Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Note: Japanese honorifics will be used because using ‘Mr. Himura’ makes me die a little inside.

Black Magic

Chapter I

Lately I get a faraway feeling

And the whole thing starts again

Kaoru made her way through the store, eyes never leaving the shelves before her and the little price tags that sat under the names of each product. She tilted her head at two different kinds of crackers and, after a moment to decide, dropped the box on the left into her basket. Next was the tea, which Megumi had complained was getting very low indeed, and the little packets of coffee beans Misao liked to munch on constantly, as if her constant natural sugar high needed any help from caffeine.

When Kaoru reached the aisle that held the preferred drinks of her household and set to examining which tea to get, the woman who stood next to her gave her a nervous glance and fidgeted. Kaoru ignored her in favor of comparing peppermint tea to the ever popular vanilla chai that Megumi raved about. She might get in trouble if she brought home something other than Megumi’s favorite, but then again, Kaoru got tired of the same thing every day.

The woman next to her shifted to the side slightly, keeping an ever watchful eye on Kaoru and, more specifically, her hands.

Kaoru finally decided on both teas and tossed them into her basket. She turned to the woman who, after a slight panic attack and internal argument on the propriety of doing so, had shuffled another step away from Kaoru. Kaoru allowed a bright smile to grace her face, her eyes shining effortlessly with the cheerful expression. Reaching with her hand, Kaoru picked out a box of tea that held a variety of flavors. She held it out to the woman.

“If you are having trouble deciding, Suzuki-san, then may I suggest a variety pack? You get five different flavors and I’m sure,” Kaoru smiled knowingly, “that you will find one that just tickles you pink in all the right places.”

With that she dropped the box into the woman’s basket and gave a small nod as the woman froze in place. Satisfied, Kaoru spun on her heel, heading for the checkout and the sales lady who had been watching her ever since she had entered the store. Behind her she heard the hasty movements of Suzuki dumping the contents of her basket onto the floor.

-d-b-

“Megumi!” Kaoru yelled as she stepped into the house, “Help me unpack!”

A woman with long, raven dark hair walked through a set of large double doors, skirt whirling about her legs, hands busy untying the apron from around her waist. Her sharp blue eyes caught sight of Kaoru and she grabbed one of the bags from the younger woman’s arms. Kaoru sighed in relief.

“Did you get some more tea like I asked?” Megumi queried as she led the way through the house and toward the kitchen. Once there she set the bag on the counter and started unpacking.

“Dig deep enough,” Kaoru said, snorting as she set her own bag down, “and you’ll find out.”

Megumi obliged and dug toward the bottom, pulling out bread, eggs, milk and coffee beans on her way. She held a box in front of her for a moment then turned annoyed eyes toward Kaoru.

“Peppermint?” The tone of her voice suggested she was every bit as irritated as she looked.

“Dig deeper,” Kaoru sang as she put the milk in the fridge. A happy exclamation, more noise than words, told Kaoru that her sister had found what she was looking for.

After the groceries had been taken care of and Megumi was at the table happily sipping her new tea, Kaoru dug into the very bottom of her bag and pulled out a newspaper. She wandered over to the table and plopped down on a chair, spreading the paper out before her.

“Did you see today’s paper?” she asked idly.

“Do I ever see today’s paper?” her sister returned smartly.

Kaoru hummed, eyes not leaving the print on the page in front of her. Kaoru didn’t push the issue but Megumi decided to persist regardless.

“I don’t even know why you read that crap,” she huffed, then paused to take a sip. “It’s nothing but gossip, you know.”

Kaoru nodded vaguely but Megumi didn’t notice.

“This town is so small, nothing ever happens, and the people need something to entertain themselves. What better way than to rant about their neighbors?”

Kaoru didn’t look up, but said, “Not all of it is false, Megumi.”

Megumi turned to look at her sister, raised an eyebrow at her and scoffed.

Kaoru didn’t notice. “The Tanaka’s daughter is missing.”

The older woman shook her head. “Probably off chasing butterflies in that field they like so much.”

“She’s been missing since yesterday.”

“And they’ll find her when she’s ready to stop playing her game.”

“She’s the third one.”

Kaoru raised her head as Megumi turned. “The third…”

Kaoru nodded, eyes darting down to scan the print again. “She’s the third girl to go missing in the past week, all under the age of ten.”

Megumi set her tea down. “I wonder what that’s all about.”

Kaoru shrugged a bit, not knowing the answer. “I hope they find them though.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, even if they don’t it’s not like it’s our problem.”

Kaoru scowled at her sister. “How can you be so cold? They’re innocent girls.”

“Kaoru,” Megumi said slowly, “no one is innocent.”

