Here's to the Night...
Who: Karin, Zaku's mom ((Tomoko)), the Lawyer ((Hiroshi)) and the cop from the karaoke log ((Ichirou))
When: after school
What: After Zaku failed to show up for class, Karin worries and heads off to Zaku's place after school, hoping to see him for the first time since the fight broke out. When she arrives, she notices the police car in the front driveway, a serious indication things weren't improving. Wanting to find as many answers as she could, she approaches Zaku's mom about the situation. Even though she doesn't have any more news to go off of than Karin does, a lot of gaps in Karin's knowledge of Zaku's past are filled.
Where: Zaku's house
Warnings: angst, total lack of Zaku :| *flails*
AIM or LJ? AIM
When her alarm clock went off at 5 AM, Karin rolled over, wide awake already, and turned it off. It had been a rough night and she hadn't gotten much sleep in, a new routine for her. Of course, Karin had always waken up at 5AM to make her usual laps before heading to school, but today they had all been forgotten. After school yesterday, Karin went directly to Zaku's house only to find that no one was home, finding Fathom outside in the yard. This morning, she wanted to go straight to Zaku's and see if she could get him, hoping that she'd find him there, everything ok, and they could walk to school together. However, when she arrived at Zaku's house, about the time she figured he'd be up and getting ready, there was no answer... and Fathom was still outside, almost starving for attention. This didn't settle well with Karin as she eventually stopped looking around for him, not wanting to be caught peeking in the windows in such a well-established neighborhood. Saddened and filled with worry, Karin made her way to school in hopes that, for some reason or another, he'd show up there.
The time had gone so incredibly slow that every minute seemed like an hour while Karin could barely understand the drone of each individual teacher. At lunch, she had made her way around the school, not finding Zaku... or Kidoumaru or Sai. Suddenly she truly felt completely alone in the world. Somehow or another, school ended before the world could, and Karin had to pick herself up and see what else could be done. All day long she thought about nothing but Zaku and thought about what had happened and where he had gotten off to. So, there was only one thought in her mind when the last bell rang: Get to Zaku's. She'd check there for more clues on his disappearance.
The afternoon sun beat down on the neighborhood relentlessly, simply a preview of the summer weather to come. In the neighborhood around Zaku's house, a few people were out watering their lawns and plants, though most preferred the cooler comfort of their air-conditioned homes. Ichirou, the neighborhood patrol cop, stepped out from the cool interior of Zaku's home, after meeting with the runaway's worried mother. He practically melted when he stepped out into the sun, suddenly wishing that he would get a call right away with news about Zaku so he could go back in the home with the nice climate inside. However, nothing came in over his radio. Ichirou started off from the patio to his patrol car that waited patiently in the driveway. He wasn't thrilled about getting into his vehicle... it wasn't air conditioned.
As fast as she could jog with such heavy emotions weighing her down, Karin eventually made it into Zaku's neighborhood again. The landscape and familiar houses led Karin easily to her destination, although she had a fleeting wish that one day she'd come to Zaku's at her own pace and actually admire all the nice houses around this neighborhood. When she had turned down the street, she could see Zaku's house... and spotted the police car. Thinking the worst, Karin picked her pace up to a run and ran up onto the yard, slowing down before hitting his lawn to not frighten the policeman she spotted coming out of the front door.
Ichirou noticed her right away as she came up on the lawn. "Hey, hey, I don't think the Takahashis would appreciate you crossing their lawn. Come and walk on the sidewalk." Ichirou spoke to her in a friendly tone, not trying to seem threatening or as if she had gotten in trouble. He looked her over and noticed her arm was in a sling. "Should you really be running around with an injury like that? Especially with how hot the weather has been." He wondered who the girl was, but figured it would eventually come up in their conversation as he delayed the inevitable: getting in his hot car.
Having been halfway across the lawn by the time the policeman saw her, Karin slowed down to take notice of where she was in proximity to a sidewalk, but thought the best route would be to continue her straight line. Lawn be damned. She walked over to the policeman, taking a moment to catch her breath, before looking up to him, ignoring his questions and further commentary, "What... What happened? Where's Zaku?" -- Wait, The Takahashis?
Ichirou stuttered in surprise as she forced demanding questions onto him. "Ah, so you must be a friend of Zaku's?" He decided to not hesitate with her, since she seemed like she was crossing the lawn with much purpose. "I-I'm sorry but we don't know where he is. There's a few search squads out there trying to find him as we speak, but no clues or anything so far. Apparently, no one has seen him since he left Konoha Gakuen High School yesterday."
Staring intently at the police officer, looking for answers, Karin's eyes widened and then fell within a matter of seconds at the officer's reply. Zaku was gone? She stared down at the ground for a minute, the new information sinking in slowly and making every muscle in her body ache, especially her chest. She looked back up to the policeman slowly, her eyes drained of all their luster, and she swallowed down the lump in her throat, "Do you have any leads? Anything?"
"Nope, nothing. I'm sorry..." Ichirou was trying to be sympathetic towards her, especially after meeting Zaku himself once before. "I'm sure he's fine... he seemed to be the type to be able to take care of himself-" Ichirou jumped in surprise when his radio suddenly went off, then when he came around, he picked it up from his belt and answered. He conversed with his chief a few times and then hung up. "I'm sorry I have to leave you but something else has come up. Unfortunately, it's not related to Zaku. I'll come back here if I hear anything!" Ichirou bowed politely and then hurried into his police car, then drove off.
With the officer's reassuring tone, Karin had wanted to ask him more questions about what he had known, how he could know Zaku would be fine, but they were interrupted and left to hang in the air as the officer quickly excused himself and left. She cursed inwardly, irrational thought turning the quick departure of the officer to show how terrible they must really be to think there was something that could come up more important that making sure Zaku was safe. She stood there for a moment, watching the squad car leave, before realizing that she was standing alone in the driveway with a black SUV that had not been there before. Easily assuming that the vehicle wasn't another cop, Karin turned towards the house to see who had come home and if anyone else would have better answers to her questions than some lackey in a uniform. Walking up to the door, Karin instinctively moved her right arm up, forgetting that it was currently wrapped up and in the sling, and winced in a brief shot of pain. Duh, Karin. Taking its place, her left hand came up, hand balled into a fist, and her knuckles rapped themselves upon the large door beore her.
Instantly, from within, the familiar bark of Fathom echoed in the halls of the house as he came to the door, scratching at it, excited. Inside the house, Zaku's mom, a woman in her late 40's of a somewhat short stature, came hustling to the door as fast as she could, hoping that it would be the cop again, but with better news! She eagerly opened the door and flung it wide open, but was a little disappointed to see a teenage girl with a sling to favor her right arm. Fathom instantly came over to greet Karin, remembering her scent from only a few days earlier. Zaku's mom found it odd that Fathom would be so friendly to someone she had never seen nor met before, so she just asked "Hello. How may I help you? And.. Who are you?"
With the loud barks of Fathom heard from the inside, Karin's mood lightened a bit with the thought of the big, warm, comforting animal that she had come to know and trust. The door swung open quickly, surprising Karin to take a few steps back from the doorway and look up to the older woman that stood there with her eager face changing to disappointment. Karin pretended it didn't hurt, because she knew what the lady must've been going through, but it had stung a little with the lady's quick questions. Karin's sight traveled down to Fathom for a moment, who had come to greet her as well, and she smiled a little at him before looking back up to the lady before her, "Oh, um... I'm Karin?" She had added the exaggerated question at the end for herself, uncertain but assuming that Zaku's mother would be able to recognize her name.
