I swap between first person perspectives again this chapter. Once again I don't come out and say who's perspective it's in. But I do lead into the perspectives in the previous paragraphs so hopefully those hints are enough to lessen possible confusion.

Chapter 33

As Mai's body went limp in Noll's arms his brain seemed to backfire. All of his practiced reactions on how to respond to a situation like this one with detachment and control evaporated. Instead his stomach turned over and his emotions broke through that mental wall that he had assembled to keep said emotions locked away.

What happened? Did she push herself too hard? Did we push her too hard? Did I push her too hard? Did she do something beyond her own level of mastery over astral projection that left her in this state? Oh no! Did she... did she just slip into a coma? Will she not wake up?! Damn! What if I lose her?! What if— No, that can't happen. I mentally screamed, "It can't! She has to wake up!"

I pushed everyone else aside since they were hovering so closely. Their concerned voices are simply background static that I can't help but ignore. It is not like I don't know how concerned they are. I know how everyone loves her. It's exceptionally easy to love her. The hard part is not letting that love consume you. I feel my chest expand as I sigh and try to push that thought away.

As I get some semblance of control outwardly I manage to lift Mai's limp form. I cradle her carefully to my chest, and my heart clenches in pain as I look down at her. She is so pale right now. So ghostly, deathly pale... No, no I can't think that! I can't. If I think that... There it is. My rage is there hovering and waiting to lash out at the room and it's occupants. I can't lose control of my anger. I can't let my PK whip around the room like a tempestuous storm. I catch Lin's panicked expression in my peripheral vision, and I know he's aware of the inner turmoil I am trying to qualm. He takes deep breaths in and out, and I mimic his movements. I am sure it takes only a few moments to calm myself but it feels more like hours. Once I feel 'normal' again I usher Mai to the couch where she would at least be more comfortable.

I turn to my brother. I know he has been feeling these turbulent emotions attempting to overtake me. He hasn't made a move to intervene as of yet. I know the reason why that is too. Because if he intervenes too early he too would be caught in the crossfire. The web of complicated emotions would overflow into him also. I take a deep breath and nod at him. Making him aware it's okay now. That I'm 'okay' now.

"She'll be okay. She has to be. She's the strongest willed of us all." He mentally reaches out to me and tries to reassure me. He isn't wrong. She isn't truly the strongest willed; that would probably still be me. But her will is most definitely a close second. I wish she was aware of her own strength. "You should reassure her sometimes. You know? Tell her how strong she is. Perhaps that would be the gateway to showing her how you truly feel."

It was a possibility. I honestly am not even sure what is completely holding me back anymore. Why is it I keep from sharing with her how I feel? Why don't I simple express the emotions that consume me every day? Did I miss my chance? "What if she never wakes up?"

Gene was behind me now. I didn't have to turn. I felt his calming aura. "You can't think like that"

He was right. If I thought like that, even after I had just got control of my emotions, I could still capsize like a sinking ship. "Do you know what happened? Or rather why this happened to her?"

"She used a lot of energy. I can only guess that this was the one ability she hasn't been fine tuning. That she pushed herself too much. That she stayed too long."

I nodded. Yes, that sounded like something she would do. "Foolish girl."

"Neither of those words fit her, Noll. She is not foolish by any means. She is loving and caring and puts her heart felt desires before she thinks about her actions. While some may say that's foolish. I wouldn't. I would say that's a testament of true courage."

"If that's the case then why hasn't she told me how she feels about me? You're convinced that her feelings reflect my own yet she hasn't said a peep about it since we've returned!"

"That's an easy question to answer. It's because you broke her heart, and she isn't willing to give it up again quite as easily."

"She's had years to forgive me! Years to forgive that moment!"

"Put yourself in her place, Noll. If you had been the one to admit to her your feelings. If she hadn't readily accepted them and instead asked you if it really was her or, I don't know, let's use Masako as an example. How would that make you feel?"

I really truly didn't understand why Gene hadn't used this comparison before. It made a lot of these questions that were rolling around in my head make sense. I mean logically I of course knew why I couldn't love Ms. Hara. I knew about the blackmailing. I knew she desired me but was using her knowledge about who I was to obtain what she wanted. But at the time Mai didn't know that. To her it would look like I had those affections for Ms. Hara since I took her out all those times. I don't know that I would have been quite as heartbroken however. "I would have been able to explain those things away."

"And Mai had only just became aware that I even existed. She had to work that out in her mind."

Suddenly I was bodily pushed away from Mai. Ms. Kimura stood there looking down at Mai and I noted the watery reflection of tears in her eyes.

"Dr. Davis, you aren't stopping me this time. I am going to attempt to help her. Just tell me what happened first."

My brain stuttered for a moment. Did I want this novice to attempt to use an ability she wasn't sure she even had access to on Mai in hopes that Mai would recover faster?

She addressed me again. "You don't get it! She saved my life twice now! You can't stop me from returning the favor. Tell me what happened so you can help me save her!"

I was flabbergasted. I felt my jaw drop but the words wouldn't come. Suddenly Gene pushed past me and began a retelling of how Mai came to be in this state.

