Fry Hard
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, people or products already previously owned. The only property of mine featured in this fic are the original characters, original products and the island. Other original characters belong to my friends (Aurora-chan, Sensei-sama, Sango-chan, Coffey-san, and Kat-chan.)Summary: AU. Renowned chefs (or wannabe chefs...) from around the world are invited to a special cook-off on the secluded island of Parsley Paradise. But the contestants are disappearing, one by one. (Featuring cooks from different anime/shows.)
Warning: Rated for language, violence, death, and sexual suggestions.
-----------------------------------------Chapter three: Demons, Downpours, Darkness and Double Death
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The guests, along with all the female demons, were gathered in the dining room. Pan and Tsuki had sent Sou, Pelstos and the other males out to search for Kagome or, at least, some clues as to where she was. It had been approximately three hours since Kagome's disappearance, and people were beginning to form outrageous possibilities in their mind.
Cherry and Kaoru were attempting to comfort Risa, as the young girl continued to cry nonstop. Risa had become fast friends with the kindly teenager and now she was incredibly anxious to see her safe return. The only thing that kept her from going out of her mind with worry was the fact that she had two sweet young girls so worried for her at her side.
Martha was deep in conversation with Emeril, both had their voices to a low whisper, but that did not stop Aurora--with her keen canine hearing--from eavesdropping. The young hanyou was quite suspicious of the two humans, something about them rang false and she was determined to find out what. Yet the conversation she listened in on was purely innocent, the pair was simply speculating about Kagome's kidnapping.
Sighing with unfounded frustration, Aurora moved away from the two, nearly tripping over Conan in the process.
"Whoa!" Aurora used a clever catlike turn to avoid falling over the boy. She smiled apologetically at Conan, "Sorry about that, didn't see you there."
Conan returned the smile, "It's all right, I shouldn't have walked up behind you without warning you first." He laughed softly, "I just had a question."
"Shoot away," Aurora said, kneeling down to become eyelevel with Conan.
"Well," Conan started awkwardly, not entirely sure how to ask without sounding rude, "I wanted to see one of your guys' demon form. They sound really cool."
Aurora laughed, "Of course! Tsuki is always happy to show off her demon form." She whistled shrilly, gesturing for Tsuki.
The girl hurried over, her pace all too cheerful for such a solemn time. "What's up, Aurora-chan?" She smiled a greeting to Conan.
"Conan, here," Aurora placed her hand on the boy's head, "would like to see your demon form. If it isn't a problem."
Tsuki laughed, flipping a strand of silver hair out of her face, "Not a problem at all." Before anyone could blink, the young girl standing before them disappeared, replaced with a shimmering white multi-tailed wolf nearly the size of an elephant, it's white fur contrasted by long, thin ebony claws on all four paws. Laying down it's back were two large white, feathered wings etched with black. It's eyes were a deep sapphire blue, highly unusual for a wolf.
The room fell silent as every guest froze, staring in shock and amazement of the great creature standing in the center of the room. With a bark that resembled a laugh, the wolf disappeared and Tsuki reappeared in its place, smiling cheerfully.
"Happy now, Conan?" Tsuki asked, still grinning in that unfazed manner.
Conan nodded, "Thanks. I just had one more question." He paused to make sure both demons did not mind, "Who's demon form has the biggest paws? Because I noticed Tsuki's paws weren't nearly as big as the pawprints outside by the hotspring."
Tsuki blinked, pausing to think for a moment. "If my memory serves me, my paws are the largest, Sou's are pretty close, but definitely not bigger. Spork's might be bigger, but they're squirrel pawprints, which wouldn't match the canine prints outside." She shrugged, "Sorry I can't be of more help, kiddo."
"Thank you, Tsuki-san," Conan said, smiling up at the girl.
Tsuki held up a hand, "Please, there's no need to be formal around me. You can call me Tsuki."
A loud clap of thunder outside startled everyone. Risa, Cherry and Tohru screamed in fright. Brock received a sharp slap on the face from Kaoru when he attempted to "comfort" the girls. The sound of a heavy rain could be heard drumming on the roof and windows outside. The dining room door banged opened suddenly, again causing the three girls to scream. Standing in the doorway, drenched from head to foot, were Jagaimo, Spatula and Sou. None of them at all happy, in fact, they looked down right depressed.
"Did you find Kagome?" Spork suddenly asked, eyeing the soaked boys.
