A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews. Thanks for your patience while I'm setting up my chess board and establishing who knows what. I'm trying to do so in such a way that people who aren't super familiar with one of the canons can make sense of things. Also, I'm showing what each storyline looks like through the lens of the other canon.
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FÜNF
TIMELINE X + N
Isshin stood in the foyer for a few moments and watched the three girls disappear into the kitchen. He stood and listened to his daughters bicker over what constituted a reasonable amount of food for their guest while the new girl remained silent. It was sweet, but he frowned hard.
His girls were lying to him and trying to play him. He didn't know what about specifically, but it worried him.
What worried him more, though, was the strange girl's high reiatsu and the way a Hollow reiatsu clung to her. Up close, he could feel Homura's own reiatsu gradually sloughing off the taint, but it was strong. And her face... It had been apparent that both Homura and Yuzu had cried hard earlier in the night, eyes red-rimmed and dried tear tracks on their faces. Both his girls had been quietly riled up and ready to argue with him to secure a place to stay for the girl. Then, for a moment when the new girl looked him in the eye, he saw genuinely painful grief and helplessness. How could he deny her help?
He didn't know what part of their story was a lie, but he knew that the girl's grief and fear were real. She was exhausted and hurting, Hollow reiatsu clung to her like lingering mud, girls were allegedly disappearing and dying, and his daughters had some level of involvement. It was as if he was seeing just the tip of the iceberg, the signs that something sinisterly larger was happening beneath the surface.
After another minute of thought, Isshin pasted a goofy expression on his face and pranced into the kitchen. He hummed obnoxiously as he got a cup and filled it with water, then glanced toward the girls. Yuzu was industriously throwing things in a pan as if it had offended her while a hesitantly sympathetic Karin served a lost-looking Homura a plate of reheated leftovers from the family's dinner earlier in the evening. The poor girl seemed too exhausted to guard her expression anymore, face wavering as though she couldn't decide whether to eat the food, scream and throw it, or fall asleep in it. It hurt to watch. Isshin saw echoes of his bereaved nine-year-old son staring at his food every night after being dragged home from the riverbank where his mother had died.
Every fatherly instinct Isshin had screamed that something was deeply wrong and the girl was caught up in something far over her head.
Isshin temporarily tucked his concern away and swung the fridge door shut with a flourish. "Well, girls, Daddy's off to bed! I'll be up for awhile reading the new medical journal, though, and you can always get me if you need me, okay?"
Karin waved him off halfheartedly while Yuzu cheerfully wished him good night. Homura simply sat straight and stared at him as though not really seeing him. Isshin frowned at her in concern and gave her a small nod to wish her good night but she just stared.
Isshin took his water upstairs and climbed in bed with his laptop. He pulled up a window with his medical journal and scrolled down to a random point, then opened an internet browser to begin his own amateur investigation. Calling up the news sites for Mitakihara was the easy part. As a father, reading the results grew difficult.
MISSING SCHOOLGIRL FOUND DEAD IN UPSCALE HOTEL ROOM
April 21 20XX 06:13 PM
Sayaka Miki (14), the Mitakihara Middle School second year who has been missing since April 12th, was found dead this evening by security staff at Hotel Nikko Mitakihara. The police have released a statement indicating that the girl's death appears to have occurred sometime within the preceding 24 hours, though the cause of death is as yet undetermined. More details may be released following an autopsy.
Updated April 21 20XX 06:47 PM
The girl is said to have looked clean and in good health with no injuries on her person and no sign of struggle in the hotel room. Police continue to process the scene, which anonymous sources indicate appears normal save for a number of bags of food from various convenience stores and fast food restaurants. The investigation will continue through the night.
Updated April 21 20XX 07:49 PM
A girl who sources say is friends with Sayaka Miki has been reported missing by her parents this evening. For details, see our article here (link)
Updated April 21 20XX 08:52 PM
A press conference is tentatively scheduled for 10:00 AM tomorrow.
FRIEND OF DEAD SCHOOLGIRL REPORTED MISSING
April 21 20XX 07:46 PM
Junko and Tomohisa Kaname report that their daughter, Madoka (14), did not return from school today. Mitakihara Middle School reports that Madoka Kaname was recorded absent from classes today. Her disappearance is particularly troubling in light of the disappearance and subsequent discovery of the body of her close friend Sayaka Miki this evening.
Mr. and Mrs. Kaname cite a phone call to another of their child's friends to indicate their daughter was last seen on her usual path to school. The friend said the missing girl appeared troubled and suddenly decided to go home instead of continuing to class. She never made it home. Kaname was last seen running north from Mitakihara Middle School around 07:45 AM. She was wearing a Mitakihara Middle School girls' winter uniform with white stockings and her pink hair was tied up in two pigtails with red ribbons. Anyone who thinks they have seen her or has any relevant information is urged to call the Mitakihara Municipal Police at XXX-XXXX.
SCHOOL OFFICIALS REPORT THIRD MISSING GIRL
April 21 20XX 08:14 PM
At the request of investigators, administrators scoured records at Mitakihara Middle School for attendance anomalies relating to the mysterious disappearances of Sayaka Miki (14) and Madoka Kaname (14). Concerned administrators expanded their examination to the entire student body out of an abundance of caution. They discovered that third year student Mami Tomoe (15), an emancipated orphan, had not attended classes since April 4th, predating Sayaka Miki's disappearance by eight days. When calls to her home went unanswered, police were dispatched to her apartment. The door was found to be unlocked. Sources report that there was no obvious sign of foul play, though the scene has yet to be processed in depth. One source indicates that the apartment appears abandoned. Officials are submitting her photo to local hospitals in hope of finding that she was admitted without identification. Tomoe's last known whereabouts are yet to be determined. She has blond hair which she usually wears in two curled pigtails decorated with flower hairpins. Anyone who thinks they have seen her or has any relevant information is urged to call the Mitakihara Municipal Police at XXX-XXXX.
Updated April 21 20XX 08:42 PM
An anonymous law enforcement source claims that physical evidence of a tie to the newly missing Madoka Kaname (14) (link) was found in Tomoe's apartment. Mitakihara Municipal Police Department spokesperson Kuroe Mura declined to comment, citing the investigation in progress and promising a news conference sometime tomorrow morning.
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Isshin sat back and scrubbed a hand over his face, then held his chin and stared at the articles and the school ID photos of three girls smiling out at him. He vaguely noted the timestamps. Something didn't add up, but he was too tired to spot it. Sighing in temporary defeat, he shut his laptop and settled down for the night.
Sleep was a long time coming. What the hell had his daughters gotten involved in?
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A/N: Papa!Bear Isshin is on the case.
This chapter was replaced with an edited version on November 1, 2019. Reviews with timestamps before that date refer to a slightly different version of the chapter.