ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ OTHERS ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
"Hahaha I'm not sure what to think of that...." Bou-san sweat dropped, placing his hands on his pockets while Mai placed a hand over her mouth in shock.
'Oh what a mess...' Toujo-san worriedly watched as Kikyo continued to gush over Lin.
"Brown-san, please do something to fix this!!" Lin turned to John, practically begging.
When Tanatte did it as a child, it was innocent and at most heart warming, but Kikyo was a grown woman, the sight of her clinging and gushing over Lin's figure was far from innocent looking.
Some of the helpers were already whispering over to themselves claiming the two as somewhat deep in love.
"Right, I'm so sorry!" John bowed his head, however Naru intervened before John could do anything.
"Look after your kid, daddy." Naru says and gestures for the others. "Bou-san, Mai, John and Akemi come outside with me, please."
The four without hesitation left Lin and Kikyo to go out the door.
~~~
"John is this what normally happens?" Naru asks immediately as soon as the doors closed.
"Ahh, no..." John shook his head, still feeling awful as to what happened. "I've never seen the spirit possess another child right after performing an exorcism." Naru nodded,
"What about the poltergeist noise?"
"That was also the first time."
Akemi hummed, "It's interesting that both of those things happened for the first time today. You mentioned the spirit is possessing children's bodies more frequently now, but is there anything else you've noticed that's different?"
John thought for a moment, going through some of the events and situations, comparing them to now— in the end, there were a considerable amount of changes. "The spirits are also hiding for a longer period of time and Toujo-san said to me that at the pace this case is going, he is worried that soon the children hiding may disappear like Kenji-kun and before I didn't feel that much resistance when I performed an exorcism— but this time I could feel the spirit resisting..."
"What do you think would happen if we performed an exorcism once again?" Naru asked out of his thoughts but Akemi was quick to turn the idea away.
"Kenji-kun might possess another body but I concerning his reaction to today's exorcism, I doubt he would like it if he were to be pushed away again."
In short, Kenji would be upset. Deeply upset.
That Naru could understand,
"I agree," Naru says but the door they closed open with a wide open.
BLAG—!
Lin barges in, Kikyo trying to climb his tall stature. "Naru! please help me out here!"
Silence.
Akemi sweat dropped, feeling bad for Lin as well as for Kikyo— sure that her guard won't remember a thing but this would surely scar both Lin and the crew.
Naru turns to Akemi with a silent question, 'Care to join me to avoid the two?' —the heiress thought for a while before nodding.
Well Akemi wasn't sure if that was what Naru wanted to imply but she would gladly go anywhere since Naru was the first to nudge. After all, Naru rarely invite anyone out of his own will.
"Lin, I need you to take care of Kikyo-san for a while," Naru went to leave with Akemi following behind him. "-Go play with her." He continued,
"Him." Akemi corrects as Kenji-kun's spirit was possessing Kikyo. Akemi was actually calm, thinking it logically— Kikyo have a monk, a priest, a professional and Mai with her.
'Kikyo would definitely not want me seeing her being so 'Unprofessional' and would rather have me leave.' Akemi waved at the crew,
"John, Mai and Bou-san please stay with them." Naru says before the others even thought of joining in their— ehem escape.
"Okay..." John sweat drops as Kikyo tried to climb Lin's back once more.
"Okay!" Mai answered with more cheer, trying to stifle her laugh at the sight of Kikyo and Lin together but couldn't help to pout on the back of her head as to why Naru left with only Akemi-sempai.
'I shouldn't laugh! I can't laugh at them! This is a serious matter! Ah, please forgive me!!!' Bou-san stifled his laughs, doing his best to control his snickers the monk turned to Naru "And what about you?"
"Akemi and I are going to adjust some equipment or something."
'I bet he just doesn't feel like dealing with this,' Mai pouted, turning to face Lin and Kikyo in hopes to help while Bou-san stiffened,
Confused he stared after Naru and Akemi, the boss stepping ahead with Akemi following behind. 'Naru and Akemi...?'
"Okay so what games should we play?" Mai perked up, snapping Bou-san away from his thoughts.
"Oh! I smell something good, shall we go check it out?" Bou-san asked and Kikyo gave out a cheer, pulling Lin's arm.
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ AKEMI NARU ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
"What do you think?" Naru asked as they went towards the van and get Oliver from the children as well,
Oliver was actually with them for a while but after going inside the church with Kenji or Tanatte, the children saw the golden dog and Akemi was kind enough to have Oliver play with them.
Akemi knows she have to be strict as Oliver would be her guide someday but she noticed the worry of some of the children who understood what was happening in this church and so in the end, she gladly have Oliver play with the children knowing that Akemi would have Kikyo to guide her,
Besides Oliver already knew his job, at times he is the one strict enough to stay by Akemi's side and guide her— Akemi guesses that they both have soft sides for children in need.
