Original Fiction: Project REanimation Chapter 5

[KuroTan]

i decided to speed up the posting of my chapter 5 for Capernicus.It's not much but I read that whole thread u posted in the misc. forum and I felt kinda upset about what that user said about you and stuff so I hope this makes you feel better.

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Shuji half-heartedly ate a burger for his lunch as around him the sounds of the city played music. After spending a futile five hours searching for Kikko, starting with the school and past all the other places she always went to and culminating here at Akihabara – anime central – for a combined total of more than ten kilometers of walking, he had nothing to show for his pains except for maybe a more worn down pair of shoes. He was just about ready to give up.

Where are you Kikko? He asked silently as he scanned every passer by’s face for a sign of her familiar smile, a task made impossible by the sheer number of people out on the streets. Students out to buy lunch, couples strolling around and the occasional odd tourist flocked all around him.

Frustrated, he stood up to throw away the remains of his lunch into the dust bin.

And ended up spilling it all over a rotund American who had just come out from a shop carrying what seemed to be a very pink ball of fluff.

But Shuji was already running down the street before the first drop of soda even fell on her. Out of the corner of his eye, he had just seen a very familiar hairstyle with very familiar hair band. There was no doubt in his mind that he had finally found his friend.

“Kikko!” he yelled out, causing a shocked group of elderly ladies to break down into hysterics. “Kikko!”

Shops past him at a blur as he struggled to catch up to her. She went left here he knew. There! He put on an extra burst of speed, elbowing a couple of people who would have been glad to return the favor had they managed to catch him. He saw her cross a street and was about to follow suit when a speeding car came barreling from nowhere, momentarily blocking him. When the street was finally clear for him to cross, he only managed to catch a brief glimpse of her before she turned into an alley. Through sheer muscle power, he managed to clear a path through a heavy rush of commuters going the opposite way.

Winded and slightly bruised, Shuji stepped into the alley. He was just in time to see her disappear into a doorway.

“Kikko!” he cried out as he started towards the closing door. “Kikko wait, it’s me Shuji!”

As he opened the door he saw that it led to a set of stairs. Climbing it two at a time he emerged into a dimly lit room. Scanning the room wildly he saw that it was furnished with only the barest of necessities. A table was pushed at a corner and four chairs were draped in the light of a single hanging light bulb. At the far end of the room was an area partitioned of by a set of curtains.

“Kikko?” he called out tentatively. He knew he saw her come up here. “Kikko, it’s me Shuji.”

“I see you took the bait,” A man’s voice suddenly rang out. “I must commend my young assistant. She must have been very convincing to make you believe that you were in pursuit of your friend, Kikko was it?”

Shuji whirled around to confront the voice and saw a young man climbing up the stairs. He was dressed in a suit, which seemed out of place in the summer heat and was wearing top hat. He gave an impression of gentleman nobility.

“W – who are you?” Shuji asked confused. “What bait?”

“Not a what,” the man said as he gave a little chuckle. “A who.”
Behind him Shuji heard the sound of swishing curtains. He was tempted to look behind him but something told him he shouldn’t take his eyes off from the ascending gentleman. Must be his hat.

Shuji settled for a 50 -50 split. He positioned himself sideways to see both the man and who, he saw now, was a girl who wouldn’t look out of place of a high school. From Shuji’s perspective, she was cute. She was also 100% definitely not Kikko. Okay, maybe 95% since she had the same hairstyle as her.

“I’m sorry,” the cute girl said meekly. “It was Seeker’s idea.”

“Uhm... Well actually, ah, I should be the one apologizing.” Shuji said, clearly embarrassed. “I just barged into your house. I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

“Young man, weren’t you listening?” the man said with another chuckle as he entered the room. “You were supposed to think she was someone else. Namely, your friend Kikko.”

“How do you know about Kikko?” Shuji demanded.

“The way you were shouting her name like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole of Akihabara knows about Kikko,” the man said with a smile.

Shuji felt a twinge of embarrassment. “I was…” Then it struck him. “You said bait. You mean you lured me here?”

