Fanfiction: Fractures (Completed 07/11/15)

[Sadako]

Apropos of nothing, it turns out you can make a half-decent Fractures!Shizune in Comipo…

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[Sharp-O]

Nice work, Sadako. Is that program like Poser?

[Sadako]

Nice work, Sadako. Is that program like Poser?

Kind of. It’s basically a program for making manga-style comics – you make your own characters, pose them, put them into comic frames, add backgrounds, speech bubbles, even effects like speed lines or those big sweat drops that appear on anime characters when they’re nervous.

Which sounds great, but in a lot of ways it’s very limited. You can’t customise costumes (just buy sets of new ones), there’s only about four face types and a few hairstyles, and you just pick a pose from a (pretty big) list. Fractures!Shizune was easy to make, but if I want to give her a scarf or put her in a winter coat? Nope.

It’s a toy, really. Loads of fun to play around with, but no substitute for actual talent!

[Sadako]

11. Uncertainty Principle

From the outside Accelerando looked small, almost unassuming; a narrow frontage of white marble and tinted glass just off Keyakizaka Street. Even its signage was low-key, looping English characters embossed into plain slate. If Rin hadn’t spotted it Emi would probably have walked straight past.

“Nice work,” Emi told her, pushing the door open. “Saves me having to ask for directions. I don’t think I pronounce this place very well.”

“Accelerando,” said Lilly perfectly.

“Unfair advantage. Hey, there’s a cloakroom. Shall we drop our coats off?”

Emi was starting to realise that, while Rin might appear to be wandering through life in a kind of fugue-state, she was actually incredibly observant. She noticed details and patterns in her brief, vague glances that Emi couldn't have spotted with a magnifying glass and a spare hour. Which, given what Rin did for a living, made perfect sense.

Then again, there was still plenty about her that didn’t. As soon as she entered Accelerando’s foyer Rin had stopped in front of a mirrored section of wall, and was watching her own reflection with what looked like intense suspicion.

Emi didn’t like the way the woman was glaring at herself. She glanced quickly around to make sure no-one else was nearby. “Rin? Are you okay?”

“For a given value of okay, I’m okay.”

“Then why the look?”

Rin let out a tiny sigh. “This hat. It makes me look like a roofing nail.”

Emi sagged slightly, then nudged her past the mirror. “Damn, you had me worried for a moment there. You used to have a thing about reflections.”

“I used to have a thing about a lot of things.”

“So you’re okay with rubber ducks now?”

“No.” Rin shook her head, walking along beside her. “Rubber ducks are still creepy. Next time you see a rubber duck, look into its eyes. You’ll see. They have the cold dead stare of a killer.”

“Sounds like a great way to get thrown out of a toy store.” They had reached the cloakroom counter. Emi was just about to ask if Rin needed help with her jacket when the woman dipped her head, tugged open a fastening with her teeth and shrugged her way out in one smooth, practiced motion.

“Wow. Okay, who wants drinks while we’re waiting?”




Shizune had instructed them to find a table if they arrived first. Apparently she and her colleagues were regulars at Accelerando, often holding meetings and after-work gatherings there, even bringing along clients on occasion. Which, given the bar prices, gave Emi a very good indication of just how well-off Matsushima Legal was.

Between Lilly’s terrifying credit card and Shizune’s go-to venue, Emi was beginning to feel seriously underfunded. “Okay, that’s one unpronounceable white wine for Lilly, one spring water for me and a vodka and orange juice for Rin, minus the vodka.” She set the drinks carefully onto the tabletop and sat down. “Don’t make that face. Your bloodstream’s still fifty percent painkillers.”

Rin shrugged. “That’s okay. Is it freshly squeezed?”

“Yeah.” Emi put a straw into Rin’s glass. “They’ve got one of those machines.”

“Yum.”

“Thank you, Emi.” Lilly’s fingers found the wine glass, brought it up to her nose. She sniffed deeply, smiled. “Mm. Wonderful.”

