Chapter 7

Rika proceeded up the street at a brisk pace and Tsuzuki found himself rushing to keep up with her. She also seemed to have a pretty food idea of where they were going, but Tsuzuki knew that couldn't be true because he had yet to tell her of their destination.

She had taken less than five minutes to dress and had strode across the hotel room and out the door. Tsuzuki had barely had time to snatch the file off the table as he hurried after her.

"Rika?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"

"We're going back to Totohome's house."

"I know," she said in a clipped tone.

"Really? How?"

Rika's stride faltered as she glanced back at him again. "You told me last night."

"I did?" Tsuzuki wracked his brain trying to remember everything he'd said the night before; he'd been tired and worried, and he had been thinking about it, perhaps he had been thinking out loud.

Rika flashed him a grin. "Well, it's more like you muttered it, and not necessarily at me, but I heard you anyways.

XXXXX

Hisoka sat absolutely still, his eyes locked with those of the demon, gobs of drool fell from it's mouth to sizzle and smoke on the carpet at his feet. Moving with excruciating slowness, Hisoka let go of the journal with one hand and reached into his pocket.

Feeling the smoothness of paper under his fingertips, he wrapped his hand around the fuda.

Suddenly the demon growled and leaned closer. Globules of saliva landed on the open pages of the journal. There was a sizzling hiss as the corrosive stuff began to eat through the paper.

With a shout Hisoka threw the journal away and at the same time pulled the fuda from his pocket and slapped it against the demons head.

The creature jumped back howling and shaking it's head trying to dislodge the charm.

Hisoka jumped up and pulled another 'fuda from his pocket, prepared to press his advantage, when a scream pierced through the room. He whipped his head in the direction of the noise, enough to glimpse Rika standing in the doorway, before turning back to the demon.

But it was too late. The momentary distraction gave the advantage back to the demon and it bounded forward, knocking Hisoka off his feet, turned and raced at the helpless girl.

Rika threw up her hands to ward the demon off, but even as it's jaw were closing on her, a hand caught the collar of her shirt and jerked her back.

The demon didn't slow, despite it's miss, and in a move almost too fast for the eye to follow, the demon sped out of the house.

"Damn," Hisoka cursed looking after the demon; he'd almost had it! His gaze shifted slightly to take in Rika and her saviour. Shaking his head he got to his feet and crossed the room to retrieve the diary.

He needn't have bothered. The book was a mess, all of the pages were essentially mush, dissolved into utter rubbish.

"Hisoka?"

Hisoka heaved a deep sigh and turned to face Tsuzuki, and then frowned. Rika was still clinging to the older man, but she was staring at him; and the look on her face, he just couldn't begin to describe it. Not scared, angry, sad, or happy. Smug… maybe, a little fierce… curious… and maybe a little defensive too. Hisoka had no idea what to make of it.

"Hisoka? Are you okay?" Tsuzuki asked, taking a step towards him.

Hisoka watched the way Rika moved with him before focusing his attention back on his partner. "I'm fine, but the diary is pulp."

"Diary?" Tsuzuki questioned, his eyes flicking to the sludge in the corner.

"It was Tothome's. He didn't summon the demon, his girlfriend did."

"He had a girlfriend? That wasn't in the file!" Tsuzuki said sounding annoyed.

"Neither was the accident that put him in the hospital, but they were in his diary," Hisoka told him.

"What was his girlfriends name?" Rika asked.

Hisoka shrugged. "He called her Kiki-chan."

"That's not much to go on," Tsuzuki said sounding disheartened.

"No," Hisoka agreed, "but there were a few other things in the diary that we can follow up on."

"Like what?" Rika asked.

Hisoka spared her a brief glance, but quickly turned his attention back to Tsuzuki. "We should go to the restaurant where Totohome worked, there was a fire about a year ago, and that's how he ended up in the hospital where he met Kiki-san. He may have had friends or co-workers that he talked to there; people who may know more about what happened to him in the last year."

Tsuzuki was nodding in agreement. "That's a good place to start."

"And Gushoshin called me, they have the information we requested."

Tsuzukis nodding slowed dramatically. "Goooood, you should go get that as soon as possible."

Hisoka narrowed his eyes. "You should come with me."

"Oh no!" Tsuzuki put his hands up in mock surrender. "Every time I get near the library the Gushoshin threaten me with bodily harm. That one's all yours."

