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shadowI is for Insane, as in Mai driving Naru..., for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ginny_t
Title: The Destructive Duo
Words: 4532 with an omake
Summary: Mai returns to the office after finishing her term finals...
Notes: Dream!boy shows up in the omake :P
Poor Naru... or is that poor everyone...??
“Good morning, Naru~!” Mai said in a bright and cheerful voice as soon as she walked into the office. Today was Saturday, and it was the first time in almost two weeks for her to come to the office. She'd been busy studying for her term finals at school.
Naru looked up briefly from his journal to glance at her but said nothing as the almost too bubbly girl breezed in. His gaze soon returned to his reading.
“Na~ru~, I said 'good morning',” Mai said glaring slightly at her boss, but he ignored her. He usually didn't respond to such basic pleasantries and didn't see any particular reason to change at this stage.
Instead of giving her the greeting she wanted, he said, “Mai, tea.” His gaze was firmly fixed on his journal as he spoke.
Mai stared at Naru for a long moment with a slight frown. His failure to return her greeting was nothing new, but it still annoyed her. And seeing how she hadn't been in for so long, his lack of manners rankled all the more.
“Okay, I'll go make you some really nice Japanese green tea,” Mai said cheerfully as she went to leave her things on her desk.
Naru looked up at her last statement and glared slightly at the girl. She was definitely being a bit too cheerful. However, the bigger issue was what she'd just said she would be bringing him.
“Darjeeling, straight and hot,” he specified.
Mai puffed her cheeks sulkily but quickly regained her good mood.
“Okay~!” she replied putting her bag down. However, much to Naru's surprise, as she walked behind his seat on her way to the kitchenette, she suddenly bent down and kissed him on the cheek. “No 'good morning' greeting results in a good morning kiss then,” she said as she impishly stuck her tongue out slightly.
Naru froze stunned into immobility at her kiss. He didn't even notice Mai run off to the kitchenette laughing. He remained frozen for over a minute before he finally thawed enough to turn and stare at the door leading to the kitchenette. He shook his head slightly; he was completely baffled by the girl's behaviour.
Mai returned several minutes later with tea for Naru. As she was serving his tea, the door to the office opened and the part-time office assistant, Yasuhara Osamu, entered.
“Good morning, Shochou, Taniyama-san,” he said as he entered.
Naru quickly reached out and took the cup away from Mai as she turned in response to Yasuhara's greeting. Naru glared at her when she almost spilt his tea on him, but it was completely wasted on her. Mai's attention was completely on Yasuhara.
“Good morning, Yasuhara-sa~n!” she called out cheerfully. “Would you like some tea?”
“Ah, yes, please,” he said with a slightly awkward smile. He'd noticed Naru glare at the girl and the near accident, but Yasuhara also realised that Mai was completely oblivious to what had almost happened.
“Okay~!” she said as she straightened up and quickly headed off towards the kitchenette again.
However, just as she was going past the hallway leading to the other offices, Lin came out of the data room. Mai immediately turned towards the other man.
“Ah, Lin-san, good waaahh!” she said as she tripped. She been heading towards the kitchenette so quickly that her body couldn't keep up with her sudden attempt to turn towards Lin and she ended up crashing awkwardly into the door to the kitchenette.
“T-taniyama-san?!”
“Taniyama-san, are you alright?!”
“......”
The three men responded differently to the sight of seeing Mai crash headlong into the kitchenette door.
“Owwww...” Mai said as she slowly sat up.
Lin hurried over to the where Mai lay on the floor. He bent down and extended a hand to help her up.
“Are you alright, Taniyama-san?” he asked.
Mai blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Good morning, Lin-san. I'm fine, thank you. Um, I was about to go make some tea for Yasuhara-san, right now. Would you like some?” Mai said all in a rush.
Lin blinked in surprise as he nodded both to her greeting as well as to her question. “Yes, please,” he said realising that the nod alone might not be particularly clear.
“Okay, but before that, Lin-san, what happened to your 'good morning'?” Mai asked pouting slightly at the older man.
Lin looked mildly taken aback at Mai's behaviour, and hesitantly gave her the greeting she was clearly wanting. “Good... morning... Taniyama-san...?”
Mai couldn't help smiling almost foolishly when she heard Lin's hesitant greeting.
“I'll be back in a few minutes with your tea, so wait just a bit~!” she said grinning happily as she disappeared into the kitchenette.
Lin stared at the door that closed behind Mai looking very confused.
“Taniyama-san's... even more hyper than usual today, isn't she?” Yasuhara observed before finally going to his desk.
“Indeed,” Lin agreed before finally going over to his own desk to put the papers he'd brought from the data room down.
Naru wisely said nothing as he drank his tea. Even he couldn't help staring at the closed door to the kitchenette. However a few moments later, the sound of many things falling to the floor suddenly came from behind that door surprising the people in the reception area.
The three men glanced at one another and Naru sighed. He quickly put down his tea before going to the kitchenette. The other two men hesitantly followed him.
Inside, they found Mai on the floor with various tins of tea scattered about her. Some of the tins had popped open spilling tea everywhere. Apparently she'd slipped while reaching for one of the tea caddies and ended up knocking several tins from the shelf. Fortunately for Mai, none of them hit her when they fell.
Naru took one look at the mess and sighed again.
“Mai, did you come here to work or to make trouble?” he asked coldly.
“I came here to work~,” she said sounding oddly cheerful despite the mess she'd just made.
Naru raised an eyebrow at her response. “In that case, go to your desk and do your work,” he said.
“Ehhh?! But I was about to make Yasuhara-san and Lin-san their tea, and then I have to clean up this mess...” Mai said in protest.
“Never mind that,” Naru said as a hint of annoyance flickered across his face. “You get to work at your desk. Yasuhara-san, can make tea while Lin can clean up this mess.”
“But...” Mai began to protest again but quickly fell silent when Naru glared at her.
“Okay...,” she said. She didn't sound happy with the situation but decided to do as Naru ordered. “I'm sorry, Yasuhara-san, Lin-san.”
“Not at all, Taniyama-san,” Yasuhara said smiling.
Lin shook his head wordlessly as Mai left the kitchenette, and Naru followed behind her.
