Doors upon Doors

From the door's soft opening

And the day's first sigh

Mai wasn't guarded.

That was the simplest way to describe her. That was Lin's way of describing her.

Lin knew the second they started out Mai was no ordinary employee. In fact, she was a rather incompetent one. Who hired a fifteen-year-old girl with arms like twigs for a job that consisted of mainly manual labor?

His sixteen-year-old ward, apparently.

"She'll be nothing more than deadweight," Lin said as Naru finished the phone call with their new part-time assistant. "Why would you offer a job to her?"

"She was helpful during the case," Naru supplied.

"She knows nothing about ghost hunting," Lin shot back, standing directly in the doorway so Naru could not avoid this conversation or this mistake. Naru didn't even get up from his chair.

"She doesn't have to know anything about ghost hunting. She's my assistant." The words were pointed directly at their cover-up. Lin glared.

"Shouldn't I have equal say in this, since technically I am the one handling the funds?"

"You are not the one paying her. SPR is paying her," he reasoned.

"Naru."

"Fine. What do you think?"

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"And why did you wait until after I gave her the job to tell me this?"

"I didn't think you were serious."

Naru sighed.

"I don't think you're going to have to worry about Mai tipping over another shelf on you, if that's what's holding you back," Naru said, stealing an obvious glance at the crutch under Lin's arm.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Lin replied, stepping further into the office, but unable to let go of the crutch. "This was a short, harmless case. She managed to break a camera and knock over two different shelves on two different people – one of them being herself!"

"Are you sure you're not just trying to protect your bruised ego?" he asked, straightening the papers scattered around his desk.

"I am not. But clearly, the girl is a walking disaster."

"I'm sure she's learned her lesson by now," Naru said, leaning an elbow on the desk to brace his temple with the space between his thumb and fingers. "You know you're not going to change my mind, so are you done?"

"Our line of work is dangerous—"

"You don't think I know that?"

"—and she's going to get herself killed in weeks."

At this, Naru stopped and sat up straight.

"She's simply not strong enough for this job," Lin finished. "In any form of the word."

"No, she's not," Naru agreed quietly. Lin wished he didn't hear those silent extra words of promise, like a ball and chain hanging on the end of Naru's sentence.

"You saw something else in her, didn't you?" Lin asked, sure of the answer. Naru stared at a spot on the wall, eyes slightly narrowed. Confused.

"You weren't there when Mai pulled the priest, John, out of the way of a falling ceiling," Naru said plainly. Lin waited for explanation, for description, for something long-winded and riddled with paradoxes, but Naru sat there, staring at the wall.

Lin wasn't entirely sure why he expected more, but the pull on Naru's voice was something new. The boy had hit a roadblock.

"She's a bit of a nuisance and she asks too many questions and she is probably the least qualified person to work here, but the ceiling."

The words almost wanted to make Lin laugh.

Naru broke his stare. He asked, "Did that change your mind?"

"No."

"Well, Mai's first day of work is next week. We'll need to purchase a small desk and chair for her."

"Good morning, everyone!"

Lin nodded as she came in. Mai dropped her bag next to her desk and wandered into the kitchen automatically. She hummed to herself as the water boiled and poked around the cupboards before she found the tea she wanted to make that day.

She wore every splash of emotion on her face. This Naru loved to complain about, which then caused another tidal wave of blustering screeches that Lin would have rather avoided altogether. In fact, Naru found any opportunity he could seize by the scruff to point out Mai's flaws. Of course, the girl would explode and defend and retaliate to her heart's content.

Yet still, she would stay to make tea until all work was done in their office, silently slipping in to refill a nearly empty teacup. Naru stopped telling her to leave because she never listened.

Lin began to view her strength in a different way.

Mai became a necessity.

New talents kept cropping up wherever they were most necessary, Mai just as surprised as everybody else.

Countless nights spent in the hospital, only for her to wake and ask, "Are they okay?" She never listened when it came to her own safety, either.

Lin watched Naru try to puzzle out Mai like she was his own personal case, and watched him toss the damn puzzle to pieces when they found Gene's body.

