A/N: Hello!
Ruby-Tears: Haha! Yes, I thought it was a lovely twist to the story myself when I came up with the idea that Muraki ISN'T the villain this time. He has too many emotions to fit into what I had in mind as the evildoer for this story. About Kyo reminding you of Subaru, you're not too far off as you can say that Subaru is the quieter side of Kyo that people don't really get to see except for Taka. But remember, I only took his *name* from SDK. If I want to compare him with somebody, I'd say he's a bit of more of a Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi) + Yukito Tsukishiro (CCS). . . .
And a Touya Kinomoto (CCS) + Seishirou Sakurazuka (X/TB) for sex appeal. Wahahahahaha! Yes, I like tall, dark-haired and fair-skinned men. I can't help it. I'm tall, dark-haired and fair-skinned myself.
Rinny: You see, the secret to uploading a new chapter every night is to NOT have a social life. Yes. Nada, zilch, zippo. That and the fact that all my friends went back for family gatherings as it's the tradition here during this time.
Warnings: Another Frickin' Trap! More Kyo-Torture! Plus, The Identity of The Psycho/Killer Revealed! (Sort of.)
Disclaimer: No, YnM does not belong to me. (This is getting boring)
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CHAPTER 8: Blood & Rain
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Kyo was already asleep by the time they got back from Oriya's so they decided to postpone their 'council of war' to the next day. Hisoka didn't really feel like talking about it just yet anyway. He had woken up from his spelled sleep an hour ago but had refused to say anything to them. He was afraid he'd start babbling again. So after promising Oriya that they'd tell him if they found out anything about Muraki, they went back to Meifu.
Things were not going well for our Shinigamis.
They had hoped that their visit to KoKakuRou would finally shed some light on this case.
They had hoped that Oriya could have provided an answer.
They had hoped that it WAS Muraki behind all of these.
Muraki was evil, sadistic, crazy, a ruthless killer, yes. But he was understood in some way. He was a known cipher.
Now they were back to square one.
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(The next day)
"Ohayo, Hisoka-san!"
Hisoka blinked in surprise. "You're out of the hospital wing already, Kyo?"
The pale-eyed boy nodded cheerfully. "Yup! Watari figured that if I was okay enough to shake off Saya and Yuma's 'makeover', I was okay enough to leave the hospital then."
"Congratulations," Hisoka smiled. "And thank you," he added.
Kyo looked puzzled. "For what?"
"For taking Saya and Yuma's attentions away from me," he smirked evilly.
Kyo stuck his tongue out at him. "Maybe I should let *you* have some of Watari's gender-changing potion. . . think of the possibilities Saya and Yuma might come up with."
"Do that, and I'll give all of the office's supply of chocolate doughnuts to Tsuzuki."
"You wouldn't!"
"Try me."
Kyo pouted, muttering under his breath about how teenagers nowadays don't respect their seniors. Really, what was Japan coming to? How will we uphold our heritage and traditions when our youth refuse to show the proper care and respect for those older than them? How will-
"Staff meeting in 5 minutes everyone!" Watari called out.
(5 minutes later)
"This has got to be our longest running case in 20 years," Kacho told them. The old man was pacing back and forth restlessly in the meeting room. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"It's not often that we get a case with absolutely no clues and the killer knows more about us than we do about him," said Tsuzuki.
Kacho sat on his chair heavily. "Aa. Don't remind me. Well? The three of you went to KoKakuRou yesterday. Got anything new?"
"We now know for sure that it isn't Muraki behind this," Tatsumi announced and he proceeded to tell them what they found out from Oriya. Everyone looked more than a little stunned. They, as the three who went down to Oriya's, had hoped that it was Muraki. After all, a known killer would be easier to handle than an unknown one.
"But," Tatsumi held up a hand, "Kurosaki-kun may have found out something yesterday. We wanted to have everyone's opinion though, so Kurosaki-kun? Are you ready to tell us what happened yesterday?"
Hisoka nodded slowly. His sleep the night before had been plagued by nightmares. It was perhaps, even worse than the ones he usually had about Muraki. This time, the evil didn't have a face. So how could you confront something that you didn't know?
"We went to his room to investigate any residual emotions left in there. And I. . . . I found evil."
They were rather taken aback by his rather melodramatic statement but Hisoka had not seen a better way to describe what he felt, so he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"Why don't you try taking us through it step-by-step bon?" Watari asked kindly. "Maybe it'll help us clarify exactly what you've found."
"At first," Hisoka frowned, "I felt pain. A lot of pain. Oriya-san was right. Someone got hurt and it was Muraki. After that, I felt immense fear. And it was also from Muraki."
Silence.
"And," Hisoka swallowed, his throat suddenly constricted, "then I felt the cause of that fear.
Something evil had came to him. Something more evil than himself."
"Was it a demon?" Kacho asked. If it was something from Makai, it would put a whole new twist on the case. It didn't surprise any of them that the chief could think that only a demon would rival Muraki in his evilness. Privately, they thought he was a demon himself most of the time.
"No, it wasn't a demon," Hisoka shook his head. "I'm sure it's human. . . .but if it *is* human, then he has somehow managed to totally purge himself of any traces of humanity in his makeup. He is so evil that to him, there's no longer any concept of love or hatred or any sort of emotion except pleasure.
