Disclaimer: ...They're mine! All mine I tell you!
Warning: Actually...This chapter's pretty timid. Nothing really to warn anyone about. Some talk of death though and some fighting...Little violence. But! Homophobes must leave. I don't like you and you won't like this. Bye bye
Plushie StickyNote: You've all been waiting for this huh? Yeah. I know. I spent wayyyyyyyyy to long on this. My only excuse is laziness, but to make up for it I made it pretty long. I'm very proud of the length Almost ten thousand, plus, words. Hmmm. I just hope you all enjoy. I feel like my writing is improving with each chapter so I'm happy to share it all with you guys. Please don't be mad it took this long. Promise the next one will be out soon. I'm looking so forward to the next chapter you guys have no clue. Everyone's gonna love it. XD
Dedication: Ah! I promised a friend I dedicate a chapter to her for writing me a wonderful one-shot. Sayward. Thanks a million for being so paitent:hug: And also I wanna thank everyone else who's been keeping up with me. It's nice to hear how much people like my story. XD
GO ENJOY NOW!
XXXXXX
Arrested Development
XXXXXX
"Raidou?"
Now...there was never a day that didn't go by that Raidou Namashmi didn't regret something or another that he'd done. Everyone else did it- It was just human nature.
The first on today's list for Raidou was namely agreeing to date Genma Shiranui.
"Rai...?"
There were a number of reasons why dating a psychotic and highly perverted cop had its down sides. Raidou's only consolation was that the pros of his relationship were worth the cons. Genma was...Well Genma.
"Raidou!" Poke poke poke.
Anyone in a relationship would say the same thing. "If I didn't love them so much they would be dead."
It's definitely 'something' if I've lived with him this long. Raidou sighed. Today was a rough day and at the moment Genma wasn't making it any easier. The couple waked down a white hallway, doors on either side of them floating past along with a minimal sound of human activity. Genma was giving his partner a conflicted stare and Raidou was unintentionally ignoring him.
So consumed with his own inner torment Raidou didn't even look up when making the turn into the next hallway, the sole of his shoes tapping in a rough smack of leather against linoleum.
Raidou could have comfortably continued the rest of the afternoon lost in his own thoughts. It was difficult to concentrate on anything other than himself. That's what he needed anyway. To think about himself. If he started to think about the case anymore he'd snap. He felt stupid about worrying to this point, not to mention that everyone else was caught up in the emotional strain it was leaving. He should at least be have his mind in the right place, but it just wasn't happening at the moment.
Jesus. Iruka was his best friend. He needed to be in control, calm, level-headed. He need to be helpful.
This was why he was like this at the moment. That was why all he could was think about was himself...Genma. Them and their relationship! They were the constants in his life that he could control and keeping them in mind was better than anything else.
Anything else being Naruto. To distract himself from the distressing thoughts of the case he concentrated on the sfaer topics of his life. It wasn't necessarily a smart choice, but it was better. Better than worrying about Naruto because if he did he knew that he'd be at even more of a loss. More of a burden. No...Not so much a burden. Just a useless shell of a person who couldn't escape his own mental turmoil. It was a mantra. Never ending. Don't think about it. It won't help. Relax. Get your head on straight.
Not watching where he was going Raidou was brought, rather violently, from his musings though when he collided with something solid. It gave slightly under the force of the collision, but ultimately sent him a step back in surprise. Lifting his gaze he settled his sights on the tangible form of his earlier distracting thoughts.
"Genma." He sighed and struggled to keep the agitation from his voice. "Move."
Genma who tired to look intimidating, glared. It did nothing to accent the seriousness he was hoping to convey in his attitude, but nonetheless he could see that Raidou got the point. Crossing his arms over his chest the younger man said, almost in a whine. "No, you missed the door."
There was a pause and for a moment Raidou was at a loss as to what to say.
Opening his mouth Raidou looked up at his partner with some confusion. "Huh?"
Genma just huffed and jerked his head in his boyfriend's direction, indicating that he was motioning behind the other man. "You missed the Autopsy Room about five doors back."
"Oh..." And spinning around on his heels the scarred detective made his way back down the hallway feeling, rather than seeing Genma following right behind him.
The silence lasted all for about ten milliseconds.
"What's wrong?" Genma asked, uneasy towards his boyfriend distant attitude. "You've been a little- out of it, since we left the station." Despite his lack of apathy of human emotion Genma did know when his boyfriend was bothered with something. It had been a quiet ride here and unnerving to see him so-reserved. He'd have to be seriously mentally incapacitated to not realize that Raidou was clearly upset about Naruto, but ...
"It's nothing you have to worry about. Let's go." Raidou dismissed. Genma's concern elevated with another few steps, leaving him to trail behind dejectedly. Maybe if he..hugged him? Told him it was okay. Maybe things would get better?
Who am I kidding? I'm horrible at this comforting stuff. With a reproachful look Genma picked up his pace a little.
All he wanted was for Raidou to feel better. Stepping into place next to the older brunette he nudged him gently with his shoulder, hoping he'd take comfort in his presence and relax. Maybe lose some of that sullen aura, because it was honestly suffocating him.
Raidou's response was distinctly saddening.
"Genma, please don't." Raidou sighed, straightening his step after having bumped and slid across the wall briefly at the nudge. He didn't care much to share his feelings with the other man. He'd spent the car ride over to the hospital silent, for a reason. He wasn't about to spill everything now.
They stopped in front of the right door this time, but neither made a move to go in.
It was almost impossible to decipher Raidou's expression, but nonetheless Genma felt a knot twist its way painfully in his stomach. Keeping his gaze steady he nodded at the scarred man. "Fine, we can talk about it later?" He asked, slightly hopeful.
Raidou didn't respond verbally but after a moment nodded back and with a meaningful look took hold of the door handle pushing the door out of his way and took a few steps inside.
Genma followed him in without another word.
