(A/N): In advance, I apologise.

While I know that all you, my readers, are wonderful and supportive, this chapter has made me slightly worried that I might get mindless hate over the interaction of two characters. I sincerely hope that no one would be insensitive enough to do that, as this was a very difficult chapter to write considering it is hard to type through tears, but with the internet, it is very difficult to say. Regardless of what you think of the interactions, just be sad with me because I found this chapter very, very difficult and sad. T-T

Yeah, I cried a lot while writing this chapter. I hope that doesn't put you off.

For this chapter, I would recommend creepy songs to start with, like Prelude 12/21 by AFI or Broken Inside by Broken Iris. When I wrote this, for the creepy parts, I listened to Kingdom Hearts battle music (I found a playlist on YouTube) because I found it helped me to listen to battle music during a fight, though I'm not sure if that's what you would want to listen to. For the second half/end (ish, sorry I'm not being very clear) I would listen to some sad music. For me, this included Shiver by Lucy Rose, Sextet from Cloud Atlas, Ghost Town by Radical Face, Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy, The Other Side by Rachael Yamagata and Spectrum by Florence and the Machine.

I am afraid I have no time for review answer time, and I apologise for this. (My exams are in two weeks D:)

Thank you so much for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing! Thank you to my sister/editor, Wolfstadt, who read through the pain and tears to help me edit this chapter (twice as well !) Thank you so much for your support!

Enter chapter 41...

"Chief. The door's locked."

Sinead swore loudly in English, and took out her gun. Rapidly, she fired a shot at the handle and the lock. Chosovi tried the door again; it was tightly shut.

"Well, shit." She swore again, and took out her phone. Quick dialling to Conor, she spoke before he could even mutter a word on the other end.

"Bring enforcements to the abandoned house immediately. And an ambulance." She added, glancing at the bleeding man lying on the floor next to her. Lin was applying pressure on the wound she had given him after he had approached her, pretending to be a journalist, and had attacked her.

"What should we do?" Chosovi asked. "We can't go in there, but surely we can't just wait for enforcements to arrive."

"Of course. Hara-san. What can you make out?" She swiftly changed to Japanese, and addressed the medium, who looked pale but determined.

"The spirits have sealed the house." She decided without hesitation. "They're very angry. Soku-san is in there. They want to kill him."

Ayako put her arm around Mai as the girl gasped. "C-can they do that?"

Masako nodded steadily. "We've witnessed sealed houses before. Last time, people were allowed in, but it seems that these spirits won't even allow that." She reminded Mai. "And you were almost strangled by a spirit. Remember?"

Sinead didn't ask about this. "Is there any way to enter? Any at all?"

Pursing her lips, Masako shook her head uncertainly. "…I don't think so. They will only let you in if they leave or if they are finished with Soku-san."

"But what about Bou-san and John-kun?!" Yasuhara burst out. "Colleague-san is in there! Won't he…"

He trailed off, and no one wanted to finish the sentence for him.

Sinead made a decision, and strode over to Lin's car, shouting behind her shoulder to Chosovi, "Stay there. Keep an eye on them."

As she reached the trunk of Lin's car, she was glad to find that many of the journalists were gone, although a few were lingering around and taking interest at the new drama unfolding in front of them.

"Sinead!" It was Oliver. "What are you planning to do?"

She grabbed what looked like a suitcase and pulled it out, opening it as she did. Inside was an unassembled gun – a sniper rifle. Sinead disliked guns, but if the need arose, she would damn well use them.

"I need to get to Soku. I'm not going to let him hurt John." When she thought about everything that he had inflicted on her cousin, it made anger burn inside her. As soon as she got her hands on the man, God help her, she was going to make him pay.

"Guns won't work. I've been inside a sealed house before." He warned her. "Nothing can get through those walls, or the windows. Not even a bullet."

She assembled the gun as he spoke. "Well, how did you get out when you were stuck inside a sealed house?" She asked pointedly.

"…Mai cleansed the spirits."