Zaku's mom paused for a little while, but managed a more welcoming expression, still eying the behaviors of Fathom. "Karin...?" She didn't know anything about this girl. "So what brings you here, Karin? It doesn't look like you're trying to sell anything..." Her eyes continued to look over the girl. "Well, I know a new family just moved in next door. Are you one of our new neighbors?"
"Zaku. Where's Zaku?" the words rushed out of her mouth before Karin could consciously stop them. As soon as they were out, Karin wasn't sure if she should've taken that tone. Instead, a more timid voice replaced the previous one, "I'm... I'm so sorry. I came to see what happened to Zaku, and I met the police officer outside before he drove off, but I.. I need better answers than that."
Zaku's mom took a long pause, still a bit bewildered about why a girl would be asking about Zaku. "Are you a friend of his?" she asked, but a lot less intensely than her other questions as she started to feel more emotional at the mentioning of her boy. "...Nobody seems to know where he went. I came home early from a trip because he didn't answer the phone after he had an argument with his father yesterday morning... Now I hear he's been in a fight and then ran off?" She pulled out a tissue from her pocket and sniffled into it a little. "I feel like a terrible parent... Oh, and do come in, Karin." Zaku's mom felt like she could trust this girl, that and she was hating being alone at home during this whole mess.
Following the lady inside, Karin had realized quickly that Zaku had not mentioned her to his parents before, and so she didn't think that she would be the one to verbally say anything about their relationship if she could help it. The way she was going to hold herself, well, that was something she wasn't sure that she could control. "Yes, Ma'am. Zaku's a close friend of mine." Karin listened further - an argument with his Dad? Why didn't Zaku mention that? - not sure whether or not she should say anything about the fight, but she suddenly felt like there was a connection being made from the similar feelings she shared with Zaku's mom, and she calmed herself down to be considerate of the lady before her. "Thank you, Mrs..." Wait, didn't the police officer say Takahashi? What's with that? Maybe he was mistaken, I wouldn't put it past him... "Mrs. Abumi?"
Zaku's mom had led her into the living room where the TV was on when Karin called her 'Mrs. Abumi' and she stopped for a moment before sitting down on the couch, starting to feel worse... "It's Mrs. Takahashi, but you can just call me Tomoko if you'd like to. I'm sorry, Zaku's different last name must be somewhat confusing for you, I'm sure..." She pulled out a tissue once again, to wipe her nose a little. "Everything has been so confusing with him lately! I don't know what he's been up to." Tomoko looked up to Karin, who had yet to sit down. "I just hope he will be okay..."
So I did hear correctly... then what? There was a quick flash of memory running through Karin's mind of the evening when they had rescued Sai from his captor, Danzou. Zaku said something that night... But Karin's memory wouldn't explain why she had been given that brief insight. Deciding not to linger on it, because she was already upset and watching Zaku's mom, Tomoko, get worse, Karin took a seat on the couch and looked over to her. "Things have been confusing lately," Karin said aloud to herself, and then asked out to Tomoko, "What... What's been going on?" She was afraid to ask, afraid to get anything about Zaku from the mouth of anyone but Zaku, but her curiosity got the better of her.
Tomoko felt comforted by Karin taking a seat with her as commercials blazed on the TV as background noise. "He's been acting differently... and then he came home really late once. He said he had gone out for a walk but something tells me he was elsewhere..." she padded a tear away from her eyes. "And he has been doing worse in school... that was what my husband lectured him about yesterday morning." Tomoko sniffled. "...You don't think... he's been involved in gang activity, do you??? He has always been on the aggressive side, even before he lived with us. Oh, please tell me I'm wrong, Karin!"
The wiping away of her tears made Karin feel guilty inside from the easy recognition of the lies covering up the things that had resulted from the time she had spent with Zaku. The sad lady sitting beside her and treating her so warmly didn't deserve this, Karin thought to herself, and it took all Karin had to catch herself from spilling out everything and repenting there. Instead, Karin inhaled deeply and frowned from the lies, her face hoping instead to be noticed, if at all, as worried, "No, Ma'am. I've been around Zaku for a cou- a few months now and I don't think he's gotten involved in any gangs."
Tomoko sniffled a few more times, a little relieved by Karin's words. "...If not gangs, then what has been making him act so strange??" Fathom padded up from around the corner of the couch and instead of going to Tomoko, he came to Karin, looking for attention. He whined pathetically and rested his head on her lap. Tomoko saw the continued friendliness Fathom had towards Karin, and instantly figured Karin must have met the dog before. "Karin... if you don't mind me asking... have you met Fathom before?"
Before she could answer, Karin's left hand had blindly reached out for the comfort offered by the soft, white fur and she pet his head lovingly, appreciating this new friend of hers on so many levels. Tomoko, however, had picked up easily on something Karin didn't fully think about herself. She stopped petting Fathom for a moment, hand rested on his head, and quickly thought up a way to get the thought to Zaku's mom, "Oh... Yes, I came over once before, I think you and your husband were out of town, to study with Zaku. He's a gorgeous dog, and very sweet."
"Hmm... study... right..." Tomoko didn't mean to sound sarcastic, but it came out that way anyways. I don't suppose... "Fathom seems to like you a lot." She watched as the dog seemed to be obsessed with receiving Karin's attention. "I didn't know Zaku had many friends at school. You are most certainly a surprise..."
"Unfortunately, Zaku doesn't have many friends at school, Mrs. Takahashi," Karin said, not being able to call an adult, and Zaku's mom no less, by her given name. With a sigh, Karin continued, "I've been introducing him to my friends and trying to get him to open up more, but it hasn't been very successful. I think he's made a few more friends though," half-lying as she thought about Kidou and Sai who, as they recounted later to her, had honestly tried to stop Zaku yesterday from hurting anyone or himself.
"I see..." Tomoko turned her attention to the TV, though there wasn't anything of interest on. She had a hunch Karin was more to Zaku than what she was making it out to be. "Why is it that he has been getting along with you but none of your friends?" Tomoko looked back to Karin, waiting for an honest response.
Karin hadn't meant to make herself look suspicious as she quickly focused her eyes down to Fathom, scratching him softly behind his ear, "I... I guess because I'm the only girl around him. Our friends like to pick on him, for the most childish of reasons, and I... I like to look out for him." Well, Karin, you didn't technically lie to her, but she's looking right through you. Karin forced a smile as she rubbed the top of Fathom's nose and pretended to be focused on him. Oh, yeah, she's TOTALLY buying that.
Tomoko smirked a little, for the first time that day. "That's good that you look out for him. He's been needing a friend like that for a while... though I'm a bit upset that your friends have been picking on him..." Tomoko put her hand over to Fathom as well, hoping to get Karin to look up and make more eye contact. "...You don't know how he lost his arm, do you?"
