A/C - Thank you for all the great reviews! And to all those who are following this series!

Chapter 14 - Blood Water

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We waited in silence, our hands still linked and Naru was still looking at me like he was about to say something.

Instead, Naru let go of my hand and rested a wrist on his knee.

I clenched my hand, missing lack of warmth there.

My throat tightened, and I kept talking. "Did you ever think about us?"

'About me' I wanted to say but didn't. I knew better than to be too honest and open about my feelings with Naru. They were a weakness that he knew how to exploit.

"I thought about Japan often." He said, "and that I wanted to come back."

I pressed my lips into a tight line as I stared into dark blue eyes. It felt like there was more to that explanation but the logical part of me remembered that this was Naru - he wouldn't give explanations.

"Did you finish school?" I tried to change the topic to stop myself from becoming selfish and asking too many questions about why he didn't come back.

"I did."

"Are you still working on school stuff?"

"I am."

"Naru," I groaned. "A real answer would be nice. I'm trying to talk to you."

"Maybe if you asked the right question, I would give you the right answer."

I groaned again. Ugh. And there he was, our favorite narcissist. I tried to resist tipping my head back and chuckling. Despite our situation, there were pleasant times to be had.

"You've been saying my name again," Naru said after a moment. "I thought you wouldn't say it ever again when I first came back."

I hadn't thought about that - the beginning of this case I didn't wanted anything to do with him. I wanted everything to be as formal as possible between us.

"I am," I smiled. This felt better than pretending what we had didn't exist. We were on the road to healing from the past.

Naru said, "Feeling better?"

"A little," I answered honestly. "How long do you think we can stay here for?"

"Who knows when we'll have to use some kind of energy again." Naru gave me a sidelong glance. He said, "Maybe they will just wait for us to starve to death."

"Way to lighten to the mood," I rolled my head on the wall and looked at him - truly looked at him. I hadn't noticed the signs of fatigue and exhaustion on his face. Dark smudges were under his eyes from the lack of sleep and his face seemed paler than usual. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." He said, "I have a plan."

I tried to will my face into something neutral - and failed. Panic hit my features. "If it's running, I'm not faster than you. We can't outrun that thing."

"I know you're not faster than me," Naru said, matter-of-fact. "We don't have to outrun it. We just have to out think it."

Naru rose, albeit took some effort. I followed as he walked to one of the windows facing the woods. He stared out of it, as if expecting Sara or the Pishacha to come out.

"What are you planning?" I peered over him and tightened his jacket on my shoulders. Without his jacket, I would have been freezing in the jeans and shirt I wore, which did not offer any warmth.

Naru turned back to me. "We need to get someone's attention."

"How are we going to do that?"

"You need to go into a trance so your spirit can communicate with a medium - specifically, Hara-san."

My eyes snapped up to Naru's - was he serious?

I couldn't put myself into a trance, or find Masako, even if I wanted to. I had been so out of practice that I could barely make those dreams with Gene.

Correction, I had never made those dreams because Gene did. He was the one that sent me to that world. Never once had I been able to consciously.

"Mai?" Naru asked when I started breathing shallowly.

"I-I can't. I've never done that before."

"We have to try," Naru retorted.

No, no. Please - I didn't want to go into that other world.

"What if I get lost?" It was a weak excuse.

"I'll guide you. You won't get lost." Naru stepped closer to me, maybe to try and calm me down. "We have to try. I can't project, only Gene was able to, but I could put him into the trance that allowed his spirit to project. With some practice, I can do the same to you."

I realized that Naru trusted my abilities more than I did. He trusted them enough that he was willing to try this even though it might not work.

He said, "You are stronger than you think, Mai."

Slowly, I let out a deep breath. "Why can't you just ask for a normal favor once in a while?"

My body relaxed but I could see from Naru's eyes that he knew my statement was half true.

He gestured for us to go back into the center of the living room and retrieved two wooden chairs. Naru placed them in front of one another - facing each other. His lean frame sat in one and I slowly perched myself on the other.

We were close but we didn't touch. Naru's knees were still an inch or so away from mine and I tried to stop my own legs from bouncing up and down due to the nerves.

I was about to use my powers. It would be the first time in four years since I had exercised them. Now, with no pills in my system, I had never felt so close to them.

Naru watched me, "We need to meditate first in order to prepare your mind for the trance."

"I've never meditated before," I answered honestly and Naru smirked at this.

"Yes, I'm aware."

I rolled my eyes, "shut it, Naru -"

"Concentrate," Naru said. His voice stopped whatever retort I had on my lips and I settled into my chair. "Close your eyes."

I did as he said while he continued. "Breathe in deeply through your nose and out through your mouth." I remember him using this slow deep voice the one other time he had put me into a hypnotic state one our first case.

The voice was the same - slow, methodical and sensual. It was the most sensual I had ever heard and I realized how much I liked listening to it.

