Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Unfufilled Vow ❯ The Evidence ( Chapter 7 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Shiroi Misa 
The evidence will lead to the truth, like it or not.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Supernatural / Mystery / Horror / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.13.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 6.3K | Visits: 571 | Status: Completed
The evidence will lead to the truth, like it or not.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Supernatural / Mystery / Horror / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.13.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 6.3K | Visits: 571 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh but if you really thought I did I can get you a great deal on the Brooklyn bridge. I don't own the song, "Duvet" by Boa. I own Hide and Chisa but, you meet them in a minute. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed my story so far I never thought I'd break 100 reviews.
You know it's funny a lot of my family members have claimed to had an encounter with a ghost. My parents had a friend who's lived in a place where one often heard the voices of small children even when they were alone in the room. My Aunt saw a Head floating thought her living room. She knows she was awake because her dog woke her up. (Says he looked just a scared as she was.) My own sister, who has never believed in ghosts, saw some in OUR OWN ROOM. She woke me up one night and said in a panicked voice, "I see Girls at the foot of your bed!" She get insomnia and likes to annoy me when she's bored so I didn't take her seriously. She kept pointing saying there were four girls dressed for a slumber party huddled around a flashlight. They turned and looked up at her and went back to the flashlight. She then bolted from the room and I went back to sleep. Now, I never actually looked, I had to get up early for work the next day, but she swears to this day that she saw the ghost of four girls. They have never reappeared but I can't say if they were there or not. Do I believe in ghost? Well I believe there are many things in this world that we don't understand so I like to keep an open mind. But what about Kaiba? Maybe it's time he took a harder look at...
THE EVIDENCE
They were met by a middle aged man in a long gray coat. "Mr. Kaiba, right on time." The man was in his mid 40's with greying hair. He stood just a tad shorter then Kaiba himself. Casually he puffed on a thick cigar blowing smoke around the room. Kaiba was used to the cloudy atmosphere but poor little Yugi coughed making his presence known.
"Who's the kid." Yugi twitched at the remark. If there was one thing he hated was being called a kid.
"For you information I'm 16 years old -cough- 17 in about two months -cough-." The man just smirked.
"Kid when you get to be my age anyone under 25 is still a kid."
"You called Kaiba Mr. and he's not much older then me?"
"He helping to put my grandkids through collage, I'll call him Mary Sue if he wants." A low cough from Kaiba brought them to attention.
"If you two don't mind I would like to get this investigation underway."
"Where are my manors I'm private detective Igami Hideaki, Please call me Hide." He extended his hand and Kaiba shook it.
"A pleasure, this is Yugi Moto. He's a friend of victim I thought he could help us." The detective looked over Yugi skeptically but waved them both into the main control room.
"I've been in private practice for about 12 years now. I only investigate juvenile abduction and murder cases. Before that I was a regular detective on the police force. I trust I'm qualified Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba only nodded. As the trio entered the room they met a young woman with short brown hair in her late 20'sitting at a computer screen.
"And this lovely young lady is Yuki Chisato."
"Just Chisa will you Hide."
"Sorry, 'Chisa' here is an active member in this city finest CSI team. She on leave of duty because of a broken leg and after her first week she's going stir crazy and just itching to get back to work." Never looking up from her workstation Chisa just shock her head.
"Should I take that as a compliment or insult?"
"Oh come on Chisa, at least greet the guy that's getting you out of the house a little early."
Sighing she turned her chair around. "A please to meet you Mr. Kaiba you'll excuse me if I don't get up." She said pointing to a cast on her leg and turning back to her computer.
"You must forgive her she's a workaholic and loves a challenge."
"I also hate loose ends and dead ends. You were called in on this case Hide, why don't you update Mr. Kaiba."
"While it's true I was called in there's still one thing that's bothering me." Chisa sighed.
"Oh Lord, here we go."
Ignoring his partner the detective continued. "My only question is why?"
"Why what?" asked Kaiba. He was getting a tad annoyed at these constant interruptions.
"Why would a man such as yourself, who's notorious for slugging insults at one Jounouchi Katsuya, take such a personal interest in his murder investigation." Kaiba glared at him, he had called this man for help not harassment. Still he had to play it cool since there was still some suspicion on him.
"Lets just say I agree with Chisa, I don't like leaving loose ends especially when they hit so close to home." Hide, unfazed by the infamous Kaiba stare didn't back down.
"How is it close to home, from what I understood you were the kids personal tormentor."
"There's a difference between finding someone annoying and wishing they would get deported than actually arranging their demise." The teen CEO's continued to glare at man but it had little effect.
"I'm not accusing anybody of anything. I'm just curious." Kaiba was about to respond when his partner jumped in.
"Oh for Heaven's sake Hide. Just drop it will you? The kids a genius, he wouldn't be stupid enough to hire professionals if he had anything to do with this. Now get your nose out of his business and back to the case at hand." The man scratched his head and moved over to her.
"I guess she's got a point but-"
"No buts, I don't like you accusing our boss with out prof."
"Speaking of which what do you have for us." Grateful that Chisa had made Hide drop the subject Kaiba moved in closer fallowed closely by the silent Yugi. Chisa punched a few bottons turning on the over head screen.
"I checked over the autopsy and crime scene records and while it looks like they found everything there are a few part I have to disagree with. Let us start from the beginning shall we?" with a click of the mouse an image of Jounouchi's dead body at the scene of the crime popped up. Yugi put a hand to his mouth at the sight of his best friend's brutalized body. Seeing this Hide made the woman pause.
"Hey kid, I'm warning you, it doesn't get any prettier than this. If you can't handle this then please leave now." Yugi forced himself to remain calm. Something told him he needed to be here and he wasn't about to let Jou down a second time.
"No, I'm fine I can handle this."
//Aibou, would you like me to take over?//
/Only if it really gets to be too much, I really do need to be here. I know it./
//Alright, I will respect your wishes.// and with that Chisa continued the lecture.
"Name: Jounouchi Katsuya. Abducted on Sunday the 10th and was found dead at the bottom of Widow's Ridge below the cliff the fallowing Monday the 18th. The position of the body rules out a fall or suicide. Further examination reviles the body was not moved but that he was in fact pushed off the edge of a cliff. The victim was still alive after the fall but only for about 10-15 minutes, we know this because of the amount of the victim's blood was found around his body. He was fully dressed with the exception of one shoe missing from his left foot. He was also wearing a watch that broke on impact . It is determined that young man was pushed off the cliff and left to die late Thursday the 14th early Friday morning. The broken watch read 12:44, estimated time of death is around 1:00 am Friday the 15th.
Kaiba's head shot up with realization. "12:57." He said in a low voice but not low enough for Hide not to catch.
"Pardon."
"It's his time of death, 12:57." Chisa didn't turn around but answered anyway.
"We can't determine the exact time since he didn't die on impact so for all we know that really is his time of death." Kaiba nodded keeping his other thoughts to himself not wanting anymore questions from either of them. Meanwhile Yugi shifted.
"Poor Jounouchi-kun. All alone with no one to hear his calls for help."
