Chapter 1: Unbelievable
Shortly after Ayumi's disappearance, her parents ordered an investigation as to where she could've gone to. This had happened no sooner than her boss had informed them.
Now, her parents had never really liked Matt or Mello that much. That was the first place the cops went to during their investigation. Matt and Mello hadn't expected it, but after three years of being out of the mafia, they were pretty clean and their fake names (Jeffrey and Mike) kept their identities completely secret. Also, these cops had never seen either of them before, so there was no way to tie them with some of their past exploits.
The investigation set off a chain reaction of different things, other than Ayumi's parents freaking out. Matt and Mello started to get worried as well. They hadn't seen her since she had run out the week before.
"The only place she could've gone is her apartment." Matt said as the two of them walked there.
"Yeah, because there's no way in hell she would've gone back to her parents."
Matt fumbled with his cigarette pack, trying to get it open despite his slightly shaking hands. He wasn't so sure that Ayumi would answer the door for them, were she actually there. Right before she ran out, the redhead had pleaded with her, saying he was sorry. Mello, on the other hand, hadn't uttered a word. He had a feeling that she was madder at Mello than him (not that he'd tell Mello that for fear of getting a bullet in the head).
When he finally managed to get his lighter working, Mello glanced at him. "What's with you? You look nervous."
Matt didn't answer, merely took a long drag of his cigarette after lighting it, snapping the lighter shut.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
"What?"
"Why are you shaking?'
"I'm not shaking. Who's shaking?" that was a dead giveaway in itself.
The blonde walked in front of him and stopped him, looking him in the eye. "You're not afraid to see her, are you?"
"No, of course not."
"Then what's your problem?"
"Mel, I'm just concerned. Aren't you?"
Mello blinked. Concerned was an understatement, he could tell. But he felt the same way. Ayumi could've gotten herself in trouble, running out the way she did. Hopefully she hadn't, or if she had, it wasn't anything serious. Mello groaned and continued walking.
"Come on. She's probably locked herself in her apartment. That's what she did the last time she ran out." He said that to convince Matt, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
Matt clomped along behind the scarred blonde, hoping he was right. He felt like a complete fool for keeping the truth from Ayumi all this time. He'd be lucky if she'd ever forgive them. On the inside, he was a little mad at Mello for trying his hardest to keep it under wraps, never once thinking about what might happen if she just happened to overhear them talking…which is exactly what did happen.
After two more blocks and three flights of stairs, the two were standing in front of Ayumi's front door. Right off the bat, they knew something was wrong. An odd feeling came over them as they entered. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked.
"Ayumi? You home?" Mello called, "You know, it's stupid to leave your door unlocked like this."
His voice echoed. Matt looked around. "She's not here."
"Yes she is," Mello replied shortly, "She's just hiding." He proceeded to look in the other rooms.
The spare room was completely undisturbed, as per usual. In the kitchen, all of the dishes were cleaned and put away, leaving the sink spotless. The trashcan was empty. The bathroom held no occupants. Then they went into her bedroom. Something was definitely wrong. The bed was messed up and the drawers of her dresser were yanked open, their contents all over the floor. Her closet held dressier clothes that were dangling off of the hangers. The whole room looked like she'd gone and packed her bags in some sort of mad frenzy.
"She must've left town." Matt commented, sidestepping a pair of panties.
Mello looked into her closet, then back at Matt. "No…her suitcase is still here. Her purse is here too, but it's…empty."
"Her gun's gone?"
"Yeah…maybe she didn't have time to pack. Her boss said she disappeared."
"He also said she fainted. How could she just up and leave it she fainted?"
"Well, the fuck if I know. But she's not here, so there's no point in being here. Let's go back home."
But Matt wasn't convinced. "Mello, what if someone did something to her? This doesn't feel right."
"Who would've done something? And even if they did, why didn't they come after us too?"
"Maybe it's not an enemy of ours," Matt's voice rose, getting agitated, "Maybe it's someone she knew a long time ago! For God's sake, Mello, can't you just pretend like you give a damn about her?"
Mello hadn't expected the redhead to explode like that, but nevertheless, he was prepared with an answer. "I'm here looking for her with you, aren't I? Why the fuck are you getting so defensive?"
"You're acting like she meant nothing to you at all! You didn't so much as try to stop her when she started to run away!"
"Oh, like you made a grab for her, Matt! All you did was scream that you were sorry!"
"Who chased her down the fucking street? I did!"
Before any other words could be uttered, Mello's cell phone rang. He flipped it open and held it to his ear. "What?"
The voice on the other end hesitated. "Er…is this Mike?"
