Chapter 11 (Part A):
Basket Case
The friend was in one of the bedrooms.
Hyperventilating.
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"How do we get her to stop hyperventilating?" The young cop, Ishigaki, whispered over as we stood at the threshold.
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"I don't know!" I hadn't seen a person….like this….in a long while.
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"Well try!" Me. Try. Really Ishigaki? REALLY?
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"Why me? Shouldn't you have been trained for this kind of shit?"
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"Because I've never had training! They've never actually let me talk to anyone for longer than a few moments!"
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"Well, you're the cop. So….go talk to her!"
"Hello, we're here with the police department and we just wish to talk to you about your friend-"
"You're here to-to-to t-talk about her accident?"
"Well, ask questions about it, yes."
"Asking questions wuh-w-won't b-b-bring my b-best f-friend b-baaaaaaaaccccckkkk!" the lady wailed, and promptly started to sob hysterically.
"Well, she stopped hyperventilating!" Ishigaki said, forcing a smile. I didn't smile.
Shoot.
Me.
Now.
I deal with crying enough during exams at school.
"How do we get her to stop crying?"
"I don't know!"
"But, don't you deal with this kind of stuff in school?"
"kinda…..but-"
"We already tried using 'the cop' method. Your turn."
Sorry, I didn't mean shoot me then.
I meant shoot me now.
I sat down on the bed next to her; placing one arm around her back, and the other on her shoulder.
"Hey. Hey, Miss. Hey. Ssshhhhhh…It's okay. You've just lost your best friend. It will be okay. Shhh. Just let it all out." I alternated between patting her shoulder and rubbing her back. She leaned into me and sobbed. Hard.
Wow, this brings back memories.
"shhhhh…..It'll get better." I murmured. Her sobs shook her whole body.
"It'll get better, eventually."
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.
.
Eventually.
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By the time Yako, the older cop and the creeper made they're way back to us, the friend, whatever her name was, had more or less calmed down.
Only the occasional sob.
"Hello there, Miss-?" Yako asked, hobbling in closer on her crutches.
Forgot she still had those, huh?
I didn't.
"Hiroaki Kameko,"
"Miss Hiroaki, I'm Katsuragi Yako, and we need to ask you a few questions."
"Kameko is fine, little detective. Ask you're q-questions."
"Just the basic questions for now. How did you know the victim, who are you, what did you see, etc."
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"I was a close friend of Kobayashi Isaye. We've known each other for a little over two years. We both were in the same volunteer club in college. I work for a special effects and fireworks company. I was talking to Isaye over the phone, and she suggested that I come over to look at the new product catalog for the upcoming season. I'd been over for a little while, It was like, 2:30 in the morning, and we started getting hungry, so I went out to get some bentos from the 24 hour convenience store down the street. It was my fault…that she's….d-d-dead…..It took me longer than I had expected; I got sidetracked and then it took forever to find Isaye's requested bento, and there was a new girl at the register. It was just a lot of little time drains. I mean, I could've gotten back in time to help her or something. I could have called an ambulance sooner. Or I could've…I don't know. I could have done something. I could have…."She sniffed, her eyes tearing up. "I could have saved my best f-friend!"
She burst into tears again and leaned into my shoulder.
Yako sat down on the other side of Kameko, patting her back. "It's okay. You couldn't have known."
Kameko's crying toned itself down to a small whimpering.
"Can you tell us what yo saw when you came back in?"
"I came in. It was quiet, which is normal when Isaye went through a new product catalog. She focuses really hard. Like, tunnel vision hard. But there was this funny smell. It smelt like she had burnt something. Again, kind of normal. She didn't really cook all that well, either. She was into the yoga stuff and the incense burning. Some of her incense smelled like burning rubber so I thought that was what the smell was. But, in the living room, there was no incense in the burner, and no candles were lit. and Isaye wasn't there."
"Were you guys looking at the catalog in the living room?"
"Yes. She liked to color code the products with what clothes were going to be in style the next season. She had friends in one of those high-end fashion companies; they often gave her information and stuff. I figured she had gone to her room to get something, or touch up her makeup, or something silly like that. So I put the food on the coffee table, and headed toward the kitchen to get some condiments and some better chopsticks. And then….I….saw my friend. On the ground. In…a…in..a….Pool of….- and she… She…she was still…..she was still…still….." her friend choked on a sob.
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"She was still alive." Kameko whispered, a new round of tears sprung from her eyes. "Still alive!"
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There was silence in the room as we processed what she said. My breathe hitched and I sat there, numbly, her crying on my side, Yako rubbing her back.
I desperately wanted out of there.
I didn't want to be here.
Too much death.
Too much sorrow.
Too much pain.
"She was still alive!"
Too much horror.
I can't take this.
AN: Yes, the friend's name means something. Lol.
There should only be about 2 more chapters, and then an epilogue. Thanks all of you for continuing to read and review. I intend to get this done by starts up at the end of May. The epiloque is written already, and Chapter 11b is halfway done. Having a little issue with Isaye's….well, that's a secret.
See ya next time peeps. Thanks again, and don't forget to review and tell me what you think.
