Ch. 9 The 5 Things I Like About Her

~ Dream Mode ~

"Mai,"

Naru?

"Mai, wake up."

"N-Naru?" I opened my eyes, but my vision was a little blurry. Naru was losing his tone and that light was even bigger.

"You're safe, Mai. For now."

"For now...?"

"As long as you're not alone. Please stay by my side. It's for the best."

I felt a weird sensation in my belly. I put a hand on top of it. "What's happening to her?"

"Don't worry. The baby's going to be fine."

"No! Tell me! I want straight answers!"

Naru sighed. When he opened his mouth as he if he was about to tell me something, but then he was interrupted by a mysterious voice.

"She'll know when the time comes... Naru." The voice emphasized Naru's name, as if it were a joke. It sounded like the same voice I heard in the "Dream Incident." Naru suddenly got up and walked away. Why did this always have to happen when I was so close to a conclusion?

"We'll see you soon... Mai..."

We...?

~ Dream End ~

That was the first dream I had in weeks. I knew it! Dream Naru was in league with the ghost(s)! What did the baby have to do with this? And why did the ghost want her power? I needed to know what they were doing before it was too late.

As the days past, I was always left alone to take care of myself. And I got really, really, really bored. Sure there was a giant screened TV I could watch, but I would always be too tired to even turn it on. There was a fridge stuffed with food calling my name, but I was too exhausted to go in the kitchenette and get something to eat. Everyday was the same: wake up at 12:00 A.M., eat something that Naru prepared for me (I never knew he could cook. He would usually demand for me to make him tea everyday, so I always thought otherwise), watch as much TV as I can until I fall asleep, eat a snack/meal, take another nap, have another snack/meal, eat what Naru prepared for dinner, then go to sleep at 7:30 P.M. It was really dull and lonesome.

Being pregnant sucked- at least when you're alone. You couldn't do most things on your own and you had to rely on others to do the simplest of tasks for you. Naru didn't even come back until later in the night. Did Naru actually think about this when he demanded me to move with him? This was probably one of the most simple-minded things he had ever done! Even he should've know that women needed 24/7 care when they were pregnant! (Mai: 2 Naru: still infinite)

It had been a week since I started living with Naru, and I was already entering my 5th month. I looked in the mirror. My stomach was getting bigger and my face was swelling. I really needed to workout after the baby was born.

"Mai? Are you here?"

Was that Naru? No, it couldn't have been Naru. His voice was deeper and it always sounded serious, monotone. Plus, this voice was more feminine and soft.

"Mai?" The door opened and revealed

"Mori-san!" I hugged her. She looked surprised at first, but then her cheeky smile appeared.

"It's great to see you, Mai-chan! Naru called me and asked me to watch over you for him, but he never told me why. I came here as fast as I could to see if anything was wrong." Then Madoka saw my stomach, which making our hug a bit complicated. "I guess I just found out."

I blushed in embarrassment. "I can explain. But first, can you get me some juice?"

"Sure!"

There were many things I admired about Madoka. The first thing was that Madoka could convince Naru to do whatever she wanted him to do. She was the one who advised Naru to go into the ghost hunting business in the first place.

The second reason was her courage. I envied her for not fearing Naru in any way and having Naru feel intimidated by her. Even Lin-san got stiff whenever she was in near proximity. She was my idol. I could just imagine what it would feel like to be in Madoka's shoes. I would be wearing the pants in SPR, not Naru.

The third reason was that I could immediately open up to her. In one way, she was like an older sister I could talk to about anything (besides Ayako). In other ways, she was like a psychic (I hoped not). There was nothing I could hide that she wouldn't find out, eventually. She had her ways, like when she helped us with the Blood Labyrinth case. But this time, she was the big sister. I told her everything. From the dream that caused all of this, to the fight that made me live here (I didn't tell her about the poltergeist thing. She could find out on her own; she has her ways).

After I finished telling her everything, she suddenly smiled. "I knew there was something special about you, Mai."

"What are you talking about?"

Madoka almost dropped her cup of tea. "You and Naru!"

"..."

"You know: You two... always fighting... when you two fell into that manhole and got to spend quality time with each other…"

How the hell did she know that? Oh yeah, she has her ways...

"Now you two are expecting a baby and you're living together! You guys skipped a couple of steps in your relationship, but it was worth it!"

Why did people always have to act like this when it came to me and Naru? "I already told you that this pregnancy thing was an accident," I said, irritated. "But I'm still going to take care of her, even if Naru won't help."

"Her?"

"Mother's intuition; I think it'll be a girl. Anyway, it's not like Naru cares."

"Oh, I doubt that." Madoka took a sip of her tea.

"How do you know I'm wrong?"

"I told you before, Mai, Naru has weird ways of showing that he cares. This is one of those ways." I was having a hard time believing Madoka. Naru was always downright annoyed by my presence. "In my opinion, I think you're his favorite."

She couldn't be serious. "You can't be serious."

"Why not? You're the only one who doesn't treat Naru like he's a god, and you're not intimidated him, either. You're like his best friend."

"But he treats me like I'm a little kid with no common sense!"

"Naru's just playing with you. And he only wants to keep you safe. I've never seen Naru so overprotective of anyone in years. I mean, he's letting you live with him! I bet by a milestone that he wouldn't let Takigawa-san, Matsuzaki-san, or even Hara-san live with him no matter what the consequences were." Wow, I affected him that much? Naru must've had a rough childhood. And I could never imagine him letting Masako live here. I could tell by the look on his face that he was always irritated by her presence. "Trust me, Mai. Without you, let's just say, Naru probably wouldn't live to see another day," she said in a dramatic tone.

"Okay, I get it. You don't have to be so melodramatic about it. I know I should take back the things I've said about him."

The fourth thing I liked most about Madoka was the way she always made people realize that things were better than they seemed. The things she told me made me really reflect on why Naru called her here in the first place. He really did care. "Thank you, Madoka."

"No prob! Now, about the wedding..."

"What wedding? We've never even DATED!"

"Maybe you have and you're not telling me something. I'll have to ask Naru later."

"Ask Naru what?"

NARU!

He was standing by the door with his arms crossed and an eyebrow quirked up in suspicion. Lin was right behind him and held a stoic face.

"Oh, it's nothing," Madoka lied. Her mood changed and she looked so innocent. That was another thing I liked about her. She could always keep a secret- when she wanted to, at least. But, hey, she was part of the SPR family, and I loved her like a sister.