Chapter title: Suspect
Word count: 4.379
Chapter: 12/16
Chapter summary: Yami has an idea who the murderer might be, now all he needs is evidence.
Chapter warnings: A little bit of swearing.
Pairings: YamixYuugi, BakuraxRyou, mentioned MarikxMalik
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
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Chapter 12: Suspect
Class went by without any events. Marik came into class extremely annoyed. He was grounded for 'borrowing' Ishizu's car without asking and joyriding. Another reason for his grumpiness was that he didn't have wink of sleep. He had received an answer from Ryou's friend, Malik.
They had chatted through Whatsapp all night long and Marik was already smitten, not even having met the guy yet.
Yami was happy for his friend, he had found someone he liked, and would not feel so alienated when Bakura was with Ryou all the time. Marik had shown a picture of Malik to them and Yami had to admit, he was quite good looking. But not as cute as Yuugi, no never.
After school, he walked to his own home to pick up the knife he left behind there. He was afraid that someone at school or on the street might find it some way or another and confiscate it. Yuugi was still staring at the television screen, like when he had left.
"I see you enjoyed yourself." Yami chuckled after the spirit hadn't noticed him standing there. Yuugi looked from the screen at the newcomer and smiled, wiping his tears away. "I thought you wouldn't come back until later." Yuugi said as he stood up and floated to Yami's side.
"If you don't want me I can leave you know." Yami joked. "No!" Yuugi said quickly. "That's not what I meant."
Yami chuckled and tried to rub Yuugi's hair. His hand went through him of course. "I know. I was just messing with you." He said, awkwardly pulling his hand back. He walked to his own bedroom and lifted the mattress, where he hid the knife.
"I'm going to the museum now, does the channel entertain you?" Yami asked, gesturing to the television. Yuugi nodded eagerly. "Yes! It's a lot of fun!"
"Good, I will be back later, okay?" Yuugi nodded and resumed his position in front of the television. Yami left quickly and practically ran to the museum, almost getting hit by a car once. That little incident made him calm down and actually look where he was going. As much as he would like for Yuugi to stay with him, this was not where Yuugi belonged.
Soon, the museum was within his sight, so he quickened his pace again. He was lucky, for Ishizu was not busy at the moment. She was looking at some huge tablets of stone, her lips pursed in thought.
"Ishizu!" Yami called, out of breath. Perhaps he shouldn't have run. The tall woman looked at him, with slight annoyance in her eyes.
"What do you think Yami? Should these tablets just be here against a white wall or should we put some background on them?" She asked him. Yami too looked at the huge tablet. They were hung up behind glass showcases.
"Looks boring to me." He said honestly. "Like this they just look like huge slabs of stone. No offence."
"Yeah, you're right. I will order a background immediately." She said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. Yami grabbed her arms before she could dial. "But I came for something else. Can we go to your office?" Yami asked.
Ishizu nodded and led the boy to the back, where her office was. Yami sat down on one of the comfortable leather couches and waited till Ishizu was back with hot chocolate for him. She herself had a cup of coffee and sat down on her chair behind the desk.
"What did Marik do this time?" She asked, in business voice.
"W-what? He didn't do anything!"
"Do you know why he took my car?"
Yami shook his head. "No, I don't. But I didn't come because of Marik." Ishizu nodded and leaned back in her chair, sipping her coffee softly. Yami rummaged in his bag and carefully took out the still wrapped up knife.
He unwrapped the old yellowish cloth from it and showed Ishizu the knife. The Egyptian woman just stared at her with a wide mouth. Yami blinked a couple times as Ishizu did not say anything.
"Ishizu?" He asked, still the woman did not answer. She picked up the knife and slowly twirled it around to get a 360 degree look at it.
"Marik thought it was Egyptian… but when I looked in an encyclopedia, the knives looked very simple." Yami told a little unsure.
"No he is right, this is Egyptian." She finally said, putting it down. "Now my question to you is, where in the world did you get this?" She stared him right in the eyes, with an expression that told him there would be no lies.
Yami sighed, he could tell what happened, partly.
"Ishizu, remember when I showed you the picture of Mutou Sugoroku?" Yami asked. Ishizu nodded in confirmation, remembering the picture.
"Well, I believe this knife was used as a murder weapon, about forty years ago." Ishizu dropped the knife unto her desk. It clattered around before it came to a standstill.
