Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt, nor am I making any profit with this fan fiction. All rights belong to the original author Fuyumi Ono and her wonderful light novels; Akuryo Series.

Cover art for this fan fiction was created by the amazing artist Soul-Whisper on . Thank you for the use of your beautiful picture.

This fan fiction is rated 'M' as later chapters in this story will have more graphic content written. You have been warned. There will be a message from me at the end of this prologue with my thoughts and comments on the story. Thank you for reading.

Prologue

It's strange how things can change in a blink of an eye and I was familiar with strange. Strange and I were on first name basis after everything that had happened over the summer. Even so, I couldn't suppress the small laughter bubbling from my lips. It was the last thing that kept the watery pools gathering in my eyes from falling down my cheeks in long messy tracks. Now that everything was clear it made sense and there was no way I could have even begun to imagine something like this happening. I was sure I had it figured out too. The sky was blue and the grass was green. One plus one was two...at least that's what I told myself, but the figurative blindfold slipped away and I was harshly awoken to reality. Things were not as they seemed and in the end, I had only seen what I wanted to see.

I stared down at the old photograph in my hand. It was well loved, edges worn and slightly tattered with one edge of the square image a little creased. The photograph captured two boys who would remain together if only for in this picture. They were identical twins and to the casual viewer it would be difficult telling the boys apart. Both boys had messy jet black hair against their pale skin, blue eyes, thin builds, and stood at the same height, but I knew better. I could spot the differences as plain as day especially as I studied the picture more and more. The boy on the right smiled softly at the camera with a warm gentleness in his eyes. He looked comfortable in his roomy earthy green t-shirt and dark jeans. Next to his feet were two big luggage bags as if he had put them down for the photograph to throw his arm over his brother's shoulder.

The boy on the left looked away from the camera with a frown playing on his lips. His stance was tense with his shoulders stiff and arms crossed in front of him. It was almost as if he felt out of place. It was obvious that the later boy was none other than Naru or Kazuya Shibuya or if you wanted to be official, Oliver Davis the great paranormal scientist from England. I was surprised to see he worn clothing in color other than black. It was strange, but pleasant at the same time. The fitted sky blue dress shirt seemed right out of the package, crisp, winkle free, and tucked into his gray trouser pants. A matching tie was knotted smartly in a complicated knot against his throat. The first boy was Naru's twin brother Eugene Davis. It was uncanny to see the boys together. I could only guess that this was the last picture of them taken together before Gene's murder.

The old picture was the only thing I had left of both boys. When Gene's body was dredged from the murky lake waters, I had seen him one last time before he moved on. I hadn't known at the time that Dream Naru was actually Gene. Later I felt frustrated and disappointed in myself that I didn't get to say my goodbyes. His parting words struck me as odd, but I didn't give them a second thought as I was convinced that Naru was somehow visiting me in my dreams to guide and develop my raw psychic powers. Gene's last words played through my head as I asked him about his life in England, trying to imagine what it was like.

'I wanted to see you one last time before I left,' and 'he's just an idiot scientist.'

He had stopped talking after that last phrase and looked at me with an indecisive look playing on his face for a moment as if he had something he wanted to tell me, but he seemed to change his mind. I remember getting ready to tell him to just 'spit it out' but I turned at the footsteps approaching us to. . .Naru. I spun back around and noticed I was by myself. The Naru I had been talking to had vanished. I tried to convince myself that it was all an illusion and that I was tired from all the psychic activity from the night before at the school on the lake. My curiosity got the best of me and I finally asked Naru if he could astral project into people's dreams. After giving me a weird look he answered 'no' and questioned why I would ask something like that.

I was horrified when I blurted out that I had dreams of him from the beginning, where he helped me learn details of our cases. It seemed that my embarrassment went unnoticed as Naru looked away in deep thought, eyes slightly furrowed before he made sense of the situation. He looked back at me with and said matter of factly,

'That must have been my brother. He is an idiot for wandering around as a spirit for this long instead of moving on.'

Even though Naru had solved the riddle, the answer still did not settle in for me right away.