The room they entered was perfect in a stereotypical way. Smelling of embalming fluid and a million other unidentifiable odors that neither of them could even try to pronounce, the room was cast in a shadowy, pale-blue glow. The counter tops were littered with countless pieces of equipment, all of which looked important and highly delicate. Nothing could be viewed as useless, made of glass and metal. All the furniture was metallic too and glinting sickeningly under florescent white lights. Behind transparent cupboard doors an unbroken line of shelfs circled the room, in each, an assorted collection of chemicals and more equipment.
In the center of the room a table, width and length that of an average sized human, sat quietly and undisturbed. Resting on it's unforgiving metal surface was the corpse of Zaku Abumi, covered in a light blue sheet, it's grooved pattern curved around the contours of the body.
Genma's spine straightened with a shiver, a ghostly chill about the room giving him a weird feeling.
From the corner of the room a tall and lanky figure emerged. Genma, of course, jumped not having noticed the man, but Raidou was, again, undisturbed. In retrospect the mans appearance shouldn't have been much of a surprise since he was the one they had come to see, but the suddenness of his presence was reason enough to be startled.
Well...At least Genma thought so.
"Dr. Aburame. Good to see you again." Raidou, un-fazed if still not a little detached, nodded his head in greeting.
The doctor only gave them a small nod in return as his acknowledgment. Wasting no time Raidou took his place beside the table while Dr. Aburame stood on the opposite side, in his hand a metal encased clipboard and a pen. He spoke in a low tenor as Raidou began his questioning and Genma made another sweep of the room, his thoughts wandering.
The mentioned doctor was an odd man. Very odd. Odd and frightening in both his action and speech. His demeanor vibrated with intelligence, but lacked a certain physical impression, neither imposing nor possible to ignore. He was the kind of man that was forgotten the moment he left but lead the pack without having to bark out orders or asserting his power in a less than professional way. With pale, unmarred skin and rich, dark brown hair the man was definitely attractive, if not also a bit awkwardly graceful with his lanky figure. He had a serious and biting personality, largely contrasting with his young, appealing features. Genma sighed quietly at the thought. A shame that such a good-looking man was such a stiff.
The strangest thing about him though were his eyes...Or the lack of knowledge one had of them. Hidden behind a pair of circular sunglasses Dr. Aburame's eyes were something to be curious of. He wore them constantly. Out doors, in doors, when it was foggy, when it was raining- hell, even when it was dark..
It was strange and gave the man an edge over everyone else in it's mystery.
"Genma?" A sudden voice prodded at his subconscious.
Pulled from his thoughts the tooth-pick chewing detective turned a half-lidded gaze to his lover and 'hmm'ed' a reply. "Yes?"
"Is there an interesting thought you'd like to share? I can see your head in the clouds." With an eyebrow raised Raidou sent his partner a disapproving forwn and crossed his arms. He and Dr. Aburame had been in conversation for only a few moments before realizing Genma's lack of participation which had annoyed him. Genma didn't take many things seriously and this was something he should have been taking seriously.
Bothered about being caught not paying attention Genma bit his lip and did the thing he always did when he was in an unusual mood. He made a stupid comment. Shaking his head the younger man stabbed a thumb in the medical examiner's direction as he stated, quite immaturely "Nah babe, just wondering how long Shino here has had that stick up his ass is all. Didn't even say hello you know?" and sent both men a stupid smile.
A muscle in the doctors jaw had twitched and that was the only warning Genma got before he found himself on the floor, clutching at his forehead with a whimper with a ball point pen smacking the ground next to him, ending up rolling towards him before coming to stop against his side. "Itta!"
Rubbing furiously against the injury to numb the irritation, Genma looked up and stuck his tongue out at the young doctor. "Dammit Aburame. Pens are for writing! Not for you to throw at people."
"You should be more respectful then." Dr Aburame's cold voice accused, his hand going back to rest at his side. The look he then sent Raidou gave the clear impression that he was quickly becoming fed up with the man on the floor.
Rubbing both hands across his cheeks Raidou took a sharp glance at his boyfriend before nodding back at his friend. He took a step and bent down, Genma watching him closely. Hand grabbing at his boyfriend's wrist he dragged the long-haired brunette to his feet and leveled him with a glare that promised a very unpleasant argument in the near future. Bitting back the instinct to give Genma a good smack he instead took solace at the flinch he got as he bit out an angered "Grow up." in the mans' ear. "You do not need to piss of everyone we talk to, okay?"
Genma who was, conscious-stricken and if not a little humiliated swung his head to the side to avoid looking at Raidou in the eye as he grunted his affirmation. "I was just trying to lighten the mood, sorry." His eyes found Raidou's again slowly and with a certain amount of hesitation, pleading.
"Well don't."
Dropping his boyfriend's wrist Raidou softened and shook his head, pivoting back towards Dr. Aburame without acknowledging the brunette's piercing stare now at his back. From behind he felt Genma's body heat fade and out of his peripheral saw him go to lean against one of the counters, his feet and arms crossed in front of him. Boring into them with an appearance of complete concentration on what was going to happen next Genma trained both eyes at the table while turning his ear in their direction.
Raidou, upset at how things were progressing, trudged ahead despite the mood and favored the stoic doctor with a weak smile. "I'm sorry Dr. Aburame. Let's just get back to the autopsy. If the..." He paused, brows knitting together in an expression of a recollection. "Exsanguination of the carotid artery didn't cause his death, what did?" (1)
An exclamation of confusion from behind kept Raidou from his answer.
"I'm sorry...What?" Genma interrupted from the side, twin glares thrown at him for having the nerve to open his mouth again. "Exsan- what?" He pressed, ignoring the dirty looks he was receiving.
"In lament terms it means a cut across the throat." Raidou offered with strained patience. He was about ready to send Genma out of the room at this point.
With a curious wrinkle of his nose Genma uncrossed his arms and questioned. "Wasn't that just easier to say?"
