Naru's apartment was unlike anything Mai had ever seen. There was a full kitchen and living room, three different rooms two of which were bedrooms and the other a home office. There were two bathrooms, one attached to the master bedroom and the other was in between the second room and the office. It was a lot more than she had expected but then again it was Naru and she would expect nothing less from him. There was just plain furniture everywhere and the little bit of color that he did have throughout was just navy blue and white.
"Wow Naru this is so amazing, it's so big in here," Mai said looking around trying to take everything in.
"I'll show you to your room now," Naru said walking down the hallway.
The room itself was pretty empty except for the bed and nightstand with a lamp on it that was inside of the room.
"I know it's not much but if you need anything else I can arrange for it," Naru told the girl.
"No it's fine everything is fine, I'm sure there are some things we can move from the storage right," Mai said looking up at him.
The boy nodded and Mai walked in the room and placed the bag on the bed.
"I'll give you some time alone to let you get settled. If you need anything I'm down the hall," and with that Naru closed the door and left Mai in the room alone.
It was strange for her to suddenly be across the hallway from Naru's room. She never thought that in a million years she would get to see where Naru lived, let alone be living with him. She knew once she brought in a few of her things from storage she would start to feel a little bit more comfortable. As comfortable as she could be living with a man she had been in love with since the first day she had met him.
If it weren't for the fact that she knew Naru had zero interest in her she would have used this as an opportunity to get to now him better and get closer to could still try to get to know him and try to unveil the cloud of mystery he has over himself. Mai sighed to herself and took out the clothes in her bag and hung some of them up in the closet. There really wasn't much for her to get done since she didn't have the rest of her clothes or furniture. She wanted to get everything settled today but decided against asking Naru if they could make the trip for her things.
Mai took her phone out of the backpack and went through her contacts until she found Monk's number. She pushed the call button and let the phone ring waiting for him to pick up.
"Mai it's you how are you feeling," Monk said answering the phone.
"I'm doing better now that I've already been discharged. By the way thanks for deciding to stick me with the world's biggest narcissist for a roommate without even talking to me about it first," Mai yelled at the phone.
"Easy Mai it wasn't like we were all too happy with this decision. Besides Naru was the one who made the suggestion, and you know him once he comes up with something it's hard to convince him otherwise. Not only that but if you really think about it he kind of was the only option we had," Monk explained.
"Yeah, yeah I know I figured as much. It just would have been nice if I was included in the conversation is all," the girl sighed.
"I know and I'm sorry," Monk apologized.
"It's fine I promise. Anyways the reason I was calling is because Naru said I had some things in storage and I was wondering if you, Yasu, and John wouldn't mind bringing it here. It's mostly just furniture and my clothes," Mai asked him.
"Yeah sure we can bring all your furniture, as for your clothes Naru and Lin took all the boxes the girls had packed up, so you would have to ask him where he put them. Oh yeah another thing, do you have the address so we know how to get there," Monk asked.
Mai's eyes widened in surprise, no one except for Lin and maybe even Madoka knew where Naru lived and now that she was living here she still didn't have that one piece of crucial information.
"Umm yeah I'll have to get back to you on that one," Mai said as she hung her shoulders.
Silence hung between the two for a minute. Mai had wanted to apologize to the Monk for what she had done to him on the last case but she wasn't sure how to bring it up.
"Mai whatever it is you want to say you can tell me," Monk spoke knowing what was bothering her.
"I-I just wanted to apologize. I know I was possessed and attacked you, I know it wasn't me doing it but still. Maybe if I had done something I wouldn't have been possessed and the case would have ended differently," Mai let out and she could feel tears forming in her eyes.
"That's what you're worried about. Mai if I were to blame you for what happened I would be a shameful spiritualist. If it's all the same I share some blame too for not keeping my wits about me and sensing that something was off with you. But honestly, there is no need to apologize," Monk told the girl softly almost sounding fatherly.
Mai smiled and wiped away the tears that were forming. She was glad that this man was someone she could call a friend. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders, even though she knew this was how the conversation would have turned out.