It wasn't until several minutes later that Lin and Yasuhara left the kitchenette after having cleaned up the mess and making new tea. However, rather than finding Mai at her desk and Naru reading his journal, they found Mai and Naru sitting on the couch together. Naru was applying a band-aid to Mai's left hand while the first aid kit was open on the coffee table in front of them.
Lin and Yasuhara glanced at one another briefly before wisely saying nothing. Lin decided to retrieve the papers he'd left on his desk earlier and return to the data room with his tea. Unfortunately, Yasuhara had no choice but to work at his desk. They left the two on the sofa to finish things there on their own.
Naru glared at Mai when he finished putting the band-aid on her. As soon as she'd sat down at her desk, she decided to start on clipping articles from magazines and newspapers for filing. However, she'd somehow managed to cut herself on her index finger and thumb during the brief time the two men were in the kitchenette cleaning up her previous mess. As a result, Mai was now sporting two shiny new band-aids on her hand.
“I thought you said you came here to work, Taniyama-san,” Naru said coolly as he looked at her with his eyes slightly narrowed.
“I did,” Mai responded immediately. “I also told you, I could take care of my hand myself, so you didn't have to do this.”
Naru raised an eyebrow. “That's rich seeing how you'd stuck your finger in your mouth like a two-year-old and tried to continue cutting that article out with a utility knife one-handed,” he said sounding annoyed.
“But it wasn't a bad cut!” Mai exclaimed. “You're making a big deal out of nothing.”
Naru said nothing as he quietly packed up the first aid kit while Mai returned to her desk to resume clipping articles. However, just as Naru was reaching up to put the first aid kit back on top of the bookcase where it belonged, he heard Mai gasp slightly. He turned his head only to pause and lower the kit again. Yasuhara also looked towards Mai, but from his angle he couldn't see what was wrong.
Naru went to Mai's desk still carrying the first aid kit and put it down roughly.
“Let me see your hand,” he said. There was a hint of anger in his tone now.
Mai looked up at him as he stood over her and shook her head. “You'll make fun of me, so no. I'll do it myself,” she said pouting.
“Mai...” Naru said warningly. His patience was running thin, and he didn't bother hiding his annoyance with her.
Mai just shook her head, so Naru reached out and grabbed her left hand only to find that it was no more damaged than when he last saw it. He raised his eyebrows in surprise for a brief moment when he suddenly frowned. Dropping her left hand, he then grabbed her right hand. She'd somehow managed to slice herself on her dominant hand across three of her fingers, and to make matters worse, she even managed to slice her right thumb.
Naru exhaled slowly as he mentally counted to ten before opening the first aid kit he'd dropped on her desk. He pulled out the antiseptic and band-aids he'd only just put away. Naru considered Mai's new wounds and wondered how Mai could've injured her hand in that manner in the brief moment it'd taken him to pack up the first aid kit and walk over to the bookshelf where the kit belonged.
While Naru was treating her hand, Mai noticed that she'd left the blade of the utility knife extended on her desk. She reached out with her left hand to take the knife when Naru sharply slapped her hand away.
“Ow! What'd you do that for?!” Mai protested at the stinging pain.
“I'd much rather not risk being stabbed by your current knife wielding skills,” Naru said coldly. At the moment, he was working on wrapping her second finger.
Naru glanced over to Yasuhara. “Yasuhara-san, would you take care of clipping articles as well?” Naru asked. “I'm afraid Taniyama-san only has the four uninjured fingers left, and I'd much rather not learn what other injuries she can inflict upon herself while doing something as dangerous as cutting out articles,” he added icily.
“Ah, yes sir,” Yasuhara said calmly getting up to get the work Mai'd been working on. Fortunately for him, no blood had ended up on the papers.
Naru finished putting the last band-aid on Mai. “Mai, go home,” he said, “Just, go home for today.”
Mai shook her head. “I haven't been in virtually at all for the past two weeks because of my exams, so I'd rather stay here.”
“Ah, how'd your exams go?” Yasuhara asked from his desk suddenly.
Mai grinned happily. “Thanks to all your help and all that studying, I think I did reasonably well,” she replied ecstatically.
Mai turned back to look at Naru. “I've been cooped up in my apartment for the past two weeks when I haven't been at school, so I definitely don't want to go back,” she said. Mai stuck her tongue out at him slightly. She clearly wasn't going to give in without a fight. “Besides, I can at least do the filing, right?”
Naru sighed in resignation as he once again began packing up the first aid kit. Filing sounded fairly innocuous, but then, he'd thought clipping articles was also a harmless task. He eventually nodded in agreement; Mai could do the filing.
Mai smiled cheerfully when Naru finally gave his consent. She began gathering the files on her desk together while Naru went to put the first aid kit back where it belonged (again). Mai then went to get the extra files from Yasuhara's desk when she suddenly yelped in pain.
For the second time that day, Naru froze as he was reaching up to put the first aid kit back where it belonged and turned to look at Mai.
“T... Taniyama-san...?” Yasuhara called her name hesitantly. He was almost afraid to know what she managed to do while gathering files together for filing.
Mai shook her head slightly as she stiffly continued to gather the rest of the files together only to yelp again dropping all the files she'd been gathering.
Naru hadn't moved since that first yelp and had been watching Mai the entire time. He wordlessly lowered the arm holding the first aid kit again as he watched the last of the papers from various files flutter to the ground.
Naru took a very deep breath and held it as he mentally began contemplating the pros and cons of confining, firing, or possibly even murdering his employee. However, even if Naru did get away with murdering the girl, he currently didn't have any claim to Mai's body, so he wouldn't be able to dissect it. Also, it would be difficult even for him to ensure that her body remained usable for such research after meeting a sudden demise while also maintaining his own innocence. He eventually decided against any of those plans and slowly exhaled.
“Mai, sit down on the sofa,” Naru said quietly. His tone was very even, almost emotionless.
Mai jumped slightly when she heard him. She looked over at Naru and paled slightly. Mai started to retreat when Naru's voice rang out again.
“Don't move! You'll step on the papers!” Naru glared at Mai. “I told you to go sit on the sofa,” he stated. Each word was very carefully enunciated.
