Chapter 4: Untitled
A/N: Well, after much debate and struggling (I don't know why...), this chapter is out. Bear with me from here on, I don't really know what's going on either, hehe. I'm just having fun with this, but I'd like to remind you again that this story starts out as an original, so there may be things contradictary to the RK-ness of it all. If you notice any, feel free to let me know.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original storyline. I'm just shamelessly exploiting them for my own selfish reasons.
"You've got to be kidding me. Hang on..." Kaoru blinked and looked at Misao again. "Please God tell me she didn't say that the phone line is dead," she said, her brow furrowing as she stared at Misao's face. Misao swallowed. "Um..." Misao replied, unable to hide the slight tremor in her voice. "Yes?" "Oh Lord," Kaoru said, sinking to the floor slowly. Spik plodded over and butted her head against Kaoru's chest, demanding attention. Misao looked as if she would burst into tears. "Kaoru-" she laid the phone back down on the table, next to the charger. "We've got to get out of here."
"But Misao-" "But nothing, get up and get your purse, we're going to the police station. Up, up. Come on, I'm taking that rose, and the towel. Can you get fingerprints off a towel?" Misao said, moving towards the kitchen. Now that Misao had decided on a course of action, there was no stopping her. Kaoru picked herself up off the floor, walking to the table and placing the phone back on the charger before following Misao into the kitchen. Misao tore through the drawers in search of plastic bags. "Don't you keep any Ziplocs around here?" she asked, unfolding Kaoru's neatly folded towels and dishrags. Kaoru walked over a step to the drawer beside the oven and pulled it out. Freezer bags, sandwich bags, brown bags, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap all sat neatly beside each other inside of it, along with straws, plastic silverware, and wire ties. After several seconds of Misao not noticing, Kaoru cleared her throat.
"Oh, look. You found them," Misao said, grabbing the entire box of freezer bags and heading towards the garage. "Misao, is this really necessary?" Kaoru asked, trailing after her. Spik followed after snuffling noisily in the open drawer. From the den Span screeched annoyingly. "Stupid bird," Misao growled, trying to unlock the garage door. "Kaoru, get here and unlock this door, right now," she said, placing her empty hand on her hip. "This is important, he's gonna come back and try to finish us off while we can't call the cops!" Misao exclaimed. "I for one don't plan on being here!" Kaoru twisted the lock and opened the door. "Fine, whatever. This isn't going to do us any good."
Without the window open, the garage was stuffy, and the smell of fresh car wax was more noticeable. "Man, it reeks in here," Misao said. Kaoru recoiled slightly and wrinkled her nose. "Just finish playing cop and let's get out of here. Maybe we can convince Officer Fujita to check out the house once we get to the station," she said, frowning and moving back out of the garage. "I'll go grab my purse out of my room," Kaoru called over her shoulder. She clicked her tongue to Spik and headed for her room. Misao pulled out a freezer bag and turned it inside out, carefully grasping the rose with her plastic-covered hand and guiding it into the bag, being sure not to knock off any of the petals. She then sealed the bag and did the same with the towel before walking out of the garage and locking the door again. Kaoru waited for her in the foyer.
"Are you finished playing, now?" Kaoru questioned, raising an eyebrow at the two bags Misao carried. "Yes," Misao answered defiantly, raising her chin. "Go get in the car; I'm driving."
And on the garage floor a single red hair lay undiscovered.
The police station wasn't far; it would only take the two girls about 15 minutes to get there. Since Kaoru lived outside the suburbs, there weren't as many squad cars that patrolled her street, so it wasn't like they could just catch one on his way around the block. What few neighbors she'd had had left after her father's murder, leaving her house the only occupied residence on the outskirt of town. Tall pine trees lined each side of the two-laned road. "Hey," Misao said. Kaoru jumped; she'd been looking out the window and not expecting the noise. "Hm?" she responded, not turning from the window. She half expected to see Kenshin on the side of the road.
"Where was it that you went off the road?" Misao asked, braking as she neared the slow-moving vehicle in front of her. "It's further up here," Kaoru said, moving her eyes from the scenery to the car in front of them. LDS 417. It was a local plate, but by the speed, it belonged to either a very old local person, or a very new local person. Kaoru sighed. "Slow down..." she said, sitting up and looking across the road. "There!" she exclaimed, pointing to a twin pair of skid marks that led off the side of the road. "I don't know how I managed to miss those trees," she said. "Me either," Misao agreed, pulling her eyes back to the road.
