Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

   It’s so strange. You know, I didn’t think I’d grow attached to the place in the beginning. Heck, I didn’t think I would even grow attached to him. My narcissistic, stuck up, full of himself boss and his office. And yet, seeing all of these packed boxes made my heart ache.

   Of course, it could also be because we had just finished a scary case not even a few days ago. It was during that case that I learned that Naru had a twin brother, Gene, who had died here in Japan. Who had helped us so many times by visiting me in my ‘sleep’. Who I had thought was Naru himself.

   I shook my head as I continued stacking his heavy books into the box that was currently in front of me. Since Naru had found Gene’s body, he and Lin were heading back to England to give him a proper burial. Since I was still technically under his employment, I had decided to come in for the last few days to help pack.

   Mostly, I just wanted to see Naru a little more before he left me for good.

   “Mai, hot tea,” I heard Naru call out from his office. Great, I fumed. Here I am being nicer to him than I should be and he still finds the time to boss me around over tea. I sighed as I walked over to the kitchenette, and then smiled a little. I wonder how he’s going to get his tea without me around to make it.

   Now, being the person that I am, I should have known to be more observant when walking around piles of stacked books, but apparently I never learn. Why do I say this? Because as I was walking over to make the tea, I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn’t seen the extension cord dangling out of one of the boxes.

   CRASH!

   This was how I found myself sprawled on the floor with at least two boxes flattening me. “Why do this always happen to me?” I asked myself, groaning at the weight. I mean, this wasn’t the first time something tried to squash me. There was the whole third floor that one case…

   “Mai, when I agreed to let you continue your job for the next few days, it was to help. Not make more of a mess.”

   I glared up from my heap on the floor at Naru, who just stood there with clearly no intention of helping me up. Typical. “Sorry for being so clumsy,” I said sarcastically. Honestly, the least he could do was at least take one of the boxes off of me. I winced as the edge of said box dug into my side. Man, I must have knocked over one of the equipment boxes.

   Suddenly, the weight that had been squishing me disappeared. Looking up, I saw that Lin had been the one to come to my rescue. “Thanks, Lin,” I said gratefully as I got up. Lin, of course, said nothing in response. I was used to that though. Actually, though he was silent, Lin was an okay guy. And we were closer than we had been when we first met. Well, not that I can blame him. I had gotten him injured, after all.

   Anyway, by the time I had dusted myself off Lin had already turned to Naru. “There’s a client here to see you,” he told him in that to-the-point tone he had.

   Naru frowned. “I thought I had made it clear that we were no longer accepting cases,” he said to Lin. Which was true. I mean, since they were leaving and all.

   I could almost see Lin shrug, though I know he never would, being the kind of person he was. “Though they’ve been made aware of that, the client insists upon meeting with you.” He sighed. “Apparently, its of the utmost importance.”

~,~'~,~'~,~

   It took a few minutes, but Naru finally agreed to go and see the stubborn client that wouldn’t take no for an answer, probably just to say no to their face. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor guy. Knowing Naru, it wasn’t going to be pretty.

   Luckily, while Naru was preoccupied with the client I was able to finish making the tea. Tray in hand, I tried to decide whether or not to bring it to Naru right away. Sure, I’d probably pay for it later if I didn’t, but I didn’t want to risk being sucked into an argument. I mean, sometimes people get desperate, right?

   Whatever. I guess I would just have to deal. Slowly, so that I wouldn’t make another mess, I made my way towards the ‘living room’ where we usually spoke with the clients. As I got closer, I could hear the poor client plead her case. Sounded like a woman from here. Huh.

   “…really need your help, Mr. Shibuya!”

   “Im sorry, but there’s really nothing I can do. As you’re aware, my assistant and I will be leaving shortly-“

   “But you don’t understand! The children’s lives are at stake! Please, I’m begging you, there’s no where else I can go; no on else will help me!”

   “Even so, I can’t…”

   I sighed as I got to the door. That poor woman.. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Actually, I always felt bad for the people that Naru turned down. Or at least the ones that AREN’T trying to pull a scam on us. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what had her pleading with Naru like this. Must be really bad.

   I knocked to let them know that I was coming in and then opened the door. “I finally got your tea, Naru!” I said cheerfully.

   He glared at me. Crap. “Please set it on the table and get back to your work,” he told me coldly. “I don’t believe that I pay you to eavesdrop, after all.”

   I could feel my face go red. How dare he? I wasn’t eavesdropping; I was bringing his stupid tea! And he could at least say thank you for actually bringing it! I could have just not bothered making it at all after he let me almost get crushed!

