinner and meet in Base!
Madoka! :)
March Day 1 6:15 P.M.
Mai closed her eyes after she finished reading the note. Biting her lip, she shook her head and said, "Well, I'm not going to wait to discuss this. Let's head back down to Base."
"Agreed," Naru replied, shoving a piece of paper in his pocket. Earning a strange look from his new roommate, he replied, "Just the envelope the note came in."
Nodding, Mai followed him out the door and down to Base. They were still a few doors away, but they could hear a muffled argument belonging to a certain monk and priestess.
"It's one thing to mention this before a case and ask for volunteers, but to trick us!" Ayako's voice was shrill as Mai and Naru entered.
"Wow, no one has the ability to follow directions! Now we're going to have to keep explanations brief so you can get ready!" Madoka said with an exasperated sigh.
"And who said I would've volunteered to be your partner? It's like volunteering for suici-ow!" And on cue, the priestess's purse hit its target. "C'mon, this has to constitute as abuse."
"Doesn't count as abuse if you like it!"
"I think I found our kinky couple!" Madoka's voice sang, erupting the whole room into an argument.
Mai raised a brow and scurried over to the calmer couple who sat on one of the couches. "So I take it, no one saw this coming?" she asked, the two shook their heads.
"I'm just glad I had already gotten changed," Kiko said with a shrug. "Apparently, Ayako was in the middle of taking off her shirt when Monk walked in."
"Yeah, I thought she was going to rip his head off," Yasuhara added crossing his arms. A sharp whistle sounded, silencing the arguing couple and bringing attention to the only one who could have made such a sound.
But he shook his head. "I didn't whistle." All eyes turned to the woman who started this mess.
"Why does everyone think you're the only one who can whistle? I'm the one that taught you," Madoka huffed, crossing her arms. With a breath her whole demeanor changed and she became the rather chipper woman who they were all well acquainted with. "Because we are pressed for time, I'll keep this short. We need to draw out the spirits here by pretending to be couples, in fact…" She turned to the tall Chinese man behind her. "Lin, be a dear and grab my purse, please?"
Mai couldn't keep her dismay off of her face at the scene, as Lin did just what Madoka asked. Why do I get the feeling this can't be good?
"I even brought a little prop for each of us!" She dug through her bag, only to pull out a small box. "Just to make it a little more believable, we should all wear one of these rings." She opened the box to reveal eight wedding bands.
And Ayako and Monk began their onslaught on the woman. You've gotta be kidding me, Mai thought to herself as Kiko and Yasuhara went into their own conversation and Naru seemed to approach Madoka. It's bad enough that I'm apparently not over my crush on him, now I have to sleep in the same bed as him? What world does she live on where that would be a good idea?
She saw Naru's eyes harden at the woman and Mai knew she had to stop this madness. There's no way we can solve this case with everyone fighting like this, but there's also no way we'll draw the spirits to us unless we pretend to be couples. I know I'm going to regret this!
She stood up and crossed the room to where Naru looked as though he were about rip Madoka to shreds. "Madoka, this is completely-" but he was cut off when Mai grabbed the box from the woman's hands.
She pulled out a ring and put it on her third finger of her left hand. She pulled out a larger one and grabbed Naru's hand. With a confused look from him, she placed the ring on the appropriate finger and took a step back. "If this will help us solve the case faster, I'm willing to do it." She turned to the rest of the team who had gone silent at her actions. She handed the box to Lin. "But we won't be able to solve this case quickly, let alone at all, if we keep arguing about it. What's done is done and I'm sure Madoka has already told the owner that the team was made of married couples. What else can we do?"
"I'm so glad you see it that way, Mai!" Madoka said cheerfully with her hands clasped together and her cheek resting on them. She took the box from Lin. "Anyone else willing to give this a shot?"
"You sure about this, girlie?" Monk asked as Mai crossed her arms.
"Yes, I'm sure, now I'm going to go get ready for dinner with our client. We don't have much time until he expects us." And with that she marched right out of Base earning plenty of perplexed looks from her team.
"She's right, are there any immediate questions that can't wait until after dinner?" Madoka asked, seeing a couple of hands raised. "If it's about PDA, minimum is just fine, we are here on business. Our client is aware of that as well." And the hands went down. "Okay, now quickly get ready! We are to meet Saburo here in twenty-five minutes and he'll escort us to Murakami's private dining room."
Mai really didn't want any part of whatever argument was going on beneath her feet as she applied a little makeup to make her look at least a little older that her seventeen year old self. She was, after all, playing a married woman.
Married woman, ha! She thought to herself. I look like a child bride!
She was grateful that she at least blew her hair dry after her run that morning. One less thing she had to do. She opted for the blue skater dress and a pair of flats and after she applied a second coat of mascara, she dubbed herself ready to go. "About as good as I'm going to get," she said softly as she looked down at the ring on her finger.
When did I get so bold? She wondered as she twisted the piece of metal around. It felt so foreign on her hand, and despite grabbing the smallest size in the box, it seemed just a little too loose. Maybe there's some really good food at this place and I'll be able to fatten up since I can't go on my runs.
She sighed and shook her head, fluffing her bobbed hair one more time for good measure. Yes, this was as good as she was going to get with so little time and notice, but she at least felt pretty.
She opened the door and it was only then that she realized she was right about the western style of the room. An actual mattress was in the middle of the room as opposed to a futon. Of course, there's only one mattress. What married couple needs two beds?
She shook her head again and turned to leave only to come face to face with her roommate. "Geez! Naru! You scared me!" she exclaimed after spazzing a little. "Can't you just announce that you're entering like normal people?"
"I didn't realize I had to announce my presence in my own room," he said coolly. Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes. But she noticed his change of demeanor. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
She wasn't expecting that. Naru actually asking her if she was okay with something work related? Mai just shrugged and grabbed her small black purse that Ayako had given her a while back. She put her phone in it and threw the strap onto her shoulder. "I'm fine, Naru," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "We're both professionals, at least I hope you'll be able to remain professional while we share a room."
"I don't think I'm the one we have to worry about," he replied softly, earning a glare from his assistant.
"Excuse me?" But she knew he wasn't going to own up to what she knew she heard. So with a shake of her head she said, "What are you doing here? I thought you would be in Base making sure Madoka didn't make a fool of your team."
"It's customary for married couples to attend dinner functions together," he said simply, lightly gesturing to the finger that she had placed a ring on. "Meaning, they normally arrive together."
Mai wasn't sure why that sent a chill down her spine, but it did. She internally shook off the feeling and grabbed her room key, also placing it in her purse. "Okay, well, dinner awaits."
Murakami's private dining room was located in his private quarters on the other end of the hotel. After the group had gathered in Base, Saburo had returned to lead the way. "Thank you all for coming so quickly," Murakami said as he walked in after the group arrived. He was a tall man, about as tall as Monk and with dark blonde hair that didn't come from a bottle, Mai realized one thing very quickly.
He's only part Japanese… Mai thought as she studied the property owner.
"My cousin assured me that you were the best that I could call, and I only call for the best," Murakami continued and then something clicked in Mai's pretty little head.
His cousin must be one of Madoka's clients in Europe. That's why he called her and why she called us, Mai determined as she stood next to her boss.
"Madoka-san has also told me you're one of the few ghost hunters whose team is compiled mostly of married couples, very interesting indeed, especially for the activity that we have going on here."
Well, so much for pretending that we're all married. There's no way this guy bought that. Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes and groan. Madoka, what were you thinking?
"I told you that I would only bring the best with us and with the activity present I knew we needed to try to pull it to us so that the remaining guests were safe and comfortable," Madoka said smoothly as she bowed and turned to the team. "Now, if I may introduce everyone, we have Takigawa, Houshou our Buddhist monk who is married to our priestess Takigawa, Ayako."
"Hello," they said as they bowed. Mai could see right past the smiles on their faces, they were not looking forward to this.
"We also have Yasuhara, Osamu our lead researcher who recently married Yasuhara, Kiko one our spiritualists and researchers." The couple bowed and Madoka turned to the tallest of the group. "This is my husband, Lin, he's our spiritualist and tech expert as well as one of the assistants to the man in charge." She finally turned her attention to the last couple and Mai made sure to put out her very best smile. "Shibuya, Kazuya is our ring leader and the manager of Shibuya Psychic Research. He also recently married his assistant and fellow spiritualist, Shibuya, Mai."
"Very nice to meet you, Murakami-san," Mai said with a bow.
