You're Next
Ichigo and his companions sat in a waiting room while half of their force was being checked for their strange hallucinations. A female doctor approached them with a frown.
"Hello. I'm Doctor Kotetsu. Um...We have been doing tests on the patients and every single one of them seems to have traces of some kind of hallucinogenic drug. What on earth where you doing?"
"We have no idea. Everyone was acting normally until well, I don't know, everyone started freaking out." Ichigo looked into the woman's eyes. She seemed nervous for some reason, but then again, she had just admitted a few dozen patients all complaining about hearing noises.
"So, no-one ingested any strange plants or took pills or injected anything into-"
"None of us were taking drugs!!" Ichigo snapped.
"Sorry, it's just...I'm baffled at how such a high amount of a potent hallucinogen could be present in the body without knowing...A lot of the times this occurrence is from a spiked drink, but it never happens in such huge numbers..." She trailed off.
"Wait, you think someone might have tampered with our water supply?" Ichigo rose to his feet and had to refrain from shaking the poor girl.
"I don't know!! I was just saying that's one way it could have happened!" She backed away from Ichigo and frowned. Ichigo apologised and she walked off.
"What the hell is going on? This doesn't make any sense...Hey! Ishida is a doctor! I'll call him and see if he knows!" Ichigo took out his phone and dialled Ishida's number. He waited ten rings before hanging up. "Huh...I thought he worked everyday. Maybe he's at home." Ichigo rang the home number and was answered by a timid sounding girl.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Ichigo Kurosaki. I'm a friend of Ishida's."
"Oh yes! He's told me a lot about you. I heard that story on the news as well, such a terrible mess."
"So, is Ishida there by any chance?"
The woman made a sobbing noise. "He never came home last night."
It took Ichigo a few seconds for it to sink in. "What do...what do you mean?"
"I called the police just before you rang actually. You see, he was working late, but he said he'd be home by eleven. I waited until sunrise, but....but..." She began to cry. "I'm sorry; it's just that I'm so worried."
"If you don't mind me asking...who are you?" Ichigo asked.
"Oh, I'm Saya. I met him in a bar a week ago. We've been going out since then." Ishida's girlfriend sniffed and calmed herself. "If he comes home I'll tell him to ring back."
"Alright then. Bye." Ichigo hung up and stared at the floor. "Not Ishida too! This is insane."
"Ichigo are you feeling okay? You look pale." Rukia leaned closer to him but he jumped to his feet.
"I'm going to Ishida's clinic. I have some work to do. Take care of things here would you." Ichigo ran off and jumped into a police car. The vehicle sped off down the street and out of sight.
*****
Ichigo parked out the front of the small clinic. It looked like a caravan at fist glance, but a look through the window confirmed that it was the right place. It looked like no-one had gone in there at all, but to be certain, Ichigo walked up to the door. Loose dirt surrounded the whole clinic, but the dirt by the door seemed to have been dug up and cleared away. The door looked to be freshly painted. Ichigo touched the doorhandle which was a dull brown colour; the silver paint had been scratched off. Ishida opened the door and stared at a naked woman.
Her flesh was bright red with dried blood. The crusted liquid covered the entire floor around her and even sections of the wall. Ichigo noticed that the whole crime scene was enacted in an area which would not be seen through the window. Ichigo felt her skin and it was icy cold. She would have been dead for several hours now. Ichigo frowned and noticed a string trailing down from the ceiling. There was a note on the floor.
Ichigo looked around cautiously before picking up the note.
"Pull the string." Ichigo said aloud. "Shit!" He already knew it was a trap. This would go horribly wrong. Ichigo closed his eyes and gripped the string. He tugged gently and nothing happened. He pulled harder and the string came loose, falling to his feet. Besides that, nothing else happened. Ichigo snarled. "That bastard! He's toying with me!" Ichigo cursed and kicked something. It felt soft. Ichigo froze and stared at the object at his feet. It was an arm.
It led to underneath the desk. Ichigo gulped in air and kneeled down. Ichigo stared into the wide eyes of his friend Ishida. Hooks were set into his face in a way that made him appear to be grinning. Ichigo screamed at the sickening sight and fell onto his back.
"No!! Dammit!! I'll kill you clown!!" Ichigo ran from the scene and jumped into his car, using the radio to call for others to arrive. Ichigo sat in the driver's seat with his head in his hands until he heard the sirens.
