SPR disbanded, leaving Mai alone to fend for herself. When SPR reforms without Mai and has a lethal case at Mai's school, why is it only Lin seems to notice that Mai has changed? Can he save her? "SPR doesn't fight monsters, so this job is way over your heads. Go home." LinXMai

The Chi Monk Temple

The second Mai walked onto the temple grounds, people were trying to talk to her. Everyone wanted to hear of her latest travels. As most of them hadn't left the temple sense they found their home there, they lived through her. Even though her stories these days revolved around going to school, they were still captivated by them. None of those who asked, though, would ever be willing to go travel for themselves or even journey away of the temple to go to school.

Here, they didn't have to hide. They were not freaks no matter what sort of ability they had. The monks, most of which had no supernatural power, didn't look at them differently. Unless actually warranted, they didn't even respond to a show of power with fear. Here, they were understood and free to be themselves.

"I skipped school today again. I haven't been there all week, to be honest." Mai stated, sitting down with a sizeable crowd around her. "The spirits there have been staying out of my dreams sense I summoned Father Rayden. He was a holy father in his past life, but he never passed on. He's one of those I summon to help calm spirits that will respond to Christianity."

"Where did you go then, Taniyama Sensei?" A woman wearing a Middle-Eastern style dress and pants asked. Mai was called a teacher because, here, she was. She was a mentor, guardian, and most importantly a strong psychic. She's seen it all over the years, especially now that she travels. She helps all those she can… like no one had ever helped her.

"I went to a cave on the top of a high mountain in China. I was drawn there and found a young ice-dragon. She was giving birth for the same time. I learned later that her mate had been the one to… I guess he kinda summoned me." Mai realized that herself just then. Several of them giggled that Mai, who usually did the summoning, had been summoned. "Hmm. Well, I already knew that dragons were stronger telepaths than humans ever will be. Anyway, I helped with the birth. As I might have said at some point, some dragons don't lay eggs. This one didn't."

"How big was the baby, Taniyama Sensei?" Ironically, it was a pregnant woman to ask that.

"Well, the mother was the size of a house." Mai stated first. "I guess the baby was about the size of… the bush over there." Mai pointed to a lush green bush that was about the size of a small car. She wasn't sure how many of them would still get the comparison after being here for so long, though, so she didn't make that comparison. "Honestly, my main task was to get the mother to stay calm. It was her first birth, so the poor thing thought that she was dying. To be honest, I'm pretty sure she was a bit too young to be having children. Normally, their instincts walk them through everything."

Mai went to describe the baby dragon that she helped bring into the world, how its scales were still as soft as film rather than the nails on their fingers. She described the sounds the baby made as the sound of a scared sheep, and the mother's sounds as a low solid growl that came off as a hum.

"Where did you sleep that night, Taniyama Sensei?" Someone asked eventually. "In a tree again? Did you sleep with the baby dragon?"

"Haven't slept yet. By the time I realized that I hadn't slept, it was already nearing breakfast time." Mai shrugged. "So, for once, I think I'll actually fall asleep at a decent hour. Hopefully."

Mai was hopeful. She missed sleep. She missed the time before SPR when the only time she didn't get a full night's sleep was when she was staying up late for whatever reason. Now, she's an insomniac that literally forgets to go to sleep unless she wants to have a vision. At random moments, though, the exhaustion will catch up to her. It wasn't exactly narcolepsy but… it's inconvenient sometimes to have to excuse herself and take a nap.

The monks eventually came out and summoned everyone for dinner. Unlike expected of such a large feeding time, the food was as good as a fancy restaurant. Several of the monks had families who lived at the temple as well, so the kitchen was full of caring women who make everything with love.

Love

People caring about her

Those were two very dangerous things. Mai's parents had loved her and she'd loved them, but they both ended up dying and leaving her behind. She'd loved SPR dearly and thought they felt the same… but they didn't seem to even look back once SPR disbanded three years before. Several of her friends from school, those who would usually care about a bruise or Mai becoming homeless and depressed, didn't even bat and eye.

The orphanage was what really made Mai realize how alone she was. When they saw her powers and wanted to beat her, they knew exactly how to drug her into submission. Sedatives blocked psychic capabilities… blocked Mai's ability to summon a barrier or telepathically scream for help.

Mai's life was a living hell but the world moved on, causing Mai to realize just how insignificant her life really was. She could die and the world would continue turning on it's axis. No one cared. No one would miss her. No one would NOTICIE she was gone.

"Mai, dear?" An elderly woman called as she sat down. "Could you, um…" She wrung her hands together.

Mai grabbed the woman's hands, instantly starting to heal the veins and promote cell growth. The woman melted completely and nearly fell asleep as Mai healed her diabetes-ridden hands. She thanked Mai about ten times and then left quickly, her mind racing with things she wanted to do before her hands became bad again in a few months. She had a long list of projects that she'd been putting off because her hands had hurt her too much to do.

Mai yawned softly, standing up and putting her dishes onto the table full of dirty dishes. She'd once tried to offer several times to help clean. However, because of how much she did to help at the temple already, the women of the kitchen always refused to let her lift a finger unless she was showing them how to make a new recipe she'd picked up while traveling.

"You should go to school tomorrow." Mai glanced behind her and found a little girl being led by a young monk, one with hollow eye sockets. "Just be ready when you hear the knocking."

Mai had heard of this psychic. She had ESP. Honestly, she was a very young fortune teller. Mai decided to trust her words. "Alright." She agreed, having planned on going to school the next day anyway.

The little girl frowned, looking to her right towards the monk though she was actually speaking to the young man's groin. "Did I do it again? I made sense, right? What did I say?" Her voice was of a kid rather than the monotone it had been before.

"This is normal for her, Master Taniyama." The monk's voice was suddenly in her head, sort of whispering at the edges of her mental barrier. "She never remembers what she's said. She has no memory problems otherwise."

Mai nodded to show that she'd heard.

The monk knelt down to be level with the little girl. "You told her to go to school tomorrow, but to be careful of knocking. Her school has been haunted by several spirits lately."

"B-But what if she goes to school and she comes back hurt?" She whined back, saying the last word as if it was the worst thing in the world.

"Well, now that I know what to be careful for, I'll keep my guard up." Mai smirked. She walked away after seeing the girl smile and then continue on her way with the monk. She thought back to the girl's warning. Knocking. That was a sound several people have reported hearing before physical paranormal activity.

She found herself worrying about the other students and hoping that it was only her to be attacked. She could defend herself and, if not, then she was prepared to deal with the consequences. The other students, however, were not. They were innocent.

Mai went to bed around 9pm, about the time most of the younger people went to sleep. She woke up, however, at midnight. She trained, meditated in a cleansing chamber, and went back to bed but even with that could sleep for more than an hour. She sighed, frustrated. Even at a temple full of people who cared about her, people who would notice her missing and miss her if anything happened… she couldn't relax enough to get any real sleep.

Hay,

I'm sorry if anyone wanted to see me off or anything, but my insomnia has decided that it doesn't want me to sleep tonight. I'm going to school today, so I don't know when I'll visit again.

Sorry to eat and run

Mai Taniyama

Mai always left a note when she left. She knew by the fact that it was always gone when she got back that someone had read it. She never could stay for long, though. The fear of someday losing them like she did SPR always consumed her once she started to get used to living with them. Though she knew she'd deal with it and adapt just like she had when SPR left her… she wasn't entirely sure if she'd be the same person after feeling that pain again.

Good first chapter, bad? Review! This is my first attempt to do LinXMai myself but I've read it a few times and hope I can make something you'll love, too.