Hades Detective Unit Investigators
By:
Katan Yue
Disclaimer: The main characters used in this story are the sole property of Square Enix Kingdom Hearts and their creators. Other characters belonging to any Final Fantasy games are also part of their creators. The character of Uriel belongs to Kaori Yuki's Angel Sanctuary series.
Rated: M for mature audiences because it contains the elements of horror, the supernatural, and might contain Yaoi-ish situations in the future.
Word from the Author: Hey everyone thanks for reading this new story! Because it is going to be Halloween soon, I decided to cook-up this new ghost story for your entertainment. Of course, this means that Cruel Fairy Tales will be placed on-hold for a while, but I'll try to make this a short story.
Alternate Universe
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H.D.U.I.
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Chapter One: Bad Omens
It was a Tuesday morning before the crack of dawn when I drove from my dwelling on the Memory's Skyscraper to my job on the Deep Dive City Police Department building. As to be expected, it was raining a monsoon out on the city's streets.
Sometimes I wonder why I moved to a rainy, gloomy city like Deep Dive City when I use to happily bask in the warmth of the amber-like sun that shone brightly on the surface of the Destiny Islands. For some odd reason, Deep Dive City is cloudy most of the time, and it is not a grayish cloudy sky either, it is the blackish, cloudy look that you would expect to find in a movie with an apocalyptic theme.
Oh……I remember now
I came to this city to get rid of the presence of my obnoxious, demanding, and cold father when the only person who loved me, my mother, died of leukemia earlier last year. My father Hojo did always fancy my big brother Sephiroth over me. He is the studious, submissive son that Hojo always wanted and I am the black sheep of the Rosewater flock. My mother Lucrecia was a well distinguished scientist, even more recognized than Hojo; the main scientist of The Shinra Electric Company. My half-brother Sephiroth is a successful psychiatrist in the city of Midgar, while I am the rebel investigator for Deep Dive's police squad. Hojo undermines my efforts of solving complex crimes by calling me just a "simpleton cop".
Believe it or not this city is always full of crime, gangs, murders, suicides, and lots and lots of babies. Stupidly, I attribute most of these occurrences to the fact that it is always raining and that the atmosphere is always gloomy. With heavy rains pouring down on the city all the time, being stuck inside the houses gives people plenty of time to machinate many, many crimes. And if you are not thinking of any crimes to commit, you are probably bored out of your wits enough to be humping like bunnies the rest of the day. Take it from me, I have used those endless rainy days to get a few girls and boys laid for a day…but that is beside the point.
Returning to the subject about Hojo, I guess I should have expected my stepfather's animosity considering that Hojo is not my real father at all. A few years ago, twenty-two to be exact, my mother had an affair with one of her colleagues because Hojo always neglected and never really loved her. Hojo had married Lucrecia because of a bet. He had his own share of scandalous affairs to deal with under the table. As a result of this, my mother found a……substitute for Hojo's lack of love and as a result, nine months later, I was born.
The differences between my brother and I are slightly noticeable, but not all together concealable under a severe, scrutinizing eye. I'm a tad bit shorter than Sephiroth, with perfect, alabaster skin. The color of my hair is a lighter shade of platinum blonde with a softer, smoother feel. My eyes are not the color of emeralds or deep lush forests; instead they are the color of the devious sea. My eyes are aquamarine and very unusual for Hojo's side of the family; so that automatically labels me as the bastard child.
Hojo never lets me forget that I'm the bastard child of Lucrecia's love affair. He is constantly behind my back, breathing down my neck, telling me that whatever I do is nothing but a failure. That is why I took the first opportunity to get away from him, and I moved to this dreadful place as soon as I was able to. He will never, ever forget my mother's transgression and I am the only one paying the price for it.
"Fuck…!"
A whispered curse escaped my lips when as I found myself stuck in yet another traffic jam. My thumbs impatiently tapped the sides of the steering wheel in rapid motions as if I were playing an action video game.
