Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Borderline ❯ Siblings ( Chapter 17 )

Chapter 17 - Sibling

 

Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be.

 

In the quiet protection by the huge trees, far away from the eyes of the hordes of reporters and the authorities stood a man was thoughtfully watching the parameters of the murder scene. The blaring red and blue lights and the constant flashes of cameras did not hinder his eyes from seeing the man that he was supposed to watch out for.

 

He would have loved to see the man's expression when he looked at the body that was dumped there, but he did not want to risk them spotting him. He wondered what the other man would do, would he let this one go or would he pursue even when the message was clearly written. Beautifully done by the master of carving. That is, himself, of course.

 

Ahh… Yes… Daddy would be proud of him.

 

He stood there for few more minutes before his eyes shifted to the figure with long flaming red hair. That psychologist again, limping a little as he walked towards the spectacled man he is watching. He tried to talk to him but was brushed off, but the spectacled man stopped in the middle of his walk, maybe saying something before he threaded his way to his vehicle, not even sparing a glance at his friend.

 

He took the last puff of his cigarette, carefully extinguished it at the tree bark, stashing the butt in its almost empty box, putting it back in his front pocket before walking away to his waiting car.

 

That raven hair spectacled American must be headed towards the hospital, to listen to all the gloried details of his masterpiece on his father's discarded `toy' there. He would love to hear the coroner's impression and praise on his handiwork. Daddy never bothered to praise him even if he did his job well.

 

He took out his cell phone, pressing the speed dial, waiting only seconds before he heard a voice on the other end. He spoke a few words waiting for the other end to acknowledge his report before pressing the end button.

 

Daddy would indeed be pleased. His precious little brother will no longer be daddy's substitute to release his carnal pleasures.

 

He would be all his.

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Getting a ride from one of the officer's to the hospital's where the young victim's body was taken for autopsy, Schuldig started to run, blatantly ignoring the hospital receptionist when he was asked his purpose of being in the hospital late at night. He could hear the distant shouts as he rounded the corner, jumped down the stairs towards the lower level of the hospital towards the morgue.

 

He could faintly hear his friend arguing, no.. Mostly yelling at someone who was also inside the cold room.

 

“I don't give a flying fuck about evidence.” He heard the older man yell from the top of his lungs. He knew that voice and the anger that was permeated just from the sound of the voice itself was enough to make him shudder.

 

“We can't just go and barge in to his house, Crawford. This is the Takatori family we are talking about. They are untouchables. Their influence….” Schuldig recognized it as Yuushi's voice, the Head of CSI in Tokyo's area.

 

“Fuck the family's influence. I will not let them think they can do whatever they want!”

 

“We have procedures, Crawford. Let the Police do their job. You cannot take this matter in your own hands!”

 

“I'm going to his house.”

 

“Don't make me put you under arrest, Crawford. Believe me, I can!”

 

“Don't you dare threaten me, Yuushi!”

 

The argument could turn out worse if Schuldig did not quickly step in. “Stop it!” He yelled at both men who were having a staring contest. Schuldig was sure that Crawford would not back down; the man was stubborn

 

“Crawford started it.” Yuushi added with a scowl on his face.

 

“I don't care who started it!” He paused and heaved. “Arguing and fighting will not help Ran. Instead, we are giving them more time. Did you two want that?” He added, looking pleadingly at his friend, who was standing with his arms folded, his body pressed hard against the cold wall.

 

“We are wasting time.” Crawford scathed and turned his face away. Eyes racking the refrigerator unit, his mind could not help imagining the worse as he watched Yuushi pull one of the units out to place the cold body on it.

 

“And considering the message on the body… They are serious.” Yuushi turned his attention back to the furious American.

 

“What message?” Schuldig asked, clearly confused.

 

“No one told you?”

 

“No. When we arrived the coroner had transferred the body to the van. I waited for Yohji to confirm Asuka if it is…” He paused “… but she say it is not and told me to...”

 

Yuushi produced the Polaroid pictures of the victim's body and handed it to Schuldig.

 

Feeling bewildered, the German looked at the image. The close-up picture revealed the message that was carved on the body. Schuldig stared at the photo. For several seconds he felt light-headed. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something and yet no words were coming out.

