This is it. This is the final chapter. I can't believe that we got here, guys. I can't believe that this series is now finished. I...so much sweat, blood, tears, migraines, screaming matches with the laptop and each other, countless cups of tea and coffee, 76 chapters...
Please, let this story go out with a bang, and review it to hell.
Enjoy.
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CH25- For There to Be Light, There Must Be Darkness
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5 years later
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Madoka straightened a stack of files on her desk, and stepped back to admire the effect that it had on her new desk. A wooden plaque faced the door, reading 'Madoka Li, CEO' in a flowing cursive engraved into the wood. The expansion of JSPR, with the blessing of their parent branches in America and England, meant a new set of offices in a new building (purchased by the BSPR, and now they were paying the mortgage, but it was worth having their own offices), as well as being able to take cases over both Korea and China, with the odd one in Singapore. They numbered over 50 employees; some in the tech crews, other spiritualists (or 'field crew'), a Research and Development division, and even some regular researchers, headed by Yasuhara himself.
She looked up as the one of the doors opposite hers opened, the 'Dr. O. Davis, CEO,' flicking out of sight even as the 'Dr. E. Davis, CEO,' gleamed in the light, as the now twenty-five year old walked out with a file in hand, midnight eyes meeting hers, and a small smile appearing on his normally stoic face.
"Finished unpacking, Madoka? Everything obsessively neat to your liking?" The baritone pitch of his voice was laced with amusement at her organising habits, and she stuck her tongue out.
"Like your office is messier. The only reason that there are things out of place is because Mai can't find anything, due to your 'superior' filing skills." Naru shrugged ruefully.
"You know that she goes in there and refiles everything to her liking anyway."
Madoka glanced at his left hand holding the folder, and the silver band on his marriage finger (because neither Mai nor Naru liked gold) that had a dull sheen; enough to be noticed, not enough to stand out, just how he preferred it. How they both preferred it. Naru followed her gaze, and rolled his eyes.
"Take a picture, Madoka. It will last longer."
"I just still can't believe you had the guts to ask her." Madoka retorted, a little annoyed at being caught staring.
"Ask her what?" Mai called from down the hallway, waist length hair swishing behind her. If Naru had a small smile before, his face positively lit up when he saw his fiancée. Mai reached them, and stood on tiptoe to kiss Naru, Madoka tactfully forgetting all the rules that they were breaking in regards to employer-employee relationships.
"Madoka was just expressing her surprise that we managed to prove her wrong yet again." Naru murmured into Mai's shoulder.
"Oh?" Mai looked at Naru, a mischievous smile playing about her lips. "Were you talking about last week's case? Because we were right with our first guess, and she wasn't."
"I was talking about Naru asking you to marry him." Madoka snapped. Naru and Mai exchanged looks, and Madoka felt trapped.
"What were you wrong about, though? The fact that he asked or the fact that I said yes?"
Madoka huffed, and threw her hands up in the air, irritated that she now couldn't get one over Mai or Naru, because they worked too well together to let her slip one over them.
"Have you two lovebirds set a date yet?"
"Not on our priorities currently." Mai shrugged. "Naru, this was marked urgent by both Maya and Nollene, so I don't want to see it in your out-tray until you've signed it, clear?"
Naru gave Madoka a long-suffering gaze, before he nodded, and plucked the file out of Mai's hand.
"Yes, dear." He teased, tapping Mai's nose with the folder. Mai huffed, but kissed him on the cheek and sauntered back to her desk, shooting Naru a sultry smile before she turned the corner to sit at the desk labelled 'M. Taniyama, Head of Operations', with smaller text on a secondary panel 'PA- Dr O. Davis'. Madoka grinned at their antics, aware of the gossip that circulated around the two, most being about how Mai got the job, and other fanciful tales about what they actually do during their 'business meetings'.
"Madoka!" Her own PA, Maya, came jogging down the hall, waving a file. "Before you go out to lunch, could you please have a look over this for Legal? They've been breathing down my neck for days, and Ruka wants the go ahead for her current case."
Madoka took it with a sigh, and turned back to her office, thanking the older Taniyama twin, who speed-walked back down the hall to pick up the now ringing phone at her desk. She exchanged a wry grin with Naru.
"The fun never stops, does it?"
Naru hummed absently, absorbed in the case details of his file.
"Would you have it any other way?"
Madoka flitted her eyes over Naru's folder, the words 'suspicious circumstances', 'writing in blood' and 'disappearance' popping out to her. She grinned wider.
