Thanks for the reviews- Sorry for the wait.
When a child goes missing, people tend to blame the strange outsider; Maybe the old homeless man, or the lonely old widow with a facial disfigurement. Rumours and gossip contorts these people's images into that of child-snatching freaks, grotesque evil-doers. They become frightening monsters.
But over the years, Karasuma has come to realise that when something bad happens to a child, it isn't often the outcast who ghosted them away; It's usually those closest to them that are the danger.
And that is the most frightening thing of all, that nobody wants to acknowledge- that most monsters are close to home.
The inspector is reminded of this as he peers through the one-way glass at Kotarō Yanagisawa. A handsome, wealthy young man from a good background with a brilliant career. And a child-killer.
From the blood stains and hairs found in his house and car, it wasn't difficult to conclude that he had beaten Akari to death, dragged her into his car, and drove away somewhere to dump the body.
Karasuma didn't want to believe it, but it seemed like the only logical explanation.
Despite all the evidence and his lack of reliable alibi, Yanagisawa had refused to admit to the murder, even after intense interrogation for hours on end;
"The bitch set me up!" He had hissed, after his cool demeanor finally snapped.
"A child set you up?" The inspector replied coldly.
"Yes, she told me to meet her alone in one of the parks so I'd have no alibi!"
"What is a twenty five year old man doing meeting a preteen girl alone in a park?" Karasuma had asked. Yanisigawa had no answer for that, after that he'd remained silent, refusing to talk until his lawyer arrived.
Karasuma thought of the other two missing children; Nagisa Shiota and Gakushuu Asano. He prayed that their cases wouldn't end with a trail of blood. But he was starting to feel more uneasy the more he learned about their families;
He had no doubt in his mind Hiromei Shiota was both abusive and verging on psychotic... Could she have killed her son in a wild rage and attempted to disguise it as a runaway?
What about Gakushuu? Everyone he had interviewed had admitted the Chairman put excessively high expectations on his son. His classmates had said that after coming third in a test Gakushuu had disappeared from school for two days, he returned looking 'pale and thin' and had been acting distant from then on. Had Gakuhou Asano gone too far with a punishment and accidentally killed his own son?
Had these children been living with monsters?
One of his subordinates hurried over to him, breaking him away from his thoughts. "Sir!" She cried out. "Gakuhou Asano's credit card has been used. We've been able to track it to the exact shop!"
Karasuma's eyes gleamed with determination. "I want my men on there- now!"
"Don't you think we're taking this too far? I mean, they're just a couple of brats who wondered too far from the playground." The blond girl said, flipping her long wavy hair over her shoulder. She was Caucasian, and had a slight accent that marked her as a foreigner. Her womanly figure made her seem like an adult at first, but on closer inspection she looked around sixteen.
"Even little brats can squeal to their parents if we're not careful~" The silver haired man replied, his warm topaz eyes hiding any evil intention. It was hard to read his age, he was timeless somehow. But the thing that was most concerning was the knife attached to his belt.
The third assailant, a stoic boy Nagisa's age with spiky platinum hair, remained silent, looking at the other two with intense yellow eyes and an unreadable expression.
Nagisa and Kayano were tied back to back on the floor of the mountain hut.
When the three attackers came after them, they didn't have any hope of winning. Kayano hardly had a chance to scream before they'd been captured.
From what Nagisa could tell, they seemed like a gang of delinquents of some sort. Fear bubbled through him. He prayed they were just messing around and they wouldn't really do anything to hurt him and Kayano. Especially not Kayano.
"We wont tell anyone anything, I promise!" Nagisa said, his voice sounding a lot calmer than he felt, his blue eyes fixed on the three assailants.
"Hmmm, so I should just let you go?" The silver haired man mused, still with a benign smile on his face. Suddenly, in one fluid movement he took his knife from his belt with one hand, and grabbed Nagisa by the front of his coat with the other, forcing him to his feet. The boy heard a surprised squeak as Kayano was forced up behind him also.
The man pressed the blade to Nagisa's neck. "People are always so agreeable when they're at someone's mercy. But as soon as they're free they'll go squealing to their parents."
Nagisa stared into those topaz eyes, and sensed the blood-lust radiating off the man. Despite his kind smile, Nagisa had no doubt that this guy could kill without a second thought. He was more than just a delinquent trying to scare them. Even the man's two cronies, the blond foreigner girl and the yellow-eyed boy looked alarmed by their leader.
He felt Kayano grab his hand behind him, and squeeze, she was shaking.
"We wont tell anyone! Because we're runaways, we have nobody to tell!" The green haired girl cried. Nagisa couldn't see her, but she sounded close to tears. The man gave an amused laugh.
