A/N: If this chapter makes no sense, please tell me in a review or PM. It's one of the most important ones, where I clear up almost everything. So if there's still a question that hadn't been answered, please tell me :)
Disclaimer: If I owned Ghost Hunt, we would have seen Madoka perform an exorcism by now. I mean, she is the person who taught Naru everything he knows…
Chapter Fourteen: If Fairy Tales Came True
Mai was not hearing this. Was absolutely not hearing this. Lies. Another piece of the puzzle clicking into place, but that puzzle was turning into a picture that she did not want. Unlike other puzzles, there was no way to destroy this picture. No way to erase the horror that was coming together too perfectly.
Mai sat on the bed, staring at the far wall. Naru's previous speech echoed in her mind.
"My brother. My twin brother Gene also lived with us. Although he was my twin… we seemed to be in no way related. He was outgoing, kind, selfless… all the things no one would dare to attribute to me. But we got along just fine. We were brothers, after all.
"That night… when the curse took control… Gene was there when it happened. He knew what was going to happen and he tried to stop it. Tried to save everyone else, including myself. We fought, and he chased me to the balcony. He tried to get the knife away from me to break the curse. But he only succeeded in getting the knife away from his own body. I blindly shoved him into the balcony ledge, leaving him to die.
"The knife… the ticket to remaining in the manor, for repentance… it doesn't have his blood on it. Because I did not kill my brother with a cursed knife… his ghost passed on. I have to live with that mistake forever. If that's not sick logic, I'm not sure what is.
"I killed my family, Mai. Is this what you wanted to hear? My only real family tried to stop me, and died getting in the way. Do you really wonder why I didn't want to tell you this?"
Now Naru and Lin were watching as she tried to process this information.
"No," was the only word her lips would form. Mai shook her head and pressed her fingertips to her temples. "No… no. There… there can't be more. I didn't see it. Why didn't I see it in the nightmares before? And there are only seven ghosts here!"
Naru sat down next to her, not breaking their eye contact. Mai heard her conscience repeat, 'You're in the presence of a murderer. Run!' But something about him was comforting. At least he was telling her. At least he was sorry. And at least he was here, trying to make sure Mai knew what he had dragged her into. His body next to hers was a comfort that she never remembered having.
"I told you. It was because everyone else was killed with the knife. I… remember how they were killed, too." He closed his eyes for a brief moment. Mai watched, hearing her heart pound between her ears. He wanted to tell her. He was making himself remember so he could.
She reached out a hand. Naru's eyes shot open as their hands touched and their gaze locked. Fright filled the air up to their necks and no one could drain it.
"You don't have to tell me." Mai's voice caught in her throat as she spoke. She wet her lips and tried to say something more, but she couldn't. Mai just shook her head and Naru understood.
"Thank you," he bit out, the words blunt only because he was trying to sound grateful. Naru took his hand away and uncoiled, but Mai suddenly felt very cold where his touch had once been. The look on his face was nearly unbearable, and now Mai could understand exactly why Naru was like this. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to drag her into this mess.
"But the nightmares you mentioned… honestly, it makes no sense why you had them. It doesn't matter anyway."
Mai's jaw dropped. She pounded a fist on the bed and shot back, "Of course it matters! There had to be some reason why I had a dream of each death! I'm not going crazy and I'm not some sort of… psychic either! There's a reason why I had those dreams and there's a reason you were in my dreams too!" Mai protested, but with that look on Naru's face, she realized she had revealed a little too much.
"I was in your dreams?" Naru repeated, reeling in the surprise in his voice. Mai swallowed and felt the room grow hot.
"Well, um… yeah. And you kept trying to tell me things. But then you died." The blunt words didn't seem to affect him.
Naru's brain moved much too quickly. And the transformation that ensued was nothing short of miraculous.
"That was not me in those dreams, Mai. It was Gene in those dreams, Mai, telling you everything. It was he, not I. That must mean… he's… here."
