Disclaimer: Laugh it up, fuzz ball.

Touch

Chapter 13

(A.N.) Sorry for the long wait! I've had shit loads of worthless school sucking up all of my time. I tried to make this chapter serious to balance out the complete randomness of the last one (but admit it, you loved the dough people, too). Um, thanks to my beta for the chapter, Serpent of Slytherin, and to my muses, the Sara(h)s (a.k.a. Cranberry Cocktail and Spawn of Satan). And an even bigger thanks to all of you that have been reading, and a special one to all those who are reviewing. And now that all that junk is out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

"You WHAT?!" Corvin demanded. "I told you not to do this to yourself, Cassandra. The last time was bad enough. No one wants to go through that aga—"

"I won't let it get that bad, sir," I assured him, cutting him off.

"You say that after every time you are hospitalized, every case. If you end up in the hospital again because you've pushed too hard, I will pull you out of there, Cassandra. I mean it. You are too valuable to the Bureau, to the team."

"I'll be fine," I insisted. I didn't want to think about all those other times, all those other hospital visits, and all those times when I'd had to rebuild my garden. It's a strange feeling when your wall shatters, when all of a sudden you find that all the protection that you had once possessed was gone. Remembering all those times when it had broken would make me lose my nerve. "I'll try. Really. I will. Just let me work through it."

He was silent for a few moments, and I knew that he was rubbing his chin slowly and that his eyes would be closed tight with frustration. I usually provoked such a response from him in conversations like this.

"What do you plan to do at this point in the investigation?" he finally asked, sighing in resignation.

"Well, I and Hiwatari are going to go and check out the other dump sites. You remember that ring I told you about? I just know that it has to be connected to why he picked those places to leave their bodies. I'm sure that there a similar items near all of the scenes," I explained hurriedly.

Please don't ask, please don't ask, please don't—

"You're going to touch them aren't you?"

Damn it. He asked. Could I lie?

Maybe.

"N—" No. I couldn't. Damn. "Yes," I answered, putting all of my stubbornness into the word. "It's the only way to get the information that I need."

Corvin sighed. "Fine. Just don't repeat your last case. Miss O'Shannon barely managed to bring you back."

"I know." That sick feeling in my stomach was starting to churn about, making me feel weak and shaky. Nearly dying can do that to a person. I waited in silence for a few minutes, and when Corvin didn't say anything else, I moved onto another to topic. "Sir? Could you send me some stuff?"

"What kind of stuff?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, I need a new pair of leather gloves, so could someone…?" I left the end open.

"I'll send Renehan. He enjoys going to those types of places." He sounded disgusted with his subordinate, but he was right. Renehan was a letch. A big letch.

"Just tell him nothing kinky," I reminded him, "I don't want any of those weird ones with spikes and chains. I'm definitely not into that scene. At least, not that I know of."

"And while that is disturbingly personal, it is almost comforting. Almost. I'll send Renehan with specific instructions."

Hiwatari walked into the room as I said, "Also tell him that if he gets anything extra that I don't need, I don't want to see or hear about. If he does that again, I'm turning him in for sexual harassment of a minor."

Hiwatari raised his eye brows questioningly.

I ignored him. If I explained, I'd blush. It was that bad of an experience.

"I'll give him very specific orders. Anything else?"

"More Advil and maybe some Excedrin."

I heard the scribbling of a pen. "That it?"

"A miracle?"

"Sorry, Cassandra. I'm fresh out."

Damn. "Well, thanks anyway. I'll give you a call later when there are developments. Send those things as soon as humanly possible."

"I mean it, Cassandra. Don't do this to yourself again. That is a direct order."

"I won't."

Without saying goodbye, Corvin hung up and I was left staring absently at a whiteboard covered in notes about the murders and listening to the flat sound of the dial tone. I flipped the phone closed with a sharp flick of my wrist and turned to Hiwatari.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied a little too quickly to be convincing. "Is Yamakawa ready?"

"Hai."

"Wonderful," I murmured, and then I began to dial another number, making sure that my cell was hooked into a power source so that it wouldn't die on me. "We can leave after I finish this call?"

He seated himself, folding his slim body into one of the huge swivel chairs the room. I took that as a yes. Listening to the phone ringing, I added, "It won't take long."

