"Miss. Taniyama, I'm hungry"
The sound came from a small boy, his faced scratched up and dirty. He was laying on the hard, cracked cement sidewalk, but his head was turned towards the woman next to him. This woman was sitting on a stacked pile of what looked like broken off pieces of the same sidewalk.
"We all are, but we just have to go a little longer." This voice came from the woman, the oldest in the crowd of children. She unconsciously reached out her hand and tried to rub off one of the dirt spots on his cheeks as she talked.
"According to the map, we're almost there. Then you can have all you food you want, okay? It's late now. Just try and sleep." Her voice was calm, but it was a practiced calm borne out of years of teaching. She withdrew her hand, as it was only smudging the dirt rather than cleaning it. The boy gave a sigh, but did as she asked, pulling his knees up to his chest in an effort to make himself as small as possible.
The woman watched the boy for a few moments longer, then looked away when she was certain that he was asleep like the others. Many other children surrounded her, their bodies all curled up in sleep. The soft sound of their snores resounded around her, echoing off the tall skyscrapers that stood just a little away. The area around them was covered by a thin, translucent barrier, one that glowed gold as it flickered in and out.
The world around them could be described as nothing less than hell. Buildings that had once stood tall were now falling over, with pieces chipping off, making loud 'thwacks' as they hit the ground. Large gouges marred the earth around them, but the marks were suspiciously even. Almost as if made by claws.
Smoke rose from the still burning buildings a little away. The gray tendrils snaked up to the sky, a mockery of the trees that used to stand tall, but were now all ripped apart. The sky itself was dark, and stained a sinister red.
Looking over at the vast landscape of what was once Tokyo, Mai Taniyama could hardly believe that just two weeks ago, it had all been intact. Her and her students were the only living people for miles, the rest either lying dead under the rubble or worse. Eaten. As she turned her head, and gazed down on the scratched faces of her students, she supposed that it was only luck that had brought them this far.
The attack had started at noon fourteen days ago. As a kindergarten teacher, Mai had been been at school, trying to teach her students about the number system. That is, if she could stop one boy from throwing blocks at the girls for getting the answers right. She had nearly wrestled the green block from the boy's chubby hands when the news had come out. A fellow teacher had burst into the room, urging her to come watch the broadcast.
Horrific beasts were attacking Japan. She and the other teachers had dismissed it a joke, some ill thought-out ploy for viewers by a news company. But then the videos started. Distorted shots that looked like they were filmed by camera phones, but they had all shown the same thing.
Burning buildings, and the horrible screeches of something ghastly, something not of this world. They had never seen a complete picture of the larger beasts, just a wing, or a foot. Sometimes it was only their arms as they snatched someone right off the streets. There had been many pictures of the smaller beasts, scampering around the sidewalks, some with extended bellies and grotesque faces. A fellow teacher had said that he had seen one of those before, in an old paranormal book he had borrowed from his grandfather.
A Gaki.
After watching the terrible footage, they had rallied the children together and placed them in the lunchroom. It was the only room in the school big enough to hold them all, and they had stationed a few teachers there to keep the children calm. The rest of the teachers had gone to the teacher's lounge, and had sat with their eyes glued to the television.
Channel after channel had showed more the same. Burning buildings. Desperate screams for help. And the sickening crunch of something eating.
After a few hours of watching the horrific footage, a new broadcast had gone out. All the stations had shown the conference of the great psychics of the world. Only Level Five or above, these psychics were the strongest in the world, and they had come together to explain what was happening.
The barrier between the spirit world and the world of the living had broken down. The great monsters of hell had descended upon the world, and were reaping havoc.
Mai and the other teachers had been shocked at the news. The great psychics had talked for years about how the barrier was weakening, and they had been trying to warn everyone of the consequences. But no one could have expected anything like this.
The great psychics had urged people to go to a safe place, to find the house of the strongest psychic in their area and stay put. These monsters could only be destroyed by someone Level Four or higher, so anybody with a lower Level should just try to run away and hope that the beasts ignored them.
Mai was only a Level One psychic, the lowest of the low. She could barely look into the future, much less take down one of the rotting, dark monsters that prowled the streets. The other teachers hadn't been much better, the highest level being a Level Two psychic, and some having no powers at all.
Well, they were only teachers, not researchers. The children were all too young to even be tested and registered, and their powers were fledgling at best. There was no way that any of them could repel the great monsters if they decided to attack.
