Chapter One
There they stood, in the middle of the neighborhood. Why? What were they doing there? What were they thinking? No one should be appearing instantly like that, not even the Assigned. Unless, these two are theâ€..
No. Sakura shook her head. That wasn't possible. Those two looked nothing familiar. The two couldn't be the Protectors. The shoulder-length-brown-haired girl wrinkled her nose and shook her head wildly. Those two girls were probably just sent by Everlast, or maybe Cloud if they were lucky. They really couldn't have been sent by Varia, or even Amane. Not possible.
'Should I go up to them and ask them?' she asked herself. 'Nah, it's none of my business.'
Mima stared at the surrounding houses, wondering if it was all an illusion prepared by AM to make them believe they were here. She walked forward a couple of paces. "Michie?"
"Yeppers, Mima-Mima? What is it-it?"
"Is this your house?"
"Yeppers, Mima-Mima, this-this is Michie's housee heree." Michie pointed to the one at the dead end of the street. "That's Michie's housee. Oh, and Michie wants to know why you're wearing my school uniforms."
"Oh, okayâ€." Mima looked confused. She looked down at her clothes. URG! 'Why'd she put me in a SCHOOL UNIFORM like I was in grade school, or junior high?!'
"Michie?"
"Yeppers?"
"What school do you go to, and what city are we in?"
"Michie-Michie goes to Kamikawa Academy, and we is-is in my city!"
"What city is that in?"
"I dunno."
At this Mima sighed. "I'm so screwed."
"Do ya need a screwdriver? Michie's father has one-one."
Mima groaned. 'AM, take me back, please! Anything's better than this stupid situation right now.' "Let's go inside."
"OK-K!" the cheerful child skipped the whole way to her house.
Upon entrance, Michie sat down on the marble flooring as if it was her "secret area" and hers for the taking (well, it actually was, but that's a whole different story to be possibly discussed in later chapters). "Why, Michie! Where on Earth have you been?" Mima turned and snapped to attention as she heard a soft voice emitting from the flowing, elegant staircase behind her, as she knew she had heard that voice before this whole Soul Corridor incident from somewhere. But wherever that was, the voice didn't seem so familiar once she glanced at the gracious, warm face whose voice seemed so much at peace.
"Mima! Mima!" the girl's newfound hikari tugged endlessly at Mima's left sleeve to no avail. "Mima-Mima, that's Michie's mommy," she whispered urgently.
"Yes, yes, Michie, I know." Mima waved the babyish nine-year-old off, then paused. "Waiiiit. You mean to tell me that she," Mima pointed at the lady on the staircase, then continued, "is your mother?"
The 'staircase lady' gracefully tiptoed down the stairway, smiling kindly at Mima. "Good evening! You look like you're one of Michie's school friends; am I correct? Lainie maybe, or Sunny? Anyway, I'm her mother, Lilliana Tadi. But of course you knew that." For the moment, it didn't seem like any part of this serene, refined, charming woman had passed on to her daughter; especially Lilliana's evident adoration for superior attire, Mima noted as she stared at Mrs. Tadi's expensive tastes in fashion.
"Erm†hi. I'm.. yeah. I'm Mima."
"So you're from Michie's school, Kamikawa Academy. It's so nice to see her with friends she made all on her own," smiled Lilliana.
'So does that mean the rest of Michie's so-called friends aren't really close to her, but were paid or something like that by Lilliana?' Mima thought as she acknowledged that she wasn't from Kamikawa, but from another school.
"Oh?" Lilliana looked surprised for a few seconds, then smiled. However, Mima also caught the quick warning glance Lilliana had sent at her daughter when she thought that Mima wasn't looking, thus entirely changing Mima's previous generalizations of this family.
Trying to get out of the uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible, Mima looked at the shimmering silver clock encased in glass, conveniently placed at the top of the stairs. "Oh, I've got to be going," she whispered breathlessly and ran out the door as fast as she could.
"My, my, Michie. You've got a peculiar friend there, Michie darling," sniffed Mrs. Tadi from inside. "Maybe you shouldn't hang out with her for a while."
"Now, if only I could just find a way to record that conversation inside" Mima muttered darkly to herself as she snuck into the spacious Tadi family backyard. "Hm."
"Found it." She gently placed the tape recorder on the windowsill next to the door between the kitchen and dining room. She put on the attached pair of headphones and turned the volume up. "OK, Kami, you've been recommended by AM, now work," she commanded and flicked the record switch "on," listening patiently for any key words that would help at all with her investigation.
Mima heard Michie's loud voice (who within five miles couldn't hear her?) from indoors. "Mother, why do you never let Michie's friend-friends stay long-long?" Then she heard a prickly, sharp, needle-like laugh, which would have to be Lilliana's, as no one was in the room other than Michie and her mother.
"Shut the FREAK UP!" Lilliana shrieked at her child. Mima winced. Ouch. Poor Michie.
