Chapter 9

Mai's eyes opened to look upon the White Willow, Gene standing beside it.

"It's good to see you, Mai," he spoke welcomingly. Mai didn't speak, instead she rushed forward to give him a hug. He laughed, returning the embrace, "Good to know you feel the same way."

"I missed you," Mai answered.

"I did too," Gene replied with a smile before growing serious, "But I have something important to show you. We don't have much time."

Mai pulled away from him with a determined smile, "I'm ready." Gene smiled as the White Willow faded away, allowing another scene to take place.

A lady with black hair and dark brown eyes stood on a hill in front of a shrine, clearly a priestess from her clothing. Embracing her was a tall man, wearing a warrior's armour. With a start, Mai realized that these were the priestess and warrior from the story Emi and Sayuri had told her.

"Return soon and safely, Haku," the priestess whispered.

"I will, Tsukiko," the warrior, Haku, promised, "Even if my life leaves me, even if my body is destroyed, I will return to you. One way or another." He stroked away the tears falling from his lover's eyes with his thumb, "This I vow."

Tsukiko smiled sadly up at the man that she had come to love, "I will wait for you. Always. There will never be another."

Haku chuckled, "As cruel as this makes me sound, that is very good. I don't think I could tolerate any other man near you, even as a spirit."

His words coaxed a tearful laugh from her, "I'm okay with that." Haku smiled ruefully before capturing his priestess' lips with his, showing without words how much he wished to remain by her side; how much he loved her. But they had to break apart. Tsukiko watched as her warrior mounted his steed and rode off after looking upon her one last time.

Mai turned to Gene, "Emi and Sayuri told me this story. Does this mean that the priestess and the demon in our case are the same as the ones in the story?"

Gene nodded, "Yes, but do you know why the priestess could only seal away the demon?"

Mai furrowed her eyebrows, "Wasn't it because she didn't have enough power? I mean, Naru says a demon is nearly impossible to destroy. It must have taken an immense amount of power to just seal it away."

"That is true, but her emotions provided her with extra power and she already had incredibly strong spiritual powers," Gene explained, "And remember, Mai, the demon destroyed her lover. How would you react towards a demon if it had destroyed Naru?"

"I would take it down no matter what the cost to me," Mai relied with hesitation, blushing slightly as she realized what she had said. Then Mai's eyes widened with understanding, "Tsukiko-san would have done the same thing . . . but why not?"

Gene gestured to the changing scene, "Watch."

It was the same place, but now fire took the place of the villages as the smoke and screams covered the sky. Clearly the demon head had already arrived. Tsukiko stood a few feet in front of them, beside the White Willow, her priestess garb torn and bloody, tears staining her face. Mai could understand why the priestess cried, knowing her lover was dead. But as Mai looked in front of the priestess, horror and confusion struck her heart.

In front of the priestess was the same man who had embraced Tsukiko only a little while ago, standing there with the same horrid grin that the demon head had worn when he had visited Mai in the bathroom.

"What's going on? !" Mai turned to face Gene, terror haunting her eyes, "He was supposed to be dead! Gone! I don't understand!"

"Do you remember how the tale went?" Gene asked, watching as Mai nodded, "They said, 'The warrior's body returned, but his mind and spirit were gone. The warrior she had given her heart to was dead.' They never said that he had died. Only that the warrior no longer existed within that body. Instead, the demon head possessed that body."

"That's why she didn't destroy it," Mai whispered, tears trailing down, "She couldn't. She could never destroy the man she loved . . . not even if it was just her body." Gene didn't speak, simply pulling her into his arms as they heard Tsukiko's voice echo out.

"I shall seal you away, Demon. Forever, I shall be your enemy," Tsukiko yelled as her power surrounded her, "This I vow!" Tears fell harder as she repeated the words of her lover. The whistle of the seal's power merged with the roars of the demon as it was pulled into the ground along with the body it occupied.

Mai watched as the priestess fell to her knees, touching the ground where her warrior's body laid underneath.

