Lonely Hearts

Chapter 9: Naru Comes to a Realisation (Part 01)

Chapter Notes:

The picture at the start of this chapter is one of my personal pictures that I took from Richmond Hill (London), overlooking the Thames. Absolutely gorgeous place to live. I was fortunate enough to live in the area for a few years. This is also one of the chapters which will take place in Naru's world, unless stated otherwise.

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Scene set: London, England

Naru sat on a bench overlooking the Thames without having to glower at people. It was one of the positive things about being back in England, particularly in this area of London. People didn't approach or try to speak with strangers.

Saying goodbye to his team in Japan had been surprisingly hard. He had accepted their farewells with a very thawed out frosty demeanour, especially now that they knew his true identity and what his purpose had been in setting up SPR. It had surprised him that none were upset with him at his deception, especially Mai. Despite the circumstances, he had been glad to have that weight off his shoulders, especially as it meant the definitive end to Masako's harassing and blackmailing. That would be something he would never understand.

What turned out to be harder was saying goodbye to his assistant Mai. Truthfully, she was more than just an 'assistant'. She was far more than that. She had always understood him to a degree further than the rest, and had never treated him differently, even from the beginning. She had been insufferable and always challenged him to his limits, but it was precisely why he held her in a special light, away from the others. He was never one to quickly praise people or let them in, but she had somehow found a way into his emotions, his thoughts and nearly every aspect of his life.

It had been just over a year since he had left Japan and yet he found himself thinking about her more often. Had they not had their talk before his departure, he might have made up some sort of scientific explanation to why he missed her. Or something like that. He still didn't know quite what to make of his feelings, other than his deep fondness for her. They hadn't spoken much during that time either, other than the occasional gift. Was it cowardly of him to hide behind his work? Probably.

*~*~*Flashback #1: Airport departure*~*~*

He remained frozen in place, eyes closed, as he felt the rush of emotions pouring from her as he briefly felt her lips millimetres away from his. It had been more than he had ever experienced. He was unsure what to do with what had just happened. He remained rooted to the spot as he watched her walk back towards the group. He broke out of his trance-like state when Lin called his name out, just past the security point.

He rejoined the queue and caught sight of Mai being embraced by the various members of their tight knit group and a series of laughs breaking out as they began walking away. A part of him wished that Mai would look back, but he instinctively knew that wouldn't happen. However, he did lock eyes with Yasu who simply gave him a look which seemed to say, "She loves you. Don't this fuck up." The problem was that he wasn't sure of anything. Why would it be him? What was the logic there?

He rejoined Lin as soon as he was past security and indicated towards one of the coffee kiosks.

"You're unusually quiet. More so than usual." Lin said to him. "I also don't think I've ever seen you willingly hug someone for that long, other than Gene and your mother."

Naru remained quiet as he picked up their coffees and began leading the way towards the First Class lounge. Once they checked-in and found a quiet place to sit, he replied, "Yes. I have accepted that she has become just as important in my life as he is. Lin, I'm out of my depth here. I don't know what to do. What to think. What to feel. I don't have a benchmark to compare all of this to."