Ningen Ningyou Chapter 21 2/29/2012 FIN!

[kuro808]

I posted it before the forum went down but I shall post this chapter again

Chapter 8

Risa had returned home wondering what made Ai changed.  It was like Ai didn’t want to be discovered or she didn’t like her.  She felt more towards the prior but the concept of not liking her was possible.  She walked up to the bathroom to wash her face and saw her face in the mirror.  She was sent back to her childhood, reminding herself how she fit in with the non-popular kids.  For how much she fought, Risa wept until she got home where her parents would comfort her.  The role reversal was unique to her and she could think about what her parents would do but the mistake would never be erased.

She heard the door open and the two voices calling her from the bottom floor.  Risa ran down to see Miki with a note in her hand.  She took it and sat in the middle of their living room.

Dear Risa,

I understand why you never visited me yesterday.  It was the reason why I told you to run away earlier.  Honestly, I missed you a lot and when the deer visited you earlier, it gave me back strawberries and hints about your whereabouts.  I want you to know that I am alive and not dead as many people predicted.  The reason why I stay in the house is because I need to hide my identity.  The deer shall be our tool to communicate and the illusion you usually see is the kindness you bring when you visit.

Arigatou,

Ai

Risa folded the note and went outside to see the deer resting near the strawberry bush.  She walked up to the deer and petted her for a while as she thought of her next maneuver.  Risa ran back and wrote her a not to bring back to her.

Ai-chan,

I never meant to bring them to your location.  Is there a way to make you escape the house so you would not be found out as well?  If there is a way, please tell me.  As for the deer, we can use it for the time being but we need to act quickly to avoid any suspicion.

Ja ne,

Risa

The bean threw the note to the ground and the deer picked it up and trotted into the forest.  Miki saw everything and wanted to ask her about the deer but she figured to keep silent.  Riki ran out to find a pouch where the deer was resting and brought it in quickly.  He opened it up to find a stack of cash wrapped with string, Risa counted it quickly and she almost fainted from the amount.  The two young kids couldn’t interpret Risa’s expression but the weight of the bills indicated it was more than they had seen in their lives.

“Why are we getting money?”  Riki asked as Risa couldn’t produce an answer.

“Riki, I think someone is looking over us.  Risa must be working hard.”   The bean smiled for a bit but 200,000 yen was bliss.

Risa went to the closet where she hid the money for them.  It was building up to be a life savings for many but she needed to wait for her response.  Since she was exhausted, Risa went out to find food in the convenience store, she gathered croquettes and noodles for her siblings, and told them to eat so she could wait for her response.

~~
Ogawa walked back to her camp ground with a bandage on her head and her body was stiff from being cramped in the hideout.  She laid down on the ground moaning in pain, she began to feel out her bag for pills to ease her ailment, and then she heard a noise outside causing her to turn awkwardly.  The writer opened her tent to find a stray dog begging for food.  She chased it off to get a little shuteye but it began howling, which annoyed her, and she just closed her ears to stop the noise from entering into her ears.

She thought it was over when the sound didn’t bother her but the momentary silence made her fear for the worst and she threw out pieces of jerky to take care of the dog’s hunger.  Moments later, the howls started again and she decided to walk back into town for food.  She saw the woman who ran out of the abandoned house and she hid behind the wall to not expose herself.

She sat down to look over her notes and began to think about why she ran out and what could make her connected with the house.  She assumed she might be mentally impaired but quickly crossed it off as she couldn’t believe anyone would visit without a purpose.  Now, it was her goal to figure why the woman had gone to the house and she wrote down pieces of information that would help her.

Ogawa followed her back to the house which was run down and the odor of rain water filled her nose with the puddle to the side of the house.  She tried to find clues of her name but it seemed difficult and she assumed that it was a temporary house for them to have shelter.  As she crept up to the front, a hand landed on her shoulder and turned to find Konno behind her.

“What are you doing?”  Asami asked as Ogawa escorted back to the street.

“What is her name?  She ran into the forest hours ago and ran out for no apparent reason.  She was in the house long enough to seek something she knows.”  Ogawa explained.

“Niigaki Risa.  She has two young siblings and she has been working since she came here to earn enough to move to a stable house.”  Ogawa wrote down the information and saw the reporter with books in her hand.

“May I ask the same question to you?”  Konno showed her books about the recent history of the town.

The two decided to eat dinner at the ramen place as they discussed their purpose in the town; it seemed that they were here with the same goal.  Ogawa felt comfortable with Konno as she only wanted to help out Risa while Ogawa wanted the story of the house.  They understood that working together might interfere with their goals so they gave each other numbers to discuss further collaborations and walked their separate ways.

Ogawa felt refreshed after the meal.  She stretched out before walking up the hill and from the corner she saw a deer trot toward Risa’s house.  However, she was drowsy and her body wanted to rest at least until tomorrow, so she walked up without pondering over the deer.  The writer walked into her tent and placed her head onto the pillow to start her healing.

~~
Risa saw the deer come from the forest and dropped the note into her hands.  She opened it up and began reading it with caution.

Risa,

I don’t blame you for anything; it has been nice of you to visit.  The deer acknowledges that I am real but to have it communicate in a way I need it to have been difficult.  Luckily, it visits me since I found it years ago and I used it to transport my thoughts over to you.  As for me, I can escape but I cannot surprise people of my existence, the two people are hungry for fame and money, so I advise to deflect anything about me, if it does come up.  I want you to come tomorrow at this time, your siblings may worry so please tell them it would only improve your status, I want you to escape before I can.

Ai

Risa folded the note up and chased away the deer from the front door.  She walked back to her bed to get some sleep before her morning job.

[kuro808]

Well onto Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Risa woke up to the rustling of the front door.  It sounded like two men fumbling with the door until it stopped for a moment.  She held her hand over Riki’s body as she heard faint talking from outside.  Then, moans from one of the men got the two siblings to wake up and followed their sister up the stairs.  As they abandoned the ground floor, Riki looked outside through the spacing and saw men fighting off a deer.  They tried to aim at the animal but it was too close the head hitting them squarely in the ribs was too much for them to handle as they squirmed away.

The bean quickly had the courage to walk downstairs and opened the door to the deer, who was visibly exhausted from the fight, and saw the not in its mouth.

Risa-chan,

I may need shelter; the house is going to be burned down.  I am not sure when but if possible, please visit me soon, so we can plan our escape.  It is last minute for me to consider you as a partner but I want to see you once before you make a decision.

With regards,
Ai

The bean folded the note but instead of returning a response, she called down her siblings, and told them to sit down on the floor with the deer peeked its head inside.  Risa noticed it was a quarter past three and she had about an hour before work but her head was spinning with choices.

“Onee-chan, is something wrong?”  Riki asked.

Risa took a moment to explain everything about what she had been doing the past couple of nights.  They were surprised that she mentioned about Ai and the abandoned house.  They weren’t sure if Risa was mentally fit to even converse with them.  However, they had to trust her with their lives as they always did and let her set the path of escape.

“Riki, Miki, I want to thank you for being great siblings through our bad time.  Whatever happens next, I want you to be strong and protect the house.”  The two nodded as Risa changed out of her pajamas and into warm clothes to visit Ai in the forest.

The bean felt a cool breeze with rain hitting her face which was the only place not covered by material.  Her adrenaline levels were at an all-time high.  The rush was driving her closer to understand why Ai was stuck in the house and the deer trailed her until it blocked the front entrance.  It signaled over to the other side of the house where there were two doors leading to the basement.

She walked down the steps to the basement where she remembered about the father’s diary but it was dark and the smell of dead wood was filling her lungs.  She felt the steps down to the bottom until she felt the floor and then felt her way to a chair which had a loud squeaking sound and took a rest.  She took five deep breaths before moving into the house, where Ai had bad surveying for anything important mementos.

“Welcome back.”  She greeted as Risa wrapped her arms around her.