A woman picked up on the fourth ring and greeted me in a warm Southern accent, "Hello?"

"Fiona? It's Cassie. I need to talk to you," I said. I was never much for congenial small talk. Poor Grandmother hates that about me too.

"Oh mercy!" she exclaimed, her tone changing to one of concern. "Wha' is it now? Are you workin' already, sugar?" There was an edge to words in that.

"Uh, well… Yeah, I am," I said meekly. To think that a little old lady could chastise me so thoroughly, and she's not even here!

"Cassandra Renee Simon, Aih told you ta keep it easy!" she half-shouted through the phone. I held it away from my ear, wincing. Damn, she could do that way too well. I wanted to ground myself in only a way that her saying my first, middle, and last names as one word could make me want to do.

Hiwatari commented, "You're middle name is Renee?" I think he was making fun of me. Most people do when they hear my full name. Which I don't understand, by the way. What's so funny about "Renee"?

"Shut up," I muttered, glaring at him.

"Aih mos' certainly will nawt!"

Oh fuck. "I wasn't talking to you, Fiona."

"Then who ah you talkin' to?" she demanded. Her voice rang with indignation.

I was still glaring at Hiwatari. "My partner."

He held up a spread sheet filled with letters and numbers, waving it slightly, and then made a "wrap it up" motion with his free hand.

"I have to go in a couple seconds. Fiona? Can you organize one your 'meetings' tonight? Or…Well, would you be willing to do it during the afternoon? It'll be nighttime here, then."

Changing her tone back to her more genteel cadence, she asked, "Wha' time were you thinking', sugar?"

"For you? Would around two in the afternoon be alright?"

Hiwatari was making more insistent gestures, glaring.

"Le' meh call the others an' find out. Aihm assumin' you want them there."

"Yeah, that would be good."

"Then Aihl ge' as many as pos'ble to come. Take care, sugar. An' take it easy!"

"I will. I promise."

"You bet your pretty lit'l butt you prahmise," she threatened. "Aihl see you tonight, Cassie."

"Bye, Fiona. Thanks."

We hung up, and then I turned to Hiwatari. Irritated, he held up the spread sheets again and said, "I found something interesting." He began laying the papers out in a neat, orderly line on the table. At the top of each one, there was a name written in hiragana and in English. I'm assuming that the English was added for my benefit.

The first sheet had Numai Chisato's name written on top, followed by the number "1". Dates and places were set up in corresponding columns, and it took me a minute to figure out what all the information was supposed to mean. It was a "chart of movements", a list of all the places that the victim had gone and the dates when she had gone to those places. A row with a place and date was highlighted on each paper, bright yellow jumping off the white paper. I tried to read the kanji that had been typed neatly into the place columns, but I ended up turning to Hiwatari in helplessness. Why would you invent such complicated symbols for simple stuff? It's completely impractical.

Tapping the row on the second sheet, Yahagi Kayoko's, Hiwatari explained, "The Art Museum. Every single one of the girls, including Chigusa, visited the Museum around a week before she was taken. He must pick a new girl only hours after he dumps the other."

My heart was thudding in my chest, and there was a tingling in my body that was screaming at me to get a move on. I opened my mouth to ask if he had already send officers to the Museum for security camera tapes and witness statements, but Hiwatari anticipated my question, one step ahead, and cut me off, "I've already sent officers to the Museum. We are going to investigate the places where he left them more thoroughly."

I didn't argue.

oOo

It was a tensely silent drive to where the killer had displayed Numai Chisato's body. Yamakawa, usually the relaxed one, was anxiously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel while he drove, while Hiwatari and I were having a brainstorm session. We went over everything from the beginning. And I mean everything. Which, of course, led to disagreements. Mostly about why he wouldn't disclose more facts about the sapphire ring we'd found at the third site.

I was fingering the small piece of jewelry when we pulled up to the beginning of the coast. It didn't give off such strong energy anymore, so I figured it was safe to touchit with my gloves on. Getting out of the car, we walked over the rocky beach for about a mile, following the curve of the shore until we came to the cove. It was even more secluded than the crime scene photos had suggested. It was almost completely surrounded by worn and craggy rocks and water. The sea swirled dangerously into the sand, crashing through the large stones in the water and foaming white. Anyone trying to swim in that mess would either get caught bye a freakishly strong rip tide or be tossed like a rag doll into the rocks. No matter which one, the swimmer would die. No question.

