Chapter Ten

Liquid shades of orange blazed a trail around Mai, coating her world with the bright red and gold of a raging fire. She was alone, swiping furiously at the flames until everything abruptly became dark, like a light had been switched off. And in the sudden darkness a familiar voice reached her ear.

"You don't think you were brought here by chance, do you?" Shuuhei whispered to her in her dreams, blackened lips widening into a wicked smile.

Mai bolted upright with a start, perspiration beading her forehead. For a second her surroundings completely eluded her until she remembered where she was. In the house Ammit was buried under. And then the dream came back to her. It could be nothing more than a dream because of the charm Ayako had made specifically for her. She hadn't even been able to contact Gene, even though she'd tried to test the limits of the charm. It was extremely powerful. Naru had been very satisfied with that.

She quietly tiptoed around the room as she pulled on her shoes. She knew she wasn't supposed to be loitering around the darkened old house by herself but she needed to get out, to breathe in some fresh air not tainted by the living stain that covered the place. Besides, she had the charm with her. If anyone caught her roaming around she could use that as backup. She shrugged on a light jacket and made her way down the hallway. She paused and listened at every creak and whistle made by the wind but no spirits were waiting to jump on her. When she reached the front door without anything happening to her she breathed a heavy sigh of relief, a burden lifting off her shoulders that this time she wouldn't have to make the others worry about her safety.

The night air outside was crisp and chilled and she tugged the jacket tighter around herself. She walked down the pathway and onto the road. There were no cars about at this late hour. Not even the street lights were working in this part of the neighbourhood. The only source of light she had to guide her way was the moon. She began a steady pace down the street, her thoughts going back to the nightmare she had about the ghost boy. Why on earth would she dream about something so twisted?

In her nightmare she had been running from something so bone-chillingly sinister it rose goose bumps on her skin to think about it now. Something that had been after her for a long time, waiting for the moment when she had been of an age. Even though she was a safe distance away from the house, protected by one of the most powerful charms she had ever seen, she still had the feeling that she was being egged on from deep within the abyss of her subconscious. Like every choice she had made up until this point hadn't been her own, but that of someone else's, bending her to their will.

A sudden low creak from her right had her spinning violently, almost tripping in her haste. She ambled forward warily, pausing in surprise when she came across a playground. The roundabout was moving and creaking eerily in the wind, like some invisible being was slowly riding on it. The swings were gently moving to and fro, matching the rhythm of the roundabout. All around the playground there was dense brush and towering oak trees, probably put there to block the site of the children from any prying eyes.

Mai made her way toward a swing a sat down, using her right foot as leverage to make the swing move. As she swayed gently she thought back to the moment when she had first met Naru. Had it been by chance? Or had their meeting been fated by someone else? Something else? Why was it, that on that day only, she had been at school earlier than she ever had in her life? Why had she swung by the old schoolhouse on that particular day instead of avoiding it as she normally had? Had those actions been hers, and hers alone? Or had something else been whispering in her ear, spinning fables and telling stories about what she should be doing instead of what she actually wanted to do?

Mai sighed in frustration. Thinking about it only made it worse. It only made her question her motives all her life. She supposed if she hadn't met Naru that day she wouldn't be here right now, a target for Ammit in a place she never should have been in. Suddenly she sat up straighter in her seat. She was right. If she hadn't met Naru she wouldn't be worried about becoming a food source for the demoness. She would blissfully be completing her studies as a high school student, more concerned about choosing which college to go to when she graduated rather than wondering whether she would survive the year. Why on earth had she picked that kind of life?

Because you didn't, a dark voice whispered, caressing her skin lightly.

"But I did," she murmured to herself. "I picked this life because I wanted to help, but mostly because of him."

Did you really?

"Buzz off," she muttered, annoyed that she was having a conversation with a voice in her head. And she had no doubt this time that it was her own voice, casting dark thoughts on her actions to date.

A shiver passed through Mai. She made that sound as if there was another voice in her head that wasn't hers. And maybe there was. She sighed again and leaned her head against the chain that held one side of the swing up. She still wasn't completely trusting of her judgment right now, especially when it came to her latent abilities. Who knew what else she had hiding under her belt and what she could do.

