"Dammit' Naru!" I screamed at him. "I told you not to for a reason! As well as experiencing the event, I also get whatever pain the person felt!" I screamed twice more, clutching my skull. Tears rolled down my face as I faintly heard Naru banging on the door, yelling at anyone who heard him to open it. The door banged open and the worried, angry voices of Luella and Martin filled the room. And then, of course, I blacked out.

Mai's POV-

My head throbbed as I cracked open my eyes. I could faintly hear Luella and Ayako yelling at someone in the background. As my vision cleared, I could see that Naru was the source of their anger. But instead of looking cool and uninterested, his eyes were filled with worry and...guilt? I looked around and found myself in what looked like Naru's room on his bed. Previous events filtered back to me and I gasped slightly. Immediately, Luella and Ayako were back next to me, chattering anxiously. Naru hung back, trying to shrink into the shadows.

Another spasm of pain went through my head and I clutched at it again, trying to drown out the noise. When that didn't work, I opened my mouth and yelled, "SHUT UP!" Immediately, all noise ceased and they both stared at me in shock. Ignoring their protests, I slid out of bed and ran out of the room, locking myself in what was always my room when I came to visit. After my head stopped spinning I got up and slipped into some long, cotton pajama pants and a simple white shirt seeing that it already was 11:00pm. Since I was knocked out for a couple hours, I wasn't that tired. So I pulled out the crumpled song I had started to write and put pen and paper together.

About half an hour later, when I was writing the chords for the guitar, someone knocked softly on my room door. Flipping the paper over, I unlocked the door and pulled it open. I was met with a strange sight. Luella and Ayako were holding Naru down, who seemed reluctant to communicate, and before I could protest, the tossed him into my room and shut the door. The click of the lock informed me that they had locked us in again. I mumbled curses under my breath and walked back to my desk, ignoring Naru. Turning my music sheet back over, I finished scribbling in the last notes, slipping the page into my 'binder of songs'.

"Done." I murmured, stretching my arms out in front of me. Usually, after I finished a song, I would sing it with my guitar, but can't exactly do that with Naru in the room, now can I? Speaking of Naru, what was he doing? Swiveling around in my chair, I scanned the room and found Naru examining my bookshelf and walls. My walls, which were a light beige color, were littered with small photo frames of my family, times with Luella and Martin, along with silly pictures Gene and I had snapped randomly.

"Mai." Naru spoke suddenly. I jumped at the sudden noise.

"Yes?" I could tell he was nervous by the way he ran his hands through his hair and the disturbance in his calm, blue eyes.

"I- I just want to apologize for today's previous incidents. I was just so set on finding out who did that to Gene that I went too far." I raised an eyebrow in amusement. Naru, apologizing?

"It's alright. You didn't know. At least it wasn't as bad as..." I trailed off, remembering the one time where I had touched one of my late friend's jacket and witnessed her murder. Not pretty. Naru looked at me curiously. Shaking my head, I gave him a small smile. "Forget about it. It was a long time ago." Naru didn't look convinced but he dropped it for the time-being for which I was glad.

"Do you think we'll get dinner today?" I asked suddenly. Naru looked at me strangely. "What? I've had a long day and I'm hungry." I shrugged and stood up.

"What do you do for a living?" he asked. I froze, and quickly thought of a way out of the question.

"Oh, I just remembered, I have an extra key to unlock the door." Naru rolled his eyes.

"And you remember now?" I grinned weakly and skipped over to my bookcase, which was about 15 feet tall. Carefully putting my feet in different places, I climbed to the top of the bookshelf and picked up a dusty key. I stood up carefully, ignoring Naru's protests, and jumped down, landing with a soft thud. Wiping the dust onto my shirt, I inserted the key in the hole and turned it, pulling the door open at the same time. Smiling at Naru's shocked expression, I walked out of the room and slid down the banister, landing on two feet and headed towards the kitchen. Apparently Luella had gone to bed and forgotten about me and Naru. Mean...

"What should I cook?" I muttered, tugging open the refrigerator. Moving some food out of the way, I pulled out the ingredients for chicken noodle soup as well as the cutting board, knife, and pot. I filled the pot with water and boiled it while I chopped up the chicken and vegetables. I quickly deposited the food into the pot and turned up the heat, stirring it occasionally. It wasn't until I had taken the pot off the stove and put on the kettle for tea had I realized that Naru had been watching me this entire time.

"Do you want some?" I asked him. Naru didn't answer but I took that as a yes and spooned some into another bowl. I set the bowls of soup and spoons on the dining table and stood in front of the kettle, waiting for the water to boil. Naru walked over and slid into the chair in front of his bowl. He spooned some into his mouth and his eyes widened as he swallowed.

"I didn't know you could cook." Naru stated. I merely shrugged and picked the kettle off the stove, as it had started to whistle. Pulling out the new tea I had bought earlier today, I put some in each cup and let it soak out the flavor before I strained out the tea leaves.

"What do you expect? I'm an orphan. I had to learn how to cook for myself since I couldn't afford to go out every single day." I carried the cups to the table and set one in front of each of us before I finally sat down. Naru picked up and cup, and sighed gratefully after taking a sip. I mentally smirked. So he had missed my tea. (Of course he did Mai!)

"You still didn't answer my question, Mai." I looked up at Naru.

"What question?"

"What do you do for a living?" I slouched in my seat and stirred my soup nonchalantly with my spoon.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked carefully. For some reason, I didn't want anyone to know I was a singer just yet.

"Why should I not?" he challenged back at me. His sky blue eyes were threatening to make me spill the truth. His raven locks of hair looked silky and I was tempted to reach out and see if they really were that soft. Suddenly, I became aware of our proximity and blushed madly. I looked down and finished off the rest of my soup, getting and placing the bowl in the dishwasher before sitting down with another cup of tea. I suddenly yawned.

"Ahh, I'm tired. We'll talk tomorrow, kay?" Before Naru could ask me anymore questions, I left the kitchen in a hurry, running up the stairs and shutting my room door. After brushing my teeth, I flopped down on my bed and sighed. Why could Naru still do that to me?

It's not like I still loved him after all these years...

Right?

That's all for tonight. I know it's kinda short but I've been holding this off for too long. I don't know the next time I'll be able to update so try and wait! Please R&R