Chapter 6
Losing Control
Part 2:
Day 2:
12:00pm:
Mai was taking a shower, it had been 5o'clock in the morning when Naru had dropped her off at her place only to find that the blood had mysteriously disappeared. He had tucked her in and asked for her spare house key before leaving.
Naru had promised to help with her powers and preparations for her examinations as well. She sighed she had had a headache thinking about all the burdens that were weighing on her shoulders.
She stepped out of the shower and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved black shirt with a white flower pattern.
She was ravenous now, she wanted a big meal, this might be the result of all the astral projection she did last night. She looked in her fridge, the only thing she saw were some eggs and a small loaf of bread, she sighed she had to go out if she wished to satisfy her hunger.
She grabbed her money and put on a jacket before leaving and locking the door.
She was feeling strange, unreal like, as though she were in a dream, she put her foot on the first step and stopped overcome by vertigo, she held her head to steady the world.
When her vertigo was gone she stood for a moment wondering whether her glaucoma was to blame, shaking her head slightly she took a tentative step on the step below when her world didn't spin she sighed in relief and descended the stairs. Unpleasant knots clenching and unclenching in her stomach.
She stepped out of the building only to stop at the sight before her eyes, there were some people outside, probably from the other blocks but the strange thing was that they were surrounded by an aura and different colors of aura at that.
The aura encompassed them as their outline but there weren't just one color some even had a number of colors radiating around them as though they were some weird rainbow machine.
Mai has never experienced such a sight it was really odd and beautiful at the same time to see the color of emotions radiating from the people and at the same time it was unseating and unpleasant since she wan't used to seeing things like this.
Trying to comprehend her situation Mai deduced what they were feeling by the color, a lady exiting the gate had a depressing dark blue aura around her.
Mai also noticed the 'intensity' of the colors also varied as though telling her that the person was feeling a strong emotion or a feeble one.
'No wonder people got affected by other people's feelings,' she thought wonderingly.
Naru had told her that she may experience some odd phenomena now that she was in such an unstable position, he had told her to drop by if she was going through such things.
So instead of the market Mai set out for SPR staring in wonder at all the colors, some were bright, some were dull, it must vary according to the person's personality.
Now that she looked on the bright side of her advancing powers she couldn't help but feel elated and that was Mai Taniyama for you, looking to the bright side even when situation was so dire and confusing.
She gazed wonderingly at everybody's colors, she had to admit though that all was not sunshine and flowers as she noticed a particularly malevolent aura coming from a man who stood outside an antique shop, she cringed realizing that he had intentions of theft.
She quickly walked away from him when his gaze shifted to her and the color around him changed to a lustful purple- dark and uninviting and she avoided his eyes afraid to see what she might find in them.
But he had reached his hand to her wrist to stop her, 'No!' she thought panic-stricken but the expected touch of his fingers didn't come instead she felt the man jerk away from her in surprise and she casted her eyes to her hand which was seemingly stuck in the man's hand as though she were nothing but an apparition, her eyes widened in surprise and she jerked back as the man fled away probably thinking her a ghost.
She tripped on her two feet and landed head-first on to the road little stars erupted her vision, she heard a car screech in emergency she closed her eyes thinking of Gene's death but the collision never came instead she felt an odd sensation rip through her body as though she were being warped through something and her stomach clenched painfully.
She opened her eyes only to see that the car had stopped a few feet ahead of her, it seemed as though she had passed through the car just like she had done with the man's hand.
Her stomach muscles had contracted painfully and now they felt as though someone had tried to pull them apart and she brought her knees to her stomach her arms around her belly as she whimpered in pain.
It had felt like a life-time had passed by but in reality it was just a few seconds when she heard a familiar voice call her name and heard footsteps coming towards her, "Mai,!" she opened her eyes to find dark blue eyes gazing at her emotions swirling through them.
She looked to the figure of Naru he was surrounded by a number of colors, red-for fear and it was radiating quite brightly at that, deep blue- for concern, and a sickening green for panic.
