Author's Notes: Apologies for the five day delay. I fell behind my writing schedule. Also, this chapter isn't as edited as I'd like it to be; however, I will be on vacation all next week and will not have computer access. When I return, I shall upload a better version (probably).

"Nao wake up," a familiar voice called to me. I recognized it; it was Mama. She was with me. We lived together in a small apartment.

I groggily got up from my bed, silently wishing that the night was longer so I could sleep more. I thought of the dream I just had about twelve girls who had to battle each other with giant pokemon, so they could save the person they loved the most. Yeah, it made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but somehow seemed so real. Mama came in my room and quickly rushed me to get dressed. She had to drag me out from under the covers.

"Five more minutes," I begged her. Something felt off today. Even as I awoke, this reality felt no more real than the world of my dream.

She sternly refused and pulled my ear to get me up. "You'll be late for school." As I slowly sauntered toward the bathroom, she placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "You can't afford to be like this as a third year exam student. Hurry up and get ready."

I groaned while brushing my teeth. Third year huh? There were so many colleges to choose from. Of course Mama hoped I would get into something prestigious like Tokyo University, but I was never quite smart enough to get high in the class rankings. If anything, I'd probably end up at some mediocre state college. She was fine with that too of course. Mama knew how hard I studied to achieve my goals. They were satisfactory, but one always had one's dreams.

Mama, of course, was a successful lawyer. We were living comfortably in the suburbs nearby Fuuka Academy. I hated having to take the bus every morning, because I had to wake up earlier. However, I could save money by living at home instead of the dorms. Plus, I didn't want to leave Mama all alone.

A few years ago, she confessed to me that my father was a partner in a law firm she worked at. He was married, and she was much younger. My mother said she held no illusions about his intent. Instead, upon learning of her pregnancy, she quietly left the firm and started her own small business.

She hurried me out the door as we both needed to catch the bus. She would eventually get on a train and head toward the city while I would get off at the bus stop in front of school. We didn't talk on the ride.

There were a few people I knew on campus, but we weren't really all the close. My only real friend, Natsuki Kuga, was four years older than me. We met a few years ago in a street fight, back when I was wilder.

Mama really worried about me back then. It wasn't until I saw someone killed did I seriously change my life. The victim was actually a member of a rival gang. We just happen to run into each on the streets. Three seconds after meeting, some man shot her from behind, and tried to silence me as a witness. Thankfully, I thought fast and managed to get away. The murderer was a hit man for a mafia organization the girl had crossed. He was in jail now, so I tried not to about it.

Class was extremely boring. The teachers droned on about various topics and test-taking techniques that I didn't quite care to learn. After a while, everything just blended together into a gigantic blur of meaningless information.

Half way through history I was desperately trying to stay awake. The dates and letters began to jumble in my vision. Slowly, my head nodded to sleep.

"Yuuki-san!" yelled my teacher. She threw a piece of chalk at my head.

The pain immediately woke me up. "That hurt Midori-chan."

"That's Sugiura-sensei to you." She corrected.

Everyone laughed. It was an inside joke for us, because she's been seventeen-years-old for four years. We continued the lesson soon after. This time I managed to take legible notes.

After school, I visited Mai in a local ramen place. She worked there as an assistant chef after going to chef school. Things went well for her after high school. Soon after graduation, Tate proposed in a grand romantic gesture. They got married a few months after. The debt left over from her brother's heart surgery was paid off after the sudden death of a moderately wealthy relative. Her life was nearly perfect.

We talked for a bit. It was well before rush hour and the owner liked me. We mostly conversed about arbitrary rumors and other meaningless things. That was when she decided to drop a bomb on my lap.

"Nao, I have something to confess." Her voice was both giddy, and a little frightened.

I looked up at her with a mixture of confusion and concern. "What?"

"I'm pregnant." She proudly stated.

I choked on air. Stuttering, I replied, "What!"

