Hello everyone! I'm back. I'm sorry for making you all wait for the final chapter, but here it is!

I hope you'll enjoy it. Don't forget to review at the end! I hope everyone will like this chapter as much as I did!

*I don't own Ghost Hunt.

The Sweet Scent of Love

Chapter 18

Final Chapter

A few days passed after Mai's unfortunate accident. The fall caused her a memory loss and the doctor didn't know when and if she will recover completely. Naru and the crew went back to the house and explained everything to the couple, the fact that the ghost was gone and they could go back to their old routine. Of course, they didn't fail to mention Mai. The wife got exceptionally attached to the young girl so she convinced her husband to visit her. Unfortunately, Mai didn't recognize them the case was officially closed, Takigawa and Ayako visited Mai quite frequently to see if they could help her get her memory back, but it was no use. At least, she became comfortable around them so that cheered them up a little. Masako visited rarely. Even though she was worried about Mai her schedule didn't let her visit often even if she wanted to. John had to go back to America right after the case because of a certain call of help. Yasuhara came every day after school. However, Naru and Lin were nowhere to be found.

: Two weeks after the accident.

: Hospital.

'' How are you feeling today, Mai? '' Asked the nurse who was in charge of her. '' Better than yesterday, thank you. '' She responded automatically, not even glancing at her once.

The nurse sighed at the poor patient. That was the answer she gave to her every day since she's been admitted to the hospital. Even though the doctors and her regular visitors explained to her what happened, she felt this emptiness inside her. Not because of her memory loss, but like if someone snatched her other half away from her. The crew of course didn't tell her anything about that nor the CPR. They feared it would just worsen the situation. Mai couldn't stop repeating that scene with the tall guy with black hair and blue eyes. Something about him felt odd, she knew he wasn't just anyone but she couldn't exactly wrap her mind around it. Since she felt that way, she thought he might come back to visit but, he never did since then.

She heard the door slide open and turned around to find Yasuhara. She glanced rapidly to the clock pinned on the wall. '5:30PM…right on time.' She thought. ''Hello hello! How are you doing, today?'' He asked as he walked in. She shrugged,'' nothing changed really, still have no clue how I ended up in an accident in a city I don't even know and why you guys keep visiting me.'' She said coldly. Yasu did nothing but laugh. Her reaction is very normal, given the circumstances. '' You sound like you're in such high spirits today.'' He said, in a sarcastic tone, '' It doesn't sound like you at all, Mai-chan. If you really want answer, you have to make efforts to remember and let us help you. We are family.'' He continued, back to serious as he walked round the bed to sit beside her on the bed. He looked at her with gentle eyes through his lenses. She noticed his exception and suddenly felt a heavy weight on her chest. Before she could even say a word, tears started falling down on her pale cheeks. Oddly, she wasn't embarrassed to cry in front of him. On the contrary, it felt like it was the right person to cry in front to. He felt like a big brother to her. She mentally laughed at the thought since she doesn't recall that kind of feeling, so how could she feel it now? Yasu gently wiped her tears as he patiently waited for her to speak. He knew she wanted to say something but it took time for it to come out together. Finally, she spoke. '' I want to regain my memories; to remember every single one of you.'' She said between sobs, '' but every time I try to remember something, I get a headache. It hurts.'' She explained. Yasu reflected on her words. He let out a sigh and said, '' I think this happens to you because you're afraid. '' She looked at him in confusion. '' You're afraid of what you might remember, aren't you?'' She opened her mouth to say something but closed it back after a moment of hesitation. '' And you should.'' He continued,'' Because what you've experienced is awful and difficult, but that's what made you stronger than everyone else. Right now, you look extremely weak and vulnerable to me. However, if you regain your memories, you will not feel like this anymore. Of course you might not be the same person as before, you might not feel the same feelings as before, but at least you will not be in the situation of not knowing anything about your past and yourself.'' She couldn't say anything back. She knew what he said was entirely right. Without anything else said, she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, feeling the warm light of the sunset against her body peeking through the window.

