Author's Note: Okay, so this time I thought it'd be a nice change to visit some of the other characters in this story. I know some people don't like this type of thing but I find it helps me fill out the story a bit more. So! Please review and tell me if you are liking it, if there are things I should make better, etc. Thank you.
Kita Michiru walked through the end-of-school crowd, trying not to be knocked over and losing all of her school books. Neither Shito, nor Chika had shown up to school today and she had been worried. She thought maybe they had gone on a case and didn't need her. Which was fine but she couldn't help but feel left out. Sure she didn't really like being dragged around when she had other things to do but she'd gotten used to them always being around and getting her to do things. To search for the black ring around the necks of zombies. She'd felt useful and she wanted to stay that way. But as she hurried through the hallway she couldn't help but wonder what they were doing.
A part of her was worried. She'd heard that Chika had been badly injured in a fight the night before and Shito had had to carry him home and up to his room. Yuuta had even come over and spent a long time in Chika's room healing him. She never went up to check on him because Koyomi had thought it better not to disturb them. This morning she'd had to leave early with Koyomi in order to get some errands done before school. So she had no idea if Chika was healed properly or not.
"I'd better hurry home and make sure everything is taken care of. I'll even make Chika-kun some soup. That should make him feel better." Michiru thought to herself as she finally broke through the front doors. She hurried down the sidewalk, passing the courtyard still filled with students and on towards the old building that was now home to her and the others. The building was old and rotting on the outside. No one really ever bothered with it since it had been an old church and the graveyard just behind it, left an eerie feeling about it. But for those who lived there, it was nothing to be bothered about.
Michiru carefully entered through the gates and ran up to the front doors, pushing them open and slipping inside. She'd half expected to hear Chika yelling something at Shito but only silence greeted her.
"I wonder if Chika-kun is sleeping. Yeah, that's it. He should still need rest." Michiru told herself. Quietly she made her way to her room and dropped off her school things before heading up the stairs. She knocked quietly on Chika's door. A few seconds went by without a response, so she knocked again. "Chika-kun?" Still no response.
"He must be really tired. I'll leave him alone for a while. Get some chores done then check on him again later." Michiru said aloud to herself.
She moved back down the stairs and put some of the laundry in the wash then went about sweeping and mopping the floors that weren't damaged too much. The last thing she wanted was to fall into one of the holes in the rotting wood. While cleaning outside Shito's room, she decided to try knocking on his door. Again, she was greeted with silence.
"Hmm…maybe he's out. Of course he probably has things to do." Michiru wiped her forehead with a washcloth and stood outside his door with hands on her hips. She debated opening his door to see if he was just ignoring her, but decided against it. She didn't want Shito yelling at her again. So instead she moved on to finish the floors.
Hours passed by and still Michiru was alone in the dorms. She'd cleaned all of the floors, dusted the furniture and even scrubbed down the bathrooms. All she had left to do was dry and put away the dishes then take the laundry up to the boys' rooms. Michiru's worry had grown with each passing hour and she could barely hold herself back any longer. She stacked the dishes in the cupboards then left her towel on the kitchen counter. Michiru picked up the laundry basket from the living room and was about to go upstairs when she heard a knocking on the front door.
"I wonder who that could be?" Michiru said aloud, filling the silence around her. She set the basket back down and moved to open the door.
"Hello Chiru-Chiru!" Yuuta greeted her. "How are you today?" He skipped inside the door and closed it behind him.
"O-oh, Yuuta. I didn't know you were coming over." Michiru said. "Is something wrong?"
"I came to see how Chika-kun's injuries were healing. I had a bit of a hard time last night and so I came by to try a little more. Is he still upstairs?" Yuuta didn't even bother for the answer before heading towards Chika's room on his own.
"Uh- Yuuta, wait for me!" Michiru called. She hurried and picked up the basket following him up the stairs. "Don't wake him if he's still resting. It's been really quiet here all day."
"Has it? Hmm." Yuuta said, putting one finger to his mouth. "That's odd don't you think? Even when hurt, Chika-kun can be rather loud." Yuuta giggled and continued up the stairs. He knocked loudly on the door calling out to Chika. "Chika-kun I've come back to check on you!" Yuuta said in a sing-song voice. When he didn't get a response he turned the knob to open the door.
"Don't you think we should leave him alone?" Michiru asked, reaching to stop him.
"Of course not. If he's still in there, he's either moping or still injured enough to not be able to get up. Now come on, don't worry." Yuuta gave her a cute smile and pushed the door open, bouncing inside. He opened his eyes and halted, staring at the room.
"What is it, Yuuta?" Michiru asked. She followed him inside and gasped at what she saw. The basket of laundry fell to the floor, spilling its contents. "W-w-what happened? Where is he?" She asked, her voice a small whimper. Her hands moved to her mouth and her eyes widened taking in the sight.
Chika's bed was covered in blood stains and broken ropes. A tattered night shirt and pajama bottoms lay on the ground next to it. Yuuta moved over to the bed and took a closer look at it. He tilted his head at some of the stains and moved to the other side.
"There shouldn't be this much blood here. Chika-kun wasn't bleeding when I left." Yuuta said. His face changed to concern as he further examined the room. "Something isn't right here. Look." Yuuta pointed to the empty drawers on the floor and to the closet. "His things are all gone."
Michiru slowly opened the closet doors all the way and stared at the empty space. She turned and looked at Yuuta, tears in her eyes. "What do you think happened? And where's Shito-kun? I haven't seen him all day either."
