FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Call log, dated January 20, 2013, at 1335 hours.

???: Hello?

???: Kai, its me.

Kai: Oh, ohaiyo gozaimasu, Daniel-san.

Daniel: Yeah, g'morning to you too. Listen, Kai, I need your help.

K: Hai, Daniel-san. What do you need help with?

D: I need you to help me with a case I'm working on.

K: It is the...Shigihara case, yes?

D: Yep. I have a feeling this guy fled to Japan somewhere between January 17 and 18. Now, I'm going to tell you something you didn't hear, alright?

K: I'm not listening.

D: Good. Now, mister Shigihara's diary mentioned him going to a forest, and that no one was to follow him. I reckon he went to Aokigahara Forest. Did you get that?

K: iie.

D: Good. Now, I know its kinda early for you there, but I've got one more thing to tell you: I've gotten Samuel and Reverend Archer to head over here. The good Reverend should be touching down here tonight, and Sam should be getting here tomorrow morning. After they get here, I've booked two plane tickets on a straight flight to Tokyo later tomorrow afternoon. The two of them are gonna fly to Tokyo. I want you to meet them at the airport. Make your preparations there, then head for that forest, and help find Satoshi. Then you three report back to me with your findings, and I'll handle everything else.

K: Hai. Before you go, a question, Daniel-san. Why are there three of us going? Would it not have been easier if I were to go alone, as a representative of the police?

D: Because I suspect there's more to this case than a simple embezzelment and suicide.

K: Hai, wakarimashita. I will begin preparations immediately.

D: Good on ya. I'll be seeing you soon.

K: Hai. Nice talking to you, Daniel-san.

---

The next morning, Tokyo International Airport

The white rabbit wrapped his scarf tighter round his neck. The cold winter air bit through his clothes nonetheless, even making it past his thick white fur to wrap its icy caress over his flesh, chilling him right through. He shivered and rubbed his mitten-clad paws together, breathing out clouds of mist as he did so. Locks of auburn brown hair fell over his face and muzzle as he peered down at his mobile phone, then back up at the airport's arrival area.

Today he was waiting for two guests from across the Pacific. A friend of his had sent them down to help with some work near Mount Fuji, specifically in a forest at its base. The work they were to do wasn't supposed to be dangerous, in fact, it was supposed to be a breeze, but the rabbit was never one to underestimate a job. The trunk of the car behind him held all the equipment they needed, and a little more, just in case. As the latest disembarkations rolled through the arrival gates and out of the airport, the rabbit kept his eyes on the crowds of people walking out, watching for two familiar faces amongst the throng of humans.

After a while, the sea thinned into a river, then a trickle of people as the last of the passengers found their way out of the airport and away into the city. That was when he spotted them: two conspicuously furry figures among the humans that milled around the area. A cheetah and a beagle emerged from the terminal and looked around, before they spotted him leaning against his car. As they approached, he gave them a wave.

The cheetah was just as tall as he was, with a pair of rectangular spectacles sitting on the bridge of his muzzle. Neat, shortly-cut brown hair adorned his head, and a pair of dark green eyes peered from behind the glass. He held a bible in one paw and his suitcase in the other, a pen slotted into the breast pocket of the winter coat he wore. A scarf was wrapped around his neck and his paws were clad in thick leather gloves. The cheetah smiled brightly as they approached the rabbit and his vehicle, waving back in response.

'Kai!'

The rabbit smiled and shook the cheetah's outstretched hand warmly.

'Warren-san, good to see you again.'

Kai swept his fringe away from his face again and shook the hand of the other arrival, a beagle that stood a few inches shorter than them. He had a thick woolen hoodie on, three-quarters zipped up, over a collared plaid shirt. Blue denim jeans graced his legs, and a pair of brown leather cowboy boots lay under those. Sad blue eyes peeked out from under the brim of a brown cowboy fedora, and a pair of gloves adorned his hands, soft and gentle as they were.

'And Samuel-san, nice to see you too. Is the Japanese winter treating you well?'

'I-its purty darn cold, i-if that's what ye mean. I-its never this cold down at the farm.'

Sam huffed out another cloud of mist and rubbed his paws together, before stuffing them into the pockets of his hoodie. Kai merely smiled and unlocked the doors of his car, beckoning them to enter, before slipping into the driver's seat himself. The car peeled away from the parking lot with all the grace of a blue whale, and soon they were on the highway heading out of Tokyo.

'So,' piped up Warren from the front passenger seat, 'you do know where we're headed, right?'

'Hai.'

'Mmm. I assume Daniel told you everything already?'

'Hai. He also told me that the two of you would be essential to the hunt, though I'm not sure how important a priest and a cowboy would be in a missing persons investigation.'

Warren smiled and adjusted his paws in his lap.

'Why, Samuel here is one of the best trackers we have. And I, as a priest, have sat through many a confession from many a man and woman. I know how to talk to people, though I'm sure can depend on you for translation. My Japanese is a little rusty.'

The beagle simply nodded in agreement and looked out the car windows, his hat on his lap. Outside, the city gradually gave way to the suburbs, and soon green forests and rolling hills were the scenery, instead of buildings and structures. On the horizon stood Mount Fuji, and beneath that, their objective.

'That there's where we're goin'?' Said Sam, gazing at the snow-capped mountain.

'Hai. The forest we are going to is at the base of Mount Fuji. That is where Daniel suspects our missing friend has gone.'

Kai adjusted the rearview mirror and returned his focus to the road.

'Gawsh, it sure is pretty.'

Sam sat forward in his seat.

'Say, you're absolutely sure this Shigihara fellow's skulkin' around those parts?'

Warren turned back to face him.

'Most certainly. Aokigahara forest is infamous for its popularity among the percentage of Japan's population that are considering suicide. And since our man was most likely contemplating suicide, according to the entry from his journal, he will most likely be there.'

Sam shivered and leaned back, folding his arms to keep warm.

'Hmph. I sure as hell hope so. I don't think I kin take this cold 'ny longer than I have to.'

'Don't worry, Samuel-san. I have thicker clothes in the boot of the car for you. And equipment as well.'

The beagle simply nodded and sank further into the back seat, placing his hat over his face and, almost immediately, he fell asleep. Warren simply smiled and turned back forward, giving Kai a reassuring glance.

'Jet lag.'

The cheetah shifted in his seat and gazed ahead at Mount Fuji.

'What equipment did you procure for us, Kai?'

The rabbit glanced to the side and returned his gaze to the road.

'The usual. Clothes, food, water. Tents, in case we need to make camp.'

Warren raised a questioning eyebrow, not convinced that that was all the rabbit brought along. Kai sighed and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

'I also managed to get a pistol for you. A lightweight one, with several magazines of ammunition. I also brought along a small hunting rifle for Sam and some bullets for that too, just in case he needs it. Knowing him, he most likely will make do with what he has.'

Kai glanced at the sleeping beagle in the back seat.

'He is one of the best marksmen we have, in any case. And he has those revolvers of his, no doubt hovering in dimensionspace, ready for use.'

'Aye, that he does.'

Warren smiled and leaned back in his seat. Behind them, snoozing in the back, Sam the beagle shifted in his seat and kept on sleeping, while the scenery shot by in a blur.