Gravitation
Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation. Maki Murakami does.
Lenner and Deb stood in front of the apartment. Taking a deep breath, Lenner knocked on the door and waited for a response. He could hear two sets of footsteps. A female voice came from inside.
"Who is it?" asked the woman's voice.
"Detective Lenner and Detective Patterson," Lenner replied holding his badge up to the peep hole.
Without a response, the woman opened the door. She stood in the doorway with a young boy poking his head out by her side.
"Can I help you, detectives?" She asked with a smile.
"We're looking for Yoshiki Kitazawa," Lenner told her, "we were told that we could find him here."
"Riiku, honey, why don't you go watch t.v. in your room." She told the boy. He ran off and the woman opened the door wider. "That would be me."
Lenner and Deb looked at each other with confusion.
"Um…the Yoshiki Kitazawa we're looking for is a male." Lenner said.
The woman started to clear her throat. Deb and Lenner noticed her voice starting to change.
"That would be me." A masculine tone came from the woman's throat.
Lenner's eyes went wide with shock. Deb nearly choked on her own saliva. The two looked at each other again. The woman giggled. This time, her voice returned to a female tone.
"Um…we…have a few questions to ask you about your brother." Lenner said still a little baffled. "Mind if we come in?"
"Not at all," Yoshiki said cheerfully, "come on in!"
Deb and Lenner stepped inside the apartment. Yoshiki ushered them over the couch and offered them something to drink. They both refused. Yoshikik sat on another couch diagonally from them. Before Lenner or Deb could say anything, Yoshiki spoke up.
"You're wondering about the murder that took place seven years ago, right?" She asked.
"Right," Lenner replied, "three people were killed. Two of them were convicted felons. And of course, there was your brother."
"He had it coming." Yoshiki replied boldly.
"Excuse me?" Deb asked looking surprised.
"My brother was a disturbed soul, detectives." Yoshiki told them. "He didn't really give a damn about anything or anyone."
"But your brother was a private tutor, was he not?" Deb asked.
"Yeah," she replied plainly, "brilliant minded he was. But he had many skeletons in his closet."
"How so," Lenner asked.
"My brother and I moved to the states right after our parents died." Yoshiki told them. "He said that a change of scenery would be good for us. He didn't take their deaths very well."
"Was he very close with your parents?" Deb asked.
"Of course," Yoshiki said. "They practically worshiped him. He was the brightest in his class, he was taking honors, and he played sports."
"So what was the problem?" Lenner asked.
"He was getting bullied at school." Yoshiki replied. "The kids called him a nerd or geek. They were only jealous of him because he was so smart."
"That must have been tough on him." Deb said sadly.
"It was." Yoshiki replied. "He told our parents that he wanted to drop out, but they wouldn't let him."
"So, what did he do?"
"He started to rebel against them." Yoshiki went on. "He'd stay out late. He started drinking. He even lost his virginity when he was seventeen."
"What did your parents do about it?" Lenner asked her.
"They could see that he was falling apart." Yoshiki went on. "They wanted him to stop. So they decided to let him drop out. They went to his school and spoke to the principal; sorted everything out. They went over his school records and saw how well he was doing. Surprisingly, they decided to give him a diploma."
"So he pretty much graduated early." Lenner said simply.
"Pretty much," Yoshiki said with a shrug. "Our dad made him get a job though. He got a part time job in a library. He didn't really have a lot of friends so most of his time was spent working."
"When did he start tutoring?" Deb asked.
"It wasn't until after we moved here." Yoshiki said. "Three years went by after that. Yuki moved out of the house. He kept his job at the library. He took on a few extra jobs on top of that. But…"
"But what," Lenner asked.
"Yuki had left some of his belongings at our parents' house." Yoshiki said with a sigh. "One of those items included a flash drive and some porno magazines."
"What was on the flash drive?" Lenner asked.
"Um…child…pornography," Yoshiki struggled to say.
Deb and Lenner looked at each other with rising suspicion. They were getting closer to what they needed to know.
"Did you show it to your parents?" Lenner asked.
"No," Yoshiki replied.
"Why?" Deb asked.
"My parents had this perfect picture of their oldest son in their minds." Yoshiki went on. "They would have disowned him if they found out."
"So you hid it from them." Deb guessed.
"Yes." Yoshiki answered.
"Do you still have the flash drive?" Lenner asked.
"No," Yoshiki answered, "Yuki came back home for a visit and I gave him the flash drive."
"What did he say to you?"
"He asked me if I told our parents." Yoshiki went on. "I told him no. I told him I would never tell on him and I never did. After he died, I went through his stuff, but…I never found the flash drive."