They had debated for days on what to do, and on what was best for the children. None of the parents could be contacted, and the phones had stopped working long ago. In the end, the teachers had decided that they just had to stay put and hope that they would survive until someone came to their rescue.
Mai had disagreed. Just thinking about it now made her grit her teeth in frustration. Those self-serving idiots! She had urged and pleaded with them to reconsider, to get away. They had been too close to the center of it all, and they wouldn't have survived if one of the monsters decided to attack. They had needed to find a safe haven, for the sake of the children.
There had been no food in the building, and all they had had to keep them going were the packed lunches the students had brought from their homes. The teacher's lounge had only had coffee, and it wouldn't help stave off starvation. They would have died before anybody could have come.
But no matter what she had tried, they had refused. The principle himself had laid down the law, saying that going out would be nothing less than suicide and that she should just let it go. But Mai couldn't accept this. They were just scared, all of them cowards! They cared too much about their own precious safety, and they didn't even care if the children died as long as they lived.
She had still stayed, of course. Her students needed her. Many had been unaware of what was going on, and had clung to her as their only source of comfort. But, after a few days, it had been clear that someone had to leave. Cabin fever had taken over, and many teachers had become territorial, hoarding what little food remained.
Mai had known that someone had to go, to find help and food and try to bring it back to them. But she couldn't leave the children. In the crowd of the hundreds of other kids in the school, her own would have quickly been forgotten. Many teachers weren't even feeding their own students, and they wouldn't have hesitated to take what food she would have left behind for her own to eat.
So, in the dead of the night, they had left. She had left behind only a note that explained that she would come back, and with help. They had survived by walking in the day, trying to find someone, anyone.
But no one was there.
Instead of the bustling metropolis that she had grown accustomed to, there was only a land of rubble and destruction. They had once thought that they had seen someone, but it had turned out to only be an arm. A single, rotting arm. A Gaki had soon come and she had been forced to run away with her students before it set its sights on them.
Mai had protected her students as best she could. It was obvious that nightfall was when the most dangerous beasts came out. Only the weakest beasts, like the Gaki, could withstand the rays of the sun, even if the smoke was covering most of it up.
So during the day, they had walked. Searching for food, for help. For any sign of humanity.
But, when the night came, they had to scramble into the closest building and hide out until the morning. All the while praying to god that they would live to see the next day. Mai wasn't even sure if a god existed anymore. The screams, the smoke and the raw destruction were too much to bear. Couldn't anybody stop this? Couldn't anybody help?
No, the only person she could believe in anymore was herself. Her fellow teachers had betrayed her, and even her own school had betrayed her. The world had betrayed her.
It was just her and the children now. They were so innocent, and Mai was determined to keep them that way. But it was hard. With every fallen building, with every empty house, and every time they heard the desperate screams echoing through the night air, they had lost a little of that innocence.
But she would protect them, no matter what. Mai had been using what little spiritual power she had to make a small barrier for them, when they slept. She had exhausted all of her energy reserves just to make sure that any low level passing demon would just walk on, unseeing to the sleeping children and woman under the shield.
The only thing that surprised her was that her spiritual power was still here. She should have used it all up a few nights ago, but it still came when she tried to use it. Mai wasn't really sure why, exactly. The only conclusion she could come to was that she was keeping it going through pure stubbornness. She knew it wasn't healthy, that using so much psychic power could only hurt her, but she had stopped caring about her own well being long ago. Right now, her life didn't matter. All that mattered was her duty to keep her students safe.
And, by all rights, she should already be dead. She hadn't eaten in days, preferring to give her portion back to the students. Even after she went scavenging, leaving them alone with a small barrier, she was sure to give them all the food she found.
Mai couldn't even remember the last time she had slept. She couldn't afford to sleep anymore. Her pathetic barriers fell the moment she closed her eyes, so she just kept her eyes open. She wasn't sure what kept her going anymore, whether it was what small spiritual reserves she had left, or pure stubbornness.
Maybe it was the thought that she had to get them to the Haven.
A few days after they had left the school, she had found a dying soldier. The army had been dispatched in the beginning of it all, but it had soon become clear that bullets wouldn't work on the beasts. This soldier had been one of the few survivors of that particular massacre, and she had found him trying to hide in a collapsed building.
After Mai had told him what they were trying to find, he had told them of a safe house, a place his superiors had ordered him to go to. He couldn't get there because his leg had been ripped apart by one of the stray beasts. But they could. The house was somewhere in Tokyo, and it was home to the most powerful psychic in the world.
