Hey Guys! I'm back and it's before Christmas! I'm ahead of schedule!

So this chapter doesn't have much action, but it's necessary for plot development. I tried to add a little bit of John X Masako and a little bit of Naru getting jelly.

So here you go- enjoy!

Tomo was planning to go into base and get to know Ma- everyone. The boy was sure that this was a very unusual case and that SPR would be staying at their house for a long time. They all seemed like a nice crew- except for the boss, Shibuya-san. But was he really was that much of a jerk? Tomo doubted that so many people would stay with him if he was - so his initial doubts were correct: Kazuya Shibuya just hated him.

And it was up to Tomo to change that.

As he was walking down the hall, he felt a faint shaking. This caused Tomo to pause, as he always knew what came next. He yelled for Natsumi, and together the siblings ran to the base.

All of a sudden, the shaking stopped. What? Tomo looked at Natsumi. She looked back just as confused. What was going on? It was eerily silent. Five seconds of eerie silence and then it hit. The five seconds had made all the difference. If the siblings hadn't paused, they would've reached the base and alerted SPR. Now, there was nothing they could do.

As the shaking increased tenfold, Tomoyuki and Natsumi saw Naru- no Shibuya-san, Bou-san, and the blond man run out.

"No!" he yelled, but it was too late. There was nothing they could do. Not long after that the lights went out, and it seemed as if they were in a vacuum. Tomo knew he was still holding on to Natsumi's hand, but he couldn't feel it.

Thankfully, the auburn-haired boy didn't think that the spirit had really attacked. This seemed to be one of his pre-attacks. That was good. SPR needed to know what they were up against. Tomo and his sister had gone to six other companies- and all of them had failed. No one had ever seen anything like this before, and they had suffered great losses. The siblings had done a lot of research before finding SPR- finally a company with a 100% success rate. If anyone could fix this, they could.

After what seemed to be 5 days but was probably only 5 minutes, the shaking stopped. Tomo hadn't even realized that the shaking had continued all this time until he felt it stop. Slowly, the feeling began seeping into his body, and his eyes and ears came back online. The boy saw Natsumi's knees buckle and saw her fall to the ground. Tomo tried to help her, but he had no strength in his body left, and their still-clasped hands pulled his to the ground, too.

"Damn! What was that?!" It seemed that Bou-san had finally come to. A calm and composed voice answered.

"That," he quietly said, "was our spirit." And with that, Shibuya-san disappeared into the base, followed closely by the tall, imposing man. The good natured blond walked over to the monk.

"Are you okay, Bou-san? That was some power, huh?"

"Oh yeah, John-kun. That was crazy- and to think that it wasn't even the real thing! What have we gotten ourselves into? What has Naru gotten us into?"

Tomo decided to actually do something instead of dumbly staying sprawled on the ground.

"Hey, guys! Are you OK? I'm so sorry; we were coming to warn you, but we were too late!"

"It's fine, Tomo. Are you two, okay?"

"Yes, Bou-san. We are fine," Natsumi smiled. Then she hurried to her feet and ran into base- probably to see how her newest crush was doing. Speaking of that…

"I'm gonna go check in on the base." Tomo saw the knowing look Bou-san gave John, and wondered if he was that obvious.

Maybe he was. But he really needed to see how Mai was doing.

The auburn-haired boy dashed into the base behind his sister. Once he was safely out of view, the monk started cracking up and even the Australian priest laughed a little.

"Boy, he has gotten it good for her! Oh gosh, the pieces are all falling into place perfectly!"

Inside the base, Tomoyuki was surprised to see that nothing was wrong. No one seemed shaken up, and nothing- not furniture or anything- was on the floor. What?

He looked around for Mai, and finally found her sleeping on the couch. How could someone have slept through that?

Well, at least he had located Mai and she was safe. Now…where was that boss of hers that hated him so much? Tomo scanned the room- that medium, Masako, sleeping on a chair- nope, grey-haired boy sitting next to Ayako-nope, tall, imposing man at the computers-nope, and finally saw the raven-headed man sitting next to Mai.

Maybe Shibuya-san was wondering the thing Tomo had. Natsumi was sitting next to him, repeatedly asking the man question after question. Surprisingly- or unsurprisingly- Shibuya-san gave no indication that he even heard her. His focus was only on Mai. Hmm...maybe something strange was going on. Oh no! Please let Mai be safe!

There were so many questions, and Tomo needed answers. As he made his way over to where Mai was sleeping, he was suddenly knocked over by Bou-san. The monk was running to Mai, and as soon as he got there, he put his ear to her heart and one hand underneath her nose. Then he bolted upright.

