"You will finish that show! You have no other choice." he yelled at us. "You know what awaits you if you don't." he gave me crazy, evil grin towards me. The man ran through me and I gasped, feeling all cold for a moment, before passing out.
~~~~Mai's Dream~~~~
"Evelyn! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" I laughed freely, skipping up to join my friend, Alice.
"I'm coming! Don't worry so much!" Alice frowned.
"You know he doesn't like it when we're late." she reminded me. I gasped, and looked at the clock tower.
"Oh no! Come on Alice! We only have three minutes!" Together, we sprinted into the building, stampeded up the stair and threw open the door to the music room. I sighed in relief, hanging my bag on the hooks. "We made it." Alice glared playfully at me.
"Well, I will take the credit for that." Chuckling, we made our way to the storage room where our instruments were kept. I picked up a violin and played around with it, but making sure to set it down before he got here. Picking up her flute, she followed me onto the stage where we always practiced. I ,of course, didn't need an instrument since I was the vocalist. I made small talk with some of the other musicians before taking my rightful place in the front once he walked in.
"As you all know, the annual music program is in a week." he announced. "I expect it to be perfect. No, aberrations from our previous ones. Do I make myself clear?" He glared at all of us one by one. No one dared to move a muscle. "Now, show me what you all have finished by now!" The violin started to hum and slowly, all the other instruments joined in, creating a melodious rhythm. A slight pause was my cue to start. But as soon as I finished the first stanza, he slammed down on the table, standing up out of fury. All of us stared at him in fear. What had we done now?
The rage that filled his eyes was indescribable. He stormed up the stairs and crossed the stage, standing in front of me. I looked up at him with fear clearly spelled out in my eyes. He slapped me, hard. I fought to keep the tears from falling. Bravely, I looked back at him silently, waiting for his explanation.
"You call this a song?" he shrieked, glaring at all of us. He plain out ignored the blood dripping from my cheek, his multiple rings causing the injury. He turned on each one of us, bluntly stating how our music was 'unprofessional'. Once he was done, he started to address all of us. "If I hear this performance again, I will throw each one of you out of this classroom!" With that final statement, he left the auditorium, slamming the door behind him.
Once I was sure he wouldn't come back, I sank to the floor, crying silently. Alice hurried over to me, quickly pressing her handkerchief to my bloody cheek. I winced and she lessened the pressure slightly. I looked straight ahead, trying to drown out the whispers of my fellow classmates. Why did he only do this to me?
~~~~End of Mai's Dream~~~~
I opened my eyes, and was met with icy blue orbs. I gasped and sat straight up, ignoring the dizziness in my head. Looking around, I noticed the Naru and I were the only ones in the base.
"Ugh," I moaned, trying to sort out my muddled mind. "What happened? Where is everyone?" Naru stood up and walked over to the monitors.
"You passed out in the auditorium with Bou-san." he stated. "You've been out for over five hours. Everyone else went to get some dinner." I stared at my hand, ignoring Naru's words. My hand which was covered in...blood.
"ai- MAI!" Naru snapped, bringing my attention back. "I've been calling your name for the past-" he noticed the red liquid dripping down my cheek. "What happened?" he asked, hurrying over with the first-aid kit.
"I- I don't know." I replied, still confused by the wound on my cheek. Suddenly, I was reminded of my dream; the part where the mysterious man slapped me, aka Evelyn. I gasped silently, staring in shock at the obvious explanation.
"But how?" I murmured to myself. Naru turned my head sideways, taking a towel and wiping away the excess of the blood that remained. He stuck on a band-aid and sat back on his heels; his black notebook in hand and a pencil poised above the paper, ready to take notes.
"What happened in you dream Mai?" I tore my eyes away from my blood covered hand and looked at Naru.
"I was someone named Evelyn. She and her friend Alice were in some sort of music school. It was really good from what I could tell. I was the vocalist and Alice played the flute. They kept referring to someone as he." I paused, thinking. "Then the man came, well, barged into the music room and said that the annual music recital was in a week. He kept talking about it needing to be flawless like last time's. Then the other musicians started to play the piece and after I had finished the first stanza, he stopped all of us. He was furious with our performance and slapped me...er, Evelyn. Right before I woke up, I remembered her thinking 'Why does he only do this to me?'" I finished, looking up at Naru who had stopped writing and was staring thoughtfully into space. Suddenly the door opened and Ayako, Bou-san, Masako, John, Lin, Madoka, Luella, and Martin walked in, coming back from dinner, I assumed. Ayako was the first one to notice me sitting up.
"Mai!" she yelled, running over to me. "Are you alright? We were all so worried!" I smiled, despite of myself. It had been a long time since I had someone fuss over me like that. "Why are you smiling?" she shrieked. "Oh my god, what happened to your cheek? Did someone slap you?" she asked, glaring pointedly at Naru who ignored the menacing look she was giving him.
"As a matter a fact, yes. Someone did slap me." I replied, just to see her reaction. Because technically, I wasn't lying. Ayako gasped along with everyone else in the room. Martin and Lin's reactions were the funniest of all. Their eyes were all bulged out and their jaws were hanging open.
"NARU!" Ayako shrieked, ready to pull his head off his shoulder's for the second time during this trip. (The first being when I told her and Masako about Naru's rejection). I laughed out loud, wincing slightly at the soreness of my cheek. Gosh, that man was strong!
"Mai, why in God's name are you laughing?" Ayako shrieked, once again. I tried to swallow my giggles and focused on keeping a straight face.
"Because Naru didn't slap me!" I burst out laughing again. Everyone stared at me strangely.
"Then how do you explain what happened?" Ayako questioned angrily.
"It was in my dream." I started. Once I finished repeating what had happened, Ayako and Madoka were both fussing over me, either about the dream or my injury. I yawned, suddenly exhausted.
"I'm going to sleep now, guys." I pushed myself up from the couch and headed towards the door.
"Wait, Mai." I turned around.
"Naru?" He pulled out a key card from his pocket and tossed it to me.
"Room 322. You might need a key to get in." He smirked while I blushed, and muttered a quiet thanks.
I walked down the hall until I reached our room, unlocking it with the extra key card. Once inside, I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed, sinking into the soft duvets and falling asleep almost immediately.
~~~~Mai's Dream~~~~
I ran from the stage, ignoring the roaring applause behind me. The only sounds I was able to hear was his footsteps behind me. A bolted around a corner and threw open the doors of the auditorium. I was almost free. Just a little bit farther...
Someone grabbed my hand and yanked me back into the building roughly. I struggled but his grip didn't falter. Suddenly, I felt a hot breath next to my ear.
"You screwed up the performance. I'll never forgive you!"
The last thing I felt was a stabbing pain in my side, before I slipped into oblivion.
~~~~End of Mai's Dream~~~~
I awoke with a gasp and clutched my stomach where blood seeped through my shirt. Trying not to wake Ayako or Masako, I slipped out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom, turning on a dim light. I quickly took of my shirt and examined the damage done to me. There was a shallow gash in the side of my stomach, thankfully not so deep as to puncture any vital organs. I pulled the first-aid kit out of the cabinet and quickly cleaned my wound and bandaged it. I didn't want to worry Ayako with any more of my injuries so I quickly took a painkiller and climbed back into bed.
My alarm rang at 6:30am and I shut it off quickly so it didn't wake Ayako or Masako. I pulled out some clothes and took a quick shower, wincing at the pain in my abdomen every time I moved. Redoing my bandages, I picked up my guitar, my song notebook, and a pencil before heading over to the base. Thankfully, no one was inside yet. Sitting on the couch, I propped up the guitar on my knee and strummed the chords, warming up a little bit before trying out a new song I had started earlier. I started humming and after a couple chords, I started singing softly to make sure I didn't wake anyone up.
I Don't Know- Joanne Accom (English) :)
Started out just as friends
Never thought that we would end up like this
Now my heart was for you
Can't believe that I found a love so true
You don't care for me, you don't understand
What it meant to me when you were my man
Now it's over and you don't comprehend
That there's no more now
Baby, please take me back
I don't know who you are
You're not who you used to be
I remember when you used to look at me differently
Now you don't talk to me boy, you can't even see
I miss who you really are
I can't see how you've gone this far
You don't even know me now I see I need to leave
Boy, you just lied to me
You're not the one for me
Now I'm here all alone, you won't know
Cause you don't care at all
Now I said to myself
That my love was for you and no one else
Still I want you here
But it interferes with the way I feel
After all these years
You don't seem to be
What you were to me
No more baby
Just please go ahead and leave
I don't know who you are
You're not who you used to be
I remember when you used to
Look at me differently
Now you don't talk to me
Boy, you can't even see
I miss who you really are
I can't see how you've gone this far
You don't even know me
Now I see I need to leave
Boy, you just lied to me
You're not the one for me
repeat
You changed your ways
You're not the same
I wish that we could go back to yesterday
I don't know who you are
You're not who you used to be
I remember when you used to
Look at me differently
Now you don't talk to me
Boy, you can't even see
I miss who you really are
I can't see how you've gone this far
You don't even know me
Now I see I need to leave
Boy, you just lied to me
You're not the one for me
I opened my eyes and was surprised to find Madoka standing in the doorway, clapping softly. My eyes widened as I panicked.