"I'm working on fixing their attitudes, too," Karin mumbled to herself...Watching Tomoko's hand come over to the dog, Karin removed her own from Fathom as Tomoko continued speaking. Zaku's arm? That sparked Karin's interest immediately, looking back up to Zaku's mom with a surprised look to her face. "N-no," and she was having a hard time determining whether or not that should be left for Zaku to tell her, too. This trip over was beginning to get to be too much thinking for Karin, who had not wanted to think at all, and she didn't want to get in deeper than Zaku had been ready for, but given the situation at hand, Karin wasn't about to prevent the story from being told, "I've always wanted to ask, but I knew it was probably a sensitive subject and I haven't found a good time to ask him about it..."
Tomoko's expression was rather serious now, but if Karin was to Zaku the person she thought the girl was, then it was completely necessary to say something. "I don't think he would have said anything about it on his own. I don't even think I have the whole story... he doesn't like talking about it and it happened before... before he was living with us." Tomoko wiped another tear away. "Some kids were picking on him, and it got a little..." she paused for a moment, "You see, you shouldn't let your friends pick on him." she paused again. "Zaku lost his arm when some kids were bullying him a few years ago..." then she muttered, "Don't tell him that I've told you this. He thinks it makes him look weak."
Every sentence spoken, every single little word, repeated in Karin's head from the severity of Tomoko's tone. Karin didn't want to miss a single thing she said. At first, Karin nodded, "Yeah, I know he doesn't like to look weak..." She looked down to the carpet, digesting all of this information once more before looking back to Zaku's mom, "That's really terrible, although I'm afraid I don't quite understand. How can a group of kids do that to a person's arm?"
Tomoko leaned back a little, trying to put the whole thing into words herself. "He was in an orphanage... and a pretty low-budget one at that... up in Hokkaido. Nobody really had any control over the kids there..." She took a deep breath, trying to swallow the fact that he wasn't her true son. Now she was struggling, feeling like a terrible parent for not taking care of him as well as she should have... now that he was gone. "I'm not exactly what happened since I wasn't there but... I was told one of the kids there had somehow gotten his hands on some explosive material..." Tomoko averted her eyes so she could pout a little to herself. "I first saw him at the hospital up there... he was a mess!! There was no way to save his arm, Karin..."
Lightning struck Karin's vision as she recalled the picture of Zaku in the hospital that was hanging up in the washroom of this house. It began to get harder and harder to process everything that Tomoko had to say about Zaku and his arm, "Hokkaido... orphanage?" And she then remembered the night at Sai's house, where Zaku had mumbled to himself something that had not been intelligable then but now came through clear, "I'm glad I didn't end up at that orphanage..." Zaku had said. She mentally kicked herself for not being able to pick up better on his words and focusing instead on Sai. And when Tomoko's words played back once more, Karin's eyes widened, after what looked like a long pause to Zaku's mom, and she didn't dare to blink as she gaped, "They put explosives on him? Why in the..." she was dumbfounded, and was fighting the feelings of wanting to comfort Zaku... and kill those damned kids.
Tomoko saw the shock in Karin's face, then sighed with relief, believing it was the right thing to do... just so Zaku's new friend would know and be careful about certain topics with him. "From what I heard, they had more explosives on him, but he couldn't get the last one off before it... before it detonated... I don't know how true that is, though. Zaku won't admit any of it..." Her face looked solemn, realizing that Karin also didn't know he was an orphan. "I'm sorry I had to distress you by telling you that... it just seemed like you should know, since I can tell you care about him rather deeply..." she trailed off, wanting to make sure Karin stayed comfortable and that she was going to stay honest with the girl.
"That's... that's..." Karin stopped, taking a few deep breaths and calming herself down, "Th-thank you... for telling me... While I can't say I feel better," she looked up to the ceiling and willed herself not to cry, "I am glad that you've told me. Now I see why things have been so... so hard to discuss. I feel so dejected when he keeps things to himself," her guard was lowering more and more and she didn't care what kind of friend she looked like anymore, "and now I feel bad for even wanting to ask, but I wanted him to open up more to me. I want him to be able to trust me..."
"I know, dear, I know..." Tomoko put a hand gently on Karin's arm to try and comfort her a little. She was sure now that at least on Karin's end, the two teenagers saw each other as more than 'just friends'. On some level, she smiled to herself, glad that Zaku had found somewhere other than home to feel comfort, but couldn't help but wonder if the relationship was part of him acting differently and running off. "He had a hard time trusting me and my husband as well... don't let it stress you out too bad." she paused again, "He has a lot of difficulty in expressing how he thinks and feels." Another pause, then she tried to lighten the mood a little without going too far off subject, "I am glad that he has kept up with drawing since it happened... I'm sure you've probably seen his works by now. I'm glad because... because he can express himself easily that way. I just wish he would show more people..." Tomoko decided to not mention quite yet how Zaku started drawing in the first place, though she went ahead and hinted to it... "He hasn't been drawing long. Only since he's been living here..."
Meanwhile, the news had continued on to a familiar story, talking about a fight at the Konoha Gakuen school and how the instigator of the fight had vanished into the neighboring residential area. "Authorities claim that the student is potentially dangerous and should not be approached if seen. Any witnesses who know the whereabouts of 16-year-old Abumi Zaku should report to the police right away. He has been missing since yesterday around noon-" Tomoko shut off the television, now a bit angry by what she had just heard. "They're making him sound like some... criminal..."
Karin's face, once perked up at the mere mention of Zaku's name on the television, continued to stare at the blank television, "... why? Why would they do that?" She turned back and looked to Zaku's mother, "The cop that was here earlier? Did he think Zaku was dangerous? I don't think Zaku.... you don't think...? No.." Her mental arguments were only coming out of her mouth in bits and pieces as she had gotten herself even angrier at the policeman from earlier, and the news. What the fuck do they know?! She clenched her fists, both of them, and then lowered her head, "I don't understand... That isn't going to help things," she spat out in a hiss of words before her mood shifted again and she dropped her head down, "Where could he have gone?"
While Karin wasn't looking while she was ranting with her attention on the TV, Tomoko had hunched over, broken out into tears, simply wishing for Zaku to come home. "I don't know anything, Karin...!" she cried, "Everything they say... it contradicts who Zaku is! He is a good kid, I swear!" she cried in guilt, feeling as if this whole thing was her fault because she couldn't be home all the time. "I'm not going on business trips anymore... I need to stay home for him now on..." Tomoko glanced up when Fathom had come over to comfort her, and then after petting him a few times, she looked to Karin. "...I have no idea where he could have went to..." her eyes were red from crying. "I would look for him myself but I need to stay here for if the police come by again or if I get a phonecall..." she whimpered a little, then hugged her arms to her. "I wish I knew Zaku well enough to at least guess about where he went to... any ideas? Karin?" she looked to his friend to possibly know at least... a little something.
Selfishly, Karin had gone through all of the motions to where she had blocked everyone else out and treated herself like she was the only one who cared, but watching this grown woman break down and cry in front of her broke Karin's heart, "Please don't blame yourself for this." After hearing the re-telling of what happened yesterday at lunch, Karin was almost at the point of blaming herself, so watching Zaku's mom take the blame didn't seem right. Karin shifted in her seat, turning her body angled toward Tomoko to get a better view at her, "Don't try to take this on yourself either... I don't know where Zaku went, but I'm not going to sit here and wonder either. There are several places I have in mind to try, and if he's not there, I will continue to search." Her determination was strong, but took a short relapse, "...I won't be able to rest knowing Zaku is out there, and those cops and media hounds are after him like he's the bad guy... I won't let them find him first." Karin slid her left arm under herself and pushed herself up to stand, "Mrs. Takahashi, I'll search in your place."