"Actually he couldn't call for help." Said Chisa calmly as Kaiba raised an eyebrow.
"Why is that." The CIA clicked her mouse and brought up a screen of Jou's blackened neck.
"See that dark ring? That my friends is a very nasty bruise. The cause repeated yet not fatal strangulation. This caused the vocal cords to be crushed enabling Jounouchi to Speak or utter any oral sound." Yugi shut his eye for a moment unable to look at the screen. Kaiba thought for a moment. In the all the times he had been having Jou making his nightly visits he had never once heard him speak. Even Mokuba told him that he never Actually HEARD the ghost speak to him.
"So what does that mean exactly?" Hide blew a puff from his cigar.
"We've speculated that the victim was ritually asphyxiated in order to, shall we say increase the arousal and stimulation during sex." Chisa saw Kaiba cringe and thought it best to keep the details of the boy's rapes on a need to know basic.
"While I don't feel it is necessary to go into details of the sexual assaults I do have a questions for Yugi." Yugi looked up grateful she wasn't going to go any further. "What was Jounouchi eating habits like." Yugi thought it was a bit strange but answered honestly.
"Well he was always hungry and would devour his food when ever he could." He heard Kaiba snicker in the background but chose to ignore it. "Why do you ask?" Chisa took a breath before she answered.
"Because it looks like the Jounouchi was basically starving. His captor didn't feed him much but the autopsy shows a prolonged lack of nutrition. After they arrested his father they found the fridge was almost empty. The father spent his paycheck on booze and food for himself but his son was forced to use what little money he got from his part time job for food and any other personal expenses." Kaiba was no longer snickering in fact there was a look of disgust on his face. "That was one of the main reasons they were so insistent on trying him for child abuse." Kaiba stepped up to Chisa.
"I'm more interested in finding Jounouchi's real killer. His father was cleared much to the dismay of the DA so let's hear something relevant." Chisa knew Kaiba seemed almost disturbed but this new revaluation but decided it best not to bring it up again unless it was nessasary.
"What really interest me Mr. Kaiba is his fingers." She brought up an image of Jounouchi left hand. "I take it he's right handed."
Yugi looked up at the female detective. "How did you know?" She enlarged the image of his wrist.
"See that bruise on his wrist. It's from a pair of hand cuffs. I thought it was a little strange that coroner didn't link these two together. Handcuffs are basically kept on the wrist by way of the thumb joint and the Jounouchi's hands were small enough that by forcefully breaking the thumb he could have slipped the cuffs off." Kaiba looked up surprised.
"You're saying he did that to himself?"
"I'm saying he tried to get away. The rest of the fingers on his left hand were bent back at a much latter time. With no busing that tells me they were broken just before he died." She paused bringing up a picture of Jounouchi's right hand, that nailless hand that had been the cause of so many nightmares for the Kaiba brothers. "Now take a look at his other hand. The original report said Jou's capture tour them off as a form of torture."
"I take it you disagree." Said Hide as he watched over her shoulder.
"If it was just the nails I'd say yes but look at the tips of the fingers." The group was given gruesome view of Jou bloodied hand. Yugi almost called for Yami at that point but he wanted to stay there for Jounouchi's sake. "The flesh has been scraped off, I suspect that is due to this scraping that the nails were pulled from the hand." She demonstrated but lightly scraping the top of the table. Hide repeated the motion and looked at his hands.
"What do you think? He broke his own thumb to get free of the handcuffs and made his escape attempt, but something stopped him?" Chisato then enlarged the tips of the fingers focusing on small little specks embedded within the flesh.
"What are those?" questioned Kaiba as Chisato enlarged it even more.
"They're fragments of blacktop, the kind they only use on roads." Yugi looked up for a moment.
"Then...he got out somehow?" Both detectives thought for a moment then Hideaki spoke.
"He must have been dragged that's the only way the blacktop could have gotten into his fingers."
"Here's what I think." Chisato said as she looked closer. "If he was outside and dragged there would have been more marks on his body and close but they're only on his fingers and some smaller bits on his wrist. I think where ever he was kept was just below street level. He probably didn't know his way around and was cornered in a room with no door but a small window. Not being able to yell for help he reached his hand out hopping someone would see him." Hideaki now understood the logic and finish the scenario.
"But his captor found him first and in desperation Jou grabbed a hold of the pavement and hung on for dear life. Even while he was being dragged back inside and his fingernails were being torn from own hand." Chisato noticed Yugi was looking a little sick, she wasn't sure but Kaiba didn't seem to be doing so great either.
"I think they get the point Hideaki!"
"Oh, sorry. Forgot who I was with for a moment." he said slightly embarrassed. Kaiba then stepped forward.
"Not to push you guys but is any of this really helping to find the killer?" Hideaki fiddled with his tie as he explained.
"By studying the evidence and the profile in a case is how we come up with a suspect. Lord knows he left enough evidence behind to make a positive ID. That's why his father, as well as yourself, were ruled out as a suspect so early on. What we know is this. He's a middle age man, likes to keep to himself, and make about an upper middle class salary. Publically he may seem appalled to such behavior but secretly he is enthraled by it. Jounouchi's was not a random victim as much as the press likes to say. This was a carefully planed abduction and he's probably been watching the boy for some time now. We know Jou didn't know his attacker and wasn't kept in his captor's home because it would have been nearly impossible for someone to hide something like that in an apartment. Now, about where the body was found."
Chisato pulled up the information on the primary crime scene. The photo were a little much for little Yugi, seeing his best friend lying there with his eye staring into nothing. He had to let Yami take control for the moment. Kaiba was too busy shivering to notice the sudden change. Hide was looking over some more detailed information of the layout of the area.
"Let's see. Jounuochi was found at the bottom of Widow's peek, fully cloth with the exception of one shoe. The question is why here. It's clear he was being held in the city a good 35 min. drive from town. Why not dump him in the river or even in a dumpster." Chisato gave her partner a look silently telling him to watch what he said around the two boys.
"Maybe he was worried about being spotted. The peek isn't exactly a tourist attraction." He look thoughtful for a moment but not really convinced.
"But Jounouchi was still alive when he was thrown from the cliff." He looked closer at the crime scene photo. "Something here isn't adding up. Why would he have Jounouchi dressed, and keep him alive, drive him all the way out there only to through him off the cliff?" It was then Kaiba started to take a closer look at the screen and thought.
"What if he didn't realize he was still alive?" Hide looked up at Kaiba's words.
"Hang on a moment, Chisato, didn't they pull some of the suspect's blood off of the body?" She quickly checked the backlog and confirmed her partners suspicion.
"Yes, it was under the fingernails on his left hand." The detective's face lit up.
"I think I know what happened. Take a closer look at his neck only this time check the back." She did just that and paused.
"This is strange, it looks like he was strangled from the back as well as the front."
