AN: COWBOY BEBOP KICKS @$$!!! YEAH BABY!!! If you've never actually seen it, stop reading my crap and go watch it. No. I mean it. GO! NOW! You'll thank me.
Chapter 5: Deaf Policeman Heard this Noise
"Blehhhhh." Marik moaned as he fumbled with the door handle and stumbled over to his desk out of pure habit. His eyes were closed and he was still on autopilot. He had mastered the art of getting out of bed, showering, dressing, walking to work, clocking in and getting to his desk before ten, all without opening his eyes once. Finally forcing his eyes open, Marik looked up at Yami who was already sitting across from him.
"Good morning." Yami nodded, without looking up from his file.
"You liar." Marik groaned. "Can you get me some coffee? Something stiff and black."
"Bad news on that front." Yami mumbled, not really paying attention. "Weevil's gone on a healthy foods diet and the only type of coffee he's allowing anyone to brew is decaf, since he's convinced himself that caffeine is the devil."
"Bastard. I always knew he was out to get me." Marik sighed. "In a few minutes I'll get up and get some real coffee from the Starbucks down the street."
"You know, caffeine is not the answer. If you didn't stay up so late, maybe you'd actually get some real sleep, and you wouldn't need to be drinking coffee by the gallon."
"Hey…." Marik suddenly said. "You're here."
"I am your partner." Yami agreed.
"No. You're here… and it's only… what? Nine?"
"Nine-thirty."
"And isn't that the same shirt you were wearing yesterday?" Marik asked, finally awake to a degree.
"I stayed the night, if that's what you're getting at." Yami sighed. "I got caught up in some research and just pulled an all-nighter."
"Dear God, I hope you found something."
"Oh I did." Yami nodded. "Did you know that the police actually have a file on the oldest son."
"Criminal?" Marik asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Run away."
"Run away?"
"Here's an over-view. Seto and Mokuba are adopted when Seto is nine and Mokuba is five. However, there's this other son. Seto and Mokuba's older brother. Name was Noa. Anyway, things are great… until Noa dies. Apparently, when Noa was seventeen--Seto was fourteen and Mokuba was ten--he fell down the stairs when he was home alone and died from his injuries."
"Crap-tastic."
"No kidding. Anyway, that's when things went down hill. Seto and Mokuba ran away six times within the next four years."
"But what about when Seto became an adult?"
"Well, that's where the report gets a little fuzzy. Apparently, Seto moved out on his birthday and took Mokuba with him, but Gozaburo called Seto on the fact that Mokuba was still under Gozaburo's control."
"And if Seto didn't bring him back, it'd be kidnapping." Marik whispered.
"Exactly. So Mokuba goes back to Gozaburo… and two days later Seto returns also. Odd, you know. Anyway, there was definitely some friction in that house after the eldest brother died. Maybe you were right and there's more to this than money."
"I don't get it." Marik frowned before he stood up.
"Where're you going?"
"I'm gonna go get a coffee and then I'm off to see Kaiba."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Marik knocked again and frowned at the door. No one had answered the door yet and he was growing impatient. Backing away from the door, Marik looked over at Yami who had fallen asleep over his coffee. Kicking Yami in the ass, Marik turned to look up at the mansion, and scowled. He wanted to talk with Kaiba, and he wanted to talk NOW.
"DAMN IT, SETO KAIBA! OPEN YOUR DOOR OR I'LL USE MY FIST TO BREAK IT DOWN!"
There was a brief silence, before the door opened and Seto looked out.
"It's you." Seto frowned. "Well, I suppose you'll want to come in then."
The two detectives entered Seto's house and Seto led the way to a large living room where Mokuba was lying on the couch and watching television.
"Hey." Mokuba smiled at the three.
"I've got to talk with the cops for a moment. I'll be in the library if you need me, but this shouldn't take too long. Why don't you think about what you want for supper and we'll order out when I'm done?"
"All right." Mokuba smiled and Seto nodded before taking Yami and Marik to a library nearby.
"Well?" Seto asked and he motioned for the two to be seated. Seto walked over to one of the bookcases and ran his finger across a couple books before selecting one and removing it. "I'm sure you're here for a reason. Just cut to the chase, will you?"
"Frankly, Mr. Kaiba, I have no idea why we're here." Yami shrugged.
"Then why waste your time?" Seto asked coldly through gritted teeth.
"I wanted to come. Just a few questions." Marik grinned. "How did you get on with your adopted father?"
"Don't you already know?" Seto asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"Humor me and please be frank. This is off the record."
"I hated him."
"I see. So you're not really disappointed that he died?"
"I'm happy, if that's what you're getting at. Hell, whoever did it should have done it sooner."
"I see. It seems that your first 'disagreement' was around the time your brother, Noa, died."
"I don't think I want to talk about that. Why dig up that past that your type buried."
"Oh. Some sort of grudge."
"Get out." Seto hissed.
"One more question." Marik sighed, as he stood. "How's your brother doing? He didn't look so good when he came down to the station for questioning two weeks ago."