Now the rifle was one piece, she slipped the holder over her shoulder. "Well, it looks like someone will have to cleanse the spirits."

She began to walk briskly towards the house, and Oliver walked hurriedly with her.

"That's not possible." He protested. "There aren't any sacred trees nearby, so Ayako's exorcism is out. Masako can't perform jourei, since she isn't inside the house. And Lin doesn't know the identities of all the spirits in there, so he can't help, either."

Sinead stopped by one of the overgrown bushes, and peered through one of the windows of the house. In the room, she could see John, Kazuki and Houshou, who was looking shocked. Next to him was the colleague, holding a gun to his head.

"…Well, then." She backed away a bit, somehow not noticed by the people inside the room, and lay down in the bushes on her stomach, thankful for the elevation made by the plateau in front of the house. She took aim with the rifle, pointing the muzzle through the leaves of the bush.

"It looks like I'll have to wait for John to cleanse them. As soon as we can shoot through those windows, Soku is mine."

Oliver sat down next to her. "…Do you really…" He coughed. "Do you think this will work?"

"There's nothing else we can do. You should leave, you're a civilian."

Oliver scoffed. "I want to get Soku as badly as you. I don't know what you think of me, but I'm not going to let somebody hurt my," he hesitated, as if unsure, before continuing, "my friend and get away with it so easily. Especially after what happened at that hell-hole."

She knew what he meant, and she knew that many people had been thinking the same thing. Whenever John was turned away, she would see the nasty bruise down the side of his head after his conflict with Saburou at the site. She had seen Mai and Oliver often staring at the bandage around his arm after Saburou had tried to cut it off. And earlier that morning, while John had been praying, she had spotted Houshou standing in the doorway, staring at the number '9' branded onto John's back.

"…Fine. But get down, or else they'll see you."

He obeyed, just as Sinead's mobile began to vibrate.

"Get that for me." She ordered, not taking her eyes off the window. Sighing, Oliver took the mobile from her jacket pocket.

Immediately, Sinead grabbed it and answered. "Hello?"

"Agent Brown." It was the voice of the Japanese superintendent she had talked to yesterday. "I have heard that you are close to getting Soku under your custody."

"Yes, sir."

"What is the situation?"

"…I have a shot on him."

As soon as she had said it, the superintendent commanded in a steely voice, "Do not take that shot! You are not to use deadly force on Soku, no matter the circumstance. Understood?"

She bit back the angry words threatening to spill out.

"…Understood."

"Good. I'll leave the situation to you."

The man hung up, and Sinead tossed the phone aside. Inside, she could see the scene happening. John had to hurry up and cleanse the spirits, or else he was completely at the mercy of the colleague.

The whispering was getting louder and louder, to the point where I could hear the spirits shouting. The scratches had become beatings against the wall. It was so cold, I was shivering violently, and I could see frost forming on the window beside me.

And in the middle of it all, the colleague stood, calm, with a complacent smile on his face.

"Is something wrong, John?" He asked in a cheery voice. It struck me suddenly – the reason for his calmness.

"He can't see them." I whispered, more to myself. "He can't hear them." Everyone else who here had at least been able to hear the spirits, regardless of if they could see them or not – even Saburou had been able to hear them. But this man…his mind was so twisted, and his empathy so bare, it had left him unable to hear their screams.

This had to end. Now.

"Colleague." Slowly, I walked closer to him, keeping my eyes solely on him. I did not dare look at the gun in his hands, or even at Houshou – the moment I did, he would realise just how effective his hostage was, and would realise how much he could make me suffer by pulling that trigger.

"Let's settle this. You and me."

He laughed scornfully. "Please. I'm afraid more people are involved here. For instance," he pushed the gun more forcefully against Houshou's head, "your monk friend has gotten far too involved in this situation, or the rest of your psychic group outside."

Despite the situation, Houshou still growled, "What, you thought we wouldn't come after you after everything you've done?"

"I never killed anyone directly."

