A/N: Enjoy!
Chapter nine:
We watched the women go out the courtyard and turn into happy lights before disappearing. It is times like these that I enjoy doing what I do. I pulled Ayako in a half hug just happy to have this go right.
"Mai!" The surprised shout of Naru whipped my head around.
Before my eyes Mai's soul flickered and then disappeared.
"MAI!" Naru's anguished cry echoed across the courtyard.
I opened my eyes to a world of blue. It was my dream world that I shared with my Guru. It has been a while since I was here. I laid there quiet without a burning need to move. Like a Saturday morning when you have slept in. Your body is warm, heavy and lethargic. I turned my heavy head to the side and there was Naru laying in a similar pose. My eyes widened.
"Naru!"
He turned his head and smiled at me. He looked exhausted.
I pulled myself up to a sitting postion. It was surprisingly difficult to achieve.
"What is wrong with me?"
"Exhasution mostly. I expended a huge amount of energy to wake up Naru and then you did so to keep him grounded."
I cradeled my head in my hands. He sat up and then slumped over one knee.
"I am afraid that we are going to have to push ourselves again though. Your body is still being possessed by the lady Ai. Right now we are actually back in your body but very deep in your sub-concious. I don't think Ai aware of us at all."
"Oh yeah. So what are we going to do?"
"I am going to help you gain some control of your body and I need you to walk her out of the gates that Naru opened. Once there she should move on like the rest of the spirits did. I should warn you though at this point of time Naru thinks you died."
"What!?" I was horrified, he thought I died!?
"Well your soul did just suddenly disappear after going through great strain. Usually after such an experience a soul can't find their way back to their body and thus moves on. Naru just isn't thinking clearly and forgot about me." He gave a tiny smile at this.
"Oh." I was actually a little worried about how close I came to dying.
"Neh? When I was helping Naru I felt something well I felt something tear in my soul."
He nodded at me. His face grave.
"When you channeled all that power without a way to ground you had to find another outlet. While you were very good about trying to ground through Naru himself it just wasn't enough to work with the massive output that Naru can weild. I don't know excaclty how this is going to affect you but it may be that something changes in your powers, your day to day life or some thing. We will have to wait and see."
He stood up. "Now it is time, any more time spent talking and Naru is going to find your body and send it to hell as revenge."
I face planted.
Jumping up hysterically, adreniling taking away lingering fatigue. "WHAT?"
He quirked an eyebrow at me. "You have noticed that Naru can be a little vindictive right?"
"Well yah but… but sending my body to hell?!"
"Well you are possessed and as far as he knows your soul has moved on. He isn't just going to let the spirit in control walk away with your body."
He walked over to me and put his hand on my forehead. "This might hurt a little."
It should go without saying that when someone says that they really mean that it is going to hurt so much that you just might wish you had died.
So it was with pain that I doubled over and fell to the ground. My mouth let loose a few choice swear words that I have never heard before.
"What are you doing here!" Strange my mouth just talked to me on it's own… Oh yeah I am possess with another spirit. I shouldered the woman aside and managed to take about half my body back. It would have to be enough.
"I am going to take you somewhere to find peace."
"Peace? What peace there is no peace to find in this miserable world!"
I would feel half of my mouth curl up in a snarl.
"No! Everyone else has found peace. Please even your sister is gone."
"She has left me before!"
I looked around as much as able and realized that I was in the Inn's office. Thank God I didn't have to drag my tired body very far. As I was getting my bearing I saw Naru and the group race by headed I am assuming towards the room where Naru had been held captive. He really wasn't thinking straight. Why in heavens name would Ai stay down in that hell hole?
I started to lurch my body out the door that connected to the courtyard and the blown open gate. Ai quickly figured out what was happening and tried to stop me. Fortuanlty I had control of the right side which has always been my dominate side anyways. I was make a little head way until she snagged the doorknob and held on.
I was panting and the wounds on my arms and legs were bleeding sluggishly.
(A/N Remember if a wound is delt to the soul the body will reflect that injury.)
I wasn't making enough progress. I heard the shouts of my comrades. "There she is!"
I struggled harder to pull my body from the door. Ai had a deathgrip on that doorknob. Didn't know I was that strong with my left arm!
"Hold it right there!" Naru said coldly and imperiously.
"Go away!" Screamed Ai with my voice. He stepped forward. As did the mean determined faces of my friends.
"Naru you jerk!" I managed to scream as I tried to lunge forward. My body jerked back and I started to worry that I might dislocate my own arm.
Naru paused. Everyone halted.
"Bou-san!" Naru called out, I continued my battle with my body lunging forward. A dislocated arm would be better then being sent to hell by Naru.
Suddenly my body was picked up by Naru and Bou-san darted forward to pry my fingers from the doorknob. They got my hand off and Naru strod purposely towards the open gates.
Half my body started flaling and crying. I kept quiet. Tired and enjoying the smell of Naru; cologne and tea.
He stepped over the threshold and stood past the open gate. Ai went quiet.
I turned our face up to face the sunrise. It had been a long night. As the sun came up I felt Ai give a sigh of relief. Something lightened on my heart and she slipped away. I had full body control.
I was cradeled in Naru's arms and the pain from everything was a dull roar in my mind. I continued to watch the sunrise in an exhausted dull-whitted stare. It was beautiful I thought in a detatched way.
Everyone gathered around us.
"Mai! Mai! Are you alright!? "
I smiled at them, my friends and family. Naru hadn't put me down yet and I wasn't going to say anything. I turned my head nuzzling into Naru's shoulder and falling asleep to the smell of cologne and tea.
As I sat at my desk in the office of SPR I reflected on that case. That morning everyone had rushed me to the hospital. (Why do I always end up at a hospital!?) The doctors stitched up my wounds on my arms and legs. I slept for almost a week-solid. I heard that Naru slept for four-days solid. When he woke up he came to see me and once determining that I was going to sleep for longer set up a temporary office in my room with Lin and wrote up reports on what happened.
My arm had not been dislocated just hurt. Thank God.
I still have not found out what the tearing to my soul damaged or created. I am pretty sure I am as smart as used to be… At least Naru hasn't been making the more then usual comments about how stupid I am. We will have to see.
The inn-keeper was estatic that the ghosts were gone. Thankfully to the efforts of Lin, Bou-san, Ayako and John, no one had been seriously hurt when the spirits went crazy. I did hear that he is still touting it as a haunted place. Tourism and all that but at least he can do so now without worrying that his paying customers might die by morning.
Another case solved.
A/N: No this is not the end of my series just the end of this particular case!