Tomoko looked up at her as she got up, both stunned and relieved at the same time. She wasn't sure how to respond to Karin's words... this girl that she didn't know anything about no longer than a half hour before. "...Thank you, Karin," she said, wiping a tear away. "I'm glad he has you to count on." Tomoko then got up and walked to a desk at the side of the room and grabbed a sticky note and wrote some numbers on it, then went back over to Karin. "This is my phone number... please call me right away if you find anything!"
With the piece of paper held out, Karin took it gently, looking at Tomoko directly and full of fighting spirit, "No, Thank you, Mrs. Takahashi. I am glad I got to meet you today, although I wish the situation had been different and we got to meet under better conditions. I promise to give you a call as soon as I hear anything." She thought about giving Tomoko her number as well, but felt a little discouraged in knowing that someone else would beat her to him, so she replied back instead, "And if he returns, please get him to give me a call."
Tomoko smiled at Karin's energy towards her adopted son. She is really sweet about him... "Yes... thank you." she bowed in thank you. "We will need to meet again at a better time, and of course I'll have him call you if he shows up..." Tomoko dreaded saying the word 'if'... it only brought the most negative ideas to her mind about what may have become of her boy. "Oh and Karin, do take care of yourself. I don't know what happened to put your arm in that sling, but please be careful about it, okay?"
Karin bowed politely to Tomoko, even without her right arm at her side, and stood straight with a positive, confident smile on her face. "Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine. As will Zaku. Now, if you'll excuse me, please take care." Karin nodded her head in another brief thanks before stuffing the piece of paper into her sling, the closest thing she had to a pocket right now. Looking down at Fathom, she took the opportunity to pet him once more, comforted by his large eyes and soft fur. Without another word being said, as she felt she was now on an important mission, Karin headed on to the door, stopping and looking back to smile at Tomoko and Fathom before heading out the door.
After Karin had left, Tomoko took a deep breath, secretly praying that Karin will be the one to find Zaku first. After she had a moment of silence to herself, she looked down to Fathom, who wagged his tail, completely oblivious to what was going on. "Don't worry, boy. He will be home soon."
Standing outside of Zaku's house after speaking with Zaku's mother, Karin had felt energized and full of confidence. The only thing to do now was... look through Tokyo and find Zaku... the thought alone was very deflating, but she thought about all the things that had happened inside Zaku's house this second time: the TV report, the policeman, and Mrs. Takahashi breaking down into tears. The pessimistic thoughts were pushed aside as her mind focused on the task at hand. She had no leads, and no places she knew he went to get away from it all, but the first two places she thought of were reasonable. Except, the first was school and if he had been even remotely near there, someone else would have definitely found him. Instead, she decided to head for the first place that had come to mind, and so Karin headed out of the neighborhood and looked for the nearest bus stop as she made her way towards the inside of the city.
Less than a mile out of the neighborhood, Karin stood at the bus stop and waited. Her patience had begun to run dry as she stood there, but a bus eventually came and took her into the city. It was inside the city limits that she headed to the park where they spent their second date after the Karaoke. It seemed too easy, but Karin had searched every inch of that small park that didn't look as mysterious and romantic as it did in the moonlight. From there, Karin followed the roads back up towards the Karaoke bar and then headed towards the pizzeria. It was a shot in the dark, that she knew, but any places that had memories of Zaku needed to be checked first. Eventually, with the short date life between the two, she had run out of ideas and the sun had gone down to the horizon. With the little remaining light, she checked other parks in the area but had not found Zaku anywhere.
The sun set and with it went Karin's hopes of finding Zaku. The light was too bad to check darker places, and she had a gut feeling that Zaku would not head into the depths of the city lights. So, she trudged along to the different parks and deserted spots right outside of the city to the point where light pollution had draped a dim light over it all.
Losing track of the time, Karin stopped at one of the parks she was at when even the lights of the outer shops had turned off and the normal workers went home for the night. The water from the fountain only seemed to dehydrate her more and she took a seat on the bench and held her head in her hands, racking her brain over what other places there could be around this huge city for Zaku to hide. A couple walking along the park at night caught the attention of Karin's heightened senses, and she sat up enough to watch them walk past. Sad and lonely, she doubled over and cried as her left arm held onto her legs.
Once her sobs had stopped, everything fell quiet over the area, and the couple had long since made their rounds and exited the park. Her bag that she had brought along and had set down beside her suddenly began to ring and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Hoping and praying that it was a ray of hope, she quickly rummaged through her bag looking for her cell phone. She pulled it out, heart thumping wildly in anticipation, and then leaned back sadly as she saw who was calling. "Home." Swallowing back her tears, Karin answered the phone.
"Hello?" she answered, her voice hoarser than she had imagined it had gotten from the dehydration. Things were going from bad to worse as she waited on her mom's voice. But instead of the bitchy, feminine tone Karin had expected, there was a stern, masculine voice that drifted out of the earpiece, "Karin, do you know what time it is? Your mother and I are worried sick about you," Karin could hear her mother yelling on the other side of the phone, "and we demand that you come home right now. If you're with your boyfriend, we'll take him home, too, but things are definitely going to-"
"Hiroshi?" Karin managed to squeak out, fighting her tears harder with the mention of taking her boyfriend home, too.
He paused, "Yes, Karin? Are you listening to me? You're in some serious trouble and your mom-"
"Hiroshi... please come get me. I'm at that one park outside of Odaiba, where we stopped before and watched the fireworks... Please, come get me, ok?"
Noticing the pleading tone in Karin's voice, Hiroshi could tell that something was off, "All right, Karin. Stay there and I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Please..." Karin whimpered and hung up the phone. Putting it back into her bag, she released all her tears and sobbed there in the dark until Hiroshi had driven to her rescue about 35 minutes later.
Once she had settled in the passenger side of the lawyer's car, Hiroshi pulled off and began asking questions like any worried parent would do, "Karin? Are you ok? You aren't hurt or anything, are you? I was so worried something terrible had happened to you..."
Karin leaned her back into the seat and slouched down into the cushions, "I lost... I lost Zaku. He ran away..."
"Ah!" Hiroshi looked over to Karin with a surprised look, "I was watching the news and I thought that name sounded familiar! Abumi Zaku? That's your boyfriend, Karin? I really don't know about that, Hun, he sounds dangerous and you're probably better off not looking for him..."
"He's not dangerous! You of all people should know that people are innocent until proven guilty! Don't talk about things you don't know about!" Karin sat up in her seat to snap at him, but quickly slouched back down as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. "It's not right. Zaku's not a bad guy, and I'm really worried about him."
Hiroshi looked over to her, picking up on how bad she felt from all the cues, both mentally and physically, he had been picking up from her, "I'm sorry, Karin, really. I believe you, ok? Or, at least, I want to believe you. I'm really lost in this situation and I don't know what happened. But you're right, the TV probably is blowing things out of proportions. If it makes any difference, you know that I'll do whatever I can for you that's in my power and-" he looked over to Karin with a gentle smile, but stopped talking completely when he saw that she had fallen asleep in the seat beside him. He smiled at little, admired by her strong emotions and need to be there for this boy she liked, returning his eyes back to the road and making sure she at least got home safe and sound.
