"We got a case request on Christmas Eve, so we visited a church." "There was a phenomenon at this church, where the children were said to be possessed by a boy who went missing 30 years ago." "The possessed child would start playing a game of hide-and-seek, called "Stick, " something the boy was good at playing." "Like the boy, who couldn't talk used to do, they would signal the others by beating a wooden stick from where they were hiding." "Besides, from what Tojo-san has said, lately, Kenji-kun seems to be appearing more frequently." "In principio." "Hold on, what is this?" "Rapping sounds?" "T-Taniyama-san?" "D-don't tell me he's possessed the little lady now!" "?" "The possessing spirit has been driven from Thanat, but..." "I don't know what to say about this." "Brown-san, please do something!" "Right!" "Sorry!" "Keep her company for a little while, "Dad."" "Thanat, you go play with the others." "Okay." "Monk, John, outside." "John, is it usually like this?" "No." "At least, he hasn't ever possessed the next child right away." "And the rapping sounds?" "That was the first time." "It's significant that something that hasn't happened before took place." "You said that it was becoming more frequent." "What else?" "The time they spend hiding has gotten longer than before." "Tojo-san told me..." "At this pace, the number of times and the length of time spent hiding is rapidly increasing, and I'm worried that before long, someone else is going to go missing, like Kenji-kun did." "Also, previously, when driving him out, he didn't resist like that, but this time, it felt a little unpleasant." "What do you think would happen if you drive him out again right now?" "I don't know." "He might go to one of the other children." "But I'm certain that Kenji-kun would become even more angry." "Probably." "Please, enough, already!" "Hey, no laughing!" "This is a serious situation!" "I guess we should try finding Kenji-kun." "That's the place." "Inside that enclosure is where they say the whistle had been dropped." "It's like an incinerating bin, huh?" "Oh, and this is the aqueduct, right?" "It's pretty deep." "Kenji-kun disappeared while playing hide-and-seek." "Takigawa!" "What?" "There's ground there, is there?" "Yep." "You can see why a kid would try to hide in a place like this." "But a child wouldn't be able to climb over here." "True, but at the time, this would have been under construction." "Which means, there might have been lumber stacked around here, huh?" "That would have given him a foothold." "He climbs over this enclosure." "As he's climbing, he rubs his chest on this fence, and drops his whistle." "He tries to hide here, and falls in." "It must have been cold, too." "Poor guy." "Well, Naru-chan?" "It's possible, but it's only a guess." "For now, I will try to find Kenji-kun." "Lin, Mai is in your charge for a little while." "Play with her." "Naru!" "John, Monk, stay with them." "What should we play?" "It's okay, your dad's here with us, isn't he?" "Takigawa-san!" "As long as he's clinging to you, he won't go off hiding." "Come on, let's go, let's go." "Oh, it's like a bakery!" "There sure is a lot, huh?" "It's smells great." "They're going to hand them out to the people who come to Mass tonight." "I see." "If you'd like, I'll help." "The father-son team here will help, too." "Right?" "After we cover the cakes with foil, we wrap them up." "Can you do that?" "That's not right, Big Brother." "Huh?" "What should I do?" "Big Brother, you're such a klutz!" "There, now you match the cakes." "I have to do it over?" "Kenji-kun waited so long for his father." "He would often stand at the church gate, where his father said goodbye to him." "And now, after finally meeting his dad again, he's horning in on him as much as he can." "And he's been reunited with him on Christmas Eve, at that." "You can't blame him for being so gleeful." "All done!" "After we get everything put away, we can play!" "Once you get used to it, it's quite a heartwarming scene, isn't it?" "Y-you think so?" "If nothing else, Mai is absolutely childlike." "Now, if only her papa was a bit more" "Enough, already!" "Hey, now, what's the matter?" "Why is there any reason for me to go along with this charade!" "?" "Let go of me!" "Hey, Lin-san..." "I am not your father." "You are mistaken." "I want you to stop this!" "Hey, Little Lady- I mean, Kenji!" "What's wrong?" "Mai ran off." "That sound is from Kenji-kun..." "You've made him mad, huh?" "Dad, are you leaving me behind again?" "I'll come back for you as soon as I can." "Do what the Father tells you to, and be a good boy." "Soon?" "How