Games People Play
My Rude Awakening

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ghost Hunt. I wouldn't be writing this if I did.

WARNING: May contain spoilers from the manga and novels, including Akumu no Sumu Ie.

Chapter 1
Rain Check
07.12.2014

It was the end of another slow week for SPR. Mai Taniyama was sleeping on her desk so peacefully when Oliver Davis walked out of his office. His eyes were immediately drawn to the slumped form of his part-timer. The dying rays of the sun illuminated her face in such a way that mesmerized him.

He strode towards her with cat-like grace and soundlessly placed a chair next to hers, then sat on it. Before he could even realize what he was doing, Noll already had his head resting on the table near hers and watched as she breathed in and out with such a relaxed expression. He continued staring at her, as if he were in a trance, until the sound of a door opening filled the very silent room.

Koujo Lin walked out of his office and into the unusual scene with undisguised surprise on his face, but it quickly turned into a knowing smirk when his charge looked up at him.

"What?" Noll asked with a scowl.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that to you?" The older man replied with a wider smirk.

"It's not what you think. I was just – " The younger one started coolly, but was immediately cut off by his guardian.

"Careful, Noll. Whatever game you're playing might just backfire on you when you least expect it." Lin warned him in English with an almost playful tone.

Noll's back stiffened at his assistant's cryptic proclamation, but he kept his stoic façade. He stood up and leveled his gaze with Lin's. He let out a sardonic smile as he answered the older man.

"You really must stop worrying about my life, Lin. In fact, you should concern yourself with yours first," Noll stated with a condescending tone. He narrowed his eyes as he continued, "and while you're at it, why don't you get laid as well? I'm pretty sure Madoka is more than willing –"

The young boss was once again interrupted when the door to the SPR offices banged open to reveal Osamu Yasuhara with a maniacal grin across his face and his glasses glinting dangerously.

"Did anyone say something about…" The college student paused for effect, "…getting laid~?!" He asked this loudly, and then looked at the two men whose conversation was cut short by his ill-timed entrance.

Mai was rudely awoken from her slumber and jumped up from her seat as she asked with a sleepy voice and a confused face, "Huh, Wha –? Who's getting laid?"

"Why? Are you interested?" The words slipped out of Noll's mouth before he could even think about them. He watched in amusement as the girl in front of him fought a losing battle against a blush that had already started to grace her features.

Her chocolate brown eyes shot up to meet his in surprise, and he let out what he thought was a seductive smirk as he looked down at her. Her eyes instantly narrowed at the rare sight, yet her blush only intensified. She rolled her eyes and proceeded to give him a teasing grin.

"Naru, are you actually propositioning me?"

"Only because you seem so willing." He stopped to examine her face slowly and resumed speaking nonchalantly, "Correct me if I am wrong, but judging from the look on your face, I say you are very interested."

Mai opened her mouth to defend herself, but nothing came out. She was too stunned to reply so she simply closed her mouth shut and ended up blushing more profusely while staring at him in disbelief. He suddenly leaned down towards the brunette until his lips were barely touching her ear, and then whispered huskily in English, "Tell me when you're ready."

Noll stood up straight after his private declaration. He knew he had won this round with those words as soon as he saw Mai's dilated eyes and flushed skin. He caught her eyes in a staring match to flaunt his victory when she sighed dramatically and then winked at him.

Yasuhara's jaw dropped (both literally and figuratively) at the exchange for two reasons: first, their usually stoic, no-nonsense boss was playing word games with the young woman – and with thinly-veiled innuendoes at that; and second, it had been a long time (much too long in his humble opinion) since the two had a verbal match as interesting as this.

Lin observed as the two teens stared at each other with intensity that could generate static electricity. He had decided to attribute this to unresolved sexual tension. He laughed inwardly at the scene as his anger for Noll slowly dissipated and was gradually replaced by pity and incredulity for the said young man's inability to process his own emotions and to act on them accordingly.

As much as the bespectacled young man was enjoying the show his younger companions were putting up, he knew he had to break it soon before it turned ugly. He looked at Noll and said in a playful warning tone while wagging his index finger, "Enough with the indecent proposals, Big Boss. Your words may be misconstrued as sexual harassment against your cute little employee if you go any further."

Mai directed her gaze to her friend and reassured him with a sly smile. "It's fine, Yasuhara-san. I am not offended in any way. In fact…"

She then turned to Naru. "As much as I would like to consider your – uh – offer for tonight, I already have a prior engagement," she waved a hand at Yasuhara and smiled wider. "But since you're being so – err – generous about it, I'll take a rain check instead!" She tried to say this with minimal blushing and could only hope that she sounded confident enough to show her narcissistic boss that she was not the same Mai he left when he went to England over two years ago. She was in college now, and had been learning a lot of new things. Very interesting things.

Mai gathered her things as she prepared to leave the office for the day. She watched Noll in the corner of her eye as he glared at the wall opposite to him, then patted his shoulder in false sympathy, knowing that it will further enrage her already exasperated boss. After all, Oliver Davis hated losing.

She made her way towards Yasuhara and was already halfway out the doorway when she looked back and cheerfully called out to the blue-eyed teen, "Don't worry, Naru! I will let you know when I will be using that rain check." She gave him a final wave as she stepped out of the office. "I'm looking forward to it~!"

The men in the room froze in shock at her statement and at the realization of what it implied, but the older college student quickly recovered and had whisked the young woman away before she noticed anything.

The events of that afternoon led Yasuhara to the conclusion that something was going on between the Big Boss and the brunette investigator and he would very much like to know what it is.

Author's Note: Hello! Here's another series starter I've written while taking a break from my other story, Contact. I've always wanted to see (err, read) a naughty, flirty, college student Mai, but I've never really encountered one so I decided to write it instead. Hmmm, this can also be taken as a one-shot with an open ending so I've set it with a COMPLETED status for now, but I hope I get to work on it someday. Tell me what you think about it and maybe I'll be inspired to continue it sooner!

OMAKE (Alternate Conversation)

Yasuhara's College Woes

Mai was rudely awoken from her slumber and jumped up from her seat as she asked with a sleepy voice and a confused face, "Huh, Wha –? Who's getting laid?"

"At the rate everyone's going with their love lives? No one, Taniyama-san! Not even this poor, deprived soul…" Yasuhara dramatically placed his hands above his heart to indicate himself. "…drowning in never-ending academic workload without even a little time to spare to play around."

"Yasuhara-saaaaaan~! Stop fooling around."

"Like I said, Taniyama-san. As much as I would love to 'fool around' like what you said, I haven't got the time!" Fake tears fell from the eyes of the bespectacled part-timer as he continued with his rant. "And to think my greatest fear is dying a virgin. I cannot let that happen! That would be too tragic for such a man like me!"