The Case of the Missing Gym Rats (Open)

Riko restrained herself from letting out a celebratory cheer once again. Etain had taken up a seat on that counter and was leaning into kiss the other girl. Actually, it seemed like the same kiss that gave Riko her opening to move about, unnoticed, but still. Her cover was well established and she could move about with a bit more freedom. And they could leave without anyone being the wiser to their true motives.

Although, Riko did hope that Etain could get a number out of this whole situation. Of course, after what she just saw, it seemed less likely that she WOULDN'T get one. Riko shrugged and was about head back over to the gym. She might as well act like she was going to use some of the machines, before they finally left.

Two men left the locker room, before she turned around and started off in the direction she was about to go. A rather fortuitous moment presented itself, as one of them began talking to the other.

"You going to check that new gym out?" the first asked.

"Don't know. Maybe. Seems kind of weird, though. I thought that place was closed up."

"Really? I didn't hear that."

"Yeah, happened a few years ago. I used to go their all the time. Then, all of a sudden, they opened up. Ah well. Might be worth it to see if they're any good."

'Interesting..' Riko thought as she followed along. Glad to have a more plausible reason for her eavesdropping, the dark haired detective maintained a reasonable distance as she strolled along down the hallway.

---

In the gym, itself, Riko took a look at a few of the machines. A few other patrons were lost in their own workouts and didn't seem concerned at all about the newcomer. At most, she warranted a curious second glance. A new face that had appeared, but wasn't of much concern. While they worked out, Riko tried to keep an ear out for any idle conversation. Not many people were talking. The ones that were, weren't talking about anything interesting.

Eventually, Riko wrapped up and made her way back to the front, wondering if Etain and that cute girl were still occupied. She didn't bother hiding her broad smirk as she rounded the corner, once more.

Shifting slightly, and Etain was practically on the other side of the counter, her feet resting on the small desk on which a keyboard and a monitor sat, one hand entwined in Kotomi's hair. For her part, the girl was standing, her hands resting on Etain's waist as the kiss continued.

After what seemed like an age, Etain broke the kiss, panting, flushed, and smiled at Kotomi. The girl returned the smile, her own cheeks flushed. 'I... I don't think we should continue this...here,' Etain said, glancing around. Kotomi frowned in disappointment, then glanced around. She gasped, her blush deepening as she suddenly remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing.
'I... I think you're right,' she said, her voice slightly horse. Etain smiled, stroking Kotomi's cheek.
'Besides, I need to check on my sister,' she said. Kotomi nodded. Etain kissed her again, before she let go and spun around, until she was on the other side of the counter. She turned to Kotomi and, taking hold of her neckerchief, Etain pulled her closer to her and kissed her again, before she turned and headed towards the gym, an unconscious sway to her hips.

Riko found that Etain was still..."distracting" the girl at the desk. And quite effectively, she noted. The poor girl just did not stand a chance at keeping any sort of focus. She figured she could have led a marching band around the gym, twice and wouldn't have gotten that girl's attention.

Riko watched Etain spin away and immediately back tracked a few steps. She couldn't quite wipe the cheeky grin off her face. After a few steps, she turned and started to walk back, sure that she would bump into Etain "on her way out".

"Oneeeee-san!" Riko called out, when she spotted the girl and jumped in for a big hug. "This place is pretty cool!"

She also took the opportunity to pass along a little message to the redhead, as she whispered, "Found something very interesting. I think we're about done here."

Walking towards the gym, Etain couldn't keep the smile from her face. She hoped she'd given Riko enough time to snoop around, not that it was an arduous task distracting Kotomi. And, if Riko needed a bit more time, Etain was willing to go back an pick up where she'd left off.

Just to give Riko extra time, of course.

But as she rounded the corner to the gym, she heard a familiar voice call out. Before she could wipe the smile from her face, she was jump-hugged. 'Hi, Riko-chan!' Etain said, her cheek burning as she wrapped her arms around "Rika". 'I'm glad you enjoy it here.'

Her blush faded somewhat, though the smile stayed as Riko delivered her message. 'Okay, let's go,' she whispered, before putting "Rika" down. She took hold of her "sister"'s hand and lead her back towards the changing room, smiling and waving at a still blushing Kotomi.

They arrived back at the changing room and, after Etain had done a quick scan of the room, sat by her bag. She pulled a towel out of her bag, then headed to the showers. She turned one on, then stuck her head under the water, until it was soaked. She then returned to the changing room, drying her hair. 'Got to keep the pretense up,' she said, chucking the towel at Riko. 'Go and wet your hair, then dry it off. It'll fool most people.' She pulled her regular clothes out of her bag, then began to change.

As Etain took Riko by the hand, a light color crossed her cheeks. All in all, it was pretty successful mission. She felt confident that they had dug up a solid lead. All that was left was to check out this other gym and see just what was going on. Perhaps that would be the place where they found the one responsible for all these missing persons.

