Ghost of a Chance

After School Hex (Part 1)

[November
Sunday]

"Hmm..." Mai frowned as she stared down at three contact lists she had spread out on the coffee table in the reception room of the SPR office. "I wonder what's going on with this one..." she wondered aloud just as Naru came out of his private office. "Are you taking a break, Naru?" she asked as he sat down on one of the black leather couches. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Sure," he said, opening one of his books to read. It was more quiet than usual in the office without Hitomi there for Mai to talk to.

"Oh, yeah," Mai said as she came back into the room and served him his tea. "Hey, Naru, something's been bothering me."

"So?"

Mai stared blankly at him.

"Just 'so'?" she asked chagrined, sweat-dropping, as she forced a smile. "Shouldn't we normally ask 'What's the matter?' or something like that?"

"Unfortunately, unless it's something work-related, I really don't have time for it," he replied coolly.

'You egotistical workaholic!!' Mai fumed internally with multiple veins throbbing on her forehead. 'But...! Thanks to that, I have less competition!' she reminded herself, trying to calm down before she opened her mouth to speak again. "Actually, it is related to your most favorite work~" she told him. "Do you remember the story a high school student told you about her classmate being possessed by a fox spirit?"

"I probably remember it more clearly than you do."

"I'm sure you do!" Mai snapped angrily. "Because you're the one who rejected her and told her 'bring your friend to a psychiatric hospital' instead of visiting our office!"

"I gave her the recommendation I did because it sounded like something that should be seen by a doctor."

"Well, you could have said it a little more politely, you know! If Hitomi-sempai were here, she would have handled it much better!"

"What a shame she's busy with her other work," Naru remarked dryly, continuing to read.

"You could have at least recommended her to someone you know, or—"

KA-CHACK.

" 'Sup~" a familiar voice greeted them cheerfully as the door to the office swung open, revealing a sunglasses-wearing cowboy in a purple shirt and a long leather jacket with a case for a bass guitar strung over his shoulder. "Naru-chan, Yoo-hoo~!"

'W-Who...?' Mai wondered, dumbfounded.

"Man, Shibuya is no place to come on a Sunday. The city's filled to capacity with people all bumping into each other," the cowboy continued as he made himself at home without further invitation, plopping himself down on the sofa across from Naru's. "Oh, Mai-chan, an ice-coffee, please," he said, removing his cowboy hat and glasses so she could finally recognize him.

"B-Bou-san? What's with the outfit?" Mai asked, sweat-dropping. She thought a cowboy had walked in...

"Oh, this? I had a live show today," he explained, grinning. "I'm always performing in basement studios, so it feels nice to be in front of people after all this time."

"E—Ehhh!? Bou-san, you were in a band!?" Mai exclaimed, shocked.

"No. I wasn't in a band, I am in a band," he corrected her. "I guess I haven't gotten around to telling you this yet, but this is my real job. I'm a professional bassist."

"Th-Then being a monk is a part-time job? Huh? Didn't you tell me that you used to live on Mt. Koya?" she asked, starting to get confused.

"I was. It's my family's temple, and my pop wanted me to be a monk. But you can't bring CDs and stuff up on the mountain, so I left."