Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my awesome beta!
The war between the rival yakuza groups didn't start slowly; it erupted, spilling out in all directions and leaving stabbed bodies all over its path. Japan had stringent gun laws, but that didn't stop the killing. Men like Diamond could smuggle them in and use them to take out the offending rivals, but the underlings of other organizations carried knives. In the end, it didn't matter; a corpse didn't care how it was killed.
That first blood-filled night sent five to the morgue, two to the hospital, and had three rotting, still undiscovered, in an abandoned warehouse.
Yamato didn't even bother leaving the morgue to go to the crime scenes. He had enough on his hands even with Mamoru's excellent help. He felt like he was waist-deep in paperwork and dead bodies when Mamoru arrived.
He looked up sadly at him and said, "I'm sure you heard the news by now."
Mamoru nodded, frowning, "I didn't even make it in the front door before I heard."
Yamato let out a harsh breath and said, "First, how did it go with Usagi?"
"Shouldn't we get to work first?"
The coroner shook his head. "Do you think they're going to get up and walk away?" He then made an odd face and shrugged. "Sorry, that joke doesn't really work anymore. You know what I mean."
Yamato then walked over to Mamoru. "You look happy."
Mamoru smirked in response. "I would love to introduce you to my girlfriend."
"Good. How about now? I think I need her opinion on something. It's unorthodox, but I have a feeling that is going to happen a lot from now on."
Mamoru pulled out his phone and got ready to call her. "What do you need?"
"Is it wrong to assume she has supernatural senses?"
"No, you're right. She does."
Yamato nodded, "I'm hoping she can pick up on anything we can't. There is a war brewing, and it's bad enough that these boys died. It has the potential to spill over and end the lives of the innocent soon."
Mamoru called, and Yamato stood back and just observed the interaction. It was unmistakable that she had quickly agreed to come and help. That pleased him. He also noticed that Mamoru's whole demeanor changed. He looked softer, Yamato thought, unable to come up with a better word. He liked the interaction that he had witnessed.
He hung up and said, "She's fast too. She'll be here in less than five minutes."
Yamato smiled in response and said, "help me pull out all the bodies and uncover them for her. All the detectives are busy with the footwork, and on top of that, most can't stomach the morgue. The only one in Homicide that can is Artemis, and he won't make a fuss about her being down here."
When Usagi arrived, Yamato observed her. She gave Mamoru a warm, devoted look but didn't approach him too closely. It was apparent to him that she was trying to respect his workspace and not behave too informally. He did watch as she walked past Mamoru who brushed her hand with the tip of his fingers, and she smiled gently.
Usagi stood in front of Yamato, and Mamoru introduced her. The pride in his voice was palpable.
She then turned to the dead bodies, and she grew grim. Yamato watched as her mouth formed a tense line. "It's why I asked him to call you."
"You don't need my super senses to see a gunshot wound." She answered him, and he could tell her body was taught with nerves. "You're testing me."
"No," Yamato answered firmly. "We already figured it out. I understand why you don't want to say anything to Artemis, but I was hoping you would feel freer to tell me. I'm not going to run out and get myself killed."
Mamoru's brows were knit, and his expression was stormy. "Did you have me betray her?!"
Usagi spun and took Mamoru's hands in hers. "He didn't. It's okay."
She then released his hands and turned to Yamato. "Are they smart enough to realize neither group has guns?"
Yamato shook his head, "The method of most of their deaths was stabbing. I don't think they will wait on a police report to tell them one was shot."
"No, you're right," she agreed. "Diamond's group did this, but you knew that."
"I suspected as much. What do you know?"
"Those rapists I killed, the ones whose bodies you had, were all part of this whole mess."
She frowned down at a different body and walked over to examine it. "He's so young. Fourteen?"
"Thirteen," Yamato replied sadly.
"I never get used to this. After all these centuries, it still hurts. There are cultures where he would be considered an adult man and expected to act as such. Some send them to war even younger than this…and now he's made a bad decision that he can't even live to regret."