'I wonder if she has to put up with this crap every day,' Mima guiltily thought. "It's NONE of your DAMN business ANYWAY," Mrs. Tadi spat at her child.
'Yep, it'd have to be Lilliana. Knew that there was something wrong about her,' Mima shook her head vigorously in complete disgust.
Suddenly Mima heard footsteps. "Lilliana, stop PICKING on her," an unfamiliar voice sighed.
"Really, Theo, what business is it of yours?"
"It's in my interest, and definitely my business, as Michie's my daughter too, and I don't want her to grow up remembering her parents as uneducated fools that had no experience with dealing with children," the crisp voice replied. Ah. So this Theo character was Michie's father. Well, at least he stuck up for his offspring.
"Why, I didn't see you attempting to teach her anything!"
"I didn't see you doing that, either. All you've taught her to do is be a great big snooty, obnoxious little horror who lies on her butt all day requesting, 'maid service!'"
"Shut the hell up, Theo." Lilliana's voice rang throughout the household. Mima almost laughed. What a wide vocabulary Lilliana had, and how smart they sounded on an adult!
"Still haven't grown up completely, I see." Theo sounded smug. Mima carelessly studied her short nails.
"I hate you, freak," mumbled Michie's mother tensely.
There was a loud screech as Theo stood up (Mima could at least see and hear that much from the window without being seen herself) and grabbed something from the table. "Come on, Mich. Let's get out of this dump." The obedient child stood up, ran around the table a few times, then followed her father out the door.
"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF CRAP! GIVE ME BACK MY CREDIT CARDS!" Lilliana yelped and attempted to trail after them before they could get any further. Mima's eyes bugged out as there was a crash on the floor. Broke the marble with her high heels, probably. "Freak. Screw these crappish high heels." Another loud bang as Lilliana threw her high heels out the open window, right above Mima's head. Mima's eyes followed the shoes as they literally flew into the backyard.
She turned off Kami and stuck it (or, to some people, Kami would be referred to as "her") in her pocket. "I can't believe I was so wrong about Lilliana," Mima fumed. "Yet I can't believe I was so right." She walked out the back door, sneaking after Theo and his daughter.
"Halt, evildoer." A pink uniformed adolescent held out her perfectly manicured fingers in a stance familiar to police officers at Mima. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"I'm no evildoer, you big dolt. For your information, I'm Mima Vitone, and AM sent me here."
Miss Pink gasped, stepped backwards, then bowed deeply. "Konnichiwa! I am so sorry to be of interruptance to your investigation! Please forgive me. I wish to be of service to you now. I think I can help you, as I know the Kamikawa neighborhood from front to back. By the way, my name is Hanaakarikawa Sakura. I'm fifteen."
"You look younger." Mima commented as she studied Sakura's features. "Yeah, you can help me. What do you do?"
"I prevent any wars from breaking out between Soul Corridor and this country by making sure no one passes through any portals going to or from Soul Corridor," Sakura stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, you can help preventing a war caused by AM by letting me continue" Mima tapped her foot, gesturing to Theo and Michie, now getting in their car.
"Eheheâ€. Sorry. I'm not good at this that much." Sakura sweatdropped.
"That's sort of obvious." scoffed Mima. "So†do you usually walk while patrolling, or what?" asked Mima as she jumped into the open trunk of the Ford clearly owned and loved by Theodore Tadi.
"Umm.. stuff like this doesn't usually happen much. All I've been taught to do is recognize the people and families in this neighborhood, and if I see something suspicious, then I .. like, where was I? If I see something that's not.. yeah, then I record it and turn it in to Varia. Most of the time I just walk, because nothing really happens. I can only patrol on weekends, since Varia doesn't let me patrol on weekdays, even when I don't have homework." Sakura muttered gloomily.
"Who's this Varia, anyway?" inquired a puzzled Mima.
"Varia! You know†Visaria!"
Mima shook her head, still at a blank for whatever Sakura was trying to describe.
"Visaria. Varia. Whatever you wanna call her. The chairman of Soul Corridor. Everyone's boss."
"Do you know about everyone's jobs?" questioned the now fascinated girl as Theo turned on the engine.
"Yep. Who do ya wanna know 'bout?"
"Amane Moon, Everlast, eh.. Yeah, that's it." Mima shrugged.
"Amane? Don't you know? She's right under Varia in rank as librarian, information centre secretary, and entertainment provider, although some say she's slowly manipulating Varia to put her higher and in a few years possibly take over from Varia. However, I've also heard that she and Varia get along very well how they are, so she doesn't want to mess that up" Sakura trailed off. "And Everlast is the hospital's only doctor, so if you're sick or something you'd better not be on her bad side, which a lot of people manage to do for some weird reason."
"Really" Mima mused. "I'd say that the people that say the thing about the manipulating are right," she nodded. "SO†like.. do you know anything about the Tadi family? Well, you probably should, as they're in the neighborhoods you go around in."
