14AmyChan: I can totally blame Naruisawesome for this one!
Mai: why…?
Naru: Today is the day the assistant makes an important discovery.
Mai: …huh?
14AmyChan: please bear with this oneshot, and remember that I do not own Ghost Hunt. Thank you. *^_^*
Tic… Tic… Tic…
Such was the day of Taniyama Mai. She had her head somewhat comfortably resting upon her desk, but for one reason or another, she could not sleep.
Tic… Tic… Tic…
Perhaps it was that there were no appointments to possibly sleep through?
Tic… Tic… Tic…
Maybe it was because she had already finished her work and her mind simply wanted her to be bored?
Tic… Tic… Tic…
Or it was possibly the fact that she had not had a call for tea in the past twenty minutes? (…and counting!)
Tic… Tic… Tic…
Or perhaps…
Tic…
Just maybe…
Tic…
It could quite possibly be…
Tic…
THAT WAS IT! Mai had just about enough of that clock on her desk! It was just like a pipe bomb, ticking away seconds—precious seconds—of the day where she was stuck in the office with NOTHING TO DO!
Mai glared at the clock that continued to tick away, slowly but surely grating on her already thin nerves. By all means and purposes, she should have been asleep. She had not gotten much rest the night before due to a tremendously important school project that had been due today, but the teacher had been sick, so the project due date had been pushed back to Monday.
She had stayed up until three in the morning working on that project, only to wake up again at five to rush to school and be told that the project that had deprived her of sleep had been pushed back to next week!
Mai was so tired she was not even tired any more. She silently begged for that annoying clock to shut up so she could get some blessed sleep.
Please, please… she pleaded with whatever deity that would hear her. Alas, that prayer was not answered, but instead, rebuked. For at that moment, the dainty bell above the entrance to SPR sounded, signaling the entry of a potential client. Mai would have groaned in frustration would it not be unprofessional.
"Hello, welcome to SPR. My name is Taniyama Mai, can we help you?" Mai asked cheerfully, a smile as real as the sun on her face. Even though she was tired, she could not deny she loved her job, even when she was cranky and crabby as all get out. The man at the door smiled cautiously in return.
"…need help. I haunted. Sorry… speak English?" the man's sentences were broken, and Mai could tell he was fairly new to the country. Still, it took most of her willpower not to laugh at the man's funny sentence structure. That would simply be impolite. So, she compromised and attempted to convey to him that she would get her boss and to make himself comfortable.
"Yes. I go get boss… make com-furt-abrr," Mai said choppily, wincing internally as the man looked at her with a mixture of surprise and mirth. Her obviously estranged accent had probably given him something to smile about.
Well, so long as he was not a frightened mess when he spoke to Naru. If he could communicate with Naru at all…
Mai quickly made her way to her boss's door and rapped on it thrice. "Naru, client," she stated abruptly before turning to Lin's door and doing the same. She then made her way to the kitchenette to make a round of tea. Or would the client prefer coffee…?
Ah well, I've already made the pot… I hope he doesn't mind… Mai mused silently as she poured four cups of tea. One for herself, one for Naru, one for Lin, and one for their foreign client.
"Do you speak English?" Mai heard the man ask as soon as she walked through the door. The man spoke slowly, enunciating each word carefully. Mai set a cup of tea in front of the man, which he took hesitantly. Lin then received his cup, and then Naru. Mai then took her cup to her seat and began to sip on it quietly.
"I do. Why are you here?" Naru's voice nearly made Mai drop her cup and her eyes widened. It was not so much his voice, but rather, his accent. Mai had never heard it before, and—truth be told—it sounded good. Really good.
"Oh, that's a relief," the prospective client spoke more quickly, and Mai soon lost track of all the conversation. The man had an accent that screamed "I'm from America!", but Naru's…
Mai lost herself in thought for the next few minutes, thinking. Almost daydreaming. How long had she worked with Naru and not realized that he could speak English? Why did he have such a strong accent, and why did it sound so—?
