Mirror Mirror (self-insert #9)

Chapter 1

If Naru was on his own, he probably would've walked in the opposite direction the moment he saw me. Reporting me as a stalker wasn't below him, either. Fortunately, Lin was there—yay! Lin!—so he had no choice but to follow his colleague to where I was waiting on the sidewalk.

"It feels like I'll never be rid of you." He said once he was close enough.

"How was the flight?"

"There was a delay in Russia—Moscow, to be exact." We started walking in the direction of the office. All around us, Shibuya bustled with life and light.

"Ooh. How was Russia?"

"Russian."

Lin cut in before I could say anything ("Couldn't have been rushin' enough if there was a delay"). "You got a new backpack."

I beamed. "Yep! D'you like it?" I asked, craning around to glance at my black Fila backpack. At least this one wouldn't flop all over the place spinelessly.

"It's nice." He said vaguely.

It wasn't long before the office building came into view. My stomach clenched, but not out of emotion.

I'd forgotten about the escalator.

"Um, Naru, Lin..."

They remembered, all right. I could tell from the why do we have to deal with this look on their faces. Sighing, Lin caught hold of my backpack as we stepped on, my face pale and sweaty. "It won't be as bad if you hold onto the railing."

"Why do escalators have to exist? Why can't people use their stinking legs and climb the stairs themselves?" I whimpered, my hand hovering over the railing.

Lin shook his head, not willing to answer.

I forced them to give me a break once we reached the top. Naru watched as I pulled out my water bottle, hyperventilating. "Seems like that could be inconvenient." He remarked.

"You have no idea." I wheezed. I took a swig, then took a nice, long, and shaky deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready. Let's do this."

In we went. At the desk closest to the door, Yasuhara stood immediately, ready with a smile. "Welcome back. We have a client, boss."

Mai sat on the leather couches, accompanied by a man and a woman, both in their twenties. The man stared at us in something close to disbelief while the woman looked on bemusedly.

Naru peeled off his jacket, barely glancing at the guests. "The written request?"

"Has been taken." Mai said promptly.

"Put it in the line. I'll contact them at a later date."

"But the person herself is here, so..."

"I'm tired."

Mai narrowed her eyes and bowed to the guests. "Excuse me for a moment." Immediately she went on a rampage. "EXCUSE ME FOR ASKIN' BUT HOW MANY HOURS WAS THE FLIGHT? 24 HOURS? 48 HOURS? WELL, OF COURSE YOU ARE FROM THAT LONG TRIP!" She bellowed. It was actually kind of funny to see her red faced and roaring while Lin and Naru took it all with a straight face. "BUT AGAWA-SAN HAS BEEN LIVING IN STRESSFUL CONDITIONS MORE THAN A FLIGHT, FOR MONTHS!" She paused for a breath and shoved the file folder in Naru's direction. "At least read the request here, boss!"

"Yeah, boss, come on. Be a little more responsible." I chimed in. His cool gaze swept from Mai to me.

Mai pasted on a sickly sweet smile. "Or are you sooo tired that I need to read it to you? Is so, then I can read it to you as you rest. How about getting Yasuhara-san to read it and I give you a nice shoulder massage?" She cooed, wiggling her fingers at him.

Naru stared at her. Without blinking, he snatched the file folder from her and move to take the seat she vacated, missing her wicked grin. Or maybe he didn't miss it and just chose to ignore her. "I'm sorry for the wait. I am the owner, Shibuya." He said as if nothing had happened.

"You're the boss? Really?" The man managed.

"Yes."

The man scowled. "Your work history?"

"Hirota-san." The woman whispered, startled.

Naru wasn't fazed at all. "If you are interested in my age and work history, please visit another place. Besides, you don't seem to be Agawa-san, the client."

I plopped down to watch the show.

"I introduced her to this place." Hirota gritted out. "I'd be sorry if it was full of weird people."

"Then why don't you find another group you can trust?" Naru's dark eyes met his. "I don't think it's wise to introduce someone to a place you don't know if you can trust."

Hirota's hands clenched into fists. "That's why I'm confirming it now. A 'Psychic Phenomena Investigative Office' is shady from the start. Isn't it just a swindler using stuff like spirits and psychic powers to cheat people in trouble?"

"Hirota-san!" The woman—Midori Agawa, I recalled—yelped.

"Agawa-san." Midori froze and glanced at Naru, who was still scanning through the report. "Are you going to withdraw your request?"

Midori hesitated. "May I ask you one question?" She asked timidly, and in that one question I knew she could be trusted with...I don't know. She just...could be trusted. She saw that Naru was in charge and although she was surprised, she accepted him. That spoke volumes.

"Yes."

"Are you the person in charge?"

He turned a page. "Yes."

She nodded decisively. "Then please help me."

Hirota's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Midori-san!"

"You might not understand this, Hirota-san, but Mother and I can't take it anymore." She said firmly. "If somebody can help me, I'm willing to rely on anyone."

"But...!"

"I've come to like this place. Please let me do what I want."

He pursed his lips, more than displeased and not afraid to show it. "Alright."

Satisfied, Midori turned back to Naru, who was still scrutinizing the file. "Will you take my case?"

He lifted his head. "To some extent, this may not be psychic related. Even som do you still want our help?"

"Are you saying it's not paranormal?" Midori inquired.

"At first glance, it seems like a poltergeist, but that leaves questions. There is probably a psychic explanation to the electric failures, but I can't be sure until we investigate. Do you mind if we do a preliminary investigation before I decide to take the case or not?"

"No." She said softly. "Mother is extremely worried. Please help us."

"Then we'll take the case. Lin." At his summoning, Lin appeared at his shoulder to take the file from him. "Please ask the investigators for further arrangements."

That night, in Lin and Naru's apartment—Luella and Martin had readily agreed to help pay their rent—I plopped down on the floor. "Whaddya think?"

Naru barely glanced at me. "About the cookies? I'd rather not risk my life."

"First of all, I wasn't going to say anything about the cookies, but now you've done it. If you can risk your life with ghosts, you can take a cookie."

"I'm drinking tea."

"Stop being a coward and take a cookie."

He obeyed, as did Lin. Probably because he wanted to get the situation under control.

"What I was going to ask you about was the case." I said.

"I won't know until we investigate." He said evenly. "We'll see."

"You're useless." I grumbled, munching my fifth cookie.

He smiled. "Like you have any right to talk."