Chapter 7 - Origin of the Ghosts

Mai stared into the dark void and knew she was dreaming. Yet again, Gene was nowhere in sight and Mai was truly beginning to think something was wrong, he never went this many dreams in a row without appearing before her.

She is suddenly ripped from the dark void, the vision turning into an unfamiliar bedroom. A man is lying asleep under the covers, his face covered by the sheets so Mai could not determine who he was. Then she heard running and turned to face the doorway, the shuffling behind her indicating that the sleeping man had awaken from the noise. Mai did not recognise him when she took a peak at his face, but the man who banged open the door and entered angrily was Kiseki.

"Kiseki?" the man in the bed, quite possibly Kyo, asks with surprise. "What are you doing running around at this time of night?"

"Why did you do it?" Kiseki shouts instead of answering the question, pulling a knife from behind his back.

Mai felt her heart plummet, coming to realise what was about to happen. Kyo's eyes widened at the sight of the knife, "Why did I do what?"

"Try to take Rina away from me?" Kiseki yells as way of explanation.

"What are you talking about Kiseki?" Kyo asks with confusion, his eyes never leaving the weapon. "I've done no such thing."

Kiseki clearly did not want to hear anything to the contrary, because the next second, he was descending upon his brother. The first stab to the heart took Kyo by surprise, but even if he wanted to react, it was too late to stop his brother from stabbing him two more times.

Mai could feel the tears streaming down her face as Kiseki took a step away from his brother, staring at the blood on his hands with horror. "What have I done?" he asks himself, his voice strained in pain.

He drops the knife and his hands are shaking before he is running out the door. Mai thought that would be it, but then she pops up into a room that looks like it could be a study. Kiseki comes storming in and runs over to a desk in the far corner. Mai should have known it was coming, but even as he pulled the gun from the draw, she was unprepared to watch him put the gun to his temple and pull the trigger.

Her eyes snap open to find herself back in the room she shared with Naru, the mahogany ceiling the only thing in her vision. Then the face of the man she loved popped into her line of sight, concern showing on his face. As was her custom after traumatising dreams, she sat up and launched herself into his arms, crying to her heart's content.

Naru simply holds her in his arm, whispering comforting words in her ear as he waits for her to calm down. As her crying eased up, Mai remembered why she had been sleeping in the first place. She jerks her head away from him to look into his eyes, placing her hands on her stomach. He knew what she was thinking, and answered her unspoken question. "The baby is fine, Mai," he assures her. "Ayako says that since you came out okay, the baby should be unaffected."

She sighs in relief, smiles up at him and then the smile is replaced by a frown when she remembered her dream. "What's wrong?" he asks, immediately noticing her shift in mood.

"I had a very disturbing dream," she mutters, leaning back into him.

"What happened in it?" he asks, pulling her tighter.

She spends the next few minutes explaining to him what had occurred in her dream, yet she also realised as she recounted that it showed her nothing they did not already know. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he says into her hair when she is finished. "It's unfortunate that you still have to see things like this. Was Gene there this time?"

"No, I haven't seen him at all this case and I admit, I'm getting quite concerned," she replies, frowning again at the reminder.

"Mai," he says hesitantly. "I really don't like that you insist on staying, especially now that we can confirm you are being targeted. If Monk had not driven her away, it's possible you and our baby could have died. I don't know what I would do if I lost you both."

She looks into his eyes and gives him a soft smile. "I know you are worried," she says gently. "But I promise this time I really will not leave your sight for a second. I want to help this woman move on, I almost felt what she did, dying before being able to give birth to my child. I can sympathise with her and it's tragic that she hasn't been able to move on. I want to see her at peace, so I can't leave without helping to solve this case."

"I was afraid you might say that," he sighs, closing his eyes. "However, I'm going to give in. Again. You can't leave my sight Mai and it's the last chance. No arguments, but if you get attacked again, you're going home. It's already bad enough I'm letting you stay after this incident, but I'm not going to give in a third time. Clear?"

"Very clear," she whispers with resignation.

"Good," he sighs, pulling her in tighter.

They sit like that in silence for several minutes, just basking in each other's company. However, they had a case to solve, so he eventually pulls back and plants a chaste kiss on her forehead. He then stands, pulling her up with him as he went. "Let's go to base and show everyone that you're okay," he says.

"Okay," she replies, smiling again as he leads her out, hand in hand.

An hour later saw the pair of them walking with Monk, for added protection Naru explained, to change the tapes on some of the cameras that Mai did not know had even been put up. Mai was feeling a little embarrassed with Monk joining then since Naru almost always had an arm around her as they walked, not willing to have her out of reach. With a crimson blush permanently on her cheeks they eventually walk into what appears to be an old bedroom.

Mai took it all in, the four poster bed against the wall, beige mat on the floor, the door that clearly led to a bathroom, a door window that led to a balcony.

Mai froze, her gaze having settled on the balcony she could see through the glass, a very familiar balcony and Mai tried very hard not to run from the room in panic. "Naru," she strains, grabbing onto his arm where is rested on her hip. "I don't think I should be in here."

He raises a single brow questioningly, asking her why without any words. She wordlessly points towards the balcony and as he follows her gaze, he gets the picture immediately without an explanation. He tuns around to address the other man in the room. "Monk, I'll let you finish in here, we're going to wait for you outside," he says, his words brokering no argument.

"Ah, sure," Monk replies with confusion, but chooses not to argue.

While they waited, he pulled her into his arms for a hug, having sensed her anxiety, wanting to ease it. Having him hug her was always calming and she easily let him hold her. It was only a few moments later that they heard a cough, and they turned to find Monk waiting with a smirk on his face. "I know you two love each other, but please can you save this kind of behaviour for the bedroom when no one else is present?" he asks teasingly before walking away from them.

They both roll their eyes, but follow behind him back to base.

A/N: I apologise that teenage me made Naru such a pushover, almost regret choosing just to bump up the original instead of a complete overhaul lol.