In Vino Veritas:
Chapter 12:
Half an hour later, after a change of clothes and a cup of tea, Maaya walked out of the ryokan to the pond outside where the narcissist was waiting for her. The light wind was rustling through his hair and he was staring at the water with a pensive expression on his face. He turned around to face her as she approached.
"I have something to tell you," he said eventually.
"What is it?"
For a moment she could have sworn that a nervous expression passed over his face.
He tenderly laid a hand on her cheek.
"I love you, Mai. I'm the father of your child," he said and touched his lips to hers which were unyielding, then she softened and he deepened the kiss by probing her mouth with his tongue. Their tongues met and Naru kissed her more ferociously as he twisted his hands into her hair and her arms wrapped around her shoulders.
Eventually they parted for breath. Naru looked down at the girl in his arms who had her face hidden in his chest.
"Do you remember now?" he asked, hoping that she did, otherwise he would have some awkward questions to answer.
He felt her nod against him and he smiled.
"Mai, look at me," he ordered.
She looked up at him with an incandescent red face and Naru found himself admitting that she was cute. What had she done to him?
"Naru, you don't remember that night, do you?" she said and looked down again.
The narcissist began to get a bad feeling. "By any chance, do you?"
"Only a few parts. You were... very assertive and said and did things that were very unlike you. Some of it was in English."
He began to feel concerned. What on earth had he said to Mai when he was drunk?
"You told me that you had wanted to do things to me since you first met me," she whispered to the shocked scientist.
He buried his face in her hair. If he claimed that it had been the alcohol talking... she would hate him forever and as Lin had said, "In Vino Veritas"...
"It's true, I never dwelled on it thought. Remember I was a healthy 17 year old boy and you wore a lot of short skirts..."
She stared up at him again and blushed. He tightened his arms around her.
A shout of "Jou-chan" interrupted their moment. The pair turned to see everyone from SPR walking towards them. Naru released Mai and waited for the onslaught from everyone who seemed to harbour protective feelings for Mai which was something he could understand.
"Jou-chan! Do you remember me!?" the monk wailed as he enveloped Mai into his arms.
"Bou-san... can't breathe," she choked.
"Bou-san, let her go so she can breathe," Naru sighed.
The monk relinquished his hold. "I'm just glad that you are back. The old lady priestess was getting scary."
Ayako hit him around the head with her fist. "It's good to see you Mai."
Yasuhara wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "So... how did Naru make you get your memories back? I have heard that the body has memories that are never forgotten... Did you use that?"
Mai's blush and Naru's smirk provided the answer.
"I'm never going to call you Naru-chan again! Instead I'm going to call you pervert, pervert!" Bou-san shouted tearfully. "I can't believe you did that to my Mai."
"She is not your Mai, she is my Mai," the narcissist retorted and gave her a quick kiss on the lips to prove it. "Mai, I meant to tell you earlier, your mouth tastes like tea so keep drinking it."
This caused everyone including Lin to avert their eyes in embarrassment.
"Is that really Naru?" Masako whispered disbelievingly to Yasuhara.
"Yep, he is sadistic enough," he hissed back. "It's probably just his hormones catching up."
"I'm glad to see that you have volunteered for some more toilet cleaning," Naru smirked. "I'm going to talk to the client now. You can start packing up all the equipment."
He patted Mai on the head as he walked away, followed by Lin.
"John, I have a question," Mai started once Naru was out of earshot.
"Yes, Taniyama-san? It's good to see you again by the way."
"Naru said this to me when he was drunk. It was in English so I didn't understand," she whispered it in his ear, causing the priest to flush a very bright red.
Bou-san curled his hand into a fist. "What was it, John?"
The embarrassed priest relayed the translation to a mortified monk.
"Naru! You pervert! I'll get you for this, I never thought you would use such dirty words!"
Naru turned around, guessing what had transpired the moment he had turned his back. "My name is Oliver Davis, not pervert. Don't I have a video that you wanted to see?"
He smirked as he returned to the ryokan. Once they were inside Lin asked a question which had been bothering him all day.
"Have you told your parents yet?"
Naru groaned. "I need to, but I have been avoiding it. I know that Mum will be furious with me for what I did to Mai; I should mention that I'm marrying her first."
"I didn't see you propose. You are just assuming that Taniyama-san will say yes."
"Not assuming, she will, but I should obtain permission from her foster mother first and tell her that the case is solved."
Their client was waiting in the reception area with Yakumo who lit up at the sight of Naru.
"I'm assuming that the exorcism was successful and Maaya is unharmed," Hana said with a smile.
"Yes and her real name is Mai Taniyama," Naru began to explain.
"You're Yakumo's father." It wasn't a question, she knew.
"I am. How did you know?" he questioned. It seemed as if everyone but him knew.
"He looks exactly like you, only he has Maay- I mean Mai's eyes. Are you going to marry her?" she asked, hiding a smirk.
For the first time in his life Naru said "Um."
"Not sure?"
"Do I have your permission?"
Hana grinned. "On the condition that you invite me to the wedding and come here for your honeymoon and regularly visit."
Lin decided that he respected the proprietor of the ryokan; for a second Oliver Davis had looked like a gold fish.
