Chapter Nineteen: A Favor
Sesshoumaru leaned forward, the midday sun warm against his back. Holding an air-powered staple gun in his hand, he set its nose against the wooden batten. With a sharp thump, the gun shot a nail into it, securing the batten to the one beneath it. Sidestepping, he moved to the next one over. And with a steady rhythm, he made his way across the roof, nailing together the latticework of thin wood planks that overlaid the deck.
Reaching the end at the roof hip, he straightened up and assessed his progress thus far. The shrine roof had been in better shape than expected. Only in a few places had he needed to replace the plywood deck due to rot. For the most part, the roof had only needed a new layer of weather stripping. Once he was finished installing the latticework of battens, then he could nail the roofing tiles into them and be done.
As he walked back across the roof to start the next set, the breeze shifted. He sniffed, catching a familiar scent originating from the long flight of stairs at the shrine entrance.
"Souta," he said.
Sitting on the roof ridge above him, the boy looked up from his tablet.
"We have a guest. Please prepare some tea and an appropriate food to accompany it."
"Okay!" Souta replied, tucking his tablet into his coverall pocket. He headed down the deck, each foot on a batten until he reached the ladder. Then with a cautious awkwardness, he climbed onto it and made his way to the ground below.
Sesshoumaru leaned forward again and set to work stapling. When he was halfway across the roof, a voice called out to him.
"Good morning, Sesshoumaru!"
Standing up again, he turned around and looked down to find a man in a red bomber jacket and black skinny jeans.
"Tora-san."
Tora sighed. "You can call me Yamato if you want. I mean, I've seen you half dead, so I think we can be on a real name, even familiar, basis."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Or not…"
Sesshoumaru set the staple gun down, and with ease, he leapt down to land on the ground beside him.
Smiling, Tora shook his head. "Who needs ladders, right?"
"Would you like some tea?" he offered.
He nodded. "I would."
The front door opened and Souta burst out. "Tora-san!"
He sighed in resignation, and then grinned. "Good morning, Souta-chan."
"Mama is making tea. Also, do you like daifuku?"
"Uh, yeah, that's fine… So, your mom is here?" he asked, his tanned cheeks blushing slightly.
"Yep. Come inside!"
With Souta leading the way, Sesshoumaru and Tora followed. In the entryway, they pulled off their boots. And when they entered the living room, they found six cushions laid out around the low table.
"Good morning, Tora." Mama greeted from the kitchen. The fresh aroma of jasmine green tea wafted in the air. She set the steeped pot of tea onto the large tray beside some nested teacups and a dish of leaf-shaped cookies. "What a wonderful spring we're having, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah," he mumbled, his blush returning, and he smoothed his crown of hair.
"The street punk is back, eh?" Grandpa grumbled as he thumped down the stairs.
"Grandpa…" Kagome sighed, a few steps behind him.
Mama laughed. "Come on, everyone. Let's all sit down."
Together, they found their places around the table.
"So, what brings you here this morning, Tora?" Mama asked, pouring tea into his cup before handing it to him.
Graciously, he accepted it. "I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced. I tried texting and calling, but it's not someone's preference."
She smiled, and with a wink, she handed Sesshoumaru his cup of tea. "We've learned that lesson already."
The daiyoukai gave them both an indifferent look and took a sip.
"Well, we're happy to have you over."
"Thank you. I just wish it was under better circumstances." He turned to Sesshoumaru. "I know that I said that I was here to help you with whatever you needed, but I need your help this time."
Sesshoumaru nodded, listening.
He took a deep breath. "One of my kids is missing. Her name is Ito Amaya and she hasn't checked in during the last two weeks. I wasn't too worried until her school called to let me know she's been absent for all that time. She has her troubles, but this isn't like her."
"What about her family?" Mama asked.
"Uninvolved. Both her parents bailed on her, and she's been bounced around to different relatives ever since. I've called her current guardians several times, but they haven't been forthcoming. Only telling me that she hasn't come home and nothing more."
"That's terrible."
"How old is she?" Kagome asked, her eyes hard.
"Fifteen," he replied.
"In what manner would you like help?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"I just want to find her, whatever the situation is. I hope she's just run away, but there have been rumors of girls disappearing, so I'm worried that something worse has happened to her. I figure with your, I don't know, extraordinary senses that you could maybe track her down."
He nodded.
"We can start at her house. Maybe there's something there that you can use to find her, and I'll try to get as much information out of her guardians as possible."
