Well, I left you all on a bit of a cliffhanger a couple weeks ago, huh? I hope you're all ready for what's to come. This will be one of my darkest cases yet and we're going to start to see some growth with all of the characters starting now. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1-"Better"

February Sunday 2:28 P.M.

It was a good thing that Mai never told Shouta about her friends' plans, he decided to take her out to dinner again. Not that she ate much. And once again, Shouta made a suggestion for Mai to stay over his place or he stay over hers. Her stomach turned over at the thought.

She sat at her kitchen table staring out at the snow as it fell. She thought back to the events of the past few days. Her mental conversation with one of her best friends ended with her literally getting sick. She didn't sleep this past night. Shouta wanted to go intimate in their relationship, how would she explain to him her nightmares and her insomnia? She felt hollow as she remembered that demon from her dream. He just wouldn't leave her alone.

Suddenly, she thought back to what Ayako had told her a few cases ago. You need to go on a date…Accept a date from whichever boy has been crushing on you in math or whatever.

And I did, she replied in her head. I also found someone to try and help me get over my nightmares and everything I've seen since I started working for SPR, but I seem to be getting worse.

She let out a breath, it forced the steam from her cup of tea to dissipate. She took a sip, closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Three months. It had been three months since her nightmares and insomnia started. And she had done just about everything she could to try to gain some normalcy back into her life, yet her life seemed to continue spiraling out of control. To top it off, Shouta wanted her to work at the same office as his internship. She had been asked before if she thought she should leave her job. What had she said again?

Would you ever consider quitting your job?...No, I couldn't…There are some things I would miss…That answers that question, can you think of what the other is?...Are you all right?...No, but I will be.

The small amount of confidence that she had felt back then seemed to have faded away. What had changed? She let out another breath and took a sip. "I think Ayako was wrong," she found herself saying. A date here or there was fine, but I don't think I'm ready for anything too serious just yet. Not with my psychological issues, at least. I should just stick to making friends and nothing more.

Her eyes drifted over to the pink cell phone across the table. "Now I just have to get a nerve to talk to him, but why do I feel like throwing up? I need to do this for my mental health, I shouldn't feel this lousy…"

Today seemed like the perfect day to talk to herself and she was silently happy that she lived alone. No one could tease her for having to literally talk herself into something.

She was snapped out of her reverie by her ringing doorbell. She stood and walked towards the door. Why do I feel so nauseous? She opened the door and there stood none other than Shouta with a sloppy grin plastered on his face. Mai managed a smile as she greeted him. "Hey, Shouta."

"Hey, Babe," he greeted. Mai's smile almost immediately turned into a frown. He walked in anyway. Mai reluctantly closed the door.

"You didn't drive here did you?" was her first response. Shouta wobbled a little, but turned to face her in the small walkway. He leaned his arm on the wall.

"Of course I did, I just had to see you," he said, his cheeks were a nice rosy color. But not from the cold. Mai reminded herself.

"How much did you have to drink?" she finally asked, as he got closer to her, the smell of alcohol reminded her of the case she was on several months ago. It didn't help her nausea. Shouta took his weight off of the wall and continued to grin.

"Enough to realize how much I want you," he said, grabbing her hands and pushing her up against the wall.

"What are you-" she was silenced by his lips on hers. Despite the smell of alcohol practically suffocating her, she did melt into the kiss.

Like their usual make out sessions, she felt his hands wander from her face, down her neck, and her shoulders, but they were much clumsier now. She felt them wander around her chest, cupping her small breasts. This was new territory for her, but she wasn't exactly uncomfortable, she would tell him to stop when it got too far. He knew that she wasn't ready for that yet, he would stop. There was no reason why he wouldn't.

Then she felt his hands come down to the button on her jeans. Her eyes immediately snapped open and she used as much force as possible to shove him off of her. "What the fuck!" he exclaimed, stumbling back.

"I should be saying that!" she yelled back. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"No! What's wrong with you?" he retorted pointing a finger. "We've been together for three months and we haven't had sex yet, isn't that weird?"

"No, it's not!" she argued. "I told you I wasn't ready, I'm still not ready. You should be respectful of that and patient of that."

"You know, Mai, my patience is running out," he said, stepping closer to her. His head aligned with hers. "I have some sake in my car, we can both unwind and talk about it together."

"No," she stood firm, doing her best to keep him an arm's length away. "You're not going to get me drunk just so you can get your way. You're better than this, Shouta."