“Precisely,” The man said as he took off his suit to reveal a pair of suspenders. He motioned for Shuji to sit in one of the chairs before he sat down himself. The girl sat down as well.

“You were most cleverly deceived by my apprentice, Ms. Ran Toyomi,” the man gestured at the girl. “And she has led you to me, the solution to all your problems. Or as I am known in the outside world, The Artful Seeker.”

“I – I’m sorry…but I don’t get it.” Shuji said as he remained standing.

“Please, do sit down first,” Seeker requested as he patted the chair beside him.

Wordlessly, unsure where this was going to lead him, Shuji sat down.

Seeker smiled. “Now, Shuji was it not? Correct me if I am wrong, but you are missing someone yes?”

Shuji nodded mutely.

“I presume that it is your friend Kikko who is missing yes?” Nod. “She is the same height as my apprentice and wears her hair the same way?” Another nod. “She doesn’t want to be found yes?” Sigh. Nod. “She likes anime, has a craving for ice cream, specifically vanilla and strawberry flavored ones, and has a subscription on Newtip?”

“How did you –”

“The first one was elementary.” The man said, his eyes twinkling. “You are in Akihabara, a place known for its anime stores and electronic merchandises. As a girl, I had assumed that there was a higher percentage that she would be here for the anime bit. I have inferred from my apprentice Ran that girls her age, as she puts it, ‘absolutely adores anything cute’,” With a smile at his blushing apprentice he continued. “The next part was quite tricky and if we had not had the good fortune to be following you as you went around the ice cream parlors in search for your friend we would not have been able to draw that con – ”

“Wait, you were following me?” Shuji interrupted. “Why?”
“
Ah a very good question,” he answered. “And something I think my apprentice should answer. Go on. Tell him.”

The girl glanced at Shuji. “Well, I was just on my way here from school when I saw you pass by with a much focused look on your face. At first I thought you were on your way to a date. Sorry,” she added when she saw him blush. “But then I realized that you were going into each shop and every time you went out of one, your face would just, for a moment, look downcast. That when I assumed that you were looking for something. I was about to leave it at that when I noticed that you were looking at everyone’s face, scanning for something. That’s when I realized that it wasn’t a something you were looking for, but a someone. And it was then that Seeker found me. After I told him about you he seemed very interested so we trailed you.”

Seeker gave him a smile. “I must admit, you piqued my curiosity. We followed you as you traipsed around the whole district and soon it became obvious to us that you were looking for a girl who had hair that only reached halfway down her neck”

“H – how?”

“You spent a fraction of a second more time looking at girls whose hair reached halfway down their necks than those who did not.”

“W – what about the blue cat?” Shuji asked. “How did you know that that was her favorite hair band?”

“Oh was it? It was Ran who picked it. Care to explain Ran?”

“You were looking at it for a long time in that one shop,” said Ran. “I – I thought it meant something so when Seeker asked me to pretend to be your missing friend I immediately went back to buy it. I didn’t know it was her favorite hair band though.”

“Brilliant deduction my young apprentice,” Seeker complimented her.

“What about her subscription to Newtip?”

“The anime magazine? I must admit, that, that was a guess,” then with a huge laugh he stood up and shook Shuji’s hand. “Now, about your problem, I think I can help.”

“You can?” Shuji asked, still a bit confused with how thing were turning out. “How?”

“They don’t call me the Artful Seeker for nothing young man,” Seeker said with a grin. “There is nothing that I can not find.”

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There we go.I sure hope I got my facts right in this one.^^' oh and Cap, that guy had no right to talk that way about you and stuff.I'd have posted but the thread was already closed.

Chapter 6's right around the corner.haha.

[Capernicus]

lol First, it was a girl. And apparently the whole board noticed she was out of line. I am not a tramp by any definition. lol

You know, I'm a little confused about the way this chapter played out. It seemed odd to me, that a guy would be able to deduce so much, or that he would even care. But I guess that will be explained in the next chapter. =x *goes off to read it*