Disclaimer: Fish is good.

A/N: 'Tis a sad fact indeed, but I can feel myself slowly succumbing to the chronic disease of Fanfiction Sluttiness. *nod* I'm starting to jump from one fic to another, and well, this happened ^_^ This is a reincarnation fic. I know the idea's been done to death, but  I couldn't help it: Ryuen has one, Purple Mouse has one (and what a one ^^), Kaze-chan has one, why can't I?

Kagura: How about the fact that you're not as good as them?

--;; Shaddup. Go back to your own fic. Shoo. Anyway, I will NOT abandon my other fics, but they might go on a little sabbatical for a while…CYOA is comin' slow (I've rewritten it five bloody times and I still don't like it -_-) and TPATP… indefinitely on hold. I might take it off and restart it from scratch ^^

Cops And Robbers

Prologue: Welcome to The Quad

The night was cold. The wind blew unceasingly, signaling an incoming storm. Scraps of paper fluttered past, hovering a few inches above the pavement. A faint stench of trash wafted from an alley half a block down, and I snorted.

This place could use some cleaning up. Too much garbage around here.

I tightened the scarf around my neck and walked on, somewhat warm in my trenchcoat. It had been a long day, and the sooner I returned to my apartment, the better. It'd been a very long day, and the boss hadn't exactly been jumping with joy when I'd refused the latest assignment. However, it seemed that a speedy return was not to be. And speaking of garbage…

I raised an eyebrow, noting the street punks who'd silently surrounded me. A few of them pulled out knives, and the audible click of a gun caught my attention. I turned and focused on the ringleader.

"Hand over the cash, man, and no one gets hurt," he snarled, aiming the barrel at me. Judging by how he looked, I guessed that he was about sixteen or so. I lowered my head and smirked, pushing back my trenchcoat with my right hand and reaching for the back pocket of my pants. The leader grinned.

"Good. We don't usually get willing donors."

Who said anything about donating?

~*~

I was watching the news on the police station's TV that morning and sipping a cup of coffee, like I always do. Coffee deprivation does not a happy me make. And no, I don't take donuts, thank you very much. They have a LOT of unhealthy stuff that turns a fit cop into the blubbering mass of stereotypical officer you see in the movies. And if there's one thing I am, it's not a stereotype.

Anyway. Back to the news. I was watching something about how the Mayor was suspected of bribery when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

Now, mind you, normally I'm, well…normal. But when someone sneaks up behind me while I'm having my Morning Coffee…

The next moment, I was blinking stupidly in my chair at Sergeant Ri. A very wet, brown-stained-uniform Sergeant Ri, who was currently giving me the Look. And I was holding a now-empty cup. I scrambled up and grinned sheepishly.

"Ah…oops?"

This is NOT good, I repeat, NOT good. You have just watered the Sergeant with one of the most unremovable-from-clothing substances on the face of the Earth. And to top it off, you weren't supposed to be lounging around today. You're on patrol, REMEMBER??!!!

Good gravy. I am a dead man.

"Officer Chou Ryuuen." Every syllable was emphasized slowly through gritted teeth, and I winced. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Think fast. Say something, anything!

"Um…I was…uh…checking crime reports on TV, sir!" I snapped a salute. "Was concentrating a bit too hard, sir…uh…you surprised me."

The Look intensified. "And I suppose, Officer Chou, that media gossip on a BBBN is considered an official crime report?"

I gulped. BBBN: Blah Blah Blah Network. It meant that that particular channel was blacklisted as 'unreliable' and 'complete shit'. Which meant that any officer caught watching was in serious trouble.

So much for saying something. I'll never ever touch coffee again if someone'd just get me out of this mess…

"Sergeant Ri!" A rookie ran through the open doorway, an urgent tone in his voice. "There's been a 10-0-7 in Harbor Road! Sergeant Hahm requesting assistance from Officer Chou, sir!!" He looked pointedly at me.

Saved!  I pasted a look of complete seriousness on my face and looked the Sergeant in the eye. "Requesting dismissal for duty, sir."

He glared, and for a moment I thought he was gonna stop me anyway and make me clean his uniform with a toothbrush or something. Thankfully, he turned away, barking out his dismissal. I dropped the salute I'd been holding for what seemed like a billion years and ran out the door, thanking my lucky stars that I'd evaded the Holy Wrath Of An Irate Sergeant ™.

A few minutes later, I was speeding down the road on my squad bike, thinking about the situation. 10-0-7 meant a gun was involved, 7 casualties, but no fatalities.

That's strange. In this city, anytime a gun's involved there's always a dead guy. That code hasn't been used for the past year that I've been here.

I shuddered. Quad City was a very dangerous place indeed, especially at night. No cop worth his salt would dare to patrol alone at that time.

There was one, about a month ago. A rookie by the name of Bu Shunkaku. He was like most of the fresh ones; tough guy, hot-headed and brash. He was nice enough to me, though.

He refused a partner when he drew night duty. The next morning, he was found in a ditch with multiple lacerations, a broken arm and a concussion. His bike was missing. The official media reports said that he'd had an accident, but Lanva told me that the surgeons said that he'd been slashed by something jagged; probably hit with a club as well. But he'd live. He was lucky enough.

