Standard disclaimers:
I don't own Ruroken. Unfortunately Watsuki and some big name companies already
have this privilege.
Special thanks to Hana Himura who edited this story for giving me helpful hints
and advice and to Firuze Khanume for giving helpful comments and critics.
mmm, I started my homepage (first attempt *COUGH*). You'll find my latest
chapters there, I try to update every week, but I can't promise it...
So if you want, have a look: http://www.geocities.com/mara_amber1
I hope there is no typo in it =^^=...
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CHAPTER 5: WORKING
"He beat even Okita." Tokio couldn't believe her bad luck on this day.
First she had to smell like a roasted chicken, second Misao had been expelled
from the tournament, third she had talked half-naked with this man and on top of
that Okita, on whom she had bet, had lost against a newcomer.
Could it get even worse than this? She hoped not, she didn't want to imagine what
would happen next.
"Tokio! Hey, I'm talking with you!" Misao elbowed her sister to get her attention.
By now Megumi was highly suspicious
"Something is wrong with her, I wonder what it is." Fox-ears popped up
"Did you meet a hot guy?"
Aoshi didn't bat an eyelid at the comment of his girlfriend, and cat-ears
popped up as Tomoe leaned forward.
"Wow, Tokio! A new record, even for you. You are barely one week in this
city. Who is it?"
Before Misao grinning evilly could start, Tokio regained her senses and
slammed her feet into Misao's back while she leaned blinking over to Kenshin
"Can't you imagine?"
She threw her arms around Kenshin and squeezed him heartfelt, his face
getting dangerously red
"Oro."
Badger-ears and badger-tail popped up. Enough was enough. She thought that
Tokio wasn't his girl-friend! Had something happened between the two
that she missed?
"KENSHIN!!!!"
Only Misao's feet stopped Kaoru from freeing Kenshin. She stumbled and landed
with a clash on Misao.
Unbelieving Megumi eyed the fragile looking man, she knew Tokio's ex-boyfriends
and Kenshin didn't fit into the scheme.
"I am not going to buy this story, Tokio."
Sighing Tokio released Kenshin from her embrace, swirly-eyed he fell back directly
into his sister's arms.
Quickly Tokio slammed her hand across Misao's mouth who was about to recover.
"I'm still a bit distracted from my work, I have a difficult problem to solve..."
Megumi's eyes narrowed "... and I lost annoyingly many bets today."
Tokio faced a cat and a fox trying to read her features and had trouble
keeping a struggling and protesting Misao under control.
Mistrusting and VERY suspicious Megumi's eyes narrowed and closely she
observed her squirming, visibly unnerved friend. She cast a glance at Aoshi who
shrugged. Whatever was wrong, it had passed Aoshi unnoticed.
If this wasn't even more suspicious.
"They are preparing the presentation ceremony."
Kenshin craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the ongoing ceremony in the arena.
"They are starting with kempo." His sister was observing the competitors gathered
waiting for their awards and silently Aoshi left to receive his reward,
closely followed by Kaoru.
Due to the many categories the ceremony took some time. Their duties ended with
the ceremony, the cleaning was organised by another group. Tomoe, Tokio and
Megumi were prepared to leave, ready to go Misao was already coming towards them.
"Where is Enishi?" Tomoe was looking for her brother.
Impatiently Megumi was checking her watch
"I have to leave, I can't wait any longer."
"I have to leave as well." Nervously Tomoe checked her watch "We'll receive some
new artifacts today. I promised to be back to accept the package."
Calming Tokio laid a hand on her shoulder
"I'll look together with Misao for your brother, Megumi can drop you at
work." whispering she leaned forward to Megumi's ear
"You know that Tomoe would NEVER leave without knowing that someone cares for
Enishi." she leaned back and spoke loud "I'll find a possibility to get home with
Misao."
Megumi nodded in agreement and took Tomoe with her who still tried to
spot her brother while following Megumi to the exit.
"Let's look for him." Tokio waved Misao and Kenshin followed them,
laying his arm lazily around Tokio's shoulders.
"I need to speak with him also." He cast a glance at his sister "We don't have
anything urgent to take care of, do we?"
Asiyah waved her hand denying and followed her brother and the two sisters.
Coquettish smiling at Kenshin, Tokio laid her hand on his arm
"This feels more and more comfortable."
Kenshin's face reddened "Oro!" and quickly he removed his hand while Tokio,
Misao and Asiyah giggled girlishly.
"There he is!" Misao exclaimed as she suddenly spotted the remarkable white-head
in the crowd.
"What a good luck, Okita is with him." Kenshin sighed relieved.
"You want to speak with Okita as well?" Asiyah wondered.
"Yes. I want to know what they both think of this Shishio."
"Enishi!!!" Meanwhile Misao had reached Enishi and hugged him heartfelt.
Puzzled Okita looked at the cheerful, admitting beautiful woman who was hugged
back by his acquaintance.
"Congratulations to your third place!"
Annoyed Enishi's features grumbled.
"I'd preferred the first place."
Laughing Misao freed herself from his embrace.
"Hey, don't be so negative! You could have been eliminated from the tournament
in the first round like Kenshin!"
Asiyah had to bite her lip not to laugh at her brother's annoyed face, but not a
second later she tried to comfort him
"But he lost against the fighter who won the tournament. I think it was bad luck
to fight against this strong opponent in the first round."
Okita couldn't stifle his laughter any longer and Misao turned his
attention on him.
"You made the second place, didn't you? Congratulations!"
Embarrassed Okita scratched his head and Tokio added her congratulations
"It was a great fight, though I wished you would have won."
"Well, I gave my best. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to win."
"At last you reached the last round." Tokio eyed her little sister "and were not
expelled."
The young girl's grumbled features caught Okita's attention
"You participated as well?"
"Yes, in the kempo-section."
NOW, Okita had an idea who expelled the young woman-
"I have never seen you around before." Okita wondered, there was no way he
could oversee such a beautiful, yet spirited young woman.
Noticing his interest, Misao cheered up and blinked
"No wonder, my sister Tokio" she turned and pointed to her "and I just moved
to Tokyo. The last ten years we spent in London where our father works.
I'm Misao Makimachi."
"Soushi Okita. It is a pleasure to meet you." he gave Misao a bright smile and
hastily he continued "both."
"Thanks." The sisters returned unison and somehow annoyed Tokio registered
that Okita focused his main attention on Misao.
"So you stayed for 10 years in London? That's very interesting. Why did you
come back?"
"I want to study here and Tokio started her PhD."
"You just started studying here? Which subject did you choose?"
"Education. How about you?"
"I finished in the last term, I graduated in Criminal law."
"Wow, this sounds quite impressive."
"I'm working for the Tokyo police now."
Misao giggled delighted
"That is even more impressive... it sounds dangerous."
