Dangerous Souls

Shoji no Noroi

Chapter 6- Possession

September Day 4, 6:33 P.M.

"It's-" Mai couldn't finish her statement as the light brown haired girl bobbed her way over with a smile.

"Mai! It's been so long!" she exclaimed, rushing over. "I'd hug you but I have all of this in my hands," she laughed gesturing to the folders and files in her arms.

The last time Mai had seen Kiko Kimura she had been forced to dress in outfits that covered just about her whole body. Now, she was wearing jeans, flats and a red dolman top with lace running across her shoulders, revealing her now mark free arms. Over two months had passed and Mai could see she looked healthier now, finally able to rest easy now that Shichiro was out of her life.

"Kiko! What are you doing here?" Mai asked honestly, bewildered at her friend's sudden appearance.

"I happened to find John at the library yesterday and offered him some help, next thing I knew I was on my way to Kyoto to help explain the history of this hotel," the girl explained as she, John, and the three other girls headed for Base.

"It's good to see you again, Kiko," Masako said politely. "How's your family?"

"Yeah, how's Satoshi doing? I know he must have had a brutal recovery," the priestess added, recalling how the boy had been stabbed.

"Everyone is fine, my dad's home and he noticed a lighter feeling in the atmosphere," Kiko continued, smiling. "Satoshi's doing fine, he has his last visit to the physical therapist next week, after that he should be back to playing sports."

"That's good, it's a shame he couldn't play soccer for the rest of summer, though," Mai stated apologetically.

Kiko shrugged. "He's more upset that he didn't believe that there was really a ghost in our house."

"How were you able to get the time off to come on this case?" Masako asked as they neared their destination.

"My school has several exams for the next few days, luckily, thanks to my counselor, I have been able to be exempt from them because I had already taken them," she explained just as Yasuhara came walking from the other direction with Ryouta in tow.

Wait! Does Kiko know that- Mai was unable to finish her thought as she had to act quickly.

"Hey Y-" Fortunately, Mai was able to jump over and whisper something in the other girl's ear. "Mr. Shibuya, I hope you don't mind, but I happened to find John at the library and offered him a hand, we figured it would be easier to explain the information we found if I tagged along as well." Kiko gave a slight bow as Yasuhara smiled back.

"Of course, Kiko," he replied. "We are happy to have an extra hand." He turned to the man next to him. "Ryouta, allow me to introduce to you a colleague of mine, John Brown, a Catholic priest, and a personal friend of mine, Kiko Kimura, a psychic."

"Nice you meet you sir," the Australian boy smiled and bowed slightly.

"It's a pleasure," Kiko added, bowing as well.

"I'm glad you're here," the man exhaled and bowed, remaining tightly wound as he turned to the priest. "Father, you will be able to help, right?" You could see the exhaustion in his eyes.

"I will do the best that I can," John replied somewhat stunned, his face became serious. "What all has happened?"

"It appears we have a demonic possession on our hands, Father Brown," Naru's cool voice cut in from the door to Base.

If it were possible, John became even more solemn. "When did this happen?" he questioned.

"Demonic possession?" Mai whispered to Kiko.