"You killed them all!" Houshou shouted. "You were the one in charge of the place! You were the one who kept the gas so dangerously, the gas that caused the explosion and the fire!"

The colleague snarled, and brought the gun down on Houshou's head, who staggered and fell to the floor from the sheer force of the colleague's blow.

"Houshou!" I cried, trying to rush to him. As I moved forwards, the colleague's gun pointed at me.

"Enough of that from him." He turned his attention back to me. "He's irrelevant for the time being." Walking over Houshou, giving him a swift kick to the ribs as he did so. "Leave him!" I yelled. The colleague paused, and I realised my mistake.

"Oh, yes. I forgot. He's a close friend of yours, isn't he?" He knelt down by Houshou and grabbed his hair, yanking up his head and placing the gun at his neck. "How about I start with him?"

The spirits roared angrily in the background, their shouts of anger and desperation filling the room, and I felt my panic join them.

"Don't hurt him!" I shouted.

With no warning, Kazuki lunged forwards, grabbing the colleague's arm with an icy grip, and wrenched the gun from Houshou's neck. Unable to see Kazuki, and therefore startled, the colleague tried to maintain a hold on the gun.

I ran to Houshou, holding him in my arms. His head was bleeding badly, and the cut looked deep. "Houshou! Houshou, can you hear me?"

Groaning, his eyes flickered, but he remained unconscious. Frantically, I looked around to Kazuki, who had managed to grab the gun and knock it against the colleague, stunning him. He would be incapacitated for a minute or so, but not for long.

"Kazuki! What do we do?!" I gripped Houshou tightly to myself, his blood on my hands. He was in no fit state to run anywhere.

Kazuki hesitated, his grey eyes darting back and forth as he thought of what to do. His voice came out in shaky breaths, and he looked completely drained of energy.

"…Find another exit. A window, or-or…hide, hide until this is over. You need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"We can't leave, they've sealed the house!"

The colleague was stirring, gaining his senses.

"Just run away! As soon as the spirits are finished with him, they'll let you go! Just stay alive until then!"

I looked down at Houshou's limp body, at the blood, and felt my own trembling nerves. "I…I-I don't think I can…" The spirits were scratching against the wall, and in a flash, I remembered the silent room, and my own desperate clawing against the thick walls.

"John!" Kazuki caught my attention. "Calm down. Take a breath."

I did so, and found myself a little calmed, but not much. "Now listen. Grab Houshou and run. Hide somewhere. Try and stay alive."

Nodding, I grabbed Houshou and pulled him to his feet. He moaned, and I put his arm around my shoulder, supporting his weight, before dragging him from the room.

We stumbled into the hall way, Houshou barely able to walk. Even here, the spirits were straining against the walls, eager for blood.

Houshou groaned again, and this time his eyes opened. "W-Wh…"

"Come on…We have to go…"

I was not particularly strong, and Houshou was much taller than me, so I struggled to keep him upright as we moved along.

"Oh, Jo-hn?" A sing-song voice called to us, deranged and twisted. I tried to hasten our pace.

"Come now, John, surely you aren't thinking of leaving already?"

Gasping now in fright, I heaved us into a room, lowered Houshou gently to the floor, and shut the door as quietly as I could, before looking around for something, anything, to block the door. After a moment of panicked searching, I realised I still held the spanner in my hand. Crouching by the door, thinking back to the first case with SPR, I wedged it deeply and securely into the floor boards, until only half of it stuck out from the floor.

I could hear the colleague coming closer. "John…" He breathed beyond the door. "Aren't you going to let me in? Or do I have to shoot down the door?"

Behind me, Houshou struggled into an upright position. "J-John, what do we do?"

Putting my head in my hands, I paced up and down, heart racing. "I-I don't know…Stay alive…"

"John, let me in…" The antagonising voice came again. "Or next time I really will shoot your friend…I'd be careful, John, and do as I say. We both know who has the upper hand here. I can kill your friend any time I want. There's no escape." He paused, and rattled the door handle, trying to push the door open. It almost opened. "After all, I technically killed all your friends at the Ward, didn't I? The old nurse, what was she called…Ritsuka Amane? And the FBI agent? And your precious doctor friend? All dead and gone now, aren't they?" The spirits went wild, screaming and clawing and crying. His words were setting them off.