Damn…this city is getting smaller…
There in an acrid taste of anger that rises from my esophagus and into my mouth. Not even the double mint gum can take the acid that wells up from the core of my being. This day is beginning to go rotten all of a sudden as if somehow I had woken on the wrong side of the bed.
After twenty-nine minutes of being stuck on the horrible traffic jam, I was barely able to make it to the next exit. Luckily, I was just at the beginning of the vast cemetery and a few blocks from my job. As I rode near the graveyard, I noticed two little kids playing behind the closed iron gates. It was a brief glance of one boy and one girl wearing old-fashioned clothing, like the typical Sunday dress for girls, and the typical navy blue sailor suit combo for boys. These little children were playing around the numerous tombstones like playing in the park. I quickly surveyed the area to see if I could find their mother, but she was nowhere in sight. I sort of frowned to myself at the weirdness of the situation but I made little of it because once again, I was running late.
Soon, the rain had ceased to a flicker of butterfly kisses on the car's windshield wiper. I secretly thanked the various gods for that one little miracle. I thought the day was going to get better from now on……until the car's red, check engine light began to flicker incessantly on the dashboard.
Shit……the wait took it toll on my car!
I thought bitterly for a split second before I was close enough to have my car stop on the side of the road.
Shit……
My car skidded to a complete stop halfway through the cemetery and I slammed my hands on the steering wheel in frustration.
What the hell is going on……. Damn it!
I slammed my hands on the wheel a second time, kicking my way out of the car. I felt as if the gods were conspiring against me. I slammed the door shut and went to lift the hood of my car. I looked inside it for a while, moving cables and valves before finally giving up. There was a loud whoosh of air that froze my face, and somehow, an unknown force or curiosity compelled me to look to the side where the cemetery lay before me.
It was just a glimpse…
There, standing amongst the tombstones was another person. He was standing with his back turned to me; his spiky brow hair floating in unison with the now gentle breeze. I felt a chill course through my body and suddenly, my body sprung from my position in-front of my car and toward the person standing near the numerous epitaphs.
My body sprang, out of its own volition, over the metal gate that closed off the cemetery form the outside world of the living. I'll let you know that my body is in great physical condition, so it wasn't hard to make a leap over the tall, seven foot gate; provided it has a horizontal bar right across the middle.
My body unconsciously propelled itself towards the figure coming clear into sight. I tapped his shoulder and gently forced him to turn around and look at me. To my surprise, the stranger complied.
"You shouldn't be here. This cemetery is private property. You are tress passing."
I was taken aback by the boy's deep cerulean eyes. He held a white rose on one hand and a small gold rosary on the other. I also noticed that both his hands were gloved. He looked so incredibly sad. That is all the details I was able to notice before I heard my cell phone ringing from inside the car. The freeway may be crowded, but these parts of the streets are as deserted as a ghost town this early in the morning, so it is enough silence to hear every little sound. My instant reaction was to snap my head towards the direction of the new sound.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know you're trespassing in private property?"
A coarse grumpy voice instantly caused my head to snap into a new direction almost causing whiplash. "What?" I asked turning to look at my surroundings; noting that I was stupidly standing alone in the graveyard.
"Ya heard me kid. What do you think I am, a fucking idiot?" The blonde man retorted rolling the fag from one side of his mouth to the other.
"But…there was…I mean……someone else…was here too…a boy……I think." I stuttered.
The keeper scoffed at my commentary. "At freaking five in the morning? I don't think so." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and stomped it on the ground. "This early in the morning, not even the dead are up from their graves. Besides, the cemetery is closed until seven a.m." He teased with a smirk. "I'm afraid I have to call the police on you kid, but this is private property."
The caretaker tried to escort me out of the cemetery before I flipped my official detective badge on him. "Damn…" He said with incredulity and yanking the badge out of my hands. "So you're a cop, I'll be damned if I recognized a kid as a cop. What? They only graduate potty-trained forces lately…huh…so much for serve and protect."
