There was nothing I hated more than cases of missing children.
Hnrh -- I mean, hi. My name is Nikao. I'm an officer -- a former officer of the Kitiwai Royal Guard. Been retired some years now. Ten or so...I lost track...
Yeah, like I said, there was nothing I hated more than cases of missing children. But I was young and naive then. I had a limited number of cases under my belt, yet thought my work had brought me to know the world. There was a certain way things worked...and I thought I knew it.
I jumped on the case of Mete and Ren. Two little children, twins, that went missing from a little town in the suburbs of Nekonia's capital. I wanted to be the one to find those kids. Nothing was more important to me right then than to bring those kids home.
First things first, right? I even knew that back then. I talked to their caretaker --a single father-- to try to get some leads. I still remember the interview to this day.
The weather was sunny and bright, which contrasted sharply with the run down little shack Kourana-san called his home. I remember thinking, as I walked in, that this was no place for two little kids to grow up. Kourana-san and I exchanged formalities, before he led me into the shack. We had a seat at his kitchen table.
It must be hard to raise two children on your own, I had said. Kourana-san grunted and responded that he did as well as circumstances allowed. When did your children disappear, Kourana-san? Two weeks ago, when they were out playing.
He wasn't much friendlier for the rest of the interview -- nor was he very useful. He had no real insights on where his children might be...eventually I had gathered as much information as was to be had, and made my closing politeness before leaving. It occurred to me as I was exiting that, what with how charming the father seemed to be, the children might have packed off on their own accord.
I left that shack with nothing more than some information about the kids' other relatives. Well, at least I had something to go on, I thought. Unfortunately, investigating the other kids' relations wasn't much more useful than the original interview with the father. I assigned a subordinate to keep an eye on them, while I tried thumping around the city for news. No luck.
I was going through all the right motions, but I was getting nowhere. I grew more and more frustrated at my lack of success. That's when the news came to me.
Another child had gone missing. <p>
<span style="font-size:xx-small;">-=- "YOU SEE THE MIGHTY DAMARAMU'S BRAIN IS VERY COMPACT!" -- Damaramu
-=- "Don't worry Mink, I'll be good excess baggage!" -- Pia
-=- "But I'm a slime half!" -- Princess Vena
-=- "OH BY THE SEVEN GODS IT'S A MECHANICAL BIRD! But it's so...small..." -- announcer guy
-=- "Demons don't care about story continuity!" -- Doug Finn</span></p>Edited by: pd Rydia at: 6/2/03 8:21:24 pm