The case on Valentine's Day

Part 1

Mai's pov

I grab my school bag before walking out of the door to my apartment, making sure that the door is locked. I turn around and walk to the direction of the stairs. Once I'm safely on the last step, I walk towards the SPR office. When I arrive, I see the 'closed' sign still on the door. I frown as I grab the spare key from my school bag and open the door, mentally wondering why my boss wasn't here yet. Once inside, I shut the door behind me and hang up my coat. I look around to see if Naru or Lin left a message for me, only to find no sticky notes. I walk into the kitchenette to prepare a pot of tea, and once it's made, I pour myself a cup.

After I finish my cup of tea, I put the cup into the sink and turn around, deciding what to do next. Then I give a small smirk and walk towards the storage closet. Opening the door, I see a big red box with a V on the front of it. I pick up the box and shut the door before going back in the lounge room. I open the box and start to pull out the red, pink, and white decorations. When that's done, I begin to hang things up like the big red banner that reads, 'Happy Valentine's Day' and the big red heart that goes on the front door.

I doubt Naru will be happy about me decorating the office, but oh well. It's Valentine's Day for heaven's sake! He needs to learn to love a little more.

About an hour later, all the decorations are finally up. I make another pot of tea, and when the tea is done brewing, Naru and Lin walk into the office. Lin shuts the door and takes off his coat, hanging it up beside mine. Before Naru could say anything—I knew he was by the look on his face—I walk out of the kitchenette and hand him a cup. Lin takes the other cup nodding his head in thanks and walking towards his office, shutting the door behind him. Naru only glares at me before following Lin's example. When I hear the door slam shut, I squeal in joy. Looks like I win this round too!

~Two hours later. Time: 11:00am~

When I hear the door bell jingle, I look up from the paperwork I was reading and smile at the client.

"My name is Mai Taniyama, assistant to Kazuya Shibuya, How may I help you?" I ask.

"W-well, I think my restaurant is haunted." says the woman sadly.

"Okay, just let me get my boss so that he may hear your request." I tell her soothingly. "You can sit down on the couch, and he will be with you in just a few minutes." I add.

"Thank you, Miss Taniyama." The woman says. I smile at her before walking towards Naru's office and knocking on the door.

"Enter." I hear him say. I open the door and poke my head inside.

"We have a client, Naru." I tell him. He gives me a glance and nods, standing up.

"Go make some tea and get Lin." He orders. I nod my head and shut the door. I walk a few steps to get to Lin's office door, and I tell him we have a client waiting in the common room. Once that is done, I walk into the kitchenette to start making the tea.

Around five minutes later, I walk out of the little kitchenette carrying four cups of tea. Once I'm back in the common room, I hand a cup to the client. She takes the cup gratefully. I turn to Naru and hand him the other cup of tea. When I look at the tray, one of the cups is missing. Looking around and spotting that Lin has it, I shrug my shoulders and sit down with my own cup.

After Naru takes a sip of tea, he grabs his black notebook and opens it before speaking.

"I'm Kazuya Shibuya, the CEO of Shibuya Psychic Research, better known as SPR. What has been happening at your home or business?"

The client takes a shaky breath before speaking. "W-well, Shibuya-sama, I own the restaurant calles Dreams here in Shibuya, and my workers believe that it's haunted. They have reported seeing a man walking around the tables and in the kitchen. You see Shibuya-sama, Valentine's Day is two days away, and every year on that day, the customers get scared away... I don't know why. Please help me!"

"We will take you case Miss."

"Oh... please forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Angela Sanchez."

"Sanchez-san, please write down your information. We will be there in two days and have a room prepared for our base." Naru adds.

~Two days later~

General pov

Mai walks into the office, late as usual. From his office, Naru shouts out that exact little reminder to her too. Mai curses the narcissist under her breath. Once everything is ready, the SPR team sets off for their new case. When they arrive at the restaurant, Naru orders everyone to get the equipment from the van. Once everything is set up, Ayako and Masako do their usual walkthrough while Bou-san and Mai do temperature readings. When John arrives, he is sent to the kitchen to interview the cooks.

Close to an hour later, everyone returns to base to discuss their findings. Seeing that he had everyone's attention, Naru turns to Masako.

"Is there a spirit here, Miss Hara?" He asks.

"Yes." Was her short response. "...but he isn't willingly to talk to me." She adds after a few moments.

"What about you, Brown-san?" Naru asks the priest.

"Well, the cooks say that he is harmless, but on the day for lovers, he becomes violent." He answers.

"Alright, this is what we are going to do. Remember about the case at the park?" Naru questions without looking up at them. A chorus of 'yes' is his answer. "Okay, Takigawa-san and Matsuzaki will be one couple. Brown-san and Miss Hara will be the other couple. Oh, and Mai, you will be paired off with Lin—one more dressed appropriately." He orders. After Naru said that he walked away from the group, smirking.

"Well, I'm going home." Ayako declares.

"W-what?! But we haven't been here for very long!" Mai says, protesting.

"I need to get ready for tonight." Ayako simply states.

"What, it takes you five hours to get ready? Well, I guess it's because you are so old and slow you need the extra time to get rid of the wrinkles on your face." Bou-san says teasingly.

"What was that, you stupid monk?!" Ayako hits Bou-san with her purse, hard.

"Ahhh! What was that for, you old hag?!" Bou-san shouts. After five minutes of their bickering, the team is finally able to return to the restaurant to begin the investigation.

Lin's pov

When this is over, I am going to strangle that Naru. He knows I don't like large crowds, and on top of that, I haven't been on a date in ages. But I do have to admit, Mal looks beautiful tonight. I walk us to our table, and being the gentleman that I am, I pull out the chair for her. Once she is seated, I sit down across from her.

"Are you alright, Mai?" I ask when I see her shiver.

"I...think the spirit is here." She says quietly. I frown when my shiki hiss.

"Sammy, you came back!" The spirit suddenly shows itself to us, talking to Mai.

"W-what? No, my name isn't Sammy, it's Mai Taniyama." She corrects, confused.

"Oh...I apologize then... Can you help me find her then?" The spirit asks

"Mai, what is he asking you?" I demand to know. Mai turns away from the ghost to answer my question.

"He is looking for someone named Sammy. Do you think we can help him, Lin?" She asks.

"Well, we can try." I say. "Do you what happened to her?" I question. The spirit silently shakes his head in reply. Sighing, I walks away from the table to chat with Naru