(A/N): Here we are, chapter 25. I wanted to update sooner, but I had an Italian speaking assessment to do and it was very stressful :( But anyway, I enjoyed writing this chapter. It was a bit tricky writing in everyone's different points of views, but at the same time, it was fun :D

To Arianna Taniyama: I'm not sure if you got my message, but when I read your review, I thought, "Aaaaah how does she keep on predicting stuff?" Well done! I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations.

To everyone reading this story, thank you so much! I'm really happy that you've stuck with it this far, and please continue to read, review, favourite and follow!

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Where was John?

Mai hadn't spoken to him for a few days. And she was getting that feeling inside of her, the unshakeable feeling that something was very, very wrong.

Being at school while all this was going on felt…surreal, almost. It was strange, thinking that she was having maths lessons while John faced a deathly situation with a sadistic killer on his trail. It made her frustrated. She knew that Naru had been right, of course – he always was – but why couldn't she help? It felt so wrong to sit idly by while a friend was in need!

The panic really came when she rang Naru, to see how everyone was doing. After about three failed attempts on his behalf to pick up the freaking phone, she finally managed to get hold of him.

"Mai-kun." He said immediately. "Is something wrong?" He didn't sound very worried, but then again he never did.

"No, I'm fine. I was just wondering if everyone else is ok."

"John-san's been kidnapped."

Mai felt her heart drop to her shoes. "W-what?! How? Is he ok? Oh my gosh, what happened?"

"He's fine. I just spoke to Lin. He says that John-san managed to escape from his captor, and is currently tracking him down. Everything will be fine." He remained completely calm, and Mai was not sure whether to be amazed at this calmness or angry that he did not sound more worried about John.

Despite his reassurances, Mai could not shake the feeling of worry. John was in even more trouble now. How long would it be before this colleague person tried to…

No. She didn't want to think about that.

It was dark now, late at night, and Mai lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, while thoughts swirled around her head. Of all the people, there was no way she could ever have imagined John getting caught up in this nightmare. And on the day when they had been at the office, and Naru had tried the hypnotic technique on John…

The others hadn't really noticed. Well, maybe Takigawa and Naru, but no one else did; they had been too busy trying to stop the melody from playing. But Mai had heard the fear in his voice, and the panic across his face. What had happened to him, in March? Would it be better if it remained unknown, and John never remembered?

She turned over restlessly in bed, sighing deeply. Then she saw a soft, pulsating light rising softly in the room. Wait…

Mai got up and slipped out of bed. Well, look at that. She was in one of her dreams again. What a surprise. Rubbing her eyes, Mai looked around her surroundings. She wasn't in her room anymore, that was clear.

If she was having one of 'those' dreams, then she'd better pay attention. It would probably turn out to be super important in one way or another, like it usually was. Then Mai perked up – if this was a dream, then wouldn't she see dream Naru? Or – or, rather, Eugene…Or had he already moved on?

A movement beneath her snapped her out of her thoughts. Oh yeah, pay attention, whatever…squinting through the darkness, she saw…Takigawa? And John was there, too. And…some guy…wearing a doctor's coat, it looked like…

"Mai-kun."

Mai turned to the voice, and saw him, walking briskly towards her.

"Naru…I mean, Eugene-kun…I thought…"

"Look carefully." He instructed, looking concerned. Nodding, Mai looked down onto the scene.

"Who is that man?" She asked. "The one wearing the white coat."

"His name is Saburou Osaki. And he is not good." Eugene told her gravely.

"What do you mean?" Mai asked, beginning to feel the worry crawling back into her.

"He works for colleague-san."

Mai stared at him, wide eyed. "H-He does?"

"Yes. And this is all part of his plan." Eugene looked sadly at the scene. "He's tricked Takigawa-san. And now, John-san is in a lot of trouble."

"What?" Mai frowned and strained her ears. Then she caught the single sentence:

"You have Paranoid Schizophrenia."

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Mouth open, she turned to Eugene. "What-what…That can't be right…"

"You right. It's a lie."

