Yu-Gi-Oh!, Darkest Powers, chapter 7
Title: Darkest Powers
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Pairings: Mahaado x Atemu, Yuugi x Atemu, Anzu x Otogi
Genre: supernatural elements, action/adventure, romance
Warnings: shounen ai, foul language, character death (will be warned for in the respective chapter)
Summary: (AU) When two CEOs end up dead in Domino City, detectives Jounouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiroto are put on the case. The investigation goes south when their best friend, Mutou Yuugi, is accused of the murders. Jounouchi goes into the city’s underbelly to clear his friend’s name, only to find out that the stage has been taken over by a master criminal known as The Pharaoh, and his mysterious bodyguard Mahaado…
Author’s note: Butchering of canon events to fit the story. Everyone is at least ten years older. Liberal use of the Japanese police procedure and legal system. Feedback is a great thing.
Key: ----- = scene change
The coffee tasted like crap. One of Kaiba’s many butlers had made a pot and Jounouchi was drinking it like there was no tomorrow. The caffeine only added to the adrenaline surging through his body and intensified the waves of nausea, almost making him gag. Jounouchi held onto the coffee mug as if it was his last lifeline. Bile rose up in his throat. He had really seen Yuugi. Yuugi… and not Yuugi. His friend didn’t have narrow, red eyes. The darkness is pretty, you know. He’s all golden and dark. Red eyes like blood, dark lines like the depth of a grave. Gold. Jounouchi had seen gold. He had seen red eyes and he had seen dark lines. Yuugi. How could this be? The butler refilled his cup and Honda’s again and asked if he could bring the gentlemen other refreshments, or something to eat?
“How’s Mokuba doing?” Honda asked.
“Mokuba-sama is resting,” the butler answered. “He hasn’t sustained any injuries, fortunately. The physician couldn’t find anything and he didn’t think it was necessary for Mokuba-sama to visit the hospital.”
“Good,” Jounouchi murmured. The butler turned around to leave and Honda waited until he was out of earshot.
“You said you saw Yuugi,” Honda said. “How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know,” Jounouchi said, downtrodden. “I just don’t know. I saw him in the hallway, and it was… it was him, and it wasn’t him.”
Kaiba stalked over to them. “You’ve seen who’s behind all this? Who are you going to arrest?”
Damn, that guy had good ears! Jounouchi finished the rest of his coffee to stall for time.
“We have a possible suspect,” he said. “I recognized him from an earlier… meeting.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Arrest him!” Kaiba towered over him, his face a marred mask of anger. It wasn’t directed at him, though - Jounouchi recognized the hidden fear and worry: Kaiba had come very close to losing his brother, and the fierce protectiveness resembled his own towards his sister Shizuka.
“Kaiba-sama,” Ushio tried to guide him away again, “my detectives are on top of this. Let’s go over the security footage.”
Video? “Awesome,” Honda voiced Jounouchi’s thoughts. “If the fucker shows his face, we can identify him easier.” And probably rule out that it’s Yuugi after all.
“Believe me, he’ll be sorely regretting showing his ugly mug,” Kaiba threatened. “When I know who this guy is, I’ll make his life a living hell!”
“Kaiba-sama,” Ushio urged him again. “Let the detectives do their work.”
Grunting, Kaiba once again moved away and ordered his personnel around to retrieve the security footage and bring the tapes to his office. The tall CEO left the room and Ushio was right behind him. The ensuing silence was awkward, yet a bliss for Jounouchi to straighten out his thoughts. Honda was looking at him, curiously. They hadn’t finished their conversation about Yuugi. Jounouchi knew that Honda wouldn’t blab about it, but still he thought he’d better kept it to himself. He and his big mouth! He should talk to Yuugi in private, preferably right now.
“It was him, and it wasn’t him.” Jounouchi repeated, shivering at the memory. “There was something wrong with his eyes, man.”
“What do you mean, his eyes?”
“His eyes were smaller, and red.”
“Red?” Honda tried to come up with an explanation. “Maybe he was under the influence of
something?”
“What kind of drugs changes an entire eye color?”
“We could always look into it, you know, ask a professional…”
Jounouchi realized what Honda was doing: grasping at straws as to come up with a plausible excuse to exclude their friend. Honda’s loyalty touched him; he knew Yuugi would do the same if the situation as reversed.
“It has to be someone trying to frame him, for whatever obscene reason,” Honda muttered. “Can you imagine Yuugi breaking through high-tech security, putting guys down twice his size and then kidnapping Kaiba Mokuba?”
It was a preposterous thought, but Jounouchi couldn’t imagine Bakura Ryou doing something similar, yet he had seen him in the hallway as well. Something had been off, just like with ‘Yuugi’, only much more than just a different eye color. “I want to bring in Bakura Ryou,” he blurted out.
“Huh? The delivery boy you questioned during the Pegasus’ investigation?”
“Yeah. I saw him too.”
“You’re sure about that? You passed out in the hallway, you’re not exactly a reliable witness…”
“That’s what we said about Amelda,” Jounouchi gave back. “He was sure of what he saw, and I’m sure of what I saw. Get your coat. We’re leaving!”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the security footage?” Honda asked.
“We’re. Leaving! Now!”
---------------------------------
Jounouchi raced to Bakura Ryou’s address. Honda didn’t comment on his driving, he was used to his partner’s aggressive style of moving through traffic. They reached the apartment building within minutes and Jounouchi parked his car unceremoniously on the pavement. Before Honda had the chance to properly leave the car, Jounouchi was already at the doorbell and stabbed the button. Bakura’s voice was pleasant and welcoming when he said “Hello?”
