Hana: Happy Wednesday everyone! It's time for another new chapter...and also, who else was sad to see the first season of DGM: Hallow come to its close?
Allen: I'm pretty sure it'll be back...maybe...
Hana: Haaah! I don't wanna have to wait...
Kanda: Get over it. If you don't know, that idiot nor that guy owns D. Gray-man.
Hana: Would it kill you to use our names?
Kanda: -points to Hanashi- Stupid Author, and -gestures around having no one else to point at- Stupid Author #2.
Hana: ...I almost envy that he's never in these A/N segments.
Allen: Ah! Happy reading everyone!
... ... ... ...
+ - Chapter 20 - +
Moa had seen plenty in her life. Being an officer made sure of that...but this...this couldn't even begin to describe what it was she was currently seeing. Her station had gotten the call from several people living in the building. They were all complaints of a putrid smell, and a roaring TV for the last few weeks. Apparently, none of them thought to call earlier. If someone had, then she wouldn't be face to face with perhaps the most grotesque scene she ever came across to date.
It took all her willpower to not barf out her lunch.
The body had rotted. The blood was dry and flaking. There were flies.
Sometimes, Moa really hated her job.
No, it wasn't the smell, nor was it state of the body. These were what she was used to. What she wasn't, and never would be, used to, was the fact that the decaying mass before her was that which once belonged to a child.
"What in the fuck happened in here?" Kanda's voice rang out as he entered, the Japanese male quickly pulling the collar of his shirt over his nose at the intensity of the wretched odour emitting from the body. If he weren't himself, he'd of vomited much like the guy behind him just did. "Officer Hess."
"Nice to see you again." Moa said, trying her best to keep her voice even. "I wish it weren't on such grotesque terms."
"I don't see signs of struggle." Kanda's sharp eyes had scanned the room. "Either the killer was let in, or he's suddenly an expert of cleaning up after himself."
"I'd say it's the first," Moa murmured, glancing around. "But... where are the parents?"
"Did you examine the unit thorough—"
"Officer Hess! We found something!" Another voice called out. "In the bathroom, we think we found the parents...it's...not pretty."
Moa grimaced. "Oh joy."
Kanda, on the other hand, sighed at the news. What he was seeing now wasn't pretty, so for the others to say that about the parents...
"Get over it. It's a crime scene, you can't expect unicorns shitting rainbows." The Japanese male said, before heading towards the bathroom.
"Not that I ever was..." Moa grumbled. She adjusted her hat, and hurried after him, making sure to keep her lunch where it belonged at the moment.
It was worse than she'd thought.
The parent's bodies too, had rotted through, and the quick glance she'd given them told her that they weren't in one piece. Or two. Or three.
Their clothes were torn and their blood was everywhere. The killer obviously hadn't even tried to hide anything..
"Fuck." Kanda breathed. "This isn't a fucking copycat of Crowned Clown...son of a bitch is starting to create his own sick and twisted MO."
"The child was dead longer than his parents." The crime scene investigator explained, as he stood from examining the mutilated corpses. "It wouldn't be too farfetched if they were the actual cause of that lost soul."
Moa slowly nodded. "We'll have the ME check for signs of domestic abuse back at the lab."
"Why the fuck did it take so long for people to figure out they were sharing a building with three corpses?" The Japanese male muttered.
"Isn't that why we're even here?" Moa sighed. "Thank you, keep looking around. I'm going to ask the surrounding neighbors if they know anything."
"You do that." Kanda grumbled, grabbing a pair of gloves. "I'm not going to deal with those shits."
"Of course not." Moa grumbled, as she walked out.
People sucked; it was a well-known fact that Kanda hated them and, if possible, would do anything to keep himself distanced. There were some he could tolerate, but this building full of annoyances certainly wasn't housing any.
"Damn, this was near Chaoji's apartment too." An outside voice said. Finding the source of the voice, Kanda saw two men looking around the crime scene, but not doing anything to interfere with the officials. He was pretty sure he saw one of them once before...
"You knew that ass?" Kanda asked, deciding to take a look at the bookshelf. Odd, these shelves weren't dusty as they should be...
"'That ass'...? Chaoji? Yeah...we knew him..." One of them said, looking directly at Kanda.
The first one crossed his arms, and sighed, "But he wasn't always that way. I knew him since we were kids...hell, we both did. He just...suddenly changed."
To this, Kanda looked at the two men. "He wasn't always the dick I've known him to be then."
"He was actually a bit of a push over." The second one said. He had lighter hair, Asian like himself. The other had darker hair, and a rather bored-looking face. "But when he got his job working in the FBI, he suddenly thought he was above most people. Even his old buddies."
