Yo! Thank you to all readers so far!
Once again, Mai awakened in darkness, only to see Gene looming over her.
"What the-?" She sat up, nearly hitting him in the process. "Gene…?"
He smiled gently and helped Mai to her feet. "You suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It gave me a fright," said Gene.
"Oh, sorry, but you know how I have no control over this," said Mai with a laugh. That laughter however, died away abruptly as a thought struck the girl. "Wait…you mean you didn't bring me here?"
Gene shook his head. "Nope."
Mai was definitely confused now. "But then…how did I get here?"
"We brought you here," replied two voices at once.
Mai and Gene looked around as a couple of figures emerged from the darkness. Mai's eyes widened in surprise.
"Ryou-nii? May?" Her eyes began to fill with tears. Not having seen her siblings in a long time, Mai was having a hard time keeping the emotions hidden away.
May came over to her and hugged her. Ryou did the same a moment later. Gene stood there, smiling sadly at the sight. Knowing what happened to this family broke his heart.
After Mai had had her fill, she stepped back and spoke. "Why did you guys bring me here?"
"When I possessed you, I told that boss of yours part of what's going on in this house," said Ryou. "Your past is involved, so when you wake up, I want you to tell him not to tell you anything until he feels it's okay to do it. Understand?"
Mai nodded. "I get it, but why?"
Ryou and May exchanged a glance. Gene noticed the pained looks on both their faces, and decided to end things now before everything got worse.
"Mai," he said, "Noll will tell you when he can. There's a reason your brother and sister aren't telling you. You need to wait."
Mai sighed and nodded, though she didn't look all that pleased about it. "Fine. I understand."
"We miss you, Mai," said May sadly.
"I miss you guys too. I don't like living alone…"
"Mai, I want you to go back now," said Gene suddenly.
Mai turned to look at him. "Why? How come I have to leave now? You usually keep me here longer."
"You were possessed for a long time, Mai. You need to rest and being here isn't helping you recover."
"Alright, I'm leaving…" Mai reluctantly said goodbye to her siblings and Gene, before closing her eyes, leaving the Astral Plane and falling into a deep, but proper sleep.
It had been hours since Ryou had left Mai's body and she had passed out. Naru had laid the girl down on the bed in the room she shared with Ayako.
It was the middle of the night and Mai was still asleep. Naru sat on the bed next to her, taking advantage of Ayako having gone off to take a long bath. A bedside lamp was on and he was reading through his notes. He looked over at Mai as she gave a soft sigh, turning onto her back.
Naru was glad to see that Mai seemed relaxed now. During most of the time she had been asleep, she had been tense, but whatever the problem was finally seemed to have passed, and he was glad for that.
Eyes beginning to grow heavy, Naru knew it was about time he went to sleep too, but he decided it was better to wait for Ayako to return. Leaving Mai alone in here likely wasn't a good idea.
Naru didn't realize that as he pondered this, the equipment was picking up something very interesting indeed.
That's it for now. Considering how short this was, I'm pretty sure I cut something out here. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!