"Mai, I said my patience was running out," he said, the look in his eyes changed.

"Then maybe you should find a new girlfriend!" she shouted, then recoiled from her own words. She did it. Not the way that she wanted to, but she basically did what she decided to do, right?

Then why did he shove her back to the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of her?

"I don't want another girlfriend!" he shouted back, and before either of them knew it, a fist came flying toward Mai's face.

She shrieked at the contact, falling to the ground in pain and shock. Tears welled in her eyes as she sat back up. "What the hell!" she shrieked at him, trying to get up.

"I'm sorry!" he immediately apologized, grabbing her arm. She pulled out of his grasp.

"No! There is no 'sorry' that can take that back!" she yelled at him, but he grabbed her arms and held her against the wall again. His grip was just too tight. He pressed his body so close she could barely breathe.

"Please, Mai," he whispered. "That wasn't my fault, I don't know what happened." He leaned in and tried to kiss her but she dodged it.

"Let go of me!" she exclaimed, trying to break free. She squirmed against him, trying to slip away, but only managed to hit the small table that was next to her. That will leave another bruise.

"C'mon, Mai, I'm sorry," he said, his grip tightened and Mai was beginning to feel a tingling sensation in her arms. His lips missed hers and wound up on her neck. "Can't we talk it over?" he muttered into her neck.

She knew she wouldn't be able to break free like this; he was too strong. But she needed to get out of there. "Why?" she whimpered, trying her best to keep her tears from falling. She was beginning to lose feeling in her arms from their position.

"Because I love you," he said, giving sloppy kisses to her neck. "Just give me chance." Fury boiled in the pit of her stomach. She needed to get out. "We could go to your room and I can show you how much I love you."

"No you won't!" she exclaimed, throwing her knee into his groin. He gave an unearthly screech and fell to the ground, hands between his legs. "We're through, Shouta!"

Mai didn't have time to think. She had no time to breathe. She had to get out of there. Her own apartment wasn't safe. She stumbled to the door, slipped on her shoes and ran as fast as she could. Forgetting her coat along the way, but the cold was the last thing on her mind. She could feel her eye swelling and finally let out her tears. She needed to get away, far, far away. Who could she go to?

She couldn't face Michiru or Keiko like this. She was supposed to meet with Hozumi, but the thought of talking this out with a guy, even if he was a close friend, just didn't sit right with her. Kiko lived too far away. Masako was probably filming somewhere. That left only one person. The closest she had to a sisterly and motherly figure she's had in a while.

So she changed her course and did her best not to slip on the snow.

4:19 P.M.

The priestess was horrified by what she had just heard. When Mai had recovered a little after clutching her in a death grip, she gave the girl a towel and sat her down in the kitchen. It was there with a cup of tea that she told her everything that happened at the apartment.

Of course, Ayako consoled the girl. Hugging her and telling her it was okay. She still couldn't believe that Shouta was the one that physically hurt the high schooler. Not that she didn't believe what Mai told her, just that it came as a shock.

Ayako had Mai go take a shower and decided to make a couple calls after she heard the water turn on. The first call was to the girl's school. The priestess told them that Mai wouldn't be at school the next day, something work related came up. Luckily they bought it and she found herself calling a certain narcissist.

"Moshi, moshi, Shibuya Kazuya desu," came his voice over the line.

"Naru, it's Ayako," she said, looking through her coat closet for her the box of old clothes she keeps meaning to donate.

"Matsuzaki-san? I was just about to call you," he said, she could hear him rifle through files. "I have a new case that you might be interested in joining as well."

"That's great and all, but I'm calling to let you know that your assistant isn't going to be at the office tomorrow," she continued, interrupting him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, she heard him close whatever file he had opened. "What happened?"

"Let's just say Mai and Shouta broke up," she replied, finding the box on the top shelf.

"I understand that she might be upset, but that shouldn't stop her from going to work or school. If she's ever going to-"

"Yeah, keep talking, but you didn't see her practically frozen solid on your porch with a swollen black eye," she retorted, dropping the box to the floor. She knew she might have been a little harsh, and she knew that the two teenagers had a bit of a falling out at the end of their last case, but it got his attention. She could have sworn she heard him drop the phone. "You still there, Naru?"

"He hit her?" The priestess couldn't tell whether it was anger, worry, or disbelief in his voice, possibly all three. Good, I need all hands on deck for this.

