#taxoc

cuddle buddies, to make the mornings more bearable

             Those jail cells they show in the movies? The ones with metal objects scattered everywhere and a cement foundation? The ones that look like an angst-ridden teenage girl would come up with in her mind to express how cold and dead everything around her was? That’s not what they’re really like... At least not at my precinct.

             Thanks to the lack of bare cement and scattered metal, the jail itself wasn’t cold and lifeless. There was a table to sit at, a small bed with a fair amount of blankets to sleep on, the sink wasn’t dripping, and there was even a small rug coming out of the bathroom cubby. If I didn’t want to leave this shit hole so badly, I would even go as far as to say that it’s nicer than some people’s normal living situations. Excluding all the pretentious police officers and their ‘holier-than-thou’ attitudes breaking the law as they try to get more information out of me, of course.

             I gave them all I could. It was time for my little game to end anyway. That’s all life is anyway... a series of games that we win or lose at.

             That day, I woke up and did the same old thing as usual. Go to the bathroom, eat breakfast with the rest of the prisoners, get taken in for questioning, get punched in the face, and then head back to my cell and keep myself occupied waiting for dinner. Sometimes that bratty kid would come in and try to talk to me as if we were friends... as if he didn’t completely overpower me when he’s ten years younger than me. And sometimes my old partner would come in with his daughter, explaining to her what I did was wrong and having her try to understand what possibly could have ended that drunken dork in jail. That day, however, Dojima-san came in by himself with a grave look in his eyes.

             It was strange that I wasn’t expecting it. If anything, when I saw him walk in, I thought something had happened to his “hero” nephew or his magically recovered daughter. Nope. Instead, he sat on the other side of the thick glass wall and told me he would have told me sooner, but they couldn’t get an ID on the body until they sent it through the international database and got a match. They had found Sophie Hawthorne dead.

             Murdered.

             He rambled on about the “criminal background” on Sophie’s file- wanted for murder of her parents, wanted for grand theft... all of the things her stalkers had put on her file to get her back to the states if she was ever captured... things I was already painfully aware of.

             It was hard to pay attention to him. The whole world felt like it was spinning. Where my heart should have been (you know, if I had one) felt swollen and heavy, like I had just been shot while wearing a bulletproof vest. I wish I would have been emotionally capable of crying, rather than sitting there and letting the news burn on every inch of my body inside and out.

             Out of all the women in the world, all the *people* in the world, she was one of the few that did not deserve to die.

             After his long rambling spiel that I’m pretty sure he participated in just to avoid an awkward silence (and therefore having to try to console me), he told me she had no living relatives and would naturally be cremated and thrown away, but had put in a request to have the urn sent to me so she wouldn’t be entirely forgotten to the world. He apologized one last time and was on his way, probably not too comfortable with handling the deaths of loved ones still. I thanked him for the first time for stopping by.

             Unsurprisingly, I dreamt of her that night. I dreamt of her equally cynical ways, I felt her warm fingers on my skin, I felt the warmth of her laugh succumb me, I felt her warm body pressed up against me at night, I felt her scorching tongue intertwine with mine… and then I saw her float away, solemn expression extinguishing the fire in her eyes.

             Since then, I have felt nothing but cold.

             Play.

             “Thank you for coming in here today Mister Hampton... without your lawyer.” The detective placed her folder onto the table, pulling up a set across from the man in handcuffs and sitting down in between the two standing police officers behind her. “Just so you’re aware, we do have cameras up there,” she pointed directly at the viewer, “so we can film this for testimonial evidence. If at any time you don’t wish to say anymore, you are free to not answer. However, with your full cooperation we can get closer to a full acquittal for you.” The man in the handcuffs nodded. “Excellent. Now, just to get right into why we came here today. You witnessed the murder of John Dalton, correct?”

             “Yes,” the man muttered with shame laced in his voice. “That is correct.”

             “Do you mind going into detail for us? What started the event that led to his murder?”

             The man shifted in his seat, remaining quiet for a minute or so while the detective sat perfectly still with her eyes fixated on the man in front of her.

             “You’re gonna protect my family, right? You aren’t just... gonna throw me out onto the streets, are ya? Do you know what they do to rats? To their families?”

             “Sir, we already have your children and your wife in protected care and we will work on relocating and protecting you once the trial is over. That is our promise to you.” The woman had an incredible amount of self-control.

             His handcuffs jingled when he placed his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes. “A pretty big group of us were following that girl. We saw her living with that police guy, so we had to lay low. But we had guys all over the place. We knew from her previous escape she was careful, but impulsive too. So we just waited for her to be alone.

             And then we saw her. She was walking to the train station without a coat or a purse or anything. We had one of the Japanese guys in the group go up to her and offer her money for a ticket because she would have caught on if one of us Americans was there. But she was vulnerable and it worked. Then when he went on the train with her, we drove to the stop the train was making further along and waited for her. We waited for her to get off the train and walk into an abandoned area and Rodriguez knocked her out.”

