Chapter 6

Mai's POV:

The mix of fear and fury in Hana's father's eyes was very clear. He looked down at Hana and reached for her with shaking hands. "What happened to her?"

As Naru quickly and carefully explain what had befallen poor Hana, I stood to the side, my eyes on Hana's tear stained face as Lin san handed her to her father. Hana whispered over and over. "I'm so sorry, father...I wasn't able to complete this task without shaming you..."

Naru's last words caused shock to cover the faces of the elders. "And now the spirit is trapped in the room through means of protective charms. It cannot leave and we'll exorcise it at your earliest convenience."

Hana's father looked down at his daughter. "Truly? It cannot escape?"

Hana nodded weakly, the smile returning. "It is. We'll all be safe now. I have not entirely failed you, father."

He held her close. "You have not failed me at all. Let us take you home. I am so sorry what this has cost you..."

"Akatsoi, you told us that they would protect her." The village elder with piercing, hate-filled eyes told him with anger in his tone. "Your daughter was to be promised to my eldest son. Now he will not want her."

Hana's father looked at him with both pain and anger. "We will discuss this later, Konoho. She has been through enough."

"She practically gave herself to the beast!" Konoho retorted, his tone full of acid. "You said she offered to be a sacrifice!"

"She was trying to help!" Hana's father roared. "She sacrificed her innocence for this village!"

"There were other ways to handle this than to send her in!" Konoho yelled back, uncaring that we were all there to witness the fight. He reached for me and grabbed my wrist, pulling it up and towards him. I tried to throw my weight down to get away, but he had an iron-like clasp. "Why couldn't one of these modern whores take her place?"

I watched as an arm with a black sleeve shot out and grabbed at his wrist. His expression contorted to one of slight pain. I looked up at Naru, surprised he would go so far as to openly harm one of the village elders, even for me. It went against his entire diplomacy act that he upheld during cases. "Enough. If you don't want the spirit expelled, we'll leave it there for you to deal with as you see fit. Let her go."

The ice in his tone was enough to make the elder let go of me. My hand had been held high enough that I would have dropped to the ground if Naru hadn't caught and steadied me. He gently pushed me into Monk, who kept a protective arm around my shoulders. Finally, one of the other elders in the background spoke. "Akatsoi, Konoho, let us give Hana a chance to rest. After she is cleaned, we will perform a cleansing ceremony and put her to bed so that she can rest and heal."

Hana's father smiled back at the man. "Thank you, Echi. We have much to feel sorrow over, but much to be thankful for. This spirit will no longer be able to harm us. We must be grateful for this. We will have Mr. Kiba order bricks for us to cover up the door the spirit is in, even after we let Mr. Shibuya and his team exorcise it. If you will do this for us, still."

He said the last part to Naru, his eyes full of caution. Naru put his hands behind his back and straightened his shoulders. "Yes, that is our intention. If the spirit is expelled now, we'll not have any reason to be called back to the island."

"When my daughter is finally healed and no longer needs to rest, there will be a feast to celebrate the trapping and killing of the spirit. In a couple day's time, once you've exorcised it, would you all like to attend?"

Though Konoho had anger in his eyes, mostly towards Naru, he didn't object anymore. He chose to turn around and storm out of the house, pushing the elder, Echi, aside as he went. I then noticed that Ayako and Masako were to the side of the doorway. Naru answered Hana's father. "We customarily wait twenty-four hours to assure that any exorcism was affective. After that, we'll need to leave for the mainland. One of our team members has school to attend."

Hana looked up at me. "Oh, please say you'll attend. Feasts here are always a lot of fun."

I smiled warmly, feeling like I could very easily be friends with her. "Of course we will. My school understands when I take off for work. That is, if my boss agrees to it."

I looked up at Naru. He looked slightly irritated around the eyes. "Very well. I'm sure we can stay for a few hours after we pack up the equipment. Is everyone ready to return to Mr. Kiba's?"

Everyone murmured some form of agreement, if only just because we were afraid Konoho would return to yell more. We waited for Hana and her father to leave with the other elders in tow before leaving the house ourselves. We wasted no time in leaving the village, even though a few villagers had already heard of our success and wanted to thank us. Staying a moment with each person, I assured them that we would attend the feast in two days before hurrying after the rest of the group.

As soon as we were concealed by the trees, Ayako reached for my arm and examined my wrist. "It doesn't look like it'll bruise. Just a little red. I could rip that man's head off for grabbing you like this. And what he called you-"

"Don't worry." I interrupted, smiling reassuringly. "I'm fine. As we all know, I've had much worse since the start of this case."

"I'm still mad about it. We shouldn't go to the feast. He might try to confront us again." Ayako fretted.

Monk pat her on the back as he passed by. "Relax. I'll keep an eye on him and do something myself if he tries anything."

"I'm just worried about Hana." I murmured. "She's stuck in the village with that guy for at least a couple days while she recuperates. Apparently she and the son of Konoho were to be married. Will they really cancel it because of what happened to Hana? It wasn't her fault."

Ayako put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm afraid it might happen just like that. Hana's village holds to ancient Japanese traditions. If a girl loses her virginity, even if it isn't her fault, she's often cast aside by everyone. Luckily, her father seems to still care for her."