Sou shook his head slowly, "No." He stopped, "Well, yes."
Trey blinked, "You didn't find her, but you did? Make up your mind, Sou."
Spatula sighed, stuffing his hands dejectedly into his pockets, "We found her, but she wasn't alive."
A strangled sob escaped from Risa, plus horrified gasps from most of the large group.
"W-whatever took her, k-k-killed her," Jagaimo stuttered, shaking with both cold and surpressed fear. A heavy hand suddenly rested on the tiger demon's shoulder, causing him to jump, yelping in fright.
Pelstos quickly withdrew his hand, "Calm down, Ja-chan. It's just me, no need to get so jumpy."
Pan frowned at the ex-priest, also dripping from head to toe, "Where were you? And where's Touji?"
Touji appeared behind Pelstos, "I'm right here. We were taking the, uhh, body to the backroom where we keep all the extra beds." He glanced at the horrified looks he was receiving, "Where else could we put her? We couldn't just leave her out there." He began to wring out his kimono sleeves in repressed frustration.
Roha, quickly jumped to her feet, her doctor's instincts taking over, "Oh, you're drenched from head to toe! You could get sick!"
Touji blinked in relative surprise as the girl of his dreams hurried toward him, a look a pure worry on her face. But his hopes were dashed when she passed him by, her attention solely and Jagaimo and Pelstos. Before either males could protest, Roha had them both by their sleeves, dragging them out of the room, muttering about the wonderful new invention called an umbrella. Spatula, gaining similar attention from Pan, was all too happy to leave the sullen room.
Touji would have remained crestfallen if he hadn't notice his little sister's anxiety. With a smile, he addressed Tsuki, "What seems to be bothering you, Ki-chan?"
Tsuki, biting her lower lip as she thought, responded, "How...how did she die, Ji-chan?"
When Touji hesitated to describe it to his sister, Sou answered, "She was killed by something sharp, like a fang. Her throat was ripped open," when he noticed the sickened expressions most of the guests wore, he quickly added, "but she died instantly, no pain."
Risa, her head buried in Kaoru's shoulder, sobbed loudly. Cherry gently patted the young girl's back in a motherly manner, bringing her ear close to the crying girl as words became audible between sobs.
Cherry looked up at the remaining demons, "Risa said, what if Kagome's killer...what if he comes back for the rest of us?" She looked anxious, glancing frantically around as if the murderer would suddenly appear before her, fangs bared.
Tohru gasped, covering her mouth to stifle the sudden fearful sobs in her throat, "What, what if Risa is right?" As she began to shake with fright, Rachel quickly moved to comfort her.
Dicen suddenly spoke up from the corner she had been seated in the entire time, "Odds are it was a one time thing. I doubt whatever it was will come back." She grimaced, "Sick as it sounds, whatever killed her was probably just looking for a meal. That is, I'm assuming the thing is some sort of animal, because of the pawprints we found."
Squirrel, also having remained oddly quiet, cocked her head to one side, frowning as she thought over what Dicen had said. "I don't think so, Dicen." When everyone turned their attention to the young squirrel, she shrugged, "If it wanted food, there probably wouldn't be much of Kagome left, especially if the thing was as big as its pawprints made it look."
Sou nodded in agreement, "That is true. She had been killed, but her only wounds were on her throat, nothing to make it seem as if she had been a desired meal. Again, if the thing was indeed an animal."
Trey stared at Sou in mild surprise, "What makes you think it wasn't an animal? Did we not find the pawprints, and was the wound not from fangs?"
The priest narrowed his eyes at the ferret demon, "It could have been an animal, but we can't rule out a person. Those pawprints could easily have been made by a fake paw. The fatal wound could also have been from either a quick bite with sharp fangs, or a hurried slashing of a knife."
Tsuki, a completely terrified look on her face, clung fearfully to Touji's sleeve, "But, it can't be a person! One of us would have picked up the scent of anyone uninvited on this island!"
Kat spoke up in a tone of one telling a ghost story, "Who ever said it had to be someone uninvited...?" A deafening clash of thunder and blinding streak of violet lightning aided in emphasizing the eerie statement.
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Risa lay awake in her bed near dawn, staring absently at the ceiling looming so far above her. In such a short time she had become so attached to Kagome, and now she was gone.
