Chapter three boiiss.
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Officer Karasuma left the house, a worried scowl on his face.
A third child had gone missing within four days in this usually quiet town of Kunugigaoka. The bumbling officers here weren't used to dealing with such serious crimes, so officer Karasuma had been called up from the big city to take care of it.
The first had been Akari Yukimura, eleven years old. She had been reported Friday night after she didn't return home from school.
She was a former child star, Karasuma vaguely recognised her from a string of kids movies she'd starred in.
When he arrived at her parents house after getting the call-in, it was immaculate, and both her parents were impeccably dressed, their hair styled, Mrs Yukimura's makeup flawless.
It almost made Karasuma think that the two of them had cleaned theplace and got dressed up before reporting their missing daughter.
But despite their absurd obsession with appearances, their fear for their missing daughter seemed genuine.
"We- we just can't loose Akari. She's all we have left.. And so soon after loosing our eldest daughter, Aguri." Mrs Yukimura whined, before bursting into a fit of delicate sobs. Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Please." He said to the officer, his own eyes welling up with tears. "Please find our daughter."
"I will do everything I can." Karasuma said- and he meant it. He looked down at Akari's picture; Glossy black hair, golden eyes, wide smile. She was a cute kid. So innocent and young.
She needed to be back with her family were she belonged.
The second child to go missing was phoned in Saturday night. Nagisa Shiota, twelve years old.
Karasuma was used to mothers being distraught when their child went missing, but nothing could of prepared him for Hiromei Shiota;
As soon as he and the other officers walked through the door, she dived at their feet, her chest wracked with horrible retching sobs.
"P- please! You have to find my daughter! Please!" She begged, tears streaming down her face as she clawed at Karasuma's trouser leg.
It took half an hour to calm her down enough for her to tell them the details.
"Nagisa... She wasn't in her room this morning.. There was a note left. But it must of been planted by the kidnapper! My Nagisa would never willingly leave me!" She insisted, taking in a shuddering breath. "If she dared..."
"M'am, can I have a picture please?" The black haired officer asked gently, trying to avoid riling her up again. Hiromei nodded, and brought in a box- it was full of countless pictures of a child with long waist-length blue hair, standing in the same part of the house with different outfits on.
In every picture, there was a desperate sort of misery evident in the child's blue eyes.
"My Nagisa- isn't she beautiful?" Hiromei had said, lips curling up into a twisted smile.
It was only when Karasuma looked up Nagisa Shiota'a profile he realised the child was a boy. Why was he referred to as female. Was it his own choice, or something his mother had forced on him?
Over the next day, all Karasuma could do for the two missing children was organise fruitless search parties, get their pictures out into the media, and try and build a profile to try and understand what could of happened to them;
Nagisa was a timid kid with only a handful of friends. He was often teased for looking like a girl, and he hid his long hair under a hat.
His mother had been described by all that knew her as 'controlling' and 'neurotic'. Karasuma had no doubt Nagisa was a run-away (he had left a note, after all). Now he just had to find him.
Akari, on the other hand, he was less certain about; She was popular at school, and her home-life seemed stable, she seemed to have come to terms with her sister's death rather quickly. No clothes bags were missing from her room, she just went to school and never came home. Her fame made Karasuma worry- could it be a rabid fan had taken her? Or someone closer to home?
The last missing child was called in early that Monday morning- Gakushuu Asano, twelve years old, nearly thirteen.
Karasuma arrived at his house as quickly as he could, and was greeted by the door by his father.
"Welcome, inspector. Please- come to my office." The man said. His name was Gakuhou Asano, famed as the ruthless chairman of Kunugigoaka academy. Karasuma was already suspicious- this didn't seem like a man who had lost a child.
"It seems my son is more foolish than I thought. I don't know what possessed him to play this little game, but I don't intend to indulge him." The Chairman said, as he sat behind his desk. There was a stepford smile on his face, but Karasuma could clearly see the anger behind his eyes. This man wasn't worried about his child- he was furious!
"Do you know when your son might of left for the last time?"
"Friday night. He disguised his little tryst as a trip with friends, so he's had the weekend to get as far away as he can." Gakuhou said, his jaw clenching. "I tracked his phone, but he's discarded of it. He has taken one of my credit cards, but he has yet to use it."
It was clear this man hated having to ask the police for help in finding his missing son. He would probably prefer to drag the boy back himself.