"Fine," Hisoka snapped, trying very hard not to turn and glare at Rika, who he was sure was the real reason his partner was ditching out on him, The Gushoshins threats were all bluff, and Tsuzuki knew it. "Then you two can check out the restaurant where Totohome worked while I check in at the library."

"What's the place called?" Tsuzuki asked.

"No idea," Hisoka told him, "but Totohome said it was a short walk, so it's gotta be close. You'll have to ask around."

"Lovely," Tsuzuki groaned. "Leg work."

Hisoka almost grinned at that. "Suck it up slacker, it's part of the job."

Tsuzuki stuck out his tongue at his younger partner. "Meet you back at the hotel in a couple of hours."

XXXXX

The Gushoshin were hovering in the stacks when Hisoka arrived at the library. They immediately floated over when they saw him.

"Well, we got what you wanted Hisoka-kun, but why you and Tsuzuki want information on a dead person…"

"A what?" Hisoka asked in surprise.

"A dead person. Murata Rika died over a year ago."

Hisoka flipped open the file and immediately focused on the picture of a girl in her late teens or early twenties, slightly overweight with dark chestnut hair and a heart shaped face. "Oh," he let his breath out slowly. "This is the wrong girl."

"It is?" Both Gushoshin moved closer to peer at the file as if it had changed in the minute since they'd handed it over. "But it's the only Murata Rika we have on record for this area!"

"Maybe this Rika's not from around here?" Hisoka questioned, "or maybe there's a mistake in the records?"

'Or maybe', he thought to himself, 'Rika's just using this girls name.' With a sigh of frustration he closed the folder. "If you don't mind, I'll keep this," he gestured to the folder, "and if you could take another look, I'd appreciate it."

XXXXX

They'd gone about four blocks when they found it.

'IT' was not the restaurant where Totohome had worked, but rather the road where it must be located, and if he hadn't been there for work, Tsuzuki would have thought he'd entered Paradise.

A dozen or more restaurants lined the street; tea shops, a ramen stand, a bakery…

"Oh! Look!" Rika exclaimed, pointing. "There's a pastry shop!" She gave him an impish grin. "And we haven't had breakfast yet!"

Tsuzuki gazed at her through tears of joy. "I think I love you!"

"Love me a little more and I'll treat!" She teased.

Tsuzuki grabbed her hand and scampered off to the pastry shop, dragging Rika, laughing, behind him.

XXXXX

The large front windows of the hospital had been covered over by large sheets of plywood, giving the lobby a dim, funeral appearance, despite the florescent light.

Hisoka made his way to the front desk, trying hard to block the emotions coming from the jittery staff. "Could you please tell me where the burn ward is?"

After receiving directions, Hisoka made his way to the elevators. He took a cab to the third floor, then followed the receptionists directions down a long corridor, a right, and finally he came to another desk, where a nurse was seated, paging through a chart.

"Excuse me?"

The nurse looked up and smiled. "How can I help you?"

Hisoka gave her his most charming smile. "My cousin passed away recently, and I'm trying to track down his girlfriend. I'm afraid I don't know her name, but I know she was a patient here at the same time he was. My cousins name was Totohome Nitsku. When he told me about his girlfriend, he called her Kiki-san."

"That poor girl," the nurse exclaimed. "I knew her, she was here for almost a year! She required multiple surgeries and skin grafts to reconstruct her face and body. The poor dear went through so much, and she was so sweet…" the nurse frowned, "most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Hisoka asked.

"Well," the nurse hesitated, "sometimes she would get nasty, not often though. I think it was when the stress or the pain just got to be too much, she went through so much trauma. She was impatient for everything to be done."

"Do you know where she went when she left the hospital?"

The nurse smiled at him kindly. "I'm afraid I couldn't give out that kind of personal information. I'm afraid I can't even give you her name, but what I can do is contact her and let her know you've been making enquiries. If you'll give me you phone number, I'll pass it on to her and ask her to call you."

"I'd appreciate that."

The nurse handed him a slip of paper and a pen and Hisoka wrote down his cell phone number and handed it back to her. "Could you please tell Kiki-san that it's rather urgent she contact me?"

"Of course dear!"

Hisoka watched as the nurse went to a file cabinet, pulled open a drawer, and after a few minutes of searching through them, pulled out a thick file and set it on her desk, placing Hisoka number on top of it.

"I have to make my rounds now, but I'll make the call as soon as I get back."

Hisoka thanked her again and left the burn ward, but when the busy nurse returned to her desk nearly half an hour later, both the file and the phone number were gone.