Warning: there's a dead body in the beginning, sort of described a little, but it isn't that gory. Also, things will start to get a bit more violent from now on! There's going to be a lot of shit happening.
Also I'm sorry for my shitty chapter naming. It's a flaw.
Chapter 10: Midnight Shenanigans
Midorima walked into the supernatural division of the city morgue, an area kept aside exclusively for vampires and werewolves, a clipboard clutched tightly in his hands. The smell of disinfectant and the shining white scrubbed floors should have been comforting, but nothing could ease the discomfort in his gut. He pushed his glasses up, flipping the papers in his hands until he came to the file of a Yukimura Ami.
Midorima chewed the inside of his cheek in thought. He wasn't a detective, but something about this case was off.
The door made a sound as it opened and Midorima glanced behind him. "Ah, Takao, come in."
The vampire ambled closer, slamming down the heavy book in his hands down on an examination table. He jumped up on it as well, kicking his legs while his fingers drummed on the heavy cover. "Shin-chan, how mean, making me run errands during the day. I'm sleepy."
"It's past sundown, you shouldn't be sleeping all the time," Midorima sighed. "Thank you for bringing the book."
Takao scrunched his nose. "A…anima Ma…"
"Anima Magicae. Latin for Soul Magic."
"I didn't know you spoke Latin."
"We all learnt it as children," Midorima's voice dropped. "My sister didn't give you any trouble over borrowing the book, did she? It's a fairly old one."
"No, it's your family library after all. It's as much hers as it is yours. Must be great being the grandson of a sorcerer," Takao hummed. "She was curious though, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't either. Why do you need it? Are you going to try out a spell to awaken your dormant powers?" he added with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Only my grandmother was a sorceress, and neither my mother nor any of my siblings have displayed any signs or sorcery. I doubt I can start flinging spells left and right any time soon," Midorima said as he flipped through the heavy pages. "Not that I'd want to either. Soul deterioration is a scary thing."
"Speaking of soul deterioration…" Takao leaned closer, lowering his voice. "You told me to keep an eye on him, so I did, but Akashi seems pretty skipper to me. Is it your fancy formula?"
"My fancy formula is only a mixture of vitamins and minerals," Midorima frowned as his fingers glided down the paragraphs of text. "It's supposed to help him stay on his feet, but it can't treat deterioration. Keep watching him; there's…there's something off about him."
"He seems the same silent, brooding type to me," Takao grinned. "But I don't know him as well as you do."
"No, he's different. He…he just feels different." Midorima's eyes widened. "Here it is. Anima remotio… Ieiunium dissolutio in corpore…"
"English, please."
"Why don't you take a look at it yourself?" Midorima went over to where the bodies were stored, grabbing the handle of one of the caskets and rolling it out. "Now, doesn't this seem a little off to you?"
Takao peered under the sheet and pulled a face, stepping back with a hand on his mouth. "Shin-chan! I haven't even had breakfast yet and you've already ruined my appetite…!" His eyes widened. "Wait, this was that poor vampire chick who died around two weeks ago, right? Why…why does she look like that?"
She looked like a corpse that had been rotting for months, much of her flesh deteriorating and sticking to her bones, giving her a hollowed look. Scratches that could only be made by werewolf claws marred her face, the wound in her chest still gaping open. Midorima covered her back up with a sad frown.
"Yes, exactly. Her body is deteriorating at an extremely high rate. I wasn't sure why, since she was kept in controlled conditions, but then I remembered reading something about it a long time ago." He tapped the book. "Anima Magicae says that if a body has its soul…removed, then the creature will die and the body will start breaking down faster than usual."
Takao's face paled. "Soul like…like life-force? It was ripped out of her? How?"
"I have no idea," Midorima scowled at the pages. "This book is more of an encyclopaedia than a manual. It tells you about soul magic but not how to cast it. And frankly, I have never heard of anything like this happening before. Magic of this kind has been dead for centuries, outlawed for longer, never found in any print."
"So there's no one around to teach it?" Takao shivered. "Then how has it come back?"
"Well, either I'm mistaken…" Midorima pushed up his glasses. "Or there's something a few thousand years old that's walking among us."
Kagami slipped off the futon, grabbing the jacket he had thrown to the side. The night was cool, and a quick glance outside told him that there was still an hour or so till sunrise. The scream he had heard…it had definitely been real, but cut short, like the victim had been finished off.
He slid the wooden door slightly open to take a look. There had also been a guard posted outside…except there was no guard there now. His ears strained to hear anything, but couldn't pick anything up. That was when the smell hit him, like a thick and heavy stench.
