~ ~ ~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ AKEMI ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
WHILE THE OTHERS WERE ON THE FENCE
Akemi trusts that Naru and the others could find Kikyo, knowing that they are smart and a few of them looking out for Kikyo— it would only be time to find Kikyo before night fall.
So yes, Akemi believes that they would be fine without her help on looking. 'All they have to do was think outside the box and look up, they could manage.'
Akemi nudged Oliver forward, trying to look for any free staff to help her around.
As if her prayers were answered, one of the staff happened to pass by and Akemi with her shaky hand waved and stepped towards the staff. "Excuse me but do you happen to have a ladder?"
Akemi didn't know why but she felt like going up and different heights are calling for her.
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ NARU OTHERS ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
Seeing that the crew of the SPR failed on locating Kikyo's hiding figure, Naru decided for a more stepped up way of looking for Kikyo.
"Toujo-san may we borrow your children?" Naru asked as the crew went inside, the temperature was getting colder— even Bou-san let out a sneeze and were shivering.
"Huh?"
Bou-san too was confused and sipped the warm tea given to him, Mai already laying down the sofa and drinking her own blend. "What are you going to do Naru-chan?"
One of the members tried to give Naru some tea but the boss declined, there are more important matters after all. "-I'll have the children look for Kikyo."
"Are you trying to reenact the hide-and-seek scene?" Mai perked up at Bou-san's words,
"But I thought the children couldn't find Kenji?"
"This time I'll follow the children while they look for Kikyo-san." Naru turns to the others, deciding to at least take one sip of the tea but frowned when it was nowhere near Akemi's, however it would be rude of him to leave it behind and so finished the cup. "-You won't find her in places the children would think to look."
"You're going to look in the places the children won't think to look?!" Mai was stunned, 'That's a brilliant idea!'
"Wow! What a brilliant idea!" Bou-san speaks out that Mai thought she spoke aloud for a second and let out a sheepish grin when she didn't.
"Let's hurry." Naru walks ahead.
~~~
"So... I need all of you to go find this girl, okay?" Bou-san smiles towards the piled children,
"Hai~~~!" The children chorused, Mai letting out a silent squeal at the sight of their cuteness.
"Okay then, let's start!" Bou-san clapped with Naru standing just beside him, observing where they are looking.
"Hey old man, couldn't you find her?" one of the children tugged on Bou-san's sleeve. Her words hitting the monk hard.
"I'm not old! And no, I couldn't find her." Bou-san sweat dropped,
"But you looked a lot," the kid frowned,
"Yes, I did."
A kid beside the little girl mumbled and Bou-san leaned in with a fake grin on his face, knowing exactly what the boy said despite asking once more what was mumbled.
"Don't be a smart ass," Bou-san tease, grabbing the boy's head. Some of the kids noticing what happened turned to look at each other before nodding, a grin on their faces.
"Attack!" The kids yelled, pointing on Bou-san's tall build.
So like a mountain they have to overcome, the children started jumping on Bou-san's back and pulling his arms. "Ahh! Hey, this— this isn't wrestling! This is hide-and-seek!"
"Kyaah! Please let me go..." On the other side of the room, John let out a dizzying yelp.
"Weeee!"
"Weee!" the two girls squealed as they twirled John around by his arms.
"Jo— john..." Mai felt bad but as soon as she looked towards John's direction, the kids saw her kindness as a target and started jumping over her too.
"I'm not sure if they're overly-friendly or if they don't have any manners or something..." Bou-san sweat dropped when the kids finally stopped and went ahead to continue playing hide-and-seek.
"I think they just like that they have someone new to play with," Mai laughs,
"Are you okay?" Bou-san asks as a dizzy John makes his way towards them.
"I guess that they are very lonely, they may appear cheerful but they've been apart from their parents for a long time..." John says which just proved Mai's claims.
"So what does that mean? I'm like their father figure too!"
"I would think so..." John hesitated but after a while went with his words while Mai brightly and confidently answered a 'yup!'
"That... that hurts!" Bou-san and the other two turned as they felt the room turn considerably cold.
'Ahhh...' they flinched at the sight of Naru's glares.
"I'll work hard— very hard!" Bou-san stuttered and saluted, Mai going with his actions as well.
"Me— me too!"
They weren't able to let out a breath until Naru and Lin left the church. The two letting out a big breath.
"By the way, I noticed that the children are looking in a lot of the same places that we looked." Mai blinked, watching over the kids as they searched under the benches and closed closets.
"Hmm, I never noticed that! They never look anything higher than their heads." Bou-san snickered, just going for a tease. "I wonder if they're really looking—" but those words got cit off as he received a sense of eureka.
"High areas!" Bou-san turns to John and Mai, the two blinking at Bou-san's excitement. "Nobody's been looking in high areas! The children has been looking on places we've already looked but there are areas that they haven't been looking— ones that are at our heights."
John noticed too, and nodded. "They're not even thinking about places that are higher than their eye levels and that's the same for us, we didn't look in high areas either."
"Then, that would be the same for outside, wouldn't it?" The three ran outside, Mai already starting to go to a different direction.