"If not for her father, I wouldn't want to leave her in the village at all." I sighed.

"Should we eat when we get back?" Monk asked the group as a whole and Ayako, John san and I voiced our approval of the idea.

"I'm starving." I smiled when my stomach growled for emphasis.

We were back at Mr. Kiba's in no time, already accustomed to the walk to and from the village. He was waiting in the living room, a paper in his hands and a cup of something on a nearby table. He stood as we entered. "How's everything going?"

"We've successfully trapped it to a single location in the cellar of one of the village houses. We'll exorcise it this evening, after we eat. Then we'll begin the twenty-four hour wait time. If that goes by without incident, the case will be concluded."

Mr. Kiba looked more shocked than the elders. "You mean it's nearly over?"

"Nearly, but not quite. The spirit is still out there. No matter how strong the charms, there is a very small chance it will grow strong enough to escape if just left alone. To prevent such an event, we'll exorcise it. Mr. Takigawa and Mr. Brown will especially need their energy."

"And you." Lin san murmured beside Naru. "Eat or I'll call your father."

The threat was clear, though Mr. Kiba didn't let on that he had heard anything. Naru glared only a little before relaxing his expression. "I hope it won't inconvenience you to house us for one more night. We'll be ready to leave the island tomorrow evening."

"Of course." Mr. Kiba said with a friendly smile. "Kitsune and Tomo are preparing a late lunch for you. As soon as it's ready, I'll have them call you to dinner. Where is Hana?"

We all grew silent, and the smile on Mr. Kiba's face became forced. I gave him a sad look. "Though we were able to trap it, our success came with a price... Hana was not able to get away in time. Her father is taking care of her now."

Mr. Kiba reached to cover his mouth before dropping his arm. He looked very distraught. "That's terrible... First Tomo and now Hana..."

John san brought up the basket of charms he had carried for Ayako into the cellar earlier and brought a few out with ribbons. "One of these is for Miss. Kitsune, just in case anything should go wrong. We'll give one to each young girl in the village when we return to exorcise the spirit."

Mr. Kiba chuckled nervously. "Oh, Kitsune won't need one. She was quite the wild one before coming to work for me. At least that's what her previous employer told me. I figured bringing her here would keep her from getting into more trouble."

We all fell into a small awkward silence until Kitsune herself appeared from the archway leading into the dining room. "Lunch is served, Master Kiba."

Mr. Kiba gestured towards the archway. "Shall we?"

Lunch was delicious, but tainted by the memory of Hana's suffering. I ended up only eating half before pushing my plate to the center of the table. When I risked a glance up, I found Naru's eyes on my plate. They shot up to me. "Eat."

He said it softly enough that nobody could hear over the funny story Monk was telling Mr. Kiba. I could barely hear him myself even though Ayako sat between Naru and myself. When his firm glare became too much, I lowered my eyes and slid my plate back in front of me. Even though my stomach was doing flips, I managed to finish it by the time Kitsune brought out the dessert. Luckily, he didn't attempt to make me eat some of that too.

After lunch, we all gathered by the front door to return to the village. Naru was talking to Mr. Kiba first before we could leave. "In the event that the spirit refuses to be exorcised, it may take another day or two."

"I understand." Mr. Kiba assured him. "Do your best and fall back if you need to. Don't let anyone else get hurt. I couldn't bare it."

After a few more words, Mr. Kiba went upstairs and we left for the village. This time, I was too embarrassed to put myself anywhere near Naru during the walk. He had scolded me like a child for not finishing my dinner and I wasn't liking it at all. Why did he even care? He didn't comment on the fact I only ate a little bowl of food for breakfast this morning. I stewed over this for the entire walk, sticking by John san as he named each type of tree we passed. Apparently, Hana had informed him of these names on the walk to the village earlier.

As we began to see a break in the trees, we also began to hear the sound of distant wailing. Picking up the pace, we had barely made it to the edge of the village before I wondered if we should just turn around. In the center of the village, a man was collapsed on the ground, screaming in agony while an older woman leaned over him in worry. The village elder, Konoho, was there to listen as the woman very loudly explained what happened. I could already hear her, but it became louder as we approached.

"I just asked him to pick me some basil. I remembered that there was a basil plant near the old house. He was returning and about to come inside when he fell and started screaming. What's wrong with him, Konoho san?"

He noticed us then. He looked up and gave the most hostile glare I had ever seen. It shook me to my core and made me stop moving. "You! You trap this beast with your magic and put a curse on this village!"

"There is no proof that this man's illness has been caused by the containment of the spirit." Naru defended levelly. Luckily, Hana's father made an appearance.

"What's going on here?" He demanded to know. Konoho swirled around to meet his stare.

"Tengu san is in great pains after putting himself near the old house. The beast is cursing us for trapping it!"

Though alarmed, Hana's father gave Konoho a careful look. "Now, that is not necessarily the case. But just in case, keep everyone from the old house."

A child began to scream as they ran for the middle of the village. "Akatsoi sama! Akatsoi sama!"