Mai never thought she would be able to hear hope in Naru's voice again, but now she was elated that she could be proven wrong. Mai never thought she would be able to see more light return to Naru's eyes. Watching him carefully, she took in this moment like it was her last. Naru pulled a hand through his hair, allowing her to catch in full view the sudden spark in his eyes, the dark cloud moving away, the sudden ecstasy that took over his aura. He looked at her again, eyes filled with the wonder of a child.
"But you must be… that would mean you really are…" Naru muttered, his forehead crinkling. She had never seen Naru confused before. It would have been amusing if the air around them hadn't been so serious. Mai cocked her head.
"I'm what?" Mai asked.
"You're a psychic. You can speak with and see the dead. Most everybody here is some sort of a psychic." Naru gave her no time to question this, no time to end her ever-growing confusion. No wonder everyone was so surprised when Mai had said that she could see their human forms. "You must be able to cross wavelengths with Gene. Your father complained of nightmares as well, but I never thought they had been signs from Gene. And now… now I know he's still here."
Mai's body tensed. That was the first time Naru had ever mentioned her father to her. She wanted to ask more, ask why he thought she was a psychic, what he meant by 'wavelength,' what her father had said about the nightmares…
Naru stood and bolted from the room. He slammed the bookcase open and books clattered to the ground around him. Mai and Lin shared a look - and raced after him. Mai gained the advantage and pulled ahead of Lin. Naru darted from sight and sprinted out into the hall. Mai and Lin reached the doorway and could only gape.
"Gene! Gene!" The broken voice echoed around them. Mai shivered as his voice tore his throat apart. She lurched forward, but Lin's hands landed on her shoulder, pulling her back. Mai watched from the doorway, watched as he drove himself crazy looking for the non-existent ghost of his murdered brother. Naru remained close by, but he ran back and forth in the hallway, ripping down curtains, bringing everything to the ground in sight.
"How dare you hide yourself from us! We've all been living here mourning your death and you don't even bother to show yourself? You're a coward and you've let us all down!"
He went on and on, but Mai could barely listen. His words were continually getting worse and worse. Mai found herself terrified, worried about what he could to – to her, to the house… to himself. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and her mind screamed that she had to do something. Something to help him. Something to make the pain go away.
Because Gene said he left.
Mai wrenched herself out of Lin's unexpectedly strong hold and ran to Naru, grasping his wrist. She couldn't stand to see him like this. He whirled to face her, eyes wild. Mai flinched and shook her head. His crazed expression began to clear and his senses returned to him. Mai felt him shaking under his fingers.
"He's not here, Naru. He's not here," she whispered. Mai slid her hand into his and buried her face in his chest, realizing that the sweet boy in her dreams… was nothing more than the dead brother of her boss. Those clear eyes should have given it away from the start. He wasn't here.
"He never was."
Mai closed her eyes and leaned more into Naru's comfort. She could see him, standing far, far away in the dark, with the clear eyes and the smile. She reached out to him, but all too suddenly he was gone. Forever. Her heart thudded faster, but the tears didn't come.
"It's not Naru," he muttered, regaining his senses. He jerked away from her, composing himself. Mai was caught off guard by the sudden rejection of the nickname he hadn't seemed to mind for more than a month. Mai caught herself. Only a month… It already seemed like years.
"I-I know that. But you never seemed to care that I didn't address you formally… Shibuya-san." The name felt too foreign on her tongue and her nose scrunched. Mai begged with her eyes, pleaded with him silently. Naru shook his head.
"It's not Shibuya, either. My real name is Oliver Davis."
Mai stepped back and looked at him. Tried to find words that matched what she was feeling. But nothing would come. Only betrayal. Disillusionment. Emptiness. "Why?" she heard herself rasp. Lin sighed behind them, defeated. Another bridge broken.
"I changed it so people wouldn't come after me if the murders were discovered. I erased my identity so my name wouldn't be tarnished." The haughty look on his face disgusted her. He didn't even seem to care that he was ruining everything.
Mai opened her mouth like a fish gasping for air. A sudden rage filled that emptiness. Now there were all kinds of words that she could scream at him. Each word felt better than the last, but nothing could satisfy that anger, that revulsion that infected the air.