             “With chloroform?” The detective questioned.

             He man nodded, finally moving his hands away from his face and placing them on the table in front of him. “John was sick of chasing after this girl, but he was afraid if he let down his guard she would go to the police. He knew if he captured her, she’d probably escape again. So he had us take her to one of the open fields between cities and dump her there. In the van she woke up and started freaking out. One of the new guys took out his knife and got her in the side to shut her up which made Johnny mad because he didn’t want any evidence around. Then I knocked her out again with the towel and shit so she’d stop screaming.” He moved his hands through his hair, holding his head in distress. “We took her to some abandoned field and threw her in the middle of it. The guys started pouring gasoline everywhere...

             And then Johnny being the cocky, dramatic sonofabitch that he is... he went up to her when she started opening her eyes. I was right there, pouring the gas on top of her, and he said ‘tell your father I said hello’. And the crazy bitch said ‘tell him yourself’ and she yanked the knife Rodriguez left in her side and fuckin stabbed him in the throat with it!”

             “Did you try to move him or get him to safety?”

             “Nah, man. All of us took off... we didn’t really realize what was happening. All of us were more concerned about saving our own asses and getting the hell out of there. My wife was pregnant, you know? We didn’t know what else that girl was gonna do.”

             “So what you’re saying is the girl, Sophie Hawthorne, caused the injury that killed John Dalton, and Dalton himself...”

             “Would have killed her, had Rodriguez not beat her to it I guess. She’s dead, right?”

             “Correct. Her cause of death was exsanguination and hypothermia. So in reality both Dalton and Rodriguez are responsible.”

             Rewind.

             “And the crazy bitch said ‘tell him yourself’ and she yanked the knife Rodriguez left in her side and fuckin stabbed him in the throat with it!”

             Rewind.

             “And the crazy bitch said ‘tell him yourself’—“

             Fast Forward.

             “We didn’t know what else that girl was gonna do.”

              She didn’t have a reason why she didn’t leave immediately. She didn’t have a reason why she approached him when he arrived home from work that day. She didn’t really know why she would confront him, evidence in hand, when he closed the fridge with a beer in his hand. Maybe she wanted to be proven wrong, or maybe she was probing him to see if he would prove her right. Nothing really made sense anymore.

             She could say she was sick of running. And yes, she could say that in her head a million times. “She was sick of running and living this way”... and then she would wake up the next morning and do it all over again. But this time was different. She hadn’t been physically running from anyone in quite a while, much to her satisfaction. But she had, however, been running away from the nagging voice in her head every time her beloved new life partner made a comment that sent a chill down her spine. Much too often she excused his words for harmless, jealous banter that identified a man with wounded pride and an unsuccessful life. But now... she couldn’t run from it any longer. She had to know.

             So she made up her mind. She waited on the edge of his bed in silence, organizing her thoughts and waiting for him to arrive home. After what felt like days, the familiar rattling of the slightly broken lock followed by the click of the door echoed through the air. He himself chose not to speak once he entered, instead heading straight to the fridge and clanking around a few bottles of beer before finding the exact one he wanted and cracking it open. She took the time he was drinking it to stand up and approach the man being hidden by the refrigerator door. Now she was here and now there was no turning back.

             A simple “hey” escaped his lips and no more than a beat had passed before Sophie held her hands out to a handful of the news articles from his collection. He froze in awe with his eyes locked onto the small pieces of paper and Sophie could have sworn the battle had already been won.

             Then again, this was Tohru Adachi she was dealing with.

             “I didn’t take you for the jealous or paranoid type,” he sneered, pulling his smile into a sneaky grin. “I do have to say though that if you’re suggesting I’m the one she’s having an affair with, you have ab-so-lute-ly nothing to worry about. That was... the first victim of the serial killer.” His sickeningly sweet expression could not mask the firmness in his eyes, annoyed that this subject would even come up at a time like this. He was cracking so easily.

             She saw his poor attempt at feigning innocence and still refused to speak, instead placing the clippings down on the countertop next to his beer and pulling out a golden pin with the roman numeral “III” on it, slowly moving it from its hiding spot to the pile of paper and following his eyes as he glanced down to it and then back at her, becoming slightly irked at this silly game she seemed to be playing. “It was you,” she choked out as she held back tears, “wasn’t it?” As the words poured out of her mouth, she felt her heart drop into her stomach. It was one thing to think it, even to be convinced mentally... but saying it out loud made it real.

             He forced out an overdramatic sigh in an attempt to make her seem like she was being unreasonable. He still had a chance to win this game before it even got started. “What are you talking about,” he responded with his voice low and bored. A rhetorical question, of course, but one that Sophie would answer anyway.

             “Those girls... they’re dead. They’re dead and you have their things...” Before he had arrived home, she attempted to prepare herself for this moment so she could keep a cool, level head, but instead she found herself grasping for words and swallowing the urge to burst into tears. “That’s her pin, isn’t it?”

