Version 1.0 - 18th Aug 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.
Warning - this chapter contains scenes that would be most correctly
described as gruesome. Thusly, I rate this chapter as R.... You
have been warned.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shutup, and shutup now. I won't say it again. I am not some
benevolent enemy that has a 'good' side that can be convinced of the
right moral position to which you and your kind subscribe." Miyuki
bit her lower lip to hide the sneer that tried to cross her face.
"I know you sailorsluts better than you think.... I've had
experience with you, before." Her trigger finger trembled. "Not
only the way you hurt Kimi, by exposing her mother to the law,
forcing her to kill herself to maintain the family honour.... And,
Kami knows, that is more than enough to punish you.... No, it is
the two-faced nature that exists amongst you...."
"What... are you talking... about?" Hotaru peered into the
barrel of the gun, the entire scene washed with a sense of
surrealism. Miyuki's finger continued to tremble, like she wanted
to silence her one time mistress.... Hotaru wondered whether she
should try to calm the girl by entering her mind, once more, but
decided, considering the effect that had on Miyuki the last time,
she'd probably end up with a bullet through the brain that much
quicker.
"I'm talking about those traitorous bitches.... The ones
you call Uranus and Neptune...." Miyuki spat the names like they
were venom. "Do you realise for how long they have been working
against you? Do you realise their culpability in the death of your
comrade, Jupiter?" Hotaru was too dumbstruck by these words to give
her an answer. Miyuki nodded. "No, I can see you don't know. How
does it feel to have been so totally betrayed?"
"I... don't believe... you..." Hotaru could feel tears coming
to her eyes. Was Miyuki trying to deceive her? No. There would be
no point, and someone like Miyuki didn't do anything without a
point. But surely, creating some fantasy with which to base her
contempt for Saturn was enough of a point, a reason.... But the
more Hotaru thought about it, the less likely that seemed.
"Yes. You do." Miyuki's tone became flat and lifeless, once
more. "There is no alternative. You now face a situation that is
beyond your control and understanding. That is why you Sailorsluts
are in the appalling state you are now. Do you know where your
friends are? Apart from Mars, I think not." Miyuki lifted the gun
away from Hotaru's face.
"I know... where some of them... are..." Even as she said it,
Hotaru didn't sound so sure of herself. Miyuki shook her head and
replaced the gun in her jacket, looking tired and pale.
"What did you do to me? How did you stop my death? My
dying?" Miyuki started to wander around. "How did I get here?
This hospital...." She gestured around the room. "I feel... I can
feel Kimi.... I can feel her, alone, in the darkness.... Where is
she? Where has she gone? What is her destiny?" She leant herself
against the far wall, at the edge of Hotaru's vision, and slowly
slid down....
"Dione.... is searching... for her... longtime friend. Are...
you going... to allow her... to meet the... destiny you foresee?"
Hotaru rasped. Miyuki sat on the floor holding her face in her
hands, making not a sound. "Understand... Iapetus... Understand
why... I saved you..."
Hotaru watched as Miyuki vanished, in silence. The rushing
winds of eternity, in its infinite silence, blowing through the room
in all its terrifying magnitude, settling, replaced by the normal
sounds of the hospital. Hotaru sighed, and closed her eyes.
----o
Part Thirty
Bad Karma, Bad Blood
----o
Shimazaki sighed as Kurabuto paced the office, speaking to
the Chief of the SIU on his mobile phone. Things were starting to
get complicated, and Kurabuto hated complicated things. Sinking
deeper into his seat, Shimazaki stared at a particular corner of
the office ceiling.
"I see. Aha...." Kurabuto said through clenched teeth. "So
what did she do next? Uhuh.... What, both thieves? Oh Kami.....
She did WHAT with the telephone wire? Oh, for pity's sake..."
Kurabuto rubbed his forehead. "Yes... Yes... I know we had her in
here for questioning... Look, it was YOUR officer who hid her from
us.... I KNOW Kikotsuka-san can be a bit eccentric, sometimes....
Look, it's not OUR fault if one of the Sailorsenshi decide to act as
a living natural disaster...."
Shimazaki cringed and pushed himself back from his desk.
Kurabuto turned to him as he stood from his seat. "Where are you
going?"
"I'm going to look for Go-kun.... I can't just sit here all
night, listening to tales of woe from the uniformed division...."
"Now just wait a minute.... No, I wasn't talking to you,
Kato-san...." Kurabuto's attention returned to his mobile. "I was
speaking to Shimazaki-san.... Yes, the slimy little.... Look, I
don't have time to slate my own officers...."
Shimazaki shook his head and stepped around his desk, walking
out of the office and into the quiet of the corridor beyond. It was
then that his own mobile began to beep. Picking it out from within
his jacket, he answered. "Hello? Moshi-moshi..." There was no
reply, merely a series of soft tones and clicks. He lifted it from
his ear and looked at the display.
SHIRANUI KIMI - GO
Shimazaki stared at the pager display, pressing a couple of
buttons to be sure that the message was from Katarin. It certainly
came from Katarin's number....
He tried to decipher the short, cryptic message, unable to
understand why Katarin would use the pager service, rather than
simply phone him and tell him, straight out, what the hell he was
trying to say. He'd heard the name, before.... Shiranui.... There
was a Shiranui family within the Yakuza....
He stood there for several minutes, leaning against the
corridor wall, pondering this. He even checked the time Katarin had
left the message.... A couple of hours earlier, around the time he
had disappeared.... run off... whatever, shortly after telling him
about the murder of Doctor Mizuno....