"What are your names?"
"I'm Kie." The lighter-haired male said. "This is Maosa."
"And why are you here? Kanda asked.
"What else do you do when you see caution tape all over the door to Travis's place?"
"Travis?"
"This place belongs to a man named Travis...we don't know his last name...or if that really was his name." Maosa explained
"Any family?"
"No. He lived alone...but I usually saw him taking a new woman every night..." Kie said, "They always looked a little out of it though...at least the four I've seen while he's lived here."
"Then..." Kanda glanced back inside, confused. "Who's the kid?"
"Kid?"
"Oi! Give them gloves and shoe covers." Kanda called out to one of the investigators.
"Sir, don't you need some too?"
"Whatever." Kanda grumbled. He snatched the pair from the offering hands, placing them over his hands, disgusted by the feel of flimsy rubber on his hands. Fuck, he could already feel his hands sweating. Once Kie and Maosa were equipped, the duo came in, and nearly fainted at the sight. "Do you know that kid?"
"I-I can't say I do..." Kie looked like he was going to be sick.
"There's...nothing to identify him..." Maosa noted, even if he himself was looking a little green.
"So you never saw any kids here before."
"No." Both men stated.
"Che." Then who the fuck was that brat? Follow," Kanda ordered, moving to the bathroom without waiting for the other two to collect themselves. When he got to the doorway, he pointed to what remained of the male victim. Or, to be more specific, he pointed to the head. "Is that the guy who lived here? And have you seen the chick before?"
Kie and Maosa peered past the Japanese male to get a better look, and the both of them very nearly fainted on the spot at what they saw.
"W-what? Wh-who?"
Kanda raised a brow, "Was this him, or wasn't it?"
"U-um..." The two had gone a deathly shade of pale. "Th-that's him...yeah..." Maosa murmured faintly.
"Fucking perfect." Kanda grumbled. "Oi, you get these two out of here, before they contaminate anything."
"Yessir." The officer there said, before escorting the two men out.
"Komui's gonna have a long night ahead of him." Kanda sighed. He assumed he wasn't going to be anywhere near his bed until late at night.
. . - * - . .
"That was the best ice cream ever~!"
"It was...but I wouldn't know, you ate mine." Lavi pouted. "Seriously, Al! You had a freaking ten scoop cone!"
"I was hungry."
"You were greedy."
"No way!"
Still glaring at the white-haired male, Lavi sighed. "Glutton."
"Stupid rabbit."
"Hey!"
Allen nodded to himself. "The name Kanda gave you makes plenty of sense.
"Well you're the stupid beansprout!" Lavi growled back. "At least my nickname has nothing to do with my lack of height!"
Allen winced, having been metaphorically hit where it hurt. "I'm not short... This is the average height of someone my age..."
The red-head then grinned. "You're the normal height of a fifteen-year-old, sprout."
"No I'm not!"
"Maybe that's why you eat so much," Lavi said, bring the conversation's topic back to what it'd been earlier. "Though I doubt you're still growing."
"You're mean."
"I'm not mean, I'm awesome." Lavi grinned.
"And stupid."
"Well," Lavi began, grin growing. "According to Yu-chan, we're both stupid."
"True...but he loves me, what's your excuse?"
Lavi blinked. "Ah, c'mon! That's mean Al!"
"I know~!"
"Wait! He called you that before you were dating!"
Allen deflated somewhat. "But that was because..."
"Because he wanted to get in your pants?" Lavi offered.
"LAVI!"
"What?" The red-head wiggled his eyebrows. "We both know he's wanted to do it since you first met. I mean, didn't he lick you or something?"
Damn Lavi and his photographic memory, Allen inwardly cursed.
. . - * - . .
Bak leaned back in his chair, arms stretching, and spine popping. He'd been working on the nonstop paperwork for a good three hours now. A break was definitely needed.
"Baka Bak! Where the hell are ya?" So much for the break.
Why did these things always happen just as he decided on a break? Life really wasn't fair sometimes. "Here, Fou," he called, sighing.
"The hell are you lazing about for?"
"I just finished the abundance of paperwork that was piled up for me." The man sighed, fingers combing through his short hair. It was then Fou entered, annoyed, stressed, and mostly pissed off for reasons Bak was more than certain he was already going to find out whether he wanted to or not.
"Well it took you long enough," she muttered snidely.
After she finished chewing him out for one thing or another.
"Enlighten me, Fou. What on Earth happened to piss you off this badly this time?"
Fou's hands went to her hips, and she glared at Bak. "What makes you think something happened?"
"You're grumpy," he deadpanned.
"I wonder why!"
