A/N: This is a post-manga canon story with an eventual Mai/Naru pairing, plus some potentially romantic advancements made between Ayako and Bou-san. I hope to focus on their struggle to control their abilities while taking on some scary cases, some not so scary cases and every day life challenges. I hope you enjoy it, let me know what needs work.
I don't own Ghost Hunt.
The Playing Field
It was nearly the end of June in her second year of high school and Mai; who was early for a change, was enjoying a brief detour through the new park across from the schoolyard. It was located where the old school house used to be before it collapsed a little over a year ago now.
The thought made Her pause. Had it only been that long? It was hard to think about how different her life had been before the old school house brought them all together. It never ceased to surprise her how easily life can be turned on its head, despite all of the times she had experienced it herself.
She continued to let her mind wander as she herself meandered between the young trees and park benches. Due to the land subsidence that caused the old school house to fall in the first place the space was found to be unsuitable for much else. Mai was happy with the decision because in her mind the City could always use more green space.
It was almost time for class to start and Mai was making her way towards the school when she noticed a group of boys from the baseball team chatting rambunctiously also on their way to class but some twenty meters behind her. They must have noticed her too because they had begun to speak in more hushed tones after she thought she had heard her name, which was strange to her. She had never met any of them personally and she wasn't involved in any school clubs; seeing as all of her spare time was dedicated to her thankfully still present part-time job at SPR.
All of this led to Mai keeping a pretty low profile at school which she didn't really mind. Keiko and Michiru made sure to keep her up to date on all the best school gossip during their lunch breaks while Mai copied their notes for the classes she had missed while on cases. The Baseball team was considered to be a pretty popular group of guys on campus and often ended up being the focus of a lot of the female attention. If she stopped to think about it Mai thought she could see why. With their athletic builds, easy smiles and cocky personalities some of them could pull off charming when they made the effort. She wasn't so easily won over, however. To her, it felt like they were putting on a show and it made her uneasy to see other girls in school falling over themselves to get their attention.
But now she was feeling more like the one in the spotlight all of a sudden as apposed to the fly on the wall she usually was. Doing her best not to show her awareness of them she picked up her pace on her way to the shoe room. Just as she got to her cubby and reached for her shoes someone beat her to it.
"Let me get those for you." A tall, dark eyed, messy brown haired boy wearing his baseball cap on an angle; despite the no hats inside rule, placed her shoes on the ground in front of her.
Mai blinked. "Oh, Thank you." trying not to show her confusion she quickly slipped off her outside shoes to step in her school ones, completely missing the hand being held out to offer her balance. He let it drop before she looked up again after hearing his buddies; who were observing from a distance, snicker at the unintentional snub.
" Your name is Taniyama, right? I've noticed you around school." he started to follow her further into the building. From the looks they were receiving from the other students in the hall Mai assumed he was a more well known members of the baseball team meaning he must have been a subject of one of Michiru's stories at some point.
Unsure of how she was expected to respond, Mai smiled up at him while they walked. He must not have expected her to because he carried on. "Are you coming to tonight's game? We have a real rivalry with this team, it should be good."
Having reached the stairs where they would have to part ways; for Mai's home room was on the second floor, she paused to turn and respond. "I'm sorry I won't be able to make it- Um," her questioning pause waiting for a name was met with a surprised look of indignation at the fact that she had no idea who he was.
Quickly schooling his features back into that winning smile he replied with a flourish. "Yoshida Taku, starting pitcher at your service, but you can call me Taku."
"Well Taku-kun I'm afraid I have to work tonight, but good luck at your game!" Mai then gave a friendly smile and turned to head up the stairs when a hand on her arm stopped her. She turned to face a less smiley Taku in a quickly emptying hall way.
"Can't you just blow it off? I would really love to see you there." This time there was something behind his smile that Mai wasn't sure what to make of.
