Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Unfufilled Vow ❯ The Video Tape ( Chapter 9 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Shiroi Misa 
Jou left something behind but is it too late?
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Supernatural / Mystery / Horror / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.01.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 449 | Status: Completed
Jou left something behind but is it too late?
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Supernatural / Mystery / Horror / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.01.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 449 | Status: Completed
LOOK, LOOK I'M NOT DEAD! I'm sorry this chapter took so long my computer caught a bad virus and it was down for over a month. To make matter's worse it erased my story when it was almost done. GRRR! Oh well, I had to rewrite the whole thing but you know I think it turned out better the second time around. Well, I've wasted enough of your time so let's get on with it. I'm in the mood to watch...
The Video Tape
He heard nothing, he saw nothing, he felt nothing. Nothing but the memories of Jounouchi and what had happened to him. He had sin by what he had done and what he had failed to do. He had always pictured himself as a ruthless man of power who paused for no one and had done well to uphold his image. But now that image, that had been a mere mask to earn fear and respect, had now become his true face. He had seen this face before and hated it with every part of his being. He thought he had killed it by pushing its owner out of a window. But he was wrong, it had only served to carve the image over his own face and even over his heart. Deep down he had thought he could avoid the pattern but the evidence staring him in the face proved how wrong he was. He was just as much a monster as the beast that took and ravaged Jounouchi. But that ware his thoughts ended as he heard a loud SLAP and felt his face begin to sting.
He looked up and saw Detective Hide standing in front of him holding onto his shoulders. "Mr. Kaiba!" He yelled shaking the young man. Kaiba was stunned for a moment but looked up to respond. "What's wrong? What did you mean it was your fault? What the hell is going on?" Kaiba lowered his eyes unable to face the man.
"I was here...and I left him." He spoke quietly but the impact was great. "I was here...I didn't know...but I felt it, and I didn't even turn around." There was a long pause before Hide spoke again.
"What are you saying? You were here?" Kaiba nodded in response. "But you also said you didn't know he was here."
The teen shock his head violently. "I knew something was wrong but...I was too stubborn to look. He was trying to get my attention. I HEARD something but I ignored it. He was right, I was all my fault." Hide took a breath as he took in Kaiba's words.
"Mr. Kaiba, listen to yourself. You said it yourself you DIDN'T know what was going on. You have to stop this, this isn't going to help. You didn't kidnap Jounouchi, you didn't kill him but if you can't get a hold of yourself the man who did could get away. Is that what you want?" That last line seemed to strike a cord. He was right. He could drown himself in guilt later, right now he wanted some justice. Slowly he stood up breathing hard.
"I'm taking you back, your in no condition to handle a crime scene."
"NO!" Kaiba roared pushing the detective's hand away roughly. "I let him down once, I'm not letting him down again!"
Hide rubbed his head feeling a headache coming on. "Mr. Kaiba, I really must advise-"
"Listen Up! If you don't take me in there right now I'll see to it that you never work in this town again! GOT IT!" The older man sighed. He knew there was no talking Kaiba out of this.
"All right, all right! We'll go just promise me you'll be careful. Not just for your safety but we can't loose any evidence or risk letting him off on a technicality." Kaiba sneered.
"Believe me he won't."
* * * *
Chisa and Yugi had remained silent as they watched and listened in on Kaiba and Hide conversation. Chisa put her face in her hands. "Dear Lord, I knew something like this was going to happen." Yugi who had remained quite for some time now spoke up.
"Do you think Kaiba really heard Jounouchi that day? Do you really think he left him?" His soft tone made the CSI flinch.
"I can't say for sure what happened that day. I don't think even Mr. Kaiba could. It's possible that he either saw or heard something that day that his conscious couldn't understand and his subconscious had been trying to piece it together. He said 'He was right, I left him to die' I think it's his subconscious using the memory of Jounouchi to form a plausible explanation. However, this has only served to feed his delusions and guilt that he was responsible for the crime.
"In other words Kaiba heard something that triggered a warning sign in brain but for whatever reason he ignored it and now he feels guilty for his lack of action."
Yugi let her words sink in. 'In all the years I've know Kaiba he's always been paranoid about his own safety and for his little brother. He knew. He knew something was wrong but since it wasn't about him he chose to forget about it.' Yugi was almost shaking with anger he didn't know he had. Logically he knew it wasn't all Kaiba's fault but his heart just reminded him of the friend he had lost and how that friend could have been saved at least twice if Kaiba had stop thinking about himself for just a moment. Yami sensed his Hikari's troubled thoughts and tried to comfort him.
