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"No! Stop! NOOO!"

I sat up suddenly on the couch I had been sleeping on. Ayako turned on a lamp, which temporarily blinded me. I blinked and focused on Mai, who was still asleep, lounged across her armchair. Her brow was sweaty and her amber aura was dark and tormented. I also detected a hint of a gray aura hovering over hers.

I was not prepared for the shriek that came next.

"AAAAAAAAHH!" Mai thrashed and nearly fell off of the armchair. Ayako and I rushed to catch her. "YOU'RE KILLING HER!"

"Mai!" Ayako yelled, her voice and aura stricken with panic. She grabbed Mai's arm.

"NO!" Mai sat up abruptly. The faint gray aura disappeared and shock ran through her aura. Her wide brown eyes stared at us as she caught her breath.

"What happened?!" I asked, bewildered.

Tears welled up in Mai's eyes and she fell into Ayako's arms sobbing. Ayako exchanged a worried glance with me over Mai's head.

"We should call Naru," she said. I nodded.

"I'm on it." I grabbed Mai's cell phone and dialed him from there since I didn't have his number. He answered on the second ring.

"Mai? Please tell me you're okay," said Naru. His voice sounded grave.

"Actually, Naru, this is Layelle," I said. "Mai had another one of her dreams. She's okay. It's just that it sounded really bad." There was silence on the line for a minute.

"Tell him t-to call J-John!" said Mai urgently through her tears. "He needs to hear this."

"Mai says to-"

"Yes, Miss Shaw, I heard her. I'll have John come with Masako. All of SPR will be meeting at Mai's apartment," said Naru.

"Really?" I asked, puzzled. "Why not the office? aren't you guys going to be there today?"

"Lin and I were attacked by a spirit at the office this morning," said Naru. "So that's a no go."

"Are you guys okay?" I asked in alarm.

"We're fine, Miss Shaw," said Naru. "Just prepare to accommodate everyone and help Mai stay calm until we get there." He hung up abruptly instead of ending the call like a normal person.

I filled in Mai and Ayako on what was happening and, like typical girls, we all fretted over making ourselves look presentable for company.

I had just stepped into the living room, freshly showered and dressed, when Naru and Lin arrived. Lin's shiki were moving restlessly along his aura border and anger pulsed his aura. Naru made a beeline for Mai, his aura dominated by worry. She reached for him, her aura filled with relief. Naru perched on the arm of her chair and put an arm around her shoulders. The red in their aura border had formed into a distinctive stripe. They were more certain of their feelings for each other.

"You ok?" he asked softly. She nodded. I set a tea tray on the coffee table with cups of tea. Naru's aura pulsed with displeasure when he took a sip out of his cup. "This is oolong tea." At those words Lin grabbed a cup, setting it beside him as he set up his laptop on the coffee table.

"That's the only type I saw in the cabinet. Sorry," I said. Naru threw an expression at me that I interpreted as 'you suck.'

"Oops. Next time serve the Earl Grey. It's in the green tin behind the oolong one," said Mai. She giggled at Naru's sour face as he took another sip. He exaggerated the face at her, causing her to giggle louder. Ayako and I exchanged amused glances.

"About time," mouthed Ayako. I nodded in agreement.

Houshou and Yasu arrived with pastries. Ayako and I nearly bowled them over before they could even set the boxes down.

"Hey! Watch it, ya hags!" scolded Houshou. "There's enough here for everyone to have two!" The 'hag' comment earned him a wallop on the head from both of us. I set my pastry by my teacup on the coffee table and unceremoniously threw myself down on the empty loveseat.

"Stop eating like a pig or you'll bust your lip open again," Ayako scolded Houshou, sitting between him and Yasu on the couch.

"Yeah, like you did when you ferociously kissed me goodnight last night," said Yasu. Houshou nearly choked. Ayako wholeheartedly thumped him on the back as he coughed. I just sat back and giggled at their antics. Across the way, Mai nibbled on a pastry, sweat-dropping at the force Ayako was using. Naru was absentmindedly staring at her as his aura buzzed with thought.

The door opened once more and Masako Hara walked in, followed by John. I stood to make room for them to sit.

"Hi guys. Nice to see you again, Masako," I said, smiling at her.

"Glad to see you're alright, Layelle," said Masako, bowing slightly. Her lilac aura sparkled with amusement.

