Yeesh. Well I think this chapter is cursed or something because when I was writing the ending, my laptop crashed for the third time that week! Plus, my laptop crashed again when I was uploading it! My laptop must really hate this chapter...anyways, shout out to TamashinoSuzume for your review. It's okay if you have a perverted mind, Tamashino, so do I. Heheheh...

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I knew I should have been happy, but I wasn't. Nekoma won their game, and I'd be meeting up with Kenma at the game store that afternoon. I should have been happy about that, but I wasn't. I was worrying again. All throughout classes, I stared out the window with a fretful expression. Even Hoshi couldn't pay attention to the lesson because he was worrying about me. That morning, Mom wasn't home. There wasn't even a little note like she usually left. The night before, she told me she would be working late at work, but I don't think she ever came home.

I tried calling her and texting her, but nothing! After school, Hoshi said he'd skip club to go down to the police station and put out a missing notice. Meanwhile, he told me to go and enjoy my time with Kenma so I would stop worrying. He said that afterwards, he'd come back to my house and stay with me until they found her. It sounded like a solid plan, except for the part about enjoying my time with my gaming buddy. How could I focus when my brain was making up all sorts of wild stories about what happened to my mother last night?!

"Kenma," I looked up from the Witcher 3 demo.

"Mm?" he broke his eyes away from the screen.

"Uh…you said I should tell you when things are bothering me…" I sighed.

Why was it that every time I tried to play the demo, family issues would get in the way?

"Mhm," he nodded, a hint of seriousness showing in his eyes.

"Well…" I fumbled awkwardly with the PS4 controller.

Do I really want to tell him? It's only going to make him worry, and be a burden on him.

"Kaori," Kenma said my name, indicating he wanted to hear.

"Alright," I sighed, letting it all out, "My mom's missing. She didn't come home last night…and she's been gone all day. Hoshi's gone to the police station put out a missing notice for her, but I'm scared she might be…u-uh! I mean, well, Hoshi promised he'd meet up with me at my house so we could search for her! S-so, I should probably get going!"

The setter stared at me as I ranted, his vacant stare slowly looking more and more concerned. When I finished, there was an awkward silence, and he averted his eyes like he was thinking of what to do.

"I…I could walk you home…if you want," he finally spoke.

I felt déjà vu as he reached for my sleeve. Except I wasn't wearing a sweater that day, so when he realized he was reaching for bare skin, he recoiled.

"Alright, thanks," I whispered.

It was strange, as we walked home, Kenma didn't play his PSP. Instead, he just stared off into space with a seemingly bored expression. But I knew it was my fault, I had made him too worried to play his PSP. When we made it to my house, I gave him a half-hearted thank you and went to open the door. But as I reached for the doorknob, I noticed a folded piece of paper taped to it.

A note from Mom! I thought excitedly, ripping it off the knob and unfolding it.

EVICTED

All the air in my lungs was punched out of me by some invisible force, and I staggered backwards in disbelief. I was sure Kenma was calling my name, but I could barely hear it as the blood rushed in my ears. Slowly, my hazel eyes scanned upward to him, flickering in fear.

"We've been evicted," I breathed, my voice cracking.

He looked as speechless as I was. In fact, we probably would have stood there staring at each other in terror if Hoshi hadn't come along!

"Kaori-chan!" he called as he ran up to the front door.

"I alerted the station to look out for…uh…what's going on?" he stopped mid-sentence when he saw my horrified face.

He snatched the notice from my hand, his eyes widening like mine when he saw it.

"K-Kaori…I…" he tried to think of what to say.

My chocolate hair fell over my face as I dropped my head, my shoulders beginning to tremble.

No. I'm not going to cry. Not now.

I took a deep breath and raised my head again, "Well standing here won't solve anything. I'm going to go look for her,"

"Huh?!" Hoshi exclaimed, "But, you don't even know where to start!

"Sure I do," I snapped, "I'll try her work place first, and then the grocery store she always goes to. There's got to be some people there who have seen her,"

"Wait, why don't you and I split up?" Hoshi suggested, "I'll check the store, and you can check her work. After that, can we drop this and let the police handle the rest?"

