Theatre Wars

Epilogue.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ghost Hunt.

Yep. Last chapter. To Ariana Taniyama, lil whit, krissy2lip and Ayjah, many thanks for reviewing the previous chapter! They are much appreciated, as always. Also, as thanks, I'm accepting fic requests at the moment, if anyone is still interested in GH fics. I'm willing to try out other things too - just run them through me first.

Thank you, all, for reading! =)

I stare at the hearse with mounting irritation. Mai is walking behind the vehicle, cheeks wet with tears. Martin's face is grimmer than I've ever seen it, and Luella is clutching his elbow with both her gloved hands. Slow music plays in the background as the coffin is lowered into the narrow pit before the tombstone. The lid slides off partially when Takigawa stumbles, and a hand flops out, the edge of a black sleeve showing. Lin stuffs it back in awkwardly. No one looks at him while he's at it.

"Lovely weather," Gene comments beside me. A box of popcorn is stowed in the crook of his elbow and I frown in disapproval at it.

"You could be a little more respectful. It's my funeral after all."

"Hey, I'm already dressed in mourning. You can't get any more respectful than that," he answers. True. We're both dressed in the same black clothes. Our eyes are the same. We even sound the same and we both watch as Mai tosses the first mound of soil into the grave.

I turn away, unable to bear looking. Gene's cheerful demeanour vanishes and he puts aside the popcorn.

"I don't need your sympathy," I say, checking in advance the expected flood of consolation and walk away from the funeral party. Gene of course follows. I walk on, and when I reach a small hill, I only hesitate a second before scaling it. From the top, I can look down on the tops of the trees. They're oaks, and old ones. Gene joins me on top, and I observe that he's brought along a striped collapsible chair which he plants himself comfortably in. The others are huddled around the filled grave, their voices pitched to a low, polite murmur. I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "Well?"

"Well what?" Gene asks with a lingering smile.

"How did I die?"

"Hmm." He cocks his head. "I don't know."

"Some farewell I'm getting." I remain standing as I glance casually at him. "I never liked funerals."

"It's for their sakes as much and I'm still grateful you did right by me for mine."

"You may laugh," I retort ominously, "but I hardly think your hanging around any benefit to me."

Gene doesn't laugh. He only smiles gently and I scowl in return. "You've gone soft," I mutter. And even better at reading me.

"Death changes some things."

He sighs suddenly. "Oh Noll. I wish I can say that you're welcome to join me, but it's not the end yet."

"What do you mean?"

Gene smiles wryly. "You idiot. Hurry up and wake up already. Shizu's gone." My surprise must have registered outwardly because Gene pats me on my shoulder, not as much in sympathy, I observe, as in consolation. "You always were bad in manipulating dreams. Now, off you go."

"Wait," I say, drawing back from him. He truly grins then, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Go and kiss her properly this time."

When Naru's eyes open, I can't help but yell and launch at him in a hug. Naru winces and then shoves me aside, glaring, coughing and choking simultaneously. "You couldn't have gotten me out earlier?" he grumbles. The next moment, I am completely shoved aside, first by Masako and then Lin, who both vie for Naru's attention. I huff noisily and then step back prudently when a minor stampede led by Bou-san ensues.

"Stop."

Despite having only just woken up, Naru is back to his crabbily commanding self. Everyone falls back at the arctic tone of his voice, except for Lin, who seizes the opportunity for a lecture.

"Try a stunt like that again and I'll personally drag your dead body back to London," he scolds. Naru of course, ignores him, and with an imperious wave of his hand, tries to stand up – only to sit back down heavily on the grass with a rather surprised look on his face. Lin smirks.

"Just how long do you think you've been out? Any fool would know better than to try that."

Naru of course, shoots his guardian a poisonous stare which has zero effect as all Lin does is nod in a satisfied manner. "If you can look at me in that insolent manner, I expect you're lucid enough to listen for once."

"What happened to Shizu?" Naru asks abruptly and I can't help but giggle. Lin stares ominously at him.

"I've a right to know," he adds on seeing Lin's expression.

"Her name was Oda Shizu. A deshi who trained directly under my grand-aunt," Natsume comments.

"You. Why are you here?" Naru demands, clearly displeased to see the actor.

Natsume rolls his eyes. "Why is it that you never seem to like my presence? I'm not interested in your girl."

I blush, but what's interesting is that a faint colour creeps into Naru's face too. "I know that. What your presence indicates is that there must have been a breach of operations protocol. Clients should never enter the front line unless in pressing circumstances," he says, accentuating his lecture with an accusatory frown at Bou-san, who throws his hands into the air.