"Exactly here what I think happened. Somehow our boy gets free again which would explain why his close were still on, he was plaining to get out of there. However, his captor found him first. He crept behind him and strangled him to the point of unconsciousness thinking he was dead. He loads what he thinks is the body in his car and drives to the cliffs. That place down below is honeycombed with hidden caves and passages, he was probably trying to go under cover of darkness and hide the body in a previously selective spot but Jounouchi had other ideas. Once he woke up he knew this was his last chance to get away and fought back effectively scratching his captor across the face. The suspect becomes enraged at the unexpected attack and in a fit of anger pushes Jounouchi off of the cliff face." Kaiba closed his eyes and Yami shuttered at hearing the final moments of the young man's life.
"Well it does seem to fit the crime scene, there were sings of a struggle." said Chisato after checking her notes. "The skin we found under the nail was facial epidermal. And the area where Jou landed was in a very odd spot. Realizing it would take too much time to go down and collect the body and hide it again he decided to cut his losses and leave him to die on the rocks below." Yugi discreetly wiped a tear from his eye. Jou never deserved any of this, they needed to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. Hide looked over and checked Chisa work.
"OK, let's recap. Jou was abducted around 6:50 on Sunday only a few blocks from his home. He was held captive while being tortured, sexually assaulted and starved. Some time around Monday or Tuesday he broke his thumb in order to try and escape which resulted in the tearing of his finger nails. He was held until late Thursday when he made another attempt only to attacked from behind and knocked unconscious. He was taken to the dump sight but surprised his captor effetely scratching him on the face. Enraged the suspect through Jou off the cliff where he died around 1:00 am on Friday. His body was found about three days later on Monday evening." Kaiba sighed this was only getting him more frustrated by the minuit.
"This is all well in good but has any of this really help to find the man responsible?" Chisa rolled her eyes but remained calm.
"Actually I think we've had a break through here?" Hide said as he made a few notes in his notes. "If we're right, and Jounouchi was kept an under ground room with the window was on the ground level, than that narrows down out search area by a huge amount. Here's what we're going to do. Tomorrow we'll head down to City Hall and go through the blue print room with a fine-tooth comb. With the cement samples we found on the bottom of Jou's shoe we'll be able to narrow down our search and find our secondary crime scene." Hide seemed please with the amount of progress in a single evening and Chisa looked satisfied as well. Yugi was a bit relieved but Kaiba was far from it.
"So you're saying this could still take several days?" Chisa gave him a questioning look.
"Mr. Kaiba, this is extensive research. The older blueprints for the city are still backlogged and are not in the new computer system. We need to go over all of the building that fit our profile and I'm afraid that can't be done in a matter of hours." Kaiba smirked.
"So you're saying you'll need more money for the sped up search, is that it?" Hide raised and eyebrow and laughed.
"Mr. Kaiba, while additional funds would help to hire more cops for the search it's still going to take a while to insure there are no mistakes and the location isn't missed in our hast. I'm afraid money isn't an issue some things just take time. Why such the rush though? Are you afraid the killer might skip town or something?" Kaiba shifted.
"I don't know why but I get the feeling we're running out of time." Chisa thought for a moment and looked up.
"You mean before he does this again?" Everyone looked her way. "It's only speculation at this point but we talked about this not being his first murder." Hide bit his lip as a new thought crept into his head.
"You're talking about a serial killer." it was more of a statement then a question. "If that is the case than time is of the essences, but unless we can get a solid lead right now there really isn't much we can do." The room grew a bit eary clouded in silence. Everyone was getting the feeling there was that they were missing something. Kaiba racked his brain but the ghastly images that found there way into his head weren't helping...or were they. He thought back to the crime scene when he first found the body and realized that something was missing, but what. He remembered Yugi telling him that Jounouchi was over his place before he was abducted. They would have been doing homework, watching some TV and...playing duel Monsters. THAT'S IT!
Kaiba suddenly grabbed Yugi surprising the boy. "Yugi, tell me, did Jounouchi have his deck with him before he left your place?"
Yugi was a but confused but nodded. "Well, yeah, we were playing together just before he left. I remember him putting it in his bag before he ran out the door." Kaiba smirked almost laughing.
"I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner." He walked over to another computer and began to access his private system. The other looked at each other confused. Hide was the one to Speak up first.
"Care to share with the rest of the class?" Kaiba didn't look up from his work but he did answer.
"I should have thought of this sooner. We can track his deck with my satellite system. If the killer decided to keep his bag as a souvenir we'll be able to hunt him down in no time." Chisa pushed her chair over to Kaiba's station and looked on.
"How can you track them they're just cards." Yugi and the Hide walked over to see for themselves.
"They're not 'just cards' in each card has a small microchip designed to read in holographic machines. That's how major duels are kept track of. Jounouchi's card deck in listed in my system and I'm going to try to pin-point it's approximate location." Yugi, while Grateful that Kaiba might have just found a way to find Jounouchi's killer, he was having mixed emotions as well. Kaiba might have been able to find his best friend while he was still alive if he had only thought of this sooner. He couldn't help but wonder what was running through the burnett's head but he hope there was at least a bit of regret. It may have been a bit spiteful but he couldn't help it. He tried to put it to the back of his mind for now, there were more important things to worry about. They had to get this killer off the street before someone else wound up like Jounouchi.
"Kaiba-kun, he added three new cards to his deck since the last match. They are, Skull Dice, Graceful Dice, and Card Exchange." Kaiba turned his head to the younger duelist.
"Those are rare cards where did he get cards like that?" Yugi fought back a tear.
"They were an early birthday present from me...he seemed so happy too." Hide put his hand on the young man's shoulder as Kaiba made the last few calculations on his satelite program and it wasn't long before he hit the jack pot.
"Bingo, I've got a lock! I've narrowed it down to a two block radius and there's only one building that fit the profile!" Hide smiled.
"Great job kid-I mean Mr. Kaiba! I'll call in the chief of police and we'll be there first thing in the morning."
"No!" shouted Kaiba. "I need to see this place for myself and I won't wait for tomorrow." He said as he stood up prepaying to lead. Hide grabbed his arm in an effort to stop him.
"Now hang on, you just can't go into a crime scene! You could contaminate the evidence and we might even loose our case because you're not a recognized law figure." Kaiba shook off the Hide's grip.
"Then you come with me." Chisa was floored.
"What! You've got to be kidding?" But Kaiba wasn't backing down. "This is crazy, first of all it's night, seconds you only have one officer with you who's only in private practice. Mr. Kaiba please just wait until morning when we can do a proper investigation."
Kaiba turned to Yugi. "This is something I have to do. I don't know why but I feel there's a reason I need to be there, and as soon as possible. I know what you're thinking Yugi. That if I had tried this hard to find Jounouchi when you asked he might still be alive today." Yugi looked away but he didn't deny what Kaiba said was the truth. "I'm willing to fallow the book and not touch anything there but I need to go there NOW. With or with out your help." After a few moments of silence Hide stepped forward.
"Alright Mr. Kaiba, I'll take you there."
"WHAT!" yelled Chisa. "Hide you can be serious!" He just smirked.
"Don't worry about us. I'll make sure we don't mess this up."
"But without back up? For all you know the guy could still be there and if you walk in on him-" she was cut off when Kaiba shoved something in her face that looked like a strange headset. "What is this?"
