"Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in."
~Shannon L. Alder

Chapter Fourteen

Leaving the Cage

After what felt like centuries of suffering under the tyrannical gaze of nurses, doctors, and the cursed journal, time had become a tangible concept. Mai could feel it trickle down her back like water from a broken pipe. The more she acknowledged it, the more it seemed to flood her senses and cloud her judgement. Before long, every one of her thoughts carried the weight of a waterfall. There was no place she could hide from the destruction, no place she could linger to avoid becoming absolutely drenched. Time seemed to slide in front of her eyes like an old film reel. She could see every filament—taste every fragment on the tip of her tongue. It was enlightening, but terrifying at the same time. Leaving the iron-clad grip of the hospital was something she needed to do soon. Waiting any longer was literally forging a small bomb in Mai's brain. She had to move or do something before her body would explode into a billion pieces.

Fortunately after waiting for what felt like years, her time had come. Still bruised and battered, the officials within the hospital had finally given her permission to leave. With whatever speed remained in her body, Mai managed to gather all of her things and reluctantly call Hoshou for help. After the argument the other day, the last thing she wanted was to set eyes on him again. Looking him in the face after what she had said would be a challenge, one that was nearly impossible to accept. In the end however, she had no choice. In order to leave the hospital, he would need to check her out, talk with the doctors again, and take responsibility for ensuring she was 'healthy'. After all the time that had went by, Mai knew what that word symbolized: medication. She was crazy after all. There was no way she could be released into the public without some sort of session with a drug.

While waiting for Hoshou to arrive and sort everything out, Mai was at a loss. The only book she had to read was one that wanted to make her life a living hell. Talking to someone was out of the question. She had tried that already and had very poor results. Every other sick person surrounding her was either too ill, rude, or tired to accept any invitation to simply chat. If they did want to talk, that only introduced another problem; there was nothing to talk about. Mai wasn't the kind of person to whine or prattle on about how her body refused to cooperate with her desire to heal. Pain was something she always kept to herself. Listening to other people's depressing lives was something she couldn't manage without disastrous results. She didn't need to be reminded about the little monster that lived in her backpack. She already thought about it every day.

So the questioned remained—what was she supposed to do? Mai had one idea. It was the kind of proposal that would have had the doctors and nurses reeling, but she didn't care. There was business she had to take care of, the kind that needed to be dealt with early rather than later. With her belongings in hand, she slipped out of the doorway and into the hall. It was long, narrow, and utterly silent, which was something she had to be grateful for. Her shoes may have smacked loudly against the tile, but it was better than having a close encounter with another human being. Some authoritative figure would have yelled at her if they knew what she was up to. For the longest time she had been forbidden to even toy with the idea of seeing Sadao. She was responsible for his condition after all. Despite the guilt that tricked throughout her veins, Mai couldn't stop moving. It was crucial that she saw him in the flesh. Seeing him alive, rather than sprawled out on her apartment floor would hopefully erase the horrible images burned into her skull.

Unfortunately, finding his room would be a challenge. Some of the nurses had brought it up in conversation, but there were quick to remain silent when she was nearby. Seeing as she was 'crazy' the women didn't trust her with a ten foot pole. Apparently any sort of information they released into the air had the potential to become dangerous. Mai obviously thought otherwise. If she was really clinically insane they would know very fast. No one in their right mind started screaming, yelling, and tearing objects apart without having some sort of problem or another.

Shaking her head, Mai creeped around a corner, peeking into the interior of a random room. There really wasn't much to see; an empty bed was perched in the far left corner, along with a small dresser table and a window. It looked like someone had once occupied the space, but that obviously didn't matter now. Whoever had lived in the room was gone. All that remained was dust and bitter memories. She could almost feel them move throughout the air surrounding her body. With every breath she took a haunting sensation crept along her skin. Something unbearable had occurred within the room. Ignoring that fact was pretty much impossible, as it starred her directly in the face. Frowning, Mai slowly creeped further down the hallway. The faint traces of a room number lurked within her brain, but she was unable to unearth it from the depths of her mind. The fatigue sliding throughout her body was far too overpowering.

