Chapter 3: In Your Care

In the darkness of his mind, his consciousness neither existed in the spiritual nor human realm. Drifting slowly, he fell and sunk into a deep hole of remorse. His past sins and actions ate him as many evil presences surrounded him.

"Fall to me, Hakai God." A voice accompanied by a roar said.

"You can become one of us." Another said as a long and dark arm extended towards the falling Hakai.

Unable to move a muscle, he let himself sink lower and lower until a voice jolted him up in reality.

"Ahh." he expressed as he rose from a mysterious bed.

"Where am I?" Hakai asked himself as a wet cloth fell into his lap. Looking down, he noticed that the top half of his body was naked. Hot sweat covered his dazzling body with laid in front of him. "Ehh!" He screamed as he looked up slowly.

"Ahhh!" He stood in the bed in a funny pose, trying to cover himself up.

"Ahhh!" The two screamed at each other.

"W-w-who are you!" He screamed.

"I-I should be asking you that!" She shouted at him while holding a small bucket.

"You're a pervert, aren't you!" Hakai accused the girl while pointing at her.

"A pervert?" She repeated to herself with a puzzled look.

"Where am I? What did you do to my body?" Hakai questioned her while checking his body.

"N-Nothing," She screamed, retaliating her innocence.

"Hmm, very shady," Hakai told her as he got down from the bed. Then, catching a glimpse of his shirt, he slowly and very carefully wobbled towards it.

"Uhh, please remain in the bed. Your still not well enough." The girl said as she walked toward him. She luckily caught him before he fell onto the cold floor. "Are you okay?" She asked Hakai while she placed her hand on his back.

"She's touching me?" He asked himself as he felt his body lift. "Let go of me. You're not supposed to be around me," Hakai told her with a low tone.

"Just shut it for now and sit on the bed." She informed him as she handed him a room-temperature cup of water. "Here, drink this." The girl said with a slight frown.

"What's your name?" Hakai asked her as he reached his hand for the cup.

"I'm Aki, Mai." She introduced herself with a slight smile.

"What's your name, mister?" Mai asked him while leaning towards him with her hands behind her back.

"I am Hakai, but please call me Haki." He introduced himself as he gulped down the water.

"Hakai." Mai sounded a little down as she said his name. "Why is it no one else can see you, but I can?" She asked him with a sad yet curious expression.

Drawn back by the question, Hakai began sweating nervously, unable to provide a good excuse.

"I-" He tried speaking.

"Is it because you're a spirit?" She straightforwardly proposed to him.

Being caught red-handed, Hakai began sweating uncontrollably. Then, his eyes widened as the water glass he held fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"How do you know that?" He asked her while standing up slowly in fear.

"Because not only am I the only one able to perceive you, but I can see other presences, dead people, and evil creatures roaming this world." She informed him with a severe expression.

"You can perceive spirits?" He repeated to her as he stood still in utter drawback.

"Exactly." Mai tried walking toward him with a new towel, but he made a stance that seemed to be in defense. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." She informed him as she stuck out the towel.

"A human can't be connected to the spiritual realm." He explained to her as he walked back a bit.

"I know," Mai said as she stood still, fearing making him uncomfortable. "I have researched everywhere about my rare ability, but I still can't understand why." She told him as she looked into his eyes. "Please, sit on my bed." She asked him with a friendly yet phony smile.

"Hmm, okay." He talked back to her as he slowly crept over to the bed again and took a seat. Unable to bear the pain in his body, this was his only option. "Please, just toss the towel to me," Hakai asked her with an exhausted expression while he extended his arm towards her looking away.

"Here." She said before tossing it directly into his hand. "Haki-San, you can perceive that you're dead?" She asked him, but she followed up with another. "How exactly did you die at a young age like this?" She asked him while he held the towel to his forehead.