She opened her eyes, not remembering when she fell asleep. She rubbed her eyes to make her vision clearer, and when it did she let out a gasp. It was all dark. Looking down, she noticed she was floating above a quite a big house with blue lights in one room. She knew she was dreaming of course, since she was floating. But what an odd dream, she thought. The house looked a little familiar to her but she couldn't remember why. ''You finally opened your heart, Mai.'' She turned around after hearing these words. She recognized the man standing in front of her. It was the man from the hospital, with silky black hair and midnight blue eyes. After a few seconds of staring at that gently smiling face, she frowned. No, she thought, it was someone else. 'You don't know who I am, do you?'' He wasn't expecting any answer from her so he continued, ''I will help you remember.'' He slowly got closer to her and as he did, she never moved an inch, blindingly trusting him. ''This will hurt a little.'' He placed two fingers on the temple of each side of her head. Suddenly, pictures started sliding one by one rapidly like an old movie player. She recognized everyone who came to visit her. She felt all kind of feelings being shot in her heart like bullets. The pain kept her from fainting or thinking straight. She started yelling, in agony. She felt like her eyes were going to pop out and her head was going to explode. She was overwhelmed by feelings; pain, sadness, happiness, embarrassment, anxiety, pain again. Every picture had a different feeling. She couldn't stand this anymore, she felt like throwing up. She was in such agony. Gene was looking at her quietly. He couldn't help her in this situation. She had to take everything. If she fights her memories, she will never remember anything anymore. The only thing he could say was ''Don't fight it, Mai.'' Despite the pain blinding her and making her deaf to any sound, she was able to see those words from the stranger's mouth. He wasn't a stranger though. She remembered him. ''Gene.'' She whispered, and then let the darkness get the best of her.

When Yasuhara left Mai sleeping, he went back to his apartment and texted everyone his progress that he made with her. At 3am, Ayako received a call from work. It was the doctor who was looking for Mai. '' Hello'' She said, in a sleepy voice.'' I have bad news, Ayako-san.'' As soon as she heard those words she jumped out of the bed, woke up Takigawa and the raced to the hospital. On the way she called everyone that she was able to contact and told them the situation. Mai had fallen in the critical state. During that night, she started breathing heavily and the machine started beeping, that alarmed the nurse. They had no idea what was happening. First, they placed an oxygen mask to help her breathe and then checked her pulse. Her heart was beating fast, too fast and her pupils were moving fast under her eyelids. Finally, they took her to the emergency room. When everyone came, the doctor informed them that she already calmed down but they didn't exactly know what was happening. They didn't detect any physical injury so they figured in was all mental.'' I am afraid that this incident may affect her chance to regain her memory.'' The doctor said. All of this happened when she was trapped in her dream.

Masako called John and told him the situation. What everyone else didn't know was John knew where Naru and Lin were. He didn't know exactly but he knew for sure that they were still somewhere in Japan. Naru wasn't able to go back to London with Mai in her condition, despite her behavior when she woke up. He gave John his phone number and trusted him to call him if anything urgent happen and not to share the phone number with anyone, including Mai. Now, he had the chance to use this small piece of paper. He dialed the phone number written on the paper and called it. After two beeps, it answered. '' I'm listening.'' Naru asked. '' Hi, Naru. It's John.'' He heard a sigh from the other side of the device; of course he knew it was him. Who else wouldn't have been? ''I think you should come back and see Mai.'' John continued. Then, he heard Naru hang up as soon as he spoke those words. He sighed and went on his laptop to book the next plane ticket for Japan.

Three days passed after Mai's dream, and yet she didn't wake up. Every day, the doctor would check her situation but nothing improved. She was still in coma and they couldn't do anything to wake her up. But all of this was normal, even if they didn't know it. Gene knew it was going to be like this. Her mind was completely messed up and she felt the greatest mental agony, of course she wouldn't wake up right away. However, he didn't know how long it would take her to fully recover and wake up. It couldn't take her days, weeks, months. But she will wake up. Now, Naru wasn't aware of this either. Even after John called, he thought he couldn't go see her because if she had regained her memory John would've said so, but he didn't. Gene, looking at the scene from above, rolled his eyes at his brother's thoughts. He can be so stupid sometimes, he thought. That night, he decided to visit Naru in his dream. At first, Naru was surprised to see him in his dreams for the first time. Gene didn't waste any time and informed him everything about Mai. '' She will need you when she'll wake up.'' Those were the last words Gene said to Naru before he woke up in the morning. As soon as he could, he informed Lin about the situation and went on the road right after.

It was already the fifth day and Mai hasn't woken up yet. All of this was too sudden for them. They couldn't understand anything. The only thing they could do was to wait for Mai to wake up, if she ever does. ''Of course she will wake up! We're talking about Mai here!'' said Takigawa, tears threatening to come out. Ayako helped him sit back down and tried to comfort him a little, although, she also needed comfort. Everyone stayed in silence. John was there as well, he came as soon as he arrived in Japan. Masako rested her head on his shoulder and looked down the hallway. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who appeared at the end of the hallway. '' It's Naru and Lin-san.'' She said, everyone looked at the same direction surprised by the sudden appearance. '' They showed up at the right moment, like always.'' Yasuhara said, relieved. When they arrived in front of them, they bowed slightly to everyone. They were happy to see them; they thought Lin's shikis could help them figure out what was going on. But he told them he didn't need to. Naru told everything that Gene told him. They looked at him, not knowing if they should be happy or terrified. Mai would wake up with all her memories back, but there's no guarantee that she will wake up today. As soon as Lin and Naru took a sit, a nurse was running towards them. She had a relieved expression on her face. '' Mai just moved! You guys can all come inside now.'' Takigawa immediately ran into her room, followed by everyone later. They all stood around her bed looking at her like if they were looking at something precious. Naru stood a bit farther than everyone else. He still felt so much guilt; he thought it was all his fault that Mai was in this situation. He thought, even if she remembers him, he didn't have the right to stay beside her. He was looking at her with such a pained expression everyone would be surprised to see such an emotion on Naru's face. Fortunately for him, everyone was focused on Mai. '' Ojou-chan!'' The monk called out in a sweet voice. She didn't move an inch. Lin sent his shikis to check on her and they immediately came back to him. ''She's with us, she's only unconscious.'' He informed everyone. Suddenly, Naru walked up to her side and grabbed her hand in his. Takigawa stared at him for a moment and was dragged away by Ayako. '' I think we should get out of the room and let them have some alone time.'' Everyone agreed except the monk, but he was still dragged out of the room by his girlfriend.