The little girl skidded to a stop a few inches from the man and bowed. "What is it, Mira?"

"Rin is sick! She's crying really bad!"

"Little Rin?" He asked in alarm.

"We were just playing and Rin accidentally ran into the old house." The girl began to cry loudly. "I'm scared, Akatsoi sama!"

A woman with a rounded belly appeared from her house and went to scoop the girl in her arms. "I'll go find Rin."

"No." Hana's father ordered. "You mustn't get too close to that house. I'll go. You're with child. Keep Mira safe and try to round up the children. Warn everyone."

Hana's father hurried in the direction of the old house, chanting a prayer in a more ancient dialect of Japanese as he went. No sooner had he left did Konoho turn on us. "You're cursed! Leave this village!"

"If you let us get rid of the spirit, all this will stop." Monk told him in defense.

"How can we go into the house if just getting near it can cause painful illness?" I asked, worried that it might be fatal.

"We can't." Naru determined. "We have to make sure that whatever is happening to this man doesn't kill him. If he gets better after staying clear of the house, then I'll send in Takigawa and Mr. Brown, if they agree, that is."

Monk nodded and stepped forward. "Just say the word. We need to rid this island of that monster once and for all."

A few minutes later, Hana's father came staggering with a young child in his arms. The child was screaming in pain as she was handed to another woman walking by. "Take her to her mother."

As soon as Hana's father's arms were empty, he collapsed, arms wrapped around his stomach. He was giving soft gasps, though the pain was not enough to have him wailing. Possibly because he had said prayers before approaching the house. "Akatsoi sama!"

That call had come from one of the other village elders as he ran for him, the final elder behind him. Hana's father looked up, his breath heavy. "The beast is cursing us for trapping it. Do not go near the house or you'll be filled with poison too."

"Who else has gone near?" The one named Echi asked, worried as he tried to help up Hana's father.

"Tengu san and little Rin as far as I know." He answered before letting out a deep cry and falling onto his side.

"Get all the sick ones inside!" Echi ordered and younger men in the village hurried over to help lift Hana's father. They had him up in a moment and were carrying him towards his house.

Konoho was in our faces as soon as all the infected ones were taken away. "You've cursed us! Leave this village! If you're seen anywhere near, I'll kill you all myself!"

Realizing that the danger of entering the village was too great to even collect the cameras we had left here, we totaled our losses and quickly headed for the woods leading to Mr. Kiba's. I felt someone's arm on my back, making me pick up pace. I was in such a panic, I didn't attempt to look at anything but what was right in front of me until we were hidden by the trees. When I bothered to look, I saw it was Naru.

"That's three hundred thousand yen in recording equipment, Noll." Lin san murmured as we kept up the much too fast pace. It took a full five minutes of walking this way before we slowed to our normal pace.

It was quiet the remainder of the walk home. When we arrived, Mr. Kiba heard us an hurried downstairs, only to pause with a wary expression. "You're all white as sheets. What happened?"

"The spirit is acting out in anger for being trapped. Three villagers, including one of the leaders, have come down with a sickness that causes great pains if one goes near the house with the cellar." Naru explained, looking and sounding a little unsettled. "We cannot return to the village without endangering ourselves. They won't allow it."

Mr. Kiba looked angry now. "It's that Konoho man, isn't it? He was the one who tried to run me off the island at first when he still thought I would make them leave their village."

I nodded. "Yes, sir. He said he'd kill us if we returned. We had to leave three cameras in the village."

"That's ridiculous..." He murmured, still looking angry. "For managing to trap the spirit, I'm still more than happy to pay you for your trouble. I can also reimburse you for your lost equipment. How much would that be, exactly."

"That's kind of you." Naru said with that amiable tone he used for customers only. "It's about three hundred thousand yen. A hundred thousand for each camera since they're not only able to capture regular images, but infrared ones as well."

Mr. Kiba didn't look phased by the amount. "Very good. That, plus the fees due for your services. I'll write out a check for five hundred thousand yen and give it to you this evening. Will you still be staying the night?"

"If it isn't too much trouble. If this illness ends up fading, we may be able to return to the village long enough to expel the spirit and collect our cameras, saving you a few hundred thousand."

Mr. Kiba glanced at his wristwatch. "I apologize, but I have a call to see to. It'll not take too long. Why don't you all go and rest. You've been working nonstop since your arrival."

With a nod of his head, Naru waited until Mr. Kiba had gone upstairs himself and shut himself in a room before leading us upstairs too. I was halfway up the stairs when a cold chill passed by me. I knew I had to be imagining it. The spirit was trapped and it clearly couldn't escape judging by the level of its anger. I've got nothing to worry about. I might even be able to shower tonight without an escort.

Though there was little else we could do, we still chose to sit in the base. Ayako paced around, unable to sit. Naru stood against the wall by the window while Lin san sat at the monitors, as if looking at them would somehow give him the answer. The rest of us sat at the table and chairs. After pacing long enough that she had caused her hair to move about and mess up a little, she hurried over to the table and started making coffee.

"Anyone want a cup?" She called. "It's dark roast. The good stuff."