"Not actually. But what about your contest. How far did you get?"
He hadn't noticed yet that this theme wasn't the best choice, but Misao's grumbled
features and her answer filled him in
"I was disqualified in the first round."
"Disqualified in the first round?" Okita thought his ears were fooling him.
Once more his friend seemed to have overdone it with his correctness.
"Yes, but it wasn't my fault!" Misao meant to defend herself.
"She was expelled for her bad temper." Tokio was rid off following the
conversation impassive and used her chance to interfere.
"That was only due to this unfair judge!"
"I'm sure he wasn't unfair, Misao. You DO HAVE problems with bad temper."
"The right person is talking to me. Tokio, the expert."
"He was right, I have no doubt about this."
"You haven't been near when it happened."
"I know you, therefore I trust his decision."
Amused Okita had followed the exchange when they where suddenly interrupted.
"How entertaining. Someone is defending me."
Surprised Okita turned
"Saitou? You are already finished?"
Saitou nodded his agreement and acknowledging at Tokio who wished to vanish right
now. The bad luck of this day obviously hadn't ended yet, this man seemed to
know the same persons as her.
Again she felt her face redden, luckily Megumi and Tomoe had already left.
She could almost see fox- and cat-ears popping up, and Misao's wide grin wasn't
very helpful.
"Let's go, Okita."
"Just wait a minute, Kenshin wanted to discuss something with me and Enishi."
"One minute." Saitou fumbled in his trousers and found what he had searched
for: his cigarettes.
"Do you know Misao Makimachi and her sister..." He hesitated.
"Tokio." annoyed she helped. Obviously this young man had really only concentrated
on Misao. Out-done by her younger sister, this was really not her day.
"I already had the pleasure."
"Oh," embarrassed Okita scratched his head as he remembered Misao's expelling
and noticed her disapproval. He quickly turned to Enishi standing behind
him and talking with Asiyah and Kenshin.
"I think I have to talk with Enishi now."
Misao took the chance and turned her back on the annoying man and her sister, too.
What left a visibly uncomfortable feeling Tokio with Saitou behind. He didn't say
one word, just lightened a cigarette.
The awkward silence was tugging on her nerves
"It was my sister's first tournament here in Japan."
"Really? Considering her behaviour the thought never crossed my mind."
"What?" Tokio thought her ears had fooled her.
"You heard me quite well. Bad-temper is really a bad habit in your family."
his amused smirk let her anger raising.
"Why was Misao expelled?"
"She lost her temper and attacked me instead of her opponent."
Even more amused he observed the young woman's eyes widen, she obviously
had problems to mentally digest his sentence.
"My sister attacked YOU. But why?"
"She over-reacted about some of my comments."
Tokio could imagine that Misao had lost her temper about this man...
"Saitou, we can leave now."
Relieved Tokio turned to Okita and Misao, much to her surprise the others were
already gone, and Misao explained the situation.
"When Enishi heard that Tomoe wanted to go to work he decided to pay her a visit
in the institute. Kenshin and Asiyah had the same way and left with him."
Tokio frowned
"Now WE have to get home somehow."
Quickly, with a bright smile Okita realised that there was a chance to talk a bit
longer with the fascinating young woman with the bright eyes by his side
"We can drop you at home, it is no problem for us."
"I can't remember you asking me about this, Okita."
Pleadingly Okita looked wide-eyed at his friend
"Really, Saitou... It is on the way and these two" he gave Misao an extraordinary
warmhearted smile "won't have to take the train or bus."
Grumbling Saitou submitted into his fate, discussing the matter with Okita would
only waste some more of his precious time.
"We need to hurry, we are already late." he waved Okita and the two girls to
follow him to his car.
Okita and Misao immediately occupied the back-seat what left only the passenger-
seat for Tokio.
She couldn't decide what was worse, the cheerful voice and giggling of her younger
sister flirting with Okita on the back-seat or the man beside her driving.
"Where is your place?"
He interrupted her thoughts and cast a glance at her
"Just down this street, then left, on the next corner left again and than only a
few more hundred meters."
She noticed the next glance he cast at her and squirmed on her seat.
For the first time she realised that her skirt was indeed a bit short. Fumbling
she tried to cover her legs and from the corner of her eyes she noticed the smirk
in Saitou's face as he exhaled some smoke from his cigarette through a corner of
his thin lips.
She wasn't able to prevent her blushing, remembering her standing in front of him
half-naked, his smirk got even wider as he noticed her blushing and uncomfortable
feeling caused by him.
"I already had a good look at them, you really don't need to hide them."
The satisfied, self-confident grin in his face deepened and he took a delightful
drag from his cigarette.
Embarrassed, Tokio heard the loud laughter from the back-seat and wished
to faint. It was the most horrible ride in her whole life... with her flirting
sister on the back-seat and the smug man by her side who eyed her legs from time
to time approvingly.
Never in her life before she was this relieved seeing her house and hastily she
jumped out of the car, followed by derisive laughter while Misao didn't seem to
want to part from Okita but followed Tokio after a while.
****
Tokio was working in the hospital this night and as she entered the vast
examination room she blinked into the artificial, cold light of the neon-tubes at
the ceiling.
One light was defect, flickering and accompanied by a crackle it fell out from
time to time.
"I've got to catch the caretaker to fix this."
Every time she entered the forensic she was remembered to call him, but as soon as
she turned her attention on her work and was absorbed in it, the flickering light
was forgotten easily.
It was already late in the evening, but she didn't realise it for she was working
in the basement, without a window, a connection to the outer world.
She still had some more work to do and turned to the next slide lying beside the
microscope on the table.
"Hello, Tokio!"
She had the shock of her lifetime, being suddenly addressed without hearing
someone entering the forensic. Those damned doors opened and closed without a
warning.
"Tomoe! My Gods, sneaking in like this, you nearly gave me a heart-attack."
Displeasure spreading all over her face, Tomoe inspected the room, blinked into
the artificial, cold light of the neon-tubes
"No wonder when you spent the whole evening here alone with nothing around but
limb corpses."
She stepped closer and laid an arm around Tokio's shoulder, casting a glance at
the papers lying across the table without an order as it seemed
"Come on, let us go home."
"Is it already so late?"
"11 pm."
Surprised Tokio looked up
"Really? I didn't notice the time passing so fast."
Tomoe leaned forward and kissed Tokio on her neck
"You should finish for today as well, Tokio, let's go home." A playful smile
crossed Tomoe's features "Let us have a bath together."
With a gleaming light in her eyes Tokio looked up to her friend, but regretting
she looked at the many slides beside the microscope
"I just want to finish this one, Tomoe."
"I'll wait for you here."
"What are YOU doing this late here, Tomoe?"
"We got some new pieces from Sendai and I wanted to examine them."
Forcing a smile on her face she laid a hand on her friend's shoulder.