"Yup, he clocked her right in the eye and I don't think this is the first him he was rough with her," she confessed, finding a pair of sweat pants that were closer to her friend's petite frame.

"You think he's hit her before?" he asked. She thought she heard a door open and close. Lin. Everyone's going to find out sooner or later, but I'd rather Mai be able to tell them on her own terms. Neither of them will tell anyone.

"No, not necessarily," she replied, finding a hoodie that would fit the high school girl and put the box back on the shelf in the closet. "Mai would have told someone earlier if this had happened before."

"What makes you so sure of that, but so sure that he's hurt her before?"

"Because she left him after he gave her a black eye, if he had hurt her before and she stayed with him, she wouldn't be in my apartment right now," she reasoned. "What I meant was she has bruises on her arms that aren't exactly brand new."

"And you still say he never hit her before?" Naru asked skeptically.

"The easiest way to get a bruise is by being hit or hitting something, and I don't remember her bruising easily," she replied, heading for her room to find a shirt for the girl. "However, these were bruises around her wrists and arms. Like his grip was too tight."

"She stayed with someone who couldn't control his strength?"

"Eh, sometimes guys can get passionate and forget their own strength."

"You speak from experience, I assume?"

"Never said I was proud of it, but yeah," she sighed, placing the clothes by the bathroom door and heard the water turn off. "Hey! I left some clothes outside the door for you!" she called.

"Thanks!" she heard Mai reply.

"I'll have to talk to you later, I'll let you know about the case," she said.

"Fine," Naru agreed, but before Ayako could hang up she heard one last request. "Let me know how's she's doing."

"I'll give you an update tomorrow," she offered and they both hung up.

Mai came out of the bathroom then. "What should I do with my clothes?"

"There's a Laundromat downstairs, give your clothes to me and I'll do it," she offered, taking the pile of clothes from the girl. "My brush is on my dresser, so is my hair dryer, feel free to use them. I have another pot of tea on the counter waiting for you and help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen. There's a movie on TV but you can change the channel or if you find something on my DVD shelf feel free to put it on. There should be a bag of peas in the freezer, but that on your eye, ten minutes on ten minutes off." She rambled as she stuffed the clothes in a plastic bag.

"Thank you, Ayako," she said, grabbing the hoodie Ayako had given her off the ground. "Really, you didn't have to do any of this."

"Oh, Hun," she replied, brushing a lock of wet hair from the girl's face. "You're welcome, and I want to do this, besides I was in for an uneventful Sunday night before you came here."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the priestess laughed. "Besides, you and I were overdue for some girl time. I just wish it were under better circumstances."

"Thanks," Mai cracked a smiled and pushed another lock of hair behind her ear. "Hey, can I borrow your phone? I need to call my school, I'm not going in tomorrow. I don't feel up to explaining this again." She pointed to her swelling eye.

"I already did that for you," she said, heading for the door. "I told them something work related came up and you might not be in for a couple days."

"Thanks," she replied, tilting her head a little. "I should at the very least let Naru now about not coming in tomorrow-"

"Took care of that for you too," the priestess cut her off, slipping on her shoes.

"You told Naru?" A look of betrayal came across her face. Ayako chuckled a little.

"No, I told him that I needed you for a project at work," she lied, opening the door. "I mean if you want to call him and tell him the truth you're more than welcome to. Or give your friends a call, but that's up to you. It'll take me a little while to do the wash, but I'll come back up here as soon as I can."

"Okay."

Ayako left the high schooler in the apartment and went to do the minimal wash she had on her. Luckily, Mai had worn all darks on her run over. So it all could go in one load and Ayako just had to wait a little while for the machine to work its course. It was looking like Mai would probably be spending a few days at the priestess's apartment. Not that she minded, really, she was just worried about what the girl would wear during her stay. Especially if she was planning on going to school later that week. She pulled out her cell and found a number that would probably help her better than the others.

"Moshi, moshi," a cheery voice answered. "What's up, Ayako?"

"Hey, Kiko, I'm going to need you to do me a favor," she said, grabbing a folding chair and plopped down next to the washing machine.

"Sure, what's going on?"

"Well, I probably shouldn't be telling you too much, but something happened and Mai's going to be spending a few days with me," she explained, leaning back. "Unfortunately, I know I'm going to be working late tomorrow and I don't know how long she's going to be staying with me-"

"Need someone to go keep her company?"

"No, actually, I need you to stop by her apartment and grab some things of hers."

