Disclaimer: We don't own Ghost Hunt!
~Jealousy in the Office~
Chapter 15
Mai sighed as she walked down the hall. How did Ayako and Masako manage to fall asleep so fast? To think they always complained about how much she slept. They were a bunch of hypocrites. She cut off her thoughts when she reached the bathroom. Haha see, Naru?! No ghosts attacked me! She inwardly cheered before stopping in her tracks. She wasn't supposed to go anywhere without Lin or Naru. Crap...Naru's going to kill me if he sees me... She silently prayed that Naru hadn't seen her on the cameras even though she knew it was a long shot.
With a sigh, she entered the bathroom and closed the door gently behind her. Too late to do anything about it now. In case Naru did come looking for her, she quickly began to strip and changed her clothes. After she did, she froze. The room was cold... Colder than natural. Her heartbeat picked up in panic. Please don't be... She squeezed her eyes shut. It's times like these that remind me why I'm not supposed to walk around on my own.
An eerie voice suddenly cut through the silence. "You don't deserve to live..."
Mai whipped around, but she couldn't see anything. Her legs trembled slightly, but she tried not to show her fear. She brought her hands to her chest. "A-Are you Takumi's mother?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly. She silently pleaded that Naru would come rescue her. Shivers racked through her body.
"Useless..." The voice hissed at her. "Worthless, weak, unnecessary."
As Mai listened to her, those words kept swirling around in her head. Was that true? Was she really all those things? Was she a terrible person? Yes...she had to be or else those things wouldn't have been said. It would explain why no-one liked her. I mean look at Lin and Masako. They hated her. And Naru probably thought she was just annoying. Everyone else probably only pitied her because she was an orphan and didn't have any family. I mean, that's why Naru hired her in the first place isn't it? Her principle mentioned to him that she was an orphan...so he hired her out of pity...he must regret it now.
She let out an emotionless laugh. Maybe they would be happier without her. She didn't deserve to be with them anymore. She glanced around for something, anything. She didn't deserve to live anymore... Everyone hated her...and the one person who only seemed it like her was Takumi, and she ended up hurting him. She began to get frustrated when she couldn't find anything to use.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Mai's breaths became harsh. All she felt was intense sadness, regret for hurting Takumi and for living, and anger at herself. Without a second thought she lifted her hand up to her reflection and punched as hard as she could. Hundreds of little pieces of the glass shattered everywhere around her. Small cuts dripped fresh blood but the brunette paid them no heed.
With emotionless eyes, Mai bent down and picked up a shard that was big enough to clutch in her hand. She could see the light reflecting off it. This would do. A pained smile crossed her lips as she stared down at the object in her hand. Time to save everyone from the pain of seeing her again. They'll be happier... She thought. Letting out a deep breath, she brought the glass to her wrist. She clutched it in her shaky hand so tightly that it was now all bloody.
"Now die." Takumi's mother hissed. Obediently, Mai held her wrist out to slice it. Pressing it into her skin, she pushed slightly harder.
"Mai, stop!"
Before she even knew what was happening, she felt two hands take hold of her arms from behind. The brunette was shocked momentarily before she began to struggle. In the midst of it, she accidentally dropped the piece of glass from her hand.
"Let me go!" She demanded. She struggled violently against her captor. Naru held her tightly.
"No, calm down." He ordered.
"Let me go!" She yelled, starting to cry. "You have to let me go! Let go!" Her screams became hysterical and he held her tight against his chest.
"I'm not letting you go, Mai!" He whispered into her ear, trying to calm her down. He didn't know what in the world she was thinking—trying to kill herself from what he saw—but right now the most important was getting her calm down. He focused his energy into trying to get Mai to relax a bit. He took a few steps back to lean against a wall to give him more support with struggling against the girl.
It was slightly awkward for him. Comforting people wasn't something he had ever been good at. His father and Gene was always there for their mother, and his mother and Madoka was always there for Gene. He never have had to comfort anyone before. But then this girl comes along and he seems to be doing things he never imagined he was able to do. But as long as it was for her...he guessed it was okay.
Bringing himself back to the task at hand, he whispered—what he hoped—were soothing words to the brunette. She was full-blown crying now, still trying to reach for the glass shard although not as strong as before.
"Please." She whispered brokenly. "Please let me go." As his arms were still around the petite girl, her back against his chest, he noticed her wrist was all bloody where she had cut it. He winced, it looked painful.
"Why did you do this, Mai?" He asked quietly, mostly talking to himself. Mai whimpered.
"No-one cares, you all hate me anyway." She mumbled. Shock was evident on the young man's handsome face. How could she even think that?! Does she not see the protective way everyone kept her close?
"M...Mai, that's not true at all." He told her. Tears slid down Mai's face.
"Yes it is. You hate me too, don't you?" She denied quietly. Naru slid down the wall he was leaning on, bringing Mai with him. He had his legs on either side of her, so she was in the middle, then he uncharacteristically buried his face in her hair.
"How could I hate you?" He muttered, breathing in her scent. "I could never hate you, Mai."
The brunette let out a small whimper. "Really?" She muttered slightly hopeful.
"No one hates you, Mai..." He answered gently, tightening his arms around her. The spirit must be influencing her emotions again...Mai would never do this—to try and kill herself. Anger coursed through him. He would take pleasure in seeing this spirit in pain. It's going to regret even laying eyes on her. It's done more than enough damage to last it the entire afterlife.