Now, Mai realised what was going on. "Wait…you mean this Saburou guy…he's tricking Bou-san into thinking that John has Schizophrenia?" A second later, she bristled with rage. "And Bou-san believed it?!"

"It's not his fault. Osaki-san and colleague-san…they've been playing up to this for a while, I think. They've had it all planned out, very cleverly."

Horrified, Mai watched as the scene unfurled. Eugene was right. Every argument seemed to condemn John further and further, while he struggled to defend himself. Soon, John ran from the apartment, to be followed by Takigawa. Outside, they began to argue more. It was upsetting, to see the two fighting.

When Takigawa hit John across the face, Mai was so filled with shock that she was left speechless. Eugene just shook his head sadly.

"He hardly believes he did it as well." After that, John ran away into the streets, and a moment later the creep wearing the white coat appeared, reassured Takigawa, and took off in pursuit.

Mai turned wildly to Eugene. "What should we do? What can we – "

"This scene was a few hours ago." He informed her.

"But, where is he going? Is he ok?"

"He's alright. He's not hurt, at least. But he's very shaken up, and very confused." The scene altered, and now there were many lights floating up gently into the sky, emitting a soft glow to the ground and the sky. Mai observed the scene and, with a frightened jolt, realised they were at a grave yard. That must have been why there were so many spirits floating around.

"Why are we in a grave yard?" Mai asked Eugene, bemused. She glanced at a sign; it read 'PRECIOUS HEARTS BURIAL SITE', in Shiroku.

"Look over there." Eugene pointed towards a grave, and they walked slowly towards it. There, John was curled up in front of a grave, restlessly asleep. A few feet away from him was a bouquet of orange lilies.

For a moment, neither person said a word, and John did not wake up.

"…Eugene-kun?" Mai asked finally.

"Mm?"

"Will…will John-kun be alright? Will he get out of this alive?"

Eugene didn't say anything for a moment. And when he spoke up at last, Mai did not like the way he avoided the question.

"When you go there tomorrow, he'll have already gone, to try and sort things out himself."

Mai shifted uncomfortably. "But…will he live?"

Eugene stared distractedly at a grave, and refused to look at either Mai or John.

"…I don't know." He admitted. "I honestly don't know."

Mai woke up with a start. Light streamed in through her bedroom curtains, and the peace of morning was quickly shattered by panic, then anger. She had to find John. She had to warn the others of the set up by Saburou. Plus, she had to go and yell at Takigawa for being an idiot.

In no time at all, she was slipping on her shoes and bursting out of her house, heading straight for the office. She had to tell them, before the creep tried to trick them. If he hadn't already. And they had to find John, before it was too late, before the colleague took him away forever.

Paying no heed to the people who stared at her as she tripped along the street, it did not take long for her to reach the office. She bolted up the stairs and practically threw herself into the room in her haste.

She stood, panting in the door way. Ayako, Masako and Yasuhara stared at her with puzzled expressions.

"…Well. Good morning." Ayako sounded much less…assertive than usual. "You look like you're in a rush."

"Where's Naru-kun?" Mai demanded. "I have to talk to him."

"Uh…we don't actually know." Yasuhara stood up and walked over to her. "He just rang us and told us to come here."

Mai narrowed her eyes. "Where's Bou-san?"

"He's not here." Masako informed her. She did not say anything else. In fact, the three of them were in complete silence.

Their quietness suddenly made sense to Mai. "Wait a minute…Bou-san told you. Didn't he?" She asked through gritted teeth.

Ayako looked down, then stood up and walked over to Mai. She placed her hands on Mai's shoulders comfortingly.

"Mai-kun…I know it's hard to believe…" She began.

"No!" Mai interrupted her. "It's hard to believe because it's not true!"

"Wait," Yasuhara frowned, "you know already?"

"Yes, I do! And it's a lie!" She crossed her arms indignantly. "John-kun doesn't have schizophrenia."