"She's not breathing!" The young man started to panic. So did Tomo.

Tomo ran up to Mai and was about to do something- most probably very embarrassing- when Shibuya-san gave a quiet sigh of disgust and disapproval. Typical him.

"You do realize that she's astral projecting to meet with Ge- her spirit guide." Tomo wondered why he had faltered on that name. And wait what?! Mai had a sprit guide? And she was astral- what?

Suddenly, Mai jerked up and looked around wildly. Shibuya-san calmly took her hands, looked into her eyes, and spoke to her gently. To Tomo, it seemed as if this was a normal occurrence as Naru- yes, Tomo decided, he would call him that- knew exactly what to do.

"Mai, I know that you're shaken up, but I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?"

"G-g-ee-n-e?" Mai asked. Naru gasped- well it was a quick intake of the breath- but more emotion than he almost ever showed. What was up with this… Gene person and Naru?

"No Mai. I'm- I'm Naru." There was a pattering of gasps all around as everyone who had gathered showed their surprise at Naru calling himself by his nickname.

"N-n-aa-r-u?"

"Yes, Mai, I'm here. Look at me," Mai complied. Then unexpectedly she closed her eyes and took ten long, deep breaths.

She then abruptly opened her eyes and flashed them angrily at Naru.

"You jerk!" Naru blinked. Once, twice. "Why did you have to do the same exact thing Gene did with me! And he even used his Naru-voice to get me to pay attention. And now you act like Gene! What's a girl to do? Of course I mixed you two up!"

As it seemed that for once, Shibu- Naru was at a loss, the monk stepped in.

"Jou-chan! You're back! I was so worried, you know." Mai smiled and hugged him. John, who had come to join in the circle surrounding Mai, spoke as well.

"Are you okay, Mai? You had us quite worried there for some time. But I'm so glad you're fine, now. You are, right?"

"I'm fine, John-kun." Ayako and the grey-haired boy came and joined in the group hug. Even the stoic man who always handled the computers seemed glad that Mai was fine. His face had softened quite a bit and he gave a small smile before turning away and facing the screens. Everyone was here…except for Masako.

Oh! She was sleeping in that chair. Maybe something similar happened to her. She must be feeling lonely. Tomo looked over and was surprised to see that she was not alone. The priest, John, had suddenly appeared there and was there sitting next to her. He was holding her hands and was slowly tucking her loose strands of hair behind her face.

When she woke up, John was right there next to her. He calmed her down and filled her in.

Tomo turned his attention back to Mai. The cute girl was smiling one second, and the other she was up standing- albeit a little wobbly- on the floor. Naru instantly put his hands out to steady her if need be. Tomo felt an unbidden feeling of jealously rise up, but quickly dismissed it. That would be him in time. For now, he should just let Naru do it- he was her boss after all. Soon. Soon, Tomo would make Mai his. But for now…

He would wait and watch.

Yasu was grinning like a maniac. Not that anyone could tell; all his crazy thoughts- mostly- stayed in his head. Tomo was here, getting jealous of Naru, Naru was getting jealous of Tomo just for being there. Could this get even more perfect?

Yasu's thought were suddenly interrupted by Mai getting to her feet and looking terrified.

She was shaking uncontrollably and hyperventilating. Naru's calm voice cut through the chaos.

"Mai. Tell us what is happening."

"Naru. What happened with the spirit? Has it attacked yet? Oh no! Please don't let it attacked yet. Gene told me to tell you that this wasn't the real thing! This was just a preview of what is to come. The spirit hasn't awakened yet- this is just his stirrings. The spirit is very powerful- but there won't be any casualties this time- and Naru, that means no healings. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before."

"Mai. It's fine. The spirit had already attacked, and we have already deduced everything you just told us. Didn't Gene send you away earlier to actually warn us?" Hmm…Yasu wondered. Why didn't he?

"He did, but while he's talking with me, he doesn't know what's going on. He's never had to send me back so quickly to be able to warn you guys. That's something we have to work on."

Unexpectedly, Lin spoke- still facing the screens. Yasu knew he was paying attention!

"It makes sense, Noll. He's only used to pulling Mai in- not pushing her back. And normally, when Mai comes back, she spends a little time sleeping, because while astral projecting she isn't sleeping; she's using more energy. So when she comes back, she has to fall asleep to get back all the energy lost, since she's more tired than before. Mai has never had to immediately wake up, and so the sending back process must have taken a longer time." By the time he finished his monologue, everyone- excepting Naru- though he was shaken up too- was staring at Lin with their mouths hanging open.