   “Of course, your majesty. Sorry for disrupting your clearly busy day!” I huffed, turning on my heel to leave. I had almost made it to the door when I heard my name being called. I turned, confused, because it wasn’t Naru that had called my name. It was the client.

   The woman had been sitting right behind where I was standing so I hadn’t had the chance to see her until now, but now that i looked at her I could see that she was around 40, with shoulder length red hair and blue eyes. It was strange. She looked so familiar…

   “You’re Mai Taniyama, aren’t you?” she asked me again, which was weirder cause I hadn’t mentioned my name once since entering the room, and I was pretty sure Naru hadn’t either.

   “I’m sorry, but do I know you?” I asked her, still confused.

   She smiled as she stood up. “It’s me, Mai. Remember? Miss Usagi?”

   The name hit me like a bucket of cold water. “Kanako-sensei?!” She smiled again, and I couldn't help but run into her arms. “Oh my God, I can’t believe it!” I cried out as I hugged her. “Kanako-sensei, how are you? It’s been so long!!”

   “Im fine, Mai,” she told me. “It’s so nice to see you again. And look at you! You’re so independent! A job already!”

   I grinned at her, and would have continued if a certain narcissist hadn’t interrupted. Probably due to the lack of attention towards him. “Mai, please explain how you know this woman.”

   Stepping away from her, I looked at Naru. The cold stare he gave me warned me that somehow, things were not going to go well.

   “Naru, this is Kanako Usagi. She was my middle school teacher, and she was the one who looked after me when my mom died.”

   Naru’s stare dropped another few degrees, and I almost didn’t hold in a very long sigh. Yep, this was going to be loads of fun.

   Not.

Chapter Text

   The ride to the orphanage was a long one, and I couldn’t wait to get out of the car. I mean, it wasn’t bad… if you didn’t mind a driver that never spoke a word and if you overlooked the slightly moody teen sitting next to him.

   I sighed from my place in the back. What I wouldn’t give to be in Ayako’s car right now… I mean, at least I would be able to hold a conversation with her and John, or at least get a few laughs out of Yasy. But noooooo, I had to get stuck with Naru and Lin because we had to leave first and Monk was only going to show up tomorrow.

   Leaning against the window, I looked out and watched the trees fly by us, creating a blur of green. Not that i could really blame Naru for being in such a bad mood…

   “Naru, this is Kanako Usagi. She was my middle school teacher, and she was the one who looked after me when my mom died.”

   Naru’s stare dropped a few degrees but I pretended to ignore it as i turned back to Kanako-sensei. “I never would have thought that we’d meet again in this kind of place, Sensei,” I said.

   Sensei had a sad look on her face as she nodded. “Neither did I,” she said. “But I don’t know where else to go anymore. Everyone else that i’ve seen has turned me away, and if Mr. Shibuya doesn’t help me, I… I’ll…”

   I stared helplessly as she tried to hold back her tears. This must have been more serious than I had thought. “What’s going on exactly?” I asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

   “It appears that her orphanage is being haunted by a malicious entity,” Naru said, with a sort go look that said he wished that the on-the-verge-of-tears woman would just leave. What a jerk.

   "Wait a minute, I didn’t know that you had an orphanage, Sensei,” I said, genuinely surprised.

   She smiled. “Well, when I was looking after you all those years ago, my maternal instincts seemed to have truly surfaced and I couldn’t help but want to do something more with it. I mean, I know that you were doing well all things considered, but to many children have that kind of luck.”  Taking a deep breath, she continued. “I started looking into jobs that would help children when I found a little orphanage near the lake I used to take you to. The owner was selling it because she couldn’t handle the job anymore, so I saw my chance and I took it. The children have been so wonderful… they all remind me a little of you.”

   “But then, about two months ago, strange things started to happen around the orphanage. Toys started disappearing, furniture moved places, and the children would have little scrapes and bruises. I didn’t think much of it at first, but recently it’s gotten worse.”

   “Worse how?” I asked.

   “Well… two weeks ago one of the boys woke up screaming. Something had been trying to pull him under the bed, but when I looked there was nothing there. Then a few days later, one of the little girls had scratches all down her legs, almost like claw marks.” She started shaking, “I need help NOW. I just know that if this continues, one of the children might en up severely injured. Or worse…”

   I couldn’t take it anymore. Turning to Naru, I said, “Why aren’t we taking her case? This isn’t some random guy trying to get the house or anything!”

