5 Memories, Fears And Reality

"Can anyone tell me if she is still with us?" Naru asked around. After Mai's more or less superficial scratches were properly tended to by Ayako, he feared the reason she fainted was another out of body experience. At this, Akihiro, who like the rest of his team had joined with the SPR members, took a better look at her, deeply concentrating on her aura.

"There is no need to worry, she is only unconscious, not wandering around as a spirit," He said with confidence and Naru sighed in relief. He lifted Mai in his arms and put her back on the couch as gently as he could and sat in the remaining space next to her.

"Should we guard the barrier? I mean, the monster did hit it with enough energy to make it shine like a full moon. If the thing were to try it again we will be in deep trouble," Monk said looking at Lin. He was the one who create it in the first place.

"It will need reinforcement, but it should hold for the rest of the night. My shiki and your chants did injured the thing enough to weaken it. Morning is also coming soon. There will be no other attacks as long as Taniyama doesn't leave her body in what's left of the night," Said Lin looking at the two teens on the couch. He was glad Noll didn't lose his cool when the girl was in danger. If he had lost control over his powers, maybe instead of one being unconscious, there would be two.

"Reinforcing the barrier is not enough, it needs to be remade. We can't have Mai leaving her body again. Lin, can you make a strong charm that can conceal her from spirits even when she leaves her body?" Lin nodded in understanding. "Akihiro I will appreciated it if you try the same too," Naru said looking at the unconscious girl next to him with guilt. In a way, he was responsible for that episode.

Spirits that mean no harm were allowed to cross the barrier by his own request, and it left Mai's spirit free to wonder around as well. He had no idea where she went, nor what she face there. The only thing he knew for certain was that she was attacked and that somehow she managed to find something about Ryoko, but she never said where or how. Should I try it? He asked himself, but immediately discarded the idea. Using clairvoyance on others without their consent was nothing more than invasion, yet if Ryoko was in fact still alive, will that count as an emergency?

He already tried his psychometry on Ryoko's belongings without any results. Now, he was having trouble deciding if invading Mai's memories was justified or not. They really needed to know what happened to her and Mai was able to fight unconsciousness long enough to relay the message only he could hear. Can that be considerate as permission? Damn it! Just why did she have to faint right after she threw a bomb at him?

However as much as he hate it, he had also an undeniable compromise with Ryoko and her brother, who needed to know her sister was still among the living, which was something he would never deny under any circumstances. He knew firsthand how it feels losing someone important. He can always ask for forgiveness later.

"There is something you need to know, Katsumi. Before Mai fainted she managed to tell me that Ryoko is still alive," He said looking at Ryoko's brother. His surprise was evident and he immediately came closer, the others were also shocked with the news. He didn't blame any of them, it had been a week after all.

"Were is she?" The man asked with hope and Naru sighed in resignation.

"I don't know. She only said she was alive, but maybe she got a clue of where. At this moment Mai should be exhausted, which means she could be unconscious for a while, like Miss Hara. I don't usually do this under normal circumstances but, if you ask me I will perform clairvoyance on her. The choice is yours. Ryoko has been missing for a week already, which means that she must be in a bad shape. She may only have a little time left. Should I access her memories now or will you wait until she can tell us herself?" Asked Naru, already knowing his choice…the choice he would have made in his place.

"If that can save my sister's life, then go ahead. Whatever consequence of this action, it will be mine to carry, not yours," He said knowing that Noll will hate to force his way inside the mind of the woman he probably loved.

"Do it, Naru. I don't think Mai will mind if it means saving a life. Morning will come in just a few more hours and we can use that to search. Time can truly make a difference here," The Monk said while understanding his hesitation.

"I think it will be best too, saving a life should take priority. If the fool gets mad when she wakes up, I will smack her to make her come to her senses. Now, don't waste time and do it," Said Ayako lifting the tense atmosphere around the narcissist and for that Naru was grateful, even if he never will admit so.

"Mai had just experienced an ordeal, so it should be intense and I don't know how much I will be able to see. Do not interrupt my connection with her even if I yell, or worse. Do you understand? You can't interrupt me under any circumstances until I'm done," He said seriously and everyone nodded in agreement. Only Lin seemed unsure and Naru knew it was because he was worried about him using his powers twice in one night.

"Then, here we go…" He said lowering himself until he was next to Mai on the couch. He turned his body to face her and put one of his hands on her face. He brought himself closer until their heads were touching and closed his eyes. Please forgive me for this. I will make it up to you later, I promise. He said to her internally and concentrated on her. Seconds later he was swallowed by a void of darkness, then a flash of light almost blinded him. His heart began to beat faster as he ran in what seemed to be a forest.

"Mom! Dad! Where are you?" The little girl yelled in fear. She didn't mean to get lost, she just wanted to get away of the thing that was following her. It was a scary man with bloody clothes, almost bald, parts of his flesh hanging like it has been ripped away, and penetrating black eyes. He kept following her wherever she went and even stayed in the garden staring at her window at night. Her mother had said the scary monster was not real, but she could tell her mother could not see it.