A rueful smile graced the priestess' lips. "When you said you would return to me one way or another, I don't think this is what you meant," Tsukiko murmured, "But I vowed to wait for you. And so I shall. Here in the White Willow that has witnessed everything. So since you know where to find me, Haku, you better not make me wait too long." With those words, with those tears, the priestess' eyes drifted closed as Tsukiko's spirit left her body and entered the White Willow.

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Mai woke up with tears rolling down her cheeks as Masako, Ayako, Sayuri and Emi looked upon her with concern. "Guys . . ." It was all she could manage before she clung to Ayako, allowing the woman to soothe her.

When she looked back after calming down, Ayako and Masako guided her to the base, Emi and Sayuri having gone ahead to alert the others.. She realized that John, Yasuhara, Bou-san, Naru and Lin had already gathered.

"Mai, are you alright?" Bou-san asked anxiously, ever the worried father.

"It's true . . ." Mai murmured, meeting Emi and Sayuri's eyes, "The story about the White Willow is true."

"Wait, what story?" Ayako looked at them in question.

Surprisingly Naru answered, "It's a tale from 700 years ago about the White Willow tree outside the base."

Emi blinked in shock, "You know the story."

"It came up in our research," Naru dismissed before explaining to the others, "According to the story, a priestess existed on this land with a warrior, who she was in love with. When the demon head attacked the nearby villages, the warrior left to defeat it, but in the words of the legend, 'The warrior's body returned, but his mind and spirit were gone. The warrior she had given her heart to was dead.' When the demon head arrived, she sealed it away and then entered the White Willow tree to make sure that the demon head is never unleashed. Though, because of the wording, I believe there is more to what happened to the warrior than that. My guess is that the warrior was possessed by the demon, which is why the priestess was unable to destroy it." He turned to Mai, "Did your dream tell you the same thing, Mai?"

Speechless, Mai nodded, "He was able to figure all that out by himself?" It was times like this that made Mai realize that Naru really was a genius.

"Now that we know of the priestess and warrior–"

"Tsukiko and Haku," Mai interrupted without meeting the others' eyes as tears gathered up again, "That's their names. Tsukiko and Haku."

Naru gazed at her for a few moments, "As I was saying, before Mai interrupted . . ."

Mai looked down, "Of course he won't listen to what I say–"

". . . . Tsukiko and Haku to assist us."

Mai's head shot up, "What?"

Naru glared at her, "I said, that we need to use the research and the information that the story of Tsukiko and Haku to assist us."

Mai didn't even register the glare, "He listened . . . to me . . ." A small smile graced her lips at the thought.

"But how are we going to defeat a demon?" John questioned.

Masako had the same worry, "Last time, we burned down the mansion, but we can't do that here. Especially since it has already gained power."

"According to the legend's description, it is only at half his strength at the moment," Naru described.

"So if we all join our exorcisms, we should be able to destroy it, right," Bou-san deduced, Naru nodding in response.

"There is a lot of power in the trees here. They're all living trees and really pure," Ayako told them, "My exorcisms will be a lot stronger. Especially near the White Willow."

Lin spoke for the first time, "My shiki would probably be able to hold it while you perform the exorcisms."

"But how will we know where it'll attack or when?" Yasuhara pointed out, "We can't use Emi, Sayuri or Mai as bait, even if they are its targets."

"Why not?" Sayuri replied, "I'm down with it if we can get rid of Mr. GHER."

Emi nodded, "Besides, if you guys are there to protect us, it should be fairly safe, right."

However Naru shook his head, "It is clear from the way the demon used Haku's body to dissuade Tsukiko that it is quite intelligent. It would never strike when we are around, instead waiting it out until we leave, even for a second."

"The White Willow," Mai whispered, drawing everyone's attention, before looking up as she spoke with the confidence that accompanied her psychic revelations, "I don't know how I know, but Tsukiko is also partially the reason I was able to see that dream. Because of that, she's awoken, even though she hasn't left the Willow. The demon head won't be able to resist coming there if Sayuri, Emi and I are there."