Surely, this couldn't have something to do with Mizuno and the
Sailorjupiter murder case? Shimazaki frustratedly ran a hand
through his hair. Shiranui Kimi.... Shiranui Kimi.... The
daughter of... Shiranui Midan... The nominal leader of the
Shiranui family!
Of course! It was the Sailorsenshi who had infiltrated the
Shiranui Yakuza, bringing down several underworld operations they
had been running.... Naturally, the Sailorsenshi would be a target
for them.... Shimazaki had worked on the case with Katarin,
including the ritual suicide of Midan's wife.... Midan was behind
it all, of course, but he had that manipulative skill to place
others in a position to take the fall, regardless of whether they
were family or not. It had astounded Shimazaki how Midan was
capable of redeeming himself of the guilt, within his own mind, of
his actions....
And that would mean that he wouldn't have any qualms about
using his own daughter to take his revenge out on the Sailorsenshi.
Shiranui Kimi, the thoughroughly insane child, who would be more
than happy to organise the systematic killing of the Sailorsenshi.
But how did Katarin come to know of this? A cold shiver ran
through Shimazaki.... Doctor Mizuno was killed by someone who had
access and knowledge of the station. Was it possible that Katarin
had been involved with the conspiracy from the start? He thought
back, to the moment when they had picked Doctor Mizuno up from the
hospital.... Katarin had said something along the lines that they
would be expected, or something of a similar nature. He hadn't
questioned Katarin on that point then, but Katarin KNEW Doctor
Mizuno was going to give herself up. HE KNEW. It was more than
possible that he had been the one who had killed her....
Quickly, he pressed a button on his mobile and listened to the
dial tone, followed by the soft buzzing of Katarin's mobile ringing.
He paced back and forth across the corridor as it rang, and rang,
and rang... out. With frustration, he hung it up and placed it in
his coat, walking purposefully along the corridor, towards the main
lift. There was only one way to get any answers to the questions he
had. Confront Katarin himself.
If he was still around to confront, that was.
----o
Kaji rolled his eyes as Aoi gripped the collar of his coat.
"Look, Aoi-san, if you have no idea where they might have gone, how
on Earth are we going to look for them?"
"I'm telling you, they went to the base of the Coven of
Atrocity.... That bitch dragged Pagan away for Kami knows what
reason...." Aoi tugged on the coat. "We can't allow her to have
her way with him.... I mean...."
"I know what you mean." Kaji sighed. "And can you let go of
my coat? It's embarrassing having you do that." He pointed to the
police investigators, Yuuichirou and Rei's Grandfather, who were
standing on the other side of the wardrobe room, doing their best
to avoid joining in the conversation by looking in every possible
direction. Aoi let go of Kaji's coat with a nervous little giggle.
"Oops.... Gomen."
"Honestly, Aoi.... You're acting like a child.... What the
hell happened to you in the time you were missing?" Kaji stuck his
hands in his pockets, annoyed.
"Don't ask." Aoi waved at him and turned away. "You really
don't want to know."
"Where were you, anyway?"
"At my place. At least, that was where that red-haired demon
took us.... The phantom girl, the sailor and me...." Aoi huffed.
"Now those Sacred House bitches have got the Sailor...." She
sighed.
"Who has got who?" Kaji raised an eyebrow.
"These girls from the Sacred House.... They were at my place
when we got transferred here.... They've probably grabbed the
Mizuno girl.... Sailormercury.... And run like heck."
"Ano...." One of the investigators stepped forward, a young
officer by the name of Ube. "Did you say... Sailormercury?"
Aoi turned to him, blinking. "Yeah. Why?"
Ube shifted on his feet, nervously. "Well, we got message, on
our way here, that there was some chick, fitting Mercury's
description, running amok in the Ginza...."
"Eh?" Aoi's jaw hit the floor. "In the Ginza District?"
"Hai." Ube nodded. "Apparently she was harassing passers by,
ANYONE, trying to sell herself. Two uniforms who tried to stop her
got their heads kicked in.... They thought she was just some girl
playing on the Sailor-fetish stuff to get the clientele.... Then
she went berserk, using her powers to smash the frontage on a bar
cafe, beat up everyone inside, ate as much food as she could, then
started making mad, passionate love to the shop owner before
smacking around a couple of thieves who were trying to take off with
cash from the till during the distraction...."
"Kami shit." Aoi staggered back across the room, sitting down
against the wall. "I thought I'd tied her to the bed, good and
proper...."
"Ano...." Kaji blinked. "What is this about tying her to the
bed?" Aoi looked up at him, then blushed a beetroot red.
"I didn't tie her up for THOSE kinds of reasons, you idiot."
Ube didn't know where to look as steam rose from underneath Kaji's
coat.
"Uhh... Yeah. Right." Kaji paused, lost for words.
"Just why did you tie her up, then?" The soft voice came from
outside the room. Everyone turned as Rei, still transformed as
Mars, slowly wandered into the room, stepping between investigators
who parted like the waters of the Red Sea for her, flanked by Luna
and Artemis. Aoi sniffed and waved a hand dismissively at her.
"If you've been listening to our conversation, you'll
understand why." Aoi turned away, wanting to leave the subject
there, but Rei wasn't satisfied.
"Pretend I don't understand."
Aoi sighed and stood. "She's gone mad, that's why. Pagan did
something to her mind...."
"Who?" Luna frowned. Most of the investigators backed away
from the cat. Artemis, still dazed after fainting, sighed and
curled up on the floor, placing his paws over his head.
"I know nothing, I know nothing...." He muttered.
