Three days had passed, and no sign of the police.
Joker and Neon were restless.
They had not been allowed to leave the mansion since the
incident. While in one way, it was good (they were still getting paid), in
another way, it chafed. Neon found innumerable little odd jobs to busy herself
with. After all, she had once been the maid, and she found dusting and vacuuming
to be good 'thinking' times. She went through the motions, but her mind was
far away.
Joker, on the other hand, was not used to such captivity.
He had always prized his freedom and independence, and it chafed to be under
what virtually amounted to house arrest. Still, he understood the reasons, and
so he chafed quietly, wishing bureaucracy would get its act together and hurry
up.
If rumor was correct, their little task force was well on
its way to getting the incident cleared up.
He somehow doubted that the police were making such good
progress.
******
It was the fifth day when the signal came.
By this time, all but the essentials of day-to-day
operation had been concealed. The last few remnants of evidence were quickly
spirited away behind secret walls and down hidden staircases.
The Uruha had rehearsed for this many times over the last
few days, and were more than ready for the ordeal to be over. They assembled in
their proper places, with last-minute adjustments.
Soon it would be time.
******
The police were only slightly delayed at the outer gate, in
accordance with orders. Equally in accordance with orders, however, they had
been told in no uncertain terms that this was a bad choice. One does not barge
onto the private estate of a billionaire philanthropist, search warrant in hand.
One politely sends an elegantly handwritten request on ivory cotton paper for an
invitation to a masked ball.
The officers didn't find this particularly amusing, and
insisted.
Access was granted.
******
It was Aki who answered their knock.
"Officers-sama," she murmured, opening the door for
them and allowing them into the foyer. "How may we be of assistance?"
Officer Kawazu flashed a piece of paper. "Search
warrant," he said.
Aki's eyes widened. "Is there a problem?" she asked
in a hushed, aghast voice. "Did someone do something bad?"
Officer Makiyama looked sympathetically at her. So young!
So innocent! What was she doing working in a home that housed potential
criminals? She ought to find herself better employment elsewhere. "We had a
tip," he said vaguely. "We just wanted to come by and check it out."
Aki shook her head. "Everyone is very nice around
here," she assured him, exuding wholesomeness and goodness.
"I'm sure they are," replied Officer Kawazu politely.
"But we would still like to look around."
Aki nodded. "I can't leave the door unattended," she
explained, "But I can find someone who will escort you around. It's a big
place, and easy to get lost." She pulled a tasseled cord which hung from the
ceiling.
"Tell me," said Officer Makiyama nonchalantly. "Do
you know a woman named Neon?"
"Neon's a wonderful, beautiful person," declared Aki,
as if there was no room for question. "She's kind and thoughtful and gentle.
She makes sure Kurei-sama packs enough underwear, and one time, when he was out
on business and dropped his toothbrush in the toilet, she went out in a blizzard
to the drugstore to buy him a new one."
"Ah. Do you know a man named Hiroji?" inquired Officer
Kawazu. "What's he like?"
Aki blinked. "We must have ten or twenty Hiroji's
here," she said.
"Odokemono Hiroji," he clarified.
Aki nodded. "Yes. We must have ten or twenty Odokemono
Hiroji's here."
Now it was the officers' turn to blink. "Pardon us?"
Aki waved it aside as if it was of no consequence.
"It's some game they play. I don't know; I don't get involved in it. Do
you have another name?"
"How about Takagi Raiha?" Officer Makiyama suggested.
This time, recognition registered. "Oh, of course," she
said. "Raiha's a sweetie, too. I don't see much of him, as he works
Upstairs—" by her tone, it seemed that shafts of golden light always
illuminated that legendary place, and angel choirs sung mysteriously from its
ceilings "—and I'm Down Here." 'Down Here' had a very flat,
matter-of-fact edge to it. "But I've heard stories, of course. He
accompanies Mori Kurei-sama on many of his trips. He's one of his top aides.
But he's still a really nice guy. They went to the hospital to see a bunch of
leukemia children-patients once, and Raiha made balloon animals for them."
"Do you know if Neon and… er… Raiha… have any sort
of… personal… connection?" It was hard to phrase it delicately, as was
suitable for someone of Aki's years.
At that, a frightened expression flashed across the
girl's face. "Don't mention that to anyone," she entreated them,
eyes wide and pleading. "Never, never, never." Her voice lowered to an
almost-dreamy tone. "It's so romantic," she murmured.
"Star-crossed lovers. The longing… the desire… it's obvious to anyone
who watches them watch each other. But they're not allowed to follow their
obvious destiny. They both work for Mori Kurei-sama, Neon as a personal
assistant, and Raiha as a personal aide. Neon caught Kurei-sama's eye, and he
fell in love with her. Neon thought she was in love with him, too, and their
relationship blossomed. Then when Raiha was hired on… well, as harsh as it is
to say, Kurei-sama didn't stand a chance. Neon was smitten. Raiha felt it,
too… but there was nothing they could do about it, due to their positions. And
so their love is destined to be the thing of an epic romance… a pure, chaste
love from afar, never admitted to, never fulfilled… two lovers destined to be
wrenched apart before they're ever allowed to come together… ohhhh… it's
so romantic."
Her expression was rapt, and she clasped her hands together
and uttered a breathy sigh before resuming her story.
"But Mori Kurei-sama was oblivious to the whole thing. He
believes that Neon is dedicated entirely to him. He doesn't know that when she
holds him… when she gazes into his eyes… when they —" (another breathy
sigh) " —kiss… she's not with him at all. Her mind and her soul and her
heart are with another, even if her body cannot be." With that, Aki looked
directly at the two officers. "Isn't that the noblest, most romantic thing
you've ever heard?" she demanded.
They politely nodded and agreed that yes, it was
very noble of her. Of him. Of both of them.
It was with some degree of relief that their escort showed
up, in the form of Kashemaru. He expressed delight at being allowed to aid the
policemen in their search. That didn't stop him from vehemently vowing that
there would be nothing of use turned up, but it wouldn't hurt for the
policemen to reassure themselves on this point.
After they had disappeared, Aki bustled off to the bathroom
and brushed her teeth thoroughly.
The
string of lies had left an uncharacteristically bad taste in her mouth.