Vampire blood.
"Shit," he whispered under his breath, walking out with careful steps. There was nobody in sight, but it was a large compound. It was the middle of the night, which meant basically the middle of the work day for the nocturnal vampires. But he had been given a room in a corner of the premises, far away from anybody else's quarters, so it was natural for the area to be deserted.
His bare feet made nary a sound against the wood, but as he turned a corner he tripped over something soft and firm, breaking his fall instinctively with a tuck roll and landing on his feet. He winced at the clatter his body had made against the floor, but his face whitened when he saw what he had tripped over.
"Hey!" he hissed, grabbing the body and shaking it. He rolled it over and grimaced at the wound in the vampire's chest. He sighed, closing the dead man's eyes. It was his guard, and most likely the one who had yelled. He had probably heard something and strayed away towards the sound before he got attacked.
Kagami squinted. The wound was a clean pierce from the back on the right side of the man's chest, straight through his vampire heart. Kagami shifted him to his side and pulled the bloodied fabric apart, his eyebrow raised at the black markings on the man's back. What is this? A tattoo…? No, it looks more like…like a family crest… It had been mangled by the wound, but it was clearly a sigil of sorts.
But what really got to Kagami were the scratches on the man's body. The killing had been done efficiently, one straight stab with what had to be a wooden stake. Why maul the body as well? If there was a scuffle involved, Kagami would've woken up from the noise.
There were no alarm bells, no emergency sirens. The killer worked with stealth and effectiveness. These scratches…they were clearly from a werewolf. Why make it obvious that the killer was a werewolf?
Kagami's eyes widened. Shit. Making it obvious that the killer is a werewolf? This is definitely framing!
Unfortunately, Kagami's revelation was cut violently short when he heard the footsteps too late. Someone approached him from behind and grabbed his hair, forcibly pulling him up to his feet.
Shit! Kagami opened his mouth to scream, but was thrown hard against the wall, rattling the fusuma in its place. He groaned, his head swimming as the attacker walked up to him, somewhat tall and well-built yet his face thrown in shadow. It was too dark, and his vision was blurred. There was blood dripping into his eyes from a gash caused by slamming his head, but he wasn't going down anytime soon. He lunged blindly, claws extended and teeth bared.
"Gah!" a voice – masculine, deep – hissed in pain, and Kagami felt wet blood on his fingers. A kick in his gut sent his stumbling back and wheezing for breath, but remembering his training, he dropped down low and swept his leg under the man's feet.
The assailant had shocking fast reflexes, jumping out of the way at lightning speed. And that was when Kagami saw it. A tail, a werewolf's tail.
Wait…so…the attacker actually is a werewolf?!
The man shot forwards, insanely fast, clutching the back of Kagami's shirt and pinning him against the wall. Kagami struggled, but his concentration was weakening along with his strength. He managed to elbow the man in the face and turned around for a split second before he was rammed against the wall again.
It was enough for him to see it.
A flash of golden eyes, dull and emotionless.
But most importantly, the weapon in the man's hand.
Kagami felt his heart stop.
No. No, it couldn't be. How can it be here?! It's-
The man pulled his hand back, and shoved the dagger straight into Kagami's chest.
It was the pain that caused Aomine to fall. Pain in his head, the room tilting. Pain in his abdomen, making it hard to breathe.
He stumbled to his feet, his hands scrabbling at the walls, panic and bile rising in his throat. He heard Momoi beside him, grabbing his shoulder, slapping his face. He had been talking to his father just seconds ago, hearing him talk about Kagami's reasons for being in Japan, how he was out of trouble for now, when everything went haywire.
"Dai-chan!"
"Daiki, what's wrong?!"
"Kagami," Aomine rasped. He didn't know he knew, but he knew. "F-father, Kagami…!"
Hirohito saw his son's face, and instantly began barking orders for his men to run to where Kagami was staying. Aomine pushed Momoi away, swaying on his feet.
"I'm okay, Satsuki," he rubbed his face, and felt the cold sweat on his skin. He clutched Mai-chan's hilt tightly, his teeth gritted. "But if Kagami's not, there's going to be hell to pay."
Kagami was not okay. Aomine knew it as soon as he smelt that sweet blood in the air. It still gave him a heady feeling, made his throat dry, but that wasn't important right now. He was the first at the scene, his speed only quickened by haste, and that was when he saw Kagami high kick his assailant in the upper body, sending the attacker flying through a nearby shoji screen with a magnificent crash. The action also sent Kagami toppling backwards, but Aomine caught him on the way down.