Aoi rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "The naked guy, of
course. The one who fell through that hole thingy with me and the
red-headed bitch, into the courtyard outside. The one she stole
from me." Aoi punched a fist into her other hand. "I'll get her if
it is the last thing I do."
"What did he do to her?" Rei ranged forward on Aoi,
threateningly. Aoi was not impressed.
"He fixed her brain, so to speak. You can say he hammered
back together the bits that had fallen off." Aoi prodded Rei in the
chest. "And don't come at me all threatening, young woman. You
might be a Sailorsenshi, but you're lower than shit in my world."
"You BITCH!" Rei lifted her hand back to slap Aoi, hard,
across the chops. A slap that never came as Kaji gripped her wrist.
"That will be all, young lady." He growled at her as she spun
to him. His greater physical presence intimidated her enough into
cooling down. She whipped her arm away from him and tromped over to
the corner of the room, brooding. Yuuichirou went over to her side,
tentatively trying to calm her down. Kaji then turned to Aoi. "You
overstepped the mark there, Kiko-san."
"I don't want to hear it..." She started, before Kaji slammed
her back into the wall, both hands gripping her shoulders.
"I SAID, YOU OVERSTEPPED THE MARK THERE, KIKO-SAN!" Aoi
cringed, visibly, under Kaji's rage.
"Kaji..." She croaked.
"You really don't know how much trouble you're in, do you?
First, trying to HIDE a potential SUSPECT for the Kino murder from
the Majors, then disappearing like that.... Some people have been
saying you RAN OFF with the girl.... There will possibly be a
disciplinary committee report into this. You'll probably even be
demoted, or transferred. Whatever the case, Kiko-san, your career
depends very much on your good behaviour from here on, DO YOU
UNDERSTAND ME?"
"H...." She stuttered. "H... Hai..." Aoi swallowed, feeling
tears coming to her eyes as Kaji let her go, stepping away. She
knew, in her mind, that something would probably happen because of
her handling of the Mizuno affair, but hearing it from Kaji's
mouth.... So forcefully.....
"Whatever the case, it is obvious that these Sacred House
girls do not have Mizuno as their captive." Kaji rubbed his chin
for a moment. "If they were in your house, I wonder what stopped
them taking her, or if she somehow managed to escape, what stopped
them chasing her...."
----o
Maria switched on the light to the bathroom and stared into
its unfamiliar decor. She searched, desperately, for a bathtub, and
was relieved to find a rather large one, sitting behind the far shower
screen. The floor and walls of the bathroom were still damp from
their previous use and Maria cursed as she left the doorway to search
for towels.
Upon returning with a pile, she placed the towels in the
corner of the room and started laying them out, one by one, from the
doorway to the side of the bath. Satisfied that she had created a
dry path from the door, she took one of the spare towels and started
to dry the fine layer of settled water vapour from the surface of
the bathtub. She worked with a feverish speed, swallowing as she
heard the gasps from her friend in the loungeroom of Aoi's unit.
She closed her eyes and shivered at the thought of what was to
come. She had been through this before.... Many a time, but she
never quite become used to Arisa's condition. Trapped within the
confines of Aoi's apartment, with the knowledge that Arisa wouldn't
be able to use her transportation powers and with Gwen completely
out of the picture, Maria was forced to make a hurried decision
about what to do. She had attempted to calm Arisa.... It had
worked, on occasion. However, Arisa was far too gone for that to be
successful, this time. Maria could feel the quivering sensation in
Arisa's chest as the hinges within her ribcage threatened to spring
open.
It wouldn't happen yet, of course. Arisa did have some
control over her condition. But it was going to have to happen, and
Maria hated it. So, as she sat back on her haunches, satisfied that
the bathtub was now bone dry, she casually tossed the towel aside
and let out a long breath, resigning herself to the fate of being
Arisa's keeper. Slowly, she stood and stepped from the bathroom,
along the corridor and to the loungeroom doorway, where she watched
Arisa, curled up on her side, on the floor, hugging her chest.
Her face was bright red. Maria knew Arisa was holding on as
well as she could.... But time was now of the essence. Maria
stepped over to Arisa's side and knelt down, dragging Arisa's head
into her lap. Arisa's eyes, that had been screwed shut with the
effort, now stared hopefully up at her. Maria smiled, weakly, and
gripped the loose collar of Arisa's trademark red kimono, roughly
pulling it open and down over her shoulders. She then lifted Arisa
into a sitting position, nervously watching as Arisa's chest started
to heave, and untied the ribbon that held the fabric of the kimono
to her form.
She tossed the ribbon aside and stripped Arisa completely of
clothing. Arisa's thin form was now ghostly pale.... Another
reason Maria hated her condition.... She always looked as if she
were about to die. Placing her arms behind Arisa's back and
underneath her legs, she lifted Arisa as she got to her feet. Arisa
let out a short, sharp gasp, tears running from her eyes. "Not long
now.... The bath is suitable. Soon, you'll be able to release the
pressure. Soon...." She didn't know if Arisa heard her calming
tones.... She was now beyond the point of registering anything but
the pain she was feeling. Maria sighed and carried her across the
loungeroom, into the corridor and along to the bathroom.
She looked down at the towels and made her way along them,
carefully stepping on each one to make sure she wasn't going to slip
with such a precious cargo in her arms. When she arrived by the
bath, she turned and lowered herself to her knees, trying to lower
Arisa with similar care. Even before she managed to place Arisa in
the bathtub, she could hear the tearing sound from the side of the
girl's chest, a spray of blood striking the wall. After placing her
within the tub, she turned Arisa over, then lifted her up and
positioned several of the spare towels underneath her belly and
forehead, keeping her from smothering herself in the process.
