Title: Sins of the Father
Theme(s): Father
Characters: Saguru, Kaito Kuroba/Kaitou Kid, Aoko Nakamori, OCF, OCF
Rating: R (hard R)
Warnings: Character Death, torture, blood/gore.
Summary: How dark can your soul become, when the light is extinguished?

--

Sins of the Father

"There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were."

-Dwight David Eisenhower

"I know what it's like to loose a child. I lost my infant son, twenty years ago to SIDS. To this day I still mourn for him. Most days are okay. Other days like his birthday, the anniversary of his death still bother me. I always wonder what he would have been like, what he would be doing. I never got to see him crawl, say his first word, take his first step. My arms still ache to hold him. Losing a child is the most horrific thing in the world. They are supposed to bury us not us bury them."

-K.A.

--

"Hakuba-san, there's a call for you on line two." the receptionist said, giving her boss a bow before excusing herself from Saguru's office as he reached over, hitting the flashing button on the phone before placing the handset to his ear.

"Hakuba, how may I help you?" The young officer said, reaching out with his free hand to dust off a picture of his family before turning his attention to the detached, professional voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hakuba-san, this is Doctor Tanaka at Tokyo General Hospital," the man said and Saguru raised an eyebrow at his phone, wondering what the doctor could want. "We have your daughter here..."

Whatever else the man had said was lost as he Saguru dropped the phone, staring at it in shock for a moment.

His daughter, his little princess, was at the hospital. While Saguru had reasonably knew that one day this day would come, at least once, he was no less prepared for the phone call, especially not considering his daughter was only two years old.

He frantically scooped up the phone, cradling it between his neck and chin as he struggled into his jacket. "What floor?" he rushed out, heading for the door, pulling half of his belongings all his desk as the phone cord stretched across it. Cursing, he untangled himself and the phone before hanging it with a slam, running out the door.

He returned a second later and grabbed his keys, running back out, not caring if he forgot anything else. He jogged the three floors down to the parking garage and grabbed the nearest squad car keys from the board, climbing into the car and jamming the keys into the ignition at the same time he flipped the siren.

He reversed the entire way to the exit of the parking garage, only going forward when he was facing the street, cursing as he moved down the street, glaring at cars that refused to move for the siren. Making decent time to the hospital (which wasn't near fast enough for him), he parked just shy of the automatic doors, leaving the car running as he ran inside and up the stairs to the floor where his daughter and wife awaited him.

Elizabeth was hunched in a chair, rocking back and forth slightly, their nanny rubbing her back as the woman broke down. Saguru knelt next to his wife, taking her hands. "Lizzie, hush now," he whispered, drawing her into his arms. His wife shuddered, clinging to Saguru, mumbling under her breath in French. Saguru rubbed her back, whispering soothing words, looking up at the sound of two more sets of footsteps running down the hall. He looked up, watching as Aoko and Kaito slid to a stop, their momentum sending them pinwheeling for a moment before the pair recovered.

"Lizzie, I'm going to find out what's going on, alright?" he asked, before gently easing his wife off of him, standing and waving Kaito and Aoko over. He peered down at them for a moment before rubbing his hand over his face. "Aoko, I need you to return the car downstairs to the station,"

"Already done, boss." she said, grinning up at him, though it was a bit faded around the edges. "Aki is returning it as we speak, by the way.." She reached into the breast pocket of her uniform, tearing a paper off the pad and handing it to him. "Your ticket for illegal use of a siren."

Saguru shook his head, giving a small, broken laugh before tucking it into his jacket. He turned to Kaito, avoiding the magician's eyes for a moment. "I need..."

"You need to get in there," Kaito said, shoving his hands into his lab coat before shrugging lightly. "Follow me," he said, smiling as he removed his security pass, opening the door that blocked Saguru from his daughter before stepping inside. He lured a nurse away from the bed, allowing Saguru to see the small body covered in tubes and bandages.

He took a seat next to his daughter, a trembling hand gently brushing her bangs from her face. It was then that his emotions really hit him, Saguru burying his face in his hand as he cried softly, terrified for his daughter, feeling broken and helpless. He should have been there for his daughter, not in a stuffy office, going over arrest reports.

