For EJ, the best person ever, Drama Queen Extraordinaire, sweetheart, brilliance, and one of my bestest friends in the world. Happy birthday!
Disclaimer: I own nothing someone else does.
Rumor Has It
No one could say that Shibuya Kazuya didn't care for his workers. One worker in particular: Taniyama Mai.
The cheery, extroverted high school girl attracted trouble wherever they went, it seemed. And of course he needed to bail her out of it. She was his employee, after all, and the youngest besides.
Still, he thought as he looked down at her shocked face, barely an inch from his own, he wished she could try not to get them into such compromising positions. She could be that considerate, couldn't she?
He got off her and stood up, not bothering to extend a hand to her and pretending not to notice her huff of annoyance as she got to her feet on her own and stared around at the table before her. It was a huge oak one, and had been thrown at her by a restless spirit. It was only thanks to her boss knocking her off her feet that it had crashed into the wall and not her skull.
"Thanks, Naru," she said shakily. Naru didn't reply, already moving to the door. Mai stuck her tongue out at his back.
"Don't be so immature, Mai," he told her, not looking back. She blinked. Whoa. How did he—
Oh. Right. He was Naru.
Naru disappeared through the door and into an empty hallway. "Coming?" he called back.
"Yes, Naru," Mai sighed, following.
--
Masako stood with her back against the wall, her hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe what she had just seen!
She felt a burning at the back of her throat, but tried to swallow it back.. sure, she knew Naru didn't much like her, but she always though she could—she might have a chance. And she never expected Mai to be able to take him away from her right under her nose!
Seeing them in the position…. It had been almost too much to bear. Where she got the control to keep her gasp from tearing out of her mouth and keep walking so they wouldn't find her spying on their… intimate moment, she would never know.
"Hara-san?"
She couldn't help her gasp this time as she raised her head to meet John's concerned blue gaze. Too late, she realized her own eyes were filling with tears.
"Yes?" she asked stiffly, relieved to note her voice, at least, was steady.
"What's wrong?"
Masako bit her lip, thinking back to what she had seen. She needed to speak to someone, and who better than John? John would be sympathetic, unlike the others. He wouldn't tease her, and he didn't seem to be secretly rooting for Mai to be with Naru.
So she opened her mouth, and the words came tumbling out.
--
When John entered the room, his face beet red and walking as if in a daze, Takigawa had to ask what was wrong.
"Nothing at all, Bou-san," John hastened to assure him. "Why would you think something is wrong? Nothing is wrong!"
Takigawa raised an eyebrow. "Spill," he said. "Who's doing the naughty?"
It was meant to be a joke, but when John paled, his jaw dropped. Whoa.
"It's… Naru," John admitted finally, the words bursting out of him. "And Mai."
Double whoa.
"They were kissing, Hara-san saw them." John's face burned red, and Takigawa had to snicker. The poor boy was such an innocent.
"Is that all?" He grinned, shaking his head. "I get that you're a priest, kid, but kissing really isn't such a big—"
"There's more," John blurted, clearly eager to unload all the gory details. Takigawa was more than willing to listen, but as John went on, his eyes grew wider and wider.
Holy—
--
"Sorry to destroy all your pedophilic fantasies," Takigawa began, not looking very sorry at all. "But your precious Naru has a girlfriend."
Ayako blinked, processing this information. Takigawa took the opportunity to drag a chair over to sit before her, gleefully watching her expression go from confused to downright shocked to embarrassed by the accusation.
"Pedo – I – shut up!" she snapped. "What are you talking about?"
"Naru and Mai," Takigawa said. "Apparently they're a lot closer than we thought. John tells me they were basically going at it like rabid bunnies."
Ayako didn't know what the most shocking piece of news was. That Naru had hormones, or… "John said that?" she echoed incredulously.
Takigawa waved a hand impatiently. "Different wording, but same idea."
Ayako leaned back in her seat. "Wow. Naru and Mai."
"Don't tell me you're surprised."
"So what if I am?" she said defensively. "No one expected Naru to - to do that!"
"I did," Takigawa said smugly. "And I bet you did, too – just thought the girl would be you."
Ayako glared at him. "Go die," she told him acidly.
He laughed. "But don't you want to discuss their future kids?"
Ayako sniffed. "You're an idiot."
Takigawa raised an eyebrow, waiting.
"…First comes marriage."
--
Lin wondered why no one ever seemed to notice him. It was true that he was quiet, but to think that people would be so completely unaware of his presence…
Then again, these people working with SPR were astonishingly ignorant at times. Their gossip was proof of that.
He took a sip of his coffee to hide a shadow of a smile as he listened to Ayako and Takigawa chatter away about who would be named godparents.
--
When Naru and Mai walked into the room their base was located in, he immediately sensed something was off. Mai was oblivious as usual, greeting everyone so enthusiastically, as if she hadn't just seen them all two hours ago.
"Mai," Bou-san began, "You look… disheveled."
Why was he grinning at Naru like that?
Mai nodded cheerfully. "I was attacked!"
Why did she sound so happy about it? And why was he still grinning?
"I'll say." Bou-san winked conspiratorially, and Mai looked puzzled.
"Uh… yeah. Does anyone want tea?" she asked hastily.
Everyone but Masako – who looked a bit miffed – agreed, and Naru walked over to Lin for his data.
"Temperature readings?" he asked shortly. Lin handed a sheet over silently, and watched as Naru looked it over. It didn't take long for his employer to look up, annoyed. "What is it?" he demanded.
Lin shrugged, turning back to his computer. "Just wanted to know if you and Taniyama-san are at least practicing safely. Condoms are vital, you know."