Who: Raiden, Bakeneko and a cameo from Poseidon What: This time Raiden finds out the truth about her mother. When: Thursday night, August 9, 2012 Where: Raiden's apartment. Warnings: Ichy Bakeneko findings, blood and hinting to dead bodies
The last month or so Raiden had kept at a distance from her father. He was busy with the prospect of a new child, and Raiden had concerns for her mother. She didn't take her father's silence personally she only wished he showed interest in what was going on in her life right now. Every time she called to tell him of her mother's strange behaviors he waved it off as her mother being psychotic. The more she pleaded the more bored he became. When she came to him with a bloody bundle of sheets and bones he started to pay attention.
Tears streaked her face. She'd been crying for hours. Just thinking about it made her heart sink. "Otousan...." she said in a shaky voice, those crystal blue Asian eyes staring back at him. "This is all that's left of her." She held back the urge to crawl into his arms and let him take the confusion away. She still didn't understand what had even happened. It seemed surreal.
She'd come home that afternoon ready to prepare her mother's favorite dish. She'd slaved over it all afternoon, setting out the bowls and chopsticks. It was a fantastic array of Japanese food. Her eyes glistened with excitement, taking her father's advice that she was overreacting. She still had not found any clues that could pinpoint her accusations. That was before this night. As always her mother slipped out late. The dinner Raiden had prepared was cold before her mother returned. She was sluggish, dragging her feet through the door like a wounded animal. Raiden rushed to her aid only to be batted away with what seemed like golden cat eyes and a hiss. Raiden paused holding her hands close to her chest. "Okasan?" she asked.
There was a low growl that seemed unnatural for any human to posses. "Let me prepare you a bath," she nodded heading to the bathroom to draw up the water. Her mother dug into the food like a wild animal, throwing out what she didn't like. Raiden did her best to let it go unnoticed but her senses were all riled. Something was definitely wrong. She helped her mother to the bath, peeling off the dress and lending a hand as she slipped inside the water. Raiden then proceeded to clean up the dinner. While doing so she found a chunk of fingernail on the table. She gasped dropping what plates and bowls she'd had in her hand. But that wasn't the most startling thing. Moments later an unearthly, curdling scream came from the bathroom. It hung in the air even after Raiden raced to the door finding the water bath empty and a streak of orange, black and white running out of the open door. It was Kumori! Pippa's bobtail.
"What are you doing here?" Raiden reached down given a scratch from the plump kitty's paw. It yowled again jumping through an open window. When Raiden raced back to the bathroom she found no trace of her mother. Just a trail of bloody paw prints. Frantic she started to search the entire apartment. Under the bed, in cabinets, closets, anywhere that would give her a clue to what she'd just seen. She tore the entire apartment up only to be empty handed. Dropping to her knees the girl curled into a ball and cried. When she couldn't cry anymore, she lay stiff like a statue. There in the corner was a bowed board in the floor. It hadn't stood out before because of the way the shadow of the bed hit it. She pushed the bed aside, getting her thin fingers onto the board to pull it up. It loosened easily which was another strange detail that she'd pick up on later.
It was what was inside that made her cover her mouth in a shriek. Stuffed inside was her mother's favorite dress, bloody with the smell of death. She picked it up with the tips of her fingers, unfolding the cloth to find just a handful of bones and teeth. Pushing it away she skid into a corner as if the bones were going to attack her, shivering she closed her arms around her legs.
For hours she sat immobile thinking of who she contacted first. Takashi? Pippa? In the end she wrapped up the contents, stuffed it into a duffel and headed to her father's office. She called his cell saying he needed to stay put. She was heading over. There on his expensive office desk she proved what she had been feeling all along.
"What do I do?" she said with a pointed finger, her nerves getting the better of her again.
Poseidon got up from his chair not really sure how to react in this situation. She was only a half-ling, but still his. The months he'd spent with Amphitrite preparing for this new baby had given him a reason to get in good with his children, oddly enough. So, the bag of bones on his desk was an offense, not from Raiden herself but from whatever had done it. She flung into his arms without giving him a chance to protest.
"You're getting me a new desk," he said, reluctantly putting his hand against the back of her head. "This shit reeks." Housecleaning was going to have a field day.