Disclaimer - I don't own ghost hunt—I only wish I was that good of a writer

Note: The time line for this is after the manga. Enjoy.


Mai walks home, sighing from her day at work. She'd found the job about a week after being forced to leave SPR four months prior-when Naru closed it. The boutique seemed like it was harder work-constant movement the whole time and, thinking of it, Mai remembers how sore her shoulders are and attempts to massage them as she walks. The hardest part of the job wasn't manual labor or anything, she'd had a lot harder time moving Naru's heavy ghost hunting equipment. No, at the fashionable boutique, it was more the kind of mindless repetition that tends to happen in mundane jobs. Working there, is nothing like it is-was working at SPR where she could make a difference even if it was a tiny bit. As she walks along, her thoughts wander to the guy who, when he left, took everything that mattered with him-even Eugene.

Mai slows her steps without thinking. Gene, true to his word, hadn't shown himself to her since he'd warned her that he probably wasn't going to see her again. She sighs once again this time heavily and her steps stop altogether. He's moved on, she tells herself. His business is done here, she concludes trying to convince herself before forcing the dead boy out of her mind. She places one foot in front of the other, once again starting her plod on home.

The last few months she'd been trying to sort out all of the feelings and experiences that she'd had concerning the Davis twins. She came to realize that she did like Gene, but who knows how well she'd actually known him. And in the end, nothing would ever be able to come of it so it was pointless to think about.

As for Naru...he also held a special place in her heart even when he'd been...well, stubborn, prideful, and, at times, a jerk. But, he'd also protected her, he'd apologize when he was wrong, he listened to her words and opinions, and he could be nice and considerate. He'd even do magic tricks for her-something he'd never shown anyone else aside from playing with his deck of cards in the open.

She walks along lost in thoughts of the 17 year old young man who'd left such a large impression on her and proceeds through the gate of her complex. Looking ahead, she spies her apartment, takes the purse from off of her shoulder and proceeds to open and rummage around in it for her keys. She fails to notice a shadow detach from the gate that she'd just come through and make it's way after her with long, silent strides. It reaches out for her and grabs her on the shoulder.

Mai lets out a short scream and jerks away, at the same time turning to see her assailant: a man with a pale face dark hair and dark, cold, brooding eyes. Frightened, she turns to flee. He grabs her again, this time by the arm. Mai inhales to get ready for a full fledged scream, struggling to pull her arm away from his strong hand and debating how bad it would be to use the 9 cuts on him—she'd practically vowed she'd never use it on a human ever again. Deciding that she mustn't break that promise to Bou-san, she releases her scream, loud and shrill, still tugging away. The man's other hand quickly clamps down on her mouth. Both hands pull her against his lean chest where she continues to struggle against him.

"Mai, calm down, it's me," the guy says hurriedly.

Upon hearing his voice and recognizing it, she begins to stop fighting. Once she relaxes, he releases her and Mai turns to him once more, gazing into his face. Sure enough the pale face, black hair, and wise blue eyes look like Naru's.

"Naru?" She lets go of the breath she'd started holding and takes a few more, all the while working to get it into her already adrenaline filled mind that it really is him standing in front of her. "You scared the heck out of me!" she states unnecessarily.

"I was standing in plain sight," he states in his own defense, "you were just too preoccupied to notice. It's not good to let your guard down like that."

He's treating me like an idiot again, she thinks before huffing, "Well, excuse me for being lost in thought!"

"Tell me, what was it you were so focused on," he asks not reacting to her annoyance.

"Um..." she says while she wracks her brain for the moment it takes for her to come up with a safe answer, "nothing much," she says looking away from him, wanting to avoid going into the subject any further. Way to be transparent Mai, she quickly scolds herself mentally. Not giving him time to think on it, she decides to change the subject. Looking back at him, she asks, "So what are you doing here? I thought that you were going to stay in England."

It takes a moment or two for him to answer, "Would you rather I go back?" he asks calmly.

Her gaze snaps back at Naru, eyes meeting his, questioning how he came to that conclusion. "No, it's not like that at all," She insists.

"So you missed me." Naru says in an uncharacteristic whisper, looking away. Mai blinks up at him trying to understand his reaction. "Or," he looks back at her his face expressionless, "you just wanted to see Gene's face more."

"It's not...I..." she mutters flustered trying to look anywhere but at him. She starts again, "when you..." she spares a glance at him seeing his smirk. He was just playing with me, she observes annoyed. Immediately, she drops the subject with a frown, getting serious. "So what brings you here so late?"

"Business." he says matter-of-fact.

"Oh?" She says curiosity overriding her irritation. She ponders to herself, what kind of business could he have around here so late at night unless it was, "With me?" she asks aloud.

"Yes." he answers.

Of course, thinks Mai, he's the kind of guy who always has a reason for everything he does. He wouldn't come see me if he didn't. She looks around, taking in her surroundings better and thinking, I've been keeping him standing out here. Where are my manners? "Do you want to discuss it over some tea or something?" she says gesturing towards her apartment.

"No," he says shaking his head, "It won't take that long and I've got to get back soon."

Questions roll through Mai's mind, but the one that comes out is, "So then, what did you want to discuss?"

He takes a breath and lets it out before saying, "I'm reopening SPR and I want to hire you."

Really? Does he mean it, Mai asks herself, doubtfully.

"Will you work for me again?" he asks.

"You really want me?" she asks starting to feel a flutter of hope blossom inside her.

Naru nods.

Mai smiles, bobbing her head twice, and says, calmly, "I'd love to," in response.

He gives one of his half smiles saying, "Good. I'll see you on Monday after school."

Mai smiles back and says, "See you then."

He nods once again and turns and walks off towards the gate.

He gets right to the point and then off he goes, she thinks. Mai watches his back as he walks away, her smile turning into a grin, "Goodbye mundane job," she says to herself and the night.


I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed making it.