Heh, sorry for the late update. And thanks for all the reviews!


Mai woke up to a darkened room, completely alone. The curtains were drawn over the window, but it was probably safe to assume, that it was deep into the night. A look at the clock that graced the bedside table confirmed it as the appliance angrily blinked 2 o'clock at her.

The brunette got up slowly, pushing the warm cover off her body. Swinging her feet over the side, she glanced around the room, for the first time, fully appreciating it. The walls would have been a soothing eggshell color during the day, but were now a grayish tone due to the darkness. Pale rose patterns that adorned the wall were now just black blobs forming a non-existent pattern. The carpet was soft around her feet, surrounding them with lush comfort. Someone had taken her shoes off for her before they tucked her in, so to speak.

She walked over to the velvet curtains, pulling it open to see the night sky. The moon was angled toward her, only a half moon, but nevertheless bright. The stars twinkled playfully, gleaming like tiny diamonds against the dark sky. It was a scene that could not be seen in the city. Too much light at night. Mai turned back around, releasing the cloth and letting it slowly cover the slivers of moonlight that had shone through. She walked to the door and quietly pulled it open, light from the hallway replacing that from the outside. She stepped out, her feet silent against the bare wood floor. The silence seemed to be buzzing around her until what was quiet was no longer so.

Her feet led her through the unfamiliar halls past series of stern looking portraits and continuous red and gold. Somehow, after a series of twist and turns, the dramatic colors faded, and the grand foyer appeared, the white marble cool and smooth as Mai padded on. The feeling of a slight pull guided her to the middle of the foyer, facing the door. The pulling was familiar, but she couldn't place were it came from. So Mai continued to stand there, staring blankly at the door as she thought. She tried to clear the cobwebs from her mind, but before any rational thought popped into her head, she heard on ominous creak. The brunette quickly turned around to face the staircase. But it wasn't possible for it to have made the sound. The stairs themselves were made of marble, more likely to click rather than creak and the banister was made from incredibly sturdy wood, held up by strong metal rods in intricate designs.

Then, she heard it again, no louder than before, but more noticeable nevertheless. Mai turned in a complete circle, but she didn't see anyone nor did she see anything capable of making the sound. Something was very wrong. As she stood there, her mind was screaming at her to move. Nothing good was going to came from standing there. And yet, she was completely paralyzed. No matter how she commanded it, her feet refused to move, stuck to ground as if glued there. She tried to call out though it was probably futile in such a large mansion, but her mouth also refused to listen to her. It was just like before, Mai realized as she stood there. Exactly what happened when she had that dream, the one involving the ball.

'Creak'

This time, it was louder, and so very angry. It only took her a moment to realize where the sound was coming from. A feeling of dread settled in the pits of Mai's stomach as she tilted her head backward and fervently hoped she was wrong.

"No…" The sound came out as no more than a breath.

Then, the chandelier that had been glittering so playfully when she had first set foot in the mansion fell.


Mai squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for that bone-crushing pressure to hit her and the agony of being buried beneath pounds of steal, but it never came. She cautiously opened her eyes, only to find the chandelier hanging securely on the ceiling. She let out a small breath of relief

"Mai!" The brunette spun around, startled by the call of her name. Naru was standing on the second floor, hand outstretched over the balcony. "Come!" He seemed frantic and nervous, a rather noticeable difference from his usually cool attitude.

"Wh-what's going on?" Mai asked, a rising panic squeezing at her stomach. Naru didn't answer, only glanced at the door.

"Hurry Mai!"

Seeing his blue eyes flicker away from her, the brunette turned find out what he had just looked at. Through the large windows that graced the sides next to the door she saw pure darkness punctured by bundles of flames, flickering red, yellow, and orange bright against the night.

"They're coming," Mai whispered in horror. Her wide brown eyes only widened further as an almost irrational fear hit her. "They're coming for . . . me . . . for us!" Perhaps the fear wasn't so irrational after all. Not needing another push, Mai stumbled up the stairs, Naru's arms catching her before she tripped over the last step.

"No, Mai," the narcissist said sadly, enveloping her into a hug. "No," he breathed, stirring the brown locks, "They're here for me."

"But you didn't- they can't-" She bit her lip in frustration, fingers bunching his black shirt. "It's all wrong!" she finally burst. "We have to run. We have to run NOW!"

"Shush Mai," he said gently as if talking to a child, "It's not-"

"No!" Mai snapped, suddenly pushing away, "I will not shush, Naru!" Her chocolate eyes gleamed, a faint red coloring her cheeks in her sudden fit of anger. "They've got it all wrong and you're just going to let them prosecute you for something you didn't do?!"