She heard more footsteps as Naru kneeled at her head, "Is she alright?" a terrified voice greeted her ears and she saw a new color emanate from Naru one of a snarling blue for annoyance but it was dim as he said, "She's fine," he looked down at Mai, she was laying in a fetal position and she was pale almost on the brink of transparency, the footsteps died away as Mai shifted her self on to the pavement while trying to sit up but wincing at the pain in her stomach.
Naru offered her a hand, his eyes widened slightly as her hand went through his, Mai groaned in agony, now she couldn't get to touch Naru. She thought sadly as she saw the color of shock a vivid white one ebb away from him to be replaced by that of serene blue the color of understanding and comprehension.
She closed her eyes again when Naru spoke, "Come on Mai take deep breaths, try to calm your body, relax, loosen up your body, you can do it Mai. It won't hurt when you do," he told her calmly, she opened her eyes and tried to take deep breaths- shuddering breaths at that, she tried to loosen her body up but it only made her agitated when the feeling in her stomach didn't stop.
"You're doing a great job, Mai, loosen up," he looked down at her face contorted with pain as she tightened her grip on her stomach and brought her knees closer to her abdomen.
He daren't touch her in fear that his hands might get stuck in her body, that would be unpleasant not only for him and Mai but also the people who'd cast their eyes on them.
He felt her let out a deep breath and her body went limp in exhaustion but he noticed that she was now trembling from sobs. He also noticed the transparency around her disappear.
He let out a sigh of relief knowing that her state had passed for the time being, he reached out a hand towards her hands, hesitating slightly, that were covering her face and pulled them away to look at her tear-stained face and he hauled her in into his arms wrapping one arm around her waist tightly while the other rested on her shoulder.
He felt the sensations pelt his body which he had felt when he had hugged her for the first time. Butterflies-pleasant butterflies he thought as he casted his head down looking at her from the corner of his eyes and wondering of things that Oliver Davis never had time to wonder of, 'Why am I feeling like this every time I'm around her?' he pondered ignoring the wetness that had ensued into his shirt from Mai's tears. He stroked her hair absent-mindedly as the smell of Mai's hair reached his nose he closed his eyes breathing deeply moving his head to rest on her shoulder.
Her sobs reached his ears and his chest constricted painfully from the sound and he tightened his arms around her, the one that had rested on her shoulders now rested on the back of her head pulling her closer to him. "It's alright Mai, it's over, you're fine Mai, you're safe," he told her soothingly.
He felt her sobs subside eventually and opened his eyes to see Mai looking up at him, he averted his gaze from hers as though afraid that she might see something in them that he wished to hide.
He stood up slowly offering a hand for Mai to take who wiped at her tears and stood up using his help, she was exhausted and she slumped onto Naru's chest weakly, he let her stay like that for a while before grabbing her forearms and leading her to the car that she had nearly collided with.
(A/N: Weren't expecting that were you? Hehehe, Well neither was I *sheepish Look*)
He had been afraid that he had killed her when he had seen her collapse on the road and an unimaginable fear had settled over his body when he had failed to stop, luckily this day had proven in favor for both them.
His heart was still beating frantically at the aspect of losing Mai and moreover by his own hands by the use of a car which was also the reason why his brother was dead and he didn't want to lose anyone else especially Mai of all people.
She was a unique person with a cheery countenance even in dire situations, a magnanimous heart, a great sense of humor and what most intrigued him was the fact that she hadn't been affected by his good looks as was usual with girls around him- no she was different, not only did she not fall for him at first sight she also didn't tolerate his cold attitude or his pride and that was a first for him. And he loved teasing her just to savor the change that she had brought along with her in his life not mention that he found it amusing at times.
Not to mention that she had treated him the same way even after she found out that he was none other then Oliver Davis. She was quite something else and it hadn't taken him a lot of time to figure out that she was special to him but he was afraid that the new emotions he had been experiencing lately might hinder in their relation.
