Missing for ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
arianataniyama
Mar. 7th, 2008 10:57 pmshadowM: Missing (Mai misses work) for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
arianataniyama
Words: 2189
Genre: Everyday life?
Early fall in Japan is a decidedly pleasant time of year to be out and about; the days are comfortably warm without being excessively hot or humid. Taniyama Mai was quickly collecting her things together after school finished for the day. As usual, she was planning on heading out for her part-time job.
Keiko, her friend and classmate, suddenly turned to look at Mai. “Mai, you're not going to work today, too, are you?!” Keiko asked exasperated.
Mai blinked in surprise at her friend's question. “Of course I am. I always go to the office after school,” she said as she cocked her head slightly to one side.
“Yeah, but today's Friday. Can't you take one day off on occasion? We haven't spent time together outside of school for a long time now, right, Michiru?” Keiko complained.
“That's right, Mai. You've been so busy with work and studying for entrance exams that we haven't seen you outside of class at all.” Michiru agreed.
Mai sighed. “You guys... You know I have to work to support myself.”
Michiru waved her argument aside. “I also know you've missed a fair amount of school going out on cases which means you've been paid a fair amount more than usual months. Not to mention that your regular salary isn't anything for a 'part-timer', let alone a student, to sneeze at.” Michiru glared slightly at Mai. “Come on, confess. You're earning enough that you're reasonably comfortable these days.”
“Umm...” Mai hesitated. Michiru was right. The latest cases at the office had seen Mai's hazard pay jump substantially. Although her medical bills had also seen a marked increase. Thankfully, those were covered by the office, so all things considered, she was saving a fair amount more than she'd hoped or expected.
“I know! I vote we kidnap Mai today!” Keiko exclaimed suddenly.
“Eh??” Mai said surprised.
“That sounds great!” Michiru agreed.
“You guys...” Mai began.
“It's settled. Besides, you told us before that you didn't have to go in every day and that it's more of a come in when you have time sort of job. You used to spend a lot more time going out, Mai,” Keiko said.
Mai grimaced slightly. Keiko was right; she used to have much more of a social life than she did now. However, exam studies and her co-workers personalities made going in something of a necessity. If she wasn't at the office, two of those co-workers tended to frighten or run off any potential clients. The other part-time worker, on the other hand, was her free, private tutor. Still, as long as Yasuhara-san was at the office...
Mai sighed in resignation. As far as she knew, they weren't on an investigation, so it should be safe. But just in case... “Alright. Just let me call in,” she said as she dug into her bag for her cell phone. Mai's cell phone had been given to her several months earlier by Naru after she'd be “kidnapped” by Hirota Seigi – a member of Tokyo's Zero Squad. When that case was resolved, Naru had Yasuhara arrange for all the staff members to have cell phones. Mai's bills were naturally covered by the office, so she used it almost exclusively for work purposes. However, just as she pulled her phone out of her bag, Keiko grabbed it from her.
“Keiko?!” Mai asked startled.
Keiko grinned impishly. “Nope. Not happening. You're not on a leash, you don't have an actual work schedule, and you don't have to go in daily. You're the one who said you're only supposed to go in when you have the time. You don't have it today. Let them figure out that, yes, you do have a life outside the office.”
Mai shook her head. “There's no point in being antagonistic about it. Besides, I always call in when I'm planning on missing a day.”
Michiru looked at Mai. “Well, it's not like you were planning on missing work today...
'We've kidnapped Mai. Find her if you can. Otherwise, she's ours.'
Naru stared at the message on his cell phone for a long moment with a slight frown on his face. The message had only just arrived, and it was now past 5:00 P.M. Normally, Mai should've arrived at work, and Naru would've had her make him tea. However, if the message was evenly remotely true, she won't be making him tea for some time.
The message had been received from Mai's cell phone, so he figured that, most likely, one of her friends had sent the message after stealing Mai's phone. The question was why, and when would he be able to get his employee back. Mildly annoyed, Naru got up from his desk to head to the reception area. However, when he exited his office, he was stopped by the sight of the various Irregulars checking their own cell phones.
Yasuhara was the first to notice Naru and called out to his boss. “Ah, Shochou, would you like some tea?” he asked as he put his own phone back on his desk.