They talked some more on the phone until Ayako took over the conversation. After 30 more minutes of being on the phone Mai hung up the call and went to lay down on the bed, her bed. The mattress sunk in a little and Mai felt like it was trying to embrace her from all sides. The sheets smelled like they were freshly washed and there was a hint of a lavender scent. Before she knew it Mai had fallen asleep.
Naru hadn't heard much noise coming from the room since he had given Mai some time to settle in. He knew she didn't have much to accomplish since she didn't have the remainder of her clothing nor did she ask anyone to bring in her furniture from storage. If she didn't need it at the moment then it was no concern of his to remind her of these things, when she wanted them she would ask for them. He spent a majority of the afternoon preparing multiple reading materials in his office as well as exercises for Mai's training while she remained under his care.
He didn't know exactly how long this arrangement would last so he had to make sure he had more than enough lessons for the girl just in case. He knew he could efficiently teach her everything there was to know book wise about the parapsychology world, but when it came to the physical aspect that is where he lacked a lot of knowledge. Gene was always better at applying the different physical lessons and Oliver knew that his brother would pick up most of the slack when it came down to it.
Oliver wasn't going to make it east for his assistant when it came to teaching her, any amount of slacking or goofing off that he saw he would end it right then and there. There was no room for her to be anything less than perfect, the sooner she understood these things the sooner she would be able to protect herself spiritually. This way the chances of her being in danger would minimize and the chances that Naru would need to look for another assistant would diminish as well.
As much as he hated it he knew there was nothing he could doo about her clumsiness. The brown haired girl had been given two left feet and the ability to trip on air and find some impossible way to injure herself. Naru was irritated over the fact he had to practically babysit her but after this last case and what Gene told him when he returned to Japan, he didn't have much of a choice. He would do what Gene told him and help Mai get the training he desperately needed. After he felt like he compiled an endless amount of lessons he emerged from his office and made his way over to the kitchen.
He found his male assistant preparing their dinner for the night. From what Naru could see the night's menu consisted of fried rice, teriyaki chicken, and grilled vegetables. For as long as he could remember he had always viewed the man as somewhat of an older brother to him and his twin, other than just being a bodyguard that his parents had assigned to them. Of course he would never admit this fact out loud to anyone ever. Naru walked over to the living room, grabbed a book off the shelf, and sat down on the couch to read until dinner was over.
once everything had just about finished cooking Lin started grabbing the plates and the utensils. Upon hearing the noises from the older man Naru closed his book and placed it on the small table next to the couch. He got up from his spot and decided to get his new roommate and let her know that dinner was ready. He approached the door and knocked waiting for her to respond allowing him entrance to the room. There was no answer from the other side of the door and he decided to knock and wait again. Again he was met with nothing but silence and just decided to walk into the room.
Mai blinked her eyes as she tried to focus on what was in front of her. She was once again in her astral plane and Gene was walking towards her from a distance.
"I see you got some new living accommodations today," he stated.
"Yeah it would seem so, I just wish thing weren't so awkward," Mai said rubbing the back of her neck.
"Awkward how," Gene asked.
"What do you mean how, I'm still in love with your brother," Mai blurted out.
Gene looked at her with sad eyes, he knew everything that Mai felt and she was sure he knew about what Naru said to her 2 years ago.
"He has made it perfectly clear again after 2 years that he has no interest in me at all. He still even claims that I am in love with you. How am I supposed to live with him knowing his feelings and all the feelings I have inside of me," Mai could feel herself wanting to cry but she held back her tears as much as possible.
"Mai, Oliver is the biggest idiot on the planet. Yes he is very smart when it comes to reading texts in a book, but he fails in people skills. As much as he hates to admit it he doesn't understand people's feelings not even his own. I think this move will be great for the both of you. I'm sure you will get to see a new side of him that you haven't before, who knows he may even surprise you," Gene told the girl as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
'It's kind of hard to imagine seeing a whole new side to him other than the cold hearted narcissist that he shows himself to be," Mai said.