"Excuse me?" She asked, her voice in disbelieve.
"Mutou Sugoroku's grandson, the little boy in the middle of the picture, was murdered the same day as him." Yami told.
"I want to hear, everything from beginning to end."
Yami sighed, there would be no more escaping. He could already see the nice big men putting him into a straightjacket and injecting him with some huge needle that would make him feel 'good'.
"So… the ghost of Mutou Sugoroku's grandson has asked you to help him pass on, you found his body along with this knife and buried him?" Ishizu asked, her eyes wide in disbelieve. For Yami it was quite a funny sight, for he was used to see the woman calm and collected.
"Long story short, yeah."
"I don't know what to say actually…." She started. "I mean, the story is absolutely ludicrous… but on the other hand… you have evidence. The photograph and the knife." She said as she picked up the dropped knife again.
"A knife such as this one is incredibly rare. These knives were put into the burial chambers of the pharaoh's." Ishizu explained, putting the knife back down. "It usually comes with a sheath, do you happened to have it as well?"
Yami shook his head. "No, I found it without one."
Ishizu put the knife back on her desk and wrapped the cloth around it. "Come with me." She ordered as she stood up. Yami nodded and followed her lead. The Egyptian woman locked the door to her office and walked towards the Ancient Egyptian exhibit.
She stopped in front of the showcase of the nameless pharaoh. Yami gasped as he recognized the object in the showcase. It was exactly the same knife as the one that he found, only next to it, was a golden sheath.
"I-it's the same." Yami said shocked. Ishizu nodded. "These were found in the tomb of the nameless pharaoh, look at who discovered them." Yami read the plaque as Ishizu had asked him and his mouth dropped open.
"Mutou Sugoroku." He read out loud. "That is the sole reason I believe your crazy story." She said. "If you found it in his house… it's very likely. Although I myself don't believe in ghosts."
"Ishizu… have you heard anything about the Millennium items?" Yami asked, looking away from the knife and at the Egyptian woman. She shook her head with a heavy sigh. "It's like they disappeared into thin air."
"Do you happen to know about the Millennium Puzzle?"
"Yes, that was the seventh item, but we never received it. Rumors were that Mutou-san kept it himself."
"It's true, he gave it to his grandson." Yami confirmed. "Yuugi was the one who had solved it. He told us that it took him eight years." Ishizu's expression was one of shock. "It was the puzzle's fault he got murdered actually. After Mutou Sugoroku left for the dig, poisoned. Yuugi went to bed and was stabbed by that knife. The reason he cannot rest is because he wants the Millennium Puzzle back."
"A-are you saying that the spirit of the boy is still roaming?" A nod was enough. "Let's go back to my office." The two returned to her office and Ishizu sat down on one of the leather couches, feeling a little lightheaded.
"Are you sure you didn't bump your head somewhere?" She asked after a small silence.
"Absolutely one hundred percent sure."
Yami sat down in the other one and faced her. "I can't help but think that the murder of Yuugi and Sugoroku have something to do with the heist of the rest of the Millennium items, but then again, that person would have to be incredibly old, not even able to walk up stairs." Yami told.
Ishizu sat up straighter. "Your theory is highly unlikely. Like you said, the person must be quite old already. They're probably not even alive anymore."
"Is there a way to trace them or something?" Yami asked.
"Well actually… the Millennium Ring was known for being used as a dowsing machine long ago." Yami looked happy. "But, the Millennium Ring was stolen as well… and the 'magic' in them doesn't work anymore." Ishizu used quotations marks with her fingers at the word magic.
The happy face fell. "There is still an investigation going on, hopefully we will retrieve them soon." Yami sighed, he still had no leads whatsoever.
Ishizu stood up and picked up the knife again. "Do you think that we could showcase this here?" She asked. Yami took the knife back from her. "I'm sorry, I might need it till this whole hassle is over with."
Ishizu nodded in understanding. "Very well. Be careful." She said. Yami thanked her and after a goodbye, he left the museum and back to his own home.
When he entered, he saw that Bakura, Ryou and Marik were already present there.
"How the hell did you guys get in?" He asked perplexed, sure he had locked the door when he had left. "A hairpin." Ryou answered.
"Yeah, easy lock to pick." Bakura added.
Yami had the urge to slam his head against the wall. "I am starting to suspect you stole my cards." Yami grunted as he closed the door behind him.