When: after school
What: After Zaku failed to show up for class, Karin worries and heads off to Zaku's place after school, hoping to see him for the first time since the fight broke out. When she arrives, she notices the police car in the front driveway, a serious indication things weren't improving. Wanting to find as many answers as she could, she approaches Zaku's mom about the situation. Even though she doesn't have any more news to go off of than Karin does, a lot of gaps in Karin's knowledge of Zaku's past are filled.
Where: Zaku's house
Warnings: angst, total lack of Zaku :| *flails*
AIM or LJ? AIM
When her alarm clock went off at 5 AM, Karin rolled over, wide awake already, and turned it off. It had been a rough night and she hadn't gotten much sleep in, a new routine for her. Of course, Karin had always waken up at 5AM to make her usual laps before heading to school, but today they had all been forgotten. After school yesterday, Karin went directly to Zaku's house only to find that no one was home, finding Fathom outside in the yard. This morning, she wanted to go straight to Zaku's and see if she could get him, hoping that she'd find him there, everything ok, and they could walk to school together. However, when she arrived at Zaku's house, about the time she figured he'd be up and getting ready, there was no answer... and Fathom was still outside, almost starving for attention. This didn't settle well with Karin as she eventually stopped looking around for him, not wanting to be caught peeking in the windows in such a well-established neighborhood. Saddened and filled with worry, Karin made her way to school in hopes that, for some reason or another, he'd show up there.
The time had gone so incredibly slow that every minute seemed like an hour while Karin could barely understand the drone of each individual teacher. At lunch, she had made her way around the school, not finding Zaku... or Kidoumaru or Sai. Suddenly she truly felt completely alone in the world. Somehow or another, school ended before the world could, and Karin had to pick herself up and see what else could be done. All day long she thought about nothing but Zaku and thought about what had happened and where he had gotten off to. So, there was only one thought in her mind when the last bell rang: Get to Zaku's. She'd check there for more clues on his disappearance.
The afternoon sun beat down on the neighborhood relentlessly, simply a preview of the summer weather to come. In the neighborhood around Zaku's house, a few people were out watering their lawns and plants, though most preferred the cooler comfort of their air-conditioned homes. Ichirou, the neighborhood patrol cop, stepped out from the cool interior of Zaku's home, after meeting with the runaway's worried mother. He practically melted when he stepped out into the sun, suddenly wishing that he would get a call right away with news about Zaku so he could go back in the home with the nice climate inside. However, nothing came in over his radio. Ichirou started off from the patio to his patrol car that waited patiently in the driveway. He wasn't thrilled about getting into his vehicle... it wasn't air conditioned.
As fast as she could jog with such heavy emotions weighing her down, Karin eventually made it into Zaku's neighborhood again. The landscape and familiar houses led Karin easily to her destination, although she had a fleeting wish that one day she'd come to Zaku's at her own pace and actually admire all the nice houses around this neighborhood. When she had turned down the street, she could see Zaku's house... and spotted the police car. Thinking the worst, Karin picked her pace up to a run and ran up onto the yard, slowing down before hitting his lawn to not frighten the policeman she spotted coming out of the front door.
Ichirou noticed her right away as she came up on the lawn. "Hey, hey, I don't think the Takahashis would appreciate you crossing their lawn. Come and walk on the sidewalk." Ichirou spoke to her in a friendly tone, not trying to seem threatening or as if she had gotten in trouble. He looked her over and noticed her arm was in a sling. "Should you really be running around with an injury like that? Especially with how hot the weather has been." He wondered who the girl was, but figured it would eventually come up in their conversation as he delayed the inevitable: getting in his hot car.
Having been halfway across the lawn by the time the policeman saw her, Karin slowed down to take notice of where she was in proximity to a sidewalk, but thought the best route would be to continue her straight line. Lawn be damned. She walked over to the policeman, taking a moment to catch her breath, before looking up to him, ignoring his questions and further commentary, "What... What happened? Where's Zaku?" -- Wait, The Takahashis?
Ichirou stuttered in surprise as she forced demanding questions onto him. "Ah, so you must be a friend of Zaku's?" He decided to not hesitate with her, since she seemed like she was crossing the lawn with much purpose. "I-I'm sorry but we don't know where he is. There's a few search squads out there trying to find him as we speak, but no clues or anything so far. Apparently, no one has seen him since he left Konoha Gakuen High School yesterday."
Staring intently at the police officer, looking for answers, Karin's eyes widened and then fell within a matter of seconds at the officer's reply. Zaku was gone? She stared down at the ground for a minute, the new information sinking in slowly and making every muscle in her body ache, especially her chest. She looked back up to the policeman slowly, her eyes drained of all their luster, and she swallowed down the lump in her throat, "Do you have any leads? Anything?"
"Nope, nothing. I'm sorry..." Ichirou was trying to be sympathetic towards her, especially after meeting Zaku himself once before. "I'm sure he's fine... he seemed to be the type to be able to take care of himself-" Ichirou jumped in surprise when his radio suddenly went off, then when he came around, he picked it up from his belt and answered. He conversed with his chief a few times and then hung up. "I'm sorry I have to leave you but something else has come up. Unfortunately, it's not related to Zaku. I'll come back here if I hear anything!" Ichirou bowed politely and then hurried into his police car, then drove off.
With the officer's reassuring tone, Karin had wanted to ask him more questions about what he had known, how he could know Zaku would be fine, but they were interrupted and left to hang in the air as the officer quickly excused himself and left. She cursed inwardly, irrational thought turning the quick departure of the officer to show how terrible they must really be to think there was something that could come up more important that making sure Zaku was safe. She stood there for a moment, watching the squad car leave, before realizing that she was standing alone in the driveway with a black SUV that had not been there before. Easily assuming that the vehicle wasn't another cop, Karin turned towards the house to see who had come home and if anyone else would have better answers to her questions than some lackey in a uniform. Walking up to the door, Karin instinctively moved her right arm up, forgetting that it was currently wrapped up and in the sling, and winced in a brief shot of pain. Duh, Karin. Taking its place, her left hand came up, hand balled into a fist, and her knuckles rapped themselves upon the large door beore her.
Instantly, from within, the familiar bark of Fathom echoed in the halls of the house as he came to the door, scratching at it, excited. Inside the house, Zaku's mom, a woman in her late 40's of a somewhat short stature, came hustling to the door as fast as she could, hoping that it would be the cop again, but with better news! She eagerly opened the door and flung it wide open, but was a little disappointed to see a teenage girl with a sling to favor her right arm. Fathom instantly came over to greet Karin, remembering her scent from only a few days earlier. Zaku's mom found it odd that Fathom would be so friendly to someone she had never seen nor met before, so she just asked "Hello. How may I help you? And.. Who are you?"
With the loud barks of Fathom heard from the inside, Karin's mood lightened a bit with the thought of the big, warm, comforting animal that she had come to know and trust. The door swung open quickly, surprising Karin to take a few steps back from the doorway and look up to the older woman that stood there with her eager face changing to disappointment. Karin pretended it didn't hurt, because she knew what the lady must've been going through, but it had stung a little with the lady's quick questions. Karin's sight traveled down to Fathom for a moment, who had come to greet her as well, and she smiled a little at him before looking back up to the lady before her, "Oh, um... I'm Karin?" She had added the exaggerated question at the end for herself, uncertain but assuming that Zaku's mother would be able to recognize her name.