"What kind of things? And why can't she go get them herself?" the girl asked, surprised. "Not that I mind doing that, I'm just curious. Does this have anything to do with why Naru called and asked me to join on you guys' new case?"

"Naru already called you, huh?" Ayako noted as the machine dinged to a stop. She began to switch the clothes into the dryer. "He just told me we have a case and I already forgot. Although, I'm pretty sure he's not going to let Mai join, I don't know if I can go while making sure she isn't tagging along."

"So you already told Naru?"

"I had to tell him that Mai wasn't going to be at work for a day or two. But she doesn't know I told him, she doesn't know I'm having you do this."

"Gotcha, but how bad was it if she can't even go to her own apartment?"

"Let's just say that she broke up with Shouta earlier and it didn't go well," she finally said, sitting back down, knowing that this really was Mai's business, she shouldn't be telling so many people. "At all."

Both girls were silent for a moment, both still taking in what had happened and what could have happened to their friend. "Understood, what do you need me to grab from her place?"

"Just some clothes, her school bag and her uniform if you can find it. I don't know if she'll even be going to school, but if she decides she's ready I can't stop her," Ayako said, leaning back in her seat. "If you could just do that when you get out of school tomorrow, that would be great."

"Of course, I'll see you tomorrow, Ayako," Kiko replied.

"I'll see you then," Ayako said, hanging up the phone. She stuffed the phone into the pocket of her sweatpants and waited for the dryer to be finished.

Back in the room, Ayako found Mai sitting on her couch watching the same chick flick she had put in earlier. She plopped the bag of clean clothes on the kitchen table and headed for the freezer. Within two minutes she was sitting down on the couch next to the beaten girl, handing her a bowl of ice cream. "It's in the negatives outside," Mai said confused, still taking the bowl.

"That's when ice cream tastes the best!" she countered, pulling a blanket off of the back of the couch and draped it over the both of them. Mai even managed a giggle.

"I'm sorry, Ayako," she said after a moment, using her spoon to just stir her ice cream.

"For what?" she replied her mouth full.

"For making you do this, I'm sure you probably had a date with Daisuke tonight-"

"Oh, we broke up a little while ago," the priestess interrupted, shocking the teenager.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mai said, looking down at her ice cream. "W-what happened? I thought you said he was working the night of the play?"

"He probably was, but other than that I lied, couldn't let that old monk think I was just as lame as him. As for Daisuke, he turned out to be a horny jackass," Ayako said with a sigh, turning down the TV. "I spent the night over his house and found a bra that was most certainly not mine."

"What did you do? Did you confront him about it?"

"He said his sister had been in town and spent her time at his apartment," she said. "Thing is, she is currently studying abroad in the U.S. and isn't scheduled to come back home until the summer."

"So you broke up with him?"

"Well, I needed to be sure he was cheating," she said, taking another spoonful. "So, when I went to confront him about his sister, his door was locked. He wasn't answering his phone and his doorbell was broken. He told me where he keeps his spare key, taped to the top of the window on the side of the apartment. I turned the corner to fetch it, and the stupid idiot left the curtain open and I saw him with his ex on the floor."

"I'm sorry," Mai said, looking sympathetically at the priestess. "You must have been heartbroken."

"Well, he doesn't know I saw him through the window. I was to spend the night at his place again," Ayako continued the story. "But I faked a stomach ache to get out of sex that night and after he went to bed I poked a hole in every packet of condoms I could find and soaked them all in the juice of those really spicy peppers, I can't remember the name of them. Then I put them back where I found them. The next day he was supposed to come to my place and he said he couldn't because he spilled hot coffee on himself in the car on the way to work. I called bullshit on him and said I knew he was fucking his ex. She left her thong on the chair."

Mai just sat there wide-eyed at the story. Then she burst into fits of laughter. "Please tell me you actually did that!"

"Of course I did!" Ayako retorted. "How dare you think I wouldn't plot that awesome little bit of revenge!"

"Ayako, you are my hero!" she exclaimed, finally taking a bite of the ice cream.

"Mai, you're my hero," she said with a shake of her head, Mai just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right." The priestess nudged her.

"Seriously, not many girls actually leave their boyfriends the moment they realize they are abusive little pricks," she said, scooping another mouthful. "Much less kick them in the nuts, and having that sort of bravery at only seventeen? Most girls might have just said he didn't mean it or something."