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"Absolutely not."
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Two levels below, in the extensive IT department, Yasuhara Omasu sat behind a magnificent desk on a slightly raised platform, gazing out on the veritable army of lackeys that scurried to and from, voices calling out to each other, and the constant call for coffee echoing through the air. He was beyond pleased that he'd landed this job (which meant that the Boss Man upstairs liked him enough to trust him with this), considering that he'd been hired straight out of university, the pay was great, he could steal Nollene away from Admin for regular coffee dates, and he had underlings he could intimidate, especially the newbies; the hazing was a very proud tradition that everyone kept secret.
Resisting the urge to cackle loudly, he settled for leaning back in his throne-like chair, and tapping his fingers 'a la melodrama villain'.
"Work, my minions,' he muttered gleefully, 'work! And together, we will rule the galaxy!"
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"Aya, let's go!" Monk jogged down the stairs, bass strapped over his shoulder, Vajra in his back pocket, and his beads on his wrists. Ayako hurried down behind him, a duffle bag slung over her shoulders, and a pair of ripped jeans hugging her legs.
"I am going to kill Madoka for this case. If it weren't for the fact that it was a hospital, I would decline it. My parents already hate us, this will just make it worse." She muttered. Monk slung his bass in the car, and Ayako chucked her bag in, before he slammed the boot and they got in his car.
"Stop complaining, dearest wife of mine." Monk teased. "You're as happy to get away from your parents as I am."
"Shut up and drive." Ayako ordered, turning on the radio as Monk rolled down the windows.
"Where to, my lady?"
"St. Mary's Women's and Children's hospital, inattentive husband of mine. It's six hours south of here, so we'd better get moving."
Monk grinned, and turned up the radio, and both of them belted out the songs as they drove down the highway, a radiant smile on Ayako's face as her red hair whipped around her face into a glorious tangle of knots and curls, and her eyes shining brighter than they ever had.
He wouldn't change this for the world.
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Gene sat through the Board meeting, amusing himself by imagining every boring, stuffy member as a cartoon character, or random characters throughout the various fandoms he followed. Across from him, his father rolled his eyes in tandem with his wife, and Gene resisted the odd urge to giggle. He'd drawn the short straw in attending this conference, with various heads of SPR branches across the world, and currently, the head of the Irish Society was ranting about the inadequacy of the camera's in regards to capturing fae, sidhe, brownies and various other supernatural things that Ireland was plagued with. To his left, the Australian and New Zealand heads were discussing last night's rugby results (New Zealand had won, barely), while the Russian head looked inches away from falling asleep, the German head discretely painting her nails a blood red that matched her lipstick.
Gene's mind drifted to a certain Taniyama, who could weave ribbons of PK, and laugh at irritating spirits with him; the way her eyes would dance, and she'd smile that secret smile of hers when they were talking about something that others didn't know about. He had been slightly miffed that Oliver had beaten him to it; as the oldest twin he should have been first, as well as Maya, but he decided to get even.
Now, how to ask Maya if she preferred gold to silver without her getting suspicious.
"Dr Davis?"
"Yes?" Eugene, his mother and his father answered at the same time, drawing chuckles from the assembly. The fact that his was a medical doctorate and not a psychology one wasn't mentioned. The Irish head flushed.
"The younger. Oliver, was it?"
"Eugene, actually." Eugene hid a yawn, silently revelling in the shocked silence that followed. "Yes, I'm alive. No, I'm not a ghost. You may all close your mouths and hurry this meeting along; I'm getting bored."
Across the table, Luella and Martin Davis exchanged a fond glance, seeing the Irish head splutter incoherently.
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Some things never changed.
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Masako shut her eyes, willing herself not to scream as the apparition appeared in front of her. She had seen it many times, but it still frightened her all the same. She was paralysed, and she couldn't move, even as she felt the rancid breath of the monster brush across her collarbones, and hear the drip of blood sound right in her ear…
"Masako, it's just a dream! Wake up!"
The Australian accent broke through her paralysis, and she shot up, narrowly avoiding a collision with the demon hunter's nose. Blonde hair drifted into her vision, and blue eyes gazed at her, worry etched upon a youthful face. She ran a shaking hand through her hair.
"I'm fine." John raised an eyebrow, and his look said 'bullshit'. Masako sighed.
"Urado."
"Again?"
Masako nodded, and John sat on the edge of her bed, fingers playing with her hand absently. John looked pensive, and Masako let him think things through.
"Do you…have any idea as to why this is recurring?"
"It's not so much that it happened,' Masako began, biting her lip, 'but more that it happened. I've never been kidnapped on a case before. Possessed, yes, injured, yes, but never actually kidnapped."
"And you think that it's going to happen to you again? Or is it merely a subconscious fear?"
Masako shrugged, and John wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Masako leaned into his warmth gratefully, and closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of stone and the sea air.
"Most likely a subconscious thought." She murmured into his collarbone. "I've been told that I have an over-active imagination."
John's shoulders shook, and a chuckle rumbled through his chest.
"Comes with the trade, I'm afraid. We always expect the worst." He pulled away, and stood, giving her a sunny smile that did little to destroy the picture of angelic innocence that he made. "Come on, since you're up. We can get a head start on the presentation. Tea?"
"As long as it's green tea and not that awful stuff your aunt tried to give me." Masako sniffed, tossing back the blankets on her bed and standing, stretching a little. John huffed.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with English breakfast."
"There is everything wrong with that swill."
"Careful, Masako,' John began slyly, 'your 'spoilt brat' persona is making an appearance."
Masako giggled, and shooed him out of her room.
"Let me get dressed, you impossible man! Go look at the case files, or something."
John laughed, and jogged down the stairs, while Masako turned to look out of her window. She'd been invited to attend a spiritualist's conference, that mediums from all around the world came to, and it was being held in Australia that year. John, once he'd found out, offered to go with her, so that she didn't get a major culture shock, and to act as a translator on occasion (her English was good, but she needed help with a lot of the technical jargon. And Australian accents were weird). They'd ended up staying with one of his aunt's (Miriam, her daughter was adorable), because she lived in the city near the location of the conference (and Australian town names were strange. Canberra? Sydney? And don't even start with the smaller town names), and both Miriam and her husband had been thoughtful enough to send the weather forecast in advance, so that both packed accordingly.
Choosing a cream kimono with red cherry blossoms and a red obi, Masako slipped her feet into a pair of black Converse (leant to her by Miriam, stating that wooden platforms and heels will be impractical for the amount of standing around she would do), and gathered up her notes. She was making a speech on two cases of her choice, and she felt it her duty to warn other mediums that they were not infallible, or that the spirits wouldn't try to harm them. Two in particular served this purpose, and she felt reassured that John would be standing in the wings for the duration of her presentation, for support and manning the PowerPoint that contained pictures, or stills from the cameras. Her choice of cases were undoubtedly the most shocking, and were vastly more difficult than the ones she had heard about from other speakers.
The 'Urado' case, and the 'Nagoya Asylum' case.
They needed to know this. They needed to know that they weren't infallible. And she was going to be the one to tell them.
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Nollene tapped her fingers on her desk, eyes roving over the latest report from IT. On her desk was a picture of her siblings, both adopted and blood. She had been as surprised as Tori and Tajo to find out that they had the same mother, and that they were half-siblings, but the two had welcomed her all the same, Naru and Gene equally happy to share with the Li twins. It had meant more control over her PK, more emotional support and a strange sort of closure that she never knew that she needed.
Her lips curled into a small, secret grin at the latest note from Yasu, at the bottom of the report in an obscure form of shorthand that both of them used. Usually, they were random declarations of his undying love to her beauty, her personality or, on one memorable occasion, a poem dedicated to her eyebrows, but sometimes they carried sensitive information, like one employee embezzling funds on the sly, another not wanting to ask for time off due to sickness, and one who had faked her qualifications, but did such a good job in research anyway that they had decided to let it slide, with only a brief chat to her about pursuing a degree while she worked.
Today's message, however, was an invitation for coffee during lunch, and explained that Yasu had a gift for her that he'd give to her in private. Whatever it was, she hoped that it wasn't a ring.
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She'd punch him in the face if it was.
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"You have Mei's number in case of emergencies, and Luella said you can stop by anytime. Study hard, and…"
"Yes, Uncle." Cho laughed, grinning at Koujo worrying like a mother hen. Koujo smiled bashfully, and ran a hand through his hair, before he pulled his niece into a hug.
"Stay safe. This time." He whispered into her ear, and Cho nodded, feeling the hot pressure of tears forming, and she pressed herself closer to her uncle.