"No." Was Raidou's clipped reply, serious and somewhat affronted at being asked such a stupid question.. "And you wouldn't be asking for an easier explanation if you actually went to the medical courses that we're allowed to receive for free." Honestly, if Genma was going to be difficult and refuse to join him to a couple of classes that would benefit them in their jobs then he shouldn't have to explain every little thing to the man. The same rule applied if Genma was too busy day-dreaming to pay attention to what Shino had been explaining to him before. Might as well guilt him for not coming with me.
"C'mon Raidou, you know even if I had gone to those things I still wouldn't have gotten it. I'm a cop, not a doctor." Genma whined, looking horror struck that the prospect of having this conversation again.
"It doesn't matter Genma." Raidou shot over his shoulder while he dug into one of his coat pockets and pulled out a small note pad and pen. He moved towards his boyfriend and held them out for his to grab with a furious click of the pen. "Just take notes and be quiet."
"Fine!" Genma snapped back tartly, angered about how his partner had been acting since the start of the investigation. "Excuse me for wanting to understand." He sniffed and snatched the notepad and pen, watching Raidou move back to stand beside Zaku's body with a scowl. All he wanted to do was help. Instead all he got was a scolding.
Raidou lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, his aggravation present in the warning he growled at his lover. "Genma, shut up."
"Hmph." And Genma pressed his lips together in a stubborn refusal to say thing else to either help or worsen the situation. He just began to click the tip of the pen in and out of it's casing waiting for them continue.
Despite wanting to take the annoying writing implement from his boyfriend now and force it down his throat Raidou inhaled a falsely calming breath and exhaled after ten seconds of holding it in. Maybe the blood loss to his brain, even if only momentary, would keep his forming headache from growing thorns and developing into a migraine. "Dr. Aburame. If the cut to his throat didn't kill him, what did?" He pleaded with his eyes, sending his friend a worn look.
Dr. Aburame, who had watched the conflict without so much as a change in expression or a shift of body weight, raised a single eyebrow in their direction Mercifully though he continued his report with an air lacking recognition of what what had just happened. He preferred not to get involved in others affairs. "The victim fainted from blood loss, but died from drowning."
There was short lapse of silence, Raidou and Genma taking the information in stride, but not without some confusion.
"Drowning? Like he was killed first and then dropped off at the warehouse? Because there wasn't any water sources near by."
"No. Evidence shows he was killed in the same place you found him." Shuffling through some papers the doctor continued, ignoring the fleeting looks of befuddlement he was inspiring in the other men. "The body was found laying face down in a usually inconsequential amount of blood. A cut that large would bleed out enough to soak the entire body, but in this case the cause of death was the fact that when the victim tried to stop the bleeding with his own hands he drowned himself."
"That makes no sense. You don't drown trying to stop a bleed." Genma retorted, highly confused and questioning of the doctors sanity.
Dr. Aburame glowered and reprimanded the statement in a cutting quip. "You do if you receive a laceration that extends through the jugular and into your trachea as well as the esophagus. To stop himself from bleeding this man covered up the cut, but the blood didn't go back into his circulatory system. The blood instead poured down his throat and into his lungs." (1)
"Well...that explains the bruising around the neck- but not the ones on his arms and wrists." Raidou stated offhandedly from beside Zaku's body, who was now exposed from the the hips up, the blue sheet pulled back to pool around them. He was examining the boys neck, a wrinkle settling across his brow. "And are you sure he wasn't dead before he drowned, Shino?"
"Yes. The blood was found his lungs not his stomach." And at the skeptical regard of the other two men Shino hung his clipboard back on the table and started to clarify his report with motions towards the body when necessary. "The boy experienced a fleeting moment of laryngospasms, which are constrictions of the vocal cords to seal off the trachea, while he was unconscious." He pointed at the boys throat indicating the area where the windpipe split into the trachea and esophagus. (2) "They begin once a liquid enters the airway and for them to relax enough to allow fluids into the lungs the body must be alive during the process of drowning. If he'd been dead before the drowning could have killed him the epiglottis wouldn't have blocked off passage to the stomach and blood wouldn't be in his lungs."
"Just to be clear the epiglottis is what closes off the trachea when somethings being swallowed, right?" Genma queried, laying down his notepad and pen, since he wasn't even taking notes anyway.
Both Raidou and Shino nodded as an answer, prompting him to explain what he's been told- out loud, while he paced back and fourth some steps. "So..If he'd been dead before drowning the...larygon-thingies would have kept the throat closed while the blood got into his stomach, but since the blood was in his lungs it means that..." and he paused, muddling over the information. "-His body was trying to get him to breathe which lead to the constrictions relaxing and the blood getting into his lungs?" Blinking rapidly he missed the impressed notice his lover was taking in him as he brought his hands up grasp his head in mock distress. "God, that makes my head hurt."
"For someone who's never been to a medical class-" Raidou began, humbling giving out praise when called for. "It's remarkable you could make sense of that."
Hearing the boost about his summarization Genma took on a look of smug achievement dropping his hands to his hips. "See babe? I told you I don't need to go to those things. I'm smart!"
Deadpanning Raidou coughed into his hand and stated dryly. "That's not what I said."
"Yeah whatever. You know I'm awesome." The brunette banished, the jab at his intelligence sliding off his ego with considerable ease.
Rolling his eyes Raidou nodded his head in mock agreement before turning back to the body. "Of course. Now can we back to the autopsy?" The scarred detective took his bottom lip between his teeth and started nibbling on it, tugging at it's slightly chapped surface. "None of this helped clear up anything. All we know his how he died which unfortunately is not proof that Naruto didn't do it."
"So what do we do?" Genma sobered a fraction.
"We just have to hope that Kiba and Sarge found something. Or Izumo and Kotetsu were able too."
"And if they haven't?"
"We're fucked?" Raidou asked as if it were a fact, the statement sending Genma in a forced fit of laughter.
"If I got fucked every time someone got murdered I'd be out right now shooting someone down."
"That's not even funny Genma." Raidou let out a long and suffering sigh at his boyfriend's idiocy.
"Hatake would have found it was funny."
"Kakashi's not exactly morally intact." Raidou frowned.