The Level Seven. Mai had only heard rumors of his existence, and she had dismissed them from the beginning. A man strong enough to lift a 50 kg weight just with his powers? Impossible.
But the soldier had insisted that it was true. He had given her a map, and had told her to find it. Mai had tried to bring him along, she had even started to lift him up, but he had refused. He had said that it was his time. He had even joked that by helping someone, he had finally fulfilled his purpose. And while she had been desperately trying to keep him alive, he had died. With a peaceful look on his face, almost as if he was happy.
It had shattered her.
She couldn't even keep one man alive, so how could she keep an entire class of children alive? Mai had almost gone hysterical, but she had reminded herself to remain calm. The children had been watching, so, in a careful tone, she had explained that the nice soldier man was asleep and that he wanted to be left alone for a while. They had accepted it. She doubted that they had actually believed her, but they had wanted to so badly that they would accept it.
That left her, barely hanging on to what little shreds of sanity she had left. What god would let this man die? What god would let this happen to the world? If there really was a god, why couldn't he help her? Help them?
Mai shook her head to rid herself of those desperate thoughts. This was not the time to let herself get bogged down by those type of ideas, she had to stay focused. She just had to forget about it all. Yet, no matter what, she would always remember that soldier's name. It had been etched onto his dog tag and into her memory. She had first seen it when she had been laying him down in a makeshift burial of rocks when the kids hadn't been looking.
Osamu Yasuhara.
Mai owed him her life. All their lives. She had that same dog tag in the pocket of her shredded pants, along with the map of Tokyo. The map itself was tattered and bloodied, but it was accurate. Well, as accurate as she could tell. The landscape of Tokyo was almost completely leveled, so she had to rely on her own gut feelings on which way to go. And those feelings told her that they were close. Very close.
And so they had walked on, stopping only to rest. The children were exhausted, she could see that much even now, as they slept. Their feet were scratched up, and their shoes had all been lost days ago. Many had open cuts and gashes along their arms and faces from the endless sharp rubble. It seemed like she was always helping a child out of some crevice or another. They were all tired, dirty and hurt. But at least they were alive.
Mai had seen herself once, as a reflection in a piece of shattered glass in a window. She hadn't recognized it. Wild, desperate eyes, and a gaunt face. She had looked like a corpse. Mai remembered how she used to take such pride in her appearance. She used to love shopping for cute clothes, no matter how small her budget was. But she had no time to care about beauty anymore.
It was only luck that had kept them alive. Other than a few Gakis and small demons, they had avoided the worst of the beasts. This was the first time she was actually happy that her Psychic Level was so low. It had become clear, even to the news reporters, that the strongest psychics attracted the strongest beasts. Her pathetic powers wouldn't even call in a small one.
Yet, despite this, she had noticed that something was following them. On the edge of her consciousness, she could sense something. Someone big. Undoubtedly, they were headed towards the same goal. The Level Seven Haven. Mai shuddered to think of what kind of beast a Level Seven attracted. They had to make it there before it came. She wouldn't let herself think about what would happen if it caught up.
"Miss. Taniyama, Miss. Taniyama!"
She whipped her head around to look at one of the children. The same boy from before. He was the smallest and had barely stopped crying for his father during the entire trip. His face was as dirty as the others. But what scared her was the look in his eyes. In all their eyes.
Too old.
"What is it?" Mai asked softly, reaching her hand out to flatten a strand of his hair that had gone out of place.
He calmed at the touch, and answered "Look! The sun's up again!"
She looked up and sure enough, she could see that the the first rays of the sun had already started crossing the sky. Curses, they should have left hours ago. That's what she got for getting lost in her own thoughts.
"Okay, go wake everybody up honey, we're going to go soon." After she had given him the instructions, she slowly got up. Mai stretched to rid herself of the cricks she had gotten in her back. Sitting on a pile of rocks all night was just not good for her back.
She looked out at the vast expanse of land before her. The sun was coming up, but it was barely noticeable against the endless red sky. Mai felt a pang of sadness as she realized that she couldn't even remember what a beautiful blue sky looked like anymore.
Her life before now was just a distant dream, and she could only recall faint memories of it. And the worst was, she couldn't even summon up any regret for that. Mai found herself utterly apathetic to it all. Gone was the cheerful, sunny girl from before. That girl couldn't exist in this world. Not without completely breaking apart.
If she even stopped for a moment to comprehend the disaster her life had become, she would just break down crying. And she wouldn't be able to stop. So, Mai didn't let herself think. Didn't let herself worry. Didn't let herself stop.