"I promise. I'll try not to be kidnapped by a Chinese fighting gang holding a grudge against my relatives." There was a pause, and both pulled away with watery chuckles, Cho wiping away her tears as Tori pulled her into a hug, while Koujo dragged Rose in for one. She was close enough to hear her uncle whisper 'take care of my niece, and don't let the bastards get you down', and Rose's soft 'I will' almost drowned out in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo International Airport.
Cho dragged her attention back to Tori as her aunt murmured
"Take care of yourself, yeah? And try to call as often as you can, just to keep Koujo from worrying. You know how he gets." Cho grinned at her.
"I'll think he'll have his hands full without being concerned about me."
Tori raised an eyebrow, and brushed her auburn hair over her shoulder, a secret smile playing about her lips.
"We haven't told anyone else, so please keep it a secret."
Cho nodded, and hugged her aunt tighter. She was going to miss the red-haired woman as much as she was going to miss her uncle; she'd not held the woman's past against her, knowing that her actions had been necessary at the time, even though they had hurt a lot of people.
'Flight 495 to Heathrow, please make your way through security, that's Flight 495 to Heathrow, please make your way through security.'
"That's us." Rose said, grabbing her carry-on. Cho disentangled herself from Tori, and picked up her own, Koujo's arm wrapping around her shoulders as they walked towards the drop-off point. Cho savoured the moment, knowing that once she left, she wouldn't be seeing him until Christmas or New Years, her courses were that heavy. She would miss Outcasts, with its creaky wooden floors, and the chatter of different languages at all hours, and the scent of baking that Tori or Ruka would indulge in if they had time. She hoped that her and Rose would have the same dorm room; it would be awkward to explain if they got caught sneaking into each other's dorms, and the nightmares would be extremely difficult. But, on the other hand, she was excited. She and Rose were going to Cambridge to study Parapsychology, and anything else that they found interesting, before returning to Japan to intern with JSPR. Rose was planning to focus on the actual psychology, while Cho was definitely being her uncle's niece, and was turning her attentions to Engineering.
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"This is it." Koujo stopped at the gate, he and Tori unable to go any further. Cho smashed her face into her uncle's chest, forcing the tears back down, and she felt her uncle squeeze her tight to him.
"I'll try my hardest to make you proud, uncle." She said, voice muffled. Koujo pulled back, and crouched down so that their eyes were level. He cupped her cheek, and his thumb swiped a stray tear off her cheek, his own eyes brimming slightly.
"You already have." He whispered, "So…have fun, but study hard. No matter what, I'll always be proud of you."
Cho sniffed, and she heard the 'click' of a camera going off. Both Lin's turned, and glared at Tori, who grinned, unrepentant.
"Let's have one with Rose shall we?"
Rose joined Cho, and put an arm around her waist, while Koujo moved behind them, arms around each of their shoulders.
"Three…two…one…" The camera flashed, and Cho blinked spots out her eyes, before her carry-on was handed to her, a quick hug from Tori, and Rose laced her fingers with hers, clenching tightly, before they were past the gate and lining up for security. The gate was no hassle, and the two girls stood in the lounge, staring at the plane. Rose sighed, before turning to Cho, eyes burning with excitement.
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"Come, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, Adventure."
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Koujo stood, staring where his niece had disappeared, long after they had vanished from sight.
"She'll be fine, Koujo." Tori whispered, squeezing his hand.
"I know." He said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and pulling her against him, breathing in the scent of orchids and forest air. "It doesn't make it any easier, though."
"We'll be fine." She murmured into his collarbone, and he could feel her smile against his neck. "It will work out. It has before."
From their position, he could feel the slight swell of her normally flat abdomen, and a small smile crossed his features when he thought about the future. Their future.
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"Yeah, we got there,' he smiled into her hair,'…in the end."
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Fin
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And like that, a series that has taken over four years to write, started when I was just a wee 15 year old discovering fanfiction for the first time, is completed. I could spend ages thanking everyone, but I'll settle for short and sweet.
Thank you, to those who reviewed over the years, for your continued support of this story. Thank you for putting up with my erratic updates, my various rants, and un-beta-ed work. Thank you to the people who faved and followed this series to completion, and thank you for letting me know that it was being read.
(Victoria)
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There will be no sequel to this, and we are turning our attention to various other fandoms that we follow. We may return to Ghost Hunt sometime, but don't expect it to be soon. Hell, we might even revisit this to edit and expand the AU-ish thing that we've created. But for now, we'll leave it be.
(Siofra)
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This is Siofra Prince and Victoria Cheyne, signing out for the last time.
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Live Long and Prosper.