A few answered yes, but I wanted nothing more than a soothing cup of tea. Afraid my legs would cave if I stood, I kept myself firmly sitting for the full hour we sat in the base before everyone began to make excuses to leave. Ayako said she wanted to shower, Monk and John san left, looking like they legitimately needed to rest, Masako said the events were too much for her and went to lay down in the girl's room and I was racking my brain for a good excuse to leave when Lin san suddenly shot up from his seat.

"I need to make a phone call." He announced. Even Naru looked surprised. We watched him leave the room with decided steps and turn in the direction his room was located. I looked up at Naru and raised an eyebrow, wondering if he knew anything. He simply turned his back to me and stared out the window.

For the next five minutes, it was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. So it nearly scared me out of my wits when Naru finally did speak. "Get some rest. There's still a couple hours before dinner and sitting around won't do you any good."

I glared at his back. "Neither will standing around."

"If I was permitted to go lay down, I would." He said with a steely tone, keeping his eyes on the trees outside the window.

"Oh, right..." I murmured, remembering him telling me that he couldn't rest after using his abilities. He used them again to try and save Hana, which means the sleep he would have been able to get tonight would have to be put off for another twelve hours. If he keeps this up, he may have to wait until we leave the island. "Um..."

He didn't turn, and I began to wonder if he heard my questioning sound. "Yes?"

I bit my lip. I had a couple questions for him, but if I let my curiosity do the talking, he may get irritated. Sighing, I went ahead and asked. What do I have to lose at this point? "How does it feel?"

He finally turned his head to look at me, a look of confusion on his slightly frustrated face. "What?"

"Using your PK." I tried to explain. "When you pull the chakra from the air and harness it, how does that feel? It looks overwhelming."

As understanding hit him, he turned back towards the window. He didn't answer at first and I wondered if he intended to. Finally... "It is. The first time I ever did it, I was thirteen and it felt like I had just taken a bolt of lightning into my body."

"And you were hospitalized." I guessed.

"Yes. For a month." He murmured after a second's pause.

"How did it feel when you used it in the cave to destroy that god?"

He didn't take as long of a time to answer this. "I had more practice harnessing it. It was kind of like touching a high voltage electric fence, more or less."

"And now, after using the year in England to practice more?" I whispered this one. It was difficult for me to even think about him leaving for a year, let alone speak of it with him.

He sighed so slightly, I barely heard it. "Why so curious all of a sudden?"

I shrugged, honestly not sure. "I don't know. I guess I'm just making conversation. So how did it feel when you used it on the spirit yesterday and today?"

He finally turned his entire body and leaned against the window. Crossing his arms, he gave me his careful, blank stare. Though, if you looked closely, there was a slight frown at one corner of his mouth. "Still an electric fence, though not high voltage."

"Do you think you might get to the point where it doesn't hurt at all if you keep practicing?"

He didn't answer this question. Instead, he stated a fact that had nothing to do with the conversation at hand. "You have trouble keeping people near you the later at night it gets but as long as the sun is up, you'll not leave anyone alone."

I blinked. "Huh?"

He didn't change expression at all. "You shy away from people at night. You even do what I thought was impossible for you and get quiet."

I grimaced, attempting not to glare, but failing after a moment. "I like a quiet moment to myself as much as the next person. Is there something wrong with that?"

He looked away, his eyes drifting to the monitors. "No. It just isn't like you."

"If you recall, I've pointed out more than once that I'm not who I used to be. It's one of the main reasons things will never go back to how they were before you left." I said with more bite than I realized I had in me. "That ditzy little freshman you hired for accidentally causing Lin san to injure his arm, she's gone."

Naru's reaction to my retort was too unsettling. He let his guard down for a moment, looking entirely surprised with what he saw. After a moment of struggle, he put his mask back in place and I lost any desire to be in the same room as him. Standing quickly, I left before he could say anything else.

I thought about just walking to the girl's room. But Ayako and, worse, Masako, are in there. I really can't handle a confrontation at the moment, so I chose to go downstairs and walk out the front door. The spirit is trapped and I have my charm around my neck, so why not get some fresh air? Hurrying down the angled steps, I hurried in the direction I knew led to the beach. As I broke through the trees and caught sight of the ocean, I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself.

It was a difficult process. I had to first regulate my breathing before forcing myself to not only quit my pacing, but actually sit down. Finally, I sat in the sand a safe distance from the ebbing and flowing waves. Bringing my knees to my chest, I hugged them and closed my eyes, letting the wind tug at my hair. I reached up and pulled the bobby pins out before combing through my hair and bangs with my fingers.

I'm not sure how long I stayed there. All I know is the sun was almost as high in the sky as it could get when I arrived and was beginning to set by the time I decided to stand. As I was giving the water one last look, I felt arms snake around me and a cloth come over my mouth. A few seconds of struggling later, I fainted.

When I came to, it was dark. As I let my eyes adjust, I could make out a fire in the distance, several people running around it. As my eyes finally took in everything around me, I realized that I was in the village. The fire was a large bonfire in the center of the village, about fifty feet away from me, and I was sitting and leaning up against that one pillar I remember Naru putting one of the cameras against. Said camera was shattered next to me. Even scarier than everything else I saw was the fact that my hands were bound behind me, keeping me against the pole.

