Shinma Chapter 2: Hunt for Information

Disclaimer: Yami no Matsuei belongs to Matsushita Yoko; I only borrow her characters to play with them.

Author Note: If the readers of this story could please review and tell me what they liked and what they didn't like, that will make my writing all the better. Thank you. (By the way, sorry for the long awaited up-date, I just moved to Japan and it took me from July until November until I got finally had my Internet up and running!)

Also, thank you who have reviewed, it helps.

Italics – inner thoughts and dialogue

Underlined Italics – are for Tatsumi's communication with his shadows


In Wakuria

"Do you think you have enough with you Watari-san?" asked Tatsumi as he walked down the street, his partner trailing along after him, weighted down by a backpack and two pieces of luggage.

"Probably not." Frowned the scientist. He set the bags down, ticking off fingers. "Laptop, books, papers, pens, changes of clothing and a few other things. I still have this feeling that I am….Tatsumi! Are you even going to wait for me?!" The blonde grabbed his items and sprinted after the secretary, who had continued on his way. "You could have at least waited for me!" He huffed as he got closer. "And as I was saying, I still think that I am forgetting something important."

"Toothbrush?"Kitchen sink? Tatsumi stopped in front of a small hotel, proclaiming itself to be the Matsumoto Inn. "We'll be staying here while we investigate the murder. It's only about 10 minutes to the girl's house, and another 20 to get to the beach where the others were found."

The two Shinigami stepped inside, Watari pausing to look around the nicely decorative lobby as Tatsumi strode purposefully up to the desk and began to talk in a low voice with the assistant there. Green carpet, pale off-white curtains and numerous lilies made the hotel look like a spring garden, and Watari found himself admiring the fact that the decorator had not gone overboard on the lilies, allowing them to seem as if they had sprung up from the from the floor naturally, like in a glen, instead of hand planted and in rows. Tatsumi's insistent voice cut through his thoughts, alerting him that the man was not too happy about something. Picking up his luggage again, he got close enough to hear the assistant apologizing.

"I truly am very sorry sir, but we have you down as needing a single room."

"And yet I have paid for a double." I am not sleeping in the same bed as him! Tatsumi pushed the receipt toward the girl and it threatened to fall off the counter if it moved anymore.

"I see that you did, and all I can do is give you the single room that's in you name and refund the difference. Due to certain…happenings that have been taking place lately, we have no more spare rooms."

Happenings…she must be talking about the murders. Thought Watari. The reporters and police are probably the ones taking up the other rooms, so this might have not been so much of an "accident"..

"Then I want two singles." Growled Tatsumi, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

She looked up from the room listing, and past him at Watari, smiling. "As I just told you, we have no other rooms. Besides, don't you and your wife want to sleep in the same place?"

"Wife!?" Tatsumi and Watari both looked at each other, one's amusement as easy to read as the others in shock.

"Ah, thank you, but I am not his wife." Grinned Watari as Tatsumi's mouth continued to open and close, but issued forth no sound. "I'm his business partner." Not to mention male, though I have been trying to solve that problem. Thought Watari.

"Oh!" The girl blushed, her hands nervously pushing her short hair out of her eyes. "I'm sorry…you just looked…" her voice trailed off as she began flipping through some of the papers on the desk. "I can put a cot in the room if you would like…?"

"Yes, please." Requested Tatsumi, clearing his throat. "Also, we would like two keys to the room as well."

"Sure thing." She turned around, missing the wink and kiss that Watari blew the other man, and then put the two keys down . "I'll make sure that the cot will be there this afternoon, before 5pm."

"Thank you." Watari and Tatsumi both said, bowing. They took their keys, making their way to the elevator.

Why is it all the cute ones are gay and taken? Thought the assistant, watching them go with a small sigh. The blonde was really, really adorable, almost like golden cat, and his "business" partner wasn't too shabby looking either. She stopped looking as the elevator doors closed and went about the task of getting a cot sent up to room 413. Though I would see him more as a wolf just in from the wild than anything else…

"She couldn't stop looking at you." Chuckled Watari as the doors closed, the 4th floor button flashing. "I think it was your masterful way of talking when she called me your wife."

"Not that you haven't been trying all these years." The elevator moved briefly and then announced that they were on the 4th floor. Tatsumi was kind enough to hold the doors open as his partner gathered his luggage.