/Yugi, I know you're mad at Kaiba, you have every right to be, but right know the real monster must be stopped./ Yugi took a few deep breaths.
\I know, I just...I don't know what happened back there but its clear that Kaiba left and because of that Jounouchi is dead. I...I don't think I'll be able to forgive Kaiba. Not for this.\ Yami said nothing, there was nothing to say so he stayed close by for support.
* * * *
The detective and the rich teen had made their way into the building. As soon as they entered the archway darkness enveloped them. With only the light of there flash lights they slowly made there way down the blackened hallway. "So how are you guys doing?" came a whispering their ears.
"YAAH!" cried Hide as Kaiba jumped.
"For Crist sake Chisa don't do that!"
"Sorry just trying to break up the tension and keep quiet we don't know if the suspect is still here." He put a hand to his chest as he gasped.
"I'm getting to old for this." They slowly continued down the long hallway. After a close inspection of the collapses staircase they determined that upper floors were too dangerous to investigate and it was not very likely that Jou was kept up there. They narrowed down their search by checking if the doors were rusted or not. Many of them couldn't be opened. Not having much luck on the ground floor, they crept down to the base meant. The flashlights were flickering and the sounds of creatures scampering around the floor could be heard from a distance.
"Say Chisa?" Hide said flashing his light near the doors on the left side. "Got anything to say, the tension is getting a bit thick in here?"
"I've felt more relaxed playing Silent Hill in the dark in an old creepy house, how about you?"
"Thanks Chisa, just what I needed, more colorful mental imagery." His gloved hands tested another door and was mildly surprised to feel it opening. He put his finger to his lips and cocked his gun. Kaiba got the hint and pressed himself against the wall. Hide mouthed 'one, two, three' then burst into the room. A cloud of dust was kicked up along with a ghastly smell. A smell of blood, sweat, sex and death. Kaiba had to cover his nose as he and Hide scanned the room for any signs of the suspect. Hide tapped his ear piece and signaled to Chisa.
"Looks like he long gone. This place is definitely where he kept the kid but no one's been in here for a week or so." The killer may have gone but the evidence of Jounouchi's suffering was still lingering. Dangling from the back wall were a number of chains. A metal table bolted to the floor had clear stains of crimson dulled with time. Chains were attached to the corners long enough to hold a body in place. random instalments of pain were scadared across the small square room. Only a small pile of straw in the back corner gave any indication that some one actually lived in the hell hole. Hide greatly suspected that the suspect took most of the weapons as well as the evidence with him when he left to dispose of the boy.
"Chisa, looks like he tried to clean up a bit but was rushed. Possibly afraid of being caught. If he has this much of a head start there's a good chance he's already fled town." Chisa sigh, she was expecting as much.
"Hide, if you don't see anything important right in front of you, your not going to. Come back in and we'll have CSI dust for prints and other evidence. You'd better leave before you contaminate the scene."
While Hide and Chisa were chatting Kaiba noticed something. He shown his light on the floor revealing a faint trace red leading to one of the walls and...under it?
"Hide, take a look at this." The detective shown his light where Kaiba was standing. Sure enough there was a trail of blood leading to the other side of the wall. "I think it's hidden room."
"Chisa, were gonna try to open it."
"Hide that's a bad idea, you could contaminate the scene." Hide had to agree but after years of doing his job he tended to rely more on instinct.
"I get the feeling there's something important behind this wall." Back at the lab Chisa was almost crying in frustration.
"Hide do you want to lose your licence? You KNOW what kind of trouble you could get into-"
"I know the risks Chisa, I also know there's something behind here we're meant to see." She signed.
"I want to go on record that I objected to this."
"Right, right, and you tried to stop me, I know the drill. Now, Mr. Kaiba if you'll give me a hand here?" Together the two men having found the handle pulled until the door was opened enough to see into. The shown their lights and found a surprise. While the room was bare for the most part in the corner was a school bag. Kaiba carefully opened the backpack and sure enough, there was Jounouchi's dueling deck...stained with blood. But that wasn't all. There was also a video camera set up aimed towards the torture chamber by way of a hole in the wall.
"Looks like he forgot it in his rush to get out of here." Said Kaiba as he carefully inspected the devise. "It still has some power left and there's seems to be a tape left inside." Sure enough there was a full tape. Kaiba Carefully took a cable from his briefcase and connected the camera with his headset.