Panic rose in my chest until I was on the verge of screaming. Keeping it back, I tried to pretend I hadn't woken, knowing I would probably be confronted once they noticed me. I spent several minutes trying to force the ropes off my arms until I noticed that there were two other girls that I had seen in the village tied to another pole about ten feet from me. They were already awake and were looking at me with misery in their eyes.

"What's happening?" I whispered to them, eying the villagers dancing around the fire in the distance.

"We've been chosen." The thinner of the girls said. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. The other looked a little heavier and was fifteen at the oldest.

"Chosen for what?" I whispered.

"To be sacrifices to appease the beast." The elder one explained in a deadened voice and the younger one began to cry. I looked quickly to the bonfire. Someone had noticed her crying and a few of them were now heading for us.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." I said with my panic now rising fresh. "How will sacrificing a few of us make it stop attacking?"

I shivered as I realized that, in the center of the three men approaching us, was Konoho. He was in fur pants and had his face and chest painted. To his right was a man dressed similarly, but with only paint on his face, and to his right was a man in a long fur robe. The man in the robe had a tree sapling in his left hand and a bowl of something in his right hand. When Konoho pointed to me, the man in the robe approached.

Dipping his sapling in the bowl, he began to flick it at me, causing a moisture to cover my skin. Looking down, I let out a quick scream as I realized in the dim light of the distant fire that it was the color of blood. He began to chant as he flicked the branch at me a total of ten times. Finally, he walked away and started coating the other two girls.

"You'll be sacrificed last, so we can tell the beast that we are sorry. He will be pleased to receive one of you. It is your fault and the fault of the other outsiders that he is trapped right now." Konoho said in a deep, hostile voice.

"The others will come for me!" I shouted. "This is illegal! Once Mr. Kiba finds out, he'll have the authorities clear your village off this island! Don't you realize that?"

"Mr. Kiba will die soon too." He said with a very intimidating smirk. "You all will. I've assured that the flying plane will not make it into the sky."

"You're crazy!" My voice hit a decibel I wasn't aware I could hit.

"Konoho san!" The man in fur pants shouted, pointing to the woods behind me. "There!"

Konoho eyed the forest and I tried to turn to see too, but I could only turn my head so far. Finally, he pointed. "Right there! Get whoever is there and bring them!"

"Run!" I screamed, sure it was someone, if not several from the group. "Run!"

Two more from the fire heard Konoho's order and ran towards the trees behind me. I could hear the men shouting as they went, making war cries. They were fast, having lived on an island for years, and were running past me in a matter of a few seconds. I listened as their footsteps faded in the distance before looking back to my captor. He looked down at me with a smirk before turning towards one of the houses and shouting. "Are they ready?"

On cue, a woman in old fashioned tribal wear emerged with white cloth draped over her arms, approaching us. Behind her were two other women with wooden boxes in their hands. One woman took some cloth from the older woman's hands and approached the two girls tied ten feet from me and the remaining women knelt in front of me.

"You will wear this." She ordered, her ancient eyes piercing the way Konoho's did. She was elderly enough to have gray hair. Possibly his mother? When I didn't move, she looked to the younger woman beside her, who reached for me and started trying to remove my pants.

"Stop!" I kicked at her, nearly hitting her face. The old woman smacked my leg.

"No kicking! You will wear this." She ordered again and, after several more attempts to undress and me and a few more slaps to my legs for defiance, I sat there in worry while they used a hunting knife to remove my pants, shirt and even my underthings before tying the white cloth around me in toga style. They took my shoes and socks before leaving me to sit there. I flushed and looked away from Konoho. He had stood there and watched.

"Got him. The rest ran." Someone called. Turning my head, I gasped. Two of the men had Naru with his hands forced behind his back and a knife to his throat.

"Did he put up a fight?" Konoho asked with humor in his voice.

"No." One asked in slight confusion. "He didn't even run."

"Stupid boy." Konoho said with a laugh.

"Naru." I called loud enough for him to hear. When he saw me, his eyes widened and he let in a quick breath.

"What have they done to you?" His tone was full of some of the panic I felt.

I looked down, confused, until I remembered that there were splatters of blood all over me. Some of it was even seeping through the toga. I shivered again and I looked back up. "It's not mine."

"Blood of a doe." The old woman near me explained. "To lure in the spirit."

"Lure?" Naru asked sharply, demanding to know. Nobody answered him as they dragging him towards a third pole and tied him there, forcing him to his knees. As soon as he was down, they all left us be.

"Naru, they said I'm a sacrifice!" I let my voice rise, the fear not staying down anymore. "They're going to to give me to it!"

"Don't worry." He told me, probably attempting reassurance but not really succeeding. "I'll get you out of this."

"Where's everyone else? Are they safe?"

"I told them to return to Mr. Kiba's and lock themselves inside. If they're smart, they'll listen and leave this to me."

"They won't." I pointed out with a sigh, looking down at my legs that were bare from about mid thigh down. "Lin san, at the very least, will try to step in. Ayako and Monk too. If John san had any aggression in him, he might too."