“Bakura Ryou, Domino City Police,” Jounouchi answered sternly. “Open the door!”
The buzzer went off and Jounouchi busted open the door, followed by Honda. He didn’t bother to take the elevator and ran up the stairs. Just like their first meeting, Bakura was standing outside the door of his apartment, a shocked look on his face.
“Bakura Ryou, you are arrested for breaking and entering into the Kaiba Manor and the attempted kidnapping of Mokuba Kaiba!” Jounouchi pulled out a set of handcuffs.
Bakura stared at him, wide-eyed and mouth wide open. “Wh-what? Who? Jounouchi-sama, what are you talking about?”
“Turn around, Bakura,” Honda said gruffly. “If you put up any resistance, it’ll count against you!”
“B-but…”
“I saw you at the Kaiba Manor,” Jounouchi said. He closed the handcuffs around Bakura’s wrists. “Where is your Ring?”
“M-my Ring? It was st-stolen,” Bakura said. “I don’t know where it is!”
“I’ll have the technical unit search your apartment.” Jounouchi turned Bakura around, forcing the young man to look at him.
“No! Please don’t!”
“You’re not hiding something, are you?” Jounouchi shook him at the shoulder. Bakura gaped at him like a fish. “You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to hire a lawyer at your own expense.”
“I don’t have a lawyer,” Bakura protested. “I have never been to the Kaiba Manor, not even to make a delivery!”
“Let’s go.” He had 48 hours to keep Bakura in detention, and the clock had just started ticking. Honda took Bakura by the elbow and started to guide him away. Jounouchi followed them, not listening to Bakura’s pleas. He didn’t feel happy about this, not at all.
--------------------------------------
“Bakura Ryou, 26, lives on an inheritance and a small wage as a delivery boy for Catering Service At your Home, Anata no ie de.” Honda read the text from his laptop. “No previous criminal record, not even a parking ticket.”
“He doesn’t own a car,” Jounouchi said. “He can’t drive due to his black-outs. I have to ask Rebecca to retrieve his medical records. Which reminded me, did Pegasus’ records ever arrive?”
“All the way from the US? I haven’t seen them yet.”
“I’ll ask Rebecca about it. For now, we have to prove that Bakura was in Kaiba’s house and if we can tie him to Dartz as well, we don’t need his medical records at all.”
“About his black-outs,” Honda said. “You know that his lawyer’s going to use that to exonerate him? Poor, suffering, little boy, who’s struggling to make ends meet and still be an upstanding member of society.”
“He didn’t ask for a lawyer yet,” Jounouchi said. “Well, let’s go visit him in the interrogation room and strike the iron while it’s still hot.”
Honda nodded.
The interrogation room was the same one as where Marik Ishtar had attacked Hirutani, not long ago. Shivering at the memory, Jounouchi entered the room. Bakura was sitting at the table on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, clearly not at ease.
“Jounouchi-sama,” he pleaded again, “this is all a big misunderstanding. Please let me go home.”
“I’m sorry, Bakura,” Jounouchi said. He felt genuinely sorry. He simply couldn’t shake the feeling that it was wrong. Was someone trying to frame Bakura, just like Yuugi? But then again, his eyes hadn’t deceived him. He had seen Bakura… albeit a hateful, angry Bakura. “Where have you been all night, and can someone testify to your whereabouts?”
“I was at home,” Bakura answered. “I was working on my figurines. I didn’t have deliveries this night. Where else would I be?”
“At the Kaiba Manor, breaking and entering,” Jounouchi said.
“Attempting to kidnap and possible murder,” Honda said, keeping his voice cruel on purpose.
Bakura looked at Jounouchi again, pleading. “Murder? I’m not like that!”
“Can anyone vouch for you?”
“No,” Bakura said, voice soft. “Nobody pays attention to me and I don’t pay attention to people around me.”
“Too bad,” Honda said. “Do you always keep to yourself like that? What are we going to find in your apartment, Bakura? Knifes? Ancient Egyptian artifacts?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bakura answered, clearly confused. “But if you manage to find my Ring…”
“You showed me the Ring when I first met you,” Jounouchi said.
“Don’t lie, Bakura!”
“No, honestly! I can’t find my Ring! It’s been stolen!”
“And who would want to steal such a precious artifact?”
“I don’t know! It’s gone! It was a gift from my father, and I feel terrible for losing it!”
“You can file a report about your stolen Ring later,” Honda said sarcastically.
“N-no,” Bakura said, shivering. It was cold in the interrogation room and he wrapped his arms around himself. “This is a misunderstanding. I barely leave my apartment, unless I have to work or to buy groceries.”
“If it’s all a misunderstanding, explain how you could be seen at the Kaiba Manor,” Honda pressed the issue.
“I don’t even know where that is! I’m sorry, but you’re talking to the wrong person!”
“You were there,” Jounouchi said, “I saw you myself!”
“I haven’t left my apartment at all! What do you want from me?”
“How do you know Kaiba?”
“I don’t know him!” Bakura looked sickly pale. “He’s the CEO of KaibaCorp., but that’s common knowledge! I’ve never met him in person!”
“Bullshit!”
“Please, believe me! I’ve never been to the Kaiba Manor!”
The interrogation went on and on for hours, to no avail. Bakura drew into himself, shivering and miserable, and after a while, he simply shut down. It was going to be a long night. Jounouchi knew he was walking a fine line. If the captain found out he was interrogating the suspect himself, he could get into serious trouble for conflict of interest. He was the witness in this case, he shouldn’t be interrogating Bakura right now as his opinion was colored.