A cold and unnatural wind suddenly caressed her skin. Mai eyed the playground warily. She was pretty damned sure she was alone. Nothing should be able to touch her. She quickly dug her hand into her pyjama pocket and gripped the charm between her fingers. A sigh of relief escaped her. It was there, sitting like a hot stone in her pocket, the proof that she was the safest person around, at least when it came to all supernatural based beings.

She cast a glance around her again. She still had the feeling that she was being watched. From her knowledge she was certain that neither Ammit nor Shuuhei could leave the house. So then why did she feel so uneasy? She was even doubting why she had come here, of all places. Had something urged her to leave the house when she normally wouldn't have?

Mai thought back to when they had first received a call from the Yoshina family. When Naru, an expert in the field of the paranormal, had wanted to decline the case, why had she, still a novice, been adamant about taking it on? Had it really been her that day? Or some convoluted part of herself that she wasn't aware of? She'd insisted strongly to Naru about looking into it, which she'd never done before in any of their other cases. So what was so different about this particular case?

"It's Ammit," she murmured. "It has to be. I still don't know how they're luring the ghost-kissed here. Maybe that's the reason. Maybe she's gotten into our heads, brain washing us into acting like total victims." It was a very chilling thought, to think that woman could get into her head that way, to trick her mind into believing she was acting out on her own free will when in actuality she wasn't.

"Mai, what are you doing here? Didn't I say that you shouldn't go anywhere on your own?"

Mai jumped as the voice appeared out of nowhere. Even in her fright she recognised the smoothly contoured voice as belonging to none other than Naru himself. She cast a glance over her shoulder to see his tall, lithe form materialising from one of the bushes surrounding the playground. His coat was gone and his shirt was creased and untucked, a few buttons at the top unopened so she could see the top of his chest. She blushed becomingly, thankful the dark could hide her embarrassment. He probably hadn't expected to run into anyone out here. What was he doing in such a place anyway? And looking like that.

"But I'm not alone," she said quietly. "You're here, aren't you?"

He paused as he came nearer, dropping into the swing next to hers. She hesitated, not knowing what he was up to. It made her very nervous when he didn't do things his usual way. She didn't know what to expect from him then, or even prepare herself for the things he would say.

"Yes, but you didn't know that when you wandered here. For all you knew, I could have been a serial killer," he said in a low voice.

She suddenly giggled at the outlandish idea. "Really? In this little town? I don't think so, Naru. What are you doing out here anyway? You know, besides attempting to be a serial killer."

"I've been taking walks around the playground every night that we've been here. Of course, long after Lin has retired for the night. I don't need him to tell me what I can and cannot do. It has a very comforting sort of peace that I can't attain while in that house," Naru responded.

Mai stared at him, wondering if he even realised what he had said when he was forcing her to do the very same thing he didn't want to do. "Interesting," she mused.

"What is?"

"That you find it perfectly all right to skulk around in such a dangerous area when I have to be body-guarded like I can't take care of myself."

"Do you think you could take Ammit head on?"

"That's not my point, and you know it."

Silence settled between them and she wondered how he managed to always get her hackles up without even trying. It wasn't as if he did it on purpose. Maybe she was just too sensitive where he was concerned. She always had been, since the moment she had first laid eyes on him, standing in the doorway to her classroom looking oh-so-casual when his intentions had been far from that. But perhaps she was thinking too much into it, as she always did whenever he was involved, analysing over every little detail, pondering over every little action, deliberating over every little thought.

"I'm sorry," Naru suddenly said in a low voice. "I usually forget myself when you're around."

"What?" Mai jerked her head to face him, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. Had she heard him right? Had he really just confessed that to her?

"Nothing," he muttered. "I just apologised. Take it as it is or ignore it, I don't care."

Mai rolled her eyes. Sometimes he went out of his way to annoy her, and this was one of those times.

"Can't we just enjoy the quiet for a while?" she asked instead of responding to his taunt.