And then Arisa's chest tore open. Flesh, forced out like a
hatch, squelching and leaking blood of varying consistency....
Light, fresh blood, caused by what would be, for a normal person,
an unnatural tearing of the flesh, mixed with a darker, more viscous
blood.... Devoid of the same oxygenation, the cells obviously dead
or dying, this darker blood dribbled from the chest cavity like
gruesome honey. All the while, Arisa heaved, as if breathing had
suddenly become difficult, yet the colour in her flesh had started
to return, her body suddenly relieved of a pressure that had built
up over the space of more than an hour.
Maria held her nose, turning away. The sudden exposure of
Arisa's insides had released all the nauseating smells that commonly
permeate the human body. She could barely contain the sense of
horror at what was happening, and crawled on her hands and knees
towards the doorway, even if it meant abandoning Arisa during her
bleeding. She retched, and listened, and retched some more, holding
onto the doorframe for support. And she waited, until Arisa's
breathing settled.... She didn't know how long it was, five
minutes.... maybe even ten minutes.... She wasn't sure. Nor did
she care very much. All she felt was a sense of satisfaction when
she heard the oozing sound of Arisa's chest cavity closing and
sealing up. It still didn't make the smell in the room any better,
though.
She reached up the doorframe, feeling for the lightswitch,
happy to find it was combined with the exhaust fan. After flicking
that on, and waiting for the fan to work its way up to full speed,
she heard Arisa starting to sob. Soft, pitiful sobs of frustration.
Maria crawled over to the side of the bathtub once more, wincing at
the sight that met her eyes. She reached into the tub and placed a
hand on Arisa's shoulder, trying to comfort her. Arisa's face
turned from where it had been resting, on the towel. Her face was
now a near-bloodless pale, but her eyes were bloodshot and her
cheeks tearstreaked. Her chin and throat were covered in the dark
red, viscous mess that was still oozing its way down the plughole.
Maria did her best to smile at Arisa, kindly, but it wasn't easy.
"Are you ready to be cleaned yet?" She asked her softly. Arisa
swallowed, the action seemingly difficult for her newly repositioned
muscles.
"I..." She croaked. "I think... that would be... for the
best... Don't you?"
----o
Shimazaki stopped his Alfa 75 in front of Katarin's apartment
and stared at the darkened house through the rain-spattered
windows. He could see Katarin's car, sitting in the driveway.
Obviously he had returned here, so it was more than possible that he
was in the house. So why weren't any of the lights in the house on?
Shimazaki bit his lower lip, wondering if his partner was trying to
hide from him. But then, the car in the drive was a dead giveaway.
So why...
Almost unhesitatingly, he shut the car down, undid his
seatbelt and opened the door, stepping out from the vehicle and
slamming it shut behind him, not even bothering to lock it as he
briskly made his way up to the front door.
It was open. He kind of expected that. Stepping through the
open door into the darkened front hallway was an eerie experience,
despite it being dark outside, the dark within seemed so much
heavier. He half expected to be jumped at any moment, but nobody
did.
He made his way through the loungeroom, into the kitchen. He
knew the layout of Katarin's apartment like the back of his hand.
He'd been over many times.... A beam of soft, white streetlight
shone through the kitchen windows, illuminating the small table,
covered in a mess of magazines and unwashed plates.
"Go.... You in here? It's Shim-san." There was no reply,
although he could hear a soft pattering sound, like water dripping
on a rug or a carpet. He turned from the kitchen and stepped back
into the lounge, following the noise. Sure enough, he found a small
leak in the roof, and took a long breath.
"Go? I know you're here. There isn't any point in hiding
from me. I want to talk to you." He stepped from the lounge, back
into the front hallway. The next door down was the bedroom, the
door half-closed. He put a hand against the door and pressed it
open, slowly.
He switched on the light, peering around the room. Everything
was in its place... The large, double bed, the wardrobe, the mirror
and the bookshelves. For a moment, he wondered if Katarin was
hiding in the bathroom or the toilet, when he heard the thumping
sound coming from the wardrobe.
"Oh, for pity's sake...." He shook his head and stepped over
to the wardrobe, a large, darkly varnished wooden cupboard, roughly
a foot taller than Shimazaki. He couldn't believe that Katarin
would choose to hide from him in there. Confirming his suspicions,
there was another thumping sound, lower down this time. Shimazaki
shook his head and placed a hand on the left doorhandle, giving it a
couple of tugs. It was locked. From the outside. Frowning, he
looked around the room for the key, which was usually kept in the
small keylock.
He found it sitting on top of one of the bookshelves, and
crossed the room to collect it, thinking how difficult it would be
to lock oneself in one's own wardrobe and placing the key on the
other side of the room. A realisation ran through him as he scooped
up the key, and slowly turned back to the wardrobe.
At it's base there was a tiny red stain. A liquid was oozing
from the bottom crack of the door. With slow deliberation, he
crossed the distance between the bookshelf and the wardrobe, placing
the key in the left doorlock. He turned the key, feeling the latch
give way with a satisfying click. Summoning up all of his energy,
he placed his hand back on the doorhandle.
He pulled the door open, stepping back as he did so.
Katarin's dead body fell from the cupboard, pitching forward
and splattering blood from the wound in his head across the carpet.
Shimazaki made time to be sick on the other side of the room.
END OF PART 30
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Next Chapter - "Dead Under the Bed"
_________
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net
/\
\/ \/
\___________/
/_/ \_\ PU
--------------------------------------------------------------------
S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.