"Hey! I may know some tricks, but those things were sacred!"
Yami rolled his eyes and plopped down on the couch next to Marik, who was so into his phone that he didn't even notice the newcomer. Yuugi and Ryou were playing twenty questions in front of the television.
"What are you guys doing here anyways?"
"We were bored." Bakura answered, listening to the game the two other were playing. "You left so quickly that we couldn't say we were coming over." Ryou added.
"It's not that bad right, it's nice to be with everyone." Yuugi added with a smile. Yami melted at the smile. "Fine." He sighed.
Yuugi stood up from the floor and floated over to Yami. "Did you find out anything?" He asked. Yami retrieved the knife from his bag and laid it on the table. "It's Egyptian like Marik said. And it was found by your grandfather Yuugi. It was from the tomb of the nameless pharaoh."
"Yes, that was jii-chan's biggest find." Yuugi confirmed.
"Anything on the puzzle?" Ryou asked. Here Yami shook his head. "It was rumored that the Millennium Ring was able to dowse the other items, buuuuut that one is stolen as well."
"Bummer."
Marik finally looked up from his phone with a smile. "Oh hey Yami, when did you get here?"
Yami didn't even answer. A sigh was heard and they looked to see it was Yuugi. "I am starting to think I'm a hopeless case."
"Don't be like that Yuugi!" Ryou encouraged
"Yeah! I promised I would help you, and I always keep my promises."
"We will find it, even if we have to go to the other end of the world." Marik piped in. Yuugi looked at all his new friends and smiled brightly, the tears looked like they came from happiness instead.
"Thank you…" He whispered.
"So now what?" Bakura asked, coming to business. "By the way Marik, weren't you grounded?" Yami asked. "Meh, Ishizu is at work anyway, she won't know."
Yami shrugged his shoulders and looked at the others. "Maybe we could like put up this add, where we are looking for the Puzzle, and are prepared to pay a load of money for it?" Ryou suggested.
"Won't that be too specific and suspicious?" Yami asked. "Not many people know of the existence of the Millennium Puzzle, the thief might catch on very fast."
"Ask around?"
"Too much energy, takes too long and I am sure there will be no results."
The five discussed some more ideas with each other, all ideas being completely useless. It was getting late and Marik had to go home before Ishizu discovered he wasn't there. Bakura and Ryou left as well, having to work on a school essay.
Yami this time did actually hit the wall with his forehead. "Yami?" Yuugi asked softly. Yami stopped slamming his forehead and looked at the spirit. "I'm sorry I made you do this Yami…."
"Yuugi, how many times do I have to tell you not to apologize?" The spirit lowered his head so his bangs covered his face. "As much as I would love for you to stay here with me… this is not your place to be."
Yuugi stayed silent, still staring at the floor.
"It's better I return home as well, I will see you tomorrow again, okay?"
Yuugi nodded. The teenager made sure the television was on for the spirit before leaving the house. The ghost had followed him to the door and watched as he left through the window. He was all alone again….
Yami did not go straight home like he had told Yuugi. Instead, he went to Yamaoka's shop. It always calmed him down to have some tea and talk to the elderly man. It was already past closing time but he was sure that Yamaoka-san would let him inside.
He pressed the doorbell and waited till the elder man opened the door for him.
"Yami my boy, what are you doing here at this time?" He asked, stepping aside to let the teenager inside. "I just want to get away from it all… if that is okay with you." Yami asked with a sheepish smile.
"Of course it's okay! Come in." The elder man said, closing the door after the boy. Yami got upstairs and sat down in the familiar living room. "I'll go make some tea." Yamaoka said as he went into the kitchen. Yami always looked at the artifacts when the elder man made tea for them.
They were the usual, pots, scrolls, tablets, utensils…
Hey wait a minute! Yami jumped up as his eyes caught something incredibly familiar. He tiptoed to the frame to take a better look. It was a golden blade-shaped object, with Egyptian hieroglyphics carved onto it, only it was not a blade, it was a sheath.
The very same sheath Ishizu showed him today.
"Yami?"
Said boy jumped as his name was called. He quickly turned around to face the old man. "What were you looking at?" The man asked with a smile as he put the tray with the teapot and teacups on the coffee table.
"N-nothing, just at this knife." Yami said, playing ignorant. "That is no knife." The man chuckled, taking a seat in his chair. "That is only the sheath."