“I’m going to get something to drink,” Honda finally said. He gave Bakura a pitiful look. “Should I bring something for him as well?”
“Yeah,” Jounouchi said. “I don’t want him to get dehydrated. Can you get me some water?”
“Sure. I’ll be back in a second.” Honda got up and left the interrogation room. Jounouchi used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe off the sweat from his brow. Despite the low temperature in the room, the intense interrogation and playing good cop, bad cop constantly, had almost overheated him and he longed for a shower. Silence. Bakura stared in front of him, totally catatonic. Now that Honda was gone, Jounouchi took the opportunity to talk to Bakura like a friend, referring back to their first meeting.
“Look, Bakura…”
“How dare you,” Bakura answered, but it wasn’t his soft, meek voice. The hairs on the back of Jounouchi’s neck went up straight. “How dare you treat my yadonushi-sama like that?”
Landlord? Jounouchi opened his mouth to ask what he was talking about, when suddenly the table was turned over. The piece of furniture hit him full in the stomach and Jounouchi lost his balance, skidding over the floor and ended up against the wall, the edge of the table painfully pressing in his abdomen. The wind was knocked out of him and Jounouchi grunted in pain. With all his might, he pushed against the table, but the furniture didn’t budge. Bakura Ryou stood up from the chair, slowly and completely calm. A round shape appeared on his chest: a golden circle with five prongs, which started to dangle and chime ominously. I could hear the jewelry. Jounouchi tried to keep his breathing under control, struggling against the heavy weight of the table. This was the Bakura he had seen in the hallway at the Kaiba Manor, not Bakura Ryou, the delivery boy.
Bakura took a few steps forward and closed the distance between him and Jounouchi, but not close enough so that the other could touch him. He looked down at Jounouchi, his brown-reddish eyes glaring, and a devilish, distorted grin on his face, dripping with contempt.
“He’s not here,” he said. “He can’t stop me. You’re going to die, meddling detective. Your mind will be torn apart by darkness, and your soulless body will be all that remains.”
Again with the darkness. That was a recurring theme that had to be important, but the connection eluded him still.
“The darkness,” Jounouchi repeated breathily, “tell me, is it pretty and red with dark edges like a grave?”
That seemed to distract Bakura. He tilted his head and showed Jounouchi a crooked smile by baring his teeth.
“I knew it,” he said, not withholding the triumph in his voice. “Marik is here as well.”
“You know him?” Jounouchi tried to slip his hand into his pants pocket to get his cell phone out. The device had a recording function; if he could record this somehow, it would help Honda when he investigated his death… as Jounouchi was sure he was going to die at the hands of this motherfucker with that shiny, glowing Ring that all but hypnotized him.
“He doesn’t have an Item yet,” Bakura said and cackled. “That’s why I couldn’t find him. That’s why I only could find the other. Oh yes, pretty red and darkness indeed! He’s mine, all mine!”
“An Item?” Jounouchi could hear the capital I in the word, if only by the way Bakura pronounced it with obvious reverence. Jounouchi had an inkling that this Bakura wasn’t quick to show reverence for anything at all, so it had to be extremely important. He could barely breathe, his body crushed by the increasing weight of the table. “What kind of Items are you looking for?”
“You have no idea what you’re getting into,” Bakura said, sounded pleased. “Don’t break your brain over it, detective. I’ll separate your soul and body, and take what’s mine.”
Jounouchi hissed. This was it. He wasn’t going out in a blaze of glory, he was going to die buried under a piece of cheap, plastic furniture that was never supposed to be this heavy. Fuck! He’d rather die in a hail of bullets than checking out like a total wimp in the corner of an interrogation room. Something tugged at him and the room started to spin. Was this dying? This seasick motion, the spinning, the vertigo? No hallelujah, no white light, no angels or wings? The table was lifted from his chest and with the weight gone, he inhaled as deep as he could, the large gulp of breath so sharp that he started to cough. The next second, he was sitting at the very same table, with Bakura in front of him, as if nothing had happened.
As if fucking nothing had happened. Jounouchi blinked, totally disorientated. The door opened and Honda entered, carrying a tray filled with sodas and bottles of water.
“Something to drink,” Honda said and put the tray on the table. “Water for you…” Jounouchi looked up at Honda. “What’s the matter? You look like you have seen a ghost or something.”
“A ghost…” Jounouchi turned his head towards Bakura. Slowly, he got up and walked around the table.
“What are you doing?” Honda asked, incredulously. Jounouchi put his fingers under Bakura’s chin and lifted up his head. Bakura stared back, his eyes totally empty, totally void.
“Bakura,” Jounouchi said. “Bakura, can you hear me? Tell me about the darkness. Tell me everything you know.”
Silence. Honda instinctively felt that something was going on that he didn’t understand yet, but he was so adjusted to his partner and vice versa, that he didn’t interrupt, trusting the other to know what he was doing. Jounouchi leaned into Bakura, desperately trying to break his trance.
“Tell me about Marik,” he said. Was that a slight twitch he saw? He tried again. “Tell me about Marik, yadonishi-sama.”
“Stay away from him,” Bakura whispered. His hand went up, fingers tracing circles across his chest.
“Do you know where your Ring is?” Jounouchi said. He immediately regretted his choice of words. The mention of his Ring turned off the lights in Bakura’s head; his eyes glazed over with that defeatist, empty look again. Jounouchi would’ve felt sorry for him, if he hadn’t witnessed and experienced what had happened just a few minutes ago.
“Who else is there, Bakura? Who else?”
“I want my Ring.”
“Who’s the one you keep talking about? The pretty darkness with red and dark lines like a grave?”
