Chapter 54 - Sweat glistened off Mai's skin in the darkness of night as she lay underneath her covers, the middle of the night still enveloping the space around her. Next to the bed her blood-stained shirt hung over the edge of a chair, the light scent of the substance hanging in the air. On the seat of the chair was the girl's scrunchie that she had tossed roughly off earlier in the night, before collapsing into her bed.
The girl's chest rose and fell unsteadily that matched her breathing as images that had occurred earlier in the night now swallowed her dreams into a confusing swirl. The hollow still burned in her memory. The white body. The red streak that crossed at the hole in its chest. One segment running around its torso and the other line streamed from its mask to its pelvis and back over.
Her dream continued, the girl finding herself laying upon the ground, looking up at the hollow. Its already large size was magnified by being forced to look up at it from her prone position. She could feel her eyes widening. Her voice stopped in her throat, the gasp, the scream that she wanted to release. And then her eyes shut, tightening as hollow raised its massive pile driver of an arm and sent it slamming down toward her head.
Max!
Mai's body rolled over in the darkness as the boy's face was the next thing that appeared. "Ahhh!" The girl's yelp was followed by a flurry of expletives muttered under her breath. Mai's brown eyes fluttered open after a series of blinks, her room beginning to sharpen as she sat up on the mattress. Her right hand shot up to her left shoulder and rubbed along her injury.
"Geez..." The pain in the girl's shoulder soon settled into a dull ache instead of the throbbing from a moment earlier. A breath blew from her lips out at the hairs that hung over her eyes. The blankets were quickly pushed to the side as Mai turned her body to the side as she felt her damp pajamas cling to her skin. Her feet slid into a pair of white slippers as she stumbled out toward the hall and then toward the back glass door that lead to the balcony.
Air...Air would be good...
The glass door slid open, a rush of cool spring air rushing into the living room as a result. Mai inhaled the air, letting it fill her nose and lungs with a combination of cool fresh spring air and a mixture of city goodies that she could probably do without. Blonde hairs flipped left and right as she stretched out some muscles in her arms and legs before stepping out onto the balcony.
"Max..."
The name came from her mouth at a level below that of even a whisper as she leaned forward against the metal railing. Her memories flashed again back to earlier in the night. When the fist had been rushing down, Mai recalled the feeling in her throat, the sickly feeling in her skin as she felt it grow pale. Her eyes clenched as tightly shut as she felt the impending voice of death calling to her.
And then a warmth surrounded Mai. She could hear the explosion resulting from the hollow's fist as it impacted the ground. The thunderous roar as it too wondered what had just happened. Grass, dirt and earth had splattered along her face and skin. But inside of her at that moment she had felt safe.
It was like...like... Mai's thoughts never finished as her brown eyes, revealing that the girl no longer lay on the ground. She remembered words stuttering from her mouth nearly incomprehensibly as confusion seeped in.
"Yo."
Mai blinked at the voice. And then she blinked a few more times for good measure. The voice that had just called out now was not the voice she wished to hear. Nor was it the one that she expected. In fact it was the voice she least wanted or expected to hear really after what had happened earlier in the day.
Slim fingers slid along Mai's cheeks as she remembered earlier in the day the spectacle that had occurred. "Max..." she repeated again as she leaned farther against the railing and peaked down at the streets below. Even in the dead of night Tokyo's streets were not silent. Cars were still rolling up and down the pavement while buildings and streetlamps and cars still filled the night with light pollution.
"I'm gonna protect you Mai. No matter what!"
The words rung inside of Mai's head until a rueful shake of her head cleared the thoughts. "He really is an idiot..." Her upper teeth bit into her lower lip as she stopped herself from continuing. What time is it? she wondered, as she swallowed in another breath of spring air. Her eyes were growing heavier now as she thought about returning to bed refreshed, but the same tiredness caused her to cling to the railing for another moment longer.
"Heh...maybe I'm the idiot," Mai said softly. A moment passed until a loud sigh broke the silence. And then laughter broke out as Mai pushed her body off of the railing but let her hands remained clasped around the cool metal. "When did I turn into such a *****?" she wondered aloud as her laughing fit finally calmed.
"What was I angry with him for?" Her thoughts drifted back to when he had startled her in the cafeteria. Of the crowd that gathered, and his embarrassing speech about how she was a 'good' person. "Maybe I was mad because...because he was telling a lie. How good of a person am I really? Geez Mai...you've yelled at him twice even."
The breeze picked up more strongly now as Mai lifted herself completely off of the railing and rubbed along her upper arms. Her gaze remained fixated out into the city, but her eyes were wide for the first time since she had woken up. "Alright! I'll talk to him in the morning...and thank him. He really did save me tonight." And for just a moment it was like...
The thoughts drifted without finishing as the feeling of warmth from earlier in the night washed over Mai. The covers and sheets of the bed now beckoned to her, and the brisk wind was now giving her a push in the back to return inside. The blond girl spun back toward the glass door, with a wide, genuine smile across her features.
