Now the explanation that Mai gives in the story 'Return' is different from this. She just gives Masako a happier version and not what really happened. This is what happened. And no...I haven't given up on 'Orphanage' I just needed to take a break from it.
"Hey, Naru, I'm going to go on home, alright?" Mai stuck her head inside and her boss, aka boyfriend, looked up and she gave him a bright smile. He manage to return a small smile and Mai felt her heart jump at the sight. Naru rarely smiled and yet she still loved it when he gave her that smile though he gave it to her more often.
"Alright, if you'll wait for another five minutes I'll take you home." he said and Mai giggled before she went over to get the tea trey and she gasped as her location suddenly changed and she was in Naru's lap and he was nuzzling her neck. She giggled before pushing away slightly so that she could see his face and frowned as she saw that he was slightly pale.
"What's wrong? You look pale, are you sick?" she asked. She hoped not, tomorrow was her birthday and she wanted to spend the day with Naru even if it was in the office. But she wanted to be with him on her birthday, though if he was sick she could always go over to his house and take care of him.
"I'm not sick. My parents just called and informed me that they want to see me tomorrow. They flew in today and want me to spend the day with them tomorrow so you and Lin will have to take any potential clients and let me review them the next day." he said and Mai could feel her face drain. He wouldn't be at the office tomorrow?
"Are you going to be here at all?" she whispered and Naru picked up that something was wrong when Mai wouldn't look him in the eyes. He gently put his hand under her chin and moved her head so that their eyes were locked. Why did she look so sad all of a sudden?
"No, what's wrong Mai?" he asked worried. Mai never acted so oddly. She gave him a bright smile before she moved off his lap and started towards the door with the tea trey in her hands. She gave him another smile as she opened the door.
"Nothing's wrong, Naru. But I'm going to have to leave now. I just remembered that I have to stop at the market before I go home and I need to get there before they close so I'll see you later!" she managed before she fled the room and took sanctuary in the kitchen where she cleaned the tea cup before putting them back in the cupboard.
'He forgot that tomorrow's my birthday even though I've told him countless times!' Mai thought sadly as she took her coat and she heard Naru's office door open as she prepared to leave.
"Will you be coming in before my mother and father come?" Naru asked and Mai gave him a sad smile. She tied the belt of her coat and reached for the knob and she let her smile fall before she left.
"I don't think so. I'm going to sleep in if that's alright." Mai whispered and she saw Naru frown before he nodded and she left the office leaving him worrying about what was wrong with her.
Mai slowly walked into the office of Shibuya Psychic Research. She saw that Naru's door was open and she knew that he was already gone with his parents and she bent her head as she took her coat off. She hung it up by the door where Lin's, and Madoka's she noticed dully, hung. She sighed softly as she went to her desk and began to file papers that Naru had left for her to file.
"Mai?" Mai looked up to see Lin standing there with a wrapped package. Her eyes went wide as he placed on her desk and she looked up at him and he gave her his rare smile. "Happy Birthday. Madoka's taking me to a potential client. I'll see you later?" he was almost unsure if he would see her and she just smiled and nodded. She watched as Lin and Madoka left the office but not before the older woman could wish Mai birthday wishes as well.
'Thank you, Lin, Madoka. But I wish that Naru could have remembered.' she thought sadly before her stomach grumbled angrily and she looked through the cabinets and found there was nothing to eat. She looked at the clock and decided that she had enough time to run to the bakery at the end of the street and get some breakfast.
When she got back she was surprised to find a bouquet of wildflowers sitting in front of the door. She picked them up and realized that her name was on the envelope on the vase. She put the flowers and her bag of donuts on her desk and pulled the card out.
'I hope this can brighten your day but not to much since I'm not there.' it read in Naru's neat handwriting. Mai felt a smile at the corner of her lips. Even though Naru cared for her he was still a narcissist since he thought the only way she could be happy was if he was there.
"Silly, Naru-chan." she thought affectionately before she went and got a cup of water and poured into the vase. Most of her day was taken up filing, not exactly the way that she wanted to spend her birthday but when Ayako and Takigawa dropped in to take her out to lunch she couldn't say 'no'. Afterwards her day got better as Takigawa stayed with her until he had to go get ready for a gig that his band had booked.
"Happy Birthday, Jou-chan. Hard to believe that you're eighteen." he teased before he left as Mai pushed him out the door jokingly.
"At least I don't creak!" she yelled and he heard him snort angrily before the elevator doors closed and she entered the office just in time to hear the phone ringing. She managed to get to the phone after the second ring.
"Hello, SPR, Mai speaking. How may I help you?" she said brightly. She waved as Lin and Mai finally decided to make a reappearance. Lin looked frazzled and Madoka looked as though she were trying to not giggle. She watched as the other two SPR associates disappeared into Lin's office. Mai wondered briefly if Madoka even knew what her house looked like anymore as she had been in Japan for nearly a year and a half since deciding that she needed to check on Naru's progress.
"Well, I suppose you can answer the phone." her favorite voice said and Mai felt her face light up with a smile.