I gritted my teeth. The rookies weren't really that important to me, but anyone who'd be brave enough to mutilate a member of the force…And they still hadn't found the people responsible.

Then again, they hardly do in this city.

Quad City wasn't that well-known on the map, but it had a crime rate that could rival that of the Big Apple. I'd transferred here from Chicago about a year ago, for personal reasons. Partly because I couldn't stand the humiliation I'd received there…

Stop it, Ryuuen. You've got a job to do.

~*~

"Let's see… we got about 24 shots fired. That's about 3 a victim," I noted casually, giving the crime scene another once-over. The cute officer next to me was doing so as well…and man, did she have a hot bod!

"All of the shots were aimed at the arms, sir, though one or two of them had bullets in their legs. We'd have to wait for the report from the hospital, but from what I saw, the shots hit the bones on target," Officer Haku reported, scribbling something on her notepad. Since she wasn't really paying attention to me, I took the chance to get a good look at her chest.

Holy mama, she DOES have a hot bod. Almost as good as Dou-chan's—

"Lanva? Quit ogling her already, will ya? You're MARRIED, for God's sake!"

Kaen snapped her head up and glared at me.

Uh-oh.

SLAP!! "You pervert!" she screeched indignantly before storming off. A few of the others snickered behind my back, and I glowered at them.

"Get back to work, people! I mean it!" I yelled, folding my arms. The rookies immediately scrambled around frantically, doing nothing useful as they just ran around pointlessly wondering what to do. I grinned.

The next best thing to checking out babes is checking out newbies. Heh.

A familiar purple-headed figure stepped into my line of view, shaking his head. I glanced at him.

"What was that for, Ryu-chan? You could've just shut up and let me continue…" I complained. He merely sighed.

"Lanva, you are a married man. You have a wife…"

"…who hits me with a rolling pin…"

"…and look at you. You're fooling around with other women."

"Because I have a violent, unreasonable housemate—"

"Wife."

"—known as Doulin."

"Whom you love with all your heart. Now stop yammering already and tell me the situation."

I chuckled. Ryuuen was one of those guys whom I considered a good friend; he was a nice, friendly guy, and the only subordinate in the force who could insult me and not end up cleaning toilets. He knew about me and Dou-chan as well; we considered him a brother, sort of. I told him what'd happened, and then he got this look of total concentration on his face, which I recognized as the "Ryuuen Computer Mode". He was thinking of previous cases and checking to see whether any of them were similar to the current one.

Perfect memory for cases, that Ryuuen. He could probably recite exactly how many bruises there were on an assault victim ten months ago, and tell you the estimated time, situation and the name of the victim as well. I'm surprised he's not a sergeant yet.

I folded my arms. "So what's the verdict?"

Ryuuen bit his lip. "Well, the type of injury—limb shots, shattered bones, but no deaths—resembles three cases in the course of the year. The casualties had assorted weapons with them, but it didn't look like they were able to use them. Most of them ranged from 16-24 years old…local street gangs."

"They had weapons. Judging by that fact, I'd say that they were involved in a gang fight or something, and lost bad," I commented thoughtfully. Ryuuen shook his head.

"Doesn't seem like it. A statement from one of the victims said that they were trying to rob someone…but then they were attacked instead."

"The guy didn't say anything more? A description?"

"Well…he said that the person was a single tall male wearing a trenchcoat, but he couldn't really see him very well."

I scowled. "So what we have here is some superhero wannabe who shoots people who try to rob him? No guy, no matter how much of a sharpshooter, could possibly hit half a dozen armed guys in their arm and leg bones by himself. There's something wrong with that statement. Are you sure about it?"

"Absolutely." Ryuuen ruffled his hair. "I'll be damned if I can figure out how this can happen."

"I'm not gonna issue an order to detain every single trenchcoat-wearing guy in the city."

"Somehow, I don't think that'd work."

"Well, let's forget about it. Any case that doesn't involve murder has no point being investigated." I sighed. "There's over eighty cases to handle as it is, and I'm only talking about our department. Quad's a pain in the ass."

"I guess…" Ryuuen frowned and gave one more look at the scene before hopping on his bike and starting it up.

"I guess Kaen's the one writing the report? I'll be sure to proofread it for anything concerning white-haired perverts…"

Annoyed, I threw a stone at him, missing him by an inch. He laughed and rode off, back to the station. I rubbed my temples in exasperation.

Sometimes I wonder why I put up with him in the first place. Ah well. I'll just leave the rookies to do their job and take leave for today. I promised Dou-chan I'd take her out to the movies…

Grinning at the thought, I got in my car, shoved the keys into the slot and drove off. A thought nagged at the back of my head, however.

The Sharpshooter…wonder who he is? Even if he seems to be targeting those who attack him, I gotta know who to watch out for…

I shook my head. There's no point worrying. You've got enough as it is on your plate, Lanva.

~TBC

A/N: Ahahahahaha!! ^_^ How'd you like it? Note that every break signifies a change of POV. It's up to you to figure out who they are, but I'll give hints…^^ Quad City exists in Myima Gination. I have no idea how the police system works, so I'm relying on my TV experience and fanfics to do a rough guideline…^_^ So if anything seems odd, just remember that this is a fic. So…yeah.

-Sano