"It's one of Kaiba corps new inventions. It will aloud you to see and hear everything we do in order to stay in contact. If the connection is lost at anytime for what ever reason, feel free to call 911." she slumped defeated in her chair.
"I guess I'm not going to talk you out of this am I?" Hide gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I'll be with him the whole time."
"That's what I'm worried about."
"I'm coming too." announced Yugi attempting to fallow Kaiba but Hide stopped him.
"Oh no you don't."
"You're letting Kaiba go, and I was Jounouchi best friend so I should go too."
"Listen Kid-"
"DON'T CALL ME KID!"
"Fine, Yugi, we need you here. Chisa still has a broken leg and if an emergency comes up she might not be able to get to us in time. Plush, it will be a lot easier to look after one person instead of two. I know you want to help but you can honestly be of more help here then with us. So, can we count on you to back us up?" Yugi was torn. He wanted to help but he didn't want to get in the way. What else could he do?
"Alright, I'll stay."
"Good man." Hide said as he headed out the door with Kaiba.
"Be careful!" Yugi shouted.
"Don't worry, if he doesn't come back we don't get paid!" Chisa rested her hands in her head and Yugi bit his lip, Hide's inspired words did little to quell their worries.
* * * *
The car ride was a quiet one which Kaiba preferred. Hide on the other hand was hating the silence.
"How about a little radio?" Kaiba snorted but didn't say no so Hide took this as an 'whatever'. He turned on a random station and caught the end of a song but another one took it's place.
And you don't seem to understand
A shame, you seemed an honest man
And all those fears you hold so dearWill turn to whisper in your ear
Kaiba shifted in his seat trying not to pay attention to the lyrics but it seemed like there all being aimed at him.
And you know what they say might hurt you
And you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing
'Who the hell wrote this song?' he thought as the onslaught of emotional turmoil continued.
I am falling
I am fading
I have lost it all
He was growing very agitated. It seemed like this song was meant for him and Jou. Not that he would ever admit it.
And you don't seem the lying kind
A shame that I can read your mind
And all the things that I read there
Candle-lit smile that we both share
He hated the fact that this was making him feel guilty all over again, he hated the fact that he felt guilty at all.
And you know I don't mean to hurt you
But you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing
'That's what you think? How would you know? You never got close enough to know anything about me.' He stop realizing he was having a mental battle with a ghost.
I am falling
I am fading
I am drowning
Help me to breathe
'Stop it.' he said beginning to loose his grip.
I am hurting
I have lost it all
I am losing
Help me to breathe...
"I said SHUT UP!" he road and punched the radio so hard a few sparks went flying. Hide jumped a bit and almost swerved off the road. After getting the Vical under control he glanced over to Kaiba.
"You know, I could have changed the chanal. Something you want to talk about?" Kaiba snorted.
"You're my detective, not my psychiatrist." Hide kept his eyes on the road but continued the conversation. He would ask about a new radio later, now was not a very good time.
"Fare enough. I was just thinking that hearing the details about Jounouchi being abused at home might have struck a nerve." It was true, Joucouchi's living conditions had brought up so very unpleasant memories.
"And what makes you say that." Kaiba said without turning around continuing to stare out the window.
"You were abused by your adoptive father, weren't you?" Kaiba shot him a look. He didn't like where this was going.
"Some detective you are."
"Oh I think I'm a pretty good one. You know he's done it before?" While he stayed silent he raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you're aware he had a biological son before you were adopted?"
"Of course I knew. He died in a car wreck six years ago."
"Were you also aware that Noa, the child, was also being abused?" Now Kaiba was interested. "You see I worked on Noa's case a few years back. While his death was not the result, like Jounouchi, evidence was found that he had been abused for years. I tried to have charges pressed against the father but with money comes power and he used that power to hide his crime. You know what they say, "Pay a man enough and he'll walk barefoot into Hell." (1) Well I found out it was true. I couldn't get anyone to bring him up on charges and I almost lost my job because of it. I even went so far to try and make sure he couldn't adopt any more children but as you well know I was unsuccessful. So you see Mr. Kaiba, I'm pretty good at what I do. The problem is getting people to listen." Kaiba was stunned. He had been compared to Noa his whole life, he never thought his bastard of a father would go so far, but than again he did want the perfect heir, guess a little conditioning was in order. The rest of the ride was silent but in only twenty minutes they had arrived at their destination.
Kaiba and Hide put on their communication devices. They turned them on and Hide tested the sound. "Testing, testing, can you hear me Chisa."
"That's affirmative, I can also see what you're seeing. How about you Mr. Kaiba?"
"Confirmed, all system are go."
"You're coming in nice and clear Kaiba." Said Yugi as he watched the burnet slowly walk towards the building across the street.
"OK, Here's the game plan. We walk in but take it very slowly, we don't know if anyone's still in there or not. Mr. Kaiba please fallow me." And with that the pair slowly crept towards the building but something made Kaiba stop. Hide saw this and turned around. "Mr. Kaiba what's wrong?" Kaiba paused as he finally took in his surroundings. There was a casual restaurant right next to the building they were meant to investigate. Then it dawned on him, he had been here before.
"That restaurant." he said pointing. "I...I was at that restaurant before." Hide looked surprised.
"Really when?" Kaiba paused again.
"I...I don't remember? It was a business lunch but, I can't remember when that was." Hide went up to his boss.
"Maybe you should stay back he-"
"NO!" Kaiba shouted. "I'm going in there and nothing short of the building collapsing is going to stop me." Hide cringed at that last comment.
'I really wish he hadn't said that.' he thought giving into Kaiba's request. Slowly they made their way through the darkened streets guided by flashlights. As the door came into view Hide stopped. "Wait I think I see something." the detective backed up and shown his light down the ally between the restarunt and the condemned building. In the distance he saw what he was hoping to find. A ground level, barred window towards the far end of the darkened ally. "Let's take a look shall we?"
And with that the pair slowly made their way down the black road in hopes of discovering the truth. But as Kaiba drew closer and closer to the window he felt a sense of dread. Little things, things that been in front of him for a long time were now coming together weaving the horrid truth in front of his eyes. But he said nothing almost as if he was hoping they wouldn't find what knew in his soul had was there.
"Chisa you still there?" Hide said ignorant to the inner turmoil Kaiba was facing at the moment.
"Yes, I'm here but damn I feel like I'm reading a really bad horror story on Fanfiction.net. Could you at least give me a play by play here." He laughed nervously.
"Well as you can see we've reached the window and there is some dark substance near the sill in several lines." He pulled out a Q-tip and a small case from his pocket to test the substance. "Guess what? It's blood and it's Human." Then he saw something sticking in the middle of the lines. He took a pair of tweezer and extracted in from the pavement.
"Hide, is that what I think it is?" he hear Chisa ask on the other end of the line.
"I'm afraid it is. Jounouchi's fingernail."
"My, fault..." Hide turned to see a very shaken Seto Kaiba.
"What was that?" Kaiba just stared at the nail in Hide's hands.
"He was right...it was my fault...I left him to die..."
to be continued in...