   Naru sighed, infuriating me even more. “As you are aware, we’re no longer taking cases due to the fact tha-“

   “Don’t you DARE give me that crap, Naru!” I spat, slamming my fist on the table. Behind me I could hear the surprise of Kanako-sensei but I was too angry to really pay attention. “There are actual LIVES in danger here! How could you even think of leaving when they need you?!”

   Naru stood up. “I believe I’ve already explained myself. Now if you’ll excuse me, there are still many things that require my attention.” With that, he turned to leave.

   I was almost on the verge of tears, and I didn’t understand why I was hurting like this. I guess it was because I had been there before. Being without parents, all alone. Luckily for me, Kanako-sensei had taken me in and gotten me back on my feet. If she hadn’t been there for me, I probably wouldn’t have made it as far as I have today.

   To those kids, I felt like I was the one who was supposed to be there for them. And I guess it was true. Because if I didn’t help them, then no one else would.

   “You think you had it bad?”

   Naru stopped at the door. He didn’t look at me, and I focused on a spot on the floor in turn. “I’m sure it must have been bad, Naru. That you must’ve been in pain. Heck, I’m sure you still are.” I glared at the back of his head. “But you had people there for you, family and friends to support you whether you chose to take that support or not. People that are still there for you.”

   “So I guess it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know how much it hurts when you lose everything and everyone. /to be suddenly left alone in a world where most people are cruel and uncaring and think that you’re worthless for being the way you are. You wouldn’t know what it’s like to feel completely abandoned, to feel like nothing will ever be okay again.”

   I took a deep breath. “These kids do, and now, finally, they’ve found a place they can call home. They don’t have to cry every night for their parents because they’ve found a family that cares for them, no matter how broken that family actually is. These kids don’t deserve to have that taken from them again, Naru.”

   The whole time that I spoke, Naru had never turned his back. I found myself holding my breath as I waited for him to speak or move. It was almost unbearable.

   Finally, Naru broke the silence. “Call Takigawa and the others. See if they’re willing to take on one last case.”

   Which is how we ended up on the way to Kanako-sensei’s orphanage. Now that I think about it, I might have been a little too pushy with Naru. But I was glad that he accepted the case.

   I wished someone would start talking soon though. Mostly because I kept thinking about things that I would rather not think about. Like family.

   I didn’t remember much about Dad, and thinking about Mom still hurt sometimes, but it wasn’t as bad now. Somehow, when I had started working for Naru, I had found myself a new family. A rockstar dad, a fussy mom, a foreign cousin, a stuck up sibling, a quiet uncle, and a comedic relative. I still wasn’t too sure where Naru fit; the only thing I could think of was ‘significant other’ and even that was a stretch. 

   But again, like all those years ago, my family was going to be broken up, and there wasn’t anything that I could do about it. As much as I wanted to, I knew that there was little chance that I could convince Naru to stay here in Japan, and even though I hated to admit it, I knew that everyone else was going to drift away from me. Doing this job was the only thing that was keeping us all together, and even the job would soon be over. Everything that I had to look forward to in my day would be gone.

   I shook my head clear from those thoughts. The last thing I needed was to get caught up in my own pity party. I would cope like I had last time, no sweat. The most important thing right now were the children. Well, that and keeping my emotions in check. I wouldn’t want to burden the others with my little fantasies.

   The van slowed down, and as I liked up, I could see a white house emerging from the forest. Finally, we had made it to Kanako-sensei’s orphanage.

Chapter Text

   The orphanage itself looked small, but I could understand how its cheery little western styled layout would be good for the kids. With the beautiful scenery surrounding the green and white house, I was falling in love with the place myself. Stepping out of the van, I saw Kanako-sensei step out of the front door with a little girl clinging to her leg. As we approached, the girl hid herself, but Kanako-sensei smiled wide and came to meet us. "I'm glad to see that you've all made it here okay," she said.

   Naru nodded. "I trust you've set up a room for us, as specified?"

   I all but glared at Naru's rude behavior, but Kanako-sensei just nodded. "I've also set up some rooms for you all," she added. "If you come this way, I'll show you around now so that no one will get lost later."

   "That would be appreciated," Naru said, and with a quick word to Lin he entered the house with Kanako-sensei. When I saw Lin head back to the van, I understood that Naru had asked him to start unpacking, so I followed the others before I was left behind.