“I’m glad but you seem rather worried now.”  Ai nodded and she had her father’s diary in hand.

“The morning might be a noisy one and I need to escape while I have the time to do.  Also, there is something I need to do.”  Ai held up the bean’s face and pressed her lips on top of Risa.  The bean took a step back, slamming her onto the wall, the lights started to flicker until it was fully on in the house.

Risa looked around and the place was marvelous like the first time she had visited.  She couldn’t explain the transformation but it gave Ai a chance to look downstairs for more mementos.  Risa closely followed Ai like a shadow to gather up her stuff before she left.  Then, after a few minutes of pulling stuff aside she found two pictures, a male and female.  She wrapped it in a towel and saw the deer hinting at them to hurry up.  But, Ai was not heeding the warning and soon steps were heard from the inside.

“Hello, is anyone home?”  The familiar voice rang in Risa’s ears and she pulled her away from the pictures towards the stairs leading to the outside.

“Who is that?”  Ai whispered to Risa as she concentrated on the other door while she yelled around the house to gain someone’s attention.  Ai signaled that she had gotten everything and grabbed an old knapsack to keep everything inside temporarily.  They both climbed without notice but with the lights on, they would be easily noticed, and the sunrise would not help them at all.  Risa ran ahead to escape from the forest while Ai stayed back looking at the depressed deer.

“Thank you papa for watching over me all these years.  You made me feel warm despite not seeing you in human form.  I have to go now and watch over mama because she hates when you make her feel unwelcome.”  The deer bowed its head and ran off into the deep while Ai tried to hold her tears in.

Ai didn’t want to yell but she needed to get it off her chest that the deer helped her after the parents had passed away.  It was lonely for a bit until a fawn nudged Ai awake and invited her into the deer’s family.  They offered her strawberries as a source of survival until they could understand her language where they caused havoc. 

The townspeople forgot about the Takahashi’s and it made Ai furious that no one was going to support her but it made her stronger.  She did what she could in the deteriorating house but she only had the bed left that could support her body weight.  Then, the night Risa visited, she exploded with fascination that one person didn’t forget, but she couldn’t live in the conditions so she had offered monetary gifts to remember her by.  Ai knew it would work and now she was able to escape from the house.

Risa ran out and bent over to gather her composure.  She heard a few men walking into the forest and turned to see no Ai following her.  She hid behind the bush for a couple of minutes before sticking her head out see if Ai was coming out but no sign of her.  After a few minutes, she was worried that she was caught but something in her mind was holding onto the hope she had escaped.  She peered around the bush and saw Ai out in the open and waived to go to where Risa is.

“What happened to you?  I thought you got lost.”  Risa was on the verge of tears as Ai slapped her playfully on the head.

“I saw the men so I jumped into the bushes, I could smell the men crawling closer towards me, and right when he reached in a bunch of foxes ran towards them, it distracted them enough for me to escape.”  Ai smiled as she felt something weird in her body.

Ai sat on the ground holding her midsection with both hands as she looked like she was ready to vomit but after a few breaths she was alright.  Then, she stood up and felt her legs were weakened by the events, she leaned onto Risa for a bit until she gained her balance.  Ai felt the early sun hit her skin and warmed up quickly as she followed Risa to her home.

“Risa!  Wait up!”  Konno was looking at both of them and Risa ran towards her house as Ai followed.  They managed to avoid the reporter by a second and locked the door behind her.

They both dived onto the floor in exhaustion as Miki looked at Ai awkwardly.  Her body was pale and she wasn’t in good shape with the body only revealing skin and bones.  Risa crawled over to the sink to grab a cup of water for Ai and she was instructed to drink a bit until she could get fully recovered.  It was now quarter to six and she had Ai in the house with Konno chasing her.

Risa was farther away from escape than ever but Ai was partly charged and then a flash of light appeared, throwing the family off their feet.  Ai smiled and then collapsed soon after, she turned everything into a time freeze.  It was now up to Risa and her siblings to take the body with them for an escape.

[risa_ai]

Kuryo~ Great update! So konkon is tailing them. o_o
I hope ai's gonna be okay...

[kuro808]

^ Well Konkon and Ogawa are tailing them it was just Konkon saw them

Chapter 10

Risa and her siblings guessed that they would have limited time to move across town and they packed what they could into their bags.  Risa decided to carry Ai’s unconscious body with Riki carrying two bags, he tried to hold up the heavy bags but he lacked the strength to balance either bag.  She threw one of the bags onto Ai and moved as quickly as possible to the town’s limits. 

The deer blocked their way and bowed its head towards the trio.  The animal walked up to Ai and kissed her as a farewell to it.  Ai didn’t reply but the deer knew she reacted as it ran back into the town.  Risa continued on the barren road until they saw a stand on the side of the road.  Ai still felt warm which interested her on how to wake her up but the comfort level being around her siblings was irritating her.

“Miki, Riki can you go around the back?”  The two nodded and Risa held Ai in her arms.

She spent a few minutes staring at her face.  She traced her lips trying to see if she could react to it but it was no effect and then she traced her chin which had no effect either.  Risa placed her head onto her chest to find a heartbeat and it was faint but it indicated she was alive.  She decided that her next move would maybe wake her up but if her siblings witnessed it, it could change the complexity of their mindset.  So, she turned Ai to the wall and faced her toward the open area, she pressed her body onto hers, and gave her a quick kiss.

“Hmm, this is so frustrating.”  Risa said to herself and she held her hand to pray for her.

Risa closed her eyes and felt a hand touched hers with a giggle.  She looked up to see her siblings praying with her and Ai shot up from her position to see she was out of the town.  Ai ran around the stand once and then ran back in to see Risa standing there with a blank expression.

“Where are we?”  Risa shrugged her shoulders.

“I was going to move into the next town with the money we got and stay in there for the time being or forever.”  Ai rubbed her chin for a second and then she looked toward the direction they were heading and she pointed northwest of their location.

“There’s no road where you are pointing at.”  Risa commented.

“If we walk in this direction, we can avoid everyone from following us.”  Riki felt Ai’s confidence and agreed with her without questioning.  The bean shot her arms up and picked up their bags to follow Ai toward the unknown location Ai was confident about.

~~
Konkon’s head was spinning from the fall.  She remembered the flash coming towards her and took a spill backwards to the ground.  She ran into the house and noticed it had been cleaned out.  They abandoned their sleep furniture and cooking utensils but she figured that they would take the money to travel out of the town.  She flipped her phone open to find her supervisor had sent her a text.

Konno,

The story will be pulled if there is no evidence soon, I understand how you feel right now but we are looking towards stories that may keep us afloat rather than chasing… come back soon

-Nakamura

Konkon closed her cell and walked toward the hill Ogawa had been camping for the past week.  She was exhausted from watching the events happening that she was sleeping when Konno came to visit.  Asami opened the tent to see her sprawled on the floor with her supplies running down.  The reporter clamped down on her leg to draw her attention but she was out cold.  Her next attempt woke her up instantly as the cold air had made her shiver.

“Why wake me up so early?  I was up all night watching for anything.”  Ogawa rubbed her eyes as she looked at Konno with a concerned look.

“Well I guess you never saw the family leave town, Risa is gone with a mysterious woman.”  Ogawa’s eyes widen as she charged out in frustration.

“Kuso!  Can we verify the story of the girl’s death?”  Konno shook her head.

“Did she ever die?  I have no proof that she had died.  Her parents left and supposedly died someplace else.  So, we may need to dig deeper.”  Ogawa nodded as she could only think of one solution:  Research in Tokyo.

Ogawa and Konno packed up their stuff and took a taxi to the nearest port.  They took a private plane from the hangars near the port to get back to Tokyo.

~~
Ai led the pack to a town that was abandoned a while ago.  She remembered going to this town for vacationing as it was near the beach but all the people had left their homes untouched.  It was filled with high-end mansions and beach houses, Ai had a key in her pocket as she reminisced about the home.  The older woman looked out to find the home was turned into a shack.  Her heart sank as the luxurious home was now a rundown house, but it still looked livable for the time being.