"This time, John, it will be your fault for the death of your friends. You were the one who dragged them into this situation. So many people are involved now, so many at risk. How does that make you feel?"

I tried to block out his words, and attempted to open the window. It was shut tight, but I expected as much.

The door shuddered and creaked. It was old. If he was strong enough, he could break it down.

"Come now, John…" He began to hum, and I immediately recognised the tune: at once, I was on my knees gasping, cowering, unable to breathe, clutching my head, trying to stop the flow of images. No, no, no, no, I couldn't panic, don't panic, don't speak, stay quiet, don't tell them what you know, don't tell them, or else they'll put you in the silent room –

"John." At the touch, I almost cried aloud. Houshou's hand was on my shoulder. He seemed unsure about what to say, but determined to calm me down. "Take a breath."

"I-I can't breathe –"

"Take a breath." With all of my will power, I breathed in. "Hold it for a few seconds. Count to seven." I held in the breath, counting to seven in my head. "Now release it, slowly."

I attempted to, although the rattling door and the screaming spirits and the blood on Houshou's head made it come out faster than it should have. Again, I repeated it, and again, until I felt myself calm down a little.

"You know, really, if you hadn't tried to escape, then maybe the Ward wouldn't have blown up." The colleague had stopped humming, at least. "So really, you are at fault for the deaths of those people, John." The colleague continued.

I paused, this time feeling his words sink in on me. I understood the sick game he was trying to play. But there were truths to his words. With a jolt of guilt, as the spirits screamed and shouted around me, I realised something – it was my fault they were here. I was a priest; I worked with a psychic research group; I knew how to cleanse spirits. I had done so many times before. I even knew a few of the spirits names and the times of their deaths, like Ritsuka. Surely Lin could have helped cleanse them. Masako was an expert in jourei, far more experienced than the rest of us. Even Mai had managed to cleanse a whole school of spirits. And though these spirits wanted revenge…though these spirits wouldn't move one easily...I could have at least tried. As soon as I had found out that they were site-bound, I should have tried to cleanse them, or gotten help from the rest of SPR. If I had, we wouldn't be in this situation now. So what had stopped me?

Kazuki…

His image flashed into my head. His kind smile, his patient and understanding eyes, every inch and fibre of him…

I hadn't helped cleanse the spirits because I didn't want to let him go.

"This is your fault, John. All your fault. You should have just died at that Ward."

…No. I'd had enough of this. I wasn't going to play and beg for mercy; mercy would never come from him, anyway. I'd had enough of this game.

"Houshou, stay here. Don't move. Just stay here." I whispered.

"What? John, what are you doing?"

Without a word, I pulled the spanner out from the floor and slammed open the door. For a moment, we stood and stared at each other. While I was filled with fear, the maliciousness in his eyes was indescribable.

"Come and get me."

In a sudden movement, I barged past him, pushing him to the floor, and dashed upstairs, tripping and stumbling in my haste. Behind me, I could hear the footsteps of the colleague. On the stairs, I tripped, and as I pulled myself up with the banister, there was a loud bang, and the wood by my hand blew up.

"You're wrong." I shouted, scrambling up the stairs and dashing down the hall way. "You caused those deaths. Not me. You were the one who put those people in the Ward in the first place."

Again, the wall by my head exploded. I was thanking God that he was a poor shot – or maybe he was just playing with me, toying with me.

"Don't you realise the damage you have done? The hurt you have caused?" I dashed into a room, almost tripping over lumber and falling into the room beneath the trap door. The colleague burst into the room, looking unhinged. I backed away, behind the trap door, and we faced each other, both breathing heavily, out of fear and out of vehemence.