She just kept going.
Her children depended on her right now, and they needed her to take care of them, not exhaust herself by freaking out. What they needed was to get to the Haven, and Mai was sure that they were close. There were not a lot of landmarks left to judge by, but she was suite that the Haven was just a little away. Maybe even on the next block.
It had to be.
Mai wasn't sure how much longer they could last. Even without her eating, food had run out a few days ago. The children weren't complaining, but she could see that they were hungry. Sometimes, she would even catch some of them trying to hide their growling stomachs from her.
Rather than make her feel better, it just made her feel like she failed. She couldn't do anything for them! She could lead them, she could protect them, but she just couldn't stop starvation. One girl had even been coughing lately, but all Mai could do was hope that it went away. She felt helpless right now, but all she could do was pretend it was all right. For their sakes.
She watched the children wake up, their limbs sluggish and their faces tired. They stretched their small little arms, and their jaws creaked as they yawned excessively. Kids. You could always trust them to sleep in times of trouble.
Mai couldn't help but give a small smile as she watched. She wanted to help them, but right now they needed more help than she could give. They needed The Haven. The Level Seven Haven was their only hope, and they needed to get there before that beast got to them.
Not for the first time, Mai wondered what the Level Seven would be like. Tall? Short? Everybody knew that psychic powers increased with age, so a Level Seven would have to be practically ancient to have that much power. The image she had in her head was of a gawky old man, one who probably spent all of his time researching and lording his powers over everyone else. Most of the great psychics on TV looked like that.
Or maybe he'd be a nice old man, like those grandfather figures she had seen on TV. She had never met her own grandparents, and her parents had died when she had been a little girl. She had been taken in by a nice teacher, and he had inspired her to work with kids herself.
The sound of footsteps brought her out of her memories. Turning around, Mai saw the little boy she had sent to wake everybody up. But his face was panicked and scared. What had happened?
"Miss. Taniyama, Miss. Taniyama, she won't wake up!" he cried, tears already welling up in the corner of his eyes. His bottom lip was shaking in despair, and the image was made doubly pathetic by a large cut on the corner of his mouth.
Her heart seized with fear. No, this couldn't be happening! She had spent all this time trying to keep them happy, to keep them safe. One couldn't die now! Mai ran, nearly tripping over her own feet, to the lone figure still lying on the floor.
She wasted no time in turning the little girl over and checking for a pulse. Mai waited a few maddening seconds before she found it. Faint, but it was still there. The girl was alive, but not for long. She remembered how the same girl had been coughing, just a few hours ago. She needed medical attention.
Mai took a few minutes to calm herself down before carefully picking up her student. She made sure not to shake her, and after she had adjusted her in her arms, she looked over the other children. A sea of scared faces, all looking at her. For support. For comfort. For guidance.
How could she tell them that she had no idea what to do?
Mai had never known what to do. She had been going on pure instinct, following only her first impulses. Leave the school. Look in that house for food. Look in this abandoned building and find a soldier. These strange impulses were the only constants that she had anymore, but she couldn't tell the children that their very survival was dependent on her 'gut feelings'.
She had to be strong.
"We're almost there. We have to hurry, come on!" With those words, she turned on her heels and walked.
A little further. They could make it. They passed mounds of plaster and rocks, and pushed away any rubble that stood in their way. Mai forced herself to take her mind off of the small child in her arms and just walk. She blinked as fast she could, trying to stop the tears from coming. If she started crying now, she didn't think she could stop. After walking for what seemed like forever, she saw it.
A big building, pristine compared to the wreckage around it. She didn't even need to check the map to check that this was the place. The lack of structural damage to the building spoke enough. No beasts had torn through this place, no sirree.
The children could make out the same, and they gave out a cheer. Mai even let out a whoop of excitement, still careful to hold onto the little girl. They would make it. They would make it! For the first time since she had seen the news broadcast, she allowed herself to feel hope. A dim spark, growing stronger and stronger the more she looked at the building. A smile slowly spread across her face, mirroring the ecstatic grins of the children. She took a few steps, filled with optimism of the road ahead.
Then she heard it.
A deafening roar rang through her ears. The dim spark of hope was quickly extinguished as Mai turned to see a monster.
A gigantic beast, with sharp long teeth. Its coat black and leathery, with sporadic patches that looked like they were rotting. It stepped from clawed foot to clawed foot, moving its head to the side while trying to get a focus on her. It had two wide set eyes, and a large muzzle that looked like it was made out of a pitch dark oil.
