Mirror Mirror (self-insert #9)

Chapter 4

"Huh." I leaned in close to the laptop screen, squinting hard. "Is...is that a door?"

"So it seems." I moved over to make room for Naru. He leaned in almost as closely as I did before straightening a second later. "It's hard to tell just from this. Later, we'll have to see if we can find traces of a cylinder lock." I watched him run a hand over his face as he saved the ultrasound results and shut down his laptop. "Help me put all of this away and I'll go take a nap."

"I can do it myself." I assured him, more than a little sympathetic.

He hesitated, then exhaled. "That would be a big help." As an afterthought he added, "Thank you. Please let me know if something happens."

"Will do."

While he drifted off to the living room with a blanket, I packed up all the equipment and lugged the crate over to the base, only to almost squash a snoozing Lin. He'd laid out a futon in the middle of the floor and was fast asleep and currently taking up most of the space. Carefully placing it a safe distance away from the tall man's body, I held my breath as I inched around the perimeter of the already crowded room. More than once he stirred, making me freeze in my tracks. An eon had passed before I landed in my chair, releasing the pent up stress and carbon dioxide.

Puffing out my cheeks, I quickly scanned the thermographs before taking a look at the monitors. Naru was bundled up in his blanket burrito on the sofa in the living room. Hirota was in the process of making himself a coffee in the kitchen. I couldn't see Mai, but I knew for a fact that she was currently sleeping in Midori's room, mumbling at whoever she'd offended this time.

I sat back in my chair. I wasn't entirely sure why I offered to keep watch over the base. It was ridiculously boring.

I found myself watching the hot-tempered Hirota. He'd settled down at the kitchen table with his mug, sipping quietly. When he finished his drink he just sat there, thinking with a seemingly perpetual frown.

I almost bashed my head against the keyboard. This was even more boring. Desperate for some sort of entertainment, I checked my inbox for an email from Madoka—goose eggs—then tried to search the web for anything to do.

Even more goose eggs.

I was just about to go harass the living daylights out of Hirota when the doorbell rang. Unaware that he'd just been saved, Hirota left the kitchen to answer the door. A minute later, the speaker crackled to life. "Nira? Did I just hear the doorbell ring?"

I frantically scrambled to turn down the volume as Lin grunted and turned over.

"Nira?"

"Yeah, but Hirota went to check it out. You can go back to sleep." I whispered.

"I'll go gather intel."

I eyed the speaker dryly. "You mean eavesdrop?"

"Meet me in the kitchen." Naru said and ended the line.

There was a rustle of cloth behind me as I switched the microphone off. "Was that Naru?" A groggy voice asked.

I glanced behind me. Lin was sitting upright, rubbing his eyes furiously. "You can go back to sleep."

"It's fine."

I took his word for it and, after helping him fold and store away the futon, headed to the kitchen. It was empty, so I washed Hirota's mug and was just rinsing off when Naru and Hirota entered, the latter shooting Naru a nasty glare before grabbing the teapot. His gaze lost a bit of its venom as he glanced my way. "You didn't have to do that."