Chapter 58------Precious Things

-Riya's POV-

I reached for the bathroom door when—

It opened from the other side and the person whom I least wanted to see in a situation like this stood at the doorway.

"Riya-kun? Naze koko ni? (Riya? What're you doing here?)" A pair of dark blue eyes shone with surprise.

Dammit! Why now?

"I uh, I wanted to get something," I quickly lied and moved past her. I had to get her away from here as fast as possible, away from me, otherwise—

-Ba-dump!-

I blinked hard.

"Riya?"

I kept my head down in case my eyes had changed colour. "Listen, Mai, you have to—" -Ba-dump! - I hissed as another wave of pain rippled through my head.

"What? What's wrong?" Mai was anxious as she ran to my side, settling me down on the bed.

"Ni—ARGH!" –Ba-dump! - I cringed.

Please! Please don't do this!

"Dooshite? Riya!"

-Ba-dump! - -Ba-dump! - -Ba-dump!-

Don't hurt Mai!

-Ba-dump! - -Ba-dump! - -Ba-dump! - -Ba-dump! - -Ba-dump!-

My head felt like it was being pounded by a jackhammer. The pounding grew more and more intense till the point where I thought I had lost my mind, I couldn't feel anything! All of a sudden I felt no pain, I felt like I wasn't there.

-End of POV-

Mai couldn't touch his head but held his shoulders, arm, anything to try and make the situation better. She was at a loss, Riya was suffering and she didn't know how to help him! She didn't even know what was wrong with him! Inside, her conscience was screaming: "Help him, you fool!" but how? HOW? "Ne, Riya! Dooshite?"

'!'

He had his arms around her, pulling her close, tight.

"R-Riya?"

"Aitakatta, (I've missed you)" Eden whispered to conceal his voice, "zutto…aitakatta."

She felt her stomach cave in, her heart go into overdrive and her breath caught in her throat. She held back tears of joy. They had been apart for so long and hearing those words, hearing those words felt like the best thing that ever happened to her. It felt like wings, like freedom, supreme happiness!

"I thought I'd never see you again."

Behind him, the drawer of the desk rattled softly and slid open. With a twitch of the hand, the letter opener rose up like the waking dead and levitated in mid air.

"Baka, you promised remember? You promised we'd never let Eden come between us." Mai clung to him like glue. She didn't want to let go, she didn't want to have to go back to writing empty letters or talking to herself hoping that he'd hear her. She wanted the real thing: the brown-haired, purple-eyed and charismatic boy whom she grew up with. To savour the feeling of being loved and cherished again, to regain everything that she had lost a year ago.

"Well," the letter opener flew into Eden's raised palm, "I lied," and he brought his hand down—

Levian: Mai!

'!'

The sharp end of the letter opener pierced through the bed sheet between them as Mai pushed herself off Riya. She backed away slowly, eyes wide with fright, "W-What're you doing?"

The boy got up, wearing a smug look as he pulled out the letter opener and held it firmly in his hand. "I missed?" He met her gaze with cynical eyes and advanced towards her. With every step he took, Mai took two steps back, nearly tripping over the corner of the bed as she groped her way around. She reached the door and shook the handle; it wouldn't open! She grew frantic and shook harder, 'Please! Please open!' while keeping her eyes on the blade. Her breath came in short gasps as fear gripped at her heart, what was going on? WHY DID RIYA WANT TO KILL HER?

"Muda da. (it's no use)"

Mai banged on the door, praying that someone would hear her shouts for help. "Urusai na. (You're so noisy)" Riya's eyes flashed and a pair of invisible hands restrained Mai's movement. 'Nani!' She struggled and pushed harder but her hand wouldn't budge. Her whole body had become immobile! She pushed and gritted her teeth but to no avail. The least she could manage was a bit of shaking while trying to repel the immense force.