Mai shivered slightly at Naru's tone; he was decidedly unimpressed with his employee at the moment. She carefully picked her way out of the new mess she'd created.
“Yasuhara-san, if you could clean up this latest mess as well,” Naru said quietly as he once again put the first aid kit on the coffee table.
“Ah... yes sir.” Yasuhara said as he stared woefully at the papers on the floor. It was a total mess, and he didn't want to know how many files and different cases had ended up getting mixed up. He suspected it would take him hours to sort through the various papers and get them into the appropriate files again.
By the time Naru finished administering Mai's latest injuries, she had a total of nine band-aids on her fingers. Her two pinkies were the only digits untouched, and her left index finger now had two plastic strips on it. Apparently, not only did she manage to give herself a nasty paper cut with the files, she'd also managed to puncture her finger on a staple.
Naru looked at the girl. “Mai, if you're going to stay here, then I expect you to stay seated on this sofa. You're not to touch any files; you're not to touch any sharp objects. You are not to move one iota. Do you understand?” he asked quietly. His tone was deceptively mild.
Mai cocked her head slightly. “But what kind of work can I do if I'm just sitting here?” she asked confused.
Naru took a very deep breath as he reigned in his anger and struggled to remain calm. However, just as he opened his mouth to reply, the front door opened again. This time it admitted Bou-san, Ayako, John, and Masako – all at once. Mai turned. At the sight of the irregulars she smiled regaining the bright cheerfulness she'd had when she first arrived at the office and greeted them.
“Good morning, everyone~!” Mai said cheerfully. She started to climb to her feet when Naru's firm grip on her arm stopped her.
“Mai, sit down!”
“Taniyama-san, please sit down!”
Mai shrank slightly as both Yasuhara's and Naru's voice rang out as soon as she started to stand.
But before Naru could say anything further, Bou-san, Ayako and Masako, started putting in their drink requests as was their wont at the office. They didn't hear the two Regulars yell at Mai.
“Mai, I'll have some iced coffee,” Bou-san said as he waved at her from the entrance.
“Darjeeling for me, Mai,” Ayako said as she strode into the reception.
“I'll have some gyokurou tea, Mai,” Masako said quietly. Masako seemed more tired than anything, but she too, slowly made her way from the front entrance to the sofas.
John said nothing as he considered the scene before him. Being one of the first to enter, he'd heard both Yasuhara and Naru tell Mai to sit down as soon as the Irregulars came inside.
“I see you all have plenty of free time on your hands,” Naru said icily. “I thought I'd made it clear to you that this is not a cafe.”
Typically, the Irregulars weren't bothered by Naru's tone or attitude towards their appearance in the office. However, they immediately sensed that his mood was decidedly not normal and froze in their tracks.
Masako, however, stopped for a different reason. “Mai... why is Naru holding your arm...?” Masako asked darkly. The small girl was glaring at Mai. She had a very clear view of Naru's hand on Mai's arm from where she stood halfway across the room.
“Eh? Um... it's not what you think,” Mai said with a weak laugh. “Are you alright, Masako? You seem a little... dark or gloomy or something.”
Mai paused briefly when she suddenly remembered that Masako had also just finished her exams. While the two girls went to different schools, they both ended up finishing their exams at the same time this term.
“By the way, how'd your exams go?” Mai asked cheerfully.
Masako glared at Mai. “I found them very difficult and don't think they went very well,” she admitted.
Masako frowned as she gazed at her friend. Seeing Naru still holding onto Mai's arm was annoying the young medium greatly. “Mai...” she said warningly, “unless you want me to send a spirit to haunt you, I suggest you hurry up and make us all some tea.”
The rest of the members stared at Masako in surprise.
“Um, I would, but...” Mai looked at Naru as her sentence trailed off.
Naru finally let Mai go, but he too glared at her. “If you even think about moving from this sofa, I'll have Lin tie you up in a blanket and lock you in the equipment room,” he said warningly.
“Um, Masako-chan,” Bou-san said hesitantly, “did you just threaten to send a spirit after Mai??”
“That's right,” Masako said coolly. “Do you have a problem with that, Takigawa-san?”
Bou-san stared at the girl. She had a dark and forbidding air about her that was not normal. “Masako-chan... you aren't... possessed at the moment, are you?”
“Don't be ridiculous. I'm perfectly fine,” Masako replied archly.
It was her 'perfectly fine' attitude as well as Naru's blizzard that was keeping the rest of the Irregulars standing very still in the reception rather than taking a seat on the sofas.
Bou-san sighed, as he ran his hand roughly through his hair. This was rapidly turning into one of those days where he suspected he should've stayed home.
It was at that moment that the door behind him opened again, this time revealing two young women. The twosome hesitated inside the doorway as all eyes in the office instantly focussed on them.
“Um... I thought this was supposed to be a new chic cafe...” the first young woman began. Her eyes darted around the office before settling on Naru. Her gaze had an appraising and ever so slightly predatory look to it.
The office regulars had heard just about every excuse under the sun for people to come into the office; many of them by women trying to find some subtle, and for some, some so not-so-subtle, ways to throw themselves at Naru. In many ways it was a shame that they didn't realise what his personality was like before embarking on such endeavours.
However, it was Masako who spoke first that day. “Does this look like a cafe to you? Your presence here is nothing more than an annoyance for Naru. Allow me the pleasure of sending a couple of evil spirits after you for your lack of consideration and manners,” she said with a venomously sweet smile.
“Oy! Masako-chan!” Bou-san said.
“Masako, that's a little harsh don't you think?!” Ayako exclaimed.
“Hara-san, that would not be a good thing to do,” John said gently trying to dissuade the girl.
“Hara-san?!” Yasuhara said sounding a little stunned.
“Masako, you seem a bit angry for some reason. It's a nice day outside, so lighten up,” Mai said smiling.
Naru said nothing as he stared at the young medium. He'd thought Mai was bad enough with her extreme cheerfulness, but now he had a very dark and sullen Masako threatening to sic spirits after people in the office as well.
The two girls stared at Masako in shock when one of them suddenly recognised her.
"Hey! You're Hara Masako the famous psychic medium, right?” she exclaimed. The girl suddenly paled as she realised what Masako had said to the two moments earlier. “Y-you weren't serious about sending...”