"Chisa, I want you to record what I'm playing back to you it could be the link we've been looking for." Chisa made some adjustments on her computer.
"All set Mr. Kaiba but I have to warn you what you might see on that tape might be a bit graphic." Kaiba nodded mentally preparing himself. "The Video tape is digital so let's download the whole thing right now so we'll have a back up copy." Kaiba hit a few bottons and with in minutes it was done.
"Download complete Mr. Kaiba. Are you sure you don't want to come back to the office to watch it?"
"Positive, now let's take a look." He rewound the tape about halfway and hit play. The time and the date was on the bottom of the small screen Kaiba and Hide were looking though. All that was on the tape was a still shot of the adjoining room shot through a peep hole. Hide took a closer look at the date.
"It's at 3:03 am the day Jounouchi died. Looks like the camera was left running. Maybe there's a clue the killer forgot about." They rewound the tape a few hours and an image of a silent screaming Jounouchi came into view. Kaiba had to turn his head afraid he might vomit on the spot. Hide found the images of the boy being burned with a hot iron a bit too much to watch. He took a deep breath and called Chisa.
"You alright there Chisa?" There was a pause before she answered.
"I have to be professional about all of this. I'll be fine, Yugi on the other hand..."
* * * *
Every nightmare Yugi had while his best friend was missing war amplified beyond his imagination. Sure he had been told many of the horrible things Jounouchi had gone through but actually seeing him suffering and riving in pain made it all too real. He closed his eyes but the image was still there edged in his mind. He didn't try to fight the tears this time and his internal pain alerted Yami. The young man hid inside while his dark took charge. He could no longer handle this situation.
Chisa had been watching from her station. This was exactly why she didn't want the kid around. She knew from experience the boy needed some time alone. He could be comforted later for at that moment she saw something new on the video tape. "Hide, take a look at this."
* * * *
With the call from his partner Hide glanced at the tape and the first thing he noticed was the time. Jounouchi would be dead in less then an hour. He watched the boy break free of a loss chain and began to dress himself slowly in his old blood stained close. He was about to leave the room when something caught his eye.
Hide was mentally screaming at the boy for not running out of there as fast as he could but Jounouchi limped over to the metal table. They could see his opening some kind of book left by his captor and they could also see the monster quietly into the room unnoticed by Jounouchi. His face was hidden the whole time, he had been careful not seen. There was nothing they could do but watch as Jounouchi gasped as he saw something in the book then gasp for air when the man's fingers closed around his neck. Kaiba turned away again for a moment. He knew Jounouchi would survive but not for much longer.
After the man had taken jounouchi 'body' out of the room Kaiba noticed something. "What happened to the book he was looking at." Hide pause the tape and sure enough it was gone.
"I didn't see either of them take it but it must have been important if Jou stop to look at it." They backed up the tape this time they kept an eye on the book the whole time. It turns out when Jounouchi was grabbed he shoved the book to the edge of the table causing it to fall between the metal and the wall. Hide looked up at the same table in the room.
"Ya think it's still there?" Kaiba grabbed his flashlight and tried to look into the small space near the wall.
"I think I see it." Hide was forced to take a stick he had found and use it to slide the book out since the table was bolted to the floor. "Almost, almost...Got It!" but when the book was free they discovered it was not a book. It was an old folder full of newspaper clippings and photos of children.
"Oh my God!" Hide said as he was looking through the photo and stopped at a young girl no older then 8. Chisa seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
"Hide, is that..."
"Miyuki Uchida, kidnaped and murdered four years ago. She was missing for two days before she was tied to the train tracks. Her murder is still unsolved." Chisa pulled up her file on the database.
"But she wasn't tortured or sexually assaulted."
"I know but I'm starting to think this is the same guy. Look at the next one, Jun Tanabe age 10 kidnaped and murdered two years ago. I WORKED in this case and we're still looking for the guy." Again Chisa pulled the case file.
"This poor kid was practically in pieces. There's still a few missing. But all of these cases don't match each other. Serials typically have a pattern and don't stray. There's also the fact that Jounouchi is much older then all of these kids your showing me. Why would he suddenly switch?" Kaiba was still looking through the file.
"Maybe that is his pattern." Kaiba said as Hide looked at the burnet teen.
"You mean a different type of murder each time? Lord we've got a psycho on our hands." Chisa was still searching the file for something they could link to the killing when she found it.