"Nope. Sorry, I've got bills to pay." And with that she hustled up the steps to try to beat the bell, leaving behind a confused looking Taku.
Mai made it to her seat just in time for the bell and received a hard look from her Sensei for cutting it so close. 'Sheesh, nearly every time I leave for school early I wind up being late.' She then noticed the sideways glances Keiko kept shooting her and Michiru, trying to catch her eye over her shoulder whenever her teacher was facing the board. 'And the day gets weirder…'
The rest of class passed without incident until the bell rang for lunch. Keiko and Michiru were in front of her desk before she even had her note book closed.
"Well?!" They shouted in tandem as though it was completely obvious what they were after.
"Well what?" Mai bewilderedly asked before starting to pull out her homework. Naru was taking her to do a walk through with him on a potential case this weekend so she wanted to have a head start incase she was about to miss some more school.
"Sora-chan said she saw you and Taku-kun flirting in the hall before class!"
"Yeah! Spill Mai!" Keiko pitched in.
Mai held up her hands in defence as she flushed in embarrassment "Whoa hang on! It wasn't like that! He was just asking if I was going to tonight's Baseball game."
Michiru Gasped. Keiko asked "What did you tell him?"
"That I have to work, of course." She told them as if it were a silly question.
"Aww come on Mai he is so dreamy." Keiko swooned.
"I don't know Keiko-chan, I've heard he's a bit of a player and I am not talking about sports. Mai-chan should totally be careful if she's going to start dating a guy like Yoshida Taku."
Mai's head was spinning. "Who said anything about dating?! All he did was get my shoes down for me and talk about Baseball."
"He helped you with your shoes?! Oh he is definitely interested Mai-chan." Keiko sat facing her on the chair in front of Mai's desk.
Mai made a sceptical face as she started in on her Algebra homework.
"It's true. You know you've really matured over this last year." Michiru argued as she pulled up another seat from the next desk over.
And it was true, while Mai hadn't completely finished filling out, she had lost a bit of the baby fat in her cheeks and started to grow out some of her bangs so they weren't as thick, resulting in two locks of hair that curled in beneath her cheek bones and now nearly shoulder length hair in the front, she kept it a little shorter in the back for the ease of maintenance. This way she found it both dried and brushed out very quickly but she could also put it in a ponytail or braids if she could she had the need or the time. She had also grown another inch and developed a bit of a lean, hourglass shape from her busy lifestyle and a now decent enough cash flow to afford proper nutrition. All in all Mai had been blossoming nicely. Not that she noticed.
"Come on you guys, don't be silly. Besides, who says that I am interested?"
"Oh that's right. Mai is still dedicated to her unrequited love for her sexy boss." Keiko teased as she flicked Mai's eraser in her direction after her pencil skidded across the page. Her face beet red at the use of the word sexy in reference to her long time crush and employer.
"It's not like that," she mumbled embarrassedly "I know he's not interested and I have to move on, I'm just saying that Taku-kun just isn't my type."
Her friends looked at her softly while she kept her head bowed as she continued to fill out her work sheet, flushed cheeks and slightly depressed atmosphere firmly in place.
"Come on Mai-chan, you can't stay in here all day. Let's go have lunch in the courtyard and you can keep working there." Keiko stood and Michiru followed suit.
"Yeah it's a beautiful day outside and we could all use some fresh air."
Mai paused from her work and smiled warmly up at her friends. "Okay, let's go." Happy to have friends to help cheer her up she packed up her books and followed them out of the room.
Out in the sunlit courtyard the girls managed to find a small empty table near the centre. The three teens all pulled out their bento boxes and Mai dragged out her Math once again. They chatted cheerfully about the latest movie releases and once in a while helped Mai through some of the tougher problems on their weekend homework. She was just putting her completed work away when a shadow fell across her. Looking up she realized that it was the same group of boys from the park, headed up by none other than Taku. His face was twisted up on one side in what Mai could only describe as a very cocky smirk; it must have been contagious because most of the guys behind him had their very own version of his snarky confidence written across their own faces, while a couple around the edges were busy flashing friendly smiles at Keiko and Michiru.