That's what he lives for only; pleasure. He doesn't really care or think about whether or not the things he does affects those around him. To him, there's nobody but himself. Does he like his new toy? Does he like it? Does it give him pleasure? If it doesn't give him pleasure then it's useless! He discards it! He-"
Tsuzuki pulled him into a rough hug, holding him close. Hisoka drew in a shuddering breath. He let himself soak in the warm and familiar comfort that was Tsuzuki, inhaling in his scent. The man's shirt felt cool against his suddenly-too-warm cheeks and he sighed. He pulled away then from their embrace and gave a shaky smile to his lover.
"Thanks."
"Always glad to be of service," Tsuzuki smiled cheerfully.
"Oh my God!"
Everyone jumped nearly a foot into the air as their blond-haired scientist slap the table hard along with his exclamation.
"What?" they chorused.
Watari faced them, looking excited and his eyes practically twinkling with the delight of discovery. "What do you feel when you were a kid, and you're out playing with your friends, you're having a great time, and then suddenly, your mom calls you in to the house, saying it's too dark to play anymore?"
Tsuzuki looked at the man as though he had gone crazy. "I don't really see how this has to do with the case, Watari."
"C'mon, humor me!" Watari urged them.
"I didn't really played games when I was young. I had a bad childhood," Tsuzuki said.
"And I didn't have a childhood," Hisoka reminded them.
Sweatdrop. "Ah, Tatsumi?" The scientist threw a pleading look at the secretary. The man adjusted his glasses accordingly and sighed.
"Games are a waste of time, therefore, a waste of money, and as such, I do not play games," he declared firmly.
Double sweatdrop. He turned to Kyo then. Surely his partner had a normal childhood which consisted of game-playing! Someone in this place had to!
"Kyo?"
The boy just gave him a stony look and refused to say anything. Okay, scratch that. EVERYONE in this place didn't have a normal life. He forgot that they were Shinigamis. "Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good analogy," he started. "But what I meant was, when you're in the middle of doing something you really like, someone comes along and interrupts you, what do you feel?"
"Annoyed." Tatsumi threw an evil look at Tsuzuki as though reminded of the times when he tried to do the office budget only to have Tsuzuki whining at his knees about how he should get a life. Tsuzuki eeped.
"Exactly!" Watari clenched his fist in triumph. "Annoyed. Now, as Hisoka has said, our new villain feels pleasure and pleasure only right?"
They nodded in agreement. The Shinigamis were very good in choral actions.
"That would explain why he keeps on referring to these things he's been putting us through as games. That's all it is to him; games."
"Well, he's not a very good player then, since you guys managed to win both of his games," Terazuma offered.
"Exactly."
Far from looking pleased that they finally understood his theory, Watari looked quite the opposite. His face was grim as he waited for the implications to sink in.
Not surprisingly, it was Kyo who said it first. "I take it this psycho doesn't really like me that much now, does he?" He sounded utterly calm and unruffled despite being the one to realize what Watari had been trying to say. In fact, he sounded slightly amused.
"What do you mean?" Tsuzuki asked, puzzled. "I don't get it."
It was kind of weird seeing such a serious expression on Watari's face for such an extended period of time. It was as if a whole new side of the genki scientist had revealed himself and they took him seriously. "Who was it that broke through the first trap of shadows?" He asked instead.
"It was Tatsumi."
"Yes, but who was the one who realized what the trap was about in the first place?" He countered back.
"Kyo."
"And who was it that broke the second trap?"
They stared first at him, then at his young partner who looked back at them with a small, rueful smile. Realization and sick horror dawned on their faces.
"Kyo."
Watari sighed. "Aa. I'm guessing our murderer must feel pretty annoyed with Kyo by now."
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(Thursday)
"Did you find anything?" It was Kacho.
Kyo, Tatsumi, Tsuzuki and Hisoka shook their heads wearily. They had been down to Chijou, to the place marked for the coming Monday's meeting, scouting it out for any traps.
"I've done a check by earth, wind, water *and* fire," Kyo sounded tired. The 'check' as he called it, which involved summoning all four elements, was not an easy task. He looked a bit pale. "I got nothing."
"Nothing either by shadows. Everything seems normal." Tatsumi took off his glasses and polished them with a handkerchief, sighing. The seemingly indestructible secretary was also tired.
Tsuzuki and Hisoka also confirmed their findings. "Nothing by normal magic," Tsuzuki said.
"And nothing through empathy either," Hisoka piped in.
Kacho sighed. "We'll have to keep checking every day until Monday. I don't want you people to go rushing headlong into this."
They nodded.
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(Friday)
Kacho: "How was it?"
Tatsumi: "Nothing."
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(Saturday)
Kacho: "And?"
Tsuzuki: "Nothing."
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(Sunday)
Kacho (sighing): "Yes?"
Kyo: "Nada."
Watari: "Is he going to do anything or not??!!"
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(Monday, 10.00 p.m.)
They had stationed themselves in the alley an hour and a half before the appointed time. Hisoka had done a sweep first and had confirmed that there was no one in the alley as yet. Not even any homeless people, seeking shelter on that night.
