VI: The Morning of the Funeral

The morning of the funeral dawns beautiful: sunny, unseasonably cool, and strangely quiet - except outside the Kaiba estate. By eight AM there's a circus beyond the front fence, with a cadre of guards keeping them at bay and issuing statements.

They watch from the front steps; Mokuba and Elle both seem tense, but a part of Jounouchi almost finds it comforting. Domino was always crazy about Kaiba and his huge events; at least that hasn't changed.

"It looks too much like a party." Mokuba doesn't respond to the frenzy of flashbulbs or the shouted questions drifting on the wind. "Perhaps we should have leaked a false date and had the real funeral later."

Jounouchi shrugs. "They'd find out somehow."

"The Irish would celebrate his life, rather than mourn his death," Elle says, sudden and quiet. "It could be a party."

"We're not Irish," Mokuba replies. "And Domino has lost a legend - it should be mourning." He turns and walks back into the house, leaving Jounouchi and Elle alone. She shakes her head as she looks at him.

"When are you leaving?" she asks.

"Should we have this conversation now?"

"Oh, sorry," she says without apology, "but I thought all Kaiba men handled these things without sensitivity. You have your own home in the city, why don't you stay there?"

Jounouchi wants to be angry at her, but he remembers the feeling - Kaiba never had any sense of empathy or timing. It used to frustrate him to no end. "What you see as insensitive is in fact anything but. Mokuba will never sugar-coat his truths for you, and he will never let you labor under false pretenses. You're a lucky woman if you realize how valuable that is."

"Maybe I'd like a little sugar-coating once in awhile."

"Then maybe this isn't the right family for you."

He follows Mokuba into the house. In the backyard chairs are arranged, and the pedestal for the casket awaits the guest of honor. A ballroom is being set up for the wake, tables laid out with finger foods and weak alcohol - as though a light lunch will make everyone feel better about having buried their friend, their family, or their amiable enemy.

Jounouchi's cell phone vibrates in his pocket; he answers it after a moment's deliberation. God forbid it's the funeral home with a problem. "Yes?"

"We may have a lead on the car that killed Mr. Kaiba."

#

Jounouchi is still curled over the toilet, his stomach spasms easing only because his body has (probably) realized the futility of his vomiting, when Mokuba kneels by his side.

"Jounouchi..."

He heaves again, his arms shaking as he grips the edges of the porcelain bowl. Jounouchi gasps for air and clenches his eyes shut, knuckles white, sweat beading on his forehead. He needs to get his shit together, and fast. He needs to be there when they bury Kaiba.

Mokuba is rubbing his back, his gaze averted - probably out of respect. The Kaiba brothers always had a distaste for weakness. "They don't think it was an accident anymore." He says it carefully, and Jounouchi can't identify any one emotion in Mokuba's voice.

"What does that mean for us?" Jounouchi's stomach twitches threateningly again, but holds. He sits back, leaning wearily against the cool tile wall. "What do they know?"

Their eyes meet. Mokuba licks his lips and hesitates for a second before he says, "They want us to postpone the funeral."

Rage settles, warm and familiar in Jounouchi's gut. It's almost a comfort to start feeling again.

#

They meet Detective Shintanda in the parlor, away from the funeral that's being postponed by the bewildered staff. Guests are being led to refreshments without explanation, and the hearse is heading back to the funeral home.

"You incompetent shits!" Jounouchi seethes as Mokuba closes the door behind him. "You motherfuckers! You pull us apart, you pat us on the back and promise us that you'll find some justice, and then you come here to disrupt Kaiba Seto's funeral? I should have you fucking stripped of your titles and honors."

Detective Shintanda takes this with surprising ease, and Mokuba stands by Jounouchi's side. "I assure you that this outcome was unforeseeable. There was a car found abandoned far north, near Hachinohe. We only just got the memo late last night. Preliminary forensics indicates that it's the car that hit Mr. Kaiba. We want to exam the body once more, based on this."

Mokuba takes a deep breath. "What more could you possibly learn? You already checked my brother for trace elements, for this kind of information - what aren't you telling us?"

Detective Shintanda has the good grace to look uncomfortable for a moment. "Can I request that we take a seat?" He takes one himself, despite not being invited to do so, and leans against his knees. Mokuba sits himself, but Jounouchi keeps his distance, keeps standing. He wants to be at the advantage to hit the motherfucker, should it come up. He has a feeling it might.

The Detective blows out a small breath, and says, "There was a smashed up computer in the trunk - apparently Mr. Kaiba's." He looks at Jounouchi, and adds, "We were unaware it was missing from his personal effects."

"I hadn't checked his bags," Jounouchi replies. He bites his tongue for a minute, trying to keep the anger warm inside him. The idea of opening Kaiba's bags makes him want to be ill again. "It didn't seem necessary."

"We were able to recover enough information from the computer. There are some e-mails that my department are working on, that indicate Mr. Kaiba may have been smuggling some component in his person."

In his person. Jounouchi moves to hit him, but stops at Mokuba's upraised hand. "You mean my brother was transporting something under his skin? He wouldn't. You'd have to know my brother, but he couldn't bear it."

"Nonetheless, we would like to examine him once more, with this new information."

Mokuba looks at Jounouchi, the question all over his face - the confusion probably mirrored on Jounouchi's own. It wasn't possible, they would have known. Kaiba wouldn't keep a secret so close, not anymore. "I want my department to handle the laptop. We're more likely to know what he used. Have the files and hardware you have sent to Kaiba Corporation immediately, and I'll assemble a team."

Detective Shintanda, perhaps realizing it was his only chance to get at the body at all, nods.

Jounouchi looks out the window, to the pedestal where Kaiba's coffin is supposed to be raised for honoring. He sighs, resigned to what needs to be done. "Take him, then. Treat him with respect." Jounouchi turns, and glares as he meets eyes with the Detective. "You think the worst of him now. I hope you'll regret that."

And the rage disappears, almost in an instant. When Jounouchi finally sits, he's sure that he'll never have the energy to stand again.

Notes
Thanks to Kagi, who are tremendously helpful in getting this ironed out. 3

Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I admit I've been a flake, though things are slowly evening out and I hope that I'll be able to get this worked out with a bit more speed. I promise I won't wake another 6 months between updates. Yikes.