"I heard that you had a very troubled patient in the emergency wing this morning."

Mai froze. Nurses were coming in her direction. By the sounds of it, they would reach her location very fast. If she didn't find somewhere to hide soon, the women would definitely get her in some sort of trouble. Scowling in distaste, Mai ran a hand over the top of her head. There was only one option available to her. Unfortunately it had everything to do with the deserted hospital room. Of all the weird and uncanny places in the world, that had to be the one to offer her some sort of salvation. If she knew any better, the world was definitely punishing in some shape or form. There really was no other explanation for everything she has to go through. If there was, she sure as hell couldn't see it.

"Why me?" she hissed, her voice sliding throughout the air smoothly. Sending a dark glance over her shoulder, Mai frowned and slid into the deserted hospital room. She dove behind the door, taking great care to not to make any disruptive noises. It was important that she wasn't seen, let alone heard. Otherwise, her life would only continue to turn into a giant mess. That was something she really didn't need in her life at the moment.

Holding her breath, Mai remained behind the door and silently watched the nurses pass by. They continued to prattle on about nothing in particular. She heard something scandalous about a random doctor and a successful pregnancy, but that was it. There was nothing about Sadao or his condition. The only thing she got out of the whole situation was failure. There she was in a creepy hospital room with only her stupid thoughts to keep her company. If she had been smart, she would have avoided running off in the first place. Of course her plan was going to backfire. For weeks she had literally been the most unfortunate person in the world.

"Great," Mai muttered under her breath angrily, "now I have to go back to the hospital room and pretend I was taking scenic walk. The nurses are going to kill me. I should probably start arranging a funeral."

"That's pretty morbid for someone in your condition."

Jumping ten feet into the air, Mai spun around, accidentally knocking the door shut. The slam echoed throughout the hall madly, sure to elicit some questioning stares. A frustrated groan would have slipped through her lips, but Mai couldn't find it in herself to do it. She was far too occupied with whatever had suddenly decided to speak. It didn't sound particularly unfriendly, so she was certain it wasn't threatening. Still, she wasn't one to suddenly jump to conclusions. There was a small chance that whatever creature stood behind her could be a danger of some sort.

Biting her lip, Mai turned around hoping—no praying that she would be greeted with something moderately pleasant to the eye. It was tiring having to deal with fear every single day. If she had it her way, there would be no need to feel such a thing so frequently. No one, not even a young adult, deserved to tip toe around like a small child. It was far too ridiculous to deal with.

"Like I was saying, that's pretty morbid for someone to say. I mean honestly, you look pretty fine to me."

All Mai could do was stare with her eyebrows raised. The creature standing before her was far from anything threatening at all. The so called creature was a human. A young girl, perhaps fifteen years of age, sat with her legs crossed along the surface of a hospital bed. Her dark hair was twisted into a lazy braid and she looked annoyed. It was obvious as to why; Mai had barged into her room, slammed the door, and probably disturbed her beauty sleep. While walking down the hall she could have sworn that the space had been empty, but now wasn't the time to question what she thought had existed. Right now she had to somehow run away and avoid the potential doom the teen would spread due to her stupidity. Wincing in mock pain, Mai attempted to quickly leave. Before she could twist the doorknob however, she was interrupted.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's not like the nurses have suddenly disappeared. I have to say, you made quite the scene with the door slam."

Sighing miserably, Mai ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to invade your privacy."

"Well you did," the girl muttered angrily, "and there's no stopping that now. If you leave, more nurses will probably barge in here again."

"Shouldn't you let them help you? That's what they are for."

The girl looked at Mai like she was insane. "Look who's talking! I don't see you seeking out their company. It looks like you're avoiding it to me."

