"KUROO!!" Daichi yelled out as he slammed open your bedroom door and stormed out towards the living room in nothing but his boxers to find the tall, messy haired man sitting in front of the television watching some show in his pajama bottoms. He was munching away on a bowl of cereal and milk, a box of opened honey oats sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed, his hair was messier than usual, and a bored expression covered his face as he turned and blinked at Daichi.
"What?" he mumbled, chewing on a mouthful of cereal.
"Three months....THREE MONTHS I have been getting flowers for Nori. Sending them to her office or bringing them to her before dates."
"Yea, so?" he lazily eyed Daichi as he placed another spoonful into his mouth.
"SHE'S ALLERGIC, AND YOU COULDN'T TELL ME?"
Kuroo snorted and began to choke. Ordinarily, Daichi would have offered help, but he was too annoyed to bother so he continued to watch as Kuroo smacked at his chest and continued with his fits of coughing until they gradually turned into laughter.
"Finally figured it out?" Kuroo wheezed as he wiped at the tears running down his face.
"Daichi, I'm so sorry, I should have told you sooner! We can still go to the flower garden today. I'll just take an antihistamine, and I'll be fine!" you rushed out after him once you had pulled on his t-shirt that you found at the foot of your bed and a pair of shorts.
"No, it's not your fault at all. You don't need to feel bad. And of course not, we'll go do something else. The flower garden isn't the issue here," Daichi said as he grabbed the back of your head and pulled you in so he could kiss the side of your hair, "The issue is Kuroo."
"What can I say? I like flowers. They freshen the place up. Her being allergic just meant I got to keep them in my room. Girls always get flowers. Why can't anyone ever get me flowers for once? Watching Nori freak out about how it was too late to tell you she's allergic since so much time had already passed was entertainment on its own, however," Kuroo howled.
"I can explain! It's not that I don't personally look at gifts! I've just told my assistant to share things or display them in the common area for everyone to enjoy and for her to just save the cards because that's what I care about anyways! She holds onto them until I have some proper downtime to individually call and say thank you! By the time she had even given me that first card from you, it had been a few weeks, and you'd already sent another bouquet at work and then also brought one in person before one of our dates. I COULDN'T TELL YOU I'M ALLERGIC AFTER THREE WHOLE BOUQUETS!" Daichi watched you bring your palms to cover your eyes as you erratically explained the situation.
"Hey, look at me," he gently spoke as he dragged your hands away from your face. "How many gifts do you get anyways?" he asked, genuinely concerned about how popular his new girlfriend might be.
"Jealous?" Kuroo smirked from his spot on the sofa, still munching away on his cereal as he wiggled his eyebrows at Daichi.
"Shut up, asshole."
"Oh stop that, they're always from clients. I do a lot of pro-bono work, so it's their way of saying thanks."
"I see, well yea. If it's anyone's fault, it's that guy's. He's known about this, and he still let me get you things that make you break out in hives. Hell, he even helped me pick out a few bouquets because they were favorites. Some best friend you have," Daichi snorted as he wrapped you into a hug.
"I didn't lie...they were favorites....mine."
Daichi reached for his TMPD sweatshirt that was lying on top of the kitchen bar and balled it up before taking aim at Kuroo and smacking him straight in the head.
"Oi, oi, you're gonna make me spill the milk!" he cried, his voice muffled through the sweatshirt that was now covering his face. His hands were held up in front of him, prioritizing the attempt to balance the bowl of cereal and milk so it didn't spill. "This is Alisa's couch! If I get a stain on it, she's going to fly back from Russia just to kill me!"
"All the more reason for us to want you to drop your bowl right now," you frowned as Daichi went back to embracing you.
"Yea, yea. Why don't you kids go back and finish what you started last night so I can watch my show in peace.....what, you didn't think I could hear?" Kuroo grinned once he saw Daichi's red face. "Aww Daichi, yes...right there, right there....you're sooooooooo good," Kuroo squeaked out in a high pitched voice.
"I don't sound like that!" you glared.
"Mhhmm....if you say so. About time though...You guys have been dating for what? three months now?...way past long enough. Me and Suga were about to start a bet," Kuroo cackled, adding more cereal to the leftover milk in his bowl before taking another fistful and dropping it straight into his mouth.
