Chapter four of BatB! I’ve been excited for this one, but then it proved hard to write. I hope you enjoy it! See the master post for previous parts.
“Hey, it’s Haruka… Tennoh. It’s Haruka Tennoh. You know. Leave a message.”
Minako grabbed a handful of her hair as it beeped. “Listen, you complete and utter fucktruck, stop making me worry, call me the fuck back and change your stupid voicemail.”
She chucked her phone onto the bed. Then, for good measure, she threw herself after it. Fear was not a feeling she liked much. At first, she’s figured Haruka had been seduced by some woman and had decided to stay a night, forgetting to charge her phone because she was too much of a lesbian to think of anything when a pretty woman got involved. But she would have called the next day, and come home, and it had been over forty eight hours since she should have been back and her phone went straight to voicemail every damn time she called.
Minako was afraid, the way mothers that weren’t either of theirs were always afraid. You might have been dead in a ditch!
She shook her head. She was Minako Aino, and Minako Aino did not sit around and worry. Minako Aino took action.
And every action started with the right outfit.
She sprung from the bed and rummaged through her tiny closet. The key would be to look young and modest, play up the practically sisters angle, but show just enough cleavage to give men that little push to help her. Haruka would be offended at that, but Mina had always said she’d stop doing it when it stopped working.
There were only two other things she needed– a photo of Haruka, carefully chosen so that she also looked young and sweet, and one of her dirty gym socks. Mina did not know how they would track her down, but she wanted to be prepared.
She drove– obeying the speed limits, for once– over to the police precinct. It wasn’t one she’d ever been too, thankfully. It looked painfully ordinary. A simple workplace. Inside, simple people were doing their simple jobs. Minako strode up to the front desk. “I’m here to report a missing person.”
The secretary looked up. She was striking, dark hair and eyes that suggested a ferocity that lied in wait while she tap-tap-tapped her fingers on her keyboard. “Someone will be with you shortly.”
Her eyes stayed on Minako while she waited in one of the stupid plastic chairs along the wall. Someone was not with her shortly. Someone took their sweet time to wander over, and then had the gall to eye her with suspicion.
“You’re reporting a missing person?” The movement of his mouth was barely visible under his scrub brush of a mustache.
“I am. Haruka Tennoh, age 26, she went to the car show out in—“
He held up his meaty hand. “Not a kid?”
“No.”
“Hino,” he said to the secretary. “Give her the paperwork.” He turned back to Mina. “You’ll be contacted if she turns up in any hospitals.”
“I’d like to find her before that point!” Mina took a deep breath. “It’s your job to look for her.”
“Sweetheart, she probably doesn’t want to be found.” He glanced to the picture in Mina’s hand. “Girlfriends run away all the time, you’d best—“
“That’s not what happened, we’re not—“
But he was already halfway back to his office.
Mina turned to the secretary. “I don’t want your stupid paperwork.”
“Take it,” she said, voice low and intense. “You might find something helpful.”
There was something intriguing about the secretary— Ms. Hino. Something Mina would have found attractive, if it were a less dire time. She took the papers, and sure enough, there was something ussseful. A business card, bearing a logo for “Red Planet Private Investigations.” On the back, printed in absurdly neat script: “9 o’clock, PM. The Firefly.”
Mianko knew better than to look back towards Ms. Hino. She had to get ready for a night on the town.
————
The Firefly was hardly a bar Minako would frequent, though she understood why Ms. Hino would choose it for a meeting like this. It was dim, lit only by lamps littered across the floors and tables, and loud, despite a conspicuous lack of dancing. Every patron gave off a cultivated disinterest in everything around them, particularly each other. Mina sat at the bar and ordered a beer. The bartender eyed her up and down. “You’re one of Hino’s?”
“Do I stand out that much?”
The bartender smiled, sweeter than her dark clothes and patronage would make Mina expect. “She’s got a thing for the colorful ones. Can’t blame her.”
“And here I’d hoped I was special.” Mina leaned forward. “What can you tell me about her?”
The bartender laughed. “If you’ve gotta ask, you’re in over your head.” She slid Mina’s beer to her. “We went to college together, and were into some of the same activism scenes.” She offered her hand. “I’m Hotaru.”
“Mina.”
“You don’t need to be friendly, Hotaru, it’s business.”
Minako stood to attention, but Hotaru shrugged. “It’s always business. I have more fun pretending otherwise.”
“Hotaru turns off the security cameras for me.” Ms. Hino said, sitting down. “So we can talk freely.”
“Rei wanted the bar to be nothing but a cover, but I quite like running it.”
Ms. Hino rolled her eyes. “It makes money, at least.”
“And I’ve still got the daytime hours to help run intel.”
“She’s got a missing person.” Rei tossed a file onto the bar. “Haruka Tennoh, last record about three days ago. Her truck was clocked on a traffic cam at 5:42, and then nothing.”
“Map?”
Rei pulled one from the file. Hotaru traced her fingers over it. “Mina, is your friend given to taking backroads?”
“Sometimes, yeah.”
“Hmm…” Hotaru’s voice went low and gravely. “There’s an old legend about this forest here. It was once a town, big and prosperous, cared for by a wealthy family who lived in a mansion at the town’s center.” She indicated a spot among the roadless green. “They and the townspeople lived harmoniously, until the lord and lady of the house passed and their callous and cruel daughter took over. She did not care for the townspeople, wanted nothing to do with them.” Hotaru motioned for Mina and Rei to lean in. They did. “She so hated the hard working townsfolk, that when they would not leave her alone… she cursed herself and razed the town, driving everyone from the homes they loved. Those that would not leave were cursed, their souls never finding rest.” A light below the bar clicked on, casting Hotaru’s face in shadow. “And if you go looking for your friend there, you must beware of facing the same fate.”
Rei huffed and leaned over to turn off the light. “This is serious.”
“It might be true. Teenie’s gran said her gran was trapped by the witch.”
“Your girlfriend’s superstitious family aside, if she may gone through there, it’s as good a place as any to check out.” Rei marked the map. “Minako, we’ll let you know what we find, it will probably take a few days—“
“Oh ho ho ho, hold it right there. If you think I’m not coming with you, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“That’s not how this works. You’ll get in the way.”
“I know Haruka better than anyone on this earth, I know what she would do and where she would go. You’ll find her faster if I help.”
“She’s not exactly wrong.”
“You hush.” Rei pinched the bridge of her nose. “If I say no, I’m going to go out there and find you already looking, aren’t I?”
“Read me like a book. Maybe you’re good at this PI thing.”
“I’ll charge you more for it.”
Mina frowned. “Charge what you want. Just find Haruka.”
SittingOverHereDreaming 