A/N: Damn… This has been a looooong wait. Sorry doesn't cut it, huh? Hehe…
Aaaanywho, guess we'll get on with the show.
---------Chapter Nine----------
Genesis and Albel rode in relative silence, patrolling the streets at 4:00am in the morning. They had been like this for the past hour or so, Genesis glaring straight ahead, and Albel looking boredly out the window. Genesis didn't feel inclined to speak until he heard the sound of Albel messing with the straps of his prosthetic arm for the millionth time that morning. "Could you give it a rest already?"
"This goddam thing is uncomfortable," Albel snapped. "I don't see why I should be wearing it. Doesn't do a damn bit of good."
"Well," Genesis replied vehemently, "Remember what the Chief said. 'Wear it, or you'll be stuck at the station doing everyone else's paperwork.'"
The younger man looked at the brunette warily. "The Hell's got you so pissy this morning?"
The father of two grunted. "Leon and his new 'buddy' kept me up all night."
"Roughhousing?"
Genesis grinned. "Actually, I believe the term is 'Fucking like bunnies.'"
That comment earned Genesis at least another hour of blissful silence.
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Cloud walked quickly up to his locker, determined to make it to class without running into Riku or any of his silver-haired cousins. He had had a wonderful night, after that embarrassing episode with Leon's father, and had thought today would be a rather nice day. What he hadn't expected was the harassment he would have to suffer from the rest of his boyfriend's family that morning.
Cloud and Leon were eating breakfast in comfortable silence when Riku, Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj came to join them. The blonde was apprehensive for a moment, but it seemed that no one else had heard their 'activities' the night before. Just when he thought he would get away unscathed, he saw Riku leer in his direction.
"So. I'm guessing from that 'I-just-got-laid' look on Strife's face that you guys had fun last night?"
He could still hear their laughter ringing in his ears. So lost in thought was he, that it took him a moment to notice that the hall had gone suddenly quiet. When he looked down the hall to see what everyone was staring at, all thoughts of anger or embarrassment left his mind.
A badly bruised and battered Derrick was walking slowly down the hall to his locker, which was located next to Cloud's. His limp while he walked was painfully obvious, to anyone who looked on. He could tell from the drawn expression on the injured teen's face that just walking was an effort. It must be serious, Cloud thought. He could get his ass kicked by the whole football team and still walk away grinning like an idiot. He heard one girl snicker something along the line of 'Fag got his ass kicked' and then the raven haired teen was next to him, opening his locker and grabbing his books for his first class.
"What the Hell happened to you?" He could keep the shock out of his voice.
"Had a little 'Pow-wow' with Sai'x and his cronies, that's what." Seeing Cloud's shocked expression, Derrick managed to crack a weak grin. "Learned some helpful tidbits, though. Tell ya after school."
As the dark haired teen limped off down the hallway, Cloud's only thought was: Maybe now we can finally pay those bastards back.
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As Genesis and Albel made their way to Autopsy Room 4, G wondered just what kind of trouble his son may get involved in. He had heard of the gang activities, and was certain that the Turks would try something to pay back Organization XIII. Add to that the fact that two of Cloud's younger brothers and the blonde's ex were both involved and things could get dicey.
Albel paused just outside the door for a moment. When Genesis regarded him questioningly, he chuckled. "Just to let you know, the coroner can be a little…odd." That said, he pushed the door open and they entered.
The chorus of David Usher's "Black Black Heart" reached his ears immediately. There was no music at all, just a low, soft voice singing. As they approached the coroner, he understood why.
The man was tall, at least 6'2''. Messy black hair fell around his face and shoulders, not quite concealing the man's eerie violet eyes. He wore a white dress shirt complete with black tie and trousers underneath the trademark white lab coat. Hanging from a thin black strap around his neck was a small MP3 player, with the ear buds firmly secured in the man's ears. His nametag read 'Dr. Koroudo Akabane.'
Albel tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Dr. Akabane? Albel here, along with Leonhart. We're here to see that Sinclaire kid."
The coroner turned around with an eerie smile on his face, his eyes closed. He reached a long-fingered hand up to remove the headphones and nodded towards Genesis. "As you probably already know, I am Dr. Koroudo Akabane. It's a pleasure to meet you." His voice was low and smooth, very polite, but there was something about it that put Genesis on edge. As he shook the coroner's hand, he got a quick glimpse of a scar on the palm. He was vaguely aware of a matching one on the back of the same hand, but the dark haired man was already donning a pair of white latex gloves.
"The two have you have probably guessed, but the cause of death was the knife wound to the back. That was one of many factors, however." Then he began to go over the details of the corpse, which was laid out on the exam table. The young man was extremely malnourished, his ribs easily visible through the skin. The arm that had been broken, it turns out, had also become badly infected, and the young man would have died soon even had he not been stabbed.
