AN: This one is another of those randomly drawn from a hat kiss pairings, this time with the theme of 'blame' to work off of. All I can say about this is I don't write mystery but I tried. T_T I tried. Yeah, two detective conan/ yuyu hakusho crossovers in a row. ^_^;; Funny how things work.
alternative summary: Shinichi puts pieces together, but doesn't have a full picture to work from.
o+o
Yoko growled in the back of Kurama's mind, the part of him that had been a thief free to do what he pleased pissed off at the current turn of events. Chasing down a demon like some sort of attack dog was frustrating enough, but they were running through the human world and the demon in question kept managing to slip into the most populated areas where Kurama couldn't attack him openly.
Kurama sent a spike of youki to a nearby tree to try and discreetly catch the demon, but only managed to drive him to dive into the nearest store. Dammit. And Kurama had to follow, dodging shoppers as he went. Where…there! The demon was looking for a back way out, but seemed to have only managed to find the restrooms. Perfect.
The demon saw him coming and dove into the ladies room. Kurama didn't even pause as he sped walked after him.
It was a two stall room with a tiny window in the upper half of the wall and a row of sinks along the side. More importantly, it was a dead end.
"There is nowhere to run to now, Reiki," Kurama said. "You might as well turn yourself in."
The demon bared needle teeth. "Like hell, spirit world scum!"
"Surely you didn't think you could get away with trafficking human infants through the gate?" Kurama palmed his rose and a seed for a sticky vine that had a toxin that led to paralysis.
"No one wanted them!" the demon argued. "I was doing the world a favor!"
"The young souls you took would likely disagree." Kurama's youki flared down the rose at the same time the bathroom door opened. A woman walked in and stared. There was a half second pause as all parties took each other in before Reiki's youki flared and nasty ice spikes javelined toward the woman. "No!" Kurama's whip was out and flashing toward the ice even as the woman screamed.
Shards of ice cut Kurama's cheek, melting away and spiking back up past his guard to stab the innocent bystander. Kurama caught her as she fell, her scream choking off with a gurgle. He bared his teeth toward where Reiki had been but the demon had shrunk himself and was slipping through a window that Kurama couldn't follow him through. The woman's blood soaked his arms as Kurama was caught between sending youki into every plant in a nearby radius in hopes to ensnare the damn demon and trying to stop the bleeding. It was kind of hopeless though; her neck had been caught in the spike, and Reiki had vanished his ice as he left leaving it to bleed too much too fast. Koenma was going to have Kurama's hide for this. The twinge of guilt Kurama felt was secondary to anger at the moment though. He should have just hit him the second he walked through the bathroom door instead of trying to reason with him. Forget capture, the demon was dead when Kurama got his hands on him.
The bathroom door slammed open a second time, a teenage boy with piercing eyes taking in the scene and the woman now dead in Kurama's arms.
Kurama looked between the body, the blood covering him, and the thorny rose whip still in his hand. "This looks rather damning doesn't it?"
o*o
Minamino Shuichi was calm for someone being accused of murder. He answered all the police questions in a calm, polite manner and didn't seem perturbed by the blood staining his clothing at all. That more than anything was a red flag. Even most murderers showed some kind of reaction to being questioned. Innocent bystanders tended to get upset, shocked by someone dying. Minamino showed nothing at all. Either Minamino ran into death as often as Shinichi did, or he was some sort of sociopath that didn't experience empathy or sympathy for the deaths of others. It was unsettling.
All that said, Shinichi wasn't convinced that Minamino was the murderer. There had been no one else in the bathroom, but the vine he had on him couldn't have been the murder weapon. The vine would have more realistically been a strangling tool, or perhaps a sawing one if the thorns were raked back and forth, but the woman had been killed by something sharp and piercing, something that might have also hurt Minamino considering the cut on his face. But for all the questions asked and the time spent in the interrogation room, Minamino didn't give a straight answer as to what had killed the woman or what exactly had led him to the woman's restroom in the first place.
Minamino was first class at talking around answers.
