Lin: ah well, I'm embarrassed to say but I wrote this story. hahaha (awkward laugh). E-ehrm... right so...yeah uhh...
Kay: *snort* embarrassed? you? right. That'll be the day.
Lin: Shut it. Fine, additional notes will be made after the story. Also, the story may seem a bit awkward. Well in my point of view it is somewhat awkward to read. It may be, because there are grammatical errors. but anyway, I'll keep on editing it until I'm satisfied.
Kay: Enjoy!
Lin: But first...! The disclaiming part.
Kay: I almost forgot about that. Dolls will never be owned by us (obviously). The story if fictional and is no reference to anything or anyone at all.
*Edited author's note: Lin: Don't know if this will pop up on the alert list of those who subscribed for the story alert, but oh well. Since the comments I've been receiving seems to have made some appalled (while the others are cackling like madmen), I am writing a WARNING! To those who cannot stand gruesome scenes and those who are highly imaginative, DO NOT CONTINUE!
Although I've rated this under M...for this kind of story, expect more gruesomeness. But I'll tone it down...I think.
Shouta Mikoshiba was appalled. No, he could not even begin to describe how revolted he was. May it be simulation or not, this was just going over the border line of moral standards and, quite frankly, sanity. Looking at the faces of his two members, he'd say that they wholeheartedly agree with him, Usaki's face was even more disturbed than Shouta's while Seiju looked sickened.
The scene was inhumane even for the Tokkei.
Treats, like candies and cakes, overflowed the mouth and orbits of the victims. Their bellies were slashed open and the intestines were served on the plates where the treats were supposed to be placed. Instead of wine as drinks, the victims' blood were poured in the glasses while one of the fingers was used as a decoration for the glass—sliced halfway and perched on the edge of the glass. Their fingernails were painstakingly removed and were placed as a side dish. The gouged eyeballs were found in the silver platter along with the victims' tongues.
Shouta could feel his lunch lurching back up. He took a side glance towards the Intel Ops and could see their blanched faces, especially Kashiwabara's disgruntled countenance.
"That, ladies and gentlemen, is just a simulation." Kashiwabara said weakly. Shouta could see Kashiwabara's knees wobble for a bit before he regained himself and continued. "But I assure you that this has happened just recently."
Shouta quickly turned his head from the screen and glared at Kashiwabara. He suddenly grabbed Kashiwabara's collar and shook him violently. Usaki, on the other hand, frowned thoughtfully and stared at the scene.
"Kashiwabara-san, you said that this was only the simulation?" Seiju asked and waited for Kashiwabara's confirmation while eyeing Shouta to let go of the choking Intel operation personnel. Shouta sighed and reluctantly freed Kashiwabara.
When Kashiwabara nodded, Seiju continued, "Can you show us the picture of the actual scene then?"
He grimaced but at the same time nodded. His face turned paler, which everyone took note of. "Alright...but I warn you, even I barfed when I saw this." Kashiwabara hesitated for a bit but slowly typed on his keyboard. After a few seconds the original image was uploaded on the screen.
Shouta felt his knees weaken and he fell back on one of the chairs. Seiju felt his breath hitch in his throat then turned his head and covered his mouth. Usaki kept on staring at the image. He felt his lips dry; he tried to speak but his voice disappeared. He kept on opening and closing his mouth while his body shook.
"Oh my God!" Seiju whispered. He supported himself with the chair Shouta had occupied. "Who-why?" He asked nobody in particular. All of the room's occupants sat frozen and more horror stricken than before.
"Shit! When…when did this happen?" Shouta demanded shakily. Kashiwabara took a clipboard near his desk and flipped through it.
"Last week."
Shouta felt himself tremble with anger. He repeatedly told himself that it was only a cruel joke; a professional graphic designer may have just been bored and decided to play with the images. He closed his eyes shut and then opened them again.
The original picture was uncannily similar to the simulation; only the victims weren't adults.
Children no older than fifteen were seated around the table, bloody and dead.
They were in a usual tea party setting but instead of using streamers and banners as decorations, skulls and signs of pentagrams were hung around the room. Eyes gouged, intestines served. Everything was as the simulation pictured except for the ear to ear grin of the children.
"Wait, aren't they sons and daughters of politicians?" Seiju asked after regaining himself. He inched forward and named the children's parents. "That boy in the front is the senator's son; next to him is the daughter of District 2's mayor."
"You mean the sick person who killed these kids has a personal grudge towards their parents?" Shouta growled out.
"Seems like it." Kashiwabara replied. He typed on the keyboard, each of children's parents' profile popped out on the screen. "These kids' parents are publicly known to be corrupt."
"Do they have a common enemy, maybe an activist?" Usaki questioned quietly but enough for everyone to hear.
