A/N: Very short chapter...but plot will be revealed! YAY! Thank you for all the reviews thus far! I love you guys! I own nothing!

Warning; artistic liberties and assumptions taken! Please don't yell at me! Author's privilege! (though I think it is probable and that is why it is going the way it is since I think it is believable!)

The drive toward Mai's apartment was not particularly a difficult one and for as many times as Naru navigated the distance he could have driven it blindfolded, but this time it was an extremely difficult trip.

Mai, despite her best efforts to act as if nothing was wrong, continued to be completely and utterly lost in her own thoughts and troubles. Naru was not blind and could clearly see her dismay but was unsure of how to deal with it. He knew that he had to act, especially with the nearing of her apartment, but he also knew that he would have to act carefully if he wanted to find out anything relevant.

"It's not your studies is it Mai?" Naru spoke softly but firmly. "You might feel better if you tell me about what is troubling you…"

Mai looked over at her boss from the passenger seat of his car with the deer-in-the-headlights look etched on her face. She knew that there was no way in hell she was going to be able to fool Naru and pretend that nothing was wrong, but she thought she would be able to at least fool him a little longer than this. "I-I…doubt that…" she stumbled out with a fake chuckle.

"Try me" he replied dryly, his grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly.

"…" Mai hesitated. It looked like she was having an inner battle on whether to spill or not. "I…I can't tell you…" she finally confessed.

"And why is that, Mai?" Naru spoke darkly fixing her with a deathly glare from the corner of his eye. "I was under the impression that we were to the point where you could open up to me…"

"Well, I…" she stammered frantically. "It's not tha-that…I…I wan-want to…" tears suddenly started to spill forth from her eyes in a rapid downpour of emotion. "Ah…" Mai whispered as she reached up to her face to touch the swiftly falling tears. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize, idiot…now tell me what is going on." Naru replied in a much gentler tone. He was weak against Mai's tears, it tortured him to see her cry and he wanted to know the cause of her sadness.

He was met with silent sobs and sniffles. He glanced over and confirmed Mai's state; she was in a full blown breakdown. She had since given up on wiping her tears from her face and it seemed she was concentrating on sniffling and trying to even out her very uneven breathing. She was trying her very hardest to cry without making any noise, though she was failing miserably. The sight was positively pitiful.

Naru sighed and loosened his grip on the wheel. They had already arrived at Mai's apartment building, though he doubted that Mai noticed but it was now or never. He clenched his teeth and sighed again. "Mai…" he used his softest, kindest voice he had, "please…"

Mai turned to him stunned. Even though they had gotten closer and shared a mutual affection, Naru remained elusive and rarely said 'thank you' or 'please' even in normal activities. For him to say it now…he must really…

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"I-I can't stay here!" she wailed mournfully, breathing heavily. "The-they found out I'm a m-minor w-without a guardian!"

"Mai, calm down" Naru tried to sooth the girl. She was frantic and now that she decided to spill her troubles it was as if a dam had broken and all the water was rushing forth. She was rushing everything out in a fast paced jumble taking little time to breath.

"Th-they want me to g-go with relatives. I don't have any! So, then I-I h-have to be put into foster care! I don't want to be sent away! I don't want to leave y-you!" She gasped as she continued to sob endlessly.

"Calm down" Naru said emphatically. He was barely able to follow what the hysterical girl was saying. But he was getting the basic story…

"S-so…so…" she bawled, "he-he said I could m-marry. T-that way I would be under someone else f-family register…he w-wanted me to marry his s-son." She was gasping for air and getting more panicked by the second. "B-but I can't…I love you…I c-can't marry h-him!"

"Mai," Naru said softly as he turned in his seat so he could gently touch her face. "I need you to calm down and breath…slowly…I can't make out what you are trying to tell me." That was a lie. He had been able to, though with great difficulty, make out everything Mai had said but it was such that he felt he needed to hear it again for the information to register in his brain.

Mai was in a terrible state after she finally finished what she had to say; though it still sounded like she was mumbling rushed and fevered words though Naru couldn't make them out for the life of him. She must have been dwelling on this for days and finally her wall came crashing down and now she was flooded with emotions that had no real outlet.

She was still struggling to breath and her tears had long since run out though she continued to sob with relentless vigor. She was hyperventilating Naru noted as he tried everything he could think of to get her to calm down. In clinical terms it was like she was having an anxiety attack…if she continued on in this way she was going to…

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Mai slumped forward over onto Naru with a soft impact. "Pass out…" Naru whispered as he shifted her back into a reclined position in the passenger seat. "That was why I wanted you to calm down, stupid…"

A/N: eeeeeee FLUFF!!!!! Okay so there you have it; a peek at the first plot line! Please let me know what you think! Thanks!