A gleam of impatience flashed through his porcelain features. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but running will only make it worse!"

"Worse?" Mai threw out her arm, finger pointing blatantly at the window. The fires had gotten closer and the previously shapeless blobs that had been holding torches had been given faces, most of them villagers and old friends. "They're coming at you with torches, Naru! They're beyond reasoning. They want someone to pay in blood and they want it to be you! They will torture you and then they will murder you. Do you understand, Naru? They will KILL YOU!!" By the end, her voice had risen several octaves and tears that had threatened her from the very beginning finally began to spill in small rivets down her face. "I love you Naru," she said, her voice unusually small as she turned to look at the window. "If you die, what will I do?"

The narcissist watched her movements, pain and sadness etched into his features. "I…" He paused, looking frustrated as he struggled with himself. "I…Let's go." Grabbing her wrist, Naru started pulling her toward the back of the mansion. Mai looked slightly surprised, but followed his lead, her shorter legs struggling to keep up with his longer strides. "There's a horse in our stable. Azriel." He turned his head slightly to look at her as they ran. They're feet guided them through the mansion, stepping through the halls like they have dozens of times before. "And his brother, Samuel. They are the fastest we have and if reach them, we might have a chance to escape relatively unscathed."

Then, just as they were about to reach the doors than opened to the vast backyard that came with the mansion, a tremor ran through the wall. Instantly the wall surrounding the wall started to crack. Mai knew she should have hounded her father about renovating the mansion. They were ramming the door and the vibrations of the impact were breaking some of the older, weaker frames that supported the house.

Sensing the danger, Naru backtracked, dragging Mai along, just in time, too. The walls fell, crumbling plaster and rotten wood blocking their way to freedom.

"No," Mai breathed, her hand coming to her mouth in shock. "No."

"It'll be alright, Mai," Naru said, calm considering the situation. "This way." They turned down another corridor and continued running. The dust and powder from the walls were making it hard to breath and to make matters worse, Mai could smell smoke from the torches.

"Naru," she finally wheezed, wrenching he wrist away and forcing the man to stop. "You need to go and I'm just slowing you down."

"What?" he growled, the anger sparking in his eyes deadly. "Absolutely not!"

"Listen to me Naru," Mai said, falling to her knees as they buckled from lack of oxygen. "They want you're blood, not mine. I'm not the one who needs to run. You are." He literally growled at the statement, looking away. "Naru," she whispered softly, tugging his hand so he also fell to his knees. She gently cupped his cheek. "Naru." He closed his eyes, leaning into the touch before turning he head and kissing the inside of her wrist, lips grazing softly against delicate skin. Somewhere deep down, Mai felt a jolt of surprise and a faint sense of euphoria as a blush started to rise. Quickly, she dismissed the emotions. Now was not the time for such feelings. Besides, he had kissed her wrist more than a few times before. Why was she acting like this was the first?

"Mai." His lips moved against her skin as he talked, causing her heart to flutter. He opened his eyes, blue, darker than ever before looking at her. "I promise you, Mai. No matter what happens, I will find you again and we will be together again. That's our promise, remember Mai?" She just nodded her head, her lips pressed in a thin line. If she opened her mouth now, a ragged sob would escape. The tears streaming down her face would have to be enough for now. "We will be together again someday and we will remain that way forever. Remember, Mai? Our love is supposed to last an eternity." Somehow, she managed to push out a watery chuckle.

Now a small smile gracing his lips, Naru stood up and offered her a hand. He helped her up and for a moment they just stood there, aware of the fact that the front door was very close to being broken down, yet wanting the moment to last forever. Finally, the brunette was the one to look away.

"You should go now, Naru," she said, her brown eyes downcast. "Find a window or something and climb out. Then run. Just run."

"Hmm…" As she stood, trying her hardest not to look at him, the narcissist raised a hand, tilting her chin up and forcing her to do what she didn't want to. His eyes roved over her features, thumb running over her bottom lips. Slowly, he drew closer. "I love you, Mai," he breathed, the slightly minty air brushing across her skin. His lips ghosted over her own as he spoke again. "That's why I promise you we will be together again."