"Yea? That's more than you can say. You've seen Alisa once...was it even once in the last six months?" Daichi asked with a smug look on his face as Kuroo's grin immediately dropped. "Anyways, we'll let you get back to your Saturday morning shows. We have some business to finish," Daichi sneered as he lifted you over his shoulder causing you to let out a shriek before he carried you back to your room.
"Ugh, I hate this life," Kuroo mumbled to himself as he turned up the volume to the television to drown out whatever sounds you and Daichi would be making soon enough.
--
*Contrary to common belief, federal law prohibits the observance of a waiting period before accepting a missing person's report.
Hour 4. Friday 12:00PM
Daichi scrambled out of Kuroo's car before Kuroo even had a chance to come to a complete stop. He rushed up the stairs of the police precinct and entered into the bustling building. He ignored the various greetings directed his way and almost even tripped over a young, brown haired boy who didn't look like he could be any older than four years old. He was probably accompanying one of the various adults in the office, but Daichi didn't bother to look more into it as he made a straight beeline towards his destination. The door was closed, so Daichi took a deep breath to calm himself as his eyes scanned the metal plate that was bolted to the outside of it.
Superintendent
Tetsuya Imai
Letting his body's autopilot take over, Daichi rapidly knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter before turning the handle and walking in only to be greeted by a face he hadn't been expecting.
"Suga? What are you doing here?"
"Oh Daichi, I was hoping to run into you. If you have a minute, can I speak with you about something?"
"I'm sorry, I can't right now, Suga. Superintendent Imai," Daichi urgently turned to address his boss, the dark haired man sitting at the desk across from Suga, "I need to file a missing person's report for my wife."
--
*There are a variety of reasons for why a person voluntarily disappears including mental illness, depression, substance abuse, credit problems, abusive relationships, or marital discord.
Hour 39. Saturday 11:00PM
Daichi tilted his head back and banged it on the cabinet he was leaning against as he attempted to get every last drop of liquid out of the bottle he was drinking from. The sharp pain made him wince as it slowly dulled with each pound of his heart beat. Taking his free hand to gingerly press on the injured spot, he allowed the glass bottle in his other hand to fall to the floor and shatter as he reached for another bottle. The new bottle got stuck in the cardboard case, forcing him to tug at it a little harder which made him lose his balance once it was finally free. The momentum of the pull sent him toppling sideways, forcing him to catch his weight with the hand he had on his head. Instinctively, he braced himself with his palm, right on top of a large, shattered piece of glass from one of the previous bottles he had drank.
"Whoops," he said out loud to the empty house as he let out a chuckle and looked at the piece of glass sticking out of his skin. Blood was starting to gush out. He knew if he had been sober, it probably would have been stinging, but as luck would have it, he was no where near sober.
He pulled the large piece of glass out and dropped it to the floor with a clatter, splattering drops of his blood on the floor before shuffling to his feet. Using his bloody hand to hold himself steady against the kitchen island, he winced as the cool surface burned against the open wound.
"Shit," he breathed to himself once he realized how he was leaving bloody handprints all over the place. "Well, I guess if you wanna be mad, you'd haf ter be here," he hiccuped as he reached for a dish towel to hold against his bleeding palm.
"Dammit, Nori. Where are you?" he finally sobbed as he lurched and fell forward onto his knees, losing his balance once again. As he crashed forward, he reached for the bottle he had taken out earlier, but it barely missed his fingertips. Instead, he decided that was enough drinking for the night and curled up in the spot he had landed. Pieces of glass dug into various parts of his exposed skin but nothing deep enough to cause more than surface level scratches. He laid on the floor with the cool, scratchy, glass-littered tile against his face as his mind wandered back through the last thirty-nine hours.
After the necessary paperwork to report Nori as a missing person had been completed, his boss, Superintendent Imai, hadn't wasted any time following the protocol for a possible kidnapping of a person related to a high profile political figure. Daichi had been thankful for the efficiency because even he couldn't remember all of the details for the process. His boss was luckily up to date and quickly set the right gears in motion, but Daichi had not been prepared for what was to come. Logically speaking, Nori's father was immediately grounded and provided with extra protection as was her mother who was staying out of town with Nori's aunt like she always did when the Supterintendent-General was away for long periods of time. Teams had been swiftly flown out to both of their locations to set up wire taps and have negotiators present in the case someone called in with a threat or demand for a ransom of some kind. Since Daichi was at TMPD headquarters, they were able to set up something on base in case he received a call as well. On top of the extra security and the wire taps, an inspector with his own team from outside of Tokyo was brought in to conduct an unbiased investigation of the situation.