They entered the house and Ai smiled as the furniture wasn’t moved from the last time she had visited.  She could smell the sea breeze from the window which comforted her but it led to the problem of food where every place was closed.  Since Ai knew the town, she looked if there was anything worth grabbing from the closed shops.  She walked out and the abandoned streets gave her goose bumps as she cautiously walked around.  Then, she felt a hand touched her and she screamed out loud startling the old man.

“Takahashi?  Is that you?”  He asked as Ai stared at him.

“How do you know my name?”  He smiled and stuck his hand into his pocket.

“I’m you father’s friend, Yoshio Ito, don’t you remember me?”  Ai paused and remembered a man by that name that was clean shaven and was muscular.  But, he had lost his tone and he was growing a beard that was at least a foot long from his chin.  Ai hesitantly grinned at him as he lowered his head apologetically.

“I do but you look so different.”  He let out a thunderous roar of laughter.

“I guess I was more observant of my looks back then, you had a serious crush on me when you were five.”  Ai blushed as the memory came back to her.

“You were so cool when you gave me ice cream back then, my father was against sweets but you argued that strictness would break me away from him.”  He nodded.

“Sigh, you have grown into a beautiful young woman.  I’m jealous that I had to shoot you down twenty years ago for my ex-wife.”  Both chuckled at the joke.

“Well, can you explain what happened here?”  Ai asked as his smile disappeared from his face.

Ito has explained that the warnings of tsunamis drove the locals away from the town.  He explained a few people at a time from every warning they would stick it out and quickly leave when the warning was not in effect.  Eventually, everyone left when their essential shops closed and he was left to fish for a living.  Ai learned that he was bitter at the government for evacuating a town so many times that their frustrations led to their departures.  She knew it was natural for any event but if it happened once every year, it would be understandable but it was happening once every week for twenty-three months.  All of the economic factors pointed that it would not be profitable to even share their services to the visitors and they left to find better prospects.

“I guess I have to ask you a favor.”  Ito smiled and nodded.

“The fish is yours, come by with your friends, and we can cook before you leave town.”  Ai smiled and walked back to her shack.

Risa looked at her bag as she pondered over opening it to get settled or keep it as they may have to continue onto a search for residence.  Miki and Riki wanted to play on the beach so they changed into their swimwear and ran out to the edge of the ocean.  The bean watched as the sun was slowly going back to its hiding place for the day, she felt safe for once in a long while but there was a lot that had to be settled before calling any place a home.

Ai returned back to the shack seeing Risa with her hands on her knees sitting down outside watching her siblings playing in the sand.  She walked up to the steps and took a seat next to her as she placed her head on the bean’s shoulder.  It would a perfect place to live despite the abandonment of the town.  However, both knew that they still had to travel a while more to feel safe from any more trouble.

[risa_ai]

Oh great. Now risa's involve too. Poor ai, her parents passed away. Then why is ai still so young? Is she a ghost?

[oddball]

Hmm seems as though Risa keeps on getting caught up in it all, and what is Ai? alive, dead, something else  with Konkon and Ogawa on thier case more now I wonder who will get answers first?

[kuro808]

This chapter brings up what Ai is.....

Chapter 11

Ito-san walked over with his bucket filled with fish to give Ai and her friends.  He bowed halfway and turned back to his house.  Ai was looking high and low for the knife and found it below the sink.  She was happy that Ito-san had been hanging around despite all the troubles and they could at least eat for the night.  Ai started cut into the fish and made one filet that looked ripped apart from the bones.  Risa decided to build a fire from the dead branches and leaves near the house.  Luckily, she didn’t have to find a flint to start the fire as she found a flare and cautiously waited for her siblings to be away from the pile before throwing it into the branches.  The three were amazed at how big the fireball was on the ground and watch it go down to a manageable size.

Ai grabbed the sharpener on the side of her and honed the blade until she felt it could slice through the fish nicely.  She slid the knife over and then saw something fly off the board.  It wasn’t the fish and Ai went into panic as she saw her finger on the floor.  She picked it up and stared it the location for a few minutes before she came to a realization of what she actually was: non-human.

The red blood she should have seen was not present and now she was depressed that despite everything that she stayed in the house for and eating the strawberries made her alive but not human.  She tried to look for something that could hide the fact of the fingertip and found tape to wrap around the area.  Ai carefully placed the piece onto her finger and taped it perfectly.  However, the thoughts had entered her mind about what she is and felt out of place in the house.  Ai walked out to still see the kitchen empty and finished cutting the fillets.

Risa walked into the kitchen seeing Ai slicing the fish with ease and placed the fillets on the plate for cooking but Ai never turned to Risa’s presence.  Risa calmly walk up to Ai’s left side and peeked over as she heard whimpering from Ai.  The bean casually stroked her hair until she dropped the knife fell into Risa’s arms.  She couldn’t understand why Ai was crying but something had to be on her mind that is causing her to be emotional.  Then, it hit Risa quickly as Ai’s face dug into the bean’s shoulder, she felt no liquid from her eyes, and she was producing no tears.

“Ai, why are you crying?”  She asked as she saw the tape on her finger but there was no red on the finger.

Ai couldn’t answer as Risa was now confused to why Ai was not producing such important liquids humans should have but show emotions like a human.  The bean carried her out of the kitchen and saw stairs leading upstairs and decided to head up to hide from her siblings.  Ai held onto Risa as she was being dragged up and they got into a room where it was filled with cobwebs and pictures.  It was her room with all the pictures of her from when she was young and it ended when she a teenager.

“Ai, you have to explain.”  Risa said bluntly as the confusion was being mixed with concern.

“I cannot, I don’t know at all.”  Ai ran over to the bed and laid out on her stomach crying out her displeasure.

Risa shook her for a bit for an immediate response until she touched her bare skin, it felt unusual until a thought came into her mind of how the texture was, and then she took a step back from her with shock.  Ai turned onto her back and saw the bean’s face had grown white.  Risa’s lips quivered as the discovery of Ai was not human.  The bean backed herself to the door and felt everything rush back to her.

“You’re a doll.”  The words hit Ai like bricks and she touched her face as the fingers were rough on her face.

“How can that be?  I lived in that house for so long that I survived off the land, how can I be a doll?”  Ai asked with her frustration levels were now at edge.

“You have the answers for that but how can that be?”   Ai shook her head and punched the bed hard and let out a scream.

“Did that hurt?”  Ai shook her head as they looked at the hand and there was no bruising.

Risa went back to the first meeting and walked her way going forward.  She was still in awe that Ai had been a doll even touching so many times she couldn’t have felt any different and the bean touched her again as it was cold like a dead person.  Ai walked over to touch Risa and she could distinguish the difference between hers and Risa’s skin.  They looked at each other for a moment and then sat down on the bed without making a noise.

“Onee-chan, Onee-chan.”  Her two siblings began to knock continually on the door echoing for her attention until she couldn’t take it anymore.

“CHOTTO MATTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  Risa yelled out and the pounding noise stopped.  The room was quiet again as Ai was looking apologetic for her problems.

“Gomen.”  She said in a low voice as Risa rushed over to hug her.

The two siblings opened the door to see their sister hugging Ai, they didn’t understand what had happened until they joined in with the hug and they noticed the surprise Risa had figured out only ten minutes earlier.  Risa held up her pointer finger to her lips and they quietly understood their older sister.  Ai walked over to the window and wept as she felt like a punching bag from all the abuse in their minds at the moment.  Miki decided to walk up and joined in with her crying.  Risa watched with her eyes how Ai was still cared for by her and the siblings.

“Ai-chan… we’re sorry.”  Miki held onto her legs and her face planted onto her knees as the tears flowed onto her.

“Ai-chan, we won’t say anything about you.”  Riki clamped onto the legs as they both were caressed by Ai.

