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Chapter 13

The night seemed quiet after Hiroshi died. Naru had fallen asleep with Mai half next to him half on top of him in the window seat. In the middle of the night Naru woke up and Mai was gone. He went down stairs to find her in the kitchen standing by the counter, where they had put Hiroshi's body till they could get the cops out to the house. She went to grab the sheet that was over him.

"I wouldn't do that Mai." Naru said scaring Mai when he did.

"I just wanted to look at his face one more time." Mai said

"It's not a pretty sight, he shot himself in the head."

"It can't be that bad."

"Are you sure you want to see it."

She just nodded. Naru walked over and put his arm around her and he grabbed the sheet. Before he pulled it off he looked at her as if to ask if she was ready. She nodded at him and he pulled the sheet back. Hiroshi looked the same just paler, almost white, and had a bullet hole when the bullet entered his head and one where the bullet left. He was still wet from being in the lake but he was dead before he hit the water. Mai turned away and into Naru's chest.

"Cover him back up" Mai said

"Sorry Mai. I know he meant a lot to you." Naru said as he place the sheet back on Hiroshi

"He was my best friend. He didn't deserve this"

Lin and Madoka watched the scene from the living room, Lin was on the computer and Madoka was organizing papers on the case. Madoka looking at a list of people they questioned in the town, noticed no one questioned the doctor.

"Lin did you know no one questioned the doctor in the town?" Madoka said

"Naru said he did." Lin said

"there is not records her of anyone interviewing him."

Naru walked out with Mai and Lin and Madoka turned to them.

"there are no records cause when I tried interviewing him he was never there." Naru said

"Doc is always keeping weird hours and it strange really. I've never seen him actually examine somone. That's the nurses job." Mai added "it's like he can't"

"Could that be cause he will pass through them, like a ghost."Lin asked

"You don't really think he is one do you." Mai said.

"it's a possibility" Naru said

"oh my gosh. He doesn't seem evil or cruel at all. I would have never guessed him." Mai said in shock

"Alright Lin wake Bou-san, Ayako, John and Masako and have them meet me at the school, I have a feeling the doctor is there." Naru said heading for the door, as Lin rose and followed Naru's orders. Mai started to follow Naru, but he stopped her.

"Mai you stay here with Madoka." he said turning to her.

"I'm coming with you." Mai said back

"No too dangerous."

"I'm not part of SPR Naru, you can't order me around like everyone else. Besides you can't get in the school without my help, i'm the only one who knows where the key is."

Naru looked and mai then sighed

"Fine but you show us where the key is then you stay in the car." He said

The drive to the school was silent. Naru suspected it was because everyone else was asleep before Lin woke them up and told them to go to the school. When they got there Mai showed Naru where the key was then went and stood by the car. Naru and the others went inside to find the doctor there and he was not happy to see them, but he acted surprised.

'Oh my, you must be the friends Mai has staying with her, i'm terribly sorry to hear about Hiroshi. He was a very kind young man with a lot of promise."

"Cut the crap doctor, we know you aren't alive and controlled Hiroshi so he would kill himself." Bou-san said.

The doctor's eyes suddenly started glowing red.

" do any of you have any knowledge on poisons." he said while picking up a knife from the desk.

"Why did you kill Hiroshi Doctor Takashi?" the question came from a tear soaked voice behind Naru. He turned to find Mai had walked in.

"Mai go back outside!" Naru yelled at her, but Mai just shooked her head.

" Why'd you do it. What did he do to deserve that." Mai asked the doctor

"He knew too much, he figured out I was a ghost,but the drugs prevented him from attacking me,but you stopped taking them so I couldn't control you. Now you all know too much, so why don't we start with the leader of the group, Naru right" He turned to Naru and swung at him and Naru braced for the attack. Suddenly someone jumped in front of him, and took the attack for him. When he open his eyes he saw Mai had jumped in front of him. She had taken the blown just above her stomach going in the direction of her lungs. She fell backwards in to Naru's arms, coughing. Doctor Takashi pulled the knife out of her and she whimpered. Mai then managed to put her fingers in the wound to stop it from gushing out blood. Naru managed to help her to the floor before starting to tearing up.

"I told you to stay outside! This is my fault, I should have made sure you stayed at the house." Naru said as tears started to fall down his face.

"It's not you fault, I... I..didn't ..listen.. it all" Mai managed to say

Naru pulled her into an embrace as he started crying, Madoka, who ended up coming in too, tried to pull Mai's hand out of her wound, Naru stopped her.

"Don't, that will stop her from bleeding out." he said

The doctor started to laugh while staring at them with a evil smile.

" Even if it was just a small scratch of the knife would kill her, the knife was soaked with a poison so deadly she'll be dead in 2 hours." He said

"What kind of poison?" Lin asked

"It kills the nervous system and cause everything in the body to shut down. As we speak her arms are starting to feel like weights. Pretty soon her limbs will be useless. After that she will start to fell her breath leaving her and finally she will die." The doctor said.

Mai tried to move but she couldn't. The poison had already started to take effect. Naru ordered Bou-san and John to deal with the doctor and asked for Ayako's help with Mai. Naru watched the battle from Mai's side.

Bou-san and John fought the doctor with using spells and holy water. Lin eventually joined the fight by using his shiki. When the doctor was down they did there best to keep him down. But he kept coming back. Naru wasn't sure they were gonna win this battle.

"Naru" a small voice said to him he turned to find Mai, who was now being laying with her head on Madoka's lap.

"Naru use your powers, I know you can and it's the only way to beat him." she said, barely conscious

"Mai I can't do that, something bad could happen and I might die." he said

" Everyone is gonna die if you don't. You are the only one who can stop him."

"Mai I can't"

"Please"

Naru looked at Mai and realized that it she was right. There was no avoiding it, he had to use his powers to save them all. Naru stepped up to the doctor and began to charge his power power and aimed it at the doctor. As he readied to fire, memories of a conversation he had with Mai came into his head.

~Flash back from Naru~

~3 weeks after the first flashback~

Mai was carrying a bigger bag then usual when she was leaving work, and she was very jumpy when someone came near her. At the end of the day when she was leaving and half her stuff was of her desk, Naru came up to ask her how her side was healing. When he came up behind her she jumped out of her skin.

"Oh my gosh Naru! Don't scare me like that." she said picking up her stuff

"What are you doing." He asked

" Cleaning my desk, it was cluttered."

"How's your side."

"Fine, Just hurts sometime, but they gave me pain medication for it."

"Maybe you should stay home tomorrow."

"I'm fine. I have stuff to do here anyway."

"Mai you should be resting"

"I'm fine."

"What's wrong."

"Nothing I'm just tired okay. I'm going home"

After that she walked out.

~end of flashback from Naru~

I'm such an idiot I should have seen it then none of this would have happened and Mai wouldn't be suffering now. All of this is my fault. Now I have to make amends for it. Naru thought.

Naru then fired at the doctor. Doctor Takashi disappear, defeated.

Naru collapsed afterward but managed to keep consciousness cause he didn't use all his power. When Lin and the others tried to help him he brushed them off.

" No don't help me. We need to get Mai to a hospital." He said.

Lin helped Naru up and then carried Mai to the car then they rushed to the hospital

You got to love cliff hangers. Will Mai survive, Did they defeat the Doctor, is Hiroshi really dead, will Mai and Naru end up together. Find out in the next chapter.

Updates soon