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Enjoy!
General POV:
Inside the dark morgue, Yakumo, Gotou, and Ishii stand in the cold autopsy room waiting silently. The strong smell of formaldehyde was the only prominent smell they could make out, the stale air hung around them making Ishii squirm uncomfortably.
"Ease up. It's just a morgue, zombies aren't real," Gotou huffed towards Ishii, not knowing where his subordinate's imagination was taking him. Ishii jumped at the sudden sound of Gotou's words and gave a weak smile.
"I-I know, I'm sorry, still not accustomed to it yet," Ishii explained as he straightened, attempting not to fidget as much.
The doors swing open as Hata wheeled in a gurney with a white sheet covering a form underneath.
"Ahh, so you've finally found the beauty in my work and have come to join me in my fun," Hata chimed delightedly as he guided the gurney into the middle of the room, underneath the hanging operating lights and hanging scale. Close by was a small table on wheels that held tools, a tape recorder, a few glass jars and metal bowls, and a half eaten sandwich on a plate that Hata wheeled over to the gurney.
"Sick old man, we didn't come here to join in on your twisted tea party. We came to see what you found," Gotou barked as he crossed his arms, toothpick in mouth.
"Well, I haven't found anything yet. But if it is like the last, then we could expect death by asphyxiation by drowning, excessive liquid in the lungs, defensive wounds and contusions that coincide with sexual assault, high alcohol content in the bloodstream, and the most peculiar of all, the blistering of the lining of the lungs," Hata finished as he bit into the sandwich while looking at a clipboard.
"Hata-san, why haven't you found anything?! And how can you eat while a dead body is here," Gotou roughly asked as he stepped closer to the old man and the gurney.
"I haven't gotten a chance to perform the autopsy. And I'm hungry, I'm sure she'll still be in such a state within the next minute while I finish my lunch." Hata happily ate the rest of his sandwich while Gotou threw some remarks his way.
"Well, Yakumo? You see anything," Gotou asked, as Hata gently pulled the sheet back to reveal the young girl's pale face, her short black hair skewed in a haphazard halo around her head. Her lips slightly parted and blue, while her eyes lay closed. A peaceful look on her face.
Yakumo stared at her face silently as Hata began reading from the clipboard, "Nakamura, Akiko. Female. Age, twenty. Occupation, university student. Body was discovered yesterday at 13:00 by the river wearing nothing, but a white yukata. Time of dead is estimated to be probably around midnight of the same day, but we will know for sure once I complete the autopsy."
Yakumo's eyes slid to stare at the space beside Hata, his gaze distant. His red eye concealed by his contact.
There stood a girl identical to the one lying on the table before him. She was crying while staring at him, pain and fear evident on her tear streaked face. She began mouthing words towards Yakumo, pleadingly. He merely nodded, murmured a "thank you" and walked around the gurney towards the door.
"Yakumo! Hata-san, call me after the autopsy to see what you find," Gotou quickly commanded as he briskly walked after Yakumo.
Ishii and Gotou push through the doors and walked down the hall after the young man, catching up quickly to him.
"Did you see something, Yakumo-san," Ishii politely asked while looking at his emotionless expression.
"She said that her killer seemed to change in an instant. First he was kind and fatherly, then he was aggressive like a beast. She couldn't remember anything else other than feeling someone else there trying to sooth her in her last moments," Yakumo quietly explained before a ringing sound echoed through the barren hallway, drowning out their footsteps.
"DID perhaps? Or maybe just bipolar," Ishii offered, looking at Gotou.
"Dissociative Identity Disorder, huh? You may be jumping the gun there a little. What about more than one suspect? Or maybe the suspect has more than one victim at a time, and the other victim was trying to soothe her." The older detective contemplated as the three walked through a pair of doors.
Yakumo dug into his pocket to retrieve his cellphone. On the tiny screen on the outside of his flip phone, there was the name of a certain pink haired girl. As promised, she called.
Neither one of the detectives paying much attention to the ringing as they continued to talk about the possible means behind the girl's words.
The young man quickly flipped the phone open and pressed the green phone icon on his keypad and raised the device to his ear.
"Yakumo! Hey, it's me Haruka," her voice chirped through the phone, knowing he wouldn't say a greeting.
Haruka pushed the door to the building's door open as she breathed in the fresh, spring air, her pink cell phone pressed to her ear.
"Obviously. Who else would yell my name so informally into my ear," his low, soft spoken yet firm voice questioned into her ear. She just smirked at his quick remark and continued.
"So, I just spoke to my friend in class, and he said that we could drop by anytime today or tonight! He gave me the address, it's just ten minutes outside of the city limits, just a little north," Haruka spoke as she walked through campus towards the direction of her apartment.
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Haruka vaguely wondered if he had hung up, until his voice cut through again, "he? What's your friend's name?"
She paused for a moment thinking, how is that relevant?
"Uh, Sasaki Kenji.." Haruka uncertainly answered.
"So then the hot springs we are going to are the Sasaki Hot Spring's," he asked, but it sounded more or less like a statement.
