The climax begins in this chapter! Look forward to the rest ^_~
~~~
Chapter 6 A Sign of Hope
We called the funeral service at noon, after I finished bawling in Takeru’s arms. Takeru explained everything I had written down to the man over the line since I didn’t have the courage to speak. Aunt Kyoko had prepared a dozen bouquets for the service and the funeral arrangers had chosen a pine coffin with camellias carved into the lid. That was requested by me.
At around three in the afternoon, the hospital called.
“Hello?”
“Ah, may I speak to Tsubaki Kuroda?” a nurse asked.
“Yes, that’s me,” I replied.
“Firstly, we are sorry about your father. It was all very hectic this morning trying to diagnose his illness. It seems he had a heavy chest infection and lung cancer from smoking. Also, his heart had several problems, as did his stomach. We suspect that people were chasing him and probably punched him a lot.”
“I see…”
“The most important thing however is that he managed to speak before he died. He said to tell you that your mother was indeed killed by Kuran Rido.”
I was speechless and stayed silent.
“Kuroda-san? Kuroda-san?”
I started the waterworks again. “Sorry, and thank you for the information!” I said quickly before hanging up. There, on the stairs, I wept again. This time for only a few minutes, because I was determined to find Rido Kuran whether he was dead or not.
But firstly, I needed to find Senri Shiki.
I needed to tell him that I would go with him overboard.
That I loved him.
~
“Tsubaki, I’m ordering flowers. Do you have a special choice?” aunt Kyoko asked.
I didn’t even need to think. “Camellias.”
She smiled. “But of course. Anything else?”
“Actually, I’m leaving tomorrow to meet Yuki, to tell her about it.” Obviously it was a lie but she wouldn’t let me if it was to see Senri Shiki.
“Oh, okay then. Be back before Friday because we’re holding the funeral then. We’ve been granted special permission to bury Haruka next to Kotoko.” I softened at the thought of them finally being together.
“I’ll try to be home by Wednesday afternoon but I can’t promise anything.” That would give me one whole day to look for Senri. First I would go to the academy, then to his house. It would seem more reasonable to do it the other way around but I didn’t want aunt Kyoko seeing me. That way I could also ask about Rido and my mother. I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep that night until three in the morning when I finally managed to sleep four hours.
At eleven, I made myself a meal for later. It consisted of last night’s rice, some vegetables, and five slices of beef. I made sure to bring two bottles of blood tablet water and my box of spares. I didn’t need to make anything for Takeru because he had already left yesterday morning as the headmaster demanded he needed to go back for teaching. I packed away the bento in my backpack.
Calling goodbye to aunt Kyoko, I zipped up my slim chestnut boots which had a heel that measured one inch. I then buttoned up the remaining two buttons on my coat and went outside with my backpack. It was incredibly windy but I pushed on to the main road. I got on the bus which I had to stop, and got off at a nearby town to search.
It was quarter to one. There were business men and woman milling about, trying to find a place for lunch. Some were getting in their cars to go back to their offices. Parents were picking up their children from childcare services. Naughty children who were skiving sat on trees, played chase, swung on the monkey bars. It wasn’t quite rush hour but enough for me to get trapped in the crowd. I wasn’t even familiar with the place and yet I was lost. There was no use looking at the map I had brought because it didn’t have shop names and this town didn’t have a major monument or a place I could recognise.
I went into a grocery shop, searching for some food. There were advertisements stuck all over the shop window, some for jobs and others for health. But there was one that caught my eye.
Get your love life read! Track down anyone you want!
But what I found strange was that there was no phone number, email or address. It was probably just a scam. I bought some bread, some hot ribs and some chocolate bars. Then I went outside and carried on weaving through the crowd.
At eight PM, without luck, I went into an inn for the night.
*
I was awoken by some arguing downstairs.
“You wasted all my money! How could I forgive you?” a woman cried.
“Just paying back the favour. Think about all that money of mine you used on clothes!”
The woman gasped. ”You gave them to me… Oh I should never had fallen in love with you!”