"I already am. I'm not sure why you aren't."

"Really? You can't figure out why?"

"No, I know why. I'm just polite enough not to say it out loud."

Mai gaped at him, especially at the teasing note his voice had taken on. What was going on? He was so unlike himself it was a little chilling. She definitely knew it was him and no one else. She was awake wasn't she? She cupped her hands to her face, feeling the coldness of her fingers against her skin. No, it felt too real to be a dream. Besides, she prided herself on her ability to tell her dreams apart from her reality. And this, she was sure of, was not a dream.

"You're really relaxed," she commented quietly. "I don't think I've ever seen this side of you before."

"Well, you wouldn't have," he said, moving himself on the swing gently, matching her rhythm. "Like I said, this place has a peace I can't find elsewhere. Maybe it's the undercurrent of something that no adult should ever have to bear. This place is for the innocent. The energy given off this place is a far cry from what I have ever dealt with."

"And that innocence appeals to you?" she asked, trying to understand his train of thought.

"That innocence haunts me." The words were ripped from his throat, filled with so much anguish she felt her eyes tear up. She said nothing, waiting for him to open up to her.

"This is the innocence that was robbed of my brother and I. If we had just been normal maybe he would still be alive right now. Maybe we could have been a proper family," Naru's voice trailed off, as if realising exactly what he was doing.

"I'm sorry," Mai whispered, unable to voice the words that could offer him the comfort he seemed to need to much. "I wish I could do more but I…."

He surprised her by chuckling. The low baritones of his voice made her heart skip a few beats. She watched his face, the moonlight highlighting his dark as sin eyes. He was watching her with amusement in them, his earlier anguish evaporating in an instant.

"You've already done more than you realise, Mai," he said softly. "I don't know what it is. Maybe it's just you, but you've managed to make a pretty damned nuisance of yourself since I met you."

Mai was speechless at his confession. "I don't know whether to feel happy or insulted."

"There you go again making a nuisance of yourself. Take it as a compliment. That's how it was meant."

Eventually it registered in her head that when he called her a nuisance he said it with a lot of affection in his voice. Maybe he enjoyed it when she made a nuisance of herself. Perhaps it distracted him from all of the dark thoughts swimming in his mind.

"What are you doing out here?" Naru asked. "Don't think I haven't forgotten that you deliberately disobeyed me."

"You're not my father," she mumbled with disdain, shooting him a glare for getting that last part in. "'Deliberately disobeyed'. Really?"

Naru closed his eyes and made a small sound of impatience. He tilted his head toward the sky and she watched in awe at how beautiful he looked. His skin shone like alabaster and her mouth went dry. His dark hair swept over his forehead and flowed with the wind's ministrations. She felt a sudden itch to run her fingers through them and then immediately blushed again. What was the matter with her? She had never before felt such a desire to touch him, even if it was just an innocent gesture.

Maybe it was the night's aura that was rubbing off on them both. It did seem to be magical, especially because it was just the two of them. Especially because it was him there with her. As if to testify her thought the wind strengthened and pushed her swing to the side so it collided with his. He opened his eyes and pinned her with a gentle look, one she hadn't seen on him before.

"I'm still waiting, you know," he said pleasantly.

"Waiting?" she asked with a dumbfounded look.

"For you to tell me why you're wandering around on your own," he reminded her softly.

"Oh…that."

"Well?"

"Mood killer," she muttered, hoping he wouldn't hear her. If he had he said nothing. "I needed some air," she admitted quietly. "I couldn't stay in that house for another second. I feel so imprisoned in there. Like something is holding me back." All at once her nightmare came back to her. And she still didn't want to think about the worst part of it.

"Keeping you there." Naru's voice broke through her dark thoughts, adding to her statement.

"Exactly."

"Okay. So you've told me how you feel about the house. Now why did you really come here?"

Mai stared at him with stunned eyes. How had he known she had an ulterior motive? She'd been very thorough in keeping the slight tremor out of her voice that she felt whenever she remembered her nightmare. She even had her poker face on, the one she had always had but rarely used, especially when he was around. So how had he known?

