Hello! Here's chapter 8!

Finally hitting the plot! And I have heard many people asking for them to reunite, so here it is. The long awaited Chapter 8!

Disclaimer – I would never own Ghost Hunt. I would, of course, borrow the characters for a non-profiting fanfiction and mess around with their lives. That I can do. So enjoy the story.

Chapter 8 – And Two Ends Connect

Megumi noticed that Mai was gone when she came back in the room. Glancing at the swing, she realized why. Shinju must have awakened, and Mai took her into the bedroom.

"I need to speak to the client, Mrs. Ouraka, is she available?"

"Yes, she may not come out though. She's really nervous."

"Can you direct me to her then?"

"Last door on the right in the hallway. Just knock."

The young man thanked her, and headed down the hallway. She smiled softly in her hand. She saw the look in his eye when he mentioned 'the client'. It was a little hopeful, and desperate. Apparently, Mai wasn't completely accurate in her assumption of her former employer.

Mai sniffed, watching Shinju. She was staring at everything she could see. Mai smiled softly, and kissed the top of her head. She jumped when a knock sounded at her door. It wasn't Megumi, she knocked softly. This was more firm.

Mai slipped Shinju off her arm and made sure she was safe, before going and answering the door. Wiping her eyes, she froze halfway when she realized just who was on the other side of the now-open door.

In his full glory, decked out in black, the deep shade of blue eyes, and the blankest face in the history of mankind, Kazuya Shibuya, Naru, her first love...

"S-Shibuya-san..." Mai stuttered. She didn't know if she should still call him Naru, or just treat him like a president of a company (which he was).

"Mai, I need to talk to you about what happened."

Does he mean... Mai thought frantically, still frozen.

"The case, Mai."

"Oh yes. Yes. The case..." Mai stepped aside, and it was Naru's turn to freeze. For lying on her bed, was a small infant.

"Mai, after we talk about the case, you're going to have to do some explaining."

Mai nodded, lowering her head. She knew this was going to happen. Naru walked in the room, and Mai watched him pull out the desk chair. Mai went to the bed, picked up Shinju gently, and held her as she seated herself on the bed.

"So explain, what made you hire us?"

"A couple weeks after she was born," Mai nodded towards her daughter, "I started having dreams again. Nothing too frightening, but it was the same dream over and over. I would start out watching a woman have the police come to her door, the scene would change to a funeral, and then it would end with her endlessly crying."

"So you were having dreams, and you decided it was needed to call us?"

"If you would let me finish..." Mai growled, and took a deep breath. "This wasn't what bothered me; it was when she and I were in danger of being hurt – possibly killed – in our apartment. It was like wind striking at the walls, hard enough to tear the walls and leave gashes, not to mention destroying the furniture." Mai pointed to the walls of her room. "I thought it would be safe to go back, but it happened again, and when I decided to move locations, it followed me. It only damaged this room, luckily, and part of the hallway, but I want this to stop. That is why I sent Ouraka-san."

"Now, off the record, can you explain the infant?"

"I was attacked. The attack left me pregnant. I left. I had Shinju."

"The serial rapist that the monk was talking about last year, I assume was the attacker."

"Yes. He still hasn't been caught."

"Is that why you haven't come back, even after they asked?"

"No. I didn't come back on my own choice. I do not want to talk about this."

"It is something you need to talk about. You have to leave this room eventually, and you don't look different enough to pass yourself off as someone else."

"So?"

"The others are going to ask."

Mai looked down and sighed. "I know." I just don't want to talk about it with you... You won't understand.

"May I see Shinju?"

Mai looked up startled. Did he really just...

"S-sure."

Naru took the infant out of Mai's arms, and held her. Shinju looked up at him, and gurgled happily.

Mai giggled softly. "She likes you."

"She has your eyes," Naru commented.

Mai blushed, and looked down. Before she knew it, she had been pulled up off the bed, and an arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close to Naru. He leaned in towards her, and whispered in her ear, "This is off the record."

"Damn that brat," the monk cursed. Naru had disappeared while he and Lin were carrying in equipment.