He suddenly noticed that Mai wasn't struggling with him anymore. He moved her around slightly only to see that she had fallen asleep or—more likely—passed out. He sighed. Now what was he suppose to do? Although he really did need to wrap her wrist up before it bled anymore. Getting up, he looked under the sink for a first aid kit before pulling out the necessities. He would try to stop the bleeding for now and he could have Miss Matsuzaki look at it in the morning.
Naru was just glad to had gotten there in time. He didn't want to think of what would've happened if he didn't. He wasn't sure he could live if something life-threatening happened to Mai. From now on, Mai really wasn't going to leave his side for the rest of the case. She wasn't even allowed to leave his sight. He didn't care what she or the others thought. It was for her own protection. And this time he really meant it.
After finishing bandaging her wrist, Naru carefully lifted her. Her head was cradled on the crook of his neck and she subconsciously clutched his shirt in her sleep when he did. Trying to move swiftly, Naru carefully made his way to base. When he reached the door he had a bit of a problem though. Shifting Mai around slightly, he turned on his side and managed to make it through the door. Naru walked to the couch in base and gently placed her down. She whimpered slightly at the loss of warmth and refused to let go of his shirt. The dark-haired boy sighed tiredly. Reaching down, he tried to dislodge her hands from his shirt, but that only seemed to make her hang on to him tighter. Not really in the mood to force her to let go, Naru shifted Mai around so that they could both lie comfortably. He held her closer to him and closed his eyes briefly.
"Goodnight...Mai." He whispered. Before he knew it...he fell asleep too.
It was only a couple of hours later when Mai stirred from sleep. When she moved, she noticed how constricted she felt. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room she blinked realising there was somebody holding her. Slowly, she shifted her eyes upwards to see who it was.
"Ehhh?!" She screamed quietly, blushing when she saw who it was. W-why is N-Naru hugging and lying here with me?! Moving slightly, the brunette struggled to get out of his arms. However in doing so, it seemed to wake her boss up.
"Quit moving around so much." He scolded tiredly. Face blazed, Mai began to sputter nonsense before her words actually began to make sense.
"Wh-what are y-you doing—here?" She asked. She tried to move, which added pressure to her wrist. She cried out at the sudden pain and fell back beside Naru. Naru cursed under his breath now fully awake.
"Idiot." He hissed. "Don't you remember what happened?" The girl closed her eyes, cradling her wrist, before opening her eyes and looking at Naru.
"I... Not really, everything is kinda fuzzy..." She furrowed her brows as she glanced down at her wrist. "W-what happened?"
Naru sighed and shook his head. "You need to remember yourself." He explained. I also don't know if I would be able to talk about it... He mentally added. It had literally broken his heart to see her in such a vulnerable way. And he never wanted to see it again. Sighing, he untangled them from each other and sat up. Mai reluctantly did the same, but she instantly grabbed his arm when it looked like he was about to stand up.
"I-I don't know why but...please don't leave." She muttered looking up at him with large sad eyes. "I-I feel really scared for some reason..." Her young boss froze before moving closer to her. When he sat all the way back, Mai took hold of his arm and slowly laid her head on his shoulder as if she was afraid he'd push her away. When he didn't object, she relaxed.
What had happened? Why does she feel so scared and helpless? And what the heck happened to her wrist?!
A flash entered her memory of Naru holding her close. Her eyes widened a bit as a small blush appeared on her cheeks. Then she remembered why he was holding her so close. She felt herself begin to tremble. She tightened the grip she had on Naru's arm. Looking down at her, he sighed bringing her into a hug.
"W-why...why would I do t-that?" She just felt like crying now.
"The ghost was influencing you again. It's okay, you're okay." Naru said quietly.
"I-I tried to actually kill myself! That's not okay!" She said, clutching on to him tighter as her tears almost begin to overflow. Naru winced at her voice, hugging her closer.
"Of course not, but you didn't kill yourself and you're still alive. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't gotten there..."
"I'd be dead!" She cried hysterically. Naru inwardly cursed, holding her tightly.
"Don't say things like that. You aren't dead and everything is going to be alright." He stated. The girl shook her head, burying it further into his chest.
"What if she gets to me again and I re-attempt?" She whispered quietly.
"For one thing, you are not leaving my side for the rest of the case. I mean it this time, Mai. Wherever one of us goes the other will follow." Naru replied after clenching his jaw at the thought of something else happening to her. For once, she didn't protest, choosing to bury herself in his arms. It seemed to be the only place she felt safe at the moment. He would've smiled a little if the situation wasn't the way it was. This girl, she really had changed him. Even if it is only towards her.
"Naru, can I ask you something?" Mai whispered.
"What is it?" He questioned in the same tone of voice. She tilted her head to look up at him.
"Why do you care so much about me?"
Naru's eyes widened a fraction. Well, that wasn't what he expected... But today nothing seemed to be happening as expected so he shouldn't really be too surprised. He reached his hand towards her head and removed the hair that was in her face. Should I tell her now? He thought. Looking at her, he was reminded of how he could have lost her and she would never have known the truth. Making a decision he steeled his resolve. He closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead against hers. When he opened them again, he softly spoke.
"I care so much about you because I love you, Mai."
Naruisawesome: WOOHOO! Finally! *does a happy dance*
MzShellSan: XD I know! Hehe. About time!
Naruisawesome: We know you probably hate us for the first part...
MzShellSan: But you love us again for the last parts, right?
Naruisawesome & MzShellSan: Please review! ^_^