I rolled my eyes up in semi annoyance before tearing my badge from his hands. "I was here because I saw a young boy with sapphire eyes standing right here." I pointed at the ground for visual stimulus. "And I had seen a couple of kids playing around back there as I was driving through this detrimental place."
"Sheesh……I'll be twice damned today. Did you actually see the kids?"
I nodded my head
"And you stopped the car because you saw a boy with blue eyes?"
I rolled my eyes up in frustration.
"My car died right there." I pointed with my index finger "That is when I saw the boy standing here." I pointed at the ground again.
"Jeez kid, quit spelling it like I'm a retard. Who ever you saw right now must have been your guardian angel or something 'cause many people have had many accidents after looking at those kids. Rumor has it that they are ghosts. Immediately after you see them, you have an accident right by where your car is. Then again, its only a rumor."
He pointed out. "At least that's what people have told me." He turned around and left.
"Aren't you going to open the gates for me?" I asked hesitantly.
"You let yourself in, you can let yourself out." He said as a matter of fact.
That man had the nerve….
"Well…at least tell me your name." I yelled back.
"Name's Sid, Sid Highwind." Then he casually walked away as if nothing had happened.
……phft……ghosts……as if they could be real. People should learn to get a grip.
Before I left, I noticed the white rose and the rosary the cerulean-eyed boy had held within his small gloved hands. Instinctively I picked the objects up and placed them securely in my coat's pocket. I don't know. Was I secretly wishing to see him again perhaps? Out of curiosity I squatted closer to the epitaph the mysterious boy had been looking at with such sadness and the words embedded themselves like a branding into my brain.
Tidus Barlett,
May your spirit and intense blue eyes
Shine brightly with happiness
For ever in the afterlife too
Love,
Mom.
Truth be told, that day, I was so close to believing in ghosts when I remember those vivid blue eyes staring sadly into mine. By the time I made it back to the car, the rain had already soaked me to the bones. Talk about a rotten day.
OOOOOOO
"Heh…you look like shit, Riku. What happened?"
Kairi, one of my work companions and long time friends greeted me when I entered the DDC Intelligence head quarters dripping wet.
"You wouldn't believe me." I answered a little irritated.
"Try me." She challenged with a raised eyebrow.
I must have given her a threatening death glare because she turned around and went to her working station without a single word thereafter. I know I was acting like such an asshole, but I was having a rotten day. I had woken-up late this morning because my alarm clock decided to give-up on me the night before, I had spent a considerable amount of time stuck in a traffic jam and my car had broken down as a result, to add to my rotten morning, I had to walk the remaining way to the police station under a pouring, unforgiving, unrelenting rain. I did not feel like talking about my problems.
I immediately walked into the locker rooms to change into the spare suit I always kept in reserve for an emergency case like this one. I toweled my hair dry then started to change into the new suit. I fixed my semi-damp hair into a loose ponytail and dashed out the door to get into my working area. Last night I had left a couple of files pending.
"Hey, guess what I have here in my hands?" Rikku, my annoying twin (in name at least), flaunted the file to no one in particular, but I guess it was one of those unexplainable cases that we tend to come across. "I swear this place is creepy!" Kairi, Paine, and Yuna rushed to take a look at the file while Leon, Cloud, Reno and I glanced around with confused looks.
"I knew it!" Yuna exclaimed "This place is really creepy."
"What is it, the third or fourth report this month?" Paine commented with her usual seriousness.
"Yeah…" Kairi pitched in "…it always happens at around the same time. All these people report to have seen two kids, a girl and a boy, about six or seven years of age, playing inside of the cemetery as they drove past it."
"Yup…!" Rikku chirped in, rudely cutting Kairi's narration of the event. "They say that it is just a glimpse of the two children and then they disappear. Just as they are halfway though the cemetery, the children are on the middle of the road, the cars swerve off the path and smash themselves onto the roads containment walls. Isn't it really creepy!" Rikku either faked a shiver or really meant it, but I couldn't tell which.
