To be blunt and to the point, my muse died. However! I have officially beaten that little roadblock into submission, tied it to my bed, and played vicious mind games with it until it spilled its guts dry, and so, my muse lives once more. This chapter's a bit shorter than the ones previous, but you do get to meet Kuzu-chan in this one, so I hope that makes up for it. Enjoy!
Don't own nuffin', sorry.
"Follow me, we'll discuss whatever it is you need in my office." I stood stock still for a moment, watching the retreating back, or rather, backside, of what was perhaps the most fucking attractive man I had ever seen, barely regaining myself in time to look semi-natural under Konan's scrutinizing eyes. I missed the smug look she shot me as she walked ahead, too busy trying to get my breath back.
The entire way through the lobby, to a glass door labelled 'employees only', and down a hall to the dude's office, I couldn't take my eyes off him. He had to be at least six foot ten, if not more; probably somewhere in his late thirties, early forties, with darkly tanned skin that marked him out clearly as a native of Taki; powerfully built, and dressed smartly in a black Armani suit, white formal shirt underneath, and dark leather loafers. His business attire was, surprisingly, not put off in the least by his long, coarse-looking bracken-colored hair, which was secured in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, ending just between his shoulder-blades.
What had captured my attention the most, however, was his face. More specifically, his eyes. They were the most intense shade of green I had ever seen, and almost seemed to have no pupils; a domineering and powerful emerald that sent a shiver down my spine as we entered his office and he turned to fix them upon me. So fixating were they that I almost failed to notice the white cloth mask he had secured over the lower half of his features.
"Sit." It was obviously meant as a polite suggestion, and yet it felt more like a command, and with those hypnotic, solemn eyes boring into mine, I couldn't help but obey. Konan did the same, and we were silent for a moment as the man seated himself behind his desk, interlacing his fingers and resting his hands on the mahogany wood before him, looking between us briefly. The name plate on his desk read 'Yonkamen Kakuzu, Bank Manager'.
"Now; what can I help you with, Officers? I believe I heard something about Hidemichi-san mentioned?" His rumbling voice broke me out of my trance, and my immediate reaction was, as it is with a lot of things, to be pissed off. There was no, fuckin', way I was gonna let this guy turn me into a stuttering idiot. So he was hot; so was I, and I also had a reputation for being a royal asshole.
"You're damn right, you did. She's dead, and by our account you were the last one to see her." I put on my best scowling glare. "So maybe we can save ya the embarrassment of going downtown, and you'll answer our questions outright, yeah?" His brows furrowed slightly, a spark flickering in the depths of his eyes, but otherwise he maintained a calm composure. I still felt a sense of satisfaction, though I had to hold back a growl when Konan elbowed me in the ribs.
"I'm not sure I like what you're insinuating, Officer." he responded, and his voice had a hint of venom in it. "But Hidemichi-san was a valuable customer of mine, so...what would you like to know?" I opened my mouth to speak, but Konan beat me to the punch.
"I beg your pardon, but before we begin with any serious questions, might I ask about your mask? I mean no offense, but it is a bit of an abnormality, Yonkamen-san." This 'Kakuzu' guy turned his eyes onto Konan, and his irritation seemed to simmer down slightly at her respectful tone.
"None taken; I understand the curiosity." He paused for a moment, eyeing us both, then answered. "I was in one of the Great Wars, and obtained a wound that I prefer to conceal. The scars tend to make people uncomfortable, and when one works with prospective customers every day, it isn't good for profit to scare them off. I'm sure you understand." I took a moment to examine the mask, trying to imagine what grisly scars might lie beneath, unable to help envying the man for being in the war, which had ended when I was about eight. Most people would think that strange, but war is all about killing people; it would have been paradise for me.
"Of course." Konan replied, bowing her head slightly. "That aside, would you mind describing to us your meeting with Hidemichi-san yesterday? Did she seem nervous or distressed?"
"Not paticularly." Kakuzu shook his head minutely. "She claimed that the withdrawal was being made for the installation of a pool in her yard, as a down payment. She was calm, composed, didn't look particularly ruffled. Her shirt was on backwards, I noted, but that seems an insignificant detail. She had gotten into a small altercation with Yamanaka-san when she was made aware that she would have to speak with me, but this is not unusual. Hidemichi-san isn't the only person who is not particularly fond of me."
