NUMACHI NO KYUKETSUKI
Chapter 2: "Inquiry"
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
Before breakfast, Haruka engaged in her ritual morning run. Michiru approved, promising a hearty breakfast when her mate returned. Junko was still asleep. The run had a dual purpose: It allowed Haruka to keep to her conditioning regime, but it also allowed her the opportunity to scope out the neighborhood around the apartment building and around the Chinese restaurant where the missing Kasumi worked.
The area around the apartment building was a dense grouping of structures, mostly residential apartments that catered to the student population of Niigata University. There were a few other souls out and about, either running as she was or headed to work. Also among the area were restaurants, clothing stores, a book store and a laundry. Given the hours of students, it seemed like a risky place for a person to try to abduct someone. But Haruka knew it could happen, particularly to a student more concerned with their next paper or their next beer purchase than with their surroundings.
The west end of campus was elevated from the marshy lowlands near the coast. Fenced off from campus, the marshland was in a natural state and very overgrown with trees and bushes. There was an observation point on her side of the fence, then a paved street. On the other side were houses. Down the block were some more shops. Nestled in among the shops was the Chinese restaurant. Haruka judged it to be half a block down from the street. Since the bus didn't run down the street bordering the marsh, it wasn't likely Kasumi had come that way.
Unless she was lured - - or dragged.
"Looking for an address?" a man asked.
Haruka turned to him. He was Japanese, in his fifties, age rounding his figure. The man had a broom and a pail of water and was cleaning the sidewalk in front of one of the residences. His black frame glasses magnified his eyes and he gave Haruka a benign smile.
"No, just taking in the scenery," Haruka replied.
"I don't recall seeing you around here before," the man observed. "Are you moving into the neighborhood?"
"No, just up visiting. I have a sister who goes to the university. I'm just getting in my running. Got to keep it up or you get flabby."
"Oh, I'm well aware of that," he smiled and patted his stomach. "What's she studying?"
"She's going to be a math teacher," Haruka volunteered. "Nice little community you've got here. Looks so clean and safe; probably be a good spot to do some running at night."
"Oh, I wouldn't advise that," the man told her calmly, but seriously.
"Why not?"
"Numachi No Kyuketsuki," he remarked. "That's why that stretch of land over there has never been developed. Every time someone tries, something mysterious happens. Eventually they decide it's too much trouble and move on."
"Come on," frowned Haruka. "It's the twenty-first century . . ."
"That's what everyone thinks," the man said. "All of the younger people scoff. Then somebody disappears."
"You've seen it?"
"No, thank the gods. But I've lived in this neighborhood for thirty years. It doesn't happen often, but it happens. And why tempt fate?"
"So who disappeared?" Haruka asked.
"Oh, I don't know," the man replied. "It happens every so often. I don't know them. Being a college neighborhood, you get a lot of people who come and go. Every so often one of them disappears. The police come, they look around. Sometimes they say the person just up and left, with no reason. After all, they're kids - - they don't always need a reason. Sometimes the police don't have an explanation. But that's because they don't want to believe the obvious reason."
"That being Numachi No Kyuketsuki," Haruka said.
"There are things that are real because we believe them to be real," he smiled. "And then there are things that are real even though we don't believe them to be real." He glanced at his watch. "I have to get breakfast started. It was nice meeting you. Tell your sister to study hard. And tell her she's lucky to have a brother like you."
"Yeah, I will," Haruka nodded and resumed her running, intentionally refraining from correcting the man. As she ran, she glanced over her right shoulder at the marsh beyond the chain link fence.
When Haruka returned, she was greeted with a kiss from Michiru and a playful admonishment to shower. Junko was already eating and added to the chorus, charging that Haruka was stinking up her apartment. After the shower, Haruka returned to find Junko finished, but Michiru waiting along with a sumptuous breakfast.
"So, find out anything?" Junko asked. Haruka gave her an inquiring look. "That's why you went out, wasn't it?"
"You know me. I always go running in the morning," Haruka said. Junko glared impatiently. "And if I just happened to run by west campus, it's one of those happy coincidences, you know."
"What did you find out!" Junko demanded.
"That there's a marsh west of campus where someone could hide out in for a decade and never be found," Haruka reported, glancing at Michiru, "if he was crazy enough to try. Thick foliage and lots of cover, but swampy. It would be tough navigating that unless you grew up in it."
"Anything on Numachi No Kyuketsuki?" Michiru asked, almost smiling when she spoke.
