A/C - I have to stop updating so late at night. I end up missing sooo many mistakes T.T Anyways, here's to a much-anticipated Chapter 10! This was actually the most pivotal scene (for me) and one of the reasons I really wanted to write this story. So, it needed to be per-fect!

Thank you for reviewing =) (and for continuing to review...say...after this chapter!?)

Chapter 10 - Fight The Shadows

"Gene." I rasped, "he's not safe."

I watched Naru's pupil flare. "What do you mean?"

"In my dream he was in danger, we were..." I had to stop myself as I reeled back into reality. Naru was in my room, for some unexplained reason. This, suddenly, very odd. "Wait, why are you here?"

Naru said, like it was the most simplest thing, "I asked Hara-san and Matuzaki-san to leave you sleep."

"Why?"

Naru seemed annoyed at my change in topic but he answered anyway. "I'm not so blinded by pride to notice that sleeping gives you better access to your abilities." His eyes narrowed as he brought me back to the topic at hand. "Now, about Gene, what exactly did you see?"

I knew I shouldn't tell him but it was no longer safe to hide this information.

To start from the beginning was going to take too much time so I had to summarize. I told him about the visions that I had about Sara Ito, and everything everything Gene told me, trying to remain concise. I ended with my last dream about how Gene who was moments away from being taken by the Pishacha, and how Sara would devour his soul.

At the end of it, Naru stood up with his hands clenched at his sides. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?"

The edge in his voice...I've heard this before, and remembered what it felt to be on the receiving end of it.

I flinched. Not only was it the disappointment in his tone but it was the slip of control he had momentarily lost. My body felt the air snap, as if charged by electricity, and my skin was being poked by tiny needles. My hairs stood on end as I watched Naru hold back that endless amount of power by sheer will, alone.

I took a shaky breath. "Gene asked me not to say anything until we knew for sure."

"That," Naru hissed, "was not his decision to make."

"I'm sorry," and I truly was. I looked down at the blanket which I had bunched into my hands. I thought back to the last moment I saw Gene. His eyes were wide, concerned, and on his knees as he assessed the damage done to my ruined arm. Instinctively, I reached to grab my forearm, rubbing the skin that felt..strange.

I hadn't noticed a tear slid down my face, and I brushed it back with my hand.

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"There's nothing to be done now." Naru said, his voice still hard and hinged on something else.

"How can you say that?" I looked up at him. "We have to do something, this is your brother! Why aren't you more concerned? You don't know what it was like in there."

Naru gave me a firm look. "Gene was more than aware of the consequences. And now he's become a nuisance."

I thought my mouth was hanging open and I snapped my jaw tight, huffing out a breath. "I'm just as much to blame. I didn't argue with Gene when he suggested to keep this from you. I guess that makes me a nuisance too."

"I guess it does." Naru said coolly and that irritated me even more. As we were arguing, Gene was...Gods knows. I just hoped he was alive.

"We have to go help him." I said, firmly.

Naru countered, "He's a spirit. We can't help him."

"Why are you being like this? Are you pissed because we kept a secret from you?" I threw the covers off me and stood. Once again, I felt more anger and pent up frustration surging in my veins.

He gave me a sharp look, "is there anything else you've, conveniently, kept?"

It sounded like a rhetorical question, and maybe it wasn't but Masako's words flooded my mind at this opportunity.

You do this for you, and only you. I think you deserve peace, Mai.

I didn't know exactly how much Naru knew about the depression, or if he knew at all. I thought maybe he had guessed. Part of me didn't want to tell him because he would think less of me. Then, I wondered if he had thought of me at all during the time we were apart.

"This isn't about the case," I warned him. "This is about you and me."

To my surprise, Naru didn't say anything. He only stared at me with cool, indifferent eyes.

I took a deep breath in. "Four years ago you left, which is fine. You didn't owe us anything but you took something away from everyone when you did. Especially from me. You took away my job, which I truly loved, and my sense of family. It wasn't that you left, because we knew you would, it was that you...didn't come back."

Under my skin, I felt my heart pounding. It has been nearly a week since I touched those pills, to which I've felt a little more in-tune with my emotions and feelings.

What I was feeling wasn't sadness.

It was frustration. Anger, specifically.

Everything that Naru had stirred within me this last week was finally able to break past those barriers.

I clamped down on my jaw, clenching it tightly.

"I hated you for it." I pushed air past my teeth. "I hated that you were so selfish and just left without even considering us, or calling anyone to stay in contact. Even after you left I still had feelings for you and I never understood why I loved you, or could continue believing in you. You're the most self-centered person I have ever met, and you're too-damned proud to notice anything beyond your stupid ego when you're wrong or make mistakes."

"As much as I enjoy my shortcomings being drawn on," There was something strained in Naru's voice when he spoke, "Are you done yet?"

"No." I seethed. "This entire trip you've given me nothing but headaches, and I've probably done the same to you. If we aren't arguing or fighting, we're ignoring each other. It's made me realize that even when I thought I hated you... it was actually ime/i that I hated. I became this useless, hollow person who needed crutches to get by, like the pills and the cutting. Then, you all-of-a-sudden showed up out of the blue and I felt everything again. Only, this time it wasn't the blackness of despair. It was years of pent up frustration."