Risa went down to her knees and bowed to Ai as a gesture of apology and raised Risa up from the floor as Ai embraced all three of the family members.  After a minute of hugging, Ai felt fatigued, and went to the bed.  They watched her slowly going into daze and closed her eyes with a smile on her face.  Risa brushed through her hair one last time and walked downstairs to cook dinner over the fire.

The mood had died down as Risa set up a grill over the flame and watched the fillets cook slowly over the fire, she adjusted the grill to go over the heat but it wouldn’t balance on the sticks firmly and left it back at the higher location.  Miki and Riki were silent as they watched their sister cook dinner.  Risa looked at them as she was still shocked by Ai’s revelation but she knew her duties to cheer up the family.

“Let’s look at the clouds.”  She suggested as Miki and Riki wiggled down to look up at the sky.

Risa’s mind was filled with concern for Ai that she let Miki and Riki name out stuff like dog, cat, horse, turtle, and then it hit them where the clouds created a human in the sky.  Both yelled out the answer and then they fell silent as Risa turned to them.  They each took a deep breath and started their game again until the fillets were fully cooked and they all went back inside to find Ai sitting at the table with the dishes ready to be served.

They stood silent as they let the news sink in with the food cooling down a bit.  Ai took a deep breath and picked up her chopstick for the first piece of fish and swallowed it with ease.  She held up a smile to comfort the rest and it seemed to work for at least a moment until Riki took a piece and his face turned gloomy.

“What’s wrong?”  Risa asked.

“Ai-chan, were you the one to give Risa the money for our family?”  Ai placed her chopsticks down onto the table.

“Yes.  I did.”  Riki paused and bowed his head to Ai.

“You made Risa happy because she works hard for us.”  Ai smiled at Riki as Risa was now shielding her face from them.

“Risa is so happy to have you guys too.  Remember that she does it for your own good, so you have to pay her back one day.”  The two siblings nodded as they continued on their meal without any more conversation.

[risa_ai]

  Ai's a doll.... (( Ai-chan... Poor Ai... Was it the fact that she left the house???

[oddball]

Ai is a doll?!?! how is she like she is, is this what happens when she leaves the house, or has she always been this way?

[kuro808]

I guess all the answers will come later on, could be a great theory though, or just the fact that she always had been a doll

Chapter 12

Konno and Ogawa landed in Tokyo during the late afternoon hours and headed straight for the archives before it closed in an hour.  As media personnel, they had access to enter into learning upon cases especially cold cases under supervision of a security guard.  The archives was 25 meters by 30 meters and it was the height of them two put together.  It contained many of the death certificates going back to the start of the Meiji period where they start to keep tabs on the people throughout Japan.  It recently had its lights changed so it was brighter than usual.

 They traveled down a narrow hallway to the T section and tracked it down the Takahashi name.  Konkon was quicker at finding folder and took a bunch with "Takahashi Ai" on top.  There were twenty folder of the name scattered onto the table set up for them to view.  The security guard was cautious of Ogawa because it was the first time she had met her, compared to Konkon who came twice before with her colleague from the police stations if she had a scoop on a dead person's family member who was arrested, etc.  They each took one folder and scanned through as fast as possible and placed to the side if it didn't fit the description or the birth date.  Ogawa was close with one but the cause was too natural and it happened in southern Honshu which was out of the parameters of the town.  After scanning through each of them, they found none that fit the description.

 They arranged it back in order and placed it back into the original location on the shelf.  Ogawa had a thought and looked over at the security guard.  Luckily, it was a woman because the way Ogawa had looked at her would make anyone concerned with fear.

 "Do you know where we can research birth certificates?"  The writer asked the guard.

 "I think it is in the other vault."  She looked up trying to think of the location off the top of her head.

 "Can we see it?  If it is not a problem."  Konno asked softly with her hand pressed together as she was praying.

 The guard flipped her cell and asked them politely to follow her to door.  She asked the person who she called for permission and after a few minutes, she seemed to be fighting a losing battle, and it ended with a violent shut of her phone.  The guard slipped the phone back into her pocket as they were anxious for an answer.

 "They have denied access despite you being media people and since it is closing soon, they didn't want anyone to stay overtime to watch you guys."  She bowed towards them.

 "I see.  I will call my supervisor for permission."  Ogawa bowed back as she felt frustrated over her answer.

 Konno bowed towards her as they head back out to the open where the sun was disappearing from the horizon.  She decided to take a break and offer Ogawa dinner for her help in searching for their person.  Ogawa followed her and then suddenly paused, catching Konno entering by herself without her companion.  Konkon hurried outside and Ogawa was looking inside the restaurant as she became frozen with fear.

“This restaurant… I remember writing a story about the restaurant.”  Ogawa’s throat slowly tightened up as she felt a bad vibe and Konno grabbed her to go to the next restaurant.  It was an Indian restaurant and their specialty was their bread that matched well with curry.

They both entered into the place with curiosity and took a seat next to window.  It was dimmed for a romantic effect and the smell of curry spices burnt their nose.  They ordered their food and watched the other people enjoying their meals.  Then, Konno’s phone rang and she stepped out to take the call.

“Hello.”

“She wants you to come back.  Nakamura is irate over the progress of your report.”  Her colleague informed the reporter.

“I can’t.  I have a scoop and I need to finish it up before I come back.”  She heard the phone being passed and then Nakamura’s voice caught Konno off guard.

“If you don’t have anything, just come back.  I can’t pay the over time.”  Konkon bit her lower lip.

“I’ll do this for free.”  The words shocked her and she wanted to take it back as soon as she said it but in her gut, she was confident in getting the story.

“You sure?  I want to support you, I believe you have the story, but it is still a stretch for you to gain any respect from everyone in the community.”  Konno closed her hand and lifted in the air.

“I am having fun.”  Konno said softly with a smirk on her face.

“Okay, I’ll give you as long as you want until you finish it up.”  Konno closed her phone and walked back into the restaurant where the food was sitting there for a couple of minutes.

“Supervisor call, I assume.”  Ogawa had a crooked smile as Konno took the first spoonful to her mouth.

Konno kept quiet as she chewed carefully on the food giving Ogawa a sense of mystery until she figured out she was right and scooped the curry with her bread.  The bread was complimentary to their curry dish that they ordered another set for them to take home.  It was a special night for both of them as they began to open up to each other about their lives and career goals set by each of them.  They spent almost two hours in discussion that they had to rush out to rent out a hotel room.

Ogawa never had a roommate while on the job, usually because she always had a male photographer but with spending a day with Konno.  She took a chance in booking a room for both of them.  Konno paid for the room under a media exemption which gave them a discount for the first two weeks of their stay and they were forced to pay the regular rate after that.  Ogawa and Konno knew their boxes of items weren’t going to come in until tomorrow morning, so they rested on their own beds for a bit before decided to sleep on one bed.

They were unaccustomed to their sleeping habits.  Ogawa never liked sleeping in anything except pajamas but in the circumstances, she had to sleep with her work clothes on.  Konno was comfortable in anything but had a tendency to sleep without underwear or even in the nude.  It was decided that if anyone did get uncomfortable, they would roll to the other bed for comfort but it came out to be good as they kept to their own side.

The next morning, a call came into their room that they had packages that were needed to be picked up and rented a car to the time being to transport to their new headquarters.  They drove down to the airport hangar where they had their stuff shipped over from the location and stuffed into the back seats as they drove back.  Konno glanced around for breakfast places but felt unsure of what she wanted and they went back to the hotel to have coffee and toast before heading back to the archives.

As they were en route to the building, they witness a few people outside of the diet building protesting about government’s decisions.  They were comfortable with the attention growing over at the building that the archives let them to go to other location for the birth certificates.  Again, they were guided by a guard except it was an older male with a five o clock shadow.  He was even in concentrating on each so he was relieved that they stuck around each other rather than go their separate ways.