"Good morning," said John, stepping forward and bringing me into a hug. At this rate, I would develop a Pavlovian response for the scent of Irish Spring to remind me of him. I noticed Masako give us an amused side glance, her sleeve covering her smile and her eyes twinkling as she took a seat.

"Pastry?" I offered them. The others seemed content in just sitting back to watch our interactions with amused auras.

"It's alright. I'll get it," said John, smiling sweetly as always. "You can sit down." I sat next to Masako, watching as John gave her a pastry and cup before getting some for himself. Strips of pink and yellow in their aura border showed that they were close friends. John went to stand beside us, but I looped a finger in his side belt loop and gently tugged him until he sat down on the arm of the loveseat. We exchanged smiles.

"Okay. Now that we're all here, let's discuss what we've experienced so far," said Naru. He spent a couple of minutes updating Masako and Yasu on what happened on the train last night. Masako's eyes kept darting between Naru and Mai. When Naru mentioned Mai's part in pressing the cross against the old woman's arm, Mai leaned against him with her forehead against his shoulder for comfort. At that point, I noticed feelings of sadness and defeat in Masako's aura. I looked at her from the corner of my eye and subtly brushed a hand against her arm in a gesture of comfort. I felt her gratitude as she shyly smiled at me, her eyes still sad. Wait. Felt her gratitude? Before I could linger on the thought any longer, Naru changed the subject.

"Mai, are you okay to share the dream that you had last night?" he asked softly. She lifted her head and nodded.

"I saw...how Neta Yamada died." She looked at me, her eyes apologetic. I steeled myself and nodded for her to go on. "Neta had been sneaking out at night. There was a girl from her school that she bonded with and they started dating. She would sneak out to be with her girlfriend and the aunt knew of it. One night, her shiki were sent to kill Neta by draining her of her life force. The girlfriend was possessed and dragged Neta's body into the bay. They killed the girlfriend as well."

"That's insane!" said Houshou, his aura filled with shock. "What the hell is wrong with this woman?!"

"I'm sure it's the mind of the demon influencing her," said Lin. He sat back from his laptop to take a sip of tea. "Those that capture shiki know that you must be able to control the shiki to do your bidding. Taking on a demon requires a lot of power. Judging from the number of shiki that she had on the train, it's doubtful that she was able to keep control of all of those dark entities. And a demon on top of all of that!" He sighed heavily and shook his head, his aura spiking in anger once more. "She was very careless in choosing what type of shiki to capture." A shiki in his aura actually nodded in agreement. Or it looked like nodding, if a little white streak could nod.

"There was more to my dream," said Mai. "It has to do with Layelle and John, so I don't know if you guys want me to tell you privately or what." John and I exchanged apprehensive glances.

"Go ahead," said John. I nodded.

"Shiki had been following Layelle around secretly and once she met John, they were unable to do any real harm to her anymore besides that first time. They also noticed that you guys are fond of each other and think Layelle is still married to Nobu. I also saw them possessing Nobu and making him kill Layelle...and then he was about to go after John before I woke up." I didn't even have to look around to know that everyone was looking at Mai in shock.

"So, Nobu may already be possessed," said Naru. His aura showed anger like Lin's, but alongside a bit of worried feelings."We'll use precaution by meeting him in a public place if need be, and Layelle and John are not to be present. It's too risky."

"But, Kazuya! If Nobu is possessed, I'm the only one that can exorcise him!" John protested.

"I'll drive him out. We'll pick a place with trees nearby," said Ayako. John met Ayako's gaze uncertainly.

"Ayako, no. I won't have you at risk. Especially not if it's the demon that's possessing him," said John, taking a firm stance. Lin sighed and stood up.

"Naru?" Lin asked. His aura was buzzing with impatience and anger. Naru though for a moment.

"We'll contact him first and determine if he is possessed," said Naru."If so, then we'll contact you, John. Initially we'll bring Miss Hara and Miss Matsuzaki. Lin and Yasu will be backup in the case of any physical altercations."

"I'll pick out a few places that have a sufficient amount of trees. That way, we'll be more than prepared if he tries to be an ass about things over the phone again," said Ayako, taking out her phone.

"That's fine," said Naru, "Miss Shaw, have you read any of the aura book?"

"Uh...since last night, no. I tried to crack it open last night, but we were all exhausted," I said. He nodded.

"I'll give you a brief summary for now, but it really is pertinent to read it soon to ensure your understanding of the subject," said Naru. "There are different capabilities of aura powers. For example, Miss Hara is able to read auras through a spiritual aspect. You, however, are able to read people's emotional states and to some extent, their essence."