"I won't disagree with you there," Mai mumbled, once again attempting to leave the room. She pulled the door open a crack, peering through the small gap she had created. From the looks of it, nurses were still patrolling the hall. Faint echoes of their laughter slowly trickled along the floors and walls, only serving to create a special kind of pain. It would have been awesome if Mai could simply leave and continue on her journey, but that seemed to be out of her hands. She would have to wait, which meant dealing with her unfortunate situation.

"Why are you hiding from the nurses anyway? Aren't you an adult?" the girl asked while fiddling with the adages of her shirt.

Mai could only frown in distaste. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't."

"I like you," the girl snickered in an amused tone, "you have a sense of humour, but you still didn't answer the question. Why are you hiding?"

"The nurses have a tendency of getting on my nerves."

"Yeah, but why? Don't you have a sob story of some sort? A tale filled with woe?"

A small frown creeped across Mai's lips. She wasn't one to play into anyone's hands, but something about the girl bothered her. Sure, she was annoying enough, but somewhere behind the smiles and odd questions was a hint of despair. When she thought about it, there really was no sense in the thought. Unfortunately, she had tossed good sense out of the window ages ago. It was impossible to remember when she had acted like the world had been in the palms of her hands.

"I don't have a tale of woe. I just got in a little accident," Mai finally decided to say, ignoring everything involving the journal. For once she just wanted to have a semi-normal life again.

"Huh. So that's why you're all battered up."

"Pretty much," Mai added hesitantly before appraising the girl once again. Yes—there was certainly something troubling about the teenager. It was almost undetectable, but sadness seemed to linger behind her gaze. Such a sensation was incredibly troubling for one reason only; it served to create confusion. There was no reason for her to be so concerned and yet she was. In frustration, Mai frowned deeply. She really needed to know what was going on in her head.

"So there's more to the story?"

"Why do you care so much? Shouldn't you be resting or something?" Mai asked curiously.

"That's kind of difficult seeing as there's a stranger in my room."

"You don't seem to mind very much. You won't really let me leave."

For a moment the sadness in the girl's eyes seemed to fade away. She laughed wholeheartedly, even pausing to slap her leg. "It's for your own good. Sometimes it's best to have a break from all of the evils in the world."

Mai didn't chose to make a comment on what the girl said. She just raised her eyebrows in question and continued to wonder why on earth the teenager would say such a thing. It was obviously in relation to the nurses, but still managed to pull on her heartstrings in a way that nearly hurt.

"The nurses are pretty evil, but lots of other things are bad too."

"There are definitely worse things in the world," Mai finally managed to mumble under her breath. Sighing, she turned to peer through the door again. From the sounds of it, the hall was still not clear. For all she knew it would take centuries until it was empty again. Her idea had been ridiculous in the first place. It would have been smart if she remained in her little gloomy getaway instead of tying loose ends. If she was found in another patient's room there was a huge chance she wouldn't be allowed to leave the hospital for a few more days. The staff would probably think she was even more crazy and that was something she didn't need.

"You're so annoying," the girl said halfheartedly, "how many times do I have to tell you to stop looking through the door? The nurses will see you."

"I'm just trying to leave you in peace. I shouldn't be in here."

"In my room or the hospital? You never really specified."

Confusion filtered through Mai's veins. That was another thing about the girl that threw her off. For some reason she had an odd fixation on her behaviour and life. Rather than respect the privacy of others, which Mai had difficultly exercising in real life, the nameless teenager chose to stick her nose in everyone's business. It wasn't typical of someone her age at all. Kids didn't take an interest in others. Normally all they wanted was independence and freedom, two ideals only adults could truly attain.

"You're too curious for your own good. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Maybe," the girl replied happily.

"Well maybe you should put your curiosity to use and stand guard by the door. The nurses won't bother you."

Smiling, the girl hopped off of the bed. "I wouldn't be too sure. I've had some run-ins with them in the past. From what I recall, they didn't like me very much."

Narrowing her eyes, Mai slowly stepped to the side. Despite the time that had passed by, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something weird was going on. If she ever wanted to leave the hospital, it was now. The girl's presence was simply becoming more bothersome.