Masako smiled at the two girls chillingly. “Be careful going home,” she said sweetly.
The two girls went wide-eyed before they jerked the office door open and fled.
Bou-san sighed in relief that the two girls had left the office. He looked at Masako. “By the way, Masako-chan. You were kidding about setting spirits on those girls... weren't you?”
Masako looked at Bou-san surprised. “My, Takigawa-san. What are you thinking? Of course I was serious,” she said sweetly.
Bou-san, Ayako, and John's jaws dropped at Masako's reply. Given the medium's current mood, they figured it was more likely for her to be telling the truth than playing a trick on them.
“Oy, Shounen! Get Lin-san!” Bou-san yelled at Yasuhara. “John, Ayako, let's go!”
Bou-san, Ayako, and John immediately left the office in pursuit of the two girls who'd just left while Yasuhara went running to the data room to call Lin. They didn't want to risk the possibility that Masako had indeed sent spirits after the two girls for something as minor as “mistaking the office for a coffee shop” while hoping to get closer to Naru.
Sadly, for the Irregulars and Lin, this was one Saturday they should all have stayed home. Instead of having a nice quiet afternoon to get caught up in paperwork or to visit with friends, they found themselves exorcising spirits throughout Shibuya.
Omake:
Ten minutes after the Irregulars and Lin ran out of the office, Mai and Masako decided to pick up some more tea for the office. By this time, Naru had given up on keeping Mai confined to the sofa and agreed that she could go out to get some more tea; it would mean that Naru would have the office to himself.
After the two girls left, Naru finally had the peace and quiet he'd wanted to read his journal.
'......Naru...'
Naru looked up at that soft mental call.
“...Gene?”
'Naru, you're not in the middle of a case right now... are you?' Gene asked slowly. He sounded a little sleepy.
Naru frowned. Gene normally wasn't awake except for when they were on a case. Perhaps it was because they weren't using a mirror to act as a focus for their communications, but there was some static in the line that he shared with Gene. “...No.” he replied slowly. “Why?”
'There are a lot of people who're being haunted by spirits in Shibuya right now,' Gene said slowly. 'It's almost like...' His voice trailed off as something caught his attention.
'Naru, what are Mai and Hara-san doing?' he asked finally.
“They went out to buy some new tea after Mai spilled several tins.”
'......You probably want to get them back in here, ASAP.' Gene said. He sent a mental image of two guys hitting on the two girls as they were walking down the street. Mai smiled sweetly at the two causing them to melt and get silly grins on their face, while Masako glared at them. Since Naru was seeing things from Gene's perspective, he could see Masako call some wandering spirits over to her and set them on the two men.
Naru's eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You mean...?”
'Y...eah. It looks like Hara-san's getting annoyed about all the guys trying to hit on them as they go to the tea shop,' Gene said. 'I think they're flocking to Mai and her cheerful smile.'
Gene's attention shifted to where the Irregulars and Lin were busy exorcising a spirit from one poor sod who'd gotten on Masako's wrong side. Naru's brain immediately registered the number of possessed and haunted people that stood between the two parties as Gene looked over the scene.
'Just how many people have been possessed or are being haunted thanks to Hara-san getting annoyed because guys are hitting on Mai and that overly cheerful smile she has today??' Naru wondered. He massaged his temples as he felt a massive headache coming on.
Naru tried to fathom the different responses the two girls were showing to post-exam stress. He'd realised that their extreme moods (and Mai's extreme clumsiness) were likely due to stress and exhaustion from having written their term finals. But at the same time, he couldn't help wishing that they had left him out of the mess they were creating.
Naru decided that the next time Mai and Masako had term finals, he would close the office for at least one or two days after their exams ended so that the two girls could rest and recover from the stress of taking their exams. As much as he was a paranormal researcher, he never wanted to see Shibuya looking as haunted as it currently looked as seen through Gene's eyes.
ginny_tTitle: The Destructive Duo
Words: 4532 with an omake
Summary: Mai returns to the office after finishing her term finals...
Notes: Dream!boy shows up in the omake :P
Poor Naru... or is that poor everyone...??
“Good morning, Naru~!” Mai said in a bright and cheerful voice as soon as she walked into the office. Today was Saturday, and it was the first time in almost two weeks for her to come to the office. She'd been busy studying for her term finals at school.
Naru looked up briefly from his journal to glance at her but said nothing as the almost too bubbly girl breezed in. His gaze soon returned to his reading.
“Na~ru~, I said 'good morning',” Mai said glaring slightly at her boss, but he ignored her. He usually didn't respond to such basic pleasantries and didn't see any particular reason to change at this stage.
Instead of giving her the greeting she wanted, he said, “Mai, tea.” His gaze was firmly fixed on his journal as he spoke.
Mai stared at Naru for a long moment with a slight frown. His failure to return her greeting was nothing new, but it still annoyed her. And seeing how she hadn't been in for so long, his lack of manners rankled all the more.
“Okay, I'll go make you some really nice Japanese green tea,” Mai said cheerfully as she went to leave her things on her desk.
Naru looked up at her last statement and glared slightly at the girl. She was definitely being a bit too cheerful. However, the bigger issue was what she'd just said she would be bringing him.
“Darjeeling, straight and hot,” he specified.
Mai puffed her cheeks sulkily but quickly regained her good mood.
“Okay~!” she replied putting her bag down. However, much to Naru's surprise, as she walked behind his seat on her way to the kitchenette, she suddenly bent down and kissed him on the cheek. “No 'good morning' greeting results in a good morning kiss then,” she said as she impishly stuck her tongue out slightly.
Naru froze stunned into immobility at her kiss. He didn't even notice Mai run off to the kitchenette laughing. He remained frozen for over a minute before he finally thawed enough to turn and stare at the door leading to the kitchenette. He shook his head slightly; he was completely baffled by the girl's behaviour.
Mai returned several minutes later with tea for Naru. As she was serving his tea, the door to the office opened and the part-time office assistant, Yasuhara Osamu, entered.
“Good morning, Shochou, Taniyama-san,” he said as he entered.