Naru nodded slowly, then glanced at the others. “I see you all have lots of time on your hands again,” he said coolly before taking his own usual seat. As he sat, Yasuhara ducked into the office kitchenette to make his boss's tea.
“Hey,” Bou-san said waving at Naru from his seat, while the others expressed their own greetings to the black-clad boss of SPR.
“Do you think that message was a joke by one of her friends?” Masako asked hesitantly.
“Why'd they send it to all our phones if it's a joke though?” Bou-san asked as he bit the straw to his iced coffee. “I mean, if it were meant to be a joke, shouldn't it've just gone to Naru-bou's phone or the people who work here? Why the rest of us, too?”
“Yeah, but it seems pretty silly for a real kidnapper to send the equivalent of a kidnapping note to everyone on her phone list, doesn't it?” Ayako said reasonably. She flicked some invisible lint from her collar before settling back to drink her tea.
“What do you think Shibuya-han?” John asked in his lilting Kansai dialect. “You did get that strange kidnapping message, too, didn't you?”
Naru nodded as he glanced at the rest of the members gathered. “I take it that means everyone here's received it?” he asked quietly.
They all nodded: Masako, John, Ayako, Bou-san, Lin, and since Naru had seen him holding his cell phone when entering the reception area, most likely Yasuhara had as well.
Naru sighed softly. “I assume it's one of Mai's friends playing a minor prank while letting us know that Mai won't be coming in to work today,” he said dismissively.
Yasuhara returned with Naru's tea at that moment.
“While I think Mai needs to take a break, I'm a little worried about where she might be,” Masako said with a slight frown.
Naru took a sip of his tea before setting it on the table beside him. He glanced at Masako.
“Mai's had a pretty bad start to the school year what with the different investigations that came in, getting hurt, and then having Yasuhara-san getting her caught up in her regular school studies as well as her entrance exam studies. She needs time to relax,” Masako said expanding on what she'd said earlier.
“Masako has a point,” Ayako said agreeing with the young medium. “Given her current mental state, I get the feeling Mai's more likely to start reciting the years of the different historical periods rather than a protective mantra if she were to get in trouble. The young man's slave driver-style teachings have completely taken over her brain.”
Naru shrugged. “If she's with her friends, she should be safe. Besides, it's not up to this office to keep an eye on her 24/7.”
Bou-san gazed steadily at Naru. “Didn't you say that you were going out on a preliminary investigation tomorrow? Does Mai know about it?”
Naru sighed silently. “The case came in today, so no, she doesn't know about it. Yasuhara-san left a message for her on her phone.”
Bou-san continued to stare at Naru. “You mean that same phone her friends probably took away from her, seeing how Mai herself hasn't phoned in, and we all ended up with that message?”
Naru grimaced slightly. While he assumed Mai's friends would return her phone to her sometime during the night... Naru sighed silently then glanced at Yasuhara; as he expected, his employee was watching him and waiting for his instructions. “Do a search for Mai's cell phone. We'll also change tomorrow's departure time to six,” he said finally. He decided it would probably be better to track down his wayward employee and inform her directly of the investigation the next day.
A few minutes later, Yasuhara had Mai's current location: Tokyo D-land. Naru grimaced at that news. It would be difficult to find her in that crowd...
It was a little after 9 P.M. when Naru, Yasuhara, Bou-san, and Lin entered the gates at Tokyo D-land. The four men couldn't help standing out despite all the crowds, but Naru ignored the curious glances from onlookers as he and the others traced Mai's whereabouts. Because of the size of the park grounds, it took the group several minutes to reach where Mai and her friends were taking a break. Naru left the others as he went over to speak to Mai.
“Mai,” he said quietly as he reached their table.
“?!” Mai turned startled at the sound of his voice. “Naru?! What are you doing here?” she asked shocked.
“Apparently, one of my employees has decided to wander away much like a cat or dog would and is unable to do something as simple as call in to work,” he said coldly. “As a result, I've been forced to come here to tell you we have an investigation.”
Mai grimaced at Naru's news. Cases always took precedence over everything else at the office.
“Ah, Shibuya-san, it's not Mai's fault,” Michiru said as she tried to defend her friend.
“Yeah, we forced her to come with us,” Keiko piped in. “She couldn't call you because we took her phone away.”
Naru glanced at Keiko and Michiru. “Which one of you has Mai's phone?” he asked quietly.