"How do you know that?" The familiar voice made her turn. Takigawa had appeared in the door way. His tone was flat and Mai could see the defeat in his eyes, but even so, her blood boiled.

"A doctor told me." Takigawa went on. "It's hard to believe. But it's true."

Mai snapped. "A doctor? Please! You're such an idiot! He wasn't a doctor! He was a man called Saburou Osaki, and he works for colleague-san! He tricked you, he tricked you all!" Her gaze swept accusingly across them all.

"How do you know?" Takigawa repeated. "You weren't there."

"I had a dream, you idiot!" Mai shouted. It took every scrap of will she had to restrain herself from slapping him. "I saw everything that happened! John-kun is completely sane, and you are all idiots!" Her hand clenched. "I can't believe you all! How could you doubt John-kun like that?!" She glared at them. "You've known him for, what, three years now, right? If he really had schizophrenia, don't you think we would have realised by now?"

She was met with a guilty, shameful silence as the others comprehended this.

Mai took a breath, and calmed herself slightly. "This is what colleague-san wanted. This was all part of his plan. He's set John-kun up so that if he disappears, we won't question it. And you all fell for it." Although her voice was quieter, it had an edge of aversion. "Aren't you ashamed of yourselves? When you've known John-kun for this long, and he's helped us so much, and he put so much trust in us…this is how you repay him? This is how you act?"

Now the anger had been used up inside her, Mai felt a recognisable fear spread inside of her. "…What if colleague-san has already taken him away?" She swallowed. "What if – what if he's already taken him away and we never see him again? What if we're too late?" She closed her eyes and shivered.

"What if he's already killed John-kun?"

No one answered her for a minute.

The door opened again, and this time it was Lin and Naru who entered the room.

"Naru-kun!" Mai exclaimed, relieved. Surely he wouldn't have fallen for Saburou's trick. Surely he would know what to do.

Naru nodded in greeting, and frowned, looking around the room.

"…Mai-kun, where's John-san?" He asked her, seemingly ignoring everyone else.

"He's gone." She told him bitterly, flashing an angry glance at Takigawa. "He ran away. A man called Saburou Osaki came yesterday and tricked these idi…everyone else into thinking that he had schizophrenia."

Naru remained nonchalant. "Did you have a dream again?"

"Yes, I did."

Naru glanced at Takigawa. "…You let him run away?"

Takigawa did not say anything, so Mai spoke up instead.

"Bou-san believed Saburou-san. He thought that John-kun had schizophrenia. As did everyone else."

Naru let out a sigh, and walked further into the room.

"…I am thoroughly disappointed at this news." Naru crossed his arms. "Very, very disappointed. I expected better from you all."

The others hung their heads in shame. Naru continued. "You allowed your prejudice to get the better of you. I understand that colleague-san msut have been planning this for a while, but even so, I would have thought you would have more faith in John-san."

No one argued back. "However," Naru looked at his watch, "what is done cannot be undone. Right now, our top priority is finding John-san before colleague-san does. We will worry about who is to blame later. Mai-kun." He turned to her.

"Hm?"

"Do you know where John-san is now?"

"No. Last time I saw him – like, in my dream – he was in a grave yard."

This time, it was Lin who spoke up. "Precious Hearts Burial Site, in Shiroku."

Mai tilted her head. "Yeah, how did you know?"

Lin reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded paper. He passed it to her.

"This was at a grave stone. Itsuke Watanabe's grave. There was a bouquet of orange lilies there, too."

"What does it say?" Ayako looked over Mai's shoulder. She hissed in a breath as she read the note.

"This is…" Mai's blood ran cold.

'Time to prepare your funeral bed, John. I prepared his. Now it's time for yours.'

'With love, your colleague.'

Horrified, she looked up at Naru. "What do we do?"

"John-san is clever. He won't have allowed himself to get captured so easily. We'll split up and search for him. Bou-san." He turned to Takigawa, who was looking dazed and didn't seem to hear him.

"Bou-san." Naru repeated impatiently.

