Numachi No Kyuketsuki Chapter 1: The Phone Call, a sailor moon fanfic

NUMACHI NO KYUKETSUKI
Chapter 1: "The Phone Call"
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

It had been a long day. The charter helicopter business that Haruka Tenoh now ran had proven quite successful, if a bit ordinary. It made money, though not as much as being a champion Formula 1 driver had. But ninety-nine percent of the runs Haruka made were to ferry businessmen to and from the airport and their corporate towers. Occasionally there was a scientific expedition or a job carrying a famous idol, but they were few and far between. Haruka worked just as hard as when she was a race car driver, but didn't seem to get as much satisfaction from it.

"Can't be helped," Haruka sighed to herself. "You can't go back to the circuit. You're too old." She smirked to herself. "And Michiru would probably kill me."

And it was a steady income, that and the personal appearances she put in at auto shows or dealerships. Michiru made more annually, but her income was erratic, dependent upon sales of paintings or photographs, or residuals from her picture book collections or albums. Some months, when Michiru was in a creative funk and not producing, Haruka's was the only income they had. Haruka closed the door behind her and paused in the hallway to doff her shoes. Thank the gods that the house was paid for.

Not finding Michiru in the kitchen or the living room, Haruka next looked in the den that was her mate's unofficial studio. There she found Michiru furiously working at a canvas. Haruka recognized the mood. Michiru was inspired and was working as quickly as she could to get as much of the inspiration as she could on canvas before the mood cooled. Not speaking so as not to distract her, Haruka looked at the painting. It was a portrait of a couple, the man older and clearly rich, the woman not as old but still distinguished. Ordinary enough except for the background. They stood in front of a fifteenth century feudal castle, at night with the darkness muting colors and casting ominous shadows. The couple had on feudal era kimonos and hair styles.

"How was your day, Haruka?" Michiru asked distantly.

"Same old same old," the sandy blonde replied. "Makes me almost miss Yakushima sometimes."

Michiru responded only with a tired sigh.

"Well, I could have said the time I flew that girl group to Budokon," Haruka smirked, "but then you would have hit me."

"I would not have hit you," Michiru replied, a small smile crossing her lips as she concentrated on the painting.

"That's a strange painting," Haruka remarked, diving into the refrigerator and coming up with a can of beer.

"It's a commission," Michiru told her as she kept painting. "Hayato Onazuki commissioned me to paint him and his wife in a feudal setting. I suppose he thinks it will make him look historically important, or give his friends something to chat about."

"How much?"

"Five hundred thousand," Michiru responded. "Initially I didn't want to do it, but when I saw the photo of him and his wife, I got inspired."

"Five hundred thousand would be enough to inspire me," Haruka observed as she took a sip. "It's kind of dark looking, though."

"This is my vision," Michiru said. Haruka knew that tone. Michiru was an artist who would stay true to her "vision" of how a work would look. If no one else accepted it, that was their loss.

"Well, you're a name artist. Maybe you can still sell it."

"Could you get dinner, please?" Michiru asked in a controlled tone with narrow eyes. "I'm a little occupied."

"I could get take out," offered Haruka. "The way I cook, you'd probably prefer take out."

"That's fine," her mate replied, distantly again. Haruka knew that she'd distracted Michiru long enough and that her mate needed to concentrate on her work again. It was OK. It gave Haruka another chance to take her prized Lamborghini Reventon for a spin.

And relive, briefly, the thrill of operating a finely tuned machine again on a track, even if the track was Tokyo city streets and she had to obey the speed limits.

Later that evening, Haruka and Michiru sat at a table and ate take out curry. Haruka had been prepared to feed Michiru as she painted, something the woman had done in the past, but her mate had come to a comfortable stopping point and was able to join Haruka at the table.

"Did you read the briefing Endymion sent out about his latest round of tax reforms?" Michiru asked in between bites.

"Nah, that stuff always puts me to sleep," sighed Haruka. "Are our taxes going up or down?"

"Well, down," Michiru replied, then smiled, "until I got this commission."

"Ah, it's OK. If I have to give my money to someone, at least I know Endymion and Dumpling will use it to do something good."

"Oh!" gasped Michiru. "This curry certainly is spicy!"

"I like spicy," smirked Haruka. "That's one of the reasons I fell for you."

"Really?" Michiru grinned. "That's a lot to live up to."

"And yet you handle it with so much grace and confidence," Haruka told her.

"I think someone's angling for an erotic night," Michiru said, giving her a cynical leer.

"Didn't sound like a 'no'," Haruka replied and spooned up some curry.

"Heard from Junko recently?" Michiru asked, changing the subject.

"Not for a couple of weeks," Haruka sighed. "I think she's in finals. That'll keep anyone busy."

"I can just imagine what you're going to look like at the graduation ceremony. Bursting with pride," and then Michiru smiled wickedly, "and blubbering like a baby."

