~ The Romancing of Taniyama Mai ~

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ghost Hunt.

9. The Beginning

The morning air was crisp and cool. The still air barely stirred the icicles that clung in clusters on the bare trees. Snow had piled up overnight on the empty park benches and an early flock of sparrows fluttered cautiously onto the pristine land, keeping a wary eye out for cats. A white curtain fluttered limply at an open window, its folds disturbed as Mai gripped on to the sill and moaned.

"It hurts, Naru," she whimpered.

Her boss remained stretched out on the rug beside her, hair and shirt disarrayed as he focused lazily on her distressed expression.

"It'll go away," he murmured as he rolled over to inspect the cut on her foot. "What were you doing? I asked you to make tea, not pour it over the floor and then step on the broken glass."

"Meanie," she complained and then winced when Naru prodded her cut.

"Hold still. You've a piece of glass in your foot."

"Oww! Oww! OWW!"

"There. You're being ridiculous," Naru said as he wrapped the bloodied sliver of glass in a piece of tissue and tossed in into the wastepaper bin. Mai who had been hobbling over to the nearest chair glowered at him.

"It's your fault. Why were you sleeping in the middle of the floor?" She grinned evilly as a thought struck her. "Did you fall off the couch last night?"

"Of course not," Naru said coldly. "Where is your first-aid kit?"

She sniffed. "Liar. It's in the bathroom cabinet."

As Naru placed the box on the ground by him, he smirked. "I had expected to find it empty," he said mockingly. "Ayako insisted that I take some of her stuff back with me in our last case," Mai replied with as much dignity as she could as he cleaned and bandaged her wound efficiently.

"I guess I won't be doing much dancing tonight at the New Year's party," she remarked casually.

Naru didn't say anything. He never fancied dancing anyway. In fact he detested parties of any kind. "Don't go then," he said as he shut the lid with a snap.

"But it's New Year's!"

"Suit yourself." Naru was straightening his shirt cuffs, grimacing slightly at the unsightly crumple lines from sleeping in his work clothes. "I'm going back to the office."

"On New Year's?" Mai sulked. "You workaholic! Lin-san needs a break even if you don't!"

"I'm not attending anything that Madoka organises. Lin may do as he wishes."

So that was the real reason why he was trying to hide out in his office. Mai huffed. And she had been looking forward to seeing Naru that night too! "Fine. Suit yourself then, you robot," she grumbled, hobbling back to the kitchen to make breakfast. The front door slammed.

"Argh!" she said, banging her head against the wall in frustration.

When Yasuhara walked into SPR that New Year's morning, he was surprised to see that it was devoid of its taciturn boss. "Where's Shibuya-san?" he enquired of Lin.

"I imagine he was at Mai's apartment. He didn't return home last night," the other man replied shortly.

"And you aren't worried that she might have thrown him into a gutter?" Bou-san piped up anxiously as he entered as well.

"Unlikely. Naru called half an hour ago to inform me that he would be returning to the office." Bou-san looked at his watch.

"Then he should be back pretty soon right?"

The front door opened and Naru stormed in irritably.

"What happened?" Lin asked, taking in his ward's unkempt appearance. Surely Mai hadn't really thrown him in the gutter? "

Fell down the stairs. It's nothing much," he answered on his way to his room.

"Wait."

Naru turned. There had been something unreadable in his guardian's voice that made him stop. His hand left the doorknob and he leaned against the door, his arms folded.

"I expect you to get your act together," Lin started to say. "Because I am already spoken for. Even if you propose to me, I will have to decline."

Naru tensed, his eyes widening. Time seemed to slow and then – slam. The door shut behind his back followed by a loud click. "Aww. I don't think he likes you very much, Lin," Bou-san said between guffaws. A muscle twitched in Lin's jaw. "No, I suppose not," he said calmly. Yasuhara however looked curiously after the man. "Spoken for? To whom I wonder?"

"Stupid Naru and his stupid pride," Mai groused as she limped through the snow, her ankle length dress skimming the wet surface. "Why are you guys following me? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the party?" she whispered furiously at the trio following her.

"We're worried for your safety," Yasuhara explained. She tossed her head back.

"I'm not that clumsy. I already fell once today. You should have more faith in people!" she said.

"No, no, you misunderstand, Mai," John said sheepishly.

"Yeah, the mood you're both in, we're concerned that your combined powers would bring down the building."

"Huh!" She stomped up to the back of SPR's office and opened her purse, selecting a small unevenly shaped object and hefted it in her right palm. It was a long shot but worth a try. Leaning back slightly, Mai tossed the pebble at Naru's window. It hit with a small thwack.

"It's just like West-Side Story, or Romeo and Juliet, or something," John stage-whispered and then squeaked when Mai turned back with a glare.

"Stupid…" thwack

"idiot…"

"it's…" thwack

"your guardian's…" thwack

"engagement…" thwack

"party!" thwack

The three men looked at each other. So that was what Madoka had organised. Trust the two of them to be so sneaky. "Uh, Mai, how did you find out? Neither Madoka nor Lin ever mentioned anything like that… Wasn't it supposed to be a New Year's celebration?" Bou-san asked nervously.

"She told me," Mai said grimly. "It was supposed to be a surprise so nobody else knew. My job was to get this idiot to go."

A shadow moved and the window opened. Naru leaned out impassively. He raised an eyebrow at Mai. Her face was unnaturally white and her fists were clenched tightly by her sides. "Naru, you idiot!"

"What is it?" he looked down at her, evidently displeased.

"I came to ask you on a date," she said. He stared back coolly. "I'm not free tonight. I've a prior engagement."

"You-you do?"

He sighed. "You're interrupting me. I can't possibly go to my guardian and sensei's engagement party without a gift."

"You knew?"

"Only this afternoon. Lin hinted."

Mai sagged in relief. "That's great then. You can come with me," she said. Naru smirked and he leaned against the parapet.

"Say please."

"Please, narcissist Naru-chan" she twittered mockingly.

Naru shut the window.

"That went well," Bou-san commented. They were pacing nervously around when the door suddenly opened and Naru came down the stairs, a wrapped gift in hand.

"Can't keep them waiting," he said smugly at their anxious faces. Mai extended an arm to him and smiled playfully. "About time. Shall we go then, Shibuya-san?"

Yasuhara hung back, smiling as he watched them walk off under the moonlight. He heard a chortle behind him.

"Just like an old married couple," an old man in a security outfit chuckled from beneath the shadow of the wall. Yasuhara nodded in agreement.

"Thank you very much for your assistance, sir," he said, his glasses winking.

"Don't mention it, young man," he answered as they shook hands. "It's the start of a beautiful friendship isn't it?"

The End.

Author's comments: That's all' folks. Thank you for reading this little fic! Have a great year ahead!