Emi lifted her beaker in salute. “Cheers, and drink slowly. This round wiped out about half my month’s fun money.”

“Didn’t Shizune tell you to order on her tab?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really like doing that if she’s not around. Especially if she’s buying dinner.” The back of her jaw twitched, and before she knew it she was stifling a yawn. “Damn. Sorry.”

“Not flagging already, I hope?”

“It’s been kind of a full day. And I didn’t really sleep last night, so…” Emi blinked down into her glass, watching tiny bubbles swarming back up at her. “It’s weird. Feels like this has been going on forever, but that asshole only tried to flatten me, what, this time yesterday?”

“You’re right, it seems far longer.” Lilly took a small sip of wine. “Time plays tricks on the senses, I suppose. Hours, even years can pass you by, if you fail to pay them proper attention.”

There was something very sad, Emi thought, about the way Lilly had said that. A strange, wistful change in tone, as though she had started off talking to Emi and ended up speaking entirely to herself.

Maybe she was thinking about Hanako.

“You can’t trust time,” Rin was saying. She leaned down to her drink, took a sip through the straw. “Mm. It’s tricky. What was that book? With the clocks and the teacups and the cat?”

“Alice in Wonderland?”

“Not that one. Time’s Arrow. Or Brief History. Maybe both.”

Emi gave her a sour eye. “You did that deliberately.”

“Time only goes one way,” Rin continued, nodding very slightly to herself. “It’s asymmetrical. The other forces work in all directions but time only works in one direction which is why you can’t trust it.”

“Emi?” Lilly was looking completely confused. “Are you sure you left out the vodka?”

“If you drop a teacup on the floor it smashes.” Rin’s eyes, half-closed, were fixed on the surface of her orange juice. “It never squishes all back together again and jumps up into your hand. No matter how many teacups you drop that never ever happens. Also your mother gets really cross. But you know what?”

Emi had an idea of where this was going. “Tell us.”

“Sometimes, if you’re very careful and work very hard, you can make that happen. With glue. You won’t get the same cup, it’ll have all these holes and cracks and textures that weren’t there before, and that’s cool. Before it was just a teacup. Now it’s a teacup that knows what it’s like to hit the floor really hard. Anyway.” She stood up. “This teacup is kinda full. Will be back shortly.”

Emi watched her ambling away towards the bathroom. “Now I know why none of the cups at her Mom’s place match.”

“I had wondered.” Lilly closed her eyes, rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Maybe I’m tired too. That actually seemed to make sense, towards the end.”

“Rin makes sense most of the time. She just makes it in a different way to the rest of us.”

“You know her far better than I do. Will she be all right, when this business is done?”

“She’s more all right than I’ve ever seen her.” Emi found herself smiling warmly. “I don’t know how much you can tell about what she’s doing, but she’s so independent now, way more than she ever was at school. And damn, she’s bendy.” A thought sprang into her mind then, quite unbidden, and it made her blush. “Um. One day she’s going to make some guy very happy.”

“Guy?” Lilly smirked. “At the risk of sounding filthy-minded, I feel that restricting herself to lovers of only one gender would be most unlike Rin.”

“Lilly Satou, I’m shocked.” Emi snickered. “Still the bad girl in disguise, huh?”

Lilly sipped elegantly at her wine. “If only you knew. Meanwhile, back in the clean world, what are we going to do after this?”

“Hadn’t really thought that far ahead.” Emi sat back. “I still don’t feel comfortable leaving Rin on her own. Or me on my own, for that matter.”

“I think that’s wise, under the circumstances. On the other hand, I should probably go back to my hotel.”

“You gonna be okay there?”

“It’s quite secure, I assure you. Besides, I received my letter at work. There’s no indication our tormentor even knows where I’m staying.”

“That’s a relief. I’ll drive us back to the Tezukas’ and then call you a cab from there.”