Naru quickly reached out and took the cup away from Mai as she turned in response to Yasuhara's greeting. Naru glared at her when she almost spilt his tea on him, but it was completely wasted on her. Mai's attention was completely on Yasuhara.
“Good morning, Yasuhara-sa~n!” she called out cheerfully. “Would you like some tea?”
“Ah, yes, please,” he said with a slightly awkward smile. He'd noticed Naru glare at the girl and the near accident, but Yasuhara also realised that Mai was completely oblivious to what had almost happened.
“Okay~!” she said as she straightened up and quickly headed off towards the kitchenette again.
However, just as she was going past the hallway leading to the other offices, Lin came out of the data room. Mai immediately turned towards the other man.
“Ah, Lin-san, good waaahh!” she said as she tripped. She been heading towards the kitchenette so quickly that her body couldn't keep up with her sudden attempt to turn towards Lin and she ended up crashing awkwardly into the door to the kitchenette.
“T-taniyama-san?!”
“Taniyama-san, are you alright?!”
“......”
The three men responded differently to the sight of seeing Mai crash headlong into the kitchenette door.
“Owwww...” Mai said as she slowly sat up.
Lin hurried over to the where Mai lay on the floor. He bent down and extended a hand to help her up.
“Are you alright, Taniyama-san?” he asked.
Mai blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Good morning, Lin-san. I'm fine, thank you. Um, I was about to go make some tea for Yasuhara-san, right now. Would you like some?” Mai said all in a rush.
Lin blinked in surprise as he nodded both to her greeting as well as to her question. “Yes, please,” he said realising that the nod alone might not be particularly clear.
“Okay, but before that, Lin-san, what happened to your 'good morning'?” Mai asked pouting slightly at the older man.
Lin looked mildly taken aback at Mai's behaviour, and hesitantly gave her the greeting she was clearly wanting. “Good... morning... Taniyama-san...?”
Mai couldn't help smiling almost foolishly when she heard Lin's hesitant greeting.
“I'll be back in a few minutes with your tea, so wait just a bit~!” she said grinning happily as she disappeared into the kitchenette.
Lin stared at the door that closed behind Mai looking very confused.
“Taniyama-san's... even more hyper than usual today, isn't she?” Yasuhara observed before finally going to his desk.
“Indeed,” Lin agreed before finally going over to his own desk to put the papers he'd brought from the data room down.
Naru wisely said nothing as he drank his tea. Even he couldn't help staring at the closed door to the kitchenette. However a few moments later, the sound of many things falling to the floor suddenly came from behind that door surprising the people in the reception area.
The three men glanced at one another and Naru sighed. He quickly put down his tea before going to the kitchenette. The other two men hesitantly followed him.
Inside, they found Mai on the floor with various tins of tea scattered about her. Some of the tins had popped open spilling tea everywhere. Apparently she'd slipped while reaching for one of the tea caddies and ended up knocking several tins from the shelf. Fortunately for Mai, none of them hit her when they fell.
Naru took one look at the mess and sighed again.
“Mai, did you come here to work or to make trouble?” he asked coldly.
“I came here to work~,” she said sounding oddly cheerful despite the mess she'd just made.
Naru raised an eyebrow at her response. “In that case, go to your desk and do your work,” he said.
“Ehhh?! But I was about to make Yasuhara-san and Lin-san their tea, and then I have to clean up this mess...” Mai said in protest.
“Never mind that,” Naru said as a hint of annoyance flickered across his face. “You get to work at your desk. Yasuhara-san, can make tea while Lin can clean up this mess.”
“But...” Mai began to protest again but quickly fell silent when Naru glared at her.
“Okay...,” she said. She didn't sound happy with the situation but decided to do as Naru ordered. “I'm sorry, Yasuhara-san, Lin-san.”
“Not at all, Taniyama-san,” Yasuhara said smiling.
Lin shook his head wordlessly as Mai left the kitchenette, and Naru followed behind her.
It wasn't until several minutes later that Lin and Yasuhara left the kitchenette after having cleaned up the mess and making new tea. However, rather than finding Mai at her desk and Naru reading his journal, they found Mai and Naru sitting on the couch together. Naru was applying a band-aid to Mai's left hand while the first aid kit was open on the coffee table in front of them.
Lin and Yasuhara glanced at one another briefly before wisely saying nothing. Lin decided to retrieve the papers he'd left on his desk earlier and return to the data room with his tea. Unfortunately, Yasuhara had no choice but to work at his desk. They left the two on the sofa to finish things there on their own.
Naru glared at Mai when he finished putting the band-aid on her. As soon as she'd sat down at her desk, she decided to start on clipping articles from magazines and newspapers for filing. However, she'd somehow managed to cut herself on her index finger and thumb during the brief time the two men were in the kitchenette cleaning up her previous mess. As a result, Mai was now sporting two shiny new band-aids on her hand.
“I thought you said you came here to work, Taniyama-san,” Naru said coolly as he looked at her with his eyes slightly narrowed.
“I did,” Mai responded immediately. “I also told you, I could take care of my hand myself, so you didn't have to do this.”
Naru raised an eyebrow. “That's rich seeing how you'd stuck your finger in your mouth like a two-year-old and tried to continue cutting that article out with a utility knife one-handed,” he said sounding annoyed.
“But it wasn't a bad cut!” Mai exclaimed. “You're making a big deal out of nothing.”
Naru said nothing as he quietly packed up the first aid kit while Mai returned to her desk to resume clipping articles. However, just as Naru was reaching up to put the first aid kit back on top of the bookcase where it belonged, he heard Mai gasp slightly. He turned his head only to pause and lower the kit again. Yasuhara also looked towards Mai, but from his angle he couldn't see what was wrong.
Naru went to Mai's desk still carrying the first aid kit and put it down roughly.
“Let me see your hand,” he said. There was a hint of anger in his tone now.
Mai looked up at him as he stood over her and shook her head. “You'll make fun of me, so no. I'll do it myself,” she said pouting.
“Mai...” Naru said warningly. His patience was running thin, and he didn't bother hiding his annoyance with her.
