CASE TWO
Cat Scratch Fever I
Days later, nothing had been heard about Reiko. Kohaku was incredibly worried and barely slept or ate. The police tried to keep her updated but there weren't really many updates to inform her of.
Walking through Shibuya, a bag of oranges in hand, the blond tried to find her friend in the midst of the busy crowd. Kira was always late, but Kohaku had no right to say anything, as her friend would always relentlessly tease her about her having no sense of direction whatsoever. Maybe that's what I need right now, she thought, sighing inwardly. Someone to help lighten the mood. Lost In her thoughts, Kohaku bumped into a girl running along the sidewalk. Stumbling back a few steps, Kohaku looked down to see Mai, the girl from the ghost hunting team.
"Oh-you," Kohaku, mumbled, bowing in apology. Mai did the same.
"What have you and your sister been up to?" the brunette asked lightheartedly. Kohaku's face immediately fell, and her head hung.
"She's… well, she's missing."
"Oh no! That's awful!" Mai looked truly sad to see the woman had been gone.
"Yup," Kohaku sighed. "She's been gone the past few days, and the police have pretty much nothing. The only thing they know at this point is that she was probably kidnapped, but that much is obvious."
"I hope she's found alright," Mai told her sympathetically, patting the older girl's shoulder.
Attempting a weak smile, Kohaku replied, "Yep! I'll make sure to hit her pretty hard for worrying me like that…" Brushing a hand against her face, she realized she was crying. "Ack! Sorry for dumping all this on you so suddenly, Mai-chan."
"Oh no, it's alright!" Mai smiled. "I know you don't know me that well, but if you ever want to talk sometime or something, here's my number." She quickly found a little paper scrap and a pen from her school bag and jotted it down, signing her name under it. "Here." Kohaku took the paper graciously, her smile turning genuine.
"Thanks so much, Mai-chan," she told the younger girl. "It does mean a lot. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a friend to meet."
"And I have a narcissistic boss to please," Mai said, rolling her eyes playfully. Kohaku managed a laugh, running off and waving.
Really though, Mai, she thought as she spotted Kira in the crowd. Thanks.
At three in the morning the next day, Kohaku restlessly paced the floor of her sister's bedroom. Nothing had been heard about Reiko, and she was beginning to believe she wouldn't be found. Sighing, she flopped on the full sized bed, tears forming in her eyes.
Reiko, she thought, sobs breaking through her lips after a week of silence. Where are you?
Every worry, every fear seemed to pour from her eyes, and after being reduced to a sniveling, shaking mess, Kohaku weakly pushed herself up to splash water on her face. Passing the window, the sniffling girl made her way slowly to the bathroom.
Something outside caught her eye.
Backing up to the window, she saw a dark shape slowly walking up the driveway, uneven gait slowing it even more.
A hand pressed to her mouth, Kohaku raced down the stairs as quickly as she could, grabbing a baseball bat from the closet. She cursed, louder than necessary when a stack of shoes toppled over.
Tripping her way towards the door, she stood beside it, fear lighting her puffy eyes. Not me too. Oh god, why me?
The poor terrorized girl jumped ten feet in the air when whoever it was slammed against the door. She'd bitten her tongue to keep quiet, and metallic blood was seeping into her mouth. Whimpering, she slowly raised her hand to the doorknob, her chest pounding. Backing away to offer room for the door, Kohaku turned the knob and swung the door open, bat raised above her head.
"Re-reiko?
The least she could say was that she was surprised to find her sister slumped against the screen door, panting. Opening the screen slowly and catching her sister's body as it fell, Kohaku sat Reiko's head in her lap.
The first thing she noticed was the greasiness of her sister's dark hair. She could barely see with the lighting to low, but from what she could feel, her sister had not bathed once during the time she was missing.
Smacking her face lightly, Kohaku whispered gently, "Rei? Reiko, say something. Come on."
"Nnn…"
"There you go!" Slipping an arm around her sister's waist, she pulled the older woman up, struggling to get her to stand. Keeping in mind the limp her sister had been sporting, Kohaku half helped, half dragged her sister to the couch in the living room, where she ungracefully released her sister's weight onto the plush velvet. Wincing as Reiko let out a pained groan, she let out a few hushed apologies before running to start a warm bath. Reiko's arms were covered in little cuts and nicks, and there was a deep-looking gash in her side, visible through the slash in her thin shirt. Dirt covered just about every inch of her; therefore, simply trying to clean her off with a rag wasn't an option. Some of her wounds were bound to get infected if they weren't cleaned immediately, if infection hadn't gotten to them already.
Racing back down to her sister, Kohaku resumed their previous position, helping Reiko limp up the stairs. When they were finally in the bathroom, Kohaku turned the water off quickly, sitting Reiko down and beginning to strip her.