Lin watched Mai on the very last day, as she made tea, and asked how everybody was, and said goodbye like there was a tomorrow, even when Naru refused to speak.

Lin began to wonder where Mai learned this strength, when nobody else seemed to be able to keep a grasp on it.

"You don't have to explain it a third time, Naru-bou. I've got it, man," Takigawa said to the camera. The speaker crackled, what could only be decoded as a sharp sigh from the other end of the line.

"It's for Mai's sake, not yours. But do begin whenever you're ready, we've got plenty of time." Naru punctured the words with his dry sarcasm. Takigawa and Mai gave each other a look that relayed an entire familiar conversation in the span of three seconds. The arguing could come later. The monk adjusted himself and closed his eyes while Mai stood at attention, present as backup.

"Takes a bit of delicacy. I wouldn't expect you to know about that at all, though, so just sit tight."

Miraculously, Naru couldn't come up with a response in time. Takigawa assumed position and began his chant.

After thirty seconds, they heard Naru give another criticism. "Bou-san, you're not doing anything. This is useless."

"Would you just give us a bit of time, man?" Takigawa snapped, opening one eye. He glared at the blank-eyed camera. Its expression probably wasn't much different from Naru's anyway. "It's going to take even longer if you keep interrupting."

"We don't have time."

"Well, we'll have even less if you don't manage to shut your mouth and let me focus."

Just as Mai rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to defend Takigawa, something grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her off her feet. Mai flailed, speechless in shock, but its grip tightened.

She screamed, and Takigawa whirled around to watch the spirit drag Mai backwards and up the chimney.

"Mai!"

Mai dragged her fingers along the blackened brick, trying to hold herself down. Still up she went.

Without thinking, Mai laced her bleeding fingers together and screamed, "Naumaku sanmanda bazara dan kan!"

Mai shut her eyes against the sudden burst of light and crashed hard on the hearth.

"Mai-chan? Mai-chan, can you hear me?" Takigawa pulled her toward him, shaking her slightly. "Mai?"

"M'fine," she mumbled, pressing her face into his chest, but the soft t-shirts that smelled like too much cologne and coffee weren't there to comfort her. His robe scratched at her cheeks and made her want to pull away. He lifted her chin and thumbed her hair away from her throbbing forehead.

"I think that's going to leave a mark." He lifted her off the ground without warning, and she clutched him like a terrified cat. "Hey, hey, no need to freak out. I've got you."

He adjusted her and she sunk into him with a single shuddering breath.

"I've got you, jou-chan."

The room was no longer cold, and the place silent. Takigawa looked down at the girl shivering in his arms and realized that she had completed the exorcism. Pride and fear swelled and clashed in his chest.

Takigawa backed into the base to immediate attention from their irate boss.

"Did you turn off the cameras?" Naru snapped.

Takigawa watched Naru's face collapse into what he could have interpreted as surprise for the briefest of moments.

"I think that would have been the ghost that attacked Mai. I'm pretty sure she's got a concussion," Takigawa said coolly, letting Naru seethe in his own guilt. Naru recovered quickly.

"You let her get hurt. You let that ghost bash her head into the floor."

Takigawa helped Mai sit down on the couch before responding. "Hey, hey, I didn't let her do anything. She managed to save herself, as a matter of fact. And that's not what happened—"

"This doesn't look like saving herself to me," Naru said, motioning to Mai, who held her head in her hands. "Mai was there for backup! Not so you could fumble the exorcism and force her to defend herself!"

"Don't treat me like her babysitter! She was clearly more than capable to defending herself! Just because you distracted us, don't take it out on me!" Takigawa shouted.

"Stop, please," Mai said. Her quiet, weak words drew the two men away from each other.

"Sorry, Mai-chan," Takigawa muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Naru backed two steps away and said nothing. The terse silence rolled Mai's eyes into the back of her head, and she folded like a marionette with cut strings. Both Takigawa and Naru lunged to support her, but the monk got there first.

"Mai!" Takigawa took her by the shoulders and shook her gently. Mai's eyelids fluttered, and Takigawa ran a hand along Mai's hairline. The tips of his fingers came back bloody. Takigawa shot his gaze over his shoulder at their shocked boss.

"Wake up Ayako. We need to get Mai to the hospital."

Naru didn't waste time bickering.

"Jou-chan, can you hear me? You've gotta stay awake, all right?"

Mai made a noise that Takigawa would have laughed at had the situation not been so dire.

The door swung open, and in raced Ayako, car keys and an ice pack clutched in her hands.

"You'll carry her to my car, but I want you to drive so I can keep an eye on her," Ayako said. Takigawa nodded and lifted Mai in his arms.

"You've got to stay awake just a little bit longer, jou-chan. Just a little bit longer."

Naru picked up his coat.

"And where the fuck do you think you're going?" Takigawa rounded on Naru.

"I'm going with you," he said simply. Takigawa barked a laugh.

"You're not, because you were the one who let her end up like this," the monk retorted.

"You were in there with her. You allowed it to happen much more than me."

"We don't have the time for you both to blame each other. Mai doesn't have the time," Ayako interrupted. Her voice softened as she turned back to Naru. "I'm sorry. You're staying here. I'll make sure to call with updates."

The two were gone and the door shut before Naru had formulated a response.

The gravel crunched beneath their feet in the cold midnight air. Ayako popped the back door open and slid in, waiting expectantly. Takigawa propped Mai against Ayako in the backseat and traded her for the keys. Ayako clutched the young girl's hand and gently placed the ice pack on her forehead. Mai winced, but didn't pull away.

"Did you solve the case, Mai?" Ayako asked. Mai's head bobbed. The car revved into motion.

"Think so," she said. "Naru will know."

Takigawa's gaze brief flicked back to Mai.

"Is he okay?" Mai asked.

"Who? Naru?" Ayako clarified. Mai's head bobbed again. "Oh, he's fine. Leave the worrying to us."

"But he sounded so guilty."

Neither adult had a response.

Ayako cleared her throat. "Don't worry about him right now," she repeated, a little less sure. She wrapped her arms around Mai. "We'll call him later."

"Okay," Mai said. Her eyes began to close again.

"No, no, Mai. You have a concussion. You can't sleep yet."

"Oh, okay," Mai said, her voice no longer than a five-year-old's. "Are you okay, Bou-san?"

"Me?" Takigawa asked, thoroughly confused. "I'm fine, Mai. Maybe you hit your head a little too hard. I didn't get hurt."

"But I scared you. And I kind of stole your exorcism. I feel bad. I'm sorry."

Takigawa struggled with a response, too taken aback by Mai's empathy. Ayako recovered for him.

"I'm sure Bou-san is more than used to getting exorcisms he said he could complete taken away from him. In any case, we're a team, aren't we? It's fine."

Takigawa pulled into the ER lot and parked. He gave Ayako the keys and picked Mai up again. Mai snuggled against him and kept the ice pack steady. The words he wanted to say to her tied together at the back of his throat and refused to budge.

Ayako went to talk to the triage nurse, and Mai disappeared from Takigawa's arms before he could blink.

Ayako patted the seat next to her, and he slumped down beside her with a sigh. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"She's something, isn't she?" he managed to say.

"So I was right. That did catch you off guard."

"I've seen her do that with Naru. She can see pain when others can't even see their own. It's like an X-ray. And it's so precise she can do it even when she's only halfway there."

Ayako adjusted herself, and hearing the dip in Takigawa's voice, changed the subject.

"You're still in your robes," Ayako teased. Takigawa shrugged.

"Ah, it's okay. I'm pretty sure you've got a t-shirt or two of mine still stashed away in your trunk."

Ayako rolled her eyes and elbowed him half-heartedly. Takigawa chuckled but let it slide.

In an hour, Ayako retrieved said shirt from her car, along with a pair of jeans he'd forgotten about. He took them both with a fox's grin and went to change in the bathroom.

Takigawa didn't remember falling asleep with Ayako's head in his lap, but that was where she was when the doctor awoke him the following morning. Massaging the throbbing pain in his neck, Takigawa listened to the doctor's report.