"Kids his age usually don't go far- is there any close family members or friends that he could be hiding out at?" The inspector asked.
"I assure you, my son will not be doing that." The Chairman said, quickly.
"Either way, could we have a picture of him? The best way to find someone is to utilise the media." Karasuma said, trying to remain professional despite the man's strange attitude.
"That's another little trick my son pulled before he left; He destroyed all recent pictures of himself in the house, and hacked into his school database to delete them of their as well." Gakuhou said, annoyance flashing in his eyes.
"He did what?" Karasuma startled. Hacking into school systems- what kind of twelve year old was this?
"No doubt he thought any sort of delay would aid his escape. But soon it will be of little consequence. I can easily procure pictures of him from other sources." The Chairman said.
Escape? Was this man talking about his son or a prisoner?
"One more question before I call this in." The detective said, black eyes meeting Gakuhou's cold purple orbs. "Do you have any idea why your son would choose to run away?"
The Chairman paused for a moment as if in thought, then a half smile grew on his face. "No idea."
Other officers arrived to scour for clues. Gakuho excused himself as he had to leave for work, most parents would take a day off if they lost a child, not him.
Karasuma left the house, his head swimming with thoughts of Akari, Nagisa and Gakushu. All three cases were strange in their own way, suddenly he got a call, immediately, he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Officer Karasuma? You were right when you thought Akari's late sister's finance had something to hide. There's traces of blood all over his place, get down here now." His subordinate, her voice rushed with adrenaline. Karasuma's eyes widened. He felt a spike of dread.. Blood?
Quickly, he ran to his car.
Nagisa woke up shivering in the crisp morning weather, the frosty winter sun streaming in from the cracked windows of the mountain hut.
His body ached from being sat up all night, he felt as if he hadn't slept at all, only dozing for short intervals. He glanced around the room at the three other kids nested into the woodwork; Kayano was sat next to him, shivering in her sleep, while Karma was lounging on the floor in front of them, looking completely relaxed, as if he were slumbering on a luxurious bed instead of the cold hard floor of a derelict shack.
The blond boy, who claimed his name was Shun, sat away from them at the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, his head on his knee's, his hand still gripping tightly at his bag.
Nagisa couldn't tell if he were asleep or not.
It was hard to wrap his head around the fact this was currently his life; Sat freezing, almost at the mercy of the elements, away from society. Still. The cold was better than being smothered by his mother.
Last night they'd all trooped up here, soaking wet and close to catching hypothermia. All four of them changed into spare clothes they kept in their bags. Karma wanted to build a fire, but Shun didn't want people to see the smoke. They argued for a while, before a silence set in, and the four of them sat around and attempted to sleep.
"Morning, Nagisa." Karma said from the floor, suddenly awake, breaking the silence. He grinned mischievously. "Bad night? You look like hell. Maybe the run-away life isn't your calling after all?"
The blue haired boy gave him a weak glare. "I'm fine." He replied. Karma might be a little older, but he doesn't need to keep treating me like a kid who's got himself in too deep.
Across the room, Shun shifted too, pulling his head up from his knees and wiping his hands over his eyes.
"Um- morning." Nagisa said, politely. He could feel strands of blue hair sticking up at odd angles from were he had slept on it. But over this weekend he'd slept in shop doorways and bus stops, he was used to it.
Shun looked over at him with bloodshot brown eyes, looking at Nagisa as if he could see right through him.
"Morning." The blond replied after a pause.
Karma sat up, looking around the room at the other three kids.
"So. What's the plan?"
"The plan is I'm leaving as soon as the trains are back on, and I don't much care what the rest of you three do." Shun snapped. Nagisa would accuse him of being cranky in the morning, but from what he'd seen the blond was pretty much cranky all the time.
"I guess... I'm going to do the same." The blue haired boy said. His entire escape was pretty much unplanned, and thinking too far into the future filled him with a sense of panic- what would his life be now?
"Terrible- you two aren't gentlemen at all." Karma said, with a lazy shake of his head, his amber eyes flicking over to Kayano's sleeping form. "So you're really going to leave this poor innocent little girl all alone when she has bad men after her, and all her food supply was soaked."
Nagisa suddenly felt struck by guilt, even Shun seemed to falter, muttering a half-hearted.
"It's not as if it's my responsibility or anything."
The blue haired boy glanced at Kayano; She was so tiny and helpless, truly a child, with the world against her.
