Being a doctor, Midorima spent a good amount of his life researching, and as such was quite adept at the art. Although, only he considered it an art, to others it was merely a nuisance. Nevertheless it had helped him greatly many times before in times of need, so he had no doubt that if he dug deep enough into the web of secrets that was the internet, he would find something.
Something, anything would do. A fact that would disprove the theory forming inside his head. It had been there for weeks, but he ignored the little niggling in the back of his head and firmly told himself to believe in his former teammate more, to believe that he wouldn't do this. There wasn't even any evidence to support it with, just a foreboding sense of conviction.
Well, then it must not be true. Right?
Still, he couldn't get rid of the inconceivable fear that he might be right, so that night he decided to investigate the case online, to prove the theory wrong and he would finally be able to have a good night's sleep.
So that night he sat down at his laptop, called Akashi, discussed the case with him and begun researching.
Midorima leaned forward, his nose almost touching the computer screen. "It can't be..."
He clicked on the article, his eyes growing wider with every word he processed.
Officer Aomine Daiki... Found in Todoraki Valley... Body missing... Murders started on 14th... 2015
"No..." He breathed. "He's killing everyone?"
He didn't understand. Sure Midorima never been the closest to him, but he'd think he would have known if his fellow teammate had the potential to be a mass murderer.
Well.
Aomine was an emotional hurricane of angst and depression, Murasakibara was borderline murderous when his precious maibou was taken from him, Miyaji was violent when provoked and Haizaki... Well he didn't even need an explanation.
"Maybe I really should have followed through with my threat of sending them to therapy." Midorima reflected.
He lifted his phone to his ear and took it off hold. "Akashi?"
#
Akashi frowned at the door, mentally punishing it for standing in his way. How dare it look down on him, mocking him with its glass windows, taunting him by showing him the house but not letting him in. He would teach this unscrupulous piece of wood-
"Akashi? Why are you glaring at my door?"
He turned and stepped forward to take one of the grocery bags, but she waved him away. "It's okay, I can manage." He took one anyway to be courteous, to which she responded to with a half-hearted glare.
She was tired he noted, her face was pale and lacking the usual shine that he had come to associate it with. She hadn't been looking after herself recently, since Aomine's death. He would have to add 'persuade stubborn ex-manager to get over her best friend's death' to his already lengthy to do list. Akashi never really got to the bottom of his to-do lists, but he would be sure to tick this one off the list. Or send Kuroko to do it, both worked just as well as the other. Maybe seeing his ridiculous behead would cheer her up. But first, he had business to conduct.
He stepped inside the apartment, frowning as they made their way to the kitchen. Clothes were strewn messily over the furniture, giving it a disorderly air when in reality Momoi was the most systematic person he'd had the pleasure of meeting. (Shintarou, although rather orderly himself did not count as he wasn't really a pleasure to meet- in Akashi's mind at least.) It was apparent that Daiki used to be a regular visitor at the apartment until he met his... unfortunate demise. The red-haired businessman set the bag on the counter and began removing the items from the bag.
"So, uh... Akashi I haven't seen you since the last Miracles get together. How are you? Did you visit me for a particular reason, or..." Her voice trailed off as Akashi turned around, facing her.
Momoi hastily spun around, so her back was to Akashi again.
"No particular reason. I just wanted to confirm something." He explained, opening the cupboard. "I actually wanted to ask you a few questions." He slammed the cupboard shut with a bang, smirking when she jumped.
"A few questions..."
"Yes. Just a few questions. You see, a little birdie informed me that Aomine told you something. Something very important."
Her grip on the tomato tin tightened.
"What do you mean?"
Her voice was high, and her muscles were tensing. She was hiding something.
"You know something about the Prefecture Case don't you." He accused.
The sharp edges of the tin were cutting into her hand, making small round marks as he stalked towards her.
"You know something you're not supposed to know. You know who the murderer is. "
The tin fell, bouncing slightly off the linoleum floor before rolling away. He leaned closer, backing her up against the counter.
"Don't you Momoi. You and I both know exactly who it is, the person that's standing in this very apartment is the killer."
#
"Dammit Kuroko, there are speed limits for a reason!" Kagami complained slamming the car door shut as he exited the car. " You don't have to drive like a man possessed, Momoi's not going anywhere!"
"I mean, sure the cops can't actually see the car, ( "How did your misdirection even extend to your car?") but, still it's dangerous-"
He finally stopped ranting when he looked down at his shadow, who looked as pale as a ghost and was trembling slightly. "Kuroko?... What- what are you looking at? Are you okay?"
"No... not again." Kuroko's eyes were wide in horror as he took in the dreadful scene.
He slowly turned, hoping that it wasn't what he thought it was, what had gotten Kuroko in this state. Kagami bit his lip as he stared at the police cars and ambulances outside the apartment. "Shit. Shit. Okay, okay maybe this isn't as bad as it seems. Maybe she just got injured!"
"If she was just injured why would the police and investigators be here?" Kuroko asked dully as Kagami dragged him along.
"I don't know!"
Kagami made a beeline for Akashi, who was standing in front of the police tape, observing the scene. He was muttering under his breath, frowning.
"So damn loyal...had to grab the damn knife... got away in the end... find them next time-"
"Oi, Akashi!"
