Chapter 33: Marry Me - Jason Derulo

Recovery Day 2: 11:00

Ayako

Ayako didn't sleep well that night despite how exhausted she was. After the examination of Naru and Mai, she was emotionally drained and couldn't get Mai's words out of her head. Couldn't get the memory of the scars or how she got them out of her head.

She wrapped up her assessment early and politely excused herself. She walked out, gently closed the door, and went to the guest bathroom close by.

"Ayako, are you ok?" Takigawa asked.

She didn't say anything and continued to the bathroom. Closing the door she turned on the water in the sink and splashed water in her face. She looked in the mirror and finally felt like she was able to let the dam break. She fell to the ground and sobbed.

"Mai! Oh, Mai! My beautiful girl," she whispered.

Working as a nurse she spent a lot of time in the ER. You get people of all kinds that come in, especially on the night shift. Her work as a nurse and a Shinto Priestess made her one of the best trauma nurses on her team. Men, women, and children all experiencing major psychological trauma after a traumatic event would all get sent to her. She knew that the key to it was keeping a calm and neutral voice, stating what you were doing and why, and being patient. There would be time for tears after you ensured the patient's safety and overall health, and you left the room.

Now here were Naru and Mai, two children regardless of how old, smart, and strong they were, that have gone through Hell and come out on the other side. Her family! This hit harder than any case she's ever seen at the hospital. She saw their torture, she saw their scars. Even if their bond was strong enough to heal their physical wounds, their mental wounds were etched into their sunken and puffy eyes, their near-constant trembling, their rapid heartbeat, and their desire never to leave each other's side.

"Oliver…Mai!" She quietly sobbed. "Why hurt these children this way?"

A soft knock at the door and the sound of the clicking of the latch made her look up. Takigawa was standing there in concern. He didn't say anything as he shut the door and sat down on the floor with her.

Finally, he put an arm around her shoulders and softly said, "Come here."

She sobbed and fell into his arms and cried on his shoulder. "It's so much worse than we thought," she cried, "Our family has been hurt so much worse than we thought!"

"I know," he said, "I could hear them crying too. I could hear what Mai said. What they did to Akio and Alaina, putting that kind of curse on them instead of killing them, just proves what kind of pain and suffering they went through. I don't know if they fully understand the repercussions of what they did. They suffered for ten days, but they are forcing them to suffer that exact same way for years. They've been mentally broken. They may not have killed out of vengeance, but they have become capable of worse. However…they are young, and they've been through a lot. It will take a long time, but they will recover mentally and morally, so long as we're there to help guide them. You did excellent there, Ayako."

"Thank you," she whispered.

She looked up at him. He looked so tired. About as tired as she was. He looked down into her eyes. Were his eyes always that deep and rich colored? The way he stared into her eyes made it feel like he was searching for her spirit in them. She felt, for the first time in a long time, emotionally bare and stripped down. Maybe that's why she didn't question it when he put his fingers under her chin. Or when she closed her eyes and could still feel him inching so close to her. Or the way his breath felt so warm against her cold lips.

Maybe.

Or maybe she just didn't have the energy to fight and push him away like she usually did. And that's why she closed the gap between the two of them and kissed him like she had been wanting to do for quite some time now.

Now she was waiting back at Lin's apartment while they all waited for him to return from going to Mai's apartment for things. She already talked to everyone there about how to talk to them; reminding them that they would most want a sense of normalcy. Especially as things recover they don't want people walking on eggshells around them. They can sense that and Mai especially now can read their thoughts.

"If they want to talk about it or ask you about things, then go ahead. But don't bring it up unless they bring it up first. Don't walk on eggshells, but don't pretend like nothing happened. They know that so much happened. We just need to be open-minded, and patient, and be a family for them. They held out so long because they knew we were coming for them. They said it themselves that their family was watching and was on their way. Let's all give them that."

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Lin walked in through the door alone.

"Where are Oliver and Mai?" Luella asked apprehensively.

"They're back in Noll's apartment for now. We're going to need to go shopping for the two of them," Lin answered.

"For food?" Martin asked.

"For food…and unfortunately everything for Mai."

"What did you find at her apartment?" Ayako asked.

Lin took a deep breath and answered disheartened, "Nothing. There's nothing left. Everything is gone."

"What? How can that be? What did they do? Seriously nothing?" Everyone started chiming in all at once.