"I bet." I shot under my breath, though just loud enough for him to hear. Louder, I asked; "Any reason why?"
"You are not a very socially adept person, are you, Officer?" he asked cooly, earning a snicker from Konan, and a snarl from me. He cleared his throat gruffly before answering me. "When Hidemichi-san was just beginning with Kunai Korps she requested a rather substantial loan, and I declined. This set her back in her goal by several years, and she never really forgave me. She was cordial and proper, but avoided dealing with me when she could. I am generally a good judge of the sense in financial escapades, so naturally, there is quite a company of those with such grudges against me." I mouthed the word 'motive' as inconspicuously as I could manage when Kakuzu took a second to rub the bridge of his nose, causing Konan to roll her eyes and huff silently.
"You know of anyone else that might want to kill Hidemichi, then?" I emphasized, the 'else', sneering just slightly. The banker raised a brow at me in an irritating manner, returning his hand to his desk.
"Well, Officer, I would assume there are quite a lot of people who might have, as you so kindly put it, motive." He flashed me a condescending look of the eyes. "She was, after all, the CEO of a weapon's corporation. One that, might I add, ships their wares into almost every economically-prosperous country on the map. I'm sure you could be doing something substantially more productive than interrogating her banker." I felt a tongue of flame leap within my chest, seething angrily. Who the hell did this bastard think he was?! I mean, sure, he was probably right, but still, I was a fucking police officer for Jashin's sake!
"Hey; fuck you, buddy!" I leaned forward in my chair, grasping the arms tight enough to turn my pale knuckles even whiter. "As far as I'm concerned, you're guilty until proven innocent; you got that?!" Konan hissed at me angrily, squeezing my arm hard enough that I could feel the bones creak. Kakuzu was dead-pan calm, with a skeptical expression that fucking pissed me off.
"Guilty? Pardon me, Officer, but all you have on me is that I saw Hidemichi-san over five hours before her death. Now, it doesn't take a genius to know that isn't much, so you shouldn't have a problem with it." I could almost feel him smirking under that Jashin-be-damned mask of his. "Of course, I wouldn't put it past your type. Now," He rose to his feet, and I could almost see an ominous shadow cast over me. "-I believe our conversation is at an end. Have a nice day, Officers." He bowed respectfully to Konan, then ushered us out of the room, my mouth kept shut only by the crushing grip my foster-sister had on my upper arm. We were shut out by a crisp click of the jamb, somehow more forceful than any amount of slamming could be.
It wasn't until we were safely outside that Konan gave me a firm shove, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared me down coldly.
"You just had to, didn't you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in fury. I lunged forward so that our faces were inches apart, stance aggressive, with a glare to match her own.
"Fuck yes I did; the guy was an asshole! Like hell was I gonna take that kinda shit from anybody, let alone some self-righteous, Armani-wearing, condescending douchebag like him!"
"You forgot to add ridiculously attractive, and possibly in possession of information that might aid our investigation."
"Yeah, sure, but-wait just a fucking minute! What the hell was that supposed to mean?!" Konan smirked in that infuriating, 'big-sister' way she does, planting a hand on her hip.
"Well, you did notice what brand of suit he was wearing." She commented smugly, urging me towards the car. I spluttered indignantly, barely managing to regain my composure after the engine was running, and the stereo blasting; Konan had herded me into the passenger seat, I noticed.
"That-that doesn't mean shit! Its...I dunno, that faggy gay fashion-sense you women are always envying or something!"
"Hidan, we both know you don't have 'gay fashion-sense', which, by the way, I would kill to have. You don't even have gay-dar. I wasn't even aware you knew the difference between Armani and Calvin Klein to begin with." She backed out of the lot, starting back towards the precinct. "You can at least admit that he was attractive; I saw those bedroom eyes you gave him. Before the 'stabbity-stab-stab' glare, I mean." I rolled my eyes, temper simmering down a little bit, though, just to be spiteful I resolutely clunked my feet down on the dash.
