~#Chapter 18: Mr. Grosum#~
"Do you guys...that Sakura-chan was abducted by the princess with the children?" I asked as we stood near our single window in our comfortable locked-up, time-out kind of place.
"I dunno," Kurogane replied.
"Hmm...Good question," Fay said, "I was about to ask the same thing."
"I asked Dr. Kyle about this before but, in this world, it's not believed that there are people who can use magic or hijutsu," Syaoran explained.
"Hmm~" I said while looking a Fay in a knowing way.
"It's sad that there were magicians here at one point, but they've gone the way of the dinosaur," Syaoran said.
I nodded, "Extinct, eh?"
Syaoran nodded in reply.
"So basically the chance that Sakura-chan was abducted by some with mysterious powers is zero," Fay concluded.
"Well, you know I'll sense it if we get near any mysterious power," Mokona noted.
I nodded in thought, "But, don't you think it's possible that she saw the Princess and such...and followed her to save the children?" I asked.
"Eh?" Syaoran asked.
"She seems the kind of person to do that," I noted, "She probably wanted to save the children and make the townspeople become at some sort of ease and such. I think the princess might actually be back...but not a human."
Once again, it was quiet, and I was getting different glances.
"What?~" I asked.
"You mean as a ghost?" Fay asked.
I nodded, "That's right."
"It might just be possible," Syaoran replied all of a sudden, "For that to have happened."
I smiled, "But...I don't think the princess is the culprit. Someone else has to be doing the disappearances."
I sat down next to Kurogane on the bed, and Fay stood next to me, leaning up against the wall. Mokona and Kurogane were arguing, but I just kept quiet, ignoring them. All of a sudden, the leader of the group...that attacked us unlocked the door. You see, we had been locked up in a room together, since we're suspects and all.
'Deidara could easily escape through here,' I sighed in thought.
"Any clues?" Fay asked.
"None. We've searched everywhere in town, and they're nowhere to be seen," the leader replied, "It's been snowing all night, so any footprints would've been covered up by now."
"What about the castle?" Syaoran asked.
"We looked all around the castle's perimeter. However, since we can't cross that river, we don't know what is beyond there," the leader could reply.
I looked up at this, and I thought, 'I could cross there, but I don't wanna say that. It would cause more suspicion.'
"I see," Syaoran replied.
"Why are so calm?" he asked us, "Isn't one of your friends missing?"
"Even so..." Fay started.
"If you can't tell we try to protect that kid then you're as blind as a bat," Kurogane announced.
'I wonder...if she's okay,' I thought.
The leader-man left, and we were allowed to the leave the bedroom. The doc said he was making a house call. Most of the children have become shaken since last night's events, and they're weak from the poor harvests from the last three years. That's what he said.
"Most of the town's lands...belong to Mr. Grosum, right?" I refered to the harvests.
"And the rent he charges?" Kurogane asked.
"We've been in negotiations for some time now. Mr. Grosum did say we have to leave town if we don't pay up, though," the doc explained.
"What a rotten bastard," Kurogane commented.
"But I feel bad for Mr. Grosum as well. He's relegated into a painful state of life as well because we haven't paid the rent," the doc explained once more.
"That's the way it goes," Fay stated.
"I'm saying this to you in confidence, but there is a nasty rumor floating around about Mr. Grosum," the doc said.
"A bad rumor?" Syaoran questioned.
"What kind of rumor?" I asked.
"I've heard that Mr. Grosum is after Sakura-san's feather, as it was fabled in the legend," the doc said.
There was a moment of silence, and a bird's call could be heard in the distance. I sighed, wondering if it was true. I couldn't be for sure, after all.
"Well, it's just a rumor," the doc announced, "That's all I have to say for now."
"So Mr. Grosum is after the feather?" Fay said aloud.
"It's completely irrelevant, right?" Kurogane asked.
"That may be true, but remember yesterday...?" Fay asked.
"Ah, when he was near the castle?" I asked.
"I figured it out! Mr. Grosum is our bad guy!" Mokona shouted.
"See?" Fay said in front of Kurogane.
"He does seem pretty shady," Kurogane announced.