A shadow crossed her. She glanced up and saw Rin standing over her.

She wasn’t alone. “Look what I found.”

Emi’s heart did a weird, nervous little jump in her chest. After five years, even seeing Shizune on a computer screen had been a strange enough experience. For her to be standing there at the end of the table was almost surreal.

She pushed herself upright and bowed. “Lilly, Shizune is here.”

Lilly stood up. As she did so, Shizune reached out to her, took one of Lilly’s hands in her own and, with the tips of two fingers, drew several symbols on the taller woman’s palm.

In response Lilly giggled, covering her mouth with her other hand; a surprisingly girlish, almost wicked sound. Then, as Shizune stepped back, Lilly signed something to her, the movements of her long fingers hesitant and unpractised.

Shizune grinned, grabbed Lilly and hugged her hard.

“Oh my God,” said Emi quietly. “Of all the things I thought I’d see today, that totally isn’t one of them.”

Rin was looking back towards the bar, a puzzled frown creasing her face. “There was a squeaky girl.”

“A what now?”

“A girl who squeaked. When I was coming out of the bathroom she was there at the door, and as soon as she saw me she went eep and ran away with her hands over her face.”

Even here? Emi patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Rin. You know how people are.”

“No,” said Rin thoughtfully. “No, I really don’t.”

[brythain]

You need longer chapters. I keep going 'how nice, how well-written, how in-character... how short. '.

[Sharp-O]

Well, the squeaker's identity is all but confirmed by that eep There's only one person missing out of the quintet, after all.

[Mirage_GSM]

You think so?
Hanako is quite recognizable - especially for someone as observant as Rin...

[AntonSlavik020]

Somehow it makes so much sense that Rin finds rubber duckies creepy.

[Skeeve]

Woo, all caught up!

And I actually kind of got a Yuuko vibe from that little 'eep', not a Hanako one.

Actually, there's my first prediction; Yuuko's the killer, going after everyone who left Yamaku with unpaid library fines.

[Sharp-O]

You think so?
Hanako is quite recognizable - especially for someone as observant as Rin...

Too true but I can't think of anyone else who would react in such a way... If Hisao died, presumably she'd either regress further into herself OR continue her path to independent confidence.

Plus we've had every other main cast girl introduced (apart from Miki)

[Sadako]

You need longer chapters. I keep going 'how nice, how well-written, how in-character... how short. '.

That’s due entirely to me panicking. I’ve got my story plan, and I think: “Okay, so in this chapter they need to be here, and I need to seed this piece of information, and put in this bit of foreshadowing, and write this fun conversation about Lilly’s sex life and OH GOD IT’S A MONSTER” and promptly start hacking it into chunks. Then when I actually post the damn thing the characters barely get time to clear their throats.

[Rin] Will think more seriously [/Rin]

[Sadako]

12. Kill List

Shizune had brought a tablet computer, a sleek silvery thing that spoke for her in a clear, surprisingly feminine voice. It probably cost a month’s rent on Emi’s flat, but it was plain Shizune didn’t like it much. She swiped and stabbed at its screen with obvious distaste.

“Please excuse my use of this contraption,” the tablet lilted. Shizune was sitting back with her arms folded, as if to distance herself from it. “I would have brought a translator, but I still don’t want to involve anyone else just yet.”

“That’s probably wise,” Lilly replied, enunciating very clearly. Shizune had taken a seat directly opposite her. “If only from a legal standpoint.”

Shizune spent a few more seconds brutalising the tablet. “It’s an ugly thing, though, relying on machines when we’re face to face.”

“Hey,” said Emi brightly, “at least it sounds like a person. Not a robot or Stephen Hawking or something.”

Shizune winked at her. “I’ll have to take your word for that.”