"Trust me Mai you may not see it now, but you get him to open up little by little. Not a lot of people are capable of doing that to Oliver," Gene reassured her.
"Yeah I guess you're right. This is all just a lot especially after it being 2 years and all of a sudden my life is changing in drastic ways," she voiced.
"Which reminds me you should be prepared for what's to come," Gene said sounding cryptic.
"What's that supposed to mean," Mai questioned.
"Naru is going to be taking over some of your spiritual training. There is going to be a lot of reading material and quizzing with a few physical practices, but when it comes to whatever he can't teach you I can do it," he explained.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me things just keep getting worse and worse," Mai groaned.
"Don't worry he may be tough but inside he is a real softie," Gene laughed.
Mai smiled back at him and Gene hugged her before walking back off into the darkness.
Just as Naru opened the door to the room Mai suddenly sat up on her bed. Clearly the girl had been asleep that much was evident, especially after all the time he spent working with ehr and seeing how she wakes up from her dreams.
"Gosh Naru next time knock before you decide to open the door and scare me half to death," Mai half yelled at him as she felt her heart beating out of her chest.
"I did knock you were the one who didn't answer," he answered not sounding amused at all.
"Oh...sorry I guess i fell asleep. So what's up is everything alright," she said feeling bad for having yelled at him.
"Dinner is ready," was all he said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
Mai just stared at the door and blinked a couple of times before she got off the bed and made her way to the kitchen. As soon as she saw all the food on the dining table Mai's stomach grumbled reminding her that all she had to eat was breakfast this morning, or lack of. Naru was sitting at the table across from Lin so she decided to take her seat between the two, Lin to her right and Naru to the left.
"Wow everything looks delicious," Mai exclaimed smelling all the different scents.
"Go ahead and get whatever you like," Lin said allowing the female to be the first to fill her plate.
Mai placed a little bit of everything on her plate and set it back down in front of her. She silently gave her thanks for the food and grabbed her chopsticks to taste the meal that had been prepared. The girl could taste all of the different flavors and seasonings as they filled her mouth. She hadn't had a cooked meal like this in a while. Yeah she was able to cook for herself but her meals were nothing compared to this.
"Everything is delicious," Mai said aloud.
"Thank you," Lin responded to her.
The school girl had suspected that it was the older man who had provided them with their meal tonight. She had no doubt that Naru could cook as well, but knowing him he wouldn't lift a finger if there was someone else there to do it for him. The girl just smiled to herself and continued to eat her meal.
Dinner was passing by in silence, nothing but utensils hitting the plates could be heard throughout the apartment. Now the two men were used to sharing their meals like this, but for Mai the silence was unbearably awkward. She always associated dinners as being filled with conversations that either made no sense or had a point to them.
"Umm Naru," Mai said looking at her boss.
he only hummed in response as he continued eating.
"I kind of need the address to the apartment. I called Monk earlier and asked if he and the other guys would could come and bring some of my furniture over from the storage tomorrow. But then we both realized that we didn't have the address here," Mai explained suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"I'll have Lin go and pick up the men and bring them over here with the things that you need," he responded briefly and continued eating his dinner.
"Lin do you mind helping the guys with my things tomorrow, i don't want to bother you if you are busy," she asked the stoic man.
"It's no bother Mai I can go and get them at 10am tomorrow," the bodyguard replied.
"See Naru isn't it easier to ask for favors instead of assuming people will bend to your will," Mai voiced with a bit of sass.
After that statement it was pure silence again except for the sound of cutlery. Mai wasn't sure if she could take this every dinner from here on out for the remainder of her time here.
"By the way Naru do you know where my clothes are," Mai asked hoping to start some form of conversation.
"I'll show you tomorrow when the rest of your things arrive," again her boss was quick and brief with his response.
She could feel herself internally cringing at the awkwardness that she felt. She had become accustomed to the silence the two men shared, but that was when she was alone with them in base when they were working. But this felt different to her, she wasn't sure why but it just did.
"So umm how did things go with the end of the case," again Mai was looking for anything in the hopes of starting a conversation.
Lin could feel the unease the girl was feeling and glanced over to his young charge to see how he would respond. He could see the flicker of annoyance on his face and hoped he wouldn't take it out on the poor girl.
"Mai do you insist on continuing this useless chatter for the rest of the meal," Naru responded voicing his annoyance.
As usual Lin was wrong for assuming Naru could handle the situation in a more delicate manner.
I'm sorry you find this to be useless chatter Naru but silence at dinner is not something I am used to. Dinner is supposed to be full of conversations, some random and others having a point to them," she explained hoping that Naru would take some kind of pity on her.
"How could you not be used to silence since you have been living alone the last few years," he commented stating the obvious.
Mai just stared at him baffled, unsure if those words really came out of his mouth. Lin even stopped eating for a moment knowing that this was not going to have a good outcome. Mai could feel a hard lump in her throat and she knew she would start crying at any moment if she stayed here much longer. She stood up from her seat and grabbed her plate and made her way to the kitchen. Luckily for her there wasn't much food left on her plate, she wasn't one to waste food but she had no desire to eat anymore. She washed her plate and chopsticks and placed them on the drying rack next tot he sink.
"Thanks for dinner Lin it was really good," she did her best to put on a big fake smile.
She walked down the hallway to her new room and was glad she finally left because if she had been there a second longer one or both of them would have seen the tears running down her face.
Lin could only sigh as the young assistant retreated to her room. He knew this couldn't have been an easy adjustment for her and she only meant well. However, he also knew how Oliver was and that he didn't have time for things he deemed as nonsense.
If the conversation had nothing to do with a case they were on or anything that was considered conversation worthy, he wouldn't spend more than a minute discussing it. However, Lin wasn't going to let this situation slide without getting in a word or two himself.
"It would seem that you've upset her," Lin stated.
"How if all I did was state the facts? If anything she was the one having inconsistencies in her reasoning for useless conversation," Noll replied clearly unfazed by the remark.
"Did you ever stop to consider that this is a big change for her and she is having a hard time adjusting to it? I would assume not considering how you spoke to her moments ago," Lin came back at him, this time his voice more stern.
Oliver always hated it when people told him to consider others' points of view. He was a scientist after all and anything that had to do with feelings was something that was not conductive in his line of work, if anything they just got in the way. So if that was the case, then why was there a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure if this was regret, but he happened to notice that the smile she gave when she walked away was not consistent with her usual smiles.
Her eyes were portraying a different emotion than the one she was trying to pass off in front of the two of them. He only let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair. it was times like this he still wished that he had Gene here with him, he was way better at the whole emotions thing than he was. Gene would always be the on to convey Naru's emotions to others so he never really learned how to do it on his own.
'You know that could have been the stupidest thing you have ever done. Even when I was alive I have never seen you do something as stupid as that,' and now he had his twin chiming in to the situation.
'No now I don't have time for this,' Naru responded.
'Well you are going to have to make time. I know you are not the emotional type but that was easily the cruelest thing you could have said to her,' he could hear the anger in Gene's voice.
There were a few time in his life where Gene was ever angry so Oliver knew he had messed up in some way or another whether he wanted to admit it or not.
'All I said was something she has come to live with before coming here I still fail to see the issue,' Oliver was becoming annoyed with the whole situation.
'Look I know this isn't within your current capabilities so I'll explain it for you. Yes she has been living on her own for quite a while but that doesn't mean it was easy. For you to just throw it back in her face you might as well have stabbed her, rubbed salt in the wound, and convinced her that it was for her own good that the wound would heal eventually. One way or another you are going to have to learn to be more open with you emotions and the ones of those around you especially hers. If you don't you are going to push her away and let me tell you if you abandon her a second time I don't see her coming back from this," Gene finished and Naru could no longer sense their telepathic connection.
Lin had been watching the boy for the past few minutes not seeing him move from his position, the boy didn't even notice him clearing their dishes and taking them over to the kitchen. The older man could only hope that he was reflecting on the situation and find some way to correct it. He turned his attention back to the dishes and silently voiced an apology to the girl unsure if Oliver was going to do so himself.
