Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. All rights go to their respective owners.
Mai thought that she was an overall patient person. Her anger could sometimes be quick to flair, but even then she could mostly control both her actions and words. The past few days would have tried the patience of even a saint. Mai spent the first day on a dreadfully long carriage ride with Lord Davis and his bodyguard Lin. Lord Davis' bodyguard did not utter a single word, and Lord Davis only opened his mouth to insult Mai's intelligence. Through sheer willpower, Mai had managed to make it through the carriage ride and had surprisingly only snapped back at Lord Davis a handful of times.
Mai had truly believed that the carriage ride would be the worst part of her first hit, and she was quickly proven wrong. Axel's masquerade was being hosted at his estate, and as the artists that were meant to capture the most stunning aspects of the ball; Axel had invited Takigawa and his apprentices a room within the estate. It was obvious that Takigawa would be unable to set up the room Axel provided as the base camp; therefore, Lord Davis' base camp had also become the base camp for the assassins. This event didn't exactly impact Mai, since it had been decided before they even left that she was to stay with Lord Davis and Lin and only be on Axel's estate to run art supplies to Takigawa, John, and Yasuhara. Mai would also be stationed at Axel's estate during the actual night of the hit; however, Mai would be stationed outside on the roof, as far away from any potential action as Takigawa could get her while still keeping her close enough were she could act as a lookout.
Mai was also under strict orders not to engage in any confrontation, and if she did notice that things weren't going according to plan then she was only to notify Lord Davis and Lin and to get out of the area as quickly as possible. These orders made Mai question why Takigawa decided to take her. Takigawa had justified taking her instead one of his more experience students due to the fact that she had excellence aim with her weapons, but the justification seemed completely nullified by the fact that she wasn't actually allowed to pull any of her knives out. In fact, she was supposed to just run away and tell Lord Davis so that he could deal with it.
Mai had then proceeded to spend the next two and a half days watching everyone plan for the assassination. Yasuhara and John had spent hours scoping out the estate, documenting every possible escape route and planning where everyone needed to be down to the exact second they needed to be there, and they did this all while actually painting the landscape. Yasuhara had explained to one of Axel's bodyguards that painting the backgrounds now would allow more time for them to focus on painting people during the actual party, and Axel's bodyguard had agreed. Mai honestly had no idea how Lord Davis and Lin had spent their time, despite the fact that she had spent most of the time with them.
Finally, it was the night of the hit. Mai was stationed on top of the roof, and the darkness that surrounded her had made it increasingly difficult to see. Mai was too far away from the masquerade to even people watch or, and was therefore more bored than she originally thought humanly possible. She could faintly make out the sound of music, but that wasn't nearly enough to hold her attention.
Thankfully, the three days of sitting around while everyone scurried to get ready for the hit had allowed Mai's ribs enough time to fully heal, and she was no longer experiencing any soreness.
With a small sigh Mai readjusted her position for what seemed like the hundredth time. Mai was unsure how late it was, but she knew she hadn't been on the roof nearly long enough in order for the hit to take place. Plus, since the target of the assassination was the host of the party, Mai figured that once he had been killed the estate would erupt with activity, and that would be her cue to head back to Lord Davis' base camp.
Suddenly, Mai felt hands tighten around her shoulder, and before she could form another thought she was thrown to the other side of the roof.
Mai grimaced as she landed with a thud, but quickly regained her balance and turned to face her attacker.
Mai was only able to tell that the man attacking her was much bigger, and appeared to be dressed in a similar fashion to Axel's other bodyguards.
Mai cursed herself for spacing out and not paying attention of her surroundings. She should have been alerted to the man's presence before he ever got close enough to grab her.
Immediately Mai pulled out one of her throwing knives. Even with her lack of experience she knew she needed to go on the offensive, because the likelihood of her being able to defend herself against a man twice her size was nonexistent.
The man rushes towards Mai as she throws a knife. The man dodges it. Mai backs up to keep distance, and pulls out another knife. Mai panics when she steps on the edge of the roof. Thankfully her balance remains and she's able to reposition her feet away from the edge. Still it only gives her a few feet to work with. By backing up she has lost precious space needed to dodge additional attacks. Mai notices that the man has not pulled out a weapon yet, and Mai knows that's her only advantage. The man charges. Mai tries to move out of the way, but the man is faster and manages to wrap his arms around her waist. The man uses his grasp on Mai to fling her off of the roof, and the only thing Mai can do is grab onto the man, yanking him off of the roof with her.