I took an unsteady breath, "why was it always you that saved me? Or, you that could make me feel anything beyond that depression? Anytime I needed help you were always the one there, and that frustrated me too."

It took me a long time to fully understand that, whether Naru knew it or not, he had effectively kept me from shattering completely - by giving me an outlet for this frustration.

Air hissed out of my teeth as I pushed out the words, "why is it always you?"

We stood still with the minutes passing by in silence. I tried to regain my composure, my breathing was rapid and I had to calm myself down or I would start crying. I didn't want to cry anymore, and I still had one last thing to say...something that I hadn't told anyone. Something that I had only just started to realize recently.

Quietly, I said. "This trip made me realize that there's still a part of me that wants to love you."

There.

The dangerous truth - my feelings were out in the open.

It was dangerous to be emotionally vulnerable to Naru. He didn't understand how to separate his mind from his own emotions and ended up making your vulnerability for what it was - a weakness.

Naru stared at me for a long moment and I dared a glance at him. "Maybe it's for the best not to love someone who is such a bad person, like me."

From the look on my face, Naru clarified. "I was under the impression that you didn't want anything to do with me."

'You're the most selfish person I have ever met.'

'I can't believe I ever thought I loved you.'

What?

Was he upset? Those words that I spat at him yesterday.. did they hurt him?

"Naru, I was just...mad. I don't think you're an awful person or -"

I was silenced by Naru, who moved and closed the small gap of space between us. My pulse quickened.

Something intense passed through the room as I felt my heart slamming into my chest. Naru's eyes didn't change and whatever control he exerted upon himself was visible in the tense way he held his shoulders.

I closed my eyes and imagined a Naru who could freely act on those emotions and natural tendencies - the way Gene could.

I imagined him reaching out, touching my face with his hands...

He was your first love, Lucien had told me. Only, he was wrong. Naru wasn't just my first love.

I was still in love with Naru - despite...everything.

Naru did not do anything, he only stood very still in front of me as if struggling internally.

Finally he spoke and there was a heaviness to his voice that I did not understand. "I'm not upset that you said those things. You have every right to look at me and see the worst, possible, human. I did something terrible to you and I will not insult you further by righting my past wrongs with words. There is something you need to know, however. It's something I should have told you a long time ago. While I was away, I was -"

A sharp, loud ringtone sang in the room and we both looked towards the source of the sound. It was my phone. Naru stepped back gracefully and I cursed at whoever's wrenched timing.

"Answer it," he said, coolly.

Whatever spell that was between us was suddenly broken. It had sounded like he was about to say something… intimate. Maybe it was something that would change the entire dynamics of our relationship.

No, I thought firmly.

This is Naru. He wouldn't say anything about his feelings. I doubt he even understood what he felt in times like these.

I turned and went to dig my out the phone from under my pillow. Masako's name flashed across the screen.

Reluctantly, I answered.

"Hi, Masako," I greeted, albeit was a bit forced. "Is everything okay?"

There was screaming on the other line, and - maybe my cheek had pushed the button by mistake - the call was suddenly on speaker. The loud screaming filled the room.

"MAI! Please, help us!" It was Masako.

"What's happening?" I said into the phone, pulling it away from my ear. Naru stalked over too.

On the other line, Masako began crying.

"Hara-san, what's wrong?" Naru said, urgently.

She panted, "She's here and - Oh God, I think she's going to kill us. Please, we need help. There's...this thing.. it's going to AHH-"

A shrill scream ended her sentence and the phone clicked off.

"Masako!" I yelled into the empty line.

I looked up at Naru and he was already at the door. "We have to go. Get dressed."

Quickly, I threw on a pair of jeans, a shirt and a sweater.

I didn't have time to comprehend anything other than the fact that Masako, and the team, were in trouble. Masako had sounded as if she were being chased.

Instantly, I was thrown back into my dream where Gene had been attacked by the Pishacha and we had to run for our lives. It was even more terrifying that this was reality.

That scared me even more.

I met Naru outside and he pulled up in a black sedan that Yasu had been using. I climbed in and Naru pulled off onto the road in a series of sharp turns.

"I couldn't get through to the police station," he said through gritted teeth. "I'll try again in a bit."

"I'm going to call her again," I took out my phone but I was shaking so much I couldn't properly unlock the phone. "I have to make sure she's okay."

Finally, I unlocked the screen and dialed Masako's number. She answered on the first ring.

"Hello, Mai. I hope you got enough sleep."

Her voice was soft, sweet and friendly. Pleasant, even.

I jerked my head back and looked at Naru. I put the phone on speaker.

I asked, in an unsteady voice, "M-Masako? Are you...alright?"

"I'm fine," She sounded confused. "Are you and Naru on your way? There was some interesting activity that happened. I'm sure he would be like to see it."

Masako sounded like she was fine. In fact, she sounded more than fine - she sounded at ease. Not the way she had been screaming into the phone no less than, maybe, five minutes ago.

"Did you see a little girl?" I asked, warily. "A spirit girl."