"That's… that's all you care about! Your image! You don't care that you murdered your friends! You're ashamed of the fact that you could be looked down upon! How dare you feel that way! How dare you think that your name is more important that the lives of eight others!"
"I was scared, Mai!" he roared back. "I was alone!"
Mai took that step forward again. She had half a mind to slap him across the face to snap him out of this awful state. "You were only concerned about yourself! Your friends died at your hand! Did it even cross your mind while you were busy erasing yourself from the world that your friends really were gone?!"
"I was trying to keep myself from getting arrested because I was their only chance at gaining their lives back again, Mai." Naru's voice had grown soft again – soft, but undefeated. He drew the words from her mouth and locked them away with a demeaning glare. Her heart thudded weakly and her cheeks grew hot. Naru's eyebrow rose.
"You may want to remember all of the details before you speak," he said coldly. The cool tone was worse than when he was yelling at her. Mai remembered what Ayako had told her the morning before.
"We remain as ghosts until a total of fifteen hundred days are up. When either that day comes or the last drop of blood is cleaned from the dagger, our deaths are permanent. We leave this mansion forever. But to break the curse, to bring us back to life… well, that's Naru's job."
But instead of fifteen hundred days, there were seventy-six left. Only a little more than two months to save seven lives. And Naru wouldn't even tell her how to do it.
"When did you figure out that it was the blood on the knife that kept their ghosts here?" Mai asked, not daring a look up. During this silence was the time to ask questions. The time to patch any missing puzzle pieces. It would be her revenge, making him talk about it and remember. It was the only revenge she had.
"Gene was the only one not killed with the cursed knife. His blood remains on the balcony, but nowhere near the knife. It wasn't that difficult to figure out," Naru retorted. His voice embittered the air, and Mai turned up her nose. If this was how he wanted to play it, fine. He so obviously wanted an opponent.
"How… how did the others die?" Her squeamish voice illustrated quite clearly that revenge was not her game. That didn't halt her curiosity, or her desire to finally triumph in a verbal battle.
"By the knife. Mai, I thought you were smarter than know after I told you about ten times. After you experienced it yourself," Naru bit out.
"That's not what I meant," Mai pressed. "Like how I experienced Ayako's death… stabbed through the chest… or Bou-san, when you bludgeoned him to death, or when you slit—"
"I get it!" Naru yelled suddenly. His hands jerked through his hair, and he glanced sideways down the halls, wary of any eavesdroppers. Mai swallowed. She wouldn't put it past the rest of them if they were listening to this. "You said you didn't want to me tell you. You said you didn't want to make me remember," Naru said.
"Well, now I changed my mind." Mai clenched her fists at her sides, daring him to continue. Daring him to man up. Naru closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, preparing for the moment. He took in a deep breath and his eyes flared open again.
"John was the next one. He tried to block me, but the knife caught his arm. I threw him off and his neck snapped when he fell into the fireplace."
Mai felt her dinner from the night before make its way up her throat, but she managed to keep somewhat of a straight face. Naru and Lin watched her, but Naru kept going, probably just to spite her. But this was what Mai asked for, so she was going to listen whether it made her sick or not.
"Then Yasuhara. He died quickly… one slash across his back."
Mai dearly wished that she could stop the movie that played out in her mind, or at least pause it.
"Madoka was stabbed in the stomach."
Mai couldn't hold herself back. She gave a harsh cough and moaned softly, subconsciously placing her hands over her torso. "That's supposed to be one of the most painful ways to die…"
Naru couldn't keep the cringe from his face. "You don't think I've realized that?"
"So that would mean…" Mai ran through the names she had already heard. Mai's gaze flew to the man behind her, watching the two of them verbally spar. Lin had been waiting for this moment and he bowed his head.
"When I took on Lin, he nearly killed me himself."
"Nearly," Mai whispered. It was odd how that single word meant the world to them all.
"In a few words, it was a battle. Over bodies, stepping in blood, avoiding everything that could impale us from behind… but I believe the knife gave me an advantage." Lin snorted and rolled his eyes. He obviously believed something different. "It was only a few seconds later that the rage the knife inflicted upon me ended. I dropped the knife and realized what I had done. And then Lin fell."