“I want my Ring.”
“Bakura! Who else? Who else?”
“I want my Ring.”
“What the hell’s going on?” Honda spoke up.
“He’s manipulating us,” Jounouchi said. “He tries to fool us. He’s much stronger than this. He plays the victim, the poor guy without friends or family, all alone. But there’s someone inside him who totally knows what’s going on.”
“Someone inside him?”
Jounouchi made a dismissive gesture. He didn’t want to talk about it right now.
“Maybe a night in detention will bring him back to his senses,” Honda threatened. Usually, that got a rise out of most people, but Bakura didn’t protest at all, life and spirit having left him. Jounouchi looked at Honda, who shrugged. The 48 hours weren’t up yet; they could hold Bakura for at least one night.
“Take him to one of the detention cells,” Jounouchi said. He had managed to cover up the excruciating pain in his abdomen. He didn’t know how to tell Honda. His hand was resting on the offending table with a plastic cover; how had it been possible for the thing to weigh so much that it was pressing the life out of him?
As Honda was taking Bakura to the detention cells, Jounouchi went to one of the bathrooms and splashed ice cold over his face. What the hell was going on? What was all this talk about the darkness? Who was the ‘he’ both Marik and Bakura had referred to? Bakura had spoken Marik’s name without a hitch, but when he had mentioned that other person, he had been distracted. The other ‘he’… could there be a third nutjob out there? Bakura’s speech about the darkness was similar to Marik’s. Suddenly, it didn’t seem like the ramblings of a madman anymore. Something was up. Something was brewing and it was beyond his comprehension, he was sure of it. He couldn’t see the big picture, he couldn’t connect the dots. What was eluding him? He grunted. Jounouchi straightened himself and lifted up his shirt in front of the mirror.
His abdomen showed the imprint of the weight of the table, the skin already showing an impressive bruise. He grunted again. He hadn’t imagined what had happened - it all had been very real. He just had had a brush with death and only now it started to sink in. He opened the faucet again and stuck his hands under the running water. The cold water was strangely soothing. His thoughts trailed off. How could he possibly comprehend everything that was going on, as it exceeded his imagination? All this talk about darkness, the mysterious powers he witnessed, the strange people involved, and that was just scratching the surface. It was unsettling to think that the unknown third person was going to even surpass the darkness that the other two had mentioned. He shivered.
“Jounouchi-san?” He whipped his head around. A cadet stood in the door of the bathroom, slightly nervous. “Apologies, but captain Ushio is looking for you.”
“All right, thanks.” Jounouchi shut down the faucet and dried his hands. He tried to fix his hair a little, took a deep breath and decided not to stall any longer. He went into Ushio’s office and found the captain behind his desk, his big hand on Jounouchi’s report. Just great.
“You do realize we both know who you’re writing about in this report, even if you don’t call him by the name,” Ushio said.
“With all due respect, captain, we have no grounds to arrest him on,” Jounouchi said. “Bakura was seen at the Kaiba mansion.”
“Yeah, only he was seen by you.”
Jounouchi was silent. The captain was often derogative. Ushio arched a heavy eyebrow.
“No, I’m serious. He was seen by you and by you only. I’ve gone over the security footage, twice, with and without Kaiba, and he’s not recorded. Not for a single second.”
“How..?”
“I watched two beefy guys, who could probably lift me with one hand and spin me around, going down in just one second. We studied the footage and spliced the images, but there’s nothing to be seen. There’s absolutely nothing that indicates someone touches those guys. No visible impact, no weapon, nothing. They just stand there and the next second, they’re on the floor. Just like that.” He snapped with his fingers.
Jounouchi didn’t know what to say to that. He wanted to tell about the incident in the interrogation room so badly, but he decided against it.
“I don’t know Mutou Yuugi as well as you do,” Ushio continued. “I hired him as a profiler and he did excellent work. I pride myself in having good judgment of character, Jounouchi. Your friend couldn’t lift up a gun or a knife even if his own life depended on it. Unfortunately, he’s been described by Amelda, and Amelda’s a reliable witness.”
“I know. Captain, Yuugi has been my friend for a long time...”
“I noticed from the way you were working together,” Ushio cut him off. “Solving the case takes precedence over your friendship, you know that.”
“I know.” Jounouchi braced himself.
“However, in this case I’m willing to make an exception.” Ushio narrowed his eyes. “Like I said at the Kaiba Manor, I want this case solved. I don’t like the thought of a serial killer on the lose, attacking CEO’s, international or not. We’re dealing with a meticulous, cunning psychopath who’s searching for something, probably extracting revenge. Someone with great patience, someone who plans into the finest detail and who doesn’t care how long he has to wait to strike.”
Jounouchi couldn’t help but smile, as that had been the major conclusions in Yuugi’s profiling report.
“I’ll take full responsibility for this,” Ushio said, “so remember, Jounouchi, that my ass is on the line as well. Here’s what I want you to do. Take Yuugi to Kaiba’s manor and have him psycho-analyze the hell out of him. Kidnapping Mokuba was just an attempt to get to Kaiba himself, and I’m very sure this psycho will be back. This time, we’ll be ready for him. Now get out of my office and back to your work!”
“Yes, captain!” Jounouchi all but jumped out of the cramped room. He was so glad that Ushio hadn’t taken him off the case, that he forgot all about the physical pain in his abdomen. More so, Ushio wanted to involve Yuugi - that meant that the captain didn’t believe he was guilty, he didn’t even believe he was a suspect! Jounouchi wanted to sing. Not a moment ago, everything had looked so bleak, now it was taking a turn for the better. First things first - he had to call Yuugi to let him know that he wasn’t a suspect. Jounouchi retrieved his cell phone, flipped it open and was so busy staring at the display that he didn’t notice where he was going, and he bumped straight into Hirutani.
