Chapter 2: A New Case!
As Raizo finally made his way back home, he crushed out the last of his cigarette and sighed. "Shit! What a long walk that was! Oh well, at least I got my exercise in." Raizo said to himself before the sound of people fighting were heard. "You have no control over your temper!" a woman's voice shouted. "You made me do this!" a deep voice shouted back. "You know what, Beast? I've had enough of this! I'm going out for a walk, so don't follow me!" the woman snapped. "Fine! Go ahead and go, Belle! But guess what? I won't be here when you get back!" Beast shouted. "Fine by me! I won't come back until you apologize for your bad behavior." Belle. "I WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE!" Beast roared.
Raizo groaned in irritation as he shook his head. "Fucking toons! Doesn't matter where I go; they're always there...just like a bad case of the-" Raizo muttered before he heard something from behind him. He growled as he saw a shadowed figure hiding behind some bushes. "Don't make me come over there!" Raizo growled. There was no response, further frustrating Raizo. "Look, asshole! I've already had to deal with enough bullshit from one toon tonight, so just come on out and don't make this anymore difficult than it needs to be!" Raizo said angrily.
Much to his surprise, Ariel from the Little Mermaid stepped out in her human form wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans. "Sorry for being an asshole, Raizo." she said snappishly. "Oh, Ariel. It's just you...what are you doing out here? It's awfully late for a midnight stroll, wouldn't you think?" Raizo stated. "Is there some kind of curfew I'm unaware of? What's with the third degree?" Ariel demanded. "Hey, I'm asking the questions here!" Raizo snapped. Ariel gave him a dark look before she looked at her watch and gasped. "Damn it! I'm late! I have to go, Raizo. But could you do me a favor and not tell Eric you saw me? He worries too much as it is-" Ariel said. "Look, whatever it is you've got going on with him, keep me out of it. I'm not a fucking marriage counselor!" Raizo said impatiently.
Ariel stared at him with her jaw dropped before she started to walk away. "Look, I'll explain later, but right now I really have to go. It's not what you might be thinking!" Ariel said more seriously before she finally left. Raizo just shrugged his shoulders before he walked into the apartment complex. As he approached the elevator, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever get a good night's sleep. The TPP was short staffed enough as it was, but this was getting ridiculous. "Hmph! I damn well deserve that vacation!" Raizo grumbled as he stepped inside the elevator.
But before he could go, a man in blue jeans and white t-shirt stopped him. It was Ariel's husband, Eric. "Hey, Raizo! Wait a second; have you seen my wife? Have you seen Ariel?" he asked. Raizo took a deep breath and sighed before he gave his answer. "Fuck off, Eric. I don't have time for this!" Raizo growled. "Excuse me?!" Eric exclaimed as he was offended by Raizo's rudeness. "You heard me! I'm staying out of it." Raizo added. "Staying out of what?" Eric demanded angrily. "Whatever the hell it is, Eric! I'm not a fucking marriage counsuler, all right? Now go away!" Raizo snapped as he finally lost his patience.
Eric gave him a dirty look before he walked away. "Fine! That's the last time I ask for your help, jerk!" Eric grumbled. Raizo grinned in triumph as the elevator finally took him up to the top floor where his apartment was. As he finally made his way into his apartment, Raizo groaned in discomfort as he realized how hot and stuffy it was in his place. "Fuck! I should've cracked open a window or something before I left!" Raizo cursed as he fanned himself. After he opened up his window, he went to the kitchen and washed his face in the sink. "Ahh! Much better." Raizo said out loud after he took a paper towel and dried his face.
Raizo took a deep breath and sighed heavily as he shook his head; he was exhausted. "What a fucking night!" he grumbled. Raizo then walked over towards his work desk, which was a cluttered mess. "Hmm, been a while since I went through any of these files." Raizo said out loud. He picked one up and growled in anger as he stared at the subject within the file. "Hades! Hmph...I never trusted this fucking guy!" Raizo growled as he tossed the file aside. After looking through a couple more files, Raizo decided to go to bed. But before he could, he noticed that there was an order of Chinese food on his dinner table. "Huh? I don't remember ordering that. That's probably a bad sign!" Raizo said out loud.