"I'm pregnant," she repeated again.

"Congratulations," I tentatively replied, unsure if she believed it good news or not.

"Thank you," she beamed. Thank God, she was happy about it. "I haven't told Yuuichi yet." Her eyes shyly focused on the floor. It explained the fear in her voice earlier.

"I see," I said. "I'm sure he'll be overjoyed."

"Do you really think so?" She clasped her hands together as if begging me to tell her something reassuring.

I could only oblige. "Of course," I told her, "you both want kids right?"

She nodded her head vigorously.

I was happy for her, truly. However, something inside me wrenched in pain as I heard the news. It was like I wanted it was false, but I did not know why. The more I thought about it; the more miserable I felt.

It had to be jealousy, or at least I wanted it to be. Mai had the perfect life, with the perfect husband, and now a child was completing her family. Every guy I dated was a complete creep. One of them even turned out to be a pedophile. Believe me; I was surprised when cops showed up at my door asking me if I knew anything of his illicit activities. It took me less than a minute to decide to break up with him.

I left the ramen place soon after her confession. Aside from my feelings, there was something stifling about the store. Maybe it was just paranoia. Something was simply off today. I couldn't quite place the strange feeling that kept bothering me through the day. Now the feeling had grown stronger.

It drove me to drop by Natsuki's workplace. She was bartender for some hostess joint that I couldn't quite recall the name of. Her history as a gang member pretty much barred her from ever going to college, not that it bothered her much. From what I could tell, she enjoyed her job.

Business was slow that early in the night. The hostesses let me in without hesitation, knowing I was Natsuki's friend. The owner let me visit as long as it wasn't peak hours. I didn't mind, Mama wouldn't want me to stay too long, though she certainly didn't know I frequented such a place.

Natsuki was cleaning shot glasses behind the bar. I sat down on a stool right in front. She made me a virgin cocktail of some sort. It had pineapple juice and some other fruity flavors.

"What's up?" she casually asked.

I shrugged, pretending that I had no idea what she was referring to.

She paused and looked at me. "You only come in here if you're feeling down or something, otherwise you'd wait to talk to me when I had a day off."

I rejected her statement. "Not true," I said, "I stop by for other reasons." My mind searched for proof. "I just can't think of any." Damn.

"Oh? What's with that lame depressed look then?" She finished cleaning glass and set it down before picking up a beer mug.

A sigh escaped my mouth. "Mai's pregnant."

She froze. "What?"

"You heard me." Briefly, I wondered if Mai would be angry that I told Natsuki instead of letting her do it herself.

"Wow. Shit." She placed the mug down on the bar, and leaned back.

"Yeah, I know." I wondered how Natsuki felt. After a string of bad boyfriends, she miraculously ended up with the former school president, Fujino Shizuru. Setting aside the fact that Fujino was female, I didn't even know they were friends. Admittedly, I didn't believe Natsuki at first when she confessed to the relationship.

"She's really growing up." A reminiscent smile appeared on her face.

"You're one to talk." I laughed.

Before we could continue, my cell phone went off. Mama's number appeared on the miniature screen. I didn't hesitate to answer. "Nao, it's late. Where are you?" Worry laced her voice.

I looked at a nearby clock. Shit, it was almost nine. I wondered where all the time went. "Umm, I'll be home soon mom."

After hearing my voice, hers suddenly became cheerful. "Oh, please drop by the grocery store and buy some eggs." Ah, so that's why she called. Where did all that concern go?

I didn't let her change of character bug me. After agreeing to buy the eggs, I hung up the phone and waved goodbye to Natsuki. I had to get home.

It was pretty dark outside. Strangely, no stars were glittering in the sky. Only the moon and a single red star stood out. The emptiness was creepy. The street I walked on was devoid of people, though I was sure this was a popular street. There were lots of neon lights flashing as far as I could see.