However, with the situation the SPR are now in, having Oliver seemed best. Naru thought so too.
"Think about what? Kikyo being possessed or Kenji's spirit?" Akemi tilted her head in question, walking beside the boss.
"Both." Noticing the slight bulging rock, Naru grabbed Akemi's arm and pulled her aside where she won't step on it and trip.
"Well, I'm sure Kenji wouldn't do anything to harm Kikyo since all he wants is to be with his father and be found."
"-And you haven't seen anything?" Akemi knew he was pertaining to her visions or even the 'future sights'.
Akemi shook her head, knowing that if she were to have visions she would be the first to know and so far, nothing's come up. "Actually... There's nothing so far..."
'However, my cousins did say that I was moving and muttering on my sleep these past few days but I doubt that it's note worthy...'
Akemi and Naru then stopped by the playground where Oliver and the other kids ran around to play.
Seeing his owner, Oliver immediately ran up to Akemi and Naru. Akemi kneeling down to pet the obedient dog,
Seeing that the dog was occupied, the children went inside after Akemi suggested that they help bake some sweets at the kitchen.
She giggled at their excited runs, placing a hand over her mouth. Akemi smiled. "How cute~"
Naru was silent as they went back to walk, now going for the van. "Aren't you cold?"
Seeing her covered, Naru could still note the slight chatter on her teeth but it seemed to worsen as they go farther the church.
"I am," Akemi weakly smiled. "-but I think moving around would warm me up somehow but I doubt that since it's going to snow later..."
"Snow?" Naru furrowed his brows, 'The news specifically said that snow wasn't gonna happen this year...'
Akemi nodded, however— sensing his doubt she turned to glance at him with a mischievous gleam. "It's definitely gonna snow." Akemi claims,
While remaining quiet, Akemi for sure knows that Naru accepts her claims despite looking up to see the skies clear with no signs of cold snow.
It is part of their game of course,
At the thought of their made up game, Akemi let out a slow hum. "Game... Kenji wants it to end..."
Naru remained quiet.
~~~
"Kikyo— I mean Kenji!" Akemi heard Bou-san call out, just in time to see them run outside with John, Mai and Lin following after.
"Shoot..." Bou-san mutters to himself as they walked outside the doors. "He's hidden somewhere." The monk says as they glanced around.
Lin frowned, not understanding the commotion. "So what's the big deal?"
Mai worriedly thought, realizing that Lin-san wasn't there when they conducted a meeting about the case. "Ah...hmm..."
"What's the matter?" Sensing their troubled thoughts, Akemi and Naru stepped up.
"Sorry Naru, Akemi but Kikyo's missing."
"Pardon?" Akemi blinked, glad that Naru was the one holding Oliver's leash or she would have let go.
Not that Oliver would run away if she ever to let go,
"Lin got mad and yelled at her so she ran away." Bou-san directly explained. Hearing such a simple explanation, Akemi and Naru turned to Lin.
Naru sighs, "You need to grow up."
'Geh!' Lin gaped in shock, 'You were the one who ran away just to hang out with Maruyama-san!'
Lin shook his head, he couldn't say that to Naru especially with the others there. "Like I said what is the big deal—"
BAAM—!
BAM—!
BAM—!
BAM—!
"That noise..." John solemnly stared around the echoing area. "Kenji-kun..."
"It seems we've upset him," Akemi murmured, a frown appearing on her face as she heard a voice that nobody else seem to hear. 'Daddy, you're leaving me again?'
"The noise has stopped," John says, "I wonder where Kikyo-san has gone..."
In the midst of thinking, Bou-san soon letting out a gasp under his breath and started running towards a direction that Akemi didn't know. "Shoot!"
Seeing the others follow Bou-san, thinking it was urgent— Naru sighed and was about to follow ahead but a hand on his sleeve made him stop,
"What?" Naru asked as Akemi tugged on his sleeve,
With a slight smile, Akemi lifted her hand. "Maybe I could hold Oliver's leash, the others ran off so quickly so they might need you."
Naru remained stoic, unaware that he was hogging over Oliver's leash.
Without a word, Naru handed Oliver over to Akemi's waiting hand and went ahead.
However, the heiress remained where she stood, her expression remote and distant.
Glancing to where Bou-san and the others ran abruptly, Akemi instead decided to go opposite— back inside the church.
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ MAI OTHERS ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
"Kikyo?!" Bou-san leaned by the fences where it was suspected Kenji-kun fell, with panicked eyes Bou-san continued to call out but received no response.
"How is it?" Naru asked as they neared the fence, unaware of the lacking presence.