"So when exactly did your parents die?" Deb asked.
"Six months after Yuki came home to visit," Yoshiki continued, "there was an accident."
"What happened?"
"They were coming home from an old friend's house." Yoshiki explained. "They weren't drinking or anything. They had called me to let me know that they were coming home and that they'd be there in twenty minutes. Twenty minutes went by; then thirty minutes; then an hour. They never came home."
"What did you do?" Lenner asked.
"I called Yuki." Yoshiki replied. "I told him that mom and dad didn't come home and I didn't know where they were. He rushed over. He called everyone we knew, but no one knew where they were either. Not even their old friends knew."
"So what did you guys do?"
"We got a call at one in the morning from the hospital." Yoshiki went on.. "Yuki told me to stay home while he went to the hospital. He didn't come back until twelve in the afternoon."
"And your parents," Deb asked.
"They were driving home when some drunk decided to walk right into the middle of the street." Yoshiki said getting choked up. "They swerved and ended up in the opposite lane. That's when they were struck by another car."
"Go on." Lenner told her.
"A few months passed by." Yoshiki went on. "Yuki started studying English. He was really quiet most of the time. The house seemed so dead. Anyways, when he finally got good enough at it, he taught it to me. We came to the states shortly after."
"Did you notice anything different about your brother's behavior after your parents' death?" Deb asked.
"Just his eyes," Yoshiki said quietly. "They weren't the same. They seemed…icy; almost dead. It's like he wasn't even my brother anymore. I was about twelve at the time, but I felt as if I were living with a complete stranger."
"Stranger, huh," Lenner repeated. "When did he become a tutor?"
"When we finally got settled in, Yuki put an ad in the paper." Yoshiki went on. "He became quite popular. Before we knew it, we were living again, this time better than ever. But…Yuki still had that same icy look in his eyes."
"When did he start getting mixed up…or involved with these other murder victims?" Lenner asked.
"A year later," Yoshiki answered, "he made friends, but the kind of friends he made seemed really shady. I remember he would invite them over to the house. They'd start drinking and laughing and saying all sorts of nasty shit."
"And where were you?" Deb asked.
"Yuki would make me stay in my room whenever his friends came over." Yoshiki answered. "Either that or I was outside hanging with the neighborhood kids. But I never spoke to any of his friends."
"And," Lenner urged.
"One night, I was asleep." Yoshiki went on. "I heard Yuki come in late. I peeked out from my room to see what was going on. I caught a glimpse of the front of his shirt. There was blood on it."
"How much blood," Deb asked her.
"A lot," Yoshiki said softly. "It was all over the front of his shirt."
"How was your brother acting when he came in the front door?" Lenner asked curiously.
"He seemed really panicky." Yoshiki replied. "He practically tore his shirt off. He was breathing really heavy. I noticed that the blood had seeped through his shirt and had gotten onto his chest."
"Doesn't seem like it would be his blood," Deb said turning to Lenner.
"What happened after that?" Lenner asked.
"I never said anything to him." Yoshiki replied. "And for a while, things seemed to be going smoothly. His friends stopped coming to the house. He received phone calls; suspicious phone calls, but I never confronted him about it."
"What do you mean by suspicious phone calls?" Lenner asked her.
"He would start whispering in a harsh tone to who ever he was talking to." Yoshiki replied. "He would use words like secluded and equipment and…piece."
"Piece," Lenner repeated, "as in gun?"
"That's what it sounded like." Yoshiki replied. "Then after a certain time, I started finding out that the kids that Yuki tutored went missing."
"How so," Deb asked curiously.
"Yuki kept a list of all his students' names." Yoshiki went on. "I asked him about his students. He would tell me about them; all of them. That was his mistake."
"What do you mean?" Lenner asked with his heartbeat increasing.
"All of his students ended up on the news." Yoshiki said with a distant look. "All of them dead."
Bingo! That hit the nail on the head. But there was one more piece of information that Lenner and Deb needed.
"It occurred to us that your brother was never questioned about the murders." Lenner went on. "Do you have any idea why that would be?"
"Disguises," Yoshiki said simply.
"Disguises," Lenner repeated confused.
"one day, Yuki decided to go on a shopping spree."Yoshiki continued. "He came back with about eight bags full of clothes, makeup, wigs, and all sorts of shit."
"So he used them to hide his identity?" Deb asked.
"Yeah," Yoshiki replied. "I honestly thought that my brother had gone psycho. When the cops came to the house, he was in disguise and he woiuld pretend he didn't speak English. Then they would just leave."