"Katta ne, ni-chan. (looks like I've won, brother)" He stood inches from her face, wanting to see the horror embedded in those eyes, the quivering of those lips, and broke into a sadistic smile. 'Such weaklings.'

"Why?" Mai managed to stammer. One again she found herself begging for her life, but could she escape unharmed this time like she had done so many times in the past? Could she escape from Eden?

There she stood, frozen, teary-eyed and helpless. "Why?" Broken promises, destinies, tears, laughter, bit-beasts, rivalry and power; bits and pieces of the possible answers flitted inside her head. She had seen Riya smiling, Riya laughing, Riya angry, Riya sad, Riya vexed but never like this, Riya had never acted like this. "Naze da? (Why)" The clear liquid was starting to flow.

"NAZE DA? RIYA!"

And like a bullet through the head, Eden's eyes glazed over for a millisecond.

-Riya's POV-

"Mai…!"

She looked stunned.

"Ni-ge-te… (run away)!" I fought against Eden's control. It was agonising to see Mai like this, what's worse at the mercy of her own loved one. I'd already lost too many people I care about, I wasn't going to lose Mai as well.

"Jamada! (Don't interfere)" Once again, I raised the dagger and brought it down—

"NO!" My arm froze mid way, trembling as though torn between two forces: to kill or not to kill?

"DIE!" I snarled but held back the letter opener.

You're not going to hurt her! I WON'T LET YOU!

"Nigete...Mai!"

-End of POV-

For some reason, the spell had worn off and Mai was able to move again. Riya looked like a transition between Jekyll and Hyde, arguing and fighting with himself. Whether good or bad was winning, she wasn't going to stick around to find out. Riya had told her to run, and run she would. She fiddled the handle and to her surprise, the door opened without much effort.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASILY!"

Mai dashed for the stairs, glancing behind to see Riya chasing after her. She burst through the door and ran down the musty stairway, leaping over two steps at a time. 16th storey, 13th storey, 11th storey…Her legs wobbled with every step but she needed to push on, 'Just reach the lobby! Reach the lobby and you'll be safe!' Upstairs, Riya sent blades of wind hurling at her, ripping at her jacket, slicing the railings and chopping the walls. 7th storey, 5th storey, 2nd storey…

Mai pushed through the door and instantaneously the cool lobby air hit her in the face, vaporising her perspiration. She ran on, attracting the attention of various tourists. Although Riya was far behind, she knew she wasn't safe. She needed an area with more people, she needed to get home! She could hear incessant footsteps against the marble flooring, he was coming!

The girl emerged onto the bustling street. Darting her head around, she headed for the most crowded place she knew: the subway. Riya couldn't catch her there, he wouldn't even dare cause a commotion. Mai raced down the steps and blended into the crowd of commuters. The stitch in her side hurt like hell but the thought of home kept her moving. She'd be safe soon, just a bit more…

-Granger residence, 10.47pm-

Rei sat hunched on the sofa, his gaze lingering on his watch.

-Flashback-

"Don't stay out too late, okay?"

"Yeah. Ja ittekimasu."

-End of flashback-

'She's late…'

Just then, the door bell rang and Rei was up in a flash to answer the door. He peered through the door hole, "It's Mai!" Kai became more engrossed in reading his manga while Rei went on to open the door.

"Okaerinasai. (Welcome back)"

Mai smiled, "Tada—ima…"

"KAI!"

The boy looked up from his manga to see Mai slumped over Rei. He tossed his comic aside and rushed to help his friend, "What happened?"

"Let's get her upstairs."

"What happened?" Tyson shot up from his seat at the sight of Mai. He quickly cleared the books off Mai's bed so that the guys could lay her down. "Take her jacket off." Max did as Kai instructed.

"Someone get a wet towel. Rei, go get the first aid kit downstairs."

The two boys nodded and left the room.

"What happened to her?" Max asked as he took off Mai's shoes and socks.