A hand caressed his shoulder before arms wrapped around him. Kaito rested his chin on Saguru's shoulder, looking down at his goddaughter before placing the softest of kisses on Saguru's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered softly and Saguru's head fell forward further, taking a shaking, gasping breath. His hand went up to touch Kaito's, gathering what strength and courage he could from the other man.

"I should have been there for him," he whispered softly. "I should have protected her."

"You can't save everyone, Saguru, no matter how hard you try." Kaito whispered before handing the man a metal clipboard. "If you need me to explain anything..."

"I'm familiar with medical reports," Saguru said, straightening and opening his daughter's file, golden eyes traveling quickly over the words, occasionally looking up to rest on the frail body in the bed before him. He closed the clipboard with a snap, holding it out for Kaito to take, one hand reaching out to clasp his daughter's bruised hand.

"Does Lizzie know?"

"I don't know," Kaito said, sliding the clipboard back into it's holder before glancing around, checking if they were alone or not. "Do you want me to?"

"No, this is something I should tell her. Not now though, after...after Kayo..." He choked on the words, burring his face in his daughter's stomach, clinging to her. "I can't...I don't want to let go," he whispered, clutching even tighter.

Kaito said nothing, simply kneeling next to Saguru, rubbing his back as he exorcised himself of the pain and grief building up inside him.

Outside of the room they could hear Elizabeth crying, her louder sobs mixing in with the near silent ones of her husband's.

--

Saguru leaned back against the headstone, his head resting against the cool marble. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut for a moment to fight the tears that had threatened before opening them, staring out at the dark night. In his hands he held the autopsy report of his daughter, well read and nearly memorized.

A fatal fracture caused by falling down the stairs. That was the official diagnoses of his baby's death, and yet...he couldn't believe it. It wasn't that Kayo didn't fall down, she did, and often at that, but she had never taken a tumble so bad that it resulted in breaking something.

Saguru couldn't pinpoint it down to a how or why, but something inside him screamed that this was wrong, that there was something more to it, but no matter where he looked, no matter how many times he read the report, studied the facts, he couldn't find an answer, couldn't find another reason.

But still the feelings persisted, and in the back of his mind, a dark suspicion was growing, all centered around the only person that had been with Kayo at the time of her injury.

He glanced up as a shadow blocked the moonlight he was using to read by, staring up at the white suited man perked on Kayo's headstone. "Kid," he greeted softly, scooting slightly so the thief could jump from the headstone.

Kid knelt next to the tomb, pulling a bouquet of roses from somewhere on his person and carefully fitting them into the stone vase before sitting next to Saguru, arms loosely looping around his raised knee. He rested his chin on Saguru's shoulder as he read the police report over the blond's shoulder, mouth moving silently as he read the words before making a grimace at some of the more descriptive medical facts. "I'm sorry," he said softly, turning to look at Saguru who shrugged, nearly upsetting the thief's position on his shoulder.

"Don't be," Saguru said, closing the folder, rubbing a hand over his face, exhaustion catching up with him. "You didn't cause it."

"Mm, but you think someone did." It was a statement, the thief quick at reading between the lines when it came to Saguru's body language.

The blond sighed, drawing his own knees up, slouching further against the headstone. "Two-year-old's just don't up and die, they're amazingly resilient creatures...unless...unless there is help."

"Do you think she..."

There was no need to name names, Kayo had only been around one person at the time of her injury, both Hakuba's being at work. Saguru nodded in answer and leaned against Kid's shoulder, allowing the thief to wrap an arm around him.

Kid brushed his gloved thumb over Saguru's cheek, frowning at the lines that crossed the thirty-year-old's face, fresh and new since Kayo had died. "Where's Elizabeth?" he asked softly, wondering why the detective was in a deserted cemetery instead of at home with his wife, especially on the day of their daughter's funeral.

"She deemed it would be more appropriate to spend this night with Tsuneo at the club rather then at home." He sighed, curling more into Kid, closing his eyes. "He would be better able to comfort her anyway," he said, wondering if he even knew how to relate to Elizabeth anymore, let alone comfort her against the loss of their only child. Their marriage had never been one of romance and love, but a simple arrangements between friends to fulfill their families wishes and get out of the trapped lives they lead.