It was a slow, slightly laborious way of talking, and Emi could see how much it frustrated Shizune to have her words spoken by cold electronics. Still, as both she and Lilly had mentioned, it made sense not to bring any of Matsushima’s translation team on-board if it could be avoided. Not only could it expose them to danger, but it sounded like Shizune was sailing some legally murky waters in her efforts to discover more about what was going on. Poking around in an active murder investigation wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

That had been worrying Emi a lot. “Hey Shizune, you’re not going to get into any trouble doing this, are you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle, thank you.”

“I’m very sorry everyone.” Without warning Rin had pushed her chair back and stood up. “Emi, could I speak with you privately please?”

She turned on her heel and walked away. Emi pushed herself straight, stammered an apology and went after her. “Rin? Where are you going?”

Rin stopped next to an empty table, looked quickly around, then moved a few more steps towards a carved pillar. “Here. We need to talk here.”

“Why here?”

“Because other places are suboptimal. This is the best place.”

“Rin, what’s wrong?” Emi glanced back at the table, saw Shizune watching her, one hand raised to adjust her glasses. “Is it Shizune’s tablet? Do you not like it talking?”

“What?” Rin’s eyebrows went up very slightly. “Don’t be silly, I’ve got one of those.”

“You have not.” Emi glared. “How come you’ve got one like that and I’ve only got a crappy little Samsung?”

Rin leaned closer to her, so their foreheads were almost touching. “Emi, focus. List your thoughts. We’re being watched.”

She rolled her eyes. “Is that all? Come on, Rin, it happens. Just try to ignore it.”

“Not looked at. I know what looked at looks like. There’s someone watching us. Corner table, by the swimming fishies.”

Emi couldn’t see that area of the bar from where she stood. Which, she realised with a slightly guilty start, was exactly why Rin had chosen it.

She drew closer to the pillar itself, and peered around.

“I think it’s Squeaky Girl,” said Rin.

Sure enough, within a few seconds Emi had spotted a young woman sitting on her own in a far corner of the bar, partly concealed by the edge of a brightly-lit aquarium tank. She had short brown hair and a black wool raincoat draped over her shoulders, and was keeping her face concealed behind a menu, peeking occasionally over the top of it at the back of Shizune’s head.

“Great,” Emi muttered. “As if I didn’t have enough to deal with. Rin, it’s fine. Go back to the others.”

“Where are you going? Are you going to confront her? I’ll come with you. You can knock her down and I’ll kick her.”

“What is this, Dragonball Rin?” Emi waved her away. “No need to go Super Saiyan on anyone just yet. I’ll be back in five, okay?”

“Five what?”

Emi gave her a gentle nudge. “Go.”

Rin turned away and began to wander back towards the table, looking everywhere but at the aquarium. Emi waited until she was halfway there and then set off in the other direction, skirting around the edge of the bar.

Accelerando might not have been as tiny as its frontage suggested, but its interior space was too small for Emi to stay hidden on her way to the woman’s table. She did her best to look casual, though, as if she was merely heading towards the bar while checking out the small, ferociously expensive pieces of art ranged tastefully around the walls.

It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to deal with gawkers, especially back when she had been out with Rin before the breakdown. Most people were perfectly polite, of course, but sadly there would always be those who considered someone with missing limbs to be somehow requiring of their attention. Emi’s usual tactic in these situations was to ‘accidentally’ barge into them, or nudge the table and send a drink into their lap, then apologise profusely for her clumsiness and show them what her legs were made of. Normally the shock of discovering that she was walking around on twin prosthetics was enough to throw the rubberneckers entirely off-guard, sending them away shamed and stammering.

It was an ugly kind of victory, and one she had largely given up on pursuing, but if Shizune and the others were being observed for any reason other than idle curiosity Emi needed to know about it. She strode quickly up to the table, pulled back a chair and dropped into it. “Watcha doing?”

The woman let out a high, startled yelp. The menu skittered out of her hands and tumbled noisily onto the tabletop, striking the beaker of iced water she’d been nursing and tipping it wildly.

Emi grabbed the glass on reflex, but she wasn’t looking at it.