He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Not that you want to hear this right now but why did you run from the base? Where did you go?"

"Why does it matter?" I asked a little sharply, the vestiges of my anger from earlier trying to return. Considering how rude I had been and how he seemed to dislike me most of the time, part of me wonders why he's here, risking his own life. "Why didn't you run from them anyway?"

"Because I needed them to lead me to you." He answered right away. "Now tell me where you went that they were able to find you. I looked everywhere for you. I even went within thirty feet of the village."

I felt my jaw go slack. Snapping it shut, I kept my wide eyes on his face, which held a defiant and frustrated stare. "You looked for me?"

"You ran from the house without anyone with you. I wasn't about to just let you go off like that." He explained as if it should be obvious. As he spoke, he attempted to tug at the ropes around his wrists.

Trying to push back all the questions this brought forward, I finally answered. "I was at the beach, near the landing dock."

The sound of a particularly noisy village member wooping startled me. I looked back to Naru and the panic rose fresh. "Naru, I'm really worried that they'll go Pocahontas on you after they take care of me. Why didn't you run?"

"Pocahontas?" He asked in confusion.

"Take you to the nearest rock and use a weapon to bash your head in." I told him, remembering the Disney movie I had watched once on a western TV station. That's at least what I thought would happen to the blonde man if the main character hadn't stopped her father. "If that ends up happening, it's on you for getting yourself caught. I know you're a fast enough runner to get away with as big of a head start as you had."

"If I ran, by the time I found a way into the village without being seen, you may have been put somewhere I couldn't find you. You're my responsibility and I'm not about to let you be sacrificed."

"How am I your responsibility?" I asked, bewildered.

"Part of the reason the social worker responsible over you let you start working for me in the first place is because I agreed to accept the consequences, should anything happen to you."

This was really bizarre I gave him a look of complete confusion. "Why would you go to that kind of trouble? I had just injured your assistant at the time and apparently did nothing but get in the way."

His guarded expression was back. "My reasons are my own."

I shook my head, nearly smacking it into the pole. "I'm about to be thrown to a virginity taking beast and probably then killed so they don't have to deal with me afterward and all you've got to say is that? No! Tell me or I'll start screaming so they'll try to take me to it sooner."

My threat was hollow. I wouldn't do anything to lead me to my fate sooner. But the fact that I said it was enough to make him look very angry again. "Of all the questions you could ask, all you want to know is why I hired you in the first place? If you're going to ask me something, be more creative."

My anger was talking, making me feel brave enough to ask things I wouldn't be able to think about under normal circumstances. "Why did you leave then? To England. You left with no notice. I had to hear it secondhand. Do you really hate me so much that you had to leave the country?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes, a little uncharacteristic of him but it fit the circumstances. "I left to train. To practice my abilities in a controlled environment my father was setting up for me. I intended on leaving no matter what happened."

"Liar." I said as soon as he stopped talking. His answering glower was quite intimidating, but not enough to silence me.

"I'm not lying, Mai." He said through his teeth.

"Yes, you are." I said more firmly this time. "It isn't like you to give us no head notice. You knew I'd need time to find another job. I think this trip was very much not planned. Why did you really go?"

The irritation I was bringing from him was enough to make him start jerking at the ties with all his might. He winced when he managed to hurt himself and finally settled down. As I waited for his answer, keeping my eyes on him, he clamped his teeth together and refused to meet my eyes. "I left to get away from you. Are you happy?"

I flinched. Like each time he says something hurtful, it was like a knife forced inside me. Dropping my gaze, I kept my face hidden by my hair, already feeling the tears form. As my shoulders shook, I heard his slight intake of breath. "Again..."

I tried to ask him what he meant. It ended coming out as a whimper and a shudder. I retried my response. "A-again?"

He was quiet at first. Finally turning my head enough to glance, I saw that he had his eyes closed and was leaning his head against the wooden pole. He spoke softly, slowly. "I made you cry again, didn't I?"

I sniffed, which answered his question. "If I had known you felt that way, I never would have agreed to work for you again..."

He opened his eyes quickly, not giving me a chance to look away. They were fierce. "No, you're misunderstanding."

"I'm misunderstanding?" I asked in a higher tone. "You've insulted me in every way possible since I first met you, I suppose it only makes sense to remind me of how stupid I am."

"Mai-"

"Enough!" I raised my voice, something in me finally snapping. "Don't you realize? Do you not get it at all? You've ruined me! You hurt me more than I can ever get over and gave me only a year to get over that before forcing me to work for you again! Why did you think I could handle that? Why? Why!"

Each time I asked him 'why', he flinched, his face down so that his bangs could cover his eyes. His mouth was set in a thin line. He didn't respond. He didn't even move. I sighed and asked again. "Why, Naru? Why Oliver Davis? Why? Say something!"

His head snapped up so fast, I was nearly startled from my rage. "Because you're the only reason I returned to Japan! The reason I left and the reason I came back. Because, for some reason that I will never be able to fathom, I couldn't stay away from you and that terrifies me!"