Though now that he thought about it, he sidled a glance at her as he drove for her apartment, that even Mai's confession hadn't changed anything in their relation or that could be due to the fact that he had thought that she was in love with Gene or until recently- and the events of the Fumio case flashed across his mind the words that had been said through Mai's mouth resounded in his head, 'It was you all along,'.
He hadn't acknowledged to Mai that he had ever heard such a thing, truth be told he didn't know how to handle this type of relation and he would be like a lost child if he ever acknowledged it and he didn't want to think how that would affect his relation with Mai.
He sighed, glaring at the road in front of him.
He would give anything to the world to be by Mai to protect her and to hold her as were the most recent cases and he couldn't help it but his heart beat frantically at the thought as blood rushed to his brain and he still couldn't find what his emotions meant.
Mai had been observing Naru from the corner of her eyes the aura effect still lingered and she saw a lemon yellow aura swirling at him- the color of confusion.
She wondered if the prospect of her increasing powers would be the cause of his confusion, 'but he has a doctorate in parapsychology,' she reasoned idly, 'could it be that her case was proving difficult even for THE great Oliver Davis,' she sighed, 'perhaps' and she wasn't enjoying any moment of this, if all, she wished things to go back to normal like they were when she just used to have lucid dreams.
She had been too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice that he had stopped his car at the gate that led to where she lived.
Naru had been eyeing Mai somewhat dejectedly, she was losing herself in this thing, he had to do something to prevent her from going into her shell which hardly ever happened but this case was different. If he didn't do anything she would slip into depression and lose her happy side he could see it already happening as he looked at her glum and downcast face.
Deciding what he'd do he cleared his throat pulling her out of her musings and opened his door and stepped out.
Mai blinked several times before realizing that the car had stopped moving and that Naru was waiting for near the gate.
She got out uncertainly, 'wasn't he just supposed to leave after this?' she thought confusedly as she looked over at him taking in his deep blue aura of determination and resoluteness.
They both entered Mai's flat.
Naru watched Mai move towards her kitchen instead of sitting at the table he grabbed Mai's arm and led her over to her bed making her lie down forcefully, she glared at him, he glared back unperturbed.
"Stay," he said sternly he saw the red flush her face and she opened her mouth to argue, "I'm not a dog, you jerk," she huffed at him.
"Mai," Naru said sternly as Mai sat up in bed.
"I have to use the washroom," she told him crossing her arms.
He didn't acknowledge her statement but didn't protest as she stood up, straightening her glasses and heading out the door.
Might as well start what I came here for and he stood up to pack Mai's possessions in her bags.
Mai was feeling nauseous and the knots in her stomach were unclenching uncomfortably. She heaved into the toilet as the vertigo returned full force and before she knew it she had slumped down on the bathroom floor trying to make sense of her surroundings as the nausea seared again. 'This feels like hell,' she thought her throat hoarse all of a sudden.
She gained some what sense of direction as the knots started to disappear and she leaned over the toilet heaving again as the nausea lifted.
She slumped back on the floor knees weak and sighed exasperatedly.
She got up gingerly and pulled the flush before brushing her teeth for a few moments.
She wiped her head of the sweat and straightened her glasses.
She opened the door and stepped out, Naru was no where to be seen but she did hear a sort of shuffling from her room, curious as to what Naru might be doing she opened the door to her room and froze in shock.
There was a luggage bag sitting at the foot of her head not to mention that the place looked as though it had been striped clean of everything not that she had a lot of possessions.
Dread filled her heart as she stared at Naru's back who was standing outside her closet door, something was off and Mai feared the worst as she noticed that his posture very stiff as though he was trying to restrain himself, she squinted and noticed that he was holding something in his hands.
Naru turned to look at Mai slowly, his eyes devoid of any emotion his jaw was clenched tight, his face was emotionless as ever.
Even though the aura state had finished off now she could sense the anger flowing through him.