The Guilty
We do things everyday without thinking. Things that seem unimportant and so we never think about the consequences to our actions. But we are responsible for the things we do and more importantly, the things we failed to do. Kaiba made a choice once, a choice would not be forgotten, a choice that would haunt him, a choice that cost a life. Now he must face the truth that refused to be buried but what then.
(1) My favorite quote from "Gargoyles"
You know it's funny a lot of my family members have claimed to had an encounter with a ghost. My parents had a friend who's lived in a place where one often heard the voices of small children even when they were alone in the room. My Aunt saw a Head floating thought her living room. She knows she was awake because her dog woke her up. (Says he looked just a scared as she was.) My own sister, who has never believed in ghosts, saw some in OUR OWN ROOM. She woke me up one night and said in a panicked voice, "I see Girls at the foot of your bed!" She get insomnia and likes to annoy me when she's bored so I didn't take her seriously. She kept pointing saying there were four girls dressed for a slumber party huddled around a flashlight. They turned and looked up at her and went back to the flashlight. She then bolted from the room and I went back to sleep. Now, I never actually looked, I had to get up early for work the next day, but she swears to this day that she saw the ghost of four girls. They have never reappeared but I can't say if they were there or not. Do I believe in ghost? Well I believe there are many things in this world that we don't understand so I like to keep an open mind. But what about Kaiba? Maybe it's time he took a harder look at...
THE EVIDENCE
They were met by a middle aged man in a long gray coat. "Mr. Kaiba, right on time." The man was in his mid 40's with greying hair. He stood just a tad shorter then Kaiba himself. Casually he puffed on a thick cigar blowing smoke around the room. Kaiba was used to the cloudy atmosphere but poor little Yugi coughed making his presence known.
"Who's the kid." Yugi twitched at the remark. If there was one thing he hated was being called a kid.
"For you information I'm 16 years old -cough- 17 in about two months -cough-." The man just smirked.
"Kid when you get to be my age anyone under 25 is still a kid."
"You called Kaiba Mr. and he's not much older then me?"
"He helping to put my grandkids through collage, I'll call him Mary Sue if he wants." A low cough from Kaiba brought them to attention.
"If you two don't mind I would like to get this investigation underway."
"Where are my manors I'm private detective Igami Hideaki, Please call me Hide." He extended his hand and Kaiba shook it.
"A pleasure, this is Yugi Moto. He's a friend of victim I thought he could help us." The detective looked over Yugi skeptically but waved them both into the main control room.
"I've been in private practice for about 12 years now. I only investigate juvenile abduction and murder cases. Before that I was a regular detective on the police force. I trust I'm qualified Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba only nodded. As the trio entered the room they met a young woman with short brown hair in her late 20'sitting at a computer screen.
"And this lovely young lady is Yuki Chisato."
"Just Chisa will you Hide."
"Sorry, 'Chisa' here is an active member in this city finest CSI team. She on leave of duty because of a broken leg and after her first week she's going stir crazy and just itching to get back to work." Never looking up from her workstation Chisa just shock her head.
"Should I take that as a compliment or insult?"
"Oh come on Chisa, at least greet the guy that's getting you out of the house a little early."
Sighing she turned her chair around. "A please to meet you Mr. Kaiba you'll excuse me if I don't get up." She said pointing to a cast on her leg and turning back to her computer.
"You must forgive her she's a workaholic and loves a challenge."
"I also hate loose ends and dead ends. You were called in on this case Hide, why don't you update Mr. Kaiba."
"While it's true I was called in there's still one thing that's bothering me." Chisa sighed.
"Oh Lord, here we go."
Ignoring his partner the detective continued. "My only question is why?"
"Why what?" asked Kaiba. He was getting a tad annoyed at these constant interruptions.
"Why would a man such as yourself, who's notorious for slugging insults at one Jounouchi Katsuya, take such a personal interest in his murder investigation." Kaiba glared at him, he had called this man for help not harassment. Still he had to play it cool since there was still some suspicion on him.
"Lets just say I agree with Chisa, I don't like leaving loose ends especially when they hit so close to home." Hide, unfazed by the infamous Kaiba stare didn't back down.
"How is it close to home, from what I understood you were the kids personal tormentor."
"There's a difference between finding someone annoying and wishing they would get deported than actually arranging their demise." The teen CEO's continued to glare at man but it had little effect.
"I'm not accusing anybody of anything. I'm just curious." Kaiba was about to respond when his partner jumped in.
"Oh for Heaven's sake Hide. Just drop it will you? The kids a genius, he wouldn't be stupid enough to hire professionals if he had anything to do with this. Now get your nose out of his business and back to the case at hand." The man scratched his head and moved over to her.
"I guess she's got a point but-"
"No buts, I don't like you accusing our boss with out prof."
"Speaking of which what do you have for us." Grateful that Chisa had made Hide drop the subject Kaiba moved in closer fallowed closely by the silent Yugi. Chisa punched a few bottons turning on the over head screen.
"I checked over the autopsy and crime scene records and while it looks like they found everything there are a few part I have to disagree with. Let us start from the beginning shall we?" with a click of the mouse an image of Jounouchi's dead body at the scene of the crime popped up. Yugi put a hand to his mouth at the sight of his best friend's brutalized body. Seeing this Hide made the woman pause.
"Hey kid, I'm warning you, it doesn't get any prettier than this. If you can't handle this then please leave now." Yugi forced himself to remain calm. Something told him he needed to be here and he wasn't about to let Jou down a second time.
"No, I'm fine I can handle this."
//Aibou, would you like me to take over?//
/Only if it really gets to be too much, I really do need to be here. I know it./
//Alright, I will respect your wishes.// and with that Chisa continued the lecture.
"Name: Jounouchi Katsuya. Abducted on Sunday the 10th and was found dead at the bottom of Widow's Ridge below the cliff the fallowing Monday the 18th. The position of the body rules out a fall or suicide. Further examination reviles the body was not moved but that he was in fact pushed off the edge of a cliff. The victim was still alive after the fall but only for about 10-15 minutes, we know this because of the amount of the victim's blood was found around his body. He was fully dressed with the exception of one shoe missing from his left foot. He was also wearing a watch that broke on impact . It is determined that young man was pushed off the cliff and left to die late Thursday the 14th early Friday morning. The broken watch read 12:44, estimated time of death is around 1:00 am Friday the 15th.
Kaiba's head shot up with realization. "12:57." He said in a low voice but not low enough for Hide not to catch.
"Pardon."
"It's his time of death, 12:57." Chisa didn't turn around but answered anyway.
"We can't determine the exact time since he didn't die on impact so for all we know that really is his time of death." Kaiba nodded keeping his other thoughts to himself not wanting anymore questions from either of them. Meanwhile Yugi shifted.
"Poor Jounouchi-kun. All alone with no one to hear his calls for help."
"Actually he couldn't call for help." Said Chisa calmly as Kaiba raised an eyebrow.
"Why is that." The CIA clicked her mouse and brought up a screen of Jou's blackened neck.