             Her words rang through his ears, causing his lip to curl ever so slightly at the reminder of his actions a few months prior. She was getting warmer, and he had to tread lightly if he didn’t want to end up sleeping alone tonight. Carefully, he brought his left hand up to his head and brushed it through his hair, innocently closing his eyes. “Come on, Sophie,” he started in his playful tone, “is this some kind of a riddle? You know I’m not good with those!” He reached his right hand out to her, grasping onto her arm just a little too tightly for comfort.

             She yanked her arm away and kept her voice low as the tears started to fall, grasping tightly on the place he just had his hand. “You killed those girls... didn’t you? You murdered them.”

             He turned his head to look at the wall next to him. A scowl began to burn onto his face. “Tch.”

             She took a deep breath and spoke low and slow, raising her voice as she went on, losing the control she tried so hard to keep. “You let me open up to you... You let me tell you about my family... and how they were murdered... and you comforted me about it. But you’re just a murderer like those men and you lied to me!”

             Only a second of silence passed before Adachi lunged after Sophie, his suit jacket smacking into the beer bottle on the counter and sending it pummeling to the ground. He reached one hand to the back of her head and used it as leverage to press his other hand firmly against her mouth. “Will you be quiet?! You don’t know anything!”

            His calm, cocky demeanor shattered like the bottle as it hit the floor, revealing a devilish smirk and wide, senseless eyes that seemingly hungered for blood.

            It was at this moment when she actually felt that this man was dangerous, and with his hand pressed right up to her mouth, smashing her lips into her face, she opened her mouth and bit down on the flesh of his fingers, sending him backwards just enough for her to break free.

             She wiped the tears from her eyes and breathed deeply to give herself air to talk as the man shook off his bite wound. With his violent actions, her despair had morphed into anger, sending a whole new school of thoughts through her head. “You didn’t even... personally do it, did you?! There was no blood, no DNA... they didn’t even suspect you for a second. You couldn’t even kill them yourself, could you?! You had someone else do it because you’re a coward that gets off on causing other people pain!”

             Anger rushed to his face and he lunged after her again, missing her as she dodged away from him in a last-ditch effort to make it to the door. As she grasped onto the handle, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and lifted her in the air, sending her into screaming hysterics. Dragging her into his room as she struggled to get free, he threw her down on his bed face first and used one hand to press her face into the fabric while the other pinned her hands behind her back. He let out an evil, mischievous laugh signaling that all his sanity was gone before he spoke. “All of you kids act like you’re so smart and mature by saying things that make you seem more powerful than your superiors...” He pressed his hand into her head more, causing her to flinch in pain. “Frankly, it’s disgusting... It’s disrespectful. I’m going to make you... suffer... until you apologize.”

             He pulled her up by the shoulder and pinned hands and dragged her in front of the TV, wasting no time before he shattered all sense of reality as Sophie knew it and shoved her head straight into the screen, her hands wiggling around in his hands to break free and grasp on to something, anything structural.

             He laughed maniacally again and exhaled dramatically. “Isn’t this wonderful? All I have to do is... push you in a little further, and you’ll end up just like those girls you were obsessing over. You just couldn’t leave well enough alone cou-“

             Adachi was interrupted mid-Villian-success speech when she used one of her dangling legs to collapse his knee just enough for her to reach her leg back and kick him away. His balance extremely thrown off, he was thrown backwards, landing straight onto the coffee table and shattering it underneath him.

             As soon as she did not feel his hand’s pressure on her head anymore, she pulled herself free from the TV screen with her hands on the bottom edge of the TV and regained her balance, turning around to catch the police office at an extreme disadvantage caught in the table.

             Sophie started to run past him when he choked out a sinister laugh, stopping her in her tracks and turning her around in the doorway to the kitchen, hoping for any sense of personal redemption. An apology, an explanation, anything.

            “Where are you going to go,” he asked maliciously. “You have no one to run to. It’s only a matter of time before you get picked off... just like your parents. You’re gonna leave this protection... this *life* behind because of some skeletons in my closet?” When she didn’t respond, he continued. “I’m sure you have some too. You don’t get this far running away from a gang or a mafia without them.”

            Suddenly, the reality of the situation began to sink in and her face scrunched in confusion. He somehow had her almost... inside of the television? How was that even possible? What would have happened if he pushed her all the way in? Is that what really happened to those other girls? Was this all some sort of stupid dream?

            “I can’t...” the man muttered with serenity and pain dripping in his voice. “I can’t change what I did... Please...” Silence. “I love you...”

            Sophie shook her head and turned back around, ignoring the man’s reaching hand towards her as she headed out the door.

            Distraught at his failed attempt in wooing the girl, he furrowed his brows and yelled with every ounce of anger he could muster up. “You’re going to die out there!” he shouted, making sure she could hear before she closed the door and continuing even when she was gone in a futile attempt to intimidate her, “I’m not going to be here when you come running-” he lowered his voice, choosing not to waste his breath on someone who couldn’t hear his words anymore. “Oh man...”