"I got an earful from a local who believes it. He didn't seem frightened or worried, but he respects the legend. Sort of like someone who lives by the edge of a forest and knows there's bears out there, but doesn't let it rule his life."
"Look, I know you don't take this marsh vampire thing seriously . . ." Junko bristled.
"On the contrary," Michiru admonished. "I don't rule out anything until I have reason to rule it out. That's why while Haruka was out running, I was on the Senshi Communicator to Rei Hino in Tokyo."
"She heard of it?" Haruka asked.
"Heard of it, but wasn't familiar with specifics," Michiru replied. "She knew there had been a few unexplained incidents out here over the years, but there was nothing that couldn't be explained by less supernatural circumstances. Rei did give me some possibilities as to what could have spawned the legend. She talked about a Chinese legend that probably made its way over to Niigata since it's a western port city and close to China: The Jiangshi is an animated corpse who loses its binding sutra and goes around attacking the living and sucking out their life forces."
"Ew!" scowled Junko.
"She also mentioned a Nure-onna," Michiru continued. "That's a creature with the head of a beautiful woman and the body of a snake. It attacks humans, traps them in its coils and sucks out their blood. Rei said it's a creature known to lurk near large bodies of water."
"And one of these things might have Kasumi?" gasped Junko.
"Or she could be the victim of a regular, non-supernatural human being who saw her as a target of opportunity," cautioned Haruka. "In fact that's the more likely culprit. So after I finish breakfast, I think I'll head over to the police station and find out what they've come up with."
"I'm going, too!" proclaimed Junko.
"No, you're not," Haruka replied.
"Haruka!"
"You've got classes to attend, studying to do and tests to take," Haruka told her with as much finality as she could muster. "I can handle this. Your job is to pass, graduate and make me proud."
Junko glared.
"And don't give me no lip, either," Haruka warned. "This isn't up for discussion."
"It's bad enough I have to take this from Dad," fumed Junko. She lurched up from the table, grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. "The only way I'm forgiving you is if Kasumi is here when I get back!"
"Deal," Haruka grinned and glanced at Michiru.
"You have such a way with her," Michiru teased.
"If I was like that when I was her age," Haruka said, "I can't help but wonder what it was that you fell in love with. I don't know how you kept from slugging me."
"I considered it a few times," Michiru grinned. Then she grew misty. "I guess it was how vulnerable you were. You appealed to my maternal side. You still do."
"Oh? It's not the way I make you wet your pants when I give you 'the look'?" Haruka leered.
"Finish your breakfast," Michiru said. She pressed the woman's nose with her finger, then gathered up the empty dishes to wash.
The Campus District police station had seen many things over the years, from ten drunken youths who crammed themselves into a Nissan compact and then couldn't get out to a student who had been shamed by flunking out of the university and set himself on fire in the center of campus. Being this close to the university, the daily mission of maintaining order was somewhat different than any other station in the city.
But the officers and staff who ran the station had never seen a full-fledged Sailor Senshi walk into the station and up to the desk before; until now.
"Hi," Sailor Uranus said to the officer staffing the main desk. "I need to talk to the detectives who are in charge of the Kasumi Nobumura case. Are they around?"
"Who should I say is asking for them?" the officer asked. His skepticism was clear on his face.
"Really?" Uranus asked. "The uniform doesn't tip you off? I know we're not as famous as the Inners, but it should tell you something."
The officer just stared.
"Sailor Uranus," the Senshi sighed.
"Uh huh."
"You don't think I'm real?"
"Anyone can wear a costume," the officer replied. "There was a cosplay party on campus just last year. They had a lot of Sailor Senshi there." He leaned in. "Can you prove you're a Sailor Senshi?"
"Should I blast a hole in the wall?" Uranus asked. "Wait, I know." She wrote a phone number on a pad. "Call this number. They'll vouch for me."
The officer looked at the number skeptically, then sighed and punched it in.
"Crystal Palace, how may I direct your call?" came the female voice on the phone.
"Is this really the Crystal Palace?" the officer swallowed.
"Yes it is. How may I direct your call?"
"Um," the officer stammered. "I've got someone here who claims to be a Sailor Uranus." Uranus gestured for the phone.
"This is Sailor Uranus," the Senshi said over the phone. "Can you connect me with Queen Serenity? Code is 262118."
"One moment," the operator replied. Uranus gestured for the call to go on speaker.
"Uranus?" a high-pitched woman's voice. "Is everything all right? Where are you?"
"I'm in Niigata visiting with Junko," Uranus replied. "I just need someone to tell the local police that I'm really a Senshi."