In fact, large black bubbles seemed to be forming in the oil, making a soft popping sound as they reached the air. Mai couldn't make out the teeth, and she wasn't even sure she even wanted to. Yet, its eyes were still the worst, especially the way they seemed to stare right at her.
Mai stood frozen for a few minutes. But then beast gave another roar, this one so loud it rattled her very bones. And just like that, the spell was broken. She ran like her life depended on it, which it did. She grabbed what children were around her with her free hand, and tried to keep them close. "RUN!" she yelled at them as she struggled to keep hold of the small, sickly girl who seemed to be going into a coughing fit.
Mai ran towards the safety of the building, her feet pounding and lungs burning with exertion. She turned, only once, and saw it giving chase. One of its steps equaled almost five of her own, which meant that the children were going to be overcome even faster. It was so close to her that she could feel its breath, hot and putrid on the back of her neck. She dug deep inside herself and gave a final burst of speed, one that put a few feet in between them.
She was almost to the door! Mai rammed against it, pounding as hard as she could without letting go of the girl.
"Let us in! LET US IN!" Mai cried, her voice raw and desperate. She rammed her shoulder at the door, again and again. He had to be here, he just had to be here!
A small scream behind her drew her attention away from the house. One of her children! The same boy who had woken up the others, but he was too far from the house! Or rather, too close to the monster. Mai dropped the little girl by the door and ran back. Without thinking, she grabbed a stray piece of wood from the debris and rushed forward.
She was going on her first impulse now, and it told her to react. So she did. Mai slammed the wooden plank against the monster's leg ,which was the highest part of it that she could reach. Mai kept hitting it, making loud 'thwacks' that the monster didn't even seem to notice. Still she kept swinging, keeping at it until the monster slowly turned.
Her breath froze as she took it in. Its eyes had no mercy, no soul. Red as blood, they stared right at her. Her muscles tightened in fear as it leaned in closer. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the little boy run away to the other children by the door. At least they were safe, for now.
"Stay away from my students."
Mai tried to say it in a warning tone, but the words came out squeaky and scared. The beast looked amused, and simply stretched the small flap of skin over its jaws, baring its razor sharp fangs. All two feet of them.
She nearly ran then. But she couldn't, and she knew it. She needed to occupy it, at least until someone came out of the Haven. Mai took her wooden board and, curling her fingers around it like a bat, she swung.
The beast snatched it out of her hands with its teeth and chomped down, crushing it to smithereens. Okay, there went her only weapon. The beast gave another roar, and she was so close that she could smell its breath. Rotting flesh and blood.
Mai stared right back at it, making sure not to flinch. If she was going down, then she would do it with dignity.
The beast raised its monstrous claws, and her knees went weak at the sight. They rushed towards her head, and she prepared herself for death. Maybe she'd see her parents there.
But the blow never came.
The beast stood still, its eyes widening in what looked like shock. Mai didn't move, scared that it would attack at any moment. It almost seemed to as it swayed forward, but it swayed back before it came close enough. Mai thought that she was done for when it opened its mouth, but it only give a weak roar, one that was more gurgled than screamed. Suddenly it fell to the side, and she could see blood gushing out from a crater in its side. Where had that come from?
Mai looked around in confusion, trying to see who had saved her. Then she saw him walking towards her.
Her first thought was that he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His face was something out of a painting, one of the great masterpieces that her parents would take her out to see in the museums. He walked with the slow assurance of someone in control, someone who had no doubts.
Mai couldn't take her eyes off of him. She had never felt like this before. Was he an angel? He looked like one. Maybe there was someone out there, if they had sent someone like him to save her. She was reminded of the old fairy tales she used to read, where the gorgeous knight would come to the rescue of the fair maiden. Well, she wasn't so fair anymore, but maybe she still deserved a knight.
Mai was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't see him looking at her, the smirk on his face suggesting that he knew exactly what she was thinking. She gave a start as he started to talk.
"So you're the powerful psychic that brought this monster straight to us." His voice was so cool and composed that she had to blink a few times before what he said registered.
Powerful psychic? She was just a Level One. The beast had been aiming at him, not at her. That is, if he was the Level Seven psychic. Although, judging by the size of the hole in the monster, he was most likely a really, really powerful psychic. Mai opened her mouth to ask him if he was, but due to her shaking, she had to steady herself before the words came out. "Are you the Level Seven psychic? Is this the Haven?"
He answered her simply. "Yes."