“Hey man, out of the hospital so soon?”
“Yeah, there wasn’t much they could do for me but to give some painkillers. Nothing is broken, just bruised.” His voice was still raspy. “I don’t know whether to press charges or not.”
“Fuck them. He attacked you!”
“Yeah, I know… but I’ve been on the Ishtars’ trail for so long, I’d be ruining my own lifework if I pressed charges. I’m keeping an eye on their gang, the Rare Hunters…”
“Rare Hunters…” Something started to click. Hunters. Hunting for what? Marik hasn’t his Item yet. Were they hunting for that ‘Item’?
“Jounouchi, I’ve read your report on the Dartz’ case and Amelda’s witness report,” Hirutani said, interrupting Jounouchi’s train of thoughts.
“Yes?”
“I took notice of the... unique description of the possible perpetrator,” Hirutani answered. “I remembered you talking to me about your friend… and I think he’s being framed.”
“What do you mean?” Jounouchi’s heart skipped a beat. He and Honda were convinced Yuugi was framed, even if they had no leads as to whoever could be behind it all.
“You know my team is specialized in gangs, right?”
“Yeah, how could I ever forget?”
“My team has discovered that there’s been a significant shift in the world of gangs, as of late. The Rare Hunters, the Ryuzaki, the Haga, they’re quite silent on their turf but they’re communicating with one another. We were afraid they were joining forces, but it looks like they’ve been forced to work together, willingly or not. Someone else has taken the stage.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.” Hirutani looked just as frustrated as Jounouchi. “One of my contacts described him, before he had to pull out of his undercover operation.”
“Tell me more!”
“Apparently, this new guy is always accompanied by a tall dude who acts like his bodyguard, which isn’t uncommon in the gang world, of course. My team has already picked up on some serious stories about this guy’s power, and how he all but told Ryuzaki and Haga to do what he ordered them to do, or else!”
Jounouchi whistled. He knew those two infamous gangs from his own childhood days, and they weren’t to be trifled with.
“Bottom line is, when I read Amelda’s description of the suspect, I remembered the description my contact gave me. The striking hair is a match, that’s for sure.”
“Really?” Jounouchi had to refrain from yelling. There was actually someone else with a similar hairdo like Yuugi, and he was in Domino City?
“You have to be careful when you go after him,” Hirutani said. “Like I said, I’ve heard quite the stories. He’s a dangerous man and his bodyguard will kill you on the spot if you just look at him. I don’t know his name, but I do know how they call him on the streets.”
“How?” Jounouchi asked. The ‘he’ the others had refused to call by his name.
Hirutani looked grave. “They call him the Pharaoh.”
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Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Pairings: Mahaado x Atemu, Yuugi x Atemu, Anzu x Otogi
Genre: supernatural elements, action/adventure, romance
Warnings: shounen ai, foul language, character death (will be warned for in the respective chapter)
Summary: (AU) When two CEOs end up dead in Domino City, detectives Jounouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiroto are put on the case. The investigation goes south when their best friend, Mutou Yuugi, is accused of the murders. Jounouchi goes into the city’s underbelly to clear his friend’s name, only to find out that the stage has been taken over by a master criminal known as The Pharaoh, and his mysterious bodyguard Mahaado…
Author’s note: Butchering of canon events to fit the story. Everyone is at least ten years older. Liberal use of the Japanese police procedure and legal system. Feedback is a great thing.
Key: ----- = scene change
The coffee tasted like crap. One of Kaiba’s many butlers had made a pot and Jounouchi was drinking it like there was no tomorrow. The caffeine only added to the adrenaline surging through his body and intensified the waves of nausea, almost making him gag. Jounouchi held onto the coffee mug as if it was his last lifeline. Bile rose up in his throat. He had really seen Yuugi. Yuugi… and not Yuugi. His friend didn’t have narrow, red eyes. The darkness is pretty, you know. He’s all golden and dark. Red eyes like blood, dark lines like the depth of a grave. Gold. Jounouchi had seen gold. He had seen red eyes and he had seen dark lines. Yuugi. How could this be? The butler refilled his cup and Honda’s again and asked if he could bring the gentlemen other refreshments, or something to eat?
“How’s Mokuba doing?” Honda asked.
“Mokuba-sama is resting,” the butler answered. “He hasn’t sustained any injuries, fortunately. The physician couldn’t find anything and he didn’t think it was necessary for Mokuba-sama to visit the hospital.”
“Good,” Jounouchi murmured. The butler turned around to leave and Honda waited until he was out of earshot.
“You said you saw Yuugi,” Honda said. “How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know,” Jounouchi said, downtrodden. “I just don’t know. I saw him in the hallway, and it was… it was him, and it wasn’t him.”
Kaiba stalked over to them. “You’ve seen who’s behind all this? Who are you going to arrest?”
Damn, that guy had good ears! Jounouchi finished the rest of his coffee to stall for time.
“We have a possible suspect,” he said. “I recognized him from an earlier… meeting.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Arrest him!” Kaiba towered over him, his face a marred mask of anger. It wasn’t directed at him, though - Jounouchi recognized the hidden fear and worry: Kaiba had come very close to losing his brother, and the fierce protectiveness resembled his own towards his sister Shizuka.
“Kaiba-sama,” Ushio tried to guide him away again, “my detectives are on top of this. Let’s go over the security footage.”