The young woman’s expression didn’t change. “Don’t forget our two little girls, currently residents on the third floor of this house, if you remember, that just happen to be the ages of six and seven.” Kaoru raised her eyebrow in challenge.

Megumi took a moment before saying quietly, “You need not worry about Ayame and Suzume, Kaoru.”

“And why not?” the younger persisted, tone becoming slightly vehement.

Megumi sipped her tea. “They are like us. No one in their right mind would come near them, let alone take them.”

Kaoru backed down then, having no choice but to silently agree with her sister. “You may be right, but it still hits to close to home. I think we should take precautions.”

“Our entire house is ‘precautioned’,” Megumi said, going back to her tea.

Kaoru sighed, folded the paper and stood. “Well,” she said as she passed her sister, “I hope they find the other girls. I’m going to find Misao.” She left through the door calling their youngest sister’s name.

Megumi waited until Kaoru’s footsteps had faded, then reached over and plucked the newspaper from its resting spot. She opened it to the article about the missing girls and skimmed the print.

“They’re calling in an investigator?” she murmured in surprise, eyebrows raising. “This must be serious.”

-d-b-

“Thank you so much for coming, Himura-san,” said the sheriff, hands fidgeting at his side as he took in the rather strange appearance of the investigator in question. He was very nearly the shortest man the sheriff had ever seen and he sported red hair longer than most women’s, and better managed at that. With his violet eyes and smiling face, the sheriff almost second guessed the man’s gender.

Kenshin Himura smiled gently and raised his hands in a placating gesture. “It is no problem, really, Kara-san.”

The sheriff nodded. “We just can’t get any leads and our department really isn’t suited for this type of investigation anyways; we really appreciate the city sending in some help.”

“I am happy to help, Kara-san, and will do everything in my power to find your missing girls,” Kenshin reassured. “Now, tell me what your people have found.”

The sheriff gestured toward a seat in front of the desk and, once Kenshin had taken it, went around to his own chair behind his desk. He placed his elbows on the desktop and steepled his fingers before answering, his tone serious.

“Three girls, ages six, seven and nine, were taken from their homes in the past week. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern in the abductions because the first was done in broad daylight and the other two during the night. I’m guessing the first one was done during the day because no one was suspecting it.”

Kenshin nodded in agreement. “Did the kidnapper leave anything behind?”

Kara shook his head. “Nothing was found, not even prints, it was a clean sweep.”

“Is there a pattern in where the girls live or with their parents at all?”

“Not that we can find. Two of the girls, the first and the third, live within a block of each other, but the second was on the other side of the town. Their parents don’t have any connection with each other; their jobs, their clubs, their shopping habits, nothing. We’ve tried to establish even the smallest connection between any of the families and the best we can come up with is that the girls all seem to be fairly young, under the age of ten.”

Kenshin’s fingers tapped his chin and his eyes went to the side in thought. He hummed for a moment, then said, “Do you have any leads at all?”

The sheriff sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh and looked at Kenshin. “We have one, but no evidence to support it.”

“And what is that?” Kenshin prompted. Any lead was worth looking into.

“The Kamiya sisters, they live up on the hill,” Kara explained. “They have a history of being troublesome, their whole family does. The only sister we ever really see is the middle one, I don’t remember her name. The other two stay up in the house and practice their witchery.”

Kenshin’s eyebrows rose. “Witchery?”

Kara nodded knowingly. “Theirs is a family of witches. They put curses on people who cross their path, sacrifice animals, dance naked under the moon, all that stuff. They’re always causing trouble.”

“And you suspect them because of this…” Kenshin hesitated, “odd behavior?”

The sheriff nodded again. “It explains the lack of evidence at the crime scenes, why no one saw the girls being taken. Magic. The problem with the Kamiyas is that no one can ever prosecute them because their spells don’t leave evidence, or they cover it up.”

Kenshin frowned. “So they’ve committed crimes before? They have a record?”

Kara hesitated, leaning his head to the side and making a sound in the back of his throat that suggested he didn’t quite know the answer to that. “They’ve never been convicted of anything because we can never find evidence against them.”

“But you’re convinced they did it?”

Kara nodded. “Everyone in town is convinced.”

“What kind of crimes?” Kenshin asked, not at all convinced these accusations held any merit. It sounded like a rather large grudge the entirety of the town was holding against one family, not a series of crimes, and he reconsidered his earlier thoughts.

“Stealing,” Kara said without hesitation, “and everyone knows they put spells on young men. There have also been some mysterious deaths in the past, poisons and such, that no one can explain.”

Kenshin hummed again, wondering if he should at least interview one of the sisters to see if they had seen anything. He had no reason to question any of them so far, besides the rather shaky explanation Kara had just offered. He shook his head slightly.