CHOOSE YOUR PATH:

             On a normal night, Tohru Adachi would toss and turn at least once an hour while still remaining entirely asleep. Sophie wasn’t sure whether it was caused by nightmares or just general restlessness and pent up energy from being bored in the boonies, but it woke her up at least half of the time. Tonight, however, he did not kick, roll around, or push and pull the blankets on and off. Instead, he remained entirely on his side with his arm wrapped around Sophie and the same old cocky grin on his face. She was sure of it.

             Unfortunately, despite the absence of restlessness that she would have loved any other night, she lay with her back to the man staring out the break in the curtains with a feeling of unease and despair washing over her.

             It was a funny feeling to her: the feeling of connecting with someone you barely know. The feeling of immediate attraction. The feeling of letting your guard down and not getting hurt. The feeling of mutual disdain for humankind and their selfish, egotistical ways. But right now, despite the arm around her waist, she felt nothing but disconnect.

             When his morning alarm went off, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep as the man crawled over her and kissed her on the cheek before crawling out of bed and getting dressed. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she was overreacting and just trying to shelter herself from the natural pain of human relationships... if everything could be explained if she just kept a little bit of hope.

             He whispered his goodbyes and headed out the door, leaving only a gentle click of the lock in his place; she would remain in her spot until a fair amount of time had passed so there wouldn’t be any unexpected interruptions from the sometimes forgetful police officer.

             In the time that passed, her mind had gone a thousand places. She didn’t know what she would find or even if she would find anything incriminating. In all honesty she didn’t even know what she was looking for or what she was trying to prove. Nothing made any sense to her except her overwhelming feeling that he was hiding something from her.

             ‘If she wasn’t such a whore, she’d still be around today.’

             Accusatory.

             When did she get on the floor reaching under the bed?

             ‘It’s kind of like he went after controversial people that he had a personal grudge against anyway.’

             Sympathetic. Apologetic?

             She placed aside the box she found previously and reached her hand underneath again for... something that might not even exist.

             ‘Whoever killed the Konishi kid and the Mayumi Yamano girl was a lot slicker.’

             Complimentary. ...For someone who hates other people.

             She gasped when she placed her hand on another smooth surface, reaching her fingers to what she assumed was the lid and pulling out another box around the same size as the first one. She gently lifted it off the ground and placed it on her lap, realizing this one was heavier than the first one. Taking a deep breath, she removed the cover.

             An already discoloring article titled ‘Famed Anchor Yamano Mayumi Found Murdered’ in big bold text sat at the top of an assorted pile of things, complete with a headshot and a date of birth. She blinked twice. In all reality, it wasn’t that abnormal to keep tabs on all of the big cases you worked on. This could just be the most recent in a pile of things name-worthy enough to stick on a resume.... If it wasn’t for the nagging in her head and her sour stomach, she would have closed the box up and left it at that... but she continued on anyway.

             Nestled below that was a small stack of articles, the first being a little bit more wrinkled, titled “City Councilman Resigns After Affair With Announcer”. As Sophie lifted up the pieces of paper, it was like she was travelling back in time. “Rumors of Affair Bring Down Anchor’s Fame”, “Mayumi Yamano for Anchor of the Year”, “Mayumi Yamano- The Hottest Anchor of Today”... and ending with “Mayumi Yamano. Potential Star?” sitting atop another white bundled up piece of clothing. She glanced through the stack of articles she now had collected in her hands and found herself staring at the same angle of this now deceased woman in different photos.

             Obsessive.

             She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, realizing she was expecting the worst.

             ‘I’m less concerned about the serial killer than I am about the stalkers.’

             His words ran through her head over and over again. Why? How? The police couldn’t protect her from the serial killer. She had top notch security and had to have been sent a body guard and that still didn’t stop the killer from getting her. The stalkers were outsiders, most of them outside of their territory. Despite the threat they held to Sophie herself, they couldn’t actually do anything in front of a cop.

             In front of a cop.

             A body guard.

             ‘They had me check on her while the rest of them dispersed the paparazzi. Let the new guy deal with the distressed woman while we sit back and guard the building. A whole lot of good that did them.’

             Sophie glanced down at the remaining article of clothing in the box and blinked before pushing it to the side and pulling her knees up to her chest.

             Betrayal. It was a feeling Sophie was all too familiar with and refused to subject herself to feeling again until she let this man walk into her life. The pained look on her mother’s face when she cornered him and demanded to find out what was happening, the feeling of having your entire life and everything you thought you knew crumble beneath you... And she let it happen again.

             The man she had fallen in love with, despite all the warning signs, was an accomplice to murder. Or maybe even the murderer. Who even knew what else he could be.

             He was smart and manipulative. He could get everything he wanted, including Sophie, and convince anyone of anything. She had seen his personas flash across his face as he decided which angle to take. He was dangerous. He wasn’t necessarily physically strong but he had the entire justice system on his side with a bias. He was hungry for revenge. She still didn’t know what really happened that sent him to this city, but he was convinced he was undeserving of such punishment.

