A/N: Hey guys! Loads of things will (should) be cleared up for you in this chapter! Enjoy, as always! Still in Mai's POV.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt. :)
I moved over so that the duo could walk in, my mind a turmoil of emotions. So Naru wasn't lying, was he? My heart clenched painfully as the sense of betrayal hit me with its full-force. So, I left my parent while they were still alive? What kind of daughter does that? Not to mention that I may have been living with a complete TRAITOR the last 14 years. Why hadn't Frederic ever told me that he was Seika's BROTHER? Much less my blood-related uncle? Bou-san must've seen me stressing over the matter, because he had put a hand on my shoulder and was watching me with soft eyes.
"Hey, Mai. There's got to be a reason for all of this. Don't kill yourself over it, alright?" He murmured sternly, watching me for my reaction. I nodded slightly, holding back the sudden urge to cry. He smiled gently, as if sensing my pain, before grabbing my upper-arm and maneuvering me back into base, where Naru was questioning the woman and Emi...Emiko? Yeah, that was her name.
"Here she is." Naru told the older woman, before grabbing my hand and pulling me to his side. Today, I ignored the flutters in my stomach at the physical contact; I had too much on my mind to be flustered.
"What?" I asked him softly, slightly confused. What did he want? Shifting over slightly, I gasped in surprise as Naru pulled me onto his lap and held me around my waist. Everybody, minus the newcomers, were staring at him in surprise, but hid it with a smirk sent in my direction.
"Tell them what you know. Let's piece this mystery together, shall we?" Naru responded to my earlier question. I knew what he was doing; over the years, he had learnt to be more compassionate whenever something horrible happened. I liked this side of Naru; it was calming, caring. Much better than his stoic side.
"Well, all I know was the night the first attack happened, Frederic had me out the door and across the border overnight. I'm learning about Emiko and the 6 months now, literally 5 minutes ago." I explained, my voice still soft. Emiko nodded slowly, taking in what I had said whilst watching me with curious eyes. I smiled tentatively at her, somewhat nervous. A flurry of questions went through my head. What if she didn't like me? What if she was a complete bitch to everyone around her?
"Mai!" Yasu's frantic voice cut through my thoughts, causing me to turn my head and stare at him. He paused, probably for dramatic effect, and then asked me his oh-so-important question.
"Do you have any cheese?" He pronounced the words slowly. I cocked my head to the side, letting the words sink in. What...?
"Yeah, sure. Blue cheese. Only thing is, there's a LOT more blue than there is cheese." I retorted, crossing my arms across my chest. Everybody burst out laughing, even my sister.
The older woman even chuckled lightly, amusement written as clear as day across her face. I smirked in victory, as Yasu pouted and lowered his head in submission; his way of saying I won this round of our discreet joking game we kept going no matter where we were.
"Moving on...we're going to try an exorcism today. Bou-san, John, that will be you guys. Mai...if anything goes out of hand, I'm giving you the permission to do whatever you choose to do. EXPECT for playing the 'hero' role and sacrificing yourself. Let's move, team!" Naru ordered, pushing me off his lap slightly. Jumping up with a new-found gusto, I cheered as we all strode out of the room with Emiko and the other woman, who's name was Annalise, in tow.
Suddenly, a cold-blooded fear settled over me, and I felt myself freezing over with dread. I knew that feeling, and I didn't like it one bit.
"Naru, he's waiting for us in the master bedroom..." I whispered, grabbing his arm and swinging him around to face me. He searched my face for a second, a fleeting emotion in his eyes, before calling out for the rest of the group to stop.
"Mai's leading this." He informed them. I nodded in recognition of his plan; this was getting out of hand. Seika was out to kill, and at this point it didn't matter who he exactly killed.
"Alright, so. I'm going in alone and handled that bastard. I'm finishing this once and for all. You guys stay outside, make sure we don't destroy the whole house. IF I need the help, I'll yell something out. Any objections, other than the boys saying I can't handle this?" I instructed, glancing at all of them.
"I'm helping." Emiko said, a predatory light in her eyes. I glanced at her, and I smiled despite myself. She reminded me of myself so much it was sorta scary. She had the same, stubborn expression planted on her face, alongside a taste of her unbreakable determination. Giving her a curt nod, I motioned for everyone to start moving again. We jogged up and stairs and down the long corridor, and soon enough we were standing in front of the double doors that led off into hell- AKA the master bedroom.
"I'll see you all when it's over?" I said quietly, gazing at the group. The group that had become my family over the last two years. The group that took care of me whilst Frederic couldn't. Now, they were staring at me; wide-eyed and teary-eyed, save for Naru, his parents and Lin.
"Be careful Mai..." Ayako whispered, covering her mouth with her fingers. My heart clenched; this is what true family was. I nodded once, and took a deep breath before walking into the room with Emiko at my side. It was relatively dark, expect for the thin beams of light coming from the cracks in the blinds. It was dark, but also silent. Squinting, I listened for any sense of movement aside from Emiko and my own. Beside me, Emiko was filling her palms with PK. I smiled; good, she knew the basics.
"Where is he?" She asked me, her eyes darting all over the place. I shrugged as I filled my own palms with PK, when his chilling voice filled the cold, dead air.
"Well, thank you for joining me, my dear nieces!" He cackled, before finally showing himself. He floated just a few feet away from us, his eyes shining with hatred and ballistic power.
"Thank you for giving us the chance to kill you." Emiko retorted in response, clenching her teeth. He nodded, as if recognizing her spunk.
"Well, night night Seika." I added, before springing into action. Darting forward at a lightning-fast pace, I swung my arm up and shot out bolts of PK. Emiko, following my lead, swung around to his other side and shot at a furious pace whilst I kept him distracted.
"You little-!" He roared, before swinging his own arms out and sending us flying into the walls. I groaned, having hit the vanity mirror. Struggling onto my feet, I staggered over to where Emiko stood, wincing as she put weight onto her legs.
"Kick it up a notch?" She asked with a wink. I grinned and nodded in response, before turning on Seika. Closing my eyes in a moment of concentration, I felt my stronger sense of PK come forth; passed the weaker chasms. Reopening my eyes, I pulled my lips back in a smirk before launching the now green surges at Seika. For a moment, his eyes widened in panic, before he composed himself and shot back equally strong surges. I felt my eyes narrow; so he WAS playing with us. Good to know.
Stepping towards him, I fought the strength of his own power. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Emiko shoot in her own surges; only slightly weaker than mine.
I smiled despite myself; my sister was almost exactly like me. Suddenly, Seika roared in anger, and I found myself being propelled backwards. Shocked, I watched as his surges turned into the blood-red of a level 9 PK-ist. Why was he going all out? He was going to disperse himself!
"Mai?" I heard Naru yelling, faintly. So he knew something was suddenly wrong. Did he have cameras in this room? Were his parents horrified at the sudden changes? I didn't have time to think about what they were thinking now; I had to make a quick decision. Taking in a deep breath, I released my last resort. The last resort that would probably end up killing me. I released my level 10 PK surges.
Struggling with the overwhelming urge to just lay down, go to sleep and never wake up, I watched my surges turn into the deathly shade of purple; the colour that indicated immense power.
"What are you DOING? You're going to kill yourself!" Seika yelled, flabbergasted. I ignored him, and pushed myself forward. Suddenly, I realized that the surges were starting to fly everywhere. Everywhere included where Emiko stood. Making a fast move, I kept up my surges whilst shoving Emiko behind me using my shoulder. Ignoring her cries of protest, I turned back at the 'war' at hand, watching Seika struggle under my wrath.
"You're go-going to k-k-kill yourself!" He cried, trying to get me to back down. Hah. He clearly did not know what kind of person I was.
"No. This is what revenge tastes like, Seika!" I screamed, shoving my arms forward one last time. I watched as he disappeared behind the twists and strands of purple and red light; the lights of death. His mangled, muffled scream was the last thing I heard from him before it was deathly silent yet again.
"Finally..." I whispered, swaying on my feet. I felt as if my body was slowly shutting down, starting with my legs. Feeling them give away, I fell down to my knees. Emiko, realizing what was happening, ran across the room and threw the door open and shouted something incoherent.
"MAI! MAI STAY WITH US!" Ayako screamed, racing over to where I sat, slumped. My breathing came out short, ragged and quick.
"He's...gone..." I whispered, my chest constricting. I felt someone grabbed me and fling me into somebody else's arms, where I now lay bridal style.
"Mai!" Yasu cried out, grabbing onto my arm. Someone, I think Ayako, pride him off, before inspecting me. I felt my eyelids falling over my eyeballs, shielding my eyes from the world.
"She used her level 10 surges! She used all her life source!" I heard Emiko sob. Muffled voices. Garbled shouting. That was all I could hear. I knew what was happening; my senses were shutting down.
"Bye...guys...love you all..." I whispered, my voice barely audible. With that, I felt my body let my spirit go. But before I did, I thought that I heard, just faintly, the sound of Frederic cursing.
A/N: Isn't that a nice place to end? Mai most likely dying? Anyways, I hope you liked! I thought this was a pretty long chapter, compared to the others! Review if you want Mai to live, or if you want me update sooner! :D