Surprisingly, it was Mai who made the next move, reaching up to mesh her lips against his in a desperate kiss. His arms made their way around her waist, one hand pulling her closer and the other slowly stroking down her back. Mai wounded her arms around his neck, fingers entwined in his silky dark locks, only serving to deepen the kiss. But amidst the blissful blankness she felt as she just enjoyed the kiss, something switched on, causing her to snap her eyes open, though she didn't have the strength to move away. Then without a warning, Naru nibbled at her bottom lip, the shock of the sudden sensation causing her to flutter her eyes shut again as she resisted the urge to comply to what he wanted. Of course, the hand that was grazing against her back, sending shivers down her spine wasn't helping at all. Finally, she allowed a small moan and Naru used it to his advantage, sweeping his tongue in.

But even as the kiss got more involved and desperate, Mai couldn't get rid of the feeling that this was her first time kissing Naru. And yet...that couldn't be true. She had known him for years now, and they have been together for quite awhile. It was defiantly not their first kiss, she was sure of that, but however she twisted it, she couldn't get rid of the feeling.

Then another thought struck her. Why were they even kissing anyway? He had never shown interest in her before, right? No! What was she thinking? He only loved her and it had been that way since they were fourteen. But what about Masako? Didn't Naru like her? What, what? He hated her. She had asked him for dates more than a few times and was always turned down. No, she was remembering wrong. She was the only one he dated. But how could that be? Where did that leave Mai? Naru loved her, right?

Confusion swirled in her mind, her thoughts getting more perplexing by the second. Suddenly, Naru did something with his tongue, eliciting another moan and promptly ending the argument with herself, her mind completely blank.

All too soon, the kiss ended as Mai forced herself away. Both were breathing hard, but in between gasps of air, Mai managed to say what she needed. "I love you, Naru, but you need to go now. They're going to catch you if you don't." Yet her arms refused to move.

"I love you, too, Mai. Remember that forever." Naru leaned down and bumped his forehead against her's, his eyes half closed.

"I will. But you really need to go. We'll find each other again."

"Such a lovely sentiment!" A sharp pain shot through Mai's scalp as someone yanked her away from her lover by her hair.

"No!" Mai watched helplessly as two men grabbed Naru and started dragging him toward the front of the mansion. Not without a struggle though.

"Let me go, you bastards," he snarled, struggling against their firm grasp. He managed to kick one of them, but he quickly recovered and retaliated by punching Naru in the stomach.

"Such vile language Naru! Really now, there are women in your presence," the man on the left said. His voice sounded oddly familiar.

"Bou-san!" He stopped and Mai wretched her head from the villager's grasp, pulling out more than a few hairs along the way. "What are you doing, Bou-san?" she asked as she ran toward him. The monk slowly turned around, his face a guarded mask.

"It's going to be alright, Mai. Once we get rid of this piece of trash," he nodded toward Naru, "I'll come back for you. Just be patient."

"What do you mean?" Mai halted. She could feel the blood draining from her face. Though she knew it was almost impossible, she still harbored a spark of hope. "You're on our side, right? You're our friend." Takigawa looked away and at that instant, any hope was extinguished. If such a close friend as he was would turn on them then that meant the others have, too. "How could you?" she asked shakily, her voice so harsh and so filled with disappointment that the monk actually winced. "You were our friend! We trusted you above all of them! How could you betray us like that?" She started striding toward him, brown eyes enraged. "Answer me Bou-san," she demanded. "Why would you do such a thing? Is it because you have no morals? Or are you doing this for money. How much are they paying to betray us, huh? Tell me, Bou-san, tell m-"

"Mai!" The one on the left, the one that got kicked finally spoke.

"Lin-san!" Nothing made sense anymore. Why would Naru's most esteemed friend turn on them? Suddenly feeling weak, Mai fell to her knees for the second time of the hour. "Why?" she whispered. "I don't understand."

"It'll be alright, Mai." It was Naru who had reassured her this time. His face had become blank, a porcelain mask, cold and distant. The only signs of life were in those sapphire eyes, filled with rage, hatred and betrayal. And yet, somewhere amongst the emotions, acceptance and understanding shone through.

"You should listen to Naru, Mai," Takigawa said, still refusing to look at either of them. "Be a good girl and stay here. It'll be over before you know it"

"NO!" They started dragging Naru away, leading him down the stairs and toward the broken front doors, bundles of flames and dozens of angry faces encircling the outside. Filled with a sudden desperation, she got up and flung herself after him, but before she even reached the top step, someone grabbed her.

"Please Mai. This is for your own good."

"John!"

The blond looked pained as he addresses her in his soft spoken voice. "Please, don't try anything, Mai. It has to happen." Hearing the Australian accent, the brunette became limp in his arms.

"Naru," she whispered, hearing him address Takigawa and Lin.

"Promise me you'll take care of her. Promise me!" His demanding voice echoed through the Great Hall commanding that he be listened to. Then, as if his voice had been a trigger, the house started shaking, the already weak frame trembling from the pressure. Surprised, John loosened his grip, giving Mai the chance to tear herself away from him and fly down the stairs. The three men were already out the door, yet she could still hear his voice wafting back at her, demanding that she be taken care of.

"Naru!" she screamed as she ran toward the door. But nothing could be heard over the tremor of the mansion. "No, come back!" Just as she past over the mosaic in the center of the hall, a particularly strong tremor ran through the frame and with an earsplitting screech, the chandelier separated from the ceiling.

"Mai!" The large crystal ornament fell, crushing the lower half of Mai's body. John rushed toward her.

"No! NO! NARU!" She reached out a hand, trying to move. The weight of the chandelier or the pain of her crushed bones registered nothing in her mind other than an increased desperation to reach the man she loved. He was about to be killed. "Please…don't take him," she cried weakly, "Please…" She started sobbing. "Give him back to me. He's mine! He didn't do anything wrong!" A strangled cry erupted from the back of her throat. "Leave Naru alone! Give him back!" The men had already disappeared into the darkness and the tremors had stopped. The only one left was John, standing off to the side with a scared expression on his face. Mai didn't even notice him.

"Why? WHY?! What did we ever do to you, hmm? What did we ever do to deserve this? Wasn't it our money that helped you village flourish? Well? WASN"T IT?" Her crying was subsiding, but in it's place something was growing, desperately trying to fill the sudden emptiness. "Well this is quite funny, wouldn't you agree?" She snapped her sights onto John, a strange smile appearing on her lips. "My father poured his life and soul into this village and this is how they pay him back. By having his daughter's closest friends betrayed her and kill the man she was going to murder." She looked thoughtful, but the almost maniacal glint in her usually innocent brown orbs was anything but. Out of nowhere, she burst into a full gale of laughter, hysteric and desperate. John actually took a step back though there was no way she could reach him.

"Oh the irony," she said in between giggles. "Looks like it's true when they say you can't trust people anymore. They'll just turn around and stab you in the back." Then she heaved a small sigh, the strange smile still stuck on her features. She had broken, the only reason she continued to live stolen from her life. So now, she had no reason to live. Mai suddenly brightened at that thought as if it was she had just discovered the secret to turn stone into gold. Well, since Naru was dead anyway.

"John, come here," she said softly with a cock of her head. The priest hesitantly took a step forward, and then stopped. "Oh pish posh, come closer. I'm not going to bite." He took two steps forward this time, but still stopped way out of her reach. "John!" She changed her tone suddenly since the whole friendly thing didn't seem to be working. "It hurt's John!" she grimaced. Truthfully, her crushed legs did hurt, but the shock was still protecting her from most of the pain. "Get it off me, please!"

The 'please' seemed to have gotten to him. He snapped out of his fear and went over to the brunette, though still cautious. "Hold on, okay?" he muttered as he started pushing and pulling at the twisted piece of metal. It squealed in protest and moved a bit, but instantly fell back into place when John released it.

"John, help me, please." The blond looked over at her worriedly.

"I'm trying my best." After a few more minutes of pushing, it still hadn't budged, only giving a half an inch if not less. There hadn't been a sound from the brunette for a while, causing John to worry. He glanced over only to find her completely still.

"Mai!" He rushed toward her and reached for her arm, shaking her lightly. "Hey! Mai! Are you-" He stopped mid sentence as she slowly fluttered her eyes open. A drop of red fell from the air, landing on her cheek.

"You know," she murmured thoughtfully, "Hammurabi was onto something with his rules. An eye for an eye. I like that," she said, a satisfied smile on her lips, "don't you?" John just continued to stand over her, his mouth opened in shock, his pale eyes showing his surprised.

A large piece of twisted metal separated from the chandelier was currently impaled in the blond priest, going right through him. "Why…? he faltered his hand gripping the metal trying to pull it out.

"You know, that's funny. I asked the same question, but no one would give me an answer." She wiped the blood off her face. "Good night John." He fell to his knees, the blood streaming down the metal and onto the floor. Oh yes, she was more than broken.


"Mai!"

"Mai!" She slowly opened her eyes, the sweet chocolate color maintained much to Takigawa's relief. A tremendous pressure was pressing down on her legs, almost crushing them, but not quite. Her head also hurt.

