Chapter 34: Zen

"So what's the plan?" Takigawa asked, after he had convinced Ayako into letting Mai stay with them, and clapped his hand together. "Do we let them all out?"

Naru turned to the curious man, "Zen, can you manage that?"

"Not enough time," Zen said, which got everyone thinking about how many prisoners there could possibly be in the cave. "We'll try though." Everyone was surprised, with the exception of Mai, because Zen had spoken properly and because Zen had said 'WE'.

"We?" Naru asked, curious.

"Mai and I," Zen said and he grabbed Mai away before anyone could stop them.

"I can't see anything Zen, how can I help?" Mai complained when Zen stopped. "I can't possibly put a key through a keyhole."

"You can," Zen said, "I know you know you can."

Mai stared at the void. "How did you?"

"I'm dead Mai," Zen bluntly said, surprising Mai.

"Dead?" Mai asked, just to make sure she heard correctly.

"Dead," he confirmed. "I know what you can do."

Mai nodded and helped Zen unlock the other cages with a single pull from an imaginary rope and immediately, the cage opens. Zen and Mai were half way done through the cages when they heard a piercing scream.

"What was that?!" Mai asked looking for Zen, who was beside her as soon as the scream started. He grabbed her wrist and they ran towards the place from where the rest of SPR are.

Naru saw Mai and Zen join them in the cage they were at, but he couldn't move; he was on the floor covering his ears. The scream came from a little girl standing beside a man who looked like he had a permanent grin on his face. Just like Naru, the others were down and covering their ears too.

Other kids came in and tied their hands and feet together so they were kept down. Because there was nothing to block their ears from the noise, they fainted. Zen didn't know how he could help. He initially approached them for that reason but instead, he had caused misery upon them.

When Naru gained consciousness, he was unable to move and his body was aching. He was on lying his stomach, his upper body bare. The grinning man was hovering over him and he looked to the right to see if the others were alright. Mai was near beside him, partly unconscious and the rest were not budging.

"Now now, I wonder if you're in the position to worry about others," the man smiled as he drew on his back. Naru can taste the bile coming up his mouth. This was like what Mai had told him, this was like with Gene all over again.

If only he could move his hand even a bit, then he could save them all.

"This is all for the sake of the diva," the man sighed as if he was in a misery. "If she has no partner, she would die."

Diva?

"You see, I am a very picky man," he said as a kid passed him a scalpel. He was about to drive it straight to his shoulder blades when a soft yet sharp whistle echoed in the cave and two white apparition appeared and wheezed pass the man, distracting him completely.

Lin was awake just in time to call his shiki, saving Naru and saving him from being killed by the grinning man and the professors. His third shiki had focused on letting on of Naru's hand free. The grinning man managed to escape and he made his way to Mai, yanking her hair to force her head back and exposing her neck as he hovered the blade of the scalpel on the white skin. Naru gritted his teeth.

"What did I tell you about her dying?" he asked. "If she has no partner, she will die."

The shiki had finished letting Naru's hand go and he immediately shot his PK and everything grew white, "She will not die."

Naru slumped down and Mai screamed, she didn't know what was happening. Lin was about to set himself free when Zen walked to the brunette and touched her shoulder lightly.

Mai was shaking and she looked up to the direction of where she felt a hand touch. A faint outline of large wings appeared behind Mai, "He's still here Mai, it's time."

Mai stood up and drew her golden staff, "Demon removal," she said shakily. "Exorcism."

Several screams were heard and the room was filled once again with warm golden light. Moments later, as the light subsided, the cave started raining with snow and white spirits appeared, disappearing to the ceiling.

Lin watched as Mai slumped down, just like Naru had, but Zen caught her. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. Lin thought his eyes were fooling him, he had seen an outline of wings. He recalled all the time Mai was called an angel, when her shoulder blades were injured, when a pair of wings was drawn with blood behind her.

"Everyone lies for a reason, Lin-san."

Everything made sense to him.