Mai just shook her head, so Naru reached out and grabbed her left hand only to find that it was no more damaged than when he last saw it. He raised his eyebrows in surprise for a brief moment when he suddenly frowned. Dropping her left hand, he then grabbed her right hand. She'd somehow managed to slice herself on her dominant hand across three of her fingers, and to make matters worse, she even managed to slice her right thumb.
Naru exhaled slowly as he mentally counted to ten before opening the first aid kit he'd dropped on her desk. He pulled out the antiseptic and band-aids he'd only just put away. Naru considered Mai's new wounds and wondered how Mai could've injured her hand in that manner in the brief moment it'd taken him to pack up the first aid kit and walk over to the bookshelf where the kit belonged.
While Naru was treating her hand, Mai noticed that she'd left the blade of the utility knife extended on her desk. She reached out with her left hand to take the knife when Naru sharply slapped her hand away.
“Ow! What'd you do that for?!” Mai protested at the stinging pain.
“I'd much rather not risk being stabbed by your current knife wielding skills,” Naru said coldly. At the moment, he was working on wrapping her second finger.
Naru glanced over to Yasuhara. “Yasuhara-san, would you take care of clipping articles as well?” Naru asked. “I'm afraid Taniyama-san only has the four uninjured fingers left, and I'd much rather not learn what other injuries she can inflict upon herself while doing something as dangerous as cutting out articles,” he added icily.
“Ah, yes sir,” Yasuhara said calmly getting up to get the work Mai'd been working on. Fortunately for him, no blood had ended up on the papers.
Naru finished putting the last band-aid on Mai. “Mai, go home,” he said, “Just, go home for today.”
Mai shook her head. “I haven't been in virtually at all for the past two weeks because of my exams, so I'd rather stay here.”
“Ah, how'd your exams go?” Yasuhara asked from his desk suddenly.
Mai grinned happily. “Thanks to all your help and all that studying, I think I did reasonably well,” she replied ecstatically.
Mai turned back to look at Naru. “I've been cooped up in my apartment for the past two weeks when I haven't been at school, so I definitely don't want to go back,” she said. Mai stuck her tongue out at him slightly. She clearly wasn't going to give in without a fight. “Besides, I can at least do the filing, right?”
Naru sighed in resignation as he once again began packing up the first aid kit. Filing sounded fairly innocuous, but then, he'd thought clipping articles was also a harmless task. He eventually nodded in agreement; Mai could do the filing.
Mai smiled cheerfully when Naru finally gave his consent. She began gathering the files on her desk together while Naru went to put the first aid kit back where it belonged (again). Mai then went to get the extra files from Yasuhara's desk when she suddenly yelped in pain.
For the second time that day, Naru froze as he was reaching up to put the first aid kit back where it belonged and turned to look at Mai.
“T... Taniyama-san...?” Yasuhara called her name hesitantly. He was almost afraid to know what she managed to do while gathering files together for filing.
Mai shook her head slightly as she stiffly continued to gather the rest of the files together only to yelp again dropping all the files she'd been gathering.
Naru hadn't moved since that first yelp and had been watching Mai the entire time. He wordlessly lowered the arm holding the first aid kit again as he watched the last of the papers from various files flutter to the ground.
Naru took a very deep breath and held it as he mentally began contemplating the pros and cons of confining, firing, or possibly even murdering his employee. However, even if Naru did get away with murdering the girl, he currently didn't have any claim to Mai's body, so he wouldn't be able to dissect it. Also, it would be difficult even for him to ensure that her body remained usable for such research after meeting a sudden demise while also maintaining his own innocence. He eventually decided against any of those plans and slowly exhaled.
“Mai, sit down on the sofa,” Naru said quietly. His tone was very even, almost emotionless.
Mai jumped slightly when she heard him. She looked over at Naru and paled slightly. Mai started to retreat when Naru's voice rang out again.
“Don't move! You'll step on the papers!” Naru glared at Mai. “I told you to go sit on the sofa,” he stated. Each word was very carefully enunciated.
Mai shivered slightly at Naru's tone; he was decidedly unimpressed with his employee at the moment. She carefully picked her way out of the new mess she'd created.
“Yasuhara-san, if you could clean up this latest mess as well,” Naru said quietly as he once again put the first aid kit on the coffee table.
“Ah... yes sir.” Yasuhara said as he stared woefully at the papers on the floor. It was a total mess, and he didn't want to know how many files and different cases had ended up getting mixed up. He suspected it would take him hours to sort through the various papers and get them into the appropriate files again.
By the time Naru finished administering Mai's latest injuries, she had a total of nine band-aids on her fingers. Her two pinkies were the only digits untouched, and her left index finger now had two plastic strips on it. Apparently, not only did she manage to give herself a nasty paper cut with the files, she'd also managed to puncture her finger on a staple.
Naru looked at the girl. “Mai, if you're going to stay here, then I expect you to stay seated on this sofa. You're not to touch any files; you're not to touch any sharp objects. You are not to move one iota. Do you understand?” he asked quietly. His tone was deceptively mild.
Mai cocked her head slightly. “But what kind of work can I do if I'm just sitting here?” she asked confused.
Naru took a very deep breath as he reigned in his anger and struggled to remain calm. However, just as he opened his mouth to reply, the front door opened again. This time it admitted Bou-san, Ayako, John, and Masako – all at once. Mai turned. At the sight of the irregulars she smiled regaining the bright cheerfulness she'd had when she first arrived at the office and greeted them.
“Good morning, everyone~!” Mai said cheerfully. She started to climb to her feet when Naru's firm grip on her arm stopped her.
“Mai, sit down!”
“Taniyama-san, please sit down!”
Mai shrank slightly as both Yasuhara's and Naru's voice rang out as soon as she started to stand.
But before Naru could say anything further, Bou-san, Ayako and Masako, started putting in their drink requests as was their wont at the office. They didn't hear the two Regulars yell at Mai.
“Mai, I'll have some iced coffee,” Bou-san said as he waved at her from the entrance.
“Darjeeling for me, Mai,” Ayako said as she strode into the reception.
“I'll have some gyokurou tea, Mai,” Masako said quietly. Masako seemed more tired than anything, but she too, slowly made her way from the front entrance to the sofas.