"More importantly," I narrowed my eyes, "didn't it occur to you that your actions have made your victims want to kill you?" He didn't react to this, and somehow, that was the giveaway of a tiny spark of fear inside him. "In your own pursuit for revenge, you haven't realised that now, there are many wishing the exact same fate onto you."

His stillness broke as he tried to drown that spark of fear. "Oh, you are right. I am rather preoccupied with your death." He rolled the word on his tongue like some exquisite delicacy. "Maybe I should have just killed you immediately, whatever my superior told me." With no warning, he aimed the gun, and fired. Pain blossomed on my arm and I jumped, feeling blood trickle down it, but it had only skimmed me. It was a warning shot.

"…Why?" I bore through the pain. "Even now, when you clearly have no chance at winning, why are you trying to make me suffer?"

The shouts from the spirits hadn't stopped, but they lowered in volume, as if listening.

"…Don't you see?" The colleague laughed a crazed laugh. "My entire operation, my entire scheme, has come burning to the ground. Quite literally. I am on the run. You've got international police trails hot on the trail of Roku Monsuta. And how?" He spat. "From luck! Sheer, pathetic luck." He was shouting now. "Gentle, lonely, pretty John Brown, such a lovely person, a kind nurse, a Catholic priest," he spoke shrilly, "brought my operation down. I don't make mistakes! I am superior to you in so many ways! I have more power, more money, than you could ever have! And somehow, impossibly, you are my downfall. You're not even a police officer." He glowered at me. "You're a nurse. A harmless priest. And the only reason you escaped is because you just had to speak to that doctor in the hospital. You just had to befriend him."

He stopped, and smiled. "…I really should have killed you at the Ward. It wasn't my idea to let you live. That wasn't my mistake. And still, I have to be the one to suffer. And if I have to suffer- me- a person so much greater than you could ever be… well, then you have to suffer as well."

I stood, frozen and reeling from his spiel. Still, my mouth managed to form the words.

"…You're afraid."

He stiffened.

"…You praise yourself so highly, you view yourself as…godlike…and yet…this still happened. A priest, a person who suffered from an eating disorder, a former mental hospital patient…" As I spoke, I moved closer and closer to him. "…I have brought you to your knees. And you're confused. You don't understand how it all went wrong. And now, you're terrified." All the while, he was getting paler. Around us, the spirits had stopped completely. His eyes were wide with terror. I took a breath, then snapped my hand out to the gun and wrenched it from him.

"…Feel that fear." I emphasised each word darkly. "Feel that fear. Know that fear, and know that it is the same fear you inflicted on so many. You deserve that fear. You deserve every single drop of it."

Inside the house, deep inside the group of spirits, I felt something snap. They weren't scared anymore. They had lost their fear. They were angry now, full of rage. The room jolted, as if the very foundations of the house were shaking. The walls were vibrating, the floor boards creaking and groaning under the pressure.

The colleague stumbled forwards. Then backwards. I stared in horror. They were attacking him. Again and again, unseen forces pushed him about like a rag doll.

The temperature plummeted once more, and this time, the colleague was thrown against the wall. Now, the spirits were appearing. Sayomi, Ritsuka Amane, countless patients and doctors alike, all looking towards him. Kazuki appeared beside me, and I glanced at him.

"What's happening?" I whispered urgently.

"…They've overcome their fear." He told me grimly. "They want to kill him."

Something changed then. The colleague looked slowly around the room. Then he screamed. It was a strange, high-pitched noise: vulnerable but still missing that humanity. He cowered from them, from Kazuki, from Sayomi, from Ritsuka Amane. From each and every one of the spirits who had gathered around.

He could see them. He had felt true fear for the first time in his evil life. And he deserved it. All of it.

They gathered around him, dragging him to his feet, pushing him, pulling him, clawing at him, hitting him. It was chaotic and desperate, and I glanced away from it.

"John." Kazuki caught my attention. "You need to leave. Now."

"But the house –"

"They've got him now. It might not be sealed anymore. I think they've released their hold."