"Well, what do you expect? We are close to a freakishly, cursed graveyard." Paine added with her usually reserved tone.
Then it hit me, it had been the same kids I had seen playing on the cemetery this morning.
"Hey, Riku!" Rikku yelled over her companions and I could have sworn my ears just started to bleed from all the noise. "You drive through the same path every morning, have you seen those ghosts?"
I shut close one of the files I was holding, and gave her a chiding glare. "There are no such things as ghosts they're probably some pranksters pulling some sort of stunt."
"Boooo…ooo…oo…" Reno booed in a silly, macabre way that was meant to be stupid above all. "Riku…Ri-ku…the ghosts are coming to get you they are saying…be…li…eve…in us." Reno instantly cracked-up in laughter at his own silly impersonation of a specter. I tried to keep my cool as much as I could under the current conditions. Fortunately, Leon did what I had yearned to do for a long time now; he punched Reno in the arm then reprimanded him. "Shut-up Reno, don't be stupid."
"Ow…! You Squall Leonheart- less bastard, what' you do that for!" Reno rubbed his arm in a feeble attempt to quell the pain.
"For being stupid that's why." Leon pointed at him with a pen and I couldn't help but notice Cloud's imperceptible smile. He almost never smiled, he was always quiet and always shies away from everyone, but he seems to work well with his partner Leon and he would always talk a little with me. He talked very little and I was more than surprised when Cloud started talking to me all of a sudden, so the three of us became the best of friends…but there was an important member of the force missing. He had been killed during a risky investigation involving the dangerous gang members called The Nobodies. Ever since then……since that time….
"Riku, Leon, Cloud? The boss wants to speak to you in private."
Yuffie came just in time to interrupt the friendly little bickering between Leon, Reno, and the charming/cheerful quartet. To be completely honest, Yuffie's timing could not have been any better. The three of us immediately rose from our seats to see the chief of the whole DDC Police Department.
OOOOOOO
The three of us entered the boss's spacious office. Like always, Police Chief Uriel Leblanc looked immaculately stunning with his black suit and flowing jet-black hair. Uriel Leblanc was a man in his mid thirties with a commanding appearance, but it was just his quiet, calm, and calculating demeanor that makes him look imposing. He is seriously dedicated to his work and highly proficient at it to boot. No one has ever seen him take a break from his work, and he, in all the time I've known him, has never reported in sick for a single day in his life. Cloud (twenty-four) and Leon (Twenty-six) have never seen him off from work in the five or six years that they have worked here. Uriel Leblanc is a mystery to us all.
"Did you want to see us?" Leon knocked on the door and waited for a reply.
"Please come in and have a seat." Uriel closed the file he was looking at and pointed at the seats in front of his desk. He watched the three of us take a seat on the leather chairs and took the opportunity to get their attention by clearing his throat.
"…Ehem…I wanted to see the three of you today so that we could discuss your next assignments."
"So what are we doing now, boss?" Leon asked.
"There was a very…." Uriel strove to find the right word for the circumstances. "…unusual event on the sandy shores of the Destiny Islands a few years back. A person went missing without a trace to follow. For months they searched for the twelve-year-old boy to no avail. They found no trace of the boy and eventually gave up on the investigation. A few days back however, there was an anonymous tipster that reopened the forgotten case. The point is that I want the two of you to aid with the investigation on Destiny Islands." Uriel pointed at Leon and Cloud respectively. "The investigators in DI are in dire need of assistance, and I have considered, as a favor to a long time friend, to send some of my best men to lend a helping hand." He slid a pair of airplane tickets over to Leon and Cloud. They looked at the plane tickets before looking at each other.
"Sir, if I may…" Cloud began to protest. "Riku came from DI. Shouldn't it be him to take the investigation?"
Uriel shook his head vehemently before responding. "I need him here. There was another incident involving a minor found dead at the banks of the Timeless River. I've already asked Yuffie to place a copy of the corresponding files at your desk." Uriel said by pointing at the original file resting on his desk.
