Title: As the Breeze Whispers
Author: Seer M. Anno
Fandom: Cold Case (Japanese Version) x Takumi-kun Series
Genre: AU
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fandom except the story below.
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: Character death(s), slash, possible OOCness, language
Summary: A body found buried in the grounds of a private all-boys school takes Ishikawa and her team back to a suicide case on 2005, which uncovers some more stories.
A/N: Case fic, with crossover between Cold Case and Takumi-kun Series. I just found out that Cold Case has a Japanese version! Wheee! So instead in Philly, this one is located in Yokohama. Please note that I know almost nothing about places in Japan, but I'll try. I just wanna get this outta my head. Title's a remake(?) from the first film.
Anyways, enjoy! ^_^
As the Breeze Whispers
Cold Case (Japanese Version) x Takumi-kun Series
Seer M. Anno
PROLOGUE
June 3, 2005
(Opening Song: 'Dark Horse' by 1st Season Higa from Musical Prince of Tennis)
Shidou Academy, a prestigious all-boys high school, was beaming. It was the Founders' Day, on which there were no lessons. In exchange, classes were expected to make some sort of entertainment, like cafés, shops, haunted houses, and of course, spectacles. Even so, not all spectacles went smoothly.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Snickers were heard in the background. "Nobody's kidding you, Takabayashi. Can you just stop shouting?"
"Shut up!" The boy resumed his shrieking. He looked around at the boys surrounding him. "Who the hell told me Yoshizawa's playing? I want him here and take responsibility!"
Before Takabayashi was a sheepish boy, a year his junior. He scratched his head, messing his neatly combed brown hair. He looked dashing in his fancy suit belonged to his role, but his blush defied the charming part. "I'm sorry, Takabayashi-senpai. The sports division makes us do this. I thought you've known I'm playing The Prince."
Takabayashi put his hands on his hips, trying to look threatening. With the dress he was wearing, it was obviously futile. "Shingyouji, you better get outta here before I hit the roof. And I mean it. Now, scram."
More snickering from the boys around them.
"Shut up!"
Shingyouji scrambled away, scared of his senior's threat. One of the boys stepped forward.
"Takabayashi, I'm sorry."
"No, you're not, Nozaki-senpai." Takabayashi combed his shoulder-length dark hair with his fingers; a gesture he always did when he was downright frustrated. With that kind of hair and the dress, he looked so much like the Sleeping Beauty he was going to play tonight.
Nozaki grinned. "Damn straight. We're not."
"Shut up, senpai."
"We're doing this, Takabayashi. I thought you're the one saying you want to see Yoshizawa."
"I mean he's playing with me! Not… watching me from the audience seat! Fuck you! You were the one who tricked me! You said Yoshizawa'll play on the D-Day, and where the hell is he now, huh?!"
It was obvious that Nozaki was trying not to laugh, but quickly composed himself. "You practiced with Shingyouji-kun all this time, why don't you think about it a little?"
Takabayashi was going to answer, but suddenly the door was opened. A boy, wearing Shidou's well-known blue blazer, was standing there with an impatient expression on his face. "Takabayashi, someone wants to see you."
After sparing a glare at Nozaki and the others, Takabayashi rushed out the backstage, his dress waving gracefully as he moved. "Lead the way, Akaike. I don't want to waste any more time in that shithole," he said gruffly to the messenger. "You know what? How am I supposed to let some shrimp kiss me? Even on stage? Ew!"
"You're in the drama club, Takabayashi," Akaike commented dryly. "It's just acting, and it's not like you haven't done this before."
Takabayashi spluttered. "Well, Gii's a great kisser, but that's not the point here! I don't care! Those guys lied to me, and there's no way I'm playing! And not to mention the drama club! They didn't even tell me anything! Why, am I being too annoying or something so they want to see me embarrassing myself on stage for the whole world to see?"
Akaike only rolled his eyes and continued walking. He brought Takabayashi to a secluded part of the school, where someone was waiting. Correction, three someones. A boy his age was standing there, with a little girl on his left and a little boy on his right.
The school prince's previously annoyed expression changed when he saw them. "Yoshizawa! You're here!"
"We want to watch you play, Izumi-chan," the girl replied, with a huge smile on her face. "You're so beautiful today! I really, really love Sleeping Beauty! I know you can play her the best!"
Takabayashi smiled and patted her head. Her sincerity had to be appreciated, to say the least. "Thank you so much, Miya. Your presence will make this whole ordeal more bearable." He turned to the little boy. "Hello, Mio. How're you doing?"