"When I tell him you said that I hope he makes you work the desk for a month."
"Fine. When that happens you know that I'll be abstaining until my punishment it over. You shouldn't worry though. You just go kill somebody right?"
Genma gave a gasp at the turn the banter had taken and made a quick subject change, ignoring his partner's satisfied and smug look. "Anyway...I guess we should be going since we still need to meet up with Izumo and Kotetsu and see what they got from the mom."
"There's actually more I still have to explain to you two." Shnio offered after a few moments of listening to them, his statement making his companions both stop in their tacks to send him long scrutinizing looks.
"And what's that?" Raidou demanded with a polite needle, turning to give the young doctor his full attention.
"Ma'am please. We just need you to answer some questions." Izumo Kamizuki pleaded in a calming manner from the door step of the Abumi household. He valiantly fended off the cold look from a very distressed Fubuki Abumi, who was hidden partly behind her paint-chipped door as he jabbed an elbow into the ribs of the man next to him in order to provoke another, similar comment to aid him.
Kotetsu Hagane knit his brows in a wince, snapping "Ow, watch it." and then giving a tense smile to the poor woman, trying to seem reassuring in the face of such a delicate situation. "We're only asking for a moment of your time. It's important to the investigation."
"I was already informed that you know who killed my son. What else could there possibly be for me to answer?" Was the hostile bark, the woman's voice an unusual tenor. The accent was hard to place, but there was a definite fading of oriental decent. Not that it wasn't already clear by her physical appearance that she was from somewhere in the Pacific.
Taking quick side glances at each other Izumo and Kotetsu furrowed their brows at the poor woman. "Ma'am, we have no idea who gave you that information, but thats not the case. We have a one suspect as of last night, but nothing solid to tie him to it. Please may we come in? We just need you to answer a few things and we'll leave."
"Fine!" she barked again, slamming the door. After a brief silence the sound of a lock being viciously undone and some heavy object being moved was heard in muffled intervals. Izumo and Kotetsu stared dumbly at the door and gave heaving, simultaneous sighs at the absurdity of the situation. In the next following moments the door was slowly opened again reviling a tiny Japanese woman with a scowl on her face and a redness around her eyes that was from the considerable amount of crying she must have been doing in the last few hours. Her appearance was worn and tired. She probably hadn't slept since the night before either and at the moment she looked like she could die and not bat an eyelash.
"Come in." She said in a dull whisper, keeping her eyes pinned on both of them even when she moved to the side to allow them space to enter.
They hesitated a second giving each other looks of apprehension before taking some tentative steps into the Abumi home. In all respect it was a nice, quaint little house with a rundown coat of pale paint on the walls but nice flowery furnishings that gave it homey feeling. Lacking the structure of a Japanese style home the house seemed very much American, but the woman had certainly kept the traditional setting the same on the inside. A modest amount of ornaments littered the living room they were lead into and with some considerable resolve all three of them took a seat at the table that laid in the middle of the room. Maintaining tradition there were no chairs and in their stead were seating mats leading both men to plop down and forcing them to sit with their legs tucked under them so they could both comfortably sit together opposite of their host.
Already set out on the table was a white china pot with a cherry blossom design and a cup of cooling green tea. Neither man acknowledged the fact that it wasn't for them and when their host made no move or sound as to inquire if they would like anything they were only too happy to dismiss it. They didn't want to be here either and any excuse to shorten the stay was welcomed.
Izumo was just about to open his mouth and start his questioning before Mrs. Abumi wrapped both hands around the base of the cup and with short and tense movements brought the rim to her mouth, tipping the cup and making a show of taking a long, slow sip of her tea. Deterred by the rudeness he fished his notepad out along with a pen, laying them down on the table to wait. As frustrating this was going to be he and Kotetsu would just have to be patient no matter what. The poor woman had just lost her son only hours ago and her behavior was understandable.
Kotetsu on the other hand didn't share his partners reserve because frankly them being there would not help her deal with the pain. If anything the more time they spent in the Abumi home the more she was forced to remember things about her son that she would rather just lock away forever. "Ma'am could you please explain to us what made you think anything had happened to your son yesterday?" Next to him Izumo sighed and grabbed his pen, ready to write.
Mrs. Abumi didn't bother replying until her cup was sitting back on the tabletop and her eyes were glaring at the two men across form her. "He'd been acting strange until he left to go see his friends. Said he was just going to do some shopping. When it got late and he didn't answer his cell phone I thought something must've happened because he never turns off his cell phone and he never misses any of my calls."
"How was he acting that you thought it was strange?" Izumo asked, looking up now.
Hands clenching at the small ceramic cup Mrs. Abumi frowned down at her tea with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "He'd been nervous- jumpy. Everything he said was a stutter and he'd been vague on what his plans for the day were. It sounds like a stupid reason to worry, but he'd forgotten to wish me a good morning when he woke up and he never said a word during breakfast and hardly ate. I couldn't understand it. It's been almost seven years since I've had to deal with those mood swings teenagers are so famous for." And with a startling quickness a sad look clouded her face. "But seven years ago it had just been phase. Now-" She cut herself of as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes making both men wince and avoid eye contact. She made no move to wipe them and obviously distraught kept her eyes glued on her drink.
It was silent for a while, Kotetsu and Izumo seeing no reason to push for that to change. They waited for her to calm down and finish what she was going to say.
"This time I didn't know what was going on." She mumbled finally, bowing her head. "Before he left the house he hugged me and gave me a kiss...told me he loved me. The smile on his face was sad I just knew something bad was going to happen."
"We're very sorry for your loss." Kotetsu said almost mechanically. He hadn't meant for it to sound so robotic , but after your first few murder cases you learned to either keep yourself detached or spend the rest of the case sitting at your desk, useless and depressed.(2)
"No, you're not. This is just a job for you men." She accused, looking up now, but with a lacking venom. The way she said it was more an observation then her version of an insult. "I understand your need to give condolences, but you didn't even know my son. I'd appreciate that any false feelings you may have you keep to yourselves."