Suddenly, a movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I spun around quickly to pinpoint its location, or run if necessary. A trashcan in an alleyway crashed over. I jumped back in surprise, only to see a cat digging through the garbage. A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

As I relaxed, a kid with the strangest white hair appeared in front of the cat. In a laughing voice he chanted, "Are you the princess or the beast? Which, can you answer, is the true monster?" A creepy smile appeared on his lips, and he slowly lifted up his hand to point at me. "Can you?" he asked.

I looked at him incredulously. "What the fuck are you talking about kid?"

He laughed wildly. "You should know." His eyes narrowed, revealing a dangerous gleam. "Because you're a monster too," he finished, before running off while screaming his insane chant.

I froze with anger and denial. I wasn't a monster. Why, I wondered, did his words feel so true?

The street started to buzz again. There were people around me. "When did they get there," I wondered. The kid was gone. The stars were back in their proper places, but the strange red star was still there, next to the moon. It even looked a little larger.

I brushed off the freaky encounter and continued on my way home. There was little point in getting distracted by a random event. That little boy was probably crazy anyway.

Mama was glad when I showed up around ten-o-clock holding the eggs. She still chastised me when I got home though. It didn't bother her so much before, but now that I was an "exam" student, it made a difference.

On the plus side, she managed to reheat dinner for me. Most would think her too busy to raise me and keep a job at the same time, but she made it work somehow. Don't get me wrong, there was a time when she was never home, and I pretty much had free reign. But since that shooting incident, she made an effort to be home and cook dinner more often. Although, Mama's cooking skills were nothing to brag about. It wasn't inedible or anything, just that it was average.

Once done with dinner, I set to work on finishing any problem sets my teachers assigned. It was long and boring, and as the night dragged on, I became more and more sleepy. Eventually, I dozed off on my desk.

"Nao, please wake up." I immediately sat up straight in surprise. It was Mai's voice. I looked around the room, but Mai wasn't there. I quickly brushed it off as a figment of my imagination brought on by the late hour combined with annoying homework. Returning to work, I began staring at the complex literary questions once again. Shit, this stuff did not suit me at all.

Suddenly, a hand brushed my face as Mai's voice said once more, "Please Nao, wake up."

I shot up out of my chair, and looked around the room again. That, sure as hell, was more than just my imagination. It was certain; my room was haunted by a ghost that sounded eerily like Mai.

"Will you not wake for her?" said a young girl's voice.

I jumped in my place, and slowly turned toward the direction of the voice. "Who are you?" I was flabbergasted, and more than a little frightened. The ghost had shown its true form.

She was maybe ten with lavender hair. The young girl moved slowly and deliberately with an unnatural grace that only spirits could achieve. "Will you not wake for her?" it asked again. Sad eyes and a pitying smile faced me. It pissed me off.

My fear was replaced with anger. "Who the fuck are you?" I demanded.

She sighed, relenting to answer my question. "You know who I am Yuuki Nao."

"Queen of Hell, Kazahana Mashiro" I answered without thinking. Strange, how I knew that it was true.

"So tell me, will you wake?" She asked again.

I looked at her confused. "I am awake."

"Are you?" She seemed too sure. "Can you not hear it?"

It was insanity, yet I could faintly hear a voice softly speaking to me. For some reason, I knew it was Mai.

I looked at the child again. "Why does she sound so sad?"

"Why do you think?" the ghost girl replied.

"But she doesn't care about me." I screamed without thinking. Those words hurt as I said them. Still, I did not know what they actually meant, only that they were a painful truth.

She smiled with pity. "Do you truly believe that?"

I clenched my teeth. "Stop answering with questions!" My fists slammed on my desk.

The white-haired little boy shimmered into view next to her. "Give up," said Nagi. "She won't get it anyway." He looked at me with a creepy smile that appeared like it belonged to the devil.

Anger coursed through me. "Stop screwing with me!" I moved to attack. Everything went black.