"He's still interviewing."

"Without Lin-san?"

"I overheard Naru tell Lin-san to sit out of this one. Naru's doing the interview alone."

"Probably because of the lack of manpower to haul all this in?"

"Most likely."

Takigawa and Ayako were sitting in the living room, drinking tea that had been made before they arrived. It was still warm when they got it. They were all waiting for Naru to finish interviewing, and for Lin to finish the technical part of hooking the equipment together to work properly.

Naru entered the room a short time later, looking over his notes.

"Hey Naru, what now?"

"We wait. This ghost is a stalker, to be most accurate. It moves with the person, not bound to a location."

"Well, should we start setting up camer—" Ayako stopped, being the only one able to see who just walked in the room. She couldn't believe it. There was Mai, dressed in a knee-length skirt, loose flowing top, sandals, her hair in a ponytail down her back – it had grown longer over the year – and a... baby sling across her chest?

"What is—" The monk just turned around, and froze too.

Mai smiled nervously, and her feet shuffled uncomfortably.

"Hello... you two..."

Ayako jumped up, and quickly walked to Mai, pulling her into a tight hug, but being aware of the infant she got a glance of.

"Oh Mai! I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Ayako-chan."

Takigawa hadn't moved since turning around. A mixed range of emotions fluttered through him; relief, anger, confusion, and shock. Finally he got to his feet, slowly walked over to her, and pulled her from Ayako to him.

"Mai..."

"Bou-san," Mai whispered. They had a special relationship, though very far from romantic. He was like the older brother she never had. He always tried to protect her, always made her laugh. Besides Naru, she had missed him the most.

"Little lady, you have so much explaining to do." Mai gulped visibly. Megumi stepped near Mai, ready to intervene if necessary. But it was not needed, for a second later, Mai nodded.

"I do, don't I..."

"And so, I had Shinju a few months ago. After that, paranormal activity started up around me, and I called Shibuya-san."

Ayako held Shinju, cooing at her and smiling. Takigawa was listening closely.

"So you were afraid of how we would react? Why?"

"I thought... That you would want to terminate my baby." The monk's brows furrowed, and asked, "What made you believe that?"

"Fear. I didn't know what to do. After that, all these thoughts flooded my mind, and I couldn't separate the rational from irrational ones. I just did what I felt was right, and I fled. It wasn't because I didn't trust any of you not to do that. It was me."

"Alright, I'll accept that. Fear does things to a person. But you could have told us you were pregnant months ago." Mai shook her head.

"No. It took Ouraka-san months to finally get it through my head that all of you didn't hate me, let alone tell you more secrets to make you hate me."

"You thought we hated you?" Ayako spoke up, looking up from the infant in her arms.

"Well, yeah. I never told you anything, and you all opened up to me. I was lying to all of you for the longest time."

"That doesn't matter. We forgave you several months ago."

"I know, I've been irrational."

"Taniyama-san," Naru spoke up, getting the attention of the room, "my crew needs to get back to work, you can visit later."

"Of course, Shibuya-san," Mai respectfully said, knowing the two were wondering why they were on last-name basis. Mai knew why. Even though Naru had shown a display of affection while in her room, didn't mean things were better. She still had left her one-day-notice on a scrap of paper in an apartment he never knew she lived in with parents that didn't really exist. She called him Shibuya-san since she didn't know if it was okay to just call him Naru again. It wasn't like before.

Ayako handed the baby back to Mai, and gave her a strange look.

"Ouraka-san, can you have them hold off putting a camera in my room? I need to feed Shinju."

"Of course." Mai stood up, stretched her legs, and headed to her room, passing the narcisstic work-aholic she was deeply in love with. His hand brushed against hers, and it sent tingles all up her arm. The touch was brief, but it was reassuring. He was happy to see her happy.

A/N - Favourite lines in the chapter (in the whole story actually!) are "...Before she knew it, she had been pulled up off the bed, and an arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close to Naru. He leaned in towards her, and whispered in her ear, 'This is off the record.'..." Gah. I think I wrote this whole story just to write those few lines. xD