Sorry this one was so short, but it's the ending so I think it's fine. See you next time with the sequel to this "Hungering".

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or Kuroko no Basuke

Chapter 12: Epilogue

"I have to say," Monk began, breaking the tense silence that had surrounded the SPR team since the morning after Rei's destruction had begun, "That has to be the oddest ending to a case we've ever had."

"I don't know if it's really an end as much as a continuation," Mai mumbled, wrapping a cord around her palm and under her elbow.

John looked over at her, worry clear in his expression. "What do you mean, Mai?" he asked, glancing back towards Masako. For most of the morning, he and Yasu had been taking turns staring at the purple bruises ringing the small girl's neck, concern written all over their faces.

"I don't think it's over for us, with Ash I mean. I don't think he's gone, no matter what the rest of you may think. He's still out there somewhere, probably nursing his wounds, waiting for another chance. He won't give up that easily," Mai explained, her eyes turned down towards the floor, unable to meet the stares of the rest of the group.

Naru sighed deeply, standing beside Mai packing a box full of monitors. "That is not what I wanted to hear…" he muttered under his breath, pushing the box to the side and grabbing the wound cord she handed him and shoving it into another box, "but I expected it. We'll need to get rid of him as a threat soon if he's just going to be following us from case to case."

"How are we going to do that?" Ayako asked, leaning back in one of the many swivel chairs still populating the overcrowded room, rubbing her stomach unconsciously.

"We'll kill him," Yasu said darkly, his demonic voice and playfulness coming out in his words. When the others chuckled half-heartedly, he still smiled widely, happy that he'd pulled at least small smiles from them.

"That might be what we'll have to resort to," Naru said, rubbing at his forehead, "Either that or we're going to have to find some way to strip him of all the spirits he's collected and whatever power he possesses. The shock may kill him anyway."

The team collapsed back into silence, mulling over the only two options they seemed to have at that moment. They were so engrossed in their own thoughts that they didn't notice when Koganei cautiously stepped into the room, standing with his hands clasped in front of him in the doorway.

Mai turned, feeling eyes on her and let out a shout of surprise. She pressed a hand over her fluttering heart, whispering, "Oh dear lord, you scared the holy hell out of me."

"Sorry," he said, glancing nervously from Naru to Monk to Lin to Ayako who were all glaring at him as if assessing his worth, "I was just… just wondering if I could talk to you for a moment. If that's alright with your boss." He locked eyes with Naru and was the first to drop his eyes.

Satisfied, Naru turned to Mai. "Be careful. If anything feels the slightest out of place or wrong, come back," he said, his fingers pressing into the palm of her hand in a sort of caress.

Mai smiled, wrapping her fingers around his for a short moment before moving towards the door. "Sure Koganei, let's go take a walk around the gym." She moved out the door, leaving it open as they turned the corner.

"So, you're leaving today…" he started, trailing off as his eyes scanned over his teammates. They shoved the ball at each other aggressively. The ball slammed into Kyoshi's nose as he watched their progress around the court.

Riko glared at the teen as he dropped to the floor, clutching his nose. "Stop watching the flowers grow, Kyoshi, and focus!" she shouted.

"I was actually watching flowers bloom," Kyoshi mumbled thickly, grinning through the blood dripping from his nose. Riko rolled her eyes, tossing a wet towel at his face.

"Yeah," Mai said quietly, trying not to imagine that she could still hear Rei's voice above Koganei's. He was gone and he couldn't ever come back. "We'll be gone within an hour at most. Mr. Shibuya wants to be out of here as quickly as possible."

"I can understand that," he replied, scratching the back of his head, "So… will we ever see you again?"

Mai pursed her lips, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Well… Kamin and Tamaki loved playing with you guys. They really enjoyed when you guys were trying to teach them how to play and then would play with them," she explained, "So… yeah, I think we'll come back. We really actually enjoyed your guys' company when we could."