"See that dark ring? That my friends is a very nasty bruise. The cause repeated yet not fatal strangulation. This caused the vocal cords to be crushed enabling Jounouchi to Speak or utter any oral sound." Yugi shut his eye for a moment unable to look at the screen. Kaiba thought for a moment. In the all the times he had been having Jou making his nightly visits he had never once heard him speak. Even Mokuba told him that he never Actually HEARD the ghost speak to him.
"So what does that mean exactly?" Hide blew a puff from his cigar.
"We've speculated that the victim was ritually asphyxiated in order to, shall we say increase the arousal and stimulation during sex." Chisa saw Kaiba cringe and thought it best to keep the details of the boy's rapes on a need to know basic.
"While I don't feel it is necessary to go into details of the sexual assaults I do have a questions for Yugi." Yugi looked up grateful she wasn't going to go any further. "What was Jounouchi eating habits like." Yugi thought it was a bit strange but answered honestly.
"Well he was always hungry and would devour his food when ever he could." He heard Kaiba snicker in the background but chose to ignore it. "Why do you ask?" Chisa took a breath before she answered.
"Because it looks like the Jounouchi was basically starving. His captor didn't feed him much but the autopsy shows a prolonged lack of nutrition. After they arrested his father they found the fridge was almost empty. The father spent his paycheck on booze and food for himself but his son was forced to use what little money he got from his part time job for food and any other personal expenses." Kaiba was no longer snickering in fact there was a look of disgust on his face. "That was one of the main reasons they were so insistent on trying him for child abuse." Kaiba stepped up to Chisa.
"I'm more interested in finding Jounouchi's real killer. His father was cleared much to the dismay of the DA so let's hear something relevant." Chisa knew Kaiba seemed almost disturbed but this new revaluation but decided it best not to bring it up again unless it was nessasary.
"What really interest me Mr. Kaiba is his fingers." She brought up an image of Jounouchi left hand. "I take it he's right handed."
Yugi looked up at the female detective. "How did you know?" She enlarged the image of his wrist.
"See that bruise on his wrist. It's from a pair of hand cuffs. I thought it was a little strange that coroner didn't link these two together. Handcuffs are basically kept on the wrist by way of the thumb joint and the Jounouchi's hands were small enough that by forcefully breaking the thumb he could have slipped the cuffs off." Kaiba looked up surprised.
"You're saying he did that to himself?"
"I'm saying he tried to get away. The rest of the fingers on his left hand were bent back at a much latter time. With no busing that tells me they were broken just before he died." She paused bringing up a picture of Jounouchi's right hand, that nailless hand that had been the cause of so many nightmares for the Kaiba brothers. "Now take a look at his other hand. The original report said Jou's capture tour them off as a form of torture."
"I take it you disagree." Said Hide as he watched over her shoulder.
"If it was just the nails I'd say yes but look at the tips of the fingers." The group was given gruesome view of Jou bloodied hand. Yugi almost called for Yami at that point but he wanted to stay there for Jounouchi's sake. "The flesh has been scraped off, I suspect that is due to this scraping that the nails were pulled from the hand." She demonstrated but lightly scraping the top of the table. Hide repeated the motion and looked at his hands.
"What do you think? He broke his own thumb to get free of the handcuffs and made his escape attempt, but something stopped him?" Chisato then enlarged the tips of the fingers focusing on small little specks embedded within the flesh.
"What are those?" questioned Kaiba as Chisato enlarged it even more.
"They're fragments of blacktop, the kind they only use on roads." Yugi looked up for a moment.
"Then...he got out somehow?" Both detectives thought for a moment then Hideaki spoke.
"He must have been dragged that's the only way the blacktop could have gotten into his fingers."
"Here's what I think." Chisato said as she looked closer. "If he was outside and dragged there would have been more marks on his body and close but they're only on his fingers and some smaller bits on his wrist. I think where ever he was kept was just below street level. He probably didn't know his way around and was cornered in a room with no door but a small window. Not being able to yell for help he reached his hand out hopping someone would see him." Hideaki now understood the logic and finish the scenario.
"But his captor found him first and in desperation Jou grabbed a hold of the pavement and hung on for dear life. Even while he was being dragged back inside and his fingernails were being torn from own hand." Chisato noticed Yugi was looking a little sick, she wasn't sure but Kaiba didn't seem to be doing so great either.
"I think they get the point Hideaki!"
"Oh, sorry. Forgot who I was with for a moment." he said slightly embarrassed. Kaiba then stepped forward.
"Not to push you guys but is any of this really helping to find the killer?" Hideaki fiddled with his tie as he explained.
"By studying the evidence and the profile in a case is how we come up with a suspect. Lord knows he left enough evidence behind to make a positive ID. That's why his father, as well as yourself, were ruled out as a suspect so early on. What we know is this. He's a middle age man, likes to keep to himself, and make about an upper middle class salary. Publically he may seem appalled to such behavior but secretly he is enthraled by it. Jounouchi's was not a random victim as much as the press likes to say. This was a carefully planed abduction and he's probably been watching the boy for some time now. We know Jou didn't know his attacker and wasn't kept in his captor's home because it would have been nearly impossible for someone to hide something like that in an apartment. Now, about where the body was found."
Chisato pulled up the information on the primary crime scene. The photo were a little much for little Yugi, seeing his best friend lying there with his eye staring into nothing. He had to let Yami take control for the moment. Kaiba was too busy shivering to notice the sudden change. Hide was looking over some more detailed information of the layout of the area.
"Let's see. Jounuochi was found at the bottom of Widow's peek, fully cloth with the exception of one shoe. The question is why here. It's clear he was being held in the city a good 35 min. drive from town. Why not dump him in the river or even in a dumpster." Chisato gave her partner a look silently telling him to watch what he said around the two boys.
"Maybe he was worried about being spotted. The peek isn't exactly a tourist attraction." He look thoughtful for a moment but not really convinced.
"But Jounouchi was still alive when he was thrown from the cliff." He looked closer at the crime scene photo. "Something here isn't adding up. Why would he have Jounouchi dressed, and keep him alive, drive him all the way out there only to through him off the cliff?" It was then Kaiba started to take a closer look at the screen and thought.
"What if he didn't realize he was still alive?" Hide looked up at Kaiba's words.
"Hang on a moment, Chisato, didn't they pull some of the suspect's blood off of the body?" She quickly checked the backlog and confirmed her partners suspicion.
"Yes, it was under the fingernails on his left hand." The detective's face lit up.
"I think I know what happened. Take a closer look at his neck only this time check the back." She did just that and paused.
"This is strange, it looks like he was strangled from the back as well as the front."
"Exactly here what I think happened. Somehow our boy gets free again which would explain why his close were still on, he was plaining to get out of there. However, his captor found him first. He crept behind him and strangled him to the point of unconsciousness thinking he was dead. He loads what he thinks is the body in his car and drives to the cliffs. That place down below is honeycombed with hidden caves and passages, he was probably trying to go under cover of darkness and hide the body in a previously selective spot but Jounouchi had other ideas. Once he woke up he knew this was his last chance to get away and fought back effectively scratching his captor across the face. The suspect becomes enraged at the unexpected attack and in a fit of anger pushes Jounouchi off of the cliff face." Kaiba closed his eyes and Yami shuttered at hearing the final moments of the young man's life.
