Author Note: I am still working on my other story Dead Silent. But this was a plot bunny that could not be ignored.

A Dark Night

It was a dark and stormy night. The evening had been heavy with the scent of rain and the sound of distant thunder. We of course were working in a haunted house when the thunder storm hit. What is strange in the light of day; becomes down right creepy when the dark falls from the sky, and the storm slaps the house upside the head with rumbled discontent.

Naru and I had gone to the farthest corner of the house to fix a camera I had set up. For some reason it wasn't working right and he wanted to get it back up and running. The problem was that there was no sound running, just video feed. I had to listen to Naru make sarcastic remarks the entire time we walked over there. All I could say was that I was sure I had the sound running when I left the room earlier in the day. In fact I know I did because I confirmed with Lin before leaving the room so there!

When we arrived in the master bedroom the storm was going full blast. The rain thrummed on the windows, louder was the sound of rain beating down on the roof. Everything looked normal. We had asked the people who lived here to take a few days and stay at the local inn. Therefore the room was empty, the bed made neatly and the still hanging open closet door showed empty hangers. It still smelled faintly of sweet women's perfume. The lady of the house had good taste, the smell lingering pleasantly without overpowering the nose and making your eyes water.

Naru tinkered with the video camera while I looked around the room. I had come in earlier in a hurry to get things in place before dinner. Not taking time really to do more than set up and ascertain that I had captured as much of the room as possible. It was nice. When I have more money I would love a home like this, elegant and comfortable.

I unashamedly played in the mirror, fluffing my hair and cooing at the expensive necklaces that were draped on hooks on the jewelry stand. While I played Naru made sarcastic remarks about employees who weren't paid to play while the boss worked. I ignored him.

From the corner of my eye as I draped a necklace in front of me I saw movement in the still open closet. I paused, Naru still mumbling as a figure appeared in the closet. When I had been a kid, I refused to have my closet door open at night. Not because I believed that there were monsters but because in the dark; when shadows deepened, my clothes took on the shape of a person standing there. One night, as a young child, I had lain in bed staring at a pair of hanging clothes all night sure that it was some one standing in the closet waiting for me to sleep. Waiting to come out.

But now I saw a figure in the softly lit room. The figure became shaper until I could see detail. Her body was hunched, she was dressed in torn bloody pajamas and her face, oh god her face! Her eyes burned with rage, cuts oozed across her cheeks and forehead, her skin looked hard and dead. A smile was fixed, demonic, cruel…

"Na… Na... NARU!!!"

She rushed out of the closet at Naru as he looked up at my scream. Her arm reached out and threw him across the room to me. He hit the dresser with a thud and then slumped, head lolling, blood spilling from his head.

She stalked towards me, smiling. "Did I hurt your precious man?" She laughed, throaty and deep.

"Stay away from him!" I yelled defiantly, moving to stand over his body, protectively crouched.

She laughed throwing her head back, tossing her dirty unkempt hair, and then grinned at me, a twinkle appearing in her evil eyes. "How are you going to stop me?"

"Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu sai zen"

She reared back; three more cuts appeared on her face. Dear god! She is strong I think all I did was piss her off some more!

She snarled at me, crouching down, blood dripping off of her chin. Her eyes dipped down to Naru and without thinking I threw my self to my knees in front of him, arms crossed to cover my face. Her clawed hands tore through the soft flesh of my under arms.

She pulled back and laughed at me. "If you stopped protecting him, then you wouldn't get hurt."

I lowered my bleeding arms, tears pouring down my face. "No."

Delighted she swung at us again, I turned my shoulder to her protecting my arms and Naru. Pain cut through me and my shirt started to absorb blood from the deep gashes she had inflicted. I glared at her. She smiled at me.

Determined I stood up to face her again. Again I chanted, stronger firmer, I would not let her hurt Naru! "Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu sai zen"

She snarled some more as deeper gashes hit her arms and face. Lightening quick she smacked me in the face. My head whipped with the force of the blow and I turned my body again to cover Naru. She clawed my other shoulder. Bleeding from gashes on my own face now, I stood up from my protective crouch and gave her a bloody smile. "Bitch I am not going to let you hurt him."

"Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu sai zen" I shouted, blood spitting from my mouth. This time it seemed to actually hurt her. She pulled back deep cuts in her belly and chest. I stood there. Defiant and enraged that she would attack me and Naru. The pain was forgotten. I shouted again. "Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu sai zen"

She pulled back more, almost whimpering. Now her dreadful body sported numerous gashes and wounds. Only they didn't slow her down as much as me. She was already dead.

Suddenly she straightened and looked up; she brought her face down to stare in my eyes. Smiled. "My turn!"

A bright flash of light, followed by a subsonic BOOM! My eyes went large as she smiled at me, blood dripping from her rotten teeth. The lights went out.

I dropped over Naru's body covering as much as possible. Insane laughter filled the room as the ghost started clawing at my back with rage filled strength. Blood dripped from my body; I felt my vision going black as pain swamped me.

"Naru" I whispered it, willing him to wake up. A deep dark shadow filled my vision and I was sucked down into oblivion.

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I was drifting on a cloud. Wind ruffled my hair and caressed my face. It was a smooth flight, deliberate and comfortable. Distantly I could hear soft thumps. I opened my eyes and above me was the stoic face of Naru. He was looking straight ahead and he eyes blazed azure. I was in his arms, held against his chest. Safe, I sighed and drifted back into my dreams.

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Beep…Beep…Beep

I came to lying on my stomach. My face was flat on the bed, no pillow, arms placed by my sides' palms up. The sheets were white and scratchy. I lay there, dreamy. Pain was a distant friend, held back by some drug dripping into my arm.

"Naru" I whispered.

The sound of a body leaving a chair rustled through the room. The scent of tea and cologne wrapped about me and I blearily saw a black shirt. It shifted down and Naru's face came into eye level.

"Mai."

"Are you ok?" I whispered.

His blue eyes darkened. "Yes."

Hearing an affirmative I surrendered back to my dreams, a slight smile on my lips.

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The next time I woke up, I could feel someone taking the bandages off of the wounds on my back. The pull of the gaze and tape had me crying out in pain. "Naru!!" His face came to eyelevel again. Eyes almost black, he reached out and held my hand. "They are changing the wounds." I whimpered my way through, and when they were finally done I sighed in relief, tears had soaked the sheets by my face. I passed out again.

Gradually, I got better. Stayed awake longer and the doctors began weaning me away from the heavy painkillers. I learned that when I had been rushed in I had been in a coma like state. I had needed two blood transfusions and my back had been ripped to shreds. It had taken hours of surgery and hundreds of stitches to sew up all of the deep cuts, inside and outside. In many places the bones of my rib cage actually showed through. Thank-fully no organs were hurt, it was muscle and blood. I would be scarred for life.

Later, when I was sitting with Lin in a quiet hospital room, I asked what had happened. "Do you really want to know?" Asked Naru from the doorway. I nodded. I had thought I was going to die, and I needed to know why I was still alive.

Naru asked a nurse for a DVD player, when it was received he pulled out a DVD from the stack of paperwork he put it in and pressed play.