"....Fine. Yeah, whatever; the guy was hot, alright? Happy? S'not like it fuckin' proves anything."
"You should have pouted like that while we were still there; you might have gotten a phone number out of him." I proceeded to nearly choke on my own spit, which, believe me, isn't a fun experience.
"What the fuck?! Fuck no!" I shouted over Bon Jovi belting out 'You Give Love A Bad Name' on the stereo, ignoring the double-expletive. "I said he was hot, but that doesn't change the fact that he was a fucking bastard!" The bluenette shrugged noncommitally, turning down the radio a bit, though she was obviously intending to tune me out in lieu of being serenaded by Jon. We lapsed into a silence ridden with skillful guitar riffs; one in which I mentally slapped myself for trying to be poetic.
I suddenly realized I'd forgot to make that deposit I'd meant to.
XXX
I punched out a little after six. I usually stay a lot later; I mean, its not like I have someone to come home to. My cat, sure, but she's usually out and about the neighborhood until late. However, tonight, even though I was technically off-duty, I would still be working. Well, sort of; I figured I could do to make the visit back to Karei no Ame to talk with that waitress the bartender mentioned.
I pulled up to my apartment complex around six-thirty, gunning my bike the last stretch of asphalt before sliding into my usual parking space, cutting the engine.
"Like a fucking glove..." I murmured to myself, slicking a loose strand of hair back with my palm as I pocketed the key, trotting over to the door and shouldering it open. The buzzers work, but there's really no point to 'em anymore; the lock on the front door has been broken for months, and to be honest, I don't really care. If some meth-head decides to break in and steal my neighbor's shit, too bad for them, and heaven help 'em if they try to rob me.
I pounded up the stairs to my floor, smirking in nostalgia as I spotted my door, littered with Kamiko's scratch-lines, and a few of my own, if you get my drift. Sliding in and turning the key, the door opened with a snick, though it took a little 'convincing' to get it wide enough to allow me entrance.
I yawned, despite the fact that it wasn't even nine yet, and shed my jacket, tossing it carelessly over the back of the couch. My undershirt soon followed, and I was just about to throw myself down on the couch for a quick nap before going to the club when I heard something scratching at the sliding-glass door leading to my small balcony. I looked up, spotting Kamiko through the glass, something small and furry trapped in her jaws.
Grinning, I padded over after kicking off my shoes, sliding open the barrier and allowing the cat to drop a dead, and thoroughly mangled thing that might once have been a mouse at my feet.
"Damn! What is this thing?" I commented snarkily, sweeping the tabby into my arms and holding her to my bare chest. "That's a good girl..." I cooed, rubbing under her chin with my index finger. "Who's Daddy's little axe-murderer? You are!" Needless to say, if anyone had been there to see me like this, I would have been thoroughly humiliated. One of the multitude of reasons I live alone.
Kamiko purred against my torso as I nudged the corpse out onto the balcony, shutting the door with my elbow and returning to my slightly ratty couch, gently maneuvering myself so that I could lie down without disturbing her. She settled herself on top of me, kneading my skin with her claws, adding a few new scratches to my myriad of scars, a good deal of them from her.
I grabbed the remote from the coffee table with one hand, stroking Kamiko's ears with the other, and flipped on the TV, trying to find a decent station. Dexter was on, so I left it there, only paying half attention. The guy sorta reminds me of myself, but the show tends to overdramatize alot, so I don't watch it very often. I mean, for example; before the Weasel, I'd never met another serious repeat killer, serial or no, in my life, and Dexter's got a new one to deal with every couple of months. I would get so fuckin' pissed off if I had to take shit like that.
I watched for about half an hour as Dexter was forced to capture this black cop I couldn't remember the name of, and took him to some shack in the Everglades. I decided the episode was boring when it became apparent that Dexter couldn't kill the bastard, turning the television off in a lazy fashion, and looking down at Kamiko, who was purring gently, curled up in a tight little ball.
Sensing my gaze after a few moments, she cracked open her eyes, and the first thought that occured to me when I spotted the brilliant green of her irises was this; that banker dude had eyes like that... I snorted derisively at the thought, growling in remembrance of the bastard from earlier in the day. And he was just that: a bastard. All well-dressed and professional.