When the inspector arrived, Daichi had been sitting at Officer Imai's desk, begging to be allowed out there searching for Nori even though he had no idea where else to look having already looked for her at the Women's Shelter, her parents' house in Nekoma, called her office, and visited any friends she might have gone to see before he and Kuroo gave up and came to the police station. The inspector was a rather tall and lanky man who carried himself with a slight hunch, probably from years of improper posture. He was probably only a few years older than Daichi, but the stress lines on his face aged him even more. His dark, raven hair most likely came down to his shoulders, but it was tied in a rather sleek, low ponytail at the base of his neck. He had introduced himself as Inspector Giichi, and that was it. No first name, no formalities, nothing. Not that Daichi cared since the only thing on his mind was finding Nori, but what didn't sit well with Daichi was the arrogance that surrounded the inspector. After a trip to Daichi's house with a forensics team where Daichi had been forced to stay behind at the station, Giichi had ordered Daichi into an interrogation room, only letting him out after no official charges had been brought against him. However, before being let out on Saturday evening, Giichi had spent countless hours of Daichi's involuntary hold interrogating him as if he were a criminal.
"Were you and your wife having any kind of marital issues, Mr. Sawamura?"
Daichi glared at the ponytailed man in front of him. He'd never had the urge to yank someone by their hair as he did right now. This even after being Karasuno's team captain and having Kuroo be a constant presence in his life for the last few years. He had been at the police precinct for almost a day and a half, and he'd been in the interrogation room for almost twenty-four hours. He was only aware of the time because Kuroo and Suga had come to see him again this morning and promised to come back around dinner time which, surprisingly, only Suga had followed through with. Suga hadn't been able to stay long because he was helping Haru with something important, but he had attempted to lighten Daichi's mood and bring him some decent dinner. Daichi hadn't felt like eating, but he ate a few bites for Suga's sake. He was only counting down the minutes now. The amount of time Inspector Giichi could hold him without pressing charges or having any solid evidence against him was starting to come to an end. Therefore, Giichi was starting to ask the questions that were really at the forefront of his mind. He had sat down in the seat across the table from Daichi in the interrogation room and was leaning back, balancing the metal chair on its two hind legs as he stretched his legs onto the desk in front of him and used it to keep his balance. His arms were crossed behind his head as he casually observed Daichi while asking his ridiculous questions.
"No, we weren't having any marital issues. You're wasting your time. I don't have anything to do with her disappearance," Daichi grumbled, trying to keep his cool but knowing that every second this drama was happening, the farther you were getting from him.
"Then you won't mind explaining why the two of you slept in separate rooms?"
Daichi couldn't help but make a puzzled face at the insinuation.
"If you're going to make stuff up and grasp at straws, at least make it believable. I know how interrogating works, and I'm telling you, I have nothing to do with my wife's disappearance!"
"On the contrary, Mr. Sawamura, I'm not grasping at anything. When a search of your house was done yesterday and this morning, your guest bedroom on the ground floor looked as if someone had slept in it recently. Your wife's phone was also found there. Rather curious that it was completely wiped for prints, however. Don't you think?"
"What? That's news to me. We don't ever use that room except when we have guests over. And why would her phone be completely wiped of prints? Why would I even wipe her phone of prints! I'm her husband, it would be normal for my prints to be on her phone. You're wasting your time on me when you should be focusing on that!"
"Well, we do have to take into consideration that you're a seasoned investigator. As you said, your prints would be normal. No prints would suggest an outsider, am I right? Maybe you saw something you didn't like on her phone, and it's a desperate husband's attempt at trying to hide something?"
"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Daichi yelled out, standing to his feet as he slammed his hands onto the table in front of him.
"Touched a nerve, have I?"
"You're wasting your time! I didn't do anything, why can't you see that?"
