Day 1: 15:10
Naru

The door slammed shut with a loud and deafening bang, and for a minute neither one moved. Neither Naru nor Mai said anything. They just stayed where they were. Naru stared at the door as if challenging anyone who might come in to harass them or hurt them. It was almost uncomfortably silent. This is why Naru jumped slightly when he heard Mai's almost distant and frail voice whisper to him.

"You have to pretend..."

"Hmm?" he replied still not letting her go.

"You have to pretend to be Oliver Davis," she whispered.

A pang in his heart hit him hard. She still believed in him. Believed that he wouldn't keep something this big a secret from her. Damn.

"Mai-"

"I mean, she made a mistake, right? But you saw what she does to people who make mistakes. If she thinks that you and I are worth something, she'll keep us alive longer," she said urgently. She looked up to his face with worry in her eyes. This was too painful.

"Mai please-" he tried to interrupt her ramblings, but she didn't hear.

"I know that it's not right to impersonate someone as famous as him, but maybe we can use this to buy time for the others to-"

"Mai!" Naru said louder and harsher than he intended. She flinched and his chest twisted. She looked up at him, holding back her tears waiting to hear his answer. "Come on. Let's get off the floor," he sighed looking away. He couldn't bear to look into her eyes when he told her the truth.

"Oh, ok," she said sitting up a little.

He helped her adjust to get up and off of him. He stood up and held out his hand to her to help her up. He chuckled softly when he saw a blush forming on her face. He guided her over to the large queen-sized bed and sat her down on the edge. He sat down next to her not knowing exactly what to say. His mouth spoke before his brain could tell him to stop.

"Mai, she didn't make a mistake, and she wasn't lying. I don't have to pretend to be Oliver Davis. I am Oliver Davis," he said looking at his hands in his lap.

He wasn't sure what she would say or do. He wanted her to yell at him, scold him, laugh at how stupid he was. Something remotely Mai-like. But she didn't say or do anything. The silence that followed just twisted the knife that was stabbed into his heart. If he had any hope of having anything relationship-wise with her, this was sure to shatter it.

"Why?" she asked finally breaking the silence, "Why wouldn't you tell us who you really were? I mean, I know you wouldn't in the beginning but all this time? Didn't you trust us? Trust...me?"

Trust was hard for Naru. He had always had a difficult time opening up to people, especially since his brother died. He trusted Mai though; he really did trust her. He had gone so long without saying anything that bringing it up never felt necessary. Or like the right time to tell someone that you had fallen in love with that you had been lying to them about your entire identity this entire time. Well, now certainly seemed like a good time to tell her. Who knows if he'll even get another chance?

"I do trust you, Mai," he said as if it was obvious.

"Then why hide it?" she asked looking right at him.

"Mainly to avoid the exact situation that we're both in right now," he said. He still didn't look up. He knew she would be angry, upset, and confused. If they lived through this, she would leave him, never want to see him again. He was ready for anything.

"Hehehehe..."

Except for that. Was she giggling? Now he looked up at her to see if it was just his imagination. No, it wasn't. She held her hand up to her mouth to try and stifle it, but she couldn't. When she looked and saw the dumbfounded and confused look on his face she started laughing even harder.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked. That certainly wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"Because you're such an idiot! Everything makes so much sense now, but for a scientist, you can be such an idiot," she said while laughing.

Naru's eyes were wide open and in shock. 'Idiot...scientist? There's no way she could've known about Gene, let alone know of his favorite insult to me. I guess I really am an idiot,' he thought to himself.

"That still doesn't explain why you're laughing at this," he said with a deviant smile.

Her bloody and bruised face was being off-put by her heart-melting smile. "Everything makes so much sense now. Why you never want the press involved, why Madoka wanted you to investigate the man disguised as Oliver Davis, your PK," she said, her smile faltering a little, "It must have been hard to hold everything back though! I mean a man saying he is you, in front of you? I don't think I would've lasted as long as you have under pressure!" she started laughing again.

Naru smiled and began to chuckle. This was Mai. The girl who could smile and laugh even in the worst-case scenario. Mai, who always had a smile to melt away his feelings of sadness and despair. The Mai he had fallen in love with.

"Hey, Naru?"

"Yes?"

"You're smiling."

"Mai, I am fully capable of smiling when I want to," he replied with a smirk.

"Like when you look in a mirror?" she asked.

Naru snickered, "Precisely."

Mai giggled only to then hiss in pain. She reached up to touch her face, and when she pulled back her hand to look at it, she noticed the blood from her gash. It had stopped oozing out but still hadn't scabbed over. The poke from her hand had caused it to start bleeding again.

"Hey, don't poke at it moron," he said leaning in closer to her. He attempted to reach up and grab her chin, but she flinched away. "I only want to see how bad it is," he said, his face merely inches away from hers, "please?"

With that rare "please" from him she turned her face the other way. He lifted his right hand and gently held her face in place and steady so he could examine it. Now he had a good look at the gash. "It isn't too deep, but it does need treatment," he said.