"Close your stupid mouths before you swallow a bug and start choking." That shut Ayako up pretty fast. "Oh, and Noll? Next time Mai wakes up from Astral Projecting you could keep this in mind and go easy on her a little bit. Let her rest."

Thus the tall Chinese, Japanese-hater, finished his little rant about being nicer to a Japanese girl, all the while facing the screens with his headphones on. There was silence all around. Yasu couldn't believe it. Mai truly was something else. To be able to soften Oliver Davis's heart- that too after his twin had been killed- and win over the imposing, obstinate Lin.

Even Masako- from across the room had her sleeve hiding her face. The only thing that gave her away was her eyes: frozen wide open- permanently in shock.

Of course it was Natsumi that ruined the moment. That girl was too infatuated with Naru for her own good- like all the girls were. Yasu groaned. Wasn't it obvious to everyone- besides Naru and Mai: those two were hopeless- that he already liked someone else? No one may have noticed, but Big Boss was still holding Mai's hands.

Well, it seemed that if Bou-san and Ayako's intense whispering, Lin's shaking shoulders, and John and Masako's horrified expressions were any indication, than everyone but Naru and Mai had noticed. And then Natsumi spoke.

"Shibuya-san! You were so good out there! You're so good at everything, you know. I mean, I came in here to check in on you, but you were totally fine!"

Is it okay if I strangle her? Just a little bit?

"Neither yours nor Tomoyuki's services are needed at the moment. If we have any reason to contact you for some information or questions we know where to find you." With that, Big Boss smoothly moved away from Mai and joined Lin at the computers. The universal gesture for: leave now.

But of course she didn't get the message. Neither did her brother.

"So, Mai. How are you feeling? I mean, you look great- as always- just a bit worn out."

Is it okay if I strangle him? Just a little bit?

"I'm fine, Tomo. Thanks. Yeah, I mean I do get a little sleepy when I do what I do."

Thank goodness Mai still had her senses even when she talked to a cute guy. She didn't need to go around telling everyone about her abilities. Yasu beamed. But just the fact that she was talking to him was enough to make Big Boss jealous.

Yasu could get Naru pretty jealous just by putting an arm around Mai or fake flirting with her. But by now, Big Boss knows that Yasu doesn't mean it and that Mai doesn't think of Yasu in that way. So it gets pretty hard and Yasu has to do some pretty drastic things to get a response out of Oliver Davis.

Still, Yasu could do it if he wanted to.

But with Tomo, Big Boss saw Mai staring at him and Tomo staring at Mai on the very first day. He knows there's something going on, and he hates it- and he hates him: Tomo. Considering how he treats Mai and she's not even "his," Big Boss is really protective of Mai. So when Tomo talked, Naru's shoulders instantly stiffened. He turned around slowly and took deliberate steps back to where everyone- minus John and Masako- still surrounded Mai.

This just gets better and better!

"Tomoyuki, I believe I just told you and you sister," cue Naru turning to Natsumi and directing his glare to her, "to leave. Did I not?" Naru turned back to Tomo, giving him an even deadlier stare than before- if possible. "Maybe you didn't get the message the first time, so I'll say it again. Get. Out."

Yasu smirked. He had to hand it to the guy; Big Boss rocked- totally and utterly rocked! Tomo and Natsumi couldn't have gotten out of base fast enough! Oh, how they ran! And their faces! Hah!

Mai- and everyone else- was a little shocked at how rude Naru had been to the siblings. No one had ever seen Naru get that mad at anyone just for talking before, but everyone- besides Mai- knew why he was so temperamental.

And Mai didn't even get a chance to call Naru out for it because she instantly fell asleep. Like literally. She fell backwards and almost missed the couch. *Sigh*

Mai will be Mai.

Naru turned just in time to save her, then gave her a look of annoyance- which went to waste as she was already asleep- and went back to looking intently at his screens.

And Naru will be Naru.

The grey-haired boy watched the scene and grinned, then joined the already scheming Bou-san and Ayako and instantly began whispering.

And Yasu will be Yasu.

John looked over with a look of longing. He was staring at the terrible threesome. The minute Naru had caught Mai- for about the millionth time- they had started their scheming. And for the first time ever, John wanted to help them.

He looked over to Masako- whose hands he was still holding- and wondered what to do. He was torn between doing the best for Mai and doing the best for Masako. John finally decided that Mai had been through a lot, recently, and that she deserved to be together with Naru. And as a true friend, John hadn't been doing all he could to save from Mai a lot of pain. He needed to do this- to redeem himself to one of his true friends- Mai.

But he didn't want to leave Masako alone either. She looked as helpless and…cute sitting all alone with a blanket draped around her. Even though Mai's astral projecting was a better excuse, Masako must've been quite wiped out as she, too, fell asleep.

