All right, all I'm sorry that I'm late. I know I owe you guys a couple of chapters and am working on those. I'm also sorry to say that this chapter is short and has a cliff hanger in it. Hope you enjoy.
Naru's POV
I watched stunned through the entire conversation between Mai, Stephen, and Malia. I never knew that Mai was a demon hunter and by the shocked expressions on everyone else's face I wasn't the only one. What also shocked me was the fact that Mai had siblings who were also demon hunters. The whole issue that Stephen is speaking about sounds grave and by Mai's reaction alone makes it more so.
It wasn't until toward the end of the conversation about talking to some guy named Orion that I noticed Mai was paler than normal and she started to sway.
"Mai? Is everything all right?" I asked beginning to worry when she kept blinking.
Everyone looked to Mai to see what she'd say. Malia had a worried look and put her hand on Mai's shoulder as she started to sway forward all the while saying, "What's wrong? Mai!"
As the last word left her mouth Mai collapsed onto the floor. I walked over picked her up and placed her on an empty couch. Naoki who was the only one that stayed in his human form approached her, but before he got within five feet of her he came to a halt. Frowning he looked towards Malia.
"Is she an onishi demon hunter? Is that why there is a barrier? She has gone to the plane of the onia?"
Malia looked at Naoki before l glancing at everyone before her gaze landed on Mai's prone form. Sighing she ran a hand through her hair before saying, "Yes."
Stephen scowled at her one word answer. "Yes, to what? Everything or just one thing? Be more specific. We need to know details in order to help her."
The look that she gave Stephen was one of torment. I could see that Stephen was surprised by the look and wasn't sure of what to do. By what little I got out of the brief conversation about the woman she didn't often show vulnerability.
"I can't explain further. I don't have that kind of authorization…" She wasn't able to finish her sentence as her phone interrupted her.
Taking it out of her pocket she looked at it she paled slightly and frowned before answering it. "Yes, Orion?"
Noll, wasn't Orion the name of the guy Mai was talking about with Malia? Something about letting him know and that he wouldn't be happy.
Yes. Was my only reply to him. I didn't want to let on that I was concerned that there was someone that Mai looked to it made me wonder if she's moved on from me.
Turning my attention back on Mai's friend I heard her say, "Yes, Mai is out of it…"
"Yes, she's in the realm of the onia… Do you know where this place is located?"
She no more than said those words and a man was standing next to her. The man seemed to be six eight in height with platinum blonde hair and deep green eyes. He wore all black tank top, cargo shorts, and army boots and had some kind of short sword or a very long dagger strapped to each of his thighs. The man looked intimidating.
Malia looked at the man shook her head and said, "Orion, I do but at the same time I don't want to know how you do that."
The man, Orion, gave a half smile and said, "One of these days I'll teach you."
He walked over to where Mai was laying on the couch raised his hand and poked in between her eyes. She twitched her brows, but didn't wake up. Orion frowned before poking her again and saying, "Mai, you need to wake up. It's dangerous to navigate the onia realm without knowing what we are."
Malia gasped, looking over at her I could see that she was shocked.
I wonder what he meant by what we are?
"You mean she doesn't know? Didn't her brothers ever fully explain to her?" she asked face pale and drawn.
Orion shook his head and said, "No, they only partially explained what she is. I suspect they're afraid that she'll end up like her parents or her twin sister."
This statement shocked everyone. It also looked like Malia had no idea of this as she to had a look of utter shock on her face. I was highly surprised that she had a twin and didn't say anything, but then again, she never said anything about having older brothers.
"Wait Mai had a twin sister? How come I didn't know about this? I've known Mai and her brothers for years.
Orion once more looked up and in Malia's direction and said, "Yes, at one-time Mai had a twin sister. I will not go into the details, if you want them you'll have to ask Mai yourself."
I thought I'd known everything there was to know about Mai, but it seems that I was wrong. I'm pretty sure the others were feeling the same. It made me wonder what my parents were thinking about this whole situation.
"Why would Mai's brothers be worried about her safety when she's a big girl that can handle herself. Hell, she's saved their asses on more than one occasion." It was obvious Malia wanted information and she wouldn't be deterred from getting the answers she wanted.
Orion, who was pushing on the side of Mai's face, paused in what he was doing long enough to answer, "Sometimes knowledge is the more dangerous than not knowing. History often repeats itself whether we know it or not. Knowing what happened in the past doesn't always guarantee that it can prevented from happening again."
Malia blinked once, twice before scowling. Stephen like the rest of us was confused with his response. "But knowing and preparing for the inevitable is better than fearing the unknown. I know I'd rather have all the facts before I face anything. Going in blind will more than likely get you killed.
"Not necessarily Mr. Summers, sometimes the knowledge of what is to come can cause a tremendous amount of pressure that can make it difficult for the person to concentrate on what is important. Knowledge is a case by case basis on how it should be dealt with. There are times when knowledge is needed then there are times where it is not necessary. The trick is knowing how to balance and recognize which is needed."
I wasn't sure if it was just myself that felt as if Orion was much older than he appeared or he'd seen a lot. Another thing that caught my attention was that he knew Stephen's last name and from Mai, Malia, and Stephen's earlier conversation Stephen didn't know this man.
Obviously, Stephen caught it right off the bat as he looked stunned and confused as he said, "Wait I don't know you. So how is it that you know my name?"
Orion gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes and replied, "I know all the demon hunters that walk through the halls of the hunters be they born hunters or made into hunters."
It looked like Stephen was going to question him further when a moan came from Mai. Looking over at her I saw that she'd opened her eyes and was staring at Orion or rather she was half glaring at him. She looked exhausted and upset.
"I want to know what I saw. Is it true?"
He gave her a wary look before saying, "That depends what did you see?"
Mai hesitated as if trying to figure out how she was going to phrase her reply. Looking at me she searched my face for something before turning away.
"Are we truly immortal?"
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