"Most disappearances that occur tend to involve the spouse, one way or another. I'm sure you're aware of the statistic....Chief Inspector."
"I don't have anything to do with this. I love my wife, and I just want her back," Daichi whispered out as he took his seat again, realizing getting angry wouldn't get him anywhere.
"How about you just answer some true or false questions for me.....hmmm?" Inspector Giichi looked at Daichi for confirmation who simply continued to stare at the floor.
"You coaxed a fellow officer into giving your wife a ticket two days ago?"
"What? That wasn't anything serio--"
"Uhp uhp, true or false. I don't need more than that."
Daichi scowled at the man in front of him before grudgingly nodding yes.
"You and your wife have been trying to conceive a child for about the last year?"
Daichi frowned, wondering what that had anything to do with what was currently going on.
"Come on Mr. Sawamura, I don't have all day. You're aware of the seventy-two hour rule. If you want me to make good use of it and give your wife her best chances, you'll stop dragging this on. That's to say if you even want your wife to come ba--"
That had done it. Daichi leaned across the table and grabbed at Giichi's collar and dragged him to his feet, knocking the chair he had been sitting on to the floor with a racket. Just as quickly as Daichi had attacked him, the door to the interrogation room had swung open to allow Superintendent Imai and another officer to run in and restrain Daichi.
"Daichi, come on! Just answer his questions, don't create more trouble for yourself. You know just as well as me that these questions are just a necessary part of the process!" Imai yelled as he held back a struggling Daichi from the smirking Giichi. Daichi calmed down after a little while and jerked his hands away from his boss and the junior officer before taking his seat again.
"I apologize. I let my anger get the best of me. Please continue with your questions," Daichi scowled. Daichi felt Imai place a precautionary hand on his shoulder, probably to grab him in case he got angry again.
"Apology accepted," Giichi smirked as he fixed his coat and tie and pulled his chair back up to sit back onto it. "As I was asking before. You and your wife have been trying to conceive for the last year?"
The hold on Daichi's shoulder tightened.
"Yes, we have."
"Is there any possibility of your wife having an extra marital affair?"
"What? Are you crazy? First you're suspecting me of having something to do with her disappearance and now you're saying she might be having an affair? No, there's no chance she was having an affair!"
"Do you know she's pregnant?"
Daichi flinched at both, the words that left Giichi's mouth and the pain from Imai's fingers digging into his shoulder.
"No--wait what? She's pregnant?" Daichi froze as shock overwhelmed him. He stared at Giichi's face attempting to catch any kind of a tell that he was lying, but it didn't look like he was making things up just to get some sort of response. He was telling Daichi what he believed to be true. Could you be pregnant? Why wouldn't you have told him?
"That's why I ask. Your wife is pregnant according to a pregnancy test found at your house, and it seems like you're not even aware of it. She already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for this upcoming week. I wonder why she wouldn't tell you? Especially if she had the time to schedule an appointment. I wonder....what if the child isn't yours?"
"Shut up! You don't know anything about my wife! Or me for that matter! Who the fu--"
The hand on his shoulder had kept Daichi from getting to his feet. It was holding him so tight, Daichi was sure he'd have a bruise, but without the hold, he knew for a fact he would have attacked the snarky bastard sitting across from him and probably gotten himself thrown into a cell.
"Daichi....calm down. Just answer his questions," Imai's firm voice came from behind him as he continued to pull Daichi back from where he had started moving towards Giichi again. "Inspector Giichi...I implore that you carry this interrogation tastefully. I am not asking for any special treatment, but Nor--Mrs. Sawamura is someone that is well respected here, and we don't want her name slandered."
"Of course Superintendent, I understand. That's not my intention at all. I'm just trying to make sense of what we're dealing with here," Giichi said as he turned to Imai, a rather curious smile on his smug face that didn't necessarily reach his black eyes.
"Mr. Sawamura, I spoke with your wife's assistant. She tells me a Mr. Kuroo has been sending your wife gifts for the last four Fridays at the office. Is that not something intriguing?"
"No, it's not. Kuroo is her best friend. He sends chocolates or balloons to the house for special occasions or just because all the time. Even her assistant knows that, so it's nothing to be intrigued about. The only thing intriguing is the fact that she hasn't even been to work the last four Fridays, and Kuroo knows that!"