"Uh, yeah! You know of it?" Yakumo now sat inside the back of Gotou's car, heading back to the university campus, looking outside the window
"It is a little up the road from the temple where my uncle used to live," his voice seemed just a hint quieter. Gotou looked back at the man through the rearview mirror, a hint of concern in his eyes.
Yakumo listened as Haruka gave a small, "oh" then the line went silent.
"I'll pick you up at your apartment in about an hour, and we'll head there," Yakumo said as he flipped the phone closed effectively ending the conversation.
On the side of the road, Haruka huffed and looked at her phone. "Rude!"
…
General POV:
The drive to the hot springs was filled mainly with Haruka chatting about something random. Yakumo every now and then would throw in an insult or some rude comment, warranting a reaction from Haruka, they'd roll into a light hearted argument before going silent for a moment before they'd repeat it all over again.
After Isshin died, Yakumo inherited everything he owned. He accepted everything except Isshin's place at the temple, knowing he wasn't able to stay in such a place. He was grateful to now have a car, and inheritance money to afford an apartment.
When they finally got to their destination, they parked and took everything in. It looked like a normal, peaceful hot spring.
"Waa! It's so pretty here," Haruka exclaimed as she excited walked towards the entrance with Yakumo trailing behind.
As they entered, two men stood at the front desk. One was younger, no doubt Haruka's friend from the university. He stood a bit shorter than Yakumo, had dyed blonde hair and had a goofy lopsided grin on his face as he looked at Haruka. Yakumo guessed that crooked smile often got the attention of many girls, no doubt Haruka was the same..
The other man was an older age, probably early forties. He was rather muscular for his age, and had a similar asymmetrical grin as the young man beside him. The older man had soft features and an inviting yet slightly awkward presence about him.
"Haruka-chan~! I'm glad you could make it! This is my dad, Sasaki Akio. He runs the hot springs," the younger man introduced his father who nodded.
"Please, call me Akio-san," the older man bowed slightly, a warm smile on his lips as he stared at Haruka.
"Nice to meet you Akio-san. I am Ozawa Haruka, and this is Saito Yakumo. Yakumo, this is Kenji-san," Haruka cheerfully introduced.
The two younger men silently nodded at one another before Akio spoke again, "please follow me. Kenji-kun, please attend the baths while I show Haruka-san and Yakumo-san around."
Kenji looked dejected, but after smiling at Haruka he ran off. No one noticed Yakumo staring after him.
"The claims we get are rather disturbing. You see, many young women who visit the hot springs are coming to us complaining about being touched inappropriately by someone who isn't there. But what's confusing is that they say, sometimes it's soft, gentle, harmless touches and then sometimes it's aggressive sexual touches. To be quite honest, I don't know what to make of it. Today we are closed to the public, I hope this will help you" Akio mumbled, looking to the ground as he explained.
"Have the hot springs always been in the family," Yakumo asked as he surveyed the grounds.
"To the best of my knowledge, yes. Well, ever since they have become a hot spring resort that is. Before that, I'm not too sure," Akio admitted sheepishly as he gave a small nervous chuckle.
Haruka's POV:
As Yakumo and Akio-san walked ahead of me, I get entranced by the beauty of the place. The steam from the hot springs warmed my cheeks as I breathed in the scent of jasmine tea and lavender.
Just then I felt what felt like a finger brush my hair behind my ear. I jumped and ran into Yakumo, who turned around to look at me questioningly.
"Di-did you touch my hair just now," I ask him, hoping that it was some sort of prank.
"No," he deadpanned, then looked around me. Akio-san had stopped talking to watch me worriedly.
"Do you see anyone," I softly asked, watching his eyes scan around us until he shook his head.
"O-Oh, nevermind then," I nervously laugh. Akio-san turned around to continue talking, but Yakumo's gaze lingered on me before turning around.
Every now and then I would catch Yakumo glancing back at me.
Then I felt a hand gently caress my upper arm.
"AH!" I yelled as I jumped once again, this time Yakumo turned around in time and caught me by my shoulders.
"A hand was on my arm," I accuse as I held up my arm, my breath suddenly becoming heavy as my heartbeat pounded fast against my chest.
He looked down over me, his hand grasping my arm to inspect it, his eyes narrowing.
I noticed just how big his hand was. It was warm and firm, but soft and gentle. Definitely not what I expected from him. But it was a touch I wanted to feel again..
"S-Since it is getting cold, how about you two take a bath," Akio-san somberly offered, attempting to sound cheerful.
I felt the blush immediately appear on my cheeks. Wait, is he implying we bathe.. together?!
"The men's bath is this way, and Haruka-san the women's is right through there," he directed us, seeming to notice my discomfort.
I silently nodded as Yakumo released my shoulders and arm and followed Akio-san towards the men's bath.
…
"Ahh, this is so nice! And all to myself," I cheer as I relaxed into the water, closing my eyes.
"It's not as relaxing when you keep talking," A deep familiar voice filled my ears. I made a small "eep" sound and sunk lower into the water and looked around frantically, but couldn't find the man to match the voice.
