Wow, this was a pretty long chapter. Sorry for all the italics in this chapter, I didn't realize that I'd made her dream so long. Enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt

Chapter 9: The Cat's Out of the Bag

Kamin stirred as Naru carried the twins down the hallway. She tightened her arms around his neck, squirming in his grasp. Rex trotted beside him, the end of her tail wrapped in thick white gauze, ever their protector. "Daddy, can we go see Mai-chan?" she murmured in his ear.

Naru glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Only if you promise to be quiet and calm. Mai is hurt very badly and needs to rest," he said, dumbing it down for them even though he normally wouldn't, even for children.

"Promise," the twins murmured together. Obviously Tamaki had been awake the entire time. Surprisingly, Naru didn't mind. He hoisted them higher onto his chest and struggled to open a door to his left. They'd all decided that it'd be better for Mai to sleep in a separate room that way she wouldn't be woken by either Masako or Ayako.

Mai slept peacefully on the bed, her back to the door. The bandages wrapped around her torso and middle peaked out from the bottom and collar of her shirt. She breathed evenly, but shallowly.

Naru set the twins next to the bed. Kamin opened her mouth to squeal something, but he quickly stopped her. "Remember what I said," he whispered. She instantly closed her mouth and nodded. They scurried around to the other side of the bed, scrambling onto a chair and then the bed.

As if sensing their presence, Mai carefully rolled onto her back, making room for them on either of her sides. Tamaki slowly stepped over her, making sure not to jostle or fall on her. The twins cuddled into her sides under the blanket. They closed their eyes, sighing in relief. Not soon after, the breathing evened out and deepened.

Naru sighed. He sat down heavily in the chair beside Mai's bed, watching her carefully. She looked so peaceful. He wondered what she was dreaming about or if she was even dreaming at all. With the morphine she was on, he highly doubted she even could dream. Of course, his brother would find a way around that if he really needed to.

His brother…

Naru sighed heavily again, glancing at the healing cut on his palm. An ugly black scab sealed it, and suddenly began to itch. He made a face and closed his fingers into a tight fist, digging his nails into the flesh around the scab. It did nothing to alleviate the itching. He rubbed his palm hard against his pants hoping to dull the itching a little, but there was nothing that could dull healing.

He turned his eyes away from his aggravating hand to survey the room. Besides the bed, nightstand, and chairs the room was pretty much bare. Sheer white curtains that didn't even block out the moonlight hung at the sides of the large window. A small painting of a woman hung beside the door overlooking the room. She had strawberry blonde hair that hung in front of her mint green eyes. A bright smile brightened her wan face. Years before the painting had been done, she would have been extraordinarily beautiful. On the nightstand, Mai's ruined clothes had been set for some unknown reason. The edge of something peaked out from between the folds of her skirt.

Feeling a little awkward about searching her clothes, but deciding that it didn't matter whether he did or not as long as he put the item back later, Naru wriggled the object from the clothing. It was a picture, a picture he'd seen many time, a picture he hadn't seen in years. It was a picture of Gene and him when they were younger. How in the name of all that was holy had Mai gotten ahold of that picture? It was impossible. He'd never shared the picture with anyone before, but that didn't mean his brother hadn't.

Anger flared up within him. Because of his brother's complete lack of ability to withhold information his whole plan to keep his identity and other things a secret was in jeopardy. Mai wasn't an idiot, she would have figured out by now that he wasn't exactly who he said he was.

Gene's words came back to him, and his anger deflated. It had seemed like centuries ago that he'd told him them. "Here's an idea, why don't you just tell her everything?" he'd suggested.

At the time Naru had brushed the words off as a stupid remark from his idiot twin, but now he wasn't so sure it was so idiotic. Would it be smarter to just up and tell her? She'd be pissed, there was no doubt about that, but it'd be better than her finding out some other way, right? This would be so much easier to work out if he could talk to his brother. He may have been a genius, but he really sucked at anything concerning people. His brother, on the other hand, was always the one who was better at dealing with others, especially others of the female persuasion.