Mai shook her head to clear her thoughts. She should not be distracted by the fact that Naru sounded so, so, sooo good in that accent. Yes, he was attractive. Yes, she knew that she was already falling in love with him, but did he have to add a sexy accent to the mix!? Now that just was not fair!
"Mai," Naru's voice, devoid of hot accent, broke through Mai's swirling thoughts. She blinked back into reality to realize that it was not just Naru staring at her this time.
All three males in the room were staring at her. Well, Naru seemed to be glaring, but he always was. Lin looked… almost amused. And the prospective client looked concerned.
"You… okay?" the client asked in choppy Japanese. Mai's eyes widened as she attempted to reassure the man that she was perfectly fine. However, in her haste, she forgot to attempt to speak English so he could understand it.
"My assistant assures you that she is in good health, and that you need not concern yourself," Naru spoke in flawless English yet again, stopping Mai in her tracks. She wondered briefly what her boss had said before noting that the man looked reassured and had already tuned back into the conversation.
A few moments later, the man left, an awkward smile on his face, leaving an annoyed Naru and amused Lin in his wake. Lin returned to his office, shaking his head, while Naru stayed put for a little while.
In truth, he was watching to see how long it took for Mai to come out of her daze and realize the potential client was gone.
The case had not even been a case. It had been a miscommunication error. A translator for the poor man who thought he was being funny. The American man on vacation had been told that his hotel was haunted by a vengeful spirit, and had also been told that their establishment was a team of "Ghost Experts" who could tell you where there was and was not activity. It had taken some explaining to right thing out, and Naru had been sure to insist that the man hire a different translator.
Still, it was quite humorous that Mai had not come out of her daze in… Naru checked his silent watch. He hated the tic-ing sound a clock made, so he had been quite…insistent…on getting a clock that made no sound whatsoever. However, back to the point at hand.
Mai had been stuck in her daze for the past twelve minutes. Naru found it quite amusing, but he was quickly becoming thirsty, and his English instinct kicked in, demanding relief for his parched throat.
"Mai," Naru called, making sure to use the correct Japanese accent. It was not a well-known fact that he could speak English, and his British accent worked its way into his speech whenever he did speak it. It was something he—for the life of him—could not control or hide, and it bothered him a little bit. However, switching between the British and Japanese accents had always been… what was that word?... amusing for him.
Perhaps it would be even more so now that he knew the effect it had on his poor befuddled assistant?
"What?! Present!" Mai jolted out of her stupor. She took a quick glance around the room only to realize that she and Naru were the only two left. Her face erupted into a fiery red glow, no matter how hard she attempted to push it down.
"Mai…" Naru's voice seemed low and deadly. Mai gulped and silently prayed for her life, hoping against hope that Naru would not be too angry with her for slacking off in front of a client.
When she noted his glaring blue eyes, she wished the earth would swallow her whole. Just a one-way ticket to oblivion, please and thankyou!
"Tea," Naru stated swiftly before retreating into his bat cave. Mai blinked for a few moments before what he said fully registered in her mind.
"Tea-addict!" Mai yelled before blowing a raspberry for good measure. She stomped into the kitchen, her face burning, to make the narcissist some of his precious tea.
He may have one hot accent… Mai ranted in her head furiously as she filled the kettle with the tap. But he'll always be Naru-chan the tea-addicted narcissist!
Naru took one last look from his office door before shutting it completely. Yes, he thought—almost absentmindedly. Definitely more amusing…
Mai: you…! You…!
14AmyChan: *hides behind bomb shelter* Okay, she's gonna explode soon enough… I hope you all enjoyed that oneshot. Now I will continue to hide for my life.
Mai: review… *snaps* I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE A TOTAL DUFUS IN FRONT OFA CLIENT! I REALLY CANNOT BELIEVE YOU! WHAT—!
*Transmission is cut off. We apologize for any inconvenience this may pose to you, the reader. Have a lovely day*