"Naru!! What are you doing calling me? I thought that your parents wanted to spend the day with you!" she said and she heard him chuckle and she felt her smile widen even more. She was proud to be the only person that got him to chuckle or release any type of laugh at all, even though most of the time his amusement was directed at her.
"I thought we could have dinner since I missed our lunch date." he said and she felt her smile widen. Maybe he hadn't forgotten after all!
"Alright! What time and where?" she asked into the phone before she grabbed a pencil and a notepad as he gave her the address that he was at and she told him that she would meet him there in another thirty minutes before she said good-bye and hung up. She stuck her head in Lin's office and told him that she was leaving early, he just nodded as he was to busy trying to hide his laptop from Madoka as she was trying to take it away from him. Undoubtedly so he'd pay attention to her.
Mai closed his door and winced as she heard a thump from inside. She could just imagine how Madoka had bonked the man on the head to try and get the laptop. Mai wondered why Madoka wanted the laptop so badly. She had never seen Madoka so determined in her time knowing the woman.
Mai searched for the restaurant and had a little trouble finding it. Especially since it was rush hour and everyone else was heading out for dinner or heading home. Mai huffed angrily before she spotted the sign with the name of the restaurant. She smiled in relief before she crossed the street quickly and entered the restaurant. She began to pull her coat off as she searched for Naru. She registered that she could hear rain hitting the windows of the restaurant.
Her eyes brightened when she saw the black hair but then she frowned as two other people were sitting at the exact same table and she saw that they already had food and she felt her eyes widen as tears began to form. He must have felt her stare on him and he looked up and she saw his eyes widen when their eyes locked. He had forgotten her again. She turned back to the door and pulled her coat on as she reached for the handle.
"MAI!" she ignored his call and rushed out into the pouring rain. She tried to use the hurried people and rain to hide from Naru. She didn't want to face him. He had forgotten her birthday and had forgotten that he invited her to dinner with his parents. She couldn't believe him. She had reminded him relentlessly that her birthday was getting near and that she wanted to spend it with him. She had spent his birthday with him, even though they hadn't been 'dating' at the time. She still came in without him having to ask to.
She felt the rain piercing her skin through both her jacket and shirt. She couldn't tell the difference between the tears on her face and the rain pouring down on her. She could barely hear the pounding of her feet as she ran down the streets. She could see the lights of her apartment building as the crowd thinned out. She had moved apartments after graduating. She had moved to the Shibuya district after graduation so that getting to work would be easier and that her college choice, Shibuya Community College, was located nearby.
She went to the door and pulled on the handle and found that it was locked and she growled. She dug through her purse and almost had her key to the lock before someone grabbed her wrist and whirled her around and she was met with stormy blue eyes that had wet black bangs hanging in his eyes. She struggled slightly against his grip.
"Let go of me!" she cried before suddenly he had hold of her shoulders and had shaken her and she quit her struggling. She looked up at him and wished desperately that he had at least remembered that it was her birthday. But she didn't even get that after working for him for nearly two years and then caring for him like a normal girlfriend for nearly six months.
"What is wrong with you?!" he growled and Mai froze and looked up at him angrily. He really had no idea? He didn't know what today was? She felt her heart physically stop beating and she looked up at him with wide brown eyes before her head dropped and she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks again.
"You really forgot?" she whispered and she felt his hands loosened and she stepped away from the man and kept her head bent. She heard his intelligent 'huh?' but she didn't reply. She supposed the whole time she had been hoping that she was just imagining things and that Naru really did remember her birthday. She was crushed to find out that her first thoughts about him forgetting was right. She sniffled.
"I can't believe you forgot my birthday." she whispered before she struggled against him as he drew her into his arms. She hit him on the chest and wriggled and did everything that she could to get away from him. The last thing she wanted was for him to touch her. She didn't think that she'd ever be able to be near him again.
"Mai." his calm voice caused her to stop and look up at him and her eyes widened when they focused on a velveteen box that he was holding in front of her eyes. She blinked before her eyes locked with Naru's and he shook his head.
"My parents flew in to help me pick this out. They were eating, not me, so that they could get to the hotel room to sleep because they aren't used to Japanese time." he said and Mai hesitantly reached out and opened the box. Her breath caught when she saw the diamond ring sitting in the box.
"N-Naru…" she whispered stunned. He gave her that rare smile and brushed his
fingers against her cheek. "I don't…I don't know what to say."
"How about you say yes…and we can go from there?" he replied and she just managed to nod with a different type of tears welling in her eyes as she watched him slip the ring on her finger. She smiled up at him before she stroked his cheeks with the ring on her finger.
"Is this why you didn't wish me a 'happy birthday'?" she asked and he smiled before he brushed his lips against her cheek.
"Partly. Happy Birthday…Mrs. Davis." he whispered and Mai giggled. Neither of them noticed the rain pouring down on the city anymore as they stayed in each others arms.
"Hmm. I like the sound of that." she replied and Naru caught her lips and she locked her hands around her neck. She really liked the though of being Naru's wife and being his forever and him being hers forever. She could definitely get used to the idea.
There you go! And don't forget to review. They make the author very happy!