"Dammit!" I screamed as I jumped up from my chair. It crashed behind me. I searched the room again, the ghost girl was gone. I was alone in the room. Mama rushed in to see what I was screaming about.

"Nothing," I told her. There was nothing to worry about. I just fell asleep on my desk and had a bad dream. She accepted my reason and told me to go to bed. According to her, it was important to refresh myself.

I collapsed onto the mattress. It truly was a disturbing dream. Staring at the ceiling, I wondered about what it meant. How was Mai involved? Sure, I was surprised when she told me she was pregnant, but why would that be important?

A foreboding feeling came over me. In the dream, I was in love with her. As much as I wanted to dismiss it as part of the hallucination, the feeling was still there. The hidden longing dug at me. This feeling wasn't there yesterday. What was wrong with me? Frustrated I tossed in my bed. Before I knew it, morning had come. I spent the whole night obsessing about Mai, that ghost, and for some odd reason, a giant mechanical spider named Juliet.

I met up with Natsuki after school. She opted to hang out with me before her shift began. We wandered around city for a bit while talking about arbitrary things. Our lives were boring. At least they were safe.

"You talk to Mai yet?" I asked her.

She grinned. "Yeah, she sounds excited too, though a little pissed that you told me first."

I laughed. "Sorry about that."

Natsuki stopped walking. Darkness came over her body. She faced the ground and grumbled, "Wake up idiot." A flash of white hair appeared in the corner of my eye.

"What did you say?" I spun around to face her.

She looked at me again. The darkness disappeared. "I asked you if you were up for a few games." She pointed at the arcade we were standing in front of.

Though confused, I didn't hesitate for a moment. "Prepared to get your ass kicked Kuga." For a moment, it felt like someone else had spoken when she asked me to wake up. It made no sense though. How would Natsuki know about my dream?

Everything was spinning out of control. I spent the week avoiding Mai in whatever way I could. The feelings that appeared in the dream haunted me during the day. I didn't want to be in love with Mai. She was happy, married and expecting a child. The reality of it just made it hurt more. Why couldn't I just let it go? Even if I confronted her now, nothing good would happen. At the very best, nothing would happen at all. At the worst, I'd ruin everything. I didn't want to destroy everything she held dear.

As I pondered this, Mashiro appeared to me again. She didn't say anything, just smiled that annoying smile of hers as if she understood my pain.

I screamed at her in frustration. Curse after curse left my mouth. I don't anyone had ever heard me cuss so much in their entire life. Yet, all the girl did was smile. I yelled until my voice grew hoarse. Finally I collapsed onto my knees. "Why are you punishing me?"

She slowly walked up to me and calmly patted my hair. "I'm not."

"Then why do I feel like this? Why can't I get over her?" These feelings did not appear until Mashiro did. They had to be connected.

"You've had those feelings the whole time. You've simply remembered them that's all." She explained.

"I don't want them." I rudely brushed aside her act of kindness. "I don't want to feel like this. I want to go back to before."

She looked hurt by my rejection. "I'm afraid there is nothing I can do. Love is not a feeling one can control, not even by a god."

Nagi phased into my room again. "Why are you denying it anyway? Mai-hime is the best." He shot me the peace sign. They both disappeared.

I swore if I saw another ghostly figure, I would punch it back to oblivion.

"Come back to me please." It was definitely Mai. This time it was clear. She clenched on to my arm, and my sleeve felt wet from tears. I could hear her cry.

I pondered everything up to that moment. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I was obviously losing my mind. Maybe insanity was genetic. Was there any history of mental illness of on my father's side of the family?

Yet, the disembodied voice that belonged to Mai made me doubt. I couldn't help but think, what if the dreams I've been having were memories, and the world I was in a dream? Even if this world was the dream, I didn't really want to go back to the real world. Mama was gone there. Mai had rejected me. I was a borderline dropout with little hope for the future.

