AN~ Alright. This chapter is a bit shorter and I have to worn you guys that this is the last of the story that I actually have written. So updates will be slower from here on out.
To say Mai was nervous when she stepped out of the shower would have been and understatement. Though she knew the others were preparing for what they thought was an exciting day, the sight of Masako sitting on one of the windowsills in their room deep in troubling thoughts was enough to cause her pause, and she found herself wishing that she could remain in bed. While she went about searching for some clothes to wear that day, something light as it was surprisingly warm outside for a winter day, she thought about questioning the medium on what was on her mind. It wasn't until she was dressed and properly prepared for the day, a pair of black tights and a light and grey dress, that she joined the woman at the window with a sigh.
"What's wrong, Masako?" she asked quietly and watched as she dragged herself from her thoughts, blinking back into reality, and turned her eyes onto Mai.
"The spirits have become restless . . ." she answered in a hushed tone.
"Restless?" Mai questioned wearily and fought the shiver that trailed up her spine.
"Yes, there are many on this property and from the majority I feel fear . . ." Masako trailed off and clasped her hands together in her lap, "But there are three that are different and much more powerful. Two of them are anxious, I would go as far as to say worried . . ."
"Hmm," Mai leaned back against the sill and lifted a hand to her chin in thought. She knew of two spirits on the property; Prudence, and who she had concluded was Alexander. She recalled the fact that Adam, the man who had been pushed down the stairs, had seen a man standing in the distance and she herself had caught sight of him just the day before. She had not made the connection until just then though. She berated herself for her stupidity and scowled at her hands. But there was a third . . .? It couln't be William himself as the man had been carted off to jail for life where she assumed he eventually perished. If his soul was left to linger in the world it would surely be trapped within the walls of whatever prison he had been kept in. So who then was the third?
"Do you have any idea who they are?" she asked hesitantly. So far she had kept the identities of those she knew a secret from the rest of the team besides Naru himself. This was partly due to her not having the full story and partly to do with her knowledge of the team. If she were to tell them the identity of the spirit who she thought was causing all the harm they would have jumped the gun and exorcised her long ago.
"No," Masako shook her head and her delicate brows scrunched together in frustration and she huffed. "They are too wrapped up in the emotions they are experiencing right now to even realize their own selves."
Mai nodded once and turned her eyes out onto the park below them, now beginning to fill with people, and wondered just what it was they were in store for that day. All those people were oblivious to the darkness dwelling within the mansion on the property, fooled by its innocent fairy tale appearance, and it was up to them to make sure that not one of them was spirited away while they were on the job. She felt daunted by the task as she looked down into the park teeming with hundreds of people already. The vent had started at nine o'clock but the bands didn't start til eleven.
She pushed herself off of the sill and entered the base, caught in thought, and did not even notice Monk standing in front of her with his arms crossed until she bumped into him.
"Mai," Monk muttered with a quirked brow, a look of disapproval on his face.
Mai stepped back, surprised, and scowled at the monk for not announcing his presence sooner, "Yes?" she snapped and rubbed at her aching nose.
Monk's serious expression broke and he smirked, "Are you going to be okay today?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" she shot back and her sour look turned to one of annoyed confusion. She was still mulling over Masako's words and debating whether they were worth mentioning to Naru and had no patience for Monk's games.
"You'll be stuck with Naru and Lin today," Monk answered with a shrug and his amused expression turned to tenderness as he ruffled her hair. "I know you two have been on rocky ground since he came back and after yesterday . . ." He had not witnessed the events that took place after the dinner fiasco but it did not take a cold hearted genius prodigy to feel the tension between them.
"I'll be fine," Mai answered with an understanding smile and pushed his hand away from her hair. "It's not what you think, quit worrying so much about me," she berated him lightly but she would be lying if she said she did not enjoy the attention. It had been so long since someone had actually worried about her and it struck a small chord with her.
"Never," Monk shot back and smiled down at her cheerily.
"Is everyone ready?" Madoka called out across the room.
Monk turned away from Mai to join the others who were seated on the two couches and surrounding chairs. Mai glanced back into the girl's room to find Masako making her way out and so she hurried over to stand behind one of the couches while Madoka handed out walkie-talkies to everyone.
"Everyone will have a walkie-talkie and if anything strange or paranormal catches your eye, please, do not refrain from mentioning it," Naru instructed while he snapped his own walkie-talkie to his waste band and turned it on. Once finished he turned his eyes onto his team and parents. "As I said before, we do not know how these women are taken, only that their bodies are found the next day, keep your eyes open."
Madoka handed Mai her own walkie-talkie and the girl immediately fiddled with it until it was on the correct setting before clipping it to the belt she wore over the grey dress.
"Masako and John will remain here with my parents in the base while we patrol the grounds. This is an all day event so be sure to keep yourselves hydrated and your minds focused," Naru continued and moved towards the couches. He scanned over their determined faces before he turned to look back at Lin who was, as usual, seated behind his laptop. "Lin, what is the temperature outside?" he asked lightly.
"It is eighty-five degrees though projected to rise to ninety by noon," Lin answered quickly.
"What?" Ayako exclaimed and sat straighter in her seat on the couch next to John, "Wasn't it in the sixties yesterday?"
"Welcome to Florida," Madoka replied with a smile and laughed when the red head blanched before immediately shedding the jacket she had pulled on over her black top.
