Chapter 2 Blank Wall
Day 2
Mai hadn't slept for the rest of the night, so by the time the sun had risen, she'd been ready to leave her room, shutting the door behind her quietly so that she didn't wake Masako up. Mai had showered early and dressed after that, and just as the sun rose, she exited the building of the school.
Mai could remember the dream she had last night so clearly, the image of the girls' corpses were still engraved in her mind. Naru had said that they had died already, and if the numbers matched, then that would have been three girls that went missing – and two bodies and one burning last night. Everything made sense, but Mai still wanted to find the bodies. If the girls were really gone, then they at least deserved a proper burial, so she after a sleepless night, she'd decided to go and confirm her dream in the morning.
Initially, Mai had thought of calling someone to come along with her, but it had felt so stupid. Yasuhara-san had classes today, so she couldn't really call him along, and Bou-san probably wouldn't have agreed to her going at all. It felt so stupid to Mai, going off to confirm something in her dreams, even if she had been correct before. What if all this had just been a figment of her imagination? Or what if she led them to danger too? She didn't worry about herself that much: Mai had always been pushed into trouble, but at the last minute, she always found a way out. She was lucky in an unlucky sort of way, really.
Mai spotted the same fountain from last night and passed it, travelling until she saw the wall that Naru and she had stopped at last night. The vines were still there; the wood unmoved. She was amazed: the dream had been right after all.
"Mai."
Mai's heart jumped a mile before her mind registered who the voice belonged to.
Oh, God. It was Naru. And, of course, he was frowning. He had almost scared her to death again. This definitely had not been the first that he did that. Didn't he make any noises while he walked?
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Noting that he wasn't very happy, Mai forced a sheepish smile on her face. "I went for a walk," Mai answered.
Naru's eyebrows rose slightly at her blatantly obvious lie. Mai laughed weakly and turned towards the wall in front of her. He was already in a bad mood – probably because he hadn't slept last night – and he'd probably had to have chased her down in order to learn why she was here. Mai unconsciously touched her pocket and realised that she'd left her phone behind too. Oh, boy. She was in for it now.
"Are you that keen on dying?" Naru asked acerbically. "I told you to never go anywhere alone. And since you haven't been here before, and yet you managed to make way through as though you've visited this place in the past, I can only surmise that you visited this area in your dream last night. And I told you to tell me if you dreamt of anything relating to the case."
She didn't dare turn to look at him now. Mai had never heard him so angry before. Sure, she'd seen him annoyed more times than she could count, but that didn't mean that she wanted to face him even when he was in that mood. Luckily, Naru was not a man of many words, so when he stopped, he stopped all together. She, however, couldn't help but feel a touch irritated. He was annoyed because of his lack of sleep – and there was no doubt that her insolence was the reason why he was in an even worse mood – but that didn't mean that he had to project all of it onto her.
Mai snuck a peak at him and realised that his face was still crinkled from his mood. Then again, his expression at the moment was just a little bit comical.
"How did you know I was here, anyway?" Mai asked.
"Lin saw you leaving on one of the cameras, and since I was closest, I had to come and get you."
Then why had he followed her instead of calling out to her? Mai stared at him and watched as he tried to calm his expression, yet managed to look aggravated all the same. She guessed that this wasn't the best time to tell him that she hadn't even considered calling him along; only Yasuhara-san or Bou-san had been on her mental list to call.
Naru exhaled. "What were you looking at?" Naru asked. He, too, examined that same wall with his eyes. The vines had covered the wall thickly, and the only reason why she'd managed to get through was because dream-Naru had been there with her and he'd taken her through the wall instead. Mai looked up at the edge of the wall sceptically. It was about two and a half meters tall; if she found something to boost herself with, she should be able to get over it.
"I saw this wall last night," Mai answered absently. She looked around and her face brightened when she saw a table at the far end that she could use to climb on. "I just need to get onto the other side."
Naru wasn't pleased by her response. He said something, but as whatever he'd said came out at the same time Mai pushed against the table, so she didn't hear him at all. The table creaked from where it was and then suddenly fell apart right in front of her.
Well, so much for that plan.
"If you're trying to get over the wall," Naru drawled patiently, "there is a tree."
Mai looked up, realising that he was right. So that was where the branches had come from. Mai wasn't sure what tree it was, but it had probably been around for a few years for it to
be that big. She walked towards the trunk and measured the position of the lowest opening. If she could step onto that spot then she would definitely be able to hop onto the branch and climb on to the wall. How she got down after that was just another issue.
That 'spot' however, that Mai had intended to use as a boost, was definitely too high for her foot.
"I'll go first," Naru said. He stepped towards her and easily used the gap to boost himself onto the branch. Mai blinked. Naru, dressed in a suit, was climbing a tree. She didn't even know that he knew how to do that. Naru perched himself easily onto the tree and looked back at her.
