CHAPTER 6 - DECISION

'' I'm dying again'' Whispered Mai.

Naru stared at her quite shocked, not knowing what to do. She suddenly became still like doll, like if she died in her dream. He touched her cheek slowly to see if she was still burning, and when he confirmed it he held her by the shoulders and shook her lightly. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times to clear her view. A concerned face appeared relatively close to her. She frowned and slowly sat down, escaping from Naru's grasp.

'' Naru, what are you doing here?'' She asked as she held her forehead. She felt pain piercing through her head.

'' You were having quite a horrible dream.'' He said,'' in fact, it didn't seem like just nightmare at all.'' He stated.

She looked in his eyes, seeing concern but also annoyance. He knew something was going on with Mai, and as stubborn as she was, she didn't want to say a word about. But why wouldn't she tell him? 'Because you lost her trust by disappearing from her life.' A voice inside him answered his unspoken question. He looked back closely at Mai, waiting for her response. He clicked his tongue in impatience and stood up hovering around the room. Mai looked down. She wasn't ready to tell him just yet. She couldn't explain something that she didn't understand herself. Why did she have this dream every night? How was Naru protected by the fire? Why was she painfully affected? Why did she die in this dream?

'The locked room.'

Suddenly, she looked around the room in shock. She heard a voice. It sounded like a whisper so she couldn't quite know to whom it belonged. Naru stopped walking around and looked at her.

'' What's wrong?'' He asked.

'' Did you hear something?''

He paused and listened. '' No, I didn't hear anything'', he started at her,'' did you, perhaps, hear something?

She shook her head,'' no… I think I'm just really tired.'' She said.

He glanced at the time, it was quite late. He sighed. '' Mai, I know something is going on. The sooner you tell me what is wrong, the sooner you feel better. You know where to find me. Sleep well.'' Then, he left the room and closed the door behind him. Mai stared long at the door before getting up and heading to the bathroom. She washed her face and looked at her reflection through the wide mirror.

'' What is happening to you, Mai?''

She looked like she ran a marathon. Deep bags were traced under her eyes. She looked pale and frail like if she could lose consciousness at any moment. Suddenly, everything became black. She jerked her head in all direction, staring at the sudden pitch black, panting. Then, flashbacks started playing in front of her eyes. She saw herself burning to the flesh, crying, yelling. She saw Naru standing in front of her, watching her burn with his stoic face. Never in her dream did he help her. This was partly why she could not tell him. She felt like he could not be trusted. But why Naru? The agony she felt caused her nose to bleed. She touched her nose and felt blood on her finger. Suddenly, she felt another sharp pain in her head and the room started spinning. Her legs buckled and she collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

The next day, she found herself lying on her own bed in her room. She found Ayako sitting on the bed beside her. She looked relieved as she saw her gaining consciousness.

'' Thank goodness Mai! You scared us.'' She sighed in relief.

''What happened?'' Mai asked, puzzled.

'' Luella came to wake you up and you didn't seem to answer the door, so she permitted herself to come in. Then, she found you lying on the bathroom floor, bleeding from your nose. She was frightened you know,'' She shook her head.'' You were so still, she thought you were dead.'' She said in a softer voice.

'' I should go and apologize to her.'' Mai said, her voice was so weak it was almost a whisper. She tried to get off bed but Ayako stopped her by the shoulders and pinned her on the bed. She could not fight against Ayako's strength, as she was as lifeless as a robot. The horrifying dream sucked the life out of her. Ayako let her go as she noticed Mai's obedience. She ordered her to stay in bed and rest until her next visit. Then, she walked to the door and closed it behind her. Mai remained in the same position for several minutes. Her mind was filled of thoughts about the dream and the incident. She was starting to feel less sane. This mansion was filled with mysteries, exactly like their owners. Suddenly, she heard a soft knock on the door and Naru walked across the room and took a seat on the chair beside her bed. He crossed his legs and rested his chin on his fist. He stared at her without saying a word. He noticed how Mai looked unusually fragile, he face was pale and her usual bright eyes were darker. She returned the stare as she waited for him to break the silence. He kept on looking at her as if he was trying to read what was on her mind. However, her mind was as empty as air, for as her head churned and felt dizzy.

"Talk to me, Mai."

Mai's expression did not change, but soon after, her eyes started watering until she finally broke into tears. She was crying so silently though, not a sob was heard. Naru flinches by seeing how much Mai was in pain. She looked lifeless. No matter how hard he thinks, he could not figure out what was the cause of all this. She had only been here a few days, however, he noticed something was off with her since the first dinner. Then, it hit him.

"Are you having dreams again?" He asked.

She shook her head, "Not those kinds of dreams. It's not something that happened in the past nor am I in somebody's body, but…" She took a long breath before continuing, "It seems like I am living that dream and I die every time." She looked at him with a piercing look, "And above all, I had the feeling that you were the reason of my own death."

Naru held his breath shortly after hearing her words. Although he did not show it, he was deeply confused as to why she had that feeling. Somehow, Mai knew exactly what he was thinking. Thus, she decided to tell him all about her dream. While doing it, Naru's expressions did not change much; instead, it only got darker and darker. The only question he had asked himself why she had waited this long to tell him something as urgent as this. He looked at her more closely; she looked like she lost weight. He sighed and sat beside her on the bed. She looked at him and frowned. He slightly touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

"You don't look healthy Mai."

"I'm fine." She brushed his hand off.

He clicked his tongue at Mai and grabbed her hand in mid-air. "Just look at yourself; I can see your cheek bones, you eyes have no spark anymore, and you tell me you are fine?" He rolled his eyes in irritation,"since when did you start lying to me? You were not like this before-"

"Exactly! This was before, it's all different now." She looked in his eyes, "Clearly, you are still stuck in the past." Naru's eye twitched at her last sentence. He let go of her hand and stood up straight. "You are mistaken, there is nothing different now. You are changing; these dreams are changing you." He looked straight in her eyes, "If you let me help you, stop being defensive towards me. If not, you better find a way to help yourself. Otherwise, you will be eaten whole by this dream of yours." He turned around, silently walked to the door that linked his room to hers and grabbed the door knob. Before he opened the door, he turned his head until Mai could only see his profile, and said "One last thing. From what I see, I am not the one killing you. You are. You're slowly killing yourself." He entered his room and closed the door behind him, leaving Mai petrified.

Her eyes watered as she thought about his words. He realized that he was right. Isolating herself from everyone, refusing Naru's help will drive her to death. She needed his help. She could not stay like this any longer. She felt hungry, thirsty, and lifeless. But she was afraid to involve him with whatever that was happening to her. What if her dreams came true?

"Premonition?" Mai whispered.

She clenched her fists. She needed to do something. She jumped out of the bed and, after hesitating for a few seconds, opened the door and suddenly found herself face to face to Naru. He was standing there as if he knew she was going to come to him.

She took a long breath and put her clenched hand on his chest, grabbing his shirt firmly. He didn't budge but simply looked at her, waiting for her to say the words.

"Help me."

His expression softened at those words.

"Took you long enough."

Hi everyone! Sorry for the very late update, I haven't had the time to write because of college. I hope you liked this chapter, please leave a review!

Thank you,

S.S J

* I do not own Ghost Hunt.