"Your friend is fine, no major damage to her brain. The cut along her hairline required stitches, but if she rests and perhaps takes some Tylenol for pain, she should be all healed up by next week. Just make sure she doesn't do anything too strenuous in the meantime."

Takigawa wasn't sure if strenuous defined heated debates with her boss, but he took that into consideration.

For all Mai knew, work was slow for the next few weeks, so they didn't need her help.

But Mai really didn't know anything, and it was really Naru who needed help.

The end of the day bell rang, and Mai shouldered her bag, wandering out into the late-spring air. She checked her phone for any updates from Naru, even if he just had filing for her to do, but wasn't surprised when the screen was blank.

She shoved it back in her pocket right before it rang. Mai jumped, excited, and answered without looking at the ID.

"Hey, Naru! What have you got for me?" she asked.

"Sorry to disappoint, Mai-chan." It was Yasuhara who laughed into the phone. Mai couldn't hide her disappointment well enough, but Yasuhara was kind enough not to judge.

"I was calling to see if you needed a ride to the case from school," Yasuhara said. "I'm going by there, so I figured I'd offer if you aren't already on your way with Naru."

"What case?" Mai asked.

"The… the case that SPR's currently on," Yasuhara replied, slightly confused. Mai narrowed her eyes and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. She guarded her eyes against the glaring sun.

"Uh, work's been slow. We haven't had any cases since the one where I got dragged up the chimney. That's why I thought you were Naru when I picked up."

"I can send you the case file Naru asked me to work on. We've got a case. I think we're a couple days into it, actually. Are you feeling okay?" he asked. Mai huffed and started walking again, the concrete taking the brunt of her anger.

"I was feeling fine," Mai muttered. "But now I'm a little bit angry. Why didn't Naru tell me about it?"

"Don't tell me you don't know the answer to that question," Yasuhara said. Mai felt her shoulders drop as she came to a stop again.

"I had a little faith this time," she evaded.

"And what has that taught you?"

"That having faith in Naru like having faith in a cornered wild animal," Mai replied. The line was too well-rehearsed and the feeling far too familiar. It was like Naru tried to shut out and bar every single chance Mai had at a new case. Like he didn't need her anymore, all because she had gotten a little close to splitting her head in two.

"Can you actually just give me a ride to the SPR office on your way back? I don't need to go to the case, especially if they're finishing up. I'll just get a… recap from Naru."

"If that's what you want. I'll pick you up at your apartment after dinner."

"Please and thank you!"

Mai waited on the office couch for two hours, waiting for Lin and Naru to get back. She wasn't going to take being treated like this. Hell, they were still paying her. She wanted to be of some use, and if that use was pounding some real sense into Naru's head, then so be it.

The door opened, and Mai jumped to her feet.

"Mai, what are you doing here?" Naru started before Mai could even get a hello in. Her forehead crinkled.

"Funny thing to ask when I work for you and we're on a case," Mai replied.

"I am your boss, so I can decide when I need you and when I don't. For this case, I don't." He dropped his things on the front desk and faced Mai.

"Do you not need me now? Have you not needed me for nearly a month?" she questioned.

"Correct."

"I think you're just afraid of me getting hurt," Mai said, crossing her arms. Lin just watched sans input. Naru's eyes didn't even flash.

"I'm sick of my business insurance skyrocketing after every case, honestly," Naru replied. "Oddly enough, without you on the cases, it's been rather stable."

Mai scoffed. "Can you stop trying to save face? You sound pathetic. I know what you're doing!"

"And what is it that you think I'm doing?" he asked. Unable to restrain himself, he continued, "Trying to keep you alive?"

Mai flailed her arms. "Yes!"

"I can't really say I'm sorry about that either. I don't think you want me to." Even with one eyebrow raised, he managed to fluster Mai even more.

"You're missing the point!"

"You're not getting to it, Mai."

Mai yelled at him, "I've gotten hurt on cases before! I'm fine! But just now you think shutting me out of SPR will do me any good? It's not like this is the first time this has happened!"