"I imagine the injury that put her in this state is located somewhere in her brain." I at least hoped to get her 'looking' in the right vicinity.

"So I just scan her like I would someone I planned on injuring. Only this time I try to find an already existing injury? Is that correct?"

"Yes," She caught on to the concept quick at least.

I watched with bated breath as she intently focused on Mai concentrating directly at the middle of her forehead. It didn't take long for her intense expression to melt into one of relief as she must have discovered the inflicted injury. Then she took a deep breath probably trying to reverse engineer the way her ability worked. Once she seemed calm and ready, she cupped her hands around Mai's head. Not touching the sides merely just hovering there a couple inches from her ears. I watched as she gripped her eyes shut tight and focused intensely on what she was attempting to do.

It was the longest five minutes of my life. Miss Kimura's arms dropped weakly to her sides, and her face looked nearly as pale as Mai's did.

She looked up at me. "I think I managed it. I was able to see the injury and 'watch' while it healed back into it's original state. I think she should wake up shortly."

So now it was just a waiting game. I barely took notice as John ushered Akane into a chair. I simply stared down at Mai willing her to wake up.

You idiot! You let her get away!

Louis' body rolled over as his consciousness began to resurface. "Louis thinks master made a miscalculation. She, the one we snatched, she started stirring sooner than the others. Must have mentally mauled my melon too." He grasped his head as frowned coping with the pain that still remained.

That's preposterous! How could one do that without using tools similar to the ones over there on that cart?!

"Louis can't comprehend the how." He shook his head from side to side in the negative then winced as he realized how much his head still hurt from the action.

Perhaps I should just replace you after all.

Louis' brain felt like it was crushing inwardly and let out a scream of agony before he once again crumbled to the ground. Difference is that this time he wouldn't be waking up.

His alliteration was getting on my nerves anyway. Now who should I find as his replacement?

Mai shifted on the couch and the others nearby gravitated to huddle around her. Her complexion slowly began to regain it's natural peachy glow and there was a collective sigh of relief amongst them all. Lin, Monk, and Ayako dispersed in different directions. Gene, Noll, Akane, and John all remained nearby.

Gene mostly remaining because he wanted to be there for his brother and 'little sister.' Akane remained because she wanted to see the results of her ability in reversal. John mostly hovered around Akane making sure she wasn't the one who was in a weakened state now. He hadn't needed to worry though. Her own psychometabolism abilities went to work on healing herself from the inside out almost instantaneously.

Noll remained because at this present moment the case didn't matter. Mai's well being did. His logic dictated from observing how her skin tone had changed that she was out of danger and would be waking at any moment. But his logic hadn't been ruling his reactions when it came to Mai. He wasn't sure it ever completely did. She shifted again, and he found himself reaching out to hold her hand.

Her hand in turn twisted just so to interlock her fingers with Noll's. Her eyes had yet to open but her mouth did. She ran her tongue over her overly dry lips feeling quite parched. Her voice came out broken and raspy. "Could I get a cup of—"

"I have a cup of tea right here, Mai." Ayako had suddenly returned. Apparently she had went off to the small kitchenette to take care of the one intimate task that Mai was most known for. "I'm not sure if it's as good as yours. But I tried."

Mai's smile was weak. But she attempted it just the same before she sampled the tea in front of her. She was barely able to hide her flinch at the bitterness before she attempted to smile once again to cover up how she actually disliked the tea.

Noll immediately snatched it away putting it on the coffee table not even wincing when the liquid attempted to slosh out of the cup. "Mai, how do you feel?"

Mai took a minute to reflect on how to answer him.

I feel like I have been ran through a paper shredder and put back together again. No, I really can't say that. "A bit sore and still tired. But other then that I guess I feel okay."

I watched his face as I shared this with him. It seemed to contort with pain momentarily but perhaps it was a trick of the light. "Did you have any dreams while you were unconscious."

I considered that for a moment. "No, but I did learn a couple things during my astral projection." I thought over the things I saw for a moment before I shared them because I wanted to make sure I didn't forget a single thing. "I know that it wasn't a ghost that took Akane. He was definitely human. There was something strange about him though."

I could tell Naru wanted to trump my comment about who had taken her. He probably already made that deduction himself and considered my knowledge pointless. Before he could say something demeaning I continued with my small findings. "He was saying statements aloud. As if they were being answered, and he was continuing a one sided conversation."

"Is it possible he was using his cell phone?"

Truthfully, I hadn't considered that. I pulled my own out now and noticed the reception was really low. It wasn't impossible to make a call, and obviously I had already done so when I called the police station but something told me this wasn't the case with the abductor. "I guess it is possible. I mean I didn't investigate the alcove he had been in when I was astral projected. I wasn't sure if he would be alerted to my presence in that current form or not. I didn't want to take any chances. But the way he was talking...I don't know. I just don't think he was on the phone. My gut is telling me it's something else."

I watched Naru's chest expand and release as he breathed deeply. "Why don't you rest some more. Perhaps, you can come up with more information from a dream."

His suggestion wasn't a question but this time I knew following his orders were the best course of action. So, I nodded at him and shifted slightly to get more comfortable before I felt my eyelids shutter close on their own.