"Wha-oh… uh… well, it wasn't anything too serious. He was only sick for a few days." Seto replied a bit surprised.
"Good to hear. Well, thank you for your time." Marik nodded and motioned for Yami to follow him. The pair quietly walked down the hall, waved to Mokuba on their way out, and shut the door after them.
"Well?" Yami asked.
"It doesn't make sense."
"Why not?" Yami asked as they got into his car.
"I know murderer's Yami; hell, I served time as one. There are two types, you know. Some murderers are once off things. Spur of the moment, passionate and all.
"But Kaiba's not like that. He's too cold; he rules his emotions instead of them ruling him. He's an iceberg; cold, ruthless, and relentless. He's the type to plot and plan. But nothing here fits the MO of a cold killer.
"If he had plotted and planned, he would have had an alibi. It would have been thought through; every angle analyzed. This wasn't; this whole thing was thrown together in a minute. He admitted that he went to the island. He said he hated his adopted father. He shows that he hates cops. No planned murderer would let any of that show."
"So you think it was a spur of the moment? But if he were so cold, what would snap him like that? What would have made him do something so out of character?"
"That's what I don't get. What tipped him off? What set him off? He's had tons of opportunities to do it, so why now? There's something I'm not seeing. I think I've got all the pieces, but I just can't see the picture." Marik frowned and the pair drove in silence for a moment. "Yami?"
"Yes?"
"Kaiba's mine. This entire case is mine, so keep out until I need your approval for my analysis." Marik smirked, before looking out the window.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"What did they want?" Mokuba asked as Seto came back into the living room with a cell phone.
"They just wanted to ask me some questions." Seto said after a moment. The pair sat in silence simply watching the television for a moment, before Seto stood up and turned to look out the window.
"Mokuba?"
"Yeah?" Mokuba asked looking up from the re-run of Cowboy Bebop.
"I'm going to sell the house."
"What? Why?"
"Not now, later; when everything has settled down. I think I'll move you out of state."
"Move me? What about you?"
"I'll be in jail." Seto shrugged. "I just want you to move away where no one knows about me or what I did. I want you to start fresh with the money you'll inherit. It'll be all yours; even the company. Well, I'll probably sell it, before I get locked up. By the way, I got you a book on finances. You'll be assigned a guardian by the state, I suppose. But, all our money will be yours, and I don't trust anyone. You should be able to handle your own finances. I don't want…"
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mokuba asked, as he reached for the remote and turned off the TV.
"I don't know. I just… don't know. Mokuba, do you hate me?"
"What? I don't understand."
"I mean… I can understand if you do. What kind of an example am I? I'm gay. I'm trying to raise you and go to school and I'm only nineteen. I killed our adopted fath--"
"I don't care!" Mokuba screamed over Seto's voice. "I don't care! I don't care! Can't you hear me?! I don't care! I don't care that you're gay! That's never mattered to me. And, if anything, I respect you for protecting me and being there for me when you're so busy."
"And the fact that I killed Gozaburo? I'm a killer, you know." Seto replied his voice now a frozen calm. "Can you still respect your brother who's in jail?"
"Seto, stop that! You know I don't think you should have to go to jail. You were protecting me."
"But I killed Gozaburo. I'm a murderer."
"So what?! It was in defense! All you have to do is tell them the whole story. Everything you did was to protect me."
"NO! I'm not going to involve you in…" Seto snarled, as he turned sharply to face Mokuba and pulled back his hand as if he was going to backhand Mokuba. The pair looked at each other in stunned silence and they both realized what had almost happened. Stepping away slowly, Seto looked down at his hand and swore softly.
"Seto… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… It was my fault."
"No. Don't you dare say that to me, Mokuba Kaiba! If I ever hear you take responsibility for being hit, I swear I will… never talk to you again! It is never your fault! Never your fault. It's mine. I… dear God. I promised to protect you, and I almost hurt you myself. I'm turning into him."
"No! You're not!" Mokuba protested, but Seto wasn't listening.
"I'm gonna go for a walk; here's some money if you want to order anything." Seto decided after a moment, as he tossed Mokuba couple twenties. "I'll have my cell phone if you need me."
"But Seto!" Mokuba shouted as Seto opened the front door and slammed it behind him. "It's raining."
Walking out from under the small roof over the front door, Seto looked up at the rain that was falling on his head. It wasn't yet cold enough for snow, but it was cold enough to make being wet very uncomfortable. Mildly amused at the irony, Seto walked out to the street and sighed as the rain began to pour down even heavier. Walking down the street, he hunched his shoulders and looked down at the sidewalk. He wasn't paying much attention to where he was going. His feet and legs seemed to move as if with a mind of their own. Which was good because Seto's mind was ten thousand miles away wondering how the hell he had fallen so far so fast.
'I'm just a monster.' Seto decided, as the rainwater began to soak into his pants and the front of his shirt. Seto wondered briefly if he should close his trench coat to keep the water off his shirt, but decided he didn't care enough.