Fluttering in the wind, the remnants of the crime scene tape whipped at us like grasping fingers. The sun was shining brightly, though the atmosphere of the place reminded me of every horror movie with a sea-side setting.

We climbed and jumped our way over the rocks to reach the actual sandy part of the cove. Yamakawa and I had some difficulty with balancing effectively, so we were trying to help each other not to fall and break something. I even broke my no touching the rest of humanity rule to catch the officer by the arm when he over-shot a jump across a large gape between two four-foot tall boulders to stop him from falling off the other side. And while we struggled, Hiwatari, absurdly graceful bastard that he is, just kept going, and then had the gall to order us to hurry up while he wiped the sea spray off his glasses.

And I think he was laughing at us.

Evil, evil man that he is.

But we'll leave that for later.

Anyway, me and Yamakawa managed to make out perilous journey without injuring ourselves seriously. I did have some scraps on my right knee from a fall, and my jeans were torn at the same knee, but otherwise I was just fine. Yamakawa was able to escape with some bruises and a tiny cut on his hand from where a crab hand pinched him when he'd accidentally surprised it on its ledge of rock. After extracting the crab from his flesh, Yamakawa asked if we could go and have seafood when were finished here. Something about crab sushi and boiled crab legs. I think he was harboring a grudge.

We spread out and combed the cove carefully in a simple grid pattern, spending extra time where the body had been resting.

Nothing.

We then moved to going over the tall rock formation, a cliff almost, that backed the cove. Solid stone answered my probing fingers by yielding nothing relevant. Well, at least until Hiwatari shouted that he'd found what we were looking for. I ran over and found him examining what looked like ordinary fissures in the stone. He traced them lightly for a minute with his finger, lips moving silently. Then he flattened his palm against the cracks and pushed.

The cliff-side swung open, and Yamakawa, who had come up behind me without my realizing it, scared the shit out of me when he jumped in surprise. The newly revealed doorway was dark, completely dark. No light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. Motioning us to follow, Hiwatari pulled out a flashlight and led us through. I found out the hard way that there were steps. The very hard way. So now, both my knees were bruised, and one was bleeding. Wonderful.

Like the secret room in the well, the stairway was wet, dripping with condensed moisture. And it was freezing since the air hadn't been warmed by the sun for what I guessed to be a couple decades, at the very least. The rocks were slimy with mold that had somehow managed to survive in the cold temperatures, and the path was rough and uneven.

Death hovered everywhere around me, buzzing in my ears. "There's death here," I announced softly. Both men looked at me intently, Yamakawa wary and Hiwatari intent. "It's old," I elaborated, "But still here, still fresh, or just strong, enough for me to pick up. Pain and terror made their home here many years ago, many times." I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging my chest, and shivered. It wasn't because of the cold.

Hiwatari nodded in understanding, and continued to lead us downward.

It took us a long while to reach the bottom, which was muddy and riddled with hard objects both large and small of irregular shapes. Hiwatari stopped and crouched down, shining his light across the ground. The blank eye sockets of human skull stared back. "Search the rest of the area," Hiwatari said, carefully prying the skull from its prison. It was yellow with age. And small. I was sure it belonged to someone in their adolescence or early teens.

Yamakawa gave me an extra flashlight, a blue one, and switched on his own yellow one. All the hard objects we'd been feeling under our feet were bones. Femurs, skulls, vertebrae, pelvic bones… The list went on and on. They stuck up from the floor in a poor imitation of trees and shrubs, a macabre spectacle. It was the one of the most depressing, and horrifyingly still, things I'd ever seen before in my life, and I've seen some terrible things. Just the fact that the bones seemed so scattered, bodies tossed away with no regard, no respect. It was just…saddening.

"We need to call the forensic team in and have them process this," I said, breaking the silence. "Have them identify all these remains." Remains. That was the word, the only word, I could use for the bones. It's all they really were. Remnants. Fragments.

"You may want to take a look at this first, Tantei, Commander," Yamakawa called from way in front of me. Sliding on a pair of latex gloves with a snap, he knelt down and pulled a pen from inside his jacket, using it lightly prod at the ribcage resting on the damp earth. Hiwatari and I joined him.