"If I help you get past the staff where are you going to go anyways? Not back to your room, I hope. They must know that you're gone by now."

"If you want the truth of it, I was trying to find a friend. That turned out to be a spectacularly bad idea," Mai said in a reluctant, but sad sort of way.

"A friend. What kind?"

"The friend kind?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Is the person a girl or a guy? Are you romantically involved? There are too many kinds of friends out there to simply limit it to one type. That would be such an injustice."

"It's complicated."

Laughing, the teenager pointed a finger at Mai in a knowing way. "Believe it or not, that is a type! Now only one question remains! What's this person's name?"

Throwing caution to the wind, Mai finally decided to answer the girl's ridiculous questions. If she did, there was a good chance she could leave the room without further interference. She didn't really know where she was going to go, but leaving seemed like a good start. Like most things, she would probably figure it out along the way. If that ended up putting her in the nurses hands, she wouldn't complain.

"His name is Sadao Oshiro."

The girl flashed a brilliant smile, each of her teeth glittering in the dim light. "The nurses like to talk, you know. I might have heard that name before."

Mai snorted in doubt. "They don't talk that much."

"Not around you. Around me on the other hand," she paused to release another sly grin, "they talk pretty freely. What if I have heard his name before? Don't you think I could offer some help?"

"Why would you want to?"

"I'm bored."

That was doubtful. The girl seemed perfectly content doing nothing before. In thought, Mai scratched her chin. She was taking her job pretty seriously. Every few seconds the teenager would pop her head through the gap along the door, taking in the scenery that made up the hallway. Occasionally, her eyes would darken in thought—what was on her mind, Mai couldn't say. Maybe she just wanted some peace and quiet as well. She didn't look particularly sick, but that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy the benefits of silence in some shape or form.

"There are plenty of other things you could be doing."

"You should be happy," the girl began in a sombre tone, "I could just as easily get the nurses to come in here. That would satisfy my boredom as well."

A small scowl quickly laced its way across Mai's mouth. She had obviously forgotten how temperamental teenagers could be. "Fine. If you want to help, I won't complain. What do you know?"

"A room number."

The whole situation was too much of a coincidence for Mai to deal with. How on earth could some random girl have the exact information that she needed? It just didn't make any sense. Starring at the teenager with more than a handful of suspicion, she shook her head. "I don't believe you. What if it's the number to some other random person's room?"

"You don't trust me? Come on! Those nurses always talk up a storm when they're here!"

"Like I said, they could have been talking about anyone."

Shrugging her shoulders, the girl sighed deeply. "It's up to you. Will you take the number or not?"

"Do I really have a choice? I have to get out of here somehow," Mai mumbled under her breath.

For a moment the girl ducked her head past the door again. She made a happy sound before returning to meet Mai's tired gaze. "The hall is clear! Are you ready to go?"

Mai only had the energy to nod in compliance. The girl laughed before throwing the door open and running back to her bed. She moved towards the bedside table and rummaged through the drawers. With the speed of some sort of hyper animal, she grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, pausing for a moment to scribble something down. Within seconds, she folded the note, ran back towards Mai, and slapped it into the palm of her hand. She attempted to unfold the weird little message, but the brunette wouldn't have it. The girl quickly shook her head, a bright smile never leaving the edges of her mouth.

"Don't open it here. If the nurses do see you in the hall, you can pretend to be lost."

"Okay." Mai replied, once again in a doubtful way.

"Good. I'd wish you luck, but I'm not one to toss that sort of mischief around. It's not always a good thing."

Before she could walk out of the door, Mai stopped, once again briefly glancing at the paper crumpled between her fingertips. "You never told me your name."

That question seemed to bother the brunette. For a few fleeting seconds, the sadness Mai had detected earlier seemed to return in full force. It almost radiated off of the girl's eyes, surrounding the room with a curtain of suppressed thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Like fog, it swayed in front of Mai's gaze, whispering the sort of secret only a select few could hear. It was unattainable. Before she could even discover the source of the girl's hidden distress, it seemed to slip through her fingers. Hospitals could create enough problems, but she wasn't so sure it was responsible for whatever plagued her young friend's thoughts.