The red-head in question jumped slightly as Kagami shouted in his ear, and stepped away from the police tape, composing himself.
"Kagami Taiga. I see your manners are still as lacking as all our previous encounters." He answered smoothly. "To what do I owe the displeasure?"
"Oh, can it." Kagami snapped. "What happened to Momoi?"
Akashi's eyes darkened at the mention of her name and he turned back to the tape.
"If you really want to know, she's dead. Suicide."
"Suicide? She never even seemed depressed! Was it because of Aomine or-" Kagami broke off as Akashi started walking away, his tailor-made shoes crunching on the gravel.
"Oi! Where are you going? I still have questions to ask you!" He shouted.
"I have no interest in talking about this any further." He explained. "If you really want to solve this case, speak to Midorima." And with that he left Kagami with a dazed Kuroko and an address that he had no idea when was placed in his pocket.
Akashi walked away, sighing. He'd missed his chance, but he would try again. He had to be close by, and he would probably leave a blood trail behind that could be followed in any case.
#
The stranger collapsed in the alley, taking in ragged breaths. His stomach still hadn't healed and he was forced to run from his 'hideout', quickly and hadn't been able to take his medicine with him. He hissed as he forced himself back onto his feet and started stumbling towards the exit.
"Damn... midget, how the hell did he know?" He complained. "Still, I shouldn't be surprised, Akashi was always sharp... but tracing that murder back to me, I wonder how he did that. It couldn't have been him alone, someone must have helped him."
"You're right about that." A voice echoed through the alley, stopping the stranger in his tracks.
The man stepped inside the alley, blocking the light and observed the bleeding man with apathy. "Somebody did help me, Midorima to be exact. We had to illegally steal some files, threaten a few people here and there, but it was worth it in the end. I'm going to catch you, and put a stop to all these pitiful murders." He paused. "But for now, I'm going to let you go. There's someone I owe a debt to that would probably want you alive. For now. But after you talk to them you're dead." The man promised.
"Akashi..."
#
Café Exotic.
Midorima sighed. It wasn't the type of place he normally visited, but this case was different. He was hot, tired and hungry, and didn't really care where he went at this point as long as he sat down. Chasing a hyperactive child of the devil was hard work he learned, thinking of his sore feet. Just how his angel of a sister managed to sire that she-devil was beyond him.
He opened the door, eyes searching for an empty spot by a window. He'd finally escaped the clutches of his niece and retreated far away from the young girl bouncing around Tokyo, at last having avoided her gaze. Midorima wasn't anxious to get back to her and kept watch through the glass window for the pink-haired monster.
He recieved odd looks when he nearly jumped out of his seat when the waiter came, composing himself when he realised that the pink hair on her head was attached to a completely different head than the one he was looking out for. To keep himself from boredom, Midorima ordered the first thing he saw on the drinks menu, and waited impatiently until it arrived.
The coffee was bland and tasteless, there was nothing exotic about mixture. All it served to do was increase Midorima's need to urinate which he would have preferred to hold in and continue to keep watch. However, in the end the need got the better of him and he hurried to the toilet, flinging the bathroom door open as he entered.
There was a slight problem that Midorima noticed as he entered.
There was already a man standing at the sink, minding his own business, washing his hands.
That in itself wasn't the problem. The problem was the man himself.
The murderer. The killer.
The biggest serial killer Japan has ever seen. He was standing in front him, casually washing his hands.
"Yo."
"You!" Midorima raised a shaking finger to point at the man now leaning against the sink.
"Yes." The man answered. "Me."
"Is that really you?"
His hair was longer, his eyes gaunt. Hollow cheekbones, and dried blood across his shirt, bandages around his torso. He was the same, but he was different.
Although he had the wig and foundation there was no doubt about it. It was him.
Ooh... the plot thickens! Who do you think is the highly-profiled serial killer?
Preview for the next chapter:
"Oh that's horrible!" She cooed. "Do you want to tell us about the day you found the body?"
He bit his lip, thinking.
"Well, I was walking with my girlfriend, Akina through Todoroki, when we decided to go through one of the trails in the woods. The woods were right next to the valley, and normally had quite a lot people walking through it so we didn't think twice before going to the woods. " He took a deep breath, before continuing. "We were at the start of the trail when we found the body. Akina fainted when she saw the corpse, and I had to put her to one side while I checked for the body for a pulse. There was none. I'm pretty sure he bled to death before we came, because he was lying in a pool of blood, with a few bandages on his stomach that were completely soaked with the liquid. We actually knew who he was, Officer Aomine Daiki since we'd seen him patrolling around that area before and we read his name tag."
"Ah." The reporter hummed in understanding. "So the body disappeared after you went to call the police didn't it?"
"Yes, I went to the main area of Todoroki Valley and I got some medical help from a doctor who was on holiday that managed to wake up Akina up. While he was waking her up, I was calling the emergency number, and the police came 2 hours later."
"Oh, I see. Thank you so much for participating in this interview, but before you leave we have one more question for you! Why do you think the Prefecture Case killer is killing all these people?"
"That's... a hard question. I think the killer might be insane. Maybe they're clinically insane and kill people for the hell of it or something. Maybe something like that."