        Regardless of the day or time, whenever Sophie Hawthorne was around Tohru Adachi, she felt at home. Sometimes she would greet him with morning cuddles before work, and sometimes he would greet her with cake in the face after dinner. They would laugh together and cry together. They would bicker and they would kiss and make up. To Sophie, Tohru’s devious smile and sneaky voice he would use when proving someone wrong brought warmth all the way to the pit of her stomach. The childish, ignorant character he played around his boss and other supervisors made the cheesiest smile grow on her face- so much that she began to play the part of bossy dominatrix around him. Their life, their relationship, their path was... normal. A word Sophie was not familiar with.

        Cycles, routines, habits... all of these things are normal to normal people. In fact, routine is one of the things people naturally strive for in a healthy life- from medicine to sleep. If anyone would have told Sophie Hawthorne a year ago that she would be one of those normal people, she... probably would have taken your money when you weren’t looking. But she would have laughed at you beforehand. Routine was normal, and her life was nowhere near it.

        And yet, she sat at the small table in her police officer boyfriend’s small apartment eating (breakfast) before heading out to another short day at work. From there she would head home and keep herself busy with apps on her phone, cleaning, or playing on the computer until he would come home too so they could eat dinner together.

        The same as every day.

        Or... at least that was the plan.

        “Hey... Tohru, it’s Soph. Just calling for the seventeenth time wondering where you are.” The worried tone in her voice had kicked in approximately fourteen calls ago and she hadn’t moved from her vertical spot on the bed in fear of her legs giving out. “I just want to make sure you’re alright. Please call me when you can.” She closed the flip phone and placed it on her chest, taking a deep breath.

        There were a few ways this could go. First possibility, he could be working late. Perhaps they got a lead on the serial killer, or maybe even a lead on the hit and run that turned her boyfriend’s coworker into a widow. Second possibility, he went out drinking with the team and completely forgot how to use his phone. Possible, but unlikely. Third possibility, her stalkers have taken him in an effort to get to her and he is currently in danger.

        Sophie swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breath, hoping to digest her fear and remain calm. In reality, what was the likeliness of catching a police officer, right?

        “Right...” she muttered to herself for reassurance. She took another deep breath. Was she remembering to breathe at all when she wasn’t breathing deeply?

        Bzzt bzzt... bzzt bzzt... bzzt bzzt...

        The vibrating phone on her chest caused her to jump, breaking her out of her panic spell. She quickly removed the phone from its resting place and opened it up, placing it to her ear. “Tohru, what happened? Are you alright?” She had hoped the panic-driven tone of her voice would cause him to be a little bit more considerate next time he decided to stay out late.

        Adachi stood in the main waiting area, thankful for once that there was nobody around. “Yeah yeah, I’m fine,” he muttered quickly. Sophie could sense the slight anxiety in his voice. Before she got the chance to ask, he continued. “But Nanako-chan... there was an accident and she was kidnapped by the serial killer.” Sophie’s heart felt like it stopped beating for a minute as she sat up quickly.  “We got her back now... but she’s in really bad shape. She might not make it... I don’t know how long I’ll be down here but if you want to sto-“

        “I’ll go beg the neighbor for a ride to the hospital,” she reached down to her heart and listened for her own heartbeat, making sure she was still awake and not in a horrible nightmare. When she realized she was very much awake, the realization of what was happening dawned on her and she had to fight back tears. “I’ll be there shortly, Tohru. Keep an eye on Dojima-san.”

        When she arrived at the hospital, she was shocked to see the entire Inaba police force crawling around with gloomy expressions on their faces. Immediately fearing the worst, she headed up to the ICU where she assumed the small child was. By the time she made it up the stairs, however, two of the friends of the silver-haired boy came bolting down the stairs sobbing, almost pushing her down them. She turned to scold them as they ran past her, but swallowed the lump in her throat when she thought about why they were probably crying.

        And she was right. She made it up to the area everyone stood in right as an incapacitated Detective Ryotaro Dojima aggressively pumped the wheels on his wheelchair attempting to make it to the room Nanako was staying in. Just the thought of seeing such pain on his face while her boyfriend stood next to the door sullenly and the angry blonde kid punched the wall made her head spin and her stomach twist.

        She realized he didn’t get to say goodbye that night. She felt a familiar sense of solidarity with the man. So much so that when he barged out of the room and headed towards the room of the kidnapper, she almost wished her boyfriend wouldn’t have tried to stop him. She knew the law could punish, but could never erase the pain of loss.

        Sophie let her unbrushed new pitch black hair fall around her shoulders as she slumped forward from the chair into her hands. The night had been rough. From that poor little girl dying and having to watch someone who always had a grimace on his face collapse into hopelessness as he held his lifeless daughter’s body to having her revived but still in poor condition... a roller coaster of emotions would be an understatement. She chose to remove herself from the hospital room and wait in the main waiting area while everyone else made their rounds. She needed the silence.