 

Yuushi took the photograph away from the pale German, and again focused his attention on the American. “We can't do anything…”

 

“Are you asking me to just given up on him?” Crawford cut him off, his voice sounded angrier than before.

 

“I am not asking you to do that, Crawford and please let me finish my sentence. I might not know this boy as good as you do but I too care for his welfare.”

 

Crawford seethed and motioned with his eyebrows for the young CSI Department Head to continue.

 

“You must get them to believe that you are not searching for him. You are one of the prominent figures in this city, whatever you do; the press will hunt you and since Ran was taken away from your house, they will be cornering you more and more. They know that and they will use it against you and monitor your every move.”

 

“What are you suggesting?” Schuldig could hear a tone of raw anger in his friend's voice. If he is still considered to be one of his friends, that was.

 

“Give a statement. Say that you will not interfere and will leave everything to the police to handle.”

 

Crawford wanted to protest and Schuldig looked uncertain at the suggestion.

 

“I know for the fact the implication of what you're doing towards Ran if he watches this. But, this is for his own sake. I don't want him to end up like this.”

 

Yuushi moved towards the body that lay coldly on the gutter. He heaved a sharp breath and covered the body with a white cloth before finally pushing it in the refrigeration unit.

 

“Do we have any winning hands in this?” Schuldig asked concerned.

 

“We have a possible blood match.” Yuushi turned after he closed the unit. “From the kitten.”

 

“Persia?” Schuldig looked at Crawford directly. The older man was still ignoring him.

 

Yuushi nodded when Schuldig turned his face back to him. He could see the fiery redhead's hurt expression at the way his American friend was disregarding him.

 

“The blood matched in one of our archived databases.”

 

“So, what is the problem?” Schuldig asked, clearly confused.

 

“Takatori family.”

 

“Oh. How did you get that family's blood sample at the first place?”

 

“They were once asked to give their blood sample to rule them out as suspects. I can't remember which case. At that time, I was not the Head of this Department.” Yuushi was frowning, trying hard to remember, when he suddenly his eyes perked up. “The human hunt case. We suspected that one of his sons was involved in it, but before we could dig any further, the `higher ups' ordered everything destroyed to clear the family's name. But, my assistant and I do keep certain manual documents of the DNA result. As a result, we can only identify the family blood and not directly the specific person.” He paused.

 

“At least we have something to work on to with. I know one of the Takatori sons is a doctor in his father's private hospital. He might act like a world-class bastard but with the right buttons to push, I can get information. We will save him, Crawford. I will make sure I do everything in my power to make sure he is safe. But now, I need you to deal with the Press, they've been hovering outside this building since we brought in the body.”

 

Crawford gave a slight nod, he hated the idea, and he seriously hoped that Ran would not give up on him.

 

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Yohji drove quietly along the road towards Ken's college and he felt like this was the longest drive in his entire life. Asuka has been nice enough to let him use her car. His mind occupied with unanswered questions.

 

`Why did Ken show up at Crawford's house'?'

 

`Why did he lie to him saying that he will be at the soccer camp with his team?'

 

`Did Crawford know about this and did not tell him?'

 

Too many questions, too many things happening in the span of a day…

 

Ran's kidnapping.

 

The attempted murder of him and Schuldig.

 

The body at the park.

 

Ken lied to him about his whereabouts and now his face was on TV. These people are targeting anyone that is close with the American and he could be next.

 

He needed to reach his destination faster; his heart could not stop thumping in anxiety until he saw his brother's face and made sure that he was safe. He began to worry about his brother's safety. For a moment, he thought of taking short cuts towards the college but the road was still under construction and it would slow him down rather than help him reach his brother's college much faster than he intended.

 

He could feel a headache coming.

 

Of course he would demand an explanation from the brunet brother of his and from Crawford himself. How dare he put his brother in danger!

 

The dorm where Ken lived was not far away from the main campus, only a kilometer away but was separated with a fence. He saw two patrol cars parked near the entrance, one of the men in uniform approached as he parked right next to the patrol car. Turning his engine off, he let out a relieved sigh, at least they did their job as told. He got out of the car, flashing his badge to them.