"Right. I have to admit, though, you guys are a lot easier to read since you're spiritualists and your auras are bigger," I said.

"I'd like to try and test your potential to expand your abilities," said Naru.

"Okay. Cool. So what are we going to do?"

"Last night, we discovered that auras could be replenished through touch. Even Mai and I were able to replenish ours unknowingly. I want to test to see if you could possibly use that power to help on cases with hostile spirits." Naru said.

"You and Lin's auras are a little bit depleted from this morning. Should I try testing it on one of you?" I asked uncertainly. Lin looked away. For some reason, it felt really awkward all of a sudden.

"...Sure." Naru held out his hand to me. Lin turned his head our way once more, and fixed me with a narrow-eyed glare. His aura and shiki were still and alert as he watched us closely. I glanced at the others, who didn't seem to be watching as intensely as him. Creepy much, Lin? I paused before putting my hand in Naru's. I focused on his aura and determined the point at which it would be fully replenished. It stayed as it was. I tried concentrating on thinking of giving him some of my energy. A cold, unpleasant tingle ran down my arm and seemed to run up his. We quickly pulled our hands away from each other.

"No. Noooo, nooo, noooo!" I squealed, looking anywhere but Naru. I briskly swiped at my arm. "That felt wrong on too many levels!"

"I actually feel quite violated. Let's never do that again," agreed Naru, his aura swimming with disgust. He was suddenly engrossed with swiping away at his arm. The others didn't quite know whether to laugh or be worried. Houshou shook with silent laughter.

"Maybe there's another factor that could help make it work," said John, looking pensive. Everyone looked at him curiously. "Last night it worked for me and Layelle, and Naru and Mai. It could be a trust factor thing or...or an emotional factor. Maybe...try it on me? I don't mind." He smiled sweetly at me. My cheeks instantly grew hot and his smile grew wider.

"Of course you don't mind," said Ayako in a stage whisper.

"Your aura is full, so I don't think it would work right now," I said. All of a sudden, Lin gave a short whistle and a single white shiki shot out of his aura and collided with John's arm. It all happened in a few seconds. "Lin! What the hell!" I glared at him and he returned it tenfold. I blinked and shrank back.

"It's okay, Layelle," reassured John, though he was in obvious pain from the blow to his arm. "He helped. Is my aura depleted enough?" I fixed my gaze on his aura and saw that it had depleted a little.

"Okay, let's try this," I said, walking over to him. He took my hands in his and I focused on his aura. Our orange border glowed between us. I concentrated on sending him energy like I had Naru. Something very different happened. The tingles that went down my arms were warm and enticing. When it met our orange border, it sparked before travelling up John's arms. It left behind a tingling, pulsating sensation in my whole body. I bit my lip to stifle a gasp, reddening at the thought of everyone's eyes on us.

I watched John's reaction as he tried and failed to stifle his gasp at the tingling sensation. Whoa, hot. His aura immediately started restoring. I watched as it reached capacity and then started to let go of his hands. He held on for a moment longer, the expression in his eyes unreadable, although his aura showed intrigue. John's fingers trailed slowly across my wrists as he let go. The tingling stopped. We stood across from each other silently, heads down, not quite willing to look directly at each other but also not quite willing to pull away.

"Well?" prompted Naru impatiently.

"Was it as good for you as it was for him?" whispered Houshou. Ayako, Yasu, and Mai stifled laughter. Masako was red faced and hidden behind her sleeve.

"It worked," I said simply. John nodded slowly. Stepping around him awkwardly, I stiffly made my way back to my seat beside Masako. John walked over and resumed his perch on the arm of the couch beside me. My face was the color of a tomato.

"Well...You guys looked a little...um...too happy," said Yasu, smirking. I stared at him with a deer in the headlights expression. Anyone that had been holding in suppressed laughter let it loose. John hid his blushing face in his hand.

"Uh...Apparently when I consciously focus on transferring energy, weird sensations occur," I said. More laughter ensued at that comment.

"And you think John is cute, so you have that going on for you, too," said Houshou.

"Tea!" I practically yelled, standing abruptly and nearly knocking John off the couch arm. "I'm getting tea! Mai, stay sitting, I'll get the tea. Earl Grey this time! Tea!" Everyone stared as I fled the living room.

"You're cute when you're flustered."

I nearly dropped the Earl Grey tin. I turned to meet the very amused gaze of John. He was leaning against the counter behind me. His brow furrowed when he saw my face.