Kagome reached across the table towards Tora. "When you go, can I go with you?"
"I don't know…" he hesitated.
"I can pretend to be a friend from school. I know I can help too. She's a year younger than me. I want to do something."
"I understand, but—"
"You may join us," Sesshoumaru interrupted, finishing his cup of tea.
"Wait—"
"She's capable," he assured with a look that was nonnegotiable.
Kagome looked at him, surprised. Then a smile grew across her lips.
Tora eyed them both suspiciously before sighing. "Okay."
"Good. When are we going?" she asked.
"I was hoping this evening. Her guardians said they'd be available then."
"That will be satisfactory," Sesshoumaru agreed as he rose to his feet. He had enough time to finish installing the battens and begin rehanging the roofing tiles.
"Tora-san, since you're here, do you want to help with our roofing project?" Souta asked eagerly.
"Do you have coveralls for me too?" he replied with a laugh.
"Sure!"
"Hold on. You're serious?"
"Think of it as a courtesy for dropping by unannounced," Mama offered. "I'll go get you something to wear."
"Uh, sure…" he mumbled, his voice drying up. "#%$#."
Grandpa grumbled under his breath.
OOOOOOOOOO
The sun set behind the suburban skyline, turning the western sky a brilliant orange that ripened to pink as it reached east. Dressed for the cool evening, Kagome and Tora walked up a narrow roadway, heading toward a nest of apartments and small houses at the crest of a hill.
Somewhere nearby, a citrus tree bloomed, its sweet scent mixing with jasmine. Kagome breathed it in with a sigh. The neighborhood, while cramped even by Tokyo standards, had a comfortable feeling to it. A sense of community that threaded its way through every home and bodega.
Twisting from side-to-side as he walked, Tora stretched. "My Saturday did not turn out how I expected it."
She laughed.
"I feel like I'm outnumbered by just one member of your family. All five of you is more than unfair. Are you all related to lions, because I'm pretty sure your shrine is the proverbial den."
"Considering our history with inuyoukai, it's more likely wolves."
He chuckled. "Well, I'm always looking for a new skill to screw up on, and today that was roofing."
"I'm sure you didn't do that bad."
"Sesshoumaru took my hammer away."
"That's pretty bad."
"Souta got to keep his, by the way. I spent the whole afternoon laying out the tiles and handing them nails, which was absolutely the right decision. It's just extra embarrassing when a nine-year-old shows you up in front of a youkai."
"A youkai lord. A former one at least."
"Oh, that makes it better."
Reaching the hilltop, they headed north along a snug row of houses, the greenish-white glow from the streetlights guiding their way. Midway along, Tora stopped in front of a home as nondescript as its neighbors.
"This is it," he said.
"Good," Kagome replied, her voice hard. Distant relatives or not, this family had some explaining to do.
He looked at her, his expression startling with its seriousness. "Kagome-san, I know that being here is important to you. Sesshoumaru vouched for you, and there are very few people that I respect more than him. I just want to be clear about why we're here. We're looking for clues about what happened to Amaya. If something seems off, we're not here to condemn or accuse anyone of wrongdoing. We're not here to confront."
Her brow furrowed. "But—"
"I know. Trust me I know. I've seen some terrible things. However, this is my job, and the police, they have their job. If we see anything illegal, we pass it on. But you should know that not everything bad is illegal. Not everything inhumane is against the law. And even people who are family by blood aren't always family by heart."
"I understand," she said, her jaw tight with frustration.
He looked her in the eyes, assessing her resolve. "You're passionate. And from the way you field operated on Sesshoumaru when he was shot, I can tell that you've seen a lot too. I trust that you might find something or have some insight that I won't have here. If I didn't believe in you, I wouldn't have agreed to you coming along. Okay?"
She nodded.
He smiled, his usual affability warming his face again. "Sorry if I was harsh."
"It's all right. I get that there's more to this."
"You're a very authentic and direct person, which I appreciate. We'll find out the truth, and if it's bad, those responsible will get what's coming to them. One way or another."
She smiled. "Good."
Giving her a wink, he took the lead and walked toward the front door. When he reached it, he gave it a loud knock and waited. After a few moments, the outdoor light flicked on and the door opened a crack. Through it, a man peered out.
"Ito-san," Tora greeted warmly.
"Oh," the man grumped and opened the door the rest of the way.
