So I've decided this is going to be the last chapter for this story. Hope you enjoy it (:

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt

Chapter 12: Debt

"I hate you, Yasu," Ayako cried, her face still bright red as they entered the base to find Naru with Mai still in his arms. She was whispering to him, her eyes closed and her head resting on his shoulder. The group stopped in their tracks, staring at the couple sitting on the bed. Emma giggled behind her hand at the look on both Monk's and Ayako's faces.

The giggle alerted the two teens to their company. Mai sighed, moving her face to press into Naru's chest. Naru on the other hand glared angrily at the interruption. With a sigh of his own, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and slid to the floor. Mai kept her hands wrapping in tight fists around his shirt.

Yasu led the way into the room, pressing a hand over his mouth to hide the smile spreading across his face. "Hey guys, what's going on here?" he asked the amusement evident in his voice.

Naru cut a glare at him. He didn't answer the question. Instead, he said, "Matuzaki-san, Takigawa, I've got a job for the both of you. When John get here, he'll be helping you as well, but first, get me Doctor Hasegawa." He gave the group a pointed look, save Emma who stood off to the side watching the proceedings like a curious child.

"Why do you need him?" Monk asked, not moving from the spot he was still standing in.

Ayako had her hand on her hip, leaning to one side. "Yeah, why so suddenly? You haven't talked to the man since Ikki burst in here. By the way, whatever happened to him?" she asked pressing to a finger to her lips and staring at the ceiling.

Naru's lips twisted in an evil, satisfied smile. "Let's just say he won't be bothering us anymore," he murmured with a smirk. It was only there for a moment before he was back to his usual self. "Stop asking stupid questions and just go do what I've told you," he ordered with a bland look on his face.

Ayako pursed her lips. She huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she turned towards the door. "Whatever," she huffed, dropping a tote bag onto a swivel chair and making her way outside of the room.

"Hey, wait up," Monk said, following after her.

"Wait for me lovebirds. I want to know how you ended up on the couch," he called, running after her.

Emma shook her head with a sigh. "I have no idea what I'm going to do with that boy," she murmured to herself, watching the three disappear down the hall before turning to the couple still at the bed, "Hey Mai, how are you feeling today?" She walked over, a small kind smile on her lips.

Mai finally looked up from her hiding place against Naru's chest. She glanced at Emma with one bloodshot eye. The part of her nose that Emma could see was bright red, like a crab had snapped its claw around it. "Okay," Mai mumbled her voice raspy from tears, watching her. Emma thought she looked like a little kid hiding against their father. That was a weird, yet she had to admit cute, thought.

"Are you sure? You look like you've had a hard time," Emma said worriedly, stepping up beside Naru who was watching her. Again he felt as if he was indebted to yet another one of his adopted teammates. He was starting to make a habit of it, and that was not something he enjoyed.

Mai nodded her head slightly. "My dream was really bad this time around," she mumbled almost inaudibly, burying her face in Naru's chest again. She was trying to smother the images that flashed across her mind's eye.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Emma asked, patting and rubbing Mai's back soothingly, "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you."

Mai gave her a small smile. "Don't worry. I had my knight in shining, black armor here to protect me," she said, only half joking. Naru put a hand on her head with a small, rare smile. His arm tightened around her waist protectively.

"And I'll always be here," Naru murmured to her, not realizing that Emma could actually hear what he had said.

Emma smiled to herself feeling better knowing that her newest friend was in good hands. She stood up. "Well Mai, do you want to come down to the kitchen with me? We can head by public bathroom so you can change. You'll finally be in your own clothes again. Ayako brought you some," she asked, smiling as she picked up the small red tote bag that Ayako had thrown on a chair.

Mai stood up a little straighter pulled her face from Naru's chest. She looked up at him asking if it was safe to go. "Yeah, you should go. You need some food and I would like my clothes back," he said, ending with a teasing grin.

"You're mean," she pouted, turning her head away from him and staring at the curtained off window.

"Only for you," he said, kissing her on the cheek and then moving away towards the monitors.

