Finding You (Ghost Hunt) (NaruxMai)

Date

Finding You:

Chapter 10:

The group arrived back at the SPR office hours later with everyone only having had a few hours sleep. Unexpectedly Naru gave everyone the day off, citing the fact that Yasuhara became even more annoying when he was sleep deprived. Yasuhara immediately left and was soon followed by John and Lin, who judging by the dark circles under their eyes, were keen to catch up on sleep, leaving only Mai and Naru in the office.

Mai was snuggled up on one of the sofas and was close to falling asleep again when Naru tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mai, if you want to sleep comfortably, go home. If you don't want to sleep you can go out with me today," Naru offered.

She opened one eye to see him standing over her. "Will it be like a date?"

Naru seemed to think hard for a moment before answering. "If that is what you want it to be, then yes."

The amnesiac slowly sat up. "Where it will be?"

"Where we had our first date."

Those words were very enticing to Mai and she stood up instantly. Reliving her first date might unearth some memories now that she was learning more about her relationship with Naru which seemed to be a key part in all her years of missing memories. To her surprise Naru passed her a camera and told her to take photos whenever she felt like it as it would help her.

"This was where our first date was!?" Mai gasped. "In the woods?"

She looked around nervously for the trees were very tall and foreboding, casting an ominous shadow. If a bat came flying out at that moment she would have not been surprised as the atmosphere was befitting of a horror movie. Naru did not look fazed, only amused.

"To be fair, you did not know it was a date. You were under the impression it was for a case," he scoffed. "Like it would only be the two of us on a case in a location like this."

Mai glared at him, understanding her younger self's reaction implicatively.

"A forest as gloomy as this does not give a romantic vibe, Naru. Of course I would have thought it was a case. Why did you choose it?"

Now Naru was the one to look nervous. "I thought it would bring us closer together. You always cling onto me when it gets dark and scary and I don't entirely mind..."

Mai's eyes gradually widened. Naru was admitting that he liked it when she grabbed hold of him in the dark and had deliberately chosen a location so terrifying that she would get close to him. The past few days had contained a lot of surprises and she still could not get her head around the revelation that Naru had loved/still loved her and she had spent most of her early morning waking hours staring at the ceiling blankly. She had avoided dwelling on it whilst she was around others so no one would notice that she was troubled, but now it was just her and Naru.

The main things stopping her from reciprocating after hearing his confession were her amnesia and the niggling feeling that she had not been privy to everything that had happened two years ago.

Naru offered her his hand and she hesitantly took it, noting the familiarity as she did so.

"It's going to be dark. Hold my hand, just for safety though," he said.

Mai experienced a sudden feeling of déjà vu. The face of a younger Naru aligned with the current one as she stared at him.

"Did you say that last time?" she asked unsurely.

Naru looked watchful. "Yes. It seems as if you are slowly recovering your memories."

Her heart soared. She was beginning to recall events and if this kept up she would not be an amnesiac anymore. It was not enjoyable having amnesia, she constantly felt like she was wading through a marsh as her surroundings and relationships with people had changed a lot and she often felt lost by all the changes.