"My little sis Kime goes to Michie Tadi's school, and she says that Michie is really nice, generous, playful†and her mother's really beautiful," Sakura informed Mima. "Mich is ok, but personally I think that Mrs. Tadi's on the snotty side. Theodore's at home a lot, but he tries to avoid any confrontations at all with his wife. Michie just goes on with her life," Sakura commented while removing her silver chain charm bracelet and playing with its attachments.
"At first, I thought Mrs. Tadi was going to be really calm, really beautiful, like your sister said. Then, when I went outside to record their conversation, her voice got.. allâ€, you know, like.. louder, screechier, uncontrollable-like. And that serene picture just fell apart in my hands." Mima shrugged shortly. "It's a bit sad. Both Michie and Lilliana are childish, and want comfort, security, you know?"
"You're soooo right! Ah, shoot, we're stopping," Sakura yelped as Theo pulled to a stop.
"Get outta the trunk once they leave!" hissed Mima as Michie and her father hopped out the car. "They're going to leave, and I need information for AM's relationship status book!"
So Mima and Sakura pushed open the trunk portion of the car and nearly tumbled out headfirst, running after the other two. Mima tripped over a parking stopper as she read where she was on a nearby phone book. "Ah, crap, not more shopping!" she groaned.
"Father-Father?" Mima heard Michie ask Theo as they sat down at a table in the vicinity of the ever-expanding but still overly-crowded Food Court at Kamikawa Mall together.
"Yes, Mich?"
"Why does Mother hate me?" Michie was straight and to-the-point. Her father sat up sharply and gave his daughter a disappointed look.
"Your mother doesn't hate you, Mich," Theo consoled the girl gently.
"Then why does she yell and scream at me when my friends are not around? No one else's mothers do that."
Theo sighed, at a loss for words. "It's complicated, Mich."
"And why don't my friends have 'mothers?'"
"Of course they have mothers."
"No, they all have 'mommies.'" Michie sulked.
Theodore sighed. "Lilliana doesn't like direct confrontations or being close to anyone."
"Did Mother's mommy be like that?" Michie asked, tilting her head to one side as she sipped her blueberry slurpie from Mel's Coffee, right outside the food court.
"No, actually, your grandmother was everything Lilliana wasn't. She was giving, carefree, and didn't worry as much about money as your mother does."
"Then what happened to my grandmama?" Michie's voice was earnest, as this was clearly very significant to her.
"Your grandmama died a few days after your third birthday. Before that, Lilliana was exactly like her mom. After the death, Lilliana felt very vulnerable to pain, especially since your grandmama had promised her that she would see to it that she would live to see you grow up to be a wonderful child. The result was that Lilliana ended up neglecting you to prove to her mother that since she didn't live past three years of your life, you wouldn't grow up to be a great kid like Ashilee had promised." Theo sat still and silent for a moment.
Michie rubbed her nose. "Is that why Mother doesn't love me?"
"Deep down, she probably loves you very much, but you remind her of how she used to be when your grandmama was alive and she was very young, so she doesn't like to be around you."
"OK, that's enough. I can't listen to anymore of this," Mima picked up the tape recorder and turned it off. She exhaled deeply and picked up Kami. "Sorry, Kams, but I can't do this. AM'll have to do the rest." She turned around, only to look directly at AM herself. "Eh"
"Thought you could get away with that?" AM asked bitterly. "I've heard worse tales. Give me that tape recorder."
Sighing, Mima handed over Kami to AM, who pocketed it. Mima gasped. "You mean, you won't..?"
AM shot a dirty look at Mima. "I may seem evil to the point of insanity, but I'm not emotionless, Mima," she whispered in a vampiric voice that nearly froze Mima. "Now, where's that girl that you were hanging around with?"
Mima blinked. "You mean, you knew I was slightly slacking?"
AM narrowed her eyes. "Of course. Now, where is she? I need to speak to her." Amane's tone was quiet but still sharp as she inquired Sakura's whereabouts.
"Erm.. she left a few minutes ago."
AM sighed. "You know, you shouldn't have let her."
"Why not?"
The pale girl's childlike face mocked Mima. "Why not? Varia wants to fire her for not being professional with an Investigator. And as for who the Investigator is, that was you."
"But I enjoyed talking with her!" protested Mima. AM closed her eyes.
"Do me a favor, and just tell me which direction she went in."
"AM! I TOLD you, I have short term memory loss."
"As do I occasionally. Still, I know which direction Riffie goes to for the sugar," AM pointed out.
Mima groaned. "Well, I don't know."
"Then let's go back to Soul Corridor," AM smiled. "And Michie too, as you have already recognized that she needs to be separated from Lilliana. As for Theodore Tadi, his fate will be decided tomorrow."
A blink---and Mima was gone from sight.