The final two words of the story rang out. Now Mai had the full image in her mind. The disaster area that was the West Wing. The blood and gore and sorrow that drenched the air of the room that Naru had so desperately kept her away from. But Naru didn't give Mai time to regain her senses, to rip herself away from grieving their violent deaths.
"Are you happy now, Mai? Is this what you wanted to hear? Now that you know how everyone died, are you content with yourself?" Naru said. Mai shied away from the venom in his voice. She had never heard him so furious, so contemptible, so ready to kill anything else in his path. He advanced on her, eyes raging. Mai began to step back.
"Or do you still insist for more? Do you need more proof, besides the ghosts, the stories, the trauma that ensued? I can show you the West Wing. I can let you see their mangled bodies. God knows that I haven't been in there since that night, but those images remain fresh in my memory like it was yesterday. I still wake up thinking there is blood on my hands!"
Naru had managed to back her against the wall. Mai stood with her glance cast to the side, wincing at every yell thrown her way.
"So say what you want to say. I'll correct you, remind you, and tell you for the hundredth time that this is the reality you have to deal with. Death is real. Sorry is no option, nor is it a medicine. It is simply an easy way out. And I don't have the luxury of saying sorry and fixing everything that went on here."
The intensifying derision in his voice had peaked Mai's anger. It was all too quickly that she just couldn't handle it.
"Stop talking to me like that," Mai snapped, jerking her head up to stare at him, glare him directly in the eyes. For a second, he almost looked taken aback. Almost. But he would never admit to it.
"Talking to you like what?" he replied. Mai scoffed a scoff only Naru could have taught her. Mai stepped forward, shoving herself off the wall, making Naru give her some breathing room. She could have sworn she heard Lin give a short laugh behind them and felt a little uplifted.
"Like I'm stupid. Like I don't know any better. Like I don't care. Because guess what? I'm smarter than you think I am. And it seems to me that I care a hell of a lot more about the lives of the people you killed than you do! They're my friends too, Mister Oliver Davis, and I don't think you realize that!" With each poke to the chest, Mai made Naru take one step back, until they were in the middle of the hallway.
Mai didn't think that Naru expected her to stand up for herself like this. Now Naru really was taken aback and he couldn't do anything about that ridiculous expression on his face. Mai wished she had a picture, but decided that this was the perfect time for her dramatic exit.
"I'm going back to sleep. I want to see if Gene will offer me some comfort."
From the flash in Naru's eyes, that was a low blow. But as of late, Mai didn't care. The insults were power and fed her anger. Without another word, Mai swiveled around and stomped through the halls back to her room.
"I expect you to be up and working in two hours, Mai!"
There were three more sounds.
An aggravated scream.
The slam of a door.
And a young girl's hysterical cries.
Mai held her word. She buried herself under the covers of her warm bed and tried to sleep, tried to dream of Gene and talk to him. He could explain things better – calmer was more like it – and she would finally be able to accept it.
The dreamless two hours passed much too quickly.
Mai awoke to someone shaking her gently.
"Mai?" Masako whispered, seeing the gleam in Mai's eyes. "It's time to get… up…" Masako broke off, looking at the young servant closely. "Is… is everything alright?" Mai turned to Masako and shook her head quietly, not wishing to answer. Masako pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. Mai shook her head again.
"He's gone."
Masako cocked her head. "Who's gone? Mai, are you sick? You don't look good, please, lie back down, and I'll—"
"Gene. Gene's gone," Mai gave her delayed answer. Masako inhaled, placing one hand over her eyes, a wince coming over her face.
"When did you find out, Mai?" she asked softly, her voice hollow. Her bangs hung over her hand, and she was already swaying.
"This morning. Around five." With only a blunt, quiet answer, Mai eased herself off the bed and across the plush carpet. Masako's hand dropped from her eyes and watched Mai go. "Naru still wants me to work," Mai explained, answering the question on Masako's lips.
"He shouldn't expect you to," Masako called over the running water. Mai sighed. "Why do you listen to him, Mai? Why not… play hooky for a day?" The suggestions coming from Masako's mouth were very much out of character, but they were from the heart. Masako found herself worrying about Mai, and promptly told herself to cut it out.