And then she stopped. "Wh-what is this?" Mai felt her heart nearly skip a beat as she looked down at the floor to the side of the glass door a figure propped against the corner of the balcony.
"M-Max?!"
The girl's chest rose and fell unsteadily that matched her breathing as images that had occurred earlier in the night now swallowed her dreams into a confusing swirl. The hollow still burned in her memory. The white body. The red streak that crossed at the hole in its chest. One segment running around its torso and the other line streamed from its mask to its pelvis and back over.
Her dream continued, the girl finding herself laying upon the ground, looking up at the hollow. Its already large size was magnified by being forced to look up at it from her prone position. She could feel her eyes widening. Her voice stopped in her throat, the gasp, the scream that she wanted to release. And then her eyes shut, tightening as hollow raised its massive pile driver of an arm and sent it slamming down toward her head.
Max!
Mai's body rolled over in the darkness as the boy's face was the next thing that appeared. "Ahhh!" The girl's yelp was followed by a flurry of expletives muttered under her breath. Mai's brown eyes fluttered open after a series of blinks, her room beginning to sharpen as she sat up on the mattress. Her right hand shot up to her left shoulder and rubbed along her injury.
"Geez..." The pain in the girl's shoulder soon settled into a dull ache instead of the throbbing from a moment earlier. A breath blew from her lips out at the hairs that hung over her eyes. The blankets were quickly pushed to the side as Mai turned her body to the side as she felt her damp pajamas cling to her skin. Her feet slid into a pair of white slippers as she stumbled out toward the hall and then toward the back glass door that lead to the balcony.
Air...Air would be good...
The glass door slid open, a rush of cool spring air rushing into the living room as a result. Mai inhaled the air, letting it fill her nose and lungs with a combination of cool fresh spring air and a mixture of city goodies that she could probably do without. Blonde hairs flipped left and right as she stretched out some muscles in her arms and legs before stepping out onto the balcony.
"Max..."
The name came from her mouth at a level below that of even a whisper as she leaned forward against the metal railing. Her memories flashed again back to earlier in the night. When the fist had been rushing down, Mai recalled the feeling in her throat, the sickly feeling in her skin as she felt it grow pale. Her eyes clenched as tightly shut as she felt the impending voice of death calling to her.
And then a warmth surrounded Mai. She could hear the explosion resulting from the hollow's fist as it impacted the ground. The thunderous roar as it too wondered what had just happened. Grass, dirt and earth had splattered along her face and skin. But inside of her at that moment she had felt safe.
It was like...like... Mai's thoughts never finished as her brown eyes, revealing that the girl no longer lay on the ground. She remembered words stuttering from her mouth nearly incomprehensibly as confusion seeped in.
"Yo."
Mai blinked at the voice. And then she blinked a few more times for good measure. The voice that had just called out now was not the voice she wished to hear. Nor was it the one that she expected. In fact it was the voice she least wanted or expected to hear really after what had happened earlier in the day.
Slim fingers slid along Mai's cheeks as she remembered earlier in the day the spectacle that had occurred. "Max..." she repeated again as she leaned farther against the railing and peaked down at the streets below. Even in the dead of night Tokyo's streets were not silent. Cars were still rolling up and down the pavement while buildings and streetlamps and cars still filled the night with light pollution.
"I'm gonna protect you Mai. No matter what!"
The words rung inside of Mai's head until a rueful shake of her head cleared the thoughts. "He really is an idiot..." Her upper teeth bit into her lower lip as she stopped herself from continuing. What time is it? she wondered, as she swallowed in another breath of spring air. Her eyes were growing heavier now as she thought about returning to bed refreshed, but the same tiredness caused her to cling to the railing for another moment longer.
"Heh...maybe I'm the idiot," Mai said softly. A moment passed until a loud sigh broke the silence. And then laughter broke out as Mai pushed her body off of the railing but let her hands remained clasped around the cool metal. "When did I turn into such a *****?" she wondered aloud as her laughing fit finally calmed.
"What was I angry with him for?" Her thoughts drifted back to when he had startled her in the cafeteria. Of the crowd that gathered, and his embarrassing speech about how she was a 'good' person. "Maybe I was mad because...because he was telling a lie. How good of a person am I really? Geez Mai...you've yelled at him twice even."
The breeze picked up more strongly now as Mai lifted herself completely off of the railing and rubbed along her upper arms. Her gaze remained fixated out into the city, but her eyes were wide for the first time since she had woken up. "Alright! I'll talk to him in the morning...and thank him. He really did save me tonight." And for just a moment it was like...
The thoughts drifted without finishing as the feeling of warmth from earlier in the night washed over Mai. The covers and sheets of the bed now beckoned to her, and the brisk wind was now giving her a push in the back to return inside. The blond girl spun back toward the glass door, with a wide, genuine smile across her features.
And then she stopped. "Wh-what is this?" Mai felt her heart nearly skip a beat as she looked down at the floor to the side of the glass door a figure propped against the corner of the balcony.
"M-Max?!"