"I don't know. She fainted when she got here." Kai loosened her tie, undid the first two buttons of her shirt and placed two fingers on her neck. The throbbing was faint but it was there.

That was good enough, that was all he needed.

Rei and Tyson returned carrying a blue basin half-filled with water. Kai opened the first aid kit and took out a small brown bottle.

"What's that?"

"Smelling-salts." He unscrewed the cap and placed the bottle under her nose. Mai snorted and quickly turned her head away from the pungent scent. She groaned as four heads hovered above her.

"You all right?"

"Rei…?" Mai could only recognize their voices. Her vision was so blurry that she could only make out their dark forms against the bright light.

"What happened?" Tyson propped her head up against a pillow.

"Rei…" It sounded as though Mai was forcing herself to speak, "Sorry…I couldn't...come home early…"

'Mai…' The raven-haired boy's eyes turned somber. 'You remembered. You didn't forget.'

She couldn't hold up any longer, that last sentence had drained every bit of her remaining energy and she blacked out again. Tyson shook her arm to wake her but Kai stopped him, "Let her sleep. We can talk in the morning." Tyson nodded obediently and got off the bed, returning to his seat by the desk table.

"Something happened."

"Of course something happened! Look at her!" Max shouted as he directed a hand at Mai.

"No," Rei's voice was dead serious, "something really happened. She knew she had to come home early."

"What're you saying?" Kai looked at him.

"Something's not right," He looked disturbed, 'she was with Riya and the rest so how could she…?' He shook his head, "Never mind. We'll find out tomorrow."

Everyone took a last glance at the slumbering female, 'What on earth happened to her?'

-Next day-

The sheets ruffled as she awoke at midday. Propping herself up, she looked around the room, "Dare mo inai… (Nobody's around)" Mai's eyes wandered to the clock, 'OH SHIT! I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!' She scrambled out of bed—

"Itte!" The girl collapsed on the ground. Mai looked at her legs, what just happened? She placed one foot on the floor and crumbled like jelly. She tried to get up but her knee bent under her weight. "Oh my god what's wrong with me? Why can't get up?" She punched her calf, 'ITTE!' Okay, so it wasn't numb… But why did it hurt so much? It felt as though the muscle had been pulled, like she had been doing a lot of running.

'Running!' It suddenly hit her. She had been running! 'Sou…I was running from Riya.' An image of Riya flashed in her mind, he was holding a letter opener and his eyes were red…His eyes were red… 'HIS EYES WERE RED? But Riya doesn't have red eyes?' And yet, they looked so familiar, where had she seen them before?

-Flashback-

"Riya! Riya what's wrong?" I shook him. His face was turned downwards and he was mumbling something. It came out all messy and I couldn't make it out. "What's wrong?" I turned him around and— -gasp- red eyes. He had red eyes. "Riya?"

The person in front of me tilted his head to the side and grinned— not in a nice way… not in a way I found safe.

"Hello brother." I took a step back, this wasn't Riya's voice. This was…I started to panic…This was…

-End of flashback-

'Eden!' her head shot up. There was no mistake, if she could recall clearly, Riya's voice sounded strange last night. 'But if that was Eden…then he's the one who wants to kill me?' Mai couldn't understand. WHY? She had Eden inside her but she wouldn't dream of killing Riya. Why would Eden want to kill Eden?

"Whatcha doin' on da floor?" Grampa G was standing at the doorway carrying a pile of towels, he looked like he was just passing by.

"Ugokenai. (I can't move)"

"Eh?" The old man blinked.

She rubbed her calf, "I think I pulled a muscle."

-Riya and gang-

-Riya's POV-

I unlocked the sliding door and stepped out onto the balcony. Instantaneously, a gust of cool air hit me in the face, carrying with it a trace of exhaust fumes from the cars below. I snorted, not wanting any dust particles to enter my respiratory system.

The kind of air people breathe in the city…

I heard the door slide open.