soon?" "Tomorrow?" "The next day?" "I'll be back before Christmas of next year." "See you, Kenji." "I'll be a good boy." "I'm going to be a good boy, so come back for me soon." "Dad..." "The sound stopped." "Why did you let Mai run away?" "Lin snapped at her, she got mad, and ran out." "Not very mature." "I wonder where Mai-san went." "Yeah..." "You don't think!" "Mai!" "Well?" "She's not there." "She hasn't fallen into the aqueduct, either." "Judging from what he's usually done up to now, he should come out of her on his own, shortly." "John drove Kenji-kun out of Thanat, and then Kenji-kun possessed Mai, who was right nearby." "He says this was the first time he's done that." "Then..." "He says that was also the first time there were rapping sounds." "John, you said that you felt an unusual resistance from him when you drove him out." "He must have been fairly reluctant to leave his father's side." "This is the first time that sound was as loud as it was." "You also said that Kenji is making more frequent appearances." "Up to now, he has come out of the hiding children on his own, but that won't necessarily be true this time." "That's why I told you to keep her company." "Now, now, Lin didn't know the circumstances." "So, what do we do?" "Whatever became of Kenji-kun's father?" "Oh, right." "He left Kenji-kun here, and went off to work in the Kansai area, and apparently, he was never heard from again." "Shortly after Kenji-kun disappeared, word arrived that he had passed away." "Why do you think he does it?" "He hides, and then signals the others, asking to be found." "He does come out without being found, so disappearing is not his objective." "It could be, like Father Tojo says, that he wants to be found." "So, why?" "Why does he play hide-and-seek?" "Because he wants to go back." "Go back?" "To where?" "To the church." "I get it." "If he's at the church, his father will come to get him in time." "Then, he can go back home." "Way to go, Dad." "That's it." "Kenji-kun is lost, so he possesses the children and plays hide-and-seek, because he wants to be found." "He wants to end the game." "All right, then why don't we find him?" "But if we don't find him quickly," "I'm worried about what will happen to Mai." "As cold as it is, she's not even wearing a coat, for crying out loud." "It will take more than just us." "I couldn't find him, no matter where I looked." "So let's get the children to help us." "But the children back then couldn't find him either, right?" "Which is why we're going to follow the children who are looking." "And then search the places the children don't look in, right?" "Impressive." "Very smart." "Let's hurry." "So there you have it." "I'd like all of you to go find that older girl." "Got it?" "Yes!" "Yes!" "Okay then, start!" "Hey, this isn't pro wrestling, you know!" "It's hide-and-seek, right?" "Cut me some slack!" "Either they're really friendly, or they're just unconstrained." "You okay?" "Yeah..." "I'm sure everyone is just lonely." "They may look cheerful, but they have been away from their parents for a long time." "I suppose you're right." "So what are you saying?" "That I seem like someone's father, too!" "?" "Ah... we're working, we're working, seriously." "Sure, he would look in there." "Oh, my..." "Heh, watch closely, and you'll notice that anything above their eye-level is out of sight." "John, the higher places- they haven't been checked at all!" "The children don't even think about heights above their eye-level." "We're the same way." "We haven't been looking upward." "Then, the same goes for outside, too, doesn't it?" "But what higher places are there?" "Could she have climbed up a tree?" "I'll go look over on this end." "Okay then, I'll start over there." "Mai-san!" "You mean, you already scored a bingo!" "?" "Come on down!" "Come on." "Good grief, you didn't have to go hiding so long, you know." "You found her?" "Aw, man, jilted again!" "What am I supposed to do, John-san!" "?" "Kenji-kun, he isn't your dad." "Your real dad is waiting for you, in heaven." "Hide-and-seek is over now." "Where are you?" "I found him." "It can't be..." "He was up there?" "Thank you." "Well?" "It doesn't look like he's here." "Let's go look somewhere else." "What should I do?" "The Father and the others are going to leave." "I'm right here, too." "I'm so cold, Dad..." "Dad, come soon..." "I miss you, Dad..." "Dad..." "Lin-san..." "Kenji-kun made it in time for Christmas, huh?" "All right, let's head back and have our party!" "We have a freshly-baked cake, too." "Suit yourselves." "Next time:" "File 6, "Forbidden Pastime" #1"