The rest of the vampires appeared then, with Hirohito at the front. Aomine couldn't care less, he was staring at the blood staining his hands. He licked his lips unconsciously, but the body in his arms drew all his attention.
His heart felt like it was getting wrenched out from his throat. "Kagami…" He took in the pale face, the closed eyes. He held Kagami's hand, intertwining their fingers, oblivious to everyone around them. "Fuck, Kagami, shit…I swear…i-if you die, I'll fucking kill you!" He placed his forehead on Kagami's, the werewolf's skin cool against his own. His voice was soft. "Come on, you can't leave me, not now, Taiga." The words came out on their own, and once they were out they sounded like echoes of another memory.
Kagami's long lashes fluttered open, and he looked at Aomine but his scarlet gaze seemed far away. He rubbed his thumb against Aomine's hand. "You're as lame…as always, Daiki…" Pink lips pulled into a smile, and when Kagami blinked, the clarity was bleeding back in his eyes. His expression grew slightly confused, like he hadn't really understood the conversation they had just had.
Aomine felt a bit befuddled as well, but he helped Kagami sit upright, careful to not touch the injury on his back. There were more important things to do then worry about calling each other by first names. "A-are you okay?"
Kagami flinched, pressing a hand against his head. The cut had healed, but there was still blood smearing his skin and hair. "Yeah…I'm healing. The weapon was…" he hesitated. "The weapon was wooden, and he stabbed me on the wrong side of my chest. Almost like he thought I was a vampire. He wasn't expecting me to stand back up and go at him after that."
"Why? You don't look, or smell, anything like a vampire," Aomine said, absently flicking one of Kagami's ears. They both looked up as his father walked over to them.
"He's gone," Hirohito said stiffly, crouching down to Kagami's level. "So, besides being male, did you manage to gather anything else on this man?"
Kagami shrugged. "The lighting is really bad here, and he attacked from behind. I couldn't see straight for most of the fight."
Hirohito's eyes flickered briefly to where Kagami and Aomine's hands were still joined. His lips pressed in a thin line. "Nothing else? Height, hair or eye colour, anything?"
"I-I think he had golden eyes, but…I don't know if it was a trick of the light," Kagami shifted to stand but the pain in his chest was still too much. He was no longer bleeding, but it had been a deep wound. Kagami only realised Aomine had a hand around his waist to support him when the grip tightened. "He was…actually he was a little shorter than me, but his strength was insane." Kagami lowered his gaze, pain in his eyes. "A-Aomine-san, it was…it was a werewolf. I saw that much."
"Hirohito-sama," one of the vampires bowed, biting her lip. "There…there are more dead, near the storage shed. That makes four bodies in total."
A muscle twitched in Hirohito's expression, the only sign that the man was furious. "Did they all have brands?"
"Yes, sir. And also…" she hesitated, swallowing and dropping her voice. "Also, they were all purebloods."
"Fuck," he spat under his breath, and his otherwise blank eyes were hot with fury. Those around him were visibly shaken at the slur and gave him some distance. "Taiga, I need you to tell me. What weapon did he use?"
The words stuck in Kagami's throat. "I…I don't know," he lied. "I was attacked from behind, I didn't see what he used."
Hirohito pinched his nose. "Then I fear the worst."
Aomine frowned. "And that is…?"
"This was done by a seal-nullifying weapon," Hirohito stood up, straightening his clothes. "And the only people who have those are the Crimson Claw."
Aomine's face fell. "Oi, oi…you can't seriously think…?"
Hirohito smiled dryly. "Honestly, Daiki, I don't know what to think, but it's the only lead I've got right now."
"But that's-"
"The vampire hunters waging war on the werewolf hunters? The Aomine family and the Crimson Claw? It's happened before," Hirohito motioned for his men to clean up the area. "It can happen again. And if it does, it's not going to be pretty."
"So you're just going to barge in there accusing them of murder?" Aomine snorted.
"Of course not," Hirohito snapped. "But I'm going to have a talk with their leader. He's been cooperative for the past forty odd years, and I want to hear his side of the story. Are you coming with me?"
Aomine glanced at Kagami. "No…I think I'll help Kagami get back home."
Hirohito held back a frown as he saw the way the two looked at each other. Some things I can stop, some things I can't. He sighed. "Alright, I'm heading over to Harajuku. Hanamiya, you're with me."
Hanamiya grinned. "Harajuku? How exciting."
"Yes," Hirohito grimaced. "It's time to pay Njimura Shuuzou a visit."