Warning - this chapter contains scenes that would be most correctly
described as gruesome. Thusly, I rate this chapter as R.... You
have been warned.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shutup, and shutup now. I won't say it again. I am not some
benevolent enemy that has a 'good' side that can be convinced of the
right moral position to which you and your kind subscribe." Miyuki
bit her lower lip to hide the sneer that tried to cross her face.
"I know you sailorsluts better than you think.... I've had
experience with you, before." Her trigger finger trembled. "Not
only the way you hurt Kimi, by exposing her mother to the law,
forcing her to kill herself to maintain the family honour.... And,
Kami knows, that is more than enough to punish you.... No, it is
the two-faced nature that exists amongst you...."
"What... are you talking... about?" Hotaru peered into the
barrel of the gun, the entire scene washed with a sense of
surrealism. Miyuki's finger continued to tremble, like she wanted
to silence her one time mistress.... Hotaru wondered whether she
should try to calm the girl by entering her mind, once more, but
decided, considering the effect that had on Miyuki the last time,
she'd probably end up with a bullet through the brain that much
quicker.
"I'm talking about those traitorous bitches.... The ones
you call Uranus and Neptune...." Miyuki spat the names like they
were venom. "Do you realise for how long they have been working
against you? Do you realise their culpability in the death of your
comrade, Jupiter?" Hotaru was too dumbstruck by these words to give
her an answer. Miyuki nodded. "No, I can see you don't know. How
does it feel to have been so totally betrayed?"
"I... don't believe... you..." Hotaru could feel tears coming
to her eyes. Was Miyuki trying to deceive her? No. There would be
no point, and someone like Miyuki didn't do anything without a
point. But surely, creating some fantasy with which to base her
contempt for Saturn was enough of a point, a reason.... But the
more Hotaru thought about it, the less likely that seemed.
"Yes. You do." Miyuki's tone became flat and lifeless, once
more. "There is no alternative. You now face a situation that is
beyond your control and understanding. That is why you Sailorsluts
are in the appalling state you are now. Do you know where your
friends are? Apart from Mars, I think not." Miyuki lifted the gun
away from Hotaru's face.
"I know... where some of them... are..." Even as she said it,
Hotaru didn't sound so sure of herself. Miyuki shook her head and
replaced the gun in her jacket, looking tired and pale.
"What did you do to me? How did you stop my death? My
dying?" Miyuki started to wander around. "How did I get here?
This hospital...." She gestured around the room. "I feel... I can
feel Kimi.... I can feel her, alone, in the darkness.... Where is
she? Where has she gone? What is her destiny?" She leant herself
against the far wall, at the edge of Hotaru's vision, and slowly
slid down....
"Dione.... is searching... for her... longtime friend. Are...
you going... to allow her... to meet the... destiny you foresee?"
Hotaru rasped. Miyuki sat on the floor holding her face in her
hands, making not a sound. "Understand... Iapetus... Understand
why... I saved you..."
Hotaru watched as Miyuki vanished, in silence. The rushing
winds of eternity, in its infinite silence, blowing through the room
in all its terrifying magnitude, settling, replaced by the normal
sounds of the hospital. Hotaru sighed, and closed her eyes.
----o
Part Thirty
Bad Karma, Bad Blood
----o
Shimazaki sighed as Kurabuto paced the office, speaking to
the Chief of the SIU on his mobile phone. Things were starting to
get complicated, and Kurabuto hated complicated things. Sinking
deeper into his seat, Shimazaki stared at a particular corner of
the office ceiling.
"I see. Aha...." Kurabuto said through clenched teeth. "So
what did she do next? Uhuh.... What, both thieves? Oh Kami.....
She did WHAT with the telephone wire? Oh, for pity's sake..."
Kurabuto rubbed his forehead. "Yes... Yes... I know we had her in
here for questioning... Look, it was YOUR officer who hid her from
us.... I KNOW Kikotsuka-san can be a bit eccentric, sometimes....
Look, it's not OUR fault if one of the Sailorsenshi decide to act as
a living natural disaster...."
Shimazaki cringed and pushed himself back from his desk.
Kurabuto turned to him as he stood from his seat. "Where are you
going?"
"I'm going to look for Go-kun.... I can't just sit here all
night, listening to tales of woe from the uniformed division...."
"Now just wait a minute.... No, I wasn't talking to you,
Kato-san...." Kurabuto's attention returned to his mobile. "I was
speaking to Shimazaki-san.... Yes, the slimy little.... Look, I
don't have time to slate my own officers...."
Shimazaki shook his head and stepped around his desk, walking
out of the office and into the quiet of the corridor beyond. It was
then that his own mobile began to beep. Picking it out from within
his jacket, he answered. "Hello? Moshi-moshi..." There was no
reply, merely a series of soft tones and clicks. He lifted it from
his ear and looked at the display.
SHIRANUI KIMI - GO
Shimazaki stared at the pager display, pressing a couple of
buttons to be sure that the message was from Katarin. It certainly
came from Katarin's number....
He tried to decipher the short, cryptic message, unable to
understand why Katarin would use the pager service, rather than
simply phone him and tell him, straight out, what the hell he was
trying to say. He'd heard the name, before.... Shiranui.... There
was a Shiranui family within the Yakuza....
He stood there for several minutes, leaning against the
corridor wall, pondering this. He even checked the time Katarin had
left the message.... A couple of hours earlier, around the time he
had disappeared.... run off... whatever, shortly after telling him
about the murder of Doctor Mizuno....
