Rule 51
By E.M. Megs
Prologue – The Disappearance
– November 12th – 8:12 PM –
"Tokyo Emergency Services. Please state your emergency," the dispatcher's voice clearly grunted through the line to a frantic mother.
"My daughter is missing. She should have been home 4 hours ago and she isn't at her friend's house," she mumbled, hysterical with worry. She bit her nails as tears threatened to break lose. And where the hell was her soon-to-be ex-husband. 'Probably off slandering our marriage with that slut of his,' she thought bitterly. He should have been there! Their only daughter was missing for God's sake!
"What is your name?"
"Nami Mana," the woman replied, voice shaking.
"Where are you currently, Mana-san? We'll send a detective over immediately." She rattled off her address quickly and was dismissed as she waited for the cops to show up at her door.
– November 13th – 8:54 AM –
"Hey Ohtori!" Ken Shichi called as he sauntered into the office of his apprentice. "Got another case for you." He tossed a small file folder down on his desk and took a seat across from him as the younger man eyed him carefully while looking through the contents.
"I don't do missing persons," Kyoya stated dryly, "You know that, Ken."
"There's no such thing as 'I don't do' here. You know that," the brunette retorted with a snort.
"Give it to Tamaki! He loves finding those damn brats!" the apprentice detective grumbled in response after letting out a loud, long groan.
"It'll hone your skills to be exposed to all kinds of cases. Not just murders." Kyoya shot a glare at his mentor and let out a long sigh, accepting his fate with a nod of the head. "Besides, I have a feeling you might just not mind this one." The younger of the two snorted loudly in doubt. He hated having to locate lost brats. Especially lost rich brats. Granted he was pretty well off himself. But this was a filthy rich – most likely spoiled – brat.
– November 12th – 4:17 PM –
She scoffed as she slid into the passenger's seat of her father's car. She couldn't believe this. Where was her mother? Wasn't she supposed to be the one that picked her up? And to top it off, her father was a bit tipsy. If she wasn't so exhausted from the slumber party she'd just had then she would really take into mind that getting into the car with her half-drunken father might be a bad idea.
Her friend's mother watched from the front door apprehensively as the father got in his car, slightly worried for her daughter's friend's safety.
The brunette wasn't stupid. She wasn't stupid at all. She had expected her father to have a bottle of wine or some other form of alcohol hidden in his car. She didn't expect him to actually drink it while he was driving.
She glared at her alcoholic father with disgust. No wonder his business had gone belly-up and left her mother to take over and pull it out of bankruptcy. She was ashamed to have to call him her father.
And he wasn't even going in the right direction of their house. He was heading the completely opposite way in fact. "Dad," she stated slowly then changed her mind. Why should she call him Dad? "You're going the wrong way. Home is that way." She jutted her finger behind her.
He ignored her, pulling up in front of a bar. She caught a glimpse of a woman wearing something that could barely be constituted as clothes walk out, stumbling the entire way with a bottle of beer in her hand.
The 15-year-old pursed her lips and glared even more at her father. He seemed to be pretending that she wasn't there. She snapped his name loudly. He still paid her no mind, sliding out of the vehicle like she didn't exist. Like she wasn't his teenage daughter. She scoffed and opened her car door, yelling after him. "Fine, Dad! I'll just walk home!"
She let out an angry hiss and climbed out of the sleek black car that he didn't deserve to own, pulling her sleepover bag from the backseat. "Bastard," she grumbled under her breath, watching her father disappear inside the bar. "Mum will definitely hear about this."
She slung the small duffel bag she used as a overnight bag over her shoulder and started walking in the direction of her house.
– November 13th – 9:35 AM –
He'd been at the Mana house – more like mansion – for the past 10 minutes and all he'd heard was sob stories and pleas to find a daughter. Nami Mana's husband seemed to have disappeared with her daughter and the neighbors had said that they'd last seen her with her father. Suspicious? Most definitely.
"Please find her! Please!"
Kyoya sighed for the millionth time that day and shot a dirty look at his mentor. As if to say, 'This torture is all your fault.' Ken merely smirked. "Mana-san calm down please. I need you to answer a few questions if I'm going to locate your daughter."
