Sealed With a Kiss
Chapter One: Birthday Soiree
It was a sight that would have made any other person cringe - and possibly empty their stomachs of their breakfast - but to Heishiro Mitsurugi, this scene was just another job. Sure, he pitied the young lady - the years she had left - but he had come to see these as a reminder of cruel reality. Everyone was fated to die at one point or another; some departing more peacefully than others, but regardless of how one left this world, the result was the same in the end. Perhaps it was this thought that had hardened him throughout his career as he adopted the phrase, "don't get attached."
Gently pushing his way through the clean-up crew, as he had come to refer to them as, Heishiro approached the scene of the crime and stared nonchalantly at the body resting among the bushes and shrubbery. It was unfortunate that the bugs had found her before they had as it made recognition an even more difficult task. Though Mitsurugi knew that he shouldn't be complaining as that wasn't particularly his problem – the identity crisis usually fell to the pathologist.
Many believed that the pathologist and mortician had the short end of the stick in all this crime-solving business, but through Heishiro's eyes, his job may be the most emotionally draining. He was responsible for walking through the last moments of his clients' lives; relive their feelings during their moments of betrayal or misfortune. His duty was to solve what happened to the nameless person and bring justice to them.
Bending down, Heishiro took a closer look at the pale corpse, left to rot and be forgotten, he took note of the dried blood that had leaked out from her neck and confirmed that to be the cause of death. If there was any bright side to this crime, it would be that she died quickly.
"What do you think?" It was the voice of his fellow pathologist, Goto Fujita, which had interrupted his thoughts.
Heishiro straightened himself and turned to face the older man who had, as much as he hated to admit it, adopted the role of a father figure throughout the years they had spent together. "About what," he grunted back, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
"Anything, really." Fujita responded back, peeking over the detective's shoulder to the dismal sight behind him.
Heishiro followed his gaze back to the corpse and studied the hollow, sunken face of the victim. Even when she was only weeks from being nothing but a skeleton, he could tell that before her life had been cruelly stolen from her, she was once beautiful and young. It was very uncommon that a young lady's disappearance would go unnoticed; especially in this small town. "Have we searched the missing persons list?"
"I've already got your sergeant on the task. But…it's been just over an hour and he has yet to report back to me with any news."
"Figures..." Heishiro grumbled. One thing he had come to learn about his job is that things had a knack for being more difficult than they ought to be. Even the simplest of things, such as a name to a face, liked to be a pain in the ass.
"But," Fujita added with a goofy grin, "We did find something that could help in our investigation." With a latex-covered hand, the pathologist presented a plastic baggy; the contents within being a single rectangular piece of paper.
Had Mitsurugi been in the mood, he would've given the old man an earful for keeping evidence from him. But instead he snatched the card from him, grumbling incoherent mutterings along the way before ultimately studying the card through the clear material.
He didn't plan for it to be a calling card; such things were too cliché and even if it were to be performed, it would only be done so by a wannabe, a desperate soul seeking attention. And, glancing down at the body before him, he doubted whomever committed this crime was an amateur. But just as he discarded the idea, upon further inspection of the item, his eyes came upon an important detail.
It was a name, written in black ink, which had captured his attention. To him, it was nothing more than another lead, but little did he know, this one name would change his life forever…
~XxxxxxxxX~
"Surprise!" The voice of over a dozen kids shattered the eerie silence as a long-legged, raven-haired beauty flipped on the lights to her assigned classroom. Placing a well-manicured, slender hand over her well-endowed chest, the woman looked over the scene revealed to her. Desks, which were once set in an orderly fashion, had been pushed aside in order to create a pathway from the doorway to a group of similarly dressed schoolchildren each hiding behind a long banner; said banner being decorated by no one but.
Feigning shock, the lovely lady asked, "What is this?" Though the question was asked, she knew the answer quite well. As if she didn't know of the whispers being passed among her children about a certain "surprise party."
Like a group of puppies excited to see their master's return, the schoolchildren raced towards their teacher, all of them wishing to wrap their arms around her at once. Gracing them with her eye smile, she bent down to their heights as they all called out their happy birthday wishes. Of course with twenty children each trying to speak at once, the most she could decipher was a little bit of this and that, but that didn't fail to bring a smile to her beautiful lips.