She had been playing in the back yard when the man came closer and open his mouth reveling rows of sharp black teeth and she got scared. She ran toward the forest behind her house and he followed her faster than she thought he could. While she kept running, she lost her way and got lost.

Now she had no idea of where she was and the man was still coming closer. She was very scared now and tried to hide behind a tall tree. She did her best to hold the tears, but they fell anyway. What would happened to her if the man found her? Would he hurt her? Would he eat her? She was scared, so scared.

Why was he following her everywhere once it began to get dark? What did he want? Why her? She asked to herself while trying to peek a little to her right, just to be sure the man wasn't close.

"Found you, little one," The man said in a harsh voice coming from behind the tree. She screamed and tried to run again, but the man grabbed one of her little arms. She fought at the freezing touch and kicked it until he finally let her go.

Before she could get away, a force threw her forward into the earth and then another freezing hand grabbed her ankle and dragged her over the dead leaves, fallen branches, and stones. She screamed her heart out and prayed. The man laughed at her and threw her against a tree, the impact left her without air for a second, then the man's sharp claws came closer to her face.

"Little girls taste the best…" The man said to her and came even closer. He was really going to eat her! No, no, no! Mom! Dad! Please save me! She screamed internally and then she felt a burst of energy leaving her body and somehow, the man was thrown a few meters away from her. She felt weak all of the sudden but ran away anyway until she heard her mother yelling her name. Then darkness took her.

This was the moment her powers where blocked, just like Akihiro had predicted. Naru thought while watching the events unfold. So she was a danger magnet even back then? She probably doesn't even remember the experience that, as a child, marked her as a psychic, but it was worrisome. He needed to be more protective of her from now on. Then a rush of intense pain made him gasp.

What seemed like hundreds of memories rushed through his mind in a fast succession. He needed to control the amount of memories Mai was throwing at him, but the pain was agonizing and made it hard to focus. Although he had experienced other people's deaths, he was somehow prepared to face them, all except for Gene's who really struck him the hardest. Yet, Mai's retrocognition was seriously intense.

"Please Mai…stop… Ryoko…" He tried to pass the message to her and surprisingly enough, the flow stopped to a dark void once again. Then he was stroked by a wave of energy and fell down.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She yelled as a few spirits got a hold of her. Fear rushed in and she tried desperately to get away, but something was dragging her who knows where.

"Mai! Go back, now!" A voice Naru knew very well resonated in the darkness and he would have frozen over if he wasn't in Mai's memories. Gene, it was definitely Gene voice calling Mai in the distance.

"Help me Naru!" She screamed back to Gene and suddenly she collided with something warm. She screamed again, fearing something new was joining the others spirits, but surprisingly enough the spirits that were holding her vanished into thin air. She turned and tried to have a better look at what had stopped her and realized it was another person, a woman at that, because she could distinguish long hair partially covering a pale face.

"Ryoko!" She screamed in realization. It had to be her.

"Go back, Mai! He is coming…" Dream Naru said in the distance. Mai looked around beyond scared now. Was she going to die there with Ryoko? How can she go back? She asked herself moving closer to the other women. She could hear her breathing but in a very slow pace. She was barely hanging on.

"Ryoko, wake up! We need to leave." Mai tried to shake her a little, but without success. Then she felt a freezing cold breeze. The monster was close, she could feel it's eerie energy. The smell of blood and rotten flesh was overwhelming, to the point she wanted to throw up, even though she didn't have a real body in there. Then, two deep crimson red eyes showed in the darkness and they shined with anticipation. They shined in hunger.

"Please someone wake me up…I'm going to die here…." She whispered while trembling in the worst fear of her life and the thing stormed toward her, gathering the foulest energy she had ever experienced. "Wake me up, Naru!" She yelled and closed her eyes expecting nothing more than death. A flash of light blinded her for an instant before she woke up on couch and threw herself into Naru's warm arms.

In real time, Naru too woke up in a startle, panting like hell has breaking loose on him. His heart was running faster and faster, still immersed in the girl's residual feelings. He tried to stand up, but fell on his hands and knees. He breathed in and out in rapid intervals and put one of his hand over his heart in an attempt to get a hold on himself. If his pride would have allowed it, he would have thrown up right there.

It had been a very close call, very close indeed. If he had waited a second later to wake her up, the monster would have consumed her soul and it would have been lost to them forever, just half an hour ago. This experience was definitely second to the top on his worst moments, only second to his brother's death. Lin was beside him in an instant, fearing the young man had over used his power, he looked paler than usual, but Naru pushed him away.

"I will be fine Lin… just give me a moment. It was far worse than I anticipated...so close. Damn it, so close!" He almost yelled still having problems with breathing normally. This very experience made him realize something he had feared for a while now… he realized how much in love he was with Mai Taniyama and how close he had been to losing her.

Gene

To Gene, Mai had always been reckless, but this time she sure outdid herself. It was a very close call. If his brother hadn't woken her up in the nick of time, she would have probably ended up being consumed. Ryoko's protective charms had saved her from the other minor spirits when Mai touched her, but he wasn't so sure about her already weakened barrier resisting another set of hits in full force by the monster. Time was running out and Ryoko needed medical assistance as soon as possible. She was a strong woman and her will was made of steel, yet everyone had a limit and hers was getting closer.