"Yes, but I would like it to be the last!" Naru roared, losing his ever-constant cool.

Mai didn't back down. "It's in the job description! You understood the risks when you hired me, and I understand the risks now. You can't treat me like glass after the fact!"

Mai had jumped forward with her raised voice. Naru opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it and took a short breath in.

"No amount of your shrill screaming will get me to change my mind," Naru said evenly. His sudden calmness doubled her anger. Her cheeks blazed red.

"I'm doing more than screaming at you!"

"Really? That's all I hear. Until you can actually speak to me like an adult and understand where I'm coming from, I'll be in my office."

With that he pivoted on his heel. His sudden decision took Mai by such surprise she stood there frozen with wide eyes for several seconds.

"Hey! Don't you walk away from me! I'm asking you to treat me as an equal!"

Naru's office door slammed shut. Mai banged on it repeatedly with closed fists.

"Naru!" she screamed, kicking it one last time. "I'm asking you to listen to me!" He did not give her the dignity of a response. "Ugh!"

For the next hour, there was silence.

Lin found her asleep outside Naru's office, barricading the door with her thin legs, spine braced against the inside of the door frame.

"Don't move me," Mai muttered the second Lin knelt to carry her to the couch. "Naru doesn't get to come out until he apologizes."

"All right, Mai."

In half an hour, she was on the couch, dead asleep. Lin draped her jacket over her legs. She had just had her stitches removed the day before and had a pink bandage taped over the nearly healed cut.

Naru hadn't emerged from his office. On silent feet, Lin opened Naru's door, only to find the office empty. Lin narrowed his eyes. He was sure Naru could not have snuck past him, and certainly not Mai.

Someone snored. Lin looked down to find Naru asleep beside the door, arms crossed and head slumped forward on his chest. Lin sighed. These doors that the two of them kept firmly shut between them weren't doing much to keep them apart.

Inevitable. That was all it was. Inevitable.

And everyone could see it except for the sleeping, squabbling children.

The next day, Naru didn't demand tea – didn't even ask for it, even though the bags under his eyes practically begged for caffeine. Most likely, he had meant it as a courtesy, a passive, silent apology, but of course, Mai would not take it as such. And she didn't.

So she over-compromised, and when Lin entered their kitchenette, every single teacup they had filled the counter space, filled to the brim with lukewarm water and a teabag.

"Naru!" Lin called out. The office door opened and Naru meandered into their kitchenette. He took a few seconds to register the assistant's continued revenge.

Naru blinked, took a cup, and returned to his office. By the end of the day, the tea cups were empty, not a single one drained down the sink.

"Mai, can you take off school next week? We have a case in the mountains, and I'm going to need everyone there," Naru called out from his office at noon. Mai walked by the open door once and nodded before she realized what he had said. She backtracked, face alight.

For Mai, this seemed to count as sorry enough.

The next day, the ordeal seemed forgotten. Mai chattered with John the entire trip up.

Lin was sure he didn't understand Mai's strength.

The new case was suspicious from minute one. Dolls plastered in the walls, bones unburying themselves in broad daylight, food offerings rejected and bursting into flames – this house was fighting itself.

Their fourth night, Mai woke Lin with a whisper.

"Naru's gone."

Lin knew Naru had figured out the case, and had found it odd when the SPR boss had demanded that they finish it the next day. Now he understood why.

Mai sprinted to the door with Lin at her heels.

"Naru!" Mai yelled, her voice bouncing off the white walls. "Don't you dare try to solve this on your own!"

She didn't care if she was going to wake up the entire house. He was not going to be this stupid because of her.

"He said it was focused in the dining room," Lin called out, running ahead of her. Mai pumped her legs harder, desperate to keep up. Lin was commanding, persuasive, but she also had the terrible feeling that only she could fix this.

"Open the door, Naru!" Lin yelled, banging on the paneling with a flat palm. There was no response. Mai slammed both her fists against the door.

"You're just going to get yourself hurt," Lin reasoned. "Let Mai and me in, Naru, and we'll all deal with this together, so no one gets hurt."

"The whole reason I'm doing this alone is so no one gets hurt."