She was calling me back though. Mai was begging me to wake up and return. As much as I hated that world that put me through hell, I wanted to go back to her. Even if just for a moment, I wanted to see her smile in the real world. Sure I could see her in this dream, but it wasn't real. It was just a figment of my imagination.

As I thought about this, the reality around me began to break apart. The entire dream cracked like glass and faded away. Slowly I felt my body synchronize with my soul. First, my unconscious body functions returned. My heart was beating. I began breathing. Then the numbness in my body began to go away.

I opened my eyes for real. A weight on my arm shifted.

"Mai?" My throat was dry and raspy. I tried to move my right arm, only to find that it was in a cast. My whole body ached. I regretted waking up.

Mai froze in shock. "Nao?" she stuttered a little. Her eyes were all puffy from crying. For some reason, I thought it looked cute.

"Who else?" I tried to chuckle, but it hurt.

She suddenly hugged me. "I've been so worried."

While I enjoyed the physical contact, my chest couldn't handle it. "Mai, I'm glad you're happy now, but it hurts."

Concerned, she immediately drew back. "I'm so sorry; are you okay?"

I smiled the best I could to reassure her. "As good as I can be."

She relaxed. "Thank God." Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "I should get a doctor."

Fear flashed through me. "Don't leave." I used my uninjured left hand to grab hers.

She sat down and placed my hand on her face. A reassuring smile appeared. "Don't worry, I'll come right back."

I reluctantly let her go, feeling like this was the last time I'd ever see her. Though she seemed sincere, I couldn't tell if it was all an act so I wouldn't suspect that she was leaving. I wanted to slam my head on my pillow, but couldn't really move my neck enough to do so. Maybe I shouldn't have woken up at all.

The doctor and a few nurses came in to examine me. After looking at a few charts and checking my vitals, they seemed satisfied. The doctor explained the extent of my injuries and informed me of what I needed to recover properly. She made sure to emphasize the seriousness of my condition. According to her, I had been asleep for two and a half days.

Mentally, I cursed the assholes who ambushed me in the garden. A full recovery would take forever. I recalled the last thing the guy said before I got knocked out. It made me shudder. I gritted my teeth. If he did anything, I swear I'd do more than just kill him. Even if he didn't do anything, I was going to find some way to pay him back tenfold. Maybe Natsuki was up for some extra work.

The dreadful thoughts were quickly brushed aside when Mai walked back in with a couple of boxes of juice. I sighed in relief, grateful that she kept her promise to return. My good arm reached out to accept one of the drinks she offered. However, she kept it from me. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

An amused smile appeared on her face. "Oh," she said, answering an unasked question. "How do you propose to put in the straw and move it in front of your face with one good hand?"

I scowled and turned my head away. Just because I was in a hospital bed didn't mean she could treat me like a child.

"Nao, don't be like that," Mai scolded me. A pop was heard as she pushed the straw into the box. "Here, this is yours."

I refused to turn my head. I wanted to be stubborn. We weren't together anymore. I at least wanted this little bit of revenge, though I was tempted to give in anyway.

She sighed in exasperation, and then moved into my line of sight on purpose. "Stop acting like a child," she said before unceremoniously forcing the straw into my mouth. "Drink," she ordered.

I would have resisted more, but was extremely thirsty after not drinking for two days. Greedily I gulped down the liquid, while resenting every mouthful. I could see her triumphant grin. "Don't think you've won." Even as I said that, I knew I had lost.

She laughed. "Now you're just being petty."

There was something about her voice that calmed me down. The last bit of anger I had disappeared. "Damn right, and you can't do anything about it." I half-heartedly quipped. We both shared a laugh, though I made an effort to move as little as possible. The pain reminded me of why I was there. "Mai," I spoke, "How did I get here?"

A/N: Alright, if anyone is confused right now a quick explanation of this chapter is that it mostly featured Nao in a semi-happy dream world.

The next chapter will be the last chapter, and will be from Mai's POV.