"I didn't know that I've been trying to be your wife!" Now the scientist was laughing outright, enjoying the red flush that was working its way up the back of Tatsumi's neck.

"You…you ….know what I meant Watari-san.." The poor brunette stuttered the reply as his partner took his key and opened the door to their room. "You and that gender changing potion of yours. The one that you keep wrecking your lab, (and my expense report), with."

"Whew! I'm so happy that I can finally drop all of this!" Watari, ignoring the needling poke about wrecking his lab and letting go of his luggage to bounce on to the bed. "So, which one of us gets the cot, you or me?"

"You. It will be like sleeping in your laboratory, something that you should be used to by now." I know that you have an apartment…but do you even sleep in it?

"What!? No way, I want the bed. Besides, compared to catnapping on your desk, the cot should feel like sleeping on clouds."

"Catnapping?" Tatsumi glared as Watari tried controlling his laughter.

"I came by last week, and you were snoring! You didn't even hear when I knocked on the door." You actually looked peaceful, which was surprising. Sometimes, you can come across like you would glare at the world in your sleep as well.

"I do not snore."

"We'll find out tonight." Snorted Watari. And I sort of hope that you do, then I can tape it and let Tsuzuki listen! And then, maybe I can get some new equipment for my lab, too.

"Look, we'll worry about sleeping places tonight, since we really do not need to be worried about me snoring." Tatsumi waved a map around and Watari could see several red circles inked onto it. "I want to go to the home of Iwamoto Yuu and see if we can find anything that the police missed. After that, I also want to go to Kuwabara Yuki's home and do the same thing there. Hopefully, we will have time to visit the beach cave as well."

"I think that we should visit the cave after dark." Interjected Watari as Tatsumi headed toward the exit. "The time of death for those kids was after dark, so maybe this thing will go back there to hide out. It's a far-fetched possibility, but a possibility none the less."

"Good idea." Nodded Tatsumi. He let go of the door handle and dug around in his briefcase, gathering several fuoda and stuffing them into a pocket. He and Watari walked to the door, the scientist reaching it first, and once exiting the hotel, disappearing.


Iwamoto Yuu's House

"Not the house I would expect of a child molester." Commented Watari, as both he and Tatsumi stood in before it, in front of several signs warning people to stay away. A small garden was in the front yard, shielded from the road by a black iron gate. Two floors, it was narrow, squeezed in between two brand new 6 bedroom apartment complexes, but the paint on the outside was fresh and clean. As the police were still there, they both had not re-materialized.

"Tatsumi, you follow the police around. I'll go inside and check it out."

"Why?"

Watari rolled his eyes. "I know a few things to check for, and you have a better time remembering and taking notes. If you want, you can come and look afterwords too, but we should be more efficient this way."Okay, I used the word efficient. Three, two, one…

"Fair enough. Meet up at the big cherry tree over at the neighbor's house. You have 1 hour."

I love that he is so predictable. Hisoka would have thought that I was trying to shield him from the emotional impact and Tsuzuki is not that helpful on informational gatherings, period. If I had known that Tatsumi would be this useful as a partner, I would have requested him decades ago. Watari looked back at where his invisible partner was floating above the shoulder of a policeman, and let out an unheard chuckle.

And here I thought it would all be cheap inns and bad food.


1 hour later, at the cherry tree

"Iwamoto Yuu. 32 years of age, blood type B. Cause of death was actually blood loss triggered by the removal of his genitals, not the noose that was around his neck and anchored to the top of the ceiling, around the fan. Lived alone, his wife divorced him years ago, then remarried. Parents died four years ago in a car accident in Nagoya while they were traveling. Has worked at Sei Mei, an all girls high school, for ten years after graduating college in the United States, getting a degree in English. He has had no former complaints registered against him, but several girls have stopped coming to his home English lessons, a few even going so far as to request transfers to other high schools, never naming him as the reason though. One of the girls had even disappeared, but that was blamed on her current boyfriend, who was part of the local Yakuza and not on her teacher."

Tatsumi looked up from the notes that he was reading from, flipping through the spiral papers to see if he had missed anything critical. "That is most of the basic information about Iwamoto. I have some more written down, but we can go through it together at a later time. The police do seem to think that he was involved with the missing girl though, after this incident. Did you learn anything in the house?"