Some of the blood on Minamino was on his back. Meaning he had had his back to the woman at some point as she was stabbed or dying. Potentially another point leading to Minamino not being the murderer. Add in the hand pressed against the woman's throat that could have been an attempt to stop the bleeding. The open window in the bathroom—no one could have fit through there, but a weapon could have. There were so many pieces but none of the pieces fit.
Shinichi waited until Inspector Megure left to change places with another officer to put any words in himself. "You didn't kill her, did you." he said.
Minamino glanced at the cameras recording their interaction and gave Shinichi a polite smile. "It has been established that no one else could have possibly done it by this point," he said. "I don't think they would believe me even if I said otherwise."
"You don't have the murder weapon," Shinichi said. "You tried to save her."
"For all you know, I could have hidden it." Minamino folded his hands on the table. They had been washed clean at least, though bloodstains lingered at his fingernails. "As for saving her, I could have been checking if she was dead."
"It's strange that you're playing devil's advocate for your own guilt." It made no sense, but nothing Minamino had done so far had made sense either.
"Does that make you believe in my guilt or my innocence?" Minamino asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Shinichi said, though he was leaning toward innocence. "Your reactions are all off."
"I never was good at crying on command," Minamino said, still with that same polite smile. "I am sorry that the woman died though. It shouldn't have happened."
"And what was supposed to happen?"
Minamino shrugged.
Shinichi sighed. He wouldn't get anything more from him, would he.
"Do I at least get a phone call?" Minamino asked. "Since I am technically a minor. I suppose I should have demanded a lawyer too."
"A bit late for that." Shinichi glanced at the camera. "Your parents should be called though."
"Ah. I am sure my mother will take that phone call well." For the first time he had something other than blank politeness on his face, like his mother being called was something that he was actually unhappy about.
"I can make sure you get that phone call," Shinichi said. While the police continued with their line of questioning here, Shinichi would check out the scene of the crime again…
o*o
Kurama didn't bother with a phone call to his mother; she would be informed either way. Instead, he punched in a series of numbers that would connect him to Botan. Hopefully she could then get the word to Koenma and something could be done about this. He was annoyingly aware of the fact that this phone call was likely being recorded.
"Hey!" Botan chirped as she picked up the call. "How's it going with—"
"Botan," Kurama said, cutting her off firmly. "I've run into a bit of trouble with the police."
"Police as in sit in a koen on the side of the road police or—"
"Yes, that sort of police. I'm currently being held for a murder I didn't commit with very little circumstantial evidence to prove my innocence." The same circumstantial evidence was being argued for his guilt after all. "I'm afraid I won't be able to do that favor you asked from me. Someone else is going to have to find that cat."
He could tell by the pause on the other end that Botan was trying to put together what he meant. Kurama felt his patience slipping away bit by bit. "Oh, well, I'm sure I can find someone else to find it," she said, finally getting both what he meant and the need to censor themselves. "Do you need legal help?"
"While I am sure that would be prudent, I'm not sure—"
"Great! I'll just head over your way!"
"Botan," Kurama said with a sinking feeling.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of this mess!"
"Bo—" The phone clicked. "…tan." Kurama closed his eyes and indulged in a few seconds of irritation. Botan was going to make everything worse. She still didn't get how the human world functioned sometimes, why would police or legal systems be any different? He let out a slow breath. Well. There was only so many ways things could go worse from here. He hung up the receiver and turned to the police officer watching him with deep suspicion. "I think I am done with my phone call." He'd just have to see how this turned out.
o*o
The department store bathroom was cordoned off with caution tape, as undisturbed as possible with the body removed. Evidence markers littered the space. Shinichi took note of them and the room at large. Minamino had been crouched near the door, the woman's body half in his arms, half sprawled on the tile floor. It was directly across from the open window. The blood had pooled and half dried by now, seeping away from where the body had sat, but there were trace smears where flecks had spattered either from impact of the weapon or its removal. Strangely, traces had been found scattered beyond the range of the rest of them, and small pools of water here and there. Shinichi had noticed them earlier, but he paid attention to them now. Where had the water come from? The sinks were dry, the toilets showed no sign of overflow. It hadn't been raining either.