'I shouldn't have pulled that trigger. I should have just taken Mokuba's place; I should have taken his beatings. If I'd only endured a little longer.' Seto lamented to himself, before sighing. 'I should have protected Mokuba differently. I should have been better, the perfect son. If only I had been better, none of this would have happened. I guess I'm to blame.'
Seto briefly looked up as the rain began to die down and finally stopped. Glancing at his watch, Seto realized that he had been out walking through the entire half-hour rainstorm. Seto wandered down the wet streets and looked up as a police car passed by him slowly.
'Patrolling for criminals,' Seto decided.
Suppressing the urge to laugh at them, Seto's thoughts wandered over to the detectives on his case.
'They're closing in.' Seto told himself. 'Sooner or later they're going to figure it out. They're going to find out and they're going to send me away from Mokuba. And I'm going to allow myself to be taken from you. How can I protect him, when I'm gone? Where will he go? An orphanage? No. I won't allow that. Never. But then, I might not have a choice.'
"Hey! Seto!" A voice called and Seto looked around trying to find the voice. "Up here!"
Looking up, Seto noticed that he had walked to Joey's apartment building and Joey was leaning over the railing of his balcony. At least, Seto assumed it was Joey's; he didn't know if Joey lived on the second floor or not.
"What are ya doin' out there?" Joey yelled.
"Just walking. I needed to think."
"You were walking in the rain? You must be nuts!" Joey shouted back. "Come on up here and I'll set about finding you a change of clothes."
Seto didn't move, a little confused as to why he was near Joey's apartment, and why Joey was inviting him up.
Sure, they had a lot in common and, sure, they always talked for a while whenever they saw each other, which was whenever Seto took Mokuba to the church, which was practically every day for the last two weeks. And, sure, Seto had driven Joey to the hospital when Joey's sister had gone into labor. But Seto had never really considered Joey a friend. Hell, he didn't consider anyone a friend. And they always argued. They didn't even know each other's last name, and Seto couldn't say he really knew Joey.
"Aren't you coming?" Joey asked.
"Okay." Seto agreed, shaking himself. He walked to the front door and Joey buzzed to let him in. Walking up to the second floor, Seto looked at the two doors, and realized he had forgotten which door was Joey's. Finally the one on the left opened and Joey beckoned Seto inside.
"Hey, you looked soaked." Joey smiled. "Lemme take your coat."
Seto shrugged off his trench coat and handed it to Joey who hung it up near the front door.
"Well… I found a pair of pants and some boxers, but I'm out of shirts. If you can just wait until your stuff is dry…"
"I'll be fine." Seto assured Joey and he nodded.
"Uh, the bathroom's over there and I put out a towel with some pants and underwear. If you don't mind walking around barefoot, I don't either."
"Thank you." Seto nodded and he stiffly walked towards the bathroom. Stripping off his wet clothes, Seto put them onto of the toilet and pulled on the underwear and pants. He noticed that the clothes were a little tight but they were almost the right size, so he didn't bother to complain. Picking up his wet clothes, Seto walked out of the bathroom and went in search of Joey.
"Ah, there you are. Do you like coffee?" Joey asked, as he looked over at Seto, who nodded. "Let me take your clothes and hang them up. Go on, sit down. There are some stools, which I shove under the table. Just pull one out."
Seto did as he was told and sat down on one of the stools at the small kitchen table.
"How are the pants, by the way?"
"They're a… fine. They're fine." Seto finished, realizing how it might wound if he admitted they were tight.
"They're tight, aren't they." Joey laughed, as he poured two cups of coffee. "It's okay. I thought they might be."
"Oh."
"What were you doing out in the rain?"
"Thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing important." Seto shrugged, sipping his coffee.
"Don't bullshit me, Seto. We may not have know each other all our live, but I can tell you're lying." Joey laughed shortly. "So what is it?"
"Are my clothes dry?" Seto asked, standing up and walking over to his clothes.
"Seto, I just put them… holy crap. Seto, what are these?"
"What are what?" Seto asked, moving to turn around, but Joey reached out and stopped him. Tracing his fingers along Seto's back, Joey traced a few lines.
"Where did you get these scars?" Joey asked. "Who hit you?"
"No one." Seto snapped. "No one hit me."
"Seto…"
"Shut up, mutt." Seto snapped.
"People shouldn't…" Joey began, and Seto looked around desperately, before crushing his lips to Joey's. Pushing his tongue into Joey's mouth, Seto pushed Joey against the wall. Moaning, Joey wrapped his arms around Seto's neck and clung onto him. After a moment, Seto pulled away for air, and the two boys looked at each while trying to regain their breath.
"Sorry. I just… needed you to be quiet."
"Kiss me again and I'll forgive you." Joey whispered.
"I'll kiss you again, if you don't ask anymore questions."
"I can't really do much of anything when you kiss me like that." Joey admitted, before quickly moving to kiss Seto.