Emma giggled at Mai's burning face. Mai stood there for a long moment, her mouth hanging open. She visibly shook herself out of surprise and walked over to the window. "Well, at least get some sun while I'm gone," she said, flinging the curtains open and basking in the warm sun. She laughed as Naru almost imperceptibly flinched. She turned to Emma with a bright Mai-like smile, "I'm really hungry, what are they serving today?"

"I don't know," Emma answered with a huge grin, "Let's go find out."

…..

"Ready?" Naru asked into the microphone, staring at a screen that had been set up in a separate room. To think that they'd been staying in the very room where more than six girls had been killed. To think that Mai had been in that room for over three months. It made him angry and slightly sick.

"Ready," Monk, John and Ayako echoed together. Monk stood in the middle of the room. Ayako and John leaned against the wall, watching him and ready to jump in at any time.

"Then let's begin," Naru said.

Mai sat beside him in a comfy swivel chair that one of the doctor's had provided her, clutching Naru's hand tightly in hers. She watched the screen dubiously, ready to cover her eyes at a moment's notice.

Monk began chanting. Almost instantly, the monitor registered the drop in temperature. Ayako shivered on the edge of the frame. She muttered something in the back of her throat that sounded more like a snarl then actual words.

Mai began shivering like she was in the freezing room with them. "They're coming," she stammered, her voice as quiet as a mouse.

Naru's eyes darted down to her before returning to the screen. Two children suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Takigawa, they're behind you," Naru told Monk.

He spun around, chanting harder than before. Ayako and John joined him, their chants and prayers overlapping one another in an endless loop.

The kids stared at the team for a long time, their eyes hollow as the dead. Their pupils were dilated shrinking the iris until only a sliver on it was visible. Frowns painted their face. "You're not Miss. Where is Miss?" they asked quietly, their voices as hollow and dead as their eyes.

"We don't know," Ayako told them once she'd finished chanting. It was obvious that conventional methods. She reached out with her mind, silently searching for the one live tree that could save them. She felt a tiny flicker on the edge of her consciousness. She called out to the power even as she spoke.

"Don't try to lie to us. You're hiding her," the children said together, their eyes narrowing to slits of anger.

"And what if we are?" Monk asked confidently making Ayako want to slap herself in the forehead. Could the man be anymore stupid than to provoke angry, murderous ghosts.

The children smiled leering grins. "Then I guess we'll just have to take your powers," they sneered.

Suddenly, all three of them were slammed into the wall. They groaned in pain, slumping to the floor. Mai gasped, staring her friends, her family. She got up to go help, but Naru grabbed her wrist.

"Let go of me Naru!" she shouted, struggling against his hold, "They need my help!"

"It's too dangerous for you. It's almost over anyway," Naru told her, glancing between both Mai and the monitor in front of him.

The children walked slowly over to the trio, standing over them. Ever so slowly, the children unhooked their jaws. "Time to feet," the little girl told her brother.

"Now Matsuzaki-san!" Naru shouted.

Ayako jumped to her feet. The power of the tree filled her with a warmth associated with laying down in the grass under the summer sun. She started chanting, ringing the bell tied to a branch. Where she'd gotten the branch, no one knows.

The children began screaming. "Make it stop! Make it stop!" they screamed at the top of their lungs.

Ayako swished the branch through the air. The boy disappeared in a show of golden sparks. The girl followed her with a swing of the stick. Ayako finished up. She grinned and gave the camera a thumb's up.

…..

"Thank you so much," Doctor Hasegawa said for about the millionth time now. He stood beside the van, bowing to Naru deeply. "This means a lot to us. Thank you so very much."

"Don't worry about it," Mai told the doctor before Naru could say anything, "It was our pleasure. I should be thanking you for taking care of me for so long."

"No, you don't have to thank us. We were happy to help you," he said, backing away from the van as Lin jumped in the driver's seat, "I wish you and your baby good health. Goodbye."

"Bye!" Mai shouted out the window, leaning over Naru to stick her head out of the window. She waved goodbye to the doctor, the hospital, and its horror filled history.

THE END

Hope you guys liked the last chapter. Sorry for the very late update. I hope you guys had an awesome Valentine's Day (otherwise known as Single's Awareness Day which is my category). Be looking forward to a sequel for "A Christmas Gift". Review please :D