"It's not good to condemn others," Syaoran told them.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Truth is something that we will obtain after gathering more evidence," Syaoran said.
Syaoran suggested that we walk to Mr. Grosum's house and get some evidence, but it didn't seem like he was home.
"Hmm...We missed him," I sighed.
'At times like this, I wish we had Deidara's bird~' I thought sadly.
"Well, what now?" Kurogane asked.
"Leave it to me!" Mokona cheered.
Mokona sped off really, really fast, and he appeared at the door...the door open.
I blinked a couple times, "AMAZING! How did you do that?!"
"How the hell did you get in?!" Kurogane shouted.
"There was a little opening in the back," Mokona said, while sitting on Fay's hand, "This is just another one of Mokona's 108 secret skills: Extreme sneaking in!"
We walked around the house, looking for clues, and I thought about looking for his achieves. The doc's achieves seemed suspicious.
"So, what should we look for?" Kurogane asked.
"Anything that looks suspicious," I answered.
"Or might be a clue," Fay stated.
"Damn, that's annoying," Kurogane complained, "We're surrounded by dusty books, and we can't even say for sure what's going on."
Fay turned around, with is fingers in a gun shape, acting all serious, yet he also looked playfully as he spoke, "If you want the children and Sakura-chan to stay alive. Well, I can't just say bad things like that and just leave, can I?"
He smiled again and looked normal. I smiled and started to look on the other side of the room.
'I don't see anything...' I thought, 'Man, how boring~ Kuro-sama is right...'
"Syaoran, come over here!" Mokona shouted, and I went to where he had called from in curiosity.
Mokona waved his hand as Syaoran and I watched him from different doorways, "Look at this!"
"These are blueprints of the castle," Syaoran said, "and its surroundings."
"This might be where Sakura is," Mokona said.
"No, I don't think so," he said while looking at an X on the map.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" someone asked.
'Crap...I didn't notice him,' I thought at the sound of Mr. Grosum's voice.
"Ah, busted," Mokona said in disappointment.
I picked up Mokona and put him on my shoulder, incase we had to run.
"I asked what you're doing," he commanded.
"We came here in search of clues to what's happening," Syaoran semi-truthfully said.
"I see," Mr. Grosum replied, "so, do you doubt my innocence?"
"I do not doubt anyone's innocence," Syaoran truthfully said.
I looked at Syaoran in suspicion.
"I'm just gathering the facts," Syaoran finished.
"Hmm..." I said.
"My father, the archaeologist, said to me: 'If you're after the truth, throw away your preconceptions and just gather the facts. If you do that, eventually the real truth will be seen,'" Syaoran quoted.
"Interesting," Mr. Grosum replied, "so, do you think you'll discover the truth?"
"Now, that..." Syaoran replied.
"Looking at you, I'm reminded of my younger days," Mr. Grosum announced.
Syaoran looked alarmed, but Mr. Grosum continued anyway. I looked towards the door and saw Fay and Kurogane waiting...patiently. Well, Kurogane wasn't. I looked at them, and Fay smiled. I smiled back.
"There was a time when the people in this town knew how to keep their mouth's shut. They would keep the important stuff in their hearts, and they wouldn't express them in words," Mr. Grosum explained, "My generation still feels that way."
I looked at Mr. Grosum in a curious kind of way. He didn't seem like the culprit, no matter what people said. I could sense he was the good guy even!
He held up his history achieve book, and he offered it to Syaoran, "And the words recorded in this book, that people even considered a collection of taboo words, are probably just a relic of such a spirit."
"What do you mean 'taboo words?’” Mokona asked, jumping to Syaoran's shoulder.
"They're words that aren't used for fear that they'll bring misfortune," Syaoran explained.
"Either writing or speaking them will result in the loss of one's happiness," Mr. Grosum said, and he handed the book to Syaoran, "I will leave this with you."
"Thank you very much," Syaoran thanked.
I smiled brightly to Mr. Grosum, and he smiled back. We left the house, Syaoran's nose already buried in the book. I sighed, kind of used to the cold now. I still hate it, but I'll get over it. I've got to keep in mind the search for the jinchuuriki, though.