"Guys, let him talk!" Martin said.

"Her clothes, her furniture, pictures, computer, everything. Alaina left one thing for her. In a box hidden away in the back of her closet behind a panel. It had her parent's ashes, a picture of the three of them, and mementos of them," he said.

"Had?" John asked.

"Alaina took those as well," he said. "She left Mai a note and an envelope. The note pretty much said that she has nothing now because she is nothing now. And that if one day she can't take it anymore she left her a parting gift. In the envelope was a single nine-millimeter bullet."

The room was silent but the energy from everyone was dark. Such disrespect of the dead, of Mai's parents, was sickening.

"She told Mai to kill herself basically," Takigawa said darkly, breaking the silence. "How did Mai take this?"

"She chucked the bullet away and reduced the note to ashes with PK. Said she'd never give her the pleasure of killing herself. But she is still quite distraught at the loss of everything," He explained. "Noll and Mai agreed that they want you Luella, Ayako, and Masako to go shopping for her clothes, hygiene supplies, and the works. We can take care of food for them."

"Of course, we can," Luella said. "We'll make sure she's got everything she could need."

"Let's get moving then," Lin said.

-o-

Recovery Day 2: 1500

Naru

He and Mai fell asleep for a few hours. When he woke up he checked on Mai who was still asleep, and then went to the bathroom for a long overdue shower. He had long since missed the feeling of his own space and familiarity. The warm water reminded him of what had happened earlier with Mai on his own bed. He groaned at the memory and tried to focus on what he was doing.

Right. Shower.

…

'Mai is going to be using this shower too,' a thought reminded him.

He groaned again trying to will those thoughts away by slapping himself. He just needs to focus! It shouldn't be this difficult to take a damn shower! He got to work and the thoughts seemed to go away. He sighed in relief.

'You could probably save on water by showering together.'

His face turned bright red and the blood in his brain ran down. "That's it! Nope! I've had enough of you," he said. He turned on the cold water and shocked his system. He kept it going for five minutes until he couldn't take any more and got out of the shower.

He stepped into his bedroom and marveled at seeing Mai curled up and sleeping so soundly on his bed. As he got dressed he thought to himself that he finally felt like he protected her and brought her home. But due to the malicious actions by Alaina, Mai had nowhere else to go. Her blatant disrespect of the dead just proves how little she actually cared about his powers or his work. On one hand, he wants Mai to gain her life back, get back on her feet, and feel free again, but on the other selfish hand, he doesn't want her to leave. He doesn't want things to go back to the way they were before, because, after everything they went through together to survive and subsequently admit their feelings to each other, things will never be normal again. He wants her nearby all of the time; scared that if she walks out his front door now she'll never come back.

'Why am I being so selfish? She should be free to make these decisions herself! But then again everything is so fresh it has to be normal to have these feelings right? Gah! I don't even know anymore! What exactly are normal feelings when you've technically killed the person you love most in the world, followed by days of torture, death, and soul splitting?! What are normal feelings when you've soul bonded, made love, and can feel everything the other person does?! What is normal after your very identity has led to all of this Hellish torment and death?'

"Oliver?" Mai's voice called to him softly.

He looked up and realized he was crouching on the floor next to his closet. His face was wet, but it wasn't just from the shower. He had been crying. She got off the bed and sat in front of him. She reached out to hold his hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," he apologized. "I was thinking too loudly, wasn't I?"

"It wasn't that at first," she said as she shook her head. She smiled and blushed. "I could feel how excited you were getting in the shower. That's when your thoughts were hitting me the most. By the way, I like the water-saving idea."

He blushed hard and his eyes went wide. "You weren't supposed to hear that!" He said, feeling embarrassed.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm still working on getting the hang of telepathy," she said, but then her face looked caring. "I also heard your internal debate over my wellbeing. Then I heard you crying, and I just can't have that."

She wiped away the tears on his face. Then she got up off the floor and offered her hands out to help him get up. He took them and stood up. She brought him over to his bed and sat down. When he sat down next to her she pulled him in for a kiss. He gladly accepted and felt the warmth of her aura again. She pulled away and smiled.