"Then I'll start from over here—! Lin? Naru?" at the sound of two names, Bou-san and John turned and saw Naru with Lin following behind him. However, they weren't the only one walking out of the trees but Kikyo as well, who launched herself at Lin's back once more,
but it seems Lin was more tolerant this time as his coat was over Kikyo's.
"You found her?" Mai rushed over to Kikyo, who seemed to still be possessed by Kenji-kun when she clung unto Lin's neck tighter, but Mai was patient enough and overly worried so she spoke to Kenji.
"Kenji-kun, do you think you can let go of Lin— your father for a moment? I think he is getting a bit tired of carrying you around, so can you get down from his back so both of you can go back to the church where it's warm?" Mai suggested and the others waited with baited breath to what will happen and they were relieved, especially Lin when Kenji nudged Lin to put her down.
"We finally did it, it wasn't even that Kenji showed up on his own,"
The sound of Naru's phone pinged, taking it out he saw it was from Akemi with a message that seemed to solve the case.
» »PrincessSmilesALot: Subject: Quest Solved «« :I found him.
Naru remained quiet, not bothering to close his phone or put it away. Somehow her message emitted a heavy air, Naru could sense it just by staring at the screen.
It wasn't long when Akemi sent another text.
» »PrincessSmilesALot: Subject: Quest Solved « «:Look up.
And so he did, his eyes widening a fraction at the sight of Akemi by the angel statues that Bou-san and Mai were gushing about. Something inside him dreaded at the sight of Akemi so high above without any support. His hands twitched when Akemi bent down near the angel's outline but soon slacked when she lifted something out of it,
A bone,
not just any bone,
It was Kenji's skull.
"Kenji is finally found." Naru says, gaining the attention of the others.
"Huh?" Mai and the others turned, seeing Naru lift his hand and point right where Akemi stood.
The sight of Akemi so high up gave their hearts stress, Mai even screeched. "AKEMI-SEMPAI!!?"
"Akemi—" even Bou-san was gonna call out for the heiress but like Naru, his eyes strayed over the skull on her hands. Frozen, the monk sadly mutters. "In such a place..."
Kikyo grinned from Lin's arms, before stepping forward to lightly pull over Naru's sleeve to gain his attention, when Kenji got what he wanted he gave out a smile of gratitude.
"Thank you." And Kenji finally left Kikyo's body— Lin catching her dazed figure.
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ AKEMI ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
With the skull on her cold shivering hands, Akemi silently conveyed her prayers. It wasn't until she finished did she felt warmth engulf her.
She lifted her sights, letting out a smile as warm as the hug she felt, "Hello, Kenji-kun..."
Kenji who seemed lighter than he has ever been gave the brightest smile he could conjure, "Onee-chan, arigatou~!"
Akemi softly smiles, her head tilting slightly as she nudged her head towards the light where Kenji-kun would finally rest. "Your father's waiting,"
"My father?" Kenji turns to glance where Lin was and Akemi lightly giggles. She knew that Kenji never considered Lin as his actual father but due to Lin's resemblance— his instincts clung unto the thought of his father finally there with him.
Akemi hummed, "You shouldn't keep your father waiting, you know? He has been waiting for you for a long time now..."
And that was what saddened Akemi, a vision of hers just after she climbed all this way, found out that his father heard of his son's disappearance just as he got fired. He was filled with wanting to unite with his son that he somehow found peace, knowing that he would have the chances of finding him above.
'But it turned out that Kenji was still stuck here...' Akemi sadly smiles,
Kenji let out a considering hum, before floating towards the light with an excited gleam on his eyes.
Soon after he was lifted up, precious snow started falling down.
'Turns out we are getting a white Christmas after all~' Akemi smiled to herself before feeling a shiver run up to her spine and—
Achoo~!
"Naru you owe me chocolates!" Akemi sniffles, just as Naru walked to the top where Akemi went in hopes to reach the angel statues.
They just got Kikyo over by the vacant beds to help warm her up, Lin was already checking over the cameras while Mai and Bou-san watch over Kikyo and John went to Toujo-san's office to tell the news of Kenji's freedom.
Naru frowned, turning to see snow fall over. "Tsk."
'It's too late,' Akemi wryly smiles as another sneeze was coming up. 'I got the sniffles...'
~~~
[Start of Flashback
Akemi finally got to the stairs where it would take her high above the church, at first the heiress was worried as to what she would do with a ladder.
"You're gonna hold it steady for me, okay?" Akemi smiled at an innocent Oliver, his tongue sticking out to the side as he tilted his head in confusion.
'What did the hooman say?' Akemi could just imagine what their situation would be and so was glad when one of the staff suggested the high tower of the church.
It just so happens that that was the situation she was in when her phone notified a message.
» »GrumpyWizard: Subject: ? «« :How did you find Kenji?
Akemi frowned, she has been gone for an hour or almost an hour, 'They haven't found Kikyo yet?'
»»PrincessSmilesALot: Replied Subject:? «« : Up. (/¯◡ ‿ ◡)/¯
With a giggle, Akemi sent her message and took off, Oliver guiding her over the dozens of stairs.
End Of Flashback]