Zaku's mom paused for a little while, but managed a more welcoming expression, still eying the behaviors of Fathom. "Karin...?" She didn't know anything about this girl. "So what brings you here, Karin? It doesn't look like you're trying to sell anything..." Her eyes continued to look over the girl. "Well, I know a new family just moved in next door. Are you one of our new neighbors?"
"Zaku. Where's Zaku?" the words rushed out of her mouth before Karin could consciously stop them. As soon as they were out, Karin wasn't sure if she should've taken that tone. Instead, a more timid voice replaced the previous one, "I'm... I'm so sorry. I came to see what happened to Zaku, and I met the police officer outside before he drove off, but I.. I need better answers than that."
Zaku's mom took a long pause, still a bit bewildered about why a girl would be asking about Zaku. "Are you a friend of his?" she asked, but a lot less intensely than her other questions as she started to feel more emotional at the mentioning of her boy. "...Nobody seems to know where he went. I came home early from a trip because he didn't answer the phone after he had an argument with his father yesterday morning... Now I hear he's been in a fight and then ran off?" She pulled out a tissue from her pocket and sniffled into it a little. "I feel like a terrible parent... Oh, and do come in, Karin." Zaku's mom felt like she could trust this girl, that and she was hating being alone at home during this whole mess.
Following the lady inside, Karin had realized quickly that Zaku had not mentioned her to his parents before, and so she didn't think that she would be the one to verbally say anything about their relationship if she could help it. The way she was going to hold herself, well, that was something she wasn't sure that she could control. "Yes, Ma'am. Zaku's a close friend of mine." Karin listened further - an argument with his Dad? Why didn't Zaku mention that? - not sure whether or not she should say anything about the fight, but she suddenly felt like there was a connection being made from the similar feelings she shared with Zaku's mom, and she calmed herself down to be considerate of the lady before her. "Thank you, Mrs..." Wait, didn't the police officer say Takahashi? What's with that? Maybe he was mistaken, I wouldn't put it past him... "Mrs. Abumi?"
Zaku's mom had led her into the living room where the TV was on when Karin called her 'Mrs. Abumi' and she stopped for a moment before sitting down on the couch, starting to feel worse... "It's Mrs. Takahashi, but you can just call me Tomoko if you'd like to. I'm sorry, Zaku's different last name must be somewhat confusing for you, I'm sure..." She pulled out a tissue once again, to wipe her nose a little. "Everything has been so confusing with him lately! I don't know what he's been up to." Tomoko looked up to Karin, who had yet to sit down. "I just hope he will be okay..."
So I did hear correctly... then what? There was a quick flash of memory running through Karin's mind of the evening when they had rescued Sai from his captor, Danzou. Zaku said something that night... But Karin's memory wouldn't explain why she had been given that brief insight. Deciding not to linger on it, because she was already upset and watching Zaku's mom, Tomoko, get worse, Karin took a seat on the couch and looked over to her. "Things have been confusing lately," Karin said aloud to herself, and then asked out to Tomoko, "What... What's been going on?" She was afraid to ask, afraid to get anything about Zaku from the mouth of anyone but Zaku, but her curiosity got the better of her.
Tomoko felt comforted by Karin taking a seat with her as commercials blazed on the TV as background noise. "He's been acting differently... and then he came home really late once. He said he had gone out for a walk but something tells me he was elsewhere..." she padded a tear away from her eyes. "And he has been doing worse in school... that was what my husband lectured him about yesterday morning." Tomoko sniffled. "...You don't think... he's been involved in gang activity, do you??? He has always been on the aggressive side, even before he lived with us. Oh, please tell me I'm wrong, Karin!"
The wiping away of her tears made Karin feel guilty inside from the easy recognition of the lies covering up the things that had resulted from the time she had spent with Zaku. The sad lady sitting beside her and treating her so warmly didn't deserve this, Karin thought to herself, and it took all Karin had to catch herself from spilling out everything and repenting there. Instead, Karin inhaled deeply and frowned from the lies, her face hoping instead to be noticed, if at all, as worried, "No, Ma'am. I've been around Zaku for a cou- a few months now and I don't think he's gotten involved in any gangs."
Tomoko sniffled a few more times, a little relieved by Karin's words. "...If not gangs, then what has been making him act so strange??" Fathom padded up from around the corner of the couch and instead of going to Tomoko, he came to Karin, looking for attention. He whined pathetically and rested his head on her lap. Tomoko saw the continued friendliness Fathom had towards Karin, and instantly figured Karin must have met the dog before. "Karin... if you don't mind me asking... have you met Fathom before?"
Before she could answer, Karin's left hand had blindly reached out for the comfort offered by the soft, white fur and she pet his head lovingly, appreciating this new friend of hers on so many levels. Tomoko, however, had picked up easily on something Karin didn't fully think about herself. She stopped petting Fathom for a moment, hand rested on his head, and quickly thought up a way to get the thought to Zaku's mom, "Oh... Yes, I came over once before, I think you and your husband were out of town, to study with Zaku. He's a gorgeous dog, and very sweet."
"Hmm... study... right..." Tomoko didn't mean to sound sarcastic, but it came out that way anyways. I don't suppose... "Fathom seems to like you a lot." She watched as the dog seemed to be obsessed with receiving Karin's attention. "I didn't know Zaku had many friends at school. You are most certainly a surprise..."
"Unfortunately, Zaku doesn't have many friends at school, Mrs. Takahashi," Karin said, not being able to call an adult, and Zaku's mom no less, by her given name. With a sigh, Karin continued, "I've been introducing him to my friends and trying to get him to open up more, but it hasn't been very successful. I think he's made a few more friends though," half-lying as she thought about Kidou and Sai who, as they recounted later to her, had honestly tried to stop Zaku yesterday from hurting anyone or himself.
"I see..." Tomoko turned her attention to the TV, though there wasn't anything of interest on. She had a hunch Karin was more to Zaku than what she was making it out to be. "Why is it that he has been getting along with you but none of your friends?" Tomoko looked back to Karin, waiting for an honest response.
Karin hadn't meant to make herself look suspicious as she quickly focused her eyes down to Fathom, scratching him softly behind his ear, "I... I guess because I'm the only girl around him. Our friends like to pick on him, for the most childish of reasons, and I... I like to look out for him." Well, Karin, you didn't technically lie to her, but she's looking right through you. Karin forced a smile as she rubbed the top of Fathom's nose and pretended to be focused on him. Oh, yeah, she's TOTALLY buying that.
Tomoko smirked a little, for the first time that day. "That's good that you look out for him. He's been needing a friend like that for a while... though I'm a bit upset that your friends have been picking on him..." Tomoko put her hand over to Fathom as well, hoping to get Karin to look up and make more eye contact. "...You don't know how he lost his arm, do you?"
"I'm working on fixing their attitudes, too," Karin mumbled to herself...Watching Tomoko's hand come over to the dog, Karin removed her own from Fathom as Tomoko continued speaking. Zaku's arm? That sparked Karin's interest immediately, looking back up to Zaku's mom with a surprised look to her face. "N-no," and she was having a hard time determining whether or not that should be left for Zaku to tell her, too. This trip over was beginning to get to be too much thinking for Karin, who had not wanted to think at all, and she didn't want to get in deeper than Zaku had been ready for, but given the situation at hand, Karin wasn't about to prevent the story from being told, "I've always wanted to ask, but I knew it was probably a sensitive subject and I haven't found a good time to ask him about it..."