Oliver finally got up from his chair and planned on making his way to his bedroom just wanting this night to end. Life should not be based solely on emotions, the only way things could function properly is if people had enough facts and logic is what he thought. However the more he thought about this the more he felt that sinking feeling in his stomach. As he approached his room he could hear a sound coming from the other side of Mai's bedroom door. Out of curiosity he leaned closer towards her door and recognized the sound as muffled crying.
'Surely what I said couldn't have upset her that much. As much as I want to turn and walk away a part of me can't just leave her in this state. If she stayed this upset she could lose control of her powers,' he reasoned to himself for what he was about to do.
Oliver let out a sigh and knocked on the door waiting for permission to enter.
"Go away," she yelled.
He decided to ignore her request and opened the door walking into the room. Mai had been lying on her stomach with her face buried into a pillow.
"I said go away," she looked at him with defiant eyes.
Even though she was angry at him, Naru could see the sadness and hurt in her eyes. Mai could care less at this moment that her boss was seeing her cry, she wanted him to see how angry and hurt she was by his words. Did he not understand that this was all a big adjustment for her and he just managed to make things worse? Even as she looked at him with her cold hard stare she could tell there was something different about his demeanor. If she were anyone else she wouldn't have noticed that the look in his eyes was one of regret. She had never seen him with that look before. much less knew that he could even feel regret for something.
"It would seem that I said something at dinner to upset you, and for that I apologize," and with that Naru turned around to walk to his room.
"Ughhh you can be so infuriating sometimes. If you are going to apologize for something at least do it right, because the way you said it implies that you had no idea that you did anything wrong," Mai scolded him.
Upon hearing her voice Oliver stopped and looked at his brown haired assistant and stared. She was wiping away whatever stray tears were on her face and stood up to face him.
"Look I know this isn't going to be an east adjustment for the both of us. You are used to living in a different type of solitude than I am. I know I shouldn't try and force my living habits upon you, but at the same time if we are going to be living together then you have to be able to meet me part of the way. I'll try not disrupt your daily life as much as possible here in the apartment but if every now and then you could humor me it would make things less awkward," Mai explained to him not really sure what kind of response her boss would give.
I suppose we could work some things out, this is after all your home too from now on,' and with that the scientist left and retreated to the comforts of his own room.
"Thank you Naru," the girl said not sure if her words were heard or not.
Mai felt better knowing she wasn't going to end the night with such negative energy. She grabbed her phone and texted Monk the plan for tomorrow. Afterwards she got into her nightly routine and was going to sleep in her new home.
~The Next Day~
The boys were bringing the last piece of furniture upstairs and Mai was fixing them some food and drinks. Naru had spent the entire day holed up in his room. He only came out occasionally to ask the girl for some tea and once it had been prepared he took it back to his room. She couldn't help but wonder if he would join them for lunch instead of just shutting himself in his room all day. Just then Monk and John walked out of the hallway and into the living room.
"Thanks guys I really appreciate the help, I made you all some sandwiches and iced tea to thank you for your hard work," Mai told them as she finished pouring the last glass of iced tea.
"Thanks Mai you didn't have to do all this," Monk said as he grabbed half a sandwich.
"It's the least I could do for you guys. Please help yourselves and I'll be back in just a minute," Mai said as she placed two sandwich halves on a plate and grabbed a glass to take to Naru.
As she walked down the hall she saw Lin and Yasu coming out of her new room.
"I made sandwiches and iced tea and left it in the kitchen please help yourselves," she told them and continued walking.
She stopped in front of the door to his room and all of a sudden she started to feel nervous and her face started turning red. This would be her first time stepping into a boy's room and not only that but it was Naru's room.
'Just keep it together Mai it's just a room and nothing more, all you have to do is just give him the food and that's it,' she thought to herself hoping to gain some sort of confidence.
"Umm Naru can I come in," Mai asked since both of her hands were currently occupied.
Footsteps approached the door from the other side and Naru opened it looking at the girl like she had just disturbed him from something important.
