Hunt
Chapter 2
Detective Kasura Ryu sat at his desk, filling out a stack of paper work that had gathered over the past week. Finished cases involving murders, robberies, and missing persons. He sighed as he finished his last paper, placing it in the 'filled out' tray on his desk.
As he reached for his coffee cup sitting on his desk, he heard a knock at his door. "Come in," he called as he picked up his cup and took a drink from it. The door opened after he said this, allowing Detective Harata Moriko to walk in, holding a packet. "We've got another one, Sir," said Ryu's junior.
He sat the coffee cup back down and propped his feet on his desk. "What is it, then?" he inquired of his partner. Moriko reached into the packet and pulled out several pictures. "At 11:23 last night, we received a call for a missing person." She showed him one of the pictures.
On it was a teenage girl flashing a 'victory' sign. Ryu sighed, "And I just finished everything, too... Ah well. Do we know who saw her last?" Moriko nodded, "Her parents said that she was heading back home from Mizuhara Yuu's residence."
Ryu grunted as he stood up from his chair. He scratched his chin as he said, "I think it may be one of Shouta's." Moriko looked at him with surprise. "How could we know if it's him or not? She's missing. It could mean any number of things, but don't go straight to the conclusion of murder."
The man shrugged, "Just putting in my thought." He straightened his tie and said, "Well, I guess we should start at Mizuhara-san's house." Moriko nodded, "When do we start?" Ryu took another drink from his coffee and replied, "Right now, if possible."
Yomi walked worriedly to school. They had gotten a call last night from the Takinos that Tomo had disappeared. She worried about what might have happened to her friend. Soon after they had been called, Yomi had done about calling the rest of her friends, telling them the news.
She arrived at school in time to get everything before class. Her classroom was quieter than usual when she walked in. Everyone was doing what they did every morning, but without Tomo, the atmosphere was more peaceful.
Sakaki sat by the window, staring out it like usual, but with a more worried look. Chiyo and Osaka stood around Kagura's desk, talking quietly. Yomi walked up to them. All of their gazes changed to her.
"Ah'm sorry 'bout all this, Yomi-chan," Osaka said, with a genuine sad expression. "It will be OK, Yomi-san, It will!" Chiyo exclaimed, hugging Yomi tight. "We hope she's alright," Kagura said. Yomi nodded with a sad frown on her face, "Yeah, it's all gonna be alright."
Suddenly, the bell rang, and the class sat in their desks, excluding one Takino Tomo. The door burst open as Yukari stormed into the classroom and stopped at her desk.
"It's class time!" she yelled, looking around the room. The teacher saw the empty desk and asked, "Where's Takino-san?" The announcement speaker buzzed as it turned on. The principal's voice floated over the slight buzz. "Takino Tomo has become a missing person. She was reported to be so last night around 11:00. If anyone has any information as to her whereabouts, please report them to the police. That is all."
Yukari stood there for a while. "Well, that was a strangely timed answer," she said after a while. She looked around the room once more. "Well, Takino-san's missing, and if anyone has any information, please report it to the police. I need Tomo back in here. I'll go mad if I don't have anyone to annoy," she said. The teacher reached down and picked up her English book. "Let's begin."
Shouta stood in the abandoned metal factory. He was draining more of his victim's blood into a bottle. It was a habit, collecting their blood. He had done it so many times that he had to now. He pulled the bottle away from the bleeding girl and placed it in his special cabinet.
He had checked the internet for a matching picture of the girl he had killed. Her name was Takino Tomoko. She was 16 years old and had been a student in one of the local high schools. Shouta smirked. Some… investigation… had to be done.
Ryu and Moriko stepped out of Ryu's car, which had stopped in front of Mizuhara Yuu's house. The Detectives walked to the front door and pressed the door bell. After a while, they still had no response, Moriko leaned over to Ryu. "Do you think they're not home?"
As soon as she said this, the door opened, revealing a man that stood a head taller that Ryu. "What do you want?" he asked. "Mizuhara-san?" the man nodded, "We're here about Takino Tomoko. May we come in?"
Yuu nodded and walked back inside, the Detectives following him. When they got inside, Ryu began. "I am Detective Kasura Ryu, and this is Detective Harata Moriko. We heard that you were one of the last people to see Tomoko before she went missing."
Yuu nodded and said, "I was." Ryu walked around the room while saying, "We need any information as to what may have become of Tomoko." Yuu nodded again. "I'll help you anyway I can." He told the Detectives every detail about the evening before, all the way down to what they had for dinner.
Ryu walked up to the taller man and handed him a slip of paper. "Contact me if you discover anything else." He nodded and replied, "Alright." The two Detectives left soon after that with a quick goodbye.
As they left, Moriko turned her head to her senior, "Are you sure any of that helps?" Ryu shrugged, "Never count out any detail in a case."
Shouta hid in a patch of bushes near the school that Tomo had been a student at. He watched groups of students walk past, but they were not what held his interest. It was a group of girls talking with sad or worried expressions covering their faces.
'They must be her friends,' he thought, crawling through the bushed to climb out the side. He stood up outside the bushes, coming face-to-face with a strange man wearing a business-like suit and glasses.
The man stared at him, jaw hanging wide open with a nasty glare reflecting off his glasses. Shouta stared back at him, a slight irritation building. The man twitched, irritating Shouta even more.
Suddenly, the man's entire head flipped, his chin where his mouth had been just a second ago. Shouta jumped, nearly falling into the bush. "May I ask what you were doing?" the man questioned.
"May I ask what you are?" Shouta responded. The man's head twisted back upright with an amazing speed. "I'm the Classical Literature teacher at this school."
Shouta nodded, mentally grinning. He might be able to use this strange man. He pointed to the group of girls talking. "Could you tell me who those girls are?"
The man looked at them and said, "Gladly." He started pointing to each girl as he said their name. "Mizuhara Yomi, Sakaki Atsuko, Aida Kaorin-chan, Kagura Mei, Kasuga Ayumu, or 'Osaka', as we call her, and Mihama Chiyo. Why do you ask?"
Shouta began walking to the girls, saying, "That's my business, sir." He walked up to the girls, who turned their attention to him. "Hello girls. I am Detective Fujake Masaru. I'm part of the Takino Tomoko case. I need you to tell me whatever you know about what's happening."
Keshi-sama: Ooooooh. Shouta might have a plan starting there. Reviews are welcome!