"Well of course you are! Pass the phone over!"
"We're on speaker. He can hear you."
"Sir?" came the one voice just about everyone in the country recognized, "Sailor Uranus is one of my closest friends and one of my most trusted Senshi. Please give her everything she asks for. I would really appreciate it."
"Uh," mumbled the officer, awestruck, "yes ma'am, Y-Your M . . ." He stopped when he noticed Uranus shake her head. "Um, yes Q-Queen Serenity."
"Thank you so much!" the Queen replied. "Uranus, you're not in any trouble, are you?"
"Just checking a few things out," Uranus told her. "Don't worry about it, Dumpling."
"Well, all right. But if you need anything, you call me!"
"Understood. See you, Dumpling," Uranus smiled and hung up. She looked at the officer.
"You call the Queen 'Dumpling'?" the officer asked. Uranus replied with a stony look. "I'll page Detective Kinogura," he whispered.
Wei-yun Chen had emigrated from Hong Kong when the city was turned over to Mainland China because he didn't trust the Chinese government to keep their promise of autonomy for the city. He landed in Niigata with his wife and son and did the only thing he knew how to do: he opened a restaurant. Things had been difficult at first, but once word of mouth spread among the university students, his business began to pick up and soon he was thriving. And without the government restrictions, his family began to thrive as well. Three more children were delivered into the world, all Japanese citizens. All in all, Chen felt more and more that he'd made the right decision to move here.
The lunch crowd was just beginning to filter in. Chen looked up from his stove, where he prepared meals before the eyes of his customers. Business was still light, due as much to the students occupied with final exams as with the time of day. But his eye caught one customer in particular. She was Japanese, trim and comely and stylishly dressed. But what intrigued him most was that she had green hair. It intrigued some of the students who were there as well, as they pointed and whispered. The woman had a camera on a strap around her neck and she was approaching the counter.
"You order?" Chen asked.
"Actually I wanted to ask you a few questions," Michiru began. "But that shrimp does look appealing, and it is close enough to lunch time."
"You reporter?"
"No. I'm just looking for interesting things to photograph," Michiru smiled. Then she grew serious. "I wanted to ask you about Kasumi Nobumura, if that's all right."
Chen sighed. "I no speak Japanese very goodly," he told her in earnest.
["My China speak muchly worse,"] Michiru offered good-naturedly. That drew a smile from Chen.
"You friend of hers?"
"Friend of a friend," Michiru replied. "Junko Tenoh, the girl Kasumi rooms with." Chen recognized the name and eased considerably.
"What you want to know?" Chen asked, working at his fried shrimp dish as they spoke.
"Do you remember the last time you saw her?"
"Normal night," Chen responded, but Michiru could see the emotion in his face. "Kinda busy early, die off after nine. Kasumi-Chan stay to ten. Just like usual. Think nothing wrong. Just another night." Chen stopped stirring the shrimp and took a moment to collect himself. "Get call next day from Junko-Chan. Junko-Chan say Kasumi-Chan not come home. Asks when she left. I tell her. Police come by. They ask questions. Ask when she left. I tell them. Now you here."
"I'm sorry if this is painful for you," Michiru offered.
"If it find Kasumi-Chan, it worth it," Chen told her.
"Did anything happen here?" Michiru asked. "Was someone bothering her? Someone perhaps showing an odd amount of interest in her?"
"No," Chen shook his head. "Normal night." He clenched his teeth. "Why this happen? Kasumi-Chan good girl. She work hard. She very nice to the customers. She very nice to my wife. She almost big sister to my daughter." He scooped the shrimp dish into a bowl and handed it over the counter. "Why this happen to her? Why this happen to good people? No one hate Kasumi-Chan. No one." Michiru took the bowl.
"Did you notice anyone who didn't look like they belonged?" Michiru asked. "Or perhaps someone who had never been here before?"
"No one," Chen shook his head.
"One more question," Michiru ventured. "There have been rumors floating around about a creature in the marsh down the street."
"Numachi No Kyuketsuki," Chen said, then snorted derisively. "That fairy tale to scare five year old when they misbehave. You no believe that?"
"I like to keep an open mind," Michiru smiled. She dug into her purse and offered some money to Chen.
"Pay at cashier," he replied, pointing to the end of the counter. Michiru nodded. "And Miss!" he said with some desperation in his voice. Michiru turned to him. "You find Kasumi-Chan - - you eat here free for life! Promise!"
"I'll do my best," Michiru nodded graciously.
Continued in Chapter 3