“Well, you’re right,” he said, “that’s not much of a lead.”

Kara looked at him. “If anyone can catch them, I’m sure it is you, Himura-san.”

-d-b-

As Kenshin was leaving the sheriff’s office a woman came running in, out of breath and paler than a ghost. She dashed by him, calling the sheriff’s name in a panicky tone of voice. He stopped outside the door and turned to watch Kara intercept her, thinking it might have something to do with the case he’d been assigned to. He was in luck.

“Kara-san!” the woman nearly screeched, breath coming out in pants. “We found a body! It’s Taka-chan,” the woman wailed.

Kenshin sighed at the news, feeling sorry for the parents. But he understood the look Kara sent him all too well. They had found their lead.

-d-b-

Kenshin kneeled by the body, inspecting the girl for any visible wounds. He could find none that indicated what had killed her but it was plain to see that she was indeed dead. Her eyes were blank, her mouth slightly parted, her body stiff from the beginnings of rigor mortis. Her simple shirt and pants were soaked through from the water from which she had been pulled, but other than that seemed to be in perfect condition. He stood and looked to Kara.

“Is this one of the three girls?” he asked. Everyone had been silent while Kenshin had been inspecting the body. He guessed they didn’t normally see this kind of thing in such a small town.

Kara nodded slowly. “Taka Haruko, six years old, the first one reported missing.”

Kenshin looked to the woman hiding halfway behind the sheriff. “Miss? Were you the one who found her?”

The woman nodded fearfully, dragging her terrified eyes from the corpse to violet eyes that softened with understanding almost immediately. Kenshin turned back to the corpse that had washed up on the side of a small stream and sighed.

“Get the coroner to look at her, let me know when they find the cause of death.” He looked at Kara. “I hope I do not need to express the importance of haste in this investigation.”

Kara nodded in understanding. “You can interview the Kamiyas while you’re waiting.”

Kenshin blinked. “Why would I question the Kamiyas?”

Kara looked confused and turned to the man, the woman’s husband, who had also accompanied them to the stream. Turning back to Kenshin, he explained slowly while pointing towards a hill. “This stream is awfully close to their house, Himura-san. I would think it obvious why we need to question them.”

Kenshin turned to follow Kara’s finger and took in the sight of a large house built on top of a small hill, surrounded by green grass. He turned back to Kara, ready to explain that the proximity to the Kamiyas’ house was not really any indication that the residents needed questioning, especially when the flow of the stream indicated the girl had come from the opposite direction. But the other man cut him off.

“I knew it,” he hissed angrily. “Goddamn witches.”

“I can’t believe they would do such a thing,” the woman whispered.

Kenshin sighed internally. “I will question them, but let’s not jump to conclusions.”

It didn’t seem like they were listening to him as they stared at the house and Kenshin decided he wouldn’t get anywhere with them until he had a talk with the Kamiya sisters.

“Get this cleaned up, Kara,” he said in a firm voice, gaining the man’s attention. He turned to the couple. “Sir? You and your wife can head home now. Thank you for all that you’ve done.”

Kenshin watched them go, watched Kara whip out his cell phone and start punching numbers. He needed to head back to his hotel room, fill out a report about the crime scene and do some investigating of his own. The questioning would have to wait until tomorrow.

-d-b-

“How are they doing?”

Kaoru chuckled lightly at the slight worry in his voice. “They are doing wonderfully, Gensai-sensei.”

“That’s good.” She could hear the relief in his voice over the phone. “I hate leaving them alone for any period of time.”

“I understand,” Kaoru told him although, with no children of her own, she couldn’t claim a similar feeling of worry. “But trust me, Megumi loves having little helpers around.”

“I should be back in a couple of months. Hopefully the Council won’t make us stay any longer than they have to.”

“They can stay as long as they want, Gensai-sensei.” Kaoru’s attention strayed from the man she was talking with, watching the two small girls run around the lawn in their sundresses and bare feet through the large bay windows. “Besides, I don’t think they’d mind. There’s lots of room for them to run here.”

Gensai chuckled. “Well, I really do need to be going. Thank you again.” Kaoru voiced her consent, told him once more not to worry and would you say hello to Kisa-chan if she was there? Then she hung up and went to stand on the porch.

Kaoru watched the girls again, the daughters of a respected woman they had only met once but who had been close with Kaoru’s own mother. The woman had been killed in a car accident along with her husband, their father. The tragedy had not slowed the small girls down, however, and Kaoru chalked it up to the resilience of youth. She smiled as the orphans chased the sunlight into the backyard, then took off at a run to catch up with them.