"You're probably wondering how I knew," Naru stated in a calm voice, eyeing the road in front of them.

"I don't want to talk about it," she whispered, eyes wide with fear. What she was afraid of, she didn't know, only that it resided in her dreams.

"You don't usually have sombre moments like these, Mai," he continued ruthlessly. "From what I've seen you prefer to face problems head on rather than sit and nurse them in the quiet of the night."

Mai didn't want to hear this, she really didn't. She knew Naru would butcher all of the defences she so carefully erected and she didn't want that. And it would be so easy for him to do so it was bordering on terrifying. She didn't want him to see beneath the surface to the scared little girl underneath.

"So tell me, what has got you so scared that you'd run away?" he asked softly, turning his head and pinning her with midnight eyes.

"I…I'm not running away, Naru," Mai said. "I just…I can't talk about it. Please understand."

"Why not? Do you not trust me?"

Mai's head snapped his way and she gaped at him. "Of course I trust you. But that's not the issue here. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to feel the way it made me feel having those nightmares!"

She sucked in a breath of air at what she'd unintentionally revealed to him. She tried to glare at him for having that way about him that pulled secrets from the deepest part of her but failed. He looked too compelling in the light of the moon, too surreal at the moment even she momentarily had her doubts that he was real. Perhaps this was a dream after all. It would probably answer all of her questions about why Naru wasn't in character. He wasn't Gene either. She could tell them apart now, which twin was which.

"Nightmares, huh?" Naru said. "You should have told me sooner. When did you start having them?"

"Ever since Ammit invaded my mind," Mai admitted quietly. "They've been horrible, Naru."

"Why didn't you speak up sooner?"

"What could you or any of the others have done? There's not much anyone can do against nightmares except to bear them. Once you've been ensnared in one it's hard to wake up." Mai's voice trailed off. "No matter how twisted it is."

Suddenly she felt Naru's hand touch her shoulder. Even through her jacket she could feel the warmth in the gesture. Goose bumps broke out over her arms as his heat mixed with her coldness. Unconsciously she turned her head his way and let her cheek touch the top of his hand.

"Perhaps it could have helped if you had spoken about them to someone. It doesn't have to be me, you know. I know you have a close bond with Miss Matsuzaki. Why not try opening up to her? You might just surprise yourself, Mai," Naru said, removing his hand. His fingers caught some of the strands in her hair as he moved his hand back and she felt tingles all the way down her spine.

"It's not something I can share with others."

Mai was afraid to even touch that part of her nightmares. She kept herself focused and well away from it but even as Naru spoke bits and pieces of it began filtering back into her mind. Once the memories of those nightmares began coming back there was no stopping them. Naru's voice was tuned out over the roar of the screams bombarding her. She shut her eyes in defeat, finally allowing the entire thing to come back to her all at once as she opened her mouth and her voice spilled out, enlightening Naru about what really went on in her head.

They were all in a burning world, hot flames licking at their skins, scorching through towns and burning through bonds formed. Mai could still remember the feeling of terror that swept through all of them as they stared up at a huge hulking figure cloaked in shadows. Only its dark red eyes glowed with vengeance as it loomed over them. She remembered Naru taking her hand in his, shouting at her to run away from all the carnage it was causing but her feet were rooted to the spot. She could only watch with growing horror as it began to slowly advance on them all.

"Dammit, Mai, move!" Naru snarled, tugging hard on her hand.

"It's your fault," a sinister voice whispered through the air, reaching only her ears. "You're the one who killed them all."

The tugging on Mai's hand abruptly ceased and the burning flames consumed them like a tidal wave. Only she was left standing. On top of a pile of burning corpses. Still she couldn't even react, not even to the sight of the man she loved burning beneath her. His once beautiful midnight eyes stared blankly up at her, forever frozen in a macabre mask of accusation.

No! She tried to shout the word but no sound emerged from her. Why was this happening? Why was she having such a horrid nightmare? Why did Naru have to die?

"It's your fault," the ominous voice whispered again. "You're the one who killed them all."