After the door was closed, his full attention went back to Mai. '' Mai…'' He began,'' I'm sorry for leaving you like this. I thought it was the best thing to do. But once again, I've hurt you.'' He said. We could hear pain in his voice, he was so sad he couldn't control his facial expressions anymore. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his tears from coming out. When he opened his eyes, they were watery the colour changed a bit. It was beautiful. But Mai couldn't see it. '' I love you.'' He whispered. Suddenly, he felt a squeeze in his hand. Mai's hand moved. She grabbed his hand tightly. '' Naru'' She whispered. He looked at her in disbelief. She opened her eyes and looked at him again. He recognized those eyes. '' I remember you now, Naru.'' She told him. He kneeled beside her and pulled her into a long embrace. She felt him shaking slightly. She put her weak arms around him and returned the embrace. They stayed like that for a while. Then, Mai felt the urge to cry in his arms, and she didn't stop herself from doing so. She remembered her other half, now gone. She felt such sadness she wasn't sure if she could ever get rid of this sadness. But now she knew that this man who held her in his arms wasn't going anywhere. She started crying loudly. On the other side of the room, everyone heard her sobs and immediately walked in the room. They froze when they saw the scene. Mai was awake crying, and Naru was holding her tightly, his face buried in her neck. Ayako and Takigawa started crying as well but couldn't be happier for those two. Yasuhara felt like it was the right time to make one of his cheesy jokes and that's what everyone needed. The room was filled with sobs and laughter. It was quite a mess.

The next day.

''Mai, let's go.'' Naru said in a lazy voice. He was waiting for her to leave the hospital room. It was time for her to leave.'' I'm coming!'' She said in high spirits. They both walked out of the room and left the hospital after the doctor and the nurse's congratulations. Mai wrapped her arm around Naru's while walking to the car. '' Where is everyone else?'' She asked him.'' They should be on their way to the restaurant and we're meeting them there.'' At the mention of the restaurant, Mai's stomach growled loudly. She giggled, embarrassed. Naru ignored the sound but a little smile was showing. '' But before that, I'm taking you home to change your clothes.'' She nodded as they climbed in the car. She felt really good, she felt like everything was back into order. Of course she didn't forget Gene and she thought she had to pay him a visit tonight. Her eyes started feeling heavy. Naru didn't fail to notice. He stroke her hair. '' You should take a nap. It'll be a long ride. I'll wake you up when we will arrive.'' She nodded and drifted away into sleep.

This time, it wasn't a special dream, so she didn't meet Gene. She woke up by Naru's gentle shake. '' We're here.'' He told her. When he saw she was fully awake, he got out of the car and waited for her to get off too. When she did, he held her hand and walked to the door. She was a little confused because she noticed they were at Naru's apartment. She looked up at him,'' what are we doing here?'' He stared at her and then bent down and kissed her. He wrapped his fingers around her neck as he kissed her and she put her hands on his arms, deepening the kiss. This was their first kiss since she woke up. She had missed his lips. She smiled as broke off the kiss. He rested his forehead on hers and looked at her. '' This is your home Mai.'' He simply said. She took a step behind to look at him properly. She couldn't believe her ears. But, she remembered something similar to this, he did ask her if she wanted to live with him but she never answered him. She wasn't sure about it but now she is. She didn't have to say anything, her face could say it all and he understood her answer. He smiled at her. He looked like Gene at that moment, but slightly different. He didn't show kindness, he showed love. He loved her so much and so did she. She closed the distance between them, getting on tiptoes. She felt wonderful in his arms. They belonged together. Naru broke off the kiss and placed a soft kiss on each cheek.

'' Shall we go inside?''

The end.

I'd like to thank everyone who read my first fanfiction and supported me. After a year or so (so slow), I was able to finish this story. I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter and please anticipate my next story! Please don't forget to review.
Thank you!

S.S.S