Surely, this couldn't have something to do with Mizuno and the
Sailorjupiter murder case? Shimazaki frustratedly ran a hand
through his hair. Shiranui Kimi.... Shiranui Kimi.... The
daughter of... Shiranui Midan... The nominal leader of the
Shiranui family!
Of course! It was the Sailorsenshi who had infiltrated the
Shiranui Yakuza, bringing down several underworld operations they
had been running.... Naturally, the Sailorsenshi would be a target
for them.... Shimazaki had worked on the case with Katarin,
including the ritual suicide of Midan's wife.... Midan was behind
it all, of course, but he had that manipulative skill to place
others in a position to take the fall, regardless of whether they
were family or not. It had astounded Shimazaki how Midan was
capable of redeeming himself of the guilt, within his own mind, of
his actions....
And that would mean that he wouldn't have any qualms about
using his own daughter to take his revenge out on the Sailorsenshi.
Shiranui Kimi, the thoughroughly insane child, who would be more
than happy to organise the systematic killing of the Sailorsenshi.
But how did Katarin come to know of this? A cold shiver ran
through Shimazaki.... Doctor Mizuno was killed by someone who had
access and knowledge of the station. Was it possible that Katarin
had been involved with the conspiracy from the start? He thought
back, to the moment when they had picked Doctor Mizuno up from the
hospital.... Katarin had said something along the lines that they
would be expected, or something of a similar nature. He hadn't
questioned Katarin on that point then, but Katarin KNEW Doctor
Mizuno was going to give herself up. HE KNEW. It was more than
possible that he had been the one who had killed her....
Quickly, he pressed a button on his mobile and listened to the
dial tone, followed by the soft buzzing of Katarin's mobile ringing.
He paced back and forth across the corridor as it rang, and rang,
and rang... out. With frustration, he hung it up and placed it in
his coat, walking purposefully along the corridor, towards the main
lift. There was only one way to get any answers to the questions he
had. Confront Katarin himself.
If he was still around to confront, that was.
----o
Kaji rolled his eyes as Aoi gripped the collar of his coat.
"Look, Aoi-san, if you have no idea where they might have gone, how
on Earth are we going to look for them?"
"I'm telling you, they went to the base of the Coven of
Atrocity.... That bitch dragged Pagan away for Kami knows what
reason...." Aoi tugged on the coat. "We can't allow her to have
her way with him.... I mean...."
"I know what you mean." Kaji sighed. "And can you let go of
my coat? It's embarrassing having you do that." He pointed to the
police investigators, Yuuichirou and Rei's Grandfather, who were
standing on the other side of the wardrobe room, doing their best
to avoid joining in the conversation by looking in every possible
direction. Aoi let go of Kaji's coat with a nervous little giggle.
"Oops.... Gomen."
"Honestly, Aoi.... You're acting like a child.... What the
hell happened to you in the time you were missing?" Kaji stuck his
hands in his pockets, annoyed.
"Don't ask." Aoi waved at him and turned away. "You really
don't want to know."
"Where were you, anyway?"
"At my place. At least, that was where that red-haired demon
took us.... The phantom girl, the sailor and me...." Aoi huffed.
"Now those Sacred House bitches have got the Sailor...." She
sighed.
"Who has got who?" Kaji raised an eyebrow.
"These girls from the Sacred House.... They were at my place
when we got transferred here.... They've probably grabbed the
Mizuno girl.... Sailormercury.... And run like heck."
"Ano...." One of the investigators stepped forward, a young
officer by the name of Ube. "Did you say... Sailormercury?"
Aoi turned to him, blinking. "Yeah. Why?"
Ube shifted on his feet, nervously. "Well, we got message, on
our way here, that there was some chick, fitting Mercury's
description, running amok in the Ginza...."
"Eh?" Aoi's jaw hit the floor. "In the Ginza District?"
"Hai." Ube nodded. "Apparently she was harassing passers by,
ANYONE, trying to sell herself. Two uniforms who tried to stop her
got their heads kicked in.... They thought she was just some girl
playing on the Sailor-fetish stuff to get the clientele.... Then
she went berserk, using her powers to smash the frontage on a bar
cafe, beat up everyone inside, ate as much food as she could, then
started making mad, passionate love to the shop owner before
smacking around a couple of thieves who were trying to take off with
cash from the till during the distraction...."
"Kami shit." Aoi staggered back across the room, sitting down
against the wall. "I thought I'd tied her to the bed, good and
proper...."
"Ano...." Kaji blinked. "What is this about tying her to the
bed?" Aoi looked up at him, then blushed a beetroot red.
"I didn't tie her up for THOSE kinds of reasons, you idiot."
Ube didn't know where to look as steam rose from underneath Kaji's
coat.
"Uhh... Yeah. Right." Kaji paused, lost for words.
"Just why did you tie her up, then?" The soft voice came from
outside the room. Everyone turned as Rei, still transformed as
Mars, slowly wandered into the room, stepping between investigators
who parted like the waters of the Red Sea for her, flanked by Luna
and Artemis. Aoi sniffed and waved a hand dismissively at her.
"If you've been listening to our conversation, you'll
understand why." Aoi turned away, wanting to leave the subject
there, but Rei wasn't satisfied.
"Pretend I don't understand."
Aoi sighed and stood. "She's gone mad, that's why. Pagan did
something to her mind...."
"Who?" Luna frowned. Most of the investigators backed away
from the cat. Artemis, still dazed after fainting, sighed and
curled up on the floor, placing his paws over his head.