She spun away from them and looked directly at Yamato, "Italian."
"What?" he asked, shocked by the non-sequitur.
"They all had Italian food together. That is all I can see that they have in common other than their affiliation and their tragic deaths." She then screwed up her mouth. "Try Vito's. I bet they ate there."
"How can you tell the restaurant?"
"I can't. It's the closest to Diamond's stomping grounds. His men could have followed them from there."
Usagi then walked over and stood in front of Yamato. "Back to the bodies. Diamond is as close to unkillable as a human can be. He's not Diamond Jr; he's the original. His sister is a pretty powerful witch who spells men who go out and rape and hurt people, and that violence feeds their blood and the spell. When they've gathered enough, they come back not knowing the intention. She slits their throats and pours their blood into a bathtub that Diamond then bathes in after she performs another spell. The men I killed were going to die. I just couldn't let him get their blood."
She let out a rough breath, then added, "I'm going to have to kill him and stop him, but to do that, I have to go against an Immortal, a witch, and a vampire, his brother. There are werewolves involved too, but I think I have them turning on him soon."
"Will they help you?" Yamato asked, concerned.
"I know one will for sure. I hope the rest will."
She frowned. She then added, "You owe me nothing, but please tell me if you're going to do anything. Even mention in a report that you think Diamond is involved. For no other reason than I need to know so I can make sure you're protected."
"You think there are dirty cops who will inform him," Yamato surmised.
"I know there are. Diamond doesn't love his sister; he uses her. If he didn't have another informant, he wouldn't have had Wiseman's son killed. He had to have lost his usefulness."
Mamoru spoke up then. "Tell me more about the werewolves you're talking about turning on him."
"I had a little chat with them, and I explained that you were not to be touched." She shrugged, "And now one is in love with a powerful witch I know."
"You went and talked to them?!" Mamoru asked, alarmed.
She laughed. "Yes. I didn't destroy them."
"They could have attacked you," he said in alarm.
She looked at him like he was crazy. "I could have killed all of them without breaking a nail. I wasn't in danger."
She then walked over and placed a calming hand on his arm. "They can't hurt me."
Mamoru raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I just worry."
"I would never risk what we have. I'm yours," she replied softly.
Once he nodded, she turned and walked back to the corpses. "Tell Artemis to check out Vito's. He'll understand and not ask questions. I know Luna isn't in Homicide, but don't let her get involved." She then paused and looked intently at one of the bodies. "Better yet. Have her check his house for evidence of a B&E.
"This took planning, and they would have had to have known where they would be. See that tattoo?" She pointed at a small one beside the guy's ear. "It will keep her out of danger but let her be involved. By that mark, he's the highest-ranked in this group and one who would have the most foreknowledge. They probably tracked him; it's just a hunch."
Yamato let out a long, low whistle of appreciation. "You have all that, and you didn't even touch the bodies. I'm impressed."
She smiled at his praise. She then shifted and said, "get my number from Mamoru. You're already under my protection, but I want you to have a way to get a hold of me."
Yamato couldn't believe he actually blushed. He dipped his head a bit and said, "You don't have to..."
She scoffed in response. "Nothing matters to me more than Mamoru, and you matter to him. I will protect you. My love for him might look unhealthy to you. Vampires love obsessively, but it's the way we are. Anything that matters to him matters to me. Call me anytime. Truly. Protecting you is a way that my love manifests. It would be a joy to show up to help you."
"My sister's rapist has gone missing. Not anywhere near here, but they can't locate him," Yamato replied immediately. "I just want to know where he is."
"That one I can't take credit for, but another vampire heard the story and killed him. He's rotting in a shallow grave. Once the blood he's missing won't be noticed, there will be an 'anonymous' call telling of where he is."
She then looked at him and said, "Thank you for trusting me with that. What else do you need?"
He looked at her seriously and said, "I look at Mamoru like the son I've never had. Be good to him."
"You don't even have to ask," she vowed as Mamoru blushed.