"You're going to end up killing yourself!" Mai squeaked.

"I don't want you dying, Mai. That's why I've got to do this on my own."

The words were strangely honest. Mai beat through her surprise and answered with sharp honesty of her own. "So you get to throw yourself in harm's way, hm? The great and powerful Naru gets to lord his death over the rest of us so you don't have to hurt? Sounds pretty selfish to me!"

After a few seconds of silence, Mai grabbed the doorknob and shook.

"I'll be fine," Naru replied. Mai groaned and kicked at the door.

"No, you won't! You're not strong enough!"

"Neither are you!"

"So then let's do this together! Please!" Mai's voice broke, but the door remained shut. Mai tried again. "I know you don't want any of us dying. I know you don't want to lose someone again. But I'm sure as hell not going to lose you again either, Naru."

"…there's nothing you can do."

"You see, I think that's where you're wrong," Lin said suddenly. Mai looked up at him, confused. Beyond the door, Naru waited, too.

"I've been giving this some thought. Mai could communicate with Gene, so she's on the same spiritual wave length. Because Gene could balance your powers with his wave length, logically, wouldn't Mai be able to do the same?"

"Lin, I don't really know if that's a good idea," Mai whispered. "I'm nowhere near strong enough. I don't want to put him in any danger if I can't—"

"Mai, please trust yourself," Lin said simply. "Believe me, it'll be intuitive."

"So… what do you say then, Naru?" Mai said, her voice wavering slightly. "Open the door. We'll do this together."

The lock clicked on the door, and it slowly swung forward.

"You'll do exactly as I tell you, okay, Mai?" were Naru's calculated words. At two in the morning, he was still in his work clothes. He was armed with nothing. Mai swallowed.

"And if I tell you to leave—"

"I'm not going to listen because I'm not going to leave you alone," she cut him off before he could set the rule. Naru's mouth pressed into a thin, aggravated line.

"What do you want me to do, lie?" Mai asked.

"We're all here for each other," Lin said, placating the tension, "so we're not leaving a single one of us vulnerable."

"I will start. Mai, you've have to take that energy from me and refine it. Take out what could kill me. Send it back."

"Great. That's clear."

"Trust me. Trust yourself," Naru said calmly.

And then he began.

Mai remembered this heavy air. The static weaved through her hair and poured into her lungs. The film around Naru's body caught her attention. She wasn't sure if he looked blurrier than before, than the last time he'd surprised all of them like this.

"Mai." Lin's urgency broke through her thoughts. She nodded and focused.

Mai breathed in. She wasn't sure how she knew what to do, but she didn't question it. It was like her heart carried a second pulse. She was thinking and breathing and living for two people. Through her own shimmery haze, Mai could just barely see Naru, but she could feel him. Feel his incredible power overwhelm her senses and thoughts.

Mai fell hard onto the wooden floorboards, dazed, wheezing for her own air.

"Mai!" she heard someone call from far away. "Send the power back or we're going to lose both of you!"

Mai refocused, desperate not to force Naru back into the hospital. She stumbled to her feet and reconnected.

The words acted as a magnifying glass, and the power suddenly pulled together in her mind as a molten sphere, like a sun behind her eyes. Mai breathed in, and pieces, jagged pieces of glass, fell away from the sun. She breathed out, and the sun shrunk and fell into her cupped palms. She smoother her fingers over it and it turned into a marble – a small, glassy star lit at the center, the same navy blue as Naru's eyes.

Mai opened her eyes and gave it back.

There was a bang like a gunshot and all of the wind flew out of her. Mai threw herself forward on all fours, gasping for air.

"You okay, Mai?" A hand fell on her shoulder. Shaking, Mai looked up into Lin's face. She nodded and managed to catch a glimpse at Naru, who sat against a wall with a hand over his eyes.

"He's fine. Breathing, anyway," Lin answered before she got the chance to ask the question started in her gaze. "So we've already beat last time," he muttered under his breath.

"Did it work?" Mai asked, her voice hoarse.

Lin laughed. "Yes, Mai-san. It worked."