She sniffled a bit and nodded. Never before had he seen a parent so distraught when there was a chance that their child was completely fine. "Alright..." he paused and glanced at Ken again before starting the questionnaire. "For starters, what's her name?"
"Miyuu. Miyuu Ami Mana." He was starting to think that the poor handkerchief in the woman's hands was going to end of as a few strips of cloth by the end of this visit, looking at the way she was wringing it.
"And how old is she?"
"15. Turns 16 in a month exactly." Kyoya nodded, trying to contain his boredom as he jotted down the girl's age and birthday.
"Can you describe her? And perhaps you have a recent photo?"
"Curly brown hair down to about her shoulders. Bright green eyes. Sharp chin. High forehead. She's a real beauty." A soft sob threatened to break through her mouth again but she held back. "I gave a photo to the officer that was here last night."
"When was the last time you saw or heard from her?"
"Friday morning. She was spending the night at her friend's house. But she didn't come home last night like she supposed to." Nami let out another sob that started more waterworks. He didn't try to comfort her, leaving that to Ken, just waited patiently for her tears to dissolve enough to ask his next question.
"What's this friend's name? And your husband's?"
"Yukiko Akana. And he's not going to be my husband for much longer."
"His name?" he prodded more.
"Takahiro Mana. I bet the bastard knew he was going to lose custody of her in the divorce so he decided to kidnap her!"
Ken was visibly trying to contain his chuckle. "Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Kyoya muttered dryly, seriously unamused with this entire damn charade. "Are there any family problems at home besides the divorce?"
"If you're asking if she ran away, she didn't," Nami spat, slightly angered by his inference, "She was loved by both me and Takahiro. And she has plenty of friends."
"Kyoya was merely following procedure for missing children, Mana-san. No need to get defensive," Ken interjected quickly, giving him a warning look. Kyoya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Voices coming from the front of the house caused his mentor to frown a bit and slip out to deal with whatever issue the suits outside were having.
"I'm sorry," Nami sighed and dropped her wringing hands. "I'm just... really worried, y'know?" He nodded in fake understanding. "Do you have any kids, Ohtori-san?"
He started in slight surprise and shook his head. "No. And I'd prefer to keep it that way for at least a few more years," he commented, albeit a bit dryly. She gave him a dirty look. "I'm not even married," he added in his defense. She sighed yet again and shrugged her shoulders a bit. "You said that your husband might have something to do with Miyuu-chan's disappearance?"
She nodded, a slight fire coming to her eyes at the mention of the man that should have been there. "The only thing that's holding back our divorce is his demands to have at least partial custody of Miyuu. But he's not a fit father! He's gone all day and comes home at all hours of the night – sometimes drunk. I'm sick of it! So I'm divorcing the bastard and taking Miyuu with me."
Waiting through the short mini-rant, he wrote down notes on his notepad. The father definitely seemed like a viable subject of worry. "Thank you, Mana-san," he murmured as she finished. He shook her hand and turned. "We'll keep you updated."
– November 12th – 4:32 PM –
It wasn't long before she got tired. And she wasn't even half-way home yet. Curse her drunken father. She hated his guts. And he didn't even care.
She spotted a little park across the street and sighed, deciding ultimately that a rest on the swing set would probably do her some good. It dawned on her then that she should probably call her mother. And maybe her mom could come get her. She fumbled around in her pockets only to discover that her cellphone was missing.
Probably back in her father's car. She exhaled loudly and plopped down in a swing, kicking her legs lightly to get her higher up in the air.
Her eyes fluttered shut slowly. She loved swings. They always made her feel like she was flying. Flying high above the world. Until she was in a whole other realm.
One where her father wasn't a drunk and he actually cared about her.
Where her parents didn't fight.
Where she didn't have to walk across town from a friend's house just to get home.
She sighed as she slowed to a stop after coming back to earth. When her eyes opened, she noticed a new addition to the, formerly empty, park. A man was looking in her direction, a small smile on his lips.
For some reason, that smile freaked her out.