 

The man nodded and gave an okay signal, maybe towards his companion who was stationed on the other side of the fence.

 

“We were ordered to secure this place.” The officer told him as they walked towards the fence. “There are four of us. Three of us will look after the fence perimeter and one is in Hidaka's room.”

 

He gave a slight nod. “He's in the room?”

 

“Yes. He demanded us to bring him to where this person called Crawford is. We refused as orders were that we make sure he stays in his room.”

 

Yohji stood outside the door; he could hear faint sounds coming from the TV inside the room. He was about to raise his hand to knock when the door suddenly burst open.

 

“Yohji?” Came the surprised voice.

 

“Where do you think you're going?”

 

“None of your business.”

 

“I make it my business! And you, young man, have lots to explain to me. Now, get inside.”

 

Ken wanted to protest, but Yohji was in his no nonsense mood and pushed the boy back to his room and slammed the door close.

 

Yohji gave him a signal asking him to sit at the edge of the bed as he pulled out a chair and sat.

 

“Where did you go yesterday?”

 

Ken turned his face away, crossing his hands over his chest and refused to answer. Yohji could see that Ken was shaking slightly, as if he was straining himself not to choke out the truth.

 

“You lied to me. I can't believe you lied to me.” Yohji sighed. “Please Ken, just tell me the truth. Where did you go?”

 

“I…” Ken hesitated. “I was with Crawford.” He answered in a small voice.

 

“Where?” Yohji demanded.

 

“His vacation house.”

 

“Did he tell you…”

 

“NO! I wanted to go and I told him…..” his voice trailed off, ”… that, you know.”

 

Yohji shook his head and watched as Ken kept adjusting his position on bed as if he was in pain every time his nether region made contact with the soft mattress. He frowned.

 

“What were you doing at his vacation house? And I want the truth.”

 

Ken shifted again, looking everywhere except at his half brother, avoiding direct eye contact.

 

“Ken!” Yohji's raised his voice, losing his patience.

 

Startled, the soccer player blurted out. “I slept with Crawford.”

 

He could see his brother's shocked face", but still the older blond did not say anything as if trying to digest the information that he had received.

 

“You… “ his voice was shaking.

 

“You….” He couldn't finish the sentence, he actually refusing to believe what he heard.

 

“You..”

 

“Yes, I slept with him… I had sex with him… If that's what you want to know!?” Ken blurted out, this time angrily. “He was supposed to be with me this whole weekend! And now, he is not and that's all because of that little bitch, that stray cat in his house!”

 

Yohji could not stand it, if just now he felt that a headache coming, this time, his head was throbbing in pain. Yohji rubbed his aching temple “What have you done…?”

 

“I did nothing wrong, Yohji. I love him and I don't want him taken by…”

 

“Ran.” Yohji finished.

 

Ken nodded silently. “I know he loves me.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“He just made a statement on TV; that Ran has nothing to do with him.”

 

Yohji rubbed his face and got up. “I want you to stay here, do you understand?”

 

“But…”

 

“No but, Ken” he said sternly. “I'm going to meet him myself and ask what the hell this is all about.”

 

Their conversation was interrupted when the policeman who was guarding Ken suddenly appeared in the room.

 

“Yes?” Yohji asked.

 

“There's a call for you.” He handed out a phone.

 

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It was almost dawn; both men had already bags forming underneath their eyes as proof of how tired they were physically and mentally since Ran's abduction.

 

A frown marred Crawford's handsome face as he cursed and swore from the beginning of the journey. He had been in one of his `bad moods' since he gave his statement to the press.

 

The German was worried of his friend, knowing very well that the stubborn American would go to the extent of killing someone once he was being provoked. But he did not dare to open his mouth, Crawford would bark at him or he might not hesitate to hurt him.

 

He was also worried for his own life because at the moment he was clinging at the seat `enjoying' the ride to the house where one of the Masafumi is currently residing.

 

It was his choice to follow the man anyway; he couldn't stand Crawford mad at him. When the older man moved away from the reporters, he had called out for him, asking if he could take the ride with him.

 

Crawford did not answer and neither shoved him away when he ran after the older man towards the car. That was a good sign.

 

He pushed his luck by quickly take a seat at the passenger's side. Crawford said nothing either.

