[FFML] [fanfic][Yotsuba&!][Azumanga] Pretty Neighbor 2nd Visit, Chapter 26: Miura & Home?

[Mythril Moth]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRETTY NEIGHBOR 2ND VISIT
Chapter 26: Miura & Home?

by Mythril Moth
disclaimers and previous chapters can be found here:
http://www.mythrilmoth.net/pn2v/pn2v.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She WHAT?!" Fuuka shrieked into the phone. As she listened, she grew 
increasingly pale and began trembling. "Right in front of...she...oh GOD..." 
She sighed. "Alright. I'll...let the girls know. I...are we safe? ...I know 
we're not SAFE, but I mean can we...dammit, Kotashi, at least TRY to be 
encouraging...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know. I'm SORRY...yeah. I love you. 
See you in a bit. Bye."

"Oneechan? What happened?" Ena asked. With the exception of Koiwai, the 
family had been gathered in a secluded, cramped apartment in a small 
apartment building that was under complete police control. Yotsuba had been 
tucked into bed in the smaller of two bedrooms, and was sound asleep. The 
others had been pacing restlessly in the tiny living room.

Fuuka sighed. "We're going back home," she said. She didn't sound happy 
about it.

"What, already?" Miura asked.

"Asagi...threatened the police," Fuuka said, sitting down and trembling.

"She WHAT?" Ena asked.

"She blew up our house. I mean, our old house. Mom and Dad's house."

"WHAT?!" Ena and Miura cried.

"And said if the police don't send us back home, every six hours she'll blow 
up another house, and they won't be vacant."

"...my GOD..." Ena breathed. "That...how the hell...?"

"Well, naturally, the police don't want to back down from a threat like 
that, but Kotashi convinced Inspector Ishiyama to do what Asagi says for 
now. He doesn't..." She sighed. "He doesn't want other people to suffer just 
because of us."

A heavy silence fell on the group.

"So much for the fucking cops," Miura grumbled after a while. "Guess we're 
back to plan A, huh?"

-------------------------------------

Jumbo stared in horror at the news report on the television.

"Oh my, oh my...admiring my handiwork, a~na~ta?" Asagi crooned from the 
doorway.

"You sick, twisted...what the hell did you do?!" Jumbo demanded.

"Just a little neighborhood renovation," Asagi replied cheerfully. She 
breezed into the room and draped herself over Jumbo. "You see, Takashi-kun, 
the very nasty police decided they wanted to take my favorite dolls away and 
put them someplace I couldn't play with them. I didn't like that, so I 
punished them."

"You...are...absolutely INSANE," Jumbo said, turning to stare at his 'wife' 
in absolute horror.

"The world is insane, Takashi-kun," Asagi said with an indifferent shrug. 
"I'm just ahead of the curve." With that, she left, the television still 
replaying footage of the burning wreckage of the Ayase household.

-------------------------------------

Nyamo was on the train home when she heard the news. "Is there anything I 
can do?" she asked Miura over the phone.

//Yeah. Find Asagi. Fast.//

"I'll do my best."

-------------------------------------

The Koiwai family had been returned in a SWAT van to their house. Nobody 
spoke during the entire trip home. Once they arrived and were safely inside, 
Inspector Ishiyama wasted no time in laying down the law.

"Alright, here are the rules," Ishiyama said sternly, addressing the entire 
Koiwai household. "From now on, two uniformed officers will be guarding the 
house at all times. I'm assigning two detectives to handle things such as 
shopping errands and escorting Ena-kun and Miura-kun to school. Apart from 
those two, nobody and I mean NOBODY leaves this house. I'm sorry that it has 
to come to this, but under the circumstances, we simply can't take any 
unnecessary risks."

Koiwai frowned. "I thought she said 'no more than two'...?"

"Only two officers will be guarding the house," Ishiyama said. "The 
detectives won't be here unless summoned for errands or escorts. That should 
still concede to Asagi's demands without risking further incidents." The 
last words, he delivered as though he were chewing on a dead rat that had 
rotted in the sun for a few days.


"We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience we've caused," Fuuka said, 
bowing.

"You've done nothing wrong," Ishiyama said, shaking his head. "In all 
honesty, I've never seen anything remotely close to as screwed up as this 
mess. I thought people this psychotic only existed in manga."

"If it helps, we're pretty close to finding out exactly where she's hiding," 
Miura said. "We know the area, we just need to find the address. We have 
someone on it."

"A private detective?" Ishiyama asked. "I wasn't told about this."

"Not exactly a private detective," Ena said, somewhat weakly. "A high school 
swimming coach and one of her students."

The inspector stared at her, slack-jawed. "...of course. Why not?"