"You've never seen me cry," Haruka smirked. "But you're right, I'll be proud enough to burst. 'Junko Tenoh, math teacher'; has a ring to it. It's so - - exhilarating to see her not only get a chance that I never got, but to run with it and make something of herself."

"Seeing you like this makes me wonder what it would have been like to have a sibling," Michiru confessed.

After dinner, Michiru immediately went back to her painting, so Haruka did the dishes. She was drying her hands, and grateful that they'd had take out and there were no pots to clean, when her cell phone went off. Pulling it out of the pocket of her jeans, Haruka looked and instantly recognized the number calling.

"Junko!" Haruka said happily into the phone. "We were just talking about you. How are things?"

"Haruka," Junko said and instantly Haruka picked up on the distress in her voice, "can you come out here - - to Niigata?"

"What's wrong?"

Junko hesitated. "There's this girl in my class. We're sharing an apartment - - and she never came home. She's disappeared all of a sudden and nobody knows what happened to her. And it's really got a lot of people worried."

"Uh huh," Haruka responded. "I'm assuming that she's not the type who would just run off and shack up with her boyfriend, right?"

"Not Kasumi. She wasn't even going with anybody."

"She didn't go home?"

"Her parents haven't seen her."

"Sounds like a police matter."

"Her parents talked to the police. They're looking in to it." Junko hesitated. "But I was kind of hoping you could look into it - - given who you are."

"You think something bad's happened?" Haruka asked.

"Call me crazy, but I just have a bad feeling."

"I'll be there tonight."

"Tonight? You're not driving, are you?" Junko asked.

"It's just three hours to Niigata."

"But it's night," Junko replied, "and you're probably tired . . ."

"You're going to insult my driving?" Haruka asked. "You?"

"I don't mean it that way. It's just . . ." Junko responded, then huffed. "Fine, come on. You know where my apartment is."

"See you in three," Haruka said and ended the call. When she looked up, Michiru was in the doorway.

"The bullet train would be quicker," Michiru said.

"And then how am I going to get around Niigata? Uber?"

"Point taken. Just let me get my purse," Michiru said.

"You going with me?"

"Two Senshi are better than one," Michiru smiled. "Besides, I love Niigata before the humidity sets in."

As Michiru went to retrieve her purse, Haruka marveled once more at how that woman always seemed to know what was best. She headed for the door and Michiru met her there.

"What about your painting?" Haruka asked.

"It'll keep," Michiru replied. "Junko is far more important."

Off campus from Niigata University was unusually quiet for the time of night. There were still sounds of youths drinking and partying, but not as much as was regular. With the end of term looming, a good portion of the students who lived in the area were either studying or preparing to move. Haruka's Reventon eased down the street and slid into the parking lot behind the apartment building that housed Junko and other students. Michiru got out and headed for the building, then stopped and looked back when she noticed Haruka wasn't with her. Haruka had pulled a canvas tarp out of the trunk and was placing it over the Reventon. Her amused look caught Haruka's eye.

"All I need is for some drunken student to bounce a beer can off of her," Haruka protested, "or worse, decide they want to take her for a spin."

"I told you to take the bullet train," Michiru responded.

"You told me to stop touching you there, too," Haruka leered as she approached, "but you sure changed your mind quick."

"You brag too much," Michiru countered. They walked hand in hand to the apartment building.

"Haruka! Come in," Junko exclaimed as she opened the door warily. "Michiru," she nodded.

The apartment was small, a one room flat with a kitchen and bath. Two beds were at the window, their footboards together, and two desks sat by the headboards. There was a sofa, a television and a table and not much else.

"OK, was there anything about this that you didn't tell me over the phone?" Haruka asked. Michiru studied the girl as Haruka spoke. Junko was still the mirror image of what Haruka had looked like fifteen years ago, save that she wore her sandy blonde hair long and thick.

"Um," Junko began. "I don't really remember what I told you. Kasumi didn't come home after her part time job. She works at the Chinese restaurant west of campus, as a counter person. That was two nights ago."

"And when did you talk to the police?" Michiru asked.

"Yesterday morning," Junko replied. "When Kasumi didn't come home, I called her parents. Then they called the police. They came over and questioned me." Junko slumped and leaned against the back of the sofa. "After the second night, I figured I should call you. Haruka, it was torture waiting all day to call, but I knew you worked and I didn't want to interrupt that."

"It's OK," Haruka nodded. "This Kasumi didn't have a boyfriend, you said. Do you know if she got into a fight recently with someone? A friend?"

"I'm about her only friend," Junko grimaced. "Kasumi is really timid. I mean, she gets along with some of the other girls in the classes, but I guess I'm the only real friend she has."

"OK, did she get into a fight with you?"

"What?"

"Did you get into an argument with her?" Haruka persisted. "Maybe about rent or TV time, who's cooking? And just how close are you two?"

"No, we never fought. Kasumi's not like that," Junko shook her head, then bristled. "And we're just roommates! It's nothing like that, Haruka! Honestly, sometimes Dad is right about you!"