Tomoko's expression was rather serious now, but if Karin was to Zaku the person she thought the girl was, then it was completely necessary to say something. "I don't think he would have said anything about it on his own. I don't even think I have the whole story... he doesn't like talking about it and it happened before... before he was living with us." Tomoko wiped another tear away. "Some kids were picking on him, and it got a little..." she paused for a moment, "You see, you shouldn't let your friends pick on him." she paused again. "Zaku lost his arm when some kids were bullying him a few years ago..." then she muttered, "Don't tell him that I've told you this. He thinks it makes him look weak."
Every sentence spoken, every single little word, repeated in Karin's head from the severity of Tomoko's tone. Karin didn't want to miss a single thing she said. At first, Karin nodded, "Yeah, I know he doesn't like to look weak..." She looked down to the carpet, digesting all of this information once more before looking back to Zaku's mom, "That's really terrible, although I'm afraid I don't quite understand. How can a group of kids do that to a person's arm?"
Tomoko leaned back a little, trying to put the whole thing into words herself. "He was in an orphanage... and a pretty low-budget one at that... up in Hokkaido. Nobody really had any control over the kids there..." She took a deep breath, trying to swallow the fact that he wasn't her true son. Now she was struggling, feeling like a terrible parent for not taking care of him as well as she should have... now that he was gone. "I'm not exactly what happened since I wasn't there but... I was told one of the kids there had somehow gotten his hands on some explosive material..." Tomoko averted her eyes so she could pout a little to herself. "I first saw him at the hospital up there... he was a mess!! There was no way to save his arm, Karin..."
Lightning struck Karin's vision as she recalled the picture of Zaku in the hospital that was hanging up in the washroom of this house. It began to get harder and harder to process everything that Tomoko had to say about Zaku and his arm, "Hokkaido... orphanage?" And she then remembered the night at Sai's house, where Zaku had mumbled to himself something that had not been intelligable then but now came through clear, "I'm glad I didn't end up at that orphanage..." Zaku had said. She mentally kicked herself for not being able to pick up better on his words and focusing instead on Sai. And when Tomoko's words played back once more, Karin's eyes widened, after what looked like a long pause to Zaku's mom, and she didn't dare to blink as she gaped, "They put explosives on him? Why in the..." she was dumbfounded, and was fighting the feelings of wanting to comfort Zaku... and kill those damned kids.
Tomoko saw the shock in Karin's face, then sighed with relief, believing it was the right thing to do... just so Zaku's new friend would know and be careful about certain topics with him. "From what I heard, they had more explosives on him, but he couldn't get the last one off before it... before it detonated... I don't know how true that is, though. Zaku won't admit any of it..." Her face looked solemn, realizing that Karin also didn't know he was an orphan. "I'm sorry I had to distress you by telling you that... it just seemed like you should know, since I can tell you care about him rather deeply..." she trailed off, wanting to make sure Karin stayed comfortable and that she was going to stay honest with the girl.
"That's... that's..." Karin stopped, taking a few deep breaths and calming herself down, "Th-thank you... for telling me... While I can't say I feel better," she looked up to the ceiling and willed herself not to cry, "I am glad that you've told me. Now I see why things have been so... so hard to discuss. I feel so dejected when he keeps things to himself," her guard was lowering more and more and she didn't care what kind of friend she looked like anymore, "and now I feel bad for even wanting to ask, but I wanted him to open up more to me. I want him to be able to trust me..."
"I know, dear, I know..." Tomoko put a hand gently on Karin's arm to try and comfort her a little. She was sure now that at least on Karin's end, the two teenagers saw each other as more than 'just friends'. On some level, she smiled to herself, glad that Zaku had found somewhere other than home to feel comfort, but couldn't help but wonder if the relationship was part of him acting differently and running off. "He had a hard time trusting me and my husband as well... don't let it stress you out too bad." she paused again, "He has a lot of difficulty in expressing how he thinks and feels." Another pause, then she tried to lighten the mood a little without going too far off subject, "I am glad that he has kept up with drawing since it happened... I'm sure you've probably seen his works by now. I'm glad because... because he can express himself easily that way. I just wish he would show more people..." Tomoko decided to not mention quite yet how Zaku started drawing in the first place, though she went ahead and hinted to it... "He hasn't been drawing long. Only since he's been living here..."
Meanwhile, the news had continued on to a familiar story, talking about a fight at the Konoha Gakuen school and how the instigator of the fight had vanished into the neighboring residential area. "Authorities claim that the student is potentially dangerous and should not be approached if seen. Any witnesses who know the whereabouts of 16-year-old Abumi Zaku should report to the police right away. He has been missing since yesterday around noon-" Tomoko shut off the television, now a bit angry by what she had just heard. "They're making him sound like some... criminal..."
Karin's face, once perked up at the mere mention of Zaku's name on the television, continued to stare at the blank television, "... why? Why would they do that?" She turned back and looked to Zaku's mother, "The cop that was here earlier? Did he think Zaku was dangerous? I don't think Zaku.... you don't think...? No.." Her mental arguments were only coming out of her mouth in bits and pieces as she had gotten herself even angrier at the policeman from earlier, and the news. What the fuck do they know?! She clenched her fists, both of them, and then lowered her head, "I don't understand... That isn't going to help things," she spat out in a hiss of words before her mood shifted again and she dropped her head down, "Where could he have gone?"
While Karin wasn't looking while she was ranting with her attention on the TV, Tomoko had hunched over, broken out into tears, simply wishing for Zaku to come home. "I don't know anything, Karin...!" she cried, "Everything they say... it contradicts who Zaku is! He is a good kid, I swear!" she cried in guilt, feeling as if this whole thing was her fault because she couldn't be home all the time. "I'm not going on business trips anymore... I need to stay home for him now on..." Tomoko glanced up when Fathom had come over to comfort her, and then after petting him a few times, she looked to Karin. "...I have no idea where he could have went to..." her eyes were red from crying. "I would look for him myself but I need to stay here for if the police come by again or if I get a phonecall..." she whimpered a little, then hugged her arms to her. "I wish I knew Zaku well enough to at least guess about where he went to... any ideas? Karin?" she looked to his friend to possibly know at least... a little something.
Selfishly, Karin had gone through all of the motions to where she had blocked everyone else out and treated herself like she was the only one who cared, but watching this grown woman break down and cry in front of her broke Karin's heart, "Please don't blame yourself for this." After hearing the re-telling of what happened yesterday at lunch, Karin was almost at the point of blaming herself, so watching Zaku's mom take the blame didn't seem right. Karin shifted in her seat, turning her body angled toward Tomoko to get a better view at her, "Don't try to take this on yourself either... I don't know where Zaku went, but I'm not going to sit here and wonder either. There are several places I have in mind to try, and if he's not there, I will continue to search." Her determination was strong, but took a short relapse, "...I won't be able to rest knowing Zaku is out there, and those cops and media hounds are after him like he's the bad guy... I won't let them find him first." Karin slid her left arm under herself and pushed herself up to stand, "Mrs. Takahashi, I'll search in your place."