His words sapped the rage from me, cooling me down inside until nothing remained but a faint warm feeling somewhere in my chest. It was a feeling I've never experienced and it was not unpleasant, but scared me somehow. Almost as much as it scared me to hear Naru admit that anything terrifies him. He breathed deeply after his confession, his shoulders moving with the effort.

I shook my head in disbelief. I just couldn't believe he actually meant this. It was as plausible as Lin san developing feelings for someone. Even more impossible. It was as plausible as Lin san developing feelings for Monk! I wanted to speak, accuse him of lying and demand a different answer. I also wanted to beg him to repeat it and convince me he actually meant it. If he did...

"It's time!" Konoho's voice sounded from a ways away. He was heading right for us with two other men in tow. While the other men went to untie the other two girls who had silently witnessed our fight, Konoho came for me and used a knife to cut my ties from me. He immediately grabbed my upper arm and started dragging me towards the old house.

"Naru!" I screamed. "If you think you have a plan, now's the time!"

He was seriously fighting his ties now and I began fighting Konoho with all my might, even going as far as trying to kick him in the balls. He caught my leg and used it to hoist me up until my stomach was thrown over his shoulder. "Be still!"

"Naru!" I called again, afraid that this really was it. I was about to die just as he confessed he had feelings for me. "I love you!"

If he had said something in reply, I couldn't hear it. I was passing by the bonfire now and the villagers surrounding it stopped to jeer at me as I was brought by them.

"Sate the beast!" One woman called.

"Keep our tradition alive!" Another shouted.

"Konoho san, please spare my daughters!" A third woman begged, falling to her knees. She was being held onto by another man, likely asked to keep her from intervening. "Please! The beast is trapped. We can just burn down the house and never go near it again!"

One woman stepped forward. "My daughter, Rin, is sick because of these outsiders! If we don't sate the beast, she won't get better! Kill the girl, sate the beast!"

Konoho didn't listen to anything the pleading woman said as he carried me towards the house. I looked over my shoulder, shaking visibly as we neared our destination. I started to kick again, really attempting to hurt him. "Let me go! Now!"

He responded to my attempts by letting one hand come down firmly on my lower back, likely causing a bruise. I yelped. "Hurry with the other girls! The beast must not be kept waiting!"

We were walking inside the house now. Candles were lit everywhere, guiding us down into the cellar. I saw that the bookshelves had been cleared away and the drawing on leather of the beast devouring people was hanging on the wall to the right. I shivered. It all made sense now. I wasn't being sacrificed to a spirit. I was being sacrificed to their deity! With no attempt at gentleness, he stooped only a foot before throwing me off of his shoulders, onto the stone floor. I nearly hit my head in the process.

The entire village had followed us down, filling the space before the door. I looked inside and swore I saw a black form swirling around somewhere off to the left. A nearby woman spit at me. "Kill her first!"

"We'll send her in last." Konoho announced. "She'll suffer for cursing our village. Let him begin with these two and finish with her. Now bring that one!"

He had pointed to the younger, fifteen year old. The older of the two had grabbed her sister. "No! I'll go first!"

The man standing next to them did not listen as he grabbed the younger girl and started pulling her towards the door. Konoho grabbed her from him and brought her in himself.

"As is tradition, an elder must bring her into this sacred room." Konoho announced. Tears streamed down my face as the girl screamed and tried to get free. In the end, it was a wasted effort and she was easily shackled to the floor. Konoho quickly left the room and stood back. He raised his hands. "Oh great Beast, we bring you your first sacrifice, so that you may leave us in peace for another ten years!"

"Help me!" The girl inside the room screamed. I couldn't bare to watch and kept my eyes on the floor. The next sounds to be heard were enough that I had to cover my ears. It was horrific to the point that I began to feel nauseated. How could these people do this to a young girl? Sacrificing her like this? Why not just leave the island if this is something they've had to deal with for long? Mr. Kiba would have likely helped them leave, if he knew that the spirit haunting the island was an ancient deity.

The screaming went on for a few minutes until there was nothing but silence. Konoho went into the room and returned a moment later with the girl in his arms. She looked like she was dead the way she slumped down in his arms, blood on her legs. He brought her to the other side of the room and placed her down gently before turning to the other village girl.

The dead look in her eyes had left her when she watched her sister's fate. She was now screaming and fighting against her captor. Konoho grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her forward until she went stumbling into the room. She was shackled to the floor in a few moments. This time, I forced myself to watch. I had to know what would befall me if someone didn't make an appearance to rescue me soon.

Oh, I wish I hadn't. It was like watching a torture scene. The apparition took on the appearance of a ghostly village chief, headdress in place, and leaned down to have his way with the poor girl. Was this really all it wanted? To sate itself on virgin girls once every ten years? I realized now why Hana's father married off his first daughter so early and sent his youngest to work outside of the village. They had stopped giving in to their deity, so it became hostile. In case it came after one of his daughters, or in case the tradition was started again, he had to make preparations.

Her screaming went on for a minute longer than the other girl, but it felt like much longer. Finally, Konoho went into the room and brought her out, showing her to be in a similar state as the first. As she was placed next to her sister, their mother appeared and knelt by their side, crying over how they had suffered. I was so caught up in her tears that I didn't notice Konoho approach me.