"Please, call me Juro," the man said with a bow back. "Come and sit, our appetizers will be out shortly."
Day 1, 8:54 P.M.
After dinner, the gang could be found in Base figuring out their next move. "Lin and I will conduct the interviews, while Yasuhara and Monk set up the equipment in here," Naru explained as he briefly looked to the large amount of monitors that had yet to be put up. "Due to the size of this place, I'd like you girls to split up and do temperature sweeps. We'll correspond your findings with the claims we receive from the employees."
"I call Mai!" Both Madoka and Ayako shouted, earning a sweatdrop from the poor girl.
"Madoka, why don't you go with Kiko? You haven't worked with her before," Ayako urged. By the look on her face, Mai wasn't sure if she wanted to be paired off with her or Madoka at the moment.
"Maybe that would be a good idea," Madoka decided after a moment. Mai could see the unspoken conversation that their eyes told.
So that was how Mai found herself wandering the halls of the fourth floor, after stopping by their rooms to get changed into more workable clothing. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" Ayako finally asked as they waited for the thermometer to set in one of the vacant rooms. "I can always convince Monk to switch rooms with you and you can stay with me."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be hearing that a lot during this case?" Mai said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Look, we're all professionals and I really doubt anything will happen if we sleep in the same room."
"But Mai, are you comfortable doing it?" the woman asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's one thing to have to share a bed with me or Madoka or Kiko or Masako or having to sleep with the entire team in the same room. Hell, it wouldn't be that different if you had to share a room with Monk or John, but this is your boss we're talking about. It's okay if you aren't comfortable-"
"You mean, it's okay if I'm not comfortable sharing a bed with him after the last time we were together in one?" Mai said bluntly, catching the woman off guard. "That's what you want, right? For me to know that if I am wary of him after what happened at the college that it's okay. And arrangements can be made so that I'm more comfortable."
"Mai-"
"Ayako, I appreciate it, I really do, but," she said taking a breath and writing down the temperature posted on the thermometer, "enough arrangements have been made for me in the past. I don't want to jeopardize solving the case quickly and efficiently. Besides, if we did switch rooms it would cause too much of a scene." She pursed her lips and grabbed the thermometer, walking away.
"This is not going to be an easy case," Ayako said with a shake of her head.
"The laundry room on the second floor was warmer than the surrounding rooms, which is to be expected," Madoka said as she read her notes. Yasuhara marked the room on the printed out blueprints he had taped to the wall.
"You brought stickers?" Mai asked with a raised brow, noticing the green, yellow, and red spots throughout the blueprints.
The college student shrugged. "I had a feeling we wouldn't have a bulletin board or a white board like with past cases. Plus I figured it would do less damage than markers and it looks great!"
"That it does," Madoka quipped with a smile. "I particularly like the pink flowers and unicorns you put on the corners."
"Thanks, my little cousin, Hamako, picked them out. Remind me to take a picture to show her."
"How is she doing?" Monk asked, crossing his arms.
"She's doing just fine. A little upset that I'm on a case when she has her break before the new school year, but I promised to-"
"Yasuhara-san," Naru warned, shutting the college student up.
"Right," he replied with a nod. "Back to the stickers, I have the green to represent areas of very mild activity. In the laundry room, employees have reported voices and shadows but nothing of malicious intent. Most likely residual energy." He pointed to the yellow stickers. "The yellow is for areas of moderate activity. Employees and guests have heard their name called, felt touches, seen people that weren't there, and again nothing that seemed malevolent. Most likely an intelligent haunting that just wants to be heard and maybe freak out the patrons. I mean that's what I'd do if I were a ghost-"
"What about the red?" Mai asked, trying not to roll her eyes again. Why was she finding that task so hard?
"For the more extreme activity," he explained, pointing to a specific red dot. "Intelligent haunting with malicious intent, what we're really here to investigate."
"Employees have been shoved and scratched and cut," Monk explained, looking at his own notes that he took overhearing the interviews. "Guests have experienced the same type of activity as well as their luggage moving to different rooms on their own. In several of the rooms couples have had shared nightmares involving a dark figure-"
"And it's just a coincidence that our rooms happen to be marked red?" Ayako asked, crossing her legs and folding her arms. "Looks like I'll be making more charms like in Akita."