– November 13th – 9:53 AM –
Shichi was talking to a brunette woman when he exited the house. He stopped and observed her a moment from the doorway, wondering who she was. She had smooth, straight brown locks that fell just above her shoulders. Intelligent, curious chocolate eyes watched his mentor's face intently from behind thick frames. Kyoya narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously as a knot tied itself in his stomach. Something wasn't right here.
Then Ken caught sight of him. "Ah! There he is! Come here Kyoya!" he called, motioning him over with a wave of his hand impatiently. He sauntered over slowly, still eying the brunette strangely. "Fujioka-san, this is my apprentice, Kyoya Ohtori. Kyoya, this is Haruhi Fujioka, your new partner."
Kyoya stared at him like he'd lost his mind. Partner? "Ken... Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked from between gritted teeth, the rest of his face completely blank. He nodded with a smirk and followed him to the other side of the yard while Haruhi acquainted with a few of the other officers on the scene. "Are you crazy? You know I work alone!" he hissed.
"It's a perfect learning opportunity for you," his supervisor retorted crudely, "She's a brilliant lawyer and a forensics scientist to boot. Definitely worth the investment if you care to give it a try."
"No," he deadpanned, "I work alone, I have been for the last two years."
"What about me?"
"You're a mentor and friend. It's different than a partner. I will not work with anyone."
"At least try it out!"
"Rule 13! You're breaking it! She's a lawyer for Christ's sake! If I work with anyone it won't be a lawyer!"
"You'll do it, Kyoya," Ken growled, "It's my job to assess your progress as a detective, so you'll do it." Kyoya grunted with frustration while his mentor took his arm and led him back to Haruhi. "There we are. Now, I assume you've been briefed on the case already, Fujioka-san. So I'll leave you two to it." He turned on his heel and left a pretty pissed apprentice and curious brunette behind him.
"Nice to meet you," Haruhi murmured, holding out her hand. He shook it begrudgingly.
"I'm going to the friend's house," he grumbled, taking off only to find her following him. He cast his eyes to the sky and silently asked, 'WHY ME?'
– November 12th – 4:40 PM –
Her senses were telling her to run. And that sense to run just increased the minute he started talking. "Lovely evening isn't it?"
She didn't move a muscle, keeping her eyes on him apprehensively. For some reason, her legs wouldn't move. They wouldn't propel her to go anywhere but instead dragged through the bark underneath the dangling swing.
He took a step closer to her. Still she didn't move. She opened her mouth and replied very carefully, "Yes. Lovely." He still moved forward with an entrancing amount of grace.
"I'm sorry for staring but you just remind me a lot of my daughter," he said softly, "She died a few years back with my wife in a car accident."
Her eyes softened and her tense shoulders sagged a bit. "Sorry to hear that," she mumbled, casting her gaze toward the ground and rotating her ankles. Poor guy had lost his wife and daughter all at once? That was sad. She wondered briefly how her father would react if she and her mom died like that suddenly then pushed away the thought quickly.
He'd probably be to drunk to care.
"Kokoro loved swings," he muttered, standing directly behind of her now. "Mind if I push you?"
She shook her head quickly and he placed his hands on her back, pushing forward as hard as he could. She went flying into the air, a smile on her lips. This was probably how his daughter had felt when he had pushed her. She floated away to her own little world where maybe her own dad would push her on the swings.
When she swung back something touched her neck, shocking her. She gasped and slumped a bit in the swings seat, flying off the other end when she swung away again.
Her head hit a rather large rock in the ground and she was out like a light.
– November 13th – 10:32 AM –
The friend – Yukiko Akana – gave much the same story as Nami. Saturday afternoon Takahiro had come pick his daughter up after that they hadn't heard from Miyuu. "Looks like a father taking custody issues into his own hands," Haruhi mumbled, fast-walking to keep up with him as he ignored her.
"Doesn't mean I still don't have to find her," he retorted crudely, taking long strides toward his office next to Ken's. "I hate missing person's cases," he added under his breath. She snorted and ducked into Shichi's office while he went to his own.
"Ah, Fujioka-san," the senior detective acknowledged briefly as she entered.