"Hey Mai, have a nice lunch break?" During the last few minutes of break most of the students would congregate in the courtyard after club meetings and before class so they could use up as much social time left as possible while still being close enough to the classrooms to get there on time. It was just starting to fill up now.
"Yes, the weather has been lovely." Was Mai's pleasant reply. "Is there something you needed Taku-kun?" Some of the boys couldn't help but snicker behind their hands at her question, only causing Mai more confusion.
"I was just thinking what a bummer it was that you couldn't make it to the game tonight, I was really looking forward to seeing you outside of school." His face morphed into a more pleasant smile and looked down at her through his thick lashes. a couple girls watching their exchange swooned in the background.
"Oh, well work keeps me pretty busy so it's hard for me to find time to go out with my friends as it is." Mai rambled, feeling self conscious now that she was aware of just how many eyes were on them. She really was not used to this much attention.
"That's right, I heard that you live alone." He purred " Do you ever get scared, being all by yourself at night?"
The question made Mai scoff internally; feeling insulted by the question her temper flared, giving her a confidence boost. This guy had no idea what it would take to scare the likes of her.
She quirked her eyebrow. "Not really, No." He didn't waver.
"Thats cool. Well I was wondering since you won't be free until later, Maybe you and I could get to know each other better after the game. At your place. What do you think?" He was looking hopeful while a few of his buddies shot each other winks.
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Michiru bravely stepped in.
"Yeah Mai-chan lives all by herself, remember?" Keiko timidly added. The group of them were now standing at the centre of attention of a large portion of the student body.
"Yeah I remember. That's kind of the point." He gave Mai a heated look up and down that made her feel sick to her stomach. It all made sense now. Her temper which had been awakened at the beginning of their conversation was steadily rising.
"You want to come to my place after the game tonight, and do what, exactly?" She wanted to be able to give him the benefit of the doubt but she already knew where this was going. Thrown off by the question, she could see him trying to rattle up a witty response.
"Well, I figured that after we cream those guys my shoulders will be pretty sore. Maybe we could start off with a massage and a movie and just see where the night takes us from there." Amped up by their leaders confidence his team mates jeered and chuckled while giving each other high fives and Taku's eyes never left Mai's. Now she was pissed.
"So let me get this straight." Her volume was rising. "You want me to have you over after a long day of school and making a living so that I can play your little wife?"
"Hey don't get mad babe, I'll do you after you do me." He said with a wink.
She blew her top.
"I would rather choke than let that happen." She managed to say with the most venom and dirtiest look she could muster before turning her back to walk away.
"OOOOOOHHHHH" Could be heard coming from their large number of on lookers, some people were laughing. Taku grabbed Mai's wrist and jerked her back around just as the bell for the end of lunch rang and people started filing in to their classrooms chatting about what they had just witnessed.
"What did you say to me you little bitch?" He was flushed with embarrassment as he glared angrily down at her.
"You heard me you pig. Now let me go." She did her best to shake off his steadily tightening grip.
"You are going to regret that. Do you hear me?" He pulled her closer to him as if just to show her that he could, before throwing her hand away from him and roughly brushing passed her. "See you around, Taniyama." then he was gone.
Suddenly the day seemed a little darker than before.
Next: Mai's New Clothes
A/N: Sorry, I have no beta.
I like to have a few chapters done before I post because I often go back over it multiple times to make changes.
I am very open to constructive criticism because the whole point of this exercise is to improve my writing.
This story may eventually contain nudity and adult themes. Hell it already contains swearing, so the rating may be subject to change.
This story will be a canon continuation from Akumu no Sumu Ie, although I don't really know how that ends yet.
I hope you enjoy it.
I do not own Ghost Hunt.