When Mai regained enough energy to move, she let her eyes turn into her normal golden ones turning her vision sharper and clearer. She took in her surroundings, if she didn't get her 'human' eyesight back to normal, she would have to leave SPR. Anyone would question her golden eyes if she remained working with the rest of the team.

"Mai," Zen said, extending a hand to her.Mai took it and Zen smiled at her, "Thank you."

"You said you were dead," Mai said and Zen nodded.

"I am. When they took me, I was taking a stroll from the hospital. I had a weak heart so no one noticed when I took a walk at the forest. I had stayed a minute to long until I had an attack and I called for help, several man appeared and he told me he could help me."

A vision appeared, there were men carrying Zen into the cave without his stand and laid him on the bed."Before I knew what they were doing, they had started performing on me."

Zen's back hurled in pain and screams filled the cave. Blood seeped from the long cut on his back so fast it was like a running water.

"Once they started on you, their were only two possibilities; you will live like the dead," Zen watched as his screams subsided until all he could do was take as many air as he could. "Or you die trying to live."

Zen was buried into a hole and the scene disappeared.

"Zen…" Mai was crying at what she had seen.

Zen smiled at her and a little girl appeared beside him, a little girl with blonde hair and brown eyes was smiling at her, holding Zen's hand. "Thank you, big sister."

Mai shook her head. Zen looked at Mai, "I'm sorry I had caused trouble for you."

"You didn't," Mai smiled.

"I helped with the reason for your blindness," Zen said and Mai was surprised. "You weren't suppose to loose your eyesight. It is possible to temporarily loose your eyesight due to emotional stress but I helped with it. I appeared and burdened you, it took a lot of power to appear real and I had to take some energy from someone pure as you."

"An angel is capable of even resurrecting lives," Mai said and Zen nodded.

"You are also capable of many things," Zen said. "Releasing so much energy at a time will affect you, me clinging into you had caused you blindness."

Mai understood.

"Don't worry, when you wake up you will be alright," Zen said. "You finished the case, there is no other reason for me to be here."

"Mai," a worried voice called to her. Mai closed her eyes tightly, trying to open them. Please, please, please! She was praying her sight would return.

Mai slowly opened her eyes and Ayako's red hair appeared vaguely. Mai blinked and opened her eyes again, this time she can see the worried face of Ayako and John clearly.

"Ayako? Monk? John?" Mai asked.

Ayako exhaled and gathered the small girl into her arms, "You have your sight back!"

Mai blinked happy tears, "Yeah…" When Mai had calmed down, she noticed she was in a hospital room, nothing new for her.

"Where's Naru?" Mai asked, taking in her surroundings happily.

"Lin said he used his PK once again," John said, "He's in another room just like all of you were when we arrived."

"How many days has it been?" Mai asked, trying to stand up, her body was refreshed just like Zen had told her.

"Today marks a week," John said.

Mai choked in air, her pleasant mood immediately turned sour. "A WEEK?!"

"It's worrying," Ayako said, biting the nails on her thumb, "The doctor said if you weren't going to wake, they would announce you both into a coma."

"A coma?" Mai asked, "Why?"

"Both of you weren't moving Mai," Ayako said. "For the entire time you were in your bed."

"What about you guys?" Mai asked as she stood up.

"We woke up hours after we were sent here," Ayako said, helping Mai to stand. She knew talking Mai out to stay in her room would be a futile action; she would have to talk to the doctor later on.

They arrived the room Naru was supposed to be at but the nurse told him he was transferred to another room.

"Ms. Taniyama," Lin said, surprising the three.

"Mr. Lin," Mai smiled at the Chinese man, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," he said, "I need to talk to you."

"Can it-"

"Right now, please. It is quite urgent."

Mai looked at Ayako and John before nodding and Lin replaced Ayako.

"We're going ahead Mai," Ayako said, John was eyeing Lin suspiciously. When the two was alone, Lin guided Mai to a seat.

"I was awake Mai, I saw everything." Mai paled and her instinct was to scream at him saying he was imagining things because it was dark and light at the same time, saying it was a trick of light, "What is your reason to lie?"

Mai gulped.

Edited 07/10/16.

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