Life is a roulette

[oceanaria]

[This case would remain in Riko's memory for long years, if not for her whole life. On the one hand, she couldn't say no to a friend who came to her asking, no, begging for help. And on the other hand...

It involved Shiitake.

Oh, how much she wished it had been shiitake mushrooms, not her friend's dog. He has been missing for a day and Chika had to work at the inn together with the rest of her family since it was a busy season. Well, if it hadn't been for that, she would have made Riko help anyway, most likely. But the way things are, she couldn't turn Chika down.]

What should I do...

[It's been two hours already and Riko hasn't found any clues, not to mention Shiitake. It may be a task too difficult for just one person, but at the same time, she doesn't want to bother anyone on their day off. In the end, Riko sits down on a bench to rest for a bit, placing a bag with Shiitake's favorite snacks inside on her knees.

Even though she's scared of this dog, she'd rather run away from him now rather than sit here thinking where she should head to next.]

Comments

[futurestyle]

It's fine, zura! Actually, Yoshiko-chan didn't recommend me any of the demon books! Maru actually rented those herself...

[ Was she just curious..? Maybe she just wanted to learn more about her friend... ]

I can just have her come by and pick them up for me, if it's that important! I'm sure she wouldn't mind, she's probably not doing anything special...

[ What is she, your packmule?! ]

But just leave it to Maru, zura! What are we looking for?

[oceanaria]

I see...

[What is going on here? For the record, Hanamaru loves books of all kinds, so maybe it's just that curiosity of hers? One thing is for sure, Riko doesn't see anything suspicious here.]

Ah, if it's really alright... [She's still not so sure, but Maru seems to be into it already, so...] Shiitake is gone missing and Chika asked me to search for him. But I have no idea where dogs usually go...

[futurestyle]

[ Another thing is for sure it's definitely not a crush ]

Uwaah! That's no good, that's no good at all, zura! Poor Shiitake-san..!

[ Her book drops from her arms, because they're darting right towards Riko's hands. She's clearly gotten way too into this already... ]

We have to look for him! He couldn't have gone very far! He's a big dog, after all, and he seems so lazy...

[oceanaria]

[Of course it isn't.]

M-Maru-chan!

[Hanamaru gets excited about things from time to time, but Riko didn't see this coming. However, she doesn't pull away, just opens her eyes wide in surprise. Asking whether she'd like to help would be pointless now, isn't it?]

That's what I was thinking...but Chika already looked everywhere around the inn. I doubt she'd miss him. He's not, he's huge.

[Riko learned that the hard way.]

[futurestyle]

Hm...maybe he just got hungry, zura?

[ If anything, she's a little surprised; if Shiitake would go anywhere, all things considered, it'd probably be to Riko's house-- ]

Or maybe...maybe he's been dognapped?! What if some shady villain wants to make a coat out of his fur?! There's no time to lose, zura! We have to look for him right away!

[ The books can wait, this is urgent business! ]

Riko-san, do you know anyone who would do such a thing?!