Chibi-Kari: So sorry for the wait! This semester has been killing me and then I re-edited the entire story. The flow was really bothering me and now I like it a lot more. I have added some things, so you might want to go back and read a little more. I don't own. But there is some guys scanning volume 11 of the manga…yay! I read chapter one of volume 11 last night!

Gone

Chapter 7 - Sacrifice

Naru had assigned various tasks for the team to complete for the hour they waited. The ruse of actually getting work done lasted all of five minutes. With a huff, Bou-san threw himself on the sofa, head in hands and stayed that way for the slow crawling 45 minutes remaining. Slowly the remaining members of the team took seats and twiddled their thumbs.

With a start Naru stood from his chair, almost knocking it down in the process. He faced the door for several seconds before a light rapping sound was heard, "Come in." His voice was firm as he tried to collect himself before their interviewees arrived.

The principal opened the door quickly, glancing around wringing his hands nervously. "You wanted to see me Shibuya-san?" His voice was nervous.

Naru nodded curtly, his eyes narrowing at the man before him. If there was one thing Naru absolutely hated it was being lied to. This man had withheld vital information and it pissed him off to no end, "Sir, we have come across a few facts that we believe are of great importance. These were facts you could have told us from the start and greatly helped the case."

The principal closed his eyes momentarily before bringing his hand to his forehead and rubbing vigorously. "I assure you that I have no idea what you are talking about, but I'll help you with anything I do know."

"Sir. You do know this information. Maybe you need to be refreshed. Does the year Shōwa 50 mean anything to you?"

His breathing hitched as he rolled on to the heels of his feet, "You mean what happened in the school in Karafuto."

Naru should have been grateful that he admitted to what happened, but the man was still being less than helpful, something Naru could only hold against the man. Sure the experience was traumatic and probably difficult to think about, even after all this time, but these kids' lives were at stake and that should supersede any personal issues. He stood up quickly placing his hand on the table about to give the man a lecture on secrets only hindering the case, but the door slid open quickly revealing three adults.

A man with black hair Bou-san's length stepped through the door first, holding the hand of a small woman behind him. Ayako shook her head slightly. The man was about fifty and wearing his hair in such an undignified fashion. The woman behind him was in her late forties, her hair untamed and her eyes scanned the room as if looking for an invisible threat. Masako leaned slightly away from the woman on principle alone. After three long strides into the room the man took his other hand and waved in one curt movement to Shira-san. The woman bowed her head slowly before stepping timidly into the room, closing the door behind her.

The man strode forward, sitting the woman he was pulling with him into a chair next to the principal. "My name is Shota Keniichi." He took a seat next to the woman and waved Shira-san closer. "This" he placed his hand on the anxious woman's back, "Is Nimato Mimi and I'm sure you've met Shira-san. Come sit next to me Yuri-chan." The young woman nodded slightly before taking a seat next to the man.

"Thank you for coming Shota-san. I hope you will be able to help us, but may I ask why Shira-san has joined us?" Naru's voice was cold. He had just run out of what little patience he had left and just wanted straight answers from everyone. These games and secrets were making him lose his last semblance of cool. All he wanted now were answers and some tea.

"Oh. You must not know. Yuri is the daughter of Yamoto Koji, the police officer I interviewed."

John leaned forward slightly towards Yuri, "May I ask why you don't use the name Yamoto?"

The young woman leaned back slightly, her hair pooling behind her back as she closed her eyes, "My father was very" she paused briefly as if trying to find words, "upset towards the end of his life. For good reason of course. I chose to use my mother's name. It allowed me to live this long without questions. I would have come to you earlier if I had known that this was connected to what my father told me about. I never imagined that they were related. Hell, I never even thought his story was true. Something like children disappearing-"

She was cut short as the woman on the other side of Shota started to rock slightly in her seat and moan, "He's here. He's coming. He's here. Please. Please I need to leave." She brought her hands up to her hair and started to tug wildly.

"Calm down Mimi. I promise no one will hurt you with me here." Shota brought his hand back to her back and started to rub it.

Her eyes snapped to his, "Ken. Ken, please. Let's go. I want to go."

The principal's voice broke her pleading with the man next to her. She snapped her eyes to his before responding to him harshly. Naru's eyebrows rose as he looked at Lin. The tall man shook his head slightly to say that he didn't understand what they were saying either.

"Mimi, I'm sure these people would rather you speak in Japanese." Shota tapped her back one last time before turning his attention to Naru.

"Many of the questions I asked in my article can be answered with one simple fact. Mimi's town was all mixed bloods who closed themselves off to both societies. I don't think there is another town like theirs in all of Japan. There could be one similar in Russia, I can't be sure."

"What do you mean? What are they Ainu or something?" Bou-san leaned forward slightly.

"We prefer Utari." The principal snapped, "But we're a mix of Japanese and Utari."

Shota nodded slightly, "Of course they didn't follow any of the two cultures purely. It was a mix. They held firm to the fact they were a different people and refused governmental involvement, like the Utari, thus their refusal to call the police when the children went missing or were screaming. Although they are similar in that respect, their religious ideas were closer to Buddhism…or some type of corruption of Buddhism using some Utari gods. The original Utari religion was animistic, now many of them to the north are Russian Orthodox. This group became something different entirely. That's where all the problems stem."

The principal shook his head slightly, "You just don't understand. If we had done things right nothing would have happened. This wouldn't have happened. Mimi left. I thought it was broken because she left and my parents no longer wanted a part in the ceremony. Kamui Fuchi was leading us on the path to salvation. Our parents were too attached to us, so Kamui Fuchi had to make us suffer to save our souls and lead us to Kamui."

Mimi started to shake her head, "He's not Kamui Fuchi. He's not! He's something evil! He's not a god at all. You brought him here!"

"This is as much my fault as it was yours. We were supposed to follow the rules. We were the chosen ones. We were to continue the tradition and wed. Those are the rules. You knew them as well as I did!"

"After what we've seen. They tore at each other. They killed each other. This was not something made by a god. This was evil. He's evil. He masquerades as good, but he's not. He's no god, Ren-kun." Mimi started to shake harder.

The principal was silent for a minute, "Yes. He's not, but if we had followed the rules none of this would have happened. We left and did not follow the path. We didn't give the sacrifices. Now he's taking his own."

TBC

Chibi-Kari: The next chapter will be longer and hopefully be out really soon. I just needed to get some background out of the way before embarking on the actual story. Next chapter you'll hear about what actually happened from the mouths of Ren and Mimi! And disclaimer: No offense is meant to be made to the Utari people of Japan and Russia…Thanks for reading and please review!