The ribcage was the most complete set of bones I'd seen so far, including the pelvic bone and most of the torso and spine. It was also the only remains that had anything reminiscent of clothing. Yamakawa gently moved the disintegrating material aside revealing the browning bones underneath. "Look," he instructed, the pen pointing at the small and numerous nicks in the ribs.

Hiwatari knelt down beside the officer and took a closer look, examining them closely. Almost too closely. It just barely escaped creepy. I stayed standing, knowing that I probably would get goose bumps if I got any closer to the skeleton. I don't know why it gave me such a bad feeling in my stomach, but it did. Instinct.

"A bladed weapon," Hiwatari stated matter-of-factly, pointing at the nicks, "Sharp, leaving a large groove in the bone, and un-serrated. There are over twenty marks, and probably even more actual stab wounds were the cause of death. The skeleton is female, by the way. Probably about five foot four inches," he glanced up at me, "Sound familiar."

Nodding, I murmured, "Our killer. This is one of his old victims. One he never displayed. Which means…" I looked around all the other bones, feeling the gorge rise in my throat.

"So it would seem, though I did find some animal bones down here as well," Hiwatari stated, standing again. "Mostly small creatures. Cats, dogs, birds and the like."

"One of the first signs of a serial killer is that, when they're young, they torture and kill animals," I remined him absently, feeling chills crawl up and down my spine. All the empty eye holes staring at us morbidly were starting to get to me. That, and the feelings I was picking up from the room.

Yamakawa stood and brushed off the legs of his pants. "It's a graveyard," he remarked sadly, "and unmarked. Their spirits must wander without the death rites preformed on their burial grounds."

"No," I disagreed, pointing at a formation of stone near the back area of the chamber, "this isn't a graveyard."

Hiwatari was thinking along the same lines as I was. "I agree."

"Then what is it?" Yamakawa asked, following my pointed finger.

Blue eyes flashing, Hiwatari began walking towards the altar, responding, "A temple."

At the same time, I said, "A practice room."

"Kami-sama," the officer breathed, following his commander. I went at his heels, not wishing to see the altar up close, but at the same time not being able to stay away.

"God has nothing to do with it," I told Yamakawa.

"Evil does," Hiwatari added.

The altar was made of the same stone as the walls, and was, curiously, untouched by the slime and mud that was over almost everything else. Designs had been etched on its surface and, when light was shone on it, the dark rust colored stains that covered it were revealed. Barely, I could still detect the stale, coppery odor of the blood. I noticed that Hiwatari had been about to touch the designs, but stopped after a glance at Yamakawa and I. Great. More secrets.

It was time I cracked some of Hiwatari's secrets open.

"Yamakawa," I said with authority, "go back to the car and bring the cameras with you. And some bigger lights. Also, call the station and get the forensic team out here pronto. Hiwatari and I will wait here until you come back and poke around a little."

"Demo…" he began to protest.

"No buts," I commanded, "Itte kudasai."

With a quick look at Hiwatari and Hiwatari's consenting nod, Yamakawa not quite, but almost, sprinted out of the cave.

"I'm assuming," Hiwatari said dryly, "that you have something to discuss with me since you not so subtlety got rid of Yamakawa."

"That obvious?"

"That and more."

"I'll work on that," I said casually. "So, what do you make of it? And don't you dare say you don't know. I saw how you looked at it. You know something."

Face stoic and eyes hard, he turned his gaze back down to the table. "It's a circle of power, fed by blood. Our killer likes to dabble in the occult."

"And why didn't you want to say that before."

"It's not any of your business."

I ground my teeth together. "Fine. Just fine. Be that way. God, you irritate me sometimes," I growled. With sharp, abrupt movements, I stripped off my white cotton gloves angrily.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hiwatari asked darkly, "I don't suppose you remember what happened the last time?"

"Well enough, but if you aren't going to be helpful, then there is only one way I'm going to be getting anything useful out of this stone. Besides, this is what I'm here to do. It's my job." Didn't he get it? Didn't anybody get it? Without this job, then I would go crazy. I'd sit in a dark room all day and never go outside, afraid. That's what I'd be doing right now if I hadn't joined Corvin's unit. Out of my mind, give-me-a-straightjacket insane. If I ever got taken off active duty, I'd return to being the mess I was before.

