Differing Paths...
Chapter Eight
Sometimes, life doesn't turn out the way one plans. A perfect example of this would be a particular darkly-clothed figure, standing on the street in the midst of a rainstorm. She hailed a cab, and got inside. She stared out into the street, the lights reflecting off the raindrops on the cab window. She looked out and wondered why is was her who had to follow this path. She was seventeen, and had become one of the lower-tier specialists for Japanese police. Her name was Chiyo Mihama. Five years ago, when the girls last saw each other, they piled into Osaka's newly-found apartment, and hung around for a while. They had organized this meeting as one last hurrah before Chiyo's leaving that evening. They talked, and Chiyo left, prepared for glory during her time in America. America was different, and it took time to adjust, but beyond that, the experience was good. However, six months after she left, she had a surprise visitor to her visiting home. He was an eccentric, and little was known about him. He was pale, scrawny, and had shaggy black hair. "Hello?", said Shigeru Mihama, Chiyo's uncle. "Hello.", the figure responded, "I wanted to talk to a...", he pulled a piece of paper out his pocket with a strange posture in his wrists. "A Chiyo Mihama in this residence?". "Oh,", Shigeru responded, "she's at Parkway Center, downtown.". The sun was mid-way through the sky, shining brightly over the outdoor center. Chiyo was sitting down with a few friends, eating and otherwise enjoying their time at the place. Chiyo had turned thirteen several weeks ago. The man walked up to her and her two friends, Kirsty and Janet, stared at them for a few seconds, and made a waving motion twice, signaling to leaving their seats. (Author's Note: Unfortunately, we were unable to find the name of this mysterious man, though we could find several of his pseudonyms. Posting these would likely get this story pulled.) . Chiyo looked up at the pale figure from across the table, sitting with his legs crossed. Kirsty and Janet stood there for a few seconds, staring awkwardly, signaled to Chiyo that they were leaving and walked at an awkward almost-running pace. "Y-yes?", Chiyo asked. "Hello. My name is *. I work with the ICPO, as what is refered to as a 'specialist'. I had heard about you, due to your uncanny intelligence, and being the first Japanese student to make a five-grade skip. I was wondering, have you any interest in being a detective?". "M-maybe...", Chiyo answered, very much afraid of this person. She heard about people pretending to be family friends to capture children, but members of the ICPO? "I know this sounds unlikely, but I want to take you back to Japan to help with a case.". "What?", Chiyo thought, frozen in place. Was this guy for real? "W-why me, *?", she asked, still nervous. "Because your mother and father are the latest victims.". Chiyo nearly jumped out of her seat, but tried to keep composed. "What?", she said, leaning in towards the man. "I said that your mother and father were killed by the perpetrator of a case I'm on right now, and I want to bring you back to Japan to help in the investigations. You were the closest person to them, and you have a logical intelligence rivalling even my own. Here,", he gave her a slightly damaged slip of cardboard-paper from his pocket, "is a return ticket to Tokyo. If you're interested, meet me at the airport at midnight. And in case you were wondering, here are some official documents proving all of what I just said. He leaned back, legs still crossed, in his chair, and stared out to the side, while Chiyo looked at the documents. The first was *'s official international police ID. The second was the police report in progress for the case, including, on its final page, a picture of her parents, shot. She sat there, and stared at the picture for at least a minute, and began to cry. "Don't worry,", the man said, keeping his cold tone, "this reaction is natural. I'll give you some time.". He looked off into the distance. She sat there, and continued weeping for around fifteen minutes. * looked over and saw her tears beginning to dry. "So, do you want to bring this monster to justice.". She sniffed a little, and looked upwards at him, a sullen glare on her face, "Yes. I'll be at the airport tonight.". Her voice was slightly less high-pitched than usual. Chiyo left a note for her aunt and uncle, took her ticket, and got a cab to the airport. She walked out onto a non-public runway hidden on the far end of the airport. She felt the night rain patter against her raincoat hood, and thus began her life as it would continue. Chiyo got out of the cab, and walked in. She passed straight by the receptionist, and walked into the main office, mainlining for the office of Chief Inspector Shinji Meida, whose name had been newly painted over Miyama's tag. She wore all black, with her red-brown hair kept fairly short, running mid-way down her neck. "Hello, Shinji.", she said, "you called?". Her voice had remained deeper, though her voice was naturally high pitched,and it was still fairly noticable. "Yes. We have a cat burglar, who had murders at will, and is now, thanks to our last case, responsible for the deaths of nearly thirty civilians, Former Chief Inspector Miyama, and the mandatory resignation of one of our most skilled specialists, Tomo Takino.". "Serious business...", she said to herself, messing with the snowglobe on Shinji's desk. "Alright,", she said, "I'll take the case. I'll need the force's complete resources.". Chiyo went over the entire office, researching everything, insuring the smallest-possible margin of error. She found her first clue in the forensics room, where a blood sample had been stolen, and fingerprints matching those of Former Third-Tier Specialist Division Officer Tomo Takino, dating from after her resignation. They had found their first connection, and were going to exploit it as much as possible. Chiyo, backed up by a small portion of the SWAT team, broke down the door of the Takino/Mizuhara household. Sitting there, reading a magazine, was Koyomi Mizuhara. "Freeze.", said Chiyo, lacking the usual force the phrase was said with, instead going with a firm but cold saying. Koyomi looked over, and there was an immediate memory to both of them. Chiyo also recalled that the suspect, Tomo Takino, was one of her group of friends from all those years ago as well. "Chiyo?", Yomi shouted, trembling backwards slightly, "What are you doing here? And... with a swat team? What?". Chiyo pulled out her liscense, shouting "Second-Tier Specialist Division Officer Chiyo Mihama! We're here to find a suspect, Tomo Takino.". "Oh...", Yomo replied. "She's... At work, at a restaurant on the northeast side of the city! Yeah. Go there.". Chiyo saw straight through this. "Where is she, Yomi? I know she's our friend, but she needs to be asked.". Yomi trembled for a second. "I... haven't actually seen her in a while. She left early this morning, then... I don't know what happened.". Chiyo looked into Yomi's eyes, and felt a genuine sincerity. "It's alright. I would assume she took her phone with her this morning?". The group of them reconnected the door, and walked out, prepared for a chase. Yomi sighed.
Author's Note: No one's reviewed this as far as I've seen, but I did get Sakaki's name wrong. She apparently has two family names, according to the fic. I hope that isn't too bad, and that you'll keep reading despite my mistakes.
Author's Note Two: Damn you, TV Tropes. This chapter took like three and a half hours to write because of your constant distraction.
Author's Note Three: Oh my god, people are reading things I've written. Squee!