"Hmmm, so Mr. Kuroo sends chocolates or balloons at home too? Well these Friday deliveries were flowers. Flowers can be considered more intimate than chocolates and balloons, so maybe that's why he chose to send them to the office instead."
"Are you listening to me? They're best friends. Anything he sends her is platonic. First of all, she's allergic to flowers. Even if she wasn't, they would still be platonic flowers! He wouldn't need to sneak them to her work. He could deliver them to me, and I'd personally make sure she got them! Second of all, he knows she hasn't been working the last four Fridays because she hasn't been able to get a court date. If he was sneaking around, trying to send her flowers, why would he send them on a day she's not even there!"
"Would Mr. Kuroo know that she's allergic to flowers?"
"Of course he knows! He was with her when she had her first allergic reaction in middle school!" Daichi had leaned forward in his chair again and had instantly felt Imai's hand on his shoulder, but instead of holding him back, it fell away.
"Hmmm," Giichi thought to himself, completely ignoring the angered Daichi and instead getting up from his chair to walk around as if in deep thought before pausing and glancing at Daichi and the two individuals that were standing behind Daichi. "Your wife and Mr. Kuroo used to live together, did they not? Even though Mr. Kuroo had his own place, he moved in with her."
"Because Nori's roommate, Alisa, who at the time was Kuroo's girlfriend but is now his wife, moved to Russia temporarily for her career. She asked Kuroo to move in so Nori wasn't left paying for rent on a giant apartment she didn't need or couldn't afford by herself! They've been best friends since they were in elementary school! Do you think Alisa would ask her boyfriend to move in with Nori if there was even a chance for there to be something more?" Daichi let out frustrated.
"Well that's not up for me to decide, now is it? Chief Inspector Daichi, my first theory is that your wife was having an affair with Mr. Kuroo, got pregnant with his child, and ran away."
Daichi shot to his feet, sending the chair he was sitting on crashing to the ground.
"You're just pulling theories out of your ass! First you think I had something to do with her disappearance and now you're saying she ran away because she got pregnant with her best friend's child?"
"You being involved still hasn't completely been disproven for me, but given that my twenty-four hour holding period on you is up and that your father-in-law has been demanding you be released, not much more I can run with at the moment. Come on, I'll drop you home," Giichi said as he bounced to the door as if he hadn't just accused Daichi's wife of running away with her bestfriend. He pulled out the keys to his car from his pocket and turned around to face the frozen Daichi while he held the room's door open. "I have a few more questions I need to ask you on the drive to your place."
It was now 8:00 PM on Saturday. Daichi had originally fought against the idea of being dropped home by Giichi, but Imai had said it would be okay and with Daichi having came to the police station on Friday with Kuroo, he didn't exactly have a car or ride home. Suga had offered to come by and pick him up, but as far as Daichi knew, he had his own fair share of work with something related to Haru, and Kuroo was probably caught up with Alisa. Both of his friends had been worried, and Daichi knew they had been calling people and reaching out to any contacts nonstop the last he had heard from them. On the ride to his house, Giichi had asked more questions suggesting Nori was having an affair. Daichi was too exhausted to argue at this point and simply just begrudgingly answered. First they revolved around Kuroo.
"Do you know where your wife was on Monday?"
"Yes, she was at dinner with Kuroo."
"What about the Saturday before?"
"Yes, she accompanied him to a game he was covering for work."
Once he had been satisfied with his Kuroo related questions, he jumped to questions about various other men that Nori interacted with. First was Suga and how often she would see him. Both were involved with the women's shelter so they did see each other quite often.
"How did your wife become friends with Koshi Sugawara?"
"He's my best friend from high school. They obviously met through me."
"He lives near her parents' house in Nekoma. Are you sure they didn't meet before you met her?"
"I'm certain. He teaches at Nekoma Elementary School. He got the job through a recommendation from Kuroo's old volleyball coach. They never even crossed paths until I started seeing Nori."
"Did you know your wife has lunch with Superintendent Imai when she's at the district courthouse?"