That was the first oddity. The second were the dents and scratches on the back of the bathroom door and a few places on the wall. There was even a gouge in the paint. They could have been old, but the chips of paint on the floor and the faint traces of blood found around one of the spots indicated otherwise. It was like something had shattered there.
There was the window where there was a small puddle outside the sill on an otherwise dry day. Three days since the last rain storm with no reason it should exist.
Witnesses claimed Minamino had jogged into the store and straight to the bathroom. And then what? He'd supposedly killed the first person to walk in after that? It made no sense. But Minamino had also been seen glancing around as he moved, like he was trying to figure out where something had gone. Either that or escape? No one who was trying to escape would run for a dead end bathroom though. Not unless Minamino had thought there would be a way out…
The open window was a possibility. But even if Minamino was on the slim side, it wouldn't have been an easy fit. But if there was someone else in there, someone smaller than Minamino?
The problem with that thought was that no one else had been seen entering the bathroom.
It was just really hard to believe that someone would run into a bathroom, stab the first person to enter with a vanishing weapon, then try to stop the bleeding. No, it looked more like there had been a fight of some sort here, possibly with someone escaping out the window.
If he could find proof…
Shinichi circled around outside to the other side of the window. There the puddle was more obvious along with a thin smear of blood that was entirely out of place. From the murder weapon? Or had the hypothetical second person been injured? He frowned at the spot and—there, a faint outline of a footprint. Proof that, yes, someone had gone out the window. As for the murder weapon… with the water scattered about, the only thing that was coming to mind was ice. But how much ice, where had it come from, and how had it melted so fast if it really was ice that had killed her?
For now though, he had the proof to point out the possibility of another subject.
o*o
When Kurama heard someone had come for him, he was half expecting his mother. He tried not to let irritation show on his face as Botan waved cheerfully. Behind her was Kuwabara for some reason.
"…And you're a legal representative for Minamino-san," one of the detectives said skeptically. He looked at Botan's bright teal hair and her short, trendy jacket. "And him?" he said, nodding to Kuwabara.
"He's here for moral support," Botan said. "Now I hear Minamino-san is here under suspicion of murder…"
Kurama tuned her out as Kuwabara sidled over. Kurama raised an eyebrow at the smothered smirk on Kuwabara's face. "What's so amusing?"
"Wow, Kurama," Kuwabara said in his best attempt at a whisper, "not even Yuusuke and I ever got in trouble with the cops. Looks like your goody two shoes reputation kinda got ruined. Kinda always thought it'd be Yuusuke that got arrested."
"I'm a suspect, not a proven guilty party," Kurama said.
"Yeah, ya kinda look like a murderer right now." Kuwabara held up a bag. "Brought you a change of clothes. They're mine so they're a bit big, but better than covered in blood."
"How thoughtful. However did you guess I would need them?"
"You're always the messiest when things go to shit," Kuwabara said.
Kurama snorted softly and accepted the bag of clothes. What he was wearing would likely be taken as evidence. A pity. He'd have to buy a new school uniform again.
"Oh and the runt's taking care of the lost cat," Kuwabara said.
Hiei was probably hating that. Who better to send after an ice demon than a demon of heat and flame though?
"Best of luck to him with that. It's not a very nice cat."
Kuwabara shrugged. They'd all faced worse than Reiki at one point or another. He leaned close, face scrunching up a bit more seriously. "The lady that died…"
"An unlucky victim to poor timing," Kurama murmured back. "I blocked part of the attack, but…"
"Hey, not your fault," Kuwabara said. He was the only one of the group that would have bothered to reassure Kurama over something like this. "You tried."
"Trying didn't save any lives today." Kurama was more affected by the twinge of human conscience that said he should care about the life lost than the actual death, but Kuwabara did care about this sort of thing, so the sentiment was appreciated.
"Now that your legal advocate is here," the police officer said giving Botan a skeptical once over yet again, "perhaps you'll be willing to go over everything again?"
Kurama sighed. "Fine."