"But, Sir…" I protested. He ignored my objection and addressed my two companions.
"Leon, Cloud you should go home and start packing, you'll be departing tomorrow in the morning, Riku, I need you to stay here a little longer." Uriel instructed me. I watched Cloud and Leon march out the door and then I heard Uriel offer me a drink. He called on her secretary Yuffie and I chose a strong brew of coffee with no milk, no sugar. I needed something strong to hold me though this awful day.
"The Hades Detective Agency has been sent to overlook the progress of this case in person." Uriel held the bridge of his nose in an attempt to make his creeping migraine disappear. "To tell you how serious the situation is The Hades Detective Agency has sent his best judge to preside over your progress in the investigation."
I drank a big gulp from my bitter coffee. I knew where this was headed and I didn't like it one bit.
"On top of that…" Uriel Leblanc continued "…the person they are sending is also the main judge of the Hades Council. He will be your new partner for the time being."
I held tightly onto my coffee mug before I let it slip from my hands. Was I hearing correctly? A new partner? What the hell? I gave him a glare to indicate my discontentment over the situation and I received a knowing look from my boss. I heard Uriel sigh heavily from stress.
"We've already been over this Riku. It has been six months since Axel's death. I gave you more than enough time to recover."
"But Sir-"
"But nothing, Riku. I believe it is time for you to get your bearings straight. How old are you, Riku?"
"I'll be twenty-two next month, Sir."
"Then I expect you to start acting like an adult rather than a spoiled prodigy detective."
"But I'm not ready to-"
"I've already took the initiative for you Riku. You have to let go of Axel's death. It was not your fault. Axel happened to be there on the wrong day, on the wrong time, at the wrong place. No one would have guessed there was going to be a bloody dispute over the members of The Nobodies."
"Still…" I said with a pang of guilt still deep inside my heart.
"Still you closed off to the rest of the world after that unfortunate event; still you refuse to smile, to interact with your fellow companions. You still refuse to accept anyone else."
"You didn't see him bleed until death in your arms; you didn't feel his cold, heavy body giving its last breath. That is something you don't forget overnight…"
"That is why I'm taking the initiative to get you back on track, Riku. I'm assigning you a partner, a partner that just came in today and will stay at your place."
"What? Can't they pay for him to stay somewhere else!"
"Oh, they are the least bit frugal when it comes to their presiding judges, but I think this arrangement will make you more sociable with others, besides, your new partner is new to this city and someone has to act as his guide. Hades needs someone to look after him, you'll understand why. In the meantime, I suggest that you prepare for his arrival. You can take the rest of the day off. That is all I had to say. You can also start by going over the details of this new case or you will be put to shame by a newbie."
I knew I gave him a look of utter disbelief that got easily shot down by his words. I couldn't believe he was doing this to me! I couldn't let a complete stranger stay in my house!
"You're like a son to me, Riku. I would not do anything that would threaten your safety, besides; he no longer has any need for the material tings in life. He only needs the basics like food, clothing, and a roof over his head, until then I want you to take care good of him. If Hades gives me a complaint about your treatment towards their judge, I can assure you its going to be your head on the line and not mine."
I can't believe Chief Leblanc set me up with a new partner.
What is he thinking?
I WON'T ACCEPT HIM, PERIOD.
OOOOOOO
No, I wasn't going to accept a new partner after Axel's death. How could Uriel even think that! Then again, it's my job on the line, and if I go back to Hojo crawling jobless on my knees, I will never hear the end of it. So in the end…I had no choice but to comply.
Definitely a wretched day for me…
I did do as Uriel asked me to do and took the day off to make arrangements to my apartment. My apartment is not a big mess, but as a typical working bachelor my living room is full of microwaveable meal trays, coffee mugs, files, reports, and maybe an article of clothing or two. The mess is just in my living room; seeing as how much time I spend doing work in there. It didn't take me long before I went to fetch a couple of blankets and pillows so that the new guest could sleep more comfortably on the couch. Remember; I'm a bachelor and bachelors generally tend to live on one bedroom apartments.