"My conclusion is that he had been chained in that basement for quite some time, possibly by his younger brother, this Sai'x fellow. The reason, however, I will leave you to figure out, since it is your job, correct?" Once again, that eerie smiled was turned towards Genesis. All too glad that his time with this man was done, Genesis and his partner left the room, but not before hearing one last comment from Akabane. "Hmm. This Sai'x boy sounds like an interesting fellow."
Then the coroner placed his ear buds back in his ears, starting the song up again at the line 'Search for pleasure, search for pain…'
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Derrick staggered down the empty hall, headed to the nearest washroom for a chance to get himself together. The rest of the school was currently in an assembly relating to the recent gang incidents, and he REALLY didn't feel like attending. He figured he'd hide out until the assembly ended, then he would find Cloud and tell him about what Sai'x was planning. He had run into them at one of his old haunts, after fleeing his dad's drunken rage. The Goth teen had been able to hear a decent amount from the group, before an ill placed shoe had sent an old bottle rolling towards them.
They had attacked pretty quickly after that, and he was only alive because some of the weaker members were afraid to have another death on their hands. So they let him off with the usually threats to keep his mouth shut.
Fat chance of that happening, he thought. He pushed open the washroom door and was relieved to see that no one was in the stalls. Not that it mattered, but he didn't really want to be around people at the moment. Moving over to the line of sinks, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. God, he thought, I look like crap. A large bruise covered the left side of his face, and there were dark hollows under his eyes. Various cuts and abrasions covered his body, but the worst injury was his leg, likely broken.
He turned the tap on, and splashed a generous amount of water onto his face. As he scrubbed his tired fingers over his damaged skin, he heard the door open and several people entered. The footsteps approached him, then stopped short, as if waiting for something.
"What, got nothin' better to do than stare at lil ol' me?" Wiping his face with his sleeve, he turned to look at the newcomers, only to freeze. Sai'x stood in front of him, flanked by Xaldin and Lexaeus. The blue-haired teen sneered. "Actually, you were just the guy we wanted to see."
Derrick took a few steps back and raised his fists. He didn't doubt that this guy could do serious damage, and he had to tell Cloud, dammit! "An' what do you guys want with me?" Sai'x narrowed his eyes, but that grin was still there. "We heard a rumor that you were planning on spoiling the surprise for your little buddies."
The Goth was confused. Aside from Cloud, Reno, and Quinn, he hadn't talked to anyone. "And just where did ya hear that?" The scarred teen's reply was slow and drawn out. He was obviously enjoying this. "You could say that a little black bird told me." With that, a fourth person stepped out from behind him, and Derrick's mismatched eyes widened in shock. "Q-quinn?"
The blue eyed teen stood next to Sai'x, and Derrick watched disbelieving as the blue haired teen tossed an arm around his shoulders and kissed him roughly. "Oh, that's right. You don't know, do you? Quinn here has been my little 'toy' for quite some time. I needed a way to keep an eye on the Turks, along with Strife, and the best way was to get him together with you. He's been telling me everything."
"That's a lie!!!" Derrick lunged forward, but before he could get very far, Xaldin and Lexaeus had grabbed him, and they began dragging him to the stall in the far corner. Sai'x laughed. "Sure, tell yourself whatever you want. Now, your friend Shei survived a bullet. Let's see if you can survive six."
The last thing that Derrick saw before he was dragged into the stall was Quinn's face. Those cold blue eyes pierced into his, icy as ever. But a manic grin had spread over his face.
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As soon as the assembly ended, Sora bolted for the nearest washroom. He'd been sitting there the whole time in misery, but he didn't want to stand for fear of drawing attention. Now, as he bolted through the doorway of the washrooms, he didn't care. He was just running to the nearest stall when an odd hacking sound caught his attention. It almost sounded like someone was choking. Finishing his business quickly, he walked down the line of stalls until he stood in the far corner. "Hey, man. You all right in there?" He rapped the door lightly with his knuckles, and it swung open.
His body froze. There was blood all over the floor of the stall, and it's source lay against the wall. He recognized him as one of Cloud's friends, but he couldn't remember the name. A rattling gasp from the wounded teen snapped Sora out of his daze and he ran forward, nearly slipping on the blood. He gently cradled Derrick in his arms. "Hey! What happened? Who did this!" Sora was trembling badly, and he was fighting hard not to burst into tears. Crying was the last thing this person needed. "Oh God. Help! Someone, help!"
Derrick's hand suddenly latched onto the collar of Sora's shirt and he went quiet. "Have…to warn…Cloud...Reno. Danger…Sai'x is…Quinn…traitor." But then the hand went limp and fell, and those odd mismatched eyes closed. He let out one last shuddering breath, then was still.
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The busy hall suddenly went quiet when everyone heard a piercing scream.
------------End Chapter Nine-------------------
A/N: … Oo Oooookay. Yeeeah. S'all I'm gonna say 'bout this for now.
And for all of you who love Derrick, I'M SORRY!!! I LOVE HIM TOO!!!
Sniffle.
Well, stay tuned for the next chapter.
Just what is Sai'x planning?
And, cookies to all who can tell me what anime Akabane is from! xD