Chapter Twenty-Six: Dear Friend:
Anna tried to
dial Kiko’s number.
“I don’t know
how this will help,” she said.
“Just go with me
on this,” Tsuzuki told her.
“Alright,” Anna
said. The other line rang.
“Hello?” a man’s
voice asked.
“Who this?” Anna
asked.
“Who are you?”
the man asked. Anna looked up at Tsuzuki. He gave her a quick nod.
“My name is
Kimoto-Tsuzuki Anna. I am an old friend of Kate Kiko. Is she around?” she asked.
There was a pause on the other line.
“Her friend?”
the man asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Did something happen to her?”
“Would you like
to come in and talk?” the man asked. Anna had a puzzled look on her face.
“Why?” she
asked. “Who is this?”
“I’m with the
Nagasaki PD,” Anna looked up at Tsuzuki.
“Now what?” she
mouthed.
“Do it,” he
mouthed back.
“You sure?” she
asked. Her husband nodded.
“Okay,” Anna
said. “I will be right there. Thank you.” She hung up her phone.
---------
Meanwhile,
Tsuzuki returned to Ju-Oh-Cho. He received a text for another case minutes ago.
Hisoka stood in the lobby, waiting.
“What’s going
on?” Tsuzuki asked.
“We have to go
to Konoe’s office,” his partner said. The shinigami teleported to their
destination.
-------------
Anna sat in a
police interrogation room. Kiko’s phone ended up in the hands of the police. The
woman’s eyes trailed upwards. The cops wouldn’t tell her much.
Where are you, Kiko? Anna froze as a whispering
filled her ear.
Find me.
Anna jerked her
head upwards. The ghostly image of a woman sat across from her at the table. She
couldn’t see her face. Yet, her appearance felt so calming.
“Kiko… -san?”
Anna asked. The faceless woman did not speak.
“Where did you
go?” Anna asked. “Are you still alive? What happened to you? Talk to me.” The
other woman did not answer. Instead, she vanished into thin air.
“Kiko-san!” the
living woman said. Anna looked down on the table when she noticed a small silver
hairclip in front of where the ghostly woman sat. She quickly grabbed the clip
and stuffed it in the pocket.
Suddenly, the
door opened.
---------
Drag. Drag.
Drag. Drag.
She won’t go
down. How was she still alive? She couldn’t survive for much longer. It didn’t
make sense.
Drag. Drag.
Drag. Drag.
There was growth
now. Yes, there was that. A voice. But, it only managed to scream one thing.
“No!”
The hunger out
for more.
“No!”
Drag. Drag. Drag. Drag.