“Holy shit,” she gasped. “Misha?”

“Emi!” Shiina Mikado’s face had gone crimson. “Wh-wh-where did you come from?”

Perhaps it was no surprise that Emi hadn’t recognised Misha from a distance; the woman was almost nothing like she remembered. That trademark pink hair was now a sand-brown bob framing a lean, pretty face. She had lost some weight all over, and under the wool coat her clothes were well-tailored but determinedly average, the white blouse and black skirt combination that half the Office Ladies in Tokyo wore every working day of their lives.

There was no mistaking the colour of her eyes, though; dark gold, like tiger’s eye gems. “That was you, wasn’t it?” snapped Emi. “Outside the bathroom. As soon as Rin came out you screamed and ran away.”

Somehow, Misha managed to look panicked and offended at the same time. “I didn’t scream.”

“All right, squeaked.” Emi glared. “You frightened her, Misha. Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because…” Misha wrapped her arms around her middle, as if she was cold. “Because I’m not supposed to be here. If Shicchan found out I was here I don’t know what I’d do.”

“So why are you? And how did you find us, anyway? Are you stalking her now, is that it?”

“No, it’s not like that.” She was as quiet as she had been on the phone, so different from the boisterous, randomly laughing Misha that Emi remembered. Controlled, locked-down. Careful. “Please don’t be angry at me, Emi-chan.”

Emi bunched her fists. “I am trying really hard not to be,” she hissed. A couple of nearby diners were already peering in their direction. She drew closer, lowered her voice. “But look at it from our point of view, Misha. You know what’s going on, right? What we talked about?”

“You said… You said someone had been sending stuff…”

“It’s worse than that. A lot worse. People have been hurt. Shizune said she’d help us try to find out what was happening and invited us here, and what do we find? Someone skulking around, hiding her face, spying on us from the shadows. How am I supposed to feel?”

“I knew it. I knew you weren’t telling me everything, I could hear it in your voice.” Misha looked back towards the table, clearly horrified. “Oh no. Shicchan’s in trouble too, isn’t she?”

“Maybe. I hope not.” Emi rubbed a hand down her face. She suddenly felt immensely tired. “You still care about her a lot, don’t you?”

The answer was barely more than a whisper. “Yes.”

“Then just go over and tell her.”

Misha shook her head. “I can’t do that, Emi-chan.”

“Because you two don’t talk anymore.” Emi sighed. Misha looked so dejected, sitting there, so lost and alone that it was impossible to remain angry at her. “Look, I don’t know what happened between you and her, and I don’t care. It’s not important. You know what’s important?” She held up her hand, thumb and forefinger a couple of centimetres apart. “This is what’s important.”

Misha didn’t answer her, just squinted warily at Emi’s fingers.

“This is how close I got to losing my best friend today. Not losing like we had a fight and now she won’t talk to me anymore. I mean losing like gone.” She narrowed the gap slightly, staring through it at Misha. “I was this close to never being able to talk to her again. Ever. Never being able to apologise to her for all the times I hurt her feelings, or I got mad because I couldn’t understand her, or I was too busy to spend time with her. This close to never getting to tell her how amazing she is.”

She sat back. “Life’s really fragile right now, Misha. It’s like we’re walking around on, I dunno, a bubble or something, and any second it can pop just like that.”

She snapped her fingers. Or at least she tried to; she’d never quite learned the trick of it. Her thumb and fingers skimmed silently past each other. “Shit.”

In spite of everything, Misha let out a short, nervous laugh.

Emi tried twice more, then gave up. “Screw it. Misha, there’s someone over there who can do that way better than I can. Will you please just come over and say hello?”




It took a few minutes more persuasion, and a more detailed explanation of what had happened during the past two days, but eventually Emi was able to take Misha’s hand and lead her back across the bar.

“I won’t stay,” the girl breathed, as they approached.

Emi squeezed her hand a little tighter. “The hell you won’t. Hey everyone, I brought a signer.”