He gave me what felt like hours to continue breathing, until I found myself in a steady rhythm of deep breaths, my chest rising and falling rhythmically.

"Remember the room we are in. Imagine it but do not focus on it, instead think of it as an object in the distance. This will be your anchor to the physical world."

I took a mental note of everything around me. Directly in front of me, there was Naru. To my left was the fireplace mantle, and to my right there was a sofa. I recalled the entire cabin, the size of it and the color - cataloging the details for when I needed to return.

"Acknowledge what stress you have in your life. Acknowledge that they exist, but do not dwell on them. One by one, list them and then place them in the back of your mind. This will be a reminder of reality for you to return to."

I did as Naru said and mentally listed and placed all of that in the very back of my mind. He left me alone with silence and I truly focused on my breathing to the point that I could see my exhale in the dark space of my mind.

"Open your eyes, Mai."

I did.

I was not met by the handsome blue-eyed hypnotist.

Instead, I was met by a world of darkness.

I blinked a few times, unsure if I had fallen asleep but the hot pain surging through my arm told me enough. I certainly was not dreaming.

The only reason I would feel this pain was if my spirit were - oh my God.

I was in trance - it had worked, and this was my spiritual body.

Looking down at my arm, the wounds gleamed. They had stopped bleeding and now the sliced skin was turned upwards, a white oozy layer was mixed into the dark bits of jelly-looking flesh. My entire arm was still tender up to my shoulder and I wondered if it were true about my spirit body being able to die here.

A deep, sensual voice echoed throughout this world.

"Nod your head if you can hear me," Naru said. I looked around for him and did not see anything beyond the blackness. I nodded, not sure if he could see it.

"In order for a medium to make contact with you, you must push on this realm. It's the same when a medium wants to make contact with a spirit. They push past the barrier that blocks them. Picture Hara-san in your mind and push through to contact her."

It had been a long time since I touched the power. Slowly, I pushed on that veil of darkness and I felt it melt into my touch. It was such an extraordinary feeling - a feeling that my skin remembered from years ago.

There was a warming sensation, as if I had just stepped into a hot bath on a cold day. I felt my muscles relax, being unlocked by a sequence that unraveled my soul. All around me, balls of light began to fill this dark void.

There was one that was different.

It was a blue, flickering light that seemed to call me - beckoning for me to follow. I moved, weaving through a world of darkness that was unfamiliar to me.

Was this how Gene had went into trance? I remember Naru mentioned that Gene would see a translucent world filled with white orbs.

Soon I saw a figure come into my world of darkness. Masako was lying on the ground, looking very content. If I had to guess, she could be sleeping in a bed from the relaxed positioning.

I approached her quietly and gently rubbed her shoulder.

"Masako, wake up." I shook her, lightly. "It's Mai."

"Mai?" Masako groaned, her eyes coming open slowly. She must have realized what was happening because she shot up. "Mai!"

"Masako!" I hugged the petite girl. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Where's Naru?" Masako looked around, confused. "How are you..here? Are you dead?"

"No, no. We're okay. He put me into a trance state and I found my way to you."

Her eyes were wide, "You..projected? That's incredibly difficult to do."

"I know," I said. "Listen, Masako I don't have much time. We need help."

And, so I told her everything. I told her about my dream with Gene, how he was in trouble. Then about how Naru and I got lost (I left out the details on why we weren't focused to begin with). And then, I told her about the cabin and what happened on those lands.

She listened with a look of horror on her face. "That's awful."

"Naru and I need help. We know that we aren't far away from the prison, but we aren't sure where."

"I-I can try locating you with your things...but I'm not formally practiced like Naru was."

"I believe in you Masako. Just make sure to stay away from the prison and do not leave the hotel until you do the smudge because they really does make a difference. It's as if they filter out this world."

I also remembered the difference of strength in the curse now. Even when I was blocked by the antidepressants and I was smudging Sara still found a way to contact me.

Masako nodded. "Is there anything else - Mai your arm!"

She looked me over, her eyes dropping and her face turned pale.

It must have looked worse than I thought if the look on Masako's face suggested anything.

"I'll be fine," I lied. "I fell trying to escape. Masako please get help."

She only covered her mouth with her hand, pale in the darkness and her eyes filled with horror.

My world started fading.

Slowly, I remembered how to get back to my physical body and imagined the around me. I paid attention to the details, such as the chairs and the carpet. I did not want to be stuck in this world with no way out.

In that black world, the little cabin came into view. I noticed the strange energy that surrounded the structure. It gave off an iridescent aura that was almost pure gold in color. I watched the shimmering gold edges fade into the black, as if glittering.

Then, a strange sensation welled up within me. It was as if I was standing upside down for a long time. My head swarm and the beautiful, brilliant gold of the cabin was gone. I blinked, focusing my eyes but I did not see that gold anymore.

Maybe I was imagining it because in the next moments I was staring into deep blue eyes.

"I did it," I breathed. "I told her to where we were."