Tomoko looked up at her as she got up, both stunned and relieved at the same time. She wasn't sure how to respond to Karin's words... this girl that she didn't know anything about no longer than a half hour before. "...Thank you, Karin," she said, wiping a tear away. "I'm glad he has you to count on." Tomoko then got up and walked to a desk at the side of the room and grabbed a sticky note and wrote some numbers on it, then went back over to Karin. "This is my phone number... please call me right away if you find anything!"
With the piece of paper held out, Karin took it gently, looking at Tomoko directly and full of fighting spirit, "No, Thank you, Mrs. Takahashi. I am glad I got to meet you today, although I wish the situation had been different and we got to meet under better conditions. I promise to give you a call as soon as I hear anything." She thought about giving Tomoko her number as well, but felt a little discouraged in knowing that someone else would beat her to him, so she replied back instead, "And if he returns, please get him to give me a call."
Tomoko smiled at Karin's energy towards her adopted son. She is really sweet about him... "Yes... thank you." she bowed in thank you. "We will need to meet again at a better time, and of course I'll have him call you if he shows up..." Tomoko dreaded saying the word 'if'... it only brought the most negative ideas to her mind about what may have become of her boy. "Oh and Karin, do take care of yourself. I don't know what happened to put your arm in that sling, but please be careful about it, okay?"
Karin bowed politely to Tomoko, even without her right arm at her side, and stood straight with a positive, confident smile on her face. "Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine. As will Zaku. Now, if you'll excuse me, please take care." Karin nodded her head in another brief thanks before stuffing the piece of paper into her sling, the closest thing she had to a pocket right now. Looking down at Fathom, she took the opportunity to pet him once more, comforted by his large eyes and soft fur. Without another word being said, as she felt she was now on an important mission, Karin headed on to the door, stopping and looking back to smile at Tomoko and Fathom before heading out the door.
After Karin had left, Tomoko took a deep breath, secretly praying that Karin will be the one to find Zaku first. After she had a moment of silence to herself, she looked down to Fathom, who wagged his tail, completely oblivious to what was going on. "Don't worry, boy. He will be home soon."
Standing outside of Zaku's house after speaking with Zaku's mother, Karin had felt energized and full of confidence. The only thing to do now was... look through Tokyo and find Zaku... the thought alone was very deflating, but she thought about all the things that had happened inside Zaku's house this second time: the TV report, the policeman, and Mrs. Takahashi breaking down into tears. The pessimistic thoughts were pushed aside as her mind focused on the task at hand. She had no leads, and no places she knew he went to get away from it all, but the first two places she thought of were reasonable. Except, the first was school and if he had been even remotely near there, someone else would have definitely found him. Instead, she decided to head for the first place that had come to mind, and so Karin headed out of the neighborhood and looked for the nearest bus stop as she made her way towards the inside of the city.
Less than a mile out of the neighborhood, Karin stood at the bus stop and waited. Her patience had begun to run dry as she stood there, but a bus eventually came and took her into the city. It was inside the city limits that she headed to the park where they spent their second date after the Karaoke. It seemed too easy, but Karin had searched every inch of that small park that didn't look as mysterious and romantic as it did in the moonlight. From there, Karin followed the roads back up towards the Karaoke bar and then headed towards the pizzeria. It was a shot in the dark, that she knew, but any places that had memories of Zaku needed to be checked first. Eventually, with the short date life between the two, she had run out of ideas and the sun had gone down to the horizon. With the little remaining light, she checked other parks in the area but had not found Zaku anywhere.
The sun set and with it went Karin's hopes of finding Zaku. The light was too bad to check darker places, and she had a gut feeling that Zaku would not head into the depths of the city lights. So, she trudged along to the different parks and deserted spots right outside of the city to the point where light pollution had draped a dim light over it all.
Losing track of the time, Karin stopped at one of the parks she was at when even the lights of the outer shops had turned off and the normal workers went home for the night. The water from the fountain only seemed to dehydrate her more and she took a seat on the bench and held her head in her hands, racking her brain over what other places there could be around this huge city for Zaku to hide. A couple walking along the park at night caught the attention of Karin's heightened senses, and she sat up enough to watch them walk past. Sad and lonely, she doubled over and cried as her left arm held onto her legs.
Once her sobs had stopped, everything fell quiet over the area, and the couple had long since made their rounds and exited the park. Her bag that she had brought along and had set down beside her suddenly began to ring and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Hoping and praying that it was a ray of hope, she quickly rummaged through her bag looking for her cell phone. She pulled it out, heart thumping wildly in anticipation, and then leaned back sadly as she saw who was calling. "Home." Swallowing back her tears, Karin answered the phone.
"Hello?" she answered, her voice hoarser than she had imagined it had gotten from the dehydration. Things were going from bad to worse as she waited on her mom's voice. But instead of the bitchy, feminine tone Karin had expected, there was a stern, masculine voice that drifted out of the earpiece, "Karin, do you know what time it is? Your mother and I are worried sick about you," Karin could hear her mother yelling on the other side of the phone, "and we demand that you come home right now. If you're with your boyfriend, we'll take him home, too, but things are definitely going to-"
"Hiroshi?" Karin managed to squeak out, fighting her tears harder with the mention of taking her boyfriend home, too.
He paused, "Yes, Karin? Are you listening to me? You're in some serious trouble and your mom-"
"Hiroshi... please come get me. I'm at that one park outside of Odaiba, where we stopped before and watched the fireworks... Please, come get me, ok?"
Noticing the pleading tone in Karin's voice, Hiroshi could tell that something was off, "All right, Karin. Stay there and I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Please..." Karin whimpered and hung up the phone. Putting it back into her bag, she released all her tears and sobbed there in the dark until Hiroshi had driven to her rescue about 35 minutes later.
Once she had settled in the passenger side of the lawyer's car, Hiroshi pulled off and began asking questions like any worried parent would do, "Karin? Are you ok? You aren't hurt or anything, are you? I was so worried something terrible had happened to you..."
Karin leaned her back into the seat and slouched down into the cushions, "I lost... I lost Zaku. He ran away..."
"Ah!" Hiroshi looked over to Karin with a surprised look, "I was watching the news and I thought that name sounded familiar! Abumi Zaku? That's your boyfriend, Karin? I really don't know about that, Hun, he sounds dangerous and you're probably better off not looking for him..."
"He's not dangerous! You of all people should know that people are innocent until proven guilty! Don't talk about things you don't know about!" Karin sat up in her seat to snap at him, but quickly slouched back down as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. "It's not right. Zaku's not a bad guy, and I'm really worried about him."
Hiroshi looked over to her, picking up on how bad she felt from all the cues, both mentally and physically, he had been picking up from her, "I'm sorry, Karin, really. I believe you, ok? Or, at least, I want to believe you. I'm really lost in this situation and I don't know what happened. But you're right, the TV probably is blowing things out of proportions. If it makes any difference, you know that I'll do whatever I can for you that's in my power and-" he looked over to Karin with a gentle smile, but stopped talking completely when he saw that she had fallen asleep in the seat beside him. He smiled at little, admired by her strong emotions and need to be there for this boy she liked, returning his eyes back to the road and making sure she at least got home safe and sound.