Despite it's tone the remark had stung Kotetsu hard, causing the him to shift uncomfortably on his mat. "I'm sorry."
Izumo, who had bit back the instinct to defend his partner, felt a little uneasy at how the older brunette had reacted to that. In all honesty if anyone could understand what Mrs. Abumi was going through it was Kotetsu. He gave the woman a cold glare, but was quick to emend himself, knowing that she was just looking for someone to blame- someone to hurt just so she wouldn't have to be the only one. "Just a few more questions ma'am." He heard himself say getting the attention of their host.
Picking up his notepad Izumo flipped over some pages. "Were you aware that your son was part of the Akatuski? Or that he was connected to them in anyway?"
"No." She answered quickly, her reply clipped. If one gave it more thought it almost sounded offended.
"Yesterday before he was murdered did he tell you he was going to be doing?"
"He said that he was going to be out the whole day with friends, shopping, like I said. And also promised he's be home before eleven. Other than that I know just about as much as the police do." She said and took another sip of her tea.
Sighing at the response Izumo put down his pen and frowned. "Did he mention having to do anything else important this week? In passing maybe he mentioned something big?"
Mrs. Abumi frowned back. "No."
"Alright then. Did his friends mention anything?"
"No."
"Do you happen know which friends he went to go see yesterday?"
"No."
"Are you sure?" He ask as politely as he could.
"The only one I remember him invite is Doku. He was my son's closest friend."
"Could you give us a number?"
"Yes, I could." And after that it became very quiet. It became clear that Mrs. Abumi was not going to make this easy and with yet another sigh Izumo prodded gently while trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.
"And that number would be...?"
"One. Three, four, seven. Eight, six, two. Three, eight, nine, four."
Jotting the number down quickly Izumo nodded again and continued. "Have you been in contact with him since the murder?"
"No."
"May I ask why?"
"No." And just like that she was back to being uncooperative.
"Mrs. Abumi your son's friend could have some information and you haven't contacted him?"
"No. Finding out who killed my son is your job." She snapped back, sounding bitter.
"But it could put the person who killed him in jail. How can you sit there and not want justice, or even to help us?" Kotetsu interrupted, his featured conflicted between sadness and outrage.
"Because he's dead and no matter how many people you put in prison for it he's never going to come back!" She finally broke, reaching out to take a tissue from a box that sat next to her. Placing it gently under her nose she gave a sniff and almost choked herself on a sob. "Please. Just finish with your questions and leave."
Izumo took a long intake of air, a huffing exhale and looked over at his partner with tired eyes. "No, it's alright ma'am." He said, slowly turning to gaze back towards the woman in front of him who was trying to hold back a fresh wave of tears. Lifting himself up from the ground he brushed his coat of any invisible dirt and spoke softly "We'll just be leaving now." There was nothing that was going to get accomplished at this point.
"Izumo..." Kotetsu began, standing up.
Interrupting the other brunette Izumo stuck his notepad and pen bag into his pocket and said. "Thank you for your time ma'am."
"But-" She started, and was stopped by a wave of her guest's hand.
Kotetsu and Izumo made their way out of the living room. "It's alright. We actually have somewhere we need to be."
Mrs. Abumi nodded and followed after them, quietly escorted them to the door; her body language dejected and her feet dragging against the carpet. She politely rushed forward to open the door for her guests against her inner turmoil and held it open for them as well.
Both detectives calmly walked out of the house, handing the woman a card from their pockets and with a small bow to her, stepped off the porch with some parting words. "We're sorry for taking up your time ma'am. Please give us a call if you happen to remember any other of your son's friends."
"Of course." She agreed. "And I am sorry officers, I just can't...I can't deal with all this right now. Please," she said and sent Kotetsu a heartbroken look. "I do want to help. If you need anything else just let me know." Her features were contorted with shame as she brush a stray lock of midnight black hair from her face.
Soften by her apology both men gave her small, uneasy smiles in return. "We understand Mrs. Abumi. We'll be keeping in touch and making sure to let you know how the investigation is going." Kotetsu offered. He nodded to her and said "Goodbye." stepping over to their car and getting into the passengers side.
"Have a good day." Izumo said after, opening his side of the car.
She thanked him and waited until he was in the car before backing into the house and closing the door. With her out of sight both men relaxed. Kotetsu pinched the bridge of his nose briefly and bending forward, digging around for his water bottle while Izumo started up the car and pulled out into the street. With a turn to the left on the next street they were off back to the station.
"Well, that could have gone better." Kotetsu joked without humor shifting around to get comfortable in his seat.
"Yeah, it could have." Izumo agreed.
"So what now? We got nothing."
"It's not 'nothing' Kotetsu. Maybe the friend has some information."
Kotetsu pouted at that. "Yeah, just like the mom did, right?"
"Be nice. Losing a son tends to put anyone in an unfavorable mood." Izumo chastised. "Besides we'll have to call her in either way so we can get a statement. Don't be so insensitive."
"I'm not being insensitive. She was the one making things difficult."
"She lost her son. Give her a break."
"I lost my mom. You don't see me taking it out on other people."
"Kotetsu." The older brunette stressed in a tired voice. "That doesn't even border on fair. Your mom's been gone for years and she just lost her son."
"So what? I still think she could have been more cooperative." Kotetsu whined, crossing his arms.
Izumo sighed letting one arm drop onto the armrest. "You have to learn to be more patient."
"Here's a thought. I'll be patient and next time you don't let her off so easy." The younger brunette growled. "We got nothing because you had to play the boy scout. Patience doesn't gather evidence for us you know."
"Don't be so heartless!" Izumo exclaimed, frowning. "And didn't we just establish that we that we did get something."
Taking a swig of water Kotetsu leaned back in his seat. "You know Iruka's gonna flip that we didn't get anything from her."
"Do I need to get you some Q-tips Kotetsu? We got the friend's number. How much more do you want from the poor woman?"
"Some more information on the son would have been nice. But no. You had let her push us around."