Rin blinked up at Misha. “Hello Squeaky Girl. Hey Lilly, Squeaky Girl’s here and it’s Misha.”

Shizune had her back to the bar, and hadn’t seen Emi and Misha approach. But as Rin spoke she twisted in her seat.

Her eyes met Misha’s, and instantly a succession of emotions flurried across her face in wild succession – shock, delight, anger, something else that Emi couldn’t describe for certain but which brought a spontaneous blush to her cheeks. Then, just as quickly as they had arrived the emotions were gone, her face locked down like a bank vault, a bespectacled mask. She stood up.

Emi moved towards her. “Please don’t get mad, Shizune. She didn’t mean-“

Shizune, very slowly and carefully, put a finger to her lips.

“Oooh-kay.” Emi closed her mouth and stepped back. Shutting up now…

She saw Shizune sign something to Misha, the movements of her hands fast and choppy. Immediately Misha responded in kind; silently, not translating out loud as she always used to. Her mouth was clamped into a line, her hands flying as quick and sure as Shizune’s.

For the next few seconds, all Emi could do was stand and watch what must have been an extremely vicious and escalating argument between the two women, conducted in perfect silence. It only ended when Misha made a violent cutting motion with one hand and, with her other, pointed at the exit.

Even Emi understood that particular piece of sign language: shut up or I’m out of here.

Misha held the pose, her arm rigid, hands shaking with emotion. Finally, Shizune put up her own hands as if in supplication, turned from her and sat back down.

Emi heard Misha let out a long, shivering breath. “Please forgive me, everyone.” She flopped forward into a bow so low her head almost connected with the table. “I’m so sorry, Rin-chan. I should have said hello as soon as I saw you.”

“That’s okay, I like your hair.”

“Misha,” said Lilly, “I’m sure you’re aware this is a surprise for all of us. But I’m glad you’re here, thank you. It can’t have been easy.”

Emi was quite glad Lilly couldn’t see Shizune’s expression when she said that. She slid back into her seat next to Rin. “So, what have you all been talking about while I was off collecting waifs and strays?”

“Shizune has spent her time most productively,” Lilly smiled, as Misha pulled a nearby chair across and sat down. “She was about to tell us about the gun used in the attack on Rin.”

Shizune nodded, and began to tap and swipe at the tablet screen. “Don’t ask where this comes from. The rifle was World War Two vintage, Arisaka Type 99. A very low-quality production model. My contact was stunned that it even fired one shot before blowing up.”

Emi could see Misha frowning at the tablet. “Any idea who owned it?”

She watched Shizune reach for the machine again, but this time Misha leaned forwards and took her hands. “Please, Shicchan,” she said, when she was certain Shizune was looking at her lips. ”Let me help. Just for today.”

A shiver passed through Shizune, then. Emi saw it clearly, a brief, subtle shudder through her frame. Not of anger or revulsion, but more like…

No. She must have been mistaken. Emi glanced across at Rin, wondering if she had seen it too. In response Rin just smiled, then half-closed her eyes and shook her head, almost imperceptibly.

Shizune was drawing her hands back. She rubbed them together for a moment, as if unsure of what to do, then she stiffened, squared her shoulders, and began to sign.

“The gun was owned by a man called Jiro Umeda,” said Misha.

Emi didn’t recognise the name, and said so. “He couldn’t be our guy, could he?”

Shizune gave her a wry smile. “Embarrassing if it was,” Misha translated. “Mr Umeda is ninety-two. He was a soldier, and must have smuggled the gun back somehow after the war.”

“So how did it get from there to Niiza?”

“Shicchan says his house was burgled. Oh, that poor old man, how sad.”

“That ‘poor old man’ was keeping a lethal weapon in his attic,” said Lilly coldly. “When was the burglary?”

“The police don’t know, he didn’t report it at the time.”

“Hardly surprising. Possession of a firearm is a very serious offence, even if you are ninety-two.”

