A/N: Really no excuse for the sudden hiatus, but high school completely blindsided me. Thank you to those amazing people who reviewed and those people who dug this story up out of the Ghost Hunt archives and read it! I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it!
Now, this IS the last chapter BUT thanks to some fans this story has made it's way up to 350! So, without further-ado, I present to you the final chapter of the FIRST installment of the 'Forgotten' series!
A final pre-dedication to Juliana for posting the 350th review, and for urging me to write this and that it wasn't a totally lost cause. Looking back, I'm totally ashamed about the really short chapters and I'll probably take some time out of a upcoming weekend to splice them together or add mindless fluff/description so they're longer. I'm so sorry for those!
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt.
Mai's POV:
It had taken a while for me to make my decision, but it was made.
I turned, blurry-eyed, and stared at the hotel in the fading distance, stark against the inky blackness of the night. Like so many years ago, yet again, I was running from my problems. I was choosing to take the easy way out, rather than facing them dead-on. I knew...I knew I was going to cause so many people so much pain.
I was leaving Naru, without even having the nerve to face him and tell him so; I knew my mindset would change if he had a chance to tell me differently.
I was leaving my SPR family, blatantly ignoring how quickly they took me under their tutelage and gave me the love nobody else seemed to want to give me.
I was leaving my parents, after how long it took me to find them.
I was leaving my sister, who I hadn't seen in so long, and Gene, who cared about me as a older brother would.
I was leaving everything I ever loved behind.
"Bye, everyone," I whispered to the cold darkness of the night, before I started walking. I knew there was a train station somewhere around here, I'd just have to-
"Mai." A quiet voice sounded.
Whirling around, I came face to face with Gene and Emi who were watching me with alarmed eyes.
"Where are you going?" Emi continued, stepping forward to reach for my hand and hold it tightly.
"I need to go, Em." I whispered. "And you know it. I can't let whoever's hunting me down find you all."
"Mai," Gene started. "This is ridiculous. Noll-"
"-Can't find out where I'm going because I know he'll force me to come back whether I like it or not!" I was starting to get desperate, knowing both Naru and Lin stayed up into the wee hours of the morning when we were on cases. Today was no different, and I needed to go before any one of them noticed something was aloof.
"Then I'm coming." Em's voice was firm, her mind made up. I gave her a hard look, as hard as it could get, before pulling my hand away. Gene moved closer to the girl.
"No."
"Yes!"
"So am I," Gene stared at me defiantly.
"No!"
"Yes!" They both protested, crossing their arms and glaring at me.
"NO!" My voice rose dangerously, possibly alerting people passing by in their cars. We must have looked like freaks to them all.
"Mai, this is ridiculous," Em sighed. "Just let us come. Have you ever thought they might be after me as well?"
I paused, mid-fume, and looked at her. She looked exhausted, and immediately I felt guilty; here I was acting like a child in a time of crisis.
"Fine," I let me voice drop back to a considerate volume. "If you really want to."
"I'm still coming," Gene told me sternly. "Sure you don't want to tell Noll, Mai?"
"I'm sure." I nodded, despite the churning in my stomach; I really didn't want to leave him, but I had no choice.
Together, we left, walking into the darkness of the night, leaving behind everything and everyone.
UNKNOWN POV:
"So they've left?" I cackled, clutching the sword's hilt.
"Yes, my lordship. The two girls, and one of the twins."
"Good. Now it is the time to help our puppet strike and bring destruction back to the living."
A/N: Whee, short but sweet, because the SEQUEL will be much longer and hopefully tie up loose ends (: This chapter had to be short as I couldn't reveal much, but nonetheless I hope you enjoyed it, and the rest of the story! That's a wrap, folks!
Summary for the sequel, 'Forgotten Love';
It's been some time since Mai, Emiko and Gene left SPR and the hotel behind, in order to keep those they loved safe. Given word of a marriage of two they knew well, they decide to go back for a bit, at least under cover. Cover or not, their return causes a domino effect of disasters, heartaches and ghost-filled horrors. Can their love for each other surpass it all?