"Yo. (Hey)" Copellia came up beside me, leaning against the railing as the wind blew at her fringe. "A lot of Japanese smoke, no?"

I looked down; the pavement was lined with smokers, all men. "Yeah."

"Still thinking about last night?"

I frowned; she had brought back the shameful memory of last night. "What was I thinking? I tried to kill her!" I remembered how petrified she was; she looked at me like I was a monster.

Was I?

"But you were possessed by Eden."

"It wouldn't have happened if I weren't so weak! I could've fought harder, I could've resisted his control! But I couldn't! I couldn't…"

"Riya…"

"How many more people have to die, Copellia? How many more have to die at my hands?" I hated this. Eden was using me as his killing puppet. All I wanted was to free Eden and avenge our tribe, I never asked for bloodshed. And no matter how hard I washed, the invisible stain would remain, on my hands…and in my heart.

"Everyone's weak, that's why we have friends," she faced me, "you may be powerless on your own but together, we can overcome anything."

"She's right." Drex appeared at the door way. "No matter what happens, we'll stand by you."

"But what if I lose myself completely and hurt all of you one day?" They talked as if it was so easy to forget one's past with others.

Drex dropped his gaze. I knew it…he couldn't answer.

"I have faith," he looked up, "that when that time comes, you'll do the right thing."

Drex…

"Sou sou! Bokutachi wa nakama deshyo? Dakara minna isshyo ni ganbatte, ishhyo ni susume! Ne? (Yup! We're all friends, right? So let's all strive hard and move forward)"

I laughed. She made it rhyme.

The maroon-haired girl smiled and the moody aura dissipated. "I'm gonna return her school bag, wanna come?"

"Nah, I don't wanna risk it."

"Aw, c'mon!"

I gave her a reluctant look.

The girl shrugged, "Fine. Suit yourself. I'll be back by 6. Adios!"

-End of POV-

-Granger residence-

"Hey Grampa! Mai up yet?" Tyson barged into the kitchen. The boys had just arrived home from school.

"Yeah, she's upstairs."

"Thanks!" He rushed up the stairs and found Mai sitting on her bed. "You're awake."

The girl nodded her head.

"How do you feel?"

"Like a paraplegic…" She blew at her fringe and looked at her legs. Okay, maybe she wasn't fully paralysed but it sure felt like it. Her legs were too weak that she'd end up crawling on the floor if she left the bed. And did she want the guys to see her in such a pathetic state? Not when hell freezes over…

"Kino…nani ga atta? (What happened yesterday)" Rei sat the wrong way round on the chair with his chin resting on the backrest.

"Nani ka…" Mai didn't feel like talking about it, the truth had hurt badly enough, she didn't want to have to remind herself all over again. Moreover, if she told them Riya had assaulted her, they'd forbid her to see him and she didn't want that. She knew Riya was innocent. If anyone was to blame, it was Eden. "I got into a fight."

"Must've been some fight to have your uniform ripped," Tyson rolled his eyes. "Who'd you fight with? Wolves?"

Mai narrowed her eyes and replied sternly, "Jyodan janai yo. (I wasn't joking)"

"I know," he crossed his arms, "but you're still lying."

'Cheh.' They could see right through her. Had she lost her touch? Nevertheless, they were going to get the truth out of her sooner or later. She scanned their faces; neither of them took their eyes off her. They could go on like this forever if Mai wanted to play the keep-your-mouth-shut game. "I'll tell you on one condition, that you don't do anything about it."

"But what if it's serious?"

"You DON'T do anything about it," she silenced the blond boy.

"All right."

"Fine…"

Kai snorted at her stubbornness.

Mai twiddled her thumbs, "It wasn't his fault. He was innocent. Eden was the one controlling him."

"Just tell us what Riya did."

"It's not Riya! Riya did nothing wrong! Eden was the one who tried to kill me!" Mai asserted. Why were they pinning the blame on Riya? He was innocent! HE WAS INNOCENT!