Mai just took another bite and realized her hands were shaking. What had happened hadn't really hit her yet, sure she let the tears fall and told Ayako everything. But even then, as the swelling around her eye was starting to go down a little with the cold compresses, it still hadn't hit home. Was he only dating her in the hopes that she would sleep with him? Was that really all he wanted? And when she wouldn't give it to him he beats her? What if she had given in? What if she gave him what he wanted before this moment? Would he still have beaten her? Was it her fault?

"Mai," she heard Ayako call her from her reverie. That was when she realized tears had made their way down her cheeks. She could see the concern on her friends face and it only made feel guilty. Guilty for putting this on her, guilty that she let this happen. She put her head down and Ayako placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, placing her bowl on the coffee table and hugged herself. "I'm sorry."

Ayako did the same and pulled the girl into her arms. "Sweetheart, it's okay," she cooed rubbing her back. "It's not your fault. None of it is your fault. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this." Still the girl continued to sob apologies, the priestess just did her best to comfort her.

Needless to say, Mai did not sleep well that night. Her dreams were filled with replays of the incident and the laughter of that stupid demon. She would sleep an hour and stay up two more. She might have gotten three full hours of sleep, but it wasn't restful. Finally, when the sun was out and way too annoying to even attempt to fall asleep, she decided to get up. She would rather be up and exhausted than asleep in terror. With a sigh, she got out of Ayako's bed and shuffled to the kitchen, maybe some tea would wake her up.

After filling the kettle and placing it on the stove, she looked at the clock by the window and knew that her friend must have left for work a couple hours earlier. Then she saw the note on the table.

Mai,

I let you sleep in, you needed it. Unfortunately, I'll be working late tonight and since I wasn't sure how long you want to stay at my place, I'll be stopping by your apartment to get some of your things. I probably won't be home until around seven thirty-eight or so, so help yourself to anything in the kitchen, you know where the TV is, and the password to the computer in is written in the notebook in the top drawer of my desk. I'll see you tonight, I'm picking up a pizza for dinner too.

Ayako

Mai heard the kettle whistle as she put the note down. She quickly made the tea and found herself sitting on the couch, flicking the TV on. And as she predicted, there was absolutely nothing on. She decided to skip out on watching the news and put on some infomercial until the tea was gone.

She went back into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of frozen peas and put it on her eye. Still watching the infomercial. After what seemed like hours she finally took off the ice and look at the clock. Only thirty minutes had passed. She was not going to last another ten or more hours in there by herself.

So that was how Mai found herself in Ayako's bathroom, dressed in her clothes from the day before, examining her eye. Luckily it wasn't swollen shut anymore. It was still pretty swollen, the blood surrounding her eye was turning the skin a deep blue color and her eye was bloodshot. She found Ayako's foundation and concealer. She noticed that they were pretty darn close to the same shade and attempted to cover up the bruise. It took her twenty minutes, but she was able to cover up most of the bruising, now it just looked like she had an odd birthmark. It wasn't like she was going to see anyone she knew, right?

Satisfied with her work, she glided to the closet and found an older coat that Ayako obviously hadn't worn in a while. She remembered the priestess wearing the trench coat during the case at the park. It wasn't quite heavy enough for such a cold day, but Mai was small enough to fit the hoodie underneath it. After grabbing a pair of sunglasses, she slipped on her shoes and stepped out of the apartment. She reached down to the welcome mat and found the spare key taped underneath it. She locked the door and placed the key in her pocket.

Mai didn't know what exactly she wanted to do. She just needed air and some exercise. She needed to clear her head and forget about what happened the day before. Her nightmares had been letting up until that demon showed up. She really thought she was getting better. Thought Shouta was helping her.

Her appetite had returned for a bit. She was gaining back some of the weight she had lost, this time in muscle thanks to the morning runs. She seemed to be becoming her old self, and she really thought Shouta cared about her. He wanted to spend so much of his time with her, was it really only to get in her pants? Was it something Mai did that made him become violent with her? Was it-

"Well, look who I found," a very familiar voice broke Mai from her reverie.

Her head perked up and she found herself looking into a pair of blue eyes that she should have seen the day before. "Hey, Hozumi," was all she could say, she attempted to fake a smile, but knew she failed miserably. "What are you doing here?"

"I have today off, and one of my favorite coffee shops is over here," he explained, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Come on, let me buy you a coffee and we can talk. We never had our meeting yesterday."

