Two and a half years ago
"Nori, get up from your desk. You're taking your lunch break with me today."
You stared at the dark, messy haired figure who had stormed into your office. Your secretary had straggled in behind him, explanations of how you were busy and had asked not to be disturbed dying on her lips as she glanced at the death glare you were giving him.
"What do you want? I'm busy, Kuroo," you groaned as you put the sandwich you were about to bite into down on your desk and paused the show you had put on. You normally had to rush your lunch in between meetings with clients. Sometimes you never even got the chance to eat until much later in the day. For the first time in weeks you finally didn't have anything scheduled and thought you could enjoy a quiet lunch, but of course, Kuroo had to barge in.
"If you're going to lie, at least make it convincing," Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Don't worry Sora, I'll have your boss back before her meeting in an hour and fifteen," he motioned towards your secretary, urging her to get back to her desk before closing the door behind her.
"And how do you know I have a meeting in an hour and fifteen minutes," you skeptically looked at him with your eyebrows raised.
"Your calendar," he casually explained as he sat down in front of you.
"What? How do you have access to my calendar?"
"I signed into your Apple ID."
"WHAT! Kuroo! You can't do that!"
"I can't? But I just did. If you really didn't want me to sign in to know your schedule, shouldn't keep using different variations of your Netflix password for all your things."
"Why can't you just ask me what my schedule is like a normal person instead of doing something excessive like that?"
"I've been trying to, but I can't ask around Alisa. That's hard now that she's moved back in with us, and you two are joined at the hip on most days. Even Daichi was complaining about it....beside the point. I couldn't even risk sending you a text to ask about your schedule since you're mentally insane and let all of your texts just show on your lock screen like the animal you are."
"What does Alisa have anything to do with you very clearly stalking my schedule?"
He let out a huge grin as you continued to look at him confused.
"I'm going to propose. I picked out a ring, but I want you to come with me to make sure it's the one before I buy it."
"WHAT! Oh my god! Congratulations! Wow, this is amazing! I better have been the first to know!"
"Naturally."
"Let's go! I need to see!" you exclaimed as you pushed your seat back from the desk, grabbed your uneaten sandwich in one hand, and Kuroo with the other before dragging him out of your office.
"I'll be back in about an hour. Just email me any messages I receive, thank you," you say to a startled Sora as you rush past her, Kuroo still in tow. "I want every detail! How, when, where? You better make it perfect, Kuroo, or I'll say no on her behalf."
"Who do you take me for?" he smirked as you hopped into the passenger seat of his car.
--
"What...what happened?" you heard a groan from next to you. You were shaking, but you pulled yourself away from where you were curled up against him for his warmth to get a better look at his face.
"How are you feeling?" you ask.
"Like my head is about to split open....w...wait. Nori. Nori it's you! Oh God, do you know how worried we've all been," he cried out as he attempted to wrap his arms around you only to be stopped by his taped hands.
"What...what's going on?" he stared in confusion at his bound wrists and then to you, finally noticing the state of your overall appearance. "Nori, shit. Are you okay? Who fucking did this to you! Why are your clothes wet. And where are we?" he angrily let out. You could see tears starting to form in his eyes as he looked at your swollen eye and gingerly touched your cheek, having to bring both of his bound hands towards your face to do so.
"I don't know, but how did you end up here, Kuroo?" you asked through your chattering teeth.
Kuroo tugged at the wet TMPD sweatshirt you were wearing, trying to take it off.
"No point, my hands are taped too."
"Better to just have it hanging on your arms than wearing a soaked sweatshirt, idiot," he explained as he continued to pull it off as much as it would go before looping his arms around you and pulling you into his warmth.
"S..s..so—r-ry. I'm pretty sure...I got you..you a little wet too. I was cold, so...so I just snuggled up."
"Don't apologize. Who did this to you, Nor? I'm going to fucking kill them."
"How...how'd you find me?"
--
"I don't understand why the hell they kept you in here overnight, Daichi! Does Mr. Sugiyama know about this?" Kuroo frustratingly let out at the table he, Sugawara, and Daichi were sitting at. He glared at the police officer who was assigned to keep an eye on Daichi while he spoke with his two friends.
"He does know, but even he can't meddle with the investigation right now," Daichi sighed as he looked down feeling defeated. "I'm guessing they still haven't been able to trace Nori's phone. They won't tell me anything. Even Imai hasn't been able to fill me in because of Giichi."