"Oh my God, Hide, I think I just found a link. All of the victims including Jounouchi was missing a few personal items, in each case a shoe was missing." She put her head in her hands. "We've got a serial killer alright."
Kaiba was still looking at the file with at least twenty different murder children's photos. "Look at this, each photo has a circle around their head and a slash through. Looks like he was targeting his victims and slashed out their pitcher when he was done." He turn the page to see none other then Jounouchi himself. Next to the picture was new paper clippings of him placing second in duelist Kingdom, his disappearance, as well as murder.
"This prove one thing." Said Hide. "Jounouchi was no random victim, this was planed for sometime now. But why him? Why did he suddenly switch to a teenager?" Kaiba also wondered why Jounouchi was so drawn to this binder and what was it that shocked him so much? Was it seeing himself? Just then Kaiba turn the page and the answers to a million questions as well as a million horror came into view.
"Oh Dear Lord!" The last picture, the one fallowing Jounouchi's was his own brother Mokuba. His face circled but not slashed.
* * * *
Mokuba was getting worried. His brother should have been home hours ago, what was keeping him? He knew he really should get to sleep but he couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. He went to the window to see if his brother's limo was in the driveway or not but when he put his hand on the glass a bloody hand-print appeared under his finger. He gasped and pulled away. He was now face to face with the gruesome image of Jounouchi Katsuya reflected in the glass pain.
"Leave me alone my brother's trying to help you and find your killer. What else do you want?" The image faded only to be replaced by a word. 'DANGER' It was flashing like a neon sign and the boy was getting scared.
"Stop it! Just leave me alone!" But that only made the word flash more and soon the boy's room was covered in DANGER signs.
"What do you want? Is my brother in trouble? Oh, I wish you could just tell me!" he yelled frustrated when suddenly there was a knock on the door. So worried about his brother he forgot that there was no limo outside and opened the door.
"Oni-" but his words fell dead on his lips when he realized the man standing in front of him was not part of security and certainly not his brother.
* * * *
Kaiba dropped the binder and pulled out his cel phone in a split second. "This is Kaiba, I need someone to check on my brother RIGHT NOW!" The man at the desk jumped at the frantic tone of his boss's voice. He instantly pulled up the security camera.
"Yes sir, the camera shows his room locked up tighter then a drum."
"I SAID CHECK ON HIM! AND I MEAN IN PERSON!" The guard didn't hesitate. He jumped and ran to young Mokuba's room.
Kaiba waited impatiently worrying why it was taking so long. It seemed like an eternity before the guard came back on.
"M-Mr. Kaiba. Sakai, the guard in charge of w-watching your brother's room. He-he's dead, a-and your brother's missing."
"WHAT!"
"S-someone messed with the camera it's been running in a loop for an hour or so. I-I don't know how sir?"
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU'RE FIRED BUT BEFORE YOU GO CALL THE POLICE! AND SO HELP ME IF HE'S HURT I WILL PERSONALLY CUT YOUR HEAD OFF AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!" The phone line went dead as the guard called 911 on speed dial. Hide came up to Kaiba and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Kaiba? What happed?" Kaiba was breathing so hard he had to fight to get a breath in.
"T-the last picture. It's Mokuba, I just called...he's been taken...but how?" It didn't make sense Kaiba Corp. was like a fort. How could someone get through. It seemed Hide had an answer to that as well as he held up the binder. The logo was one Kaiba was all to familiar with.
"That's a Kaiba Corp. employee binder, but that means..." Hide nodded.
"It's an inside job. Jounouchi's killer works for you." Hide was on the line with Chisa keeping her updated as she called in for help back at the station. As Kaiba looked at the folder again it hit him.
'This was one of the last things Jounouchi saw before he died. He knew, he knew Mokuba was the next target. He must have figured out that he worked for Kaiba Corp. as well. That's why he's been haunting us.' He suddenly remembered the cryptic message from the Ouija board as it flashed 'DANGER' 'He's been trying to warn us! And once again, I turned my back. Oh God, please don't let my little brother die for my mistakes!'
As the teen was beating himself up, Chisa's voice came through. "Hide, Mr. Kaiba you're not going to believe this but I think I found a clue." Kaiba jumped on her words.
"What is it? What have you found?" Her voice was a little shaken as she answered.
"I-it wasn't me who found it...it was Jounouchi..."