In her sleep, the medium looked so peaceful. John knew that she had to put on a mask of prim and properness when she faced other people, but that wasn't who she really was. However mean she may act, the medium had a heart and she had feelings, too!

In her sleep, the disguise slipped away, and- even though she looked much more composed than any other girl- she also looked like any other girl.

Most surprising to John, though, was the small smile tugging on the medium's face. John felt an immediate rush of fondness for the medium rise up. Then she turned over in her chair and the spell was instantly broken.

John shook himself out of his daze, and slowly walked over to where the terrible trio was still scheming. He braced himself for whatever was going to come next and took a deep breath. Then tapped Yasu's shoulder.

As all three turned to look at John, he took a deep breath and spoke:

"I would…I just want to say that…I- well I…um, you see…"

"John? Are you okay?"

"Yes, Bou-san. I'm fine." John took one more deep breath. "I- I want to join you guys."

"WHAT!" Ayako even went as far as to check John's temperature.

"I'm really fine, guys. I just- well, this time I'm pretty confident that with the help of Tomo, Naru and Mai can understand their feelings for each other. I also think that I can really be a lot of help for you guys, because-" Yasu cut him off.

"Because no one would ever suspect you! This is perfect! Thank you, John. You may just be that one piece of the puzzle that we were missing!"

"So now," Ayako paused, "what does that make us?" John replied.

"I've been thinking, how about the…friendly four? Or-or-or the faithful four!"

Three sets of eyes stared at him with looks of unbelief.

"How about…no." Ayako growled. "How about the fabulous four?!"

"Umm…no, you idiot old lady." Bou-san effectively executed his duck-and-cover technique. "I have the perfect name: the fierce four!" Yasu face-palmed.

"You guys have no class. We can be nothing other than the ferocious four."

"How about the fearsome four? If the four of you combine, you truly will become a group to fear- and I mean that in the loosest way possible. We all will live in constant fear of killing ourselves out of frustration with the whisperings getting even louder."

Lin, who had been passing by to go who-knows-where, suddenly pitched in.

Yasu smirked and adjusted his glasses.

"I'm not sure whether to pay attention to the first part of that and ignore the rest, or take offence to the second part." Bou-san waved it all away.

"Guys. At least we all got a name! And I, for one, like it. How about you?"

"Humph. I still liked fabulous better, but I guess fearsome it just as good."

"You old ladies never know how to say thanks or accept defeat, do you?"

Thunk!

This time Ayako was ready for the monk's escape maneuver; she aimed a little lower.

John was terrified. Why were they being so violent to each other?! Why couldn't everyone just get along? Bou-san didn't have to tease and bait her, and Ayako didn't need to get physical. And Yasu was just observing everything and egging them both on.

"Guys! Stop! Stop! Why do you have to fight? I'm not really sure about the fearsome four. Isn't it too mean? We don't want to scare anyone we just-"

"First of all, John, you have to let go of your kind and friendly attitude. I know you're a priest and everything, but just for a little while when you're with us, you have to be able to find the most mischievous, devious, surreptitious, underhanded ways- to do the most unexpected things. Then only you will be successful. I know it's hard, but can you do that?"

John was at a loss. Being kind and friendly was all he knew- and all he needed being a priest. To ask him to suddenly change all of that...

It was true, John did have a different side- one that liked to tease people and have fun with them- be the one instigating a small fight and laughing with his friends when someone got hurt- instead of just going and comforting them. He wanted to be normal, and quite frankly, normal was not nice. Society nowadays was full of fun-loving people- and fun-loving meant being able to be mean and tease others and not mean it and have the other person know that you don't mean it.

"Yes," John replied firmly, sure of his answer. "I believe I can, Yasu. Oh, and guys? The fearsome four is perfect."

"YES!" Everyone cheered, capturing the unwanted attention of everyone in the base. Well, by everyone, they meant Naru- Mai and Masako were still asleep- and he had his headphones on…

Lin looked on with a small smile on his face. No one could stop them now…

John smiled. Finally…

Finally he could be himself.

Finally he didn't have to worry about others all the time.

Finally he could make things right.

Finally he could be free.

Hope you guys liked that. I'm always open for suggestions and do let me know if you have any special scenes and anything you want to request. Oh an let me know if there's something- whether about the story or my writing- that you like or don't like.

READ AND REVIEW!

I'll ask you a couple of questions at the end on some things I'm still not sure of: you can give me your input.

1. Who should Masako end up with: John or Tomo?

2. Should someone from SPR get severely injured?

As always, thank you for everyone who read and reviewed/favorited/followed.

BloodRedCamellia Out!