SPR Series: Number 1

Prologue

"Naru!"

I turned around to see the woman who created that nick name for me. We were outside SPR. We just finished packing the things we need before Lin and I go to England. Surprisingly, Mai even helped in packing and cleaning the office before I locked it. I came out of the office first so that I can go without Mai noticing it. I don't want to see her cry because it might change my decision. But I was unlucky. She ran here to catch up with my pace. I looked at her. She was smiling but her eyes say otherwise. They were glistening. I know it. It's the look that I had memorized by heart in my two years of working with her. She was on the verge of crying but still she wants to hold back her tears.

"Yes, Mai?" I asked with my usual tone. I don't want her to expect something from me.

Mai just stood there for a few seconds. I can see that she was debating with herself whether to tell what she wants to tell me or not. I lost my patience and turned my back on her. "After all this time, you still don't know that I don't want my time to be wasted." I walked to the van in front of me to get on it but she stopped me.

"Wait!" she shouted again. She closed the distance between us. I turned around and before I can react she hugged me and buried her face on my chest. I was stunned. I don't know what I should do. If I should hug her back or should I push her away so I just stood there looking at her hair. Then she said something that was muffled because her face was buried on my chest.

"Mai, I can't understand what you're saying." I said irritably.

She looked up and our eyes met. The tears that she was trying to hold back fell. "Don't go." she whispered.

I already expected that she would stop me from going back to England but what she said next caught me off guard and surprised me. "I-I love you Naru." she whispered again between her sobs. "Don't… don't go. Please." she pleaded.

To say that I was stunned is an understatement. My eyes widened for a fraction. For the first time in my life, I was speechless. I was tempted to say that I will not go but then Gene's face appeared in my mind. I remembered that Gene appeared on Mai's dream as her spirit guide. I felt like I was crushed into pieces. "Maybe Mai sees Gene on me." I thought painfully. Why not? Gene is more lovable than me. I am a narcissist after all. Mai can't love me... So I asked her the most painful question that I had to ask in the world. "Was it me or Gene that you love?"

Mai's eyes widened and she pulled away from me. She did not answer my question and just stood there looking at me like I was some kind of a ghost. Once more I looked at her eyes. I saw disbelief and pain. I sighed deeply and turned my back on her and walked to the other side of the van. I climbed up at the front seat beside Lin. "Let's go." I said to him.

Lin was about to ask me about Mai but I looked away from him. The Chinese man sighed and afterwards he started the engine and we sped away, leaving a crying and distraught Mai behind.

England, the land of royalty and nobles. This is where Gene and I built our dreams. He is gone. I miss him but there is that little brunette woman who I miss more.

Six months… Six months filled of pain and anxiety and stress and… longing. I longed for her presence, her laugh, her cheerfulness, and her rants because of my narcissistic ways and the way she call me Naru. To make things short, I miss her. For the first time in my life, I felt regret. I regretted leaving her. After Gene left me, she became my life; the source of light that filled that lightened my darkened heart. I want to see her again. I just realized that I am lost without her. Yes, just looking at the pile of papers in my desk right now confirms my feelings are true. I don't want to do anything. What I want to do is to go back at Japan and look at her chocolate brown eyes again. How stupid of me to ask her that stupid question. I cannot deny it anymore. That I, Oliver Davis, the famous ghost hunter and a genius, had fallen in love with my idiot assistant Taniyama Mai. Even if it will be just a glimpse of her, I would be happy.

General POV:

The door to Naru's office opened without him noticing. Lin entered and he wasn't surprised that Naru was facing the window and was in his daydreaming state. He has always been like this since they came back to England. "I guess he is still thinking about that girl on his desk" Lin thought. On the right side of Naru's desk is Mai's picture. It was Lin who took it during Naru's last birthday. Mai doesn't know about it. It was a stolen shot. She was looking on Naru from her table. Lin thought that it was a good moment and it was a good material to be use for blackmailing. But before he can use it for that purpose, they were already back here in England and he just insisted that it should be put on Naru's desk just in case the teenager misses his former assistant. Of course, Naru protested about this idea and have to shove Lin out of his office carrying the picture but after three days, he did not say a word about it and after some time, Lin noticed that Naru looked at the picture most of the time rather than doing work (if there was any work at all).

He looked at Naru. Although his back was all he can see, he knows that the boy is lonely. Lin also feels the same. He didn't want to leave the country (though he hates Japanese) because of the SPR family. Yes, they were a family back there. This family also changed him. He was once like Naru, serious and arrogant. But after the time he spent with the group, he started to mingle with them and joined them on their ridiculous plans to get Naru and Mai together. He also felt Naru's attachment with SPR. The day they had to leave Japan was one of the most painful days for the team.

-FLASHBACK—

Lin's POV

They were on the airport, waiting for their flight. They sat on the waiting chairs and he talked to Naru about what happened the day before.

