Once more, thank you for all those heart-warming reviews!!! :D Already to Chapter 11, dang it! It's almost done! I'm gonna miss it! :`(
*I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form*
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"Mai," somebody said to me. It sounded like Gene, now that I could distinguish the differences between his voice and Naru's.
I opened my eyes and found myself in a black abyss. All around, there was nothing but darkness except for where I stood and where Gene stood.
"Gene? Are you here to help me?" I asked, standing up.
"In a way," he replied. For once, Gene's face was grim and sad.
"'In a way'?" I repeated in surprise. "What could be different than how you normally help me?"
Gene sighed and closed his eyes for a second. "I'm afraid I'm not here to guide you through your dreams."
I blinked in surprise. "Huh? Then what are you here for?"
There was silence as I waited for Gene to reply. The black abyss swirled around us, nothing else visible as far as I could see.
"You're dying, Mai," Gene finally said. He sounded reluctant.
"What?!" I gasped. "How?!"
"The entity made your heart fail," Gene said in a quiet, solemn voice. "And you hit the wall pretty hard."
I put a hand to my head, the confusion making me dizzy. I noticed that all my pains were gone for now. Gene was quiet and let me think for a minute.
"So," I said when I could finally talk again. "How are you here to help me?"
Gene sighed again and folded his arms. "You have a couple of choices here, Mai."
Choices?
"The first choice, is that you can accept the fact of passing on," he stated.
I opened my mouth to object, but Gene raised a hand to stop me.
"If you choose that, you willbe stuck in the orphanage for a while. Most likely, though, Naru will fix the problem and then you will be able to move on peacefully. You would even get to see your parents again."
That froze me in place. For years, I'd wanted nothing more than to see my parents again; to talk to them, to be with them... Just imagining it seemed crazy!
Yet imagining it...filled me with a joy so intense I almost agreed right then.
"What's the other choice?" I asked hesitantly.
"The other choice is that you return to your mortal body, which doctors are trying to revive right now."
Did I really want to return to all that craziness, though? Did I really want to go back to homework, school, and getting attacked by ghosts? I closed my eyes, thinking hard.
"If you return there," Gene said quietly, pulling me back to the present. "You will return to your friends, your job at SPR...and Naru."
I looked at Gene gloomily. He well knew how I felt about Naru; why did he have to pull that one on me?
"But Naru doesn't feel the same way, Gene," I reminded him softly. "No matter how much I wish it, he never will."
Gene stared at me evenly for a few moments, then he turned his back on me and began walking. "Come here," he called over his shoulder. "I need to show you something."
I followed close behind him, and soon we stepped into light. It was so sudden, I was blinded for a moment.
"Look around you, Mai," Gene directed.
I looked around, and was startled to find myself in a hospital waiting room. I began to ask why we were here, but then the words caught in my throat. There, sitting close together in the waiting room, were my friends.
Bou-san's eyes were red and blood-shot. He'd obviously been crying. Ayako, who was sitting next to him, had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. Her closed eyes were swollen and red. She had been crying, too. Masako was next to her, her pale eyelids closed and her head in her hands. John was sitting next to her, and he appeared to be comforting her. Like most of everyone else, his eyes were red. Lin-san, who was sitting a few seats away from Bou-san, had a slight frown on his mouth.
Seeing them all like that made me want to cry. Did they care about me that much?
Then I saw Naru. It took me a moment to process his expression, but it made my heart stop.
At first glance, Naru looked absolutely furious. His hands were clenched together so tightly his knuckles were white, and his chin rested on his knuckles. The corners of his mouth were turned down into a scowl, and his eyes burned.
Looking closer, though, I realized something. Yes, his eyes did have anger in them, but I also noticed panic. For once in my life, I saw Naru worried.
My breath caught in my throat. I moved my hands to my mouth wordlessly. It was this bad???
"You're in the ER just a room away," Gene said quietly.
Tears filled my eyes as I was presented with the most difficult position in my life. What was I supposed to do? If I died, I would probably get to see my mom and dad and again. But if I left, I'd have to leave Naru.
I wanted so badly to return there...to my friends and to Naru...especially to Naru. But if I did, wouldn't that be like not caring whether or not I ever saw my parents again?
Gene watched silently as I stood there, tears in my eyes, and fought to make the most difficult decision in my life.
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Okay, hoped you liked it!!! And yeah, in case you probably figured out, Mai knows about Gene in this. Also, this had NO religious theme WHATSOEVER. It was PURELY FICTION!!!! Okay, so that in mind, read and review, please!!! And sorry for the cliffhanger!!!