Realising what he meant, I dashed down the stairs, Kazuki following close behind me, to the room where I left Houshou. He had managed to get to his feet, but still looked dazed and weak.

"What's happening?" He asked, hearing that the spirits had stopped. He saw the blood on my arm. "What happened to you?"

"They've unsealed the house." Kazuki explained. "You need to leave."

Nodding in agreement, Houshou stumbled towards me and, grabbing my hand, pulled me into the hallway. "Let's go then!"

"Wait." I stopped. Something inside of me made me pause.

This could have been the only chance to escape the colleague, leave to safety. If I left now, then he would be out of my life forever. I wouldn't have to live in fear of him. This nightmarish game would be over.

But…

If I left, there was no doubt the spirits would kill him. And my concern was not in whether or not he deserved to live – that was not my choice to make – instead my concern lay in the spirits. If they killed him, then they would be trapped here forever. They would not be able to move on; they would become true site-bound spirits, with no sense of their selves, always angry, never at rest or at peace.

What should I do? Move to safety, put the needs of the living first? Or stop the spirits from condemning themselves to this awful house, but risking my life in the process?

"John, what's the matter?" Houshou asked, already taking a tone of wariness from the look on my face. "We have to leave."

I looked at him, and he realised what I intended to do. What I needed to do.

"I have to stop them. I can't let them kill colleague-san."

"What?! But –"

"You know what will happen if they kill him! We've seen it before! And they don't deserve it. They've been through enough. Houshou, I have to do this."

Before he could protest, I hurried up the stairs, dashing to the room where I could hear the screams and pleas of the colleague.

Praying I wasn't too late, I burst into the room. The colleague was huddled in the corner, trying to shield himself from the attacking spirits. Already I could see that his hands and his face were bruised and covered with blood.

"Wait!" I shouted, trying to get their attention. It barely worked; only Sayomi turned towards me.

"What is it?" She asked. Her appearance was frightening, and she didn't look like Sayomi anymore. There was a madness in her eyes, glazed over with an eerie white light. She was bigger, her hair trailing from some unfelt wind, and was cast in a dim, dark light that seemed to steal her humanity. Huge pulses of cold air radiated from her, digging into my skin and my bones.

"Y-You can't do this. You have to stop."

At once, all the spirits turned to me, their eyes vicious, and I felt my pulse race.

"Why should we? After everything he did to us?" Ritsuka asked ferociously.

"It's nothing to do with him, it's to do with you! Please, if you kill him, you won't be able to move on!"

They weren't listening. Instead, they prowled forwards, watching me like prey.

"He tortured us. He sent us to that hellish place." Sayomi hissed. They gathered around me, and I fumbled for the holy water I always kept with me.

"And you want us to stop? You want us to leave him be?" Her tone became…demonic, almost.

Hands trembling, I sprayed holy water in a line in front of me, and I was surprised that the water didn't freeze as it hit the air, the coldness they emitted was so intense. The droplets of water glimmered as the only light in the dim room and the dark spirits, catching a silvery light from the dying rays of day that filtered through the window. Continuing to spew the water around me, I muttered prayers under my breath, prayers of protection that would stop them getting past. At the sight of the water, the spirits stopped abruptly.

"…Please. Listen to me. I know what you've been through. I was there."

"You didn't die!" Ritsuka growled, her voice just as evil as Sayomi's. "You don't understand!"

"I almost did die. And I know you suffered horrible, horrible things at that place. I know, because I did too. And those experiences will stay with me, just like how they've stayed with you. No one else can really understand what it was like there, I know that."

"Then why don't you agree with us? That he should pay?" The emphasis on the last word was heavy, and the others murmured and whispered and yelled in agreement.

"Because if you kill him, he wins!" I shouted.

The spirits fell quiet.