Naru had left for England with Lin to bring his brother's body home to his parents for a proper burial. Everyone on the SPR team had mixed feelings, especially me. The Shibuya Psychic Research office would be closed since Naru found what he was searching for. His front to disguise who he really was while searching for his brother was no longer necessary. That meant no more investigations with the SPR group who had become like family to me. Even though everyone promised to keep in contact-except Naru and Lin-everyone would go their own ways and carry on with their own lives. It scared me. What would I do? I would be alone once more and now that friends and family had wiggled their way into my being, I didn't think I could live as I did before. Trying to be happy while I didn't have what others had . . . a family. I had a taste of what it was like to be truly happy again and I knew it would never be the same for me as it was before.

Most of all I would miss Naru. The boy who unknowing built my family. I would miss the foolish banter, the annoyed looks from being late, the impolite demands for tea, and after all this time it became clear to me that I really loved Naru. I gathered up my courage to finally tell him how I felt before he left.

"Naru?"

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dark office. Naru sat at his desk in silence glancing over the various papers and journals strewn out over his desk. The light from the outside window had replaced his desk lamp that had been packed along with all his other office equipment. It left the office bare and unfamiliar. It was really starting to sink in that Naru was leaving. His belongings lay beside his desk in a small suitcase, ready to be taken to the airport to catch the next flight to England with Lin. I guess I wasn't quite so surprised only seeing one lone suit case. The guy did seem to only have a couple 'black' outfits and very little personal items. He never planned on staying after he found his brother's body. Why did it seem so surreal?

"Yes Mai?"

He continued to look at his paperwork, looking from a journal to the sheets on his desk. I stepped into his office balancing a tray of steaming tea and carefully closed the door behind me with a soft click. Naru made room for the tray as I made my way over to his desk, still concentrating on whatever fascinating information the documents held.

"I thought you might want some tea before your flight to England."

Naru reached for the cup and took a careful sip of the hot tea flipping to the next page of the journal. English hand writing covered the pages in neat rows of blue ink of the leather bound journal and I wished I could read English to know what captured Naru's attention so.

"Everything is packed I assume? The movers will be here shortly"

I cringed but didn't say anything. That was the last thing I wanted to talk I'm about. Naru was leaving . . . leaving somewhere I couldn't reach. Thinking about it caused my chest to hurt with an unfamiliar ache but I had tried my best to not let it show. I would be happy and smile to the very end, besides I couldn't even begin to imagine how Naru was feeling.

All this time in Japan he had been searching for his dead brother's body with no one but Lin to talk to and I wasn't even sure he did that. I had learned the Naru wasn't someone who shared his feelings with others. He kept in skillfully hid behind the mask he wore and the narcissistic attitude he sported. We hadn't even known until the very end Naru's true intentions behind the SPR office. I knew he had to feel something from finally finding his brother. I had watched him carefully from that day as if expecting him to show some sort of emotion at finding his lost brother. Nothing ever came. Naru finally looked up from his work, his blue eyes searching mine inquisitively.

"What is it Mai?" He asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"You should be more honest with your self Naru. It's okay for you to feel sad or to cry," I said to him softly, "no one would judge you. We are all your friends and we've been through a lot together."

Naru sighed and set down his cup of tea, "everyone dies eventually. In one hundred years from now no one here will be alive. It's a fact of life."

Of course, I should have known that his answer would be something along those lines. Always the scientist with his scientific facts. Was I really expecting something more? I watched him as he closed the journal in front of him and looped the tie in the front to keep it closed. Stacking all the journals together, he reached down and grabbed the briefcase next to his deck to get ready to leave.

"Was there something else you needed to say Mai?"

My eyes widened slightly. How did he always know? I had often wondered if he lied when he said he couldn't read my mind as he often knew what I was thinking with precis accuracy. It had always alarmed me. Was it written on my face? I guess I would never know.

"Well?" His voice was slightly impatient.

"I love you."