"Mai!" She gingerly turned her head to the source of the noise. Her body wasn't responding too well to her commands.

"Bou-san." Relief flooded the monk's features when he heard her.

"Thank god you're alright." His brows were drawn in worry as she hazily repeated his name. "Don't worry Mai. We're working on getting that chandelier off of you." Starting at the words, the brunette twisted around to conclusively find out what the pressure on her legs was. Seeing the mass of twisted metal and diamonds, she let out of small moan, horrified by the scene. Thankfully, it wasn't that serious. The sharp ends had completely missed so the pressure came from the weight of the lightest part of the chandelier pressing against her lower body. That meant a few severe bruises and a broken bone or two at the worse. Still, it didn't stop the panic building up in Mai's chest.

She tore her sights away and looked forward, the elegant mahogany door stretching in front of her. There was something familiar about it all and she glanced at the side, her gaze landing on a twisted metal pole. Then it hit her, so hard it actually her hurt.

Her eyes flickered violet as her dream flooded back to her, clearer than most of her memories. As the stream of thought slowed down, a sudden anger overtook her and she turned to Takigawa who was examining the wreckage, trying to figure out the best way to get it off her.

"Why?" she asked, her voice cracking. Violet orbs had returned to its original chocolate color as she glared at the monk, but a shadow stirred underneath, contorting the innocent brown. Somewhere inside, Mai knew that he had nothing to do with anything, yet she couldn't stop herself. "Why would you do that to me, to us?" Tears started flowing down her cheeks as she clenched at teeth. They were tears of anger rather than sadness, the betrayal that really didn't happen stinging at her heart.

"What are you talking about?" Takigawa asked, bewildered, if not worried. "Did you hit your head on something?" Instantly, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say. Mai released an unearthly screech, and swiped at him with the metal pole causing him to step back and luckily missing him by inches.

"What are you doing, Mai?" he asked incredulously. This was not something the Mai he knew would do. There was something evil, almost murderous in her expression and it was more than enough to frighten the monk. Something told him that if she hadn't been pinned down by the chandelier, she would have gone after him with the pole again. Fortunately, he was just out of her reach.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Mai snarled. "I should have known you were the one to betray us. Who else could it have been? No one else knew as much about us as you did!" Takigawa rubbed the back of his neck confused beyond though possible. How did he betray her?

"Mai, I really have no idea what you're talking about." He looked at her desperately, not really sure what else to say.

"How can you say that? You killed him! You took him and you-you-" she trailed off, her eyes widening as if she was seeing it all again.

"Who died, Mai? Who got killed?" Takigawa crouched down next to her, as close as he dared to. Frankly, it wasn't that close. "Mai! Who did, erm, I kill?" If felt so strange to say that.

"He's gone," she whispered, looking back at the monk. "He's gone."

"Who, Mai? Who?"

Her eyes met his and what Takigawa saw him more than anything else he had seen in a while. The shadow that had stirred before only grew more prominent lightening the brown until it was nearly red.

"He died, Bou-san," she said softly, her eyes empty, "Because he died, I have to die too" It was complete acceptance and understanding that peppered the words, no matter how misguided they were. Slowly, she raised her other hand, revealing a small piece of fallen metal with a jagged edge. "Do you want to see me die, too?" Her lips were twisted into a smile of intent as she raised the object to her throat. "Good night, Bou-san."

"Mai?!" He attempted to grab her wrist just as she was about to slash, but someone beat him to it. A paler hand shot out and grasped her wrist firmly, stopping her motion.

"What do you think you're doing, Mai?" Even at such a time, he managed sound arrogant and condescending like he was talking to a spoiled brat. Her brown eyes widened, snapping back to dark brown they settled on Naru.

"Naru!" She released the piece of metal in surprise, the object falling with a delicate chime. "You…you're…" A sudden bout of weakness fell upon her making it hard for her to keep her head up. "How are you..?" His face filled her view as her lids drooped. His expression was more guarded than usual and a spark of worry was evident in his furrowed brow. "Naru…" The diamonds that surrounded the floor glittered menacingly, it's glare a rich crimson red. "You kept your promise," she smiled. Then it was like she lost control of her body as her lips formed words that didn't belong to her.

"You ruined my fun." Finally, there was nothing but black.


I make Mai faint a lot, don't I? But on to this chapter. Personally, I think it was kind of, well, corny. I suck at writing romance and angst, I really do. Blood and senseless killings are more my element. Thanks for reading, though and remember to review!