John said nothing as he considered the scene before him. Being one of the first to enter, he'd heard both Yasuhara and Naru tell Mai to sit down as soon as the Irregulars came inside.
“I see you all have plenty of free time on your hands,” Naru said icily. “I thought I'd made it clear to you that this is not a cafe.”
Typically, the Irregulars weren't bothered by Naru's tone or attitude towards their appearance in the office. However, they immediately sensed that his mood was decidedly not normal and froze in their tracks.
Masako, however, stopped for a different reason. “Mai... why is Naru holding your arm...?” Masako asked darkly. The small girl was glaring at Mai. She had a very clear view of Naru's hand on Mai's arm from where she stood halfway across the room.
“Eh? Um... it's not what you think,” Mai said with a weak laugh. “Are you alright, Masako? You seem a little... dark or gloomy or something.”
Mai paused briefly when she suddenly remembered that Masako had also just finished her exams. While the two girls went to different schools, they both ended up finishing their exams at the same time this term.
“By the way, how'd your exams go?” Mai asked cheerfully.
Masako glared at Mai. “I found them very difficult and don't think they went very well,” she admitted.
Masako frowned as she gazed at her friend. Seeing Naru still holding onto Mai's arm was annoying the young medium greatly. “Mai...” she said warningly, “unless you want me to send a spirit to haunt you, I suggest you hurry up and make us all some tea.”
The rest of the members stared at Masako in surprise.
“Um, I would, but...” Mai looked at Naru as her sentence trailed off.
Naru finally let Mai go, but he too glared at her. “If you even think about moving from this sofa, I'll have Lin tie you up in a blanket and lock you in the equipment room,” he said warningly.
“Um, Masako-chan,” Bou-san said hesitantly, “did you just threaten to send a spirit after Mai??”
“That's right,” Masako said coolly. “Do you have a problem with that, Takigawa-san?”
Bou-san stared at the girl. She had a dark and forbidding air about her that was not normal. “Masako-chan... you aren't... possessed at the moment, are you?”
“Don't be ridiculous. I'm perfectly fine,” Masako replied archly.
It was her 'perfectly fine' attitude as well as Naru's blizzard that was keeping the rest of the Irregulars standing very still in the reception rather than taking a seat on the sofas.
Bou-san sighed, as he ran his hand roughly through his hair. This was rapidly turning into one of those days where he suspected he should've stayed home.
It was at that moment that the door behind him opened again, this time revealing two young women. The twosome hesitated inside the doorway as all eyes in the office instantly focussed on them.
“Um... I thought this was supposed to be a new chic cafe...” the first young woman began. Her eyes darted around the office before settling on Naru. Her gaze had an appraising and ever so slightly predatory look to it.
The office regulars had heard just about every excuse under the sun for people to come into the office; many of them by women trying to find some subtle, and for some, some so not-so-subtle, ways to throw themselves at Naru. In many ways it was a shame that they didn't realise what his personality was like before embarking on such endeavours.
However, it was Masako who spoke first that day. “Does this look like a cafe to you? Your presence here is nothing more than an annoyance for Naru. Allow me the pleasure of sending a couple of evil spirits after you for your lack of consideration and manners,” she said with a venomously sweet smile.
“Oy! Masako-chan!” Bou-san said.
“Masako, that's a little harsh don't you think?!” Ayako exclaimed.
“Hara-san, that would not be a good thing to do,” John said gently trying to dissuade the girl.
“Hara-san?!” Yasuhara said sounding a little stunned.
“Masako, you seem a bit angry for some reason. It's a nice day outside, so lighten up,” Mai said smiling.
Naru said nothing as he stared at the young medium. He'd thought Mai was bad enough with her extreme cheerfulness, but now he had a very dark and sullen Masako threatening to sic spirits after people in the office as well.
The two girls stared at Masako in shock when one of them suddenly recognised her.
"Hey! You're Hara Masako the famous psychic medium, right?” she exclaimed. The girl suddenly paled as she realised what Masako had said to the two moments earlier. “Y-you weren't serious about sending...”
Masako smiled at the two girls chillingly. “Be careful going home,” she said sweetly.
The two girls went wide-eyed before they jerked the office door open and fled.
Bou-san sighed in relief that the two girls had left the office. He looked at Masako. “By the way, Masako-chan. You were kidding about setting spirits on those girls... weren't you?”
Masako looked at Bou-san surprised. “My, Takigawa-san. What are you thinking? Of course I was serious,” she said sweetly.
Bou-san, Ayako, and John's jaws dropped at Masako's reply. Given the medium's current mood, they figured it was more likely for her to be telling the truth than playing a trick on them.
“Oy, Shounen! Get Lin-san!” Bou-san yelled at Yasuhara. “John, Ayako, let's go!”
Bou-san, Ayako, and John immediately left the office in pursuit of the two girls who'd just left while Yasuhara went running to the data room to call Lin. They didn't want to risk the possibility that Masako had indeed sent spirits after the two girls for something as minor as “mistaking the office for a coffee shop” while hoping to get closer to Naru.
Sadly, for the Irregulars and Lin, this was one Saturday they should all have stayed home. Instead of having a nice quiet afternoon to get caught up in paperwork or to visit with friends, they found themselves exorcising spirits throughout Shibuya.
Omake:
Ten minutes after the Irregulars and Lin ran out of the office, Mai and Masako decided to pick up some more tea for the office. By this time, Naru had given up on keeping Mai confined to the sofa and agreed that she could go out to get some more tea; it would mean that Naru would have the office to himself.
After the two girls left, Naru finally had the peace and quiet he'd wanted to read his journal.
'......Naru...'
Naru looked up at that soft mental call.
“...Gene?”
'Naru, you're not in the middle of a case right now... are you?' Gene asked slowly. He sounded a little sleepy.
Naru frowned. Gene normally wasn't awake except for when they were on a case. Perhaps it was because they weren't using a mirror to act as a focus for their communications, but there was some static in the line that he shared with Gene. “...No.” he replied slowly. “Why?”
'There are a lot of people who're being haunted by spirits in Shibuya right now,' Gene said slowly. 'It's almost like...' His voice trailed off as something caught his attention.
'Naru, what are Mai and Hara-san doing?' he asked finally.