He jerked me to my feet and I threw my weight hard enough that he was forced to drop me. I was back on my feet in a moment and ran for the crowd blocking my way, in an attempt to break through. One grabbed me and threw me back into Konoho's waiting arms. Not taking chances, he threw me back over his shoulder and headed right for the room. The image I saw over the heads of the crowd rekindled the hope in me and made me nearly choke on the scream I was about to let out.

Naru. He was huffing at the top of the stairs, as if he had just used his abilities. He stood back up a second later and ran down the stairs. I was relieved to see Lin san, Monk, Ayako and John san all in tow. I screamed as I was dropped from Konoho's shoulder. I hit the ground hard enough, it stunned me. He used that chance to shackle me and step out of the room. As the hairs on my arms began to stand on end, I looked around the room frantically. I could hear the screaming in the other room and looked over long enough to see that Lin san had sicked his shinigami on the villagers. They were backing away in fear, while John san tried to force back the ones that were brave enough to stand their ground.

"Don't run, you cowards! Get them!" Konoho ordered, but only a couple were brave enough to step past the shinigami and try to attack Lin san. Monk did what he could to handle them, going as far as to use the nine cuts on them. Ayako brought out a knife she had sheathed on a strap around her thigh and went right for Konoho. He had a hold of her as soon as she was near and threw her hard enough into Monk that it knocked her out and caused him to hold his head in pain. No...They're losing?

My eyes didn't have a chance to see any more than Naru running right for me before I felt it. It was forcing up the white cloth around me, its hands cold as it manifested itself, a sick smile on its ghastly face. I kicked up, managing to get the shackle far enough to knock it away. I raised an eyebrow. If it manifests itself enough to touch me, I can touch it too. It was back and and I began to frantically scratch and kick, constrained by the shackles but not enough to stop me.

"Get away!" I screamed. "I will not be hurt by you! I refuse!"

The voice to echo through the room was sick and sounded like something from the pits of hell. "I am the god of this land. I will take what I please and leave what I please. I will not be told 'no'."

The light of Naru's chakra was shining through the room and I looked up to find him standing just behind me, ready to attack. "Naru, no! Unshackle me and let me run! You've already used your PK today, this time it might actually kill you! Please!"

It remembered Naru and what he could do. I could tell by the way it shrieked and flew away from me a couple feet. "I'll chew on your bones and harness your power, human! I'll no longer be confined to this room! Die!"

"Naru, don't do it!" I begged and It lunged through the air and, in a powerful blast of light as strong as was used the day he destroyed the god in the cave, Naru struck. The light was blinding. It was like staring into the a bright white sun. Closing my eyes, I ignored the ringing in my ears and felt tears fall on my face. What state would he be in when I can look at him again?

The light finally began to fade and, when I could see nothing but a faint light behind my eyelids, I opened them. I stared up in curiosity, feeling droplets on my face. There was a large hole blown through the ceiling, all the way to the surface. Rain was pouring overhead and falling over almost this entire room. Though I could not be entirely sure, something told me that the deity was gone. Really gone. There was a feeling of ease in this room that had not previously existed. I barely registered as Monk and Ayako leaned over me, a key in Monk's hands.

"Mai?" Monk asked carefully as he unlocked the shackles and removed them from my wrists. "Mai, are you hurt?"

"Mai, snap out of it!" Ayako yelled and slapped me. That brought me out of my daze and I blinked up at them.

"N...Naru?" My whispered question brought a look of worry to their eyes and I shot up my upper half, ignoring the way my head spun as I looked behind me. "N-Naru!"

No! This wasn't supposed to happen this way! I was supposed to get unshackled first and force him to leave the room with me so it could not reach us! Not... Not this... Him, slumped over onto his side, Lin san putting a hand to his neck to check his pulse, all of us wondering if he's still alive. He pushed himself too hard this time... I was on my feet and by his side in an instant. Lin san put a hand on my shoulder.

"Mai san-"

"What's wrong with him?!" I demanded, not waiting to find out before leaning down and hugging him, forcing his head to the side so I could see his face. It looked peaceful, serene. No glare, no anger, no humor, no mask...

"Mai, he's weak. I have to get him back to Mr. Kiba's. He needs treatment that goes beyond medical attention." Lin san told me firmly, taking a shoulder and trying to force me off of Naru.

Monk had me in his arms right away, literally ripping me from the ground. I fought against him. "Let me go! Let me go! I'm not leaving him!"

"We're all going to Mr. Kiba's, Mai!" He said loud enough to make me quit struggling. I watched over his shoulder as Naru was lifted into Lin san's arms, John san helping support him. As we all left the room, I began to cry fresh tears onto Monk's shoulder, barely noticing that every villager in the room was unconscious.

"What happened...?"

"They all didn't cover their eyes when Naru used his power. It knocked them all out." Ayako explained softly.

"And Konoho?" I asked this more slowly. I noticed the blood pool under him.

Monk looked to the side with regret in his eyes. "He fought me till the end. I had to or he would have kept us from helping you and Naru."

His confession shook me. "He's...dead?"

"Mai, don't worry." Ayako told me as we left the cellar, the house and, after a few minutes, the village.