"So this is all for me," she asked, looking over the faces of all her children. She watched their heads bob up and down, affirming her presumption. Reaching her hand out, she patted the nearest child, a chubby little boy, atop the head and whispered lovingly, "What amazing children I have…"
So caught up in the moment, the teacher failed to notice the new arrival to their classroom. "So this is all the raucous I've been hearing." Disrupting the precious moment was an elder's voice, a voice that the children and teacher recognized as the voice on the intercom.
"Ah, Mr. Toki," the teacher said, turning around to face their latest company.
The old man, sturdy and tall from years of his past profession, took one look at the fairytale-like scene before him and chuckled. "A birthday party for Miss Taki? And you kids did this all by yourselves?" He asked the children, passing them a wink in return. Catching his little wink, Taki raised an eyebrow but kept silent.
The kids nodded excitedly before taking their teacher and guiding her to the back of the classroom where a table of assorted treats, plasticware, a large cake, and a few wrapped gifts sat. Taki had expected a little surprise party from her children, but she hadn't expected all of this. Passing a mischievous glance towards the older man, she whispered, "As much faith as I have in my children, I do find it hard to believe they could do this all by themselves…"
Toki shrugged his buff shoulders. "You'd be amazed at the potential children carry. Besides, they do have you as a teacher, my dear daughter."
Ignoring his latest statement, Taki shook her head before shifting her attention back to her class. "So who's going to help me cut the cake?"
~XxxxxxxxX~
As the little party ended with the school day, Taki, after having bid goodbye to all her children, prepared to leave for her apartment, her arms full of the unopened gifts her class had left her. However, as if she didn't have enough to carry on the trek home, Toki stopped her at the doorway to present her with a gift of his own.
Judging by the trench coat he was wrapped in, Taki could see he was on his way home as well. "Don't forget this one," he said, slipping the little item on top of the pile she had.
"Toki," Taki began in a lecturing tone, "you didn't have to do all that…"
The old man chuckled, ignoring her statement. "You still insist on calling me by my first name even after all these years?" Not allowing her to explain, he held up his hand to silence her. "Just take it, my child. And have a happy birthday…" With that said, he gave her a nod and walked off towards his sleek black car.
Normally one would have offered a ride but Toki knew the teacher well enough to know she enjoyed the walk back home. "The scenery is much better when not viewed behind tinted windows," were the words she had told him the first time he had offered her his passenger's seat. Just like he did all those years ago, he chuckled to himself as he strapped himself in and turned on the ignition; driving off towards the setting sun.
Having returned home to her luxurious little apartment, Taki, after having enjoyed a warm bath, settled down in her armchair, still wrapped in only her bathrobe, and began opening up the presents. Most of the gifts consisted of books, lotions, and shampoos, all of which she found to her liking, while others had handmade cards and jewelry which she found she loved even more. Eventually she reached the last item on her pile which happened to be the gift Toki, her father figure, had made for her.
It was possible it was another book from the size, but Taki sensed that that wasn't what was lurking within the velvet red wrapping. Gently peeling away the sheet hiding the present, she found herself looking at a picture of herself among her kids. From the cherry blossoms that fell in the background, she could tell it was an earlier picture taken just after the new school year started. Recalling the day displayed in the frame, she remembered telling herself at that moment that this would be the start of the happiest moments of her life.
And indeed they were.
She had found a home and a family; two things she would have never thought she'd ever have growing up as that lonely orphan girl. And along with those, she, apparently, even gained a birthday.
Looking down at the faces that smiled back up at her, she gave a melancholic smile. With gentle fingers she traced the image that portrayed, frozen in time, the day she came to life…
A/N: Just a quick little chappie to introduce the setting and give a little bit of background about our heroine. I've never done an "alternate universe" story before, but I thought it would be fun and would be a good break from following the rules. Hopefully you, my fellow readers, enjoy it and despite my tight schedule (especially now that the holidays are here), I'll try to stay up-to-date on this for I intend to keep chapters shorter in comparison to chapters of previous stories. Thanks for reading and have a happy holiday!