"That would be ideal, however," Naru said, his own arms crossed, "our rooms were not the ones where the nightmares occurred. They occurred on the fourth floor, our rooms were the subject of messages written on the wall in blood."
"Aw, so we get to wake up to little love notes from our deceased roommates? Sounds like the perfect honeymoon!" Kiko said with a little too much enthusiasm. Madoka couldn't help but grin.
"I knew you two would be perfect together!" she exclaimed, looking between Kiko and Yasuhara.
"Now that we have a better idea of where to put our equipment," Naru interrupted, pulling out his notebook. "Madoka and Lin with stay here and communicate camera angles. The rest of us will split up into pairs and set up the equipment. Monk with Mai, Yasuhara with Matsuzaki-san, and Kiko with me."
"Naru, wouldn't you rather be paired with your wife?" Madoka pressed, giving the boy a look.
"I paired you with your husband," he said coldly. "We need to maintain a professional appearance."
"Business before pleasure," Monk muttered with a smirk.
"Someone doesn't trust themselves around their wife," Yasuhara commented to the monk.
"Yet he trusts himself with yours?"
"I object!"
"At this rate, we'll be up until dawn setting up!" Ayako exclaimed, silencing any arguments. She shook her head and let out a loud sigh. "Let's just set up the equipment and then go to bed, I'm exhausted."
Great, if I'm partnered with Monk I'm going to have to go through the same interrogation that I did with Ayako, Mai internally groaned as she stood up and picked up the equipment she needed. No wonder they're married.
"I'm not liking this case," Monk muttered as he setup the camera and Mai took care of the microphone on the second floor hallway.
"What's freaking you out more? The blood written love notes we might wake up to? Or the fact that you're going to be bickering with Ayako nonstop for the next week?" Mai teased dryly as she picked up the walkie-talkie. "How's that?"
"Tell Monk a little more to the left," Madoka's cheerful voice rang through with a little static. "A little more-perfect! Just make sure you plug in the microphone before you head off to the next stop."
"Got it." She turned on the microphone and grabbed the other equipment that was lying against the wall. "There's a vacant room down the hall that Naru wants a mic in. Only voices were reported in there-"
"Hey, Mai, how much did Naru tell you about this case?" Monk interrupted her as they walked down the hall.
She raised a brow. "If you mean, did he know about that part?" she determined with a shrug. "Then, no, he wasn't aware of Madoka's plan-"
"I mean why he took on the case. You know, the real concern of the owner." When Mai shook her head with a suspicious glance, Monk sighed and wore a concerned look. "Six months ago a couple who were here on a second honeymoon went missing. They didn't have children and were apparently having issues with their families, so it was assumed that they ran off."
"I'm sensing a 'but' here," Mai said as they reached the room.
"Saburo said he saw them enter the lobby just like they did when they arrived for their vacation. They walked up to the desk to check in and when he asked for their name, they answered and when it finally clicked, Saburo looked up and they were gone."
Mai's brows knitted together as she adjusted the stand. "So, now it's likely they never left the resort? Their spirits are haunting the property? I thought the activity going on here was reported for years?"
"It has, but it wasn't until after the couple disappeared that the blood started to appear on the walls," Monk said, attaching the microphone to the stand.
"And let me guess," Mai huffed as she stood up with her hands on her hips, "the room that first had the blood notes is not only the same room the couple that went missing stayed in, but also the same room Naru and I are staying in."
"You had your meeting with Naru already, right? Please, tell me he gave you a raise," Monk teased as he turned on the microphone and took the walkie-talkie. "The mic in room 207 is good to go."
"Excellent! Great work!" Madoka's voice cheered.
Mai pouted and picked up the equipment again. "You're hilarious," she said rolling her eyes.
Day 2, 12:45 A.M.
"Finally! We're done," Mai sighed as she and Monk walked into Base. It was just Lin watching the cameras. "Are we the first?"
"No, Yasuhara and Matsuzaki were," Lin answered as he typed some notes on his laptop. "Naru and Kimura finished not long after them."
"Then where are they?" Monk asked looking at the empty room.
"Naru wanted a word with Madoka," he answered. "Everyone else turned in for the night. Meet here before breakfast."
"Looks like we've been dismissed," Monk said with a shrug as the two of them left.
