The white burned my eyes as I opened them too quickly. I hissed in pain and quickly closed them. I rubbed them hard and opened them slowly this time to give my eyes some time to adjust. I started to move around a little, but found my legs trapped underneath something. My eyes focused and I noted I was in a hospital bed, tucked in tightly. I rubbed my eyes again for good measure and studied the white room.
"Mai, thank Gods you are awake!" I heard the relieved voice of Yasu from the doorway.
I managed to smile at him weakly as he rushed in the room and grabbed me in a hug.
"Hey Yasuhara." Glanced around and didn't see anyone else. "Where are the others?"
"Ah, Naru's parents, Lin and Mori-san are in Naru's room talking about what had happened. Bou-san, Ayako and Masako went out for lunch and I stayed behind. John found time to visit the nearest vending machine that resides on the fourth floor."
"What happened to Sakkara?"
His eyes softened at the mention of the woman's name.
"She wasn't Naru's mother. She took on the presence as her so she could bait him. But after you swiped her of her powers, she threw herself into the ocean. Her partner in crime was arrested when the police got there."
My heart leapt. So there, Naru's mom wasn't a total nut case, because it wasn't Naru's mom. But it left wondering how Naru took it all.
"He's fine." Yasu spoke and caught my eyes, like he knew what I was thinking. "He's actually relieved. The others want to see you, but they're afraid of leaving Naru by himself on a different floor."
I furrowed my eyebrows together.
"Well, what floor are we on?"
Yasu scratched the back of his head while his glasses flashed in the light. I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew they averted.
"We're on the sixth floor in ICU."
I felt my heart skip a little beat. Scratch that, it skipped several beats.
"What?"
I heard a knock and a tall woman entered the room. The white lab coat ruffled around her ankles and a stethoscope resided around her neck. The doctor smiled as Yasu stepped away.
"Miss Taniyama-san, we were getting worried for a bit. But it's nice to see that you're finally coming to."
"What happened?" I asked.
"You're body wore out on you. You pushed yourself way too hard. But now that you're awake, we're gonna see how you do today, and possibly move you to another room for tonight."
"What about my boss? Is he okay?"
The doctor smiled warmly again, but this time, no smile touched her eyes.
"Mr. Shibuya is fine. He's already been moved into another room. I'll let him know you're up so he can talk to you if he wishes to."
She turned and left me and Yasu alone. I shot Yasu a curious look before I caught the familiar glint of trouble in the teen's eyes.
"Naru has been giving that doctor hell ever since he's been up."
"That doesn't surprise me. I bet he's been missing his tea."
Yasu's eyes softened.
"You mean the tea maker, don't you?" I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off again. "I guess I should be the one to break the news to Naru instead of the doctor. Hell might ensue. I'll send John your way when I see him, okay?"
I nodded my head and was left alone in the hospital room. But it wasn't long before Madoka and Luella paid me a visit. The two women were very sincere and ready to take me back to England.
It had only been days since the hospital had released me back into the outer world of the work force. And it wasn't even that long before Luella brought me back to England to finish our well deserved vacation. And this time, I found myself sitting on the edge of the lake on the rocks. The gentle breeze pushed and pulled at my long skirt, whipping it around my ankles, but I didn't mind it. I slipped my flip flops off and let my feet rest in the lake. The cool water was relaxing and I hadn't noticed Naru sneaking up sitting down beside me until he spoke.
"You don't need to be out here on your own." Naru spoke.
And naturally, I jumped. Then as his words sunk in, I turned on him.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
His dark orbs bore into mine hard as he considered his words. A smirk appeared on his handsome face as he spoke.
"You're the accident prone, Mai."
I scowled and punched his arm, but he only shakes his head and look out across the ocean. His eyes lose their bright gleam they once held, and I knew he was starting to think hard about something.
"What happened the night you took her powers?"
'Ah. I knew this conversation would eventually arise.'
Clearing my throat uncomfortably, I tried to bring the memory back.
"Well, I think I asked for Gene's help and he gave it to me. When I performed the Nine Cuts, something happened." His gaze never left my face as I struggled to remember. "I don't know what it was. Some strange light. Anyways, it relieved her of her powers."
Naru nodded and stared off into the distance, again.
"Thank you."
He said it so quietly that it didn't even sound like he had ever said anything at all.
"What?"
"I said," he turned to face me, and yet again, he had me caught. "Thank you Mai. I would be dead. We both would have been dead if you hadn't been able to successfully perform the Nine Cuts and the mantra. She would have had some other greater power that would possibly destroy herself."
"I'm sorry." I blurted out.
He raised an eyebrow in question.
"Why are you apologizing?"
I averted my eyes down to my hands and twiddled my thumbs together.
"That she lied a horrible lie to you. No one should ever have to go through that."
His eyes did darken a bit as he turned away from me.
"Well, we all should've known."
I bit my bottom lip and glanced back over the lake.
"So what now, Naru?"
He stood up and brushed his dark attire free of dirt before he held a hand out to me. I grabbed it and let him help me up off the ground. And suddenly felt his arms wrap themselves around my waist and my face was suddenly inches away from him.
"We go back to doing I do best, Mai. Work."
I scowled at him as he smirked again. And then the gap between us suddenly closed as our lips met.
A/N: Ah yes, I did end it with a kiss. And I believe it is time for my usual rounds of shout outs. So to help me AGAIN, I'm bringing in Lee. For the umpteenth time."
Lee: HI GUYSH! I misseded you all!
Me: *sigh* Lee, get on with it. Who are we thanking for the moral support?
Lee: Oh! Right! We would love to thank: southern-punk, krisaku, Flamegirl5500, xSapphirexRosesxFanx, aniAngelxx, sweetymai90, mia-chan, FlippingThroughMemories, cameo17, Jade Starlight, sarasaysrawr, Jadeturttle, the ever-so lovely crazylittlecheezer, ClippedWing (HI!), FallenRaindrops. *sigh*
Me: Lazy butt. Carrying on: mytruthaboutlife, Conejo-san, krissy2lip, ShadowedHand (I finished! :P Thanks for sticking around), lil whit, xdreamernumbahfour, TYOr (hmmm… interesting…), BloodyXandra, Akitay…
Lee: *sits on Jazzy* genderless- but straight, Moons-chan, sunniessmiles, twilightangel61090, reveriethinker, Ariana Taniyama, foxyaoi123, Emrald96 (thanks for calling Jazzy's work amazing! It made her smile. A lot. And brag, but she won't admit that.)
Me: *pushes Lee off again* Darn you. Anyways, ToxicShok, Ayjah, weezerz2490, thearistocrat, bigtomato (hahaha, I LOVE your name), KikicrossNya, Tohru78, AND bri! Yeah! Thanks for your support!
Lee: Yeah! It was awesome! Even though Jazzy DID get behind her promised updates…
Me: But I finally finished. With a lot of pushing. It shouldn't have been a long time though on the updates. I just clean forgot so I apologize. I hope this ending was very satisfactory. And don't worry, I am searching for the next story plot. I just can't seem to end it like this, I don't know why. Ideas are definitely welcome! Thank you to everyone who reviewed me, who favorited this story or myself. It honestly was a lot of fun for me! Thanks again everybody!
Love,
Jazzy and the LeeLee.