"Well it does seem to fit the crime scene, there were sings of a struggle." said Chisato after checking her notes. "The skin we found under the nail was facial epidermal. And the area where Jou landed was in a very odd spot. Realizing it would take too much time to go down and collect the body and hide it again he decided to cut his losses and leave him to die on the rocks below." Yugi discreetly wiped a tear from his eye. Jou never deserved any of this, they needed to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. Hide looked over and checked Chisa work.
"OK, let's recap. Jou was abducted around 6:50 on Sunday only a few blocks from his home. He was held captive while being tortured, sexually assaulted and starved. Some time around Monday or Tuesday he broke his thumb in order to try and escape which resulted in the tearing of his finger nails. He was held until late Thursday when he made another attempt only to attacked from behind and knocked unconscious. He was taken to the dump sight but surprised his captor effetely scratching him on the face. Enraged the suspect through Jou off the cliff where he died around 1:00 am on Friday. His body was found about three days later on Monday evening." Kaiba sighed this was only getting him more frustrated by the minuit.
"This is all well in good but has any of this really help to find the man responsible?" Chisa rolled her eyes but remained calm.
"Actually I think we've had a break through here?" Hide said as he made a few notes in his notes. "If we're right, and Jounouchi was kept an under ground room with the window was on the ground level, than that narrows down out search area by a huge amount. Here's what we're going to do. Tomorrow we'll head down to City Hall and go through the blue print room with a fine-tooth comb. With the cement samples we found on the bottom of Jou's shoe we'll be able to narrow down our search and find our secondary crime scene." Hide seemed please with the amount of progress in a single evening and Chisa looked satisfied as well. Yugi was a bit relieved but Kaiba was far from it.
"So you're saying this could still take several days?" Chisa gave him a questioning look.
"Mr. Kaiba, this is extensive research. The older blueprints for the city are still backlogged and are not in the new computer system. We need to go over all of the building that fit our profile and I'm afraid that can't be done in a matter of hours." Kaiba smirked.
"So you're saying you'll need more money for the sped up search, is that it?" Hide raised and eyebrow and laughed.
"Mr. Kaiba, while additional funds would help to hire more cops for the search it's still going to take a while to insure there are no mistakes and the location isn't missed in our hast. I'm afraid money isn't an issue some things just take time. Why such the rush though? Are you afraid the killer might skip town or something?" Kaiba shifted.
"I don't know why but I get the feeling we're running out of time." Chisa thought for a moment and looked up.
"You mean before he does this again?" Everyone looked her way. "It's only speculation at this point but we talked about this not being his first murder." Hide bit his lip as a new thought crept into his head.
"You're talking about a serial killer." it was more of a statement then a question. "If that is the case than time is of the essences, but unless we can get a solid lead right now there really isn't much we can do." The room grew a bit eary clouded in silence. Everyone was getting the feeling there was that they were missing something. Kaiba racked his brain but the ghastly images that found there way into his head weren't helping...or were they. He thought back to the crime scene when he first found the body and realized that something was missing, but what. He remembered Yugi telling him that Jounouchi was over his place before he was abducted. They would have been doing homework, watching some TV and...playing duel Monsters. THAT'S IT!
Kaiba suddenly grabbed Yugi surprising the boy. "Yugi, tell me, did Jounouchi have his deck with him before he left your place?"
Yugi was a but confused but nodded. "Well, yeah, we were playing together just before he left. I remember him putting it in his bag before he ran out the door." Kaiba smirked almost laughing.
"I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner." He walked over to another computer and began to access his private system. The other looked at each other confused. Hide was the one to Speak up first.
"Care to share with the rest of the class?" Kaiba didn't look up from his work but he did answer.
"I should have thought of this sooner. We can track his deck with my satellite system. If the killer decided to keep his bag as a souvenir we'll be able to hunt him down in no time." Chisa pushed her chair over to Kaiba's station and looked on.
"How can you track them they're just cards." Yugi and the Hide walked over to see for themselves.
"They're not 'just cards' in each card has a small microchip designed to read in holographic machines. That's how major duels are kept track of. Jounouchi's card deck in listed in my system and I'm going to try to pin-point it's approximate location." Yugi, while Grateful that Kaiba might have just found a way to find Jounouchi's killer, he was having mixed emotions as well. Kaiba might have been able to find his best friend while he was still alive if he had only thought of this sooner. He couldn't help but wonder what was running through the burnett's head but he hope there was at least a bit of regret. It may have been a bit spiteful but he couldn't help it. He tried to put it to the back of his mind for now, there were more important things to worry about. They had to get this killer off the street before someone else wound up like Jounouchi.
"Kaiba-kun, he added three new cards to his deck since the last match. They are, Skull Dice, Graceful Dice, and Card Exchange." Kaiba turned his head to the younger duelist.
"Those are rare cards where did he get cards like that?" Yugi fought back a tear.
"They were an early birthday present from me...he seemed so happy too." Hide put his hand on the young man's shoulder as Kaiba made the last few calculations on his satelite program and it wasn't long before he hit the jack pot.
"Bingo, I've got a lock! I've narrowed it down to a two block radius and there's only one building that fit the profile!" Hide smiled.
"Great job kid-I mean Mr. Kaiba! I'll call in the chief of police and we'll be there first thing in the morning."
"No!" shouted Kaiba. "I need to see this place for myself and I won't wait for tomorrow." He said as he stood up prepaying to lead. Hide grabbed his arm in an effort to stop him.
"Now hang on, you just can't go into a crime scene! You could contaminate the evidence and we might even loose our case because you're not a recognized law figure." Kaiba shook off the Hide's grip.
"Then you come with me." Chisa was floored.
"What! You've got to be kidding?" But Kaiba wasn't backing down. "This is crazy, first of all it's night, seconds you only have one officer with you who's only in private practice. Mr. Kaiba please just wait until morning when we can do a proper investigation."
Kaiba turned to Yugi. "This is something I have to do. I don't know why but I feel there's a reason I need to be there, and as soon as possible. I know what you're thinking Yugi. That if I had tried this hard to find Jounouchi when you asked he might still be alive today." Yugi looked away but he didn't deny what Kaiba said was the truth. "I'm willing to fallow the book and not touch anything there but I need to go there NOW. With or with out your help." After a few moments of silence Hide stepped forward.
"Alright Mr. Kaiba, I'll take you there."
"WHAT!" yelled Chisa. "Hide you can be serious!" He just smirked.
"Don't worry about us. I'll make sure we don't mess this up."
"But without back up? For all you know the guy could still be there and if you walk in on him-" she was cut off when Kaiba shoved something in her face that looked like a strange headset. "What is this?"
"It's one of Kaiba corps new inventions. It will aloud you to see and hear everything we do in order to stay in contact. If the connection is lost at anytime for what ever reason, feel free to call 911." she slumped defeated in her chair.
"I guess I'm not going to talk you out of this am I?" Hide gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I'll be with him the whole time."
"That's what I'm worried about."