"Do you really want to leave?" Lin asked.

"I need to bring Gene's body back to England. Mom and Dad are waiting for him." he answered me with his usual voice.

"You will not come back?" I tried again.

"Maybe not." he answered without changing his tone.

I know that he knows that I am going to ask this but I have to try. "How about Mai?"

"I don't have to think about her. She is just my assistant."

How stubborn this man is. "But she already confessed to you." He heard everything from the conversation yesterday.

"It doesn't matter. I know that she loved Gene, not me."

An idiot man. Everyone can see how Mai looked at him. How can he be so insensitive? And now, he was thinking that Mai loved Gene just because she was seeing his dead brother in her dreams. Pathetic. Before I reprimand this idiot beside me, I heard a group of people shouting our names like they were carrying a megaphone at the moment.

"Naru! Lin"

We looked at the direction where the voices came from and saw the SPR Gang, as they call themselves, moving to us. There was Takigawa, Ayako, John, Masako and Yasuhara. There was one person who was missing. We stood up and met them.

Yasuhara noticed my "searching" eyes. "She's not here." he said sadly.

"Yeah. We were calling her phone but she is not answering it." Takigawa added.

"That's fine." Naru said.

Takigawa and Ayako looked at each other. They sensed the lie between Naru's words.

Our flight was called in the middle of the conversation. We said goodbye to each other.

"Goodbye, Lin, Naru. Have a safe trip. We will surely miss you." Ayako said sadly.

"Don't forget to rest, you two." The monk said jokingly. Then he smiled sadly.

"Take care, Lin, Naru." John said.

"Take care." Masako said. Then she covered her face with sleeve of her kimono to hide her sad eyes.

Yasuhara patted our shoulders. "Don't forget to eat." He said. Then he turned to Naru. "We want to give you something."

Yasuhara pulled out a black book from his pocket. He handed it to Naru. Naru looked at it as if it was some kind of a virus.

"Hey accept it. We made it for you. Though Mai was the one who exerted much effort on it." Yasuhara said. "But don't open it here. Open it when you reached England. That's what she said." He instructed.

Naru looked at the gang. Seeing their expectant faces, he accepted it and said goodbye to them. "It has been nice working with all of you. I hope we can see each other again in the future." He said in that business manner tone. Then he turned his back on them and picked up his suit case. I did the same thing and looked back and said goodbye to them. They waved their hands on us. When we were about to walk away, we heard that cheerful voice that was missing awhile ago.

"Naru! Lin-san"

I turned around and saw a panting Mai with dishevelled hair. She was holding onto her knees and tried to catch her breath. "I thought… I will… not be… able… to see… see you off." she said while still catching her breath.

I smiled at her and she smiled back. She walked towards our place. When she reached us, Naru turned to look at her. He glared at her and I saw Mai's pained eyes as she met his glare but she just let it passed. She smiled at him and said, "Naru, take care of yourself." She looked at his hands holding the black book. "Oh, they already gave it to you." She smiled sadly and raised her right hand and touched Naru's right cheek. I saw Naru flinched. Mai just smiled at him and did something unexpected that made me and the gang drop our jaws.

She tiptoed and pressed her lips on Naru's lips. I saw Naru's eyes widened and his left hand tightened its grip on his suitcase. Mai pulled away and bowed her head. "Goodbye Naru. Goodbye Lin." She said sadly and she turned her back on us. She walked away, ignoring the stunned looks that flashed from our faces. We looked at her until she disappeared from our sight. I turned to look at Naru. He was still standing there looking at the place Mai just vacated. I never expected that look from him. Hesitation…

Our flight was called again and that caught Naru's attention and he was brought back to the present. He turned to go to our plane and I followed him, leaving SPR behind. Leaving Mai behind…

-End of Flashback—

I looked at the couch in front of Naru's desk where clients sit when they were received. Unfortunately, that couch did not serve its purpose because Naru doesn't want to receive any client. There, the black book lies peacefully. Well, that day when we got on the plane, Naru opened the black book handed to him by Yasuhara. The black book happens to be an album full of formal pictures and stolen shots by Ayako, Bou-san, Yasuhara, Mai and by myself (the most ridiculous ones). I flipped the pages full of memories. I remembered the beginning of that "Kodak moments". It was Mai's idea. That idea sprung from her head during a "vacation" case that Naru took out of the blue. The monk was the one who came up with that term which pertains to a boring case where we don't do anything but to sit and watch the monitors and nothing happens. That was one of the most boring cases that we handled and Mai, being Mai herself just brought out a digital camera out of nowhere and a bright flash captured everyone's shocked expression. Then she declared, "Kodak Moments!" with a bright smile. Of course, this made Naru very annoyed because of that stupid idea.

Then, every case after that one has a "Kodak Moment!" Special occasions were not an exception. Most of the time, it was Mai and Ayako who brought the camera and Bou-san and Yasuhara were the one who took most of the pictures. Later on, I joined their "Kodak Moments!" session much to Naru's annoyance.