The hopeful emotions that had always been so present, so obvious on Mai's face had gone. Masako found herself missing the optimistic servant girl that Mai had been just the day before. Now she was no more than a robot who had finally faced all of the harsh realities about the no-longer Shibuya Manor. The Davis Manor didn't sound as regal. It sounded like a library.
"Believe me, I'd love to leave this place as much as you all would," Mai replied. She walked out of the bathroom to stare at Masako with dying brown eyes. Emotionally, Mai would kill herself before Naru's knife could even get to her. "But it doesn't matter what I think or what I want to do."
"No?" Masako said. Mai shook her head.
"I do this for my father."
The simple words took Masako by surprise. No words of comfort would come to her mind.
"Your father… was a very kind person, Mai. We all liked him very much." Masako moved forward, coming face to face with Mai, and rested a hand on Mai's arm. Mai bit her lip, trying to keep the tears away. She had cried one too many times, and was determined not to break again. Especially not where Naru could find her.
"Thank you, Masako. I miss him, too." Mai gave her a small smile, but then moved around her. Masako watched her go. Her lively way of speech and movement had been replaced with grace and tranquility. Masako wanted the old Mai back, no matter how annoying she may have been.
"What kind of psychic are you?" Mai asked suddenly, pulling a shirt and a skirt from the wardrobe. Masako looked caught off guard, wary of the unexpected change of subject.
"Excuse me?"
"Naru said that everyone here is some kind of psychic. He said that I was one too, because I could see Gene, and my father showed signs of being one. So what kind of psychic are you?" Mai repeated, her brown eyes shining a little bit brighter than before. The stories fueled her spirit. Hastily, Masako explained.
"I… I'm a medium. I can talk to spirits and channel them. Of course, it's not much use anymore. But I was the famous one of the group."
Mai smiled, more light returning to her eyes. Leave it to Masako to be the one with fame. Masako could only watch and bring back the bubbly spirit that had died overnight the best she could. "What about everyone else?" Mai asked.
"Well, Takigawa-san has already told you he is a monk. And Ayako-san is priestess. They both could perform protective spells and sometimes they could perform successful exorcisms. John is an exorcist and a Catholic priest, whose exorcisms actually work. Yasuhara is simply a good researcher and has a mind that works nearly as fast as Naru's, even though Naru refuses to admit it. Lin uses shiki, spirits he's captured to use. Everyone is afraid of what Madoka can do, and I'm too young to even know. She taught Naru everything he knows, so… I'm sure it's something worthwhile."
Masako felt pleased with herself; Mai was enraptured with her story.
"And Naru?" Mai pressed, smoothing the clothes out on the bed. Masako paused, biting her lip.
"Naru is a… special case."
"How so?" Mai asked.
"Well… he's very smart. His… powers, I guess you could call them, are unstable. Without Gene, Naru can barely control them properly, just like he can't control himself. He's too powerful. He could kill himself by using too much of his powers. So if he doesn't keep it in check…"
"He could die… and it could leave all of you without any chance at another life," Mai whispered. Masako nodded.
"But Naru hasn't had a problem with his powers yet. I think when he uses them, it reminds them of Gene. And that's the last thing he wants to remember."
Mai snorted. She had learned that the hard way.
"Why can't he just tell me how to help with the curse?"
Masako was silent, casting her gaze in the other direction. Mai sighed impatiently and continued, "Can't you tell me anything about it? Anything at all?"
Masako didn't look back. "I'm sorry, but there would be no way for the curse to be broken if you knew."
Mai screwed up her face in aggravation. Masako watched Mai cautiously, waiting to see if the light and life had returned to Mai. With that renewed bounce in her step Mai gathered her clothes from the bed, Masako had at least done something to help. Masako gave Mai a quick hug and ushered her back toward the bathroom.
And then there was silence.
For a few seconds, at least.
"The poor thing…" Yasuhara muttered from the door. Masako turned to face him.
"How long have you been there, Yasuhara-kun, listening to my story?"