Endless sobbing came from the floor below and a door slammed. I yawned and got dressed. I had woken up from a dream regarding the shop window notice. Track down anyone you want. It made me think of Rido, and Senri. But this whole mess was because of Rido. He messed up my life, killed my mother and was the spark my father’s death. He even gave birth to an illegitimate child, Senri Shiki. My prince.
I went downstairs for breakfast, treading carefully over the sobbing woman. Sitting down at a two seat table, I ordered some noodles and green tea.
“Excuse me, Kuroda-san?” the receptionist called. I turned around to look at her. “There’s a letter for you, delivered this morning. Would you come and collect it?”
“Of course!” I replied, hurrying over to pick up my letter. It was unusual for me to get letters, let alone in an inn. I looked at the cream envelope with a red seal on the back. Pulling it off, I took out the letter inside.
Hello Kuroda Tsubaki. Come visit me at the ruined church. It’s at the end of this street. See you there. B
I reread the note many times. It had no address! Just details of a ruined church which was supposedly at the end of the street. “Excuse me, is there a church at the end of this street?”
“Yes, it’s St Biele’s Cathedral. Would you like a picture?”
“No… that’s okay…”
Either this was some kind of prank or the caller was a mind-reader. They could’ve also been a stalker but I didn’t consider it as much. I was due back home in four hours and I hadn’t achieved anything. That was it. I had to pay a visit to this person, however dangerous it was going to be.
*
I quickly grabbed my backpack and put my toothbrush into the smallest compartment. After the visit I was going home. After Haruka’s funeral, I would search again if I wasn’t lucky. This was it.
I checked out of the inn and ran outside. It was raining. Great weather for a search, hey? The cathedral was five minutes walk and the asphalt street was wet and mucky. My shoes were getting ruined! I weaved through the puddles to the ruins that were in sight. I shouted yes inside my head and hopped along into the graveyard.
The ruins were still quite alive. The main shape was still there but the windows had been shattered. The statues on the walls were heavily eroded and you could only see the vague shape of a body. There were graves planted everywhere, and I suspected that the cathedral must’ve been popular.
I kept on walking until I reached what seemed to be an entrance. Suddenly, someone tapped me on my shoulder.
“Good afternoon, Kuroda Tsubaki. Welcome to St Biele’s. I am the founder of this cathedral, Biele,” he introduced. I gasped and turned around. There stood a man with long grey spiky hair and a mid-shin length coat, a hat covering his eyes and a ginger cat he was stroking. “Come on in.”
I followed him, alert of anything that might harm me. My eyes drew squiggly lines, trying to take in the wild flowers growing inside the ruins. I didn’t say a word but just kept walking. All of a sudden, he pulled a lever and we were drawn into the basement. I tried to scream but couldn’t.
When we had gathered our bearings, he spoke. “You wish to seek Kuran Rido, don’t you?”
“H-how did you know?”
“It’s my sixth sense. I am over eight-hundred years old, after all. It’d be mad for me not to have some kind of crazy power. I can not only mind read but see your actions too. It’s like I have three eyes.” His voice was playful and cheerful, but for some reason it sounded evil. “And yes, I’m a vampire. You are too, unless I’m wrong?”
I shook my head. “Yes, I’m a v-vampire.”
That word. I would never get used to it. And what was with this shyness? I thought I had gotten rid of that?
“Good. Now in order to find Kuran Rido, I need you to bring me one strand of his hair. Preferably by next Monday, but hey. I’m open all day every day.”
“Okay, thank you! How do I know it’ll work?”
“Just wait and see. But you have to get that hair strand, otherwise it’ll be no good.”
“What if he’s dead-”
“Listen girl. Bring the strand to me, in this ruined church, and Bob’s your uncle. Don’t worry about anything. Nothing will be harmed in this process except for yourself.”
I frowned, deep in thought. Yes, I did think of this as a last resort. In the whole of Japan, there was no way I would be able to find Rido, and it would be even harder if he had escaped. And if Yuki and Zero really did get rid of him, what was I searching for?
“I’ll do it.”
“Goooooood!” he mused. I was getting a bit freaked out, and thanked him. Then I escaped the cathedral and with an excited heart, made my way home.