"That fuck—"
"Alright, time's up Sawamura. Time to get back in the interrogation room...Maybe I'll start asking some questions now," Kuroo watched as Giichi walked by and nodded at one of the investigators from his team to escort Daichi back.
"We'll come by again later today, okay?" Sugawara reassured Daichi before he and Kuroo were escorted out.
As they were walking down the steps of the precinct, Kuroo paused.
"What's wrong?" Sugawara asked.
"Nothing. You go on ahead. You have to go back to the kids, right? I have to do something. I'll see you later around dinner then?" Kuroo said as he ran off back into the precinct, not even waiting for a reply. He went straight to Tetsuya Imai's office and knocked before swinging the door open.
"Officer Imai...Nori's phone. Did you guys find it yet?"
"Oh Kuroo," he said with a slight jump in his seat as he put his cell phone down, "Yes we did. I'm unfortunately not allowed to tell you anything about it though."
"Where did you find it? Were you able to find anything on it?" Kuroo asked anyways, ignoring the statement.
"Haven't found anything yet, but I'm sorry Kuroo. I can't share much. We're doing our best though," he said kindly with a smile that was meant to put Kuroo at ease, but only made him feel worse.
"Can you tell me anything?"
Imai sighed as he gestured for Kuroo to close the door behind him.
"We found it in their guest bedroom this morning. Bagged it myself and had forensics rush the work on it for prints or anything that could give us any kind of clue, but unfortunately we're still at a loss. I'm sorry, Kuroo, but trust me, we're doing everything we can."
Defeated, Kuroo left the police station and began driving home. A light signaling that his tank was almost on empty led Kuroo to pull into a gas station to fill up. While the attendant pumped the gas for him, his attention was caught by a notification on his phone from his calendar. It was a reminder for tomorrow.
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Video Podcast with Kenma
Kuroo swiped the reminder away. A part of him had hoped it was a message from Nori or any news on her. Wait. What if there's something on her phone that can give them a clue. Maybe a meeting or a missed called? The police probably won't let him go through her phone, but maybe he can sign into her apple ID. He didn't doubt their work, but Kuroo couldn't just sit around waiting for the police. Especially not with Daichi being their primary suspect. He quickly signed out of the Apple ID on his phone and typed Nori's email in. He was able to log in on the third try, thankful Nori still used the same main password she always used with minor changes. After answering her security question—what high school did she attend, he began to swipe through her calendar and recent messages. There was nothing that caught his eye. Her recent contacts were nothing out of the ordinary, and even her calendar didn't have anything unusual or unheard of listed. The attendant that had been filling Kuroo's gas knocked on the window to let him know he was ready to go. Kuroo nodded and began to pull out of the station when a notification came across the top of the phone.
Living Room Remote Control's Apple Tag battery is low. Please charge it.
Kuroo sighed. Again, he had gotten his hopes up, but it was nothing except a reminder to charge the tags Nori had bought a few months ago to help track the numerous things Daichi used to always misplace. With his attention on the road, he swiped to send the notification off the screen. Instead, he accidentally swiped to open it. As he glanced at what had popped up, Kuroo pulled over on the side of the road to make sure what he was seeing was correct. He had accidentally opened up the tracking app for the Apple Tags. Kuroo was aware of the tags and what they did, but he was surprised to find that the Apple Tag for the Living Room Remote's location was showing up a mere ten minutes from where Kuroo was currently at. That didn't make any sense. Their house is nowhere near here, and Daichi is most likely still at the police station. The location was on Kuroo's way home. He decided he would just swing by and see what the deal was. If it took him to someone's house, he would just pretend he was doing his job as a representative for Tokyo's Volleyball Association and wanting feedback about volleyball involvement in the community. He had nothing to lose.
--
"S-s-so you c-c-came to my re-rescue and got yourself ambushed and kidnapped t-too," you let out with a half-hearted smile on your face, still feeling cold even though Kuroo had wrapped himself around you to keep you warm.
"I suppose I did. I didn't know what I was walking into, but I was too distracted by having found you to notice the coward that hit me from the back. What's going on, Nori? Who is this guy....what..what did he do to you?" he asked softly as he stared at your bruised face. His eyes were worried.
