Hidden In Darkness: Kusanagi Part 1

Chapter 9: An Unbreakable String Called Bonds

We searched for Chihiro, store after store. However, it was to no avail. It was like chasing something that kept moving around without stop. In fact, it was already dusk soon and most people already left the shopping district. We were not even sure Chihiro was still in the shopping district. We tried calling her, but she refused to pick up. Perhaps we knew we were after her. In any case, the chase was going nowhere.

"Ahhh! My feet are starting to murder me! This is going nowhere!" Kikuri complained as she was on the verge of falling onto her knees.

"She is right. Titania can still sense that the host is still in the shopping district, but we can't find Chihiro-san anywhere. Is there a place that she always go to, Kurou-kun?" Shizuka asked.

A place that she always went to. I tried my best to recall such a place. For the first few seconds, I could not think of anything. However, I then remembered something. Every time, we hung out with her, she always checked out the bookstore.

"The bookstore, that's the place we should go!"

"Bookstore? Is your friend a bookworm or something?" Nobunaga asked.

I then recalled the the thing Chihiro always does when she visits the bookstore. Staring at a book cover of a yaoi novel. Drooling  while in deep thought...

"Not exactly...." I answered her question.

"Still, it sounds like a good idea. We might be able to find clues there." Shizuka praised.

All of us quickly approached the bookstore. However, as we expected, besides the shopkeeper, there was no one there. We went up to the shopkeeper and asked if he had seen Chihiro.

"Oh yes, her. Kizuha-chan was a little strange today. She told me if you all are looking for her, she would be in the Four-Road Alleyway." The shopkeeper stated.

"I'm sorry, the 'Four-Road Alleyway'?" Shizuka asked.

"What? Have you been living in your house for your entire life? The Four-Road Alleyway is the alleyway that connects to the different parts of the district. Everyone knows that." The shopkeeper explained.

"Oh! I'm... I apologize..." Shizuka said in embarrassment.

I guessed I should had told her about something common to people like that. I decided to apologize later.

"Why does she want to meet us? More importantly, how does she know we would come here? Is it an issue of a challenge like in old samurai films? Oh! I'm sorry, I'm thinking out loud again, aren't I?" Kikuri apologized.

"Well, you may not be far off. We had been calling her. She must had figured out we know it's her. And instead of running, she's going to fight us." Nobunaga deduced calmly.

"So that means it is really is her, what do we do... once... we confront her?" I asked hesitantly.

Shizuka's eyes widened. It was the first time I saw hesitation in her eyes.

"We... We will think about it once we get there... Wait a minute, where is Titania?"

The four of us scanned our surroundings. Not long after, we found her in the adult section. We went up to her and we discovered that she was reading the yaoi novel that Chihiro liked. The three girls were surprised and had light pink on their cheeks. Even Shizuka was shocked by this development. I quickly mustered my courage and marched towards Titania.

"Titania, what are you doing!?" I questioned her.

"Such material is not in my database. Collection of data is needed... Hmm?" Titania said