The words slipped from my mouth in a rush before I could stop myself. I looked down at ground because I didn't have enough courage to see his face. What would he think of my confession? I had to say it or I knew I would always beat myself up over not saying. It was finally out. My stomach twisted in knots and I felt nervous but there was no going back now. I could feel his blue eyes watching me and I slowly got the courage to look up at him.

His face was gave me no clue what was going on in his head, it was void of any emotion as always. He finished gathering the papers around his desk in an organized pile before adding them in his brief case. I felt my anger surge up and my eyes narrowed. Wasn't he going to say anything to me? I just confessed my feelings to him. He was supposed to be a genius. Didn't he realize how hard it was for me to confess!

"Tell me, do you really love me Mai?" Naru asked quietly, as he organized his briefcase for the flight back to England.

I was about to answer but the words never came out as Naru looked up at me again. A small smile adorned his face but his eyes held so much emotion in that second that I had never seen. It was hard to tell exactly what he was feeling as he eyes fell blank once more. It was almost like he was in pain.

"Is it me you love or was it Eugene?"

His words hit me like an icy blast and drew a startled gasp from me. Flashes of my dreams played through my mind. Naru smiling kindly at me as he took my hand to guide me where we needed to go and softly telling me the information that put the puzzle pieces together of the cases we were on. Realization hit me that second to my horror, it was never really Naru. I had fallen in love with the beautiful smiling Naru who was always there to support me in the strange dreams I had no control over. It was Gene who made my heart flutter and I was too stupid to put everything together.

Tears slipped from my eyes and my body began to shake as I tried to hold back the sobs that were trying to escape my lips. What had I done? Had I ever tried to see the real Naru or had I always disillusioned him for his brother because I wanted to believe that Naru could be the kind boy from my dreams. Why was I so stupid? Naru had never acted like 'Dream Naru' or Gene did outside of my dreams.

I hadn't realized Naru had grabbed his bags and walked over to stand in front of me until he put his bags on the ground with a soft thud. Cold fingers tentatively brushed my check to wipe away the silent tears that had fallen. His face gave me no clue what he was thinking.

"We were identical twins, but make no mistake Mai, I am not my brother" he told me, looking me in the eyes, "but you will see him again whether you would like to or not."

"In a hundred years?" I hiccuped confused.

"Perhaps for an idiot like you, in two hundred years," he said amused as he grabbed his luggage stepping around me and out the door.

Naru had left Japan fifty one days ago and I knew because I had counted each day as life around me drug on. It just wasn't the same. I really hadn't realized how attached I became to SPR and the gang until it was gone. Sure Ayako, Bou-san, Yasuhara, and even John had stopped by to see me as school started once more but their visits became more sparse as the days carried on. It was just as I feared. Everyone was going their own ways. It seemed they were branching out of the supernatural world and into the 'normal' world.

They had all promised to come by more often to see how I was doing, but I assured them I was fine. I always did my best to have a smile on my face when they were around even if it was a complete lie of what I was feeling inside. I didn't want to be a burden to them and I could tell that they didn't believe me at times but they let it go after I would work extra hard at being happy.

That's how I found myself at my apartment when things began to change. I was sitting on my bed looking over the worn photograph Naru had given me. It had confused me when a tattered square paper first slipped to the floor as I slid my last check from SPR from the envelope. The photograph lay face down. As I bent over to pick it up I tried to make since of the English swirling writing on the back. I stared at it confused and sighed in aspiration. English had never been my strong point in school, not to mention I had never seen beautiful English writing like this. All I could make out for sure was a date, dated two years before the current year. I flipped over the paper and let out a shocked gasp. It was a picture of Naru and Gene.

Ever since I had received that picture from Naru, I had often studied it to find the differences in the two brothers. Even then they were different as the sun to the moon. How could I have ever mixed them up?

A light knock on my apartment door startled me from my thoughts. I glanced over to my clock on the wall. Eight at night. Who was visiting this late? I placed the picture of Naru and Gene under my pillow and glanced around my small apartment to make sure nothing embarrassing was around. Check.

"Who's there?" I asked hesitantly as I came up to the door.

"Masako," a small familiar voice answered to my surprise.