I made my way to the couch and let out a heavy sigh when I sat down on it. I took the black book or rather the album and opened it. This took Naru out of his reverie and he turned to look at me. "Since when did you sneak into my office?" he asked emotionlessly. He sat on his chair and looked down at the file lying on the top of his desk.

I smirked at him, "About fifteen minutes ago. It seems that you are having deep thoughts about something." I silently teased him, still flipping on the pages of the album while smiling on its content.

He sighed deeply and answered back. "Yes."

"And what was that about?" I asked inquiringly though I was pretty sure that it was about his former assistant Mai. Yes, Naru has been very selfish about Mai.

'I was thinking of going back." He said casually still looking or rather pretending to look at the pages of that stupid file on his desk.

"Going back to where?" Or to whom? I silently teased him.

"To Japan." He answered and as if he saw what my mind was thinking, he added. "There was less activity here at England. I don't find any interesting case here."

I smiled at the teenager. "What a lame excuse you've been able to make up, Noll." I said shaking my head in disbelief about his reason. I turned again the page in the black book/album and landed on the picture of Mai pouting her lips at Naru. If a stranger happened to see this, he or she might think that Mai was asking a kiss from Naru. But in reality, she was really mad at Naru for teasing her.

He glared at me coldly.

I calmly accepted his cold glare. "You don't have to worry about that Noll. " I said. Now, I will give him the reason why I was here at his cave, as Mai called it back then. "In fact, the reason why I was here is to tell you that your father wants you to open Japan SPR again."

Naru frowned. "Why?"

"Because he sees that business runs beautifully in Japan." I said in a business-manner tone. "And because they can't stand to see their son fall apart because he misses this certain brunette lady living in that country."

Naru's face lightened up. "And how did they came up with that conclusion?" he asked calmly.

"Well, let me say that they have this pretty investigator and informant…"

Without thinking twice, he said "Madoka."

I came to the last page of the black book/album. A picture of SPR during the second to the last case was pasted there. It was on a beach and everyone freshened up after that life-threatening case, even Naru. Then Mai, again, came and have her digital camera in her hands. She asked one of the life guards stationed at the beach to take the picture of them. The man agreed happily and Mai ran to us to tell that we will have a family picture. Naru and I were reluctant at first, but she gave that puppy look that we can't resist. And there, that picture was born where Ayako was posing like a model for a fashion magazine, Bou-san giving out a peace sign, John and Masako giving their most formal smile, Yasuhara saluted like a soldier, Mai giving a small but beautiful smile while her head was tilted a little to the left and Naru and I stood there like statues.

At the bottom of the page, a message was written in the handwriting of no other than Mai.

To Naru and Lin:
Hope that you will not forget us. Yes, the two of you are back to the place where your life as ghost hunters started but please don't forget that a family was built when you came here at Japan. That's why I thank the both of you for bringing those eight different people together.

Hey Naru, please don't be so workaholic. I… I want you to relax a bit and have a life. Hey, you're still nineteen. Don't act like an adult who works 24/7 to die out of misery. Take care.

Lin-san, please remind Naru of all the things that I have written above. Thank you! And, uhm… Good Luck with Madoka!

From Bou-san, Yasu-chan and John: We will wait for the two of you… Don't forget to visit us sometimes. Because we don't have the money to drop off at England. You know, the value of the tickets is the cost of our lives. Only Ayako and Masako can afford it. Take Care!

That's it. Haha. Take Care… Have a safe trip!

Your ever faithful assistant and tea maker,

Taniyama Mai

P.S.: I will be waiting for you.

Mai has always been so caring about the people who made their spot on her heart, most especially Naru. I admit it; I was a little embarrassed about that "Good Luck on Madoka!" statement. Well, she noticed it, the way I look at Madoka whenever she's around. Madoka and I were dating for the entire six months that I was here. I also tried to do the task that Mai had given me but Naru won't listen to me. I smiled at the last statement. I know that it was for that idiot scientist, as his deceased twin has called him. I remembered the scene on the airport six months ago, when Mai kissed Naru. I guess that it was the sign that Mai would really wait for him to come back. Well, now that I thought about it, I wished that the gang should have brought that stupid yet wonderful camera to capture that moment.

I heard Naru stood up and made his way toward the couch. He sat beside me and took the black book/ album and looked at the same page that I was looking at. I watched how his expression changed from dark to light. He smiled warmly, which can be seen rarely and said. "Pack your things, Lin." He said without taking his look away from the picture. "And book the earliest flight you can get,"

Without hesitating, I stood up and made my way to the door. I opened it and stepped outside the office. Before the door closed, I swear that I heard what the teenager said.

"I'm coming back to you, Mai."

I smiled at myself. Mai really changed him. Well, I better head to the phone and get the rushed tickets before Naru turn into a wild beast.