She hesitated on the other line. "No, there are no spirits here. Is everything okay, Mai?"

"Do you remember calling me? You said something was going to kill you. You sounded really scared."

Masako paused on the other line, "I didn't call you at all."

I watched Naru give me a sidelong glance.

He answered. "Hara-san, tell Lin we're on our way there."

Masako sounded confused on the other line but did not question Naru. She said, "I'll let him know, see you soon."

The call ended and something wasn't right, I felt it deep within my bones. There was something very wrong, my skin was covered in a thick layer of oil and grease.

"What's happening?" Naru asked, impatience testing his tone.

"I don't understand," I said - confused and shocked, still trying to figure out this feeling. "She had called me begging for her life, saying that someone was there and was going to hurt them. But, from what she sounded like just now, everything was normal. Maybe I had imagined that phone-call..."

"That's unlikely," said Naru. "Since I also heard her on the phone."

"Then I don't know."

I watched the twining road pass by us. I didn't think we were already so close to the turn off we needed to take to get to the back-road of the prison. The small highway we were driving, soon, curved sharply to the right, indicating that our turn was on the left immediately after -

"Hey!" I said as he sped past the turn that would take us to the prison. "You just missed the turn."

He looked at the in-dash GPS, which was telling us we still had another forty minutes of a long, straight highway ahead.

"No, I didn't."

Naru's voice a a mixture of annoyance and impatience. He hated being told he was doing something wrong.

From outside, I - again - watched as we approached that sharp right curve. Again, Naru did not make the immediate left turn. This time I watched the turn fly by us and kept an eye on the GPS. Normally, it would show the oncoming turn however this time I didn't see the curve shown at all on the screen.

I knew something was wrong.

"Stop the car," I said loudly. "Pull over, something's not right."

"Mai," he said under his breath as he slowed and pulled off to the side of the road. Naru leaned over, re-inputting the coordinates for the prison into the unit. "I didn't miss the turn. We aren't close yet."

To try and prove this, he pressed enter - except the GPS indicated that we were still over an hour away. It also told us that we needed to turn around and go the opposite direction.

Naru's eyes narrowed.

In reality, we should be closer to forty minutes away, or thirty kilometers, since we have been travelling for half an hour (Naru may have been speeding).

I tried to piece together these strange events: first, we had a terrifying phone call from Masako that didn't actually happen (even though both Naru and I heard her). Then, Naru couldn't get through to the police station, and now we kept passing the same curve in the road, even though the GPS indicated that we were nowhere near a curve. In fact, it had said we had gone in the completely wrong direction, which was really uncommon for Naru.

Something, startling, jarred my thoughts as my fingers touched my throat.

I realized what was missing from there.

"Oh my God," I breathed, my heart rate accelerated.

The talisman was missing.

"I didn't smudge this morning because I woke up late, then you were there - and Masako called so we just left."

I stared at Naru the entire time I spoke.

"I didn't smudge." I repeated and felt the devastation as true fear passed through me in a horrible wave of panic.

His eyes mirrored the same horror as mine.

"Neither did I," he admitted.

Suddenly, the engine that had been sitting idly gurgled to a stop. Both of our heads snapped to the front of the car as Naru tried turning the key. Over and over, we heard the dead sound of the transmission.

Naru swore under his breath and the radio flickered on. The car was dead and there was no way, or explanation, for the radio being on. It scanned through various stations, creating a frequency of white noise and from behind the static I heard a voice.

Someone began giggling.

However, it was anything other than a sweet, playful sound. It turned my blood cold. The demonic sound of it was something you could have nightmares about.

It was a familiar voice.

"Mai Taniyama and Oliver Davis," said the high-pitched voice. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Sara," my own voice was shaky but I was confident that was who was speaking over the radio.

She giggled again, another horrible sound. "I've been waiting for you."

Then, the static stopped. I looked back at Naru, whose eyebrows had furrowed as he gazed at the radio.

My sight slipped behind him, to the edge of the tree-line on the other side of the highway.

Tears pricked at my eyes at the sight I saw there.

"Naru," I slowly reached over to him, not daring to look away.

I had never felt fear so intense before.

In my dreams, facing this entity was..different.

On that spirit realm I was able to force my body to become mist and shadow, something like a ghost or a phantom wind.

However here there would be no tricks to escape.

From across the road, the Pishacha lurked behind the bushes, its spindly form was a mere shadow in the dark forest.

Those terrifying white eyes were shining.

I didn't know if Naru saw what I had, but I felt him stiffen from under my hands. I started shaking, and my stomach dropped as I felt my entire body react to that rising fear from within. If that creature was to attack us now...there was no way we could escape. It was built for chasing and hunting - built for speed and stamina. It was agile, whereas, we were not.

We would not survive if it attacked us. I suddenly realized that maybe this was how it worked - how it contributed to the curse.

The Pishacha confused and disorientated the living before attacking them and destroying the physical body. After, Sara would swiftly take the souls.

No wonder she was so fond of the creature, since it, literally, gave her the life substance she needed to live.

My insides hallowed out.

Fear, relentless and raw, slammed into me as those white eyes watched us from across the road.

This was not a dream.

This was real.

^.^