"Stay there, Mai, and I'll—"
"You're not leaving me behind," Mai cut-in, horrified that he'd even thought of doing that.
If it was anyone else, they would have rolled their eyes. Naru, however, just reached down and held his hand out, almost like last night. Mai took his hand and Naru, who was obviously stronger than he looked, easily pulled her up to where he was. He didn't let go of her hand, and Mai found it strange that his grip in her hand was warm, rather than cold like it had been in her dream.
"Are you balanced?" Naru asked.
Mai nodded, though her heart was pounding in her chest. She was this close to Naru. It almost made her forget what she was here for. Mai blinked, shaking her head. This wasn't the time for her to think like that, and she was a little ashamed that she had. Trying her best to ignore him, Mai manoeuvred towards the other side of the tree and hoped onto the wall. A few meters away, she sighted another table leaning against the wall.
"Hey, look. We can use that to get down." She turned to launch onto the table before Naru had even set his second foot onto the wall.
"Wait, Mai," he ordered, just a little too late. Naru ran towards, somehow not falling off the wall.
"Eh?" Mai looked back at him while she'd jumped and felt her feet meet a surface that was not quite supported.
The table's leg had broken. And this was going to be a rather painful two meter fall.
"Mai!" Naru called, and she felt the wood break further beneath her weight. Naru missed her when he grabbed and dived down after her. Somehow, he landed acrobatically on his feet while Mai did so ungraciously on her bottom, atop the smashed wood.
"Mai, are you alright?"
"Ouch," Mai muttered, her eyes tearing from the pain. "That hurt, that hurt, that hurt."
"That's because you didn't look where you were jumping, idiot."
His words weren't too comforting, but Mai was used to them by now. Naru's grip on her back was comforting, but Mai's bottom hurt all the same. He carefully removed the excess wood from around her and Mai rubbed her backside, trying to lessen the pain. During her gasps for breath, she inhaled a strange scent. Mai's eyes turned upwards, just slightly, and then she froze.
Just two meters away from her was one of the backpacks she'd seen last night, encrusted with the Karakura High School crest. Her mind was blank as her eyes moved towards the further end, stopping right at the corpse. Something white, in contrast to the ashen body, stood out to Mai in the light and she realised that that had to be the other girl's teeth. Her gaze went further up and Mai's eyes widened when she saw the hollowness of the corpse's eye socket.
"Oh my god," Mai breathed.
Her eyes, sickened, stared at the grotesque sight before her. The angle of the girl's neck made it so that her face was staring towards Mai's direction.
"Oh my god," Mai repeated. Her breathing deepened and she forgot all about her pain. Naru seemed to have noticed the reason for her temporary paralysis because he didn't ask her what it was. Suddenly, her gaze met black and Mai realised that Naru had moved to sit right in front of her.
He pulled her to him, turning her gaze towards his jacket, despite her struggles. "Don't look," he ordered.
Mai shook her head. His voice had brought her out of her metal paralysis. "No, I have to see. There were two others. I remember that there were two other corpses"
"It's okay."
"No, Naru—"
"Mai!" Naru snapped. The sharpness of his tone brought her back to her senses and she stopped. Mai swallowed the bile in her throat and she stopped struggling. Her breathing deepened and Naru shifted slightly, allowing her more room for oxygen to get through.
As the air shifted towards her brain, Mai's thoughts calmed just a little. He was right, of course. They shouldn't touch the corpses; the police still had to come in and there was a high chance that she could destroy any evidence that had already been laid out there. If there was any evidence to destroy seeing as the spirits were supposedly responsible for these murders.
Mai had to stop panicking now. It was rather unlikely that she could tell the police that she'd seen all of this in a dream. Mai didn't know what she and Naru were going to tell the police, but they needed to come up with a story now.
And they were right next to a corpse.
Oh, God.
It took six hours for them to organise everything. They'd dialled the police, contacted the headmaster, and also visited the police station.
A detective had questioned them too; a friendly officer in his mid-forties. He was called Detective Ichinose, from what Mai remembered. They had asked the usual questions. Naru had answered in turn with Mai there: they had gone for a walk that morning and ended up at the wall. Mai had thought that it would be fun to climb the wall and Naru had climbed after her, trying to stop her in case she fell. The detective had smiled and muttered something about "Young love" when they'd told him their story and had slapped Naru encouragingly on the shoulder. Naru, of course, had merely stared at the man and asked him if they could go soon. The detective had smiled, thinking that Naru was embarrassed before allowing them to leave.
Now, Mai and Naru had returned to base along an unimpressed Bou-san and an even less impressed Lin-san. Masako and Ayako weren't there, but that was because they had to guard base. Now that the rest of them were back, the other two girls had gone off to find something to eat.
"The forensics reported that the dental work of the girls that went missing matched that of the bodies," Bou-san said. His was tone was dry as he leant over the table, his face sarcastic. "Congratulations, Mai. You hit the jackpot."