Not that Kyo would blame them. Rain had fallen in a steady drizzle for the past hour and in a few minutes, they were completely soaked. It was a wet and miserable night to wait for an evil psycho to show up.
10.45 p.m.
"Do you think he'll be here?" Hisoka asked Kyo quietly. The rain still hadn't let up and he brushed his dripping bangs out of his eyes impatiently. He dreaded coming face to face with the one who could radiate so much evil, but if his experience with Muraki had taught him anything, it was that you had to face your fears.
Kyo shrugged. "It's his game," he said wryly.
11.15 p.m.
Tsuzuki sighed mournfully. "All the good bakeries would be closed by now."
Twitchmarks.
11.25 p.m.
They were getting really wound up now, Tatsumi could feel it. They had fallen silent in the last few minutes as the appointed time neared. He himself felt like kicking something with all this impatience bottled in.
11.26
11.27
11.28
11.29
11.30 p.m.
"Konbanwa, Shinigamis."
They whirled around in surprise. The voice had come from the back of the alley and as they stared hard into the blackness shrouding the speaker, he stepped forward, into the light.
"I'm glad to know you people are so punctual. It's a very becoming habit." And he smiled.
The man, if you could call him a man, was wearing one of those old- fashioned Chinese style men's robes. The one that looked like a priest's uniform with a high collar complete with slits at the sides to allow easy movement. His robes seemed to be made of costly dove-grey silk and he walked without a sound except for the slight tapping of his ebony walking cane on the ground.
Taking in mind his cane, they expected to see someone old but what they saw instead was a young man, perhaps in his late twenties, with merrily twinkling eyes, the color a gold that was as deep as Watari's, and waist- length, blood-red hair.
Instinctively, they crowded around Kyo, shielding him from view. The man looked somewhat normal, except for his unnerving hair color, but they could sense something else from the man. Something that the charming smile and easy manner could not conceal. They, as Hisoka had the other night, felt his evil.
They were afraid.
"There's no need to be so hostile is there?" he asked, still smiling, and took a step closer.
Tsuzuki, Hisoka and Watari each took out several ofudas in preparation and by Tatsumi's side, shadows rose up in a threatening wave.
"Who are you?" Tatsumi asked quietly.
He looked surprised by that question and seemed to give it serious thought. "Who am I, you say? Should I give you my name? Ah, but my first name was given to me so long ago that I had forgotten it. I have no name."
Tsuzuki snapped, "Quit playing around and just tell us who you are and what the hell you want with us?"
The man chuckled. It was a sound pure in its mirth and sent buckets of ice down their backs. "But playing is all that is left to me now. I have nothing else to do, so I might as well 'play around'.
But as for a name, why don't you try. . . 'Akuma'?" And with that, he winked at them and in horror, all five of them realized that they could not move. Only their eyes could and they saw, as they were locked in that sudden stasis and looking down, that same circle and pentagram which had appeared with his 8 killings now burning a sooty-red glow at their feet. They were once again, trapped.
With a negligent wave of his hand, the circle and pentagram locking down Kyo suddenly whirled into air, taking him with it, and it flew forwards, past the others, flying towards the one who called himself 'Akuma' and with another wave, Kyo suddenly found himself slammed against the alley wall.
Helplessly, he watched as his hands were wrenched out from his side by 'Akuma's' magic and his feet snapped straight and were locked together tightly. Cruxification style.
"Kyo! Kyo!" They were shouting his name in fear but they couldn't do anything. He saw from the corner of his eyes as they struggled valiantly against their magical prison but to no avail. Even Tatsumi's shadows had collapsed.
Akuma came to stand before him and he crooked a finger in. Kyo found himself sliding down the wall, still in that rigid pose, to stop before the golden-eyed man face-to-face.
"Hello," Akuma smiled.
"Hi."
"I'm glad we finally got the chance to talk. I've been waiting for this moment all week."
"Me too, actually. You're not really a demon are you." It was a statement, not a question. Up close, Kyo noticed that the man didn't seem to get wet by the rain. Weird.
Akuma shrugged. "Your friend seemed upset that I didn't have a name so I just gave him that. Are you disappointed?"
"Kind of," Kyo smiled. "I never saw a real demon before but I'm guessing, after you, they'll seem pretty tame."
Akuma actually looked pleased at that. "Why, thank you. You do know how to give compliments."
"It's not that hard when you find yourself crucified by a lunatic."
"That's not a very nice thing to say, Kyo-chan," Akuma pouted. "You don't mind if I call you Kyo-chan do you? It sounds friendlier than Shiozaki- san."
Kyo would have shrugged if he could have managed it. He rolled his eyes instead. "Since I'm basically at your mercy, you can call me 'Judy' and I still won't mind."
Akuma grinned.
"Well, maybe," Kyo amended. "I think I prefer 'Jessica' if you're going for an exotic flavor."
"You ARE a wonderful boy, aren't you?" Akuma laughed and clapped his hands in delight. "Much more fun than your other companions. Though," he said thoughtfully, "from what Kazutaka told me, I expected better from them. He didn't mention you though. I wonder why."
