Unknown No More
by Rei ^death^ Himura
Disclaimer: Characters and lyrics belong to their respective owners: Nobuyuki Anzai and Linkin Park.
***
It starts with one thing
I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
~ In the End by Linkin Park
Five years ago...
She had to run, anywhere. As long as it wasn't there. Far away from them, from him. Far away from the voices of mockery that harangued her constantly. No, she couldn't remain. She couldn't let them tear away at her conscience, at her self-preservation. She had to flee.
But where?
'Anywhere...'
She would make it, somehow. She'd fade away from the shell of the person she once was. The body language, the vocal nuance, the way she dressed. Anything. She couldn't bear it, knowing that being her usual self was what got her into such a position.
'You can never return.'
Like I want to.
And she fled...
Present...
"Miss Skye? Miss Skye? Are you with me?" The violet-haired female jerked from her reverie and looked up to find her partner watching her with a worried look on her pixie-like face. Carly heaved a sigh of relief at finally bringing her senior, friend, partner and mentor back to planet earth. Lately her friend had been spacing out more often than it was usual. Normally it was just for a few minutes, and then she'd shake it off and concentrated on her work. Lately it had been getting longer.
Today it lasted for more than half an hour. And unless she got out of her wonderland thoughts, they wouldn't complete the paperwork that had to be handed in by the end of the day.
"Sorry Carly. Too many things on my mind." Skye Ren smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. She seated upright in her leather chair and proceeded to tackle the paperwork in front of her. Carly watched her surreptiously before returning to her own batch. A moment later she heard Skye sigh and then get out of her seat and head towards the coffee room. Humming the tune of 'Once Upon a December' from the soundtrack of Anastasia, she focused on her work.
*
The flashbacks were getting frequent. Memories of long ago, a past she worked so hard to get rid of. Yet she couldn't help wondering how they were, the whole lot of them. Childish antics lit up the ghost of a smile upon her Oriental features. Images of a young girl with a talking toy fox flashed by, accompanied by a runty-looking boy who grinned fangedly at her.
Then there was the image of him. The image she had so desperately tried to blank away, yet it persisted her every attempt to thwart. It taunted her night and day, feeding her recollections and memoirs.
In her mind, Skye wondered absently how and why she got here - the hustle and bustle of New York City as one of NYCPD's top homicide detective. Of course Skye had never began as Skye to begin with. The dark violet hair that was once cut tomboyishly now hung to her waist in a thick braid. The white strip of cloth that formally served as a headband was now replaced by designer shades that sat askew on the top of her head.
The only piece of normalcy was the odd-looking bracelet that she constantly wore on her right hand. Object of speculation amongst her peers.
It was the only thing that kept Skye from truly alienating her old self. The only thing that proved that underneath the cocky and sardonic exterior, lay the girl who was once known as Fuuko Kirisawa.
*
"Another court trial? But sir! I'm a detective, I don't go around sitting in some wooden booth and explaining the wonders of the criminal mind to a group of people who have better things to do than watch my lips move." Skye protested.
"There are other people who're more suited to the job. What about MacPherson? Tydel? Carly can go in my place. She was on the case too!" She added convincingly. The burly ale who sat behind the mahogany desk was unperturbed. Fabel Johnson, known for his dry humour and soft spot for cheese bagels, merely cast Skye a steely gaze.
"Oh come on. I was so ready to head out to the Bahamas for that long needed vacation you said I should have taken years ago." No response, an eyebrow arched however. Carly smiled into her palm and hid the playful glint in her eyes. It was nice working with Miss Skye, even if it had only been a few months. She admired the detective's unorthodox way of pursuing a case. Despite the lazy and laidback attitude she projected, she was dedicated to her work. Often Carly saw the determined look in Skye's eyes, the sudden chillness of her voice when addressing suspects. She could switch from being bitchy bad cop, to sensitive comforter in the blink of an eye.
And yet she could still maintain a charming wit, humour and persona. Even when all around them existed the politically-corrupted world.