"I'm just eliminating possibilities," Haruka said stiffly. "So if Kasumi was mad about something, she wouldn't just run off?"

"No," frowned Junko. "If something bugged her, she would go silent - - withdraw to her own side of the apartment. Finally I'd get so bugged that I'd confront her and drag it out of her. Then we could solve it. But I've never known her to run away."

"Was she afraid of anybody?" Michiru asked. Junko looked at her, surprised by the question. "You said she wasn't seeing anyone. Was someone perhaps interested in her and she didn't reciprocate? Or someone held a grudge against her for something?"

"Not that I know of," Junko shook her head. "Kasumi didn't say anything. Of course, knowing Kasumi, she might not have said anything. But I don't know of anything like that."

"Then what is it you do know?" Michiru said.

Junko's head reared up and she stared in shock at Michiru. The green-haired artist stood and stared, not backing down from her question and using a gaze that said she might already know what Junko was thinking. Haruka was surprised by the question, too, but hung back and let Michiru proceed. They were a team and knew each other's ways as well as they knew their own.

"Please don't hold back, Junko," Michiru persisted. "You called us in, so we have to know everything if we're going to succeed. Whatever you're holding back could be important to finding Kasumi."

"You're going to laugh," Junko sighed. "OK, there's this - - local legend. All the older residents of the area talk about it, but the students mostly treat it as a joke." Junko swallowed. "But I've seen things, being Haruka's sister. I know it could be real. And if it got Kasumi . . ."

"What is it?" Michiru prodded.

"It goes by the name of Numachi No Kyuketsuki - - the Marsh Vampire," Junko admitted. "It's supposed to prowl the marshlands west of campus, above the docks. The legend has been around Niigata for hundreds of years."

"Have there been any actual instances of people falling victim to this legend?" Michiru asked.

"Officially? No. But every time someone or something vanishes, the locals begin muttering about it. There was a case two years ago where some woman who worked at a grocery store near here disappeared. Everyone thought it was Numachi No Kyuketsuki," Junko related, "until they found her in Okinawa shacked up with her lover." Junko became animated. "The police aren't even looking into the possibility! I guess I don't expect them to, but - - if forty foot ice giants can be real, so can marsh vampires! And if it is real, and if it does have Kasumi . . .!"

"Yeah, I see what you mean," nodded Haruka. "That's definitely something Michiru and I would be more qualified to look into." She glanced at Michiru.

"I'll transform," Michiru nodded. "Neptune Planet Power Make Up!"

Moments later, Sailor Neptune stood where Michiru had before. Haruka noticed Junko staring.

"I will NEVER get used to that!" Junko grinned.

"Do you have a picture of Kasumi?" Neptune asked. "Preferably recent?"

"Uhh," Junko began, then went over to a closet. From the top shelf she produced a book. "It's our yearbook from last year. Kasumi wasn't one for having photos of herself. She never thought it was necessary - - and she didn't like the way she looked."

"Obviously she was wrong about it being necessary," Neptune replied. "You should consider having photos of yourself taken, too." She took the book, turned to the proper page. "Oh, I don't know why she would think she was unattractive. She's very nice now, and with a little attention I think she could look even better."

"Well, that was Kasumi," sighed Junko.

Neptune sat on the sofa, the yearbook on her lap. Summoning the Deep Aqua Mirror, Neptune passed her hand over the glass and stared.

"She's searching for Kasumi, using the mirror," Junko asked Haruka, "isn't she?"

"How do you know about that?" Haruka asked.

"I probably know everything there is to know about you two," Junko grinned, "that's public, anyway. And a few things that aren't public."

"Yeah, that's what she's doing," Haruka told her. "Don't worry, we'll find her."

"I'm not worried about that," Junko admitted. "I'm worried about you finding her in time. If somebody's got her, they may have already . . ."

"Try to stay positive, huh?" Haruka advised her.

"It's not like I want it to happen," Junko scowled. "But I know what kind of world we live in. I know that women sometimes have targets on their backs - - just for being women. It's not like it is for you and Michiru. We can't change into Sailor Senshi and help ourselves."

"I know what it's like," Haruka told her. "I've got a target on my back. It's just a bigger target because of who I am and what I do."

"She's alive," Neptune said distantly. Junko and Haruka crowded around her.

"Where is she?" Junko gasped.

"I can't see that," Neptune answered. "It's some place very dark." Then she sighed and came out of her trance. The mirror dropped onto the open yearbook.

"How'd she look?" Haruka asked.

"Disheveled," Neptune replied. "She didn't go without resisting and it shows. And she's very scared. But she's alive and in one piece, so that's a plus." Neptune let her transformation fade. "We should get some sleep. We can attack this problem fresh in the morning."

"Why can't we do it now?" howled Junko. "Somebody has Kasumi! She could be dead by morning!"

"If who or whatever is holding Kasumi hasn't killed her after two days, it's unlikely it will happen over night. I know you want to find her, Junko. Have patience."

Junko scowled. Patience was one think she had never possessed in large quantities.

Continued in Chapter 2