"I have a feeling that my mother will say that too..." he trailed off. "I agree to the conditions."
"Are you leaving today or tomorrow?"
"I think that everyone wants to catch up with Mai tonight, so tomorrow morning."
Hana nodded. "I did hear something about a party."
As predicted the SPR employees threw a welcome back party for Mai that evening. Everyone apart from Mai and Naru had teamed up to decorate a room with streamers and banners and made a music playlist.
Due to the fact that Mai was the subject of the party she danced with everyone and Naru was able to stand in the corner unobserved.
"Are you practising your marriage proposal?" Yasuhara teased as he danced past the narcissist with Lin.
The college student received a glower so he tried a different tack. "Or are you jealous that she is dancing so much with Bou-san? Or could it be that you can't dance?"
"Yasuhara-san, it isn't wise to bait Naru at the moment. You can do it tomorrow," Lin advised as they moved away from the fuming narcissist.
The reason behind Naru's mood was the phone call that he had had with his parents. He had been told off for the one night stand by his parents, but they had been delighted to hear that he was getting married and requested invites to the wedding and for the honeymoon to be in England.
The only thing was, he hadn't asked Mai yet. They hadn't been alone together since their kiss in the garden and he wasn't sure now if she could say yes.
Of course she will say yes, one part of his mind said, she returned your kiss and blushed a lot. But doesn't she like Gene? another part of his brain reasoned.
"You're a fool," someone next to him said.
He turned to see Masako Hara standing next to him, holding a glass of water.
"How am I a fool?"
"She likes you and not your twin brother. If you still are not convinced, ask her yourself," Masako answered from behind her sleeve as she walked away.
He was granted a moment of respite before someone else disturbed him. Naru stared at the cup of sake in her hand.
"Please tell me that you aren't drunk, Mai."
She looked down at the cup. "I've built up a tolerance over the past two years from socialising with guests. What would you do if I was?"
"Get you to sober up of course. I don't want a drunk for a wife," he hinted.
Mai nodded vaguely before the force of his words sank into her slightly alcohol befuddled brain.
"What!? We're married! I'm pretty sure that I have all my memories back now," she yelled before sniffing at his face dubiously.
Naru gripped her chin and stared at her right in the eye. "I'm not drunk, I just have not asked you yet."
Everyone rolled their eyes. So this was how Naru proposed. Going down on one knee was too mainstream. All you had to do was tell her that you were going to marry.
Mai's speech came flooding back to her after a few second of dumbfounded silence. "You haven't asked me yet. Isn't it a bit too much to assume that I'm going to agree?"
The narcissist blinked. "Well, you aren't going to say no. I have already got Hana-san to agree and my parents have granted permission."
There was no reply from his "fiancée".
"Don't you want to marry me?" he asked puzzledly.
"What she means is you should be asking her the proper way, Naru-chan," Bou-san stopped the music and walked over to gobsmacked Mai and the confused Naru. "You also need to ask us for permission, we are all family after all."
For his helpful effort he received a derisive look from Naru. The narcissist sighed and grabbed Mai's hand and pulled her out the room. He led her to his bedroom and locked the door.
"Naru, what are you doing?" she asked nervously as he approached her.
"Mai, do you love Gene?"
"Are you really asking that now?" she complained, looking up at him. The intensity of his stare told her that he definitely was serious.
"Naru... I love you, even your narcissistic parts," she answered slowly. "Your brother may be a lot kinder than you, but it wouldn't be you if you were like that too. Because you only have short bouts of being kind, it makes me appreciate them even more."
She was interrupted by Naru giving her a searing kiss on the lips and pulling her tight against him.
"Thank you Mai," he whispered softly in her ear. "I just needed to make sure."
"You really are an idiot scientist for not recognising the signs."
"I know. Mai, will you marry me?"
"I thought that I already was. Where is the ring?" Mai smiled as she snuggled into his chest.
"I have not procured one yet," he admitted. "Will you say yes?"
"Yes," she replied, looking up to check his reaction.
On his face was the best smile that she had ever seen. It reached his eyes and she realised that he actually had dimples.
"Mai, are you blushing at my smile?" he smirked. "I might smile like this more often, but only to you."
His fiancée blushed even harder which he hadn't thought was possible.
"Do you think that if I continue you will go purple?" he mused out loud.
Everyone who had been listening outside the door sweatdropped. Teasing/bullying Mai was clearly Naru's method of showing affection and Mai's way to answer back. As he teased her on a regular basis it seemed that they would have a happy life together.
Mai hid her face in his shirt again, then she brightened. She may have been very unlucky in life so far, but not everyone had someone like Naru for a fiancé, as sadistic and narcissistic as he was. It made up for all her bad luck in life.
The End
I would like to thank everyone that voted and commented on this fanfic.
2013: I am in the process of writing a sequel which takes place in more British territory, but not within the British Isles. If anyone wants to take a guess they can. <----- 2014: This is unlikely to be posted on wattpad due to its permanent hiatus.
The name Yakumo is taken from Shinrei Tantei Yakumo which is one of my favourite manga and has some similarites to Ghost Hunt in the personalities of the main protagonists.