Koganei grinned his puppy grin, excitement sparkling in his black eyes. "That'd be great! We all liked having you guys as well. It'd be nice if you won't have to come back for another haunting."

"Oh, I hope we won't," Mai said, her eyes growing wide, "That would be a lot of trouble for one place."

Koganei nodded, looking away from her once more. Slowly, his cheeks began to darken with a light blush. "So, um, am I going to be able to see you again? Like… not at school. As in… on a date?" he asked haltingly, his neck flaming strawberry red.

Mai smiled sadly up at the teen. "Koganei, you're a nice kid, but I have a boyfriend already, and I'm very happy with him. I love him. Plus, you are just too young for me. Our relationship would be illegal, like Yasu's mouth."

Koganei laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I think that's the easiest, yet harshest, way someone's ever turned me down," he mumbled, staring down at his feet.

"Sorry, but you know, we can still be friends…" Mai paused, glancing down at her feet. She slapped her hands to her cheeks, her eyes going wide. "Oh god, did I really just say that?"

"Yeah, you did," Koganei laughed, pressing his hand to his mouth.

"Oh god, I need to use the sleep again. I don't think I used it long enough," Mai said, laughing at her own idiotic words.

Before Koganei could reply, Kamin and Tamaki called from across the gym, "Mommy! We found a box thingy! Can we open it?"

"Um, sure," Mai called just as a gut reaction, but paused for a moment. She spun around, the bell in her chest shrieking at her. "No, don't touch it!" She rushed towards them as they were opening the lid, staring down at the pretty silver ring with a green and brown swirled stone.

She snatched at the little box, her fingers brushing over the cool metal. That familiar skitter of energy ran up her arm, stronger than ever. She let out a scream of agony as her soul was ripped from her body, cast into the spirit realm.

"I've got you," Ash's voice whispered around her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her against his solid chest. He breathed heavily, excitedly in her ear, his breath hot on the side of her face.

What little hope Mai may have possessed completely disappeared, leaving her in a pit of despair.

…..

Mai's body collapsed to the floor, her head and shoulders cracking against the sealed wood. Practice came to a screeching halt, all of the teammates turning to see what had happened. Koganei was on his knees beside her in moments, shaking her carefully. "Mai! Mai wake up!" he shouted, his voice frantic.

Naru rushed through the open ex-Base door, skidding to a halt and dropping down beside Mai. "What happened? What made her collapse?" he asked quickly, glancing between the cowering twins and the puppy-faced teen. The others followed closely after him, making a circle around them.

"I-I d-don't know," Koganei stammered, staring between Mai's body and the slowly growing livid man, "S-she just t-touched some r-ring or something, and t-then collapsed. I don't know what happened!"

Tuning out the rambling of the scared teen, Naru checked her pulse. It was faint and fluttery, but it was still there. "Mai, wake up. Just wake up," he whispered, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. He pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers. He waited for an innumerous amount of moments before she suddenly gasped, sitting up. "Oh thank god," he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug.

"You idiot scientist," Mai snarled, her voice lower than it would normally be.

Pulling back in confusion, Naru was not met with the warm chocolate brown of the woman he loved, but the same navy blue as his eyes. He stared at her, his mouth dropping open. "What…?"

"Get those big gears in your head turning, idiot, you can figure it out. We need to get going now," she said, glaring playfully at him and tapping his forehead. She stood, sliding the ring box into a pocket, looking down at her body. "It's weird being in a female body," she mumbled thoughtfully.

Naru was still working through what had just occurred when the twins squealed in a mixture of anger and excitement. "You're not our mommy! Who are you?" they shouted, pointing accusing fingers at the girl.

"I'm Gene, your biological father, your dad's twin brother," Mai said, smiling kindly.

"What?" every single person in the gym cried, staring wide-eyed at her.

THE END

Yep, that was the end. Sorry for the cliff hanger. The sequel to this shouldn't be too far behind. It'll be called "Hungering". Hope to see you guys soon!