*****
"Ichigo, come here for a second." Shunsui waved a hand and Ichigo trudged over. He was feeling fatigued by the stress and nausea. Shunsui pointed to the door and the ground around it. "That girl in there was killed out here."
"But...wouldn't there be blood?"
"Well, Clown tried to cover that up by repainting the door, shifting the dirt and even scratching the paint from the door-handle. That is strange though, as he never tries to cover up, he likes things to be obvious..." Shunsui placed a hand on his chin.
"Unless he only wanted me to find out. I was the only one who actually knew there was a problem. He didn't want a passer by to notice the blood and go in; he wanted the police to discover it." Ichigo clapped his hands together. "I've learned from all these murders. I know how he thinks, how he kills. All we need to know is who is going to be his next target!"
"And?" Shunsui looked expectantly to Ichigo.
"Well, I don't know. I want to run through the order of victims, try and find a pattern. If there's one thing I know about Clown, it's that every single action serves a purpose, he never acts impulsively or randomly." Ichigo smiled at his mastery of his nemesis' mind.
"Well, the list is back at the station. You can go there and we'll finish up here."
"Alright, say, did the hospital say anything about the freak-out's yet?"
"They haven't contacted us." Shunsui frowned. "I've seen people scared before, but it's never made me feel afraid...until last night. The super really believed he could hear voices...it's creepy."
"It could have been a drug put in our water supply." Ichigo suggested.
"Maybe...well see ya."
Ichigo waved and drove back to the station. He found the file quickly and read through the names of the victims.
The prostitutes were nothing but a distraction. It was just to build fear among the police. It was Orihime's death that started this. Next, it was Keigo, then Ishida and the girl who was later confirmed as a police officer. Orihime was a girl, and Clown threatened to kill a girl first. As for Keigo...it didn't really connect.
"I think Chad is next." Rukia strolled up behind Ichigo, startling him. "He's leaving the closest until last. You knew Tatsuke since you were a toddler which is why she was spared when he attacked her. Since you never slept with Chad, he'll die before me."
"Where is Chad?" Ichigo asked.
"Well, I think he works at a butcher shop down-town. We could try there." Rukia followed to a car and they drove off again.
*****
Chad leaned over the counter and sighed. Ever since the incident at the beach, he could barely stand to look at the meat he was selling. It just reminded him of the horror that was unfolding. Apparently Orihime and Keigo were dead. It was terrible.
The door opened and a strange looking man walked in. His face was painted, as if he were in a black metal band and he had short blue hair. His eyes were wide, eerily wide. He studied the meats for a few minutes, not blinking once the whole time. Chad stared at his face and realised the man had no eyelids. He shuddered and the man seemed to take notice.
"What is wrong?"
"Don't take this the wrong way but...what happened to your eyes?"
"My eyelids were getting in the way, so I removed them myself." The answer made Chad gasp. "It is that logic that drove me to get rid of my bothersome ears too." Chad gazed at the stitched up circles on the sides of his head where his ears should have been. "Is there a problem with my appearance?"
"No...It's just...you cut off your own ears?"
"Yes, they are just a waste of flesh. Speaking of flesh...this all looks very good." He licked his lipless mouth. Chad began to feel uneasy. This man was not normal, he was criminally insane. "There is no rump steak." The man muttered.
"There's some out the back. I'll go get it for you." Chad turned his back on the creep and felt an unnatural glare piercing through his back. He walked into the back room and picked up a large knife. He approached a carcass hanging from the wall. He began chopping of large chunks of meat for his strange customer. Chad realised he didn't even know how much the man needed. He rose back to his feet and turned around to see the man standing in the room with him, his twisted grin on his painted face.
"I want two kilograms." he said, as if he could read thoughts.
"Okay..." Chad ignored the fact that the man was so close to him and turned back to his work. He took off more meat and sighed. He was sweating. He wiped his brow with the knife-wielding hand and noticed something in the reflection...something moving.
Chad barely turned his head 45 degrees before an axe-blade struck him in the side of the head.
*****
Ichigo and Rukia pushed the door open. It was unlocked, yet there was no staff present. Ichigo knocked on the counter and couldn't help staring at the meat on display behind the glass. It looked freshly cut, in fact some slices were still bleeding. Ichigo scowled at the price tag.