"I'm new to the job. Just started working a few months ago. Seems like forever though, ever since we got your case," Kyo explained. He needed to stall for time. Then maybe, one of them could break free or something. Kyo was not expecting additional help coming from JuuOhCho. Terazuma, Wakaba, Saya and Yuma had been suddenly called in to their blocks for a case a few days back and had not returned since. He noticed that Tsuzuki seemed to be able to wiggle a bit. The man had more power than he showed and Kyo would really love to have his help. He had a feeling things were going to go downhill for him soon.
"Ah, yes. That would explain a lot," Akuma nodded. "I was quite cross when I first saw you. I thought Kazutaka had withheld information from me. I had to be quite firm with him," Akuma gave a mournful little sigh.
"What did you do to him?"
"Kazutaka?" Akuma sounded surprised. "Don't tell me you actually care what happens to him? From all accounts, he's better off with me, don't you think? Out of sight, out of mind."
"Yes, he is a bastard but he's still human. Unlike you."
Akuma waved aside the insult and smile indulgently at Kyo. "If it'll make you feel better, he's still alive. I think. He was, the last time I checked."
"Release him then. You got what you wanted. Now let him go."
Akuma leaned in closer to him, his mouth just nuzzling Kyo's cheek and his long hair fell forwards, shielding their faces from view. "You are just so adorable and simply amusing, Kyo-chan. Do you know that?" He continued nuzzling him, his breath hot against Kyo's cheek as his lips traveled slowly across his jaw line, brushing against his closed eyes and finally, resting lightly against his own lips.
Disgust roiled in his stomach but Kyo refused to answer him. Akuma chuckled anyway. "You are so beautiful too. Even more beautiful than the one you call Hisoka. You," Akuma sighed and pressed a chaste kiss on Kyo's suddenly pale lips. "You are the epitome of male beauty, do you realize that? You soft, raven black hair. . . your delicious lips. . . and your eyes! So beautiful. My beautiful Kyo. . ."
He chuckled again. "I think I've been spending too much time with Kazutaka. I'm starting to talk like him. In fact, I'm tempted to take a leaf from his book and just. . . . .ravish you." The last words escaped from his mouth like the hiss of a snake and Kyo shivered.
He couldn't help himself this time and he whispered, "Stop it," his lips brushing involuntarily against Akuma's.
Akuma ignored his feeble protest and continued rubbing his lips softly over Kyo's. "How is it that a mere plaything like you could be so exquisite, so fine? It must be in the genes. Tell me, were your parents as perfect as you?"
Kyo gasped and his eyes flew open, to stare into Akuma's deep gold ones. "I said, stop it," he hissed.
Akuma drew back in mock surprise and the cool air that blew in the space that suddenly yawned between them smelled like sweet heaven to Kyo. "My, did I touch a nerve?"
Kyo refused to answer him and glared.
Akuma laughed. "Yes, I was right. You're a much better game than the others." He waved a hand at his friends who so far, have yet to be able to free themselves from his spell. Kyo's heart sank a little lower.
"In fact, let's start a new game. Here's a little taste of what's to come up."
Kyo wondered what he meant by that but he didn't have to wait long. With a sudden move, Akuma darted forwards and he found himself again lips to lips with the man. Was he going to kiss him again?
"I'll see you soon, Kyo-chan."
Sudden, fierce pain blossomed in his chest. Looking down, he saw Akuma's hand was fist deep in the center of his chest, crackling with red sparks of energy and drenched with his own blood which was gushing out like a geyser. He looked back at Akuma in dumb surprise.
Akuma grinned and pulled his hand back with a wrench that sent blazing fire through every part of his body, radiating from the gaping hole in his chest and he coughed up blood.
Akuma turned back to the others who had ceased in their struggles, shock and horror coloring their faces. They watched in helpless fury as Kyo continued to cough and choke in his own blood, unable to even fall onto the ground, held up as he was by the pentagram.
"Your fabled Shinigami healing powers will only work after my pentagram is gone and the pentagram will only disappear in say, oh, around 10 minutes!" Akuma told them cheerfully. "So why don't you relax, sit back and enjoy the show! Ja ne!"
With another smile and a wave, Akuma faded from sight.
Why is it that we can still feel bodily pain even when we're technically dead? Kyo wondered dazedly. The rain which was still pouring leaked into his mouth and he felt it mix with the hot saltiness of his blood. He wanted to say something to his friends, wanted to tell them that he'll be alright, really. The pentagram will be gone soon and he'll be okay, so don't look like that, and Hisoka please, don't cry. I'm okay, I mean, I *will* be okay and. . .
Still choking on the blood which won't stop bubbling up his throat, Kyo fainted.
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~to be continued~
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A/N : Ooh! Evil me! How was it? That part where they finally came face to face (or lips to lips in Kyo's case ^ o ^) with 'Akuma' took me quite some time to write as I couldn't really decide how to go about it. Should they have a fight scene first? Should someone get seriously injured and in jumps Kyo to save the day again? In the end, I just start to type and look where it got us! More Kyo-Torture! Wahahahaha! *Kelly takes Rinny's hands and they start to dance around in glee, singing loudly, "Go Kyo Go!"
*Kelly gives a big grin to everyone, "Akuma-style" and waves* Ja ne!