You looked away. You had learned from Kuroo that it was only Saturday. It had only been two days since you had been taken, but it felt like a lifetime already. You didn't know how to tell your best friend how you had watched Haku kill someone because of you, and how he had ruthlessly hit you and dragged you around. You didn't even know where you could start. Instead, you stared at the remote that was currently wrapped away in your ankle, still being used as a splint. You had completely forgotten about the tracking device you had finally installed on it after the numerous times Daichi had misplaced it, but it had led at least one person to you. Unfortunately, you were now scared that no one else would figure out the same thing since it sounded like it had been by pure accident that Kuroo had found you. Another thing that you couldn't get out of your mind was Kuroo. If something happened to him because he had blindly walked into this looking for you, you would never forgive yourself.
"Hey, what are you thinking?"
You tilted your head back up to look at Kuroo who still had you wrapped up as best he could in his taped arms. You opened your mouth to answer, but paused as your ears caught a voice outside of the shed.
"I don't know how he got here!...I thought you said YOU would take care of it. No, nothing's different. You're still going to get what you want so you better get me what I want too....Of course I got his phone and turned it off...moved his car too."
Haku's voice was getting louder and closer. You began to panic as you pulled away from Kuroo and turned to look at him.
"Kuroo, listen. He's let us see his face. He's not going to let us go." The door slightly rattled as Haku began to put a key into the lock on the outside. "He wants his kid. You and I aren't close, okay?" you urgently whispered out as you tried to slide away from a wide eyed Kuroo. He didn't understand, but you had no time to explain. The door slammed wide open.
"What are you trying, Nori?" Haku's smug voice cut through the cold air like a knife.
You stared up at him, not giving a response.
"Who the hell are you?" demanded Kuroo from your left.
"None of your concern, but I know who you are Tetsuro Kuroo. You're my ticket for getting what I want. Hell, you've been my literal key for so much of this to work already."
Kuroo's eyes glanced towards you before turning back to Haku. He understood what you meant earlier. Haku would most likely use Kuroo to get the information he wanted out of you. You didn't want to think that the two of you had no way out of this, but you had to be realistic. Haku wasn't that naive. If he let the two of you go, he would be easily identified. The only ending Haku had planned for you, and now Kuroo, involved you both never being able to return to your families in one way or another. Even if he promised to let you two go in exchange for information, you knew you couldn't trust him. You had already made up your mind that you wouldn't give him any information, but now with Kuroo in the mix, you wouldn't be able to ignore if he did something to him. Shit, shit, shit. Your brain wasn't thinking fast enough. There has to be another way.
You watched as Kuroo glared back at the man towering above him. If he was afraid, he didn't show it.
"Stop looking at me like that, pretty boy. Wouldn't want me to do your face like I did your friend's."
"She's not my friend," Kuroo calmly replied.
"Think the two of you can outsmart me? Don't bother. Like I said before, I already have all the information I need. I guess when someone's the godmother of your unborn child, that would make you more than friends.....It makes you family," Haku smirked as he leaned against the metal wall.
Fuck, how did he know about Alisa and the baby? What else does Haku know about your life and the people in it? Daichi and your father can take care of themselves, and your mom currently wasn't even anywhere near Tokyo.....but Alisa. What if he threatened her in any way?
"Talk all you want. You won't get anything from us," Kuroo angrily spit back.
"Oh...He's just like you, Nori," Haku taunted as he squatted down in front of you and held your chin between his fingers.
"Don't touch her!" hissed Kuroo.
"Why don't we see how much fire is really behind these words," he grinned as he stood up and walked to the corner to grab Kuroo by the back of his shirt and drag him towards the bolted door on the other side of the shed. "I have something I want...Nori knows the lengths I'm ready to go to, but she wouldn't give me what I wanted. Maybe you'll help me to persuade her."
He pulled out a key from his back pocket and jammed it into the lock on the middle door. He grabbed Kuroo so he was on his knees. With a swift movement, he opened the door and shoved Kuroo forward so he fell through with a soft thud. You couldn't see because it was pitch black through the doorway, but that odd smell you had apparently gotten used to became much stronger. Haku then slammed the door shut and bolted it closed again before leaning his back on it.
"Kuroo!" you shouted as you stared in confusion at Haku who only smirked at you.
"I'm fine, Nor," Kuroo grunted from the other side.
"We'll see for how long," Haku chuckled. He leaned over and flipped a switch to the right of the door. You noticed a light come on from underneath the door through which he had thrown Kuroo. Before you could register anything else, a blood curdling yell from the other side of the doorway shook you to the core.
"Kuroo!" you scrambled on your knees towards the doorway as best you could. "Kuroo! Kuroo! It's okay! What's going on?" Haku simply watched you as he broke out in a full blown laugh. The frantic yells from Kuroo did not stop. Instead, a frenzied pounding began to overpower his yells.