        The entire waiting room area was unlit with non-emergency visiting hours having ended more than three hours ago. It was not completely dark, however, with the lights from the outside reflecting out the snow and pouring moonlight into the large windows planted around the room. It would be a beautiful photograph if it wasn’t seen in such terrible circumstances. The security of the building surrounded by police officers where she could be alone was shockingly comforting for her.

        She turned her head upwards slightly when she heard noise come out of the hallway where the stairs were. It was habit at this point. She was prepared to return to her hand cave when she heard the young detective say something that caught her attention.

        “If he didn’t do it, then who did? If we don’t find that out, all we are doing is letting a murderer run free.”

        “You’re right, Naoto.” She recognized that voice the most, the kind-of-friend to her boyfriend slash the cousin of the young girl. “It’s obvious he did the kidnapping... But we really need to look at the possibility of an accomplice.”

        “Mm. If there was someone, it was probably someone slimey and manipulative. Someone that could have wrapped someone into something that caused that man to hurt someone he loved. Someone who would have seen Ms Yamano.”

        “Who would have had the time and ability to take her from where she was hiding at the Amagi Inn? The place was surrounded with paparazzi.”

        “The same type of person that would have been able to sneak in and out without raising suspicion... but who...”

        Sophie blinked rapidly, suddenly suffering shortness of breath as the boy and girl walked out the front entrance to talk outside. A very slight dizzy spell washed over her as a very faint memory found its way back to her.

        “Rich bitch,” Adachi scoffed. “She got the most expensive room in the whole damn Amagi Inn. And then when she got murdered in it, it cursed the whole area. She must have loved the attention, though. If she didn’t, she probably would have tried to hide her presence a little bit better by getting a small, hidden room, wouldn’t you think? I mean I’m sure the small rooms are just as usable as the massive one was.”

        “Do you go to the Amagi Inn often, Tohru?” Sophie asked, turning her head like a puppy. “You know so much about it.”

        He laughed cockily, sounding like it was coming from deep within. “No, I don’t really go there ever. I have no need to, I’m not into that traditional crap most people here are.”

        She furrowed her brows. Why was this conversation so prominent in her head right now? And who would he have possibly gone to the expensive room with? Why would he have gone there if he said he hated traditional things? How was he sure she slept in the expensive room? How was he sure that’s where she was murdered? Does he know something more than what he’s telling people?

        “Hey,” a strained voice announced as its owner put his hand on her shoulder. When his fingers made contact with her skin, she jumped, having been startled, and squeaked loudly. She turned to look at the man standing behind her and find out the meaning behind it. “It’s getting late. Let’s head home for the night. We can always come back tomorrow.”

           Sophie Hawthorne slowly unbundled the towel from her head, pulling at the fabric and watching as it released her swirls of hair caught beneath the twists of the cloth. The wet and wavy mane sat pulled to the side, dripping onto her leg. She slowly turned her head upwards to face the mirror in front of her, greeting her new, black-haired image.

           She leaned in towards the mirror and ran her hands through her hair, surprised at how soft it felt and thought about how much paler the deep hair made her skin look. The skin, the hair… she felt like she was looking at pictures of her mother when she was her age.

           She remembered when her dad would bring out the old photographs, gushing about how beautiful she was and how he could not believe she would go for someone like him. Not that he was unattractive by any means, but he had more of a modern appeal to him whereas her mother had a traditional beauty to her.

           But that was then. The images of her beautiful mother and handsome father existed only in her memories now, tainted by the last few months of their lives that were filled with drama, anger, and bad choices. Guilt and internal pain masked her father’s handsome smile. Her mother’s calm demeanor was destroyed, turning her into someone that wouldn’t even smile at passersby in the street. And in a matter of minutes, all of it went up in flames.

           “Sophie,” the voice that brought her peace whispered from behind her. “I got you something that will help tie in the image… especially for occasions like tonight.”

           Sophie turned around to face the man, curious as to what his offer was. A beautiful blue metallic yukata hung from his arm and Sophie recognized what it was instantly, seeing her mother wear one often whenever she visited her family here, and a smile grew on her face. Washing away all of the sad thoughts of her family, she leaped up and bolted towards the man, crashing into him and wrapping her arms around his stomach. “Thank you, Tohru! It’s beautiful!”

           “Beautiful clothes for a beautiful girl, you know? I have to be able to show you off and I can’t do that without having you wear some traditional stuff every so often. Otherwise these hicks won’t even give you a second glance unless it’s to mock you.”

           Tohru helped her tie up the yukata and took her arm at the door, which caused Sophie to feel a rush of overwhelming gratitude. Tonight she would go out and socialize. She could be herself around someone, a love interest, and not worry about who was stalking her. She turned her head to face him, admiring his sharp, thin jaw and the bored expression he always had on his face and she smiled.