Konno decided to look up the names again and took a handful of files to give off to Ogawa who began scanning through them carefully.  The fifth folder seemed to match their query and spread out the documents over the table.

“Takahashi Ai.  Age twenty five.  Never died.”  Konno rubbed her chin as she digested the information.

“It could be a mistake or they never updated.”  Ogawa pointed out.

“Could be a possibility but it doesn’t make any sense.”  Konkon started to think more about the events from that morning.

“Well, let’s make a copy all the information and leave to theorize the results.”  Ogawa suggested as she began to feel the chill again from last night and signed out that they received their information.

[oddball]

Hmm, I wonder if there is something about Ai which some people know about and don't want konkon and ogawa added to that list....

Though officially Ai never died.......interesting

[kuro808]

^ it seems weird that I twisted the story to made her a doll but she is not dead, this chapter will reveal more about the situation and little touchy feely too

Chapter 13

Ai exited the table with her empty bowl and began washing it as she felt her hands again.

That synthetic feeling, how can it be?

 Without realizing her situation, she felt the hot water, and pulled back her hands.  She looked at them, fearing it was burnt, and it seemed that it never changed her figure.  But, it had turned a bright red color and looked over at Risa.  Their eyes met for a while before realizing what Ai was doing and she ran over to see something peeling off.

 At first glance, they thought it was skin and worried about the blood but it was a synthetic material that copied skin.  In their relief, Risa curiously touched Ai's hands and she presented a surprised look.  Ai felt the bald spot and she had realized that the feeling was wax built up from being in the house.

 She had thought about how it could have happened and concluded to the deer, that was preserving her body.  She developed as a human but the protective coating prevented any negative effects on her body thus making it doll-like.  The discovery took off the weight of being stuck as a doll but it looked weird with the patches off her hands.  Ai took Risa up to the bathroom and swiftly took off her clothes in front of her.

 "Chotto Matte.  I am still her."  Risa yelled out Ai nodded curtly.

 "I need your help taking off this; you are the only adult who can do it."  Ai stated and the bean turned her head away as Ai stepped into the shower.

 After five minutes, the room filled with steam leaving only a few inches of visibility in front of Risa.  She saw the curtain move and stepped closer to feel the waxy substance on her hand.  Ai saw Risa near enough to guide her hand to her back to remove it for her.  It peeled slowly and in tiny pieces.  Ai turned to face her back against the shower and Risa didn't notice the movement until she felt something firm.  The bean turned bright red in embarrassment as she felt Ai's chest.  Before she could shout out anything, Ai was close to see Risa's face.

 "I see a pervert."  Ai joked as Risa pulled her hand back.

 "You turned away and I couldn't tell if it was your front or the back."  Risa explained as Ai leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

 "You have a great reaction when you can't explain what you are doing.  You must be attracted to boys, right?"  Ai's question hurt Risa as she was more worried about her siblings than boys and her lack of experience made it easily susceptible to men.

 "No... I should be but there are other things I was worried about."  Ai frowned as she grabbed the bean's hand again.

 "I see because you seem to be less friendly when you touched me."  Ai led her to her hips and Risa brushed the back of her hand on her hip while struggling to gain back control.

 "It's smooth."  Risa confessed as her mind started to ponder about her own sexuality.

 "Well, I think we can go for the back again."  Ai turned her back against Risa and peeled off a big chunk down past her backside.

 Risa felt her smooth skin was coming out from the layer and she began to feel her heart pump rapidly as it seemed to her lower part of the body.  Risa placed the rest of the skin to the side to trash as Ai stepped out to wipe herself.  The rest fell off to the sides and Risa turned back around to not show her embarrassment while Ai was putting on fresh clothes.  Ai stepped by her to open the door as she donned a white shirt and pink shorts with her new, shiny appearance.

 Miki walked up to touch Ai's legs which blinded her by the shine in dull lighting.  Risa stepped out and saw she was in perfect shape.  It was a new person dawning from her old skin and she was now free from her past.  Ai went into her room to let down her damp hair with Risa watching from the doorway.

 "Are you still embarrassed that you saw me naked and touched my chest?"  Risa nodded with the red from her cheeks dying down.

 "Sigh.  I guess you never let anyone seen you nude before."  Risa nodded at Ai's crooked smile.

 "I never had a chance to compare, since my parents shielded me from the dangers outside the house.  Now, when I am out here, there are so many things I want to realize but it may take longer than I expected."  Risa held her hand to her thigh and closed it into a fist.

 "I understand how you feel.  I want to be that free but we cannot let Miki or Riki know that we did something sacred together."  Ai nodded as Risa left the room to tuck in Riki and Miki before heading back with her stomach tied in knots.

 Risa looked at them with a smile on her face as they wished them a good night and closed their door before walking into Ai's room and locking the door behind her.  Ai welcomed her with a smile and offered her a space next to her.  She placed her hand on top of Risa's thigh to caress it with care before starting their embrace.

 Ai climbed on top of the bean and pressed her lips on top of hers.  Risa hugged her closer as she felt the chests becoming closer.  As soon as one made a slight adjustment, they stopped their kiss for a while before coming back to the same position until Ai slid under her shirt and stopped midway to feel Risa's midsection.  Ai pulled her hand back out and rolled off the bed to see her body on the bed.

 "Can we try something?"  Ai asked to Risa's consent.

 "I guess so, what is it?"

 "Spanking?"  Risa's eyes widened.

 "Why?"  The reaction was classic for Ai as she managed a giggle before her explanation.

 "Because you're a pervert for touching me all over without letting me have an opportunity."  Risa frowned and turned onto her stomach.

 Ai climbed onto the bed and lifted her hand up for a moment before bringing it down with such force on her right cheek.  Risa arched her back in pain but Ai brought it up one more time and did it for good measure on the other cheek.  Risa rubbed the two areas while putting at the older woman who had a grin on her face.  Then, she turned the bean onto her back and ran her finger along her cheekbone.

 "Sorry?"  Ai blew a kiss toward her and Risa tackled her down with her pout still evident.

 "You better be.  It was sore."  Ai lifted her head to kiss the bean's lips and Risa smiled at her.

 Risa rolled off the bed and landed on the floor with her feet.  She knew that Ai was in danger of people noting her of the escape from the town.  Risa knew of Konno, who was the one who witnessed the escape.  She stared out at the stars and listened to the waves crashing onto the beach before coming to her next thought.

 "Where are we going next?"  Risa asked as Ai was standing next to her.

 "I always wanted to go to Tokyo."  Ai suggested.

 "Was that the reason you gave us money?"  Ai shook her head.

 "I gave the money for you and your siblings.  I have an account with money inside because of my parents but I can only access it from a bank there."  Risa nodded and looked up to the moon.

 There was silence for moment before Ai slapped Risa's backside again playfully and she fell onto the bed with the pout.  Ai smiled to bring out Risa's grin and she gave in with a kiss on her cheek.  Risa slipped under the sheets with Ai and laid it on top of hers as they doze off to sleep.  Their plan was to say their last goodbye to the fisherman and leave for Tokyo mid-morning.

[oddball]

Ai peeling of her skin, hmm would never of seen it they way you put it in here! LOL seems as though Gaki didn't either! poor girl even got a spanking from it! 

[kuro808]

^ I guess reflecting the title, the peeling wasn't an original idea but I began to think what could benefit the doll-like qualities: wax.  So, it just was set in there as a way to reveal her true form as a human.  However, I made a backstory in the chapter to follow up a little more on the issue.  Maybe to the case of how the story is progressing. 

As always thanks for commenting on this fic, it is more fantasy like than anything else (which I'll admit is not my favorite genre)  but might as well make one for the readers because if killing is not enough than I'm sorry for the people who may not like it all.

Chapter 14

They gathered outside Ito-san’s house to say farewell to the fisherman.  Ai knocked on the door twice before the door popped open.  She walked in to investigate where the fisherman was in his house as Risa looked towards the harbor with a boat present assuming he was at home.  Ai grabbed the flashlight by the entrance and turned it on.  She took a few steps, and then saw a boot right by her.  She scanned the boot and it led to another boot and then she saw a body sprawled out on the floor.  Ai ran out as fast as she could and closed the door behind her to six eyes looking at her.