"Uh," part of Mai wanted to refuse and run away, another part of her wanted to tell him everything, there was just something so approachable about him. "Sure."

Together they walked in silence a couple blocks to the coffee shop and ordered their beverages. Despite what had happened the day before, Mai felt completely safe. Completely secure. Comfortable. At ease. It was a different sort of feeling than when she was with Ayako. Sure she felt safe and secure and knew Ayako was doing her best to comfort her, but there was something about sitting on a park bench, next to this guy that she really only knew for a few months that felt right. Almost like he was her brother or cousin, someone close that she could tell everything to. Well, that's exactly who he was, someone she could tell anything and everything to without feeling that he would judge her.

"So, I assume that black eye is why you never came over yesterday," she heard him say. "I saw when you took those glasses off in the coffee shop." She just gripped her coffee cup. "I also assume you didn't go back to your apartment last night. You never answered your phone."

"Hozumi, I-" Her heart was racing a mile a minute, her breathing hitched, she wanted to spill everything she was feeling to him, but she didn't want to at the same time. If she spilled everything to him, she'd fall apart in the process.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to," he interrupted her, as he sipped his coffee. "I just want you to know, I'm here for you. If you want my help, I will gladly give it to you. But if you also just want to sit here in silence, just to have a friend nearby, that's fine as well."

Mai gave a sigh and sipped her coffee. After having not slept well, she was thankful for the caffeine. She looked at the styrofoam cup in her hands, its warmth was the best thing she had felt the last few days. She was also so happy to find that Hozumi was such a good friend-

"It was Shouta, wasn't it?" he asked, leaning back on the bench.

But Mai managed to smirk. "I thought you said I didn't have to tell you anything."

"You don't," he replied, giving her a smile. "But there are some things I can just tell."

"Oh yeah?" Mai challenged, looking up at him. "Like what?"

He leaned forward and propped his forearms on his knees. "Well, I can tell you didn't sleep well last night, and haven't the past month," he began, fiddling with the cup in his hand. "I can tell that you did a pretty good job with covering the bruise, if I had only just met you I probably wouldn't have noticed. I can tell that whoever you are staying with is at work and you couldn't stand being cooped up inside alone all day. And I can tell that your nightmares have chosen the best possible time to wreak havoc in your sleep. Or maybe they never really went away like how you told me?"

Mai quickly wiped away a tear, hoping her friend didn't see it. "I can also tell that you need to talk about it with someone who knows what you've gone through the past few months."

"I," she croaked. Her voice was breaking, but she knew he was right. And there was no one around, most people didn't go to the park on a Monday in winter. "I thought I was getting better." She cleared her throat. "I was starting to get better. The nightmares were starting to go away, I was sleeping a bit better. I was eating again. Even my coworkers were noticing the improvement. And now I'm back where I started."

"You are not back where you started-"

"No, I'm even worse! All thanks to…to…" She was breathing heavily and hunched over just like the boy next to her.

Mai just nodded and gripped her cup. It took everything she had not to completely break down in anger, in frustration, in sadness, and in guilt. "I just want to feel better, Hozumi. I would give anything to just feel better."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile. "You feel like there has been a piece missing from you for a while, right?"

"You could say that," she replied.

"Well, we tried to solve this through a more psychological and verbal approach, but that hasn't worked to the extent we're looking for," he said.

"And what do you have in mind?" she asked with a sigh. "It's not like what happened yesterday did anything to help my psychological being."

"I'm thinking we need to take a spiritual approach, it will help balance out what you've gone through on your cases and it might even help you cope with what happened."

She looked back up at him in curiosity. "So when are we going to do this?"

"Well, why not when we meet on Sunday, unless you have a case."

"I called out of work today, so I don't think I have a case." Mai gave a sigh, she actually wouldn't mind going on a case right then. She would feel a lot safer with her team, as opposed to being at her apartment, or even Ayako's apartment. She didn't even really like sitting there out in the open, even with Hozumi. She would rather be far away from Tokyo on a case with her SPR fami-coworkers. Somewhere she would be safe and not have to deal with that bastard at least for a little while.

Monday 1:01 P.M.

"Hey, Matsuzaki-sensei!" A nurse dressed in pink called as said doctor came out from one of her patients' rooms. "You have a visitor, a young girl."

"Thanks, Amiko," Ayako replied as she headed over to the visitor section. Did Mai really track me down? She wondered silently expecting to see the brunette sitting in the waiting area.