"Yakumo?"
"What," his tired voice came once again, but this time I realized it was from over the wall that stood about eight feet away.
"Oh, the men's bath must be just on the other side of this wall," I giggled, hearing him sigh.
"Somehow you manage to sound even more stupid when I can't see you."
I sighed as I leaned against the rock edge.
"Yakumo, I just realized.. Even though I wanted to take a bath.. I'm being the bait right now aren't I," I asked slowly as I started to remember the claims that the women had made.
"You finally realized, took you long enough," Yakumo's voice sounded as annoyed and tired as always.
"Yakumo! I don't want to be touched," I irritatingly yelled. I huffed and crossed my arms, as I listened to his unsettling silence.
"..."
"You know, if you ever want a boyfriend, you probably shouldn't say that," he said finally.
"Shut up! Maybe I do-" I froze as I felt a hand on my bare lower back. It was a large hand, and it was extremely cold in contrast to the hot water around me.
I was too startled to do anything, but shiver in fear as the freezing hand slid eerily slow down over the left side of my behind then squeezed roughly.
"AHH!" I jumped and walked away from that area, but the hand stayed on my body.
"Are you okay?!" Yakumo's voice sounded so far away and faded I just barely noticed he had said something, too focused on what was touching me.
I tried brushing the hand away with mine own, but I didn't touch anything other than myself.
Panic started to settle in when another hand appeared on my ribs, just below my right breast. When the hand slid up my body to grope my chest, I let out another yelp.
Standing up I covered my chest as I pressed my bottom up against the rock edge, attempting to assuage the violent grips. The cool night air raising goosebumps, but had nothing against the freezing hand on my chest. The other cold hand still on my behind, the hot water coming up to just above my pubic bone.
I spun around, but the more I moved, the tighter the hands gripped my body.
"YAKUMO!" I didn't notice I had yelled out his name until I felt my vocal chords stop vibrating.
In an instant, I saw a flash to my left in the grassy patch between the bath and the changing room.
I looked over to see Yakumo, with only a white towel covering his lower half. He was landing on the grass.
Had he jumped over the wall?! The hands squeezed tighter and I let out another pained sound.
I held my arms tightly across my chest as I squirmed uncomfortably in the water.
I watched with wide, fear filled eyes as Yakumo ran into the water towards me.
"What is it," he asked, his low voice was riddled with concern and slight panic. His breathing was heavy as his eyes searched mine.
"H-Hands on m-my breast and m-my b-butt.." I could feel my blush growing even redder as I tightened my grip on my naked body under the tall man's intense gaze.
His eyes scanned my body, glaring at the side of my right chest where part of the hand was, my hand covering my breast and the rest of the hand.
Yakumo's large, gentle hands came to rest on my shoulders, his palms hot. He gingerly turned me to scan down towards my behind and the other phantom hand, assessing the situation.
A small growl rumbled through his teeth as he turned me back to face him.
Without another word, Yakumo pulled my body into his as he fell back to sit us into the water. His arms wrapping tightly around me as mine instinctively wrapped around him as I felt myself falling forward.
He settled me between his legs, I noticed the inside of his knee rested against the spot on my behind where the ghost hand was while his arm cinched around my back with his hand resting on my ribs where the other invisible hand was groping me.
Yakumo's cheek pressed into my temple, all I heard from him between his labored breaths was a growl in the form of, "go away."
I froze as the freezing hands slowly loosened their grip then dissipated into the hot water.
I continued to pant, almost hyperventilating from being roughly violated in such a way. I tried to calm my breathing, feeling the scratchiness at the back of my throat and the prickling behind my eyes. Tears threatening to spill over.
"It's alright. Don't cry," Yakumo's low voice slightly soft as he comforted me.
Yakumo's gentle words, even though he was coaxing me to do the opposite were all it took for me to release a soft sob, shaking as waves of tears spilled over me.
I buried my face into his damp neck, his hair tickling my cheeks and eye. I felt his other hand move from my waist to the back of my head, holding me tenderly as I wept. His wet hand causing water to run down my neck.
This person.. His gentleness means so much to me.. He means so much to me.. I think vulnerably as I cling tighter to him.
I offhandedly noticed my hips lying on his towel underneath the water. From the softness of the towel, my naked body slowly became aware of his.
The contrast of his hard muscles beneath his soft and supple skin. Our chests pressed together as our legs tangled.
"..Thank you..," I murmur as I turned my face into his neck, my lips resting against his throat.
He stayed silent as his vice on my body tightened ever so slightly.
I pulled away just enough to tilt my head to look up into his sharp, yet gentle eyes. I could see the small hurt swirling in his green and red eyes from my retreat from his neck.
His red eye entrapping me, his ruby like shimmer calling out to me. I wanted nothing more than to continue to wander lost in that blood red eye for hours, days.
"...Yakumo…" I whisper.
Steamy. ;)
Tell me what you think! Where would you guys like to see this go? I can always make an R rated version to this scene later and keep it toned down, or just go all the way with this.
I'm writing these stories for you, so let me know!
Ciao
-Nekothorn