"As do I, Fou." The short Asian male grumbled. "What happened?"
To this Fou huffed, before storming out. One of those days, is it? Bak idly thought.
He sat there in silence for another moment, wondering whether or not to follow the woman out. She probably wanted space, but at the same time, she'd come in here, so maybe she wanted to talk...
Well. Best get it over with. Standing, he walked out of his office, and headed towards the place in the house he knew Fou often went to when she was livid.
The basement training room.
Sometimes, he kinda felt sorry for all the equipment she took her anger out on. God only knows how many training dummies and punching bags she'd destroyed over the years.
After a second thought...he supposed it was better them than him.
He rather liked himself in one piece, and wanted to stay that way if at all possible.
He soon approached the door leading down into the basement. Pressing his ear against the door, he had to make sure there wasn't anything crashing into walls near the steep steps. One of these days, Bak often told himself, I should hire someone to renovate these dangerous steps.
That, unfortunately, never happened. Deeming it safe, he carefully opened the door, and took a timid step down. There was no landing between the main floor and the first step. He remembered how many times he'd tripped down the stairs when he and Fou first moved into their current home.
For some reason, she'd always laughed at him whenever that'd happened.
Nice to know he was comical, apparently. "Fou? Are you down here?" He called out.
"What do you think, Baka Bak?" Came the agitated reply. "Get down here before I throw a boxing glove at wherever you're standing right now."
"If you don't know where I'm standing, then the glove won't hit me," he muttered, and was promptly met with a glove to the face.
"WHAT THE HELL?! THAT HURT!" Bak instantly shouted the moment gravity finally took the glove.
"Yeah? well, have another!" Fou yelled back at him. He didn't see the second glove coming in time.
"FOU!"
"Your reflexes need work," she observed.
"First of all, crazy woman, I'm a science professor and part time waiter, and secondly, the hell is your problem?"
"My problem, stupid, is that I'm in a piss-ass mood because of some fucking copy-cat. And that you're stupid."
"Copycat." Bak muttered. He'd finally made it down the stairs without killing himself...and without Fou killing him.
"Yeah! That idiot impersonating Crowned Clown!"
Bak nodded along to her words, though frowned at the name of the city's ex Public Enemy No.1. "Crowned Clown..."
"Are you gonna copy everything I say?!"
"I'm just..." The Chinese mane sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Things were bad enough with him around, but now there's an impersonator?"
"That's more the reason to why it pisses me off!" Fou growled.
Bak raised his hands is the universal 'calm down' gesture. "Well, if he's anything like the original, he'll be caught soon and get what's coming to him."
"Ha!" Fou release a well-aimed punch to the punching bag. Bak was surprised it didn't fall off its support hanger. "Get what's coming to him, and then some. But that ain't even the case. Get this. I got a call saying the psycho was now developing his own fucking means of slaughter."
"Then...it's no longer a copycat."
"The victims are similar to what Crowned did in." Fou grumbled, this time round house kicking the bag. Bak leaned against the bar counter behind the feisty, and very angered, woman. "And to add oil to the fire, we find that there was a guy doing illegal shit where the crime happened."
"Does the man use a weapon?"
"Here lays the problem." Fou sighed, leaning forward on the bag, forearm on the bag, her forehead pressed against the appendage. "We've never found a single weapon. The adults Kanda's team found were—"
"I'm not surprised Kanda was put on this case." Bak said. "Ah...sorry, continue..."
"As I was saying." Fou threateningly continued, "the adult victims were dismembered."
"I think I'm going to be sick..."
"The adults apparently had a kid with them, but he was dead longer, so they think that he wasn't killed by the copycat."
"No, I change my mind. NOW I'm going to feel sick...a kid?"
"He or she, no one had figured the sex yet, may have actually been the victim of the guy bringing girls into his home. I doubt he had specific preferences, but we're not expecting any info on his background anytime soon. A few days tops according to Intel."
Bak shuddered. "People scare me sometimes."
"As they should, Baka Bak." Fou sighed. "As they should."
"Fou," Bak said, completely serious. "I want you to be careful."
"Of course. Who do you take me for?" She huffed, secretly appreciating his worry.
... ... ... ...
Heya~! So we have another case, and we even see how it affects some of the others. I guess it's a bit of a filler, maybe? But not a pointless one!
Don't forget to give this story some love! R&R ain't for rest and relaxation, even though I have a great need for it right now. Leave a review, and let us know how we're doing! Follow to stay up to date, and hey, favorite the story if you hadn't already :D
And seriously, XavierForest has a lot of great fics to read. Go! Go check 'im out! (^w^)
We'll see you next week for another installment of Fade to Gray!