"Riya is Eden," Max reminded.

"CHIGAU! (You're wrong!)" Mai didn't want to listen to what they had to say. She knew what they were going to say, that Riya was responsible for his own power and that it wasn't safe for her to be near him anymore. She didn't want all that crap. She wanted to hear something else, why couldn't she hear things her way for once? Something that didn't have to be justified by: 'It's for your protection.'

"But why did Eden want to kill you? Don't you have his other half?" Tyson questioned.

"Riyu wa wakaranai (I don't know the reason)," she lowered her head, "nani mo wakaranai… (I don't know what's going on)" There was no logic behind it, why did Eden want to kill her? What had she done? Upset him? To get revenge? But for what? She hadn't done anything. It didn't matter if Eden was the one actually attacking her, all she could see and would see would be Riya doing it, Riya hurting her, Riya plunging the knife into her warm flesh, Riya…she'd only see Riya…and that hurt.

That hurt a lot…

She felt her chest compress, as if the emotion had come from behind her and grasped her heart, pulling, trying to tear it out…

"Hey."

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Kai opened his mouth—

"MAI! SOMEONE'S HERE TA SEE YOU!"

"DARE? (who)" Mai called back.

"Me," Copellia popped her head at the door and laughed. "I just dropped by to return your school bag." The girl raised her left hand, the black bag hung by her fingers. She walked into the room, nodded at the boys and sat on Mai's bed. "So, still shaken up by what happened yesterday?"

Mai leaned back in shock, "You know?"

"'course I know!" She slapped the girl's leg which made Mai cry out in pain; she ended up apologising profusely.

"So it's true then. Riya did try to kill her," Rei said.

"Not really," Copellia's dismissed, "Eden was the one controlling him. He's feeling really guilty now, been sulking the whole morning." She turned to face Mai who looked pensive.

"But why did Eden try to kill me?" the girl finally questioned.

Copellia smiled weakly. They say the truth hurts and this one really did. She couldn't tell Mai that Eden saw her as competition and that last night Riya was planning to steal the jewels. Mai wouldn't believe a word of it. She knew Mai trusted Riya with all her heart that she'd bend reality just to see things her way. She'd return to Riya's side no matter what happens. But right now, neither Riya nor she could guarantee Mai's safety; not when Eden could manipulate Riya any time and any way he liked. "I don't know," she lied.

"Whaddya mean you don't know? You guys travel together!" Mai argued. "Tell me, Lia." She shook her friend's hand.

'I'm doing this for your own good, Mai.' Copellia would rather see a heart-broken Mai than a dead one. Heck! The former could at least move on with her life right? "I have to go, the guys are waiting. We're going out for dinner." She got up to leave but a hand grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"Just tell me," her blue orbs were begging, "please!"

The pony-tailed girl sighed and placed both hands on Mai's shoulders and in Zeelan she said, "Take good care of yourself, okay?" She gave a little squeeze and let go.

"Why are you telling me this? What're you guys planning to do?" Somehow it didn't feel right; it felt as if Copellia was saying goodbye.

"Ja mata," Copellia gave a casual wave and walked out of the room.

"Why can't you tell me? WHY?" But she walked on, clenching her fists to suppress the hurt she was feeling inside. It crushed her to see Mai suffer like this, to hear her shout desperately and pretend not to hear. It was like leaving your injured pet behind to die, its cries for help ringing in your ears. How anguishing it must be to know that its master, the only one it could depend on, wouldn't even offer a finger to save it…Copellia felt like that, like she had failed her duty as a friend.

"COPELLIA!"

"It's for your own good…" Copellia muttered under her breath as she stood outside the house, staring up at the open window, wishing she didn't have to do this… She turned her heel and plodded on the cold pavement.

"COPELLLLLIIIIAAAA!"