"Runaways? Let me guess, your parents wouldn't let you have your own way so you're trying to make them worry." He scoffed, not loosening his grip on Nagisa. "Lets find a way to make them really scared!"
He raised the knife suddenly, with such ease as if it were second nature to him. Nagisa's eyes widened in shock, how could this be happening? Was he really going to die just like that!?
It all happened so fast after that; The man's knife sped towards Nagisa's neck with true killing intent, and within that same second, two figures, a blond and a red head burst through the door of the hut from the outside, intending to attack.
The man paused when his blade was mere millimeters from slashing through Nagisa's artery, and quickly turned around, dropping the blue haired boy and grabbing his two attackers by the scruff of the neck just as they were about to grab him.
Karma and Shun had been captured just as quickly as they'd burst in.
The pair of them looked shocked. Nagisa realised they must of been outside, probably waiting for the right moment to attack and try to save them. His heart raced- He really thought he was going to die then.
"I was right when I thought the best way to flush you two out quickly was to threaten your little friend here. I could feel you both watching me." The man said. Despite Shun and Karma's struggles, he seemed to be holding the two of them with ease. "So now I have four little runaways to play with."
"You gave me a heart attack, Shinigami!" The blond girl cried. "I really thought you were going to stab a kid!"
"Eh, as if I'd bother dirtying my blade on such a useless opponent." The man, Shinigami, said. He talked casually, as if in normal conversation, as if he didn't have two youths restrained, attempting the fight against him with all their might. Nagisa realised how powerful this guy must be. "Are you just going to stand there, Miss Bitch, or are you going to fetch the rope for me?"
"I didn't agree to that code-name!" 'Miss Bitch', the foreign girl, snapped as she pulled out a length of rope from the bag. The platinum haired boy watched on silently.
"You damn lowlife! You better let us go before you regret this!" Shun shouted. He was trying to pull Shinigami's hand off, looking increasingly frustrated, but the man didn't bat an eyelid. Karma had stopped trying to fight, but was giving his captor a deadly glare. "I bet you three are just a gang of delinquents trying to be tough! Well if you don't leave us immediately I'll get the police involv- ack!"
His rant was cut off when Shinigami suddenly tightened his grip around Shun's neck. His amethyst eyes widened in shock (wait, Nagisa thought, weren't they brown?).
Kayano and Nagisa both cried out. "Stop!" But he ignored them.
"I don't think you're in any position to be going to the police, right, Gakushuu Asano, was it?" Shinigami said, with a pleasant smile as he continued to cut off the boy's air supply. The blond made a strangled cry of surprise when that name was mentioned. That must be his real name, Nagisa figured. "Don't look so surprised, I do watch the news you know. So of course, I know you too, Nagisa. The God of death knows all things."
Now it was the blue-haired boy's turn to act shocked, Although he wasn't sure why, the poster was everywhere. Knowing that this dangerous man knew his name made him afraid somehow.
"God of death? You sure are acting high and mighty for someone who's only apparent power seems to be picking on kids. I'm not exactly impressed by your strength." Karma said suddenly, despite being restrained there was a teasing look in his amber eyes, and a challenging grin on his lips. Shinigami sent him an ice-cold smile.
"Fair enough. Would you like me to show you my strength then?" The silver haired man said, rising to the bait. He released his grip on Shun- No, Asano, who collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Almost instantly, the blonde girl hurried over, and restrained him, tying Asano up before he had a real chance to fight back.
Shinigami now grabbed Karma with both hands, holding him as if he were as light as a rag doll. Then, still with that easy smile on his face, he casually slammed the red haired boy into the wall of the shack.
There was a sickening crack as Karma's head connected with solid object, and the snapping sound of wood splintering.
Kayano and Nagisa gasped in shock, and even Asano looked horrified.
"That was only 10% of my true strength." Shinigami said, still holding Karma, who appeared limp in his grip. For one terrible moment Nagisa thought Karma was knocked-out... Or worse... But then the red haired teen lifted his head up, a trail of blood trickling from his hair-line down his face. There was a dazed look in his amber eyes, but he still managed a death-glare.
"Beating up kids. Still not impressive." Karma said, sounding strained. Shinigami just laughed.
"Eh? I'm actually impressed. You're stronger than I anticipated. The fact you're still conscious is testament to that." The silver haired man said. "Maybe I'll have a use for you after all~"
"Speaking of uses!" The foreigner girl piped up. "What are we using these kids for anyway? I broke a nail tying this little brat up! This better be worth it."
"Now now, there's no need to doubt me." Shinigami said, as he started to tie up Karma. The red haired boy didn't bother trying to resist, knowing he would be unable. "I'll find a use for these children yet. Itona. Miss bitch- let us discuss it outside."