Before any more protests left his mouth, I pressed my bare palm against the top of the altar, right on top of a blood stain.

Oh gods, spirits, ancestors, ANYBODY! HELP ME!

I fight my bonds, the ones that bind me to the table. Can't move, can't speak. HELP! Can't get away.

He is leaning over me again, and his dark eyes flash with evil. Evil of the purest bowls of hell.

"Little swan, little swan," he sings joyously, "don't fight so hard. You are about to be transformed into something beautiful, into art!" He caresses the knife over and over like it is his lover.

I cry, tears swell and fall, but I do not feel them. I feel so little now. Nothing but fear.

He pulls the gag out of my mouth, and I scream. "HELP ME!" I screech. It echoes off the walls, these unforgiving stone walls. The dead bodies of his other captives watch with open eyes, blank witnesses. "SOMEBODY PLEASE!"

The Hikari backhands me carelessly and my head strikes the stone table. Then, he raises the knife. "In the Hikari name," he whispers reverently, "grant to me my inspiration, grant me power to create my art. Give me the talent to show her I am worthy, that I am special."

"NO!" I know what happens! I know what happens! I saw him do it! All the others! Women and girls! Sacrifices and practices! "YOU MONSTER!" I scream. "MONSTER!"

Light, gold and red, shine from the stone beneath me. The silver knife flashes.

"NO!"

Pain erupts in my body, blood flows. I burn!

And the Hikari laughs triumphantly.

I shrieked in terror and threw myself away from the altar. "Stopitstopitstopit! No more!" My yell ended in a fit of coughing, blood dribbling from between my lips with each hack. "Gross," I groaned between coughs. Stomach muscles contracting, I felt the huge tears in my flesh begin to close.

Like he had back at the Chigusa residence, Hiwatari draped his jacket around my shoulders and used it to keep his skin from touching mine while he helped me steady myself. "Is my nose bleeding?" I managed to gasp out, needing three tries to finally achieve it.

"Iie," he answered, and then he ordered, "Suwatte."

My legs needed no further urging, buckling underneath me in no time flat. Lingering emotions tangled with my own. "He used them as sacrifices. For power, for talent, f—for inspiration," I stammered, feeling cold all the way through, "Gold and red lights. The dead bodies on the floor. He made her watch. He made her watch!"

"Gold light?" Hiwatari murmured, sounding as if his worst suspicions had been confirmed.

"I saw him!" I rambled on, "He was covered with blood, smelled of it. Dark eyes, evil eyes."

Hiwatari shook me violently, "Take a deep breath, Simon-san." He sounded concerned.

Barely hearing him, I kept speaking rapidly. "Silver knife, the same one. Killed them all with the same knife. Silver and gold. Gold light. Hikari light."

He stiffened behind me. "What did you say?"

"Hikari light, gold. Blood, red. Cold, dead, so many cold and dead eyes."

"What about the Hikaris?" Hiwatari half-shouted, shaking me again.

"Monster," I whispered, "Monster with evil eyes. Evil eyes with gold light. Hikari light." For some reason, that seemed important. She thought it was important.

"Tell me!" Pain shot through my arms, he was gripping them so hard.

The pain anchored me, for a moment, and I knew what he was asking. "She called him the Hikari."

Gold light flashed, with what sounded like a gasp of pain reaching my ears at the same time, and my irrational fear returned. I tried to ride it, to control it better, and I succeeded. I could think, and I stopped rambling. My own words were free to leave my lips. That other woman's emotions drained away, leaving me feeling just as cold as before. But I was myself again. That was all that mattered.

I turned around, against the resistance of Hiwatari's restraining hands, to try and look at him to tell it was safe to let go of me now. However, I got the shock of my life when the eyes I met were not the sapphire blue I expected, but instead the bright and clear gold of a Spanish doubloon.

White wings arched from behind his shoulders, and his face was set in angry lines.

"What have you done?" Krad asked menacingly.

Good question. Wish I knew the answer.

(A.N.) Please review! I'll give you cookies! I swear! Tell me what you thought of the chapters!