And once that was done, Mr. Ookami would collect a nice big check (with Riko getting a nice little percentage for herself) and they could put the whole matter behind them! Aside from doing some good and solving a tough case, Riko had picked up a few cute outfits and met a rather attractive red haired detective.

Today couldn't have turned out any better!

Riko waved at the blushing girl behind the counter and gave a slight wink. Somehow, she managed to blush a little brighter after that. Inside the locker room, she made sure that the evidence she had collected hadn't been uncovered and stolen (back). She looked up, in time to catch the towel that Etain had thrown her way.

"Oh. Good idea!" she hurried over to the showers and followed the other detective's instructions. Hair wet, she dried it off and walked back towards the area where Etain was in the middle of changing and blushed, before she got around to getting her uniform back on, herself.

Pulling her top down, Etain glanced towards the showers and spotted Riko, her cheeks instantly colouring as she realised the young detective had seen her changing. She cleared her throat and sat to put her trainers on. She promised herself she would look as Riko began to change, but found herself stealing glances, admiring the toned form of the girl. Definitely a detectives legs, she thought with a blush as she did her laces up.

She turned fully to face Riko just as she pulled her school top on, the way she was leaning against the wall, and the smile on her lips making it look as though she'd been watching the girl the whole time, hoping to see that adorable blush again. 'Ready?' she asked, her voice playful. She made sure everything was in her bag, before she closed it, stood and slipped it on. She turned to Riko and, smiling, held her hand out to her. When Riko had taken her hand, Etain lead the way out.

As they past the front desk, behind which sat a still blushing Kotomi, her neckerchief slightly ruffled, her hair no longer immaculate. When she saw Etain and "Rika-chan" passing, she smiled at them and waved, which Etain returned, with an added wink. Though she paused at the entrance. 'Hold on a mo,' she said. She let go of Riko's hand and walked back towards the desk. She lent on the desk and spoke to Kotomi for several moments. The dark haired girl passed her something, and they kissed again, before Etain turned and, with a wave and a wink to Kotomi, took Riko's hand again and left the gym.

Riko finished changing and had turned to see Etain leaning against the wall. "Uh...ye-yeah!" she responded, face turning bright red, before she loaded her bag back up and took the other detective's hand as she lead the way out. Passing by the front desk, once more Riko couldn't help but giggle just a little bit at the girl's disheveled state.

Etain made one last visit to the girl and retrieved something in addition to the parting kiss. She came back to take Riko by the hand, once more and head out of the gym. Riko gave a parting wink of her own and flashed a quick thumbs up to the girl.

"Way to go, 'sis'." she chuckled when they were back in the car. "Now...let me tell you about what I got back there..."

Riko proceeded to inform Etain of the details she had picked up on in the gym. From what she had found in the office to the conversation she had eavesdropped on. Her working theory was that someone at this other gym seemed to have something against the owner of the one they were just at. But, that was just a theory. She didn't have any evidence for that and would have to do a little extra digging, once she got back home. But, first she would need to check in with Mr. Ookami and give him a much needed status update. These new facts were surely bound to get the gears spinning in the old man's head.

As Riko explained her theory, Etain just sat and listened, storing away the details for later use. She smiled as Riko finished and nodded. 'Good theory,' she said. 'And it makes sense. Now, we just need to figure out the why, and the how. Also, where the missing people are.' She put the key in the ignition, then turned to Riko. 'But for now, we've done enough.' She turned the key, the engine started. 'Oh, yeah. I've got a little something for you.'

She reached into the pocket of her trousers and pulled out a small business card. One for the gym. She held it out to Riko, then flicked her fingers, and there were two. On the backs of both were numbers and names. One said "Kotomi", the other read "Ayu". 'Ayu is Kotomi's younger sister,' Etain explained. 'She's sixteen, and just your kinda girl,' she said with a wink, handing it to Riko. She slid the other card back into her picked, put the car into gear and drove out of the carpark.

So, they were still quite a far way, away from wrapping up this case. At least they had made some progress, today. Although where one could hide...bodies? Hostages? There were still a number of questions that needed answers, but time allowed the two detectives only so long to investigate. As Riko pondered a few possible answers, her attention was drawn back to Etain.

"Oh?" She looked at the two cards and saw the names written down on the back. Then she took Ayu's card and blushed, "R-really?" she smiled as she read the name and it's corresponding number.

"Thank you, Etain!" she grinned as they left the carpark. She was going to make sure she gave this Ayu a call. First, she would have to give Mr. Ookami a call..and that was going to be hard to focus on all the details when Riko knew she had a cute girl to talk to, afterwards. Which, when she thought about it, wasn't all that bad a problem to have.

~finished~