Sighing Tokio turned to microscope, and laid the next slide under the ocular.
"Just one minute to finish this examination."
'ring, ring'
"Tomoe, could you answer the phone?"
"No problem."
Tomoe picked up the hand piece while Tokio concentrated on the examination.
"Hello?"
Why had this man to die today? Annoyed she inspected his kidney-cells, the
reason why he had died was too obvious, the cancer-cells were well distinguishable
from the normal kidney-cells. Frowning she added the information on his
examination-sheet.
What was this? She heard an upset voice on the other side of the phone-connection
even from where she was sitting.
Tomoe covered the hand piece with her palm whispering to her friend
"It is Megumi, I can barely understand her. She wants to speak with
you. It seems to be urgent."
Tokio took of her gloves taking the hand piece from Tomoe who laid an arm around
her to eavesdrop the conversation.
"Tokio here."
"Gods, Tokio, something terrible happened, you have to come up."
"Slowly, slowly, Megumi. What happened?"
"Yamamoto is dead."
Tokio frowned, Yamamoto was dead? This wasn't a surprising news. After
all this was an hospital and people dying was nothing special. WHO was Yamamoto?
Tomoe just shrugged, she had also no clue what was going on.
Megumi screamed at the other end of the connection and Tokio moved the hand-piece
from her ear
"Gods, Tokio, he was murdered."
"Murdered?" Tokio and Tomoe exchanged an astonished glance.
"Yes, I have already called the police."
Alarmed Tokio registered her friend's hysteric voice and after a nod from
Tomoe she tried to sound calm not to upset Megumi even more
"Where are you, Megumi? I have Tomoe with me, we will come to you."
"Second floor."
****
Tokio and Tomoe reached the second floor in no time, already meeting Megumi
in front of the elevator.
She grabbed her friends by their arms and dragged them behind her to a sick bay.
She appeared rather calm considering what had happened
"Luckily it is already late enough and there aren't any visitors around anymore."
"What about the nurses?"
"There is only one who knows about this, the one who found him. She is at the
end of her tether I had to give her a tranquillizer."
"The police?"
"I called them shortly before you. They should arrive soon."
"What an unfortunate coincidence that your parents are on a conference just now."
"Here it is."
Megumi stopped in front of a door in nothing distinguishable from the other doors
on this corridor, and opening it, they entered the room.
On a bed a young man was lying and fascinated both, Tokio and Tomoe, stepped
closer. He had a crossed wound on his left cheek and a gash across his chest,
surprisingly the blood wasn't spread through the whole place, it concentrated on
and around the bed.
Tokio couldn't stifle her astonishment as she moved closer to corpse
"Wow, this looks weird."
Megumi stepped beside her
"I thought the same, I mean who kills someone in our times by cutting him up, this
is really odd."
Nervously Tomoe moved from one feet to another
"This is really interesting, you two..." She checked the corridor
"...but don't you two wonder if the murderer is still around?"
Startled Tokio and Megumi looked at their friend and Megumi's face paled.
"No, honestly I came into the room after the nurse screamed, saw the corpse,
went over the phone, called first the police, then you and gave the nurse the
tranquillizer."
Tokio's voice squeaked as she moved closer to Tomoe
"You mean he could still be around?"
"Possibly."
Megumi joined her friends, her knees shaking.
"The thought never crossed my mind. Gods, he could have killed me as well."
Tomoe straightened up
"Well, if he would still be around, Megumi would be dead by now."
Annoyed Megumi cast a glance in her direction
"Great, Tomoe. This is exactly the idea I need right now."
"Tomoe is right, Megumi. If the murderer would still be around he would have
killed you already, when you were alone on this floor."
Deciding to ignore the disturbing sound, Megumi turned her attention to more
materialistic features
"Can you two imagine the scandal that could arise from this? This could mean an
irreparable damage for our hospital." she shuddered at the imagination.
"Where are your parents now, Megumi?"
"Still in Chicago. They visit the conference for heart transplantation this week,
remember."
"Have you called them?"
"No, no yet. I wanted to wait until the police is here."
Tokio and Megumi stepped closer to the corpse again, Tomoe close behind them.
Megumi reached out one hand
"I have never seen such a gash in a chest before. What kind of weapon could it
be, Tokio?"
"Why do you ask me? I have never seen such a wound before, too."
"You were the one worked in the forensic in London, I thought you might know
what could have caused this."
Tomoe interfered pointing to a blinking reflection under the bed.
"What is this?"
All three woman leaned forward to have a closer look at the object.
"It is a sword!"
Interested Tokio reached out one hand, but Megumi stopped her half-way.
"Don't you think we shouldn't touch anything till the police was here?"
"Oh." Regretting Tokio retreated "I think you are right."
after pulling the sheet away she had a better view on the blade and
wrinkled her nose. "This blade looks strange, doesn't it?"
Tomoe leaned forward between her friends who made place for her.
After all she was the expert for swords and one glimpse was enough for her.
"It is a reversed blade."
"A reverse blade?" Astonished Tokio and Megumi exchanged glances, they had never
heard of such a thing before.
"Yes." Explaining Tomoe pointed to the sword "The sharp and the dull sides are
exchanged. Usually the dull side is on the inner side and the sharp side is on
the outside. Here it is just the other way around."
"And what is this?" Tokio wondered while pointing to the cheek of the victim.
Tomoe still inspected the sword without touching it while Megumi turned her
attention back to the corpse.
"Looks like a crossed wound."
Frowning Tokio examined the wound
"He received this after the gash in his chest, it barely bleed. The amount of
blood he lost because of this wound was too large for losing much blood out of
this wound."
Finally, Tomoe stood up
"Why should someone engrave a wound in his cheek when he already was dead?"
Megumi crossed her arms in front of her breast
"Maybe to mark him."
"What could be the reason for such a strange murderer?"
"Let us leave this to the police to find out."
Megumi's pager gave an alarm and she fingered for it in her coat and checked the
number. "It is the front desk, most probably the police has arrived."
She stepped over to the phone, taking up the hand-piece, she was directly
connected with the reception, it was one of the securities in this hospital.
"Hello?"
Megumi listened to the voice on the other side of the phone before she answered
"Yes, they can come upstairs. It is in the second floor, room 264."
Putting down the hand-piece she informed her waiting friends.
"It is the police, they will come upstairs."
Tomoe and Tokio nodded their consent, Tomoe was already inspecting the sword and
Tokio the corpse again both with professional interest.
Tomoe discovered the first remarkable point
"This sword isn't an original."
"What?" Startled Megumi glanced over at her friend. Her thought readable as a
book. This wasn't the time to bother about the fact if this sword was an original.
"How do you know, Tomoe?" Tokio wondered.