After passing the slow car somewhat illegally, Misao had them at the police station in a matter of minutes. She grabbed the two bags and pushed open the door. "You coming?" she asked. Kaoru curled a strand of hair from her ponytail around her finger. In front of the car sat her worst nightmare, the police station. The station was old; pieces of the red brick were crumbling and in desperate need of replacing. The granite walk that led to the entrance of the building was cracked and missing in places; the bushes were overgrown and wild. Despite their lack of care, the bushes wore their last bloom as proudly as a new winter coat. Twin pillars sat squat and crumbling, their majesty long retired.
Kaoru opened the door and wasn't surprised to find herself weak-kneed as she stepped from the car. It had been nearly a year since she had even considered going near this place. Perhaps it was time that old fears be placed on a dark shelf and forgotten, after all, she did have something new on her plate. The question that lurked in both girls' mind was simple. Would the police believe Kaoru this time, or would this end up being a repeat of her father's murder?
Kaoru smoothed her dark blue track pants, shaking one foot to pull the hem out of her tennis shoe. She took a brief moment to wish that Misao had given her more time to make herself presentable; with her hair in her trademark ponytail and her clothes this carelessly adorned, it made her look rushed, panicked. Appearances were everything, especially when dealing with the police. It could determine whether or not you were listened to, and if you were, whether you were believed or not. Things were looking grim.
Misao walked around the car to Kaoru. "Maybe it won't be Officer Fujita," she offered, shrugging slightly. "Who knows, maybe they got some new, hot, supercop who'll actually listen when we talk." Kaoru raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. Misao took her hand and led her down the crumbled walkway. Each step was like walking through mud for Kaoru. It resurrected old memories that she'd managed to bury inside her heart, memories of her father, laughing and happy, bringing her to town, greeting officers, buying groceries...oh, how she despised this place! Next came the memories that had never been buried, the ones of the shocking murder scene, of blood on the walls and broken mirrors that haunted her even though her walls were clean and all the mirrors had been replaced.
"Misao," she said, pulling back on the hand that led her so resolutely forward. "Misao, I can't," she said pitifully, feeling as if any second she would burst into tears. "No, please, don't make me go in there," she choked. Misao stopped and turned to face her friend. "Kaoru..." she paused. "I have to. You have to go." Kaoru shook her head frantically and tried to pull her hand out of her friend's grasp. "Kaoru!" Misao said as Kaoru fought against her. "Come on!"
"Excuse me Miss, do you-oh," came a voice from the entrance into the station. Standing between the two crumbling pillars like a biblical Sampson was Officer Fujita. The wind ruffled his dark hair slightly; his piercing eyes searched the souls of both girls standing before him. He was well-built, even for a policeman, muscular but not bulky. Through all his muscle he still managed to appear slender and graceful. He blinked calmly at the two of them. "Have you come to confess, Kaoru? Because this is no chapel, and we have no priest," he said, his voice mocking though his face showed no emotion.
Misao gritted her teeth; the fire in Kaoru's eyes could have melted steel. Misao turned around, not releasing her hold on Kaoru's hand, and fixed Officer Fujita in a deadly glare. "Why we are here is no business of yours!" she said, pulling Kaoru in an attempt to storm past the man. Kaoru stopped her once they neared him and yanked her hand from Misao's grasp. "To protect and to serve," she said, her voice filled with deadly calm. Misao grabbed her best friend's hand and pulled her mercilessly toward the police station. If she didn't separate the two - and fast - this could turn into something ugly.
"To protect..." Officer Fujita mused, his stoic face expressing nothing. A dangerous gleam in his eyes was the only expression he showed as he effortlessly endured Kaoru's glare. "There are certain types of people that do not deserve protection," he said, shrugging one shoulder flippantly. "Like those who murder their parents." Kaoru lunged for him but Misao managed to keep a firm grip on her wrist. "Kaoru, no!" she hissed. "It's what he wants!"
Kaoru wondered if it really mattered at all. Officer Goro Fujita would never believe her innocence, no matter how airtight her alibi, no matter how heartfelt her testimony. She glared at Misao's restraining hand. "Let me go," she demanded. "Kaoru, no, it's not worth it!" Misao pleaded. "Oh, but it is," Kaoru growled maliciously, wrenching her arm out of Misao's grasp. She stalked slowly up to Officer Fujita, her heaving chest inches from his uniform. Her gaze rested on his badge before slowly trailing to his face. She hated this man, loathed him with all her being, but even she had to admit he was one hell of a man.
His jaw was sculted in a stubborn line; his cheekbones were high and would have given him a sallow look, if he weren't constantly smirking at someone else's inferiority or stupidity. He was cleanshaven and annoyingly handsome. His eyes were perhaps his best and most prominant feature. The striking gold was the pure color of honey and though they were hardly ever soft, his eyes spoke volumes about just how passionate he could be. He radiated an aura of confidence and infuriating smugness. It wasn't that he was better than anyone else; it was just that most of those that surrounded him suffered from a devastating lack of intelligence.
"I did not kill my father," Kaoru began furiously. "Ah, but what if I say you did?" Goro drawled. "I didn't!" Kaoru almost shrieked. "So you've said," he remarked dryly. "I have proof I didn't do it," she growled, resisting the urge to poke him in the chest as hard as she could. It would be like poking the backside of a horse anyhow, unpleasant and apt to get you kicked. "Proof?" Goro said, his eyebrows raising. "If you mean that pathetic excuse for proof you presented in your trial, then I think not." Kaoru resisted the urge to scream and tackle him. "What do you mean 'pathetic'?" she said, her voice once more calm, yet underneath it ran a river of bitterness. "Your alibi was see-through," Goro said.
"See-through?" Kaoru howled, finally giving in to the urge to stab him in the chest with her finger. She thrust her finger into his chest with all her might, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't force him back one step. Goro glared at her bitterly. "You took a break at 3:40, correct?" he asked, his voice poisonous. "Yes..." Kaoru agreed cautiously. "And clocked back in at 4:50," he said, obviously very familiar with the case. "It takes you twenty minutes to get from your work to your house going the speed limit. I know, I've timed it," he said, shushing her effectively when she began to protest. "That's fourty minutes. You had twenty minutes to murder your father and smear the walls, clean yourself up, then go back to work. Plenty of time."
Kaoru boggled at him. He honestly thought she'd done this. "What about the people who saw me on my break?" she asked. "Your employer informed me that you left in your car," Goro said. "Unfortunately, I couldn't find tire tracks at the scene." Kaoru glared. "That's because there were none. What about the fingerprints?" she shot back. "I believe they were your father's," Goro said, looking her in the eyes. Kaoru gasped. "He held on to the piece of glass that the murderer used? Get real." "His fingerprints are not on file, even with the hospital. He had no criminal record, so there really was no reason to have them. His body was never found so we don't have that to go by. Convenient, don't you think?" he asked with a sneer.
Kaoru gaped again at the officer before her. "You're a sick, twisted, son of a -" "Kaoru!" Misao shouted. There was one thing they both knew that Fujita would never stand for, and that was being cursed. "COME on," Misao demanded. Kaoru listened for once and stalked away from Officer Fujita, his glare throwing daggers at her back. "Any time, Kaoru. I'll match wits with you, just come prepared next time!" he shouted after the two as they entered the police station.
Kaoru waited until they were inside to speak again. "You should have let me! Maybe he would have hit me, so I could claim police brutality!" she said, furiously storming along beside Misao. "He might have actually hurt you. Did you think of that?" Misao asked bluntly, stopping to look at Kaoru. Her hands flew to her hips, the two plastic bags bumping against her thigh with a dull thud of agreement. "What if he had really hurt you?" she demanded when Kaoru didn't answer.