Koiwai coughed. "The swim coach in question is the elder sister of the woman 
who was torched on our front walk," he said. "Amazingly, she lives in the 
same part of Tokyo where we know Asagi has a residence. All we need is an 
address, and we're hoping to have that VERY soon."

Ishiyama frowned. "Which ward? I have some contacts in Tokyo Metro..."

"Adachi City," Miura said.

The inspector sighed. "...none of which work Adachi City. Of course." He 
shook his head. "Nevermind, this is still good news. I wish you'd told me 
sooner."

"Well, things are kind of all happening right on top of each other," Koiwai 
said. "You can't blame us for being a little scattershot."

"This is true."

-------------------------------------

Nyamo was surprised to find a large group waiting for her when she left the 
train station. Kagura and Sakaki were there, as was Chiyo-chan; the other 
students she had gotten to know very well and had even spent summer vacation 
with were also there: Mizuhara Koyomi, Takino Tomo, and Osaka. Even her high 
school friend and frequent aggravation Tanizaki Yukari was there.

"Kagura-san told us all about your sister, Kurosawa-sensei," Chiyo said, 
worry etched cutely across her face. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"She's not going to die," Nyamo said. "I wouldn't say she's okay, though."

"How bad is it?" Kagura asked.

"Her entire back was badly burned," Nyamo said. "They say aside from the 
scarring, there'll be permanent muscle damage to some parts of her back, and 
she ruptured two discs, but all things considered..."

The girls stared at her, wide-eyed. "That's AWFUL," Chiyo said, tears 
gathering in her eyes. "How did she get--?"

"I'd rather not go into the details. Suffice to say, it wasn't an accident."

The girls' expressions turned to mute horror. Yukari, however, merely shook 
her head. "I always knew something like this would happen. I was surprised 
to find out she was even still alive."

"SENSEI!" Chiyo gasped. "How can you say something like that at a time like 
this?"

"It's alright, Chiyo-chan," Nyamo said with a sigh. "My sister...has a 
pretty troubled past." She looked around at the girls. "I appreciate 
everyone meeting me and I thank you for worrying about me and my sister, but 
I am *very* tired, and tomorrow's our first day back from summer break...I 
just want to go home and rest."

"Aww, and we were gonna take you out for yakiniku," Tomo pouted.

"I'll take a rain check," Nyamo said. "I'm sorry, but I just...right now..."

"We understand," Kagura said.

Everyone waved to her and wished her well, then left, scattering in their 
respective directions. As Nyamo trudged out onto the sidewalk, Sakaki 
silently fell in step beside her.

"I'm monitoring Chiyo-chan's neighborhood," the tall girl said in her quiet 
voice. "I haven't found the target yet, but I'm staying on it until I do."

"Thanks, Sakaki," Nyamo said. "Just remember what I said...be VERY careful."

"Of course, Sensei."

-------------------------------------

The following day, school started. There was much tension in the Koiwai 
household. Ena and Miura dressed for school, ate breakfast, and left with a 
pretty female detective. A messy-haired, tan-skinned male detective accepted 
a shopping list and Koiwai's wallet from Fuuka, and promised not to screw up 
too badly.

"Why didn't they have YOU take the kids to school and let your girlfriend do 
the errands?" Fuuka asked.

The detective laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "She's my 
partner, not my girlfriend..."

"Yeah, right," Fuuka smirked. "Hang in there, Detective."

"R-right..."

For the rest of the day, things proceeded normally. Koiwai worked, Fuuka 
cooked and cleaned, Yotsuba ate lunch and watched her videos and cuddled 
Duralumin. Absolutely nothing strange happened.

By the time the girls came home from school, Fuuka was ready to scream from 
the tension.

And yet, evening progressed, the girls did their homework, Fuuka cooked 
dinner, everyone ate, everyone bathed, and everyone went to bed.

And still, nothing happened. Nothing whatsoever.

-------------------------------------

"Mother, I'm spending the night at Chiyo-chan's house," Sakaki announced 
upon returning from school.

"Alright, dear," her mother replied. "Be sure to take along some cake or 
something to thank her for having you."

"Yes, Mother."

-------------------------------------

Mr. Hayasaka cowered in the corner as a very pretty woman advanced 
menacingly toward him, the promise of extreme pain in her eyes. "Would you 
mind repeating all of that? Just so I'm absolutely sure I've got it all?"

The cringing man babbled out everything he knew about the Koiwai family, 
Asagi, and his own daughter's involvement.

The pretty woman's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I see," she snapped. She 
kicked Mr. Hayasaka in the head, hard, then stalked out of the apartment.