"Oh but Miss Skyes, they need the person who did the case to come up to the witness podium herself. Your help and insight would prove valuable in convicting a man suspected of murdering his sister's husband and children."
The husband and the children? Skye turned around sharply, her mood changing swiftly. The vacation could wait, once again, until they set the heartless bastard behind bars.
"Fine then. Carly, get my suit from the cleaners this evening. We'll go through the notes after dinner. Chinese sound good?" Fabel smiled. Strange how the human mind worked. He didn't even have to open his mouth. He watched as the detective and her assistant exited his office and turned around in his swivel chair to attend again to his yet-uneaten bagel.
"Aahh..." He sighed. And that, was that.
*
"But you can't go to court dressed like that!" Toast dangling between coral-painted lips, Skyes battled with a ratty trainer that refused to allow passage to her feet. She gave up, took the toast from her mouth and mouthed a 'why?' Carly gasped.
"It's a formal court! You have to respect and apply the proper decorum!"
"Oh come on. We're only needed in there for five minutes. And I don't intend to wear a stiff crummy suit for five minutes worth of fame in the witness seat. Come on or we'll be late."
"But Miss Skyes!" No use fighting with the boss once her mind was made up. Carly sighed and shook her head, straightening the creme business suit she'd chosen before heading to her partner's apartment that was a few stops from the department. Oh well... let's just the defendant wasn't those type who enjoyed cross-examining and beating about the bush instead of getting on to the topic.
*
"Are you implying that it could have been anyone who had broken into the apartment?" Oh he was greasy... Skyes thought. From oil-slicked black hair to poxy face to smartly shined shoes. She smirked, watching the defendant walk around like an ostrich, trying to convince the jury that it could have been anyone who entered the apartment of Mrs Martha Sternsbury and killed both husband and daughter on the night of July the fifteenth. 'Wait till I deliver my coup de tat...' she thought to herself and waited for the slick lawyer to focus his attention back onto her.
From beyond the group of audience, a pair of icy blue eyes locked onto the laidback figure in the witness' podium. Silvery white hair glinted in the sunlight that slivered in from the panelled windows, yet it did not catch the attention of the occupant of the seat. In fact, it seemed her eyes were glued to the defendant, observing and filing away every move he made.
"May I add something your honour?" The judge looked down questioningly at the witness.
"What is it?"
"The defendant is merely toying around with the simple idea that it could have been anyone. But if he had seen the report that sits blatantly upon his desk, he would have noted that the convicted was there at the time of the break-in and subsequently the murder." The defendant' jaw clearly dropped and he glanced from witness to the judge. The judge frowned, realisation dawning and then he dismissed the defendant and called back the prosecutor.
The prosecutor, a sharp middle-aged female grinned at the detective. Skyes nodded back.
"So then Detective Skyes, can you please relate to us the incidents that happened on the night of July the fifteenth?" And on it droned.
*
She sighed and slumped in the plastic grey chair outside the courtroom.
"Ne Carly... you said it was only five minutes." She muttered, eyes shut and arms hooked behind the chair. Carly smiled and shook her head. She was slightly amused at the Oriental accent that clung on to Skyes's vocalization when she was peaked.
"Actually, it was you who said it in Mr Johnson's office." The detective pouted and then leaned her head back. Her partner went off to get them refreshments yet returned quicker with a slightly excited look on her face.
"What is it?"
"There's a man to see you."
"A fan? Wow. That was quick." She grinned and Carly scowled disapprovingly. She turned sideways and signaled for someone hiding behind a pillar to approach them. Skyes shut her eyes for a brief moment, took a deep breath and opened them.
She froze.
The man smiled, cold and sharp.
Carly noted the horrifyingly distressed look on her partner's face and frowned. 'What now?'
"A pleasure to finally seeing you-"
"Mikagami?"
"Kirisawa."
All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try, keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme, to explain in due time
I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so (far)
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me (in the end)
You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know (2x)
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter