Gene was silent the first moments of their encounter; he seemed instead interested in examining her. He looked across her arms, her hair which she still kept to her chin, and finally to her face. Mai wouldn't say the time was lost to her though; she too was looking at the now older boy. He seemed almost to follow Naru's growth exactly, he wasn't the young man she had met night after night in her dreams, and he was a grown man. Like Naru. The young woman couldn't think what to say to him as the two looked at her till she finally let out a small smile and he in turn returned it to her, they were both happy to see each other. In her younger years she had considered that she had loved Gene, but as the year passed of Naru's absence, the sorrow that filled her heart, she saw that she had truly fallen in love with the narcissistic man and not his brother. If Gene understood, Mai wasn't sure, but she felt as if she was seeing an old friend instead of a deceased lover.

"I'm so happy to see you Gene" Mai spoke softly, her hand reached up to lightly touch his face as if to prove to herself that he was really there.

"I am too Mai, I'm sorry it had to be on these circumstances though"

"It's alright" She assured him.

"I can only connect to you through this house, and there is hardly any more of me left. I'll be gone soon, this piece of me." He said, glancing up for a moment as if he had seen something then looked back down at the young woman. She slowly reached up with her nimble fingers and adjusted his suit tie; it was probably the one he was buried in.

"Why haven't you visited Naru then?"

"You and I are more similar I suppose." Gene said dryly and Mai frowned, feeling a heavy weight to the room. Now not dazed by the man she managed to look around, it was distorted here as if she had water in front of her eyes and she pushed herself up onto her elbows to look around. Her bedroom was now a fish bowl and the windows were nothing but white. If she got up she was sure that her bedroom door would lead to nothing as well.

"What is this?"

"An in-between I created, I don't have the power to come into the real world and the line in your dreams for me is gone."

"Then I'm neither asleep nor awake?" She asked quizzically and the man paused a moment

"I suppose if someone came in at this moment they would think you were dead"

"That's so mean Gene" Mai pouted and the young man laughed, suddenly leaning in closer to her. She looked at him startled with wide eyes, his hand reached up run through her hair and she felt her breath catch. What was Gene doing?

"If I hadn't died I think I would be jealous of my idiotic scientist brother, he gets such a girl like you to fall in love with him" The young man whispered and the room almost seemed to heat up. He was heading straight to the heat of the flame, and Mai couldn't help but feel the pressure of his demands.

"He thinks I love you"

"You don't really think that"

"We're too similar, you know that!"

"That isn't the real reason you keep running away" Gene growled and Mai felt him push her back onto the bed so he was towering over her once again. He was strong, even if they weren't in the real world and the woman tried pulling away from his grasp

"It is!"

"Stop lying to yourself and to me" He retorted, hands pushing her down as she tried to get up. The woman shook with fear, though she wasn't sure what it was of. Gene wouldn't hurt her. It was Gene.

"Stop" She whimpered

"Then stop running"

"I can't, Naru might not-he might-" The woman's voice trembled and his grip on her loosened, Gene looked a bit panicked for a moment as if he was about to comfort her but continued on.

"Might what?"

"He might not love me! He might have never loved me Gene" Mai sobbed, arms now free to cover her face as the tears ran down her face. Her voice choked as she fought back the bitter tears. Mai could feel Gene sitting there, quietly letting her release her emotions, he had gotten what he wanted. The worlds seemed to blur into one and the next time Mai opened her eyes she saw that the sun was just beginning to warm the sky, with a quick glance at the clock she saw it was four; no one would be up at this point. Her hands reached up to her face, it was wet with tear, and her body was covered in sweat. She slowly sat up, stumbling for a moment and walked over to her window, opening it for a breeze. Gene had been right, she had lying to herself about all those things, they were just excuses, nothing else. The real problem was that Mai feared that Naru held no love for her since the very beginning, yes he had become kinder, but that was normal for a boy who was turning into a man. Maybe even if Gene wasn't in the picture he wouldn't love her, nothing would change. The thought scared her.

"Mai?" Someone said and the young woman turned around startled to see Naru's father standing in the doorway of her bedroom. It had been left open the night before so he could easily see her if he passed by. The young woman quickly closed the window, latching it for good measure.

"I'm sorry sir, I-"

"Come walk with me" He said and she couldn't help but compile, walking up to the man who looked at her for a moment before the two set off down the hallway. The sun was just now coming up and gave a stream of light on the two people. "I heard you have communicated with dead son in your dreams"

"Oh- sort of, I mean he was the one who communicated with me" Mai said quickly, a bit startled by his sudden conversation. He reminded her of Naru, their way of speaking was even similar. It was obvious Naru took after his father in demeanor and Gene had done the same with Lulu. His death must have been the hardest on her.

