Recap:
Lin interrupts, irritated. "You need to understand that I am not your father. It's all a big mistake and I want you to Leave. Me. Alone." He states clearly.
Possessed Mai frowned, eyes watering as tears began to gather before suddenly taking off and leaving the room. Racing away as fast as possible.
"Mai wait-I mean Kenji!" Monk calls out, but not chasing after the girl.
Time Skip
Trying to be quick, Monk, John, and Lin grab their coats to chase after the Possessed Mai. Heading outside, Naru appears walking up to the entrance. "What's wrong?" he asks.
"Mai ran off." Monk replies with a frustrated tone. More worried than anything else.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The sound of a stick being tapped could be heard throughout the area, echoing disturbingly with the sound of the strong winds.
"That sounds like Kenji using his sticks." John ponders out.
"I think you made him angry." Monk states.
The tapping continued on for a good while as the men searched the outside area for Kenji. The boy who possessed young Taniyama Mai. It was abysmal, Monk wandered the playground, looking into what he believed were places a small child could hide in.
Naru wandered near by an area close to the gates of the church's entrance. The wooded area leaving no clue, or tracks of the person they searched for.
John looked around the old trash incinerator, and beyond the aqueduct, with little chance of finding Mai.
The search wasn't producing much of a find. The time spent searching, increased Monk's worries, and everyone else's. The ominous feeling increased.
Then the tapping ceased.
"It just stopped." John voices his thoughts.
"Monk why did you allow Mai to run away?" Naru interrogates, the irritation clear in his voice, and maybe something more. Concern?
"Well, Lin just snapped at her. Mai-I mean Kenji got offended and ran out." Monk explains the short version of it.
Naru turns and gives Lin a scathing look, causing the taller man to flinch slightly. Looking away, Naru continues, "That's very disappointing."
"Let's focus on where Mai could be hiding from us." John interjects.
Monk blinks, a sudden thought striking him. "Wait, I know."
He started racing towards the aqueduct. "Monk, I already-"
"Heu, Mai-" the man looked over the wall, blinking. "There's no sign here…"
"Hah. If we're to go off of what he's done in the past, he'll leave Mai of his own accord now." John spoke, a sigh on the edge of his lips.
Naru shook his head, "John drove Kenji out of Thanat just a few hours ago, and then Kenji quickly possessed Mai, who was nearby." Looking at Lin pointedly. "Apparently, this is the first time."
"Then.." Lin started.
"This is also the first time knocking sounds were involved." Shifting gazes, Naru looked to John and Monk. "You said you felt a unusual resistance from Kenji when you drove him out of Thanat. He must have been quite reluctant to leave his father's side with that reaction."
"That could be the case. The reactions and the knocking sounds were more intense this time around." John replied.
"You've also said that there's been an increase in Kenji's visits to this point he's willfully removed himself from the children he's possessed previously. However that might not be the case this time." Naru looked back at Lin. "That's the reason why I told you to keep Mai company."
"Yeah, but let's be fair. Lin was never made aware of that." John interrupts.
John nodded his head, "That's very true."
"What do we do now returning back to the mater back at hand." Monk speaks with a serious tone.
"Do we know what happened to Kenji's father, or did he just disappear?" Naru asks.
"Practically. I heard he found a job in Osaka, and then nothing. Later Father Toujo received a letter saying he had passed away, but not how he did. It was strange." John explained, but the insinuation was there, he believed Kenji's father abandoned poor Kenji.
"So why does Kenji do it?" Naru says.
"What?" Monk looks up.
"He hides. Then signals to the others, asking to be found. He eventually comes out without being found, so disappearing isn't his objective. Father Toujo believes he just wants to be noticed, but why Kenji? Why do you continue to play the game?" Naru voices his thoughts out loud to the others.
"Because he wants to go back." Lin speaks after a period of silence among them. His voice was quiet, deep.
"Go back? Go back where?" John asks, blinking in confusion.
"Back to the church." Naru crosses his arms.
"OH, I see. He thinks if he can go back to the Church, he thinks he'll be able to his father and go home with him." Monk looks to Lin. "Way to go Dad." he says with grim amusement.
Lin frowns, guilt clear in his eyes.
"That's it. Kenji's spirit is lost, so he's forced to possess other children, and play hide and seek. He's trying to end the game." Naru finishes, believing he figured out the answer. Confidence in his demeanor.
"Alright, then let's quit talking about it and go find him. The longer we wait the more worried I get for Mai. I mean it's December and she's not even wearing a coat for crying out loud." Monk moves, starting to make his way in a random direction, but Naru stops him.
"It'll take more than just the three of us." He says. "I've looked everywhere for a good hour and came up with nothing. Why don't we enlist th children?"
"What good will that do? They couldn't find him thirty years ago. How would they find him now?" Monk asks.
"Which is exactly why, we'll be following the children while they look for him. We can look in all the places they don't." Naru explains.
"Now that is brilliant, why didn't I think of that." Monk grins, finally thinking they were making progress to find Mai, but the worry was still there.
"Let's hurry."