“They went out to buy some new tea after Mai spilled several tins.”
'......You probably want to get them back in here, ASAP.' Gene said. He sent a mental image of two guys hitting on the two girls as they were walking down the street. Mai smiled sweetly at the two causing them to melt and get silly grins on their face, while Masako glared at them. Since Naru was seeing things from Gene's perspective, he could see Masako call some wandering spirits over to her and set them on the two men.
Naru's eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You mean...?”
'Y...eah. It looks like Hara-san's getting annoyed about all the guys trying to hit on them as they go to the tea shop,' Gene said. 'I think they're flocking to Mai and her cheerful smile.'
Gene's attention shifted to where the Irregulars and Lin were busy exorcising a spirit from one poor sod who'd gotten on Masako's wrong side. Naru's brain immediately registered the number of possessed and haunted people that stood between the two parties as Gene looked over the scene.
'Just how many people have been possessed or are being haunted thanks to Hara-san getting annoyed because guys are hitting on Mai and that overly cheerful smile she has today??' Naru wondered. He massaged his temples as he felt a massive headache coming on.
Naru tried to fathom the different responses the two girls were showing to post-exam stress. He'd realised that their extreme moods (and Mai's extreme clumsiness) were likely due to stress and exhaustion from having written their term finals. But at the same time, he couldn't help wishing that they had left him out of the mess they were creating.
Naru decided that the next time Mai and Masako had term finals, he would close the office for at least one or two days after their exams ended so that the two girls could rest and recover from the stress of taking their exams. As much as he was a paranormal researcher, he never wanted to see Shibuya looking as haunted as it currently looked as seen through Gene's eyes.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 01:40 am (UTC)(You were quite mean to Masako in this one. I feel no need whatsoever to come to her defence.)
I especially liked Yasuhara yelling at Mai to sit. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 02:22 am (UTC)In a way I think Yasuhara *really* got the raw end of the deal here. ^^;; I think I'll have to watch out for any backlash from that guy for the next while. ^^;;
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 04:29 am (UTC)I have to say though, you got beat in this area. ^^;
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 06:18 pm (UTC)I don't know *why* you'd say I got beat here. Just because it's... well, we won't talk about that. :P
(I wasn't originally planning on Masako being there, but did have the Irregs and Bou-san's coffee complete with Mai getting hit on the head by the coffee container before it spilled its contents. ^^;; Unfortunately, that's when I remembered Masako was the same age as Mai...)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 06:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-09 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 06:38 pm (UTC)While I waited for LJ to finish load the reply form, my eyes landed on this paragraph:
Naru took a very deep breath and held it as he mentally began contemplating the pros and cons of confining, firing, or possibly even murdering his employee. However, even if Naru did get away with murdering the girl, he currently didn't have any claim to Mai's body, so he wouldn't be able to dissect it. Also, it would be difficult even for him to ensure that her body remained usable for such research after meeting a sudden demise while also maintaining his own innocence. He eventually decided against any of those plans and slowly exhaled.
So very, very Naru. I started laughing all over again as I reread it. Only Naru would put off murder because he was concerned the body would be damaged beyond the conditions needed for a good scientific autopsy.
This was fun. :D
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 08:50 pm (UTC)^^;; He's already missed his chance with Gene, so I figure he'll be a bit more careful with (protective of?) the next body he targets. :P Ah, Naru's so much fun to toy with... :P
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 09:19 pm (UTC)Naru would indeed plan to have better bodies for autopsies. That's very much like him. I wonder how he would arrange post-mortem control of Mai's body.... marriage perhaps? :D
Oops, lookee there. My inner Naru x Mai shipper escaped.
PS: Sorry about the double comment earlier. Don't know how that happened and didn't notice it earlier.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 10:07 pm (UTC)Naru would indeed plan to have better bodies for autopsies. That's very much like him. I wonder how he would arrange post-mortem control of Mai's body.... marriage perhaps? :D
*laughs* You haven't read my NaNo... :P Naru's such a naughty child sometimes. ^^;;
no subject
Date: 2008-01-06 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 02:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 01:34 am (UTC)*poke* Check your email.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 02:28 am (UTC)Cheers! ^_^ I finally re-read the thing. It's not as bad as I thought it was, but will need some work. :P
Thanks for the feedback. ^o^
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 05:13 am (UTC)It's not bad, not at all. It was solid and well-planned. I will make a final suggestion, if I may. There should be a transitive reason between the original reason for Noll and Co. to investigate and the newer reason why they stayed and continued investigating.
*stares at above comment* ...Did I make any sense? I don't think I did... *headdesk* Time to sleep I think.
Now let's hear your idea for Soul Keepers. =OD
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 05:59 am (UTC)Well planned for having not been planned out much. ^^;; Suggest away. ^_^
......I'm not sure I'm following the transitive reason concept in this case. There's no real 'transition' between the old and new reasons I don't think.
Now let's hear your idea for Soul Keepers. =OD
>.<;; You mean the concept that got lost in the mists when someone decided to go running off into springtime and say 'you want to write me now'? I have no idea if I wrote the concept down in a notebook either. *sigh*
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 09:25 pm (UTC)The lack of transition between the two is what confused me the most. Originally, Naru was asked to investigate a spirit that got into peoples minds and coerced them into doing things such as murder-- but then he starts investigating the creature in the barn that has an appetite. There's no correlation between the two.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-09 01:20 am (UTC)Hmm... if you're expecting linear correlation, it's not going to happen. If you're following the clues in the story and know your GH inside and out and then some, you might be able to put the bits together; it's there, but if you're following the story revelations, it'll take some time to get. As it is, the correlation has been strengthened a touch a la prior feedback from Ginny, but it's not made clearer until... pg 101?
If you think about things, Naru wasn't asked to investigate a spirit at all; he was asked to investigate a place. His investigation expanded thanks to a certain trouble maker getting, appropriately enough, into trouble. :P
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 01:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 01:55 am (UTC)omg I died reading that, as Sensei said, so very Naru.
The Omake at the end was so cute ^_^ Did Gene wake up due to all the spirit activity? Since Naru comments to himself that Gene normally isnt awake when theyre not on a case.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 03:19 am (UTC)