"Fine. I wont leave just yet, until I know she's taken care of." He decided, although he could hardly look after himself, let alone a younger child. The red head grinned at him approvingly, then turned towards Shun expectantly.
"What about you blondie? Are you abandoning a young innocent girl the the wolves?" Karma asked, smirking. Shun's glare intensified at the nickname.
"Fine. I'll stay to help her get set up. But so we're clear, I'm not doing it because you told me to! I'm doing it because it would be bothersome if the police find her and she pulls me in too." The blond said haughtily. As he spoke, Kayano shuffled slightly and opened her eyes. Her golden irises were blurry with sleep.
"Sleeping beauty finally wakes up." The red head said.
"I'm starving." She complained, as soon as she woke up. The girl had been carrying a big stash of food in her bag, but after it fell into the river with her, it was mostly inedible.
Karma grinned at her. "Don't worry. Me and Shun will go down the mountain and buy you some supplies." He said.
"I didn't agree to that!" The blond boy hissed. Kayano looked at the red haired boy and shook her head.
"I couldn't possibly let you do that- you've already done so much." She cried, sitting up straighter.
"Let your elders treat you." Karma said, as if he were an old man, not a teenage boy. He got up lazily off the floor and stretched like a cat after taking a nap. "Nagisa. There's missing posters of you everywhere, so for now you hold fort."
The blue haired boy could only nod, and watch as Karma pulled a reluctant Shun up off the floor. The red head was unpredictable, and harsh at times. But something about having him around made Nagisa feel suddenly safer.
"It's all the same. Just pick something." Karma complained. They'd been in this supermarket for fifteen minutes, with Shun scrutinising all the prices and all the ingredients of the food they were planning on buying.
"I'm making sure we're getting the best value for money! Do you know how much crap people put into food these days?" The blond said, calmly.
"I don't care." Karma yawned.
"Well I do. I'm paying for food that gives energy, not diabetes." Shun replied as he read the label on a package of muffins. The red head rolled his eyes; He had a pretty good grasp on the blond's personality already. He was definitely the perfectionist type, hardworking, control freak. Basically Karma's opposite. But still. He had a little more respect for the other boy after he'd helped him save Kayano's life.
Karma didn't believe in fate or destiny or any of that bullshit, but after running into those three other runaways, he couldn't help but feel he was meant to look out for them. Especially Nagisa and Kayano. The red head didn't exactly see himself as the type of person to help or protect others, but he didn't want to leave two kids all alone in the wilderness.
The red head glanced over at the missing posters on the wall, and Nagisa's vacant eyes stared back at him; The boy on the picture looked so different from the real thing, his hair was longer, his expression sadder. Karma couldn't help but wonder what exactly had made him run away.
Nagisa's 'missing' flier was mostly over-shadowed by a huge poster devoted to the child-actress who had disappeared 'Akari Yukimura'. She gave Karma a dazzling smile- Her picture was a model-shot. Her eyes were a little too big, her teeth too bright, her skin too flawless.
"That picture's so photo-shopped people wouldn't know the real Akari even if she was right in front of them." Karma joked to Shun. "Tragedy she's disappeared, but her getting all the media attention's pretty good for Nagisa."
"He can't compete with a celebrity." The blond said, finally deciding to drop the food into his basket. The small convenience store TV was blaring out Akari's story as well;
'An arrest has been made in relation to the disappearance of child-star Akari Yukimura. The husband of her late sister is thought to be involved'
"Too bad it looks like this case is nearly over." Karma commented, looking pointedly over at the small TV, were it was showing footage of the suspect being led away by the police, a blazer covering his head.
"It'll still be all over TV. The media loves dragging out tragedies, especially involving celebrities." Shun commented. His eyes were raking over the missing posters. 'Probably looking for his own' Karma thought, but there was no 'Shun Aunoma' there.
"- In other news, another child has been reported missing earlier this morning; twelve year old Gakushuu Asano. Last seen at his home in Kunugigoaka on Friday. We urge people to be vigilant and if they see anything, then call the hotline number."
"Ehh- is there some kind of child-snatcher going around? I've never seen this many kids all go missing from the same little town." Karma commented, as a picture of the missing boy flashed on screen; Strawberry blond with violet eyes. The picture seemed like it was taken at some sort of sports event, the boy wasn't even looking at the camera. "You think they'd use a picture were you could see his face better?"