 

He opened his mouth to apologize but he heard the older man cursing at his keys.

 

He kept his mouth shut. May be he should apologize later. When the time was right… whenever it would be.

 

If anything happened to Ran, he knew he could never face Crawford for the rest of his life. He would lose his best friend.

 

He stole a glance at his friend. Crawford did not look as unflappable as usual. Panic and worry was clearly painted on his friend's face. He did not want to lose his best friend. Not Crawford. The older man had been with him in his good times and helping him during his bad. He would do anything and would not let the American down.

 

Another curse.

 

He had lost count on how many times Crawford almost hit an innocent pedestrian as his Mercedes swayed to avoid the red light. His right leg was pushing the gas pedal to the floorboard and his hands tightened to the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

 

Another curse, followed by a shout and a furious honk. "Move! You fucking idiot!"

 

Schuldig held on as tight as possible at his seat, and glancing at the front view mirror, he saw Yuushi's car desperately trying to trail Crawford's insane driving. He knew the older man would not slow down.

 

He saw one of Crawford's hands leave the steering wheel and jostled the content of his desk board. Schuldig's face paled when he saw his friend take out a Smith & Wesson and threw it to him.

 

“Make sure it's loaded.” That was his first sentence to him ever since from they left the hospital compound.

 

“Brad…”

 

“Just do it!”

 

“You're not going to shoot him, aren't you?”

 

“If he refuse to talk, I will…” his voice was determined.

 

Schuldig swallowed and eyed the gun that was thrown on his lap wearily. He picked it up, checked the chamber quickly and closed it, making sure the gun's safety pin is on.

 

“It's full.” He whispered.

 

Crawford gave him a sharp nod, took the gun away from his hand before he could say anything and concentrated on his driving. His luxurious car hit a few curbs and mail boxes while he was taking a corner but it didn't slow him down.

 

Schuldig prayed that things would not turn wrong. He had called Yohji, Yuushi had asked him to call and inform where they would be going.

 

But his mind could not forget how Yohji's voice had sounded different. He knew he did not hear wrong, something was off with Yohji when he answered his call and he swore he heard Ken's sobbing from the other end of the line.

 

He wondered what had happened to Ken and why Yohji sounded… angry. He tried to remember what had ticked his boyfriend off. He knew that Yohji was worried about Ken's safety. May be he was angry that Ken had lied on his whereabouts?

 

Ran was huddled in a corner of the bed. He had a thick blanket to cover himself, but still he felt like it was not enough to keep him warm.

 

He was glad to be left alone. They had switched off the light, leaving the room dark and it made him feel restless. Trying to calm his beating heart, he began rocking back and forth. Ran sighed when his feet got cold and quickly pulled them in to the warmth of the blanket. He could hear a clinking sound, a reminder that he would not be able to move around as he pleased.

 

Sighing for the umpteenth time, he began to rub his numbing ankles where the chain was. He knew he couldn't escape, the chain itself served as a proof. His vibrant violet eyes took a good look in the room; there was nothing in this room that he could use neither as a tool to unlock the lock of the chain nor as weapon to defend himself.

 

As he kept rubbing and warming his leg, he began to speak to try to convince himself that everything would be all right.

 

Anywhere was better than here.

 

Crawford might not love him but he knew the older man would come and save him. His guts told him so. He did not care if anyone decided to put him away in some mental hospital or any institution for the homeless or, maybe if the older man had a pity for stray person like him, he would allow him to stay at his house as a butler like Farfello learning to serve tea.

 

It looked like Ken was right from the beginning. He lost.

 

He heard steps outside his door and his eyebrows furrowed. He did not want to receive any visit from that man again or even from his sister. The man had left him after he and his servants had forced him to bath. He was stripped and brushed under the man's watchful eye and he was given a yukata to wear with nothing underneath. The man said it was not necessary; he wasn't going anywhere and remarked about how easy it would be for him to gain access.

 

The door creaked open and he saw who were coming in. His sister and the man, who was whistling happily as he closed and locked the door. Ran let out a heavy breath; he had a very bad feeling about this unwanted visit and clutched the blanket tightly around his body.

 

“Come here!”