"…Please, trust me. I am a priest, and I've seen these types of circumstances before. You are all site-bound spirits." I looked around at them. "If you kill him, you won't be able to move on. You will never get peace. Your anger and your pain and your suffering will only increase." With each word I said, my heart broke a little; what I was preaching to them, I was preaching to Kazuki. "Killing him won't free you. It will only condemn you here. Forever. And you don't deserve that."

They were completely quiet as they regarded this.

"This man," I gestured to the colleague, unconscious on the floor, "…This…monster has taken your body. He has taken your life. Don't let him take your soul."

Slowly, they turned to one another, looking unsure. The malicious glints left their eyes.

"He deserves a much worse fate than this, and not a death that will sacrifice everyone here."

"What shall we do?" Now that she spoke, Sayomi sounded more like herself.

"…You need to move on." I told them tentatively. Sayomi turned to me, confused.

"How can we do that, after all that's happened to us?"

"I know I can't just expect you to move on, because it's not that simple." Feeling nervous, just in case they turned to attack the colleague again, I grabbed him and dragged him from the room onto the landing, and left him by the closet that Houshou and I had hid in a long, long time ago. He did not stir, though my arm screamed in pain at the effort. When I returned, the spirits were still watching me, waiting for me to speak.

"You have to understand, you have a choice. I know in this situation, it feels like you don't. But you do now. If you want to move on from this place, you can." I spread my arms wide, gesturing to the house. "You don't have to stay here. No one can confine you anymore, no one can trap you. Nothing is holding you back."

"It's over." I told them. "It's all over. Mattaku no longer exists. Yakunan Soku cannot hurt anyone anymore. Everything you feared in that place can't hurt you anymore." I swept my gaze across them all, slowly, imploringly. "The ones who tormented you, and hurt you, and scared you…they're gone. And they will never be able to hurt you again."

They comprehended this in silence. The one who spoke up first was Ritsuka Amane.

"You mean…we don't have to stay here? We can leave?"

"Yes." I nodded earnestly. "You can leave, right now."

She smiled, and it was the first time I had ever seen the woman smile.

"It's over." She repeated. "He can't hurt us anymore. He can't hurt anyone. We…we don't have to stay here anymore."

Then it began.

The spirits began to glow. They emitted a warm, soft light. Soon, the whole room was filled with the light, spreading through me and filling me with euphoria. It was beautiful.

Around us, the features of the room simply melted away in the light. Instead, as I looked down at my feet, there was water lapping around my shoes, rushing and whispering with the gentle, comforting sound of the ocean and the tide. The water was blue and clear, and the light danced across it like darting fish. I could hear the people laughing, the tide rushing, and I could see them washing off their blood and dirt and all their fears into the pure, clean water.

Desperately, I swept my gaze across the multitude of spirits, searching for an individual face. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Hastily, I bolted from the room. Where was he? Why wasn't he here?

At once, I knew where to go. I ran to the bedroom and, sure enough, there he was, standing with his back to the door.

With a groan, Houshou pushed himself up from the floor and staggered out of the room. The head wound had made him pass out again. Where was John? Where was the colleague? Where were the spirits?

As he made for the door to search for John, he realised that something was different. Trying to pull together his scrambled thoughts, he staggered out of the door and began to pull himself painstakingly up the stairs.

Then he saw it – light, warm and beautiful, spilling from one of the rooms. At once, he was entranced; he could only stare in amazement at it. He could barely even notice the pain in his head anymore.

Of course: the house didn't feel so cold anymore. It wasn't so quiet. And a heavy tension that Houshou hadn't noticed before seemed to have lifted.

Did that mean the spirits had unsealed the house? Somehow, looking to the light, Houshou knew that the spirits were being cleansed. And only John would have been able to do that, so surely the light meant he was safe.

Carefully, Houshou made his way down the stairs. The light had quelled the panic that something had happened to John, illogical as it was. Instead, he staggered to the front door, and tried the handle.

It opened.

Outside, when the door burst open, Sinead almost pulled the trigger in her panic. Ever since John had left the room, she had been overcome with dread.

Oliver got to his feet quickly. "Bou-san?"

