Wow you guys on the review boards are awesome.

I know Hiroshi is a jerk to some extent.

Chapter 5

Naru woke up to find the house completely empty except for Mai who was sitting alone in the living room doing what looked like lesson plans. He walked as quiet as possible trying not to disturb you. The minute she heard the foot steps she turned around and jumped off the couch as if Baru was a ghost.

"Sorry Mai. I didn't mean to scare you." Naru said quickly as he walked over to her. She just nodded. "So what are you doing Mai?"

"Lesson plans for next week." Mai said

"Why aren't you at the school."

"School's closed on Fridays. No classes."

"What happened with Hiroshi last night." the question slipped out of Naru's mouth. He regretted asking it after he said it.

"What do you mean." she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"He hit you when you were talking in the kitchen last night. I saw it happen Mai. I was going to walk outside to get some air" Naru said

"You were eavesdropping"

"Not intentionally"

"Look it was a honest mistake. He didn't mean it okay. He wasn't himself last night is all."

"He hit you and you cut your lip. You were bleeding pretty bad and you have a bruise on your lip." it was plain to see there was a bruise on Mai face now. The cut was healing but still visible.

"It's nothing that should concern you." Mai turned back to her lesson plans.

"Where is everyone else?" Naru asked.

" At the school. They are staying there over night. Lin asked if you would stick around up here and watch me. He thinks I should be question or something."

Naru just nodded and watched her work. They ate dinner in silence, they didn't say a word to each other for the the rest of the night. After Mai went to bed Naru sat up thinking about what happened in that last case.

~Flashback~

1 ½ weeks after first flashback

Naru called back everyone telling them what happened. They began their frantic search for Mai. No one could find her. She had just vanished. Naru got no sleep that night after Mai disappear. He sat up watching moniters, half hoping to see her on one of them.

"Mai, I'm sorry for letting you go and letting you get hurt. Please be alright, please be safe, please come back" Naru said to no one. He heard foot steps behind him. Lin had come to check on him.

" Are you that worried about her." Lin asked him.

" Yes, she's never gone missing this long before. I keep thinking she is dead." Naru said being melodramatic.

" I'm sure she'll be fine."

" I don't know Lin. This ghost brutally murders it's victims. I can't see how she'll survive this."

Naru sat quietly after that. Suddenly the hotel owner came in running.

" Guest said they heard screaming on the first floor. They also said it sounded like it was coming from the basement." He said catching his breath.

The team was woken up and they began searching the basement. The hotel guest were right, there was a definite sound of screaming, and to Naru's dismay, it sounded like Mai. It took till close to dawn to find the possible secret room. The sound of the scream got louder as the progressed down the passage behind the door.

When they got to the next door at the end of the passage the screams stopped suddenly. Naru fought to get the door open. It was inevitable locked. Bou-san had to kick it in. Naru rushed in to find Mai on the ground, a knife in her side, blood pooling next to her. She was barely conscious, fighting to breath. She had more then just the stab wound. Cuts covered her body from head to toe, some just barely scratches but others were deep wounds.

"Lin call an ambulance!" Naru yelled. Mai lost consciousness after about 1 minute of Naru being there. She was rushed to the hospital, I took 5 hours to save her. Naru couldn't bring himself to go back to the hospital. He had put Mai in danger and she had payed for it.

~End of flashback~

Naru was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard screaming in the house. He ran up the stairs to Mai's room to find her screaming in her sleep. He went to wake her and calm her down. When he got over to her, he saw horrible claw marks on her neck. Had the ghost come after her at her house. And if so what is it doing to her. Naru woke Mai as carefully as possible. Mai came to almost hyperventilating, eyes panicked, and an extremely scared look on her face.

"Mai are you okay" He asked. Mai got up and ran to the bathroom, Naru followed her. She splashed her face with cold water and tried to calm down.

"You shouldn't see me like this, Naru." Mai said

"Mai what happened."

"This only happens when Hiroshi isn't here. The scratches I mean. The dreams never stop coming. There of that last case, the parts I don't ever want to remember. I can't stop them. They keep coming. I try telling Hiroshi that every time he leaves. He gets in these moods every time he comes home after a case. He has to go see the doctor and then he comes home. After a couple of days and he's fine but before then he's all weird."

"Then why are you marrying him."

"I love him. He loves me. It's that simple"

"He hurt you."

" You hurt me, too. You didn't come to see me in the hospital after I was almost killed on that stupid last case!"

"Is that why you left?"

Mai said nothing. She just looked in the mirror and stared at him through.

"Didn't you care at all I was probably dying then?" Her words were soaked with tears. She walked back into her room crying. She sat back on her bed and Naru sat next to her. She became quiet when he sat down.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked

Mai shook her head.

"I can't sleep now, not after that." she said shaking

Naru put his arm around her shoulder and made her lay back down.

"Go back to sleep Mai. You'll be fine, I'll watch over you." Naru said

Mai fell asleep to Naru running his hand over her face. Naru fell asleep on the couch in Mai's room so he could be close to her and watch over her. Naru and Mai had no idea that the ghost after her an d the student may be controlled by someone close, too close for comfort.