"Why would anyone pay so much for meat? It's a rip-off." Rukia nodded in agreement and then stepped into the back room. It was a slaughterhouse, but not like the one from Clown's first base, this was a legal one. Cow carcasses were strung up on meat hooks and a knife and an axe were leaning against the wall. She checked around and found nothing suspicious.
"Chad's not here and no-one was killed here. He's probably at home." She walked back to the car, taking one last glance at the fresh meat.
*****
Doctor Kotetsu read through a series of notes on the strange case involving a whole bunch of police officers having vivid hallucinations. A drug was found in each patient, but they all somehow ingested it without being aware. Spiking the water supply was a plausible theory, but how someone could do that was another burning question.
"Are you alright, Isane?" Unohana approached her with a smile.
"Yes, it's just...how did this happen?"
"I have my suspicions; I think it was that psychopath that the police are after."
"Clown?"
"Yes. He is responsible for every major criminal incident for the past week, it must be him." Unohana frowned. "If only the police knew who he was..."
"Do you know?" Isane asked, curious.
"I have a hunch. When the police return, I'll tell them, but I want to keep it a secret for a while longer..."
"Who is it?" Isane pressed.
"I really shouldn't tell you...who knows who is listening but...I think that Clown is...Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Unohana looked around nervously. "Don't tell anyone! Keep it to yourself."
"Ok..." Isane was no longer interested in the reports...she was interested in the killer.
As Unohana left, Isane darted through the empty corridors until she came across the morgue. She pushed the door open and a grey fog brushed past her face. She stepped into the cold freezer room and saw a young pink haired doctor leaning over a bench.
"Szayel..." Isane failed to find the words to her question.
The man looked up with a delighted grin. "Doctor Kotetsu, what a nice surprise! What brings you here?"
"Well...I was wondering where Mayuri was..."
"He's on sick leave. He's been gone for the last week. Why?" Szayel's glasses shone in the light, hiding his eyes.
"Nothing really...I was just going to see if he knew anything about hallucinogenic drugs." Isane suddenly felt the cold and shivered.
"Well, he may know a little bit...I could give you phone number, you can call him whenever you like."
"Sure, thanks." Isane took the card which had both mortician's names and their respective contact numbers. She waved and left.
"Oh, Isane." Szayel called. She turned back to face him and noticed his concerned expression. "Be careful. I know he's a friend of mine, but he is an odd fellow. I don't want him doing any experiments on you."
"Ok..." Isane looked around at the bland walls and the drawer-like slabs. Szayel turned away from her and she left.
*****
Chad's house was empty. The door was locked and there was no sign of anyone at home. Ichigo and Rukia shrugged.
"This is bad...Chad's missing and right now that only mean's one thing."
"Clown's beat us to him." Rukia confirmed.
"Shit! The one lead we get and we still fail!! Dammit!"
"Maybe we should put Tatsuke in protection for a while. It's either me or her who's next. I'll stay around you and we'll get someone to guard her." Rukia took out her radio and contacted the station. She calmly told them of her request and she smiled as she put the device down. "There's a unit on its way to the hospital. They'll take care of her and accompany her until we give them the order to leave her."
"So...that means he'll have to go for someone else in the meantime..." Ichigo scowled. "If anyone knows about him, then they would surely be the next victim...but I don't know anyone who has found his real identity yet..."
*****
"Hello, is that doctor Kurotsuchi? Yes, I was wondering if you could identify a drug I found in a patient's body. I have no idea what it is, but I assumed you would know, since you do autopsies and all that stuff." Isane waited for the man's crackly reply.
"Have you identified the ingredients?"
"A few, I could read them to you if-"
"No, that won't be necessary. How about you come see me at my house, it's not far from the hospital. You can give me the reports on the drug and I'll try and give you some info on it." Szayel's warning flashed through her mind and she fell silent. "Are you still there?" Mayuri asked in his raspy voice.
"Yes...Um...I'm not sure about this..."
"There is nothing to worry about. We are both doctors aren't we? We know each other, we trust each other, isn't that right?" Mayuri's words were unsettling, but he had a point.
"I guess so..." Isane muttered.
"Excellent!" Mayuri gave his address and then hung up. Isane stared at the floor and shivered. She walked over to a tray of medical tools and took out a scalpel and stuck it into the back pocket of her pants. She then walked out and set off for Mayuri's lair.
Oh No!! This is not good! Isane is going to visit Clown!! Will she make it out alive? find out in the next chapter!!
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