           Despite living in this city for a while already, Sophie was taken aback at how many people attended this festival, completely surrounding her throughout her walk through the area. Feeling like she was swimming against the crowd, she grabbed ahold of Adachi’s hand for comfort and took a deep breath, afraid of sticking out like a sore thumb and having to run away. “You know,” Adachi started, “you don’t have to be so nervous. Everyone here is going to be focused on themselves and the food.” He was right. She realized he tended to be that way.

           “M-mister Officer Adachi sir,” a small voice questioned from below. Instantly recognizing the voice, he looked down to peer into the pig-tailed daughter of his coworker.

           “Nanako-chan?” He released his grip on Sophie’s hand and kneeled down to be at eye level with the girl. “What are you doing here alone? Where’s your dad?”

           Nanako looked at Sophie standing next to him and didn’t respond, choosing instead to move closer to the man. “Dad’s at work... I came here with Big Bro and his friends. I wanted to play hide and seek but they couldn’t find me and now I can’t find them. Am I in trouble?”

           Adachi kneeled down to be at eye level with the distraught and smiled.  “Of course you’re not in trouble, Nanako-chan. In fact, I’m going to make you so tall that you can see over everybody else and you can help find your cousin, okay?” When the little girl nodded, he turned around so she could climb onto his back. Once she was on, he shifted her weight and secured her legs through his arms while he stood up.

          Nanako smiled and giggled. “I can see so many people up here!”

          “You don’t mind, do you?” Adachi asked Sophie who was standing silently to the side. “She is my boss’ daughter after all. I kind of have a sworn duty to protect her.”

          Sophie smiled at the small girl on her boyfriend’s back in an attempt to lessen her nerves and warm the small girl up to her. “Of course I don’t mind.”

           Although Nanako was very shy, Sophie spent the new half hour trying to make small talk wherever she could. Eventually, Nanako had climbed down from Adachi’s back and walked inbetween the couple, holding hands with the both of them. Whenever the bright-eyed little girl turned to look at Sophie and exclaim some exciting news, like how cool some of the booths were and how delicious some of the food tasted, Sophie’s heart warmed at the blissful innocence of the young happy girl.

           “Nanako!” an older man’s voice shouted from afar. The little girl looked up from the rice ball she was munching on in her hands when she heard the voice, trying to find out where it came from.

           “What’s wrong, Nanako-chan?” Adachi asked. “Are your dad senses tingling?” He grunted when Sophie elbowed him in the ribs for the awful joke.

           Nanako nodded. “I think I heard him. He should be around here somewhere!”

           Adachi’s suave persona leaped out the window when a very familiar hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to stiffen up and raise his voice an octave. “H-hey, boss!” he peeped out without even turning around to look.

           Nanako gasped excitedly and spun around to look at the man behind Adachi. “DADDY!” she yelled and headed towards him. The tall, dark-haired man removed his hand from Adachi, causing him to sigh of relief and Sophie to snort, and open his arms out to pull his daughter into them.

           Approaching the man was the boy that walked Sophie to Junes and his group of friends. “You found her,” the silver-haired one announced. “I knew she wouldn’t be somewhere by herself.”

           Nanako nodded in her dad’s arms. “Mhm! I know I’m supposed to stay right where I am if I ever get lost and a grownup will come find me, but I saw daddy’s work friend and thought it would be okay if he helped me. His friend is really nice and pretty, too.”

           Confused and clearly unaware of Sophie’s presence, the man finally looked at the girl standing next to Adachi quietly. When they met eyes, he laughed gently. “I see, so this must be the girl that’s put my bozo co-worker in such a good mood recently.”

           “Oh,” Sophie humbly muttered, “I’m sure that’s not true...”

           Adachi cleared his throat. “This is my boss, Dojima-san. And she is my girlfriend... uh-”

           “-Miyamoto Ayame,” Sophie interrupted before her boyfriend made more of a fool of himself. She quickly assumed the position of assertive girlfriend to crush any suspicious tones in Adachi’s voice before he blew her cover. Dojima looked like serious business. “Pleasure to meet you,” she said, holding out her hand for Dojima to shake.

           “And the same to you. Thank you both for helping my daughter out when the youngest one of my nephew’s group decided to play Hide and Go Seek, not knowing how good she is at it...”

           “I could have found her if you gave me five more minutes,” a young voice shouted from the back of the boy’s posse.

           “Anyway, we’re going to head home. It’s getting close to her bedtime. I hope she didn’t ruin your night together or anything.”

           “Absolutely not,” Sophie smiled at the little girl who began to grow worried. “She was an angel and I would love to see her again.”

           The groups said their goodbyes, but as the rest of the high schoolers’ group turned around and walked away, the chestnut-haired boy paused and stared at Sophie with a scowl on his face for a few seconds before leaving to catch up with the rest of the group.

           “Apparently people used to be really into this shrine long before I came here, but as time went on people became more wrapped up in their own lives and stopped visiting. Or so I’ve heard.”