Watari cocked his head and looked like he was thinking. "Well," he offered, "he was a horrible decorator. Nobody should have blue carpet, orange cabinets and black curtains." He smiled as a hiss came from between Tatsumi's teeth, blue eyes sparking.

"Actually, when I saw where he had been hung, I was amazed that a girl that young could overpower him and hang him in the noose herself, so I believe that there must have been a physical formation of the demon, a physical change in her abilities and / or body, or even a form of mental connection between the victim and the murderer, to get him to willingly climb into a noose. Despite the police thinking that the noose came before the neutering, the neutering was actually first and then he was somehow coaxed or forced into the noose. Nothing was hidden from view, so there was nothing meant for us, which means this is a normal case and one that, thank Enma, doesn't involve our dearest and closest friend, Doctor Muraki. Though that might be a simpler case if it was him, because then we would only have to find him. And capture him." Although that is simpler said than done.

Tatsumi frowned, pushing his glasses further up his nose from where they had slipped down to. "I think that I will take needing information over knowing it's Muraki any day, thank you Watari-san. If it was the doctor, then I would be less two Shinigami in dealing with the case. Let's go over to the girl's house, maybe we can find something over there that the police missed." The two Shinigami huddled around the map that Tatsumi pulled out, then disappeared.


Kuwabara Yuki's House

"I thought that Yuki was a boy's name?" asked Tatsumi as both he and Watrai entered the darkened house. The girl's mother was staying with nearby relatives and the police were more focused on Iwamoto's house, since that was where the crime had taken place, so the Shinigami dropped their invisibility when they teleported into the house.

"Today, it's more of a gender neutral name." Replied Watari, poking his head into the kitchen. "I've heard of both girls and boys using it. Also, I have a feeling that it first belonged to an older relative, and was given to this Yuki as a way of remembering a happier past."

"Eh?" Tatsumi walked to where Watari was and saw the small alter with a smiling boy's black and white picture, incense sticks smoldering in a nearby jar of sand and a wooden stick burned with the name Tanaka Yuki.

"I'm guessing that Tanaka was Kuwabara-san's original name, and this was probably her little brother."

"Do you also guess that he died at a young age? Or that Kuwabara-san has been here this morning to light the incense?" asked Tatsumi. Damn it Watari, I am not stupid. I am also not Tsuzuki, who would have probably just commented on the boy's age at death, nor am I a newcomer to the Shinigami world and society as a whole, needing every little thing explained to me.

"Sorry Tatsumi." Watari apologized, not looking at the other man but being able to feel a hint of anger in the retort. "I'm a little too used to having Tsuzuki or even Bon being my partner." And with those two, it's better to explain everything in case they missed it in the first place.

"Understood." Spoke Tatsumi, giving the younger man a brief smile. And I know how much time do I waste explaining things to those two….though in Kurosaki's case, it's not a waste, but training.

The two of them finished exploring the first floor, finding the kitchen, the garage, a bathroom and a small living room. Their eyes met, and they began to move to the staircase. The first room on the floor was a computer room and study area, while the second one was clearly Yuki's room.

"I haven't seen this many stuffed animals and cute things since we visited Wakaba's apartment." Said Watari cheerfully, glancing around the room. "I think that the girl collected koalas!"

Tatsumi smirked. "You think?" he echoed, mentally counting the plushies. Fifty-five, fifty-six…. He stopped as Watari began to crawl under the western style bed.

"Looking for dust bunnies?"

"Looking for a diary, or even a journal." He came out from underneath with streaks of grey coating his golden hair and the back of his formerly white coat. "Nothing here, but maybe…ah ha!" Watari lifted a small red journal with a golden lock from underneath the pillow on the bed.

"Is there a key there as well?"

"I didn't feel one, and no teenager would keep the key right next to the thing that was locked…" Watari glanced at the journal he held in his hand. "I really need to see what's inside this thing, maybe she wrote about what they wanted to find in the cave."

"Give it to me then." Said Tatsumi, holding out his hands. Wartari looked a little baffled, but he shrugged and handed it over anyway. Concentrating, Tatsumi created a small sliver of a shadow, and slipped it into the lock, biting his tongue.