Video? “Awesome,” Honda voiced Jounouchi’s thoughts. “If the fucker shows his face, we can identify him easier.” And probably rule out that it’s Yuugi after all.
“Believe me, he’ll be sorely regretting showing his ugly mug,” Kaiba threatened. “When I know who this guy is, I’ll make his life a living hell!”
“Kaiba-sama,” Ushio urged him again. “Let the detectives do their work.”
Grunting, Kaiba once again moved away and ordered his personnel around to retrieve the security footage and bring the tapes to his office. The tall CEO left the room and Ushio was right behind him. The ensuing silence was awkward, yet a bliss for Jounouchi to straighten out his thoughts. Honda was looking at him, curiously. They hadn’t finished their conversation about Yuugi. Jounouchi knew that Honda wouldn’t blab about it, but still he thought he’d better kept it to himself. He and his big mouth! He should talk to Yuugi in private, preferably right now.
“It was him, and it wasn’t him.” Jounouchi repeated, shivering at the memory. “There was something wrong with his eyes, man.”
“What do you mean, his eyes?”
“His eyes were smaller, and red.”
“Red?” Honda tried to come up with an explanation. “Maybe he was under the influence of
something?”
“What kind of drugs changes an entire eye color?”
“We could always look into it, you know, ask a professional…”
Jounouchi realized what Honda was doing: grasping at straws as to come up with a plausible excuse to exclude their friend. Honda’s loyalty touched him; he knew Yuugi would do the same if the situation as reversed.
“It has to be someone trying to frame him, for whatever obscene reason,” Honda muttered. “Can you imagine Yuugi breaking through high-tech security, putting guys down twice his size and then kidnapping Kaiba Mokuba?”
It was a preposterous thought, but Jounouchi couldn’t imagine Bakura Ryou doing something similar, yet he had seen him in the hallway as well. Something had been off, just like with ‘Yuugi’, only much more than just a different eye color. “I want to bring in Bakura Ryou,” he blurted out.
“Huh? The delivery boy you questioned during the Pegasus’ investigation?”
“Yeah. I saw him too.”
“You’re sure about that? You passed out in the hallway, you’re not exactly a reliable witness…”
“That’s what we said about Amelda,” Jounouchi gave back. “He was sure of what he saw, and I’m sure of what I saw. Get your coat. We’re leaving!”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the security footage?” Honda asked.
“We’re. Leaving! Now!”
---------------------------------
Jounouchi raced to Bakura Ryou’s address. Honda didn’t comment on his driving, he was used to his partner’s aggressive style of moving through traffic. They reached the apartment building within minutes and Jounouchi parked his car unceremoniously on the pavement. Before Honda had the chance to properly leave the car, Jounouchi was already at the doorbell and stabbed the button. Bakura’s voice was pleasant and welcoming when he said “Hello?”
“Bakura Ryou, Domino City Police,” Jounouchi answered sternly. “Open the door!”
The buzzer went off and Jounouchi busted open the door, followed by Honda. He didn’t bother to take the elevator and ran up the stairs. Just like their first meeting, Bakura was standing outside the door of his apartment, a shocked look on his face.
“Bakura Ryou, you are arrested for breaking and entering into the Kaiba Manor and the attempted kidnapping of Mokuba Kaiba!” Jounouchi pulled out a set of handcuffs.
Bakura stared at him, wide-eyed and mouth wide open. “Wh-what? Who? Jounouchi-sama, what are you talking about?”
“Turn around, Bakura,” Honda said gruffly. “If you put up any resistance, it’ll count against you!”
“B-but…”
“I saw you at the Kaiba Manor,” Jounouchi said. He closed the handcuffs around Bakura’s wrists. “Where is your Ring?”
“M-my Ring? It was st-stolen,” Bakura said. “I don’t know where it is!”
“I’ll have the technical unit search your apartment.” Jounouchi turned Bakura around, forcing the young man to look at him.
“No! Please don’t!”
“You’re not hiding something, are you?” Jounouchi shook him at the shoulder. Bakura gaped at him like a fish. “You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to hire a lawyer at your own expense.”
“I don’t have a lawyer,” Bakura protested. “I have never been to the Kaiba Manor, not even to make a delivery!”
“Let’s go.” He had 48 hours to keep Bakura in detention, and the clock had just started ticking. Honda took Bakura by the elbow and started to guide him away. Jounouchi followed them, not listening to Bakura’s pleas. He didn’t feel happy about this, not at all.
--------------------------------------
“Bakura Ryou, 26, lives on an inheritance and a small wage as a delivery boy for Catering Service At your Home, Anata no ie de.” Honda read the text from his laptop. “No previous criminal record, not even a parking ticket.”
“He doesn’t own a car,” Jounouchi said. “He can’t drive due to his black-outs. I have to ask Rebecca to retrieve his medical records. Which reminded me, did Pegasus’ records ever arrive?”
“All the way from the US? I haven’t seen them yet.”
“I’ll ask Rebecca about it. For now, we have to prove that Bakura was in Kaiba’s house and if we can tie him to Dartz as well, we don’t need his medical records at all.”
“About his black-outs,” Honda said. “You know that his lawyer’s going to use that to exonerate him? Poor, suffering, little boy, who’s struggling to make ends meet and still be an upstanding member of society.”
“He didn’t ask for a lawyer yet,” Jounouchi said. “Well, let’s go visit him in the interrogation room and strike the iron while it’s still hot.”
Honda nodded.
The interrogation room was the same one as where Marik Ishtar had attacked Hirutani, not long ago. Shivering at the memory, Jounouchi entered the room. Bakura was sitting at the table on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, clearly not at ease.