Something sat heavily in the pit of Mai's stomach as they rode the elevator up to their floor. She couldn't quite explain it, almost like she swallowed a brick. Subconsciously, she twirled the ring on her finger, absently remembering that it was there. She couldn't believe that Naru left out part of the information gathered during the interviews.
It's kind of important to know that we might find bodies in our search! The wire of her bra dug uncomfortably into her side as she walked down the hall. All he'll probably say is something like, 'It's been six months, the likelihood we would be the first to discover their bodies is slim to none. If they even are still on the property.'
She pouted as she mentally imitated her boss's voice. She almost winced when her wire poked out of her bra and stabbed her, but she held it in because she didn't want to have to explain that to Monk. It would feel like discussing tampons in front of him, awkward, she mentally chided as she walked just a little faster to get to her room. I can't wait to get this damn thing off.
"Goodnight, Mai," Monk said as they reached his room, hers was just a few doors down.
"Goodnight, Monk," she replied as she headed down the hall. With no one around she tried to discreetly adjust her undergarment, but to no avail. Just a few more steps. She pulled out her key.
With welcomed relief, she opened the door to her room and walked in. She remembered a trick Michiru had taught her when they were just starting to wear bras and didn't want to wear them to sleep at slumber parties. My older sister taught me, she remembered the conversation, just wrap your arm around and grab the clasp.
Mai replayed her conversation as she followed her friend's instructions. She reached behind and under her shirt, grabbed the clasp with one hand and unhooked it. Letting out a relieved breath, she snaked the straps through the short sleeves of her shirt and around her arms, finally pulling the garment out without having taken off her shirt…
Only to look up and see she had an audience. "Glad to see you're comfortable with our arrangement," Naru said as Mai failed to bite down on her squeak.
A furious blush grew on her cheeks as she refused to look him in the eye. "Forgive me for not being used to sharing a room with a guy. Actually I kind of forgot for a second…" Her brows knitted but she shook her head and marched over to her bag and pulled out what she needed. "I'm going to change."
She marched herself over to the bathroom and Naru heard the click of the lock before he shook his head. "Madoka, whatever your plan is, it'll never work."
In the bathroom, Mai was getting herself ready for bed. Removing her makeup, brushing her teeth and hair, and changing into her pajamas. Not her pink floral ones, she had to throw them away when she woke up to find them torn. Thank goodness I won't have to worry about that anymore, she thought as she buttoned up her purple pajama top. This one had turquoise polka dots.
By the time Mai came out of the bathroom, Naru was already in his blue pajamas and sitting on the right side of the bed reading a book. "Why do you get the right side?" Mai asked with a raised brow as she put her wad of clothes back in her bag,
"You were taking too long for us to properly discuss it," he replied, turning the page and not taking his eyes off the book. "And I sleep better on my right side."
Yeah, so do I, Mai mentally rolled her eyes as she crawled into the other side of the bed.
She was sure that with her long day, she would fall asleep before her head hit the pillow. Of course, she had been wrong before, so why would this be any different.
She hated trying to sleep on her left side. It wasn't long before Naru switched out his light and she could hear his subtle snores. Maybe, I could just turn on my right side, just to fall asleep. What's wrong with facing his back?
Desperate for exhaustion to take over, Mai turned over to her right side. Only to come face to face with her black haired employer. Geez, he's even more beautiful in his sleep-damn it, Mai! You're better than this!
Fully awake now, Mai sat up and scowled at the man she was forced to share a bed with. You fall asleep better on your right side, but you stay asleep on your left. There was no way for this to not get weird.
Mai let out a breath as she got up and put the sheets back. According to the clock, Naru had probably turned out the lights about forty-five minutes before. Quarter after two and I'm not going to sleep anytime soon, she decided as she pulled out her textbooks that she brought. Might as well get started on what we're going to cover next term.
So she turned on the lamp at the desk across the room and began her work.
He was running. Down a road he never walked but knew all too well. He hated it. He shouldn't have been running down this road. He'd had this dream before. Hell, it wasn't even a dream. It was a memory. A memory that would haunt him until he died.
The air smelled fresh and crisp. But he still continued running. He knew what was coming and he had to stop it. "Noll! Wait!" Came an all too familiar voice. It wasn't supposed to go like this.
He turned around to the high beams of a car, screeching tires, and the smell of exhaust. No it wasn't supposed to play out like this at all. He ran to the body in front of the car, he was completely identical to him. "N-Noll…" He was still alive. That was what pissed off the on looking boy the most.