Keiko reached into her bag and pulled out Mai's cell phone. She handed it to Naru, who put it on Mai's head. Mai reached up and caught her phone before it could fall. Sure enough, there was a message for her from the office, but before she could listen to it, Naru reached out and erased it.
“I've changed the time. We'll be leaving the office at six,” he said calmly.
“Six?!” Mai exclaimed. “That's impossible! If we leave at six, I'd have to catch the train at five... meaning I'd have to get up at four... three thirty if I want to make lunch...” Mai went pale at the thought of meeting at the office at six.
Naru said nothing. He'd originally planned to leave at five... He sighed softly as he looked at Keiko and Michiru. “It's getting late; you should go. I need to have a word with Mai, so Yasuhara-san and Takigawa-san will see the two of you home,” he said as he pointed out where the two men stood. “Lin and I will take Mai home. She'll see you at school next week.”
Keiko and Michiru looked at Mai; she gave them an apologetic look. They sighed in resignation and said their goodbyes before leaving their friend to her fate.
Mai glared at Naru. “It's not my fault!” she stated defiantly.
Naru shrugged; he wasn't interested in her excuses.
“You can't be serious about leaving at six!” Mai continued. “It's impossible!”
Naru looked at Mai oddly. “It's physically possible, so I don't see what the problem is,” he said calmly.
“That's not the point!” Mai countered. “How'm I supposed to get to the office that early?!”
Naru shrugged slightly. It wasn't his problem. “I already moved the time back one hour,” he said coolly.
“Naru...” Mai said as she looked at him pleadingly.
Naru sighed softly as he took Mai by the arm and pulled her to her feet. “You can stay at my place,” he said finally. Naru lived on his own in a large apartment within walking distance from the office.
“Really?!” Mai asked. She'd stayed at Naru's before, and there was a spare bedroom there. Mai's expression brightened at the thought of being so close to the office. By staying at Naru's, she wouldn't have to get up that early.
Naru nodded as he led her away to where Lin was standing. Considering what had happened that day, he and Mai had a few things to discuss. Most of all, Naru was looking forward to seeing Mai's reaction when he informed her that they'd be leaving at 6 P.M. the next day.
......I have no idea what I was thinking when writing this one...?? *flees*
arianataniyamaWords: 2189
Genre: Everyday life?
Early fall in Japan is a decidedly pleasant time of year to be out and about; the days are comfortably warm without being excessively hot or humid. Taniyama Mai was quickly collecting her things together after school finished for the day. As usual, she was planning on heading out for her part-time job.
Keiko, her friend and classmate, suddenly turned to look at Mai. “Mai, you're not going to work today, too, are you?!” Keiko asked exasperated.
Mai blinked in surprise at her friend's question. “Of course I am. I always go to the office after school,” she said as she cocked her head slightly to one side.
“Yeah, but today's Friday. Can't you take one day off on occasion? We haven't spent time together outside of school for a long time now, right, Michiru?” Keiko complained.
“That's right, Mai. You've been so busy with work and studying for entrance exams that we haven't seen you outside of class at all.” Michiru agreed.
Mai sighed. “You guys... You know I have to work to support myself.”
Michiru waved her argument aside. “I also know you've missed a fair amount of school going out on cases which means you've been paid a fair amount more than usual months. Not to mention that your regular salary isn't anything for a 'part-timer', let alone a student, to sneeze at.” Michiru glared slightly at Mai. “Come on, confess. You're earning enough that you're reasonably comfortable these days.”
“Umm...” Mai hesitated. Michiru was right. The latest cases at the office had seen Mai's hazard pay jump substantially. Although her medical bills had also seen a marked increase. Thankfully, those were covered by the office, so all things considered, she was saving a fair amount more than she'd hoped or expected.
“I know! I vote we kidnap Mai today!” Keiko exclaimed suddenly.
“Eh??” Mai said surprised.
“That sounds great!” Michiru agreed.
“You guys...” Mai began.
“It's settled. Besides, you told us before that you didn't have to go in every day and that it's more of a come in when you have time sort of job. You used to spend a lot more time going out, Mai,” Keiko said.
Mai grimaced slightly. Keiko was right; she used to have much more of a social life than she did now. However, exam studies and her co-workers personalities made going in something of a necessity. If she wasn't at the office, two of those co-workers tended to frighten or run off any potential clients. The other part-time worker, on the other hand, was her free, private tutor. Still, as long as Yasuhara-san was at the office...