"She's not here." Bou-san lets out a sigh of relief. "She's not on the water-course either. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am not sure."
"Based on what's happened in the past, Kenji-kun's spirit should come out soon but I've never heard of him making such a violent noise before." John said, worried filled his eyes. Seeing that it was his exorcism that got Kikyo in this situation,
"What's going on here?" Lin asked once more, only to get Naru's blunt explanations.
The type of explanation that the others such as Mai don't want to get.
"John got Kenji's spirit to leave Tanatte's body, he was about to possess Mai but due to Akemi's interference he possessed Kikyo instead. Apparently this is the first time the spirit has done that and that poltergeist noise we heard was apparently a new thing as well." Naru gave it direct and clear, simple for Lin to understand but also faster for him to realized his situation.
"John said that when he made Kenji's spirit leave Tanatte's body, it resisted him for the first time, too. I guess it just didn't want to leave his father figure..." Naru absently noted, giving his explanations without noticing Mai and Bou-san's wincing expressions.
They knew that Naru could be blunt, Akemi knew that as well but noted how it was all Naru's way of speaking, at times rubs off on people the wrong way.
John were one of the people that don't actually take his blunt words to heart— he was just that kind and naive to point out others, especially when things could be interpreted in different areas. "-Also the frequency of possessions has increased as well as various other phenomena that have never happened before. All the possessed children have reappeared on their own but that doesn't mean it will happen again."
Naru sighed once more, turning to glance at a frozen Lin. "That's why I told you to take care of it for a while."
Mai felt bad, and thought to give out some mercy. "Well Lin didn't know the circumstances," Bou-san sweat dropped. 'Give the poor guy a break...'
"So then?" Bou-san asked, noting how Naru seemed to realize something as he frowned— "What are we going to do now?"
Naru glanced around, behind him and even on the sides.
"What happened to Kenji-kun's real father?" Naru asked to John,
"Well, after leaving Kenji at the church, his father left to work in Kansai. Although he said he'd return once he finished his work— but he seemed to have vanished after that."
Naru crosses his arms, glancing towards the actual people present in front of him. "Why do you think Kenji hides?"
"Huh?" Mai scrunched.
"Kenji hides then he gives you a signal to say he's ready— He comes out on his own even if you can't find him, so to disappear completely is not his goal." Naru states to the others, leaning more to his left feet. "-Kenji wants to be found, as Father Toujo mentioned, why do you think that is?"
Bou-san scratched the back of his head as he finally understood the situation, as well as John but Mai remained clueless.
"Ahh... I got it, I see that makes sense..."
"What makes sense?" Mai turned, glancing back towards Bou-san and John. Totally out of the loop, 'Am I really that dumb to not understand?!' Mai internally gasped, not understanding despite speaking in Japanese.
"He wants to come home that's why he wants you to find him." Bou-san simply explains, wryly smiling at Mai while John stepped forward to place a hand on Mai's worried shoulder, giving the girl a smile.
"It seems that Kenji-kun wants to come back to the church or rather come 'Home', not to a physical home, but home as in any place where he and his father can be together... putting it all together, that's could be right. The church was his home as well, but it was just temporary."
"It was his second choice." Bou-san, nods. "He's at the church because his father is not around but if his father was around he would rather be with him. At the same time this church was his only point of contact with his father, unless someone finds Kenji, his father won't be able to pick him up."
Naru stared at Bou-san, noting how quick Bou-san always is at ideas. "Correct, Kenji wants to come back to the church... or his 'home', so he wants to be found, Akemi says he wants to end this game as well...." Naru added, already noticing Akemi not among them.
"Got it, let's go find him."
"Yeah, but how are we gonna find Kikyo now?' Mai asked, raising a slow hand in permission to speak.
Bou-san hummed, "Akemi did find Kenji quite quickly,"
"—Maybe Akemi-sempai can look for Kenji-kun again? ehh! Where's Akemi-sempai?" The others blanched, realizing that Akemi was nowhere to be found.
Naru decided to handle things the other way, seeing as their Seeker is not around. "John did the children only hide on the church premises?"
"I believe so."
Naru nods, "Please go confirm that. Also if you can please find a floor plan of the church since we'll go do a thorough search of the building and the entire premises. Mai go with him and inform Akemi if you happen to find her on your way."
"Right!" John leaves while Mai runs after with a salutation.
"If we don't hurry up and find him I would be more concerned about Kikyo's health, she's not even wearing her jacket." Bou-san says, remembering the guard leave it by the tables when they started to record Tanatte's possession.
"I'm depending on you, Bou-san." Naru leaves along with Lin, the two going to look around immediately.
"Oh, you can count on me!—eh?" Bou-san turns to the direction where Naru left knowing the boss would hear him. "Don't depend on an older man! I'm already over the hill!"