"Huh?"

"Go to the hospital where John-san works. It seems unlikely that he'll be there, but go over there anyway. Talk to his co-workers, and see if anyone contacted him."

Next, he turned to Ayako and Masako. "Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san, I want you to go to Father Toujou's Church, and see if he knows anything."

"Of course." Ayako nodded gravely, as did Masako.

"Mai-kun and Yasuhara-san." Now he turned to them. "Head over to John-san's apartment. Be careful."

They both nodded. "Ok."

Naru turned back to Lin. "We'll go to that grave yard in Shiroku. In the meantime, everyone be careful."

Mai stared at the floor. Despite Naru's plan, she remembered Eugene uneasiness. Would John really be ok? Would they really find him?

Even now, looking up, she half expected him to be tagging along behind Takigawa as he left, a smile on his face as they talked. But now, Takigawa walked alone.

"Mai."

She jolted herself out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

Naru was looking at her. His face softened. "We'll find him."

She nodded miserably. "How can you be so sure?"

"I know we will." He reassured her. "And good job."

Regardless of everything, Mai could not help but smile weakly.

"So, he hasn't dropped by at all?"

Father Toujou shook his head in response to Ayako's question. "Well, not since mass yesterday. Is something the matter?"

Ayako bit her lip, reluctant to expose the situation to the priest. "It's nothing to worry about. But…if he does come by, could you contact us as soon as possible?"

"Of course."

"May we see the Church quickly?" It seemed like a good idea. According to Lin, John had been there when he was abducted.

She and Masako followed the priest across the courtyard. Already, the young children were outside, playing with each other, completely unaware of what had happened just a day ago inside the Church. It was surreal. John, who was so docile, who had never hurt anyone out of spite, who was so willing and accepting to do whatever Naru threw at him…who was now in peril, and it was all their fault.

Every time Ayako remembered how she had fallen for the trick, and actually thought that John was suffering from Schizophrenia, guilt layered onto her heart. After everything they had been through together, all the horrors they had seen – from the inexplicable accidents at Yubasa high school to the disappearances in Urado's mansion – after everything they had seen, Ayako had doubted him. And this time, if they did not find him, he would pay the price. Even now, she kept on thinking she would turn around and see him, or hear him speaking with that earnest, strange dialect.

Inside the Church, Masako somehow felt more peaceful than she had ever been since Takigawa had told her about what the so-called doctor had revealed. Churches were like that. There was something different about them, and they had a presence that was easily recognisable, regardless of religion. As of now, the Church was empty, and the movements that Masako and Ayako made echoed loudly through the building. On the far wall was a large, stained glass window, that filtered the outside sun down into colours on the Church floor.

It was strange without John being around. He had always been a very agreeable person; he rarely ever argued with anyone. And at the same time, his presence was something they had taken for granted. Only now that he was gone did everyone realise just how much they had done this. Right now, she could imagine him standing in the Church, with the stained glass windows shining behind him, as he sprayed holy water in an exorcism. She had gotten so used to seeing it, and now there was a chance she would never see it again.

"Hey." Ayako spoke up suddenly. She was on her knees, peering under the tablecloth of the altar. "Look at this." She pulled out a broken candle stick.

Masako walked over to her. "What's so important about it?"

Ayako examined it carefully. "…Look here." She pointed to the end of it. "Can you see that?"

Masako tentatively ran her finger along the edge. A red substance tinged her finger tip.

"It's blood." She remarked, sounding much calmer than she felt. "Whose do you think it is?"

"Lin-san said that Osaki-san and John-san had a fight here. I'm guessing this candle was used during the fight. This means we have proof to show the police!" Ayako realised.

"So, he hasn't been here at all?"

The old woman shook her head. "No, not for a while. Is something the matter?"

Yasuhara hastened to answer her. "Oh, not at all. If he does come by, though, would you be able to contact us? We would really appreciate it." He passed over a business card with a telephone number on the back.

"Of course."