"I told you that we received some new pieces last week." She turned to wait for
Tokio and Megumi to confirm. "Mostly it were swords from all over
Japan. We restore them for the exposition in two month here in Tokyo. Therefore I
pored over some books for more background-information. I'm quite competent by
now.... and I stumbled about an interesting history fact. There was one
swords-smith in Kyoto who designed a reversed blade and there was a picture of
it. There is a difference in the design of the hilt, but it is supposed to imitate
this sword."
"aha." Tokio and Megumi agreed, inwardly wondering how Tomoe had been able to
notice it, to them the sword looked like any other they had seen before.
But however they hadn't much time to wonder forthe door was opened without a
warning. All three women jumped up and looked shocked into the direction, fearing
to face the murderer.
"You called the police?"
A lanky man with a hatched face and a low pony-tail was standing in the door as
his glance fell on the corpse lying on the bed.
"Most obviously."
A second man appeared behind him, smaller, but dressed in the same uniform. His
friendly smiling face freed the three women of their stupor and bowing Megumi
stepped forward.
"I called the police."
Excitedly the second man entered the room.
"What a coincidence! Megumi Takagi! Tomoe Yukishiro! And Tokio Makimachi!"
Tokio tried to hide behind Tomoe much to her friend's surprise and the smile in
Okita's face made her feel uncomfortable. Had Saitou told him what had happened
at the tournament? The self-content smile around Saitou's lips didn't make it
any better.
Concentrated Saitou stepped closer to the bed
"Who found him?"
Megumi bite her lips
"I did."
"When had it happened?"
Megumi checked her watch
"Half an hour at the most and 20 minutes minimum."
"You called us immediately after you had found him?"
Megumi nodded her approval.
"And what are you doing here?"
Saitou addressed Tokio and Tomoe, Tokio's face turned red as a tomato as she cast
down her eyelids embarrassed.
"I'm working in the forensic of this hospital and Megumi called me shortly after
the incident."
"I wanted to pick Tokio up, to drive home together with her. I waited for her to
finish her last examination just in the moment Megumi called her."
Tomoe explained her presence.
"Did you touch anything?"
"No, beside the blanket nothing. We wanted to have a closer look at the sword
lying underneath it."
Nodding Saitou picked the sheet up and stopped short
"What a strange blade."
Interested Okita stepped closer and threw a glance on it.
"You are right, I have never seen such a strange blade before."
Quickly Megumi interfered
"Tomoe told us that it would be an reverse blade, it would exist an original made
by an Kyoto swords-smith 150 years ago, but this one would be an imitate."
"Interesting. What made you so competent about swords?"
Questioning Saitou raised an eyebrow at the young woman
"I studied Japanese historical arts and my special interestare weapons."
Acknowledging her competence Saitou investigated further
"Do you by chance know who owns the original?"
Thoughtfully Tomoe frowned
"If I recall it right the name of the owner was Kamiya."
"Kamiya?" Tokio interfered. Wasn't this the name of her sister's friend?
"Yes, Kamiya.. I'm sure." Tomoe assured.
Meanwhile Saitou and Okita had turned their attention back to the dead man
"His name?"
"Setsuna Yamamoto, he was 25."
Surprised Okita raised an eyebrow
"25? He appears older."
Megumi checked the clipboard beside the bed
"His kidney was damaged."
Sarcastically Saitou looked down at him
"It won't bother him anymore," he turned around to the fragile woman he remembered
well, dressed in a towel"You work in the forensic?"
"Yes."
"What would you say, how long is he dead?"
"The rigor mortis hasn't set in yet. Maybe an hour ago, not longer. I'd say most
obviously the wound in his chest finished him."
"What about this wound on his cheek?"
"I'd say he was already dead when the murderer carved it into his cheek. He
barely lost blood."
"Who is responsible for the hospital?"
"At the moment me." Megumi stepped forward and now Saitou and Okita were both
surprised.
"Do you run the hospital?"
"No, my parents do, but they are on a conference in Chicago at the moment. So
I'm the one responsible at the moment."
Saitou turned to Okita
"We will have to call our coroner and forensic squad."
Nodding Okita revealed his handy, already dialling the number and walking
to a corner of the room to have a quiet place for calling.
Tokio's bunny ears popped up
"Forensic squad? Do you mind me observing their work?"
Saitou looked taken aback
"If you don't touch anything."
Megumi had one more concern
"Could you handle this discretly, please. I don't want that our other patients
notice what happened here."
Okita peeked out on the corridor looking at the many closed doors on both sides.
"Are the others unscathed?"
"Yes, he is the only victim."
By the time Megumi was starting to be annoyed. The longer they stayed here, the
higher was the danger of a scandal.
Mistrusting Saitou raised his eyebrow and continued his questioning
"25? He had problems with his kidney?"
"Yes."
"He is unusually skinny."
"Do you want to imply something?"
"Did he take drugs?"
Cetremined staring at him, Megumi put her hands behind her back
"That is bound to medical confidentiality."
Saitou noted something in his clipboard.
"So he took drugs. What kind of drugs?"
"I never said that he took drugs!"
"If we start to investigate here, we will reveal it anyway. You will be required
to be abandoned of your medical confidentiality."
"This is a private hospital, Sir! Our patients pay a lot of money to have their
privacy. We are bound over their death to stick to our principle."
Saitou merely raised an eyebrow and teeth-grinding Megumi gave in.
"Yes, he took drugs."
Smirking Saitou put his clipboard away
"This was easy, wasn't it?"
Calming Tomoe laid a hand on Megumi's shoulder
"I would like to go home now. Do you need me any longer?"
Saitou shook his head
"No, just make sure that we record your names and addresses."
"This is no problem, we all live on the same place."
Tomoe turned to Okita and left after she gave him name and the address
while Saitou continued to snoop through the room.
Megumi followed Tomoe to fetch the forensic squad at the reception and guide
them discretly to through the hospital.
As soon as Okita had finished his notices he turned to Tokio
"How is Misao doing?"
Annoying. Her over-energetic sister had impressed this man deeply and he barely
remembered her own name.
"Fine."
Now she had even to make small-talk about little Misao.
Okita ignored Tokio's blunt answer and continued
"You all live at the same place?"
He wasn't giving up easily, that was sure and Tokio decided to give him what
he wanted.
"Why don't you come over tomorrow evening? I am giving a small party and I am
sure Misao will be happy to see you again."
Visibly Okita's features brightened
"Really? I'll drop by after work then."
A flurry of activity on the corridor interrupted them and together with Megumi
the forensic squad entered the room.
Tokio followed their activity closely while Megumi guided Saitou and Okita through
the hospital for their investigation.
Quickly a night filled with activity passed and when Tokio and Megumi finally got
to get home they dropped tired, exhausted and sore from the busy night into their
beds.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TBC.....