Her face turned pale and Risa knew something was wrong but she feared the worst.  She grabbed the flashlight and walked inside up to where the body was and she could smell the faint stench that had been growing.  Risa took a deep breath and said out a prayer before turning off the flashlight near the door.  Despite the calm demeanor, she was scared of seeing him on the floor but for the sake of her siblings, she showed the little strength to be fearless for the couple of seconds.

The group got all their stuff and headed to the bus stop to the airport.  Luckily, they didn’t have to wait long and got on as soon as the first bus came.  It was an hour ride out to the airport and it made the two young ones restless that Risa had raised her voice twice to calm them down.  Ai, who decided on the window seat, looked out towards the ocean as the smell still lingered in her nose.  She placed her head on the bean’s shoulders and closed her eyes for a bit. 

After she calmed the two down, Risa went into deep thought about how she could figure out Ai’s situation and ran back the events that had happen.  She was compelled to touch Ai’s flawless skin every minute of the ride and it made her feel at ease to be with her.  She felt a chill from being in the bus and wrapped her arms around the bean.

“Hmm, I feel so warm.”  The bean said to herself as Ai was feeling around for her location on the seat.

She scooted up until she took a part of Risa’s seat and she presented a big smile as her hold was becoming stronger by the second.  Risa wiggled her arms out and let her rest on top of her body while Risa relaxed with her hands behind her head.  Within a minute, she heard a loud sound coming from her partner.  The snore woke up Miki and she glanced at Ai with a smile as she looked up at her big sister.

“The doll is on you.”  She joked as she swatted her sister away.

“Shhh!  She’s sleeping.”  Risa warned the sister as she looked down at Ai’s mouth was close to her chest.

She saw Ai getting a piece of her shirt and started to nibble on it.  Risa spaced herself from Ai thus waking her from her slumber.  She lifted her head up and moved her hair to the side.  Ai smiled as she went back to sleep but Risa shook her to keep her up.

“Mou, what were you dreaming?”  The bean asked as the wet spot was huge.

“Yakisoba with lots of cabbage.”  Ai cheered with Miki.

“Baka.”  Risa bumped both of their heads as they were an hour away from Tokyo.

Ai decided to switch seats with Miki and left her with a sleeping Riki.  Riki’s head landed on Ai’s lap as he was soundly asleep but was awoken when the bus hit a bump causing him to roll of the seat.  Ai saved his top half from hitting the floor and he looked up at Ai with wide eyes.  His cheeks turned a bright red for a bit and he ran up hide his face from her.  Risa looked through the crack and saw his cheeks, she grinned at her younger brother’s face.

“What’s wrong Riki?”  Ai asked as he resisted being turned around.

“Ai-chan is his first crush.”  Risa spoke loudly at him that he started to cry and try to knock her big sister out.

Ai finally got him wrapped and gave him a kiss on the cheek to his dismay but he stopped whining over his problem and rested next to her.  They were on the outskirts of the city as they saw the tall buildings ahead and the bus stopped immediately.

“This is the end of the line.  The taxis and buses shall take you to your destination within the city thank you for riding Nihon Express.”  The driver yelled out as they gathered their stuff to wait for a taxi to take them to the apartment building that had been picked out at random.

Neither of them was sure of the directions, so the driver was nice enough to indicate the length of time for them to arrive at the location.  It would be a thirty minute ride with scenery all around so Miki and Riki took each of the windows in the backseat and Ai sat in the middle while Risa took the front.  The driver was a young man, who started couple weeks ago and it was the first time he didn’t have to drive drunks home which was a relief because it was a two-year old car bought from his own funds.

He turned on the radio to the tune of rock and they spent the time covering their ears with the incoherent music.  Miki and Riki were pointing at the landmarks like Tokyo Tower and the Bay.  The driver was recently married so the young women were far from his mind but his wife on the other hand was presumed a cheater from every person he knew and he wanted to ask them about what a woman would want.

“I guess attention, I would want that.  Love is very important too.”  Risa answered honestly.

“Honesty.”  Ai added.

“I give her all that but she still fools around with others.”  Risa smiled and tapped him on the shoulder.

“It can’t be helped I guess when you do everything but it still happens.  Hope you can work it out with her.”  He smiled and nodded his head.

“We should be there in five minutes.  The charge will be 5,000 yen.”  Risa looked through her bag for the money and gave it to him as they arrived at the apartment.

They got all their bags and headed up the stairs as they bid farewell to the driver.  They looked for the keys hanging with Ai’s name on top and climbed up two sets of stairs to get to their new place of residence.  The room was empty with white paint freshly coated and the wooden boards looked new with carpet covering ¾ of the room.  It had two rooms.  One was for the kids and the other was for the adults but because they were side by side, Ai showed a frown, indicating she was displeased but Risa signaled back they had no choice and Ai walked into the room dropping off her stuff near the closet.

Miki and Riki took a seat on the carpet while the two women unloaded all their stuff.  Ai flashed her smile to Risa to bring up their spirits and then when everything was put away, Risa laid down on the bed in exhaustion with Ai to follow.  Risa grabbed Ai by the waist and snuggled with her for a bit with the siblings occupied.  Ai grasped her hand and the eerie feeling became obvious as Ai was holding long enough to squeeze the blood out of the bean’s hand.

“Let go, Ai.  It is too strong.”  Risa complained as Ai squeezed harder until she released her grip and turned toward Risa.

“I… I want you to stay with me forever.”  Ai stuttered as she held her hands onto Risa’s face.

Risa was going to say the obvious answer but something had changed in Ai’s dynamic like she was instantly scared.  Risa held her closer to her body as she started to shiver and in a moment of panic, she threw a blanket over them.  Ai charged forward and gave her a faint kiss on her cheek.  Risa gazed at her and her body was instantly turning colder and Risa ran her over to the tub.

The hot water hit her like a wave and Ai was soon warmed up but Risa couldn’t understand what was happening to her partner.  Ai looked up and the water was warming her body but the cold part was freezing by the minute.  Risa closed the door to prevent her siblings from seeing her in a weakened state.  The bean held her hand as the water was slowly cooling down and she splashed Ai one more time, which kept her awake.

“Can you stay with me forever?”  Ai asked softly.

Risa wasn’t sure how to answer the question as it seemed obvious to answer but something was holding back the bean as the wording was like arrows to confirm her decision.  The bean firmly held her hand and put it near her head as Ai looked at her closely.  Risa took a deep breath and kissed her on the lips, every part of the body was shaking but if she was certain, Risa expected one more thing.

“I want you to tell me now!”  Ai commanded as the knocks were now louder.

“Through this crazy trip, I received money from you.  We went back to the area where you grew up, visited as a child, and now we are here because you saved us.  I can never repay you but the peeling skin and you shivering suddenly don’t make any sense.  You have to tell me first why are you doing this?  I want to stay with you because you are a good friend, no, a good partner that would stay by my side.  I want you to tell me what’s wrong with you.”  Ai sat in the tub stunned, Risa’s frustration was enough to make anyone faint but she had enough strength to talk but was frozen with the answer.

“Answer me because I want you forever but am there something I need to know that we can rid of our secrets now.”  Ai moved her lips to loosen her speech.

“One day, my father came in with a body suit that he wanted to experiment.  I put it on and created a perfect mold for me to fit in and it soon conformed to my body.  Unfortunately, the negative side effect was it fused with my skin.  A few days later, he died with my mother.  Then, a surprise came with a deer offering food, my arms and legs were stuck to the material so I had limited movement until you visited, but I needed help to get out and supposedly it linked myself to magic of revealing the truth of my house.”  Ai took a deep breath.

“I became warm enough to break out but it ached around the joints when you didn’t come around.  Then, I needed you to release me from the home.”  Risa pause the story.