Naru sighed and crossed his arms while Luella chuckled and took a sip of her coffee from the table by the window. All eyes turned to their leader as the young man reached for his button up shirt and undid the first button. "Like I said, keep hydrated, I don't want any distractions from this and a another trip to the hospital is the last thing we need to by worrying about today," he explained as he undid the last button and shed the black shirt to reveal a short sleeved black undershirt beneath. He pulled the sleeve from his arm and folded the shirt in his hands before placing it on the table that held all his notes and laptop.
"Who needs sunscreen?" Madoka sang cheerfully and rummaged through her bag on the coffee table before pulling out a white bottle and brandishing it for all to see.
"I'm too distracted by Naru's arms to worry about sunscreen," Yasu explained from where he sat and grinned while the others chuckled.
"They are nice arms," Monk agreed from where he stood next to Ayako, a hand to his chin in thought as he stared at the young man who was determinedly ignoring them, "Naru, do you work out by any chance?"
They all turned their eyes to the man as he straightened and moved over towards Madoka, quietly accepting the bottle of sunscreen she offered him, and simply said, "Tai Chi."
"Oh," Monk answered with a surprised expression. He turned his eyes on Mai who met his stare curiously before he waggled his eyebrows at her and she blushed before turning her head away.
Honestly, Mai had expected him to be a twig underneath all the layers of black, as it seemed he hardly ever did anything but work. Even sleep was often shunted aside for his research. The only time he would have had time to practice martial arts would have had to have been when he was at home. It went to show how little she knew of him. It obviously wasn't for self defense that he studied the art of karate, as the man could blast away practically anything he wanted if he was willing to. It must have purely for the sake of remaining in shape and staying healthy. Something Mai knew nothing about she realized with a blush and a scratch to her cheek. Though it totally made sense that he had some strength, now that she thought about it, all those times that he had saved her would not have been possible if he had been an out of shape weakling.
"Well, now that we all know Naru's secret," Yasuhara stated bluntly and stood from his seat, "Why don't we get this show on the road?"
They slowly stood to follow Yasuhara's example, some of them shedding layers of clothes in the process, and mentally prepared themselves for a long and hot day. Before she pulled her shoes on Mai retreated to their room and shimmied out of her tights, determined to sweat as little as possible that day, and returned to base just in time to put the leash on Rocco and follow Lin and Naru out of the room.
The hotel was bustling with activity. People were sprinting up and down the halls as they trailed down and out into the hot day with determination. Mai kind of wished they were there simply to enjoy the concert like the rest of the guests were but she could admit their job was an important one so she settled on a light sigh as she stepped out into the sunlight and stretched, Rocco's leash looped around her wrist, and glanced down at the dog. His tail was wagging now that they were out of the hotel and his ears were perked and nose working while he took in the smells and sounds the concert brought with it. There were several other dogs following their owners about the large open field and Mai laughed as Rocco's tail paused in its wagging when another dog drew near, before it took up its rhythm once again though this time much faster.
It was hot. Even though they had only been walking along the stalls set up for a few minutes Mai could already feel herself sweating. The part of the park the concert took place in was bare of any trees and the sky was clear so the sun beat down upon them mercilessly. Several women, she noticed, were wearing nothing but bathing suit tops and shorts while they walked about. She blushed, though she wished she could have done so as well, and lifted her eyes to her boss who was walking along beside her. He seemed far more comfortable and composed then she but she noticed the small beads of sweat that were forming along his hairline and smirked. Not so perfect now, was he? But she was also glad that his eyes did not linger on the woman around him like she thought they would. Of course he wouldn't be distracted by something as simple as half naked woman, he was too good for that.
Mai shook her head to get herself back on track and scanned the crowds that had only increased since they had stepped outside. Naru was leading them towards a small cluster of trees, populated by only a few concert goers since it was so far removed from the grounds and stage itself, and paused once he had finally reached the shade. Mai was reminded of a black cat and she chuckled at the comparison as she spun around, pulled by Rocco as he sniffed about, and let out a contented sigh.
"Enjoying yourself?" Naru questioned irritably which only caused Mai to laugh again.
"I can't help it, the weather is just so nice and all the hype for the concert has got me kind of excited . . ." she finally came to a stop as she spoke when Rocco had taken a seat on the ground and she placed her hands on her hips. "Besides, it's not my fault you only own black clothing," she chided.
Naru shot her a look but made no comment. It had more to do with the amount of people than the heat but he was not about to correct her. Lin knew this and he patted the man's shoulder knowingly before turning to scan the crowds himself. The reports claimed that the women always went missing towards the end of the events so he was certain they had a bit of time before they would even sense anything but he was not about to let his guard down. He adjusted his white button up shirt with a sigh and undid the first button before rolling up his sleeves.
"I'm going to get some ice cream," Mai declared after they had rested for a bit in the shade.
"Mai," Naru muttered in warning.
"You can come with if you guys want," she answered with a shrug. She was getting a bit too hot despite the trees and she felt bad for Rocco, who was heavily panting by that point.
Naru looked to Lin who nodded wordlessly and remained standing under the trees as the three made their way back towards the line of stalls quietly. Lin only smirked as he watched his charge go, trailing after the girl whereas he would usually be leading the way, and wondered how Mai had fallen for Naru of all people.