Mio only grunted and hid himself behind Yoshizawa's legs. Knowing it was a losing battle, Takabayashi sighed and looked up. "Hi."
Yoshizawa was beaming at him. "Hi, Izumi."
"You're not wearing your uniform," Takabayashi commented. Behind him, he swore he could hear Akaike's snort.
"Izumi, please." Yoshizawa sighed. "Let's not do this here, okay?"
"Fine."
"I'm watching you play, so do your best."
"You're not playing," Takabayashi complained petulantly. "I thought you would."
Yoshizawa patted his shoulder. "You know it's for the best. The sports division needs money, and what's better than a play, made for public audience? Besides, the drama club agrees to this, and thought Shingyouji is a better actor than me."
"If you're playing, you're staying."
"Izumi, please," Yoshizawa repeated, more desperately this time.
"Whatever."
"C'mere."
Takabayashi reluctantly stepped into Yoshizawa's embrace. It was warm, and if Akaike and Yoshizawa's little siblings commented at the display of affection, Takabayashi didn't care. "I wish you're not so… selfless, Yoshizawa," he whispered.
Yoshizawa chuckled. "I'll try, Izumi. But do your best, okay? For my sake?"
Takabayashi snorted, but tightened his arms.
Rain was falling. It was nighttime, a few hours after the events were closed.
Shidou Academy was empty. The Founders' Day had come to an end, and the students had already gone home. All of them were exhausted, yet satisfied, after the day was over. It was a long one, but the shows and the cafés and the shops held by the boys had paid off well.
But it wasn't an ordinary nighttime.
In a certain part of the grounds, the one hidden by a lot of trees, a noose was tied on a strong branch. Someone was hanged there, the slender body dangling slowly with the wind. The lightning flashed, and Takabayashi's lifeless face was shown, with his long hair covering most of it. His eyes were closed and his blue dress, worn in the play as the Sleeping Beauty, was drenched by the rain.
On the first Friday of June 2005, it was still raining.
A week afterwards, a police officer filed a report. Izumi Takabayashi, aged seventeen, committed suicide by hanging himself in the grounds of Shidou Academy. She stashed it inside a yellow folder and wrote TAKABAYASHI, I. (SUICIDE) on the corner. She was going to put it inside a drawer marked as Special Assignments 2005 when her colleague stopped her. Her colleague was holding a brown folder and she let him put it inside after Takabayashi's case folder.
She closed the metal drawer with a click.
August 9, 2016
Detective Yuri Ishikawa walked briskly into the crime scene, which was a field with tall trees surrounding it. She saw a small crowd and made her way towards them, lifting the police yellow ribbon to get through. Her partner, Detective Shinjiro Takagi, was there, staring seriously at a hole and the skeleton laying inside it.
"What do we have here?" Ishikawa asked.
"As you can see." Takagi shrugged and gestured to the hole. "This place belongs to Shidou Academy. They want to build an outdoor pool here, and they found this when they were doing some digging."
"Shidou? The private school?" Ishikawa looked around in understanding. No wonder this place was so… well taken care of. She spotted the grey stone building, a few meters away, before turning back at the bones on the ground. "Must be a shock, finding a body in this place. Any idea who this might be?"
Their forensic expert looked up from the place she was crouched on. "Hey, Cap. Got something here. Male, most probably a teenager. Buried for maybe… a decade or so."
"That can be anyone," Takagi remarked. "Shidou's an all-boys school. Most probably a student we're having here."
"Wonder what makes him end up in this place."
Takagi flipped some pages on his notebook, and then gazed at their forensic expert. "How old is the body, you said?"
The woman shrugged. "Around a decade. Ten to fifteen years. Why?"
"No, it's just… I remember hearing about the Shidou Lady around this place. A ghost story."
That perked Ishikawa's interest. "Ghost?"
"Yeah. That's why they stay away from this place for years. They said there's a lady in blue dress haunting the grounds. In fact, it was someone who committed suicide around here in 2005… or 2006." Takagi turned to his partner. "Do you think they're connected?"
Ishikawa shrugged and glanced at the bones. "That's what we need to find out."
A/N: How's that for a beginning? I'm so sorry, Takabayashi, I still like you… to some extent XD
I once read that Yoshizawa has two little siblings, so here they are. They aren't twins, despite the similar name. For this fic, I'm mostly using the casts from the 1st film. So, hi, Yasuka Saito, really love your hair here :D He's also the reason why I'm using Higa's song on the opening.
Hope you enjoyed your read! Reviews are much appreciated ^^