It's kind of cute how the tip of his tongue shows when he's fully involved in something. He gets like this when the yearly expense reports are due too. Yeah, kind of…cute…

Watari shook his head to dislodge that last thought at the same time Tatsumi drew a tiny click from the lock, causing the book to fall open.

"You know how to pick locks?!" Mental note, buy combination locks for the stuff in my lab. Or better yet, get some voice locks.

"I lost the key to my office once and had to pick it….since then, I thought that it would be a waste of time not to develop a skill that I had already used once, and that would probably be useful once again."

"And when exactly did this happen?" asked Watari, still reeling a little from the fact that his boss, the don't-put-a-toe-out-of-line secretary of Meifu that the Count was probably scared of, could pick locks as well as any thief.

"Around the middle of February, about 2 years ago, if I remember correctly." Tatsumi peered at his partner, waving the diary around. "Does it matter, or did you not want to read this thing?"

"Uh, no, it doesn't matter." Choked out Watari, reaching for the book. Middle of February…ah yes, that would be when I was going to spike the coffee with experiment #137…I had wondered where the powder had disappeared to! It was locked in my desk, for crying out loud! Mental note number 2: buy another type of lock for my desk and the lab door, not just the cabinets!

"Although…" drawled Tatsumi, his index finger tapping against his glasses. "I have to wonder why the police didn't find the diary, if it was simply hidden under a pillow."

"Do you think it was planted after the police came and checked the house?"

"No…some of the people the police questioned said that she ran straight from the house and to a medium sized pond in the neighborhood park. Since a lot of families were there when she dove in from the cross bridge, shattering her head on the rocks below, the police were able to label the death as a suicide from the beginning. Straight after that, the police came to inform her mother of the death, then checked the girl's room for any indication of why she killed herself. The murder of Iwamoto-san came to light later. At any rate, no human planted it, since the mother was taken to the hospital as soon as the police came and the house was locked."

"So, you're saying that this diary was either hidden, or somehow escaped from being noticed when the room was searched?"

"The former sounds more likely than the latter."

Dry would not be the word for that tone…I would say parched would be more appropriate.

Downstairs, a scraping sound came from the locked door, and the low murmur of two voices caused the two Shinigami to turn invisible, Watari hiding the book in one of the many inside pockets he had sown into his lab coat.

"Do you think that she had a partner? Maybe an older, male friend that helped with subduing the teacher?" asked a female voice, turning on the lights in the house as she and her partner came inside.

"Maybe she got him drunk first, they have yet to finish the autopsy." commented the younger guy, taking off his shoes and slipping into the house guest slippers. "She could have made him thought it was a game, to pretend to hang himself. Then, when he wasn't looking, she pushed him off the top stairs. And somehow cut off his junk while doing it."

Watari motioned to Tatsumi, jerking his thumb at the window as he re-arranged the pillow back into its normal position. The older man nodded, and the two of them reappeared outside just at the two police officers came into the girl's room, continuing the conversation.

"Why don't we let them have the house now, and go visit the cave?" Suggested Watari, waving the diary around in the air. "We'll need some time to go through this tonight, since Yuki decided to write in code."

"Code? What happened to just having locks on journals?"

"Probably was a bit paranoid that her mother would open it and realize what she and her friends were up to. Or maybe even find out about Iwamoto-san."

"Is that why you write your notes in code?" questioned Tatsumi. "So that the rest of us can't figure out what you're up to or when you're planning on spiking the coffee?"

"No." Watari looked at his supervisor with wide, innocent eyes. When did he figure out that I write in code and not scientist speak? "However, if you only ask me, I will warn you when to stay clear of the break room. As long as you don't deprive me of my other test subjects."

The brunette snorted. "And what else would that entail? More funding for when things go wrong?"

"Nah. Just stop by every so often, say hey or bring your lunch." It's a little lonely there sometimes, and at least I know that you won't drink anything you find on my desk. "I promise to tell you when not to drink the office coffee if you do that."

He wants me to stop by the lab, just to say hello? No more pink hair, boils or speaking foreign languages if I only spend my lunch break with him? "Okay," replied Tatsumi. "Agreed."

The two shook hands, then Tatsumi looked at his wristwatch and at the sun, sinking into the horizon and coloring the sky a light pinkish orange.

