Chapter Twenty-Two: Sitting Target:
December 22nd, 2009. 6:00 p.m.
The shinigami
and demons sat in the hospital cafeteria. Nobody spoke at first. Tatsumi lowered
his tea.
"So what do we
have here?" he asked.
"Tsuzuki's been
missing since the fifteenth," Watari said. "He hasn't been by his apartment or
to work."
"No one can
reach him," Tatsumi added.
"Three days
later, Anna is raped and poisoned into a catatonic state," Hisoka said.
"Then this
morning we get the tape," Emiko said. The butch demon looked at everyone. "So
what do we make of this?" she asked as she lowered her soda. "It sounded like
him on the tape." Hisoka's hand trembled as he shook his head.
"No!" he blurted
out. "That's not him! Tsuzuki's not like that!" Watari rested his hand on the
boy's shoulder. Hisoka eyed him.
"We know," the
scientist said in a low voice. "We know, Bon. Just calm down." Hisoka took in a
bitter breath.
"Right," Emiko
said. "We believe it's a possession." The shinigami looked at her.
"Possession?"
they asked.
"We can't be
certain," Hotaru answered. "We need more information."
"So where's the
tape now?" Tatsumi asked.
"It's cool,"
Mike said. "I hid it here in the hospital."
"Where?" Tatsumi
asked.
"With an old
friend."
Tatsumi gave him
an odd look. "Old friend?"
"Yeah, she's
been put in this hospital since the eighties. She has mental problems." The
demons noticed the crew's faces.
"It'll be okay,"
Mike insisted. "Her family is in America and the nurses don't ask questions." He
rose to his feet. "Come on," he said. "I'll show you." Mike headed out of the
cafeteria. The others looked uncertain.
"Well?" Tatsumi
asked. Emiko shrugged.
"If he says so,"
she said. "He's yet to fail us, yet." The butch demon got up and followed
behind. The boys eyed Hotaru as she gave them a little shrug.
"I follow
Emiko-sama," she said. The loli demon got up and followed her housemates. One by
one, the shinigami followed the demons.
--------
They all came to
their third floor by elevator. Mike led the way down the hall to room 320. Mike
turned to everyone.
"I'll do all of
the talking," he said. The demon turned back to the door and knocked on it.
"Who is it?" a
small voice asked.
"It's me, Hana,"
Mike replied.
"Mikey?" the
voice asked. "Mikey, come in." The demon opened the door and went inside. A
middle-aged woman sat up in bed, looking at them. Her black-plum hair was pinned
behind her ears. Her crow's-feet matched the smile on her face. The hospital
gown swallowed her tiny frame in one gulp. She waved at the crew like a little
school-child.
"Hi Mikey!" she
cheered. Mike forced himself to smile back.
"You're looking
great, Hana," he said. "Are you enjoying the gift I gave you in the tape
player?"
"Yep!" she said.
"You still have
it, right?"
"I think so."
"Let's see,
okay?"
"K."
Mike looked in
the tape player on the table next to her. He stuck a thumbs up to the crew. He
turned back to Hana.
"Did I do good?"
she asked. Mike smiled back at her.
"Yes," he said.
"You did good."
"Am I a good
girl?"
Mike patted her on the head. "Yes, you are a good girl." Hana only smiled as the others tried to understand this weird relationship before them.