"Where is the knife?" Yami could not help the slight trembling in his voice. The man looked sad at that. "I bought it without the knife itself. Why are you so interested in that?"
"I saw a same one with the knife at the museum today, I recognized it." Yami told truthfully. "Is that so?" The man asked impressed. "Yeah, it must've cost a fortune, since it's also displayed at a museum." Yami played along. He was starting to get more uncomfortable around the elder man.
"On the contrary! It was quite affordable. It was devalued a lot since it's missing the knife."
"I see…."
Yami looked around some more, there was nothing else that really stood out. Yuugi told him that the pyramid was inverted and solid golden. No solid golden pyramid to see here. Maybe he was getting a little desperate. Perhaps Yamaoka-san hadn't stolen the Millennium items…. He was too old for it. But… he was not too old when Yuugi's murder took place.
All this thinking made his head hurt. He looked at the teacup, suddenly too afraid to drink it.
"Y-you know, I have to go! I completely forgot I had an essay to write!" Yami said quickly as he made his way to the door. The elder man looked confused. "But I just made the tea." He said. "I'm really sorry Yamaoka-san, I will see you Saturday!" Before the man could answer, Yami was already gone. He ran till he reached Anzu's house, clutching his heart as he panted for breathe.
What if it was Yamaoka-san after all? He did fit the description…. He was way over the fifty and he had a crazy obsession about Egypt. There would be a couple ways to see if he was it indeed. He whipped out his cellphone and dialed the number of Bakura.
"What?!" The voice snapped, the breathing slightly labored.
"Writing an essay my ass."
"Yami I swear to god, if you called only to see if I was really writing the essay I swear to god I will m-"
"-I need your help." Yami interrupted, his undertone was something Bakura was not used too. Some rustling was heard on the other side. He assumed Bakura got off of Ryou or vice versa.
"What is it?" Bakura asked, more serious. "I might've found the murderer." Yami stated. There was silence on the other side from Bakura. He could hear Ryou asking what was wrong a couple times.
"What?" Bakura asked in disbelieve. "Come over to my place at two a.m., I will explain everything then and tell you what to do and wear all black." Yami hung up. He let out a shuddering sigh. If he was truly the murderer… he might have to say goodbye really soon. It was something he was absolutely not looking forward to.
Yami entered the house, just in time for dinner. He ate very little, concerning Anzu. He passed it off as stress since his midterms were close. She bought it, albeit a little skeptic. Yami quickly said his goodnight after dinner, brushed his teeth and jumped into bed, feigning sleep. Something he had figured out was that Anzu wouldn't go to bed unless he went asleep.
When the lights turned off, he waited for at least one hour before getting up slowly. He had never undressed, so that sneaking out would be a lot easier. He grabbed his bag and got outside. It was even colder now that his body was used to his warm bed. The teenager rubbed his arms through his coat as he made his way to his house. It was still one a.m. so Bakura would be there in an hour.
He arrived, not too quick enough in his opinion, at his own house. Yuugi looked up from the television as he heard noise.
"Yami?" He asked as he recognized the figure. "What are you doing here at this time?" Yuugi asked as he looked at the time displayed on the television. Yami shushed him by putting a finger to his own lips and dropped his bag to the floor. Yuugi pouted as he turned back to watching the television, glancing at Yami from time to time.
Yami was rapidly tapping away at his phone for a little while, before quickly leaving the house. Yuugi watched confused as the teenager left and returned within about twenty minutes. He plopped down on the floor next to Yuugi this time and smiled at the boy. Yuugi, being frustrated for not being told, asked again.
"What are you doing here at this time Yami?"
"I will tell you soon Aibou, not yet." Yami said with a wink.
Yuugi huffed, not happy with the answer and a bit embarrassed about his apparently new nickname. Yami could see a small pout on Yuugi's lips and chuckled. "You're cute Yuugi."
Yuugi turned away completely from embarrassment. Yami had the urge to kiss him, but knew he couldn't. Yuugi didn't like to be remembered that he couldn't touch anymore. A soft knock was heard on the door, so Yami scrambled to his feet and ran to open the door, not being able to contain his excitement, or were it nerves?
Yuugi followed, watching while hiding. It was Bakura, followed by Ryou.
"What are you doing here Ryou?" Yami asked, a little annoyed. He didn't want too many people in on this. "You think I wanted to miss this?" The shorter white haired male smirked as he slipped by Yami inside. "Hello Yuugi!" He chirped as he waved at the ghost. Yuugi waved back, still confused as to what was going on.