And for a while silence presented itself, Izumo not willing to justify his friend's childish mannerisms with even the smallest comment. The younger brunette sat back and fidgeted with his water bottle with nothing else to do but watch the street pass by in a distorted picture.
After some time Kotetsu nerves finally got the better of him and he asked. "Why did you make us leave anyway? "
Izumo sighed. "Like you said, she was hardly being cooperative. Staying their any longer would have ended up a disaster. You should be thanking me for getting us out of there."
With a roll of his eyes and an exaggerated flip of his hand Kotetsu took a mock bow in his partners direction. "Oh, thank you Great Detective Izumo. On behalf of all of at the NYPD's seventeenth precinct we just want to say we appreciate your ability at gathering no useful evidence." And he sat back with a laugh at the look of frustration that frittered across Izumo's face.
Hand formed into a tight fist Izumo took his eyes off the road a moment and lifted his arm from the armrest, giving the other man a good punch on the arm. Rewarded with a yelp from his partner the older brunette went back to watching the road with a grunt. "I find it hilarious what a hypocrite you are. If you thought we should have stayed longer you should have said something. Idiot." Sometimes he believed Kotetsu just liked getting into arguments with him.
"Son of a bitch!" Rubbing his arm with dramatic movements Kotetsu shifted farther towards his window. "Yeah! Make me out to be the bad guy. What was I supposed to do? Tie you down while I drilled her some more? Dirty bastard." He muttered sarcastically and looked down at his arm with a pitiful whimper. "God damn Izumo. That hurt!"
"It's what you get for being such a smart ass." Izumo scolded without remorse.
"That was so unnecessary." Came the offended sniff from the injured detective.
"Depends on what your definition of 'unnecessary' is." Replied the other in an offhanded manner.
"Since you asked!" Kotetsu growled. "It's having someone punch me for correctly pointing out that we got nothing."
"Ugh! You are so immature!" Izumo complained finally pulling into the station's parking lot and applying the brakes with more force then would ever be needed. Both men lurched forward in their seats; Kotetsu inches away from kissing the windshield because he had been less prepared for the stop.
"Now who's being immature?!" Screeched Kotetsu, glaring poison-tipped daggers at his partner.
Izumo threw his arms up and almost ripped his keys from the cars ignition, the roar of the engine dying away as he pulled on the handle of the door and half-kicked his way out of the car. "You are such a bastard." He shouted, his head under the door frame to meet his partners eyes before ducking back out to slam the door.
Cringing at the sound of the bang Kotetsu let out a frustrated groan and got out of the car, making sure that it was locked before closing his own door. He watched Izumo stomp his way into the precinct, his partner's dark mutterings making everyone in the vicinity shy away from the murderous looking detective.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Shouted Kotetsu, hands cupped around his mouth to amplify his voice.
"As far away from you as I can get!" Was Izumo rude shout back.
Kotetsu then followed without hesitation and took on a jogging pace to catch up with Izumo, who was walking briskly through the double doors to the station's main lobby. The angered brunette heeded to none of Kotetsu cries to stop or to wait which bothered the younger detective and motivated him to yell louder and more obscenely, grabbing the attention of everyone around them, but the man he was trying to get to and who was purposely ignoring him. They weaved around people and desks, pushing to get pass; one trying to escape and the other trying to follow, but every time Kotetsu sprinted to trap his partner someone would cut across his path, giving the other man an opportunity to get away.
"Izumo! God dammit, would you slow down?!" Kotestu yelled, shoving another officer out of his way.
The angry detective shouted back over his shoulder again. "No! I have nothing to say to you!" And he kept on narrowly avoiding Kotetsu at every turn.
This continued for several more minutes but, finally able to catch up with his disgruntled friend in the hallway leading to the investigation room Kotetsu roughly latched onto the other brunette's arm and swung him around to make eye contact. "Jesus, get a grip Izumo." He commented, his breath coming out in small pants.
Izumo on the other hand was completely short of breath, but more out of anger then his attempts at escape. It did nothing to quell his energy though and in a valiant effort to shake his partner from his arm he struggled back and kept his eyes narrowed in furious glare. "Let go, jerk!" He bit out, failing somewhat, trying to loosen his partners grip enough so he could slip away. It proved unless in the end when Kotetsu's other hand encased his own free arm and tighten around it like a vice. He winced and just tried harder, Kotetsu being forced to pin him up against a wall so it was more difficult for him to fight.
"Izumo, relax! Why are you so worked up about this?" The younger brunette questioned as calmly as anybody could with an armful of an angry cop who had remarkable marksmanship.
"Just let go, dammit." Izumo snapped, jerking backwards and unfortunately unable to get anywhere in doing so, still up against the wall.
"Fine. You don't wanna tell me what your problem is?" Kotetsu asked in a low voice, condescending and with warning. His brows furrowed and the corners of his mouth tipped down in a frown at the look of pure disdain he got from his friend. "Have it your way. You can stay in the janitor's closet till you feel like talking." He declared, letting go of Izumo's left arm and reaching out to a door handle less then five inches away. Jerking the door open with his hand twisted to unlatch the lock he gave a hard shove with his right hand to his brunette partner's side and had him through the door without much effort seeing as how Izumo was stunned at the prospect at being locked away in a closet.
"H-hey! What the fuck are you doing?!" Izumo sputtered momentarily taken aback but having enough sense to attempt to walk back out only to have a hand land on his chest that shoved him right back in roughly. The door was closed in his face and he was at a lost at what to do. He spent a few second staring at the door with an open mouth and shocked, wide eyes before he stepped forward and tried to get out again. Trying the handle of the door it turned without problem which meant it was unlocked still, but when he went to push it open he found a heavy weight settled across it's surface making it impossible to move it more then an inch before it slammed back closed.
A moment later the booming voice of Izumo Kamizuki could be heard throughout the entire precinct.
