Chapter Six: Mochi:

All day in grey rain
hollyhocks follow the sun's
invisible road

--Basho

October 31st, 1999.

Anna waited in her closet prison in fear. It had been quiet for some time now and she wasn’t sure if her attackers were really gone. The girl shut her eyes as she began to fear the worst.

What if papa’s…, she thought, Please don’t let that happen!

The girl froze when she heard footsteps outside. Anna’s breathed quickened as she pressed her hand over her mouth. They’re back!, the girl thought.

However, the voices sounded different this time. A boy and a man asked about what happened. Anna became curious and listened closely.

“It’s them, alright,” a man said.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” a boy about her age said, “Why would they turn on their own after so long? They had the opportunity to kill him any time they wanted. Why now?” The conversation rather puzzled the poor girl. Who exactly were those men that broke to kill her father? Were those the police outside just now? Maybe a neighbor heard Daisuke’s screams and called the cops. However, Anna didn’t hear any sirens or calls pulling up to the house.

She didn’t notice that she ended up drawing attention to herself inside when she was tapping her foot against the tatami mats nervously. By the time she realized what happened, it was too late.

Oh no! They’re going to find me!, she thought as she tried to stay still in the closet. Anna panicked as the door was opened wide. Tsuzuki examined her closely as stared at him with big eyes. Feeling his heart ache for her, he tried to be gentle with the terrified girl.

“It’s okay,” he whispered as he reached forward and pushed aside some her bangs, “They’re gone now; we won’t hurt you.” The shinigami noticed the girl’s gold necklace with a little charm of a cat with its paw out away from it hanging around her neck. When Anna saw Daisuke’s body lying on the ground in a fix, she quickly grabbed the cat as tight as she could before sinking to her knees and screaming out for her father. She didn’t let go of it the rest of the night.

June 30th, 2009.

Tsuzuki looked up at Anna as she sat on her laptop. “Hey Anna,” he said from her futon.

“Hm?” she asked not looking up at him.

“What ever happened to that cat necklace you had ten years ago?” Anna turned and blinked at him for a moment.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You know,” Tsuzuki said with a small shrug, “You had a gold cat necklace back then and you held the charm all night out of fear, remember?”

“Oh!” Anna said as a light bulb went off in her head, “The chain near the clasp broke two years after I went to America. Aunt Allison promised to have it fixed, but never got around to it. I still have it though. Want to see?”

“Sure,” the shinigami replied. Anna opened her desk drawer and reached inside. She pulled out a small glass container and showed it to Tsuzuki. He took it in his hand and looked at it amazed.

She kept it after all these years?, he thought as he looked at the gold inside.

Outside in the thick afternoon rain, Emiko rang the doorbell with a grin on her face.

“Coming!” a female called on the other side. The door slowly slid open and Rihoko looked out smiling.

“Oh hi, Emiko!” she chirped, “What brings you by?” The butch demon looked around inside the manor.

“Hey Rihoko-chan,” she said, “Is Tsuzuki here at the moment?”

“Yes,” the young mother answered with a puzzled tone in her voice.

“Could you bring him out here?” she asked with a cat-like grin.

“Sure, I guess…” Rihoko mumbled.

“Could you get him now?” Emiko pushed.

“Uh… okay…” Rihoko said uneasily. The young mother went inside the manor as Emiko waited patiently. Her grin spread up to her ears when Tsuzuki came to the door. His face dropped when he saw the butch demon.

“Hi!” she cheered with a wave. The shinigami rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Emiko?” he asked.

“So have you told her yet?” she asked like a hyper little child waiting for a present in the mail. Tsuzuki looked at her confused as he blinked at her.

“Told who what?” he asked. Emiko sighed aloud as the glow from her face died away.

“Have you told Anna you love her yet?” she asked. Tsuzuki looked on in lost silence before it suddenly and slowly it clicked in his mind.

“No,” the shinigami replied, shaking his head.

“Why not?!?” Emiko whined at him.

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug, “Not the right time, I guess.” Emiko didn’t want to hear that. She came over to hear stories of hot, juicy first-time sex, but a romance plot that wasn’t going anywhere. This called for another little push.

“What do you mean?!?” she shouted, “You’ve got to jump at the chance when it is right in your face! She’s right there, waiting for you! Anna is fine and she wants you!” She drew back with a small, catlike smirk. “Plus, she’s a virgin,” she whispered loud enough for his ear to check. Tsuzuki looked up at her with big eyes and a red face.

“WHAT?!?” he yelped, “How do you know that?!?” Emiko grinned at him as her mind plotted out how to run with this.

“Hoto-chan and I tried to have a three-way with her,” she said like a sweet a little child. Tsuzuki’s face went a deeper red at those words.

“You did what?!?” he yelled. He felt like passing out at such revelation. No! No! No!, the poor man’s mind shouted repeatedly. Emiko laughed, he turned out to be so fun to mess with on a day like this.

“Don’t worry, it’s only a joke!” she brushed off, “No, Anna told me once I messed with her some.” Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow at that statement.

“What do you mean messed with her?” he questioned.

“That’s beside the point;” she said quickly, “Anna is hot and waiting for you. Snatch her up while the fresh virgin gates are still open! Make me proud!” The shinigami really looked lost as she patted him on the back.

“Uh…” he said, staring at her. Emiko gently covered his mouth.

“Don’t say, do! Got me?” she asked. Tsuzuki didn’t know how to answer as the butch demon grinned at him once more.

“Bye-bye!” she said waving. Emiko disappeared into the rain. Tsuzuki stood there, blinking.

They just don’t know when to give up, do they?, he thought with a sweat drop on his head.