'I wonder if they would hate me if I told them what I was looking for and what had to be done...?' I questioned in thought, evading the conversation of Mr. Grosum, 'They probably would be surprised, but I imagine leader would be ticked off if I told someone. I doubt Mokona will leave this world until I find what I need, though. So far I have one suspect, and that would be Dr. Kyle...'
I got of my thoughts when Syaoran tripped. Kurogane walked over and picked up Syaoran with one hand, by the back of his coat.
"I apologize," Syaoran said.
"Don't be hasty," Kurogane ordered, "If not, you will lose sight of what's out there to be seen."
"Yes, sir," Syaoran replied.
"Are you all right, Syaoran-kun?" I asked.
"I'm fine," he replied again.
Kurogane walked off with Mokona, while Fay and I stayed back to wait for Syaoran.
"Even though his face doesn't show it, he's still worried about Sakura-chan," Fay said.
"I see what you mean..." I replied.
We had caught up with Kurogane, and we were almost home. I was bored but curious...and antsy. I NEEDED to find the jinchuuriki and get home quickly, or Leader-sama will become impatient.
"That's odd," Syaoran said.
"What?~" I asked.
"This history book is a bit different from the one I borrowed from Dr. Kyle yesterday," Syaoran told, "There are more pages in this one."
"More...pages?" I raised an eyebrow, quite suspicious.
"Here, look," he offered.
I looked down at the book in curiosity.
'I think I caught our culprit~' I thought in a sing-song tone.
"That's strange..." I said.
"The castle seems to have a lot located below it," Fay said.
"And you're saying that this page wasn't in the doctor's book?" Kurogane asked.
"Yes," Syaoran said.
"Why?" Kurogane asked more to himself.
"Most likely..." Syaoran started.
I blanked out and looked up at this house. There was a kid looking up at the sky, and there was a strange look in his eye.
"A black bird..." the kid pointed up to a branch on a tree above us.
I looked up at the branch along with Syaoran, and turned back to the kid. The doctor pulled him away from the window, and I still looked at the boy, confused and even more curious.
'There was nothing there....strange. Maybe hallucinations?' I thought, 'Oh, well...'
We went back home, and I went straight up to mine and Fay's bedroom. I took a quick shower, though, since I felt dirty. I put back on the only clothes I had for here, the blue dress that we bought. It was sort of similar to Sakura's, except it was blue and white. I laid down on our bed and looked up at the ceiling.
'I haven't thought this much in awhile...' I thought, 'I feel weird. I usually have a short attention span.'
"What's wrong?" Fay asked me.
"Nothing really..." I replied, moving my arm away from my eyes.
"Ehh? But you're usually downstairs with everyone else," Fay said.
I shook my head in thought, "Just thinking."
"About?" he asked.
"Who the culprit could be," I said again, "And the thing I need for my mission."
"What exactly is your mission?" Fay asked.
I shook my head, "I'm afraid that information is confidential."
"Hmm..." Fay said in understanding, "Well, we're all going to the castle."
"Eh?" I sat up in shock, "Did Syaoran-kun find out something?"
Fay smiled, "It seems like it."
I nodded, and I grabbed my gray cloak thing, "I'll down in a second."
Fay nodded and shut the door as I buttoned my cloak thing. I grabbed the handle and opened the door, and when I did, I felt a hand around my waist, and one under my chin.
"F-Fay?" I questioned.
He smirked and kissed me again. He broke it a couple seconds later, "It's a good luck kiss. We won't see each other for awhile because you're leaving with Syaoran-kun."
I nodded in shock. I leaned up and kissed him this time, much to his surprise.
"Thank you, Fay," I replied when I ended it.
"Hyuu~ I didn't expect that one," he smiled at me.
I smirked and grabbed his hand, "Everyone is waiting. We should go."
He nodded, "Right."
'I can't fall for him...yet I am. I'm gonna only get hurt in the end,' I thought, 'Yet I can't help it. Maybe it'll all work out...? All relationships seem to have one difficult passage, but what if mine is too difficult to get across? Ours isn’t an actual relationship though, is it? I mean, it was only a lousy lie that made us have to act engaged…What should I do? I’ve never been this confused.'
