The Final Episode

Word Count: 1,432

"I can't believe that Ghost Hunt's rating has gone down so drastically. I thought people liked us," Mai said, with an airy smile. Which was never a good thing for her to wear, because then people automatically assumed that she was an air-head.

Mai, Mr. Monk, Big Sister Ayako, Masako, and John Purple were all gathered in the main quarters of the SPR office, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. For the finale of the series, they would finally go into a haunted house.

Mai crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "I can't believe that they're late." She was wearing a white T-shirt that said Just Be Glad I'm Not a Twin.

Mr. Monk was programming numbers into a phone he had brought this morning for a new client. The phone was mediocre looking, which alerted everyone in the room as to what Mr. Monk thought of the new client. Big Sister Ayako was wearing plain jeans and a button down. Masako was wearing a pale pink sundress and a barrette in her hair.

John looked tired and a little too tanned, but that was only because he was finally coming out of his sickness. The doctors had informed him that the cardboard color might never go away.

He and Masako were sitting side-by-side as they waited for Lin, Naru and Yasu to arrive. They occasionally would look at each other and then blush and look away. Mai stared intently at them after the fifth time they had done it. She could be wrong, but wasn't John, like, a seriously devoted Catholic (and not to mention celibate) priest?

The door finally opened and Naru and Lin walked through the door. Lin was holding a cardboard box full of old notepads and pencils, and Naru; well, looked like a ghost.

"What are you wearing?" Mai said, pointing to him as if her words needed further statement.

Naru's whole suit was pure white.

"My suit got bleached," he said flatly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Mai quickly shook her head. She noticed that his shoes were pure white, too. She had to wonder if his shoes had been bleached as well, or if he had bought them to match. Just because.

"Are you worthless minions ready to go?" Naru continued, "Where's Yasu?"

"He's not here," Mr. Monk said, "isn't that normal?"

"Whatever. Let's go and finish this."

…

As everyone set up the base, Mai followed Naru around and stared intently at his white-clad back.

"Mai," Naru finally said, "If you insist on gawking at me, I am going to make you color the whole suit black with a Sharpie."

Mai pursed her lips. "Would you have to take off your clothes to allow that?"

"Mai, go do something else."

She stomped her foot. "Fine, you big, stupid… jerk." Mai couldn't make herself call him a narcissist anymore.

She turned on her heel and ran back to where the others were. She started helping move things around, most of time putting them in the wrong places. John had to take frequent breaks, since he was still recovering.

"So, what kind of ghost are we dealing with, Mai?" Big Sister Ayako asked.

"Why am I supposed to know?"

"Well, you went to go ask Naru that didn't you?"

"Oh, yeah. That's why I was following him around." Mai took off back after Naru, who had gone down the hall, trying to act important.

He glared at her when she came back up behind him. "Mai, if you continue, I'll make you color the suit in with a ballpoint pen, and there had better not be a single white sliver left."

"I'll do it if you're going to take your clothes off," she said.

Naru gave her an exasperated look. "What do you want, Mai?"

"You to take your clothes off."

"Mai," Naru hissed under his breath, "aren't you supposed to be following a script?"

"Oh." Mai had temporarily forgotten due to thinking of Naru without any clothes. "Now I remember." She coughed into her hand to clear her throat. "Oh, Ghostly God, what ghost will we be encountering here?"

"I'm sorry to say, but probably your deceased twin."

Mai was taken aback with the response. She looked down at her shirt as if she had incited some taboo. Or perhaps he was just lying to her. "I didn't know I had a twin. What a plot twist."

"I didn't know you had one either. And it'll most likely only target you. Run along now."

Back at base, the others were playing a card game, where they drew cards and read off the questions to one another.

Mai sat down in their little circle, sitting between John and Masako. John was loading a squirt gun with holy water, since it made it easier to hit the ghosts then and he wasted less water.

Big Sister Ayako aimed the next game-question towards her. "'Do you have any secret professions?'"

"Well, I actually do have something to admit," Mai said. "I'm really a very well known singer."

"What a plot twist," John mumbled.

"I'm also a writer," Mai continued brightly.

They all just ignored her for pushing her luck.

"Lin," Masako said to the older man, holding a card, "'are you seriously in love somebody that is too young for you?'"

Lin looked pointedly at Mai. And then he started to cry into his handkerchief.

Masako leaned close to Mai. "He's actually madly in love with you," she said, "And can't bear to be around you, because he knows he's too old, even though he forgets that sometimes."

"Ew!" Mai said.

"What a plot twist!" Mr. Monk said for her.

"Let me read one for you guys," Mai said, reaching for the stack of cards. Big Sister Ayako and Mr. Monk just sighed and shook their heads.

"You see, Mai," Mr. Monk said, "we're not important enough to have major plots twists."

Mai made a perfect O shape with her mouth.

Naru conveniently entered the room at this time. His suit was so white it was almost blinding.

"Ah, Naru!" Mai said, waving him towards the group. "This question is for you: 'have you ever had a girlfriend?" She frowned at the question.

"I have an ex-girlfriend that hates me," Naru said, "As if I really had any social life before I started coming here. Like I had really been old enough to actually have a proper girlfriend."

"What a plot twist," Mai said – grumpily.

They suddenly heard a voice coming from one of the doors. "None of those are major plots twists compared to this one."

The door opened, and Gene walked in. "I'm not really dead."

Everyone gasped and Mai covered her mouth with her hands.

"What a plot twist!" Masako said.

"I thought my twin was the ghost," Mai said.

Naru turned onto Gene furiously. "Why do you always have to try and outdo me, brother?" Naru folded his arms. "Mai, I have something to tell you, too... I don't really have psychic powers."

Mai's hands, which she had lowered, flew back to her mouth. "What a plot twist!"

"Actually, that one isn't very believable," Big Sister Ayako said.

"Shut up. I'm outdoing my brother for once." Naru glared at her.

"You failed," Gene said with a smile.

"I hate you."

"You do?" Mai said, incredulous, "What a plot twist. But then why did you go all the way to Japan to find him?"

"So I could bring him back and kill him again."

"Noll," Gene chided, "That's a bit much for the rating."

"Who's Noll?" Mai asked.

"Mai," Naru said, hints of exasperation in his voice, "We went through this in chapter one."

"Oh, yeah, I remember. What a plot twist." Mai actually did not remember what had happened in chapter one, but she went along with the flow of things.

Everyone got very quiet, since they all couldn't remember what was supposed to be on the script next.

"Oh," Mai said, "I have something to tell you. Naru, I have a boyfriend and I'm getting over you now."

"Unacceptable," Naru said.

"I have a major plot twist for you all!" The door burst open (again), hitting Gene full in the face and probably breaking his nose by the sound of it. Apparently he really wasn't a ghost.

Yasu stood in the door frame, pointing at Mai. "At the end of the manga and anime, Naru and Mai do not get together."

"What a –" Mai stopped herself, "Are you kidding me?"

"Everyone already knows that," Naru concluded.

…

~Fin

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed it! I loved every single review that was submitted, especially since I hadn't been expecting too much feedback on this story. :-D

Thank you very much for reading!

-Coriana