"Gene!" he shouted but his voice felt hollow. Unable to scream.
"Noll, you need to-" But he didn't finish. No, this was not how this was supposed to play out.
Not at all.
3:30 A.M.
Naru awoke with a start. Cold sweat beaded down from his brow. He had been asleep on his stomach and had propped himself on his forearms as he tried to calm his racing heart of his nightmare. I couldn't save him…
What he wasn't expecting, though, was the light to be on by the desk. And his roommate-slash-assistant to be busy doing some sort of work. "I'm sorry, Naru, did I wake you?" she asked, ceasing her writing.
"No, no," he replied taking a deep breath. He glanced at the clock. "What are you doing up this late?"
"Homework," she answered with a shrug. He looked at her confused, or maybe he was just exhausted.
"Why are you choosing to do homework now?" He blinked hard trying to wake himself of his sleepiness. "Your term just ended, why do you have homework?"
"My teacher gave me some of the topics we'll be covering so I can get a head start."
"And you decided three in the morning was the perfect time to do that?"
"I couldn't sleep." She sighed and put her pen down, closing her notebook around it. "For the last few months I've had a bit of insomnia. Back then we were doing cases close to home, so I didn't have to worry about waking anyone up. I would do homework, or clean, or get ready to go running with my neighbor."
"Did you even fall asleep?" he asked. She shook her head.
"That's just it, it's not that I have difficulty falling asleep, it's staying asleep. Tonight was a separate issue though, I just couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to be somewhat productive," she explained as she uncurled her legs from under her. "Lately, I seem to be able to sleep longer, but I still get maybe four hours a night. It's better than what I have been getting."
"Were there ever nights that you didn't sleep at all?" She nodded, opening back up her notebook and jotting down a couple notes.
"Yeah, a lot actually, but it wasn't until a couple months into it did I end up not sleeping at all. I went almost a week without more than an hour of sleep every couple of days. Actually, that was probably around the end of my relationship with Shouta." She didn't say his name with any disgust. Just said it matter of fact. "But like I said, I seem to be getting better. And at least I'm doing better in my classes."
She smiled but saw the exhaustion in her boss's eyes. It was three in the morning. He was probably going to get up around seven. She wasn't going to get to sleep until close to five, anyway. "I'm sorry, Naru, is the light going to keep you up? I can move. I probably won't go to sleep for another hour-"
"Do whatever is most comfortable for you," he said trying not to allow his tiredness show in his voice, but it was hard. Even for him. He rolled over and quietly muttered, "Next time you can't sleep on a case, make yourself useful and review evidence or something."
Mai scowled at him, but less that a minute later she heard his subtle snoring and shook her head. It was hard for her not to laugh as she turned out the light and gathered her books and headed into the bathroom. "That jerk," she muttered, but she couldn't help but smile. "I'd probably be cranky too if I woke up like he did. I guess Narus get nightmares too."
March Day 2, 7:32 A.M.
Maybe it was the light shining through the curtains that morning. Maybe it was his biological clock telling him to wake up. Maybe it was the annoying chirping coming from outside the window. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't used to sharing a bed with this particular team member.
Whatever it was, it woke him up.
But it would never prepare him for what he woke up to.
It appeared that at some point, Mai had gone to bed. She was still deep in her dreams as Naru looked at her, but you see, he was in a bit of a predicament.
Somehow, in the middle of the night, Naru seemed to have latched onto his petite assistant's waist. Now how was he going to get out of this mess without waking her?
Madoka, I'm going to kill you.
Naru's a cuddler? Who'da thought? Me. I did. I totally did. lol. Did anyone see the hint about this case I made in the post case chapter? No? Go back and see if you can find it lol.
Okay, so as many of you might have figured out, the idea where the team has to pretend to be married or together is not originally mine. To be honest, I got the idea from another fic on this site called My Soul to Take, it's great and check it out if you haven't already. Of course, my version will be entirely different (at least I'm like 93% sure it will be), there's a reason why I titled this case Healing and we shall see it very soon.
Also, just to clarify, the only members of SPR who are currently in a relationship are Lin and Madoka (ironically). But who knows what might happen in this case? Any predictions?
Hope you enjoyed! Please review!