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Started: June 14th 2002
Finished: July 24th 2002
Mara
I don't own Ruroken. Unfortunately Watsuki and some big name companies already
have this privilege.
Special thanks to Hana Himura who edited this story for giving me helpful hints
and advice and to Firuze Khanume for giving helpful comments and critics.
mmm, I started my homepage (first attempt *COUGH*). You'll find my latest
chapters there, I try to update every week, but I can't promise it...
So if you want, have a look: http://www.geocities.com/mara_amber1
I hope there is no typo in it =^^=...
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CHAPTER 5: WORKING
"He beat even Okita." Tokio couldn't believe her bad luck on this day.
First she had to smell like a roasted chicken, second Misao had been expelled
from the tournament, third she had talked half-naked with this man and on top of
that Okita, on whom she had bet, had lost against a newcomer.
Could it get even worse than this? She hoped not, she didn't want to imagine what
would happen next.
"Tokio! Hey, I'm talking with you!" Misao elbowed her sister to get her attention.
By now Megumi was highly suspicious
"Something is wrong with her, I wonder what it is." Fox-ears popped up
"Did you meet a hot guy?"
Aoshi didn't bat an eyelid at the comment of his girlfriend, and cat-ears
popped up as Tomoe leaned forward.
"Wow, Tokio! A new record, even for you. You are barely one week in this
city. Who is it?"
Before Misao grinning evilly could start, Tokio regained her senses and
slammed her feet into Misao's back while she leaned blinking over to Kenshin
"Can't you imagine?"
She threw her arms around Kenshin and squeezed him heartfelt, his face
getting dangerously red
"Oro."
Badger-ears and badger-tail popped up. Enough was enough. She thought that
Tokio wasn't his girl-friend! Had something happened between the two
that she missed?
"KENSHIN!!!!"
Only Misao's feet stopped Kaoru from freeing Kenshin. She stumbled and landed
with a clash on Misao.
Unbelieving Megumi eyed the fragile looking man, she knew Tokio's ex-boyfriends
and Kenshin didn't fit into the scheme.
"I am not going to buy this story, Tokio."
Sighing Tokio released Kenshin from her embrace, swirly-eyed he fell back directly
into his sister's arms.
Quickly Tokio slammed her hand across Misao's mouth who was about to recover.
"I'm still a bit distracted from my work, I have a difficult problem to solve..."
Megumi's eyes narrowed "... and I lost annoyingly many bets today."
Tokio faced a cat and a fox trying to read her features and had trouble
keeping a struggling and protesting Misao under control.
Mistrusting and VERY suspicious Megumi's eyes narrowed and closely she
observed her squirming, visibly unnerved friend. She cast a glance at Aoshi who
shrugged. Whatever was wrong, it had passed Aoshi unnoticed.
If this wasn't even more suspicious.
"They are preparing the presentation ceremony."
Kenshin craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the ongoing ceremony in the arena.
"They are starting with kempo." His sister was observing the competitors gathered
waiting for their awards and silently Aoshi left to receive his reward,
closely followed by Kaoru.
Due to the many categories the ceremony took some time. Their duties ended with
the ceremony, the cleaning was organised by another group. Tomoe, Tokio and
Megumi were prepared to leave, ready to go Misao was already coming towards them.
"Where is Enishi?" Tomoe was looking for her brother.
Impatiently Megumi was checking her watch
"I have to leave, I can't wait any longer."
"I have to leave as well." Nervously Tomoe checked her watch "We'll receive some
new artifacts today. I promised to be back to accept the package."
Calming Tokio laid a hand on her shoulder
"I'll look together with Misao for your brother, Megumi can drop you at
work." whispering she leaned forward to Megumi's ear
"You know that Tomoe would NEVER leave without knowing that someone cares for
Enishi." she leaned back and spoke loud "I'll find a possibility to get home with
Misao."
Megumi nodded in agreement and took Tomoe with her who still tried to
spot her brother while following Megumi to the exit.
"Let's look for him." Tokio waved Misao and Kenshin followed them,
laying his arm lazily around Tokio's shoulders.
"I need to speak with him also." He cast a glance at his sister "We don't have
anything urgent to take care of, do we?"
Asiyah waved her hand denying and followed her brother and the two sisters.
Coquettish smiling at Kenshin, Tokio laid her hand on his arm
"This feels more and more comfortable."
Kenshin's face reddened "Oro!" and quickly he removed his hand while Tokio,
Misao and Asiyah giggled girlishly.
"There he is!" Misao exclaimed as she suddenly spotted the remarkable white-head
in the crowd.
"What a good luck, Okita is with him." Kenshin sighed relieved.
"You want to speak with Okita as well?" Asiyah wondered.
"Yes. I want to know what they both think of this Shishio."
"Enishi!!!" Meanwhile Misao had reached Enishi and hugged him heartfelt.
Puzzled Okita looked at the cheerful, admitting beautiful woman who was hugged
back by his acquaintance.
"Congratulations to your third place!"
Annoyed Enishi's features grumbled.
"I'd preferred the first place."
Laughing Misao freed herself from his embrace.
"Hey, don't be so negative! You could have been eliminated from the tournament
in the first round like Kenshin!"
Asiyah had to bite her lip not to laugh at her brother's annoyed face, but not a
second later she tried to comfort him
"But he lost against the fighter who won the tournament. I think it was bad luck
to fight against this strong opponent in the first round."
Okita couldn't stifle his laughter any longer and Misao turned his
attention on him.
"You made the second place, didn't you? Congratulations!"
Embarrassed Okita scratched his head and Tokio added her congratulations
"It was a great fight, though I wished you would have won."
"Well, I gave my best. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to win."
"At last you reached the last round." Tokio eyed her little sister "and were not
expelled."
The young girl's grumbled features caught Okita's attention
"You participated as well?"
"Yes, in the kempo-section."
NOW, Okita had an idea who expelled the young woman-
"I have never seen you around before." Okita wondered, there was no way he
could oversee such a beautiful, yet spirited young woman.
Noticing his interest, Misao cheered up and blinked
"No wonder, my sister Tokio" she turned and pointed to her "and I just moved
to Tokyo. The last ten years we spent in London where our father works.
I'm Misao Makimachi."
"Soushi Okita. It is a pleasure to meet you." he gave Misao a bright smile and
hastily he continued "both."
"Thanks." The sisters returned unison and somehow annoyed Tokio registered
that Okita focused his main attention on Misao.
"So you stayed for 10 years in London? That's very interesting. Why did you
come back?"
"I want to study here and Tokio started her PhD."
"You just started studying here? Which subject did you choose?"
"Education. How about you?"
"I finished in the last term, I graduated in Criminal law."
"Wow, this sounds quite impressive."
"I'm working for the Tokyo police now."
Misao giggled delighted
"That is even more impressive... it sounds dangerous."