   The inside of the house was just as nice as the outside was; the walls were a sort of creamy color with cheery paintings hung along them, and the floor was a nice dark wood. As we passed, I could see some rooms filled with nothing but toys and th beds half buried in stuffed animals. I smiled. These kids were really taken care of.
Finally, after showing us the kitchen (which was really well stocked) and the living room (which was also littered in books and toys), she brought us to a room that was in the back of the house. "I hope this will be big enough for you," Kanako-sensei said as she opened the door. "I could have probably given you the living room, but this room has the most plug outlets and the kids know that they aren't allowed in here, so..."

   "This will be fine," Naru said, looking outside of the window at the far end of the room. I agreed with Naru, but only because of how nice the room was. Totally one of the nicest ones we've had, in my opinion. The walls and floor were the same as the rest of the house, but this room had a solid wood table that gleamed in the sunlight and deep red curtains around the windows. The whole room was accented with browns and reds and... it reminded me a little of my old house, back when my parents were still alive.

   "Hey, where are the kids, anyway?" I asked Kanako-sensei. The little girl was still hanging off of her leg, but I hadn't seen or heard any others while we had toured the house.

   "Oh, they're playing outside," Kanako-sensei said. "Would you like to meet them?"

   "I'm afraid that setting up is our main priority at the moment," Naru said as Lin came in with a box of equipment. He must have seen my disappointed look though, because then he added with a sigh," Mai, however, can go if she wants. I'm fairly sure that Lin and I will be able to set up faster without her in the way."
I knew for a fact that I was much better at setting up then Naru gave me credit for, so instead of replying to that, I just followed Kanako-sensei out of the room.

   "How many kids are there, anyway?" I asked as she led me towards the living room.

   "Oh, there are eleven here, but there will be twelve this time next month. So far, I have five girls and six boys."

   "Wow, sounds like a handful," I remarked.

   She laughed. "Oh, the boys can get rowdy if you give them too much, and the girls will bicker like you wouldn't believe if something goes wrong, but I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world." With that, she opened the patio doors (which were in the back of the living room, giving a clear view of the garden).

   The minute I stepped out of the house, all I could hear was the shrieking and laughing of little kids. As I looked, I smiled as I saw a bunch of them running this way and that, the boys chasing a soccer ball and the girls playing some made-up game. They were just so CUTE!

   Of course, the minute that they saw me they all came rushing over, which was how I found myself on the ground the next second having been tackled by almost a dozen kids. "Alright children, let the nice lady up now," Kanako-sensei tried to say without laughing. When I was able to breathe again, she said, "Kids, I want you to meet Mai Taniyama. She's here to help us out a little."

   A little boy's brown eyes went wide. "You mean that's Mai-chan??" he asked incredulously.

   When I looked over at Kanak-sensei with an eyebrow raised, she explained. "I've told them a story or two about you when you were staying with me. Now," she added, "It's time I introduced you to everyone. These three little girls are Yuki, Kiri, and Haruhi, and they're my five year olds." The blond and two brunettes (respectively) waved back. Kiri smiled, and I saw that she was missing her front teeth. "Then we have our little rebels. Hachi and Kaito are 7, Kei's 9, and out oldest ones are Yuiko, Misaki and Nowaki. They're 10."

   "Hey, don't forget about me!" squeaked a little boy with blue eyes that rivaled Naru's except much warmer. Of course, I had no clue what he'd just said.

   "Of course not, honey!" Kanako-sensei replied in english. "This is our little foreigner, Timmy. He comes from England, if you can believe it!"

   "Really?" I asked, shocked. England seemed to be popping up a lot in my life nowadays.

   "Yes, poor thing's family moved here a few weeks before they died, and they haven't been able to locate his remaining family so he's staying in my care for now. It's hard for him, since he doesn't really understand japanese, but the kids treat him just the same as anyone else, and he gets along fine. Oh, and I almost forgot! This is Yori," she said, pointing to the little girl who had been clinging to her leg since we had shown up. "She's my youngest here, and the most shy."

   By this point the kids had already run away from us and continued playing, and the door bell had started to ring. "Oh, that must be the rest of your group," Kanako-sensei mused. "I'll go and show them around. Why don't you go back and see if your boss needs you, Mai?"

   "Sure, but would it be alright if I used your kitchen?" I asked. I was sure that if I went back to base Naru would just send me away again for tea.

   "Of course," she smiled as she went inside to go for the front door. I was just about to join her when I felt a tugging on my blue sweater. When I looked down, I saw that it was Timmy.

   "Um, Hi, th-there!" I said in very poor english (I was learning secretly but was still pretty bad).

   "You gotta be careful, Miss Mai," he said to me, eyes serious for such a young boy. "I think they like you, and that's not a good thing. Trust me."