"So she's off with her lover and you're here with me...nice." Kid said, though his voice was bland, absent of any scorn or malice, just a simple statement of facts as they stood. Saguru never knew what the man thought of the arrangement, suspecting the fact that Kaito had endured such for the past five years meant he wasn't that disagreeable to it.

Saguru ignored the words, instead, staring at the small chain swinging back and forth before his eyes. He frowned slightly, eyes crossing as he watched the chain move too and fro from Kid's slight movements. "Excuse me," he said softly before reaching up and grabbing the chain, giving a gentle tug and catching the monocle as it came free from Kid's face.

The thief chuckled softly and swept his hat from his head, ruffling his hair with his hand before taking the eyepiece from Saguru and dropping it into the hat, setting it next to him before pulling Saguru closer, giving him a small hug. "Tell me your theory," he said, and settled back, listening as Saguru started to describe what he thought happened when his daughter supposedly fell.

--

Kaito sighed heavily, resting his chin in his hand as he took a sip from his Styrofoam cup of the sludge the hospital called coffee. He grimaced at the taste before setting the cup down, turning his head just so to keep an eye on the patient he was monitoring, the rest of his attention on the petite brunette police officer across the table from him.

"There's just no evidence. I've been over the report with a fine toothed comb, not to mention inspected the scene myself and took the witness statement. Everything adds up to Kayo falling down the stairs as she chased after Jun." Aoko sighed, leaning back in her chair, sipping from her own cup of coffee. "I know what Hakuba is thinking but there's just...no evidence, and without evidence..." She trailed off with a shrug, making a face at her coffee and grabbing a small container of creamer from the table.

Kaito raised his head, turning his attention fully to Aoko, sighing as well. "He's adamant that there's something else at work. I'm worried for him, Aoko, he's obsessed with finding the smallest shred of...something against Jun. If Kayo really did just fall...he's pushing himself too far and getting too wrapped up in this. He's not thinking logically or rationally."

"Do you think he'll do something stupid?"

"Kayo was his world, he's a grieving father convinced his daughter was murdered, what would you do if someone killed Tadao?"

"I would destroy the world." Aoko said, with all the conviction of a mother avenging her child. She bit her lip, worrying at it for the moment. "Do you think we should keep watch on him? I mean, if he does something, and Jun really didn't have anything to do with Kayo's death..."

"If Saguru gets it into his head to do something to Jun, I don't think even we could stop him." Kaito said softly, staring down into his black coffee, watching as his face waved in the reflective surface. "I highly doubt we'd even know about it until it's over."

Aoko frowned at Kaito's words, stirring her coffee absently, mind worrying for their friend.

--

"Just tell me the truth, Jun-kun." Saguru said softly, almost melodically as he lightly trailed a finger up the girl's arm, pushing down slightly as he reached the indention his knife had originally carved out of her. The salt on his finger tip mixed in with the open wound, causing the girl to give a muffled scream against her gag, body arching, twisting to escape the pain.

Saguru tisked and pulled back from the former nanny, staring silently at the trembling girl before turning to his table of toys, humming softly as he ran his fingers over the selection on the table. He smiled, selecting a small scalpel testing the blade against his finger before turning up the radio, the loud hard rock music nearly screaming in the small room, effectively covering any sounds Jun might make. He turned back to the girl, giving her a small smile before lashing out, cutting a deep line across her face, splitting her mouth halfway across her cheek.

Jun made a gagging, sobbing sound, tears flowing freely from her eyes, mixing in with the blood flowing down her cheek. Saguru reversed the direction of his hand, striking out randomly, smiling more as another deep crimson line appeared on the nanny's body, slicing open her shoulder. He repeated the motion with more pressure, laughing as bone and muscle peeked through the wound.

Jun gave a ragged, broken scream, fighting against her bindings, eyes wide and terrified, exciting the beast already strumming through Saguru's veins. He lashed out, hitting Jun hard on her un-injured cheek, causing the girls' head to snap to the side. Her eyes grew glazed, pain and terror clouding her mind, loosening it's grip on reality.