Kaoru rolled her eyes. As if Officer Fujita would ever do a thing like- "Have you thought of anything for like, the past 48 hours? Cause if you have you sure aren't showing it! Dangerous things are going on, Kaoru, and you pick a fight with one of the guys that are supposed to be helping us!" Misao continued, venting her frustration. "We aren't here to fight the good guys! Now stop being stupid! You see where it got your father, don't you?" As soon as the words flew out of her mouth, Misao knew they had been a mistake. Kaoru froze in her tracks and her eyes went wide. Misao looked down at the ground.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
Misao continued to inspect the floor. "Let's go find the Chief." she said finally, still not looking at Kaoru. "His office isn't far down the hall." Actually, it wasn't but a few steps away. Misao rested her hand on the knob and turned to face Kaoru. "Coming?" she asked. Kaoru's eyes glittered with anger, and at first Misao thought she was mad at her, but then saw that her gaze was diverted to the door. "I'm not going in there," Kaoru said. "What?" Misao asked, turning to look at the door. To her dismay, it read: 'Saitoh Hajime, Chief of Police'. She snatched her hand off the knob as if it were on fire. "Who is that!"
"Fujita." growled Kaoru. "Goro is an old nickname of his from high school. I knew one day he'd pop out with his real name. And there is NO way I'm going in there!" she stomped. "I'd rather be assaulted five billion times by this 'Kenshin' than deal with Mr. My-Head-Is-Bigger-Than-My-Nuts-So-I-Have-To-Act-Arrogant Saitoh. How'd he managed to get promoted, you think?" she mused. "Ah well, it doesn't matter." And with that she turned and immediately ran into the hard brick wall that was Saitoh Hajime. "OMPH," she grunted. Saitoh was almost as surprised as she seemed to be, for when she'd collided with him, his arms had flown out to catch her, just in case she'd fallen. Since when did he care? Kaoru's hands splayed his chest in the few seconds before he realized they were touching each other. It took him those few seconds to remind himself that he didn't care.
He snatched his hands away with a scowl and Kaoru pushed herself back forcefully, causing him to stumble slightly. Misao gaped soundlessly at the two as they all remained temporarily speechless. There was a long, awkward silence. "Kaoru!" Saitoh said in mock delight, finally finding his voice. "Imagine running into you here...oh, wait, I don't have to!" Kaoru opened her mouth to retort as her hands balled into tight fists at her sides. Misao pushed between them. "Saitoh, we aren't here to fight with you. I'm asking you two to put aside your petty differences for a few minutes, ok? I know that's a lot to ask, but we need to talk," she said, looking back and forth between Kaoru and Saitoh.
For a long second, neither of the two moved. Just when Misao was beginning to get particularly exasperated, Kaoru nodded slightly. "Okay. I'll do it if he will," she said, looking Saitoh in a way that was almost apologetic. Almost. The police chief sighed. "If I must," he said, waving a hand in the direction of his office. "Let's have a seat, if we've declared a temporary truce." This said, the three moved into Saitoh's office.
This was definitely not the first time Kaoru had been in this office, but since Chief Riddin had been replaced by Saitoh, it looked decidedly different. Where Chief Riddin had had pictures of his children, and his late wife, Saitoh had only one picture, a picture of his cat. The gray tabby looked almost as sour as Saitoh could be sometimes. Saitoh caught Kaoru looking at the picture. "Sweetness," he said. "That is his name." Kaoru raised one skeptical eyebrow. Saitoh shrugged. "I didn't say he lived up to it." Kaoru sighed and went back to looking around his office.
Saitoh ignored her for the moment and walked around behind his moderately sized desk. It wasn't a business executive desk, rather it was a smaller, older, more rickety desk of a police chief. Water rings scarred the surface, caused most likely by many cups of coffee forgotten as the Chief worked long nights. Kaoru knew her father's case had been one of the cases that had kept Chief Riddin up so many nights, and those round scars on the desk made her feel guilty, even though she had done all she could. The glass wall was shielded with slightly faded blue blinds, and a withering plant sat in the corner.
Besides the picture of Sweetness, the office was bare of personal items. A flag on a stand sat in the corner opposite the withering plant, and beside it hung the state flag. There was no window. With a sigh, Saitoh flopped down into his high-backed nylon chair. It protested weakly under his weight but gave a satisfied squeak as he twisted it slightly. "Have a seat, ladies," he said, gesturing to the two similar chairs in front of his desk. Kaoru sat first, and then so did Misao.