-Fast forward-

"I've been thinking…" the maroon-haired teenager spoke out of the blue. Riya tore his gaze from the television and looked at her. "…Maybe she shouldn't come with us." The boy sighed, reached for the remote and turned off the television. He stared blankly at the wall before him as he sat cross-legged on the bed, "So what now?"

"I mean—it's not like I don't want her to come with us it's just—Eden might—"

"That's not what I meant," Riya interrupted. "I meant Mit-chan. You know how she hates it that Mai's with them. There's no way she'll agree with us."

"Eh? So you're cool with it?" Copellia looked stunned.

Riya turned to look at her, "You think I'd risk it? Copellia, I'd do whatever it takes to keep her safe! Even if it means…" He turned his head away and mumbled, "even if it means breaking up."

"What?" Her eyes grew wider, "What did you say?"

"I thought about it. Ma—" But a hand grabbed his shirt. "NO! YOU DO NOT THINK ABOUT IT! DON'T EVER EVER THINK ABOUT IT!" Copellia shouted exasperatedly in his face. Riya was taken aback by her sudden response but remembered she was still grasping his shirt "Let go…"

But the girl didn't budge, "Oh? So you're gonna explain yourself to me now? Save it, Riya Fujimori! You know how much she loves you! Why are you doing this to her? Did you ever think about how she would feel? Did you even consider the consequences? How could you—"

"YOU THINK I WANTED TO LET HER GO?" Riya shouted back, eyes brimming with tears. His chest heaved, Copellia had no right to shout at him when she had no idea what he was going through. As if he didn't want to be with Mai, as if he didn't want to get rid of Eden, as if he didn't want everything to go back to the way it was before! Everything just sucked right now!

"Then why? Why do this to her? Why not just stay far far away until everything's over and then get back together? WHY BREAK OFF THE ENGAGEMENT?" Copellia couldn't make sense of it all. Riya was so stupid! SO VERY VERY STUPID! She forcefully let go of Riya's shirt and stormed off to the other end of the room. 'You're an idiot, Riya. A BIG FAT IDIOT!'

"Will everything go back to the way it was?"

'!' The rage on her face vanished as Riya's words seeped in. "Of—Of course it will!" she quickly replied, "Don't spout rubbish!" Even if she was a bit apprehensive, she couldn't waver on her stand, she was fighting for Mai here! And agreeing would mean Riya made sense, that he was right. Riya and Mai had been separated for a year! They DESERVED to be together! And now Riya was telling her that he wanted to break off the engagement? What the hell was wrong with the world? WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH HIM?

"How sure are you that everything will return to normal?" Riya stared her straight in the face. "What if something happens to me or her? I'd rather she find happiness sooner with someone else than with someone who may not even be around anymore…" Riya lowered his head and kept his eyes fixated on his legs. The problem lay in the future. If he only knew that everything was going to be all right then he'd still cling onto Mai. If only all the good endings he could think of outweighed the bad, he'd still have hope.

Copellia smacked her forehead and gave a frustrated sigh, "Don't do this, Riya, please. It's bad enough that we're keeping things from her. What's more call off the engagement?" She faced him with pleading eyes, "Please, I'm begging you! Don't do this to her."

Riya bit his lip in shame, 'I can't…I'm sorry but I just can't…' He wanted Mai to be happy. He'd give anything to be with her if that made her happy. But it was impossible…Even if Eden was gone, what would happen to him? And her? He just didn't know anymore…he didn't know. The boy got off the bed, Copellia would make him shrivel up with guilt till he disappeared if he didn't get out of there soon. He needed space, time to think.

"Where do you think you're going? Don't you dare break the news to her tonight!"

'Tonight huh?' Copellia had given him the idea. But no, he wasn't going to do it. He placed his hand on the door knob, "She couldn't tell the difference, you know? Between Eden and me…" With that, he left to wander the city. Hopefully, some insane beggar would stab him in the back without warning so that he could die, because that was what he really wanted right now…

What good was it to live a life where you couldn't keep what was precious to you?