Mai fell to her knees. The children ran towards her, and she hugged them all together, smiling to the fullest of her ability. So, he was the Level Seven. There went the image she had of him. The Level Seven standing in front of her was definitely not old, nor gawky. That's not to say that she was disappointed. A wild happiness was rearing up inside of her, and she felt more secure than she had in days.
At the thought of security, Mai was reminded of the school that she had just come from, and when the security guards had abandoned their posts after the second day. Suddenly, she remembered why she had come in the first place. She took a moment to separate herself from the crowd, and then directed her voice out to him.
"We came from a school a few miles away. There are a lot of kids, and no food or water. You need to help them!" After delivering her plea, she waited for his response. Of course, someone as beautiful as him would also be kind, and generous and -
"No."
Had she just heard right? "What do you mean 'No'?" Mai cried, wringing the tattered remains of her pants in despair.
"We hardly have enough to supply ourselves, and with the constant need to patrol our border, we're running low on personnel. We can't afford to send someone out there. We also just lost someone a few days ago." He continued after that, but she couldn't hear him over the dull roar in her eardrums.
This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. His eyes, they were so cold. For a moment she was reminded of the beast she had faced down. It had had the same look in its eyes- no pity, no remorse. Mai didn't have time to finish the thought before the children distracted her.
Their small fists gripped her pants as they leaned closer to her. What was going to happen to them? Her world was falling down all around her. No hope, no chance, no way out. As if he heard her thoughts, the cold man spoke again.
"We do have an opening for an assistant. Someone to help with the maintenance and care of the Haven. But the children can't stay." He said the last part almost dismissively, as if he just added it on as an afterthought.
He was no angel. He was a monster, ruthless and cold. Mai would sell her own soul before agreeing to this devil. She looked up, taking him in before responding.
"No. Either take the children, or I won't be a part of this." she said, her voice bitter and hard.
"Do you have any idea what you are saying? You would die within the day." He answered back. His face was finally showing some anger, but it was most likely out of irritation.
"Then you'd be out an assistant, wouldn't you?" she stated, her words mocking.
His eyes glared pure menace at her, but Mai kept her gaze right back at him. She had kept her and her students alive through a hellish wasteland, braved obstacles that most people only see in their nightmares, and faced down a ferocious beast with sharp teeth that were almost as long as her entire arm. She'd be damned if she let this pompous jerk cow her into agreeing.
He broke away first. "Fine. They can stay as well."
Mai felt like celebrating, but she knew she wasn't done yet.
"You also have to send help for the students back at the school. I also have a little girl that needs medical attention." She finished, pointing towards the child still lying at the door of the building.
If looks could kill, she would have died three times over. She knew she was pushing her luck, but it was all necessary. Mai wasn't sure about his resolve, but she knew that she wasn't budging an inch on this. His next words were spoken through gritted teeth. "Fine. But in exchange, you have to take care of them and work off their stay."
"Anything."
The man signed and turned, addressing someone behind him. "Call the army, and tell them to report to that school. Get the exact place from her."
She did it. Finally. He seemed to be completely disregarding her now, so she took this chance to finally relax. Her shoulders slumped down, and Mai let out a deep breath. That horrible man had brought out all the stress in her. But she wasn't done yet, reminded herself. This was no time to start relaxing, she still had a sick student.
Mai staggered forward to the little girl, checking to see if she was still alive. When she found that she was, she let out a breath that she didn't know that she had been holding. The children were still crowding around her, waiting for her to tell them what to do. But she didn't know.
The exhaustion of the last few days finally weighed down on her. It all seemed like an impossible dream now, so much so that if she just closed her eyes, she was sure that it would all go away.
The urge to rest swamped her. Mai had been running on pure adrenaline for the few days, and now it seemed to have run out. She slid down, her back against the door of the Haven. She was so tired. She gazed listlessly back at the man, and realized that she didn't even know his name. With a start, she saw a figure standing next to him.
A very tall man stood next to the Level Seven, his face partially covered by his hair. He was talking into a phone. Was he giving the orders to the army?
A voice spoke up next to her. It was too deep to be one of her students, so she leaped up in surprise, adrenaline rushing through her veins momentarily. Another beast? A monster? Mai wasn't sure if she could handle anymore.
"You look really out of it. Are you okay?"This came from another man, but this one had light hair, tied up in a ponytail. He looked like a much nicer person than the others.