 

Ran shook his head. He might be in this madman's hands, and as crazy as some people might think him was, he was not stupid enough to obey this man.

 

Seeing the resistance, the man came and knelt beside the redhead. He took Ran's hand and brought it to touch his face.

 

“You're cold.” He said rubbing the pale hand with his own calloused fingers.

 

Ran remained silent. He was shivering under the blanket, not because of the cold but due to the company he was in now.

 

“Want me to raise the room temperature or do you prefer a natural way of body heating?” The man grinned.

 

The little redhead glared at him and pulled his hand forcefully away from the man's face. The man chuckled at Ran's reaction, he could pull away as much as he wanted now, but once he had him pinned down, the young man would have no other choices but to submit.

 

As for now, he enjoyed looking at this pretty redhead squirming with defiant face.

 

“I have something to show you. Something interesting…” he said, pulling the young man away from the bed, before he sat down, and settling the boy between his legs. He heard the boy mumbling irritated at him. The man tightened his lips in pleasure and gestured at Aya to switch the television set on.

 

The TV flickered and he was assaulted with the noise coming from the unit.

 

“See someone familiar?” the man asked as he increased the volume, pulling the boy closer to him.

 

Ran watched the screen without blinking his eyes. He could see Crawford, and unconsciously his hand reached out to touch the screen before it was swatted down. Ran hissed frustrated before turning his attention back to the 42'' wide LCD screen.

 

He could not deny that he missed the older man and could not stop himself from daydreaming that Crawford would come and save him soon. He had no one else to turn to and hope for now. Even his own sister had turned her back on him, he truly loved his sister and would do anything for her.

 

Anything but give himself to this person for the sake of her happiness. It was too much to ask.

 

Ran listened intently; listening to Crawford's voice soothing him. He was so absorbed that he did not realize that a pair of hands had sneaked through the yukata he was wearing, running over his abdomen, coursing their way to his lower region, fondling and rubbing his….

 

The man grinned at the moan coming out from the little redhead who was still in his own world. “Is this how it felt when he touched you?” He whispered in the younger man's right ear.

 

Ran head snapped forward, a deep frown knitted across his eyebrows when he realized who was touching him, instantly struggling trying to pull away from the offending hands that was now gripping his thigh.

 

“Hush now, listen what your knight in shining armor has to say.”

 

Crawford still looked as impeccable as ever though he was only dressed in T-Shirts and jeans, but the young American was feeling restless. He didn't like to be surrounded by people but he needed these reporters to leave him alone.

 

“Mr. Crawford! What exactly happened last night at your house? Is it true that while all this happened you have been protecting the main witness named Fujimiya Ran whose family were murdered few weeks ago?” One reporter asked.

 

“Is it true that he was abducted? Has there been a demand for a ransom?”

 

It took Crawford a while before he finally opened his mouth. “There is no Fujimiya Ran in my house. However, I did not deny that there was a break-in in my house, the intruders had tampered with my alarm system, crashed my house and injured my house helper.”

 

Ran's heart skipped. He could not believe what he just heard.

 

“Why were you in the park where a young man's body was found?”

 

“It was a mistake.” Yuushi interjected.

 

“I am the Head of the Crime Scene Investigation for these two cases. Let me assure you that the body that we found has nothing to do with Mr. Crawford here. They were unrelated”.

 

“I'm sure the police will try their very best to get to the bottom of this matter. Thank you.” With that Crawford hurriedly stepped away.

 

The man turned the unit off and glanced at the redhead's pale face. A hint of pure satisfaction marred his condescending face. The young man on his bed was staring blankly at the wall; clearly he was still not recovered from the shock of what he had just heard.

 

Ran's mind was totally blocked at the moment. He did not hear it wrong. It was loud and clear. He did not exist. No one really cared. His only hope had abandoned him.

 

“That's pretty cruel isn't it, Oni-chan?” Aya shrugged and paced gracefully towards her silent brother.

 

“I'm sure my brother can please you.”

 

“He will, indeed.”

 

He heard his sister laughing heartily. He shut his eyes tightly, his sister's laughing and Crawford's voice denying his existence echoing in his brain repeatedly until he couldn't breathe.