After he threw away the trash, he went to his living room only to find a large anthropomorphic rabbit sleeping on his couch. It was Bugs Bunny. "Augh! Not this shit again...Bugs!" Raizo growled in irritation. He approached the rabbit and tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't budge. "Hey! Bugs, get up! Bugs? Bugs!" Raizo said loudly and firmly. After not getting a response from him, Raizo shook him awake. "AAIIEE! I didn't do it, Elmer I swear to-oh, it's just you. What's up doc?" Bugs said as he was woken up. Raizo glared at him, making Bugs realize his mistake. "I'm on your couch, ain't I?" Bugs said casually. "Get out!" Raizo growled.
Bugs pouted as he slowly removed himself from Raizo's couch. As Raizo finally managed to take a seat, he grabbed another pack of cigarettes and was about to light one up. "Ey, doc! Gotta smoke?" Bugs asked. Raizo rolled his eyes, but gave Bugs one of his cigarettes before he lit it. "Thanks, doc! A couple dozen more of these and we ought to be square on that new rabbit hole you owe me." Bugs said as he puffed away. Raizo shook his head as he began cleaning up his sleeping area. "Bugs, this has got to stop! You can't keep sneaking off the farm like this; it's completely irresponsible!" Raizo scolded. "The fresh air, sunshine, and rainbow pitch they sell you on is complete and utter (if you'll pardon my French!) bullshit! I didn't sign up for any of this when I agreed to be protected by this Toon Protection Program of yours! Don't send me back there, doc! Please; you have no idea what's it like back there!" Bugs complained.
Raizo sighed in irritation as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey he hid in his counter. "Don't be a pain in the ass, Bugs! I'll tell you the same thing I told Sonic; you're putting all of Toon Town at risk by exposing yourself in public! Either get your humanization pills or go to the Farm; it's that simple!" Raizo said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. Bugs pouted as he said that, but his eyes lit up as he saw the whiskey in Raizo's hand. "Aww, you shouldn't have. Is that for me?" Bugs teased. "No!" Raizo answered quickly as he walked over to his couch. "Ey, doc! That rabbit hole of mine didn't blow itself up! Now I ain't saying that's definitely a good reason to have offered me a drink, but it would help ease some of the pain you once caused me. It might also show just how different you are now, ey?" Bugs stated.
Raizo responded by gulping down the whole glass of whiskey, offending Bugs as he stared at him with a wicked grin on his face. "You say something, Bugs?" Raizo teased. "Gee...thanks for that, doc! Really appreciate it...I swear, you youngsters ain't got no respect for us toons anymore!" Bugs grumbled. "Yeah, I think they left the part of being nice to obnoxious doodles out of the orientation!" Raizo joked. Bugs gasped as he said that. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?! How many times I gotta say it; that's OUR word, doc!" Bugs cried angrily. "Well, I hate to break it to you Bugs...but I call things out as I see them." Raizo smirked as he poured himself another glass of whiskey.
Bugs glared at him as he folded his arms across his chest. "I'll let that one slide, since it seems to be the sauce speaking instead of you! But if you ask me, I think that your attitude needs some adjustment!" Bugs said. "I don't need to be lectured by a rabbit right now!" Raizo grouched as he laid down on his couch. "Is that so? Well, that proves it then!" Bugs said. "Proves what?" Raizo demanded. "Because of your rotten attitude, everyone in Toon Town hates you!" Bugs replied as a matter- of-factly.
Raizo looked at him with an angry look in his eyes as he said that. "Bugs...give me a good reason not to grab you by the ears and chuck your cotton tailed ass out the window!" Raizo threatened. "Aha! See? That's the kind of attitude that gets you in trouble, doc! I'm willing to bet that you were mean to everyone you came across with tonight!" Bugs sneered as he pointed his finger at him. Raizo suddenly stood up from his couch, startling Bugs. "You think that my job is easy, rabbit?! You try keeping every fucking do-er, toon from ripping each other apart! I mean, how do you expect this all works?!" Raizo cried angrily. "I don't know. How?" Bugs asked. "By being hardboiled!" Raizo said.
This caused Bugs to burst into laughter. "Oh, right...hardboiled, ey? You like be a little salty as well, doc? Maybe served with a side of mayonnaise?" Bugs laughed. "Fuck you! And for the record, there was one person I was nice to this time." Raizo snapped. "Oh yeah? Who?" Bugs challenged. That's when it hit Raizo; he never was able to get her name. "Oh! Ah, I actually don't know her name." Raizo answered. "Great example doc!" Bugs replied in sarcasm.
