Chapter 5

The hitch in her soft, peaceful breathing was the only sign outwardly visible that Mai was heading towards consciousness. She was confused; her eyes seemed too heavy to open and she could hear the steady beeping of a heart monitor nearby. It was a sound she had grown somewhat used to once she agreed to working for Naru. She realized, vaguely, that she was in the hospital, though this did nothing to calm her mounting confusion as she fought through the fog in her mind- why was she in the hospital?

Her eyes still closed, Mai turned her head slightly, moaning- though it came out as little more than a heavy sigh- with the twist of sore muscles the movement evoked. She felt the fog quickly encroaching on her thoughts again, suffocating them as she fell back into a drug-induced sleep.

Oliver had watched Mai's movement from his chair at the foot of the bed, his body tensed in anticipation of her eyes opening- a twinge of fear at how she might react to seeing him again. When she stilled, a small snore breaking through her lips signaling that she was back in dreamland, Naru couldn't help the smirk that crossed his features at the undignified sound. He could imagine how embarrassed she would be if he knew he heard it. Thinking about it caused his smirk to grow and took his mind off the stab of disappointment he experienced as Mai drifted back off to sleep.

His smirk quickly turned into a frown as Naru raked his eyes over his ex-employee's form- noting that she had lost weight and was sporting some seriously large, puffy bags under her eyes. They looked bruised. He fumbled with the book in his lap as he glanced around the sterile room.

Oliver absently stuck his restless hand in the pocket of his coat, his fingers brushing lightly against Mai's ribbon, eliciting a loud grunt from Naru as he doubled over in the chair, his hand tearing from his pocket as if he had been electrocuted. He cursed under his breath as he tried to collect his bearings; running his hand through his choppy mop of black hair he grimaced as his palm quickly turned slick with sweat.

Naru sat back as his breathing returned to normal. He thought back to the ribbon, not daring to reach into his pocket again. He had been in the cab with Lin when the sound of screeching tires and multiple horns erupted behind them before the loud crunch of metal being bent out of shape entered the fray. He had been turning in his seat to see what had occurred, absently reaching for the familiar scrap of fabric.

The vision was clearer than any other he had experienced in the past- overloading all of his senses. He noted vaguely that before it manifested, he had felt their cab abruptly stop. The apparition itself was confusing as it seemed that he was Mai in this instance. He was on the ground, the curb of a sidewalk visible just within his peripheral sight. He couldn't move, but he watched in an odd detached sort of way- which he tried to accomplish anytime he was drawn into such a spectacle- the way Mai's hand twitched right in her line of sight, but she left it there, lying amongst the glass littered street. He felt like he was missing something. Naru searched his mind- realizing much too late what was wrong. She felt nothing; Mai's mind was completely blank from his perspective.

As he became attuned to the physical world again, he fought the bile rising quickly in the back of his throat. Throwing open the door of the stationary taxi he ignored the yell of the driver for him to get back in the seat and landed on the ground devoid of energy and, soon after, his most recent meal. He nodded to Lin in thanks for the napkin he seemingly pulled out of the air and ignored the questioning stare he knew was directed at him by focusing his attention on the sound of the ambulance sirens quickly approaching them from the rear of the vehicle.

It brought his attention to the scene behind him. He had forgotten what he was doing the instant the ribbon touched his fingers in the car. Knowing if he tried to stand on his legs with as weak as he was right now, he chose to remain on the ground, poised on all fours, frozen at what he saw.

Three cars, in various states of disrepair, were scattered on the pavement behind him. The drivers and passengers were seemly unscathed as he stared at the group of people shouting insults and claims of blame at each other amongst the wreckage.

"Not my problem." Naru reminded himself tiredly with a sigh. He turned to wave Lin back into the car, so that they could continue as soon as he found his footing, when the words of one driver caused him to drop back down on all fours, his chin almost scraping the concrete.

"Yeah, I WAS speeding, but that stupid BITCH wasn't paying attention. This is her fault."

It was then that he saw the pale, feminine hand, palm up, slightly twitching on the pavement from the middle of the wreckage. The rest of the body was shrouded by one of the large cars involved. Naru instantly felt sick again- his mind falling back to the vision he had just experienced.

"You mean you hit someone with your car?" It was one of the other driver's- Naru realized this indistinctly as his mind sluggishly fought against the reality of just who was under all that metal and broken glass. His mind fogged around the edges and he wondered if he might pass out. He forced himself to focus on something- anything. He noted that his vision was clearing as he stared at the bright orange puffy vest the one of the victims of the wreckage was wearing. Naru also noted, with his mind somewhat clearer as he stood slowly, that it could be some time before the mess before him was clear enough to pull anyone who might be in the middle- out.

"Lin!" he knew he was louder than he needed to be and noted the gruff, terrified tone to his voice, opting to ignore it as he turned to the man in question. The next words stuck in his throat as he fought down hysteria threatening to escape. He pointed to the now still hand that peaked from under the mess. He didn't see the ambulance as it pulled up, it's screeching sirens didn't seem to stop Lin from hearing his message. "It's Mai."

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the wait, guys! It's been a rough few months. I'm going to try and do a little bit of writing every day- which will hopefully mean more material getting written, and also more chapters. I did a quick proofread, but nothing else, so let me know if I made any errors. As always- love to know your thoughts! Have a Happy Halloween!

UPDATE: Proofread and did some small changes here and there in wording. Nothing of consequence was changed.