Mai was just digging into her freshly bought ice cream, crouching down so Rocco could have some too, when a woman in a white Kimono caught her eye. Her first thought was that she looked very beautiful but sad as she stood at the edge of the crowds with her hands clasped before her, a line of trees at her back. Her second thought was that she must have been awfully hot in the kimono and wondered what in the world had possessed her to wear it to a concert. Her third thought was that she herself was incredibly stupid because they were in America and there were no japanese women walking around in Kimonos unless you counted Masako. And so she found herself frozen in place as the woman, ignorant of the hundreds of people walking by her, lifted her eyes to meet Mai's forlornly.
"Naru," Mai called quietly.
Naru turned his head towards her from where he was standing at her side, arms crossed, and scanned her stance thoughtfully before following her line of sight. Unfortunately he was not spiritually sensitive, though he was rather adept at feeling the differing energies of the living, and so saw nothing. But he knew better than to doubt Mai's abilities so he returned his eyes to hers and asked, "What is it, Mai?"
"Masako said she sensed three spirits this morning," she began quietly, yet to move from her position. "I only knew of two but I think I just found out who the third is. . ."
"Who?" he asked quietly but did not comment on the fact that Rocco had by now finished off her ice cream.
"Prudence and Alexander are in the house," she explained and pushed herself to her feet only after the woman had turned and disappeared amongst the crowd. "The third is Kikio." Kikio had been the woman they had seen in the forest that night. She had been walking through the trees in her white kimono when Mai had just caught sight of her, managing to drop her cup of tea in the same moment, but she had thought it was Prudence at the time.
Naru did not waste further breath on the conversation and gently placed a hand under Mai's elbow, guiding her back towards the shade where Lin waited for them, and deposited her between Lin and himself. Mai had a lot of explaining to do, she had not shared a lot of information with him on this case and it frustrated him, though he would not show it. He wasn't going to question her until he had thought the situation through himself.
Mai saw her repeatedly throughout the day. And she could not help but wonder at her own stupidity, she found herself doing it often that day, as she had realized that it had been Kikio she had first seen in the forest all those nights ago. Not to mention her picture had been in Prudence's room. The picture had been dropped to the floor and forgotten about in the chaos but Mai would not forget the face of the woman that had destroyed whatever fragile sanity Prudence had had left before her death.
Kikio was present amongst the crowds and the thought struck Mai as odd because she was certain it was Prudence and Alexander that were haunting the mansion. Would Kikio really be on the property still as well?
Every hour or so Mai would see her in the crowd of concert goers as she, Naru, and Lin patrolled the grounds. She was always facing away from her after that but her long black hair was loose and flowing over the white Kimono. It was hard to miss. The utter picture of grace and beauty amongst the crowds of half naked and sweating concert goers posed quite the image and Mai felt that she would never forget the scene for as long as she lived. The utter despair Kikio radiated while she was surrounded by thousands of cheering fans, hyped up on excitement and alcohol.
But as the sun started to sink towards the horizon and the pounding music of the bands had begun to blur together, something changed. Mai was scanning the crowds again when she spotted Kikio, but this time she was staring right at Mai, and she lifted a beckoning hand to her. Her face was pleading as the young woman stopped and stared at her, unsure of how to react, and wondering just where everyone else had disappeared to. Naru and Lin had been at her side not seconds ago but now she found herself quite alone on the open field.
The band playing on stage was gone, the fans were gone, and even Lin and Naru had disappeared among the shadows that surrounded her and Kikio who had yet to move closer.
"What do you want?" Mai asked hesitantly but not unkindly. She took a step towards Kikio just as tears started to pour down the woman's face in silent anguish and her beckoning hand became desperate. Mai knew something was off but she could not deny her instincts and so she took another slow and hesitant step forward. Had Naru been there she was certain he would have criticized her for her actions and lack of thought. But he wasn't. And now that she thought about it, neither was Gene, which could only mean one thing.
Mai was not asleep.
"Let me show you," a voice echoed across the plain of darkness where the only light seemed to emanate from Kikio herself, but Kikio's mouth did not move as the words were spoken.
Mai nodded once, slowly, but gasped when Kikio lunged towards her and wrapped her hands around her throat. Mai closed her eyes and suddenly it was Prudence who was choking her, gripping her neck with such force that it terrified her, because she could truly not breathe. From the corner of her eyes she saw that it was she who was now wearing the white kimono as the thick satin material was falling down her arms while she struggled to grip the wrists of the hands choking her. It weighed on her chest and pulled at her stomach as she struggled and only added to her panic.
"This is what you get," Prudence hissed. Mai saw that someone, if not Prudence herself, had taken it upon themselves to finish cutting the rest of her hair. The woman was so thin that she was bordering emaciated, and her dress fell from her shoulders while she straddled Mai. She had truly become a madwoman in her despair.
Please, stop, Mai struggled to think through the haze that was clouding her mind, but she was aware that the desperation she was sure belonged to Kikio, had less to do with her life and more to do with that of the unborn child in her stomach. Her eyes burned with the realization and her struggles increased. She tried to kick out against the woman but the heavy satin fabric again restrained her.