Saguru gave her another hard smack before tossing away the scalpel, instead reverting to a more primal form of torture, simply beating his victim, pausing only long enough to force the girl back into consciousness before returning to the brutal blows.

Tired and panting, Saguru leaned against the table of toys, blood dripping from his hands. He tilted his head, examining the broken and bruised body in front of him, frowning as he noticed un-marred patches of skin, flesh that was still whole and pure.

This just wouldn't do. This wouldn't honor Kayo.

His foot lashed out, sending the chair flying back, Jun falling hard against the cement floor, the handcuffs binding her clanking loudly against the hard surface. He started humming again, licking his palm free of blood before selecting a large, curved dagger from the table. He tilted the elegant knife, watching the dim lighting play off the honed edge of the blame. Elizabeth had given him this dagger on their second wedding anniversary, her smiling face to bright with happiness as he gushed over the beautiful ceremonial blade.

It would only be right, to use his wife's much treasured gift, to honor his wife's loss with such an act. He gave the cold blade a tender kiss before turning his attention on the girl who seemed to be trying to wiggle away from him, despite most of her body not responding to her and being still bound to the heavy wooden chair.

He made yet another tisking noise, kicking her hard in her already cracked ribs before he poured all of his anger, all of his sadness, all the hurt and betrayal he felt from Kayo's death into the pouring rain of stabs he delivered to the body beneath him. Once more, he only paused long enough to gage Jun's consciousness before returning to his mutilation of her body, blood splattering him and Jun in large sprays, flesh scraping off in large chunks. When the knife became too slippery to hold, he tossed it aside, instead tearing at her flesh with his bare hands, nails digging into wounds, pulling on the torn flesh in a vain attempt to rip it from her bones.

Tears flowed down Saguru's face as the man raged, a deep guttural growling spilling from his lips, too far gone to form the proper words to express his emotions.

Bloody, covered in bits and pieces of things that made up a human body, he grabbed the knife again, once more stabbing, sinking the blade into any piece of flesh he could find, his body shaking, heaving with each heavy breath and sob.

Aoko and Kaito stared at the scene, both stunned to silence. The air was too thick, the scent of copper thick on their tongues as they tried to swallow. Aoko made a gagging sound and Kaito squeezed his eyes shut, whimpering as he found the scene imprinted on his inner eye, unable to escape the horror.

Something inside Aoko snapped to attention and she pushed away the human reaction of revulsion and fear, falling back into a familiar role as she raised her gun. "Put down the knife, Hakuba-san." she called, her voice firm, despite the trembling of her body. She had known something was wrong, when Kaito called her, panicked at the vanishing act both Saguru and Jun had pulled, but nothing could have prepared her for finding her friend murdering...no, destroying another person.

Kaito gagged softly after opening his eyes again, and without warning the experienced trauma doctor vomited, kneeling as he gagged, acid burning his throat, mixing in with the coppery tang of blood from the air and forcing him to gag harder.

Saguru ignored them both, still stabbing, still sobbing. He couldn't even hear them, too consumed with his task, his madness. He absently noted the warning shot fired to his left, a mumbling following the shot but it didn't matter to him, had nothing to do with his purpose and so he continued on.

Aoko swallowed thickly as she adjusted her aim, narrowing down at the top of Saguru's head, just above his ear. "Drop your weapon!" she called again, before adding a soft, nearly silent, "Please, Saguru,"

There was a growl from the blond and the turned towards the pair, annoyed with their interference, his mind finally registering their appearance. Aoko yelled as he turned, firing off two shots, watching in horror as the blond jerked, falling back across the mutilated corpse.

Kaito took off running before Saguru had even hit the ground, sliding in the blood, kneeling next to his lover. He pressed his fingers to Saguru's neck, his hand trying to cover the two bleeding bullet wounds to the man's chest. He tore off his shirt, pressing it hard against the wounds, tilting Saguru's head back as best he could one handed before pinching the blond's nose, breathing into those slack lips.

Aoko shoved her gun into it's holster, joining Kaito next to the other man, first securing the knife before holding the shirt firmly against Saguru's chest, using her other hand to turn on her radio, calling for an ambulance as Kaito gave his attention to getting the blond's heart and lungs started again.

Fin