"They're underestimating us." Karma said, when the four of them were left alone in the shack, tied up, while Shinigami and his crew went outside to 'discuss'. "They aren't even standing guard."
"What does he even want with us?" Kayano cried, Nagisa could feel her tugging against the rope behind him. She sounded terrified. "That blonde lady said she wanted to use us for something- what does that mean?"
The blue haired boy wished he could tell her some comforting words 'It'll be okay.' 'Everything will be fine' but they all felt like such lies on his tongue he couldn't bring himself to. Instead he settled for holding Kayano's hand and squeezing.
"Well. They aren't planning to kill us, or else they already would of." Karma mused out loud. He frowned- even he seemed lost in this situation. "If I had to guess I'd say they were people traffickers."
"So we're going to be sold off or something!" Nagusa exclaimed.
Shun, no, Gakushuu didn't say anything, he was just trying to pull of the ropes that bound him to the beam of the building, a feral look of desperation in his eyes as he even attempted to bite through the rope to no avail.
"You'll pull your teeth out before you pull the rope off." Karma said to him evenly. The red haired boy wasn't even attempting to break free. He could tell the ropes were too tight.
"Shut up!" Gakuhuu snarled, but he sounded more afraid than malicious. His wrists were already raw red from trying to tug them free, and he sounded breathless. "I should of never came back here- should of left while I had the chance."
"It's my fault." Nagisa said, suddenly. "If I had notice the gang sneaking up on us, then you two wouldn't of gotten caught trying to rescue us."
"Cut it with the self-deprication, Nagisa." Karma said, rolling his eyes, but his tone was tender. "Listen. That 'Shinigami' dude or whatever might have skills, but he's overconfident, I can tell. He'll slip up and we'll get away. Simple."
He said it with such easy confidence that Nagisa and Kayano couldn't help but trust him. Even Gakushuu paused for a moment to regard him. Even in a situation like this, with Karma around, things felt a little less dire.
"So." Kayano said suddenly. Her voice still sounded shaky from crying. "Gakushuu Asano- that's your real name, right? And why have your eyes changed colour?"
"Well. I suppose there's no point in denying it." The blond said. He seemed agitated still, but a little less distressed the more he spoke with the others. "My name is Gakushuu Asano and I was wearing contacts earlier. And if you dare tell anybody my whereabouts I'll make you regret it."
"I don't think the kid's in a position to be doing that, Shuu." Karma said, rolling his eyes. He wished he could make a plan of some sort, but when he didn't even know what Shinigami had in mind for them. He closed his eyes in thought, ignoring Asano's indignant cries of 'What did you just call me!?'
"First, we'll have to test if they have the potential to be a useful member of our gang." Shinigami said, shooting a pleasant smile at his subordinates Itona and Irina. "Then, if they pass, we can start training."
Irina and Itona both looked at him skeptically, of course, they knew better than to question their leader.
Shinigami had recruited those two the same way he was currently 'recruiting' the four runaways tied up in the mountain shack. He could tell they were runaways just by looking at them; the huge bags, their disheveled appearance. Nagisa had already been all over the news, and he recognised Gakushuu too, even if his hair was different, Shinigami had an eye for such things. If they'd already left their families, then those hopeless souls were his for the taking.
After his master abandoned him, Shinigami had been left alone. Of course, he had enough skills to survive. Be it robbery, mugging, fraud, he always had a way of making money. But there was only so much one person could do.
That was when he found Irina, she had only been thirteen back then, three years younger than himself. She was a refugee from a war-torn country who had entered Japan illegally. She had been totally vulnerable, alone on the streets, only able to speak a small amount of broken Japanese, and her looks made her a target of perverts. Despite this, she still managed to hold her own, fighting off any attackers, stealing to survive.
Shinigami took her under his wing. At first she was... resistant, but after realising she was no match for him, Irina started to first fear him, then crave the power he had. She ended up as his loyal follower. He had taught her a lot- fighting, Japanese, seduction techniques to trick people, fraud.
Shinigami had found Itona only last year. He was a skinny scrap of a thing, covered in scrapes and bruises, but something about the fire behind his yellow eyes caught Shinigami's interest. The platinum haired boy had been easy to recruit. 'If I beat you in a fight, you must become my follower. If you beat me, I'll give you all my money.'
Of course, as strong as he was, Itona stood no chance. In the end he readily joined Shinigami in order to learn to be powerful.
Children could be stubborn, but show them a little authority and guidance and they were easy to win over. Shinigami wanted to collect more followers and grow his gang even bigger, until his influence pervaded all corners of the underworld. And then, his master would see how much he was really worth.
"Maybe this is one big joke to them? Maybe they just tied us up here and then left us because they thought it would be funny!" Kayano moaned, after what felt like another hour had passed. It was difficult to judge the passage of time tied up in the hut, especially on a cloudy day like this without the sun to judge it by. It certainly felt like ages anyway, especially when they hadn't had breakfast.
At her words, Gakushuu started trying to pull his arms free with renewed vigour, not seeming to care when the ropes broke the skin. But despite all his struggling, the bonds didn't even loosen.
"No. They're coming back." Karma assured her, seeming far too calm for the situation. "This rope they tied us up with is actually quite an expensive type, so they wouldn't just leave it here for so lame joke, no matter how psycho they are."
"But then why have they just left us here for so long?" Nagisa asked, blue eyes wide with confusion. His throat was dry, he was starting to get thirsty he bet the others felt the same.
"Probably to break us. Isolation and food deprivation is a good way to break someone." Gakushuu said bitterly, not even pausing from trying to break free from the ropes as he spoke.
"You know you're going to break your wrist if you carry on like that." Karma warned, raising an eyebrow at the blond. "I'm not going to help you if you end up with both your arms in casts."
"I wouldn't want you to!" Gakushuu snapped at him, still breathing quickly. Nagisa regarded the blond- he had always seemed easily angered, but not easily frightened, but in this situation, he was definitely the most agitated out of the four of then. It occurred to the blunette that Gakushuu might be claustrophobic.
"Dying your hair and wearing contact lenses was a good idea. I wish I'd had the foresight to think of that." Nagisa said, trying to distract the other. Gakushuu glanced over at him.
"You mean that's your natural colour?" He said, raising an eyebrow without pausing from trying to free himself.
"What? Of course!" Nagisa cried. He knew blue hair was rare, but it wasn't completely unheard of, right?
"No way." Karma chuckled. "For a runaway that's pretty conspicuous."
"Like you can talk- Mr bright red hair." Gakushuu said, rolling his eyes at Karma. He appeared more relaxed, if only slightly. The red haired boy just snickered. "Are you going to tell me that's natural too?"
"As a matter of fact it is." Karma said, smugly. "We must be the most technicolor gang of runaways ever. Minus Asano."
Despite the situation, Nagisa and Kayano laughed, even Gakushuu had a slight smile playing on his lips.
"What about you, Kayano?" Nagisa asked. "Is your hair naturally green?"
"No." She sighed. "My hair's naturally black- I tried to dye it blond when I was running away, but I messed the colours up and ended up with green hair!"
The three boy's erupted into laughter. The tension in the room broke. But Kayano froze, feeling a shiver run down her spine- She was glad that Nagisa wasn't looking at her, so he couldn't see the look of horror that flitted on her face for a brief second. Because that story about the hair dye was true. That was Akari's story, not Kayano's. She was getting too comfortable around them, especially Nagisa! She was letting her act slip.
That absolutely could not happen. The mask had to stay on. Her plan could have no flaws.
Kayano joined in on the laughter, not letting any of her internal conflict seep through into her actions.
By the time Shinigami and his followers re-entered the room, the kids were slumped on the floor, their expressions verging on bored.
Children's resistance was so easy to tire out. Just lock them up for a few hours without food or stimulation and they soon become more docile.
Kayano had a pained expression something about needing sugar, and Nagisa looked as if he were in a daze. Karma had his eyes closed, and was so perfectly still one might mistake him as being asleep. Even Gakushuu, who had been the most agitated had finally given up, after all, the body can only stay in panic for so long. He leaned against the wall, blood running down his wrists from trying to pull the ropes off.
"Hello, Children." Shinigami said. As soon as he spoke, it was like a switch was flicked- The kids all sat up suddenly, looking at him, eyes focused. (It was like training dogs). Non of the four spoke, although they looked as though they had a lot to say. The isolation was a good idea. Let them tire themselves out, get used to the idea of being captives, break them a little. "Now. Let's test how useful you can be to me."
Well done to all the reviewers who managed to guess who the attackers are (God of death 2, Irina and Itona). Sorry if the action seemed muddled, they aren't really my forte. I probably wont be writing many of them, but I do need to write them sometimes.
I'm trying to have the runaways develop a sibling-like relationship. They're still just getting to know each other by this stage, but they're already starting to help each other out.
I hope I haven't made them too ooc. I'm most worried about Gakushuu and Kayano. Gakushuu seems ooc in this chapter because he's facing a phobia (being tied up), but he would be a lot better at dealing with other types of dangerous situations. Kayano might seem like more of a cryababy in this compared to the original, but she's a lot younger in this story, and even though she's smart and has a strong resolve, she's still only a kid who gets scared.
Anyway, thank you for all the revies and ideas, they really motivate me! Please keep sending them! (Especially any ideas, even if I don't use them directly, they still inspire me!)