Don't do it, Prudence, she pleaded mentally and felt the tears stain her cheeks as she choked for air. It wasn't fair. This woman had done nothing wrong up until that point, she had only suffered the tragedies thrown at her one after the other until she could no longer take it, and now here she was poised to kill a woman and her unborn child because of it all. There was a part of her that was aware what she was experiencing was a memory but it was buried under the need for survival and the want to help the woman in front of her.
Mai's vision turned black as Kikio lost conscious. She was left alone, unable to break away from the dream she had fallen into for whatever reason, and frightened because Gene had not come to her like he normally would after the vision had ended. All she could see was the blackness of this strange astral plain. Not even her hand could be picked out from the blackness as she lifted it before her face and touched her neck, wincing when she felt extreme pain radiating from it, and coughed.
She wondered, was Kikio dead? Surely that was the only thing the complete and utter darkness could have meant. If she had simply lost consciousness then the scenes would have continued through another's eyes or after Kikio had come to.
Just then she felt a pair of hands push her from behind, violently, and she noted in the moment that they were wet with a warm liquid. She could only assume it was blood. She dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face while she struggled to catch her breath, when her eyes opened and she found herself as the bystander in the next vision.
Prudence had dragged Kikio's body to the lake where she had dropped her and then proceeded to straighten her Kimono and brush her hair out of her face.
"It's not right that you were brought into my home," Prudence muttered darkly while she pulled a knife from the folds of her dress. "You slept with the only man I loved and then fell pregnant like some prostitute . . ." Prudence trailed off upon realizing what she said and dropped her eyes to her hands. They shook and made it hard for her to hold the knife properly but eventually she shook her head and crouched down in front of the prone form of Kikio.
Mai gasped and covered her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes as she watched Prudence cut into the woman's stomach and stabbed her repeatedly until whatever organs had been visible were beyond recognition, before she threw the knife away and stood. She paid little heed to the horror she had just enacted and seemed not to notice the gore that had splattered at her feet. What Mai was certain had once been and unborn child's hand hanging from the open hole that had been Kikio's stomach. She gasped for breath and wiped a blood smeared hand across her forehead before glancing over her shoulder at the lake. She turned back and lifted Kikio by her shoulders and dragged her into the water, her body floating along while Prudence shuffled across the slimy lake floor. Once she was satisfied with the distance Prudence turned around, pulling the body of Kikio with, before letting go and watching as her body drifted out into the center of the lake.
Prudence wadded back to shore, her white dress wet and clinging to her, and turned back once she had reached dry land to examine her work.
She stood there for hours while Mai stared wide eyed in shock.
The moon rose high into the sky and a chill took over the wooded area and Prudence began to shiver, and her lips turned blue, and she lost feeling in her fingers and toes, and still she did not move.
It was by this point that Mai heard the sound of someone running. Their breath came in horrible rasping pants and their hands and feet crashed through the shrubbery and sticks of the wood chaotically. It was second after that the figure of William broke into the clearing looking like a demon fresh from hell, such was the anger blazing in his eyes, and charged Prudence.
"Hello William," Prudence greeted absently as the man slid to a stop next to her.
"What are you doing out here?" he panted and gripped the woman's shoulders, shaking her violently. "Where is Kikio?" he questioned urgently.
"Swimming," Prudence answered lightly and shrugged, eyes unfocused. "I told her it was too cold . . ."
William scowled at her in confusion but turned his eyes out to the lake and paled. He teetered towards the shore, hands lifted as if to reach out for the woman floating in the middle of the lake, and watched as her blood polluted the water. "What have you done?" he moaned and fell to his knees, dropping his head into his hands, wishing he could rid his mind of the image of his love, dead in the lake, while bits of her organs and blood floated freely around her.
"She really is quite beautiful," Prudence responded dully and stepped up next to him. She watched as Kikio's hair pooled around her in a halo of glossy black under the moonlight, her pale face lit by the dusty silver light, and sighed wistfully.
"Prudence."
William sounded strangely calm and Prudence blinked before dropping her gaze down to her husband quizzically. And found herself looking down the barrel of a gun.
"Go to hell," he muttered and pulled the trigger.
The stunned expression never left her face as her body fell back with the force of the bullet plowing through the center of her forehead. She fell into the water of the lake, eyes still opened wide, and knew no more.
Mai had gone into shock and was barely coherent in thought when she watched William drag his wife's body away where he would later throw her into the basement to rot away and never be found until the investigations a year later. Kikio eventually sank but only after William had managed to paddle out to her in a boat and drop a rock onto her. By all rights and purposes Kikio should have sunk within an hour of being killed but she had continued to float on the surface like a cancerous tumor in the placid lake. It was an act of defiance, William decided, before he returned to his home to wash up.
It was only a day later when Alexander returned, learned of what had happened through the terrified servants of the house, before he attacked William and was killed by several gunshots to the stomach and chest. William put a hole through his head last for satisfaction before he threw him into the dungeons along with Prudence. They deserved to rot together, he thought, because he had always seen them whispering together and plotting against him.
The man's mind had been broken, much like his wife's, and he later went mad after being arrested.
"Will you help us?" Kikio's voice echoed in the darkness that had overtaken Mai again.
Mai lifted her head, eyes wide and unfocused as Prudence's had been not long ago, and she nodded dully. She was unable to speak. She had never before witnessed someone's murder from an outsider's perspective. She was disgusted with what she had seen. Disappointed that her theory was proven correct and that it was Prudence haunting the house and continuing to kill women as she had killed Kikio. And mentally exhausted, in fact, she wouldn't have been surprised if her mind had broken too.