She had never faced the aggressive side of Naru before at least not this aggressive and she cringed visibly as he took a step towards her the things that he had been clutching dropped to the floor with a small thud and she knew that her secret was out, she had been cornered by a man who looked as though he could kill.
"N-n-naru?" she said, her voice weak and scared and her eyes.
His eyes that were devoid of any emotion before now had intense emotions swirling in them now.
"So, Mai having a nice time?" he said sarcastically, his anger was barely concealed.
"Wha-? Na-Naru?" she said taking a step back from his slowly approaching figure.
"Why?" he asked, his mask was still in place but she could feel something other then anger behind his voice what was it-pain?
"Na-Naru, I don't-" she began but was cut off by Naru's voice, it was beyond scary how his voice had remained calm but had conveyed his emotions without any fault?
"Don't play dumb Mai, you know what I'm talking about," he approached her, grabbing her arm and forcing her against the wall she yelled as tears threatened to fall on to her cheeks.
His hands were gripping her arms painfully as he held her against the wall, keeping his distance but still dominating over her as he gazed at her sternly.
"Tell me why," he said-more like ordered as he shook her slightly.
"Ow- Naru! Stop! You're hurting me!" she protested as tears finally spilled onto her cheeks, but he didn't let go of her, she could hear him breathing deeply, trying to master himself.
"I'm tired of your idiocy!" he snarled at her, making her cringe in fright as her glasses slid off her nose making them lop-sided, but Naru put them forcefully back to their original position making her wince as one of the edges made contact with the white of her eyes.
"Mind telling me the real reason why you have glasses, Mai?" he spat at her.
"Naru- I-" she was cut off again.
"I get it, the term 'family' was a joke, right? We mean nothing to you, right? I mean nothing to you, right? Of course if you did you would have trusted us you would have told us that you were going blind that you would have told me that you were going blind, or was your confession just a bunch of words with no meaning behind them? If it had meant anything to you then you would have told me, right? Or do you think that I'm a robot without any consideration of others? That's why you didn't tell me, right? That I had no emotions- that I didn't care about you?" he snarled in her face, his frustration at her getting the best of him as he let his façade slip into that of pain and agony.
Mai was sobbing, uncontrollable, "No, Naru! That's not right, I do care, Naru. That's the reason I didn't want to tell anyone-I-I didn't want anyone to worry," she sobbed, the fact that Naru had shown her the pain that he felt didn't help her regain control over her.
"I'm so sorry, Naru, I'm so sorry," she pleaded him.
He, himself could feel his throat constrict painfully and a lump formed there and he felt moisture gathering at his eyes, 'No!' he won't let her see him like this, it had been so long from the time he wanted to cry- the last being when he had seen Gene's death.
He was breathing heavily, trying to subdue the lump in his throat and to ease the pain in his heart, but had suffered so many pain from the beginning but none had ever rendered him so out of control.
"I didn't k-know what to do, Naru, I was so s-scared at the beginning. I didn't want anyone to suffer my pain, Naru. I didn't want you to suffer because of me, Naru," she said, gently, tears brimming down her cheeks uncontrollably.
"How do you think I'm feeling right now?" he snarled at her, shaking her again as a cry of pain escaped from her lips.
"I'm so sorry, Naru. I'm sorry," she cried between tears.
Naru abruptly let go of her arms and she slumped down to the floor, covering her face in her hands sobbing into them.
He had to regain himself, he knew that what was done, was done, he couldn't reverse this, could never reverse this, just like his brothers' death, but he would never let go of her, he would be by her side even if she slips into the darkness, he would never let go, never.
A/N: Ohhhh, I loved this chapter, I don't know why, though it was a little difficult to write. And I apologize if Naru seems a little OOC at the end, hopefully you'll tell me, right? R and R.
Naru: *death glare* don't hurt Mai.
Me: Oh! Naru-chan! But I love Mai-chan, don't you so too?
Naru:*stares coldly* When will you tell me what I'm going through?
Me: You're a Ph.D, figure that out yourself.
Naru: Hmph!