 

The man did not realize that the redhead's eyes suddenly snapped open and he whirled toward his sister, closing his hands around her small neck. Squeezing it.

 

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Masafumi stood up, looking at his uninvited guests distastefully. Putting his hands behind his back, he began to pace the room.

 

“I'm from a fucking respectable family! I don't have to put up with this nonsense.”

 

`No one's immune from justice, Masafumi, not you, your family or your father.” Yuushi said pointedly.

 

This made Masafumi halt abruptly. He turned to look at Yuushi and snickered. “You think you can come here empty handed and try to threaten me with that justice speech of yours without any proof whatsoever? If you have nothing then get out.”

 

“We did not come empty handed, Masafumi.”

 

“Oh! Really. Do pray tell what proof it is that bring your investigation to my family?” he asked mockingly.

 

Yuushi produced the DNA result and handed it to Masafumi. “Does the result look familiar?”

 

The other man looked pale but quickly regained his composure. “Where did you get this? You might have planted this. You have been trying to bring down my family's reputation since your failure to prove anything on the last case.”

 

Crawford stood up. Enough being a spectator to this so call interrogation. He walked menacingly toward Masafumi. The other man backed away instantly until his back was pressed at the edge of his desk.

 

“This is not about family reputation! This is about kidnapping, murder and a young man's life. This blood trace was found in my house. Now, stop beating around bush...” Crawford grabbed the collar of the man's pajamas and took out his gun, pointing it right at the other man's temple. “And tell me, where you kept him.”

 

“Crawford!” Both Schuldig and Yuushi exclaimed.

 

“Shut up!” Crawford barked at the two men harshly.

 

“Tell me NOW; I will not hesitate to shoot you here and now.”

 

“What? What murder?! Kidnapping? I don't know what you're talking about.” Masafumi's eyes looked wildly at the other two men who were standing a few meters away from Crawford; he looked almost genuinely surprised by the accusations.

 

“You see this gun; it has not been used for a very long time. At the moment, I am still sane, but not for long if you don't tell me where he is.” Crawford's face hardened.

 

Masafumi began to panic. “I swear to you, I don't know….”

 

“Wrong answer!” Crawford pressed the gun harder at the temple and released the safety catch.

 

Masafumi's face blanched, he shut his eyes tightly and began to gesture wildly. “I swear, honestly, I don't know anything about the boy… or who took him.”

 

“Then whose blood is this? You're a doctor, I'm sure you know your own family blood graphs.”

There was a pause. “It's Hirofumi's. But where….?”

“Where is he now?” Crawford cut off, pressing the cold metal harder, so that it left a round mark on the other man's forehead.

 

“He and our father are in Kyoto. They will only be back today.”

 

“What time they will arrive?”

 

“I don't know, they were invited to the Tomoe's house.”

 

“Tomoe's?” Crawford raised his eyebrow.

 

“It's his birthday today and he is also announcing his early retirement from the politics.”

 

Crawford pushed the other man away, holstering his gun and began to circle the room, mumbling something angrily.

 

“I want you to explain to me about this.” Schuldig produced a brown file to Masafumi. That made Crawford stop his angry circling and stare at the file.

 

Masafumi raised his eyebrows, tentatively taking the folder as if it would bite him.

 

“I did some background check on you. You went to Southern Columbia few years ago doing a field botanical research. Does Brugmansia, Belladonna and Sarita flowers sound familiar? ”

 

The other man nodded, opening the file with curiosity while listening to Schuldig at the same time.

 

“These plants Masafumi, from what I've learned are effective in calming psychotic patients. They are also good for controlling humans.”

 

“That is Fujimiya Ran's medical reports. He had all these symptoms, delirious, hallucinating, memory loss, hard breathing, flushing, but the doctor could not tell what was wrong with him, he had no prior drug abuse record but his health deteriorated… This is the book that you wrote based on your findings these plants, and their effects on humans.”

 

“This young man. I know him.” Masafumi cut him off. He was admitted to Sakura's Health Care Institution. You know the Tomoe family's private hospital.”

 

“Tomoe's private hospital?” Schuldig repeated questioningly.