Ruby-Tears: Haha! Yes, I thought it was a lovely twist to the story myself when I came up with the idea that Muraki ISN'T the villain this time. He has too many emotions to fit into what I had in mind as the evildoer for this story. About Kyo reminding you of Subaru, you're not too far off as you can say that Subaru is the quieter side of Kyo that people don't really get to see except for Taka. But remember, I only took his *name* from SDK. If I want to compare him with somebody, I'd say he's a bit of more of a Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi) + Yukito Tsukishiro (CCS). . . .
And a Touya Kinomoto (CCS) + Seishirou Sakurazuka (X/TB) for sex appeal. Wahahahahaha! Yes, I like tall, dark-haired and fair-skinned men. I can't help it. I'm tall, dark-haired and fair-skinned myself.
Rinny: You see, the secret to uploading a new chapter every night is to NOT have a social life. Yes. Nada, zilch, zippo. That and the fact that all my friends went back for family gatherings as it's the tradition here during this time.
Warnings: Another Frickin' Trap! More Kyo-Torture! Plus, The Identity of The Psycho/Killer Revealed! (Sort of.)
Disclaimer: No, YnM does not belong to me. (This is getting boring)
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CHAPTER 8: Blood & Rain
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Kyo was already asleep by the time they got back from Oriya's so they decided to postpone their 'council of war' to the next day. Hisoka didn't really feel like talking about it just yet anyway. He had woken up from his spelled sleep an hour ago but had refused to say anything to them. He was afraid he'd start babbling again. So after promising Oriya that they'd tell him if they found out anything about Muraki, they went back to Meifu.
Things were not going well for our Shinigamis.
They had hoped that their visit to KoKakuRou would finally shed some light on this case.
They had hoped that Oriya could have provided an answer.
They had hoped that it WAS Muraki behind all of these.
Muraki was evil, sadistic, crazy, a ruthless killer, yes. But he was understood in some way. He was a known cipher.
Now they were back to square one.
________________________________________________________________________
(The next day)
"Ohayo, Hisoka-san!"
Hisoka blinked in surprise. "You're out of the hospital wing already, Kyo?"
The pale-eyed boy nodded cheerfully. "Yup! Watari figured that if I was okay enough to shake off Saya and Yuma's 'makeover', I was okay enough to leave the hospital then."
"Congratulations," Hisoka smiled. "And thank you," he added.
Kyo looked puzzled. "For what?"
"For taking Saya and Yuma's attentions away from me," he smirked evilly.
Kyo stuck his tongue out at him. "Maybe I should let *you* have some of Watari's gender-changing potion. . . think of the possibilities Saya and Yuma might come up with."
"Do that, and I'll give all of the office's supply of chocolate doughnuts to Tsuzuki."
"You wouldn't!"
"Try me."
Kyo pouted, muttering under his breath about how teenagers nowadays don't respect their seniors. Really, what was Japan coming to? How will we uphold our heritage and traditions when our youth refuse to show the proper care and respect for those older than them? How will-
"Staff meeting in 5 minutes everyone!" Watari called out.
(5 minutes later)
"This has got to be our longest running case in 20 years," Kacho told them. The old man was pacing back and forth restlessly in the meeting room. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"It's not often that we get a case with absolutely no clues and the killer knows more about us than we do about him," said Tsuzuki.
Kacho sat on his chair heavily. "Aa. Don't remind me. Well? The three of you went to KoKakuRou yesterday. Got anything new?"
"We now know for sure that it isn't Muraki behind this," Tatsumi announced and he proceeded to tell them what they found out from Oriya. Everyone looked more than a little stunned. They, as the three who went down to Oriya's, had hoped that it was Muraki. After all, a known killer would be easier to handle than an unknown one.
"But," Tatsumi held up a hand, "Kurosaki-kun may have found out something yesterday. We wanted to have everyone's opinion though, so Kurosaki-kun? Are you ready to tell us what happened yesterday?"
Hisoka nodded slowly. His sleep the night before had been plagued by nightmares. It was perhaps, even worse than the ones he usually had about Muraki. This time, the evil didn't have a face. So how could you confront something that you didn't know?
"We went to his room to investigate any residual emotions left in there. And I. . . . I found evil."
They were rather taken aback by his rather melodramatic statement but Hisoka had not seen a better way to describe what he felt, so he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"Why don't you try taking us through it step-by-step bon?" Watari asked kindly. "Maybe it'll help us clarify exactly what you've found."
"At first," Hisoka frowned, "I felt pain. A lot of pain. Oriya-san was right. Someone got hurt and it was Muraki. After that, I felt immense fear. And it was also from Muraki."
Silence.
"And," Hisoka swallowed, his throat suddenly constricted, "then I felt the cause of that fear.
Something evil had came to him. Something more evil than himself."
"Was it a demon?" Kacho asked. If it was something from Makai, it would put a whole new twist on the case. It didn't surprise any of them that the chief could think that only a demon would rival Muraki in his evilness. Privately, they thought he was a demon himself most of the time.
"No, it wasn't a demon," Hisoka shook his head. "I'm sure it's human. . . .but if it *is* human, then he has somehow managed to totally purge himself of any traces of humanity in his makeup. He is so evil that to him, there's no longer any concept of love or hatred or any sort of emotion except pleasure.