"A-ah, Madoka? You're up early. Did I wake you?" She shook her head and walked into the room.
"No, I just couldn't sleep." "Lin snores." She added with in a whisper and I giggled. "Don't tell him I told you though." I smiled. Lin and Madoka had been married for about a year so far.
"What about you?" I shrugged, trying not to give anything away as I placed my guitar over my song lyrics.
"I'm just used to getting up early, so I woke up naturally." Madoka chuckled.
"Noll's going to be surprised." I smiled, remembering all the times when I burst into SPR, yelling my apologies for not being on time.
"Yeah, he sure is." Madoka glanced over at my guitar.
"How long have you been playing? I never knew you could."
"Um, for about three or four years. I started after you guys left." Since luck was not on my side today (or this week, for that matter), when I picked up my guitar to show it to her, my song lyrics fluttered to the ground, landing by Madoka's feet. I froze, knowing I had no way out of this. My pseudonym, was written on it as well. I really need to stop doing that. Madoka's eyes widened as her eyes landed on the name but thankfully, she didn't go hyper-active on my like Ayako did.
"Mai...what is this?" I smiled nervously.
"Um, it's for my...job?" Madoka raised an eyebrow, understanding what I was trying to say.
"How long?" I shurgged.
"About 3 or 4 years." She nodded thoughtfully, then looked up with an evil glint in her eyes. I gulped, taking an instinctive step back. When Madoka gets that look...I shuddered, not even willing to complete that thought.
"So, Mai." Madoka started. "Do you think I could get a couple tickets for your concert? You know, just for the entire gang...for free?" I gaped at her.
"B- But that's almost $800!" I exclaimed. She smirked.
"Naru might want to know about your other job." I groaned in protest.
"This is blackmailing!" I complained. Madoka grinned innocently. I sighed in defeat. "I'll give them to you later today."
"Yay!" Madoka squealed and pranced out of the room. Muttering curses, I packed up my guitar and dropped it off in my room before heading towards the kitchen to make some tea. I quickly made some tea for myself and walked back to base, surprised to see Naru there, flipping through his black binder.
"Naru! When did you get here?" I asked, sitting on the couch armrest.
"Just now." He glanced up and saw the steaming cup of tea in my hands. I sighed and stood up.
"Yeah, tea, I know." Naru smirked in response and turned back to his 'binder of mystery'. Following my previous footsteps, I entered the kitchen and made some tea, carefully carrying the cup towards the base. Suddenly, I felt a chill behind me. Turning around slowly, I was met with the crazed face of the ghost music teacher. In his hands was a knife. I panicked and tried to run, but my feet were held in place by some unknown force. He cackled evilly and drove the knife through my arm, which I was able to raise to my face for protection. Blood gushed from the gash in my arm, splashing onto the carpet. Pain finally registered in my brain and I screamed, clutching my arm against my stomach. I moved to much and opened my stomach wounds again, the blood soaking through my shirt.
"Naru!"
Naru's POV-
I flipped through the case details we had collected so far, trying to find a clue on which to continue. My head pounded from tea-withdrawal symptoms and I glared at the closed door. Where was Mai? As if on cue, she screamed outside the door and a shatter of glass immediately followed.
"Naru!" I jumped up, dropping my binder and bolted out the door, only to find her on her knees, clutching a bloody arm. Glass shards surrounded her knees and the ground was damp from the tea spill. The ghost looked at me and quickly disappeared. I dropped down to my knees and puled Mai into my lap, trying to stop the chronic bleeding. Mai looked up at me, her eyes hazy.
"Naru..." and she passed out. I picked her up, surprised by how light she was, and sprinted down the stairs, calling for an ambulance when I noticed the wound on her stomach. I laid her on the lobby floor, ignoring the crowd that was forming along with SPR, and waited for the paramedics to arrive. When they finally did I climbed in the ambulance after her, ordering Lin to follow us in the van. I turned my attention back to Mai and clutched her uninjured hand, praying for anything to save her.
"I'm sorry Mai. If only I did something back then..." I murmured, brushing her hair away from her face. "Just don't leave me."
Naru's feeling regret now, huh? Please review! I'll try and update sooner, but no promises!