"So, what's going on that you managed to drag..." Saitoh paused, carefully searching for a word that Kaoru wouldn't take offense to when she heard it. "Her...here?" he finished, propping one elbow on the desk and spinning his chair sideways. "It's not Aoshi again, is it? No, you wouldn't have been able to drag her inside if it was something that menial..." he mused, mostly talking to himself. "Kaoru has a problem," Misao said, interrupting his thoughts. He considered giving her a rude look, but decided against it. "But first-" Kaoru cut in, looking at Misao. "I, personally, would like to know how you are doing at your new job, and where Chief Riddin went," she said, not rudely for once.
"Ah, well. To make a long story short," Saitoh began, leaning back in his chair and threading his fingers together in front of him as they sat propped on his chair arms. "Chief Riddin was getting old." "Yes," Kaoru agreed. "He is very old," she said, in slight amusement. Saitoh nodded before continuing. "He retired," he said with a shrug. "That's all there is to it. I, however, am so incredibly bored that it isn't funny. This job is all paperwork, and occasional punishment for an erring officer," he sighed. "Please tell me you have something real for me to work with."
Misao sat silently in her chair, smugly thinking to herself that it was possible that those two carry on a decent conversation. Soon enough, as Kaoru began to explain what had happened, she found her attention wandering back and forth between Kaoru and Saitoh. They would make a fabulous couple, she decided. Saitoh was just stubborn and strong enough to make Kaoru see where she was screwing up, and maybe he could pull her out of the slump she didn't know she was in. Kaoru was explosive and...well, feminine enough to make Saitoh come out of his emotionless shell and feel something.
Saitoh had not had an easy childhood, Misao knew. His father was a raging alcoholic, currently serving a no-parole life sentence in the State Prison for something that Saitoh never talked about. She knew his father had been a violent drunk, and he drank often. Saitoh's mother was a weak, dainty, docile woman, and even when she'd been beaten black and blue had never complained. Saitoh had learned at a young age that he must protect his mother, for the simple reason that she couldn't protect herself. His younger brothers learned this also, mostly under his direction. One of his three younger brothers had gone on to become a firefighter. The second was a cop, like Saitoh. The third...had disappeared when he was younger, according to Saitoh, and no one knew where he had gone. Misao had a sneaky suspicion it had something to do with why his father was in prison.
Misao snapped out of her reverie to find Saitoh staring at Kaoru emotionlessly. Kaoru was preparing to glare at him. "Kaoru," Saitoh began. "Why do you insist on coming here to feed me a line of bullshit like this? You should know I don't have time to deal with this!" he said, frustrated. "No, really!" Misao said, pulling out the two bags. "Look, we have the towel and the rose!"
Saitoh rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not falling for your cock-and-bull story. If you don't have anything serious, get out of my office. I'm not playing around anymore." Kaoru stood up and slammed her hands down on his desk. An empty coffee cup rattled and spun before tipping over. "DAMN IT, I'M NOT LYING!" she screamed at him. Saitoh stood up, his eyes dark and dangerous. "Get out," he hissed, pointing to the door. "I WILL NOT!" Kaoru yelled back at him. In the midst of all this din, Misao's cell phone began to ring.
"GET OUT OF MY DAMN OFFICE!" he screamed back, picking up his overturned coffee cup. "You know over my coffee cup, damn it!" he said, growling as he inspected the cup for cracks. Finding none, he glared at her. "Now, get out of my office before I lock you up," he thundered. "Make me," Kaoru said defiantly. "You and your two-bit gun and plastic handcuffs don't scare me!"
Misao had finally managed to locate her cell phone in the cluttered backpack she called a purse. "Sh!" she said over Kaoru and Saitoh's bickering. The two ignored her. "Hello?" she said. She hadn't recognized the number, but it could be Aoshi calling from work. It had the local area code... "Hello!" she said again, plugging her ear impatiently as Kaoru and Saitoh's voices rose in bitter crescendo. "Hang on," she said, still unable to hear the person on the phone. "SHUT UP!" Misao screamed at the two, effectively startling and silencing them, for once. She stood up and stalked from the room. Kaoru and Saitoh glanced at each other before continuing their arguing in raspy whispers. "Am not crazy!" "Are too!"