"I can't believe some of the shit I put up with, 'Miko." I told her vaguely, taking to staring at the roof. "I mean, you should have seen this guy; drop dead sexy, I swear, but he was the rudest, most annoying, condescending little fucker I've ever met! Scratch little, actually; he was almost as big as Blue, for Jashin's sake! I mean, come on! What guy that big is into banking?" Kamiko gave a rolling 'mrrrow', as if to express sympathetic aggreement, laying her chin on her paws and arching her spine into my palm, tail curling neatly about her paws. Encouraged, I continued, disregarding the fact that I was conversing with a cat; sad, yes, but very effective.
"And he wears this creepy-ass mask over the lower half of his face; scars or some shit. Says he was in the last Great War. Certainly got the muscles for it, I'll tell you that; might've given me a run for my money if Konan hadn't dragged me out of there so quick. I swear to Jashin, 'bitch ruins all my fun." I blinked as Kamiko kneaded her black paws against my throat, meowing sharply; I could almost hear her saying; 'You sure are talking about him a lot. You sure he merits this much attention?'
I really need to stop humanizing her; its fucking creepy sometimes. I mean, for all I know, she could mean; 'Shut up. Want sleep. Meow.'
"Yeah, well, I'm entitled to a bit of ranting!" I put in defensively. "I mean, shit, the guy was an asshole!" I put my hands out, palms facing her in a placating gesture, then realized what I was doing and dropped them promptly.
Yeah, creepy cat-whisperer time done now.
I picked her up gently, ignoring her irritable hiss and warning nip, placing her on the couch as I rolled off of it, strolling off to my room before she could think to start clawing my legs. Bipolar little freak...
I threw on a slightly less casual outfit than I normally would; I call it my Bad-Ass Cop Digs. Makes people pay more attention to you, you know? Anyway, however tempting it was to just pick up some random dude while I was out, I decided it would be better not to dress for clubbing. Besides, what sane man with my...interests would hang out at a titty bar?
Okay, maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but you get my point.
Rolling my shoulders as I slipped my feet back into my shoes, I ruffled Kamiko's ears on my way out the door, slamming and locking it behind me.
And away we go.
I wanted this chapter to be longer, but as I said, there was muse perishing, so I ended it early. Don't worry-I'll make sure the next one is nice and long. =3 Don't expect anything too prompt though-I'm a notorious procrastinator.
8Silent Dreams8- Oh, I know how that feels. XD I'm beating my brain regularly, I'll have you know. If that bitch knows what's best for it, it'll start spoutin' inspiration quick. *lawls*
Lecture- Isn't it just morbidly fascinating? I was reading after I'd typed it out, and I was like; "Damn...I'm messed up." Thanks for your praise, by the way. ^.^ I can feel my head swelling already.
OMG!- Tobi's the shiz, and don't you forget it. I maintain a firm state of denial in that Tobi is actually Obito, and not Madara. DX Fuck Madara, I likes mah Obito-ness.
L's Lollipop- I end up saying it in every-day speech sometimes. XD People give me weird looks. I'll have to check that out, thanks.
Noone- Well, there you go.
some random person- Mmhmm. I wanted to make sure they were all in there. =3
Akatsuki-Hidan-fangirl- Why, didn't you know? When one leaves cliffies, one ensures that readers come back for more. . . Oh noes, I've said to much...
Nisroc- I'm the Shikamaru of author-ness I'm afraid. I do try, though. =D And thank you. Keeping them both IC has been an important goal for me from the beginning.
skydreia- .......Its god? *cackles madly* I created a deity! *does a li'l dance* Sweet. =3
AmidnightWish- Ohoho, you naughty person. So /dirty/! x.x I have planned a scene in an interrogation room, actually. Look forward to it. XD
Schnubbi- Maybe not love, not yet, but it'll happen. *rubs hands together deviously* Anyhoo, I have their second meeting planned out. Next chapter, I do believe.
Friglit- You are thinking of a different fic, yes, and no, the bank man is Kakuzu. *points up* And yes, I am quite pleased with myself with the whole police thing. *grins cockily* And I am certainly glad that I am not epic fail. ^.^ Thank you very much,