"Let him out! Let him out!" you screamed as you grasped at Haku's legs, utterly terrified of what could be making Kuroo react this way. The pounding and yelling paused for a brief moment, and you realized Kuroo was making gagging sounds.
"I guess he's just as much of a weakling as you," Haku grinned. He grabbed you by the arms and pulled you back to the other side of the shed, roughly shoving you back against a wall before going back to the middle door. He turned the lights off before opening it. Kuroo fell forward and landed on his side as he frantically tried to pull himself away from the dark closet like space. Once he had made it out, Haku slammed the door shut and locked it again.
"Kuroo! Are you okay? What happened!" you reached forward as you attempted to calm him down. Your eyes grew wide as you noticed that his clothes were covered in blood. Even his face had splatters. "Are you hurt? Show me where?" you asked as you urgently began to feel his arms and chest for any source of where all this blood came from.
"Not his blood, Nori..Don't worry. If you're wondering, Kuroo....Yes, I did that. I'll be back once you're calm. So figure out how the two of you are going to help me get what I want. Officer Sawamura and Superintendent-General Sugiyama may be able to handle themselves, but can your simpleminded brother-in-law do much to keep your pregnant wife safe?"
At that, you glared up at Haku. Next to you, you could feel Kuroo begin to control his breathing as he looked up at Haku as well.
"You two need to decide soon. Alisa is out grocery shopping by herself. It's an opportune time for almost anything to happen. Ten minutes and then I'm leaving," he declared before stepping out of the shed and locking the door behind him.
You turned to Kuroo and were caught by surprise to see him begin to gasp again, tears running down his face.
"Kuroo....Kuroo...KUROO! Look at me!" you ordered as you tried to hold his face and comfort him as best you could with your bound hands. "What is it?"
"Nor...I...I can't let anything happen to Alisa. I'm s-sorry. I can't!" he gasped as he continued to cry. "I don't...don't know what he wants, but.....but I remember him now. His case was the first time you were first chair, right? The one with...with the name similar to Hakusho Shi, the sumo wrestler.....This guy was....he was abusive to his wife, right?"
You nodded your head as you continued to watch your best friend breakdown. "Yea. His name's Haku Hoshi."
"I...I remember his wife. She's...she's back their, Nor...He...he killed her," Kuroo whispered as he looked at you.
Yue. He...he killed Yue? No. That couldn't be possible. You just spoke to her a few days ago. She had just started working as a teacher apprentice a few months ago. How...how?
The door slammed open and there stood Haku with a grin. "So...how are you two going to help me?"
"I'll...I'll give you what you want. St..stay away...from Alisa," you stammered out, adrenaline from the last few minutes starting to wear off and your body beginning to feel cold again.
"About time."
You told Haku you had lost contact with Yue after the trial years ago. You weren't sure how much he knew about you, but luckily he bought the lie. You also lied and told him you weren't sure if she had even decided to keep the child as adoption was something she had been considering, afraid she wouldn't be able to provide properly for the both of them. To that, Haku had replied that he wasn't concerned about that being the case. In reality, you had helped Yue continue working at the very shelter that had saved her. Eventually, she had gone back to school, and just a few months ago, you had even helped her find a job at Nekoma Elementary through Sugawara.
"I don't know anything about your kid, but if I have any information, it'll be in my old case files. The case files are at Kuroo's house. You'll have to let him out to go get them."
"You think I'm stupid enough to just let him go like that?"
"Go with him then. If you want this information, there's no other way. I don't remember every detail for every case. If you want my help, you have to get me my file. I'd be happy to go, but they're already looking for me."
"Fine. I'll go with Kuroo, but don't get any wise ideas. My partner knows exactly where your wife is at. One wrong move, and he won't hesitate to take matters into his own hands."
"You'll have to get Kuroo some clean clothes. What if someone sees him c-covered in bl-blood like this?" you mentioned.
Haku made a face, but he locked the door behind him as he disappeared out of the shed.
"Nori, I don't want to take him to my house. What are you planning?" Kuroo looked at you with a worried expression. "Lev's probably there! I can't get him involved in this!"