"Naru, I love you. You're right, there is no normal after everything we've been through. I most certainly do not want to go back to how things were. I don't think we can. And honestly…I've been afraid to leave your side. I feel like if I stepped out that door right now without you by my side, I'd break down. I worry that you think I'm going to crowd you or intrude on your own space. It's silly because you are the very person who brought me back to life with CPR; who protected me with your own powers; who cleaned me when I was at my dirtiest; who never once made me feel violated or undignified. You, who loved me so much that it grounded me back to reality. You are the very person who stitched my spirit back together. Your trust in me, your guidance, and your love kept me alive until the end. I don't think I could or would ever leave unless you asked me to." Her eyes widened and her face fell into one briefly of fear and panic; as if the thought of him asking her to leave was actually on the table. "But please…don't ask me to leave," she finished shakily.

He stared at her for a long moment; his head swimming with so many thoughts he hoped that she wasn't using her telepathy, or else she'd be sent into a seizure again. Maybe it was all of these feelings and thoughts going through his head so quickly that caused him to say what he said next.

"I want to marry you."

Her eyes went as wide as his. He wasn't sure why he said this, but as he thought about it for a moment he realized something.

'Yeah, I want to marry her. I don't want to be alone in this world anymore. I love her, she loves me, I entwined my spirit with hers, and she did with mine. It's only logical. I want her to be mine for the rest of our lives.'

Mai held her hands to her mouth and began tearing up. "You…you mean that? Please tell me you mean that, and this isn't a dream," she choked.

He knew what he had to do. He held both of her hands, stood up from the bed, and carefully got down on one knee. The tears behind her eyes were already flowing now. "Your parents said that when we were a little bit older they'd give us their blessing. I can respect that. After everything we've been through, it is wise to wait until we're older. But I don't want you or me to go through this recovery thinking that you're going to leave or I'm ever going to ask you to leave. I said as I stitched your spirit back together that one lifetime is not enough time to spend with you, and I meant it. I said I want to say 'I love you' every day, and I meant it."

"Oh my god, Oliver…" she sobbed.

"When I met you, I was so cold in every way. I treated you no differently. Then you came careening into my life and started calling me 'Naru the narcissist'," he lightly chuckled. "You've brought life back into me and sparked a light I never thought I'd get back. I protected you, but you saved me. My Angel, My Golden Light, Mai Taniyama…" he choked on his words and began to tremble. Tears that threatened to spill over finally did as he stared into her golden eyes. He asked the most terrifying question in his whole life.

"When the time is just right, will you marry me?"

She gasped and finally took a breath that she had been holding for the entire time. Tears came pouring down her face as she sobbed. He felt pure elation and happiness coming from her. These were tears of joy.

"Yes! Yes! Forever yes!" She answered when she caught her breath.

He surged up and kissed her and cradled her face in his hands. Their bond, which he never thought could get any more melded, came together and became one. Their hearts beat together and their eyes glowed silver and gold respectively. He broke the kiss and smiled wide at her. Tears still falling down his face.

"Thank you, thank you! I promise you, I will take care of you for the rest of our lives. You will want for nothing. I will give you all I have," he vowed.

"You already have, my love," she replied.

He sighed dreamily at her. She was so radiant. "You never once cared about my title, my degrees, money, anything. You cared about me as a person. That's why I let you get away with calling me Naru. Because to you, that's all that I was. Even after learning my identity you still stuck by me. I don't know how I got so lucky to have you in my life, but I swear to you I will never take it for granted."

"Oliver…Throughout this whole thing, you protected me and kept me safe and grounded. Your degrees, your titles, everything meant nothing to me, because I know who you are. You're Kazuya Shibuya, owner and operator of SPR. You're Dr. Oliver Davis, the renowned scientist with incredible PK abilities. You're Naru, my protector who risked his life to save mine. All of these names and titles make up you, my love. They make up the love of my life whom I'm going to marry."

He never in his life thought he'd live long enough for this moment. But here he was and he was in bliss.

Until his phone rang. He growled in annoyance and Mai giggled. "It's probably Lin! He said he'd call when they were close. Go ahead and answer love."

He pulled out his phone and sure enough it was Lin. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hey Noll, we're about ten minutes out. Make sure you two are decent," Lin said.

He blushed and said, "Understood." He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. "Well, we have about ten minutes until they get here. What would you like to do?" He asked.

She pulled him on top of her and kissed him. "I want to make out with my fiancé," she said.

He moaned in pleasure and couldn't help but think of how excellent an idea that was.