"Look," Kikio instructed gently and Mai found herself standing in a lake of blood, the red liquid glowing in the darkness, and she felt it's warmth reach all the way up to her stomach. She lifted her hands out, able to see the blood that coated them up to her elbows, and stared. And something in her snapped.
"It's in the blood."
Mai had been missing for hours. And the team had never been as on edge as the moment Naru had come on over the walkie-talkies to mutter, "Mai's gone missing, find her". They had plowed through the crowds like no tomorrow, calling out her name over the loud music and cheering fans, and it was Monk who found her own walkie-talkie trampled in the mud of the concert grounds. He had had to shove his way through many people to get to it but when he returned to Ayako's side the woman had paled and redoubled her efforts to find the girl.
Masako and John had stepped out of the mansion and into the fading sun in order to help in the search but not even their fresh eyes were able to discern where Mai had run off to.
And all the while the bands on stage played away, their music deafening the members of SPR as they hurriedly shoved their way through the crowds, and the people were oblivious to the dangers that prowled around them. Just on the outskirts of the trees was a darkness so vile and livid that Masako nearly fainted when she had stepped out of the house. But it had not been the time to do so and she managed to compose herself.
The sun had long since set when they met up by the largest oak tree on the property, the crowds slowly dispersing after the last song, while they shared foreboding glances and shifted from foot to foot. Ayako had tears streaming down her face. It was obvious what had happened. Painfully so. But none of them knew quite what to do without any direction, so lost in despair were they, and Monk begun to bite the nail of his thumb in anxiety.
"She's on the property somewhere," Monk muttered as he scanned the area, even going as far as to search through the trees. She had not simply blinked out of existence, that much was certain, and refused to think of what she was suffering without them at her side. She had experienced enough pain for a life time and the Monk wished she could have gone on living a normal life if only for her safety. But he knew she would not have been satisfied with that kind of existence.
No one had the heart to even dare utter the thought they were all thinking and no one had the will to move and look either. Their feet were glued to the spot as they stood in a circle refusing to meet each other's eyes.
No one accept Naru, that is, as the moment he had joined up with them and saw that Mai was not present amongst them he took off running into the trees like a man possessed. They were only able to see him due to his bare arms because his black clothes rendered him completely invisible otherwise. Lin called out after him and cursed before delving into the trees himself. Monk was the next to follow after him and Lin, and his movement broke the others out of their thoughts and sent them running too.
Their breaths came out in panicked gasps as they navigated the roots and fallen branches of the wood. Trees reached for them as they passed in the dim light the moon offered. They did not care if they stumbled, bruised, or scratched themselves in the effort to find the missing girl as long as they found her alive. But at the rate things were going it was uncertain if they would even find her at all.
Naru slid to a stop minutes later, his shoes skidding along in the gravel, and stared at the scene with narrowed eyes. The others came up behind him and gasped.
"No!" Ayako screamed.
"Mai!" Monk called out and moved to jump into the lake but Naru lifted an arm to hold him back.
"Don't!" he snapped, "She's possessed." He muttered darkly and his eyes dropped to the black figure that paced the shore line around where Mai stood, waist deep in the water. Eyes shone in the darkness as the thing looked back at them and the sound of heavy breathing, huffing and puffing, filled the air as it seemed to grow more agitated with their presence. Shadows trailed behind it as it moved and the stench of decay seemed to radiate from the lake like a miasma of pure hatred and disgust. In the dim light they could make out the opened maw of the creature, noted the fangs and slim that dribbled from its mouth only to fall to the ground and hiss like acid.
"How can you tell?" Yasuhara whispered, his eyes too, had fallen onto the monster that paced the shore. Back and forth, back and forth, it turned about and kicked up gravel as it did so.
"Because the dog is guarding her," Naru said lowly. His eyes followed the path it carved in the shore darkly and his shoulders tensed.
"That's Rocco?" Monk stuttered.
Indeed the dog had taken on a rather demonic look.
"Yes," Naru growled. "Animals can sense spirits and they change, but if I am correct . . ." he trailed off and moved closer towards the shore at a slow pace. His movements were sure and steady but the others behind him were terrified as he dared to approach the dog that had become a monster since they had last seen him.
"Naru, don't-" Lin clamped his mouth shut when Naru lifted a hand, never taking his eyes off of the dog.
"Rocco, come," Naru ordered in a stern tone totally unsuited to the current situation.
Rocco's head whipped around and his sightless eyes stared at the man for a moment before he lowered his head and growled.
"Rocco!," he hissed, "Come here!"
Rocco looked back at Mai once before shuffling towards Naru, his gate strange and lopsided as if he had been hurt, before the light from the nearby streetlamp illuminated him and he whined. Foam had gathered at the corners of his mouth and he was dragging his back hind leg.
"Naru . . ."Lin warned as the dog drew closer, "He looks rabid."
"He's not," Naru shot back gently, never taking his eyes from the dog as he approached. "He's afraid."
Sure enough Rocco dropped his tail between his legs and continued passed Naru to stand behind him, shivering in the cooling night air. Naru dropped a hand to his head, grateful the dog had stayed with Mai, and lifted his eyes to the woman in the lake. One obstacle had been tamed but Mai was a whole other story. He feared for her life in that very moment.
