A/N: Sorry...another short one! Just kill me...PLEASE!!

'Mai!' Gene yelled as he lunged forward, pushing Mai backwards. Mai was shocked for a moment as she found herself falling backwards, the ravens still viciously attacking her. It was almost like she was watching herself drift downward in slow motion…her eyes widened as she saw the approaching water…

Mai screamed despite herself as she fell into the large garden pond…she watched as Gene's worried expression faded from her sight as it mingled with the flurry of black feathered forms. Her eyes remained open as she sunk deeper into the water, which was tinted red with her blood.

She was sure she was still screaming…

-X-

A sharp and desperate scream echoed through the halls of the inn as Mai bolted upright from her futon. She was urgently trying to catch her breath; the sickening feeling of suffocation was still painfully vivid in her mind. Mai tried her very best to calm down and even out her breathing…it had just been a dream…just a dream…

"Mai!?" Naru's strong arms wrapped protectively around her and Mai finally registered the real pain she was feeling. Naru continued to hold her close and she examined the red liquid that was staining her clothes and the futon around her over his shoulder; it was blood.

"N-naru…" she tried to stutter out, but failed. She had yet to regain her breath and was finding it exceedingly difficult to overcome the sinking feeling in her gut and in her lungs. She felt like a goldfish that had been dumped abruptly from its bowl and was now gasping for air as if its life depended on it.

This wasn't good…she couldn't get enough air…

Mai's eyes widened in shock as Naru's lips claimed hers in a bruising kiss. Her mind suddenly went blank and everything that was worrying her washed away in an instant. All she could feel was the warming sensation that spread throughout her body. She could feel herself immediately relax into Naru's embrace and with it her body settled down. She felt her lungs loosen up and by the time Naru pulled away from her face, she found her self breathing normally.

Mai looked up in a daze at Naru's uncharacteristically concerned face. He had genuine worry and concern etched in eyes as he was frantically looking her over. "Mai…are you alright? Just calm down and breathe slowly…"

It was then that Mai realized the full extent of her situation. Naru was cradling her in his arms, holding her against his chest. Mai blushed instinctually, but she felt safe in his arms…that would probably never change. She was bleeding through her shirt from several deep lacerations on her hands and arms and Mai became painfully aware of her wounds. "Naru…" she whispered as she touched her arms hesitantly.

"Don't talk." Naru looked to the door as Lin slid it open just as he had expected, it would have been something if he didn't come after hearing Mai's ear piercing scream. "Lin, get me the first aid kit from the lobby."

Lin didn't have to ask to get the basic idea of what was going on. When he heard Mai scream he had immediately rushed to their room, only after he made the others stay in the room. He stopped by and made sure that Ayako and Misako would stay put as well before he headed in to Naru's room.

There he found a worried looking Naru and a bloodied Mai resting in his arms. He knew better than to interrupt Naru when he was like that, so he wordlessly went to retrieve the first aid kit.

-x-

Meanwhile, Mai remained in a stupor as she rested in Naru's lap. The shock from her dream and the embarrassment that followed had caught up with her. The wounds and blood loss probably were not helping. She didn't feel like moving nor did she fell like doing anything other than what she was currently doing; which was nothing.

Naru had tightened her tattered remains of her shirt around her arms to impede the blood flow, but for the most part her wounds had stopped bleeding. Mai was still conscious of the dull pain they were emitting, but luckily she was mostly numb.

"Your hand is cold…" Mai commented listlessly on the hand that was resting atop her forehead and partly obstructing her vision. Naru had promptly placed it there after Lin's departure and told her sternly to rest, probably out of fear that she might go into another panic attack or something of the sort.

"You're hot, idiot. You probably have a fever considering these wounds. Lin should be back any minute now, so just wait a bit." He sounded annoyed, but Mai could tell that he was just trying to conceal his concern.

True to his word, Lin returned shortly thereafter with the first aid kit. After a short discussion about what had transpired, Lin left the room to report to the others. He said he would leave the rest to Naru and get the information in the morning when everyone was present. Naru seemed pleased with the fact that he was able to wrap everything up in such a short span of time and was now alone with Mai once again.

A/N: You go Naru! Talk about the most logical thing to do when your girlfriend/wife is having breathing troubles...kiss the heck out of her! Block that air flow, Naru! YEAH!

wow...yeah...well, I hope you all enjoyed the fluff glory of it all! Thanks for reading!