The visit to John's apartment had been a dead end. Yasuhara tried to hide his disappointment. He had hopes they would have been able to find something, help in some way. But it looked like the visit had been pointless. He turned to Mai, who was looking as crestfallen as he felt.

"Don't worry. We'll contact the boss, and see what he says. It will be fine."

"Yeah…" She did not sound convinced. The whole affair had caused a lot of guilt inside of them. Yasuhara had not known John for as long as the others, but he could not help but feel just as guilty as they did for doubting John in this way. Even before Takigawa had rung him late at night and explained what he had just heard, Yasuhara had been very distracted. The boss had told him to keep his head down, and leave the investigating to him and Lin. But Yasuhara had felt very restless during this time. He had wanted to be involved with the investigation, feel like he was actually helping in some way.

"Excuse me."

Yasuhara turned, and for some reason he was expecting to see John standing there. But instead, a man wearing a scruffy trench coat was standing there, hands in his pocket and shuffling uncomfortably.

"Can I help you?" Mai asked. The man glanced up, then glanced down. He walked past them to the door, took out his keys, and faltered.

"…You were talking about Brown-san?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yes, we were. Do you know something about him?" Yasuhara asked quickly.

"…I don't know where he is now, if that's what you mean."

"Who are you?" Mai asked warily.

"…Yamazaki-san." The man turned to them, and glanced around nervously. Then he leaned in closer, and beckoned for them to do the same.

"…A month ago," He whispered, "Brown-san hadn't been around for a while. We were going to call the police, but then a man came. He said he was Brown-san's colleague."

Yasuhara and Mai froze.

"He said that Brown-san was away on a work course, and that we shouldn't worry, and then that there was just something inside that he wanted to get."

He swallowed, and lowered his voice so that Yasuhara could barely hear him.

"…He wasn't a colleague. I saw him. I live on the fourth floor, and I saw him. He was searching the apartment. He did things, like collecting papers and destroying them, or wiping camera card memories. I don't know who he was, but he was no colleague."

It was midday by the time Lin and Kazuya reached the grave yard in Shiroku. And, with bitter dismay, Lin realised they were too late. John was not in the grave yard, not even at Itsuke Watanabe's grave.

The bouquet of orange lilies was still there, but so was something different – a smaller collection of white chrysanthemum.

"He was definitely here." Lin motioned to the flowers. "Mai-san was right."

"But he's not here now…Where would he have gone?" Kazuya mused quietly to himself.

Lin did not want to ask the most obvious question: were they too late?

"Where should we look now?" Lin asked.

"We'll ask some people in the village if they saw him. He will have been quite noticeable, I would imagine." Already, Kazuya was turning and walking away from the grave. However, Lin lingered behind, staring at the head stone. He still remembered, vividly, when he had arrived at the Church, only to find that John was not there. And then, when his phone call had finally gotten through, he could remember the panic in John's voice, and then his attempt to calm himself as he described his location. And when Lin had found John in the grave yard, he had seen the look of relief cross his face, and John had hugged him. It had taken Lin by surprise, and normally he would have questioned this action or brushed him off coldly. Lin knew that it was not the kindest way to act, but it was just who he was. He wasn't going to change that.

It was only because of John's fear, and the way Lin had felt him trembling, that Lin had not pushed him away.

But there was no point reminiscing now. It would not help find John. All they could do was act. Lin straightened himself and followed after Kazuya. This was Kazuya's technique, he was sure. Kazuya was not a robot. He was clearly troubled. And he was dealing with this worry in the best way possible – by acting, by trying to sort the problem out.

And that was what Lin would do, too. That was what they all had to do.

He took one last look at the grave. They were getting too close to the truth – that was what Itsuke Watanabe had done, too, and the colleague had made him disappear with almost no trace. But this time, the colleague was up against seven; seven angry co-workers, no, friends, who wanted John back desperately.

They weren't going to let the colleague take him away so easily.

Just like Lin had assured John that night, he wasn't going to let the colleague so much as touch him.

With that thought in mind, he left the grave yard.