"Mai," he called gently.
Mai jumped, as if startled and slowly turned her head over her shoulder to look at Naru, eyes wide and unfocused. "Naru?" she questioned quietly. She was obviously lost in mind, as if she were sleepwalking in that moment, and could not drag herself back into reality.
"I'm here," he answered calmly and moved a couple more feet. His bare flesh shivered in the cold air, which had dropped several degrees since they had arrived on seen, and he grimaced.
"There's so much blood," she whispered and her eyes slowly trailed down to the water she stood in and she lifted her hands, fingers spread wide, and stared as if her hands were coated in the mentioned fluids.
"There is no blood," he replied lowly as if he may frighten her, "You're standing in the lake."
"Oh," she mumbled but her eyes never moved from her hands and she looked as if she were about to vomit. She shook.
"Naru, just get her out of there," Ayako cried through her tears from behind him. Monk had wrapped his arms around her to hold her steady but he too was struggling with the situation, wanting to run to Mai and worry about the consequences later. He tightened his hold on the woman and tried to steady himself as well.
Naru grit his teeth and hurried the last few feet to the shore. Gravel skittered away under his shoes and he nearly slipped once he had reached the water but he quickly regained his footing.
"No, don't!" Mai cried out and lifted her hands to ward him away. Naru paused. And that had been his downfall because as soon as he slid to a stop Mai's breath hitched and she froze. And suddenly she was gone. Pulled under the surface of the water with nothing but a few splashes and a trail of bubbles to mark where she had been just moments before.
Naru wasted no time and kicked his shoes off before pushing his way through the water as far as he could and diving in after her. Lin was quick to follow. The man sped past the others and threw himself into the water before they had even reached the shore line.
Monk was soon to follow.
The water was cold, something all three humans realized in that moment, and Naru struggled to see in the blackness of the murky water at night. But ahead of him he could just make out the glowing of something in the distance. It fluttered and wavered with the water but for a moment something obstructed it from view and he doubled his efforts to push through the water. He paid little heed to the things he felt brushing up against him in the murky darkness nor the depth of the lake that pushed and weighed upon him as he delved deeper. His arms continued to slice through the cold liquid with determined sweeping arcs.
Ahead he could make out the form of a woman in a kimono, she floated in the water as if she were simply standing on a solid floor, with eyes lowered to her clasped hands in front of her. Her hair fanned out around her in graceful swirls, moving with the currents of the lake, and she lifted her eyes as Naru examined her. It was everywhere, he quickly observed, her hair had spread out across the entirety of the lake and now that he was aware of this he realized it had been her hair he felt brushing up against him as he swam.
Mai came in to view, illuminated by the glowing figure and caught within her hair, and he grunted as he pushed the last couple feet towards her. He was thankful when the figures of Lin and Monk appeared next to him and helped to pull her out of the mess of silky black hair. The water weighed heavily on them all as they fought their way up and Naru nearly lost what little air he had left when something wrapped around his ankle and pulled.
"I tried," he heard a feminine voice echo in his mind through the contact on his ankle, "I took the poor souls she murdered and I have protected them. They are here with me . . . please stop her . . ."
Lin swiped his arm through the water with barely any hesitation and whatever it was released his charge, allowing him to rocket towards the surface with Monk pushing him from behind. Naru did not bother to look behind him, to get one last glance at the beautiful women who stood at the bottom of the lake, he had gotten all the information he needed. He instead turned his eyes to the surface shimmering in the moonlight and gripped the girl in his arms tight. She felt cold and heavy in his grasp.
The calm broke and four heads popped up, but only three gasped for breath.
"Shit," Naru coughed out between breaths and swam towards the shore, dragging Mai along with him. He could hear Lin just to his left, probably helping to push Mai along, and struggled to his feet when the water became too shallow to swim. "Get out of the way," he rasped and scooped Mai into his arms in one swift motion. He ignored the way the stones and trash at the bottom of the lake dug into his feet as stumbled towards the shore, his arms laden with Mai's limp form.
The others quickly stepped back while he worked his way onto dry land and fell to his knees, water streaming down his body, and set Mai onto the ground as gently as his tired arms would allow. He dropped his ear to her mouth and then to her chest while the others watched on in shock. Rocco limped forward whining, trying to get to Mai, but Naru waved his hand and John grabbed at his collar to hold him back.
Naru set his palms against Mai's chest, elbows locked, and pushed down.
"Oh god," Ayako sobbed and fell to her knees clutching at Monk's legs. The man was too distraught to notice the shivers that wracked his body in the cool night air.
Naru counted in his head, the compressions quick and forceful, before lifting Mai's chin and placing his mouth to hers and exhaled. He was silent as the grave as he returned to compressing her chest, eyes cold and merciless, and did not even bother to wipe the water from his face as it streamed into them. There was no way, in heaven or hell, that any force of man or nature was taking her away from them. Not now. Not when he had just returned and called their group of misfits back together for her. So that she could smile again and feel like she belonged, something that he had only ever felt once or twice, and look at him with pure gratitude in her eyes. Though she never said the words. And he never expected her too. And they understood that.
". . .Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three . . ." he started to count out loud, frustrations mounting, and tried his best to tune out Ayako's sobbing and Monk's muffled curses. Yasuhara had frozen and though Naru lacked common human emotion he was certain there was no joke in the world that could ever right this wrong if it were to follow through.