"It's almost 6pm right now, so if we can head to the cave now, we'll be there right before the sun completely sets. After that, we can go back to the hotel and begin to compile the information we've gathered today."

"Sounds good." Said Watari, flashing Tatsumi a thumbs up. "And by the way, you want to get some Italian for dinner, after our nice relaxing visit to the beach?"


At the Beach side Cave

"I really don't like salt water." Complained Watari, brushing some white sand off of his lab coat.

"Really?" Tatsumi was surprised. "I would have thought that someone like you would love the beach."

"Someone like me?" Watari turned to his companion, hands on his hips and a half smile on his lips. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Seriously…someone like me what?

"Just that…" Tatsumi's hands fluttered around, trying to add to the non-existent words. "It just seems like a place that you would enjoy." You know, a place that happy people gather at and that romantic couples stroll down hand in hand. Besides, I can just see you here, blindfolded and thwacking a watermelon, laughing and having a great time with close friends..

Watari gave the secretary a long look, but eventually shrugged, one of his hands tugging at a few loose stands of hair that waved in the wind.

"I really don't like the beach because I hate having to comb sand and salt out of my hair, and that just takes too long. Hurts, too. Also…" here the man hesitated, his golden eyes turning to search the horizon, losing themselves in the white caps that dotted the darkening sea. "I don't know, but sometimes it seems as if the ocean is the result of all the sadness and tears that have been in the world…and that it just wouldn't seem right to be happy in such a sad place as this."

Tatsumi's heartbeat sounded loud in his chest and the cry of the breaking waves had both men quiet for a few seconds.

"Anyway," grinned Watari, breaking himself away from the lure of the sea. "Weren't we here to check out the cave and not listen to me be such a sappy romantic?"

Tatsumi had to smile at this sentence. I will be asking you more about this later my friend...it sounds like something a bit more than you being a hopeless romantic."

"Well then, master scientist, shall I lead the way?"

"Only if you have the flashlight." Was the blonde's reply.

Tatsumi trained the flashlight onto the floor with a click and didn't quite hide a snicker at the gasp pf surprise from the other Shinigami.

"Where in the world were you hiding that?" asked Watari, walking behind his partner as they went forward into the semi-darkness.

"In my pocket." Replied the shadow master, his three right fingers twisting to create some shadow snakes.

Please, go forth and check for any signs of demons. If you find any, let me know immediately.

"So…" drawled Watari, draping an arm over Tatsumi's shoulder. "Was that a flashlight in your pocket, or were you just happy to see me?" The blonde dropped to his knees, laughter echoing throughout the cave.

"Watari!" snapped Tatsumi, his tone damping the mirth of his friend, turning the flashlight on him. "If there is anything here, you're going to alert it to our presence." This is something that I expected of Tsuzuki, not of you!

"Sorry. I thought that your shadows would have told you if anything threatening was here?"

"They will. When they have some time to explore the entire cave!"

"Ah. My apologies, then." Watari straightened up, his shoes splashing into a puddle of water as they both began to walk again, this time in silence. Then, one of the snake shadows crawled across the floor to Tatsumi's foot, slithering over Watari on its way there and causing the scientist to give a small yelp.

Report.

The side cavern, after turning left at the split in the tunnel. There were killed there, and the blood still stains the rock. There is no evidence of anything being in the cave at this time, not the way that I went.

Thank you. You are dismissed.

"So, anything in here?" asked Watari, wishing he could hear the conversation between the master and his shadows. Maybe I should make a potion that allows me to hear their conversations? Could be interesting to see if I can do it.

"Nothing to report the way that this one went. The other one is still out there though." Replied Tatsumi as the shadow dissipated. "However, if we turn left at the split in the tunnel, then the side cavern there is the one that the kids were killed in."

"Hey," started Watari, an idea suddenly forming in his mind as they continued down the tunnel. "Are the shadows the same every time or are they different?"

"What do you mean?" Little creases appeared above Tatsumi's eyebrows. "They are created from the same thing, but I can make them into different shapes for different purposes."

"But," continued Watari, "if you gave one a name, would it remember it's name the next time you created it? By the way, here's the split."

"Then we turn left. I'm not sure as I've never given my shadows a name."

