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Mai was right. The worker she had seen in her dream stood before her. He didn't look like he had in her dreams though; he looked ominous and was surrounded by a dark light.
"You decided to come and play", he mocked. Mai swallowed her overwhelming fear.
"I will stay with you, if you promise to let my friends go, unharmed!" Mai set her conditions.
The man seemed to contemplate this before giving his response, "I'll let them go, only if you stay". Mai felt a weight lift off her shoulders until he continued, "I want you dead in order for us to stay together, babe. If you're not alive, you can't go back to them, you'll be with me, forever", he commanded as he came close to Mai and caressed her hair, leaning in near her cheek. Mai's face dropped and her whole world came crashing down, shattering into a thousand pieces. She felt like crying but her shock prevented her. She longed to be with the rest of SPR, just one last time. Mai knew there was nothing she could do, all the blame of what had happened to Naru and Monk, and what could happen to them, rested solely on her shoulders. He was after her. Mai clenched her fists and mustered up the courage to confirm her agreement to the conditions. The man seemed pleased as he told her he would do the killing for her, to spare her from performing it herself. Mai's legs gave way from her weak knees and she collapsed to the floor. Her head hung toward the ground. The man went to his bench where he retrieved his axe. He picked it up and looked at it with desperation, as he licked its steel head. He abruptly turned around to Mai and took slow, calculated steps toward her, relishing every moment. Mai's head hung down toward her knees in resignation. She thought about seeing her parents smile once again, about being with them again. Then Naru appeared in her mind and tears spilled from her eyes. The thought of Naru made her cry, she didn't want to leave him, and she didn't want to cease to exist to him. She wanted to stay. Yet the happiness and safety of her 'family' were more important to her. She'd loved Naru since before she could remember. The pain that engulfed her was stronger than any other she had ever felt, or was about to feel. It was the pain of his not knowing how she felt about him. Mai could sense the man behind her, but paid him no attention, her heart was filled with too much anguish. While lifting his axe into the air the man informed Mai that, "It's for your own good". Mai clenched her eyes shut and braced herself for the impact of the weapon on her skin. In Mai's distraught state of mind she heard a loud bang and wondered why she felt no pain. She flung her head upward and saw Naru standing in the doorway. The spirit looked to see what it was also. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Naru!" Mai joyously cried out in a mixture of relief and happiness.
"No! I won't let you take her! I won't give you the chance!" the spirit screamed in anguish toward Naru before turning back to Mai, swinging his axe behind his shoulder, in preparation to strike it down on Mai. Lin appeared behind Naru and whistled for his shiki, which swooped down on the ghost. Mai took the opportunity to run over to Naru.
The spirit screeched, "NO! He'll only hurt you in the end! That's all he's ever done!" the spirits eyes turned red with rage. The earth below Mai began to shake and the steel from the roof began to peel apart, ripping down toward the ground as if it were paper. A piece of the steel shed that had been peeled off the wall opposite Lin, Mai and Naru, spun around in the air and started plummeting toward them. A white light surrounded Naru and a gale force win travelled out from him, and the piece of shed and the spirit was blasted away, the spirit vanishing into thin air. Once Mai knew he was gone she felt relieved but she also felt sorrow for the man. He had been hurt by his partner's husband, who had killed her, the women he loved. Mai thought that he must have loved her a lot. Maybe the pain he felt over her loss was similar to her having to say goodbye to Naru. Still, his crimes were inexcusable. Mai's relief of the spirit being gone was short-lived as Naru, who had stood beside her collapsed to the floor and fell unconscious. Mai knelt down beside him and yelled in a panic that they had to get him to a hospital right away. Lin picked Naru up and carried him to the estate on his back.
Sunday 1:00PM
Mai's head fell onto the bed she was sitting beside, as she fell asleep. She lay in Naru's hospital room, filled with just the two of them. The rest of the group were there earlier, but left hours ago, Mai had refused to leave. She didn't want to go until she knew Naru was alright. She hadn't taken her eyes off him since he'd come for her at the shed. All the events of the day had worn her out, yet she had tried to fight sleep from engulfing her. It didn't last, as Mai's head was now resting on Naru's lap. Naru began to slowly open his eyes and looked around to find out he was in the hospital. Upon spotting Mai lying on him, a small smile crept onto his face. He stroked her hair softly and thought about how grateful he was to still have his stupid little assistant with him. He couldn't possibly lose her…..he needed her tea making expertise.
I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review to tell me what you think :)