"Good," Naru stood up. "Now we just have to wait."

"I did it." I could hardly believe that I just...projected myself. It was such an intense feeling.

Even now, my body still felt half somewhere else. I remained sitting, not sure if I could control my movements just yet. My skin still felt tingly, like my senses were still slowly returning to me.

"Mind if I join you two?" A soft, feminine voice said from the door. My heart sunk and Naru turned sharply. From the broken threshold, Sara leaned on it.

Naru reached back to grip my wrist. Only, the moment his hand touched my skin I felt an awful burning sensation flood my body. It was the same pain I had felt in the spirit world because of my ruined arm.

I ripped my arm away, whimpering. Naru dared a glance back. "What's wrong?"

"Oh," Sara said. "I see you haven't told him that little tidbit." She smirked like a cat.

"Shut up," I snarled through the burning pain that was so intense it made my knees buckle.

"What is she talking about?" Naru looked back to Sara.

Sara watched us with those frosty white eyes. "Yes, please tell us, Mai."

I was aware that I had started panting, the burning pain unlike anything I've ever felt. "I think something really bad is happening to me."

"What happened?" He growled.

To show him, I removed his jacket.

I scanned his face and Naru, with that monumental control, repressed all of his emotions into a single breath.

He gazed at the long marks down my arm. In the physical world the marks appeared different. They were not the open wounds they had been with my spiritual body, but were instead purple and dark red marks - as if an infection was festering somewhere beneath my skin. I supposed that was exactly what it was.

I felt my chest heaving with every breath.

"Tragic, " Sara said. "I'd bargain you only have a couple of days left to live with an infection like that."

I lowered my arm and Naru had lifted a gaze of pure hatred to the girl smirking in the doorway. I had never, ever, seen him look like that. I felt the energy change, maybe a slights slip of control that he leashed instantly because suddenly, the energy was gone.

"You're out maneuvered. You can't come in here, and we aren't going out there. You can't hurt us in here." I said with every ounce of courage I had.

Her grin spread wider, "you think so?"

Something chilling climbed up my spine. Her threat sparked a memory in me, of when I saw the cabin in the spirit world - when that wonderful golden aura had disappeared.

"I'll give you a five second head start," Sara straightened from the door. "Because I do enjoy the chase."

Naru didn't move. "She's bluffing."

"Am I? Five," Sara said. "Four."

"I don't think she's lying," I whimpered, that awful sensation of truth echoed in my head. It signaled every red flag in my nerves. "Naru, she can really get in here. I don't know how - I just feel it."

"Three."

Oh no. If she came in here, she was going to kill Naru. Or, worst - Naru would try to use his PK energy.

"Two."

"Please," I said as a feeble attempt to stall her. "Sara, you don't have to keep doing this. We can help you and Hana escape that man forever."

She stopped counting and I didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse. What really shocked us was how she casually stepped through the threshold of the door.

I was right - whatever was protecting this place had vanished. That beautiful golden glow was gone. I felt Naru go completely still beside me.

"You're quite the esper," she approached me and my heart felt like it was pounding in my gut. "Did you learn that from just being in this house? That's fascinating."

She looked at me - an assessing quality lingered in her frosty eyes.

The energy around us changed in quality too, the room growing heavy and from my side, Naru's lethal gaze was on Sara.

"Naru, don't -" I reached for him but a spark of electricity zapped my hand away. I yelped from the shock and watched as Sara faced him.

My insides hallowed out.

Sara smiled, a cruel thing, and lifted her fine wrists - flicking them once. Dark shadow hands sprung from the earth, in between Naru and I. We jumped apart and those hands grabbed Naru's legs.

"Maybe I'll pity you for having to go though such a gruelling death," Sara stalked closer to me and I felt Naru struggling in his hold. "And I'll end it now. In front of the great Oliver Davis - he can watch as I rip you to shreds and give your soul to Hana."

So she knew Hana was trapped in the Pishacha. Knew, but did she care? Maybe she also enjoyed the irony of her gentle sister being the victim within a cruel being.

"She's your sister," I said, breathlessly. "She fought for you, and your mother, while you stood by and did nothing! You became that monster he wanted you to because you were weak. Hana was stronger than you ever were because she believed in something that you could never understand."

"Pray tell."

"Love. She understood how to love someone."

For a second, Sara stopped. She swayed, as if hit by nausea but the reaction was only temporary. She regained some of her composure. "You believe that I didn't fight for her? That I did nothing?"

"You didn't," I said. "Not from what I saw."

"MAI!" Naru yelled.

In a blink of an eye, Sara appeared in front of me. I screamed, staggering backwards but her hands gripped my forearms. Then, I truly screamed from the pain of her fingers digging into my arm. Blackness danced a crossed my vision and I felt my blood rushing to my head.

The world blurred and I couldn't hear anything, couldn't say anything. My eyes become heavy and it was like I was drowning.

The staggering pain was the last thing I remembered from the physical world.

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