"Well, that explains a lot." Deb said.
"Uh…the …boy you have there," Lenner said, "your brother's son?"
"Yes." Yoshiki said, "Riku."
"How old is he?" Lenner asked.
"He'll be twelve in two months." Yoshiki said with a smile.
"His mother," Deb asked.
"She passed away when Riku was only four years old." Yoshiki told them.
"When did your brother meet his mother?" Lenner asked.
"After Yuki's last student was killed," Yoshiki continued, "Yuki met Yuzumi. They met in a book store to be precise."
"Did she ever become suspicious of Yuki's whereabouts?" Lenner asked.
"No." Yoshiki replied. "He kept her in the dark about that till she died. It took him two months to bring her home for the first time."
"And," Deb coaxed.
"She was wonderful." Yoshiki chirped. "She spent more time with us than she did with her own family. Plus…I noticed that Yuki seemed happier. He actually looked alive for once in a long time."
"When did they get married?" Lenner asked.
"After just four months." Yoshiki answered. "They dated for four months and immediately after that they tied the knot. Riku came along nine months later."
"And her family," Deb questioned.
"They didn't approve of her marrying my brother." Yoshiki told them. "She had gone behind their backs. When they found out, they didn't want anything to do with her."
"Yuzumi had leukemia, correct?" Lenner asked.
"Yes." Yoshiki replied. "But she didn't find out that she had leukemia until two years later. She had these terrible headaches and dizzy spells for a long time, but she never knew what it meant."
"When did she find out?" Deb asked.
"Yuki begged her to see a doctor." Yoshiki went on. "She was so stubborn. Riku was only two years old at the time. They went in together. The doctor did some tests. Two weeks later, her results came back. The doctor diagnosed her with leukemia."
"I see." Deb said in a low voice.
"Yuki broke down." Yoshiki continued. "He became depressed. Yuzumi tried to console him, but he couldn't stand being near her. He was afraid to even touch her."
"What happened when she died?" Lenner asked.
"Yuki fell back into his old habits." Yoshiki replied. "He was drinking a lot more than usual. I had graduated high school a year early. So taking care of Riku became my responsibility."
"What did you tell Riku when his mother died?" Deb asked.
"I told him…that his mom went on a very long journey." Yoshiki told her. "I told him that he wouldn't see her for a very long time."
"I see." Deb replied. "So Yuki fell back into his old habits. What happened after that?"
"He started tutoring again." Yoshiki replied. "He started talking to his old friends again. And then…he came along."
"He," Lenner repeated curiously.
"Tohma Seguchi." Yoshiki said with a distant look in her eyes.
Another name that they recognized came up. Lenner's heart was doing back flips. Deb fought the urge to smile. They were getting closer and closer by the minute.
"How did Tohma and Yuki meet?" Lenner asked.
"He must have seen Yuki's add in the paper." Yoshiki replied. "One day, he came to the house. He and Yuki talked, shared some laughs, and then he mentioned his brother-in-law."
"Brother-in-law," Lenner repeated curiously.
"Eiri Uesugi." Yoshiki replied.
Oh, joy! Lenner was on cloud nine. Deb was right there with him.
"Did Yuki tutor Tohma's brother-in-law?" Deb asked.
"Yes, he did." Yoshiki replied.
"For how long," Lenner asked her.
"Not too long," Yoshiki told them, "it had only been two in a half months. Then my brother died."
"Go back a little bit." Lenner told her. "Did Yuki and Tohma talk about anything else? Did you meet Eiri at all?"
"Yes, I did." Yoshiki replied. "He was only one year younger than I was. He came by the house to meet my brother for the first time. But Eiri had his tutoring sessions in the library or the park."
"I see." Lenner said rubbing his chin.
"Eiri wasn't like all the other kids that Yuki tutored." Yoshiki added. "He was…different."
"How so," Deb asked her.
"For a sixteen year old boy, he really knew how to turn heads." Yoshiki told them. "He had the face of an angel. People would stop to admire him and fawn over him, especially in the park. Yuki would have to stop in between sessions and go somewhere else where people weren't flirting or fussing over Eiri."
"Was your brother jealous of Eiri?" asked Lenner curiously.
"Oh, yes." Yoshiki said. "Yuki would often times come home frustrated because his star student was getting so much attention from complete strangers."
"He mentioned that to you?" Lenner asked.
"Yeah," Yoshiki replied. "He would say, "I can't stand that kid sometimes. He gets on my fucking nerves. He's not that special.'"
"Did Tohma find out about that?" Lenner asked her.