After a moment of settling down, Bugs spoke up again. "Hey, doc? You know I didn't mean it, right? About everyone hating you? They're actually more afraid of you than anything. Even ol' Yosemite Sam is, though he won't admit it. I mean...just look at your hands, doc! How many people did you kill this time?" Bugs said in a more serious tone. "I didn't kill anyone tonight, believe it or not. And besides; it's just part of my job!" Raizo answered as he took another gulp of whiskey. "Your job is to beat the shit out of toons?" Bugs said nonchalantly. "Sometimes I take bad little toons, especially rabbits, back to the Farm!" Raizo smirked. "Ah, screw you doc!" Bugs spat. "Look, Bugs...it's been nice catching up, but I'd really like to get some sleep. So could you just shut up?" Raizo growled as he began losing patience. "Well, perhaps if my throat wasn't so parched, I wouldn't have to keep talking!" Bugs retorted.
Raizo raised his eyebrows as he said that. "Huh? Wait a minute, that doesn't make any sense!" Raizo muttered. "Just give me a drink, please! I'm dying here!" Bugs exclaimed. "ENOUGH! Look at me, Bugs...I fell out of a two story building! I nearly got my head taken off by Pete! And I've got several hours worth of paperwork ahead of me, so could you just...ugh, don't look at me like that, please!" Raizo snapped as Bugs gave him the cutesy face. "All right, look. If I give this to you, will you shut up and let me sleep?" Raizo said in defeat. "All right, all right...probably!" Bugs snapped.
Raizo sighed as he gave Bugs the last of his whiskey, earning a smile from the toon. "Thanks, doc!" Bugs said happily before he took a carrot out from his pocket. As he dipped the carrot in the whiskey and munched away, Raizo took his leather jacket off and fell into a deep sleep; one he hadn't had in a long time.
*2 hours later!*
Raizo woke up to the sound of knocking on his door. "Oh, shit!" Raizo exclaimed as he jolted awake. As brushed his white t-shirt clean and put his black leather jacket back on, Raizo wondered who was at the door. "Just a second!" Raizo said before he arrived at the door. But as he answered it, he was surprised to see that it was his new boss, Roland. He was roughly 40 years old, had short blonde hair, blue eyes, white skin, and wore a black business suit and red tie. "Raizo! Thank God I found you; follow me!" Roland said quickly.
Raizo was quite surprised by Roland's attitude; he looked very distraught, which was rare for him. "Uh, Roland? Roland!" Raizo said. "What?! Sorry, I'm...what is it?" Roland snapped. "What's going on? Where are we going in such a hurry?" Raizo demanded. "Outside, ok? These walls are paper thin and we need to keep calm despite the situation." Roland answered grimly. Raizo didn't like the sound of that.
As they took the elevator downstairs, Roland led Raizo outside at the front step. Luckily, no one else was there. Although, there was a blanket on the steps surrounded by blood. "Roland? Talk to me! What's going on?" Raizo demanded. Roland said nothing, but he looked at Raizo with a deeply concerned look on his face. Raizo knew that something bad was going on, so he decided to keep quiet. As he knelt down by the blanket, Raizo looked at Roland, who looked back with deep sadness in his eyes.
As Raizo slowly removed the blanket, he was given the shock of a lifetime. There laid before him, was the decapitated head of the anime toon woman Raizo met earlier! "What?! Oh, God...no...no!" Raizo gasped. "Wait! You knew this woman, Raizo? She's not human, obviously..." Roland said in surprise. "Pete! He attacked her earlier; I stepped in and helped her out." Raizo replied. "What?! Oh no...you don't think that he-" Roland began. "No! I don't think anything yet, so just give me a second to think." Raizo said.
After a moment of silence, Roland spoke up again. "Who was she, Raizo?" Roland asked. Raizo blushed before he gave his answer. "You know...a working girl?" Raizo said quickly. "A working girl? Raizo, we work with plenty of women and girls, so technically they're working...oh!" Roland said before he realized what he meant. "This woman was having some money problems, so I helped her out." Raizo explained. "Helped her out?! You mean...you didn't-" Roland exclaimed as he blushed. "What?! No! Nothing like that, all right?! I just gave her some money, that's all!" Raizo snapped. "I see. Raizo? Who did this to her? Was it one of us? Or maybe one of the toons?" Roland wondered.