-------------------------------------

"So what made you suddenly decide to spend the night, Sakaki-san?" Chiyo 
asked as the two girls did homework and ate cake. "Not that I mind, I'm 
happy to have an overnight guest, but it was a surprise when you asked!"

Sakaki looked out the window, chin resting against the heel of one hand. "I 
just...felt like a sleepover," she said after a while.

Chiyo tilted her head and smiled cutely. "Well, okay then!" She giggled.

The two girls had fun until nearly eleven; Chiyo finally got sleepy and went 
to bed. Once she'd carefully tucked the smaller girl into bed and spent a 
moment watching her sleep, Sakaki silently changed into the black track suit 
and running shoes she'd brought with her, tied her hair back with a black 
bandana, and quietly crept out of the house.

-------------------------------------

A block away from the Koiwai house, the pretty woman with short dark hair 
sat in her car, scowling.

It was very late at night, and for a variety of reasons, doing what she had 
to do would be difficult--and needlessly disruptive--at this hour.

But she was patient. And she was determined.

She would wait until morning. And then she would strike.

-------------------------------------

Dawn was approaching. Sakaki sat atop a wall across the street from Chiyo's 
house, dark eyes scanning the street intently for any sign of trouble.


As the burning red rim of the sun began to peek over the horizon, she caught 
sight of...HIM.

There he was, two houses up, curled up on a wall. When had he gotten there? 
How long had he been there and she hadn't noticed?

She had already crossed half the distance to the object of her fixation when 
she caught herself. "No," she whispered. "Not today. I have something more 
important to..."

The grey kitten yawned, mewed quietly, and padded down the street atop the 
property fences.

Wracked with indecision, Sakaki's gaze shifted from Chiyo's yard, to the 
retreating kitten, and back.

Her resolve simply was not strong enough. She followed the kitten.

The terrifyingly cute and violent kitty glanced back at her, meowed, then 
jumped into a tree. Sakaki could just barely see its tiny form ghosting 
through the trees, darting to another wall, turning the corner...

She easily kept up with the kitten, which soon perched itself just above the 
gate bell of a residence with no nameplate. As soon as it saw her, it jumped 
into a tree--a tree just barely within reach of the top of the property 
wall.

With a determined frown, Sakaki leapt to the top of the wall, and leaned 
forward to pet the kitten.

Its jaws predictably clamped down on her hand like a bear trap.

But she didn't care, because she saw something, just ahead of her, that 
froze her blood.

The curtains were open in a window on the second floor of the house, and a 
light was on inside. She could just barely see a girl, slightly older than 
herself, with long brown hair. She was talking to someone just out of view.

The cat suddenly dislodged itself from her hand and disappeared into the 
bushes. The woman in the window was turning...

Sakaki was on the outside of the property wall and crouched well out of 
sight. She found herself nose to nose with the grey kitten. Something in his 
eyes was...unusual.

He gave one soft, sad mew, then disappeared.

It took a moment for Sakaki to register what had just happened.

*The Kamineko...led me to the target?*

Quickly, she drew a notepad from her pocket and jotted down the address of 
the residence, then slipped away, in the direction of Chiyo's house.

-------------------------------------

Miura awoke to the loud buzzing of Torako's phone on the dresser beside the 
bed. She picked it up and opened it; the incoming call was from Nyamo.

//Sakaki-san found the house,// the teacher said. //I'm e-mailing you the 
address.//

"Great! Thanks, Kurosawa-san."

Disconnecting, Miura grinned. "Got you now, bitch..."

-------------------------------------

A very pretty woman with short dark hair approached the gate to the Koiwai 
residence. Her lovely face was marred by a displeased expression.

"Excuse me," one of the two police officers at the gate said, "do you have 
business here?"

"Yes, I do," thr woman replied, bowing.

"I'm sorry, but we need to verify your identity and confirm that you are not 
carrying anything dangerous," the other officer said.

"Of course."

Five minutes later, she stood at the door, ringing the bell. It opened, and 
a half-asleep man with stringy hair peeked out. "Yes?" he asked. He frowned. 
"You look familiar...do I know you?"

"We have not met," she replied, bowing. "But you are quite familiar with my 
daughter, who I believe is presently staying here despite the extreme danger 
this places her in."

Before Koiwai could respond, a much smaller version of the woman at the door 
appeared next to him, looking up and swallowing nervously.

"Um...hi Mom," Miura said.

"Hello, Miura-chan," Mrs. Hayasaka said, hands on her hips. "Say goodbye to 
Ena-chan and Yotsuba-chan, because you won't be seeing them again. Ever."




==================
Mythril Moth
www.mythrilmoth.net