Sighing once more, Naru set the picture down on the nightstand. He stood and stared down at the twins and Mai. If he didn't know better, he would have believed them to be a mother and her children. With the way she handled them, she could well have been.

On a whim, he reached down, taking one of her hands in his. He pressed his lips softly to her forehead, whispering, "I have a lot to confess in the morning." He lingered there for a moment before pulling back to his chair. Still clutching her hand, he let his head fall forward onto his arms and his eyes slide closed.

…..

Mai felt the darkness pressing in on her eyelids like a wet cloth. The floor under her felt of nothing. There was no texture, nor warmth or cold. It was neutral. Energy pulsed around her, sliding over her skin like water.

Prying her eyes open, Mai stared around. Yep, just as she'd thought. She was in the dream realm. That meant she had something to see, and that Dream Naru wasn't far behind. She could finally question him. If he wasn't a figment of her powers, he'd have some of the answers she sought.

No sooner had she though that, Dream Naru was there above her, offering her his hand. She smiled, reaching up a hand. The motion stretched the burns across her back. She retracted her hand to clutch at her throbbing back, a moan of pain escaping her throat even through her clenched teeth.

"Mai, what's the matter?" Dream Naru uncharacteristically cried, instantly dropping down beside her, "Are you hurt?" His hands lifted the hem of her shirt a little bit, finding the gauze wrappings underneath. "What happened to you?" he asked worriedly, gingerly helping her into a sitting position.

"Oh, you know, randomly igniting fires and such," she groaned out sarcastically, clutching at Dream Naru's hand for support, "I have something important to ask you."

"Alright, but I have something to show you first," he said, helping Mai to her feet with gentle hands. He was so different from the real Naru. He even smelled different. Why hadn't she noticed all the differences before?

The answer was because she simply hadn't wanted to.

Dream Naru took a deep, steadying breath like he was preparing himself for anything, and turned towards the scene that was materializing in front of them. A woman with strawberry blonde hair lay in a bed. Her green eyes had a dull tone to them. She stared off into space, her mouth slightly agape, her breath labored.

"Honey, look what I have," a man with dark brown hair came in. Mai gasped. She knew the man! It was Suzuka! He had a gentle smile and papers held in his hand.

"What's that?" the woman asked, her breath wheezing out with every exhale. She turned her head towards Suzuka, holding out a shaky hand that he instantly took in his.

Suzuka's smile spread farther across his face. "The adoption papers for Kamin and Tamaki. They finally gave them to me. I'm going to sign them and turn them in this afternoon," he said happily, but softly, moving to sit beside his wife.

The woman's face lit up. Some color and brightness returned to her face and eyes. "That's great! We can finally be parents. When can they come home?" she asked excitedly, struggling to sit up and looked expectantly at Suzuka.

"I was told that they can come home a week after I turn in the papers. So a week from today we'll be parents."

"That's great! That's great. I can't wait," the woman wheezed, grinning widely. She looked younger than she had only moments ago. The sickness that was raging through her body had sucked years from her youth. "I love you honey, and I'm going to love these children just as much," she told him, pressing a hand to his face.

"I love you too," he whispered, leaning forward to press his lips to hers.

The scene faded into grey along with its occupants. Its occupants slowly faded into oblivion. Rain now drummed against the window. Greyish light spilled through the window. Suzuka crouched beside the bed, his shoulders heaving.

"Why? Why did you have to leave Hana? Why did you leave me? Why did you leave us? You didn't even get to meet them," he sobbed into the comforter, clutching the soft white fabric tightly in his fingers, "I miss you. I miss you so very much." The scene faded completely away into the blackness of the dream world.

Mai stared on uncomprehendingly. "How is that supposed to help us solve the case? What does it mean?" she asked, turning her gaze on Dream Naru.

He smiled down at her. "I'm sure it can help you. I don't have the answers and can't give them to you. I'm only here to guide you. You'll have to ask the other me for help." He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

Mai remember the other reason why she'd wanted to come to the dream world. She jerked out of his grasp, glaring at him even through the pain that lanced through her at the sudden movement.