Yami pulled Bakura inside quickly and shut the door after making a quick check that no one was watching. Yami made the same gesture by putting his finger to his lip for Bakura to stay silent and motioned for Bakura to follow him.
"What the hell do you mean you found the murderer?" Bakura hissed as soon as the door was closed of Yami's bedroom. Yami shushed him harshly. "Keep it down! I don't want Yuugi to hear this yet." He whispered. Bakura raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to get his hopes up, might I be wrong."
Bakura nodded at this. Yami was quiet for a couple seconds, listening at his surroundings. He could hear Ryou entertaining Yuugi by telling him about the present day so he was sure they wouldn't be eavesdropping.
"I was at Yamaoka's house today." He started, not even wanting to use suffixes anymore. "There I saw the sheath of the knife I found near Yuugi's body."
"How are you so sure it belongs to that knife?" Bakura asked.
"I went to see Ishizu about the knife right? There I saw the same knife, with the sheath. The knives were also found by Yuugi's grandpa. And think about it, Yamaoka is obsessed with Egyptian stuff, he claims he got everything from auctions but I am starting to doubt that." Yami explained.
"And why am I here?" Bakura asked.
"I wanted to borrow your, as you call them, awesome stealth powers to 'borrow' the sheath and see if it fits. Then I have one more test planned for Yamaoka." Yami explained.
"What did you plan?" Bakura asked, refusing to be part of this unless he was well informed. "I am going to show him the picture of Yuugi and his grandfather, see how he reacts. If he becomes nervous, he is involved."
Bakura was convinced. "If I somehow get caught, you are the one going to bail me out." Yami nodded, wanting to risk that. "It's simple, go through his front door to his house, since the shop has security. You've been there before, right?" A nod. "Good, go to the living room and above the fireplace, there should be a frame. The sheath of the knife is in that frame."
"Sounds easy." Bakura said as he walked to the door.
"That is, if he didn't heed my warning and installed extra security." Yami muttered, following the other. "What?" Bakura asked, turning around.
"Nothing!" Yami said a little too quickly.
In the living room, Yuugi was looking at Ryou in awe, as Ryou told him about all new technology. Yami joined them and watched as Bakura prepared himself. He tied up his long unruly white hair with an elastic band. He fortunately had listened to Yami and wearing a black hoodie and black pants. He raised the hoodie over his head, to hide his easily distinguished hair. To finalize his outfit, he put on the black leather gloves Yami had prepared for him. The tri-colored haired teenager gave him a nod, for good luck. Bakura returned it and was out the door.
Yami trembled slightly; he was too nervous and excited. Nervous that it would go completely wrong and excited that he possibly had a lead. Perhaps he should pursue a career of detective. Ryou gave him questioning looks, having heard from Bakura that the murderer might've been found. Yami shrugged it off, not wanting to give away anything. He had experienced that Ryou could be just as protective of Bakura as the Bakura was of Ryou.
It took only half an hour for Bakura to return, completely out of breath. Yami jumped to his feet and went to the other man. "What happened?" He asked. Bakura tried to calm down his breathing as fast as he could. "He had an alarm installed there!" Bakura screamed at the spiky haired teen.
"Fuck! Did he see you?!" Bakura was at least glad that his friend cared more about him than his objective. "No, before anyone came, I was already outside and running." Bakura told. Yami felt a bit disappointed, Bakura did not hold the thing he needed.
"But, I got this!" Bakura exclaimed, pulling out the frame sheath from under his shirt. Yami was so happy that he could hug his friend, which he did. Bakura pushed Yami off of him. "Bring the knife so we can see if your hypothesis is true." Yami nodded, not even noticing his friend using such a word.
The knife was pulled out of the bag and unwrapped. Yami took the sheath from Bakura and brought them together with trembling hands. Yuugi and Ryou watched on in utter confusion, not liking being kept in the dark.
Yami missed the sheath a couple of times by trembling and Bakura was losing his patience at a very fast rate. He snatched the objects out of Yami's hands and did what the other male was trying to do. He slid the knife into the sheath.
And it fitted inside just perfect.
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Author Notes: And the plot thickens! Three more chapters to go!
I want to thank everyone for reading/reviewing/faving/following~
Next chapter is: Discovery