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Chapter 21: Haruhi's Disappearance

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Haruhi was the last thing on Ryouji's mind when his wife, Kotoko, went into labor. The last words he said to her were, "Fetch the midwives!" and he hadn't considered that those might be the last words he spoke to her, ever. It was thundering, that night, so when Haruhi hadn't shown up to welcome her baby brother into the world, her father didn't question it or make a fuss to go find her. The next morning they all slept in, or as well as one could sleep in with a newborn in the same room.

Ryouji awoke well past dawn, and was contemplating a late breakfast when he called for his only daughter.

"Haruhi!"

No answer.

"Haruhi!" he called again.

Still, no answer. Ryouji didn't push it because it wasn't uncommon for Haruhi to sleep in after a storm that would keep her awake most of the night. Instead, he put on his worn boots and walked outside to the chicken coop to gather eggs. From there he went to check on his only horse and cow. Ryouji then returned to his home and set the basket of eggs in the kitchen. He walked toward Haruhi's room.

"Ok, my precious girl, I think you've slept in long enough. Come and help Daddy in the kitchen, please?" He was smiling, but that smile dropped to a frown when he walked into his daughter's room. Her dresser was emptied, all her shoes were gone, and her bed sheet was missing. "What the…?"

The window wasn't latched.

Ryouji walked over to inspect it, and pushed the window, outward. From his position he glanced around and then looked down. He could hardly believe what he was seeing, and went outside to have a closer look. Carefully, he walked around the perimeter until he was near Haruhi's window.

Ryouji lowered into a crouch and examined the thing that was slowly sending his mind into panic mode: there were fresh footprints in the mud. Slowly, he followed their path as best he could, and about 10 paces from the window he took note of a second pair of prints. Unlike the prints he followed from the window, this second set was larger. He tried following the prints, some more, but as he reached more into the grassy parts, the prints disappeared and he had nothing to follow.

"No…," he whispered.

He didn't need to keep following the prints. He saw the old barn, through the trees, in the distance. All color drained from his face and he ran home.

"Kotoko!" he shout-whispered, "Kotoko!"

Kotoko handed her sleeping baby to one of the midwives that helped birth him, and she watched her husband stumble through the room. The midwife took a hint and left the room. Ryouji ran to his wife's side.

"What is it, dear?"

"Haruhi, gone, that bastard - what are we going to do?!"

"Honey, slow down, what's this about Haruhi?"

Ryouji took a deep breath and grasped his wife's hands.

"Haruhi is missing," he whispered, "She packed up her room and disappeared in the middle of the night."

"What are you talking about?" Kotoko's voice carried a little panic.

"Kotoko, our only daughter is gone. I don't know exactly when or why, but…I think I know how."

"Ryouji, you're scaring me."

"Please, Kotoko, I think…I think that…that man, that dirty warlock, took our baby girl, last night. There were footprints from her window…heading toward the old barn."

Kotoko brought her hand over her mouth and gasped.

"Obviously," Ryouji continued, "she was taken by force. That bastard put a spell on her - I can feel it in my bones! But her things are gone so…"

"Why would he take her?"

"She took her things with her…that means she's safe…for now. I don't know why he would do such a thing, but please try and rest. I'm going to talk to the village elder. We will get to the bottom of this." He kissed his weary wife on the forehead, and left before he saw her breakdown into tears and sink beneath the covers.

Ryouji ran across the center of the bustling town and entered the yard where he saw a young girl sweeping out front.

"Mei! Is your father home?" he asked urgently. The girl stopped sweeping and looked at Ryouji questioningly before nodding and pointing to the house.

"He's in the kitchen," she said.

Without another word, Ryouji ran inside.

"Isao!" he called, " Emergency!"

An older gentleman with his hair tied back emerged with a ladle in his hand.

"Fujioka, this better be good, I'm in the middle of my best dish, yet!"

"Isao, Haruhi's in trouble."

"Oh? How so?"

"She was taken, in the middle of the night, by…him."

Isao frowned. "That's a bold accusation."

"But I know it to be true. He put a curse on my baby girl and forced her to pack up her belongings and leave her home."

"Have you been by the Arais' place? Maybe those two lovebirds ran away together."

"Absolutely not! There's no way my daughter would abandon her family and elope!"

"Look," said Isao, rubbing his temple, "all I'm saying is let's not rule out the possibility of her disappearance and the wizard's visit being completely unrelated. Even if you are onto something, I cannot allow you to pursue him openly or on your own."

