Recap

"That took… a lot more energy than I thought it would." She fell down onto one knee holding her shoulder tightly, the girl now called Rhythm rushed to her side, " Aria? Is it really you?" Mai looked up to the girl and nodded slightly but her eye's got a little heavy, "I'm….glad… I got here… in time.." Mai closed her eye's and fell forward, Rhythm caught the girl.

" ARIA!"

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Chapter 4

An hour had gone by, since finding Mai passed out in a hysterical girls arms, blood coming from the back of her left shoulder. The blade was taken with Naru for evidence. The girl was sat outside the infirmary waiting for the red haired shrine maiden to come out. Everything had been a blur

1 hour ago

After Mai had passed out the room was quickly filled with 6 worried members of SPR, The red haired shrine maiden pushed her way threw and saw the damage on the shoulder. " Monk get her to the infirmary. God damn it, this happens every time next time I'm going to nail that girls feet to the floor."

Rhythm stood up, blood was all over her white t-shirt, she was nervous around the people but she grabbed Ayako's hand before she went. " Is Aria going to be ok?" This caused the woman to stop and turn to the girl. "What… name did you just say?" "Aria… that's her name, I know her…" Ayako pulled away from her, " her name is Mai Taniyama, Not Aria," With that the woman walked out of the room.

" I know that's her, she answered to the name when I called it." The door opened and the girl looked up " I…is she ok?" Ayako nodded "yeah she's just sleeping, the wound wasn't deep, shouldn't even need stitches, you're a lucky girl you know that if Mai hadn't barged in on your dance practice you would have been dead." The girl looked down and sighed " I know."

With that the woman walked down the hallway to get some coffee, The young girl walked into the room and saw Mai laying in bed, her tops was to the left on the chair and her arm had been bandaged going underneath and around the chest to support it. Rhythm sat down on the chair next to her. Moving away some hair in the girls face. " I know its you…" She looked to the side on the girls right arm, and her eye's widened, it was her! There on the right arm, was a star scar. She knew that scar anywhere, it was burned deep into the shoulder, it had been where her friend had saved her life 5 years ago causing a star burn into the girls shoulder when a bakery was set on fire.

" How dare that woman lie to me." She was about to go but she felt a grip on her hand, looking down she saw that Mai was holding it. " No… please…." she whispered in her sleep, Rhythm sat back down and waited for the girl to wake up, she needed answers before she went and told the twins that was currently back at her home.

For Mai, when she passed out, it hadn't been just a peaceful sleep, unfortunately she was thrown straight into a dream state.

Dreamland

Mai was stood on the ice skating ring, she was wearing a pair of shorts, white long sleeve shirt and a black belt that hung sideway's off her hips. Her hair was long and raven. Smoothly but steadly she pushed herself gliding along the ice.

The building looked a little more run down than the one she was currently in. This couldn't be pretty top could it?. As she glided along the ice, she did a double spin and a flip, before throwing in some hip hop moves. Once she had finished her routine, sitting down and taking a sip of her water.

A man walked up to the side of her and sat down, " I saw your performance, you was good. But there is still room to improve on that last jump." she looked to the man and threw her water in his face, " I'll have you know I don't need your words. I am perfect on my own!" With that she went back out onto the ice.

Over and over she kept doing jumps but they didn't feel right, why didn't it feel right? Was it because of the man that was watching her? Gritting her teeth, she went getting ready for the ultimate jump, The man widened rushing to the side of the rink. "NO DON'T DO IT! DO NOT ATTEMPT THE AURORU RISING!"

Mai shot up in bed breathing hard, her hair gripped to her forehead like it was hanging for dear life on a cliff. Her chest was hurting and felt tight, suddenly she felt a warmth leave her hand and then return with some water, she looked up and saw the girl she saved earlier.

"Here, drink this you'll feel better." Mai gave a smile and nodded taking the drink and greedly gluped down the water. She then handed it back to the girl as she sat down. " Thank you.."

Rhythm shook her head, " No I should be thanking you, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here…" Mai gave a small smile looking to the girl "your welcome…." she then looked away from the girl, this wasn't suppose to happen, she remembered what the girl had shouted just as she passed out. " Aria?" Mai didn't move but the girl saw tears in her eye's. " You are Aria I knew it… why… why did you leave.. Why did you" Mai gritted her teeth as she gripped the sheets. " Because… I lost… I lost everything Rhythm I don't expect you to forgive me or understand on why, but before you ask no.. I can't do prism shows again… " the girl looked to her.

" Why?" Mai looked to the girl in the eye's " Because I can't dance anymore… I've lost the will to"

The door to the room opened up seeing very worried members of SPR, Monk rushed over and gave the girl a bone crushing hug. " Jou-chan! I was worried…" he then let go and stood in front of her, " If you EVER! Run off like that again I will seriously ban you from coming on these cases. Do you know how dangerous it was? Do you know how WORRIED! We was?" Mai looked down, sighing, she knew the man was right.

