In Vino Veritas (Ghost Hunt) (NaruxMai)

Rice

In Vino Veritas:

Chapter 8

Dinner was a subdued affair. Ayako and Bou-san had been attacked whilst they were in the onsen- the priestess had been pulled under and only after starting the 9 cuts incantation did the ghost release her. The monk himself had simply been pushed in and neither had seen their attacker so Naru had not been in a good mood with them when they returned.

Masako had gone to the library with Yasuhara and had nearly been knocked out by Yasuhara accidently dropping a book whilst he was on a ladder. The college student himself had eye strain from skin reading 15 books on local history.

Maaya had been suffering from insults from the narcissist who was the only person who didn't seem to be in a black mood. Lin had been present during all of Mai and Naru's disagreements and had developed a headache.

"Wow, the boss looks happy," Yasuhara whispered to Bou-san.

The pony tailed monk glanced over and pretended to drop his chopstickful of rice.

"I think you're right. His mouth looks more curved than usual and he's got that sadistic look in his eye..."

"Shall we all take bets on how long until Baby no.2," Yasuhara grinned demonically.

"Shounen, surely you're not planning on making a profit out of Naru's predicament?"

"I say a year," Ayako interjected. "¥20,000 if I am right."

"2 years, ¥30,000," Masako joined in. "Brown-san?"

"I'm not going to bet, but I'm sure that Shibuya-san will soon realise that he loves her," the priest said solemnly.

"Personally I would give it a couple of months. When Mai regains her memories, Naru-chan is going to have to answer some serious questions," Bou-san mused. "Shounen?"

"Naru seems to be a repressed 19 year old boy. Once Taniyama-san regains her memories... a week."

The participants in the conversation gasped before glancing over at the narcissist on the other side of the room who was still calmly eating, leading them to believe that they hadn't been overheard.

Then he put his chopsticks down and demonstrated his best saccharine smile.

"Yasuhara-san, I'm glad to know that you have volunteered to clean all of the Ryokan's bathrooms. Maaya, how many are there?"

Naturally Maaya had no idea of the conversation that had taken place regarding her so she was confused as to why the narcissist had volunteered someone to clean toilets. "Um, 48."

"I retract my bet," Yasuhara said hastily.

Naru's mouth curved into one of his more genuine smiles, albeit an evil one. "That's what I thought. You can clean 24 then."

Yasuhara put a hand to his heart in a theatrical fashion. "Is this how you repay me for all the research that I did? Even you admitted that the information was vital to solving the case."

"Naru, how come you didn't mention this before!?" Ayako demanded angrily. "We need to prevent any further attacks occurring before someone actually dies."

Naru sighed. "I was getting to that. I have not yet solved the case, but I am very close. Yasuhara-san, please explain to everyone what occurred in 1925."

Yasuhara pulled out his notebook. "The daughter of the family that owned the Ryokan was discovered to have been having an affair with one of the guests who was an outsider here. She was forcibly engaged to her childhood friend as she was the only child and had to inherit the Ryokan. The man she was having that affair with was forced out of the village and her wedding date was pushed forward."