"Shichi-san," she replied, bowing. "You said you would show me to my office?"
"Right," he muttered, standing, "Unfortunately you'll have to share an office space with Kyoya for now until yours is cleaned up a bit." She nodded, casting her eyes downward. "How is he acting toward you?"
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Cold. Indifferent. Ignores me for the most part. I'm... his first partner aren't I?"
"Yes," he grunted, wrinkling his nose slightly with distaste. "He's worked alone until now. It'll do him some good to get a duo case or two though. Soloing has it's perks but so does having an extra person to bounce theories off of. Doesn't help that you're a lawyer."
"Eh?" She crinkled her nose up in slight confusion.
"Rule 13." She was silent as she stared at him a moment. "Silly investigator rules we use as guidelines. I'd get you a list but everyone tweaks them to their own liking anyway. 13's never involve a lawyer."
She snorted at the irony. "But I'm not solely a lawyer."
"Doesn't matter to him. Partial lawyer, all lawyer, even a tiny bit lawyer. Difficult bastard." Haruhi sighed softly, rubbing her forehead with her hand. "Suppose I should go tell him, hmm? I'm the only damn person he'll listen to."
Haruhi nodded to herself, caught up in her thoughts. Why the hell didn't Kyoya like lawyers? They were the ones that won the cases in court for Pete's sake! They were the ones that got the jury to convict the heinous criminals! Ken turned on his heel and headed out his office door, motioning to her to follow him. She hesitated a moment before doing so. "Kyoya, you'll need to share your office with Fujioka-san for awhile. Which won't be a problem since she's your partner, right?" Haruhi couldn't have missed her superior's threatening look even if she had wanted to.
Kyoya glared back but grumbled in consent, clearing the piles of files off of the other table in his office. He shifted them to the top of a filing cabinet in the corner and kicked a chair in the direction of the table. "There. A desk. Happy?" he grunted, plucking a folder off the top of the pile he had just shifted and settling back down at his desk.
She tried not to roll her eyes as she sat, setting her bag down next to the small table and pulling out her own folder. Ken nodded in approval. "The two of you will have Tamaki and Kasanoda as help if you need it. Though, I wouldn't bother Tamaki too much. He is trying to get his teaching degree."
Kyoya rolled his eyes at his mentor. "Missing person's case. Either she's found or she's not. Not much else there is to do."
Haruhi glanced at the file on her desk, blinked a few times then piped up, "Unless she shows up dead." Her cellphone appeared in her hand a moment later and she slipped out the door quietly with Kyoya and Ken looking after her curiously.
– November 12th – 8:08 PM –
She didn't know where she was. She was scared and she didn't know where she was when she woke. But something was trapping her wrists when she tried to move them. Her legs were free though, she noted in her slight panic.
What was the last thing she remembered?
Oh yeah. That guy at the park had been pushing her on the swing.
So... How did she end up here instead?
It was dark. Pitch black dark. Though there was a small horizontal shred of light coming from what she assumed to be under a door. But where was she? A small snicker came from a corner behind her, then light flooded the room, temporarily blinding her. Once she could see again she was staring into the face of the same guy from the park.
Only this time he didn't look like a gentle guy that was reminiscing about his wife and daughter.
Now, he looked like a psychopath.
–
A/N: Another Kyoya/Haruhi partnership anyone? This is obviously their first case together (and sort of like... a Prequel to Of The Highest Degree.) They refer to Tamaki, that's because he used to work for the police department before he got his teaching degree. (It WOULD be just like him to change careers.)
Don't think Renge is going to be in this one since she didn't join the team until 6 months after Hunny and Mori (who are in this. They're just slightly in the background.) The twins show up soon enough, as does Nekozawa.
Yes... Ken Shichi was Kyoya's mentor once upon a time. Then he became sheriff. Yay him?
Rules, again, refer to Gibbs 51 Rules from NCIS. I do not own them in any way, shape, or form. Just like I don't own Ouran (Oh HAH. I actually remembered the disclaimer in the first chapter for once.) 13: Never ever involve a lawyer.