Yasuhara grinned. "Long enough to hear everything. And just because I'm older than you doesn't mean that I can't listen to stories, especially when they contain you saying that I am just as smart as our Naru."
Masako rid a blush by rolling her eyes. "I said your mind works almost as fast as Naru's. There's a difference."
"Right." Yasuhara's grin told her that he didn't believe any part of her last two sentences. Masako sighed.
"She seemed different this morning," Yasuhara continued, leaning down to Masako's height. She scowled; he knew how much she hated that.
"She was. She found out about Gene."
"Ah." Yasuhara understood immediately, sorrow passing over his expression. "And she didn't take it well, I presume?"
"Not well at all. She was practically a shadow of her former self. My story perked her up a bit, it seemed," Masako said, a triumphant smile passing over pale lips. Yasuhara laughed.
"Well, I was in your story, so I don't see why she wouldn't be happier." Yasuhara was apparently in a very good mood this morning – a mood good enough so that he couldn't be beaten down by anything Masako said. She scoffed and swatted his
"Go away. You're being nearly as arrogant as Naru."
"Ouch. Masako-chan, no need to be that cruel." He placed a hand to his heart, feigning offense. Masako cocked an eyebrow to Yasuhara's laughter. He just smiled and bowed out as Mai came out of the bathroom, ready for her day, muttering to herself. She had no idea he was ever there.
"Stupid Naru. Stupid work. Stupid curse. Stupid getting up early."
Now that sounded a little more like Mai. Masako laughed under her breath and pushed herself up on Mai's bed. Mai sat down next to the dresser to put her shoes on. She looked up at Masako with a puppy dog pout, the gleam in her eyes almost nearly back to normal. But Masako knew what Mai was asking without even hearing it.
"Would you like me to stay with you as you work, Mai-san?"
Mai gave her a sheepish smile. "Please and thank you."
"Mai-san? Where are you going…?" John called out to them as the girl sped along the hallway. She ducked her head as they passed, and John suddenly knew she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. He followed his instincts and ran to catch up with her.
"Don't you have work to do?"
Mai nodded.
"And you've escaped because…?"
"I'm going to find out how to break the curse. There must be something in the library that can tell me."
John sighed. "Who are you hiding from? Naru never checks on you when you're working."
"Masako came along with me today because I really didn't want to have to face Naru alone and then I realized that all I really wanted to do was go find out how to break the curse. So I snuck off."
Mai stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening at a sudden threat. "But you probably think that I shouldn't know the key, do you?" She looked just about ready to run the other way, to hide until it was safe to begin her way back to the library. John gave her a sweet smile that melted her anxiety away.
"I actually don't think it would affect the situation if you knew. I'm the only one who thinks that, though."
Mai's eyes lit up. "Well, then, can't you tell me what breaks the curse?"
"And have everyone else be angry with me?" John ran a hand through his hair and looked nervous for a moment. "I'm very sorry, Mai-san, but that's not a risk I'm willing to take. Anyways, I'm confident that the curse will be broken." He looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes and she had to smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mai asked, starting her walk toward the library once again. John followed her without hesitation.
"I just have confidence in Shibuya-san is all."
Mai sighed, knowing he was holding something back from her. John was too good at being innocent, so she couldn't accuse him of lies. They jogged together in silence, freezing behind corners just to make sure no one was there. And then the library was in sight.
Mai peeked down the corridors, ensuring her safety, and then skittered up to the library's door, John following closely behind her. She twisted it open with ease, and together they ran inside. Mai shut the door, but decided against locking it. Who knew if they needed to find a quick escape?
"Now," Mai said, turning around to stare at the fourteen bookcases stacked with a solid one hundred books per case, "where do we begin?"
John strode over to the nearest bookcase and pointed at the top shelf, the farthest book on the left. He gave her a smile and said simply, "How about alphabetically?"
Mai whimper-laughed, making a face, but had to comply. She pulled the book from the bookcase, sat down, and began to read.
This was going to be a long day.
The pile of books next to her just kept growing. John was reading over her shoulder, but didn't dare pick up a book of his own in case someone walked in. Mai had made sure he would remain completely blameless if they were found. But the pile started to grow over her head, higher and higher until she had to stand up to put the books on the stack.