Shun didn't turn to reply, but instead threw some things in the basket without checking the labels.
"Whatever. We have enough stuff so let's go. The quicker we give this to Kayano the quicker I can leave." The blond said, curtly.
"You changed your tune quickly." Karma commented, he narrowed his eyes at the picture on screen for a moment, before reaching forward and grabbing Shun by the chin scrutinising his face.
"What are you- ?" The blond cried, nearly dropping the basket.
"-It's not obvious at first, but I see it now. You're wearing colour contacts, right? And your hair is dyed, right, Shun?" Karma said, his grin widening and his eyes sparking. "Or should I say- Gakushuu Asano."
The reaction was instant; The blond's eyes widened, and he turned to run. Karma was just as quick though, he quickly grabbed the other boy's wrist, preventing his escape.
"Relax, Gakushuu. I didn't turn Nagisa in, so I wont turn you in either. Unless you really piss me off that is." The red head added the last part with a cheeky grin. Shun- no, Gakushuu, stopped struggling against him.
"Don't say that name so loud- " The blond hissed, eyes darting around the store fervently. The only other person there was the elderly cashier.
"What? Gakushu Asano? I shouldn't say that so loud?" Karma said, feigning ignorance. Asano pulled his arm out of of the red head's grasp, and put a hand over the other boy's mouth.
"Shut. Up." He said, threateningly. Karma just laughed and pulled the other boy's hand away.
"Your Dad's Gakuhou Asano, right? He was the Chairman at my school. Until I got expelled, that it." Karma said, snickering wickedly. "Now that I think about it, I think there was mention of a stuck-up 'prodigy' son."
Asano scowled at the mention of his father and that damn school of his. The one he was suppose to go to next year when he was old enough. He was glad he left before he became completely ensnared in that man's trap.
"If you turn me in, I'll make sure you regret it. That's a promise." Asano said, with such conviction that Karma knew he meant it. The blond walked past towards the cashier and paid using a card. The stuff didn't cost very much, and if it meant sorting things out quicker so he could leave, Asano didn't care about paying for Kayano. He had plenty of money, anyway.
The red head raised an eyebrow as they left the shop together.
"You know when you steal your Dad's credit card to pay for things they can track it." Karma said notchantly.
"I know what I'm doing." Was Asano's blunt reply, effectively ending the conversation for the next few minutes.
As they neared the hill, Karma started talking again.
"So I know the Chairman ran his school like he was the goddamn fuhrer or something, but was he really so bad you had to run away?" He asked, neither sympathy nor spite evident in his voice. Asano turned to look at him- his eyes were their true amethyst colour now- since he no longer had to hide his identity from Karma, he took the irritating things out as soon as they were on the outskirts of town.
"Mind your own business, okay?" He replied, with a fake smile on his face.
"Such a rude little boy." The red head tutted, although he was clearly beginning to get annoyed by Gakushuu's attitude. "And after your Daddy's put all that effort putting out missing posters to find his precious son."
At the mention of his father, Asano's fake grin cracked, a flare of anger flashed in his eyes. "And what about you, Karma." He said the name as if it were an insult. "Were's your missing posters? Maybe nobody cares about you enough to put them up. It makes sense considering your attitude- ack!"
Karma cut Asano off by hitting him hard in the stomach, leaving him coughing. The other boy's callous words hurt him more than they thought they would. Because they were true.
Nobody has even noticed he hasn't been home in days. His parents have just been sending him the occasional text as always. If he died, his body would be long decomposed before anybody realised he was even missing.
Karma probably should of been prepared for Asano to retaliated by punching him in the face. The red head spat out a mouthful of blood- The other boy wasn't holding back.
Good.
His own frustrated feelings were mounting, and he was itching for a fight.
"You have no idea what you just let yourself in for, blondie." Karma said, a feverently excited grin reaching his face. Forgetting all reason, the boys went at each other.
Karma won. That extra year of age, the extra inch or so of height gave him a slight advantage (That and he was a veteran scrapper), although he was sporting a few new bruises for his troubles.
He had Asano on the ground, arm twisted behind him, the red head pressed a knee into his back.
"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." The blond growled maliciously, frustration edging into his voice as he tried to get free. Karma dug his knee knee in harder.