"Are you okay? You're really red." He crossed to me and put the back of his hand against my cheek. Our orange border sparked in front of my eyes, nearly blinding me.

"I'm fine! Just...uh...distracted. U-um, and trying to clear my head," I stammered, pulling my cheek away from him. I had an intense case of the jitters and it all had to do with the blonde man in front of me. I turned back to the tea.

"Oh? What's got you distracted?" His voice was closer. I could practically FEEL him standing right next to me, his breath on my shoulder. A tingle ran down my back.

"Stop that, please," I said, shivering.

"Stop what? I'm just here to help you carry the tea," said John. There was a hint of laughter in his voice.

"You're teasing me," I pouted. I glanced at him and saw the humor in his aura.

"Am not." He reached up to the cupboard above my head and got out cups for the tea because I managed to forget that crucial step. I watched him silently, taking note of the arm muscles moving under his shirt sleeve as he got out more cups.

"John?" I asked, fiddling absentmindedly with the tea tin.

"Yes, Layelle?" He set the last cup on the counter and turned his blue eyes to me. Once caught in his gaze, I opened and closed my mouth several times, contemplating how to tactfully ask my question.

"...Do you...lift weights?" I bit my lip. Smooth, Layelle. Loads of tact right there.

"If you count toting toddlers around the church daycare, then yes," said John, rolling up a sleeve and flexing his arm. I nearly swooned. I reached out and felt his muscle. "You look impressed." He fixed me with a smirk.

"N-no. I was just, uh, wondering if you went to a gym or something. I really need to start going to one," I babbled lamely. John's gaze roamed my figure.

"...No, you don't," he said, his aura lighting up with a streak of orange. I gaped at him, my face flushing red. "Also, score three for me, I think." His smirk widened as he watched me process his words.

"Hey! You little-!" I grabbed him around the shoulders with one arm and ruffled his hair roughly with the other. Laughing, he took the opportunity to dig his fingers into my unguarded stomach and tickle me. "Haaaa! Stop! Jooohn!" I let go of him and started to run away, but he grabbed me around the middle and trapped me against the counter, tickling me mercilessly.

"Uh...Is it G-rated in there?" Houshou poked his head into the kitchen to peek at us. He paused, taking in the scene in front of him. We were in what looked like a compromising position. My back was flush against John's chest and he had one arm around me to keep me in place as he tickled me. I was bracing myself against the counter trying to escape so I wouldn't die of laughter. "Really? Get a room, guys." He ducked back out of the room, his aura showing shock and embarrassment.

"What? What are they doing?" asked Ayako, nosy as ever.

"Groping," replied Houshou, sounding weary. "I'm going to have to have a talk with that boy…"

"We are not groping!" I yelled so that they could hear me. John still hadn't released his hold on me, although he had thankfully stopped tickling me. I turned my head to the side. "Uh...John?"

"Oh! Sorry." He slid his arms from around me in a way that made my nerves tingle where he had touched. I turned back to to counter to resume making tea, but felt something tug my hair. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see John lifting up one of my curls and sniffing it. Orange sparks went off in his aura.

"Uh...John? What are you doing?" I asked hesitantly. He pulled away abruptly and blushed.

"I swear I'm not trying to be creepy," he said, holding up his hands defensively. "I was just trying to place what your hair smelled like. It's nice. What shampoo do you use?" I stopped and stared at John while a smirk formed on my lips.

"A brand called Aussie." I poured hot water into each cup.

"Oh, well, that explains why it smells so good," John said, chuckling.

"You smell like Irish Spring though." I blushed. Did I really just tell him that?

"You've been smelling me, have you?" He sent a sideways smirk my way and I felt my stomach flutter.

"Not creeper status like you were a moment ago," I teased. "I took the chance to smell you when we hugged this morning."

"That's kind of creepy, actually," teased John. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Shut up and help me carry this tea, creeper," I ordered. He laughed and took the tea tray from me.

"Just let me lift this with my fantastic muscles." He winked at me and left the kitchen.

I nearly spilled a tray full of hot tea trying to contain my giggles as I followed him out to the living room.

Ohhh my goodness! I had to cut this chapter short a bit because I just kept writing and there was no sign of stopping and awkward places to try and end it! I really hope to add a bit more about how John became a priest in the next chapter. It may explain a tiny bit why he's the way he is in this story!

As always, I love to hear your comments and opinions! Getting to the next chapter soon!