“My life had been torture, yours must have felt like an eternity, and then I bathe you to release the suit.  You are beautiful, I must admit.  I fell for you as you were a boy I liked from four years ago.  The only thing was I could never expect that it would be a woman I fell in love with.  Do you understand?”  Ai nodded.

“The moment that you escorted me out, I was relieved that one person still liked me.  Now, I began to think that you may leave.”  Risa shook her head.

“Riki and Miki like you.  There was no way I would leave.”  Ai began to tear up and it hit the water.

A light grew from her body and Risa expected another event to happen but it managed to flash out stuff and it all drew back into Ai’s body.  Ai took the deep breath and everything was decorated.  Ai stood up and leaned against the wall of the tub.  Risa felt her body was now hot and took her out as Ai felt everything was moving properly and then opened the door to Riki and Miki playing with new toys on the carpet.

“That was the last part. I can live as a human again.”  Ai hugged the bean with face dug into the bean’s shoulder expressing her gratitude to Risa.

Risa patted her partner’s shoulders and it was that warm feeling that Risa wanted to have in her life.  It took a doll turning into a human to truly realize her gift in love and compassion that broke the doll out of its shield and now was exposing its true age to everyone.

[risa_ai]

Yeah! Ai's a human!

[oddball]

Aww Ai's history is so sad but now she is a human, I wonder though how this changes things, will they now get people off thier back or will it make things perhpas even worse....

[kuro808]

@risa_ai yes she is, but there is a good reason to the doll mold

@oddy there is a lot more of Ogawa/Konno coming up but it should fill in a little more of the doll mold

Chapter 15

Konno and Ogawa rushed back to their hotel room and looked through the file copies.  Despite all the basic information, she was a Jane Doe in matters of the state: No indication of education, medical background, or location of birth.  They looked at each other constantly trying to pry the mystery open but they came up with theories, it was their only choice.
 
Media personnel were able to do their research in the unknown.  However it was getting obvious that more people knew them by every visit.  They felt a trap was coming soon but they could taste the breakthrough.  It was the only goal that was driving them.
 
Ogawa ran down to the convenience store to get tape to put up their research so both could analyze the pieces easier.  Then, Konno’s phone rang it was her supervisor again with an unexpected calm text message.
 
Konno,
 
I received a piece of information for you, it might present you with clues to your investigation.  There is one catch.  The story cannot be released.
 
-Nakamura
 
Konno text back:
 
Why?
 
Konno didn’t want to wait for her response so she looked back at the wall and a thought popped into her mind.  Ogawa glances over and looked at the birth certificate where Konno was tracing her finger.  The place where it stopped was the parents’ names; it didn’t match the last names that were presented. 
 
“More questions that need to be answered…”  Konno thought to herself as Ogawa saw the discrepancy.
 
Then Konno’s phone rang:
 
Government documents have a report about her parents.  They threatened if it came out to the public they will shut us down.
 
Konno frowned at the text as she threw it ten feet away from her and laid down on the bed to think about her dilemma.  Ogawa flipped the phone open and closed it immediately knowing it was going to be a tricky situation.  However, Ogawa wasn’t there to talk about a person but a ghost story which didn’t matter if it was exposed or not but the light bulb lit up in the writer’s head.
 
“We could use alias names?  We can contribute what we know without knowing the parents’ information.”  Ogawa blurted out but Konno shook her head.
 
“That is only half of the truth.  We cannot present half of the truth.”  Konno yelled in frustration as Ogawa grabbed her arms and gazed into her eyes.
 
“The whole truth will hurt her.  That is the reason.  I know you want to expose everything but we have to think of the victim here.”  Ogawa released her grip and Konno turned over scratching her head.
 
Konno picked up her phone and texted their location.  It was an awkward feeling that they may receive a package with little or every piece of evidence.  She was accustomed with the government documents once as she reported on fraud but she knew that everything was in secrecy and the first step was to meet with them face to face.
 
Once she got the information on the agent, she walked to the spot agreed upon in the lobby.  It was usually a café or restaurant where they would meet but since the hotel they selected had none, it was a lock and follow mission.  Konno sat down on the couch looking toward the entrance for her agent.  Fifteen minutes later, a young female entered with sunglasses and casual clothing.  Konno walked up to the agent and winked at her to follow the reporter up to their room.
 
Konno stopped by the door and knocked three times to gain entrance.  Ogawa let the two in and closed the door behind her.  She reached into the pocket and showed them the USB drive in her possession.
 
“I shall introduce myself.  I am agent Fukumura Mizuki of the Japan Security Police, you can call me Fuku-chan if you please.  My reason is the person or person(s) you are looking for is in possession.”  She said sternly.
 
“Okay, we have a laptop you can use.”  Fukumura plugged in the USB drive and popped a screen, which highlighted the name.  She clicked it twice and a profile came up showing his status and reasoning for his security level.
 
Konno scanned through it and looked up at the agent with plain expression.  The agent clicked the statement that prompted the security watch and it was a paper about the plastic material used on his own daughter.  It had explained that it was an expandable mold that fits over the torso, arms, and legs to prevent disease spreading agents.
 
“Was Takahashi sick?”  The agent shook her head.
 
“The medical records indicated she had a weak immune system from a case of food poisoning as an infant.  Her father developed the material after their life savings went into caring for their daughter.  Soon after, few doctors visited the house to analyze the effectiveness and were surprised by the results.  One from Osaka, who couldn’t make the visit, heard the news and gave him a trip to Osaka.  However, the drive to the airport caused his death.”  The two nodded.
 
“Why was the medical records wiped clean?”  Ogawa asked.
 
“To protect the patient.”  She answered to them. 

“It had no scientific effect so we could release anything until she followed through with all the tests, which she didn’t because of her father’s mourning.  The doctors left soon after and she was left to fend with her mother, she committed suicide.”  Konno rubbed her chin as the details were making no sense.
 
“So their deaths were even covered up to because it could link to success or failure.”  The agent nodded.
 
“It comes to my next question.  Do you know where she is located right now?”  They looked at each other before answering the question.
 
“She was in this town twenty miles outside of Tokyo.”  Konno pointed out.  “I don’t know where is running to with other people.” 
 
“Other people?  There are people with her?”  The agent wrinkled her nose and traced the map out of Tokyo to the town.
 
“I met accomplice, Niigaki Risa, living in the town.  She was a hard-working sister taking care of two young siblings.  I remembered seeing them before they left but a quick flash distorted my sight and they left quickly.”  Konno explained.
 
“Niigaki Risa.  Niigaki… I heard that name before.”  Fukumura wrote down the name a small piece of paper and slipped into her breast pocket.  “The flash of light you saw, was it natural to you?”

“I assume so but if you think about it, how could they leave that quickly?”  Fuku-chan rubbed her chin to explain the phenomenon but could up with nothing.
 
“Anyways, if you do see her, don’t hesitate to call.  You guys can only catch her and report to us.  We will decide on a public place to meet to avoid any confusion, understand?”  The agent gave them a card as she started toward the door.
 
“Well, if I ruin your top story, I apologize but I cannot believe anyone would attempt to break her out.”  The agent presented a false smile.

“Wait… but what if they don’t stay long enough?”  The agent turned and closed the door behind her.

“In any situation, you are responsible for her health, do your humanly actions.  Our goal is to find if she has improved with the suit on for twenty years and just in general to improve Japan’s chances of resisting life-threatening diseases.  You should be intelligent enough to take on the challenge.”  Konno nodded as she left them.
 
Konno decided to take a nap to think over their plan while Ogawa decided to take on the problems beyond the bizarre circumstances in front of them.  The writer scribbled down possibilities of their location.  It wasn’t too much they could think of until a statement caught her eye and she slapped herself on the head.
 
“That woman has money here in Tokyo.  She may be in Tokyo.”  Ogawa smiled as she looked at Konno fast asleep on the bed.
 