"You should. I have to admit, now that I thought of it, I'm a little curious if the same sentience comes every time or if it follows your orders perfectly like a golem."

"Do you have a particular name in mind that you would like to try?" groaned Tatsumi. How did I let him talk me into naming one of my shadows?

"Kuroi."

"Kuroi?"

"Or, if you don't like that, then Kage."

The two of them stopped outside the cavern, and Tatsumi saw a splash of red on one of the rocks.

"Kuroi it is. When my second one comes back to me, I'll name it, and later I'll tell you what happens. Since that matter is settled, let's explore the cave."

"Chalk, black candles," muttered Watari, carefully stepping on the rocks, dirts and moss. "More salt than the sea should have put all the way back here, and hmm…what's this?" He plucked a book from where it had been wedged between a rock and the wall, idly flipping through the moldy, damp and wrinkled pages.

Report.

Master, there is nothing here, but there were many small places where things might have hidden, so I thought to search through all of them.

Very well. Tatsumi hesitated, glancing at his partner to see his face buried in a book he had apparently just found. Before you are dismissed, I am giving you the name…Kuroi. The next time you are summoned, remember it and answer to it.

Yes master.

Thank you. Kuroi.

The shadow melted into the ones that were cast by the flashlight as Tatsumi made his way over to Watari.

"Anything interesting?"

"Only that the police missed this AND the diary." Exclaimed Watari, shoving the book in the same pocket where the diary had been hidden. "This is giving more credit that something or someone is either hiding these things and trying to frustrate the police, or…maybe they are hiding them for us to find, so that we can help." He turned to the shadow master. "Is there any chance that you have a camera in your pocket, in addition to the flashlight? I would like to take some pictures of the symbols that have been written on the floor. The salt might have mostly been dissolved by the sea air, but we can still tell where it's been due to the color and texture variations. After that, I think we can call it a night." Watari sighed, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "And Enma knows, I could use some Italian right now."


Matsumoto Inn, room #413, after an Italian dinner

"I need to figure out what this creature goes for, and to do that, I need access to the Internet. I should be able to work on that tomorrow, though, along with the diary. And the book of summoning."

"Goes for?" came Tatsumi's muffled voice came from the bathroom.

"Does it go for females? Teenagers? People looking for revenge? People sexually exploited? Does it just want to kill? Does it feed off of emotions?" Watari, sans glasses, sat cross legged on the bed, hands wrapped around his ankles, wearing a multi-colored snowflake patterned pajama set. "After we find that out, then we can narrow down the suspects. For example, a vampire goes for blood. This girl, Kuwabara Yuki, had no blood in her system and killed herself afterwords. Therefore, not a vampire. One monster crossed off the list."

"Yes, I can understand the vampire example, but what kind of creature purposefully kills its host?" Tatsumi emerged from the bathroom, holding his glasses and dressed in silky, dark blue pajamas. "The best and most efficient way would be to keep the host that you know can hold your spirit. After that, you only have to spend energy on escaping and not being caught. Having to find a new host would be tiring and costly."

"Do you only think about things in terms of money?" Teased Watari gently, shaking his finger at Tatsumi, grinning. "But if you look at nature, you can see the same form of parasitic relationships. As another example…hmm…"

"You can't think of one, can you?" Tatsumi let lose a brief smile, placing his glasses on the night stand. "Not always the all-knowing scientist, are you?"

Watari shook his head, as if to clear a daze, and stood up from his position on the bed. "Are you actually joking?" Tatsumi? Joking? I thought he only did that with Tsuzuki! He watched as the older man pulled down the covers to the bed and got in, immediately turning so that he slept on his stomach.

"Think what you wish, Watari-san." Came the muffled retort. The blonde gave a small snicker, then reached over and turned out the lights, heading in the direction of his cot.

"By the way, do I get the bed tomorrow night?"

"Shut up Watari."

A few minutes of silence passed, the clock ticking and glowing the in darkness.

"Hey! I finally remembered an example of an animalistic parasitic relationship! If a fish is attacked by a sea lamprey, only 1 in seven will survive the relationship, and an adult lamprey will destroy about 20 kilos or more of fish in its lifetime! The parasite will just move onto the next victim."

"Go to sleep Watari!"