"Why is it I'm always the one who gets the blame? Ayako is perfectly capable of making -

Whack.

"Right," he muttered. "My fault."

"His expertise, and Anzai-san's as well were needed to navigate the building," Lin explains.

"Never mind all that," Naru replies tersely. "Who discovered Shizu's body?"

Everyone looks at me, including Naru, who notices where the others are all looking at.

"Umm. You remembered what you said about the plumbing in the powder room? I – I recalled that you wanted it checked out. They were – they were..." I hesitate. Masako coughs. "Shizu must have fallen into the well on the way back from drowning Shizuko. In the fuss when everyone was looking for Shizuko, they must not have noticed that someone else was missing."

"According to the files, the Ginsui went into a period of mourning and closed for renovations. I don't think anyone discovered that anyone other than Shizuko had died on the premises. Her death, in a manner of speaking, eclipsed any other incident."

"I don't think she meant to lock up Haruo but when she died, no one bothered looking for him since everyone assumed he'd ran away," I finish quietly. Masako puts a hand on my shoulder. "It was an accident. Mostly."

Three days later.

We're driving up the hillside to the theatre again. The car swerves round the curve and I squeak, clutching at the hand rest for dear life. Naru glances at me, and I see that he's about to make a sarcastic comment.

"Damnit Naru! Watch where you're driving!" I shriek as we miss a tree by bare inches. "I wasn't going to hit it," he insists, and takes the next bend on two wheels. I groan. "No wonder Lin never lets you drive," I mutter as soon as I'd caught my breath.

"I have excellent spatial awareness and motor reflexes."

"So?" I huff, and turn away from him to look out the window. "You're a manic driver." It's on the tip of my tongue to say that for someone who has lost a brother in a road accident, Naru shows remarkable nonchalance in his driving attitude.

"Relax Mai. I'm not going to hit anybody," he says. I eye him guiltily.

"I didn't say you would."

"Try telling Lin that," he says, before screeching to a sideways halt before the stone steps of the porch right in front of a stunned Haru and Hiro. "I have no idea why he won't let me drive."

"I do," I wheeze as I unbuckle the seatbelt. Too bad Lin twisted his ankle helping Naru up the stairs to the office yesterday. "Give me five minutes. I don't think my legs will allow me to get out yet."

It's only been three days since we left the theatre but already there is such a great difference. The very air seems to feel lighter, cleaner. With its ghosts exorcised, it's like a heavy shadow has been lifted off the building.

"Hello Mai," Haru greets with her usual cheerfulness and I smile back. "How're rehearsals?"

"Good. Everything's calmed down already. But the really exciting thing is Anzai proposing to Yukiko the moment she came back for practice."

Now that was a surprise. "And she said yes didn't she?" I ask eagerly. Naru coughs. "If you don't mind? I would like to see both Nijima and Umezou-san, preferably within the hour."

"Oh, right, of course," Hiro says, flushing slightly. "This way, Shibuya-san."

"It's a wonder how many people our age address you like you're fifty," I snigger. Naru spares me a withering glance and then follows them into the lobby.

"Ah, Shibuya-san," Umezou greets in his deep bass voice and I bite back a guffaw. Naru turns slightly to glare at me.

"I've completed the report, as promised," Naru says, sliding across a manila file.

"Good, very good. I'm glad to put to rest that particular piece of history," he says, resting a heavy hand on the file. "There is only one more thing."

Naru is displeased. "If I recall correctly, you told me that it was sufficient to exorcise the spirits. No further chain of inquiry was needed, as you and Nijima-san specifically informed me."

"Yes, yes," Umezou said hastily. "I quite remember, Shibuya-san. But you see, we still have a problem with plates habitually appearing in front of the stage."

"I suppose I can have a look," Naru answers coldly. I can see that he already thinks this is a waste of his time, but we're already here.

Naturally, the first thing Naru says on giving the nine plates lined up in a neat row on the roof a cursory examination is that it is the work of a prank.

"You don't know that for sure," Anzai says, with Yukiko in tow. She looks her same dreamy self but when Anzai smiles reassuringly at her, she blushes faintly. I grin. Naru allows them their moment and then speaks again.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he retorts with a smirk. "I have seen the culprits with my own eyes."

"You have? When?" I ask disbelievingly.

"The first night, I was on my way back to my room when I heard footsteps outside the theatre. I wanted to follow them, but the door to the theatre was locked when I tried it."

"But…how?"

