"Hello Detective" Zoey shivered, pressing her back against the wall of the restaurant, avoiding the harsh weather that had picked up.
"Konbanwa Zoey, sorry to call you this late, how are you?" the Detective's voice buzzed back,
"I'm fine, what is this about?" she sighed, kicking a small bottlecap around her feet,
"Cut to the chase, alright" the Detective chuckled, "I was going to visit Shinto's home, see if I can pick up anything that was missed, a clue to his whereabouts"
"And you want me to come with you?"
"You read my mind Zoey, you might be able to spot something I overlook, so how about it?" he pulled the phone away from his mouth, Zoey heard him cough, though it seemed distant,
"Alright, fine, if it helps find him"
"Thank you Zoey, I'll see you tomorrow"
"Right" she sighed, hanging up.
She ran her fingers through her hair and straighened up her dress.
If trying to plan your future career choices wasn't hard enough without the police requiring your help to find your potentially dead ex-boyfriend...
Zoey had many fond memories of this house, and it had never felt as cold as it did now. Without Shinto, his father had no shred of humanity left, he was merely a shell, a cold-hearted businessman with no goal other than money.
Detective Kataki knocked on the front door, stepping back and throwing a reassuring smile at Zoey.
"He said he'd be home to talk to us" he whispered, hopeful that Shinto's father was true with his words,
"I'm sure.." Zoey sighed, her eyes meeting the sad state of the garden, Shinto's father's depression reflected on everything he had power over,
The door creaked open, revealing a dark hallway, there was a grunt and the lights flickered on. Inside was Shinto's father, Mr Origachi, a big businessman here on Planet Kyushu.
His figure was small and hunched, and he was surprisingly well kept for a man in depression. He seemed to be bottling his emotions up, shown by his smart business suit and tie.
The house was cold as he welcomed them in, without saying a word, Mr Origachi sulked on through to the back of the house, leading the Detective and Zoey on through to his office.
He took a seat and looked up at Kataki,
"How can I help...?"
"Kataki, Detective Kataki" Kataki paused, "We spoke on the phone..."
"Oh... okay" Mr Origachi picked up his pencil and began scrawling out notes,
Zoey nodded at Kataki and backed out of the room, allowing the two men room to talk officially.
She dawdled through the cold, dark corridors of the house, noticing a pattern. Mr Origachi had turned down the heat, enough so that he wouldn't freeze, and left the lights off. He was saving power, and thus money.
Without Shinto to brighten his life, Mr Origachi thought only as a businessman, and no longer as a father, no longer as a human being.
Shinto took another sip, expecting the expensive liquor to touch his lips briefly on it's way down his throat, but his expectation was shattered as he remembered emptying his glass only ten minutes ago.
This work was draining, and he didn't see himself finishing much more before he passed out then and there.
Almost reluctantly he closed the lid of his laptop computer and stood up, stretching and attempting to hold back a yawn as his eyes readjusted to the artificial light in his father's study.
He had no idea where his father was, somewhere out of town looking at some structures potentially viable to build Factories or something like that.
Shinto glanced out the window of the study, almost surprised to see it was dark outside. He flicked the lights off and grabbed his glass, headed for the stairs.
As he approached his room, the sound of the television met his ears, thoughts of Zoey eased his stressed mind. Inside she was propped up on the bed, watching a trashy movie and smoking.
"Zoey, what did I tell you about smoking in my father's house?" he scolded, leaning against the doorway,
"Oh no, this is really good stuff" she giggled, her eyes a familiar bloodshot red,
"Marijuana? Zoey..." he began,
"Come, come, try it!" Zoey hopped off the bed, stumbling a little before handing him her joint,
He held it for a second, the sweet yet tangy odor met his nostrils as he raised it to take a drag. A familiar tingly sensation in his throat and mouth, Zoey wasn't lying, this was very good stuff.
"Wow..."
January 10th 812A.S.
Zoey smiled a little, the memories of Shinto was all she had, and she had little confidence in Kataki's efforts to find Shinto. He hadn't been found yet, meaning he didn't want to be. Shinto was old enough just to leave home, the fact the authorities had decided to look into it was because Shinto's father was so influential to the business of Fukuoka and the surrounding areas...