Sinead followed him over to the monk, who was sitting on the front step, clutching his head. It was bleeding very badly, but Sinead barely noticed.

"Takigawa-san, where is John?" She demanded.

Wincing, Takigawa shook his head vaguely. "He's…He's with the light…"

This did nothing to reassure Sinead. "What?"

"He's safe…" Again, Takigawa put his head into his hands, just as the rest of SPR came running around the corner.

"Sinead-sama! The h-house!" Mai was shouting. Next to her, Masako elaborated,

"I think the spirits are being cleansed."

Lin followed, his blouse stained with blood. "Yes. We could see light coming from a window upstairs."

Yasuhara looked down at Takigawa. "Bou-san! Are you ok? You're hurt!"

Takigawa groaned, but nodded and murmured something about being ok.

"Wait…" Ayako looked around. "Where's John-kun?"

"Inside." Oliver answered her. Ayako's eyes widened.

"W-With Soku-san?!"

The others looked to Sinead, shocked, then at Takigawa, who wiped the blood from his eyes.

"Y-Yes. But…He's safe. And Brooks-san will be with him."

"K-Kazuki." I gasped. "What are you doing?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned around. I had never seen him looking so scared, so uncertain.

"John…They're leaving now, aren't they?" He asked, his voice barely audible.

I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything without my voice breaking or choking.

"But…I don't want to go…" He move forwards to me. "I don't want to leave you."

"…You can't stay here." The words pained me.

"No, I won't be like they were! I won't become violent, I didn't want revenge. I just want to stay with you."

I bit my lip. "Kazuki…I've seen so many spirits that had that exact change attitude turn into site-bound spirits. You'll lose all sense of yourself. And, when that happens…" It was getting harder and harder to keep my voice even. "…I don't want to have to exorcise you. I don't want to say good-bye without you knowing who I am, or who you are. I want to say good-bye while we still remember each other."

He paused. "…But…"

"I don't want you to leave." I shook my head. "I didn't want you to die. But…I can't hold you back like this. It's not fair on you. You deserve better."

Swallowing, he crossed his arms across himself. "…I'm scared. I…I don't want to leave…"

Smiling sadly, I reached out my hand to his. "I'll be with you. I'll be right with you."

Together, we walked back to the room that was filled with light. Kazuki held back hesitantly, and grabbed my hand tighter, but as soon as he entered it, I saw the fear on his face disappear.

"It's beautiful."

He walked forwards into the water, arms wide, basking in the light. "It's so beautiful." He knelt down and washed his hands in the water. The others beckoned over to him.

I saw Sayomi, and she no longer looked frightening. She beamed over at me, and she looked as if she hadn't even heard of Mattaku Psychiatric Ward.

"Thank you John." She whispered. She bowed deeply. "Thank you for what you've done." With that, she turned and re-joined the others.

"John!"

I turned to Kazuki. He was smiling, and it was such a beautiful smile that I had rarely seen on him. The blood and dirt and soot was gone from him, and he had regained his colour. He looked alive.

I reached out to him, and took his hand. I could feel it. He felt real.

"John…" He embraced me, and I clung onto him tightly, relishing his touch, breathing in his smell, one last time. He didn't feel cold at all.

We parted, and I looked up at him. He was crying, but he was smiling.

"…I love you. I really did love you. I really do."

"…I love you too." I stroked his face; his tears slipping over my fingers.

"I always have."

He kissed me gently. "Thank you. Thank you for bringing that ray of happiness into my lonely life."

Then he stepped away. The others were walking away, slowly towards the horizon and into the waves. I could hear Sayomi laughing with true happiness at their release.

The tears were coming fast now. I didn't want him to leave.

"Kazuki!" I shouted. He turned and faced me. But I couldn't make him stay.

"…I'll never forget you." I whispered. "Good-bye."

He smiled again. "Good-bye, Nurse Brown."

Then he walked into the waves. The water got deeper. A gentle wave washed over them all.

And they were gone.

He was gone.