"I-I brought you s-some lunch," she stuttered nervously.
The raven haired boy just continued to stare at her and Mai had to look down at the floor to try and hide her blush.
"Come in there was something that I wanted to discuss with you," Naru sighed and opened the door wider to allow the girl to walk in.
"Oh no Naru it's okay it can wait it looks like I caught you in the middle of something," Mai shook her head.
"Mai come in," he said in a firmer tone.
The girl complied and walked into the room and took note of everything that was in there. He had bookshelves that were lined up all along the left wall and they were filled to the top. His bed was to the right with navy blue sheets with a nightstand next to it. Straight ahead was a window with the blinds closed and the curtains drawn back allowing a small amount of sunlight to enter the room. There was a wooden desk in front of the window with papers spread across it and a black office chair.
Since Naru had been using the chair Mai only had two options, sit on the floor or sit on his bed. Considering that this was the first time she had ever been in his room she opted to sit on the floor. Mai went and placed his food on the desk and caught sight of some of the papers that were there. One was an article talking about the effects of astral projection. It made her curious as to why he would be looking into astral projection especially since she knew that was not something he could do himself.
"Why are you reading about the effects of astral projection." Mai asked looking at her boss confused.
"That's the part that I wanted to talk to you about. Now this is only if you agree to it but I have decided to tutor you in your abilities. I'm not too skilled in the physical applications of one's abilities but I do remember some things from Madoka and Lin's teachings. I'll mostly be giving you reading materials and then questioning you about said materials to make sure you aren't trying to pull a fast one me. Whatever I can't give to you I'm sure Gene could," Naru explained.
Mai only stared at her boss dumbfounded, he was actually offering to teach her and help her with her abilities, not only that but he actually admitted to her that there were things he was not an expert at.
"So it would seem that even the great Oliver Davis doesn't truly know everything," She smirked as she tried her best to hold in the laughter that tried to escape her throat.
Mai then suddenly realized that this was the first time that she had referred to her boss as his true given name. She could feel a slight twinge in her chest realizing that things truly did change after that day. Naru just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose almost like he knew what Mai was going to say.
"Thanks Naru I would really appreciate you teaching me everything that I could possibly learn," the girl smiled showing her appreciation.
"I should go and organize all my stuff now since I have everything I need. Oh which reminds me, what about my boxes of clothes you haven't told me where you out them," Mai asked as she approached the door.
"It's in the room right next to mine. Also Mai I meant it when I said that if you need anything you can let me know," the boy said and there was a softness to his features as he said it.
"I will I promise," Mai said and walked out of his room.
Mai walked into the office and saw her boxes of clothes and pushed them into her room. She spent the rest of the day placing everything either in the drawers or in the closet. When she opened the last box she was surprised to see all of her various picture frames in there. One was a picture of her and her parents in her childhood home, another was her and her teacher she used to live with, then there was a picture of everyone in the office.
The last picture that she had brought out gave her a warm comforting feeling in her chest. It was a picture of a younger Naru and Gene standing right next to him. The only reason she had this picture was because Madoka had snuck it into her school bag and told her about it after the fact.
'If Naru knew I had this photo I'm sure he would be angry with not only me but with Madoka as well,' Mai thought.
She decided to put that frame on the nightstand next to her bed regardless if he ever saw it or not. The other three were placed on top of her dresser. Naru came by her room later that evening to let Mai know that dinner was ready. Dinner thankfully, went by a little more smoothly than it had the night before.
There still wasn't much conversation going on, but Mai was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this is just how things are. Mai offered to help do the dishes since Lin had cooked two nights in a row and she had neglected to clean the dishes from lunch. Lin left back to his home for the night and it was time for the day to end on a much happier note.
A/N: Thank you all again for reading my story. I really appreciate each and every one of you that has been following thus far. Please continue to support me and my story as I do my best to update for you guys. Please like, favorite, and comment as always and I will be here next time. Also I do not own Ghost Hunt or its characters, the only things I own are the plot and ideas in this fanfiction. Byeeeeeeeeeee~