" I'm sorry… I just couldn't let her get hurt." she looked up to Rhythm. Who then went and stood in front of Mai, " it's all my fault… I had heard the rumours about that room being haunted but I never believed in it. I was too focused up on my own selfish thinking to even think about the warnings we was given. If Ar-" She turned around " What gives?" Mai had kicked Rhythm in the back of her leg and shook her head.

"If Mai hadn't come and saved me I would be dead." she bowed to the man. " Monk rubbed his head and groaned "alright but Mai next time you see something like that tell one of us and we will go handle it, your warding magic is growing but to actually throw yourself as a shield." Mai sighed again , " I'll be more careful next time." Mai then realised and looked down, she saw all the men in the room and quickly grabbed the bed sheets.

"GET OUT YOU BUNCH OF FUCKING PERVERTS!" grabbing anything she could throw at them as they quickly widened, not seeing this type of rath everyone ran out of the room apart from the girls, Masako handed Mai the most ugliest top she had ever seen. "sorry Mai your luggage is still locked up in the presidents office and that's the only replacement I could find."

Mai shook her head and looked to Rhythm, " its fine, I know exactly what to do" she grabbed a pair of sissors and began hacking away at the ugly star spotted top making it into a vest top, that had accessible pockets and even its own fabricated belt. It made it more stylish and cute. She then placed it on and stood up seeing on how she looked. Ayako was shocked, the only other person she had ever seen do something like that was….

"Pretty Remake complete!" Ayako's eye's widened, ' my sister…'

" come Ayako, Masako we better get to base otherwise Naru is going to make us all be on the night shift in watching the monitors." They laughed and began walking out when Mai felt a hand latched to her, " I'm coming with you, I don't have to go home tonight I said I'd be here all night practicing." Mai couldn't help but smile a little as she tightened the grip on the girls hand. "alright but be prepared for lots of work to be done and shouting by Naru" With that they walked off down to the base.

At the base all the guys had sat down, some of them had blushes on their faces, " Dear lord, how could we have not noticed Mai was topless?" Spoke the Australian priest. "Shut up, that's my lil sis there!" Monk growled, but he was just as embarrassed, why hadn't Ayako told them she wasn't wearing a top? She wasn't even wearing a bra, just bandages to cover her torso.

" Anyway, may as well go to bed and get some rest for tonight I don't think we are going to see any more activity tonight" Spoke up the boss, Yasu couldn't help but giggle, " No more activity from Mai that is" WHACK! Turning around holding his head Mai had thrown her shoe at the poor boy. " Perverted bastard." She suddenly winced and held her shoulder.

"Hey Mai don't over exhausted yourself so much, I've just bandaged that up for you" Ayako said flicking the poor girls head.

"Yeah, and here I thought you had finally grown some brain cells Mai" Added Naru he had to keep his back to her as his face was red as a beetroot, he couldn't keep the image of the girls naked chest out of his mind, 'Damn hormones'

Mai went and sat back down at the monitors " Rhythms agreed to help stay watch with me on the monitors tonight, she said she wasn't going to go home anyway and I'm not having her wander around the studio by herself got that Naru?" She gave him a look that lookd like she held fire in her eye's.

" Do what ever, but I expect a full written report about what happened in that dance room by morning, Ayako are you going to keep watch with them?" Ayako nodded and sat down crossing her legs while inspecting her nails. " I may as well I'll keep watch on them for the first half but then someone else will have to come and take over around 1am. A girl does need her beauty sleep you know"

2 hours later, the girls had been watching the monitors, Ayako was bored out of her head reading a magazine Rhythm was texting while Mai was concentrating on the monitors taking notes of any slight drop in rooms or movement. When a knock came to the door, taking off her earphones, her eye's crunched up who could be awake at 11pm?

The door opened up revealing a woman with long orange hair just like Rhythms, holding a lunch box, " Rhythm I was told you was in this room by the presi-" her eye's widened seeing Ayako she dropped the food. Ayako looked up dropping the magazine.

SONATO/AYAKO! They both shouted, this caused Mai be startled how did they know each other? "Erm, mother how do you know this woman?"

Sonato looked to her daughter, " Because, Ayako, how can I explain this. You remember Aria right?" The girl nodded while giving a slight look to Mai, " Ayako is her aunt." That caused Mai to drop her drink, as it clanged to the floor she looked to Ayako, "C..can you repeat that?"

" My sister was a stylist at this school, and also Sonato's stylist at that." Mai's hands fidgeted, she had been alone all these past 5 years, they had said she had no more living relatives. How could that be true? When supposedly one is standing right in front of her.

" You're my aunt?" This caused everyone to look at Mai, Rhythm knew what she was saying. " Mai what are you talking about?" Tears flowed out of the young girls eye's. " I was told… when I had been hospitalised 5 years ago… that I had no more living relatives apart from a set of twins which got taken into an orphanage…"

Rhythm couldn't take it anymore she had to saying it. " Mai IS! Aria!" This caused the older woman to look at the 18 year old. All Mai did was bit her lip until it started bleeding, " Ayako… I … HATE YOU!" with that Mai ran out of the room. "MAI!"

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Whoa! Ayako is really Mai's aunt? Mai is Aria! What !

Stay tuned for more!

~Cure Dream 90 over and out!