"Wait!" Kudo Shinichi said from the doorway. He looked like he'd been running around for a while. "I'd like to be there too."
"Kudo-san," the officer who'd questioned him earlier said sounding a mixture of resigned and reluctant.
"I have some information your analysts missed."
"Of course you do," the officer muttered, too quiet for anyone but Kurama and perhaps Botan to hear.
o*o
Minamino had been joined by a young woman with teal hair and another red head—of no relation from the looks of it—who could have been an average street punk. Not the sort of people Shinichi had expected Minamino to have connections with considering his unerring politeness and reserve the whole time he had been at the station. It was a detail filed away though. Shinichi strode with confidence into the interrogation room. He had the scene figured out for the most part, but there were still gaps in understanding. Why had Minamino been chasing whoever he fought in the bathroom? Why had the opponent used lethal force? Where had the ice come from? Why did Minamino have a vine?
Hopefully Minamino would fill those gaps in.
"Let's try this again," Megure-keibu said. "Earlier you claimed to be looking for something. Do you have anything to add to this?"
Shinichi cut in before Minamino could answer. "Keibu, may I?"
Megure-keibu sighed. "If you think it will help."
Minamino-san," Shinichi said. He could feel the shift in the room, the focus of eyes on him as always happened when he put things together. "You were seen today running down the street before ducking into a departments store and going almost straight to the back of the store. You claimed to be looking for something, but it's interesting to note that some of the witnesses have vague memories of not just seeing you, but another person as well." It had taken Shinichi a while, but he had tracked down several people who had been in shops nearby or workers in the store. Half of them had the memory of Minamino following someone, the other half seemed to have only noticed Minamino. Shinichi was willing to bet that between the two suspects, Minamino was the more noticeable with his bright hair and uniform. "Today you weren't just looking for something, you were looking for someone, someone who did not want to be found. You chased them through Tokyo before following them into the store and guessed that they intended to go out the back. Only they went into the bathroom instead. You followed them into the ladies' room and confronted them, but the person reacted violently. You defended yourself from the attack only for someone else to enter the bathroom, our unfortunate victim. The other suspect attacked her to distract you. You tried to defend, but the attack got through. While you tried to stop the victim from bleeding out, the murderer escaped through the bathroom window. Correct?" Shinichi smiled grimly at the single raised eyebrow on Minamino's face. He'd gotten some kind of reaction through Minamino's impassive façade.
"Kudo-kun," Megure-keibu said, voice tight. "Are you sure that it's possible for there to have been another person? The window in the bathroom—"
"Is small. I know. The person in question couldn't have been very big. But Minamino could have fit through that window, and so could I with some effort. There are a lot of people smaller than both of us out there." Shinichi watched Minamino's expression. "Did I get it wrong?"
"You got the general idea of what happened," Minamino said. "Impressive. I did follow someone into the bathroom, and I did try to stop the woman from bleeding, which let him escape."
"Why were you chasing him?" Kudo asked.
Minamino pursed his lips. "Cats." Both his legal advisor and friend gave him a weird look. Minamino gave them a look back. "A friend's cat went missing. I was helping him look for it and in the process found out that the man had an illegal pet trade going on."
"With cats," Shinichi said doubtfully.
Minamino shrugged. "Cats. And quite a few more exotic things than that. Some of which he smuggled."
Megure-keibu looked pained. "You decided to confront a smuggler rather than call the police."
"I just wanted my friend's cat back," Minamino said. "Clearly he didn't think that was all I wanted."
"Where did he get the murder weapon?" Shinichi asked. "It was ice, wasn't it?"
"Ice?" Megure-keibu asked.
"He's an ice supplier," Kurama said.
"…and big freezers would be easy enough to smuggle things around in." Didn't explain why the guy would choose a large ice shard to attack with rather than something more sensible like a knife that wouldn't melt in the warmth of Tokyo's spring weather. But it was explainable where he could have gotten it from.
"Kudo-kun," Megure-keibu said, a demand.
