Sohma Estate
Whispers rose from the houses on the estate. The air was thick with anxious murmurs.
Akito Sohma had disappeared.
Akito, the God—no, the Goddess of the Juunishii, a woman! Akito was a woman, and she had been kidnapped.
It seemed as if these whispers drifted from every window of every house on the estate.
And the arrival of the police only served to heighten the tension.
Inspector Keiji Nakai, nearly forty, smoked his cigarette as he surveyed the scene. It was his ritual before stepping into the arena. Light a cigarette, listen, listen, and absorb the atmosphere. Snatches of murmurs reached him. Fear had a smell, and this place reeked of it. He inhaled deeply, down to the filter, then extinguished the butt. Exhaling the smoke, he climbed the steps leading to the family head's room and entered.
The room was almost empty, traditional. His agents were at work, searching for fingerprints or signs of a struggle. At first glance, nothing seemed disturbed. He moved into the next room, where his colleagues were interviewing family members. He noticed a dark-haired man in a white coat—likely the family doctor—a young redhead with a defiant look, and two slim, androgynous, attractive individuals who were probably brothers.
"I thought Akito Sohma was a man," said Batou, one of the young officers.
The doctor shrugged calmly. "It's not as if we made any declaration about it."
"She dressed like a man," the officer insisted. "Did she enjoy cross-dressing?"
The gray-haired, androgynous young man looked uncomfortable. "No, let's just say… she was respecting a tradition."
Officer Batou snickered, noting this unusual information in his notebook.
"Maybe she ran off to live her life far from these twisted customs," he sneered, casting a suspicious glance at the family doctor.
The redhead clenched his fists. "If that's the sort of thing you're going to say, we don't need you here!"
"Calm down, kid; I'm doing my job. In 90% of cases, the culprits are family members."
"Batou, we need help with the fingerprints. I'll take over here," said Inspector Keiji.
Batou sighed, closed his notebook, and left, casting a last contemptuous look at the redhead.
The inspector waited until his colleague had left before continuing and approached the doctor.
"I'm Inspector Nakai. I'll be handling this case."
"Hatori Sohma," the doctor replied, shaking his hand, then introduced the men with him. All cousins… all strange.
"I must inform you that, at the moment, there's no indication that your family head has been abducted. And we have to wait 48 hours to officially report someone missing."
"The room smells like chloroform," said Kyo, his tone resigned.
"I don't smell anything, young man," the lead officer said. "The scent of ether or chloroform is far too volatile for you to detect in the air." He turned to Hatori. "I understand your family's concern, but we have to follow procedure. Naturally, if you receive any information confirming an abduction, we'll act as quickly as possible."
"And a bribe wouldn't speed up the process, I suppose," asked the man with the long white hair.
"That's not how we operate, sir."
Ayame shook his head with disdain. "Excuse me, sir, but my young cousin is missing. You can't imagine what some of us would be willing to do to find her."
Nakai clicked his tongue, irritated. He disliked such statements.
"We're certain there'll be no news in 48 hours, Inspector," Hatori said. "I hope we'll be able to call on you once that time has passed."
"Of course."
With a nod, he took his leave, casting a final glance at these individuals, aware that something strange emanated from them.
The inspector was still pondering it as he left the house, but he stopped at the door, stunned. All the officers were frozen, staring.
About twenty dogs were seated in front of the house, unmoving. More dogs were entering the estate through the main gate to join the group…
"What are all these dogs doing here?"
"We don't know, sir. But there are more and more of them…"
Sohma Estate
They were all searching for Shigure. He had disappeared after Yuki called the police. Hatori suspected he had gone off on his own when he heard Momiji's voice.
"He's here! I found him."
Shigure was kneeling, letting a large, powerful-jawed dog sniff a coat. Hatori recognized it as Ren's coat. Shigure patted the dog's head, and the beast began to track the scent.
The other members of the Zodiac had heard Momiji and gathered around Shigure on the east side of the estate.
"I thought you had left without us," Hatori began. "The police—"
"The police won't do anything; it's too early, I know," Shigure interrupted, his body tense and alert. "We'll need them later. Come with me!"
They followed him behind a cluster of houses, to the right of the main house.
"Look!" he said, pointing at tracks in the dirt. "He came through here. Twice. The second time, the footprints are deeper because he was carrying her in his arms." He followed the trail in the dirt, and the others trailed behind him to the wall. "There, by the wall, more footprints. Another man helped him. They went through the broken wall. Only the Sohmas know about it; it's been our hidden way out to the world for ages. Their scent disappears just past the wall, which means the car was parked right there. There are wheel marks in the grass, but they blend with all the other tire marks once you get to the main road."
"The people who took her knew where to look," Kureno agreed. "They knew about this breach in the wall, the alley that bypasses the wall, and, most importantly, the location of the main house."
"Someone on the inside betrayed us," Yuki said.
"Ren probably knows something," Rin said. "I'm sure she's behind this."
"As we all are," Kureno replied. "But Ren left for a retreat at the hot springs two days ago. We don't know which one, or if she even went to a property owned by the Sohmas."
"Away when her daughter disappears," Ayame sneered, his lips curled in disdain. "How convenient!"
"She'll come back eventually," Momiji said. "And she'll have to answer our questions."
"She might wait until it's too late…" Tohru murmured. She regretted her words immediately, even though she knew she was right. But she could feel fear spreading among them.
"We need to make a list of our enemies, both inside and outside," Haru said, regaining his composure. "Ren is at the top of the list. That vile woman must know something."
Shigure nodded, watching the sun as it continued its descent toward the horizon, trying to ignore the anxiety gnawing at him.
He looked at his watch.
"In roughly 36 hours, the police will start their search, and we can finally issue an official alert on national channels, but it might be too late." He turned to the Juunishii members. "In the meantime, print portraits of Akito and distribute them in our businesses, the facilities we fund, the schools, everywhere. Publish a missing person alert to all our private and professional contacts. Hire private detectives, set up witness calls, and hire people to screen out false leads. Spare no expense for any information!"
"If they want a ransom, they'll call here," Kyo said.
"We'll need to divide up to cover the most ground," Shigure said. "Some will stay on-site to coordinate with the police and respond to the kidnappers… if they call."
"Let's assign roles now and get started!" Hatori chimed in.
"I'm not finished," Shigure growled, his gaze dark, his voice low. "I want every house, every alley, every sewer in this damned city searched. I want dogs, cats, rats, and snakes swarming the streets. Let's lay siege to the city! Let our curse serve a purpose for once."
As the sun began to set, a cry swept through the city, and a horde of howling dogs poured into the streets. It was only the beginning.
End of Chapter 9
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