To be continued in...12:57
A/N: Well we're coming close to the end, only a few more chapters to go. I'll try to get as much done as soon as possible I an determine to finish it no matter what. Thank to all the people who have been patient and even to those who want my head on a stick. I'm proud I was able to get this far and I hope to get the next few chapters up as soon as possible. Thank you and see you next time in...12:57
Shiroi Misa
The Video Tape
He heard nothing, he saw nothing, he felt nothing. Nothing but the memories of Jounouchi and what had happened to him. He had sin by what he had done and what he had failed to do. He had always pictured himself as a ruthless man of power who paused for no one and had done well to uphold his image. But now that image, that had been a mere mask to earn fear and respect, had now become his true face. He had seen this face before and hated it with every part of his being. He thought he had killed it by pushing its owner out of a window. But he was wrong, it had only served to carve the image over his own face and even over his heart. Deep down he had thought he could avoid the pattern but the evidence staring him in the face proved how wrong he was. He was just as much a monster as the beast that took and ravaged Jounouchi. But that ware his thoughts ended as he heard a loud SLAP and felt his face begin to sting.
He looked up and saw Detective Hide standing in front of him holding onto his shoulders. "Mr. Kaiba!" He yelled shaking the young man. Kaiba was stunned for a moment but looked up to respond. "What's wrong? What did you mean it was your fault? What the hell is going on?" Kaiba lowered his eyes unable to face the man.
"I was here...and I left him." He spoke quietly but the impact was great. "I was here...I didn't know...but I felt it, and I didn't even turn around." There was a long pause before Hide spoke again.
"What are you saying? You were here?" Kaiba nodded in response. "But you also said you didn't know he was here."
The teen shock his head violently. "I knew something was wrong but...I was too stubborn to look. He was trying to get my attention. I HEARD something but I ignored it. He was right, I was all my fault." Hide took a breath as he took in Kaiba's words.
"Mr. Kaiba, listen to yourself. You said it yourself you DIDN'T know what was going on. You have to stop this, this isn't going to help. You didn't kidnap Jounouchi, you didn't kill him but if you can't get a hold of yourself the man who did could get away. Is that what you want?" That last line seemed to strike a cord. He was right. He could drown himself in guilt later, right now he wanted some justice. Slowly he stood up breathing hard.
"I'm taking you back, your in no condition to handle a crime scene."
"NO!" Kaiba roared pushing the detective's hand away roughly. "I let him down once, I'm not letting him down again!"
Hide rubbed his head feeling a headache coming on. "Mr. Kaiba, I really must advise-"
"Listen Up! If you don't take me in there right now I'll see to it that you never work in this town again! GOT IT!" The older man sighed. He knew there was no talking Kaiba out of this.
"All right, all right! We'll go just promise me you'll be careful. Not just for your safety but we can't loose any evidence or risk letting him off on a technicality." Kaiba sneered.
"Believe me he won't."
* * * *
Chisa and Yugi had remained silent as they watched and listened in on Kaiba and Hide conversation. Chisa put her face in her hands. "Dear Lord, I knew something like this was going to happen." Yugi who had remained quite for some time now spoke up.
"Do you think Kaiba really heard Jounouchi that day? Do you really think he left him?" His soft tone made the CSI flinch.
"I can't say for sure what happened that day. I don't think even Mr. Kaiba could. It's possible that he either saw or heard something that day that his conscious couldn't understand and his subconscious had been trying to piece it together. He said 'He was right, I left him to die' I think it's his subconscious using the memory of Jounouchi to form a plausible explanation. However, this has only served to feed his delusions and guilt that he was responsible for the crime.
"In other words Kaiba heard something that triggered a warning sign in brain but for whatever reason he ignored it and now he feels guilty for his lack of action."
Yugi let her words sink in. 'In all the years I've know Kaiba he's always been paranoid about his own safety and for his little brother. He knew. He knew something was wrong but since it wasn't about him he chose to forget about it.' Yugi was almost shaking with anger he didn't know he had. Logically he knew it wasn't all Kaiba's fault but his heart just reminded him of the friend he had lost and how that friend could have been saved at least twice if Kaiba had stop thinking about himself for just a moment. Yami sensed his Hikari's troubled thoughts and tried to comfort him.
/Yugi, I know you're mad at Kaiba, you have every right to be, but right know the real monster must be stopped./ Yugi took a few deep breaths.
\I know, I just...I don't know what happened back there but its clear that Kaiba left and because of that Jounouchi is dead. I...I don't think I'll be able to forgive Kaiba. Not for this.\ Yami said nothing, there was nothing to say so he stayed close by for support.
* * * *
The detective and the rich teen had made their way into the building. As soon as they entered the archway darkness enveloped them. With only the light of there flash lights they slowly made there way down the blackened hallway. "So how are you guys doing?" came a whispering their ears.
"YAAH!" cried Hide as Kaiba jumped.
"For Crist sake Chisa don't do that!"
"Sorry just trying to break up the tension and keep quiet we don't know if the suspect is still here." He put a hand to his chest as he gasped.
"I'm getting to old for this." They slowly continued down the long hallway. After a close inspection of the collapses staircase they determined that upper floors were too dangerous to investigate and it was not very likely that Jou was kept up there. They narrowed down their search by checking if the doors were rusted or not. Many of them couldn't be opened. Not having much luck on the ground floor, they crept down to the base meant. The flashlights were flickering and the sounds of creatures scampering around the floor could be heard from a distance.
"Say Chisa?" Hide said flashing his light near the doors on the left side. "Got anything to say, the tension is getting a bit thick in here?"
"I've felt more relaxed playing Silent Hill in the dark in an old creepy house, how about you?"
"Thanks Chisa, just what I needed, more colorful mental imagery." His gloved hands tested another door and was mildly surprised to feel it opening. He put his finger to his lips and cocked his gun. Kaiba got the hint and pressed himself against the wall. Hide mouthed 'one, two, three' then burst into the room. A cloud of dust was kicked up along with a ghastly smell. A smell of blood, sweat, sex and death. Kaiba had to cover his nose as he and Hide scanned the room for any signs of the suspect. Hide tapped his ear piece and signaled to Chisa.
"Looks like he long gone. This place is definitely where he kept the kid but no one's been in here for a week or so." The killer may have gone but the evidence of Jounouchi's suffering was still lingering. Dangling from the back wall were a number of chains. A metal table bolted to the floor had clear stains of crimson dulled with time. Chains were attached to the corners long enough to hold a body in place. random instalments of pain were scadared across the small square room. Only a small pile of straw in the back corner gave any indication that some one actually lived in the hell hole. Hide greatly suspected that the suspect took most of the weapons as well as the evidence with him when he left to dispose of the boy.
"Chisa, looks like he tried to clean up a bit but was rushed. Possibly afraid of being caught. If he has this much of a head start there's a good chance he's already fled town." Chisa sigh, she was expecting as much.
"Hide, if you don't see anything important right in front of you, your not going to. Come back in and we'll have CSI dust for prints and other evidence. You'd better leave before you contaminate the scene."
While Hide and Chisa were chatting Kaiba noticed something. He shown his light on the floor revealing a faint trace red leading to one of the walls and...under it?
"Hide, take a look at this." The detective shown his light where Kaiba was standing. Sure enough there was a trail of blood leading to the other side of the wall. "I think it's hidden room."
"Chisa, were gonna try to open it."
"Hide that's a bad idea, you could contaminate the scene." Hide had to agree but after years of doing his job he tended to rely more on instinct.
"I get the feeling there's something important behind this wall." Back at the lab Chisa was almost crying in frustration.
"Hide do you want to lose your licence? You KNOW what kind of trouble you could get into-"
"I know the risks Chisa, I also know there's something behind here we're meant to see." She signed.
"I want to go on record that I objected to this."
"Right, right, and you tried to stop me, I know the drill. Now, Mr. Kaiba if you'll give me a hand here?" Together the two men having found the handle pulled until the door was opened enough to see into. The shown their lights and found a surprise. While the room was bare for the most part in the corner was a school bag. Kaiba carefully opened the backpack and sure enough, there was Jounouchi's dueling deck...stained with blood. But that wasn't all. There was also a video camera set up aimed towards the torture chamber by way of a hole in the wall.
"Looks like he forgot it in his rush to get out of here." Said Kaiba as he carefully inspected the devise. "It still has some power left and there's seems to be a tape left inside." Sure enough there was a full tape. Kaiba Carefully took a cable from his briefcase and connected the camera with his headset.
"Chisa, I want you to record what I'm playing back to you it could be the link we've been looking for." Chisa made some adjustments on her computer.