That's what he lives for only; pleasure. He doesn't really care or think about whether or not the things he does affects those around him. To him, there's nobody but himself. Does he like his new toy? Does he like it? Does it give him pleasure? If it doesn't give him pleasure then it's useless! He discards it! He-"
Tsuzuki pulled him into a rough hug, holding him close. Hisoka drew in a shuddering breath. He let himself soak in the warm and familiar comfort that was Tsuzuki, inhaling in his scent. The man's shirt felt cool against his suddenly-too-warm cheeks and he sighed. He pulled away then from their embrace and gave a shaky smile to his lover.
"Thanks."
"Always glad to be of service," Tsuzuki smiled cheerfully.
"Oh my God!"
Everyone jumped nearly a foot into the air as their blond-haired scientist slap the table hard along with his exclamation.
"What?" they chorused.
Watari faced them, looking excited and his eyes practically twinkling with the delight of discovery. "What do you feel when you were a kid, and you're out playing with your friends, you're having a great time, and then suddenly, your mom calls you in to the house, saying it's too dark to play anymore?"
Tsuzuki looked at the man as though he had gone crazy. "I don't really see how this has to do with the case, Watari."
"C'mon, humor me!" Watari urged them.
"I didn't really played games when I was young. I had a bad childhood," Tsuzuki said.
"And I didn't have a childhood," Hisoka reminded them.
Sweatdrop. "Ah, Tatsumi?" The scientist threw a pleading look at the secretary. The man adjusted his glasses accordingly and sighed.
"Games are a waste of time, therefore, a waste of money, and as such, I do not play games," he declared firmly.
Double sweatdrop. He turned to Kyo then. Surely his partner had a normal childhood which consisted of game-playing! Someone in this place had to!
"Kyo?"
The boy just gave him a stony look and refused to say anything. Okay, scratch that. EVERYONE in this place didn't have a normal life. He forgot that they were Shinigamis. "Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good analogy," he started. "But what I meant was, when you're in the middle of doing something you really like, someone comes along and interrupts you, what do you feel?"
"Annoyed." Tatsumi threw an evil look at Tsuzuki as though reminded of the times when he tried to do the office budget only to have Tsuzuki whining at his knees about how he should get a life. Tsuzuki eeped.
"Exactly!" Watari clenched his fist in triumph. "Annoyed. Now, as Hisoka has said, our new villain feels pleasure and pleasure only right?"
They nodded in agreement. The Shinigamis were very good in choral actions.
"That would explain why he keeps on referring to these things he's been putting us through as games. That's all it is to him; games."
"Well, he's not a very good player then, since you guys managed to win both of his games," Terazuma offered.
"Exactly."
Far from looking pleased that they finally understood his theory, Watari looked quite the opposite. His face was grim as he waited for the implications to sink in.
Not surprisingly, it was Kyo who said it first. "I take it this psycho doesn't really like me that much now, does he?" He sounded utterly calm and unruffled despite being the one to realize what Watari had been trying to say. In fact, he sounded slightly amused.
"What do you mean?" Tsuzuki asked, puzzled. "I don't get it."
It was kind of weird seeing such a serious expression on Watari's face for such an extended period of time. It was as if a whole new side of the genki scientist had revealed himself and they took him seriously. "Who was it that broke through the first trap of shadows?" He asked instead.
"It was Tatsumi."
"Yes, but who was the one who realized what the trap was about in the first place?" He countered back.
"Kyo."
"And who was it that broke the second trap?"
They stared first at him, then at his young partner who looked back at them with a small, rueful smile. Realization and sick horror dawned on their faces.
"Kyo."
Watari sighed. "Aa. I'm guessing our murderer must feel pretty annoyed with Kyo by now."
________________________________________________________________________
(Thursday)
"Did you find anything?" It was Kacho.
Kyo, Tatsumi, Tsuzuki and Hisoka shook their heads wearily. They had been down to Chijou, to the place marked for the coming Monday's meeting, scouting it out for any traps.
"I've done a check by earth, wind, water *and* fire," Kyo sounded tired. The 'check' as he called it, which involved summoning all four elements, was not an easy task. He looked a bit pale. "I got nothing."
"Nothing either by shadows. Everything seems normal." Tatsumi took off his glasses and polished them with a handkerchief, sighing. The seemingly indestructible secretary was also tired.
Tsuzuki and Hisoka also confirmed their findings. "Nothing by normal magic," Tsuzuki said.
"And nothing through empathy either," Hisoka piped in.
Kacho sighed. "We'll have to keep checking every day until Monday. I don't want you people to go rushing headlong into this."
They nodded.
________________________________________________________________________
(Friday)
Kacho: "How was it?"
Tatsumi: "Nothing."
________________________________________________________________________
(Saturday)
Kacho: "And?"
Tsuzuki: "Nothing."
________________________________________________________________________
(Sunday)
Kacho (sighing): "Yes?"
Kyo: "Nada."
Watari: "Is he going to do anything or not??!!"
________________________________________________________________________
(Monday, 10.00 p.m.)
They had stationed themselves in the alley an hour and a half before the appointed time. Hisoka had done a sweep first and had confirmed that there was no one in the alley as yet. Not even any homeless people, seeking shelter on that night.