He let go and got up off the bed. He went to the cabinet near the bed and tried to open the handle. It was locked. 'Perfect. Why even put a cabinet in here? What are they trying to hide?' he thought. He walked over to the bathroom. He found a couple of washcloths hanging up on a metal bar. Well, they looked more like cottoned sandpaper, but it would work for what he needed it for. He ran some water over it, wrung it out, and went back to Mai.

"Here," he said sitting back down. "This should help clean the wound.' He raised the washcloth to her face and started dabbing at the wound. She hissed slightly in pain but then relaxed into it. He noticed her face starting to flush, and he smirked.

"Hey, Naru?"

"Yeah?"

"What...what did Alaina say to you in English? Right before she left she said something in English, and you sounded really upset with your reply," Mai asked with uncertainty.

He sighed, "Well you're going to find out eventually. Essentially, she asked me to sign your death warrant."

"What?!" she gasped.

"You remember the last time you saw me use my PK I nearly died in the process," he said waiting for her reaction. She looked down and nodded. "Well, that is because I need someone else to help me channel that energy. It's too much for one person, but with two, the effect on the body is minimized."

"You mean, there was someone close to you that you used as a buffer?" she asked.

"Yes. It has to be someone close to me, and someone who has heightened psychic abilities. The...person I worked with was an experienced medium. I used him to channel my abilities. He's gone now," he said hesitantly. The pain of it all is still fresh in his mind. It hurt just bringing him up, "She wants me to use you to channel my PK."

"That," Mai said quietly, "That explains why they wanted Lin. And why they kept me alive."

Naru looked up to her, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, think about it. How long have you known Lin?"

"Nearly my whole life," he replied.

"Well, then I'd say that is pretty close to you. You also said they had to have heightened abilities. Alaina kept going on and on about Lin not using his name. She kept saying, "the omnyoji" instead of using his name. Almost as if she only saw him as a tool instead of a person," she explained, "She sounded surprised when you said I could become a great medium. She sees in me the same potential that she saw in Lin."

He found himself smiling once more. It was a rare day indeed, "Well Mai, it seems that you have learned a few investigative qualities from me."

"Oh don't put all the reward on yourself! Admit it you didn't think about-"

Mai was cut off when the door opened and two brown packages and two water bottles were thrown in. The door slammed shut and the tumbler locked them in again. Naru paused before getting up to see what they were. It was something called Meal Ready to Eat. MRE.

"They're military rations," Naru said.

"Rations? Is that our lunch?" Mai asked.

"And possibly dinner, breakfast, and everything in between," Naru said looking at the package. "It's war-fighter approved too. Makes sense if they want me to use you to channel my PK. It takes nearly all of the body's energy to use it."

"How...how do I channel your energy?" she asked.

"You don't," he said flatly.

"What? Why not?"

"Because it'll kill you."

"But you said-"

"I said you have the potential to be a great medium with time and practice. Two weeks is hardly enough time to prepare your mind for the psychic sense and your body for channeling my PK. I won't kill you with my own power," he said bitterly.

"Even if you refuse to do it, they're just going to kill me anyways!" she all but screamed.

"The only reason I was able to survive using it in the first place was due to my brother!" Naru yelled back frustrated. His eyes widened. He did not mean to mention that. The third time in a month that he would lose control of his thoughts and actions due to this girl.

"Your...brother?"

He sighed and shook his head, "Just forget what I said. Let's just eat, alright?" hoping that she would drop it.

"Alright," she said.

Naru walked over to her and handed her a package. After putting his down on the bed he went back to get the water bottles.

"Naru? What does this say?" she asked calmly.

"I already told you it's military rations," he said matter-of-factly.

"I know what they are, but what am I eating exactly?" she asked a little quieter.

When he turned around and looked at her, she had her head down looking at the brown, plastic, package, "Mai?"

"I can't read this. It's...It's in English and I can't read this," she said with her voice quavering.

He started to walk back towards her, "Mai, look at me," he said coldly. She looked up at him and his heart clenched when he saw she was crying.

"I-I can't read this. What does it say? I know you understand English, but can you read it for me? I mean, you should be able to read it. You're Oliver Davis, you can read it can't you?" she asked tears falling down her face.

"Mai-" he said his hand reaching out to hers. He put it on top of hers and sat down on the bed.

"Just tell me. What. It. Says," she pleaded trying to breathe through every word.

You didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Mai had hit her breaking point. And all it took to break her spirit and emotional dam was an MRE package that she just couldn't read. The ability to ground herself was gone. She was about to break.

He looked at the brown package in her hands and read the meal's name. He chuckled, "Chicken Tortellini Vegetarian. All wrapped up nicely in a bag."

"That sounds disgusting! What about yours?" she asked through sobs.

Naru looked at his and said, "Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce. That at least sounds kind of appetizing."

The two chuckled, trying to bring some light to the situation. Naru had no idea what was to come, or what was expected of them. Hell, he didn't even know if they were going to live through this. Trying to channel his PK through someone else was like trying to redirect the power and flow of a lightning bolt through a person's body without electrocuting them in the process. Where the possibility of death rested in a margin of error smaller than the width of a fingernail. He had already lost his brother; he couldn't afford to lose Mai too. As he held Mai's hand one goal in his mind resonated, festered, and embedded itself into memory: Get her out alive or die trying.