"Did he seem happy?" Naru's father asked and the young woman stopped, looking up at him. He had such a stern look to him but at the same she could tell he was a caring, good man. More than anything he wanted to make sure his family was alright.

"He was super happy" Mai answered with a large grin and he seemed almost to smile back before looking up at the door the two had stopped at.

"Seems we stopped in front of Oliver's door, you can chatter with him till breakfast." The older man said suddenly and before she could argue he was gone in large strides down the hallway. Was he working for Lulu? He certainly wasn't good at acting. Mai didn't exactly feel like talking to Naru at the moment, not with his brother's words ringing in her head, her body was still covered in sweat. The young woman couldn't help but pace in front of his room, her hand reached up to knock before she started to pace again. Finally she cracked the door open slightly, peeking inside. Naru was sitting on his bed, typing, he seemed very at ease since it was probably the room he had grown up in since childhood.

"Naru? May I come in?" The young woman asked quietly and he looked up quickly, seemingly a bit startled, and moved the laptop off his lap. She seemed on edge and stood in the doorway for a bit longer before slipping into the room, Naru had moved to sit on the edge of his bed. The young woman couldn't help but hesitant before walking up to Naru; he frowned as she walked up to him. Her small hands reached out and he took them in his own. She felt cold, shaken, scared, there was something terrifying to meeting the dead.

"You're shaking"

"I guess so"

"Are you sick?"

"I just had a dream, that's all"

"Come here" Naru mumbled, his hands pulling her, and the young woman followed his movement, sitting on his lap. He reached to push her hair back from her face, Mai let out a small sound as he looked down to inspect her face. "Your eyes are red"

"Hm, sorta" Mai hummed into the man's chest, closing her eyes.

"You're so much trouble"

"Says the man who jumped onto train tracks"

"Says the woman who decided to stop a train." He retorted, but she just let out a small grumble in return. It was nice to be in Naru's arms, nice to feel safe.

"How come I can sit in your lap but you get mad at Yasu?" Mai asked suddenly and Naru seemed to ponder on her question for a while. If the young woman was feeling rebellious she would have called him out that he actually had no reason at all but she still felt herself shaking.

"Because I'm your boss"

"That's a stupid reason"

"I don't need a reason when I'm your boss"

"Sounds like this is a dictatorship" The young woman huffed before moving to get off his lap but he stopped her, hands wrapping around her waist. She squirmed, arms flopping around as she tried to get up. "Let go of me Naru!"

"How about going on a case today?"

"Today?"

"My mother thought it would be a good idea to test your powers. From what we can tell you perform on impulsive, which means we'll get the best results in a live scenario. We'll work with Lin and Madoka at the train tracks, this case has been going on for months. They want a different view on it" Naru said and the young woman raised her eyebrow.

"Are you not good enough?" She asked, almost teasingly.

"They want someone who can dream" He answered, and she let out a little sigh. Testing her powers in the field would be better than sitting in some room answering questions.

"I suppose I can" Mai mumbled, then felt a slightly dribble down her nose. Her fingers reached up quickly to her face,\they were stained red. Naru hadn't noticed yet, her body was bent over, staring at her legs in panic.

"Mai?"

"Let's go to the doctor first Naru"

Hello! I think I got this one out a little later than normal but this chapter was hard because I had so many different ways to go about it. Mai go to Naru's room, Naru go to Mai's, Naru show up, Madoka, Lin, Naru's father, Lulu. It was really hard to decide how to go about it, and a good chunk of it was rewritten multiple times. But, I decided on Naru's father, I really like fatherly influences. I'm sure Mai has always wanted one too!

CornFlowerBlue awesome! You caught up really fast! Seems like they have caught up, hopefully they can be stopped before they kill her. I also really liked that scene, it made me happy...even if I was the one writing it. I can fangirl over my own things, ok? Who knows about that Gene, he's just a big rascal, I can't help but dislike and like him at the same time.

Bobbi Phantom, Your wish came true!

NaginiFay nnaaahhhhhh, we'll be good for a little while longer and I promise no smut. Hehe

Ferb O. Oche I love to torture all of you! Muahahahaha!

Alexkikate whoooo knowwwwwwwssss. Hehehe

Naruisawesome Let us fangirl together! Wheeee! Hahahahaha, this comment made me laugh so hard. 'even if it's your house' hahaha, I guess you're right.

ellabellaboo124 thank you, I have update!

thearistocrat hehe, thanks. I'm glad you can enjoy it even without awesom music! I hope Mai and Naru can have many more dates though without so much trouble.

dancingfingers muahaha, that was my plan all the time. You will desire more.

Alright, got this chapter up! It was tough but I know I'll be able to push through to the end with your support, thank you!