Soon the first bookcase was empty, and every single one of those books had no information on any curses whatsoever. Mai stood, and saw that the stack of books had grown to her height. Mai sighed and turned around to face John, staring up at her from the ground.
"Second bookcase?" John suggested. There wasn't must else to go for, seeing as there were thirteen bookcases left. As John stood, Mai bit on her lower lip and wondered just how conniving Naru was. Just how desperate they all were to keep the curse's answer from her, even though she was the one who had to solve the whole thing in the end.
"What are the chances that Naru took out any of the books that revealed the curse?" Mai asked.
John paused, the idea only just striking him. "Um, fifty-fifty? Maybe?"
Mai weighed her options, and sighed. It was worth it to go through all of these books if it meant that she had a one in two chance of finding a way to reverse the spell. They would all thank her later – when they were all alive again.
It was only her luck that when she backed up, she backed up into the Mai-sized stack. Mai nearly fell, but John caught her arm before anything too embarrassing could happen. She threw her arm out to balance herself, smacking the books in the direction of the bookcase in the process. Of course, there was that little chance that…
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
John's grip suddenly tightened around her wrist. Mai snapped up and around to see what she had done.
"Oh my god." Mai slapped a hand over her mouth and just stared at her domino effect. Books had flown in all directions. John's eyes were just as wide as hers. She swiveled back to John, her expression terrified. "What are the chances that no one else heard that?"
The way he avoided her gaze told her that the chances were zero. Mai moaned.
"You've gotta leave, John. Someone's going to come in here and find out what that was, and I don't want you to get in trouble for helping me look for the curse's solution."
He looked hesitant for a second. Mai triple-tapped her toes on the ground and begged once again to leave her at the non-existent mercy of Naru.
"Please, John, I don't want to rope you into this. Please go."
He did, but looked back right before he faded into the wall. Mai put on her bravest grin and he was gone. Slowly, her gaze returned to that of the mess she had just created.
Now where could she hide…?
Maybe she had time to run. Of course, that wouldn't do anything at all, but maybe it would give her some time to collect herself and get her story straight. Maybe she could convince him that there was another ghost here. After all, this was where he had told her the ghost story, back when she could have sworn on her own life that ghosts didn't exist.
That was before she knew that eight other lives had been taken by the young man who had told her the story.
Mai flitted to the door and peeked outside. No one there. Mai let out a breath and padded outside on tiptoes.
It was only her luck that seconds later Naru rounded the corner. Mai pressed a hand to her mouth to keep in a gasp and sprinted back inside the library, eyes darting frantically around for a good hiding spot. The curtains…
Mai raced against Naru without him even realizing it. She leapt behind the curtains just as he pushed the door open. She tried to keep her panting breaths silent as he recognized the damage that had been done. He growled under his breath, but then there was silence.
Mai inwardly wished to hear his footsteps fade out the door and down the hall, looking for her in the expanse of the mansion. She swallowed and waited. Waited. Wished. Waited. And jumped as Naru called her out.
"Mai. Get out of there; you're going to choke on dust."
She was just unlucky because he was smart. And he could see her feet beneath the curtain fringe.
Mai tossed the curtains to the side and inhaled a lungful of filth and dirt that had been there for who-knew how many years.
"Surprise," she said weakly, throwing up her arms after the coughing passed. Naru's eyes were going to get stuck if he kept rolling them at her.
"I thought you had somehow been buried under the bookcases. It's good to know that you weren't that stupid."
"That would have been such a good idea…!" Mai whispered under her breath, clenching her fists. It would have gotten any and all blame off of her, besides the fact that she had been in the library searching for the curse. But Naru wouldn't have to know that.
Naru narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?"
"Nothing." Mai shot him a sickly sweet smile.
Naru gave her a cold glare. "Do I really have to tell you what to do here?"
Mai thought fast. Maybe playing stupid was the best way to go. "I can go to the kitchen and get you more—"
"Clean it up, Mai," he interrupted loudly. He considered her previous words. "And then you can get me more tea. Until then, I'll wait here and make sure you do as you're told."