"Not actually. But what about your contest. How far did you get?"
He hadn't noticed yet that this theme wasn't the best choice, but Misao's grumbled
features and her answer filled him in
"I was disqualified in the first round."
"Disqualified in the first round?" Okita thought his ears were fooling him.
Once more his friend seemed to have overdone it with his correctness.
"Yes, but it wasn't my fault!" Misao meant to defend herself.
"She was expelled for her bad temper." Tokio was rid off following the
conversation impassive and used her chance to interfere.
"That was only due to this unfair judge!"
"I'm sure he wasn't unfair, Misao. You DO HAVE problems with bad temper."
"The right person is talking to me. Tokio, the expert."
"He was right, I have no doubt about this."
"You haven't been near when it happened."
"I know you, therefore I trust his decision."
Amused Okita had followed the exchange when they where suddenly interrupted.
"How entertaining. Someone is defending me."
Surprised Okita turned
"Saitou? You are already finished?"
Saitou nodded his agreement and acknowledging at Tokio who wished to vanish right
now. The bad luck of this day obviously hadn't ended yet, this man seemed to
know the same persons as her.
Again she felt her face redden, luckily Megumi and Tomoe had already left.
She could almost see fox- and cat-ears popping up, and Misao's wide grin wasn't
very helpful.
"Let's go, Okita."
"Just wait a minute, Kenshin wanted to discuss something with me and Enishi."
"One minute." Saitou fumbled in his trousers and found what he had searched
for: his cigarettes.
"Do you know Misao Makimachi and her sister..." He hesitated.
"Tokio." annoyed she helped. Obviously this young man had really only concentrated
on Misao. Out-done by her younger sister, this was really not her day.
"I already had the pleasure."
"Oh," embarrassed Okita scratched his head as he remembered Misao's expelling
and noticed her disapproval. He quickly turned to Enishi standing behind
him and talking with Asiyah and Kenshin.
"I think I have to talk with Enishi now."
Misao took the chance and turned her back on the annoying man and her sister, too.
What left a visibly uncomfortable feeling Tokio with Saitou behind. He didn't say
one word, just lightened a cigarette.
The awkward silence was tugging on her nerves
"It was my sister's first tournament here in Japan."
"Really? Considering her behaviour the thought never crossed my mind."
"What?" Tokio thought her ears had fooled her.
"You heard me quite well. Bad-temper is really a bad habit in your family."
his amused smirk let her anger raising.
"Why was Misao expelled?"
"She lost her temper and attacked me instead of her opponent."
Even more amused he observed the young woman's eyes widen, she obviously
had problems to mentally digest his sentence.
"My sister attacked YOU. But why?"
"She over-reacted about some of my comments."
Tokio could imagine that Misao had lost her temper about this man...
"Saitou, we can leave now."
Relieved Tokio turned to Okita and Misao, much to her surprise the others were
already gone, and Misao explained the situation.
"When Enishi heard that Tomoe wanted to go to work he decided to pay her a visit
in the institute. Kenshin and Asiyah had the same way and left with him."
Tokio frowned
"Now WE have to get home somehow."
Quickly, with a bright smile Okita realised that there was a chance to talk a bit
longer with the fascinating young woman with the bright eyes by his side
"We can drop you at home, it is no problem for us."
"I can't remember you asking me about this, Okita."
Pleadingly Okita looked wide-eyed at his friend
"Really, Saitou... It is on the way and these two" he gave Misao an extraordinary
warmhearted smile "won't have to take the train or bus."
Grumbling Saitou submitted into his fate, discussing the matter with Okita would
only waste some more of his precious time.
"We need to hurry, we are already late." he waved Okita and the two girls to
follow him to his car.
Okita and Misao immediately occupied the back-seat what left only the passenger-
seat for Tokio.
She couldn't decide what was worse, the cheerful voice and giggling of her younger
sister flirting with Okita on the back-seat or the man beside her driving.
"Where is your place?"
He interrupted her thoughts and cast a glance at her
"Just down this street, then left, on the next corner left again and than only a
few more hundred meters."
She noticed the next glance he cast at her and squirmed on her seat.
For the first time she realised that her skirt was indeed a bit short. Fumbling
she tried to cover her legs and from the corner of her eyes she noticed the smirk
in Saitou's face as he exhaled some smoke from his cigarette through a corner of
his thin lips.
She wasn't able to prevent her blushing, remembering her standing in front of him
half-naked, his smirk got even wider as he noticed her blushing and uncomfortable
feeling caused by him.
"I already had a good look at them, you really don't need to hide them."
The satisfied, self-confident grin in his face deepened and he took a delightful
drag from his cigarette.
Embarrassed, Tokio heard the loud laughter from the back-seat and wished
to faint. It was the most horrible ride in her whole life... with her flirting
sister on the back-seat and the smug man by her side who eyed her legs from time
to time approvingly.
Never in her life before she was this relieved seeing her house and hastily she
jumped out of the car, followed by derisive laughter while Misao didn't seem to
want to part from Okita but followed Tokio after a while.
****
Tokio was working in the hospital this night and as she entered the vast
examination room she blinked into the artificial, cold light of the neon-tubes at
the ceiling.
One light was defect, flickering and accompanied by a crackle it fell out from
time to time.
"I've got to catch the caretaker to fix this."
Every time she entered the forensic she was remembered to call him, but as soon as
she turned her attention on her work and was absorbed in it, the flickering light
was forgotten easily.
It was already late in the evening, but she didn't realise it for she was working
in the basement, without a window, a connection to the outer world.
She still had some more work to do and turned to the next slide lying beside the
microscope on the table.
"Hello, Tokio!"
She had the shock of her lifetime, being suddenly addressed without hearing
someone entering the forensic. Those damned doors opened and closed without a
warning.
"Tomoe! My Gods, sneaking in like this, you nearly gave me a heart-attack."
Displeasure spreading all over her face, Tomoe inspected the room, blinked into
the artificial, cold light of the neon-tubes
"No wonder when you spent the whole evening here alone with nothing around but
limb corpses."
She stepped closer and laid an arm around Tokio's shoulder, casting a glance at
the papers lying across the table without an order as it seemed
"Come on, let us go home."
"Is it already so late?"
"11 pm."
Surprised Tokio looked up
"Really? I didn't notice the time passing so fast."
Tomoe leaned forward and kissed Tokio on her neck
"You should finish for today as well, Tokio, let's go home." A playful smile
crossed Tomoe's features "Let us have a bath together."
With a gleaming light in her eyes Tokio looked up to her friend, but regretting
she looked at the many slides beside the microscope
"I just want to finish this one, Tomoe."
"I'll wait for you here."
"What are YOU doing this late here, Tomoe?"
"We got some new pieces from Sendai and I wanted to examine them."
Forcing a smile on her face she laid a hand on her friend's shoulder.