Yuuta shook his head. "Neither of them have been to the Zombie-Loan office today. The thing is…it doesn't make sense. With all of this blood and Chika's injury, he wouldn't have been able to leave on his own. And as for the reason? I can't think of any. He can't go too far from Shito-kun or his hand will rot."
Michiru nodded. She didn't think Chika would just leave like that. It was normal for him to lose his temper and get into fights but he'd never just up and leave. And as Yuuta pointed out, he shouldn't have the strength to do so…and if there was a lot of blood on the bed, something must have happened.
"I-I'm going to see if Shito-kun is here." Michiru left the room and ran down the hallway to the other boy's room. Without knocking she opened the door. "H-His things are all gone too!" She cried out.
What was going on? Nothing was making any sense. All of the blood on Chika's bed. His and Shito's rooms cleaned out. They didn't show up for school and neither had left a note of any kind or even stopped by the Z-Loan office. Unsettled, Michiru slid down the wall and sat on the floor, her knees to her chest. Something was wrong but she just couldn't figure it out. She chastised herself for not checking sooner. She should have gone and checked in on him last night. Stayed in the room with him or something. Maybe then at least she'd have known what happened.
Yuuta stepped out of Chika's room and walked over to Michiru, offering his hand to her. "Come on, we need to talk to Bekko-san about this."
Michiru nodded and took the boy's hand standing up. The two of them hurried down the stairs and out the front door. Yuuta lead Michiru through a series of streets and alleyways until they reached the building Z-Loan was house in. The two of them met Sotetsu Asou as he was coming outside.
"Oi, what are the two of you doing in such a rush?" Sotetsu asked.
"U-uh something's happened with Chika-kun and Shito-kun." Michiru stammered. Sotetsu towered over her and always made her feel very small and intimidated.
"Oh, get into a bit of trouble have they?" Sotestu asked.
"I don-"
"Come on, we have to talk to Bekko-san!" Yuuta said pulling Michiru up the stairs. "Sotetsu you come too!"
"Alright, alright. I'm coming." Sotetsu followed the two up the stairs and into the Z-Loan office.
Bekko looked up from his desk, hearing the noise down the hallway. He stood, adjusted his glasses and moved around to the front of his desk just as the door opened. Yuuta pulled Michiru in so quickly that she almost tripped over the threshold. Sotetsu reached out to steady her before closing the door and leaning against the wall.
"Bekko-san, have you heard anything from Shito-kun or Chika-kun?" Michiru asked quickly. She stepped up close to him, her hands clasped together against her chest. Her eyes were moist with worry. Bekko shook his head and folded his arms again.
"I have not heard from either one of them personally." Bekko responded.
"O-oh…"Michiru looked down. She'd hoped that he'd heard from them. Now that he said he hadn't, she was at a loss. She stepped back and sat down on the couch, her hands in her lap, the tears welling up in her eyes.
"Though I have received some…news from some associates I have around here." Bekko said standing fully upright. Michiru looked up at him.
"Y-yes?" She said a slight hope that it was good news.
"The Xu Fu and more to the point, Touhou has taken Tachibana Shito back to Shanghai. I've yet to confirm this for certain, but it is rather likely." Bekko said, one arm folded over the other, his hand resting under his jaw.
"H-he's gone back to Shanghai?" Michiru whimpered. "Then…that's why Shito-kun's room is empty…"
"His room is empty?" Bekko asked. He moved and sat down across from Michiru.
"Yes, it is. So is Chika-kun's." Yuuta said.
Bekko turned his head to look at his assistant. "Is that so? Well then…that certainly is troubling."
"So both have cleared out then, eh? Though Chika would never be able to go anywhere with the Xu Fu. Hey wouldn't allow it." Sotetsu spoke from the other side of the room. "So the question is, if Shito has gone back to Shanghai, where is Chika?"
"That is the most confusing I believe." Bekko stated. He sat in thought for a moment before Yuuta chimed in.
"Oh! Bekko-san, I found blood all over his bed sheets and his nightclothes were torn and on the floor. And ropes were on the bed. Like this one, see?" Yuuta pulled a small piece he'd taken out of his bag. He handed it to Bekko who studied it.
Sotetsu pushed himself away from the wall and moved to get a closer look. "This is starting to look like foul play here." He said.
"Foul play?" Michiru jerked her head up towards him. She fought to keep her tears back and was losing.
"Yes, with the amount of blood Yuuta claims to have seen and the fact that his clothes were torn to pieces and the rope. It certainly sounds like something happened to him. Like-"
"He was kidnapped." Bekko interrupted. "Quite elaborately if his things are missing."
"My first guess would have to be the Xu Fu, since Shito and Chika are connected." Sotetsu stated, one hand to his chin in thought. "If they wanted to take Shito back to Shanghai, they 'd have to take Chika as well to prevent his hand from rotting off, right?"
"Unless they've found a way to stay the affects." Bekko said. "It is possible since the Touhou is a very skilled exorcist and can manipulate the body.
"B-but why? Why would they do that?" Michiru asked standing up. "They've done nothing wrong. The Xu Fu have been fine letting Shito stay here, so I just don't understand."
"It's okay Chiru-Chiru. We're going to find out, right Bekko-san?" Yuuta asked.
Sotetsu gave a small smile. "Of course we are. It sounds like a fun time and I get to try some interesting new foods there."
Bekko nodded. "We'll go to Shanghai."