Smiling grimly, the girl waved in her hand in a dismissive manner. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

Raising an eyebrow, Mai slid out of the doorway. She took great care to look in both directions. It didn't matter if someone else had been on the lookout; she was going to check and see if any nurses or doctors were nearby. It was better if she just avoided any human contact of that sort. "Perhaps we'll meet again?"

"I'd like that," the girl replied with a knowing grin, "I'd like that very much."

The only thing Mai managed to do was release a weary smile. Something about the girl's statement sent a shiver up her spine. It was creepy for a girl her age to take such an interest in anything, let alone seeing another human being again. They were basically strangers, and yet the girl acted as though she knew her somehow. Weird didn't even define the situation, so Mai chose not to think on it too much. There was enough in the world she had to worry about. Sleep was one of those important things, so it would obviously be best if she put her odd concerns to rest.

"Goodbye," she whispered before slipping down the hall. With the paper pinched between her fingertips, Mai had a feeling she would find her way. It was difficult to say why, but if the number didn't bring her closer to Sadao, she didn't know what would.

The young girl on the other hand, remained within the hospital room. She stood silently, the smile along her lips fading entirely. It was as though a cloud had somehow smothered her happiness and sucked it away into a dark abyss. All that remained was a hopeful, yet sorrowful frown. Whatever light that once shimmered in her bright eyes had flickered out of sight as well. The girl was now a shadow—a fragment of what Mai had once seen.

Looking on with hope, the girl suppressed a small smirk filled with the lingerings of a daydream. "We shall meet again. This was, as one would say, only the beginning."

A/N: Hello, FanFiction! It's been quite awhile, hasn't it? I have apologized hundreds of times, but I know it doesn't cut it. Unfortunately, I can't help it. University is a busy place! I barely have time to get any updates pumped out! Since it's reading week however, I have managed to find the time to get two chapters written for you guys! Isn't that exciting? It was only meant to be one, but somehow it became really long and had to be broken into two parts. So the chapters work together, okay?

I hope this chapter doesn't seem pointless! Believe it or not, the mysterious girl has a role to play. Perhaps one of you can guess what it is? I will post the other chapter in a week, unless I can be persuaded otherwise. Like always, thank you for reading! I really appreciate the support! Please feel free to leave a review!

TeaAndWarmSocks: Hello, my friend! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I definitely agree with you; the stance I'm taking on the characters in this story is considerably dark. I like popping a bit of humour in here and there, but other than that it strays from the anime's brighter mood. Time changes people. In this story we'll see how much.

Fanficluver4life: A new reader, eh? That's awesome! I'm glad that you have decided to take this story on! I apologize for the lack of updates. I really try to post new chapters when I can. It can get pretty difficult sometimes, which really isn't any fun.

AmayaSarana: I'm happy you liked the wine metaphor! I enjoyed putting that together! When I write chapters, I always try to link something from the beginning in the end. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but this time it may have! As for Naru, I really love getting into his head. He's such a fascinating character. I love his horribly pessimistic attitude. If I was Mai, I would be a sobbing wreak. I would probably chose a desolate corner and sit there for eternity. Your assumption is a good one…Have a happy new year as well! (It's a little late, but good thoughts always count.)

AmyNChan: Everyone is definitely beating each other up for sure. When will it all end? That's difficult to say! With Naru back, there will probably be no end to the ridiculousness!

ThePurplePomegranate: NARU IS BACK! I am cheering with you!

FireStarRD: Seven days….more like two months! I apologize! The next chapter won't be such a long wait, but the one after that might not come for awhile. We shall see. As for the last chapter, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Naru and Mai are both being rather dense at the moment. In time they will both cool off and begin thinking strait. As for the journal, I suppose it's similar to the ring, but I like to think there's more to it than that. You shall see!

~IronEclipse