“Jounouchi-sama,” he pleaded again, “this is all a big misunderstanding. Please let me go home.”
“I’m sorry, Bakura,” Jounouchi said. He felt genuinely sorry. He simply couldn’t shake the feeling that it was wrong. Was someone trying to frame Bakura, just like Yuugi? But then again, his eyes hadn’t deceived him. He had seen Bakura… albeit a hateful, angry Bakura. “Where have you been all night, and can someone testify to your whereabouts?”
“I was at home,” Bakura answered. “I was working on my figurines. I didn’t have deliveries this night. Where else would I be?”
“At the Kaiba Manor, breaking and entering,” Jounouchi said.
“Attempting to kidnap and possible murder,” Honda said, keeping his voice cruel on purpose.
Bakura looked at Jounouchi again, pleading. “Murder? I’m not like that!”
“Can anyone vouch for you?”
“No,” Bakura said, voice soft. “Nobody pays attention to me and I don’t pay attention to people around me.”
“Too bad,” Honda said. “Do you always keep to yourself like that? What are we going to find in your apartment, Bakura? Knifes? Ancient Egyptian artifacts?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bakura answered, clearly confused. “But if you manage to find my Ring…”
“You showed me the Ring when I first met you,” Jounouchi said.
“Don’t lie, Bakura!”
“No, honestly! I can’t find my Ring! It’s been stolen!”
“And who would want to steal such a precious artifact?”
“I don’t know! It’s gone! It was a gift from my father, and I feel terrible for losing it!”
“You can file a report about your stolen Ring later,” Honda said sarcastically.
“N-no,” Bakura said, shivering. It was cold in the interrogation room and he wrapped his arms around himself. “This is a misunderstanding. I barely leave my apartment, unless I have to work or to buy groceries.”
“If it’s all a misunderstanding, explain how you could be seen at the Kaiba Manor,” Honda pressed the issue.
“I don’t even know where that is! I’m sorry, but you’re talking to the wrong person!”
“You were there,” Jounouchi said, “I saw you myself!”
“I haven’t left my apartment at all! What do you want from me?”
“How do you know Kaiba?”
“I don’t know him!” Bakura looked sickly pale. “He’s the CEO of KaibaCorp., but that’s common knowledge! I’ve never met him in person!”
“Bullshit!”
“Please, believe me! I’ve never been to the Kaiba Manor!”
The interrogation went on and on for hours, to no avail. Bakura drew into himself, shivering and miserable, and after a while, he simply shut down. It was going to be a long night. Jounouchi knew he was walking a fine line. If the captain found out he was interrogating the suspect himself, he could get into serious trouble for conflict of interest. He was the witness in this case, he shouldn’t be interrogating Bakura right now as his opinion was colored.
“I’m going to get something to drink,” Honda finally said. He gave Bakura a pitiful look. “Should I bring something for him as well?”
“Yeah,” Jounouchi said. “I don’t want him to get dehydrated. Can you get me some water?”
“Sure. I’ll be back in a second.” Honda got up and left the interrogation room. Jounouchi used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe off the sweat from his brow. Despite the low temperature in the room, the intense interrogation and playing good cop, bad cop constantly, had almost overheated him and he longed for a shower. Silence. Bakura stared in front of him, totally catatonic. Now that Honda was gone, Jounouchi took the opportunity to talk to Bakura like a friend, referring back to their first meeting.
“Look, Bakura…”
“How dare you,” Bakura answered, but it wasn’t his soft, meek voice. The hairs on the back of Jounouchi’s neck went up straight. “How dare you treat my yadonushi-sama like that?”
Landlord? Jounouchi opened his mouth to ask what he was talking about, when suddenly the table was turned over. The piece of furniture hit him full in the stomach and Jounouchi lost his balance, skidding over the floor and ended up against the wall, the edge of the table painfully pressing in his abdomen. The wind was knocked out of him and Jounouchi grunted in pain. With all his might, he pushed against the table, but the furniture didn’t budge. Bakura Ryou stood up from the chair, slowly and completely calm. A round shape appeared on his chest: a golden circle with five prongs, which started to dangle and chime ominously. I could hear the jewelry. Jounouchi tried to keep his breathing under control, struggling against the heavy weight of the table. This was the Bakura he had seen in the hallway at the Kaiba Manor, not Bakura Ryou, the delivery boy.
Bakura took a few steps forward and closed the distance between him and Jounouchi, but not close enough so that the other could touch him. He looked down at Jounouchi, his brown-reddish eyes glaring, and a devilish, distorted grin on his face, dripping with contempt.
“He’s not here,” he said. “He can’t stop me. You’re going to die, meddling detective. Your mind will be torn apart by darkness, and your soulless body will be all that remains.”
Again with the darkness. That was a recurring theme that had to be important, but the connection eluded him still.
“The darkness,” Jounouchi repeated breathily, “tell me, is it pretty and red with dark edges like a grave?”
That seemed to distract Bakura. He tilted his head and showed Jounouchi a crooked smile by baring his teeth.
“I knew it,” he said, not withholding the triumph in his voice. “Marik is here as well.”
“You know him?” Jounouchi tried to slip his hand into his pants pocket to get his cell phone out. The device had a recording function; if he could record this somehow, it would help Honda when he investigated his death… as Jounouchi was sure he was going to die at the hands of this motherfucker with that shiny, glowing Ring that all but hypnotized him.
“He doesn’t have an Item yet,” Bakura said and cackled. “That’s why I couldn’t find him. That’s why I only could find the other. Oh yes, pretty red and darkness indeed! He’s mine, all mine!”