In a way, the monster being focused on Mai was a kind of heaven for the exhausted medium. It gave her time to recuperate from the previous assaults from when the monster tried to consume her spiritual power, just to fail as he encountered a strong barrier protecting the black haired women. At the time, he let her be for a while thinking the women would eventually weaken without any water or food, but he was proven wrong when she went into deep meditation to slow her body function.

Gene was very glad of the training Ryoko received at the temple. The monks not only showed her how to control her powers as a medium, but how to go into a deep meditation state too. It had given her the necessary time for others come to her rescue, yet help didn't came as fast as she hoped. Now he was faced with two problems. First, he needed Mai to guide the others to Ryoko, which puts her on an equally dangerous road he didn't wanted her to take. He valued the girl far too much for that, yet she was the only one who could help Ryoko since Masako Hara was out of touch almost as soon as she entered the mansion.

The other was to directly contact his brother in some way. Although their connection was more or less severed when he died, there was still traces of it between the two. Maybe a little too weak for his liking, but still present nevertheless. He could feel it at some degree and that connection lead him to Mai almost a year ago. For some unknown reason, she was already connected to his brother in some way when he first sought out Noll's energy. However, his brother didn't feel his presence even when he stood next to him. Now, he really needed for Noll to notice him in whatever way possible.

For some reason, he felt their connection become stronger when Noll looked at himself in a mirror and thought of him, even if just momentarily. But the narcissist was kind of avoiding mirrors lately and his only way to know about him was either following him or through Mai. He had been tempted to tell Mai he wasn't her 'Naru,' but that was something Noll had to deal with, himself.

Why he was hiding his true identity to the members of his own team was beyond him. He seemed to be a stupid scientist even after his death, which was one of his reason for staying by his side. His brother, while brilliant, was emotionally stunned. He had always worried about his future, fearing he would never open himself to others aside from his inner circle, yet he seemed romantically interested in Mai and that alone had give him hope.

Fearing his brother will leave the girl behind before he gave himself a chance to really feel, he didn't tell Mai about who he really was, now it was time to face his brother. He was going to find out soon enough anyways and he owed Mai a big apology for letting her think he was Naru. Before all that however, was Ryoko's rescue and he needed Mai for the task, no other option was left for him. He only hoped for a safe ending of this case that strikes so close to home.

Shibuya Base

"What did you see in Mai's memories, Naru? You looked like you were in deep pain and panted for breath like hell. I can't imagine Mai's life being that bad or painful. She is far too cheerful for that, despite being an orphan. So… what did you face in there that scared you that badly?" Asked Tokigawa to a still pale Naru. He had calmed down after a while and a cup of tea from the teapot Mai made before. Now they were all expecting his findings, especially Katsumi, who wanted to rescue his sister as soon as possible.

"She was attacked by spirits that gathered in the darkness and they dragged her until she collapsed next to Ryoko's body. Mai found out that Ryoko was still breathing and tried to wake her up when the monster took notice of her. She feared for her life and would probably be dead now if I had woken her up a second later," He said sighing. Monk and Ayako paled in that instant. Both of them knew she was in danger but never imagined she was that close to dying.

"Ryoko seems to be underground. That's the impression I received from Mai's perception. She was also protected, probably by a ward I assume you made, Akihiro. When Mai touched her I could tell Ryoko's mind was somewhere else. Her body function where slower than normal too..." He said closing his eyes. He needed rest, deep sleep at that, if possible.

"And what does that mean? That she is…" Ayako tried to finish the sentence, yet Akihiro interrupted her.

"She is not dead, but rather immersed in a deep meditation. It's a form of enlightenment that only few people can achieve and it's very hard to attain. You must think of nothing, fear nothing, hold nothing, love nothing and be nothing but pure energy. Ryoko could do it since she was thirteen. She was trained by monks, friends of the family. I should have expected it. Now we can truly hope," The man said relieved, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the equipment.

"How can we find her then? Underground, you said? What's that supposed to mean, Noll?" Asked Katsumi in anxiety, not realizing he just called Naru by his English nickname in front of the others. Both Ayako and Monk exchanged a look that confirmed their suspicion.

"Miss Matsuzaki can try to communicate with the spirits of the trees outside once morning comes, the rest can try to find an older blueprint of the grounds to see if there is a room underground or something else," He said lying down on the couch next to Mai once again. He decided not to leave her side for the time being.

"And you will explain to us how the one and only Oliver Davis had keep us in the dark about who he truly is?" Ayako asked and Monk immediately pushed her toward him. Naru did not flinch at this. He was too tired for anything else that night. Oblivion was his best friend at that moment.

"Don't be stupid, Ayako. This is neither the place nor the time to discuss such matters," The Monk warned her.

"It will all be explained when morning comes. I need rest now and so do you all. Tomorrow will be an equally intense day," He said closing his eyes, he also had other matters to attend when morning came. Gene was just one of them. With that, the narcissist held Mai's body protectively and let his exhaustion take over him.

AN: Thanks for reading.