"You bastard! Let me out or I'll make you swallow everyone of your own teeth!" He threatened with a fist banging against the door for emphasis on each word. He tried to push his way out again and again, upper body pressed on the door for strength while his feet slid on the floor as he tried to gain some friction to aid him. Cruelly the door only moved the same distance away from the door frame again and once again it slammed in his face causing him to kick at it in a frustrated rage. "I swear to god Kotetsu! Let me out!"
"Tell me why you suddenly developed PMS and I will." Came the muffled reply from the other side, sarcastic and serious at the same time.
"I do not have- Ugh! Would you just let me the fuck out?" Izumo said, keeping up his mission for escape, unsuccessful every time he made to force his way pass the door but was kept in by the combination of Kotetsu's body weight and his own push against it.
"Sounds tempting, but no."
"You have some nerve, you know that? Now let me out!"
"You've been in there for almost a whole half a minute now and I still haven't heard an answer to my question."
"That's because I don't want to give you one. I'm getting really sick of this Kotetsu. Let me out, alright?" The trapped brunette stated as composed as he could. He let his head hit the wall as he let out a sigh, his hand smacking his side of the door repeatedly but with no serious force behind it.
"Just tell me what the deal is."
"I said no! What part of that doesn't make sense to you?"
"That part where you want to get out, because until you tell me your going to be sniffing Windex."
"Your unbelievable! You put me in this a closet and you actually think something other than this is my problem."
"You were like this before I put you in there." Kotetsu pointed out.
"So what?! Putting me in here is not going to make me more unwilling to share anything but a bullet with you."
"This is becoming a circular conversation. I'm not letting you out until you tell me what's wrong so maybe you should just fess up so I can let you go. Honestly I'm getting tired of standing in front of the janitor's closet."
"You're getting tired? You're getting tired?!" Izumo's anger suddenly flared again.
"Yes, I'm getting tired. I think my shoulder is numb."
"I'll kill you!" And with a new found reason Izumo slammed the entirety of his body against the door hearing Kotetsu yelp and fall back with a satisfying thud. "You god damn asshole. You better let me out or I'm going to murder you!"
"That's some language for an officer of the law." Kotetsu goaded with a breathless laugh.
"You are going to be so sorry when I get out of here."
"I'm actually pretty sorry that I put you in there at all."
Giving pause at the strange statement Izumo frowned and asked, with some hesitation "Why? Finally realized your a dead man?"
"No, it's kind of because the janitor is giving me this look and it's freaking me out."
"...You idiot! Let me out!!"
"Not until you fess up. Jeez. Now who's the one who needs some Q-Tips?"
"You're going to need extensive surgery when I get out of here."
"Somehow I doubt it."
"Oh really?!" And Izumo slammed himself against the door again, this time getting no farther then his first attempt. In a horrible mood he gave up and continued yelling instead in the hope he'd be able to wear his partner down with a good long lecture on what a jerk he was being. "God dammit. You are so immature it's amazing your allowed to even have a job. You really have some nerve you self-centered-..."
And from there Kotetsu's mind began to wander. He wasn't going to get his answer now. Maybe not for a while, but experience taught him that letting his partner vent was the best course of action. With nothing more to worry about while the other brunette was talking Kotetsu relaxed against the door and let his thoughts drift. He could only guess at why his partner was this upset. Arguments between them hardly ever got this far so something today was bugging Izumo more than he was willing to share, which was just aggravating the situation.
"Hey Kotetsu!" A strong male voice called from a distance beyond the closet door.
Genma and Raidou came walking down the hall towards their colleague. "What's up?" Genma asked in short greetings.
Looking up and seeing his friends Kotetsu smiled a friendly grin and gave a short half-wave. "Nothing much man, just hanging out. You?"
Genma grinned back and wiggled the folder in his hand. "Heading down to talk to Hatake. We got some cool stuff we need to report. Then back off to the streets."
Kotetsu gave them a half-pout. "Ah. Good you found something. The mom was completely unhelpful and sent us out with just a number to some friend. Like that's anything to worth coming back with."
"That's disappointing. Sorry." Was the sentiment from Genma, his voice showing no signs of real remorse.
"Yeah, sure you are mister we got some cool stuff to report." Kotetsu goaded in a playful and sarcastic way.
Silence stemmed from momentarily surprize Izumo sputtered at his partners audacity to start up a conversation without so much as a thought to the man locked up behind him. Kicking at the door and yelling loud enough for the whole city to hear him he cursed for his partner to let him go. "Kotetsu! What the fuck are you doing?! Let me out!"
"Woah!" Exclaimed Genma, jumping from the suddenness of the noise. "Is that Izumo?!" He wondered out loud and without waiting for an answer he walked up to the door, stood next to Kotetsu, and gave it a few knocks while pressing an ear to it. "Izumo?"
"Get me out dammit!" Shouted the muffled voice of the mentioned detective, his tone one of unrivaled fury.
Genma jumped and next to him Raidou took on a look of confusion and exasperation. "Why in the hell is Izumo in the janitor's closet?" He questioned.
Giving his colleagues a sheepish smile while earnestly fending off the danger behind him Kotetsu laughed a bit nervously as he said. "He said liked the smell of cleaning products?"
The comment made Genma and Raidou roll their eyes and caused Izumo to fly back into a heated rage. "That's it! Let me out or I'm going to start shooting through the door." And at the threat the sound of an automatic hand-held gun could be heard having it's safety removed.
"Uh...I think you should let him out now Kotetsu." Muttered the long-haired detective as he, inconspicuously as he could, stepped behind his boyfriend. I'm too pretty to die. He thought to himself ignoring Raidou's sharp gaze and annoyed shake of the head.
"That would defeat the purpose of putting him in there in the first place, now wouldn't it?" The man pressed against the door reasoned, pushing back as hard as he could to keep his partner from getting out.
"He sounds pretty mad." Raidou pointed out, becoming increasingly concerned by the sounds coming from inside the small room. Izumo was sill cursing but over his insistent banging and slamming on the door it was unintelligible.
"That's because he is pretty mad." Laughed the perverted man, sending his friend a mocking smile. "Having fun, Kotetsu?"