Unlocking the door, I swung it open to find Masako in the hall way. She stood in her traditional kimono, a dark blue one with one sleeved hand covering her mouth. Her eyes gave me a quick look over and I realized I had opened my door wearing my well-loved pink cartoon bunny pajamas. So much for saving myself from an embarrassing moment. I had totally spaced that I had changed into my pajamas already.

"Are you going to invite me in or are you going to make me wait in the hall all night?" Masako asked me with a frown on her face.

I ushered her in. She slid off her shoes and entered and as I locked the door behind her, I was tempted to smack my forehead on the door a couple times. Why of all nights did I have to wear this pair of pajamas? Masako looked around my studio apartment quietly as I went over to the stove to prepare some tea.

"My, this sure is . . . quaint."

"It's cozy," I corrected rolling my eyes as I added water to the kettle. I placed it on the stove and turned the stove on high before I turned around to face Masako. I had to admit that I was pretty surprised to see Masako here. It had been since Naru left that I had last seen her. Yasuhara and Bou-san had both told me that she had taken on more television shows. It stung a little that she hadn't stopped by sooner. I thought we were friends since we had both moved past the whole 'rivals in love' for Naru.

"It seems you have been doing quite fine since Naru left," Masako stated, taking a seat on the floor next to my table.

"Yup, I'm just a normal high school student now."

I hoped my voice didn't portray the twinge of sadness I felt hearing Naru's name. The kettle began to whistle and I pulled it from the stove to pour the steaming water into two nicest tea cups I had. The scent of tea hit me and I started to feel calm. I hadn't realized that there was tension in my shoulders. It was just Masako. Why was I getting nervous? Grabbing the handles of the cups, I turned and offered one to Masako.

"Thank you," she took it carefully before taking a small drink of the hot tea.

I sat down across from Masako and sipped my own tea in the growing silence between us both. Over my cup I watched Masako. Something seemed off but I couldn't quite place it. She seemed to be troubled.

"So what brings you over?" I finally asked breaking the awkward silence.

Masako looked up from her cup, "do you still have your dreams Mai?"

I placed my cup down softly on the table and frowned. I stopped having dreams since that night at the old school, just before they found Gene's body. It was something that troubled me since then even though I refused to tell anyone about it. I hadn't even had any normal dreams that I could remember. Sure, I could admit that I was relieved at first that I hadn't had a dream. They were always frightening and what would I do without Gene? I didn't think I could handle it.

Then I began to think about it more as the days went by. Was it because of Gene? Or was it because there were no more paranormal cases since Naru had left. Was it possible that the dreams could just turn off?

"No . . . I haven't had one since our last case," I admitted quietly.

"I see," Masako said and turned her head to sigh. "It would seem that I have come all this way for nothing. You are worthless after all."

"What exactly does that mean?" I demanded, my eye twitching a little in anger.

Masako ignored my little outburst and looked straight at me. All her previous banter was gone and her face was serious. Her hand slowly came up and hid her mouth with her kimono sleeve, a habit that she was notorious for.

"I have a case . . ." she began.

Author's Notes -

Ah, yes. . .the famous cliff hanger. At least it's not too bad, like someone close to death or something like that. I have a good reason for leaving it there.

This story, just so you know, is a continuation of the ending from the manga. After watching the anime and reading the manga I really felt that there were so many questions left unanswered. I haven't read the light novels, but I have heard that the author herself has not finished those yet. Since my mind was reeling with so many different possible endings I decided to write my own fan fiction, to not only give my answers to questions left untouched but to put my spin on the story.

I have done quite a bit of research into Ghost Hunt for this fan fiction so hopefully it will be a success. By the way . . . have you all heard that there are plans for a live drama?

Lastly, reviews are always welcome. Even if it's a critique or a 'hey fix your grammar/spelling!' type of review. This is my first published fan fiction so feedback will help me out a lot. I do work about 40 hours a week at my job so if I know I have quite a few people waiting for the next chapter, that will light the fire under my feet to write it!

Thanks so much! ~ Alexia