"I know. N-nothing's going to ha-happen to Lev. I promise. Haku seems to act impulsively...b-but whoever his partner is is much more meticulous. I j-just need to buy us some time. You said they're holding Daichi for questioning, right? He doesn't have anything to do with this. Th-that means once the twenty-four hours are up, and they don't find any evidence against him, they'll let him out. If Lev's at home, y-you need to make him think something's off. Not enough to where Haku can catch on, b-but enough to where he or Alisa reach out to Daichi. If he's not home, leave a mess. Just anything that would get them to reach out to him. They're already on edge. If th-they think you're acting weird, and then you don't show up back home tonight, they'll contact Daichi. If he's with them, they'll be safe. D-do you understand?"
Kuroo nodded and before long, Haku was back with a button down floral shirt and pants that would be too big for Kuroo, but this was perfect. Even Lev would have to notice these weren't the type of clothes Kuroo usually wore. Kuroo changed and placed his old clothes over you. You were grateful. Even though they were bloodied, you were still shivering and were willing to take any extra warmth you could. The metal door slammed shut behind them once they left. You were left alone and cold in the metal shed once more. Only a door separated you from the dead body of someone you had grown to love as a friend in the last few years you had gotten to know her. You wanted to cry, but instead you shivered in your corner, your mind attempting to figure out a way where Kuroo could get out of this alive and nothing would happen to Akio. Hako must have killed Yue because she wasn't giving him any information about Akio. You won't let her sacrifice go in vain. Akio's only four years old. He doesn't need to be dragged into this. You would make sure he wasn't.
--
"Yea. Anyways, I won't be home for dinner today. Can you let Alisa know," Kuroo stated to Lev as he continued to go through the files in the box in his garage. Kuroo could feel Haku was paying attention to every word coming out of Kuroo's mouth, but he continued to silently stand behind him and eat his bowl of strawberries. "I know she's really upset with everything that's going on, so maybe take her out to eat or order in. You know where my extra card is kept. Do something healthy, like fish. The finals for the sumo wrestling tournament are going on too. She's always had fun watching those, so you can order a package for that on TV too. I'm sure it'll make her feel better."
"Huh? Since when has—" Lev started but Kuroo immediately cut him off.
"Found it, alright. I'll talk to you later, Lev. Tell Alisa I love her and stick by her side," Kuroo said hopefully. Please stick by her side. He pulled a file out of the box and put it under his arm before grabbing the empty bowl and fork from Haku and his own, mostly untouched bowl and handing it back to Lev. "Don't do the dishes, you suck at them. I'll do them when I get back." Maybe if I'm not back tonight or tomorrow, you'll be smart enough to call the police. Remember the bowl he ate from. Kuroo hoped his internal pleas were making it across. Lev's quizzical expression was giving Kuroo hope. This is good. At least Lev is paying attention and thinking that the things Kuroo is saying aren't making any sense. Kuroo even tried his luck with the sumo wrestling hint, but he wasn't sure if that would get across to anyone even if Lev explained it. The only other person outside of Nori, Kuroo had ever even mentioned the sumo wrestler nickname to was Kenma. Maybe if Daichi had heard him jokingly say it all those years ago, but he doubted it. That was when Daichi had first met Nori. Kuroo didn't even think he had gone to that trial. Only he and Kenma had gone as support to watch Nori lead her very first case. Even her parents hadn't had a chance because of their work schedules.
After walking the two blocks back to where Haku's car was secretly parked, Kuroo climbed into the passenger seat while Haku got in behind the driver's seat. A sudden punch on the side of his cheek sent him crashing into the closed window on the passenger doorway. A stinging sensation engulfed his face on either side where it had made contact with the glass and Haku's fist.
"That was a lot of talking you did in there. Didn't I tell you not to do anything extra?"
"If I was quiet, he would have been more suspicious."
"Who are all the names you mentioned? You better not have tried to pull a fast one on me," Haku threatened.
"Suguru Daisho and Morisuke Yaku are volleyball players. Kenma is someone I occasionally work with because of the various volleyball sponsorships he does. I work for the Japan Volleyball Association. Do the math," Kuroo grunted as he tenderly touched the side of his face.
Haku pulled out his phone and seemed to be doing quick searches on all of the names Kuroo had mentioned. He then grinned and turned the phone towards Kuroo.
"Just in time. Looks like your wife's heading home from the grocery store."
Kuroo turned to look at the image Haku was displaying towards him, and his heart sank. In the picture, Alisa was closing the trunk to her SUV, an empty grocery cart stood only an arm's length away from her.
"Stay away from her," Kuroo growled.
"That depends almost entirely on you," Haku laughed.