Sighing Tokio turned to microscope, and laid the next slide under the ocular.
"Just one minute to finish this examination."
'ring, ring'
"Tomoe, could you answer the phone?"
"No problem."
Tomoe picked up the hand piece while Tokio concentrated on the examination.
"Hello?"
Why had this man to die today? Annoyed she inspected his kidney-cells, the
reason why he had died was too obvious, the cancer-cells were well distinguishable
from the normal kidney-cells. Frowning she added the information on his
examination-sheet.
What was this? She heard an upset voice on the other side of the phone-connection
even from where she was sitting.
Tomoe covered the hand piece with her palm whispering to her friend
"It is Megumi, I can barely understand her. She wants to speak with
you. It seems to be urgent."
Tokio took of her gloves taking the hand piece from Tomoe who laid an arm around
her to eavesdrop the conversation.
"Tokio here."
"Gods, Tokio, something terrible happened, you have to come up."
"Slowly, slowly, Megumi. What happened?"
"Yamamoto is dead."
Tokio frowned, Yamamoto was dead? This wasn't a surprising news. After
all this was an hospital and people dying was nothing special. WHO was Yamamoto?
Tomoe just shrugged, she had also no clue what was going on.
Megumi screamed at the other end of the connection and Tokio moved the hand-piece
from her ear
"Gods, Tokio, he was murdered."
"Murdered?" Tokio and Tomoe exchanged an astonished glance.
"Yes, I have already called the police."
Alarmed Tokio registered her friend's hysteric voice and after a nod from
Tomoe she tried to sound calm not to upset Megumi even more
"Where are you, Megumi? I have Tomoe with me, we will come to you."
"Second floor."
****
Tokio and Tomoe reached the second floor in no time, already meeting Megumi
in front of the elevator.
She grabbed her friends by their arms and dragged them behind her to a sick bay.
She appeared rather calm considering what had happened
"Luckily it is already late enough and there aren't any visitors around anymore."
"What about the nurses?"
"There is only one who knows about this, the one who found him. She is at the
end of her tether I had to give her a tranquillizer."
"The police?"
"I called them shortly before you. They should arrive soon."
"What an unfortunate coincidence that your parents are on a conference just now."
"Here it is."
Megumi stopped in front of a door in nothing distinguishable from the other doors
on this corridor, and opening it, they entered the room.
On a bed a young man was lying and fascinated both, Tokio and Tomoe, stepped
closer. He had a crossed wound on his left cheek and a gash across his chest,
surprisingly the blood wasn't spread through the whole place, it concentrated on
and around the bed.
Tokio couldn't stifle her astonishment as she moved closer to corpse
"Wow, this looks weird."
Megumi stepped beside her
"I thought the same, I mean who kills someone in our times by cutting him up, this
is really odd."
Nervously Tomoe moved from one feet to another
"This is really interesting, you two..." She checked the corridor
"...but don't you two wonder if the murderer is still around?"
Startled Tokio and Megumi looked at their friend and Megumi's face paled.
"No, honestly I came into the room after the nurse screamed, saw the corpse,
went over the phone, called first the police, then you and gave the nurse the
tranquillizer."
Tokio's voice squeaked as she moved closer to Tomoe
"You mean he could still be around?"
"Possibly."
Megumi joined her friends, her knees shaking.
"The thought never crossed my mind. Gods, he could have killed me as well."
Tomoe straightened up
"Well, if he would still be around, Megumi would be dead by now."
Annoyed Megumi cast a glance in her direction
"Great, Tomoe. This is exactly the idea I need right now."
"Tomoe is right, Megumi. If the murderer would still be around he would have
killed you already, when you were alone on this floor."
Deciding to ignore the disturbing sound, Megumi turned her attention to more
materialistic features
"Can you two imagine the scandal that could arise from this? This could mean an
irreparable damage for our hospital." she shuddered at the imagination.
"Where are your parents now, Megumi?"
"Still in Chicago. They visit the conference for heart transplantation this week,
remember."
"Have you called them?"
"No, no yet. I wanted to wait until the police is here."
Tokio and Megumi stepped closer to the corpse again, Tomoe close behind them.
Megumi reached out one hand
"I have never seen such a gash in a chest before. What kind of weapon could it
be, Tokio?"
"Why do you ask me? I have never seen such a wound before, too."
"You were the one worked in the forensic in London, I thought you might know
what could have caused this."
Tomoe interfered pointing to a blinking reflection under the bed.
"What is this?"
All three woman leaned forward to have a closer look at the object.
"It is a sword!"
Interested Tokio reached out one hand, but Megumi stopped her half-way.
"Don't you think we shouldn't touch anything till the police was here?"
"Oh." Regretting Tokio retreated "I think you are right."
after pulling the sheet away she had a better view on the blade and
wrinkled her nose. "This blade looks strange, doesn't it?"
Tomoe leaned forward between her friends who made place for her.
After all she was the expert for swords and one glimpse was enough for her.
"It is a reversed blade."
"A reverse blade?" Astonished Tokio and Megumi exchanged glances, they had never
heard of such a thing before.
"Yes." Explaining Tomoe pointed to the sword "The sharp and the dull sides are
exchanged. Usually the dull side is on the inner side and the sharp side is on
the outside. Here it is just the other way around."
"And what is this?" Tokio wondered while pointing to the cheek of the victim.
Tomoe still inspected the sword without touching it while Megumi turned her
attention back to the corpse.
"Looks like a crossed wound."
Frowning Tokio examined the wound
"He received this after the gash in his chest, it barely bleed. The amount of
blood he lost because of this wound was too large for losing much blood out of
this wound."
Finally, Tomoe stood up
"Why should someone engrave a wound in his cheek when he already was dead?"
Megumi crossed her arms in front of her breast
"Maybe to mark him."
"What could be the reason for such a strange murderer?"
"Let us leave this to the police to find out."
Megumi's pager gave an alarm and she fingered for it in her coat and checked the
number. "It is the front desk, most probably the police has arrived."
She stepped over to the phone, taking up the hand-piece, she was directly
connected with the reception, it was one of the securities in this hospital.
"Hello?"
Megumi listened to the voice on the other side of the phone before she answered
"Yes, they can come upstairs. It is in the second floor, room 264."
Putting down the hand-piece she informed her waiting friends.
"It is the police, they will come upstairs."
Tomoe and Tokio nodded their consent, Tomoe was already inspecting the sword and
Tokio the corpse again both with professional interest.
Tomoe discovered the first remarkable point
"This sword isn't an original."
"What?" Startled Megumi glanced over at her friend. Her thought readable as a
book. This wasn't the time to bother about the fact if this sword was an original.
"How do you know, Tomoe?" Tokio wondered.