"Looks like you've got another skill to put under your belt," Naru said. "Maybe something to work on, too," he groaned. As he stood, he massaged the spot over his heart and made a face. Mai jumped, up, powered by their success, and barreled him into a hug. Naru didn't hug her back, but even he couldn't crush her high.

"Don't you understand what this means? We can solve so many more cases now! You… you can do so much more! Without nearly killing yourself! Naru, are you even listening to me? Naru—!"

Naru broke away from her, staring. He blinked like he was trying to recall a memory and then left the room. Mai let her arms drop to her sides and sighed.

"Typical."

"It's just his pride, you know that. He'll come around."

"But it's always some excuse, isn't it?" Mai asked. "His pride, his intelligence, his… so-called concern. It's always something I need to excuse him for. I don't want to have to wait for Naru to grow the hell up. So we can all stop making excuses for him."

"I don't know how you're so patient." The words left Lin's mouth before he knew that he even believed them.

"You think I'm patient?" Mai laughed. "Don't let Naru hear you call me that. He won't be able to help himself, and he'll list all the reasons why you're wrong."

"I am sorry for his behavior, Mai—"

She shook her head and held up a hand. "Don't be. Don't apologize for him. It's his fault for being a jerk, so he's the one who needs to apologize."

Mai glanced at the crumpled fireplace, where the many sacrifices had taken place. It looked so harmless now that it was a pile of splinters and rubble.

"But hey, we did it. We can leave in the morning," Mai said with a bright smile and a weak voice.

"How are you feeling, Mai? That's not something you've ever done before."

"I'm tired. But it's a… familiar feeling, for some reason."

"Perhaps your link with Gene prepared you for it. Strengthened the psychic bond you can have with people."

"But why me?" Mai asked. The question was comfortable in her mouth, like she'd been asking it for years. "Why me?" asking again, like she'd never actually said the question out loud before, only in her head.

"I do believe that Naru has suspected the answer for a long time. Perhaps now is the time to ask him."

He watched as Mai registered this answer. Watched the emotion fold across her face and evolve. She turned her large brown eyes up to him with a wordless question.

Lin shrugged, because he could hear the question anyway. "It's always been you, Mai. Since your first case."

"What are you talking about?" She didn't dare believe a word.

"Ask Naru. He'll tell you."

"How'd it go?" Takigawa asked, wide awake even though it was barely three in the morning. Somehow, the racket had not woken Ayako, John, and Masako, but the monk waited with an eerie patience Naru wished to turn his back on.

"Fine."

"You were certain we were dealing with another god summoned from some maniacally twisted version of voodoo, and all you can describe the exorcism with is fine?"

Naru reworded his answer. "It was successful."

"That's the same damn thing."

Takigawa watched Naru shuffle around in the near dark.

"Mai can channel my powers safely. Like Gene could. I'm able to use them again without worrying about killing myself."

Takigawa whistled, soft and low. Naru walked out of the room into their base and sat down at the computer. Takigawa followed and shut the door behind him.

"She'll have us all beat in the next year. We'll all be out of a job," he joked, leaning against a wall. "But really, that's great!"

"It is."

The grin slowly faded from Takigawa's face. "…why do you sound angry about that?"

"Every new trick Mai pulls makes her ten times more susceptible to attacks."

"She always makes it through, though."

"Somehow. After everyone else nearly dies of worry." The late night or early morning, whatever they could define this limbo in time, made Naru more honest than usual.

"Isn't she something?" Takigawa asked, staring across the room. "Something."

"I don't know what she is either," Naru said. "I can't figure her out."

"You don't have to figure her out. That's not what you need."

"Well, what do I need then?"

Takigawa raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to decode her. You just need her."

Naru gave a little scoff, and Takigawa laughed.

"You deny it all you want. These last few cases took you twice as long without Mai on them, as much as you'd like to ignore that very pertinent fact. You can't function without her."

Naru didn't respond, and Takigawa pressed on, determined to finally get Naru to take off his blinders and see what everybody else had seen for years.

"None of us can. You've always known that. You just refuse to admit it."