 

Masafumi nodded and continued. “He was admitted there. I was there doing my assessment on one of my project effects. When I saw him, he was already hallucinating badly and kicking everyone, saying someone was after him, screaming whenever people tried to touch him, even his own father…”

 

“Why was he admitted to that Institution?” Schuldig asked, curious at what he heard. “Isn't that Institution catered for chronic mentally disorder patients?”

 

“He is chronic.” Masufami scratched his head. “His parents caught him attacking another person at their own home with a kitchen knife. Then he started yelling that it was the man who put the knife in his hands and after that he lost control.”

 

Crawford, Yuushi and Schuldig were silent. That was not in the report.

 

“You said he was screaming, what was he screaming about?”

 

“Gibberish mostly, but sometimes he began to gesture wildly at no one in particular, shouting the word da…”

 

“Daddy…” Crawford closed his mouth.

 

“Yes, that's what he always screamed every time Akida Tomoe came with me to visit him. They had to put restrains on him”

 

“How did you know…” He barely finished his sentence when Crawford began to answer.

 

“He tried to run away once when I was not watching but when I managed to catch him, he was blabbering the word `Daddy'. I thought it was a post traumatic effect after his parents were murdered.” Crawford sunk down on the nearest seat and began rubbing his face. A gesture that Schuldig knew from whenever the older man was stressed.

 

“You said earlier he was having schizophrenic symptoms before he was admitted?” Yuushi asked.

 

Schuldig nodded. “When I read his book,” he gestured at Masafumi, “I realized that he has atropine and scopolamine effects which both can be extracted from a plant named Belladonna.”

 

“A classic Belladonna potion.” Yuushi nodded acquiescently. “If he has those symptoms before he was admitted, that mean he was ….”

 

“Poisoned.” The German growled. “And who can poison him so that not even a doctor can trace it….” Schuldig turned his attention to Masafumi, balling his fists in frustration.

 

Masafumi swallowed, Crawford was already looking sharply at him. “Look! I did not deny that we do plant these plants. These plants were carefully extracted and we are sure proper doses were given for a calming effect for psychotic patients, but I did not give it to him. He escaped from the Institution before anyone could treat him.”

 

“He was never meant to be treated. Someone is trying to make sure he remains crazy,” Yuushi commented.

 

“I swear that's all I know.” Small beads of sweat began to form on the doctor's forehead.

 

“What would happen if he were to be constantly fed with this … medication?” Yuushi asked, interested to know more.

 

“It won't kill him. But he will be like a puppet. Bent to his feeder's every whim.”

 

“Bastards!” Crawford swore. “Who have excess to these plants?”

 

“My father, me and Tomoe Akida…. wait a second.” Masafumi walked to his cabinets, pulling out one of the drawers, running his fingers through the sorted files and pulled one out.

 

Crawford and Schuldig almost grabbed the file from Masafumi's hand simultaneously. Crawford faced darkened as he shot a glare at his friend; the German let go of his hand and let the older man flip through the file.

 

His hand stopped at one particular column with a puzzled look.

 

Crawford turned as Schuldig brushed by him, and he handed the file to the younger man with a slight frown marring his handsome features.

 

“Aya?” A word finally came out.

 

“Aya?” Schuldig repeated and tilted his head in confusion; he ran his fingers through the column where Crawford was pointing.

 

Yuushi, who was quiet, stood between the two men. “Fujimiya's sister?” he asked peeking at the file, reading it. “How come she has access to the lab?”

 

“That's normal. She's Tomoe's most valuable and trusted secretary. Tomoe must have given her the access.”

 

“Ran's first visit to the hospital was the same day as the first time Aya was getting these plants.” The German pondered for a few moments over what he had said; he reopened the file and turned each and every pages of the file it searching for more explanations and comparing the pick up date with the date of each and every time Ran was admitted.

 

Each date was frighteningly similar.

 

Looking rather infuriated, he snapped the files closed. “She has been poisoning her own brother all along.”

 

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AN: Waah! It took me 13 months to update. I'm sorry and thank you for reading. I just feel that I am getting worst in writing. For information, I did not do any research which a good writer always do. I am sorry if my story does about the herbs does not make sense. I made it up….

 

I ought to wrap this up in 2 more chapters or else it will be a never-ending and non-making sense story. May be I should end this with a death of one of the character. *ponders*