"Mai? Mai!"
Light burned her vision. Grimacing, Mai squinted at the blurred figure leaning over her.
God, I feel nauseas. She groaned, drawing her hands over her eyes.
A familiar voice chuckled. "I think she's going to be alright."
Monk…
"I'll thank you to let the one with a medical background decide that." Another voice, female and tight cut him off sharply. Almost immediately it became gentle. "Mai? How are you feeling?"
Ayako…
Mai tried to sit up. "Like I have a really bad headache." She stared at the priestess then at the monk hovering behind her. He gave her a quick grin and thumbs up which she returned blankly. "What- what happened?"
"You fell." Ayako said coldly as though repeating the stupidest thing she had ever heard. "Through a hole in floor on the second story."
Monk seemed to be struggling to hold in laughter. His face contorted and smoothed sporadically. "Luckily you landed on something soft." Ayako jerked her head to glare at him when his voice cracked audibly. She obviously didn't find it amusing.
Mai grimaced as the throbbing in her head returned. She tried to place herself, but from her vantage point on the floor it was surprisingly difficult. They were in a hallway, though she didn't recognize it. It looked exactly the same as the others. Someone had managed to flick on the overhead lights, coloring the length of wooden structure with an eerie off-white yellowish cast. Farther down one of the light bulbs flickered like a strobe. She looked away before it could make her sick and ended up staring at the pitch black stain stretching directly over her head. She opened her mouth in awe. A gaping hole in the second story floor. It was only then did she register the cool, slick blue material beneath her.
That's right. I was looking at something…a camera? Then someone shouted…everything was blue…
She gasped, jerking to face Ayako. "There was someone up there with me! They grabbed my ankle and-"
"Oh, we know." Ayako sighed, abruptly jabbing her finger in front of Mai's face and slowly moving it from eye to eye. The apprentice followed it obediently. "Apparently the principal hired another company to check out the building too. Shibuya Paranormal something-or-other." She sounded irritated, as though they were revisiting a touchy subject. "The principal forgot to mention this apparently. To either of us."
Monk shook his head in disbelief at the hole. "You gave that guy quite a surprise, wandering around up there. You got lucky, kid. It would have been a lot worse without something-ah, someone to break the fall."
Mai stared at him, mortified. "Wait. You mean-"
"Yep." Monk grinned. "Way to take out the competition, Mai."
Ayako immediately whirled on him. "This isn't funny, you idiot!"
"Oh, come on!" He didn't drop his smile. "It was accident. Mai actually did us a favor."
"That man had to go to the hospital! Mai could have a concussion!"
"Oh, please. I've had worse climbing trees around my parent's shrine." He waved a dismissive hand. "And Mai's fine. A head of concrete is practically an evolutionary necessity when you're as accident prone as she is."
"Gee thanks." The girl managed weakly between her hands. She lowered them from her eyes to give the two adults a miserable look. "Is that man going to be alright?"
The priestess shot the Buddhist monk a cold look. "He should be fine. Just a broken arm, maybe a sprained ankle. Painful, but not as bad as it could have been."
"Oh. Good." I guess. "So,…what now?"
Ayako sighed as she rose to her feet, sharply smacking invisible dust off of her skirt and sweeping a lock of red hair over her shoulder. "I'm going to call the principal," she said simply. "And we're going to have a nice long talk."
Mai shuddered at her expression. She actually felt bad for the man. Mai tried to shift her weight onto her legs, yelping as she nearly tumbled back onto the slippery tarp. Monk was by her side immediately, chuckling as he hoisted her up.
"Geez, Mai you're the only person I know with three left feet instead of two."
She glared at him as she steadied herself. "I do not have three feet."
"You walk like it. Do I need to carry you out?"
Mustering the best snort of contempt she could she pushed away, tottering and nearly tumbling to the floor before being grabbed by Ayako. "No, no." she muttered weakly. "I'm fine."
The three of them proceeded down the hallway, Mai supported between them. As they slipped into the entrance way, Ayako uttered a growl.
"That was probably the worst ten minutes of my life. Mai I swear to the gods and goddesses if you ever put me through something like that again-"
"I'm sorry." Mai muttered to her sneakers. If she focused she was much steadier. The floor wasn't nearly as treacherous as before.
"When you started screaming we thought maybe you'd been possessed or something." Mai went cold.
"I- screamed?" She asked. Her stomach clenched. "When was that?"
The two guardians exchanged furtive glances.
"Just before we woke you." Monk almost managed to make it sound casual. It fell short due to the worry lining his face. "You were out cold. But all of sudden you started murmuring. Pretty scary."
"Did- did I say anything?"
There was an uneasy silence. They were now to the door. Monk led the way out, leaving Mai to Ayako as he opened the door. Mai could now see the rich blue sky stretching across the horizon. Faintly she wondered what time it was.
The three were now crossing the bluish-grey sidewalk, making their way to the golden pool of light under the streetlight illuminating Monk's silver car.
"What did I say?"
Ayako was absorbed in assessing the distance between them and the car. Monk was studiously digging his keys from his pocket.
"Please guys." Mai begged pitifully. "Just tell me."
Another look passed between them. Finally the priestess sighed. "Once it was 'leave me alone.'" She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "And 'I don't belong to you'."
"Just a bad dream, eh?" Monk said in forced lightness.
"Yeah." Mai whispered. She was aware of a tightening in her chest. She could feel it now, a slight burning sensation against her cold skin. A reminder.
She shuddered. "Just a dream."
Please excuse any spelling errors. I finished it, reread and posted. I promise the other characters will be introduced in the next chapter. Don't you hate slow build ups? ^.^'...Sorry about that.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading. I greatly appreciate everyone's support. You guys are awesome!