Again his mouth fell onto hers and he breathed everything he had into her, every last desperate molecule of air, before pulling back and repeating. This was not how she was going to go. She did not deserve to go in such a senseless way, not even saving the soul she so desperately yearned to, even as it tried to snuff out her own. Not on his watch. He had saved her life so many times before and he did not take kindly to the thought of losing. It was well known that his pride, above all else, must always remain intact. He cursed and grit his teeth and emotion crept into his eyes.
"Mai." He growled desperately.
Again. One, two, three . . .
"Naru," Lin called his name lowly.
Ten, eleven, twelve. . .
"Shut up Lin," Naru barked before he could lose his concentration.
Masako lifted her eyes to the people around her in that moment, pleadingly, wishing that someone would do something, anything, to salvage Mai's life, and for a moment she saw it happen. She saw a figure crouch over Mai's head and place a hand to her forehead. But she blinked and it was gone. And she paid it little mind in the situation as she lifted a sleeve to her mouth and fought the tears threatening to spill forth.
"Naru," Lin snapped back harshly.
"Daddy!" A little voice echoed in the back of his mind. "You're not daddy," she pouted and looked up at the men the crowded her porch from behind her door, they looked somber and at the sight of her some turned their faces away.
"Is your mother home, Mai?" One man asked sadly, a construction helmet grasped loosely in his fingers.
"Mom." The voice was scared, hesitant, and so achingly familiar to him as he tried to block out the visions of her past. "Mom, wake up!"
She dropped to the woman's side, her pale lifeless body illuminated by the sunlight streaming in through the thick blinds. "Mom!"
"I can't do this," she mumbled into her hands, now sitting in a dark room while the family she stayed with carried on cheerily downstairs. The smells of food making her stomach roil in disgust. "It's not fair!"
"I said shut up!" Naru dropped his mouth to Mai's again, ignoring the way his head spun, and in a strange sense of morbid fascination, wondered at how soft and warm her lips were. But then he felt her chest hitch, like a gear finally locking into place, and she coughed. He pulled back and lifted her up into a sitting position as she coughed and hacked up the lungfull of water. She clutched at his shirt for support while her chest heaved and he dropped his head onto the back of her neck in relief.
"Jesus Christ," Monk mumbled through his own tears and grasped the sides of his head while Ayako crawled forwards towards the two and placed a hand on Mai's shoulder. Monk turned away in a vain attempt to hide his own tears of relief and lifted his face to the sky.
John fell to his knees in prayer right then and there while Yasuhara wiped at his eyes from beneath his glasses.
"You idiot," Naru mumbled.
Lin crouched next to Naru and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Don't do that again," he muttered though his tone was that of relief.
"It worked, didn't it?" he shot back while gasping for breath. The others were oblivious to the fact that Naru had channeled energy into Mai using his PK, much like he would do with Gene, but it had taken its toll on him. He felt his limbs grow heavy and his eyelids fluttered despite his best efforts to stay conscious. But the warm body beneath his fingers kept him more anchored then any strength of will would have in that moment and he knew it. Knew it like he knew death would come to even him one day and he would join his brother. Knew it like the sky was blue and the sun would one day peter out and leave their planet cold. He chuckled darkly in the nape of Mai's neck and frowned when he felt her shiver.
Lin did not berate him further, only tightened his grip and shook him lightly, a grin present on his usually stoic face.
Mai cried over all that Prudence had suffered and wailed into Naru's shoulder while the man rested his head on hers, utterly spent, and unable to offer words of comfort due to his exhaustion. She cried until she had told them all the whole story up until the bloody end and sucked in haggard breaths as she wrapped her arms around Naru, now supporting him as he leaned heavily against her. She wanted to be sick, wanted to scream and yell, but also wanted to curl into a ball in her bed back home all at the same time. And she wished for her mother who's presence she was sure she had felt brush past her mind in the swirling unconsciousness that had settled behind her eyes in those moments.
"It's not right," she mumbled into his shoulder, "And Kikio and Alexander have been doing their best to stop her, to keep her in the house . . ."
"I know," Naru mumbled and lifted a hand to the back of her head. They were wet and shivering, yet there was a warmth between them, so even as their flesh shivered in the night neither felt quite ready to move.
It was then that Lin deemed it time to pry them apart so they could be brought back to base to rest.
"Naru," Lin called and the man grunted in response. "Are you okay to stand?"
"Yes," he rasped and groaned when Lin pulled his arm over his shoulder and onto his feet. He did not want to leave Mai's side in that moment, though he would never admit it, and had only released his grip on her when Lin had forcefully pulled him away.
Monk scooped Mai up into his arms and together they all limped back to the mansion. John took it upon himself to lift Rocco into his arms, though he struggled with the dogs size, he eventually managed and caught up with the others as the stumbled back through the trees and out onto the open field. They were not stopped by any of the few workers that remained to clean up after the event. They supposed that, in the dark, they just looked like a couple of drunks stumbling back to their hotel room. Lin snorted.
The procession of emotionally distraught and physically exhausted people piled into the room, barely aware of the anxious adults that hovered around them: Madoka, Luella, and even Martin. Monk shuffled over to the couch and sat Mai down on it, satisfied when she gave him a weak smile in return, before Luella swooped in with a blanket in hand.