Raizo looked up at him and sighed as he shook his head. "I don't know, Roland. But I do know that there hasn't been a murder here in Toon Town in a very long time." Raizo said seriously. "Another good reason why we shouldn't start a panic." Roland said. "Yeah...so, uh...what happened? Who found her?" Raizo asked. "I did. I found her just like this; I didn't touch her. I grabbed a blanket to cover her up and then came to get you right away." Roland explained. "No one else was with you at that time?" Raizo asked. "No; it's just me." Roland answered. "All right. I'm gonna have to examine her really quick, so just-" Raizo began. "Wait!" Roland said before he closed the woman's eyes. "Thanks." Raizo said as he nodded.
As Raizo observed the head, he shuddered as he observed her neck wound. "What in God's name could have caused a cut like that?" Roland wondered. "Either something very big and really sharp...or this could have black magic involved!" Raizo stated. "It's just awful! And I've dealt with a lot of bad things in my lifetime, but this?! This is just so...surreal!" Roland admitted."Hmm? Now that's odd!" Raizo said to himself. "What?" Roland wondered. "Look at the way she's been placed; she's got no bruises or any other visible damage. You can tell that she was placed here with some care!" Raizo observed. "For all of us to see! God damn it; we're dealing with one sick, twisted son of a bitch!" Roland cursed angrily.
As Raizo kept observing the head, he noticed that there was something inside of her mouth. "What is that?" Raizo said as he reached into her mouth. As Raizo grabbed the object and pulled it out, he was shocked to see that it was a necklace. "It's...her necklace?! Roland, you seen anything like this before?" Raizo cried. "What? No...I've never seen anything like this! God damn it! What's the meaning of this? Why did the killer leave her like this?! It's so bizarre!" Roland exclaimed in disgust.
Raizo thought long and hard before he stated his theory. "I think that this is a message." Raizo began. "A message? But what kind of message is this?! I've dealt with angry people before, but this is going a bit too far!" Roland exclaimed. "No, think about it. The way she was placed; it's exact and purposeful. She was carefully placed right here in the front for all of us to find and see." Raizo explained. "Hmm...when you put it that way, you're right. I guess the killer would want us to know what they did. But here's the question that I have yet to find out: Who did this and why?" Roland stated. "I don't know, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him get away with this!" Raizo growled.
Roland sighed as he put the blanket over the woman's head. "You realize what this means, right?" Roland began. "It means I've got another case to solve!" Raizo said with disdain. "Well, yes...but it means that we're gonna have to explain this to the mayor Toon Town, Frollo. As long as Eddie Valiant is away, Frollo is charge of Toon Town." Roland explained. "Don't even think about telling him anything; I've got all the evidence I need to solve this myself!" Raizo snapped. "He's the mayor, Raizo!" Roland cried. "Deputy Mayor; the position's a fucking joke!" Raizo growled. "Raizo...I know that you don't like Frollo, but he needs your respect and cooperation. The last thing we need is a mass panic if people should find out about this!" Roland pointed out. "I just don't want the old man interfering with my case, that's all!" Raizo said giving up on the argument.
Roland sighed as he shook his head. "Frollo is not what's important right now, all right? What's important is that we have a new case, and one that needs to be solved as quickly and quietly as possible. Which is why that I've decided to assign to you a new partner." Roland said. Raizo glared at him as he said that. "Roland...you of all people know that I work alone." Raizo began. "This is not up for discussion, Raizo...not this time! You saw what happened to that woman; we can't let that happen to anyone else!" Roland said. "Then let me do my job!" Raizo argued. "Raizo...don't be difficult, please! Besides; I already filled out the paperwork for your partner, so you'll be working with her first thing tomorrow morning." Roland said sternly.
Raizo groaned as he mentioned that. "A woman?! Seriously, Roland? I don't have time to babysit anyone; I've got a murder case to solve, not listen to some whiny bimbo bitch about her social life!" Raizo complained. Roland smirked as he said that. "Well, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you meet your partner tomorrow." Roland said half-way to himself. And with that, Raizo and Roland quickly and carefully removed the woman's head before they went back inside. "What are you going to do with her?" Raizo asked. "I'm taking her up to the coroner's office; I want Professor Oak to run some tests on her before we properly dispose of her." Roland answered. "Don't say it like that; she should be buried!" Raizo exclaimed. "Raizo...it's just another body. And if we're lucky, just another name to include on the obituary." Roland said grimly. "Not to me, she isn't! This time, it's different." Raizo said to himself sadly.