Sorry to say this, but this is the last chapter. There will not be another chapter. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. Enjoy :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt

Chapter 6: Beloved

"What?" several people cried some asking how she knew and others asking what the ghost wanted. On the last one she was more than happy to oblige. She wanted this case to be over and done with as much as the next person.

"He wants his body most of all," she told them.

"You said 'most of all'. What else does it want?" Naru questioned eyeing the young girl with non-feigned curiosity.

Mai hesitated. Was it okay to tell them? She didn't want to, but the way Naru was watching her with that imploring gaze propelled her forward. "He…he also wants revenge. Revenge on the family that murdered him," she whispered.

"His body and revenge. Well, at least we can give him one thing," Ayame said, biting his lip as his mind processed this new information.

"What's that?" Ayako asked dumbly.

"His body," Sakura said, heading for the door.

…..

"Mai, be honest with us, are we wasting our time searching the house?" Houshou asked listlessly. They had spent several hours searching for the man's body. Now rain poured outside, only the chime of the clock signaling that it was noon.

Mai scuttled out from a hidden crawl space coughing as Naru brushed dust and cobwebs from her. "I don't know," she said truthfully, "I feel like something in the house is important, but something outside…" Her voice fell away and her eyes glazed over as she gazed out a window.

With fingers more graceful than her own, she unlatched the window. Before anyone knew what she was doing she vaulted out the window and ran towards the woods. Everything about her actions suggested experience and years of living that she did not possess.

"Mai!" everyone screamed after her, the most prominent of them being the voice of a black haired twin giving chase to the girl.

She was fast, but his time running about as an orphan had given him the running skills of a track star. He chased after her with all his tiny might, almost colliding with her when she skidded to an abrupt halt in front of an obviously unmarked grave.

Mai stared down into the shallow grave full of muddy water. Bleached bones bobbed up to the surface. A putrid smell, sickly sweet like rotting flesh, emanated from the puddle.

…..

She was disoriented. One minute she was standing in her group staring out a window into rainy forest and the next minute she was thrust into the usual black void. It was less than a second after the sudden rejection of reality that she was back in the study.

The girl was there too standing to one side of the door. She shook with terror, shaking her head vigorously. "No, I don't want to. You can't make me!" she cried at the blood splattered adults clutching her hands close to her chest.

"We can and we will," the man who had decided the verdict told her sternly, "You will dispose of the body in the woods. Be grateful that we have already put the carcass in a bag. Bring the bag back. We will wash up before the guests arrive. You will do this." The man's eyes flashed dangerously, promising pain if it was disobeyed.

The girl shrank in on herself before dropping her head. "Yes, sir," she whispered refusing to meet his eyes. Tears trickled silently down her face as the group left with alone with the carcass.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she whispered sliding down the wall and burying her face in her knees, "Why? Why did they have to do this to you?"

The man was suddenly there standing beside the girl. He was wallowing in sorrow just like the girl. He knelt down next to her wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I love you and always will," he whispered in her ear.

It was like the breeze to the girl, but she answered it. "I love you too. I love you too," she sobbed before dragging herself to her feet and picking up the bag. She left through the window being careful that the bag did not hit anything.

Mai followed her closely. It was raining then too, pouring really. Sheets of rain came down as Mai watched the girl run and run until she found an old, beautiful tree deep in the forest. There she dug a shallow grave and lovingly placed the body on her love one carefully into it. She scooped the mud gently back over the body.

"I will never forget you. Never. I will always love you," she whispered over the grave before sprinting back to the house.

…..

"Mai?" Naru asked trying not to gag as he gently touched the girl's shoulder. Trying to rouse her, he gave her a slight shake.

The hot tears streamed down her face as she turned towards him. "Th-they m-made her bury him. S-she didn't want to. S-she l-loves him. Why would th-they d-do that? W-why would they k-kill him for l-loving her?" she hiccupped her voice cracking and losing all of the maturity it had held throughout the case and reverted back to the six-year-old she truly was.

The rest of the group, which consisted of only the teens, tween and kids, caught up to them to find Naru cradling Mai against his chest far away from the pool of horrid smelling liquid. All the girls gagged and backed away as quickly from the pool as they went to investigate.

"We need all of those bones. We have to take them back to the house. Then this case will be over," they heard Naru say. He passed Mai over to the girls and got to work fishing out the bones.

It took them two hours to collect all the bones. The parents were frantic with worry when all the children came trudging out of the forest. They were drenched and muddy, but they moved away from the parents and mentors to the study.

Without so much as a prompt, John, Houshou and Ayako began their exorcisms once the bones had been carefully piled in the middle of the room. There was no screaming, no shaking, no banging. The spirit was drawn to his bones like wings drawn to air.

"This is my…body?" he whispered staring down at the pile of bones.

"Yes," Mai whispered tentatively back.

The man looked over and smiled. "Thank you. Please tell Kiara that I'll always love her," he said. It was only when everyone had given a nod that they would that he finally let himself move on.

…..

"Now that you mention it, I do remember that case," Monk said thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair and taking a swig of beer.

"You're right. I'm beginning to remember it to," Ayako murmured, biting her knuckle in thought, "I think that was the most embarrassing case I'd ever been on, including that ones that I've been on as an adult."

"I know what you mean. Sakura and Luella were quite the team. I swear, they were nuts. And Naru…" Monk's voice trailed off as he shot a sly grin at Naru.

"What?" he asked, one arm wrapped around Mai where she rested against his chest and his other slung over the back of the couch with its own beer.

'You were such a sweet little thing when you were younger! You actually acted like a kid. What happened?" he asked, grinning at him.

"Sweet? No. Little? Yes," Yasu said taking a long drink out of the bottle of sake he had clutched in his hand.

November grinned at him. "By the sound of things you're in no position to criticize mister," she said snatching the bottle from his grasp.

"No, you can't Yasu. You acted exactly the same as you do now," Masako said a smile pulling up the corners of her mouth.

"So did Mai and I. None of us have really changed, not even Lin," John said. They all glanced at his office where they could see Madoka laughing her ass off. Lin just grinned triumphantly. What was she laughing about, they didn't want to know.

Mai giggled. "Oh, but we have changed John. You and I are aren't as innocent as we used to be."

Everyone gave a laugh.

"You're right. None of us are actually," Ayako said.

"You and Monk never were," Naru said coolly. Another round of laughter ran through the room.

The doorbell jingled as a gaggle of teens came through the door. "Oh god, the old people are drinking again," Jamie said causing the group of teens to laugh.

"Hey, you better watch it 'cause you still have to come home with us," Madoka said, standing with Lin behind the couch.

The group groaned comically, falling on each other.

"Hey, just look at it this way," Yasu said, "You'll be in the same position before too long."

"Yeah, and what exactly are you guys doing?" Gene and Noriko asked together. Twins will be twins.

The whole group of adults exchanged glances before answering in unison, "Just reliving old memories.

THE END