Together Lin and Naru made it to the couch and Lin set him down with a frustrated but relieved sigh. The young man collapsed onto the couch with little grace and his head instantly fell back onto the back of the couch.
No one berated them to get themselves cleaned up. They stank of lake water and Mai had a bit of dirt and mud splattered across her body but she did not care as she wrapped the proffered blanket tighter around her shoulders and curled into a ball on the couch so that no part of her was exposed to the cold air of the hotel but her face. Naru vaguely wondered where his shoes had disappeared to but he found them by his feet, placed there by Lin, and sighed.
"Lin," Naru muttered with his eyes now closed.
"Hm?" Lin responded quietly and adjusted one of the pillows on the couch so Naru could sit more comfortably before accepting the blanket Luella handed to him and laid it over his charge. The man didn't even seem to notice.
"Is Mai okay?" he asked quietly.
His questioned went unheard by the others of the team who had gathered around Martin and his wife to explain what had happened while Masako went about preparing tea for everyone since Mai was unable to in her condition. It was obvious she was still shaking from the scare she had experienced and the cold as well.
Lin's brows crashed together in confusion and he turned his eyes onto the female assistant who had pulled her feet up onto the couch and wrapped her arms, blanket included, around her knees and dropped her head on top of them, effectively sealing out the world.
"She'll be alright," Lin answered absently and returned his attention to his charge, wondering what he was thinking.
"Lin," Naru responded, a note of irritation in his voice, before he opened one bleary eye to glower at his assistant.
Lin, impressed with the expression, turned back to Mai and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Mai," he called gently but faltered when he felt her trembling beneath his hand. In all honesty he expected it, she had been through so much because of that house, but he was shocked when she lifted her eyes. She stared at the coffee table behind him, tears trailing from her eyes, and clasped the small chain around her neck. She pulled it over her head and from beneath her shirt collar, a house key swung free and caught the light of the room.
She stared at it as if she had never seen if before and then turned her gaze onto Naru who had allowed his eye to fall shut. She dropped her hands between her ankles and the key dangled over the floor before her eyes turned to the air in front of her, unfocused, and her tears slowed to a stop.
"That's not fair at all," Mai muttered.
"It was an accident," Naru muttered back.
Lin's eyes widened and he looked down at the key. The very key he recalled Mai almost forgetting the day they had left. He had asked her if she had everything and she had gone back to retrieve it and explained that it was her old house key. The key to the house where she had lived with both her parents when they were alive.
"I'm sure he would be willing to show you ours," Naru continued in such a quiet tone that even Lin strained to hear as he sat down on the opposite couch with a sigh.
Mai did not lift her eyes from the floor as she mumbled, "I don't think I could bear it."
Naru opened his eyes and lowered his own gaze to the floor something sad and foreign in his face that none had seen. Was his past so horrible that Mai would be unable to cope? No, he knew that for a fact that, while his childhood had not been a nice one, he had seen her handle far worse from other spirits. Why then, would she say she would not be able to bear his? And then he really did feel like an idiot. Because he realized that it was because she was close to them. He never did understand human emotion all that well. It was so complex at times, filled with twists and turns, and it left his head reeling with frustrated irritation. He did not understand the living. But the dead, the dead he could understand, because they could only hold on to so much emotion in death. They were simple, either they wanted revenge or they were looking for somebody or something . . . Not this complex mess that he found himself in.
It was going to become even more complicated when Mai found out that he planned on exorcising Prudence instead of cleansing her.
"I miss her," Mai mumbled after a few moments of silence and she pulled the blankets around her once more, even going so far as to pull it over her head, before she fell to her side on the couch.
All around them the rest of the SPR team muttered quietly and thought over the events of the day. They shot worrying glances to the two on the couch but neither one of them approached them, frightened that they would break whatever spell of quiet clam that had settled over them, and nursed their cups of tea that Masako had provided for them. Martin and Luella seemed to be having some kind of whispered argument in the back of the room and it was obvious the woman was distraught. She wanted the case to be over with but Martin argued they could not leave it hanging and simply walk away no matter how dangerous it had become. Lives were at stake, even theirs, and he knew Noll would never approve of their retreat. Yasuhara was reading through his notes at Lin's table, studying it for any kind of clue that could help them, but he had read the same sentence twenty times over since they had returned and was making no headway. Ayako and Monk were fighting, arguing over Mai's health and what the right thing to do was. Ayako wanted to send her home but Monk defended that it would do her little good at that point. John was trying to mediate it but it was obvious they were not listening to his quiet words.
Naru sipped from his own cup of tea, deposited directly into his hand by Masako, and glanced down at the form of his assistant. She had rested her head on one of the many pillows of the couch next his leg and a few strands of her hair had fallen from her blanket cocoon and over the back of his hand. He rubbed a strand between his fingers, admiring the reddish brown hair, such a unique hue, and noted the softness. He was reminded that his powerful assistant, always angry and ready to defend her position, powers growing rapidly, never letting fear stop her from doing what she considered right . . .he was reminded that she was just a girl.
Among the several arguments and whispered conversations, the distress and despair that engulfed the room, Naru sighed and placed his hand on Mai's head. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch, feeling the warmth from Mai under his hand but also that the very tips of her ears were cold, and smirked.