"She can't hang onto me," Naru said slowly. But these words weren't the ones he wanted to use. He just couldn't find a better answer. Takigawa knew this, too, and heard the defense when it hit the air.

So Takigawa tried another way.

"When she told you, before you left, that she loved you, what did you tell her?"

Naru didn't respond. Not because he didn't want to tell Takigawa the answer, but because Takigawa wasn't actually asking the question.

"You told her that she didn't love you. That she loved Gene."

"She didn't understand her own feelings," Naru excused.

Takigawa shook his head. "She didn't have to understand."

"How do you even know this?"

"Mai isn't hard to read. You at least know that," Takigawa said, crossing his arms. "Plus, she broke down crying on the ride home from that case. Told me everything."

Naru sat down in a chair, remembering that day. He hated remembering that day, but he saw it and heard it and felt it every time he looked at Mai. And he deserved all of that pain.

"The funny thing is though, you were the one who didn't understand," Takigawa said, his voice a little gentler.

"Of course I understood."

Takigawa barked a laugh. "I think that's the worst lie you've ever told me. Told any of us. That's saying something."

"Well, then what I am supposed to do?"

"Let yourself be honest with her, so you can stop sabotaging your happiness," Takigawa said. "I'd bet good money that Mai is sitting in the dining room thinking herself to death."

"Mai, what are you still doing in here?" Naru asked as he stepped into the dining room.

Mai looked up, Naru barely outlined in the bleak sunrise. She sat against the wall, her legs curled up to her chest. She shrugged.

"It's peaceful," was all she could say. "Relatively speaking," she added.

She watched Naru sit across from her, but didn't move to say another word. They sat in silence for several minutes, but the silence wasn't unwelcome or painful. If anything, it was healing.

"Lin said to ask you something. I don't know if I want to," Mai said.

"Why not?"

"Because you aren't going to tell me the truth."

At this, Naru looked slightly offended.

"So I'll ask it only if you promise to tell me the truth."

"I'll tell the truth."

"This is your last chance."

"I promise."

"Naru, I'm being very serious."

Naru opened his mouth to retort, but then paused. He recalled the way her voice quivered when she had to confront someone, knew how much she hated confrontation, but knew it was better for everyone if she went through with it.

She was the most honest of them all. They needed her to kick and pound at the walls until they tumbled down. Naru was the last one who had decided to reinforce those walls.

But now, he figured, maybe it was time to let Mai break through.

"I will answer completely honestly anything you ask me. Absolutely anything," he said.

"It's always been me, hasn't it?" she asked.

Any other day, any other time, he would have lied in a monotone staring into her large brown eyes. And she would have yelled and cried and stalked off and he would bury the hurt so he wouldn't hurt her. And the next day, they would have been fine, with tea and closed doors and a silent office.

But she had asked because she knew the answer, and Naru had promised her honesty.

"Yes."

Mai jumped, like she hasn't expected an answer so firm and so different. It took several seconds for her to wrap her head around it. Tears welled in her eyes, and a smile like he'd never seen before spilled across her face.

"Why wait so long? Why… why would you never tell me?"

"Because it shouldn't be like this. I don't deserve this."

"Yes, you do," Mai laughed weakly through her tears. "Don't ever let yourself think that you don't. Never, ever again."

She hugged him and wept, awkwardly giggling between sobs every few moments. He rethought the words in his head. He never believed this day would come, but now Mai held the key and stood beyond an open door.

"I am sorry, Mai," he finally whispered in her ear.

"Are you?" she asked, but allowed a bead of hope to roll about her words.

"Yes," he answered again, plain and concrete. He liked the way the word sounded in his mouth, and he liked even more that Mai was hearing it.

"Good," she said. "You should be."

He pressed his lips against her forehead, and laced his fingers through hers. She rested herself against his chest with a soft smile and fell asleep.

Naru fell asleep with her, holding her close, the doors finally open between them.

Until that final sigh

And the last morning

And the last holy breath

Whispering "this"

A/N: It's so lovely to come back to this fandom. Please review!

(Song: Dawn by EW Barnum.)