He waved a hand in front of her face, testing for awareness. "Yoo hoo, anyone there?" Then he broke into a big grin at her owlish blinks and exclaimed "By the way, what you did there was really awesome. It don't think anybody has ever stood up to him like that. You have my eternal gratitude."
Mai gave a small smile at that. This man seemed funny. She tried to open her mouth to respond, but found that she couldn't. She was so tired. She slowly slid back down to the floor. Where were all these people coming from? Mai turned her head a little and found that she could see another door, a little further down. This one was open. Okay, now she felt like an idiot. She could have just went through that door, and avoided that entire confrontation.
"Miss. Taniyama! Are you okay? Miss. Taniyama!"
Ah, there were her students. Mai tried to speak up, to tell that that she was fine, that they were all fine now, but she couldn't find the energy. Their voices sounded so distant now. She could barely even feel the hand of the light-haired man shaking her.
"Stay Awake!" His lips moved, but his voice seemed like only an echo.
Her purpose had been the only thing that had been driving her throughout this journey. Find the Haven. Save the children. Now that it was done, so was she. Mai finally understood the words of the soldier. She was barely hanging onto consciousness as she listened around her. She heard the men questioning her students on the last time she had eaten, and one of them cursing as they answered.
So close. She was so close to leaving. Another hand touched her, but she could feel this one. It was warm. Mai summoned up enough energy to look up, just for a moment.
Crystal blue eyes, painfully close.
"You're not getting out our agreement that easily." The words fell like anvils on her head, and with a start, she realized that she could actually hear him. Not the echos that everybody else seemed to be speaking in.
Mai was about to ask him how, when suddenly she felt a shock. She cringed in pain as something attacked her. What was this? Slowly, she realized that it wasn't some attack, and that it was coming from the man.
She felt power, so much spiritual power. Compared to her own pathetic excuse for psychic energy, this felt like light itself. It coursed through her veins, like an electric current, burning her the entire way.
It hurt.
It hurt so much! It was ripping her apart, her head, her arms, her being. Her body felt like it was being destroyed, ripped apart, completely obliterated. Mai tried to scream, but it was muffled by a hand over her mouth. His hand.
"Just take it. If you stop you stop fighting, then you'll get better, idiot." He stated this in a rather annoyed tone, and she could make out his lips curling in irritation.
Mai listened. She didn't know why, but she listened. She slowly relaxed, trying to ignore the pain. She was surprised when it did get better. The power felt calm now, refreshing. Mai took a moment to revel in it. She could almost sense part of him in it, the crystal smoothness. But it was warm, so warm.
It felt like a nice summer day, with the hot sun beating down, and she was lying down in a soft blanket, watching the beautiful blue sky. She'd almost forgotten how a blue sky looked like, but it all came back to her with his spiritual powers. Not so much a picture of the scene, but how being that there would feel. Happy. Comforting. Safe. Mai hadn't felt this safe in days, or rather years.
The feelings that the energy brought out reminded her of when her parents had been alive. When her mom would take her out to a picnic, and Mai would spend the entire trip napping in the shade of a tree. It had been so long since she had felt like this. Felt like she wasn't alone in the world.
Mai took back every bad thing she had ever thought about him. Someone with power like this had to be a good person. Yet, he acted like he was above this world, so cold and arrogant. But, spiritual powers were supposed to represent the core of a person, their very life's essence. So, what had happened to him to make him act like that?
It seemed to be over far too quickly. Mai felt his hands move away, and she felt a pang of regret for the loss of warmth. But she was surprised to find that she could move now. She blinked away the confusion and looked around.
Her children were still attached to her, their faces lined with worry as they looked up at her.
"I'm fine." Mai barely had the words out of her mouth before they jumped on her. "Miss. Taniyama!"They cheered together, a great cacophony of sound. She hugged each of them back, taking the time to squeeze them all closer.
Finally, she turned to the men. They stood smiling, or at least, the light-haired one did. The one with his hair covering his eye was looking rather apathetic about the whole thing, while the Level Seven had a look of repulsion on his face, almost as if the affection in the scene somehow disgusted him.
Mai licked her dry lips before asking "What was that?" How had he given back all her strength, her power, with just his psychic energy? She couldn't feel the cuts and scraps from before, and she didn't feel stressed anymore. Or even scared. Mai wasn't an expert on psychic powers, but she did know that none of them did that.
"It's the atmosphere. After the barrier broke, the energy that had been trapped in the spirit realm escaped here. Psychic powers can do a whole lot more now." It was the light-haired one who answered her, in the tone of a professor dictating to his students.