Mai and the man plummet to the ground. Mai tries to use the momentum of the fall to twist herself so that the man doesn't land on her, but the man tries to counter her twists. The result of the struggle in mid air results in Mai landing partially on top of the man. The man cushions the majority of Mai's fall; however, the back of Mai's head hits the ground with a loud thud.
Despite the fact that it is Mai's head that hits the ground, it is Mai's stomach that rebels against the fall. For a split second Mai thinks she is going to hurl. The twisting and turning of her stomach makes her believe that her stomach is about to expel its contents, but just as suddenly as the nausea begins it ends.
The fall from the roof also leaves Mai momentarily disoriented. Mai rolls off of the man onto her stomach, knowing full well that if she is going to survive this encounter she needs to get some distance. Mai hopes foolishly that the impact of hitting the floor with Mai on top of him has already killed the man, but also knows that even with the additional force of her body the man was probably still alive.
As soon as she stands her head reminds her rather unkindly of the punishment that was dealt to it, and the world spins allowing nausea to set back in. There's a distinct ringing in her head, and with each step away from the man the ringing increased. Groggily Mai tries to focus on the situation at hand, but her thoughts feel muddled. From the corner of Mai's eye she sees the man beginning to stir.
Not dead then. Mai internally groaned.
It was a race against time now. Mai needed to regain enough of her balance and coordination in order to put up a fight.
Mai is able to get distance from the man before he gets back on his feet. The man appears to be a little unsteady on his feet, but not nearly as bad as Mai.
Mai fumbled with her weapon pouch, dropping one of her throwing knives on the floor before she manages to grab a few. Mai glances back up to see the man draw his weapon.
Mai curses softly, and immediately starts flinging knives in an attempt to keep the man at a distance. Mai throws eleven knives, and manages to get seven of them in various places on the man's body before he closes the distance.
Mai yanks her favorite dagger from her forearm as the man lunges. Mai dodges the fatal blow to her chest, and instead gets a gash on her right side. The man immediately rams his shoulder into Mai's nose, causing intense pain in her head and causing her to stumble. The man manages to get another, deeper cut on Mai's left side. Mai reacts with a quick stab to his ribs. The man reels from being stabbed, and Mai quickly finishes the match with a cut to his throat. The man's body falls to the ground, lifeless.
Mai grimaces as she feels a rush of blood seep down her clothing, and knows that the gash on her left side is deep.
I need to get to Monk. Mai thought dizzily.
Mai was feeling a bit unsure, but she was almost positive that she was seeing in doubles. Mai stumbled away from the scene of the fight, but found that she was unsure of where she was heading. It was starting to get harder and harder to concentrate, and her vision was starting to get littered with dark spots.
Mai was unsure if she lost consciousness or not, but the next thing she felt were hands on her. Mai tensed, and tried to twist out of the hold that tighten when she moved.
"Stop moving." The voice sounded strongly like Lord Davis.
Mai forced her eyes open. There were two blurry Narus standing in front of her. Naru was unmistakable even through the haze within her brain. But he seemed softer, perhaps even concerned? Mai wondered how badly she had to be injured in order for Naru, the king of all narcissists, to actually show concern.
"Naru, am I dying?" Mai mumbled, squinting up at the blurry man.
"Naru?" he snorted.
"Lord Naru." Mai grumbled. "Still a narcissist."
Naru huffed another laugh. "I am going to move you now. I am afraid it is going to hurt."
"M'kay." Mai slurred.
Once again hands gripped her, but this time Mai didn't try to fight it. There was an intense flair up of pain, and then darkness.
"Gray?"
"He's not moving!"
"Someone get a doctor."
A/N: Uh. So I am not dead. I really have no excuse for not updating in three years. I kept telling myself I would sit down and write, and I just never got around to it. I totally understand if you all hate me at this point. This is the first major plot move so far, and the plot should be pretty steadily from here on out. I have the rest of the chapters outlined. Updates will be posted the first weekend of every month, so look forward to that.
*Also I don't feel like fight scenes are graphic enough to warrant an M rating, but I am unsure. If anyone feels I need to change the rating please let me know!*