Ogawa lay down next to her and played with her hand before closing her eyes for a nap.

[oddball]

Hmm, interesting Fuku-chan is here now and seems to be investigating too, more and more bigger agencies seem to be intrested in our Ai....

[kuro808]

Hmm, interesting Fuku-chan is here now and seems to be investigating too, more and more bigger agencies seem to be intrested in our Ai....

The more people get to know Ai, the more she seems to be oblivious to her existence.  Although, I am trying to put in the one other big clue that could probably make this story expand a little more but I am having a hard time placing it with the introduction of characters and intimate moments between the couple

[kuro808]

Chapter 16

Risa and Ai stayed in bed while the other two slept the night away.  Risa glared at her partner’s face before pressing their lips together and then she heard a murmur from the floor.  The bean rolled out of bed to Riki rubbing his eyes and she sat next to her brother with a smile on her face.

“Had a nightmare?”  Risa asked as he looked at Ai for a second.

“NOOOOOO!”  He replied with a loud voice impressing Ai with his courage in his voice.

“I see, well if you need anything just wake me up.”  Riki nodded as she laid his head down on the pillow while the two stepped out of the room.

The bean took the lead while Ai stayed behind her and went towards her right hand.  Ai grabbed onto the fingers and then crawled up to get her hand.  She held it tight like her hand had superhuman strength and then slowly released the grip.  Risa looked at her and now she had her whole right arm to herself as she smiled to her like the moon on a cloudless night.  They walked to the elevator and Ai pressed the button to go down to the lobby.

“I never had a drink before… can we go to the bar?”  Ai asked and Risa gave her a strange look but she would take a drink just for the celebration.

They headed towards the bar and the stalls were the only places left to sit.  They decided to hide in the shadows and ordered a beer for each of them.  It was filled with happy drunks who were private of their conversations and then the waitress came back to deliver their drinks.  Ai smiled looking at the beer and popped it open to take the first sip and her face turned to the suds hitting her tongue.  She swallowed it whole and let out a loud gasp as it tickled her throat.

“I guess you thought it would good, nee.”  Risa smiled as she took a sip and let out a sigh to her partner.

Ai tried her beer one more time with less liquid in her mouth and held it for a second before letting it go down her throat.  The success was short-lived as she developed a rhythm of drinking alcohol.  The duo was admiring each other until Risa saw two people walking into the front entrance.  She noticed the first one quickly and hid from their view, Ai didn’t notice the two walk in but was wondering why Risa was hiding.

“Finish the beer and let’s go.”  Risa commanded but Ai was slowly swishing it in her mouth pondering over the younger woman’s words.

Risa took the last gulp and dragged her partner through the front of the bar but the radicals were blocking their way.  Risa unapologetically pushed through and got out with her partner quickly.  Her heart started to beat faster as she tried to make her next move but she started to notice people coming out of their hiding places and ran toward the open elevator.  They tumbled inside and waited as they went to a floor below their room and traveled up the stairs to throw off their tracks.

“Risa-chan, why are you jumpy now?”  Risa covered her mouth and slowly removed her hand.

Risa explained that when Ai had been taken out of the house, a person named Konno witness the event, thus they were trying to run away from her.  The older woman couldn’t take any more into her sponge and paused the bean from going into information overload.  Ai pointed out the main details and came to the conclusion that it could have been related to the material.

Gaki thought it was plausible but they had to think of a way to escape before anything else could happen to them but the drowsiness of the alcohol was taking a toll on Ai as she felt nauseous and let go the contents over the railing.  Ai wiped her mouth and followed the bean up to the next floor.  Ai leaned over on Risa and was carried back to the room where the two siblings were asleep but Risa wasn’t intending to get some rest until a plan was set in action.

~~
Ogawa woke up from her nap noticing it was the late afternoon and she could smell something good by her bedside.  She sat up and saw her plate was filled with a big steak and mashed potatoes.  Konno was in the middle of her meal quietly eating while trying not to wake up Ogawa.  However, the food was too much of a deterrent to stay asleep and Ogawa dove into her meal.  The writer was puzzled by all the events that were happening and still if the possibility she was in Tokyo, it could be a major breakthrough.

Konno licked her plate clean of food and took a sip of water while eyeballing the food left on Ogawa’s plate.  The other woman didn’t mind the staring but she felt the next step was to get to the bank before Ai did.  However, it had to wait until morning.  Fifteen minutes later, Ogawa stuffed herself with the last piece of meat and sat back to let the food digest in her stomach.

“It is interesting being with people, especially if they are around your age.”  Konno spoke to the ceiling with Ogawa catching the last part of the sentence.

“Ditto.”  Ogawa felt a rush of gas and it zoomed out of her mouth causing a loud belching sound.

“Excuse me.”  She giggled as Konno grinned at her unsanitary move.

They sat in their separate areas in silence until Konno looked at the clock and it was after 7 P.M.  Konno leaned back and let her body contour the blow of the bed as Ogawa sat cross-legged looking at her roommate.  Ogawa closed her eyes for a quick second and her heart started to beat quicker as the thought grew into the possibility of being this close with another female.  Then, she opened her eyes to see Konno passed out with her arms behind her head.

Ogawa crawled over and hovered over Konno’s head as she admired the reporter’s face calmly positioning herself for the move.  She moved her face closer and in a flash her lips touched Konno’s for a second.  Ogawa stumbled off the bed and felt the rush go to her head.  In her daze, Konno woke up seeing Ogawa on the floor moving her eyes side to side.

“Ogawa, what happened?”  Konno asked.

She was relieved that Konno didn’t notice the kiss but she feared that she did know but wanted to get an answer from her instead of the other way around.  She presented a bad poker face and it was the dead giveaway to her crime.  Konno howled at the writer’s innocence and stood her up from the floor.  Konno dusted her off and gave a faint smile as she pressed her lips on top of hers and slowly fell onto the bed.  The hands curled up with each other until Konno broke it off too soon for Ogawa.

“Well you got what you wanted, now I guess we can continue.”  Ogawa bit down on her lip as she wasn’t ready to let go the reporter easily and grabbed her card key.

“Tomorrow, we can start on chasing them.  Tonight, we shall enjoy ourselves.”  Konno smiled at her as they both grabbed their coats and headed to the bar downstairs.

They entered into the bar when the raucous was building within as the men were being controlled by the booze.  They took a corner seat as they looked on the menu for the particular alcohol choices.  It was within their budgets to at least have a few drinks while on the job.  They each ordered a light cocktail mainly to sample the alcohol before making their choice to continue on with harder liquors or get drunk by the cocktails.  Konno watched two people go outside of the bar and looked back at Ogawa who was minding her own by looking around the atmosphere of the room.

“Do you think they will go to the bank tomorrow?”  Konno asked as their drinks arrived at their table.

“Maybe but I am more concerned about having fun instead of tracking them right now.  Fuku-chan really put a damper on our story.”  Ogawa took a swig of her cocktail and the alcohol hit her quickly.

“The government has beaten me down a lot too.  They just want to protect the safety of the people, it’s their job but I think it becomes overbearing once it does come out.”  Ogawa smiled while holding her drink in her hand.

“In hindsight, I wish I could still do the story based on what we have but since they know, it can be censored.”  Konno nodded as she went through half her drink.

“Well we can stay here and just party.”  Konno suggested as Ogawa agreed.

The two continued to drink until the early morning where they swayed every which way to their room.  Konno decided to change despite the other woman was attracted to her.  Ogawa had her thoughts become filthy with her sexy movements and pounced on Konno with her shirt off.  They tangled their bodies until the alcohol won the battle letting them rest.

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Okay I'll be honest, I never expected the story to go this way   Now, I will try to get more of a lighter theme but changing the whole aspect again of the writing.  Whenever, either of the stories do finish up, I will either get a Berryz pairing(s) or C-ute, because I haven't done them for a while and the storyline will be less violent (I hope :gulp:)