"I told you that we received some new pieces last week." She turned to wait for
Tokio and Megumi to confirm. "Mostly it were swords from all over
Japan. We restore them for the exposition in two month here in Tokyo. Therefore I
pored over some books for more background-information. I'm quite competent by
now.... and I stumbled about an interesting history fact. There was one
swords-smith in Kyoto who designed a reversed blade and there was a picture of
it. There is a difference in the design of the hilt, but it is supposed to imitate
this sword."
"aha." Tokio and Megumi agreed, inwardly wondering how Tomoe had been able to
notice it, to them the sword looked like any other they had seen before.
But however they hadn't much time to wonder forthe door was opened without a
warning. All three women jumped up and looked shocked into the direction, fearing
to face the murderer.
"You called the police?"
A lanky man with a hatched face and a low pony-tail was standing in the door as
his glance fell on the corpse lying on the bed.
"Most obviously."
A second man appeared behind him, smaller, but dressed in the same uniform. His
friendly smiling face freed the three women of their stupor and bowing Megumi
stepped forward.
"I called the police."
Excitedly the second man entered the room.
"What a coincidence! Megumi Takagi! Tomoe Yukishiro! And Tokio Makimachi!"
Tokio tried to hide behind Tomoe much to her friend's surprise and the smile in
Okita's face made her feel uncomfortable. Had Saitou told him what had happened
at the tournament? The self-content smile around Saitou's lips didn't make it
any better.
Concentrated Saitou stepped closer to the bed
"Who found him?"
Megumi bite her lips
"I did."
"When had it happened?"
Megumi checked her watch
"Half an hour at the most and 20 minutes minimum."
"You called us immediately after you had found him?"
Megumi nodded her approval.
"And what are you doing here?"
Saitou addressed Tokio and Tomoe, Tokio's face turned red as a tomato as she cast
down her eyelids embarrassed.
"I'm working in the forensic of this hospital and Megumi called me shortly after
the incident."
"I wanted to pick Tokio up, to drive home together with her. I waited for her to
finish her last examination just in the moment Megumi called her."
Tomoe explained her presence.
"Did you touch anything?"
"No, beside the blanket nothing. We wanted to have a closer look at the sword
lying underneath it."
Nodding Saitou picked the sheet up and stopped short
"What a strange blade."
Interested Okita stepped closer and threw a glance on it.
"You are right, I have never seen such a strange blade before."
Quickly Megumi interfered
"Tomoe told us that it would be an reverse blade, it would exist an original made
by an Kyoto swords-smith 150 years ago, but this one would be an imitate."
"Interesting. What made you so competent about swords?"
Questioning Saitou raised an eyebrow at the young woman
"I studied Japanese historical arts and my special interestare weapons."
Acknowledging her competence Saitou investigated further
"Do you by chance know who owns the original?"
Thoughtfully Tomoe frowned
"If I recall it right the name of the owner was Kamiya."
"Kamiya?" Tokio interfered. Wasn't this the name of her sister's friend?
"Yes, Kamiya.. I'm sure." Tomoe assured.
Meanwhile Saitou and Okita had turned their attention back to the dead man
"His name?"
"Setsuna Yamamoto, he was 25."
Surprised Okita raised an eyebrow
"25? He appears older."
Megumi checked the clipboard beside the bed
"His kidney was damaged."
Sarcastically Saitou looked down at him
"It won't bother him anymore," he turned around to the fragile woman he remembered
well, dressed in a towel"You work in the forensic?"
"Yes."
"What would you say, how long is he dead?"
"The rigor mortis hasn't set in yet. Maybe an hour ago, not longer. I'd say most
obviously the wound in his chest finished him."
"What about this wound on his cheek?"
"I'd say he was already dead when the murderer carved it into his cheek. He
barely lost blood."
"Who is responsible for the hospital?"
"At the moment me." Megumi stepped forward and now Saitou and Okita were both
surprised.
"Do you run the hospital?"
"No, my parents do, but they are on a conference in Chicago at the moment. So
I'm the one responsible at the moment."
Saitou turned to Okita
"We will have to call our coroner and forensic squad."
Nodding Okita revealed his handy, already dialling the number and walking
to a corner of the room to have a quiet place for calling.
Tokio's bunny ears popped up
"Forensic squad? Do you mind me observing their work?"
Saitou looked taken aback
"If you don't touch anything."
Megumi had one more concern
"Could you handle this discretly, please. I don't want that our other patients
notice what happened here."
Okita peeked out on the corridor looking at the many closed doors on both sides.
"Are the others unscathed?"
"Yes, he is the only victim."
By the time Megumi was starting to be annoyed. The longer they stayed here, the
higher was the danger of a scandal.
Mistrusting Saitou raised his eyebrow and continued his questioning
"25? He had problems with his kidney?"
"Yes."
"He is unusually skinny."
"Do you want to imply something?"
"Did he take drugs?"
Cetremined staring at him, Megumi put her hands behind her back
"That is bound to medical confidentiality."
Saitou noted something in his clipboard.
"So he took drugs. What kind of drugs?"
"I never said that he took drugs!"
"If we start to investigate here, we will reveal it anyway. You will be required
to be abandoned of your medical confidentiality."
"This is a private hospital, Sir! Our patients pay a lot of money to have their
privacy. We are bound over their death to stick to our principle."
Saitou merely raised an eyebrow and teeth-grinding Megumi gave in.
"Yes, he took drugs."
Smirking Saitou put his clipboard away
"This was easy, wasn't it?"
Calming Tomoe laid a hand on Megumi's shoulder
"I would like to go home now. Do you need me any longer?"
Saitou shook his head
"No, just make sure that we record your names and addresses."
"This is no problem, we all live on the same place."
Tomoe turned to Okita and left after she gave him name and the address
while Saitou continued to snoop through the room.
Megumi followed Tomoe to fetch the forensic squad at the reception and guide
them discretly to through the hospital.
As soon as Okita had finished his notices he turned to Tokio
"How is Misao doing?"
Annoying. Her over-energetic sister had impressed this man deeply and he barely
remembered her own name.
"Fine."
Now she had even to make small-talk about little Misao.
Okita ignored Tokio's blunt answer and continued
"You all live at the same place?"
He wasn't giving up easily, that was sure and Tokio decided to give him what
he wanted.
"Why don't you come over tomorrow evening? I am giving a small party and I am
sure Misao will be happy to see you again."
Visibly Okita's features brightened
"Really? I'll drop by after work then."
A flurry of activity on the corridor interrupted them and together with Megumi
the forensic squad entered the room.
Tokio followed their activity closely while Megumi guided Saitou and Okita through
the hospital for their investigation.
Quickly a night filled with activity passed and when Tokio and Megumi finally got
to get home they dropped tired, exhausted and sore from the busy night into their
beds.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TBC.....
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Started: June 14th 2002
Finished: July 24th 2002
Mara