"Unlike Mai, who would no doubt have jumped to the conclusion that some ghostly apparition had phased through the wall -,"

"Hey!" I growl. Naru showed no sign that he heard my protest when he paused to drink his tea.

"I instead searched for possible alternative means of entry. The top of the wall was lined with a series of small windows, of which the nearest were unlatched.

"But those windows are too small for an adult to go through," Hiro says.

"True. But then I didn't say the culprits were adults did I? "

Naru smirks again. "I went round to the back of the theatre, where the emergency exit was. I had observed earlier in the day that although it is a panic-bar door, there was a narrow gap under the door through which I could simply lever the door open from inside out."

Umezou winces. "That is quite a severe breach of security."

"Indeed," Naru says conversationally. "You should consider informing the managers so they may sue the contractor."

He tapped a finger casually. "I was out of luck however, when I stood a second too long under the stairs that led to the powder room and someone tipped a bucket of flour on me. I heard giggling, but as I was in no position to complete my investigation, I went instead to have a shower."

"At four a.m.," I finished for him with an innocent smile. Naru meets my eyes coolly. "Of course. I suspected it might have been you, since you had a distinctly guilty look about you, but you could never have fitted into the window."

"Huh," I mutter as he leans forward, lacing his fingers. "Umezou-san, are there any children attached to either companies?"

Umezou-san frowns, rubbing his chin. "My twin daughters. But they've been living with their mother!"

"Are they? When was the last time you spoke to Mrs Umezou? I expect it must be some time given your troubles with the theatre."

Umezou's jaw clenches and he flushes.

"Umm. Actually, mother hired an ex kabuki student to babysit them as she had to take over the dance class of one of her teachers who fell ill," Hiro says. "Sorry. I thought she might have told you as well."

As Umezou's face turns beetroot, Hiro runs a hand embarrassedly through his hair. "She said he took them on an extended field trip to a theatre he was rehearsing at. Claimed it was haunted by Okiku or something like…. Oh," Hiro falters, looking unhappy.

Naru, by then, wasn't listening. "Two of them. That would explain how they scaled the wall to the window," he says ruminatively and then abruptly rises, his chair scraping into the carpet. "Well, if that is all, I would like to take my leave."

Umezou stands as well. "Wait! You haven't explained anything!"

"Haven't I? I thought it was obvious," Naru answers blandly. "Ask Anzai Hikaru what he was doing with the food hamper in the theatre the day I disappeared."

As the young man grinned sheepishly, Naru shrugs on his coat and leaves. I get up hurriedly. "Please excuse us!" I say, bowing hastily. Struck speechless, Umezou bows back dumbly and Anzai winks. "Off you go then!" he says. "Give our best to your boss!"

Back outside, I laugh out loud and stretch my hands out wide. Naru raises an eyebrow. "You seem happy."

"Yeah…" I grin slyly and slip my hand into his. "Did you see Haru and Hiro? They were holding each other's hands throughout the meeting."

He huffs mildly. "Yes. How could I fail to miss that the two future heads of the rival companies are a couple?"

"Future heads? But Hiro…"

"You never do look do you?" Naru answers drily. He reaches into his file and pulls out a glossy chirashi. It's of the performance and my eyes nearly pop out of my head when I see that clearly printed in the cast list is Umezou Hiro.

"Whenever you're done staring," Naru says and I look up quickly, caught by something in his voice.

"I'm done," I say, stuffing the poster into my coat pocket. He cups my face and tips my chin up. "Our turn," he breathes before kissing me. Then, out of the corner of my eyes, I see a cluster of shapes by the stream. I step back, startled, but Naru follows, wrapping his arms around me.

"Ignore them."

"I - what?" Did Naru just tell me to ignore the spirits standing by the shore?

He smiles briefly. "Case's closed, Mai. Now that it's officially over, the sooner I can get some tea, the better."

"You just had some."

His eyes meet mine directly. "It wasn't made by you."

"Oh," I answer, pleased as he draws me back to the car. On reaching it, Naru makes to open its door, but I put my hand over his. Much as he may want to return to his office, I am in no hurry to sit in that death-trap. He draws his hand slowly away from the handle. "In return," I say, still smiling broadly, "can I go home earlier today?"

"Absolutely not."

I pout. "That's unfair. You're brainier, better looking and more talented. Give me a break," I say, prodding his back when he gets into the driver's seat. "Oi, Naru!"

He turns abruptly, and peers solemnly at me. "Well," he smirks after a beat, "you can come home to mine."

End.