Mai sighed in resignation. As far as she knew, they weren't on an investigation, so it should be safe. But just in case... “Alright. Just let me call in,” she said as she dug into her bag for her cell phone. Mai's cell phone had been given to her several months earlier by Naru after she'd be “kidnapped” by Hirota Seigi – a member of Tokyo's Zero Squad. When that case was resolved, Naru had Yasuhara arrange for all the staff members to have cell phones. Mai's bills were naturally covered by the office, so she used it almost exclusively for work purposes. However, just as she pulled her phone out of her bag, Keiko grabbed it from her.
“Keiko?!” Mai asked startled.
Keiko grinned impishly. “Nope. Not happening. You're not on a leash, you don't have an actual work schedule, and you don't have to go in daily. You're the one who said you're only supposed to go in when you have the time. You don't have it today. Let them figure out that, yes, you do have a life outside the office.”
Mai shook her head. “There's no point in being antagonistic about it. Besides, I always call in when I'm planning on missing a day.”
Michiru looked at Mai. “Well, it's not like you were planning on missing work today...
'We've kidnapped Mai. Find her if you can. Otherwise, she's ours.'
Naru stared at the message on his cell phone for a long moment with a slight frown on his face. The message had only just arrived, and it was now past 5:00 P.M. Normally, Mai should've arrived at work, and Naru would've had her make him tea. However, if the message was evenly remotely true, she won't be making him tea for some time.
The message had been received from Mai's cell phone, so he figured that, most likely, one of her friends had sent the message after stealing Mai's phone. The question was why, and when would he be able to get his employee back. Mildly annoyed, Naru got up from his desk to head to the reception area. However, when he exited his office, he was stopped by the sight of the various Irregulars checking their own cell phones.
Yasuhara was the first to notice Naru and called out to his boss. “Ah, Shochou, would you like some tea?” he asked as he put his own phone back on his desk.
Naru nodded slowly, then glanced at the others. “I see you all have lots of time on your hands again,” he said coolly before taking his own usual seat. As he sat, Yasuhara ducked into the office kitchenette to make his boss's tea.
“Hey,” Bou-san said waving at Naru from his seat, while the others expressed their own greetings to the black-clad boss of SPR.
“Do you think that message was a joke by one of her friends?” Masako asked hesitantly.
“Why'd they send it to all our phones if it's a joke though?” Bou-san asked as he bit the straw to his iced coffee. “I mean, if it were meant to be a joke, shouldn't it've just gone to Naru-bou's phone or the people who work here? Why the rest of us, too?”
“Yeah, but it seems pretty silly for a real kidnapper to send the equivalent of a kidnapping note to everyone on her phone list, doesn't it?” Ayako said reasonably. She flicked some invisible lint from her collar before settling back to drink her tea.
“What do you think Shibuya-han?” John asked in his lilting Kansai dialect. “You did get that strange kidnapping message, too, didn't you?”
Naru nodded as he glanced at the rest of the members gathered. “I take it that means everyone here's received it?” he asked quietly.
They all nodded: Masako, John, Ayako, Bou-san, Lin, and since Naru had seen him holding his cell phone when entering the reception area, most likely Yasuhara had as well.
Naru sighed softly. “I assume it's one of Mai's friends playing a minor prank while letting us know that Mai won't be coming in to work today,” he said dismissively.
Yasuhara returned with Naru's tea at that moment.
“While I think Mai needs to take a break, I'm a little worried about where she might be,” Masako said with a slight frown.
Naru took a sip of his tea before setting it on the table beside him. He glanced at Masako.
“Mai's had a pretty bad start to the school year what with the different investigations that came in, getting hurt, and then having Yasuhara-san getting her caught up in her regular school studies as well as her entrance exam studies. She needs time to relax,” Masako said expanding on what she'd said earlier.
“Masako has a point,” Ayako said agreeing with the young medium. “Given her current mental state, I get the feeling Mai's more likely to start reciting the years of the different historical periods rather than a protective mantra if she were to get in trouble. The young man's slave driver-style teachings have completely taken over her brain.”
Naru shrugged. “If she's with her friends, she should be safe. Besides, it's not up to this office to keep an eye on her 24/7.”
Bou-san gazed steadily at Naru. “Didn't you say that you were going out on a preliminary investigation tomorrow? Does Mai know about it?”
Naru sighed silently. “The case came in today, so no, she doesn't know about it. Yasuhara-san left a message for her on her phone.”
Bou-san continued to stare at Naru. “You mean that same phone her friends probably took away from her, seeing how Mai herself hasn't phoned in, and we all ended up with that message?”
Naru grimaced slightly. While he assumed Mai's friends would return her phone to her sometime during the night... Naru sighed silently then glanced at Yasuhara; as he expected, his employee was watching him and waiting for his instructions. “Do a search for Mai's cell phone. We'll also change tomorrow's departure time to six,” he said finally. He decided it would probably be better to track down his wayward employee and inform her directly of the investigation the next day.
A few minutes later, Yasuhara had Mai's current location: Tokyo D-land. Naru grimaced at that news. It would be difficult to find her in that crowd...
It was a little after 9 P.M. when Naru, Yasuhara, Bou-san, and Lin entered the gates at Tokyo D-land. The four men couldn't help standing out despite all the crowds, but Naru ignored the curious glances from onlookers as he and the others traced Mai's whereabouts. Because of the size of the park grounds, it took the group several minutes to reach where Mai and her friends were taking a break. Naru left the others as he went over to speak to Mai.
“Mai,” he said quietly as he reached their table.
“?!” Mai turned startled at the sound of his voice. “Naru?! What are you doing here?” she asked shocked.
“Apparently, one of my employees has decided to wander away much like a cat or dog would and is unable to do something as simple as call in to work,” he said coldly. “As a result, I've been forced to come here to tell you we have an investigation.”
Mai grimaced at Naru's news. Cases always took precedence over everything else at the office.
“Ah, Shibuya-san, it's not Mai's fault,” Michiru said as she tried to defend her friend.
“Yeah, we forced her to come with us,” Keiko piped in. “She couldn't call you because we took her phone away.”
Naru glanced at Keiko and Michiru. “Which one of you has Mai's phone?” he asked quietly.
Keiko reached into her bag and pulled out Mai's cell phone. She handed it to Naru, who put it on Mai's head. Mai reached up and caught her phone before it could fall. Sure enough, there was a message for her from the office, but before she could listen to it, Naru reached out and erased it.
“I've changed the time. We'll be leaving the office at six,” he said calmly.
“Six?!” Mai exclaimed. “That's impossible! If we leave at six, I'd have to catch the train at five... meaning I'd have to get up at four... three thirty if I want to make lunch...” Mai went pale at the thought of meeting at the office at six.
Naru said nothing. He'd originally planned to leave at five... He sighed softly as he looked at Keiko and Michiru. “It's getting late; you should go. I need to have a word with Mai, so Yasuhara-san and Takigawa-san will see the two of you home,” he said as he pointed out where the two men stood. “Lin and I will take Mai home. She'll see you at school next week.”
Keiko and Michiru looked at Mai; she gave them an apologetic look. They sighed in resignation and said their goodbyes before leaving their friend to her fate.
Mai glared at Naru. “It's not my fault!” she stated defiantly.
Naru shrugged; he wasn't interested in her excuses.
“You can't be serious about leaving at six!” Mai continued. “It's impossible!”
Naru looked at Mai oddly. “It's physically possible, so I don't see what the problem is,” he said calmly.
“That's not the point!” Mai countered. “How'm I supposed to get to the office that early?!”
Naru shrugged slightly. It wasn't his problem. “I already moved the time back one hour,” he said coolly.
“Naru...” Mai said as she looked at him pleadingly.
Naru sighed softly as he took Mai by the arm and pulled her to her feet. “You can stay at my place,” he said finally. Naru lived on his own in a large apartment within walking distance from the office.
“Really?!” Mai asked. She'd stayed at Naru's before, and there was a spare bedroom there. Mai's expression brightened at the thought of being so close to the office. By staying at Naru's, she wouldn't have to get up that early.
Naru nodded as he led her away to where Lin was standing. Considering what had happened that day, he and Mai had a few things to discuss. Most of all, Naru was looking forward to seeing Mai's reaction when he informed her that they'd be leaving at 6 P.M. the next day.
......I have no idea what I was thinking when writing this one...?? *flees*
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Date: 2008-03-09 04:40 am (UTC)