"No," Yoshiki replied. "He made it seem as though he were really fond of Eiri. One day, Tohma came back to the house alone. I was in my room watching television. I turned it down so I could hear what they were saying. I heard Tohma ask my brother…he…um…"
"What did Tohma ask your brother?" Deb asked her.
Yoshiki took a moment to gather her thoughts. It was hard for her to say the words because she knew how disturbing and indecent they were.
"He…said to him," she continued, ""you like him, don't you; my brother-in-law?"
"And," Deb coaxed.
"Yuki denied it at first." She continued. "But Tohma kept pushing him to tell the truth. Then, Yuki told him, "Okay, so I like him a little bit. Are you going to fire me?" And Tohma was like, "No, I don't blame you. Eiri is so damned cute to resist. Do you want him?"
"What did your brother say to that?" Deb asked.
"He said, "Hell yeah, I want him. How much? Tohma said, "Twenty bucks.' Then the two of them started laughing like crazy."
"Twenty bucks," Lenner repeated. "That's how much Yuki was going to pay for him?" Lenner had seemed angry than shocked at hearing that.
"Yep," Yoshiki replied.
"So what happened next?" Deb asked.
"Yuki asked him, "So can I have him?" Tohma told him, "Yeah, but I don't want him harmed in any way, got it?" Yuki told him, "No problem. You have my word."
"Well, that was obviously a lie, wasn't it?" Deb questioned.
"Doesn't matter if it was a lie," Lenner replied. "They were both guilty of attempted murder and rape."
"But he wasn't raped." Yoshiki told them.
"What?" Lenner and Deb said together.
"I went to the crime scene." Yoshiki confessed. "Eiri and Tohma were both there. Tohma was holding Eiri in his arms with that fake ass look of sadness on his face. The police had asked Eiri if anything had happened to him. I saw him shake his head no. Then…I saw them bring the bodies out on stretchers."
"Did you see the faces?" Lenner asked.
"Yes." Yoshiki replied. "I saw all three faces. His two friends that always came by the house; Derek and Will, and of course I saw my brother's body."
Every single name that Lenner and Deb were searching for came up. It was too good to be true. All the information they needed came from one person. And it happened to be Yuki Kitazawa's little brother/sister.
"Did the police question Tohma Seguchi?" Lenner asked.
"They did," Yoshiki told them. "but he told them that he had no idea what happened. He said that he went to find Eiri and when he found him, he was on the floor next to Yuki's body crying."
"We were informed that the gun used to kill all three men was found inside the apartment." Lenner informed her. "Did you know anything about that?"
"No," Yoshiki replied. "I mean I've always heard Yuki talking to Will on the phone and mentioning the word 'piece' numerous times and I think I've seen a gun in Will's waist band a few times."
"Do you know what kind of gun it was?" Deb asked.
"I don't know." Yoshiki replied. "It was black and brown. That's all I remember."
"Sounds like an AK-47." Lenner responded.
"Yeah," Deb replied, "You seem to be doing very well, Yoshiki. How did you cope with your brother's death?"
"I just felt empty." She told them. "At the crime scene, I looked at Eiri and I couldn't help but think what if it had been me? What would happen if I had been left alone with his friends or anyone else for that matter? How would he feel?"
"Seems like he never took that into consideration," Deb replied remorsefully.
"No, he didn't." Yoshiki went on. "I hated him for it. When it came time to bury him, I had a simple message written on his grave stone."
"What about Riku?" Lenner asked her. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him that his father went on that long journey with his mommy." Yoshiki said with tears in her eyes. "He didn't say anything to me. He didn't talk for a long time. It wasn't until just two years ago that I had to tell him the truth about his mother and father."
"How did he handle it?" Deb asked her.
"He said he already knew." Yoshiki said wiping her eyes. "But he wasn't sad. He accepted it. He said that I had to promise him that I wouldn't go away like they did."
"And you've kept your promise." Deb said with a smile.
"Yuki's grave," Lenner chimed in, "did you ever take Riku to go see it?"
"Yes, once." Yoshiki replied. "But then he told me that he never wanted to go back and see it again."
"And," Deb said.
"And I never did. I never took him back to see his father's grave. That was it. I went back; every year, but not Riku."
"The message on your brother's grave stone," Lenner said, "What exactly does it say?"
"… …It says…Here lies Yuki Kitazawa. I hope to Heaven his soul is gone."
~Owari~
Angel Eyes Kiyone: Okay guys, here you go! I know this one took a while. But I've been super busy lately. I hope you enjoyed it. And expect the next chapter very soon. Love you all!