A/N: Muwhaha. All of you want Naru to stop being mean, LOL. Um, so...the surprises keep coming? Aha, I think it's keeping y'all hooked. ANYWAYS, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt. If I did, it'd go like this anyways.
Mai's POV:
Even though I saw it coming, it still almost brought an onslaught of tears. My sister lost all her memories, good and bad; all she remembered was me. What good would that do for her?
"Guys, Naru wants us to come back." Bou-san announced, stepping back into the room and letting the door slam shut behind him. Emiko cringed at the loud sound, echoing through the room. I blinked; I hadn't realized Bou-san had even stepped out of the room, much less heard a phone ringing.
"Alright. Mai, help Emi?" Gene requested, standing up and striding over to the door. The others followed suite whilst I nodded, clambering out of the bed (if you could call that metal deathtrap a BED).
"Emi? We're going back...stay with me, 'kay?" I told her, a soft smile adorning my features. She nodded slowly, processing my words. Offering her a hand, I pulled her onto her feet before turning to face the others.
"No shit in the car, got it?" I told them sternly, mostly directing my words towards Yasu. He nodded vigorously, not wanting to upset me even further; learning that my sister had lost her memories was already becoming too much for me to handle.
Together, we all walked out of the room, only stopping for when Gene had to sign us out. Then, solemnly, we trudged to the parked van. Piling in, we sat in silence whilst Bou-san started the car.
"Um, Mai?" Emiko's hesitant voice cut through the tension, somewhat guilty. Instantly, I turned to face her, a fake smile plastered on my face as if nothing was wrong. I'm pretty sure she saw through my facade, though.
"Where are we going?" She asked sheepishly, and I mentally slapped myself. She didn't remember the case, Seika or our parents.
"Um, do you remember your PK?" I asked, uncertain as to how I should explain this to her. She nodded quickly, as if she was relieved to say 'yes' to me, for once. Glad to say she remembered something that I thought was important. Seemingly important.
"Well, it all revolves around that. Don't worry, I'll make sure you're fine." I reassured her, smiling when the others voiced their own commitment to keeping Emi...'protected'.
"Thanks, guys. I know I may not be able to remember you, but this means a lot." Emi smiled softly, gazing at us all with happiness as clear as day in her eyes. The gang all smiled in turn, glad to know they had her trust.
A while later, we arrived back at the mansion. It was comical, watching Emi's eyes widen in awe as the giant house loomed over us.
"Are you ready to face the parents?" I asked, purposefully using a scary tone. She giggled, catching onto the joke, and nodded, a spark of life in her eyes. The spark of life that had been MIA since she woke up. Grinning in satisfaction, I grabbed my hand and bounced through the front door.
"Mai, wait for us!" Yasu yelled, bounding up the stairs with renewed speed. I sighed dramatically, before stopping and waiting for the others to catch up. Slow pokes. Eventually, they made it to where we were standing, waiting, and together we walked down the long, winding hallway to where the apparent base was. As we came closer, I felt myself starting to panic; what were they going to say when we walked through that door? As if sensing my internal struggles, Gene fell back beside me and grabbed my free hand reassuringly. He could read me like a book. Smiling up at him, I let him open the door from which faint voices could be heard. Snippets of their conversation hit my ears, none of it making sense. I felt like grumbling; I hated being out of the loop.
"...Now what?" I heard Lin ask, sounding lost. My eyebrows furrowed; Lin was NEVER lost. Finally, after a moment's pause that seemed to last forever, Gene threw the door open. Instantly, their conversations stopped and they all turned to stare; several pairs of eyes at once.
"Mai! Emiko! Are you alright?" Annalise asked anxiously. Before the others could ask their own questions, I signalled for all of them to shut up.
"Emi's lost her memory." I told them quietly, and right away they got it. They slumped back into their seats, disheartened. Everyone was quiet, even Naru had the sense to shut up and not ramble on about the case.
"Well, then, any progress?" Gene asked, almost mockingly. Instantly, the tension in the room seemed to increase tenfold. Everybody started shifting around restlessly, not speaking. Instead, Gene kept talking.