"Fine," I sighed.

"I'll…" suddenly Kenma spoke up timidly, "I'll go with Kaori,"

"What? Kenma, you don't have to stay for this," I shook my head, "I don't want you to get caught up in this,"

I didn't realize Hoshi was giving Kenma a nod from behind me, telling him to keep trying.

"You're my friend…I can't just abandon you…" he told me.

I stared at him for a few moments, giving him time to reconsider. Knowing him, he'd probably much rather be home with his PSP and Navi, not going on some wild goose chase with me.

"If you're sure," I finally gave in.

"Right, call me if you find anything," Hoshi ordered as he sprinted off down the street.

"C'mon, we can take the train to my mom's work place," I said, sprinting off myself.

"Kaori! Slow down, please!" I heard Kenma whine.

=0=

My mom worked in one of those moderately sized office buildings, filled top to bottom with cubicles and computers. Her job was to train new employees on how to use the company's operating system. So basically, her job was to sit at a computer, answer emails, and teach newbies how to work a keyboard. It wasn't the most glamorous job, but at least it paid. When we walked up to the front desk, the clerk immediately recognized me. She and some of the other workers knew me through my mom, but I was surprised they remembered me after so long.

"Well if it isn't Minami-san's daughter," the lady at the front desk mused.

"Hey, Akira," I gave a distant smile, "Long time,"

"I'll say, you've grown so much!" Akira looked me up and down before spotting Kenma who was hiding behind me, "And who's this? Your boyfr—"

Before she could finish her potentially awkward statement, I interrupted.

"Akira, this is important," I said urgently, "Did Mom show up to work today?"

"Nope," Akira shrugged, "She didn't call in sick either. Why? Do you know where she is?"

"No…she's missing…" I admitted, my voice wavering again.

"What?!" Akira gasped, "W-well…"

I cut her off again, "She said she was working late last night, so you did you see her at all last night? Do you know where she went?"

"Mhm," Akira nodded, "She, I, and some other friends were working late. But Minami-san actually left before some of us, and I distinctly remember her saying she was going out for a drink,"

"A…drink?" I breathed.

Okay, calm down. Alcohol doesn't always equal bad things. But what if she got drunk and died trying to do something while intoxicated?!

"Yeah, but we couldn't go with her because we still had work to do," Akira shrugged, "Had I known she'd be missing the next day, I would have gone with,"

"Do you know which bar it was?" I asked seriously.

"K-kaori…" Kenma worriedly mumbled my name from behind.

He was hoping I wasn't hatching a plan to sneak into a bar.

"My guess is the one that's just a block over. It's called the Silver Dragon, and has a big statue of a dragon out front. You can't miss it," she informed me.

"Alright," I nodded determinedly.

Kenma hurriedly followed me out of the building, looking like a protest was at the tip of his tongue.

"Kenma, we have to go there. It's our only lead," I begged him before he even spoke.

"But we shouldn't hang around a place like that," he shook his head, "We're minors…can't we just go back and let the police handle it?"

I cringed at the reality. In reality, I should have let the authorities do their job, not obsessively chase after my mother myself. But how could I not? I promised to keep her safe, and standing by while she's in danger isn't keeping her safe!

"N-no!" I barked, "You can go home if you want to! But I'm staying…"

Before I could say anything anymore hurtful to my friend, my cell phone suddenly rang. At the sight of the caller ID, I nearly dropped my phone!

"Mom!" I gasped.

I hit the answer button, and didn't even give her a chance to speak first.

"Mom! Oh my God, Mom! Where are you?! Are you hurt?! Are you being held ransom?! What's going on?!"

I heard a strange combination of a sob and a chuckle from my mom's end.

"Kaori. Sweetie. Hun," she calmed me with her loving nicknames, "I'm sorry I couldn't call you sooner. These losers wouldn't let me use the phone until now!"

"Who? Mom, where even are you?!" I shouted.

"I'm in prison," she admitted.

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Yay for cliff-hangers!