"You. You're not who you say you are, are you?" Mai asked, staring him down, "I know. I've seen the pictures of the two of you. So don't try to lie to me. There's also Kamin and Tamaki."

The smile dropped from Dream Naru's face. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I was hoping he'd tell you before we got to this point. As always, he's a little slow on the uptake," he murmured more to himself than her.

"So… so you're admitting it. You really are Naru's brother? You're twins," she said, the last part more of a statement than a question. She didn't need to ask him to know the answer. "Why didn't either of you ever tell me?" Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she refused to cry.

The man who's she'd thought to be Naru sighed, closing his eyes in resignation. "He didn't want anyone to know. He'd searching for… for me, and he figured that the less people that knew, the easier it'd be for him to leave when he completed his task, but even now, even if he never told you, I doubt it'll be that easy." By the end, he was talking more to himself than to Mai.

She raised an eyebrow at him, the tears receding as curiosity took the place of hurt. "What do you mean he's looking for you and by the less that we knew? Has he even been using his real name this whole time?" She felt anger boiling up within her once more. Had he been lying to them all these years? After all they'd been through together, he'd never told them the truth! She dug her nails into her arm in an attempt to calm herself.

"I… I died here in Japan several years ago. Naru found that out. He came searching for my body, and has been searching for it ever since," he told her, "As for the name thing…" He trailed off, an awkward silence falling around them.

That was all the answer Mai needed. "He has been lying to us! This entire time we didn't even know his real name!" she cried, clenching her fists at her sides, "He's been lying to us this whole time! What about the twins? Has he been lying to us about them too? Who the hell are you guys?"

"No! I swear to God that he hasn't been lying about the twins! We have no idea who they are! We only have theories!" he cried, eyes growing wide with shock. He grabbed Mai's shoulders, trying so hard to make her understand and believe. "That's so much more important. We'd never lie about something like that. You know Noll better than that!"

"Apparently I don't," Mai muttered, disheartened. She looked away from him, staring at the ground. She forced more tears back down her throat, hating that she felt like crying for a man who had been lying to her for years.

"I'm so sorry, Mai. I wanted him to tell you, but he was adamant about staying quiet," he told her, wrapping her in a tight hug, "Talk to him, just talk to him. Let him explain. Please. It'll relieve him, and you, of a heavy burden."

"Always acting the big brother, aren't you?" Mai asked bitterly, "You've been protecting him the entire time haven't you? Were you ever really here to help me?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"For which one?"

"Both."

Mai looked up at the former Dream Naru with narrowed eyes. She sighed deeply. Why couldn't she stay mad at him? "What's your name?" she finally asked, looking back up at him. If she was going to confront Naru, she might as well at least know his twin's name before continuing.

The man smiled happily as if he knew that she wasn't mad anymore. "Eugene Davis," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead, "Thank you." The darkness quickly closed in around her.

…..

Mai opened her eyes slowly to muted moonlight. Two warm masses were curled up in her sides and more warmth gripped one of her hands. It comforted and soothed her. She lay uncomfortably stiff for a moment before moving, pushing herself slowly into a sitting position.

She looked around her. The room looked exactly the same as it had in her dream except for a few absent people and a few added things and people. Her destroyed clothes lay on the nightstand, the picture that had been in her pocket lying on the top of them. Tamaki and Kamin had been curled into her sides, the two warm masses she'd felt, clutching at her shirt. Naru was in the chair Suzuka had been sitting in, his hand wrapped tightly around hers. It was as if he was using her to anchor herself to the world.

Mai squeezed his hand back. "Naru, you're a dirty liar," she whispered to him quietly, tears finally allowed to spring forth from her eyes, "So why is it that I still love you?" Leaning forward, she bravely pressed her lips to his, answering her own question, "I don't know."

There you go! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It actually made me think of a complete plot change that I wasn't planning on adding. Perhaps it'll add more to the story, hopefully. Anyway, review please! :D