With a stifled cry, Risa put her pillow over her face to muffle the sounds of her sobs in fear she would awaken poor Cherry, Kaoru or Tohru. And with the pillow over her head, she did not hear her bedroom door creak open, or the stealthy footsteps as they came to a stop at her bedside. She never saw the knife as it embedded itself in her chest, and she ever heard the footsteps quickly depart from her room.
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The morning sky was a bleak, dreary overcast. The rain had halted for an hour, with the random drizzle every few minutes. The growl of thunder could be heard from far off as more black thunderclouds crept along the horizon, heading for the small island.
The hotel staff was gathered in the large bar and second dining room for an early breakfast before the guests awoke. Most were eating in relative silence; with the occasional lecherous remark from Touji and a responding slap from Roha, accompanied by snickers from the more immature of the group--Spork, Squirrel, and Kat.
Pelstos, seated on a stool at the bar, had just completed his healthy breakfast of three vodka shots and four mugs of beer. He slowly climbed to his feet, not at all affected by the heavy dose of alcohol. As he reached for a large bottle of rum, a bone-chilling scream sounded from down the hall.
The ex-priest narrowed his eyes, looking back at his alerted friends, "That came from the one of the girls' rooms!" Without a further word he raced down the hall, immediately tailed by the rest of the staff.
They arrived at Risa's room seconds later, the door was open. Cherry was pressed against the wall, as far from the door as she could get. Her eyes were wide with fear as she pointed to the room, her mouth stammering inaudible words.
Pelstos, Sou right behind him, entered the room. Both stopped when they caught sight of Risa, face still wet with tears of grief, her eyes were locked on the ceiling. A shimmering silver knife was buried to the hilt in her ribcage. Sou drew the bedsheet over Risa's unseeing face just as Kaoru, Rachel and Tohru appeared from their rooms.
Kaoru blinked in surprise, she hadn't expected the entire staff to be outside her room. "What's going on? Did someone scream?"
Cherry numbly climbed to her feet, wiping tears from her eyes, "R-Risa...I went to check on her, b-because she was so sad after Kagome died, and...and..." The marionette burst into tears, unable to finish the sentence.
"She found Risa in her room, stabbed to death..." Trey finished in a hollow voice, she had her head tilted down so her thick bangs covered her eyes.
Conan, squeezing past Rachel in the doorway, hurried into Risa's room. He was about to pull back the blanket covering the dead girl, but he was lifted into the air and set down away from the bed.
Pelstos stood over the boy, arms crossed over his chest, "You don't want to mess with that, kid, believe me." He stepped to one side as Roha entered the room, Kat right behind her with a large bag of medical supplies.
As Roha knelt down beside the bed, she turned to address Pelstos, "Close the door please, Pelstos." She glanced down at Conan, "You might want to leave too, little one. This is no place for a kid."
Before Conan could protest, Rachel's firm hands on his shoulders guided him out of the room. Pelstos closed the door behind him, leaving Roha to examine the body like any doctor would, Kat serving as her assistant.
Outside in the hallway, Pan cleared her throat, getting the attention of everyone present. "Hotel staff, please go and wake up our other guests, take them to the main room for an emergency announcement. Tohru, Cherry, Kaoru, Rachel and Conan, please follow Dicen to the main room." She smiled slightly, nodding her head to Dicen.
The group split up to go where they were told, no one spoke a word. Pan, Spork and Squirrel were the only ones to remain in their places.
Squirrel glanced around, talking in a low voice, "Who do you think did it?"
Spork scratched an ear in thought, "Dunno. Could have been anyone." She turned to fix Squirrel with a mock-glare, "Even you!"
Squirrel gasped, "Oh, no! What if it was!" She snickered, "Not likely, I'm not a fan of knives, if I'm gonna kill someone it's going to be with a pack of rabid squirrels, or a toilet brush."
The orange haired squirrel demon chuckled, "True. I would have used a spork, of course. No other utensil is worthy of my hands."
Pan's ear twitched irritably as she smacked both squirrels over the head, "Don't joke about this! It isn't funny!"
Spork glared at the fox demon, rubbing the small bump on her head, "But don't you find it funny that contestants are getting killed off? I know only two people have been killed, but how come none were any of the staff? There's more of us then contestants."
Roha, exiting from the room as Spork finished her question, replied, "Possibly because the staff is almost always together, yet most of the guests are always alone."