Not that Kyo would blame them. Rain had fallen in a steady drizzle for the past hour and in a few minutes, they were completely soaked. It was a wet and miserable night to wait for an evil psycho to show up.
10.45 p.m.
"Do you think he'll be here?" Hisoka asked Kyo quietly. The rain still hadn't let up and he brushed his dripping bangs out of his eyes impatiently. He dreaded coming face to face with the one who could radiate so much evil, but if his experience with Muraki had taught him anything, it was that you had to face your fears.
Kyo shrugged. "It's his game," he said wryly.
11.15 p.m.
Tsuzuki sighed mournfully. "All the good bakeries would be closed by now."
Twitchmarks.
11.25 p.m.
They were getting really wound up now, Tatsumi could feel it. They had fallen silent in the last few minutes as the appointed time neared. He himself felt like kicking something with all this impatience bottled in.
11.26
11.27
11.28
11.29
11.30 p.m.
"Konbanwa, Shinigamis."
They whirled around in surprise. The voice had come from the back of the alley and as they stared hard into the blackness shrouding the speaker, he stepped forward, into the light.
"I'm glad to know you people are so punctual. It's a very becoming habit." And he smiled.
The man, if you could call him a man, was wearing one of those old- fashioned Chinese style men's robes. The one that looked like a priest's uniform with a high collar complete with slits at the sides to allow easy movement. His robes seemed to be made of costly dove-grey silk and he walked without a sound except for the slight tapping of his ebony walking cane on the ground.
Taking in mind his cane, they expected to see someone old but what they saw instead was a young man, perhaps in his late twenties, with merrily twinkling eyes, the color a gold that was as deep as Watari's, and waist- length, blood-red hair.
Instinctively, they crowded around Kyo, shielding him from view. The man looked somewhat normal, except for his unnerving hair color, but they could sense something else from the man. Something that the charming smile and easy manner could not conceal. They, as Hisoka had the other night, felt his evil.
They were afraid.
"There's no need to be so hostile is there?" he asked, still smiling, and took a step closer.
Tsuzuki, Hisoka and Watari each took out several ofudas in preparation and by Tatsumi's side, shadows rose up in a threatening wave.
"Who are you?" Tatsumi asked quietly.
He looked surprised by that question and seemed to give it serious thought. "Who am I, you say? Should I give you my name? Ah, but my first name was given to me so long ago that I had forgotten it. I have no name."
Tsuzuki snapped, "Quit playing around and just tell us who you are and what the hell you want with us?"
The man chuckled. It was a sound pure in its mirth and sent buckets of ice down their backs. "But playing is all that is left to me now. I have nothing else to do, so I might as well 'play around'.
But as for a name, why don't you try. . . 'Akuma'?" And with that, he winked at them and in horror, all five of them realized that they could not move. Only their eyes could and they saw, as they were locked in that sudden stasis and looking down, that same circle and pentagram which had appeared with his 8 killings now burning a sooty-red glow at their feet. They were once again, trapped.
With a negligent wave of his hand, the circle and pentagram locking down Kyo suddenly whirled into air, taking him with it, and it flew forwards, past the others, flying towards the one who called himself 'Akuma' and with another wave, Kyo suddenly found himself slammed against the alley wall.
Helplessly, he watched as his hands were wrenched out from his side by 'Akuma's' magic and his feet snapped straight and were locked together tightly. Cruxification style.
"Kyo! Kyo!" They were shouting his name in fear but they couldn't do anything. He saw from the corner of his eyes as they struggled valiantly against their magical prison but to no avail. Even Tatsumi's shadows had collapsed.
Akuma came to stand before him and he crooked a finger in. Kyo found himself sliding down the wall, still in that rigid pose, to stop before the golden-eyed man face-to-face.
"Hello," Akuma smiled.
"Hi."
"I'm glad we finally got the chance to talk. I've been waiting for this moment all week."
"Me too, actually. You're not really a demon are you." It was a statement, not a question. Up close, Kyo noticed that the man didn't seem to get wet by the rain. Weird.
Akuma shrugged. "Your friend seemed upset that I didn't have a name so I just gave him that. Are you disappointed?"
"Kind of," Kyo smiled. "I never saw a real demon before but I'm guessing, after you, they'll seem pretty tame."
Akuma actually looked pleased at that. "Why, thank you. You do know how to give compliments."
"It's not that hard when you find yourself crucified by a lunatic."
"That's not a very nice thing to say, Kyo-chan," Akuma pouted. "You don't mind if I call you Kyo-chan do you? It sounds friendlier than Shiozaki- san."
Kyo would have shrugged if he could have managed it. He rolled his eyes instead. "Since I'm basically at your mercy, you can call me 'Judy' and I still won't mind."
Akuma grinned.
"Well, maybe," Kyo amended. "I think I prefer 'Jessica' if you're going for an exotic flavor."
"You ARE a wonderful boy, aren't you?" Akuma laughed and clapped his hands in delight. "Much more fun than your other companions. Though," he said thoughtfully, "from what Kazutaka told me, I expected better from them. He didn't mention you though. I wonder why."