“His daughter-in-law finally reported it after a family visit, but she didn’t know anything about the rifle.” Misha looked glum. “So is that, um, what do they say on TV? A dead end? Shicchan says maybe, but we’ll look into it.” She brightened instantly. “Okay!”

Emi hid a smile behind her hand. Somebody might have finally located Misha’s volume control, but deep down she hadn’t really changed all that much. “Did Namba pass on those letters like he said he would?”

“Yes, my contacts in Yagi’s office gave me the whole list.”

“Just how long a list is this list?” asked Rin. “If there needs to be a list that sounds like a lot of letters.”

There was a few seconds silent exchange between Shizune and Misha. Then: “Well, there’s Lilly’s and Shicchan’s. And also Rin’s and Emi’s although they got thrown away, is that right?” Misha looked over to Emi, who nodded. “So that’s four. Then, um… Natsume Ooe and Naomi Inoue. They got one between them, because they live together now. Aw, that’s sweet.”

“Really? They’re still an item?” Emi grinned. “Good for them.”

“Apparently that letter had some additional text. Looks like our tormentor doesn’t approve of same-sex relationships.” Misha’s expression fell. “How horrible,” she whispered.

“They haven’t been harmed, I hope,” said Lilly.

“No, the letter turned up at their… Their office?” Another quick burst of sign. “Oh, they work together at NHK. They make documentaries now. Hmm.”

“Anyone else?”

“Saki Enomoto? Oh, I remember her, she was so cute. She had a cane, I think.”

“That’s right,” Lilly whispered. “The poor girl has a degenerative disease.”

“Yes,” said Rin. “But slowly. She has to use a wheelchair sometimes, but most of the time not. Also she is still cute, and has a very large muscley husband, so I think she’ll be okay.”

Emi’s eyebrows went up. “How the hell do you know that?”

“They were at a launch party for a game I did paintings for. She was the voice for one of the girls in the game, even though the girl in the game didn’t look like her and did not have a large muscley husband. Or a cane.” Rin frowned to herself. “They sounded the same, though. I found that confusing at the time, although I was careful not to tell anyone.”

“You go to launch parties now?”

“Not many. Some of my clients are okay with me being me, but some aren’t so I have to be somebody else. I don’t go to those.”

“I don’t get to go to launch parties.”

“You went to Korea.”

Emi pouted. “Not the same.”

Shizune was signing again, her expression troubled. Misha watched her hands for a few moments, then gasped. “Oh no…”

“What?” Emi sat forwards. “Is she okay? What happened?”

“She… No, she’s fine, but yesterday evening someone was at her house, a prowler. Her husband was home, though, and scared him off.”

“Any description?”

“Young, male, wearing a black hooded top.”

“Shit,” hissed Emi. “Shit. That’s him. That’s the guy that went round to my Mom’s place.”

“The police were informed immediately,” Misha said. “Let’s hope they’ve got the brains to connect these incidents. Shicchan, that’s not very nice.”

“Is that all of them?” Lilly asked. “Or at least, all that the police are aware of…”

“Everything that was sent to Yagi’s office, yes. I also had some of my people call around as many Yamaku students as I have contacts details for. They had reached nineteen when I left the office, no reports of any trouble.”

“That’s a relief, in a way.” Lilly was toying nervously with the stem of her wine glass. “I had feared it might be more.”

“But in another way it’s more scary,” Emi replied. “I mean, why just us? What’s this sick little fuck got against us personally?”

“I think…” Misha raised a finger. “I… I mean, maybe…” She glanced around the table, and suddenly the confidence seemed to drain out of her. Her gaze dropped to the tabletop. “No, I’m sorry. I’m being silly.”

Shizune glared at her for a second, then poked her in the arm, quite hard. Misha winced. “Ow! That hurt, Shicchan.”

“She’s right, though,” Emi told her. “You need to say what’s on your mind.”