The demons exchanged glances, all nodding in agreement. The conversation would have continued further but Kat decided to suddenly jump up behind Pan and scream, "BLAH!", scaring the wits out of the fox demon. And before an argument could ensue between the cat and fox, Roha intervened, ushering the four to the main room.
Standing outside the twin doors to the main room was Pelstos. He stood at his full, considerable height, appearing much like a guard. Roha guided her four companions into the room, choosing herself to stop and talk with Pelstos.
"Why are you out here, priest?" The medic demon asked, tilting her head back to look up into Pelstos' face.
Pelstos smirked crookedly, "Standing guard, of course. What's it look like, demon?"
Roha chuckled, "If you're standing guard, I fear for the others' safety. I don't believe you're allowed to be drunk while serving as a guard." She moved to stand beside the tall man, "Therefore, I'll assist you."
Pelstos arched an eyebrow at his short demon friend, "How can one so short assist me?"
Roha rolled her eyes. "One, I'm sober, so I'm more alert. And two, I have far better hearing than you, so I can relay what's being said in the main room to you, so you don't miss out." She twitched her ears, sighing. "Dammit, it's raining heavily again..."
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Inside the main room, all the guests, most still in their pajamas, had been gather hastily by the demons. Many were still blinking owlishly, completely baffled.
"What is the meaning of this? Yanking us out of our beds at an ungodly hour and forcing us all into this room?" Martha burst out, already at the end of her temper so early in the morning. A few guests muttered in agreement, supporting Martha's outburst.
Pan raised her hands for silence, "Please, I need your attention! There will NOT be a cook-off today! There has been another death."
"Who?" Takeshi questioned, afraid to know the answer.
Pan looked down at her feet, "Risa Harada. We found her this morning, in her bed, with a knife in her chest."
"Who did it?" Brock asked, glancing around at his fellow chefs as if one would admit to the murder.
Kat hopped onto a nearby table, raising her voice for the entire room to hear, "We don't know. Roha examined the body, but there weren't any prints on the knife. Even if there had been, though, we wouldn't know."
Aurora cocked her head to one side, baffled, "What do you mean?"
The cat demon continued as if she had not been interrupted, "Roha said the knife was one used for cutting the steaks up for dinner last night, anyone and everyone touched it. That's about it." She shrugged, jumping off the table.
Jet, stroking Ein's ears, looked up, "Couldn't we use Ein's nose to sniff the knife and find the killer?"
Tsuki shook her head slowly, "It's a good idea, but no. My sense of smell, like Roha's, is more sensitive than a dog's, and neither of us could have distinguished who touched the knife last, not with it almost completely covered in blood."
"What do we do, then!?" Emeril wailed, becoming frantic.
Spatula held up a hand, signaling he wished to speak. When Pan nodded for him to continue, the young gothic cleared his throat, "Well, I think we would all be safer if we always stayed in groups of twos or threes. It might make the killer apprehensive, he, or she, may not wish to attempt killing more than one person at a time, which is possibly why they did not harm Cherry-san when they took Kagome." He shrugged nonchalantly, "But that's just my suggestion."
Brock nodded, "That's right. There's safety in numbers."
A clash of thunder sounded from outside, drowning out anyone else's words of approval. The lights flickered for a moment before they went off completely, leaving everyone in complete darkness. Frightened screams came from Tohru and Kaoru along with curses from a few demons, Jet and Emeril as they tripped over people and furniture. A peculiar 'twang' was also heard, quickly followed by a strangled gasp.
"Everyone, please remain calm! The lights will be back on in a moment!" Pan called from somewhere in the impenetrable shadows.
As Pan had predicted, the lights did return. The demons were unaffected by the quick changes in lighting, but the guests were left blinking away the spots from their eyes.
Spork, who had been seated near Cherry earlier, was now prodding the marionette, slumped over in her chair. "Ms. Cherry? You asleep?" The squirrel demon shook Cherry gently, but the marionette did not respond.
"She probably fainted," Squirrel said. Curiosity getting the better of her, Squirrel grabbed Cherry's shoulders, pushing her into a sitting position. Yelping in fright, Squirrel tumbled backwards in an attempt to get away from Cherry and the arrow embedded in her chest.
"Sh-she's dead!"
End of Chapter 3
Nine Contestants Remaining
KT: I spent a day working on that chapter, and I definitely had fun with it. I hope you all enjoyed it too! Please review!