"This is my daughter we're talking about!"

"And if it were someone else's daughter would you want the rashness of a parent be the reason that your children also disappeared? I hate to say it, but we have to look at the bigger picture. I can't make any assumptions or accusations unless something like this happens, again."

"What do you expect me to do? Give up on her?!"

"No, of course not! But…I would prefer if we approached the situation from a different angle. How many have you told of your suspicion?"

"Just my wife."

"Then I implore you to keep the situation between the two of you. If this is an avenue you wish to pursue, I would prefer if we did it on the down low so as to not create a panic…or have a curse brought down upon us."

Ryouji frowned. "My daughter is missing. People will surely notice that!"

"Then we need a good cover story. Hmm…doesn't your daughter like to swim?"

"Yes."

"There we go. She was swept away by the river while trying to retrieve a bucket and has not been found. Until we can come up with more evidence you should stick to this story. You're a dear friend, and I will do everything in my power to help you, but I also have a responsibility to the well-being of our neighbors."

"That's your answer? Go home and do nothing? Who knows what despicable things that monster is doing to my daughter at this very moment! I cannot stand by like a stump and watch the world around me being cut down. I'll go through the woods and find her, myself!"

"NO!" yelled Isao. Ryouji stepped down, a little taken aback.

"What?"

"You are not a hunter, you will get lost. You are not a knight, you will not survive. You are not a wizard, you cannot fight him."

"I would do anything for my daughter-"

"As would I! But we must face the truth, here, as grim as it is. I will not allow you to put our village at risk. What if he didn't take Haruhi? You've just insulted a dangerous man. Until we have more information, I forbid you to take action. If I so much as catch a whiff of you trying to take on the big, bad wolf without my knowing, I will banish you and your family from your home. Is that clear?"

Ryouji's heart sank. The open wilderness was no place to raise a newborn. Deep down, he knew Isao's words rang true, and if Mei were in Haruhi's position, he would take the same precautions. For now, he would listen to his friend and pray for Haruhi's safety and well-being.

"I…understand. Please, help me find my baby girl."

Isao's expression softened.

"As I've said, I will do everything in my power to find the truth. I'll write some letters and send a messenger to the surrounding villages, asking if they've seen any girls with Haruhi's description. We'll wait for their replies and figure out where to go from there."

"Thank you," said Ryouji. He grasped Isao's hands and gave them a squeeze.

"Go be with your wife," said Isao, "and please be patient. I will take care of it."

After this meeting, Ryouji sauntered home with a heavy heart. Entering his bedroom, he picked up the newborn from his wife and kissed his forehead. He sat down on the bed next to Kotoko and wept into her shoulder. He relayed everything that happened. Tears began streaming down her face.

"Isao is right, Kotoko. I'm not a knight. I'm not cut out for traveling or fighting…I'm a terrible hunter." Ryouji laid down with Kotoko, the baby resting between them.

"I'm not a knight, but I can find one."

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Fast forward to the present.

It was evening. Haruhi sat on the floor by her bed, surrounded with the things that Nekozawa brought back to her. She was fiddling with the hand mirror when she saw his reflection join hers. They locked eyes, for a moment, this way, before Nekozawa broke away and approached his bed. Haruhi sighed, lowered the mirror and exchanged it for her poppet. She stood up and, without asking if it was ok, sat beside him. Nekozawa didn't push her away and, instead, looked at her silently.

"You didn't…have to do this," she said, motioning to her gifts, "I'm not ungrateful that you did, but…I feel like you were more interested in dissuading risky thoughts than returning my possessions." Haruhi slowly took hold of Nekozawa's hand and watched as his eyes lowered to examine her gesture. She waited for him to look her back in the eyes before continuing.

"I don't know what you think my intentions are, but I came to you of my own volition. I may miss my family and my village, but that doesn't mean I'm planning to go back on my word. I'm…ok…with my parents not looking for me - it's better, this way. But please, you don't need to hold anything over my head. It hurts my feelings." She let go of his hand and gave him the poppet, "I want you to have this. I read in one of your books that poppets are sometimes used for curses."

Nekozawa's expression warmed and he gave a soft smile.

"I'll take good care of it," he said.

"Thank you," said Haruhi. She stood up and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night, Neko-sensei."

"Good night…Haruhi," he whispered.