"All set Mr. Kaiba but I have to warn you what you might see on that tape might be a bit graphic." Kaiba nodded mentally preparing himself. "The Video tape is digital so let's download the whole thing right now so we'll have a back up copy." Kaiba hit a few bottons and with in minutes it was done.
"Download complete Mr. Kaiba. Are you sure you don't want to come back to the office to watch it?"
"Positive, now let's take a look." He rewound the tape about halfway and hit play. The time and the date was on the bottom of the small screen Kaiba and Hide were looking though. All that was on the tape was a still shot of the adjoining room shot through a peep hole. Hide took a closer look at the date.
"It's at 3:03 am the day Jounouchi died. Looks like the camera was left running. Maybe there's a clue the killer forgot about." They rewound the tape a few hours and an image of a silent screaming Jounouchi came into view. Kaiba had to turn his head afraid he might vomit on the spot. Hide found the images of the boy being burned with a hot iron a bit too much to watch. He took a deep breath and called Chisa.
"You alright there Chisa?" There was a pause before she answered.
"I have to be professional about all of this. I'll be fine, Yugi on the other hand..."
* * * *
Every nightmare Yugi had while his best friend was missing war amplified beyond his imagination. Sure he had been told many of the horrible things Jounouchi had gone through but actually seeing him suffering and riving in pain made it all too real. He closed his eyes but the image was still there edged in his mind. He didn't try to fight the tears this time and his internal pain alerted Yami. The young man hid inside while his dark took charge. He could no longer handle this situation.
Chisa had been watching from her station. This was exactly why she didn't want the kid around. She knew from experience the boy needed some time alone. He could be comforted later for at that moment she saw something new on the video tape. "Hide, take a look at this."
* * * *
With the call from his partner Hide glanced at the tape and the first thing he noticed was the time. Jounouchi would be dead in less then an hour. He watched the boy break free of a loss chain and began to dress himself slowly in his old blood stained close. He was about to leave the room when something caught his eye.
Hide was mentally screaming at the boy for not running out of there as fast as he could but Jounouchi limped over to the metal table. They could see his opening some kind of book left by his captor and they could also see the monster quietly into the room unnoticed by Jounouchi. His face was hidden the whole time, he had been careful not seen. There was nothing they could do but watch as Jounouchi gasped as he saw something in the book then gasp for air when the man's fingers closed around his neck. Kaiba turned away again for a moment. He knew Jounouchi would survive but not for much longer.
After the man had taken jounouchi 'body' out of the room Kaiba noticed something. "What happened to the book he was looking at." Hide pause the tape and sure enough it was gone.
"I didn't see either of them take it but it must have been important if Jou stop to look at it." They backed up the tape this time they kept an eye on the book the whole time. It turns out when Jounouchi was grabbed he shoved the book to the edge of the table causing it to fall between the metal and the wall. Hide looked up at the same table in the room.
"Ya think it's still there?" Kaiba grabbed his flashlight and tried to look into the small space near the wall.
"I think I see it." Hide was forced to take a stick he had found and use it to slide the book out since the table was bolted to the floor. "Almost, almost...Got It!" but when the book was free they discovered it was not a book. It was an old folder full of newspaper clippings and photos of children.
"Oh my God!" Hide said as he was looking through the photo and stopped at a young girl no older then 8. Chisa seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
"Hide, is that..."
"Miyuki Uchida, kidnaped and murdered four years ago. She was missing for two days before she was tied to the train tracks. Her murder is still unsolved." Chisa pulled up her file on the database.
"But she wasn't tortured or sexually assaulted."
"I know but I'm starting to think this is the same guy. Look at the next one, Jun Tanabe age 10 kidnaped and murdered two years ago. I WORKED in this case and we're still looking for the guy." Again Chisa pulled the case file.
"This poor kid was practically in pieces. There's still a few missing. But all of these cases don't match each other. Serials typically have a pattern and don't stray. There's also the fact that Jounouchi is much older then all of these kids your showing me. Why would he suddenly switch?" Kaiba was still looking through the file.
"Maybe that is his pattern." Kaiba said as Hide looked at the burnet teen.
"You mean a different type of murder each time? Lord we've got a psycho on our hands." Chisa was still searching the file for something they could link to the killing when she found it.
"Oh my God, Hide, I think I just found a link. All of the victims including Jounouchi was missing a few personal items, in each case a shoe was missing." She put her head in her hands. "We've got a serial killer alright."