Dressed in a plain polo shirt and pants, he seemed unremarkable to a fault. Standing behind him, a woman in a patterned dress waited, her appearance as average as his. Ordinary people living ordinary lives in an ordinary place.
"Yamato-san, come in," Ito said, waving. Then his hand paused.
Tora looked back. "Oh, this is Kagome. She's a friend of Amaya's from school, and she was hoping to help us find out what happened to her."
"Oh."
"It's nice to meet you," Kagome said, bowing politely.
"It's nice to meet you too," he repeated back automatically
"Is it okay for her to come in?" Tora asked. "Maybe she can check Amaya's belongings for a clue."
Ito shrugged. "If it will satisfy you."
"Thank you."
Tora pulled off his boots and set them neatly beside the other shoes in the entryway, and Kagome followed suit, placing hers next to his. Beckoning at him, Ito shuffled into the living room.
"Would you like some tea?" he offered. "I can't imagine this will take long, but I thought I'd ask."
"No, I'm fine," Tora replied, following him. "I appreciate the thought though. Have you filed a missing persons report with the police yet?"
"No, I don't see why it's necessary. She probably ran away with some older man. She's just like her mother. Ungrateful."
"In that case, what can you tell me about her last day here? Anything memorable?"
"I don't know. She was the same as usual. Too much makeup and too little clothing. You'd think she was a whore."
Her face turning red, Kagome gritted her teeth in anger. How could anyone think so little of their family? Perhaps she wasn't his daughter, but she was still blood. And even if she wasn't blood, to be that uncaring and rude about another human being, someone who could be suffering or worse right now. It was more than she could take. She had tacitly promised Tora to let him handle it his way, but she wasn't sure she could keep her word.
"Kagome-san," a voice spoke up.
She blinked, her rage interrupted.
The woman smiled at her. "Amaya's room is this way."
She nodded in reply.
The woman led her down the short and narrow hallway to a door. When she slid it open, she revealed a small storage room. One side was piled deep with boxes and an old shoji screen stood folded against the wall. On the other side, there was enough floor space for a futon, one that was already missing from the room.
"Thank you," Kagome said and went inside.
The woman nodded and lingered in the hallway, her attention rarely straying from her guest.
Spying some pictures pinned to the base of the wall, Kagome knelt down. They were prints of j-pop stars and popular social media models at the eye level of a girl hidden away in what was little more than a closet. Scrawled at the bottom of one picture was an unfamiliar social media handle. She pulled out her smartphone and typed it into the internet search feature. Links came up for several social media platforms, and when she clicked on one, she was treated to a host of posts. To photos of a pretty girl trying hard to be seen. Impending tears ached her eyes.
"Kagome-san," Tora called out to her softly.
She looked up, blinking away the tears.
"Did you find anything?"
"I think so," she said, holding up her phone.
"Good."
"Oh!" she blurted out, and then looked to the woman. "Is there something of hers that we can have? A memento for when we find her?"
OOOOOOOOOO
Darkness settled over the neighborhood, turning the sea of residences to black in the moonless night with only the light emanating from windows and doorsteps revealing its depth. Cradled in the nook of her arm, Kagome hugged a worn-out Hello Kitty doll as she swiped and tapped at her phone screen. Soon, she settled on the social media image feed she had discovered earlier.
"There has to be a clue somewhere in here," she said, scrolling through the pictures.
Walking beside her, Tora scrolled as well. "It's not a good sign that the last post was two weeks ago."
"I know."
Her brow furrowed. "What's this?"
He leaned over to see her screen. Using her thumb and forefinger, she zoomed in on a selfie of Amaya. In the background was a slick looking LED sign.
"The K-Lin Lounge?" she said, frowning.
Tapping his forehead, he wracked his brain. "I think that's a gaijin bar in downtown."
She smiled. "Well, we have our first clue."
"We do," he agreed.
"And if it's a bust, we can go back to her home and look for more clues."
"Maybe." He started to scroll through his address book on his phone. Then he selected a number and put the phone to his ear.
"Who are you calling?"
"The police," he replied. "I'm filing the missing persons report. Aside from the fact that it's my duty to call as her social worker, Amaya's guardians are responsible for her, whether they want to be or not. They don't get to #%$#ing pretend that she just went away."
"Good."
"And I'm sure they'd rather deal with the police than with a certain someone who was lurking on their roof."
She chuckled, more than a little disappointed. "I'm sure."