Mello's eyebrow rose, glancing at Matt. "Depends on who's asking. Who's this?"
"Yuri. You know, Ayumi's sister?"
"Sure…why is her number showing up?"
"Th-This is her phone," Yuri said in a slightly hurt voice, "I…I thought that I sh-should call and t-tell you…"
Mello sighed. "Look, don't start crying, we're just kind of worried about Ayumi is all. She hasn't been by in days. Is she there with you right now?"
"N-No, you see, she's…she's…oh, turn on the T-TV! Go to the n-news channel!" her next few words came out in an upset rush, then the line went dead.
She'd spoken loudly enough for Matt to hear her, so he was the one to turn the TV to the news. Mello snapped his phone shut.
Ayumi's picture was on the news. An anchorwoman was standing in front of her parents' house, the occupants standing outside in tears.
"Mello…" Matt started to say.
"Shut up." He held up his hand as the anchorwoman started to speak.
"This is Bonne Richards reporting live from the Inozuka estate. I am sad to report that after a long search by the local police, Ayumi Inozuka, daughter of the prestigious banker, was pronounced dead this morning after finding this," she held up a bloody jacket, "not far from her place of employment, the Sheridan Co."
Mello's phone dropped from his hand.
"It can't be…" Matt's eyes widened behind his goggles.
The Inozuka Estate, later that day…
Yuri closed her phone. She'd tried calling Mike again, but had no such luck. He wouldn't answer. Her father came up behind her.
"Dear, who do you keep calling?" he asked.
She looked at him. "I was trying to get a hold of Ayumi's friends to see if they saw the news."
"I don't want you talking to them," he said, taking the phone from her hands, "They could've been part of the reason why she's dead."
Ms. Inozuka was slumped on the front steps, her face buried in her hands. Yuri looked from her to her father. "But dad, the cops said they'd cleared them. They were just as worried as we were. Mike told me so!"
Just as she said that, a beat up-looking red car pulled through the front gates. Everyone looked up to see as Matt and Mello got out and came up to them. Mr. Inozuka met them halfway.
"And just what do you think you're doing here?" He said gruffly.
"Getting the truth," Mello replied, "How do you know Ayumi's dead? I didn't see any proof!"
"Did you not see her bloody jacket? Are you blind?"
Matt glared at him. "That's not enough. No one found her body, so you can't say she's dead! For all you know, she's still out there!"
"That's right, you should be out there looking for her! She could be in trouble!"
"Well, if you're so sure of this, then why aren't you two looking for her?" Mr. Inozuka shot back at them.
His wife came up beside him. "Indeed! Why are you wasting time here yelling at us? Can't you see we're hurting?"
"Oh, and we're not? You think we're not hurting as much?" Matt snapped.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Mr. Inozuka growled, "You're not welcome here. Don't make me call security!"
Yuri ran toward them. "Dad, stop it! Stop yelling at them!"
"Listen to your daughter!" Mello pointed at her, "Yuri, you don't believe Ayumi's dead, do you?"
"Don't talk to my daughter! You'll get to her the way you got to Ayumi!"
"What was that?!"
Mr. Inozuka's eyes were practically burning. "She was staying with you, was she not? How do we know that you didn't have something to do with this?"
They both faltered, but tried to hide it with their anger. Ayumi's running off made them partially responsible.
Her father continued, "You were around her all the time! If someone took her, then why didn't you stop them?"
"Okay, first of all," Matt replied, coming up to him, "She wasn't living with us, she had her own apartment! Second, her boss said she fainted, then vanished right in front of his eyes! We had nothing to do with that, and that doesn't make her dead!"
Yuri came inbetween them. "Dad, listen. He's right. Ayumi called a couple of days before she disappeared, saying she had…" she glanced at Matt and Mello, "fallen out with her friends. I don't think she would've answered if they'd called her, so there really was no way they could've known."
There was a long silence as her father considered this. Mello gave Yuri a small, slightly relieved smile. Matt merely nodded, still looking angry. This was ridiculous. He was letting them get distracted when they should be out looking for Ayumi.
"Sir," Mello finally said, breaking the silence, "Jeffrey and I are going to keep looking for her. If we find anything, we'll let you know."
He pulled Matt away, back towards the car. Once they'd gotten in and started it, the Inozuka family went back inside their massive house. Matt pulled his goggles off and pulled out another cigarette, sighing loudly. Mello regarded him silently.
"Hey…I'm sorry I lost my temper. Her father just really pisses me off." Matt said.
Mello snickered. "Better you than me. If I'd lost it, I would've shot the guy."
"Are we really gonna tell them anything if we find her?"
"…Maybe, maybe not. That all depends on them, really."
