Yo! Thank you to all readers so far!
Naru and Mai wrenched apart at the sudden, shocking sound. Mai rushed to turn the stove off. This effectively cut off one scream, yet all that was left now was silence.
"Noll. Mai. Akira's room. Now!" Lin's voice sounded from the hall, booming with urgency.
They didn't hesitate, and immediately ran out the kitchen, around a corner, down the hall, and into what they knew to be Akira's bedroom.
The man of the house was flat on his back in bed, looking extremely pale with red staining his bare chest. He was conscious, but barely.
Ayako was hunched over him, yelling instructions out at the others, her hands bloody but steady. John and Yasuhara ran in and out of the room, arms laden with whatever the doctor needed. Lin aided her with what she was doing, occasionally brushing her hair away when it came in the way, as his hands weren't covered in blood like hers. And Bou-san stood at the foot of the bed, chanting in a loud, clear voice.
"…No!" Looking as pale as her father, Mai immediately rushed to his side, making sure to go to the opposite end of the bed that Ayako was at. Silently, Naru came up next to her. Unable to resist, Mai took the man's shaking hand into her own. "No…please don't leave me! Come on, dad, please!"
"Matsuzaki-san!"
"I'm working, dammit!"
Akira, now paler than ever, slowly turned his head to look at Mai. His eyes, which were so like hers, filled with sudden happiness. "Mai…" he said, his voice so very faint.
"Dad…" Mai didn't care about pretending anymore. She couldn't. Not now.
Akira smiled as much as he could with the pain he was obviously in. "Mai… You really are my-my Mai." Taking his hand away from hers, he cupped her face, wiping tears with his thumb. "I was right…all this time. You've g-grown so much… You've become so very beautiful…" He took a shaky breath, followed by a wheezing cough.
"Matsuzaki-san!" Naru repeated, sounding more urgent now.
"Shut up! I'm trying!" There were beads of sweat on Ayako's forehead, and her face was contorted in serious concentration.
"All these years I-I thought you were gone…" said Akira softly. His eyes were locked on Mai, as if he couldn't even see anyone else in the room. "But just look at you-" he winced with a hiss of pain, and his breathing grew shallow.
"No! Dad, no, please! Ayako, please, please hurry!" Mai didn't care that she was begging and crying. He was dying-her dad was dying and that was all that mattered at the moment.
Ayako was working almost feverishly by this point, but everyone else just watched in silence. They had been doing whatever they could to help, but there was nothing more for them to do at the present time. Bou-san, who had considered the possibility of Jack attacking while they were all distracted, had put up a barrier to prevent him from doing just that, but now he too stood silently.
"Mai…my beautiful girl… Never- Never stop smiling…okay?" Akira's voice was barely audible by this point.
Mai let out a sob. "No! No, no, no, no! You can't leave me! You can't!"
"Dammit! Stay with me, Akira! Come on!" Ayako surprised the others with her sudden exclamation. She leaned in closer to her patient, swearing under her breath. Her pace quickened considerably.
Mai's crying intensified as soon as she realized what was happening. She was so scared, so sad, she didn't know what to do. Naru seemed to notice this. Though he didn't say anything, he placed a hand on her shoulder, the other slowly stroking up and down her back in a comforting manner.
"Mai, I love you…" Akira made an odd sound, somewhere between a gasp and a wheeze, before his breath caught. The light in his eyes as he gazed at his daughter suddenly vanished. The hand resting on Mai's cheek went slack and hit her lap.
Mai screamed. Her cry was just so anguished that no one knew what to say. Tears streamed down her cheeks and after a moment of hesitation Naru knelt down next to her, trying to gather her into his arms. Just as he had expected, she fought, and roughly at that. But after a moment, she simply went slack.
Naru just held her, silently allowing her to cling to him and cry. There was a darkness in his eyes that hadn't been there since Gene had died. Ayako was as limp as the girl. Her blood soaked hands were trembling and her expression was one of devastation. Lin seemed as expressionless as ever, but if one were to look at him closely, they would have seen a deep sadness on his face. John and Yasuhara were equally pale and equally surprised. They both stared, transfixed, at what used to be Akira.
"The kekkai won't hold for much longer guys," said Bou-san suddenly, surprising the others. Though it seemed otherwise, the monk was very upset by what had just happened, even more so owing to the fact that he had been the one guarding Akira when all this had happened in the first place.
"Mai…" It was Naru who spoke now, but he made sure to keep his voice gentle. "Come, we need to move."
"No! No, I won't leave him!" Mai was beyond devastated, and couldn't even think about leaving her father.
Naru however, grabbed hold of her firmly, and forcefully pulled her away from the bed, even as she fought against him. He pulled her trembling form against his, and locked eyes with his guardian. "Lin."
Lin nodded once. He knew it was going to be his responsibility to deal with Akira. He was going to call whoever needed to be notified, take care of everything. He was to do it all, and he would.
Naru meanwhile, decided it would be best to get Mai away from everyone else (though they may have thought otherwise) and led her up to the bedroom he'd been sharing with Lin, assuming Ayako would need a change of clothes in the room she and Mai were sharing.
He sat Mai down on the bed before joining her. He wasn't surprised to see that she was still crying, and he did the only thing he knew he could and just held her close.
Mai cried for a long time, but finally, pulled away slightly. There were tears staining her cheeks, and her eyes were all red and blotchy, yet she forced herself to meet her boss' eyes. "Naru…?"
"Yes, Mai?"
"Will you do something for me?" Her voice was thick, but firm.
"Anything," And he meant it. He really would do anything for Mai. Anything.
"Help me forget," she said softly.
That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!