She found a brunette, but not the one she was expecting. This girl's hair was much longer. "Sorry I'm stopping by here, but Naru wants to get a move on with the case," Kiko said, handing a duffle bag to the doctor. "School let out early for me so I stopped by Mai's place and got her things."

"How did that go?" Ayako asked, placing the bag on the ground. Kiko shrugged.

"Just fine, but I'm almost positive that Shouta was still there, at least up until I got there."

"You're sure?"

"I saw his car leave just as I got to the complex, I don't think he saw me or if he did I doubt he recognized me."

"He probably would've tried to talk to you if he did recognize you," Ayako sighed. "He's a manipulative prick, probably would've tried to convince you to get Mai to forgive him."

"Probably, the apartment wasn't a disaster, but the front walkway was a mess. I don't think I have to guess at what happened," the high schooler commented grimly.

"You said Naru wanted to get a move on this case?" Ayako asked, changing the subject.

Kiko blinked. "Yeah, I actually have my stuff packed, the case is at some University in Akita. Naru wants to get on the road by two so we probably won't actually get there until at least ten if we stop for dinner. I take it, you're going to stay here with her?"

Ayako shifted her weight and crossed her arms. "I guess I have to, I doubt she's mentally ready for a case all the way out in Akita." She looked out and saw another nurse, beckoning her attention. "But if I'm working here, I can't keep an eye on her at my apartment. She's going to get extremely bored."

"And if Shouta figures out she staying with you, she's not safe there," Kiko added, giving the priestess an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, it's a bit of a lose-lose situation."

"Don't apologize," Ayako shook her head and grabbed the duffle. "I gotta go and you have to get over to SPR. I'll be calling Naru to let him know about the case, among other things."

"Okay, see you later, Ayako," Kiko waived as the two women parted ways.

Monday 7:42 P.M.

Ayako had just gotten out of work and was waiting for her order to finish cooking at the pizza place not too far from her apartment. In her hand was her cell phone, she silently debated whether or not to place this call. Better now than never. She hit the button and placed the phone to her ear. "Matsuzaki-san? Is everything all right?" Naru's voice was heard after a couple rings.

"Hey, Naru, everything is fine for now," she answered crossing her legs. "I've been at work all day, so I haven't gotten to really talk to Mai, but I did call her and she was up and about."

"How is she?"

"I think she's still a little shaken, and pretty exhausted, she didn't sleep well." She let out a breath before continuing, "Not that I blame her."

"Was there anything else you wanted to call me about?" Curt as ever. Then again, he's probably sick of the long car ride.

"Just to tell you I don't think either of us will be joining you on this case," she answered, just as her order was placed in a box and on the counter for her. "I promised you yesterday I'd let you know today so that's really why I called you."

"That's fine, I think we have enough of the team to solve this case. If we need your expertise, I will be sure to call you. We'll be getting to the university in a couple of hours."

"Good luck." With that, they both hung up their phones and Ayako grabbed the pizza and left.

Ayako walked into her apartment to find it probably cleaner than when she left that morning. Mai had done the dishes and swept in the kitchen. It looked like she had tidied up in the living area as well. She even had lit a couple of apple pie scented candles. Mai was sitting in the living area watching some drama. "Well, looks like you had a productive day," Ayako commented, placing the pizza on the table and walking over to the couch with the duffle. "I stopped by your apartment and grabbed you a few things since we don't know how long you'll be staying here."

"Thank you," she replied, standing up and grabbing two glasses and filling them with water. The priestess noticed that Mai had used her makeup to cover up the black eye. I guess she didn't want to see it. Ayako grabbed a couple of plates. Together, they dug into the pie and ate wordlessly for a bit. The T.V. being the only background noise with them.

She's so quiet. When did she get this quiet? Ayako wondered as she ate. She remembered their last case and when the brunette had lost her voice. That was different. But she's been getting quieter and quieter with the past few cases. Just how abusive was Shouta to her?

"Ayako, I know." The words startled the priestess midbite. She wiped her mouth and gave the girl a confused look. "I know you told Naru what really happened last night. And I know he has a case. He called you and left a message on the answering machine."

"Mai, I already talked to him and told him-"

"I'm going on that case."

Well, I hope this will suffice for a little bit. School is starting so my updates will be less frequent but I do hope to keep it between 2-4 weeks between chapters not that things are getting interesting. Keep an eye on my profile and I'll update when there's a big delay or anything. Hope you've enjoyed! Please review!