"I'm coming too." announced Yugi attempting to fallow Kaiba but Hide stopped him.
"Oh no you don't."
"You're letting Kaiba go, and I was Jounouchi best friend so I should go too."
"Listen Kid-"
"DON'T CALL ME KID!"
"Fine, Yugi, we need you here. Chisa still has a broken leg and if an emergency comes up she might not be able to get to us in time. Plush, it will be a lot easier to look after one person instead of two. I know you want to help but you can honestly be of more help here then with us. So, can we count on you to back us up?" Yugi was torn. He wanted to help but he didn't want to get in the way. What else could he do?
"Alright, I'll stay."
"Good man." Hide said as he headed out the door with Kaiba.
"Be careful!" Yugi shouted.
"Don't worry, if he doesn't come back we don't get paid!" Chisa rested her hands in her head and Yugi bit his lip, Hide's inspired words did little to quell their worries.
* * * *
The car ride was a quiet one which Kaiba preferred. Hide on the other hand was hating the silence.
"How about a little radio?" Kaiba snorted but didn't say no so Hide took this as an 'whatever'. He turned on a random station and caught the end of a song but another one took it's place.
And you don't seem to understand
A shame, you seemed an honest man
And all those fears you hold so dearWill turn to whisper in your ear
Kaiba shifted in his seat trying not to pay attention to the lyrics but it seemed like there all being aimed at him.
And you know what they say might hurt you
And you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing
'Who the hell wrote this song?' he thought as the onslaught of emotional turmoil continued.
I am falling
I am fading
I have lost it all
He was growing very agitated. It seemed like this song was meant for him and Jou. Not that he would ever admit it.
And you don't seem the lying kind
A shame that I can read your mind
And all the things that I read there
Candle-lit smile that we both share
He hated the fact that this was making him feel guilty all over again, he hated the fact that he felt guilty at all.
And you know I don't mean to hurt you
But you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing
'That's what you think? How would you know? You never got close enough to know anything about me.' He stop realizing he was having a mental battle with a ghost.
I am falling
I am fading
I am drowning
Help me to breathe
'Stop it.' he said beginning to loose his grip.
I am hurting
I have lost it all
I am losing
Help me to breathe...
"I said SHUT UP!" he road and punched the radio so hard a few sparks went flying. Hide jumped a bit and almost swerved off the road. After getting the Vical under control he glanced over to Kaiba.
"You know, I could have changed the chanal. Something you want to talk about?" Kaiba snorted.
"You're my detective, not my psychiatrist." Hide kept his eyes on the road but continued the conversation. He would ask about a new radio later, now was not a very good time.
"Fare enough. I was just thinking that hearing the details about Jounouchi being abused at home might have struck a nerve." It was true, Joucouchi's living conditions had brought up so very unpleasant memories.
"And what makes you say that." Kaiba said without turning around continuing to stare out the window.
"You were abused by your adoptive father, weren't you?" Kaiba shot him a look. He didn't like where this was going.
"Some detective you are."
"Oh I think I'm a pretty good one. You know he's done it before?" While he stayed silent he raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you're aware he had a biological son before you were adopted?"
"Of course I knew. He died in a car wreck six years ago."
"Were you also aware that Noa, the child, was also being abused?" Now Kaiba was interested. "You see I worked on Noa's case a few years back. While his death was not the result, like Jounouchi, evidence was found that he had been abused for years. I tried to have charges pressed against the father but with money comes power and he used that power to hide his crime. You know what they say, "Pay a man enough and he'll walk barefoot into Hell." (1) Well I found out it was true. I couldn't get anyone to bring him up on charges and I almost lost my job because of it. I even went so far to try and make sure he couldn't adopt any more children but as you well know I was unsuccessful. So you see Mr. Kaiba, I'm pretty good at what I do. The problem is getting people to listen." Kaiba was stunned. He had been compared to Noa his whole life, he never thought his bastard of a father would go so far, but than again he did want the perfect heir, guess a little conditioning was in order. The rest of the ride was silent but in only twenty minutes they had arrived at their destination.
Kaiba and Hide put on their communication devices. They turned them on and Hide tested the sound. "Testing, testing, can you hear me Chisa."
"That's affirmative, I can also see what you're seeing. How about you Mr. Kaiba?"
"Confirmed, all system are go."
"You're coming in nice and clear Kaiba." Said Yugi as he watched the burnet slowly walk towards the building across the street.
"OK, Here's the game plan. We walk in but take it very slowly, we don't know if anyone's still in there or not. Mr. Kaiba please fallow me." And with that the pair slowly crept towards the building but something made Kaiba stop. Hide saw this and turned around. "Mr. Kaiba what's wrong?" Kaiba paused as he finally took in his surroundings. There was a casual restaurant right next to the building they were meant to investigate. Then it dawned on him, he had been here before.
"That restaurant." he said pointing. "I...I was at that restaurant before." Hide looked surprised.
"Really when?" Kaiba paused again.
"I...I don't remember? It was a business lunch but, I can't remember when that was." Hide went up to his boss.
"Maybe you should stay back he-"
"NO!" Kaiba shouted. "I'm going in there and nothing short of the building collapsing is going to stop me." Hide cringed at that last comment.
'I really wish he hadn't said that.' he thought giving into Kaiba's request. Slowly they made their way through the darkened streets guided by flashlights. As the door came into view Hide stopped. "Wait I think I see something." the detective backed up and shown his light down the ally between the restarunt and the condemned building. In the distance he saw what he was hoping to find. A ground level, barred window towards the far end of the darkened ally. "Let's take a look shall we?"
And with that the pair slowly made their way down the black road in hopes of discovering the truth. But as Kaiba drew closer and closer to the window he felt a sense of dread. Little things, things that been in front of him for a long time were now coming together weaving the horrid truth in front of his eyes. But he said nothing almost as if he was hoping they wouldn't find what knew in his soul had was there.
"Chisa you still there?" Hide said ignorant to the inner turmoil Kaiba was facing at the moment.
"Yes, I'm here but damn I feel like I'm reading a really bad horror story on Fanfiction.net. Could you at least give me a play by play here." He laughed nervously.
"Well as you can see we've reached the window and there is some dark substance near the sill in several lines." He pulled out a Q-tip and a small case from his pocket to test the substance. "Guess what? It's blood and it's Human." Then he saw something sticking in the middle of the lines. He took a pair of tweezer and extracted in from the pavement.
"Hide, is that what I think it is?" he hear Chisa ask on the other end of the line.
"I'm afraid it is. Jounouchi's fingernail."
"My, fault..." Hide turned to see a very shaken Seto Kaiba.
"What was that?" Kaiba just stared at the nail in Hide's hands.
"He was right...it was my fault...I left him to die..."
to be continued in...
The Guilty
We do things everyday without thinking. Things that seem unimportant and so we never think about the consequences to our actions. But we are responsible for the things we do and more importantly, the things we failed to do. Kaiba made a choice once, a choice would not be forgotten, a choice that would haunt him, a choice that cost a life. Now he must face the truth that refused to be buried but what then.
(1) My favorite quote from "Gargoyles"