"Reiko, what happened?" Kohaku asked, facing her sister, frowning with worry.
"I-I was kidnapped," she said with difficulty, Kohaku helping her up and into the tub. "By a man. I don't… I didn't see his face. But he had a very deep, scratchy voice…"
Kohaku froze completely, eyes wide. Nope, she thought immediately. It… can't be.
"You're going to be okay. You may be old, but you'll get through this!"
Reiko lifted her arm to hit her younger sister, but fell short from exhaustion, the tired limb making a splash as it fell. "I'm only twenty-four, Kohaku. I'm not old."
Giving a little smile, Kohaku began gently cleaning her sister's wounds.
Three days later, Reiko was done with doctor's appointments, police questioning, and catching up on food and sleep. Her wounds were still bandaged, and she required crutches for her heavy limp from her broken ankle. The gash in her side needed antibiotic medication, as it was infected; thankfully, not too much.
The two were sitting in the living room, watching TV when suddenly Kohaku spoke up.
"Several days ago, a woman called about a case. Do you think you're up for it?"
"Definitely! I'm sick of being stuck in this house…" Stretching her arms above her, Kohaku stood and left to find the phone. Returning with the device in hand, she plopped on the couch again, dialing the number as she read it from the paper. Handing the phone to her sister as it rang, she informed her quickly of what was going on.
"Ah-hello? This is Shizuma Reiko. I understand you called about a haunting?"
Tuning out her sister's conversation, Kohaku stared down at her hands, a little smile playing on her lips. Her sister was back; now she'd have to make extra sure she didn't lose her again.
"Eh? Already…" Letting out a little cough, Reiko continued. "You want me as well?"
Over the phone, Kohaku faintly heard the woman loudly say something, but it was too muffled to decipher.
"I see. We'll, uh… be there tomorrow." Grabbing a pen on the end table, Reiko began scribbling on the inside of her arm. Kohaku leaned over to catch a glimpse of it and saw an address. "Yes. Uh-huh. Goodbye." Pulling the phone away from her ear, Reiko clicked the button and sighed, leaning back. "She already hired someone else, but she wants me to come in as well. I think I have a good idea who she hired."
"Yup."
"Certainly."
"I knew it."
The sisters stood in front of Hanazono Aika's home. Already there was a familiar black van, SPR printed on the side. The back was open and Mai stood there, struggling to lift what looked like a shelf. Running up behind her, Kohaku slipped her arms under the heavy metal, lifting it above the short girl's head. The high schooler jumped, nearly banging her head on the shelves as she whirled around to see the blond girl.
"Kohaku!" she exclaimed, smiling. Looking behind her to see Reiko, her smile grew. "You found her! That's great!"
"Ah, yeah…" Kohaku turned around to find Reiko behind her, smiling bashfully. "Here, let me help y-"
"You," Kohaku cut her off quickly, "are not doing anything but going inside and sitting down." Reiko quickly frowned.
"Jeez, I'm not helpless," she muttered, but made her way inside to meet the Hanazonos anyway. Smiling after her sister, Kohaku waved, just to rub it in a little.
"So, what happened?" Mai asked, turning back to the blond girl.
"Ah, it's sort of a long story. I'll tell you later."
"Hey, it's you again." Kohaku whirled around to find the sandy-haired guy from the other day standing behind her.
"Oh, that's Takigawa Housho. He's a monk from Mount Koya," Mai explained, a little smile on her face.
"A monk?" the blond asked, confused. "I thought monks had a completely different look about them…"
"Ah, well, I'm a monk on the side you see… I primarily play in a band." He rubbed the back of his head a bit bashfully, and a smile found its way to her face involuntarily.
"An instrument-playing monk. Don't see those every day…" A full out laugh escaped her lips, and she waved her hand in the air, dismissing the joke. "Sorry, sorry. It's a pretty weird combination after all."
"I guess it is," he went along. "You can call me Bou-san by the way-everyone else does."
"I'll do that then, Bou-san."
Turning around, Kohaku began walking inside, the shelf's edges digging into her fingers. Gritting her teeth, she hobbled inside the house and set the equipment on the stairs before standing up straight and stretching until she heard her back pop. Hearing footsteps behind her, Kohaku turned to find 'Naru' standing behind her.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't stand in my way," he said coolly, and Kohaku obediently moved to the side. The teenager stepped over the metal and began his ascent. He stopped halfway, and looked down to the blond girl. "If you're going to carry our equipment, carry it the whole way." Kohaku scoffed quietly. Well isn't he high-and-mighty… The president of SPR continued up the steps, and once he was out of sight the blond girl began lifting the company's equipment again.
-end-
Ahh, I wasn't sure how else to end this chapter… D: Hope this is good enough. C: