Pendulum - The Butterfly Effect (Bleach FF)

9: The Silent Witness

Yuu fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. She had no appetite and couldn't focus. Her mind kept wan

dering away, thinking about what was happening outside of the village and worrying about the moody little sister who was shockingly still sleeping in her bedroom just around the corner.

She sighed and put down the chicken wing she was about to pretend to nibble.

"I'm going to go and check on Kimi, it's not like her to miss dinner. Please excuse me." Her father nodded and allowed her to leave.

Kimi's light was off which meant that she was definitely still sleeping. Yuu rapped the wooden frame of the door lightly with her knuckles. "Kimi? Are you ok in there?"

No answer.

"Can I come in?"

No answer. 

Yuu frowned. It wasn't like her to plainly ignore people either. She slid the door open slightly and poked her head in. To her surprise the room was empty.

"What the- Kimi?" No reply. "She must be in the bathroom"

She knocked on the bathroom door and called again but had no reply. The door wasn't locked either, she could walk straight into the dark, empty bathroom. By the time she had checked the closet, she was panicking.

"Kimi? Come out now, stop playing games, This isn't funny!" Yuu ran outside and scanned the courtyard. She wasn't sitting up in the cherry blossom tree as she often did when she wanted to be left alone, nor was she sleeping on the roof watching the stars, as she did when the sky was clear at night. "KIMI!?" Yuu yelled out.

She ran back to the dining room and crashed into the room. "Kimi's gone! She's not in her room or in her garden, I can't find her!" She panted.

Shin slammed his cutlery down and stood up. "You're sure she's gone? Have you checked the rest of the manor?"

"No, only her private quarters. She doesn't often visit the rest of the house"

"Check anyway, Yoshino and Chie help too, we must find her." They all left the room and split up to search, Yoshino heading off towards her office at the back right of the manor in a rush, Chie bustled away to the kitchen muttering under her breath about insolent kids, and Shin joined Yuu at the front leftwing where Kimi's room was. He too found nothing.

"Where on earth has that girl disappeared to? She wouldn't have-"

"Left the village?" Yuu offered. "I think she would Dad..." she paused. "What if she gets hurt... or attacked. Dad we've got to find her!" now Yuu was more stressed-out than ever, tears welling up in her eyes and her voice cracking.

"Why would she leave; She was told, specifically told, to stay put-" his eyes widened for a moment as he realized something. "Yuu, did she wake you up this morning? Did she tell you about having to stay at home?"

Yuu tilted her head in confusion. "No, Mom woke me up... She told me about it and said that you were the one who told her..."

Shin cursed loudly. "I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted her to go off on her own! I bet she followed me!"

"Dad! Calm down! What happened?" Yuu demanded as her usually calm father stormed off back into the house furiously. "DAD!?"

"Kimi must have overheard me discussing the situation with one of the Soul Reapers this morning. I'm betting she heard everything that we've been trying to keep from her. Damn it!" he explained as they pulled thick winter coats on and ran back out into the front courtyard. "We need to find the Soul Reapers and explain before they find her-"