"Right, of course not. I wonder why? Maybe it's because you didn't have some of the more smarter people here? Like Mai, for example? I wonder why. Oh, right! That's because she was out cold, after being thrown into a tree headfirst. Who cares if she had severe injuries! And let's not forget how her sister was thrown into a tree too! The very same sister lost her memory. I wonder if anybody cares? Thank goodness nothing worse. Like internal bleeding. Of course, I don't play the boyfriend role for either of them. Emi's single, but Mai is unfortunately stuck in a relationship with a stick. A twit. An idiot. A heartless buffoon, even! Hey, where was this boyfriend? Right, too concerned with a case he didn't want to take. Hm, I wonder if he's going to have his SORRY ASS DUMPED UNLESS HE CLEANS UP HIS ACT!" By the end of his mini-rant, Gene was out of breath, his eyes alive with anger. Nobody spoke, but I put a consoling hand on his upper arm, almost as if to say 'thank you'.
"Um, right...I'm going to make some tea." I said hesitantly, ending the long period of silence that followed Gene's words.
"I'll come with you, I know where the kitchen is." Naru informed me, rather coolly. I nodded, before shuffling out the door. All I could think about is how he felt after Gene's little...speech. With him in the lead, we mounted the stairs and walked down a dimly lit hallway.
"Mai, we need to talk." He stated, rather calmly for someone who just had a Gene-sized rant. Let me tell you, those are extremely scary. Sometimes I wonder how I make it out alive, especially because the ones he gives ME are so much longer. Mentally shuddering at the memories, I followed Naru into what seemed to be the kitchen.
"Um, sure?" I said, not knowing what else TO say. What do you say to someone who just had their ass handed to them? I needed to find myself a book on that; mentally, I reminded myself to do that when the case ended.
"Is that how you feel? About me not coming?" He asked, his voice unnaturally soft. Pausing to somewhat think it over, I nodded once, embarrassed. What if that made me sound clingy? What would he say? Normally, I wouldn't panic, but this is Naru we're talk-
Right then and there, he grabbed my chin and pulled me into a demanding kiss. At first, I was unresponsive, but I couldn't help but succumb to his masterful ways. Moving our mouths in sync, I couldn't be bothered to even attempt to stop him. All too soon, he pulled away.
"I'm sorry Mai, I thought that the sooner I solved this case, the sooner we'd get to go home and keep YOU away from all this danger." He explained, his voice quiet. I nodded, before standing on my toes to softly peck his lips in reassurance.
"It's fine, Naru." I told him, smiling. He nodded once, the corner of his mouth tugging up, before he grabbed my hand and led me back out the door. Numbly, I let me tug me down the corridors, through the maze of my grandmother's house. Only when we were outside of the base did he let go of my hand and throw the door open.
"Alright. Mai, Bou-san, Emiko and Gene, go collect room temperatures. Ayako and Masako, go walk around and try and get a feel of the house. John and Yasu, go to the closest library and research up on the history of Shadow Demons." Naru instructed, not missing a beat. Almost instantly, everybody reacted to his words. Bou-san stood up with renewed enthusiasm and bounded over to where I stood, waiting, then dragged me out of the room. Emiko came forward too, Gene trailing behind her. I smiled at all of them, before cheering and bouncing into the hallway. Then I remembered which job we got; the temperatures. Groaning, I turned back to pout, but faced darkness. Pitch-black darkness, the door nowhere in sight. I was all alone...
"Hello?" I called out, frantic. No response; and then the noises started. Thunderous footsteps echoed throughout the darkness, and all of a sudden dozens upon dozens of pairs of eyes appeared, swaying ominously around me. They all had something in common, though; they were a crimson red, blazing with hunger, hatred and bitterness. They were what could only be described as death's pets; Shadow Demons, or more commonly known as Hell Hounds. Frightened, I felt myself whirling around on the spot, having nowhere to run to.
"We're coming." A nasal voice cackled, rising in volume. All I could do at this point was close my eyes and pray that it would all go away. Keeping my eyes shut despite the howls and growls that came from all around, I waited for a while.
"Mai? Ya comin' or what?" Suddenly, I could hear Bou-san again. Opening one eye, I realized I was back in the hallway with the others, who were now all gazing at me with concerned eyes. I nodded, a little too quickly for my like, before briskly walking to the front of the group.
"Bipolar." I heard someone mutter behind me, and I couldn't help but giggly absentmindedly, still wondering about who's voice I'd heard and why they were after me...
A/N: Writer's Block is a butt. :( Um, I hope Naru wasn't too OOC? D: I tried...I mean c'mon. The man's in a relationship! Review please? c: Until next time!