"I know nothing, I know nothing...." He muttered.
Aoi rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "The naked guy, of
course. The one who fell through that hole thingy with me and the
red-headed bitch, into the courtyard outside. The one she stole
from me." Aoi punched a fist into her other hand. "I'll get her if
it is the last thing I do."
"What did he do to her?" Rei ranged forward on Aoi,
threateningly. Aoi was not impressed.
"He fixed her brain, so to speak. You can say he hammered
back together the bits that had fallen off." Aoi prodded Rei in the
chest. "And don't come at me all threatening, young woman. You
might be a Sailorsenshi, but you're lower than shit in my world."
"You BITCH!" Rei lifted her hand back to slap Aoi, hard,
across the chops. A slap that never came as Kaji gripped her wrist.
"That will be all, young lady." He growled at her as she spun
to him. His greater physical presence intimidated her enough into
cooling down. She whipped her arm away from him and tromped over to
the corner of the room, brooding. Yuuichirou went over to her side,
tentatively trying to calm her down. Kaji then turned to Aoi. "You
overstepped the mark there, Kiko-san."
"I don't want to hear it..." She started, before Kaji slammed
her back into the wall, both hands gripping her shoulders.
"I SAID, YOU OVERSTEPPED THE MARK THERE, KIKO-SAN!" Aoi
cringed, visibly, under Kaji's rage.
"Kaji..." She croaked.
"You really don't know how much trouble you're in, do you?
First, trying to HIDE a potential SUSPECT for the Kino murder from
the Majors, then disappearing like that.... Some people have been
saying you RAN OFF with the girl.... There will possibly be a
disciplinary committee report into this. You'll probably even be
demoted, or transferred. Whatever the case, Kiko-san, your career
depends very much on your good behaviour from here on, DO YOU
UNDERSTAND ME?"
"H...." She stuttered. "H... Hai..." Aoi swallowed, feeling
tears coming to her eyes as Kaji let her go, stepping away. She
knew, in her mind, that something would probably happen because of
her handling of the Mizuno affair, but hearing it from Kaji's
mouth.... So forcefully.....
"Whatever the case, it is obvious that these Sacred House
girls do not have Mizuno as their captive." Kaji rubbed his chin
for a moment. "If they were in your house, I wonder what stopped
them taking her, or if she somehow managed to escape, what stopped
them chasing her...."
----o
Maria switched on the light to the bathroom and stared into
its unfamiliar decor. She searched, desperately, for a bathtub, and
was relieved to find a rather large one, sitting behind the far shower
screen. The floor and walls of the bathroom were still damp from
their previous use and Maria cursed as she left the doorway to search
for towels.
Upon returning with a pile, she placed the towels in the
corner of the room and started laying them out, one by one, from the
doorway to the side of the bath. Satisfied that she had created a
dry path from the door, she took one of the spare towels and started
to dry the fine layer of settled water vapour from the surface of
the bathtub. She worked with a feverish speed, swallowing as she
heard the gasps from her friend in the loungeroom of Aoi's unit.
She closed her eyes and shivered at the thought of what was to
come. She had been through this before.... Many a time, but she
never quite become used to Arisa's condition. Trapped within the
confines of Aoi's apartment, with the knowledge that Arisa wouldn't
be able to use her transportation powers and with Gwen completely
out of the picture, Maria was forced to make a hurried decision
about what to do. She had attempted to calm Arisa.... It had
worked, on occasion. However, Arisa was far too gone for that to be
successful, this time. Maria could feel the quivering sensation in
Arisa's chest as the hinges within her ribcage threatened to spring
open.
It wouldn't happen yet, of course. Arisa did have some
control over her condition. But it was going to have to happen, and
Maria hated it. So, as she sat back on her haunches, satisfied that
the bathtub was now bone dry, she casually tossed the towel aside
and let out a long breath, resigning herself to the fate of being
Arisa's keeper. Slowly, she stood and stepped from the bathroom,
along the corridor and to the loungeroom doorway, where she watched
Arisa, curled up on her side, on the floor, hugging her chest.
Her face was bright red. Maria knew Arisa was holding on as
well as she could.... But time was now of the essence. Maria
stepped over to Arisa's side and knelt down, dragging Arisa's head
into her lap. Arisa's eyes, that had been screwed shut with the
effort, now stared hopefully up at her. Maria smiled, weakly, and
gripped the loose collar of Arisa's trademark red kimono, roughly
pulling it open and down over her shoulders. She then lifted Arisa
into a sitting position, nervously watching as Arisa's chest started
to heave, and untied the ribbon that held the fabric of the kimono
to her form.
She tossed the ribbon aside and stripped Arisa completely of
clothing. Arisa's thin form was now ghostly pale.... Another
reason Maria hated her condition.... She always looked as if she
were about to die. Placing her arms behind Arisa's back and
underneath her legs, she lifted Arisa as she got to her feet. Arisa
let out a short, sharp gasp, tears running from her eyes. "Not long
now.... The bath is suitable. Soon, you'll be able to release the
pressure. Soon...." She didn't know if Arisa heard her calming
tones.... She was now beyond the point of registering anything but
the pain she was feeling. Maria sighed and carried her across the
loungeroom, into the corridor and along to the bathroom.
She looked down at the towels and made her way along them,
carefully stepping on each one to make sure she wasn't going to slip
with such a precious cargo in her arms. When she arrived by the
bath, she turned and lowered herself to her knees, trying to lower
Arisa with similar care. Even before she managed to place Arisa in
the bathtub, she could hear the tearing sound from the side of the
girl's chest, a spray of blood striking the wall. After placing her
within the tub, she turned Arisa over, then lifted her up and
positioned several of the spare towels underneath her belly and
forehead, keeping her from smothering herself in the process.