"Aye aye, Captain," she muttered sarcastically and saluted.
Naru settled himself on the couch as Mai began to pick up the books that had somehow thrown themselves all over the room. She scanned the room, picking up ghost book by ghost book, four-hundred page almanac by six-hundred page almanac. She stacked them all near the fallen bookcases and then moved to set the bookcases right. The first bookcase was already empty, and she pushed it back upright in a matter of seconds.
The second bookcase was nearly empty, save for a few books that had been blocked by the first bookcase. Something caught her eye. Mai kneeled down and saw that a book had been jammed between the shelf and the back of the bookcase. She managed to wiggle it out and placed it in her lap.
Mai fingered the dark green cover and the gold that had been painted onto the edges of the pages. She looked over at Naru, who had buried his nose in a book that had landed on the couch. Mai scrambled behind the fallen bookcases and sat down with the new book. Slowly, she open it and examined the table of contents.
These were all fairytales.
No wonder Naru had hidden it.
Mai flipped to the first story and read.
A girl imprisoned in a manor by a beast because of her father's mistakes. She too was forbidden from the West Wing because of a precious rose that was the Beast's reverse to his own curse. The Beast only had until all of the petals fell from the rose to reverse his curse.
Mai's heart had stopped in her throat. Her story was almost the same… but this time, no petals fell from a magical rose. Now blood dripped from a knife that had taken eight lives and short days ticked by. She continued to read, trying to find the end, the solution… maybe it would give her ideas. Maybe this story was closer to her own life than she thought possible.
"Mai, for once, will you start listening to me and do your work as you're told?"
Mai jumped, throwing the fairytale book under the collapsed cases. Naru eyed it and Mai's heart thudded even faster. He began to move toward her and stopped suddenly, staring at her over the bookcases. He gracefully leaned down and picked up the fairytale book – that had slid under the bookshelves instead of just lying there, covered, like Mai had meant to do.
Naru turned on his heel and walked away. Mai cringed and swore under her breath. He knew. He knew.
"Are you angry at me, Naru?" Mai asked, trying not to let her voice sound any higher than normal. Naru tossed his gaze back over his should, scrutinizing her intentions.
"I seem to be constantly angry at you, Mai." Naru turned his back to her. Mai had no idea where the fairytale book had gone.
"Angry enough to kill me?"
Naru never responded.
The answer was too unclear.
In his right mind, Naru would never lay a hand on Mai. He never would have murdered his friends if it wasn't for the knife. None of this would be happening if it wasn't for his stupidity that night, or his need to feel powerful or his need to show off.
All of a sudden, all of Naru's words were lies.
Mai's heavy breathing was the only thing that pervaded the atmosphere. Her hands were clutched around her side. Before he knew it, she had fallen to her knees and groaned.
Naru dropped the knife.
Instantly, his anger diminished. In pure shock, Naru kneeled down next to her. Stared as she was fading. Gaped as he saw the once-strong girl for what he had made her become. Realized that her state was much more serious than he thought.
Mai gathered the last of her strength to raise her head and look at him.
"Tell them I'm sorry."
Those were her last words. Her body began to fall against him, but before he could catch her, before he could even begin to grieve for her, she disappeared into light. Naru passed his arm through the space where Mai had been crouched, dying. Dead.
Naru awoke with a start as Mai dropped a book. He gazed around at the library, at the floor, at Mai. This was not the West Wing. There was no knife in his hands. There was no blood on the floor. And Mai was not dead, much to his relief. But the relief passed and dread took its spot.
Was this what was in store for them?
Naru could end up murdering his last chance at freedom or he could let her walk free and into safety, destroying everyone else's chance at life.
"Naru? Are you okay?"
He heard her voice again and was almost happy. Almost hopeful. Almost alive. Almost. Naru looked up into her worried eyes, her innocent face. His heart began to pound.
For the second time in his life, Naru felt terrified for what was to come.
A/N: I got this chapter finished way faster this time. Yay! Only have a few left, so review while you can! Thank you for reading! Now please click the box underneath with the green writing. :)