Kaiba was still looking at the file with at least twenty different murder children's photos. "Look at this, each photo has a circle around their head and a slash through. Looks like he was targeting his victims and slashed out their pitcher when he was done." He turn the page to see none other then Jounouchi himself. Next to the picture was new paper clippings of him placing second in duelist Kingdom, his disappearance, as well as murder.
"This prove one thing." Said Hide. "Jounouchi was no random victim, this was planed for sometime now. But why him? Why did he suddenly switch to a teenager?" Kaiba also wondered why Jounouchi was so drawn to this binder and what was it that shocked him so much? Was it seeing himself? Just then Kaiba turn the page and the answers to a million questions as well as a million horror came into view.
"Oh Dear Lord!" The last picture, the one fallowing Jounouchi's was his own brother Mokuba. His face circled but not slashed.
* * * *
Mokuba was getting worried. His brother should have been home hours ago, what was keeping him? He knew he really should get to sleep but he couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. He went to the window to see if his brother's limo was in the driveway or not but when he put his hand on the glass a bloody hand-print appeared under his finger. He gasped and pulled away. He was now face to face with the gruesome image of Jounouchi Katsuya reflected in the glass pain.
"Leave me alone my brother's trying to help you and find your killer. What else do you want?" The image faded only to be replaced by a word. 'DANGER' It was flashing like a neon sign and the boy was getting scared.
"Stop it! Just leave me alone!" But that only made the word flash more and soon the boy's room was covered in DANGER signs.
"What do you want? Is my brother in trouble? Oh, I wish you could just tell me!" he yelled frustrated when suddenly there was a knock on the door. So worried about his brother he forgot that there was no limo outside and opened the door.
"Oni-" but his words fell dead on his lips when he realized the man standing in front of him was not part of security and certainly not his brother.
* * * *
Kaiba dropped the binder and pulled out his cel phone in a split second. "This is Kaiba, I need someone to check on my brother RIGHT NOW!" The man at the desk jumped at the frantic tone of his boss's voice. He instantly pulled up the security camera.
"Yes sir, the camera shows his room locked up tighter then a drum."
"I SAID CHECK ON HIM! AND I MEAN IN PERSON!" The guard didn't hesitate. He jumped and ran to young Mokuba's room.
Kaiba waited impatiently worrying why it was taking so long. It seemed like an eternity before the guard came back on.
"M-Mr. Kaiba. Sakai, the guard in charge of w-watching your brother's room. He-he's dead, a-and your brother's missing."
"WHAT!"
"S-someone messed with the camera it's been running in a loop for an hour or so. I-I don't know how sir?"
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU'RE FIRED BUT BEFORE YOU GO CALL THE POLICE! AND SO HELP ME IF HE'S HURT I WILL PERSONALLY CUT YOUR HEAD OFF AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!" The phone line went dead as the guard called 911 on speed dial. Hide came up to Kaiba and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Kaiba? What happed?" Kaiba was breathing so hard he had to fight to get a breath in.
"T-the last picture. It's Mokuba, I just called...he's been taken...but how?" It didn't make sense Kaiba Corp. was like a fort. How could someone get through. It seemed Hide had an answer to that as well as he held up the binder. The logo was one Kaiba was all to familiar with.
"That's a Kaiba Corp. employee binder, but that means..." Hide nodded.
"It's an inside job. Jounouchi's killer works for you." Hide was on the line with Chisa keeping her updated as she called in for help back at the station. As Kaiba looked at the folder again it hit him.
'This was one of the last things Jounouchi saw before he died. He knew, he knew Mokuba was the next target. He must have figured out that he worked for Kaiba Corp. as well. That's why he's been haunting us.' He suddenly remembered the cryptic message from the Ouija board as it flashed 'DANGER' 'He's been trying to warn us! And once again, I turned my back. Oh God, please don't let my little brother die for my mistakes!'
As the teen was beating himself up, Chisa's voice came through. "Hide, Mr. Kaiba you're not going to believe this but I think I found a clue." Kaiba jumped on her words.
"What is it? What have you found?" Her voice was a little shaken as she answered.
"I-it wasn't me who found it...it was Jounouchi..."
To be continued in...12:57
A/N: Well we're coming close to the end, only a few more chapters to go. I'll try to get as much done as soon as possible I an determine to finish it no matter what. Thank to all the people who have been patient and even to those who want my head on a stick. I'm proud I was able to get this far and I hope to get the next few chapters up as soon as possible. Thank you and see you next time in...12:57
Shiroi Misa