He scratched the back of his head before continuing "Your own power was what probably kept you alive. Not eating for all that that time was really dumb, by the way." He cocked his head to the right as her gave her a pointed look of disapproval.
"If I ate, then there wouldn't be enough for the children." Mai answered back, her voice taking a hard tone. She would not have them criticizing her for her choices.
The man blinked, as if surprised. Then he gave her a big smile and said "Well, that's a good a reason as any."
"But it was still stupid." This came from the Level Seven, his voice as cold as when she had first heard him. Mai felt another pang of sadness. He wasn't really like this, she had seen it. She quickly shook it away, and asked another question.
This one had been bugging her for a bit. Biting her bottom lip, Mai started out cautiously. "Are you guys sure you want me to help with this?" After taking in their looks of disbelief, she quickly added.
"I mean, you're all probably really powerful psychics, and I'm, well I'm just a Level One. I'm not really powerful or smart, so why would you want me?" She said the last part in a low tone as she ducked her head, ashamed.
Mai gave a start as she heard laughter. It came from the light-haired man, who was clutching his sides as his laughs came out in large guffaws. Yet, it was the Level Seven who answered.
"You're no more a level one than I am. Your powers must have come recently, in response to the danger you were in. Although, your intelligence is questionable." He said it with the cold calmness that she first seen from him, although he did seem to smirk in amusement.
Wait, did he just compliment her or insult her? Mai decided to get angry either way.
"Hey!" She cried, embarrassed and blushing bright red.
The light-haired man finally stopped laughing, but he was still smiling as he spoke. "You better get used to that. Noll may be a level seven, but he's always a grade A jackass." He pointed his thumb towards the Level Seven as he explained.
Noll. So that was his name. Mai realized that even though they had just saved her life, and the lives of her students, they didn't even know her name.
She stood up, making sure to carefully push the children off of her lap, and straightened before talking. "Oh yea, my name is Mai. Mai Taniyama."
The light-haired man responded. "My name is Takigawa Houshou. I'm the sane one around here. That there's Lin, and yes, he's always like that. You already know Noll, otherwise known as Oliver. He's the genius jerk who just saved your pretty little butt." She turned to Noll, and was about to thank him properly before he beat her to it.
"Don't worry, you're going to work off every bit of energy I transferred." He gave a smirk at her shocked reaction.
That jerk! That insufferable, arrogant, pompous, gorgeous, powerful, warm-
Where on earth was she going? Mai shook her head to get rid of those ridiculous thoughts before shooting him a dark look. Right before she was about to insult him back, a small tug on her pants made her look down.
It was the small boy, his eyes shining with something akin to hope.
"It it okay now?" He whispered, almost as if afraid of the answer. Mai looked around her, and took in the destruction. The buildings were still demolished, the sky was still red, and they were still as dirty and scratched up as they had been this morning. And now they had a sick little girl, who was still lying by the door, her chest barely moving up and down as she breathed.
But, then Mai looked at into the faces of the men standing around them. Her gaze lingered at Noll's face for a moment before answering.
"Yes, it's okay now."
A/N: Hello All! I don't own Ghost Hunt!
It's awfully nice to be writing again. I understand that there's probably a whole bunch of questions about this chapter, and I'll try to help you out! This is an AU, one set in a world were people are registered for their spiritual powers, and given Levels. Mai is a schoolteacher who is a Level One. Of course, the people who tested her most likely didn't take 'animal instincts' into account. If you have more questions, just ask!
Also, I tried to put as many parallels between this AU and the real story as I could. Mai has the same childhood, and the only difference is that she never met Naru or joined SPR, and instead became a teacher. The teachers from this fic are the same teachers from all the school cases that SPR has had. The children are the same from the orphanage where John sometimes works, and that little boy is the same one from the case where Mai was possessed by him. Anybody wanna guess where I got the large black dog, otherwise known as 'Beast'?
Well, I must say that I'm absolutely terrified of your reviews. Tell me if you like these type of AU stories, cause I have around five more different ones that I want to load off here. Of course, if you don't like them, I'll try to focus some more on the actual Ghost Hunt universe.
If you end up liking this AU, then you'll love our next one. All I'll say about it is that it's in Naru's head, and it is about an asylum for psychic youths. I have most of it written already, but I'm gonna hold off uploading it until you guys tell me what you think of this AU stuff. As for the next chapter, it's going to be set in 'The Dawn Daydreamer', and it's going to focus more on Mai and Naru's dynamic.
Thank you all very much for reading!