Mai smiled sheepishly. She certainly didn't feel as though she'd just won the lotto.
Naru didn't seem to think so either, because he turned towards her, uncharacteristically gentle. "You've had quite the morning, Mai. Go and rest. Lin will escort you to your room."
"And who will stay with you?" Lin-san demanded. His face was literally twitching – he was in that bad of a mood.
Naru turned back to Lin, and dryly said, "I don't need a babysitter."
Oh, and she did, did she?
"That could have fooled me," Lin-san snapped. "I cannot believe that you went off with Taniyama-san to search for the body like that."
"It wasn't as though I intentionally went off to hunt for the body of the victims."
Again, this seemed a little inclining towards Mai.
"You know that Taniyama-san has latent sensitivity, and that she'd had a dream last night; you saw from the moment she left her room that she wasn't looking well. You deliberately followed her and you deliberately climbed over that wall to satisfy your curiosity. Damn it, Naru! What if something had happened!?"
"We found the bodies, didn't we? That counts for something." Naru's response was droll and Mai stared. She'd never seen Lin-san so emotional before but Naru seemed completely indifferent to it all.
"The professor will not be impressed when he learns that you got the police involved in this, Naru."
The professor, as in Naru's parents?
"And neither of you thought it would be necessary to call me!" Lin-san continued.
Oh, boy. Lin-san was angry. Mai snuck a glance at Naru, noting the way he casually shook his jacket before laying it onto one of the chairs. Naru was completely at ease with it all, but Mai knew that she wasn't. For once, Lin-san's anger wasn't projected solely at Naru either; it was also at Mai.
It didn't seem fair that Lin-san was yelling at Naru only. Mai stepped forward, knowing that she was probably going to regret it later on. "Lin-san, it was my fault, really—"
"It's your fault too, but Naru should have known better—"
"That's enough," Naru interjected sharply. His tone gave no doubt that this conversation was over. Mai lifted her face, surprised to see that he not only looked irritated, but also tired. Then, she remembered that he hadn't had any sleep last night and their trip to the police station probably hadn't helped either. Naru turned towards Mai. "Mai, I'm taking you back to your room now. Stay there until tonight."
Mai nodded quickly and even Bou-san was smart enough not to comment. Lin-san didn't say anything and merely watched them exit the room. Mai didn't say anything as they walked, wary of Naru's expression as they went.
"Mai, if you hear, see, feel, dream or sense anything that might be paranormal, I want you to tell me about it, regardless of the time and place."
Mai blinked. That sounded suspiciously like the order he'd given her yesterday. It wasn't as though she purposely ignored his requests; she just never thought to tell him until she confirmed the truth of the basis first.
"Mai, did you hear me?"
It was a bit hard not to, honestly. She nodded quickly in confirmation and Naru seemed to find that acceptable. He took her to her room and stopped in front of the door.
"Rest for now; you must be tired. I doubt that you got much rest last night either."
Mai nodded, realising that Naru was being oddly considerate. This really was not something he would normally do. Mai stepped into the room and turned around, ready to close the door when his voice called out to her again.
"Mai."
She opened the door again. "Yes?" she asked.
Naru opened his mouth and then closed it again. His face was expressionless, as per usual, and Mai frowned. "Just be careful," he said to her.
She didn't understand, but she did nod.
4th September, 2008: I actually finished this chapter a few hours after I released chapter 1, and chapter 3 is done also. I'm off to chapter 4 now, and I can't believe it either. LOL normally I am so incredibly lazy, but I think the reason why I might have written so much is because my alternative is studying for my PYB110 Psychological Stats exam. You can probably guess which option seemed a little more alluring, eh? Anyway, thanks so much for reading! I wasn't going to update till next week (it makes me feel superior to be ahead) but it's my birhday tomorrow, so I figured I'd update earlier. What do you think of my Naru/Mai part? It was about as romantic as you can get for Naru, I think. Nah, just kidding. It was about as good as I could give them without making them seem OOC, since neither of them had really confessed their undying love for one another yet. Oh, by the way: tell me if any of you guys are not getting my author replies for your reviews. But yes, cheers!
Many thanks to: Kay (LOL you're back! I'm glad you like the concept of the Five though. Their plot thickens as the story progresses. You might even like the other members of their family ;)), Skyz-Angels, syNemYoA, got2bekiddin, Gabryell-P, misskoneko, bigtomato (LOL thanks for your support! I'm glad you liked it so far), Sorachangirl, canadianviolet (Errr...I wouldn't say that I like this story any more than I like my other ones, but it is, strangely enough, one of the lightheated stories that I write. Normally, a story of mine would have deep plots, dark pasts, and creepy, mysterious characters. In Vesta's Bonds, everyone is exactly as they seem. Well, kinda anyway. But yes, this chapter probably didnt answer too many of your questions, but the next chapter should), Lansky, killbethy, Moons-Chan, Yuki Taiki, and lurkmoar.