So by eleven o' clock at night I was back at headquarters browsing through the files of my assignment. I sat alone on my working area. The almost deserted halls of the building making every noise become amplified by ten fold. I opened the file and commenced reading. This is the third victim found in four years since the investigations began. The victims are all found dead under the same circumstances, they are all about a certain age, have similarities with their physical traits, and are brutally tortured and raped. The latest victim's name is Roxas Archer age thirteen, blue eyes, blonde hair, and boyish features. He was found dead on the banks of the Timeless River four days ago. Roxas' body was bound with rope and attached to a heavy cement block that prevented his body from floating above water. The forensic examiners reported that the corpse had been dumped on the river six months ago. The victim suffered of many blows to the chest, had five broken ribs, a broken right arm, a broken wrist on the left hand, and a fatal blow to the cranium on top of being raped.
I took another sip from my black coffee mug and rubbed the weariness off my eyes before going to another room to dig for forgotten files. I found the first victim's files and began to read.
Name: Denzel Lockheart
Age: 12
Height: 5''1
Eight: 120lb
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Brown
I kept on reading through his file and I found out that his body had been found on a dumpster at the city limits of Deep Dive City. Denzel died with similar injuries to those found in Roxas. Apparently, both fought against a perpetrator that was stronger and presumably older than they were. I began reading the second reported case. The second victim's name was Tidus Barlett age thirteen, blonde, blue-eyed. Similar height and similar weight, with those delicate fragile features the other two victims shared, but less broken bones. His body was abandoned on an empty storage facility on the west side of the city with tattered clothes. His mother, who identified the body, reported a golden child's rosary missing from the boy's body. Apparently, that had been a birthday gift given to the deceased who always carried it with him.
A small, golden rosary………
My eyes widened immediately in realization; today's event still fresh on my mind.
Tidus Barlett,
May your spirit and intense blue eyes
Shine brightly with happiness
For ever in the afterlife too
Love,
Mom.
That boy had been looking at that particular grave, with a small rosary on his slender, gloved hands. That was it! I rushed into the locker rooms and opened the combination to my locker's door. I found my driving gloves stashed neatly on a small basket and immediately put them on. I fetched the rosary from my coat's pocket and took it with me to my working area. It was the same as the mother's description of the rosary! I sat baffled in front of all the files. How could it be? Why would another kid have it?
Did you like the piece of evidence that I found for you.
A musing voice like a whisper carried by the wind coiled into my ears in misty fog and caught me off guard. My curiosity compelled me to search the source of that voice. Wasn't I alone in this wing of the building or was I going crazy? I looked around me and noticed that no one was here, that in fact, I was all alone. Being the curious type, I got up from my chair and went into search mode - quietly inspecting the room and then the hallway.
I'm glad you liked it……I found it especially for you…
There it was again, that soft wispy voice, a voice so sweet as to be honey. That voice- it drew me to the last room of the entire floor. The room was dark and I stumbled towards the window, not wanting to attract any attention. There was a cloudless full moon tonight that illuminated the last office at the end of the hall. The small office had a panoramic window that gave you a good look of the entire city from its position on the sixth floor. After finding no one, I walked absentmindedly towards the large window and gazed at the bright light of the buzzing city. Some strange force compelled me to look down on the cemetery below me. That is when I saw him, the young boy I had seen earlier this morning, his unruly chestnut colored hair swaying lightly with the breeze. For a moment I lay transfixed by the window and when the boy turned around, I felt as though he was looking straight at me……with his beautiful yet haunting deep cerulean eyes.
"Who are you……?" I breathed out from the spot in front of the window.
OOOOOOO
Who is this new mysterious person?
How is he involved in this mystery?
What is he trying to do?
Why is he there?
Find out on the next installments of Hades Detective Unit Investigators!