   With that, he ran off to join the others, leaving me with a sense of dread at what was clearly a warning that I couldn't understand.

Chapter Text

   After setting up the final camera in Hachi and Kaito’s room, I finally made my way back to base. My shoulders were aching a little thanks to that stupid thing; Naru had brought one of the more ‘special’ cameras that came equipped with everything- night vision, infrared… something else long and complicated that Naru had only briefly explained…

   Shaking my head, I opened the door and walked into base. From what I could see, John and Ayako were still setting up their equipment because they hadn’t returned yet. Lin, of course, was typing away at his computer while keeping an eye on the screens. And Naru… well, would he really be Naru if he WASN’T looking through the files in his ever secretive notebook?

   “Hey Mai! All done?”

   I turned around to see Yasu smiling at me from one of the two couches in the room. “Yeah, I just finished,” I said, walking over to him. He patted the empty seat next to him, so I went and plopped myself down. “How’s everything here?” I asked, rubbing my shoulders.

   “Same as always, I’m afraid,” he said as he made me turn around. Before I could protest, he started rubbing at the sore spots of my back in such an effective way that I found nothing to actually complain about. Behind me, he sighed. “Man, I wish Monk would get here soon though.”

   I looked back at him. “Why’s that?” I asked, slightly confused.

   Yasu grinned. “Because he’s so much fun to tease!” I couldn’t help but laugh at that, remembering the many times he’d pulled stunts on Monk in the past and wondering what Yasu could possibly have in store for the future.

   It was then that I heard the unmistakeable snap of a notebook closing and what could have been an irritable sigh from our boss (it was hard to tell from where we were). Both Yasu and I turned to look at Naru, who was all but glaring at us. “I suggest that you both do something more productive with your time rather than waste it with idle chat.” He gestured to the EMF’s and clipboards placed on the table in front of us. I huffed as I picked up one of each. i should have expected that from Mr. Workaholic.

   “Come on, Yasu,” I sighed as we got up from the couch.

   Just as we left the base, I heard Naru call out from behind me. “And Mai?

   “Yes Naru?” I asked wearily, knowing what was coming.

   “Bring me some tea before you get started.”

~,~’~,~’~,~

   While Yasu started taking temperature readings, I was in the kitchen making yet another batch of tea. Honestly, it felt like that was all I did nowadays. Well, that and attract ghosts like honey did to flies… but that was besides the point!

   As I let the water boil, I thought about the case. Well, not exactly the case itself. More like, what would happen after it. For the past few days, I’d been wondering what to say to Naru to convince him and Lin to stay. Or at least come back once they’d finished up in England. I knew that going was an absolute must, because it was so important. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t come back after, right?

   Even still, I couldn’t help but wonder. I mean, Gene was really the only reason Naru had come Japan at all, right? If he hadn’t come searching for his brother, I would have never met him. And Gene was also probably the reason he stayed as long as he had. Now that he’d found him, Naru had no more reason to stick around…

   And I guess that kinda hurt, if I was to be honest with myself. Because as much as I loved Naru, I doubted that I’d be able to actually make him stay. Not that I was going to give up without a fight! I just… knew it would be hard. Because as far as I was aware of, Naru didn’t think much of me. Certainly not all that important of a person in his life. Maybe his tea slave… which is both a blessing and a curse, in a way….

   I shook my head and slapped both sides of my face. Too hard. Again. “Ow……” I moaned slightly. I reaaaally had to stop doing that. But I also had to stop thinking so depressingly. I mean, what was with that lately? I NEVER think like that! It had to be due to this case! “I don’t care what it takes!” I said to myself, lifting a fist in the air. “I WILL make him come back!” Of course, it was at that moment that I noticed the water boiling. Which by default meant I managed to burn myself as I tried to keep it from making a mess, thereby running my moment. I sighed.

   "Hee hee hee!"

   I whirled around, a shiver running down my spine. The hallway behind me looked innocently empty, but I knew I had heard someone. Listening after a moment, I could make out what sounded like small feet padding down the hall.

   "Wait! I called, running out of the kitchen. But as I got there, I saw that the hall was just as empty as it had been before. Puzzled, I stood there for a moment. I could have sworn someone had been there. Maybe it had been one of the children...?

   "That's probably it," I muttered to myself, scratching the back of my head. With eleven children running around, I shouldnt have been surprised by such a noise. Talk about jumping at shadows. "If I keep this up, I'll never make it to the end of the case." Slowly, I turned back to take care of the forgotten tea.

   And that's when the screaming started.