"It's too dangerous," Bou-san argued, outraged at the idea.

"There's no other way," Mai told them.

"Mai, that's insane," Ayako disputed, "We'll find another way."

"But this has end now," Mai shook her head, "We won't get another chance like this again!"

"No." With his quiet refusal, Naru silenced both sides, "As your boss, I forbid it." Mai looked at him to argue, but something in his eyes stopped her. Something she had never seen before.

"Sorry to say this," Sayuri looked at them in determination, "But even if you guys have rights over Mai as her second family, Emi and I are not like that. I personally am going to do this. It's my choice."

Emi shrugged apologetically, "Sorry, guys, but I agree. It's the one way to end this. I'll be there as well. We suggest that you guys get ready."

Bou-san gaped at them, "Are you guys mental? You could be killed if you do this!"

"We will be anyways if we don't," Sayuri shot back.

"Like it or not," Emi crossed her arms, "This is probably the last chance we'll get before Sayuri and I are drained completely. It's a 'do or die' situation."

Naru glared at the two of them, "Unfortunately, since I took on this case, I took on responsibility for your lives as well. And if you insist on doing this, then I can't stop you. But know your risks before you do this."

"We already do," Sayuri nodded gravely.

"Then we'll do this tomorrow night. I advise everyone to get your rest. You will need your energy," Naru ended the conversation. Bou-san and Ayako grumbled in solid dissatisfaction, but went off. Masako and John followed suit. Naru turned to Lin and Yasuhara, "Are you alright for tonight?"

Lin nodded, "Yes, we'll be fine."

Naru nodded before turning to Mai, "I'll take you to your room. Who knows what trouble you would get into otherwise." Mai fumed over being treated like a child, but followed anyways.

That left Yasuhara, Lin, Emi and Sayuri in the base. Yasuhara looked at Emi, "May I talk to you alone for a few moments?"

Emi didn't hesitate when she answered, "Sure."

"I'll take your place," Sayuri told the college student, "It'll be a while before I can sleep again anyways." She turned to Lin, "If that's alright with you?" But this time, there was no answer from the stoic man. "Oh damn . . . This isn't good . . ."

Emi shot Sayuri a worried glance, who responded by gesturing for the other girl to shoo. With a slight frown, Emi left the room with Yasuhara.

"Is there anything in particular that you need me to do?" Sayuri asked.

"You don't have to be here," Lin responded flatly, "I can handle this alone."

The way his frosty response dismissed her so easily triggered her anger. Already short-tempered, being treated as a bother infuriated her pride more than anything else. "But two can play the game of the 'Ice Princess'," Sayuri thought with cold satisfaction. "Well, unfortunately for both of us, I already promised those two and I have a tendency to want to make my friends happy, Lin-san," Sayuri said with a condescending smile that was meant to aggravate others, purposely reverting to his last name.

Lin looked her with an arched eyebrow, "That is what your words say, Hoshizuki-san, but your selfish actions say something else."

Sayuri narrowed her eyes, hiding the quick pang at his calling her by her last name in the guise of contempt. "Well, that's good for you. But unfortunately, you have no right to judge me, seeing as you barely know me."

Lin nodded expressionlessly, "You are right. I apologize." Then he turned back to the monitors, placing on his headphones, clearly indicating that it was the end of the conversation.

Sayuri leaned back in her chair, already regretting her words. But her pride would not allow her to ask for forgiveness. Pride: her biggest fault. Sayuri sat up straight. There was no way she was getting sleep tonight, reaching for a pencil and paper. Might as well try to get her feelings together, though she seriously doubted that writing poetry would help her on this occasion. She sighed, "I seriously hope that Emi's conversation with Yasuhara is going better than this one."

Wow, cliffhanger! Especially for Bree-chan, huh. XD I feel bad for Sayuri though! DX NOES! Hope this turns out okay. Well, see ya next chapter~