Outside Saitoh's office, Misao could finally hear the voice on the line. "Hello?" she said. "Ms. Makimachi?" "Yes, this is she..." "This is John Locke. I work with Aoshi? I'm the job-site supervisior..." came the voice. Immediately thoughts of Aoshi being injured flooded Misao's mind. "Oh my gosh, Is Aoshi ok? Did something happen? What's wrong!" she said, her voice slowly growing frantic. "No, Aoshi is not injured. But there has been an accident. Your brother-in-law Nael was buried under a large amount of rubble when one of our scaffolds collapsed. We managed to get him out, and he's currently in the ER here at the hospital. His wife says he's badly injured and that she will need to spend the night, and wanted to know if you can come pick up Chaz and Len."
Misao struggled to process what she'd just been told. "Wait...Nael is hurt? Ani's there? You said Ani's there...Oh my Gosh! The twins!" she said, as it finally dawned on her why he'd evidently called. "I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm on the other side of town, but I'll hurry." "Don't worry, the ER doctors took him into surgery as soon as he got here, and by the looks of it, he may be there for a while. Ani says to take your time, and be careful." "Thank you," Misao said, sighing. "Anytime," said the man before hanging up. A worried expression settled itself over Misao's features.
She considered calling her sister, just to let her know she was on her way, but knew hospitals require cell phones to be turned off. Misao slipped her cell phone into her pocket and opened the door to Saitoh's office. It seemed Kaoru had somehow convinced Saitoh to at least listen to the story again. "And then my phone line was dead, and it wasn't just the phone cause I checked the charger-" "You did?" Misao said. "Yes. I even checked the plug!" Kaoru exclaimed. "So then Misao grabbed the rose-" she held up the bag. "And this towel, and demanded that I come here and tell the police. Believe me, it was no choice of mine even though I didn't put up that much of a fight, but I would have if I had known you were the new police chief," she said, half-serious.
"What hurts me the most is you're probably not joking about the last part," Saitoh grumbled. "Yeah well. I wouldn't go there if I were you," Kaoru said, a hint of a grin on her lips. "Kaoru, I have to leave," Misao said, grabbing her purse and heading for the door. "Nael's been in an accident and Ani needs me to get the twins. I'm sorry to leave you like this, but you understand, don't you?" she continued hurriedly, obviously itching to go. Her leg jittered as she waiting for Kaoru's response. "Yes, Misao. I understand, go get the little monsters. I'll catch a cab when I'm finished here," Kaoru said. "Oh, Kaoru. You're a sweetheart!" Misao gushed before running out of Saitoh's office and through the police station.
About two hours later, Kaoru gave up on trying to convince Saitoh what she said had happened had really happened. She stood up and stretched slightly. "I guess I'll go catch a cab now," she said, after a lengthy yawn. "What time is it, if that isn't too much to ask?" Saitoh looked at his wall clock. "It's about 8 o'clock. You sure you don't want me to drive you home?" he asked. Though what the two girls had said made no sense, he had to at least do his policeman duty. "No, I'll just catch a cab," Kaoru said. She'd had quite enough of Saitoh Hajime for one day. "If you insist..." Saitoh grumbled. So much for being nice.
"I'll be careful," Kaoru tossed over her shoulder sarcastically as she left his office. Back inside, Saitoh let loose a string of curses. "You're bringing me nightmares again, old man!" he said angrily, throwing his coffee cup against the wall and relishing the sound it made as the broken pieces of glass fell to the floor. If Kaoru heard it, she disregarded it completely.
'Now all I have to do is catch a cab,' Kaoru thought, looking out into the dark. The bluish streetlight shone above her with an annoying hum. "Taxi?" she called, waving her hand. There were no cars on the road. With a sigh, she started walking. Eventually one would pass by. After about ten minutes, one ambled by. Kaoru threw out her hand, and it stopped a few feet in front of her. "A taxi. Thank God!" she said, her feet protesting even though she was wearing sneakers. She opened the door. The interior light didn't come on, but she slipped inside anyhow, scooting over to the rear passenger side. "5734 Poffensor Drive, please," she told the driver. With an almost imperceptible nod, they were on their way.
A/N: Suspicions anyone? Oh, but the next chapter will be fun. Hehe! Feel free to drop me a line, I read them all I really do!