"I'm new to the job. Just started working a few months ago. Seems like forever though, ever since we got your case," Kyo explained. He needed to stall for time. Then maybe, one of them could break free or something. Kyo was not expecting additional help coming from JuuOhCho. Terazuma, Wakaba, Saya and Yuma had been suddenly called in to their blocks for a case a few days back and had not returned since. He noticed that Tsuzuki seemed to be able to wiggle a bit. The man had more power than he showed and Kyo would really love to have his help. He had a feeling things were going to go downhill for him soon.
"Ah, yes. That would explain a lot," Akuma nodded. "I was quite cross when I first saw you. I thought Kazutaka had withheld information from me. I had to be quite firm with him," Akuma gave a mournful little sigh.
"What did you do to him?"
"Kazutaka?" Akuma sounded surprised. "Don't tell me you actually care what happens to him? From all accounts, he's better off with me, don't you think? Out of sight, out of mind."
"Yes, he is a bastard but he's still human. Unlike you."
Akuma waved aside the insult and smile indulgently at Kyo. "If it'll make you feel better, he's still alive. I think. He was, the last time I checked."
"Release him then. You got what you wanted. Now let him go."
Akuma leaned in closer to him, his mouth just nuzzling Kyo's cheek and his long hair fell forwards, shielding their faces from view. "You are just so adorable and simply amusing, Kyo-chan. Do you know that?" He continued nuzzling him, his breath hot against Kyo's cheek as his lips traveled slowly across his jaw line, brushing against his closed eyes and finally, resting lightly against his own lips.
Disgust roiled in his stomach but Kyo refused to answer him. Akuma chuckled anyway. "You are so beautiful too. Even more beautiful than the one you call Hisoka. You," Akuma sighed and pressed a chaste kiss on Kyo's suddenly pale lips. "You are the epitome of male beauty, do you realize that? You soft, raven black hair. . . your delicious lips. . . and your eyes! So beautiful. My beautiful Kyo. . ."
He chuckled again. "I think I've been spending too much time with Kazutaka. I'm starting to talk like him. In fact, I'm tempted to take a leaf from his book and just. . . . .ravish you." The last words escaped from his mouth like the hiss of a snake and Kyo shivered.
He couldn't help himself this time and he whispered, "Stop it," his lips brushing involuntarily against Akuma's.
Akuma ignored his feeble protest and continued rubbing his lips softly over Kyo's. "How is it that a mere plaything like you could be so exquisite, so fine? It must be in the genes. Tell me, were your parents as perfect as you?"
Kyo gasped and his eyes flew open, to stare into Akuma's deep gold ones. "I said, stop it," he hissed.
Akuma drew back in mock surprise and the cool air that blew in the space that suddenly yawned between them smelled like sweet heaven to Kyo. "My, did I touch a nerve?"
Kyo refused to answer him and glared.
Akuma laughed. "Yes, I was right. You're a much better game than the others." He waved a hand at his friends who so far, have yet to be able to free themselves from his spell. Kyo's heart sank a little lower.
"In fact, let's start a new game. Here's a little taste of what's to come up."
Kyo wondered what he meant by that but he didn't have to wait long. With a sudden move, Akuma darted forwards and he found himself again lips to lips with the man. Was he going to kiss him again?
"I'll see you soon, Kyo-chan."
Sudden, fierce pain blossomed in his chest. Looking down, he saw Akuma's hand was fist deep in the center of his chest, crackling with red sparks of energy and drenched with his own blood which was gushing out like a geyser. He looked back at Akuma in dumb surprise.
Akuma grinned and pulled his hand back with a wrench that sent blazing fire through every part of his body, radiating from the gaping hole in his chest and he coughed up blood.
Akuma turned back to the others who had ceased in their struggles, shock and horror coloring their faces. They watched in helpless fury as Kyo continued to cough and choke in his own blood, unable to even fall onto the ground, held up as he was by the pentagram.
"Your fabled Shinigami healing powers will only work after my pentagram is gone and the pentagram will only disappear in say, oh, around 10 minutes!" Akuma told them cheerfully. "So why don't you relax, sit back and enjoy the show! Ja ne!"
With another smile and a wave, Akuma faded from sight.
Why is it that we can still feel bodily pain even when we're technically dead? Kyo wondered dazedly. The rain which was still pouring leaked into his mouth and he felt it mix with the hot saltiness of his blood. He wanted to say something to his friends, wanted to tell them that he'll be alright, really. The pentagram will be gone soon and he'll be okay, so don't look like that, and Hisoka please, don't cry. I'm okay, I mean, I *will* be okay and. . .
Still choking on the blood which won't stop bubbling up his throat, Kyo fainted.
________________________________________________________________________
~to be continued~
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A/N : Ooh! Evil me! How was it? That part where they finally came face to face (or lips to lips in Kyo's case ^ o ^) with 'Akuma' took me quite some time to write as I couldn't really decide how to go about it. Should they have a fight scene first? Should someone get seriously injured and in jumps Kyo to save the day again? In the end, I just start to type and look where it got us! More Kyo-Torture! Wahahahaha! *Kelly takes Rinny's hands and they start to dance around in glee, singing loudly, "Go Kyo Go!"
*Kelly gives a big grin to everyone, "Akuma-style" and waves* Ja ne!