"Oh yeah." The other man inhaled deeply with exhaustion, turning to give the door a sour look, mentally blaming it for not having a lock. "It's almost as fun as finding a needle in my food." He said turning back to his friends with a sigh.
"Compared to what I'm going to do to you when I get out a needle in your food will be the least of your worries." Threatened the captive detective, his words making his partner consider running for his life at that point. He sent his friends a beggars look and was distraught to see them make no move to save him.
"Guys, help me out here."
"Um. I think we're just going to let you two work this out by yourselves." Smiled Genma as he grabbed onto his boyfriend wrist and started tugging him down the hallway. "When you guys are done fighting meet us at Hatake's office for reporting." He ordered of his shoulder.
"Hey! Wait. Help me you guys!" Kotetsu pleaded, watching them go as if they were his lifeline.
"Sorry. I don't wanna be around when Izumo finally gets out." Raidou answered for them and now followed his boyfriend down the corridor, heeded to none of his colleague's words.
"Traitors!" Kotetsu called, bothered by had they ignored him and turned the corner without another thought to him and his situation.
"Kotetsu!" Came Izumo's angry voice again, making him cringe.
"Yes?" Kotetsu said, tone sugar sweet.
"Want to let me out yet?"
"What happens if I say no?"
"Are you honestly willing to find out?"
"That's a trick question isn't it?"
"God! Just let me out. This has gotten so ridiculous. We need to report in."
"Would you just let me know what's wrong then?" Kotetsu whispered, greeted by the sound of nothing. Izumo didn't answer him and probably hadn't even heard him if that was the case. "Izumo?" He called again, louder.
"Yeah?" Came the dejected response.
"Gonna let me know what's wrong?"
There was a dull thud against the metal of the door behind him while at the same time Izumo let out a large and exaggerated sigh with his forehead pressed to the metal. "No. I don't want to talk about it now."
"Later?" Kotetsu prodded.
"Maybe later." The other agreed.
"Maybe?"
"Yes, maybe. Now just let out of here. It smells like window cleaner and despite what you say, no, I don't like it."
"Alright...I'm going to let you out, but put the safety back on your gun first." And listening through the door Kotetsu waited for the click from his partners gun before he eased himself away from the door and opened it. Izumo walked out of the closet and just started down the hall in the same direction at Raidou and Genma. He didn't look at Kotetsu and just headed towards their boss's office his face tilted toward the ground.
Walking to catch up with the other brunette Kotetsu wisely kept to himself and just followed along. If he was truthful with himself he had been scared his partner was going to hurt him, but just because he hadn't gotten his punishment now didn't mean he wasn't going to get it at all. He dreaded the end of his shift now. Going home with Izumo was going to be the death of him...literally.
When they finally did reach reach their captain's office they where surprised to find said captain rushing out of it, towards them in a hurried, frantic pace. Their captain's face was pale and drawn and he looked haggard, ready about to fall over from the weight of his problems.
Both detectives jumped when Kakashi barreled between them without a single acknowledgment and just kept down to the hall. They looked after him with some concern, but decided to follow anyway, stepping into line with Genma and Raidou, who were looking just as worried and confused as they felt.
Kotetsu, ever the more curious at the turn of events, asked. "Captain? What's going on?"
The silver-haired man ignored the question and when it became clear that there would be no answer Genma took it upon himself to explain. "We don't really know either, but he said something about Iruka down at the cages. Other than that he won't say." (3)
"So...Kakashi? Wanna fill us in?"
When the statement failed to gain any sort of response again the four detectives eyed their captain with some reproach. Kotetsu coughed uncomfortably at the silence. "Kakashi, what's going on? Is Iruka in trouble?" He asked again, ignoring the looks he got from his friends.
Kakashi ignored it once more and kept on briskly making his way down the precinct halls. They all finally slipped into a respective hush now, not wanting to cause a stir.
The walk lasted for a sum of eight minutes and in that time Genma found himself getting slightly worried again. Seeing his captain and friend of eleven years suddenly so tense made him uneasy. Kakashi was the first to the door, but before wanting to let him go through Genma asked once more. "What's going on Kakashi?"
Hand stopped in mid turn of the door knob, the police captain gave his men a troubled grimace. "Naruto's been arrested." He said slowly the words tasting disgusting in his mouth. Turning away and without saying anything more he crossed into the next room, leaving four utterly stunned detectives in his wake.
(1) Anyone wondering why, if Zaku drowned, he didn't present with any choking or failing, like you would normally see when someone is drowning, it's because he lost consciousness before any of that could happen. XD Sorry, I just felt that I need to explain that because some people might go "But! You didn't say he drowned in the first chapter." Nope. I left that out for dramatic affect. If anyone saw that coming I'll give you a cookie...Oh. Looks like I can keep them all! MWAHAHAHA!
(2) To clear that up, just for anyone a little "Wtf"-ish. If you're a cop and you get emotionally involved in a case then it's better if you're taken off. Emotions cloud people judgment and if a cop can't be objective then they can do their job properly. Which is true for any profession that deals with the lives of other people. Doctors, lawyer, ect. Course there are always exceptions and limits so just so we're clear. I'm not saying that you have to be a heartless bastard to be any other those things...It just helps. XD
(3) Cages- It's what I call the holding cells in police stations. Just get familiar with the saying, because I'll be using it in the future. XD Plus I can just imagine cops using that term. :3
Plushie StickyNote: I just want to make one thing clear. YES! I KNOW there was no SasuNaru. And I know that's what people want, but I really wanna do this my way. I guess it must be dissappointing but I promise. I PROMISE. I'll make up for it. I reallllllly wanna get to their relationship too ya know? You all just gotta give me a break. The story is important too. Anywho. Cliffhanger on the autopsy report and of course next chapter ya'll get to find out why Naru-chan is getting locked up. Hope you all liked it and reviews will be very much appreciated. Loves ya!
Quote: "Jesus may walk on water, but Chuck Norris can walk on Jesus."
©2007 Ruby Plushie