And then Arisa's chest tore open. Flesh, forced out like a
hatch, squelching and leaking blood of varying consistency....
Light, fresh blood, caused by what would be, for a normal person,
an unnatural tearing of the flesh, mixed with a darker, more viscous
blood.... Devoid of the same oxygenation, the cells obviously dead
or dying, this darker blood dribbled from the chest cavity like
gruesome honey. All the while, Arisa heaved, as if breathing had
suddenly become difficult, yet the colour in her flesh had started
to return, her body suddenly relieved of a pressure that had built
up over the space of more than an hour.
Maria held her nose, turning away. The sudden exposure of
Arisa's insides had released all the nauseating smells that commonly
permeate the human body. She could barely contain the sense of
horror at what was happening, and crawled on her hands and knees
towards the doorway, even if it meant abandoning Arisa during her
bleeding. She retched, and listened, and retched some more, holding
onto the doorframe for support. And she waited, until Arisa's
breathing settled.... She didn't know how long it was, five
minutes.... maybe even ten minutes.... She wasn't sure. Nor did
she care very much. All she felt was a sense of satisfaction when
she heard the oozing sound of Arisa's chest cavity closing and
sealing up. It still didn't make the smell in the room any better,
though.
She reached up the doorframe, feeling for the lightswitch,
happy to find it was combined with the exhaust fan. After flicking
that on, and waiting for the fan to work its way up to full speed,
she heard Arisa starting to sob. Soft, pitiful sobs of frustration.
Maria crawled over to the side of the bathtub once more, wincing at
the sight that met her eyes. She reached into the tub and placed a
hand on Arisa's shoulder, trying to comfort her. Arisa's face
turned from where it had been resting, on the towel. Her face was
now a near-bloodless pale, but her eyes were bloodshot and her
cheeks tearstreaked. Her chin and throat were covered in the dark
red, viscous mess that was still oozing its way down the plughole.
Maria did her best to smile at Arisa, kindly, but it wasn't easy.
"Are you ready to be cleaned yet?" She asked her softly. Arisa
swallowed, the action seemingly difficult for her newly repositioned
muscles.
"I..." She croaked. "I think... that would be... for the
best... Don't you?"
----o
Shimazaki stopped his Alfa 75 in front of Katarin's apartment
and stared at the darkened house through the rain-spattered
windows. He could see Katarin's car, sitting in the driveway.
Obviously he had returned here, so it was more than possible that he
was in the house. So why weren't any of the lights in the house on?
Shimazaki bit his lower lip, wondering if his partner was trying to
hide from him. But then, the car in the drive was a dead giveaway.
So why...
Almost unhesitatingly, he shut the car down, undid his
seatbelt and opened the door, stepping out from the vehicle and
slamming it shut behind him, not even bothering to lock it as he
briskly made his way up to the front door.
It was open. He kind of expected that. Stepping through the
open door into the darkened front hallway was an eerie experience,
despite it being dark outside, the dark within seemed so much
heavier. He half expected to be jumped at any moment, but nobody
did.
He made his way through the loungeroom, into the kitchen. He
knew the layout of Katarin's apartment like the back of his hand.
He'd been over many times.... A beam of soft, white streetlight
shone through the kitchen windows, illuminating the small table,
covered in a mess of magazines and unwashed plates.
"Go.... You in here? It's Shim-san." There was no reply,
although he could hear a soft pattering sound, like water dripping
on a rug or a carpet. He turned from the kitchen and stepped back
into the lounge, following the noise. Sure enough, he found a small
leak in the roof, and took a long breath.
"Go? I know you're here. There isn't any point in hiding
from me. I want to talk to you." He stepped from the lounge, back
into the front hallway. The next door down was the bedroom, the
door half-closed. He put a hand against the door and pressed it
open, slowly.
He switched on the light, peering around the room. Everything
was in its place... The large, double bed, the wardrobe, the mirror
and the bookshelves. For a moment, he wondered if Katarin was
hiding in the bathroom or the toilet, when he heard the thumping
sound coming from the wardrobe.
"Oh, for pity's sake...." He shook his head and stepped over
to the wardrobe, a large, darkly varnished wooden cupboard, roughly
a foot taller than Shimazaki. He couldn't believe that Katarin
would choose to hide from him in there. Confirming his suspicions,
there was another thumping sound, lower down this time. Shimazaki
shook his head and placed a hand on the left doorhandle, giving it a
couple of tugs. It was locked. From the outside. Frowning, he
looked around the room for the key, which was usually kept in the
small keylock.
He found it sitting on top of one of the bookshelves, and
crossed the room to collect it, thinking how difficult it would be
to lock oneself in one's own wardrobe and placing the key on the
other side of the room. A realisation ran through him as he scooped
up the key, and slowly turned back to the wardrobe.
At it's base there was a tiny red stain. A liquid was oozing
from the bottom crack of the door. With slow deliberation, he
crossed the distance between the bookshelf and the wardrobe, placing
the key in the left doorlock. He turned the key, feeling the latch
give way with a satisfying click. Summoning up all of his energy,
he placed his hand back on the doorhandle.
He pulled the door open, stepping back as he did so.
Katarin's dead body fell from the cupboard, pitching forward
and splattering blood from the wound in his head across the carpet.
Shimazaki made time to be sick on the other side of the room.
END OF PART 30
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Next Chapter - "Dead Under the Bed"
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