"Yes. Officer Imai is often at court for work since he's the superintendent. They have lunch if their schedules match up. Even I've had lunch with them a few times. It's not a secret. Officer Imai and I are good friends. We transferred to the TMPD at the same time, so we're close. My wife is allowed to be friends with my friends as I'm allowed to be friends with her friends. Even if she has friends that aren't my friends, she's her own person and can interact with people who aren't me!" Daichi had finally yelled at Giichi, getting aggravated with the dumb, endless questions.
Once they were finally at his house, Giichi had left him saying he planned on calling Kuroo and Sugawara in tomorrow and questioning them on anything they might know. With a scowl, Daichi had thanked the inspector for the ride before making his way into the house. He called Kuroo, but it went straight to voicemail. He then called Suga who said he would have to call him back. As soon as he hung up with Suga and was about to grab his car keys to search around the city in whatever way he could, he received a phone call from his father-in-law.
"Son, you've been up for more than twenty-four hours. I've been grounded so I don't know how soon I can come back for this mess. Akari is being kept with protective measures at her sister's as well since we don't know what the actual reason behind Nori disappearing is. I need you to rest. I know you're itching to get out there and look for her, but you won't be able to think straight. Rest, and then tomorrow, get back to it and find my daughter. That's an order," he had told Daichi. Though his voice had been steady, Daichi knew a scared and worried father stood on the line opposite of him.
Defeated by the logic and the fact that he truly was exhausted and barely able to think properly, Daichi gave in. He walked to the guest bedroom where caution tape and markers for pictures they had taken for the investigation were dispersed throughout the room. Giichi had said they had gotten all that they needed, and Daichi was free to take down whatever tapes he wanted. He broke the obnoxious, yellow "Do Not Cross" crime scene tape and entered into the room. He looked at the ruffled bed and also saw a block of wood wedged between the mattress and the headboard with an evidence marker set next to it. Daichi assumed this was meant to model where Nori's phone had been found. He attempted to visualize who might have been laying in this bed, possibly playing with Nori's phone. No answers came to mind. Did they sneak into the house after Daichi had gone to sleep on Thursday? Were they already in the house and used Nori's phone to pass the time until the perfect opportunity came to grab her? Did she really get taken from under his nose, while he slept like a clueless idiot right upstairs.
"DAMN IT!" Daichi screamed out as he shoved at the dresser in the room, sending it crashing to the floor. They kept it empty in case any guests wanted to unpack their things into it, so there really wasn't much weight fighting against Daichi's push. Daichi groaned as he stared at the toppled over mess. Some of the drawers had slid out and landed on the wooden floor with loud thuds. Daichi's eye suddenly caught a reflective light. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a key. The key Kuroo had supposedly lost a few months ago. His brain, fatigued from lack of sleep and just the overall exhaustion from the past day and a half, couldn't figure out any theory as to how the key had ended up in here. So instead, Daichi pocketed it and made his way to the kitchen, deciding to deal with the discovery later. He mechanically reached for his car keys on the marble counter, thinking he'd maybe like to drive around to some of Nori's favorite spots when his father-in-law's words echoed in his ears. He was right, at this point, Daichi would be useless anywhere he went.
That's when he allowed to ask himself if his father-in-law knew Nori was pregnant. Ever since the revelation of that fact, the adrenaline and anger of being held up in an interrogation room had kept Daichi from really digesting the information, but now that he was home, it was hitting him like a train. He felt like the world was crumbling around him, and he was struggling to just breathe. Why wouldn't you tell him you were pregnant? They had been trying for a year and had even had a miscarriage a few months ago. As difficult as that had been, Daichi felt it had only brought you and him even closer together. So how could you be pregnant and not tell him? Giichi's words flashed into Daichi's mind, but he quickly swatted them away as he walked to the kitchen and reached for the alcohol in the fridge. Bottle after bottle, Daichi drank until he had reached his current stupor of laying on the glass covered floor with shards sticking into his skin, bleeding from the palm of his left hand, and his drunken mind wondering about what the hell was going on. He needed to talk to Kuroo.
Before long, Daichi had blissfully fallen into an alcohol induced sleep, allowing him to finally catch up on the missed hours of rest from the previous day. With exhaustion having completely overtaken him, the countless missed calls and text messages on his phone had done next to nothing to wake him from his slumber.