Mai ran. From what, she couldn't say, from everything, from the office, from her former friends, she ran from it all.
It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. Why did the first case they get be there!? She couldn't go back there, she couldn't!
The world around was out of focus and fuzzy. The clatter of chains. Faceless people. Sinister laughter. Shadowy figures. The pressure around her neck. Her fingers reached up to pull the metal collar away from the scarred skin, but were met by the confusing sensation of fabric.
Still she coughed and sputtered and gasped as she would have before. The scarf at her neck and the bush at her side helped to keep her grounded in reality, but still the images flashed. "Mai!" Figures huddled around her and she instinctively drew back, her back pushed against the wall of the building.
The brick wall of the building - not concrete - still swimming her mind resurfaced a little. Just enough for the figures to snap into focus momentarily.
Her friends. Her family. They came. Finally. She'd been waiting and hoping in this cellar, almost past believing that they would come. Yet here they are. She fell towards them in a heap.
Monk had her in his arms before she realized what was happening, and he readjusted her scarf for her. Only later did she realize that he must have been bristling with curiosity, then more than ever, to see what was beneath the scarf. But Monk, kind, caring, compassionate Monk would never disrespect her wishes.
At the moment, all she could do was curl in his arms. Breathing evenly again. She was safe they had saved her. Part of her mind screamed out that they hadn't - that Mai had saved herself, that they had never come - she whimpered again and shuddered more. Ayako was running her fingers through Mai's now-tangled hair. "It's okay, you're fine. It's okay." The words repeated themselves over and over as fingers brushed over her. The soft words lulled her emotionally-exhausted self and soon after that, she fell into a shallow sleep.
Two hours later Monk sat on the couch, Mai still curled in his arms. The mood around the office was drawn and tense, as if the air itself was waiting for something to happen. John, Ayako, and Masako were in the adjacent room, speaking in low tones.
Naru was sitting on the the couch opposite Monk and Mai, stock still and stiff, his black notebook open in his hands.
He wasn't reading, that much was obvious, though the young man retained his usual impassive expression, there was a fire behind his eyes, which stared unmovingly at the page. Lin was sitting and typing at his computer, as per usual, but his movement were stocky and uncoordinated.
No one could quite comprehend what had happened, the first time any of them had heard speak in years, she had a panic attack.
The worst part of it; it had been completely silent. No screaming, no begging, just wheezes and coughs as she grabbed at her neck, fighting an assailant that wasn't there.
What had happened to her?
It had been a while since Mai's breathing had evened out, and she had stopped shaking, so Monk assumed that she had fallen asleep. However, when he moved to put her down, Mai's arms tightened around his neck and what sounded like an involuntary whimper escaped her. Whatever had happened, she was clearly still terrified.
He grimaced, he needed to get up, his legs were falling asleep, but he couldn't leave Mai.
Someone cleared their throat, drawing the monk's attention, he looked up, meeting the steely gaze of Naru. He had gotten up from his seat on the couch and moved across the room, kneeling in front of Monk and Mai, arms outstretched and eyebrows raised, a meaningful expression upon his face.
Reluctance shot through Monk for a second, but the attacks on his legs won and he handed over the brunette, careful not to scrape her arms, which were red, raw, and blistered from the tea.
Mai barely took notice at the passing of her from Monk to Naru, though a conscious part in her mind seemed to recognize this and she felt a need to recoil from him. And so she did, only just, a barely noticeable change that could have been passed off as an attempt to getting more comfortable.
Naru seemed not to take notice, he sat on the couch and cradled Mai just as Monk had.
She wanted to be angry at him. He had betrayed her worst of all, unknowingly, he had caused all this to happen. She knew this, she knew that she should be angry, that she should hate him, she knew. But she still couldn't bring herself to pull away from him, from the warmth, his warmth.
"Mai," he murmured and she froze, his voice was hard, with underlying threads of danger, she'd heard that before, he was angry, very angry.
The brunette didn't answer, opting instead to stare at the floor.
The SPR irregulars filtered back into the room, Ayako with a first-aid kit.
"Mai," the redhead gently called for the girl's attention, reaching out and picking up her red arms. Mai didn't move, allowing the miko to bandage her arms, she sat there limply, staring at nothing.
Ayako finished and set the kit off to the side, taking the younger girl's hands, "Mai," whispered again, "What happened?"
The girl stared at the ground, wringing her hands in her lap, she didn't want to tell them, she wanted to keep it a secret, but it was impossible now, they had seen her, they had witnessed one of her panic attacks.
"Mai," Naru's cold voice lashed the air, making her flinch.
All of her old friends were gathered in the room, the people she had once regarded as family, the people who had unknowingly betrayed her. They all stared down at her, expectant looks gracing their faces, Lin had even ceased his typing and was now sitting across from the brunette, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped.
"What happened,"
It wasn't a question.