"You might want to choose your words a little more carefully considering you're at my mercy." The red head said, with a triumphant grin. "Taking down prideful assholes like you is my specialty. So hurry up and beg me to let you go, so we can get back to Nagisa and Kayano, kay?"
"I don't care if I go back to them or not. Unlike some people, I'm not so desperate and lonely I have to play the role of protector just to feel wanted." Asano hissed out. His words made Karma feel as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs. The little brat was a silver-tongued devil, he knew exactly what to say to break through the red head's armor.
Gakushuu took advantage of Karma's shock, and wriggled out from under him, pushing the red head to the floor instead, grabbing him by the back of the neck.
"I'm not like you, Karma, I don't get attached to people. I throw them away as soon as they become an inconvenience. I don't waste time on things that don't benefit me." Asano said, although he sounded as if he were quoting somebody else, it was as if his words weren't his own. "I'm not at the mercy of my emotions."
"If you say that enough times you might start to believe it." Karma grunted from the floor. Asano opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly a blood curdling scream pierced the air.
Both of them jolted up.
That was Kayano!
"Sorry. I'm not so good at stuff like this." Nagisa said apologetically to Kayano. He was attempting to make a fire, but every time he managed to light the small bundle of sticks with his matches, the flames were quickly snuffed out by the wind.
"It's fine. I'm not even that cold anymore anyway, thanks for trying!" Kayano smiled, but the blunette could tell she was suppressing the urge to shiver.
"Sorry." He repeated, that familiar feeling of being useless returning. He was sure Shun or Karma would be able to do this. Those older boys were so capable compared to him.
"Stop that!" Kayano said, suddenly. Nagisa looked up at her. "Just because you can't make a fire doesn't mean you have to feel guilty or worthless or whatever! I can see it all over your face."
"It's just. I can't really do anything. I was never all that great in school, or at sports." Nagisa said, with a sad defeated smile on his face. He spoke the words with resignation, as if he'd already accepted them as fact. "I should probably warn you, I'm not good at anything."
"Of course you are!" Kayano cried. She said it so instantaneously Nagisa was taken aback. "You're kind, you're easy to talk to, and I feel calmer just being around you makes me feel more relaxed, even in this horrible situation.
Nagisa's eyes widened. The girl was looking at him with such conviction in her golden eyes that the blunette couldn't detect any signs she was just lying to make him feel better.
"Thank you." He said, and he meant it. In that sentence, Kayano had said more positive things to Nagisa than he ever remembered hearing (discounting his mother's assurances that he was a 'beautiful girl'). She smiled at him, pleased.
"I like it better when you look straight at me like this instead of lowering your gaze to the ground." She said. Kayano seemed to have a sort of maturity about her, she was wise beyond her years.
There was a pleasant moment of silence for a moment, where the two of them just gazed at each other, when all of a sudden, Nagisa felt a cold hand close over his mouth. He let out a muffled cry of panic.
Who was it? How did somebody sneak up behind him?
Then, from the front entrance, he saw a figure run forwards and grab Kayano.
The green haired girl let out a piercing scream, but was quickly shit up when the assailant put a hand over her mouth.
Nagisa fought against the hands holding him to no avail, opposite him, Kayano was doing the same- Her attacker was a curvy blonde teenage girl who looked European.
A young silver haired man with innocent topaz eyes walked in, smiling calmly as if the scuffle before him wasn't happening. "Now now- What on earth would two little wretches be doing trying to take over our hideout, eh? Looks as if we'll have to teach you a lesson."
The characters have accidentally stumbled into another gangs territory (Can anyone guess who the gang members are?). Also we got to see how the families react to their kids going missing! (Except for Karma's family because they're such good parents they haven't realised their son is missing yet)
Nagisa's issues means he has low self-esteem and is constantly doubting himself (kind of like in the manga, but even worse).
While Karma and Asano turn their feelings of fear/lonliness into anger, and they've started projecting it onto each other, and taking out their frustrations on each other so they're pretty much assholes to each other. But both of them a protective of Nagisa and Kayano (especially Karma).
Kayano deals with her problems by burying them down and acting as if everything is okay. But no matter how good she is at it, she's still just a kid and can't shoulder the world on her shoulders.
As for ages, Kayano is in year 6 (10-11yrs), Nagisa is in year 7 (11-12yrs), Asano is in yr 8 (12-13 yrs), and Karma is in yr 9 (13-14 yrs).
Review for more! Also if you have ideas!