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Chapter Twenty-Three: Sharon Kimoto:

Kobe, Japan.

Tsuzuki rang the doorbell. He and Hisoka looked at their surroundings as they waited. The yard looked well-kept. Leaves were piled up in the corner. Most of the benches were covered for the winter. Even the yellowing grass looked neatly trimmed. The boys turned forward when they heard the door open. A woman stood before them, blinking. She looked to be about thirty-nine or forty. Her white-blond hair was pinned back into a bun. Judging by the duster in her hand, she had been doing housework when the doorbell rang.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We're looking for Sharon Kimoto," Tsuzuki spoke up. "Are you she?"

"Yes," the woman answered. "Why?"

"We need to ask you a couple of questions," Hisoka said. "Mind if we come in?" Sharon nodded once.

"No, go ahead," she said.

"Thank you," Tsuzuki said with a bow. All three went inside and Sharon closed the door behind them.

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The house looked like a picture out of a magazine. Everything neat and put away with not a single speck of dirt in sight. The shinigami had an icy feeling come over them.

"Nice place you have," Tsuzuki spoke up.

"Thanks," Sharon replied. "My husband bought this place." She turned to them.

"What did you want to ask me?" she asked. Hisoka stepped forward.

"It's about your husband," he said. Sharon grew quiet, looking down at her hands.

"Okay, what about him?" she asked.

"What is he like?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Well," she said, thinking. "We don't talk much, but he is a good man."

"How?"

"Well, he provides for us.

"Us?"

"Our daughter, Victoria, and myself."

"Ah."

Sharon pressed her hands together. "Want any tea?"

"Sure," the boys said. She went into the kitchen and got the tea. The boys took a sip when they received their cups.

"This is good," Hisoka said. Sharon smiled at them.

"Really? Thanks," she said.

"What else about your husband?" Tsuzuki asked. Sharon lowered her cup.

"Like what?" she asked. Tsuzuki shrugged at her.

"Anything, really," he said. Sharon lowered her head.

"I don't know," she lied.

"You don't know?" Tsuzuki asked. Her hands began to tremble.

"I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"I told you, I don't know," she lied. Hisoka sensed her shame and guilt flowing through him. /She's hiding something/, he thought. /She knows more than she's letting on./

"Listen," he cut in. "It's okay; you can tell us."

"Is he abusive?" Tsuzuki asked. Sharon shook her head.

"No, no, no," she murmured.

"Does he cheat on you?"

"No."

"Is he involved in any crimes?"

Sharon froze at that question. "Crimes?"

"You know, like kidnapping? Arson? Rape? Murder?"

Sharon's hands gripped her cup. "I want you to leave."

"I’m sorry?" Tsuzuki asked. Sharon lifted her head.

"I want you to leave!" she repeated. Tsuzuki was about to speak when Hisoka stopped him. His partner gave him a puzzled look.

"Hisoka?" he asked. The boy rose to his feet.

"We are so sorry to intrude," he said. "Thank you for your time."

"Get out," the woman hissed. The shinigami got up and departed. Sharon let out a hard breath.

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"We almost had her!" Tsuzuki complained outside. "Why did you stop me?"

"You're turning this personal," his partner said.

"I am not!" the older man snapped.

"Yes, you are!" Hisoka barked. "Now, I've got all the information we need on her." Tsuzuki gave him a surprised look.

"You what? When? What?" he asked. Hisoka held up his hand and shushed him.

"I'll tell you when we get back to Ju-Oh-Cho. Okay?" he answered. Tsuzuki frowned.

"Fine," he said, pouted.

"Very good," his partner replied. Both shinigami vanished to Meifu. From the window of the house, a teenage girl watched them with her face pressed up against the glass.