“Well, all I was going to say was… It’s because of you, isn’t it?”

“Me?”

“All of you. The ones he sent mean stuff to, you’re… You know…”

Emi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Disabled?”

“Girls,” said Rin.

Misha rolled her eyes. “Successful.” She looked around the table again, and made a kind of exasperated growl under her breath. She began to sign rapidly again, her quiet voice rising fractionally as she became more animated. “Lilly scouts for an international blind school. Shicchan’s an amazing lawyer. Rin paints and goes to parties, Emi gets gold medals and she’s been on packets of vitamin drink.”

“Oh God, that stuff. I’d forgotten.” Emi coloured. “Seriously, people, just don’t.”

“A voice actress, TV makers… You’ve all done so well.” Misha looked down. “Maybe he’s jealous.”

“That makes a sick kind of sense,” said Emi. “Son of a… What, he can’t stand the thought of us broken dolls making something of our lives?”

“It is possible,” Lily agreed. “And if nothing else, our higher profiles make us easy to find.” She took a deep breath, put the glass down carefully. “Shizune, I hate to impose on you further, you’ve already done so much. But-“

Shizune was signing rapidly. “I already called her. She didn’t answer her phone, I’m sorry.”

“No,” said Lilly, her head dipping. “She never does.”

“Maybe she’s just busy, Lilly-chan,” said Misha gently, putting her hand on Lilly’s arm. “You know she’s away a lot now.”

Lilly didn’t answer. She merely nodded, and closed her eyes.

Emi could see Shizune looking around the table, her expression cool and focussed, her eyes flitting first to Rin, perched nervously upright in her chair; to Lilly, lost in melancholy thought; to Misha and then, hurriedly, to her.

“Thanks,” Emi mouthed. Shizune nodded sadly.

Then she straightened up in her seat, tapped Misha lightly on the shoulder to draw her attention.

“Well, I believe that concludes the first part of our business here,” Misha relayed. “I’ll continue my investigations from home, and keep you all appraised.” She half-rose. “Okay, it was really nice seeing you all-“

Shizune raised one finger, turned her hand over, and stabbed it downwards. “Oooh, on the other hand maybe I’d better stay right here.”

Emi watched her drop back down into her chair. You don’t get away that easily, she thought. I’ve got a feeling Shizune’s got plans for you.

[Skeeve]

I was not expecting Misha's appearance, but I probably ought to have. Now all we're missing is Hanako... who is no doubt far too busy to answer the phones these days. Also, my law-of-conservation-of-detail alarm is pinging; all of this almost certainly has to relate to Hisao's death...

...and it's all of the girls of Yamaku that have been targeted...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I do believe the war against the Feminist Conspiracy has truly begun.

[Sharp-O]

I agree with Skeeve. On the off-chance that Hanako herself or even Iwanako (think about it) is not the culprit (their insistence that the culprit is male was my first warning sign) then we're almost certainly looking at Kenji. Which would be kind of a let down to be honest.

Misha's sudden appearance was strange but very welcome. Despite everything that's happened, these women presenting a united front makes me smile.

[Sadako]

Also, my law-of-conservation-of-detail alarm is pinging; all of this almost certainly has to relate to Hisao's death...

Well, given that we’re about two thirds of the way through the story, it’s probably safe to tell you that yes, you’re right, everything that has happened directly relates to Hisao’s death.

Just not in the way you think.

I agree with Skeeve. On the off-chance that Hanako herself or even Iwanako (think about it) is not the culprit (their insistence that the culprit is male was my first warning sign) then we're almost certainly looking at Kenji. Which would be kind of a let down to be honest.

Of course it’s not Kenji. For one thing, Kenji is legally blind, which pretty much precludes him from driving a car or almost lidding Rin with a rifle. Besides, Kenji is… Busy. I may go into that later, if the story structure allows it.

Anyway, thanks so much for sticking with Fractures! Lots more fun stuff to come before the harrowing conclusion…