"He isn't the murderer," Shinichi said. "He did get caught up in something he shouldn't have, but he isn't the one who actually killed the woman. If you notice the blood stains on his clothes, the woman was behind him when she initially was stabbed, meaning he tried to keep her from being hurt. Unfortunately, he must not have been able to block a strike. The rest of the blood is on his front since after that, he tried to keep her from bleeding out. Your killer is still out there."
There was a scuffle outside the interrogation room and everyone turned toward the door a moment before it burst open. A short man dressed in black had a death grip on a second man only a bit taller than him. Behind them Takagi had a hand outstretched.
"You can't just burst in there!" Takagi said.
"I got your stupid cat," the man in black said in Minamino's direction. "And this asshole." He shook the man in his grasp. "He has some talking to do."
On the side of the table, Minamino smiled. A real smile and not the polite one from earlier. It was warm and just a bit dangerous in a way that Shinichi couldn't look away from. Minamino looked at his interrogators. "Well. That solves the problem of finding the murderer."
"How…?" Megure-keibu gaped.
The murderer in question struggled, swearing, but the shorter man didn't seem to have any problem holding him still. "This is all your fault," the murderer snarled in Kurama's direction. "If you'd just died properly earlier—"
"And there is your confession," Minamino said. "Or part of it." He cocked his head to the side. Silent communication happened between the man holding the murderer and Minamino before Minamino nodded. "I suppose you'll want to question him now?"
"…yes," Megure-keibu said. "I…thank you for your patience." He glanced at the man who had brought the murderer in. "I'll need a statement from you as well."
The man's lip curled in distaste. "Fine."
"Great!" the supposed legal advisor said with a cheery smile. "I guess I won't be needed here after all!"
"…Right." Megure-keibu shook his head. "Kudo-kun could you escort them out? I think we have their official statements by this point."
"Of course."
o*o
Well. That was a long and frustrating day. Kurama owed Hiei one now. How they would manage to have Reiki tried as a human and then get him to the spirit world, Kurama wasn't going to ask. That was someone else's problem now. He still had to go home and calm his mother down too… At least Botan hadn't actually had to try to give him legal advice. Kurama probably knew more than she did on that subject.
The teen detective, Kudo, looked pensive as they left the police building. "I'm still wondering how he thought he was going to get away with murdering someone in broad daylight," Kudo said, noticing Kurama watching him.
"Well, he did a fair job at pinning it on me," Kurama said. Now that the deduction was over, Kudo seemed much younger. All the more so with how he kept glancing at Kurama like he was still missing pieces to his puzzle. Well, that and like Kurama was interesting, which he would take as a compliment. Kurama smiled warmly at him. He hadn't missed the Kudo's earlier reaction when he smiled at Hiei. "Thank you for clearing my name," Kurama said. Kudo looked down and away, unable to meet his eyes. It was amusing how easily people could be flustered by Kurama's appearance, this time was no exception.
"Ugh," Kuwabara groaned. "Stop staring like you're going to kiss him and let's go. It's weird."
Mischief sparked in Kurama's eyes. Well, if Kuwabara was going to phrase it like that… "I really do appreciate it," Kurama said to Kudo, laying the gratitude on thicker than he actually felt. He leaned forward and gave Kudo a peck on the cheek, hiding a smile as both Kudo and Kuwabara sputtered. Botan laughed into her hands, hiding her grin. "Maybe we'll meet on better terms next time."
Kudo gaped, one hand riding to touch where he'd been kissed. "Uh. Goodbye?"
Kuwabara pointed at Kurama and shouted, "Holy shit, why didn't you ever say you liked guys?!"
"I was expressing gratitude; attraction doesn't figure into it," he said, picture of serene as he turned away.
"I knew there was something up with your girly tunics! Wait—you're not into me are you?"
Kurama rolled his eyes. "Kuwabara. None of you are to my taste."
"Wait, then what is your taste?"
"I can guess," Botan said, still laughing.
Kurama kept walking. If Kuwabara got too annoying, he would direct the conversation to Yukina and hopefully the topic would never come up again. He'd gotten off without murder on his human record, Reiki had been caught, and while the woman was still dead, at least Kurama could go home to his mother tonight. Not a terrible day after all.