The Case of the Missing Gym Rats (Open)

They day had started off oh so pleasantly. Sure, Riko had class, but those were often tolerable. Made more so, by conversing with her classmates. It was around lunch time when her employer called. The special phone she kept had buzzed and rung an old blues tune to signify that her services would be needed.

"Yes, Boss?" She had answered.

"Riko! Get over here, we have a case." came the gruff command from the other line.

"Yeah, sure...but I'm in school...remember?" she was answered with a long pause, followed by an inarticulate grumble, before the old detective finally conceded the point and said that instructions would come later. Periodically, throughout the day, Riko received a number text messages, all containing information. Her afternoon, it seemed, would be a busy one.

She had about three interviews lined up. Her feet were killing her and she was contemplating some similar course of action for Nero Ookami. Wasn't she supposed to be out with classmates getting parfait, or something? Well, at least she was getting compensated for her troubles.

She had started to sense a pattern, by the second client, and soon had learned that all three cases revolved around a disappearance. All three missing persons were men and fit a similar description. Average height, but in relatively good shape and in an age range of mid to late twenties. All three were fitness enthusiasts and exercised regularly.

At first she wondered why Mr. Ookami had sent her out on this case. Missing persons rarely interested the old detective. He had always preferred cases to be much more stimulating. But, Riko had found a pattern. One very slim thread that Nero had no doubt picked up on, but she was rather stuck with it.

There was no note, ransom or otherwise, that indicated where they had gone (or who had taken them, if that was even the case). They had each left for the day and never returned. And that was where the would-be detective found herself stuck. There was a pattern to the cases, but none of the men knew each other, nor did it seem like they had been under any sort of additional stress. Naturally, they had no enemies to speak of.

Under most circumstances, one would think they simply just ran off somewhere. Whether due to money troubles, or their relationships just weren't going well. But, this was a case given to her by Mr. Ookami. It would be anything but normal. Which is what bugged Riko the most. Just what about it, was she missing?

As she contemplated, she walked down the sidewalk. She had left the last apartment a few minutes ago and was still trying to make sense of it all, when her forward progress was interrupted.

"Oof!" she exclaimed before spilling to the ground. The price one paid for not paying attention to where one was going.

The day had started off like any other for Etain Adair. She woke up, then had breakfast while checking her emails. She had five jobs. She arched an eyebrow as she read the details of the jobs. Please find my cat! She sighed and filed that one away in the Maybe folder. The second one was pretty much the same. But the third one caught her eye and made her sit up. It was a missing persons case.

Usually she didn't do missing persons cases, but most of her other jobs recently had been missing pets or recovering stolen items. So a missing persons case would be a nice change of pace. She grabbed a notepad and pen and scribbled notes down while reading the email. She closed the email and opened the next one. She arched an eyebrow. Another missing persons case.

She scribbled down details of the second case, then opened the final email, sensing a pattern. She smiled as her feeling was proven right. A third missing persons case. She scribbled down the details, before she closed down the emails and sat back. She flipped through her notes, writing down similarities on a separate sheet of paper. When she was done, she put her pen down and picked up the paper and read it while sipping her coffee.

All three missing persons were men and fit a similar description. Average height, but in relatively good shape and in an age range of mid to late twenties. All three were fitness enthusiasts and exercised regularly. Etain smiled as butterflies started in her belly. 'And I thought it would be another boring day,' she said. She downed her coffee and stood. She grabbed a towel and went to shower.

She left the shower and combed her long red hair, focusing on her fringe, which still managed to fall into her eyes. She sighed and put her brush down. She then began to dress in white shirt and a dark suit. She gave a quick spray of perfume before she picked up her bag and headed to the front door. She slid her feet out of her slippers and into her half inch high-heels, then left her apartment.

Several hours later and Etain was almost as stumped as she had been when she had started. She had just finished interviewing the family of the third missing person, and the only thread connecting all three was the lack of anything. None of them knew the others, and no note or ransom had been found. The families told her they didn't have any enemies, but Etain had been in the business to know that sometimes not even the victim knew they had enemies. So she just put down Enemies(?) in her notes and left it at that.

In cases like these, Etain would have put it down to the men having money problems, or maybe a mistress or something like that. But this felt different. Something felt... off. She knew she had missed something, some thread that she couldn't see, but what? She sighed as she put her notepad back in her bag. She looked up just as she bumped into someone. Only her training and reflexes stopped her from falling onto her backside. But her heels conspired to drop her anyway.

'Ow!' she exclaimed as she landed hard on her rear. She glanced up at who had bumped into her, but she couldn't see as her vision was blocked by her fringe. She muttered and brushed the annoying hair out of her eyes. 'Sorry about that,' she said as she stood, brushing herself down. 'I guess I should watch where I'm going.' She reached down and offered her hand to the girl. 'But I guess that makes two of us, yes?' she added with a smile.

Riko was left with little choice in the matter of what to wear. Her TA Academy uniform was what she tended to wear on most of these occasions. Following a phone call, or text, from her employer, Riko often went straight from school to some client's house. Today, had been one of those special days, where she felt like she was sent over almost half of Tokyo.

Well...just the residential section...and only three places. Still, it wasn't like they were on the same block! She reserved her right to be annoyed with Mr. Ookami. Bumping into a stranger was certainly not going to help her any, either. At least not until she spotted who she had bumped into.

The brunette was quite attractive and had also taken a trip down to the pavement. Which only embarrassed Riko even more. Blushing, she took the woman's hand and got back up to her feet with her assistance.

"Yeah...sorry about that." she said, offering an apologetic bow. She hadn't meant to cause that sort of trouble! She was just lost in thought, that was all. That was when an idea struck her. Perhaps this woman lived in the area. Maybe, she even saw someone suspicious! It was a long shot, but it was certainly better than shooting in the dark. Actually, it probably was just another way of shooting in the dark. But, at the very least, it would be with a rather pretty lady!

"Say..." she said, trying her best to recompose herself, "Do you live around here?"

Seeing the look of irritation in the, admittedly cute, girls eyes, Etain felt slightly embarrassed about her little joke. She didn't actually know the girl hadn't been paying attention, but the fact the girl hadn't avoid her, and had also fallen on her rear lead Etain to assume the girl had also not been paying attention.

Though when the girl blushed, Etain smiled again. She's definitely cute, she thought as she helped the girl to her feet. 'Are you okay?' she asked, looking the girl over, subconsciously taking mental notes on her. When the girl apologised and bowed, it was Etain's turn to blush. 'It's okay,' she said with an embarrassed giggle. 'It was as much my fault.' It was then a thought struck her. If the girl was here, at this time, maybe she lives around here. Etain thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to ask this girl where she lived, without sounding weird.

But she was beaten to the punch.

Etain stared at the girl for a few seconds, her eyes wide, before she chuckled. 'Sorry, but, while you're cute, I hardly know you. And I'm not in the habit of taking cute strangers home with me.' She chuckled again. 'Besides, you're a little young for me.' Admittedly the age difference between her and the girl was about the same as the one between Etain and Noemi, but Etain had been about four years older than the girl looked when she'd met Noemi. And that made the difference.

Noemi... Even that small thought of her dead love threatened to drag Etain down into the darkness, but she forced herself to focus on the job. On the girl in front of her. Think logically. Focus on the facts. she thought as she tried to keep the tears from her eyes. It was then that she realised the girl had told her something important.

'You don't live around here, do you?' she said, glad she hadn't put on much makeup on. 'Well, that makes two of us.' She thought for a moment as she looked around. If the girl in front of her didn't live around here, what was she doing here? And what had she been doing to distract her so much? She wasn't on the phone, so it wasn't that. With a sigh, Etain came up with an idea.

'Tell you what, why don't I treat you to something to eat?' she said. 'My way of apoligising.' Also, Etain's feet were killing her, even though she wore her smallest heels. And it looked like the girl could do with a sit down as well. She smiled at the girl and offered her hand to her. 'I'm Etain,' she introduced herself. 'Etain Adair.' She left off that she was a private investigator as most people had strange, and slightly annoying misconceptions about PI's.

'C-cute? Did she just call me cute?' Riko thought to herself, once again feeling a red hot blush enveloping her face. Just when she thought she had everything under control, that woman just had to go and say such a thing! Well, apparently there wouldn't be much more than an off-hand (and teasing) remark from the woman who would later be identified as Etain.

Still, she hadn't actually DENIED that she lived around here. So, maybe she could still be on to something after all. A thought that was short lived inside Riko's head. Quickly, it was shut down and once again, the would-be detective found herself back at square one. And with just about nothing to show for it. Perfect.

"Eh, no...no I don't." she answered, rubbing the back of her head. The thought of going home with the woman still fresh in her mind, Riko just stood there the exact opposite of a cool detective. Still, questions tugged at the back of her mind. Mostly, the revolved around what sort of business this fellow stranger had in the neighborhood. Visiting a friend perhaps? Or related to some kind of business?

That seemed more likely. She certainly was dressed for it And carrying a bag around, too. Who knew what might be inside that. Not that she was able to go poking through it. 'She wouldn't be with the police, would she?' Riko thought. But, from she had gathered from the people she had spoken to, today, the police hardly seemed interested in committing resources to their situations.

"O-oh?" she began with a slight stutter, "There's no need to apologize at all! Eh, but I would appreciate it. Thank you, very much!"

She took the hand in her own and shook it, giving a slight bow, "I'm Riko Cheung." she introduced herself, but elected not to produce her card. Getting a chance to talk to Etain could be interesting. The fact that she was a very attractive older woman had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all!

Besides, she was very curious about a hunch she had about her motives. It wouldn't be all that impossible if they were after the same thing.

The blush colouring the girls cheeks certain added to her overall cuteness, and it made Etain want to hug her again. But she contented herself with just chuckling slightly. This girl, who would identify herself as Riko, had done something to Etain that no one had done for a fair while. She had made Etain smile, a real, proper smile.

When Riko confirmed her suspicion that she didn't live in the area, Etain nodded. 'I see.' She glanced around again, finding the streets strangely empty for the time of day. She shrugged and turned her attention back to Riko, who was doing something cute again. Etain smiled and shook her head. She is such a cute girl, she thought with a chuckle.

A thought was was confirmed yet again as Riko began to stutter. 'Well, it's a date then,' Etain said, for some reason enjoying seeing the young girl blushing. 'Now, where should we go?' she pondered, glancing around again. She suddenly remembered a small cafe she had seen on the way to the second house. She turned back to Riko and smiled. 'I know a place, well, I know of a place around here,' she said. 'It's not far. Come on.' She went to take Riko's hand, but stopped herself. Being seen walking hand in hand with a schoolgirl wouldn't do much for her reputation. So she just turned slightly and smiled at Riko, hoping the girl would follow her.

Getting a chance to talk a little longer with Riko was certainly going to be interesting, especially if her hunch about her searching for the same thing was right. And the fact that Riko was cute was an added bonus.

"A d-date? Oh, sure! I'm, well...I don't actually --" Riko's sentence meandered off, before Etain seemed to recall something. Truth be told, Riko was too busy thinking about the fact that she somehow managed to get a date! Well, maybe it wasn't all that serious of a thing. The redhead seemed to be having a little fun and this didn't seem like it would be anything serious.

'And you still have a job to do, Riko!' she thought, almost hearing Mr. Ookami's voice as she did so. As the red haired woman started to lead the way, she almost could have sworn that she was about to take her by the hand.

But, that seemed preposterous. No way was she about to do something like that in this quiet of an area. Come to think of it, there seemed to be a distinct lack of people out on the streets. Wouldn't more people be out and about by now? She hadn't checked her watch, but she assumed most would have returned home from work by now.

'Word must have traveled fast.' she reasoned, 'People must be getting a little spooked.'

Well, first thing was first, she was going to follow Etain and sit down for a quiet little meal and get to know the woman a little better. Today was shaping up to actually be a pretty good day, after all!

The excitement in Riko's voice brought another smile to Etian's lips, though she felt slightly guilty for teasing the girl slightly. If she was truthful with herself, she was looking forwards to this kind-of-date as much as Riko was.

When she was sure Riko was following her, Etain walked down the street towards the cafe. She kept an eye out for anyone else on the streets, but saw no one, not even a car driving past. Well, that's interesting, she thought. Considering what time it is, there should be people arriving back home from work. She glanced at her watch and frowned. Yes, people should be arriving home now. She frowned and looked around again, glancing in a window as she past. The curtains were closed.

Well, well, well. Three people disappear and the whole area is spooked? she thought with a smile. Those three must have been well known around here. Or something... Her thought trailed off as the smell of fresh coffee wafted to her nose on the wind. She looked over the road and smiled. Sitting on the corner of the street, was a cafe, with a simple red and white striped awning, and a small number of tables and chairs outside, all of which were empty.

Etain turned to Riko and smiled. 'There it is, just over there.' She glanced up and down the street, even though she knew no cars were coming, and lead the way across the road. She walked to the door of the cafe and pushed it open. She waited until Riko was in, before she walked over to the counter.

As she walked down the small strip of floor between the tables, Etain noticed that the cafe was barely half full. She arrived at the counter and smiled at the woman at the till. 'Hello,' she said, looking up at the menu. 'Can I have a coffee, and ...' she trailed off as she decided on what to have. 'A jacket potato, with beans and cheese, please?' It was going to be her second meal of the day, and her first cooked one since yesterday. I'm also eating with a cute girl, might as well make an occasion of it, she thought with a smile as she turned to Riko. 'What would you like, Riko?' she asked.

Could those three disappearances be the cause of this level of fright? Providing that was the route cause, of course. Right now, there was only so much information she could draw from. Riko could practically hear her employer's irritated tone as he chastised her for not asking the right questions. Looking back, she probably should have made a greater inquiry into the status of those people who also lived in the neighborhood.

The answers were not making themselves readily apparent. She followed Etain towards the cafe, as it soon came into view. It looked like a quaint little spot. With the street as quiet as it was, Riko found crossing to be rather easy. Far different than often-hectic traffic that existed in downtown Tokyo. Hard to believe that they were still in the same city, even if it was a bit further removed from the commercial center of that very city.

The redhead made her way over towards the counter, with Riko in tow. She placed her order and turned back to the would-be detective. She glanced over the menu and said, "A coffee, too. And..." she paused as she tried to find something on the menu that she would like, "I'll get a yogurt. With granola."

So, it was more of a light snack. Riko wasn't all that hungry to begin with and she would be having dinner, later. In the meantime she would enjoy this little interaction and see if there was any more light she could shed on the subject. Mr. Ookami would certainly be expecting a full report. The old man was likely several steps ahead of her already and was probably just looking for something to confirm one of his theories. And so the question remained. What was causing these disappearances and what would spook an entire community like this?

"Slow day." she remarked to Etain as the cashier went back to place their order.

'Two coffees, a jacket potato, with beans and cheese, and a yogurt with granola?' the woman behind the counter said as she put the order into the till. 'Would there be anything else?' Etain shook her head.
'No, that's it thank you.' The woman smiled and nodded.
'Please take a seat and your meal will be brought to you.' Etain thanked the woman and turned from the counter. She glanced around the cafe, searching for a table that would be suitable for the kind of conversation she and Riko would soon be having. The one roughly centre of the front of the cafe would do, as the tables around it were empty. She smiled at Riko, then lead the way to the table.

Etian sat facing the door, her bag on the chair next to her. She waited for Riko to sit, before she leant her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her interlaced fingers. She just looked at Riko like this for several moments, enjoying the sight of the girl. After a moment she sat back with a sigh. 'It is a bit of a slow day, isn't it?' she said, looking around. 'But it is a weekday, so normally school children wouldn't come here.' She turned back to Riko and smiled. 'Though places like this are normally pretty busy even during the week, because of collage kids and the like. And people like me,' she added with a wink. She looked at the stand near the wall which contained the menu, and held different condiments. She looked at Riko from the corner of her eyes and smiled. 'Riko Cheung,' she said turning to face the girl. 'Riko. Cheung.' She leaned forwards again, still smiling at Riko. 'Tell me, what are you doing here?' Her eyes flicked over what she could see of Riko, before locking with her eyes. 'What are you looking for?'

Finding a table that afforded them some privacy didn't seem to be too big of a challenge. Finding out why business was so slow seemed to be another matter all together. There were the obvious reasons, of course. But the answer would lie somewhere in between.

The girl from TA Academy took up her seat, opposite of the woman who had been kind enough to treat her to this little meal. For a few minutes, she just looked at her. Riko felt that blush creep it's way back across her face. Much to her mortification. She always tried to act much cooler than she currently was. Clearing her throat, she looked away as Etain concurred with her evaluation, only looking back in time catch that wink.

The reaction was similar to most of her reactions, thus far. Again, she cleared her throat. My she was observant. Still, Riko felt like she could bail herself out of this situation. So, she leaned back in her chair and put her best "I'm-Totally-Cool" face and let a smirk slip out.

"Well, Etain Adair," she said, "I could ask you the same thing. And I could probably give you the same response that you would give me. Something like, 'Oh, I was just going to visit a friend!' But...Somehow, I think we'd both reach the same conclusion. And I'd say, we both have an idea as to why business seems to have slowed down around here."

It seemed like the best bet was to just lay all her cards out on the table. She had a reasonable idea of what to expect for an answer. Based on their interactions, it was obvious that she had to be a reporter...or even another private investigator! Now that was a very interesting prospect!

Seeing Riko blush again, Etain couldn't help but smile. Her smile grew when the girl cleared her throat, leaning back in her chair, trying to act cool, smirking at her. Have I ruffled her I wonder?

'Well, you could ask the same question,' Etain said with a smile. 'But whether I answer or not, and if it's the truth or not, is another matter.' She shrugged. 'What if I was just visiting a friend? Would you accept that answer? Knowing it could be a lie?' Etain was enjoying this verbal contest, if it could be called that, with Riko. She certainly was an interesting girl. 'And what conclusion have I reached? And maybe I have an idea as to why business is slow.' Oh, she was definitely enjoying talking with Riko!

Etain figured that there was enough time for more playing after they'd dealt with business. She smiled at Riko before she fished around in her bag. She turned back to Riko a moment later, holding a small card, which she held out to the girl. It had an web address on it; etainadairinvestigations.jp, as well as an email address; etainadair@ yahoo.jp. She smiled at Riko, wondering what the girls reaction would be. Especially since Etain suspected that Riko was, herself, a private investigator.

Riko listened and acknowledged that the red haired woman had a very good point. Certainly, she had already established that she had a questionable source in this Etain Adair. Sure, she was very friendly. But, friendliness did not go hand in hand with truthfulness.

"And if I told you the same thing? Would you believe me?" she said, "Maybe there's a relative of mine that lives here."

She watched as Etain dug around in her bag, "But, you're far too observant to let something like that slip by. If you're anything like me, you have an inkling of a suspicion going on in the back of your head." Riko was shooting in the dark, now, but Etain, even through all of her teasing, had been poking around for a few answers. So, she got out her own card.

She accepted the card and handed over her own. Riko looked over the information. Her website and email were all very professional looking. And very independent. It gave the impression, at least to Riko, that Etain's whole business consisted of just herself. Very little surprise showed on her face. Although now she was starting to get the impression that, if they were here for the same reasons, than whoever contacted Etain was different from the people who had contacted Mr. Ookami. Which meant that this whole case just got that much bigger.

'I may like cute things, but that doesn't mean I believe them all the time,' Etain said with a smile. 'And I might believe that, if you hadn't asked if I lived around here. That kind of negates the possibility of you having any relation in this area. Or any roots in the area either.'

'Flattery might get you somewhere, Riko,' she said with a chuckle. 'But maybe you're right. Maybe I do have a suspicion in the back of my mind. But maybe I don't.' Etain accepted Riko's card and looked at it. Ookami Investigations? Etain thought, her face thoughtful. So she's the assistant to this Ookami. She frowned slightly. Ookami Investigations? I think I may have come across that name at some time. If so, this is definitely getting interesting if a professional investigator is involved.

Etain looked over the card at Riko, whose face was unreadable as she looked at her own card. Etain smiled and leaned on the table. 'So, Riko,' she began. 'I take it you're here for the same reason I am?' She waited for a moment, wondering if she should tell this girl what she was doing. She decided to take the plunge. 'I take it you're here because of the missing people, right?' It was a stab in the dark, but Etain was pretty sure of the answer.

It was difficult to fight back the blush. Well, that had been the story of the day, really. Being called "cute" certainly wasn't going to help any. This was all in addition to the point she raised about her earlier question. Well, they didn't seem to be getting anywhere with this line of questioning.

Etain's suspicions appeared to have been confirmed. She didn't seem very surprised by any of the information on her card. Aside from any of the finer details that it may have contained. Certainly Etain must have heard of Nero at some point. But, that was only a guess on her part.

The red haired woman leaned forward and got right back to the business at hand. Which just so happened to be the same business that Riko had come here for. Imagine that.

"That's right." she replied, "Mr. Ookami got the call from a few people. He thought it was an interesting enough case to send me down to look into it. Now, stop me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing you got a string of missing persons cases from this area. And all the missing people happen to fit a very particular description, don't they?"

The blush on Riko's cheeks was enough to make Etain want to squee, but she didn't. It wouldn't do for a grown woman, especially one in her profession, to squee in public over a cute girl. So she just smiled at Riko, running her thumb over the girls card.

Ookami, Ookami, Etain thought as she ran her thumb over the name. It does ring a bell, but I can't for the life put my finger on it. She shrugged, putting it aside for now, letting her mind stew over it while she wondered about other things, her thumb moving over Riko's name.

Listening to Riko explain what she was doing there, Etain couldn't help but become excited. Though when the girl told her to stop her if she was wrong, Etain doubted she would have stopped her if she was wrong. She was enjoying listening to her talk too much for that. 'Let me guess, male, all about the same age, all are fitness enthusiasts? No letter, no ransom demands, nothing. Just vanished.' She leaned forwards, arching her eyebrow as she waited for Riko to answer.

"Exactly!" Riko said, her voice doing nothing to hide her excitement. She leaned forward on the table, ignoring the glances from those few people who were actually eating in the establishment. This was looking better and better. At least now she had someone she could swap notes with. Well, she did have Nero Ookami, but those conversations had to wait until he was ready. And who knew when THAT would happen.

"A couple of people just disappear all of sudden. But, they all share a common hobby. The age and gender are almost irrelevant, but the key detail everyone has said about these missing men has been that they take their physical training seriously. It's particularly interesting that people like that, who have such regimented schedule would just up and disappear like that. Which would imply that there is foul play. However, the fact that there hasn't been any contact made for a ransom suggests that we're dealing with someone, or a group of people, who don't have money as a motive. Which brings us to the question...who would target such a narrow group of people?"

Which was a very good question in her mind. One she didn't have an answer to. A cult, perhaps...or a serial killer. But, that didn't make much sense, either. After all, wouldn't these missing persons turn up in a morgue? She had to scratch that idea off, almost immediately. Or at least just keep it in the "Unlikely" column.

A cute giggle escaped Etain's lips at the excitement in Riko's voice, and when the girl leaned forwards on the table, Etain's smile broadened. She glanced to the side, noticing the middle aged woman and someone who was obviously her younger boyfriend watching them. Etain mentally shrugged and turned her attention back to Riko. She was looking forwards to this, someone she could swap notes with, and brainstorm. Of course it helped that she was cute.

Etain listened as Riko explained the details of the missing men, details Etain already knew, but it never hurt to go over them again. And someone else saying them out loud was better; she might pick up a detail that she missed the first time reading them. 'Do we know what time they disappeared?' Etain asked, realising that the time of the disappearances weren't in her notes. They weren't in the emails either. 'If we can figure out when they vanished, we can determine where they vanished. And maybe find a clue or a witness.' She smiled at Riko and nodded. 'And that is some good thinking. Why hasn't there been a note, ransom or otherwise? So the question is, indeed, who would abduct a select group of people, without ransoming them? And why?' She winked at Riko. 'Always remember to ask why. It's sometimes the most important question.'

Who and why indeed, Etain thought. She sighed contently, her hand moving down to the table, intending to tap on the surface as she thought, but accidentally brushing Riko's fingers. She didn't seem to realise it though as she stared at the girl, but without seeing her as she ran possible scenarios through her head. It had been awhile since she'd dealt with a missing person case, and she was trying to figure out if there were any similarities with her previous case. She blinked and looked at Riko, smiling. 'I guess the first place to check is the morgue.' Just then their meals arrived. Etain gave the waitress her most disarming smile, which brought out a blush on her cheeks, before the waitress turned and walked back behind the counter. 'If there's no note, and no clue, always check the morgue.'

Earning a giggle from Etain, only seemed to fuel Riko on. Not only was she on a roll, but she seemed to have said something that impressed the older woman. And not just an attractive woman (although that was certainly a big boost to her confidence), but one who was in the same profession she was in. She also provided a few interesting points that they could explore in search of some answers. Getting a time frame would be important.

Thinking on that note, she reached into her bag to retrieve her notebook. She had asked a lot of questions and if she was worth anything as a (would-be) detective, Riko knew she would have at least asked that, among her other questions. As she brought it out, Riko flipped through the pages, before she felt something brush against her fingers.

A glance up from her notes revealed one of Etain's hands very close to her own. As that glance continued upwards, she found Etain staring at her. Staring passed her would be more accurate. It just so happened that Riko was seated across from her. She was lost in thought, but that didn't prevent Riko's face from lighting up like stop light.

"Er, yeah!" she said before the waitress arrived with their orders. Etain shot a smile to the cute waitress and brought out a blush from the girl. Two things occurred to Riko.

The first was, 'At least I'm not the only one!' which was a point that remained in her thoughts.

The second one, she verbalized, "You have to teach me how to do that!" she said, "I can never get girls to blush like that!"

Looking over at Riko, Etain noticed the girls cheeks were bright red, which brought a smile to the older womans lips. She glanced down and noticed her fingers brushing Riko's, and it was her turn to blush. Though she didn't move her hand for a moment

But when the girl asked her a question, Etain did move her hand and frowned at her. 'Do what?' she asked, confused. 'I just smiled at her, there's no secret to it.' She frowned at Riko, then smiled. 'Come now, a girl as cute as you hasn't made a girl blush?' she asked. So young, yet so sure, Etain thought with a smile. 'I guess just be yourself and don't let embarrassment or the fear of failure put you off.' She smiled as she sighed, remembering her first encounter with Noemi. 'What's the worse that can happen? You're rejected. It hurts, sure but you'll bounce back. But if you didn't go for it, you might regret it for the rest of your life.' She shrugged. 'So if you see a girl you like, go for it. And if she rejects you, well, that's what ice cream's for.' She winked at Riko then giggled.

Through some action, Etain actually blushed. Not something Riko had expected to see. Up until this point, she seemed to be the one who was getting all of the reactions. But, Riko did have to think. Did anyone pick up on her flirting? She had tried to flirt with that classmate of hers, but that effort seemed better spent trying to hit on a brick wall.

On the other hand...

"Really? Well, when you put it like that." Riko said, "And there was that one girl from a couple of nights ago..."

She trailed off, before realizing that she had completely derailed the conversation they had started. Surely, Etain wasn't interested in hearing about her girl troubles! Even though she was nice enough to give her some advice. And she certainly couldn't tell Etain that she met the girl at a BAR of all places. Riko took a sip of her coffee, before looking back at the older woman.

"A-anyways." she said, "I think you're right. We should check out the morgue. Now...let's see, I think I got the date they vanished somewhere around here, somewhere..." Riko looked through her notes, "Ah ha! About two weeks ago."

Watching Riko think about some of the things she'd said made Etain smile, especially at how cute the girl looked just then. Her eyebrow shot up as Riko revealed a detail about a girl from a couple of nights ago. Etain smiled as Riko trailed off, clearly embarrassed.

Etain stifled a laugh as Riko changed the subject back to the job at hand. While Etain would have like to know more about the girl from earlier, that could wait. She focused on what Riko was saying as she flicked through her notes. 'Two weeks ago,' Etain said, nodding and leaning forwards. 'That tallies with the information I gathered from the families. Now, we need the time they disappeared. Because with the time we can narrow down our search. If they disappeared on the way to the gym, there's little to no witnesses. If they disappeared at the gym, then there would be a few witnesses. But on the way from the gym, again little to no witnesses.' She smiled at Riko, looking in the girls eyes. 'But if they disappeared on the way home, we can walk their route, and see if there is a bar or something they might have popped in on their way home.'

After successfully finding her way back to the case at hand, Riko tried to find any other bit of pertinent information. That much would remain to be seen. The gym seemed to be the main focus point. In fact, that reminded her...just what was the gym? Suddenly, it seemed very important that she got that information down somewhere.

She glanced back up to catch Etain as she looked her right in the eye. "Huh, you're right." she said. "Now, let's see...did you get the name of the gym from your clients? If it's all the same one, then we're going to have a very stressed out owner over there."

If the gym was anything like the neighborhood, than things would be even more tense over there. Riko felt rather glad to be heading in with a little bit of backup. Dealing with people that on edge could get pretty troublesome. Sometimes they could just clam up and give you nothing. Which just made getting to the fact of the matter all that much harder. She slid her notebook over and pointed to one of the names she had written down.

"Is this place your missing gym rats went to?"

Watching Riko working through the information, and remembering certain things was fascinating. Well, at least Etain found it fascinating. 'That's true,' she said, agreeing with Riko's statement. 'If this area is this tense, then the gym, where they went, is going to be the focus of not only us, but the police as well.' She thought for a moment. 'Though it's possible the police aren't focusing there now. But the owner will still be tense, after the police had just left.'

Etain sighed. She seriously disliked dealing with people who were jumpy, tense. It made getting any information from them difficult at best, almost impossible at worst. Though they did occasionally give a vital piece of information away without meaning to.

When Riko flipped her notepad around so she could look at it, Etain frowned at the name, then rummaged through her bag, looking for her own notes. She flipped through her notebook, going back and forwards, then smiled. She turned her notebook around and placed it next to Riko's, but facing Riko. One the page was a list of names. Etain pointed to one that had three marks next to it. It was written in poor handwriting, but it could still be made out.

'It would seem that our gym rats went to the same gym,' she said, smiling at Riko.

Very slowly, more and more of the pieces were starting to come together. It still didn't add up to much. At least not to Riko. The bigger picture was being stubborn and not revealing itself to the young detective. Not that she was about to pass up the opportunity to celebrate a small victory when Etain showed that there was yet another thread that bound all these missing men together.

Now things had started to get interesting. She leaned back and rubbed her chin. If that was the case, they would need to reconsider a few things. "Then it seems to me," she said, "That we need to hit that gym next. Whether they were nabbed before or after, we can figure out later. If we look around that gym, we should find something very interesting."

This sounded pretty good to her. Nero might actually approve of her logic! Well, maybe that was hoping for a little too much. He'd probably have something smart to say about her choice in companionship for this little mission. Riko took a few bites of her yogurt as she tried to think of anything else that she might be missing.