Kahiswabara shook his head, "No, these people tackled different topics and seldom merged in a project."
"How about their opposition in the seat?" Shouta suddenly stood up. Kashiwabara shook his head again. His frown deepened. "What does the autopsy say about the children's body? How did they die?"
Kashiwabara's assistant handed another clipboard. He flipped through the papers again and frowned. "That's the odd part. The lab reported that the kids died in different times."
"Different times?" Usaki repeated, puzzled.
"Yes." Kashiwabara flipped through the paper and threw the clipboard at Usaki, which he caught easily. "Each of them was killed in the same method but at different times. For example, the senator's son was killed a day before the body was found, the mayor's daughter was killed two days before."
"They could have been kidnapped before hand and killed them one by one." Usaki suggested while flipping through the profiles of the victims.
"But there were neither television announcements made nor were there police reports about these kids gone missing." Seiju said frowning thoughtfully.
"That's impossible. These politicians are well-known and would jump at every media opportunity." Shouta said bewildered.
"That's what strikes me as the most peculiar of them all." Seiju answered then pointed at one of the children in the last row. "This child got lost last month and the media went crazy over her disappearance and when she was found. Her father is another governor and quite well-known for smuggling drugs. He didn't even wait for two days when she disappeared; he went straight to the media first and then the police."
Usaki while listening had been looking over the child's profile. He frowned. "Mayumi Shiraime, daughter of governor Shiraime of District 5. She's 9 years old."
Shouta's whole body shook.
"She was killed ten hours before the body was found, the last one killed in the group." Kashiwabara continued. "The method of killing is plainly seen in the picture."
Everyone remained still. The only noise heard was Kashiwabara's typing.
"The internal organs were slashed out of their bodies while they were still alive." Usaki said gripping the clipboard until his knuckles turned white. Kashiwabara nodded. Seiju covered his eyes while Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Why are they smiling?" Shouta asked caustically.
Kashiwabara swiveled his chair to face them. "Apparently, the murderer injected the victims with hallucinogenic drugs. He then proceeded to slashing their bellies and arranging the table." He answered, his tone pungent and biting. "He made sure that the kids were having a good time while they were being killed."
Seiju sighed out and stared at the monitor again. He named one child and then another mentally, trying to recall the misdoings of their parents. He stopped scanning the image when one child caught his attention.
"Isn't that the son of an ambassador?" Seiju pointed then frowned.
Kashiwabara looked at the screen and nodded his head. He nodded to Usaki to read the profile aloud. Usaki flipped though the files again. "Minoru Okawa, 13 years old. Son of ambassador Okawa."
Seiju's frown deepened. "As I recall, the ambassador had no controversy at all. He was even labeled as a 'light among the dark' kind of person by the people. Their 'candle'as they have dubbed him."
"I've heard of him too. He's well praised by the media and the people." Usaki added.
Kashiwabara shook his head and typed on his keyboard, and then another screen popped out. "He's not really squeaky clean." He said pointing to an old article about the ambassador. "He had some records of assisting human-trafficking; of course it was well hidden since he never really took part in the major projects. To appease the media, he even tried to 'talk some sense' to the smugglers, it resulted in a death of a smuggler and the capture of the others. The victims were never found. The media had a field day with this. They praised him for weeks."
Shouta stood up, Seiju wore his mask and Usaki adjusted his katana.
"Well, looks like we need to 'comfort' the parents of the victims then." Shouta loaded his twin eagles and covered his face with his mask. "Why don't we start with the ambassador?"
Kashiwabara swiveled his chair and printed a document from the main computer. When it was finished printing, he placed the printed pages on a folder and threw it at Shouta. The captain of the first brigade smirked when he flipped through the folder.
"Send my regards to the murderer when you capture him." Kashiwabara said sarcastically then waved a hand when he heard the first brigade walk out the room.
Lin: well didn't you all enjoy that? (insert evil laugh).
Kay: right...so on to the additional notes!
Lin: oh yeah. Well, actually I'd just like you to review or pm me if you have any reaction to this story. As far as I can tell, this category (dolls) isn't very popular to the ffnet world so I'm not really expecting much reviews since the story itself is awkward and there aren't much readers.
As to why I integrated this plot with this manga, it's the only manga I can thinks of that fits the plot.
Also, I'm not very familiar with placing of the politicians so it'd be best if those who are expert in politics (yes you dear reader), help me with the placing and work description. Although I'm researching about it, it still doesn't satisfy me when I'm unsure. So yes, help would be appreciated.
Kay: Isn't that insightful.
Lin: And she isn't any help at all (points rudely at Kay). Anyway, reviews are highly appreciated and needed.