           Sophie smiled and sat down at the steps. “You don’t seem the religious type.”

           Adachi tucked his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath, sitting down. “I’m not, really. I can still observe the difference between city life and country life.”

           The couple had spent their last hour rummaging through the stands and trying at all of the games they could. Sophie tried a wider variety of food samples than she ever had before while her date had taken advantage of the free alcohol samples at a few booths. Perhaps it was nerves mixed with the crowd, but his cheeks began to flush while his forehead started to sweat heavily and Sophie suggested they step away from the center of the party for a while so Adachi could take a breather.

           “If I tell you something, will you promise not to be mad,” Sophie asked quietly, her hands in her lap.

           “I mean I can’t really make any promises but shoot.” At least he was honest.

           “The night that you saw me all dressed up... I was actually heading to meet with someone about a job offer. He was going to help me change my life so I could be here happily for a while and not have to steal. The last he had heard from the group looking for me, they weren’t anywhere close by and he thought they wouldn’t have ever picked me up here.”

           “Why are we talking about this now?”

           “Well... do you remember that day I came back to the apartment and we got into that fight?” He nodded. “I went to see him. That’s where I got the name from. He put me in the system as Ayame. He told me to dye my hair. He helped me out. And... he wants me to work for him... under strong supervision of course.” She paused and waited for Adachi to interject, but she continued when he remained silent. “I thought I would take it... it would let me get out of the apartment when you’re busy and it’ll help me earn some money... and who knows, maybe we can save up together and move somewhere el-“

           “The states.”

           Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion and turned to her boyfriend who was leaning back on the stairs. “I’m sorry?”

           “I put in a transfer application a few days ago. I’m bored with this life. The people’s voices give me a headache, the scenery makes me sick. If I get accepted we can get work visas or something and apply for citizenship and get the hell out of here. Go forward and never look back, you know?”

           “You... you want me to come with?”

           “I thought that was obvious. I just didn’t tell you sooner because I figured you’d pull the ‘wahh I don’t want you being my sugar daddy when you can barely afford dinner’ thing. Now I don’t have to worry about it.”

           Sophie stared into Adachi’s eyes, looking for boredom but only finding admiration and a smile on his face. She smiled back at him and leaned onto his shoulder. “Nanako-chan is adorable.”

           “She most certainly is. She’s a quick learner too. When I have a daughter, I hope she’s like her.”

           Sophie snorted in surprise. “YOU actually want kids? You don’t seem the type...”

           “Heh. Every arrogant man wants offspring so he can bring a million clones of himself into the world.”

           “Sure, Tohru.”

           “What perfect timing to leave! Can you imagine, if we had left any earlier we would have completely missed that!” Adachi stopped to hold his stomach and take a deep breath, stopping his laughing-at-misfortune fit.

           “I wish we would have been there just a little bit sooner so I could have heard what made that woman so hostile!”

           “I didn’t even think cat fights existed in this shithole town! It probably was something stupid like the other girl took the last kebob and butterball didn’t get to shove it down her throat.”

           “She whacked her hard though! It couldn’t have been over something that stupid!”

           “You doubt the people here?”

           “I guess you’re right, people *are* self-“

           Sophie was interrupted mid-sentence when Adachi quickly disappeared from her side and pulled her into a gap between two buildings. When they were cleared of the main road, Adachi pressed her against the wall of one of the buildings and pressed his lips to hers. It only took a few seconds for their lips to open, encouraging the other to kiss them deeper and make the heat rise through their skin. Sophie removed her arms from her sides and slowly wrapped them around Adachi’s neck, resting one of them along his head where she could rub her hands through his hair.

           A growl came from his chest, bringing a smirk to her face. After one more nip at her bottom lip, he pulled away from the kiss and angled his head downwards, nestling himself against her neck where he began to gently suck at her skin. He removed one of his hands from her waist and leaned down to pull her leg up, sliding his hand up the underside of her thigh and past the end of the yukata…

           Adachi yelped at how quickly her hand was able to remove itself from his neck and pull his hand away from her, releasing her leg back onto the ground. “Oh, come on,” he hissed into her ear, “You know you like it…” His stupid voice was so enticing and encouraging she had to stop herself from letting him continue.

           She cleared her throat so she could speak with confidence. “Not in public where anyone can see us, I don’t…” She had to stick to her guns, even though the thought of sneaking around and not getting caught did get her blood pumping… not that she would ever let him know that.

           He pulled himself away from her so he knew she could see all of his face… the face that had contorted into droopy eyes, a pouty lip, and a blush across his nose and cheeks.

           Sophie smiled and shook her head, embarrassed at this gently drunken dork standing in front of her. She removed her other hand from his head and used it to hold onto both of his hands so when she kissed him again, he wouldn’t try anything funny. When she pulled away, she released her hands from his, letting him feel freedom again. “You won’t die waiting until we get to the apartment, you know.”