“An Item?” Jounouchi could hear the capital I in the word, if only by the way Bakura pronounced it with obvious reverence. Jounouchi had an inkling that this Bakura wasn’t quick to show reverence for anything at all, so it had to be extremely important. He could barely breathe, his body crushed by the increasing weight of the table. “What kind of Items are you looking for?”
“You have no idea what you’re getting into,” Bakura said, sounded pleased. “Don’t break your brain over it, detective. I’ll separate your soul and body, and take what’s mine.”
Jounouchi hissed. This was it. He wasn’t going out in a blaze of glory, he was going to die buried under a piece of cheap, plastic furniture that was never supposed to be this heavy. Fuck! He’d rather die in a hail of bullets than checking out like a total wimp in the corner of an interrogation room. Something tugged at him and the room started to spin. Was this dying? This seasick motion, the spinning, the vertigo? No hallelujah, no white light, no angels or wings? The table was lifted from his chest and with the weight gone, he inhaled as deep as he could, the large gulp of breath so sharp that he started to cough. The next second, he was sitting at the very same table, with Bakura in front of him, as if nothing had happened.
As if fucking nothing had happened. Jounouchi blinked, totally disorientated. The door opened and Honda entered, carrying a tray filled with sodas and bottles of water.
“Something to drink,” Honda said and put the tray on the table. “Water for you…” Jounouchi looked up at Honda. “What’s the matter? You look like you have seen a ghost or something.”
“A ghost…” Jounouchi turned his head towards Bakura. Slowly, he got up and walked around the table.
“What are you doing?” Honda asked, incredulously. Jounouchi put his fingers under Bakura’s chin and lifted up his head. Bakura stared back, his eyes totally empty, totally void.
“Bakura,” Jounouchi said. “Bakura, can you hear me? Tell me about the darkness. Tell me everything you know.”
Silence. Honda instinctively felt that something was going on that he didn’t understand yet, but he was so adjusted to his partner and vice versa, that he didn’t interrupt, trusting the other to know what he was doing. Jounouchi leaned into Bakura, desperately trying to break his trance.
“Tell me about Marik,” he said. Was that a slight twitch he saw? He tried again. “Tell me about Marik, yadonishi-sama.”
“Stay away from him,” Bakura whispered. His hand went up, fingers tracing circles across his chest.
“Do you know where your Ring is?” Jounouchi said. He immediately regretted his choice of words. The mention of his Ring turned off the lights in Bakura’s head; his eyes glazed over with that defeatist, empty look again. Jounouchi would’ve felt sorry for him, if he hadn’t witnessed and experienced what had happened just a few minutes ago.
“Who else is there, Bakura? Who else?”
“I want my Ring.”
“Who’s the one you keep talking about? The pretty darkness with red and dark lines like a grave?”
“I want my Ring.”
“Bakura! Who else? Who else?”
“I want my Ring.”
“What the hell’s going on?” Honda spoke up.
“He’s manipulating us,” Jounouchi said. “He tries to fool us. He’s much stronger than this. He plays the victim, the poor guy without friends or family, all alone. But there’s someone inside him who totally knows what’s going on.”
“Someone inside him?”
Jounouchi made a dismissive gesture. He didn’t want to talk about it right now.
“Maybe a night in detention will bring him back to his senses,” Honda threatened. Usually, that got a rise out of most people, but Bakura didn’t protest at all, life and spirit having left him. Jounouchi looked at Honda, who shrugged. The 48 hours weren’t up yet; they could hold Bakura for at least one night.
“Take him to one of the detention cells,” Jounouchi said. He had managed to cover up the excruciating pain in his abdomen. He didn’t know how to tell Honda. His hand was resting on the offending table with a plastic cover; how had it been possible for the thing to weigh so much that it was pressing the life out of him?
As Honda was taking Bakura to the detention cells, Jounouchi went to one of the bathrooms and splashed ice cold over his face. What the hell was going on? What was all this talk about the darkness? Who was the ‘he’ both Marik and Bakura had referred to? Bakura had spoken Marik’s name without a hitch, but when he had mentioned that other person, he had been distracted. The other ‘he’… could there be a third nutjob out there? Bakura’s speech about the darkness was similar to Marik’s. Suddenly, it didn’t seem like the ramblings of a madman anymore. Something was up. Something was brewing and it was beyond his comprehension, he was sure of it. He couldn’t see the big picture, he couldn’t connect the dots. What was eluding him? He grunted. Jounouchi straightened himself and lifted up his shirt in front of the mirror.
His abdomen showed the imprint of the weight of the table, the skin already showing an impressive bruise. He grunted again. He hadn’t imagined what had happened - it all had been very real. He just had had a brush with death and only now it started to sink in. He opened the faucet again and stuck his hands under the running water. The cold water was strangely soothing. His thoughts trailed off. How could he possibly comprehend everything that was going on, as it exceeded his imagination? All this talk about darkness, the mysterious powers he witnessed, the strange people involved, and that was just scratching the surface. It was unsettling to think that the unknown third person was going to even surpass the darkness that the other two had mentioned. He shivered.
“Jounouchi-san?” He whipped his head around. A cadet stood in the door of the bathroom, slightly nervous. “Apologies, but captain Ushio is looking for you.”
“All right, thanks.” Jounouchi shut down the faucet and dried his hands. He tried to fix his hair a little, took a deep breath and decided not to stall any longer. He went into Ushio’s office and found the captain behind his desk, his big hand on Jounouchi’s report. Just great.
“You do realize we both know who you’re writing about in this report, even if you don’t call him by the name,” Ushio said.
“With all due respect, captain, we have no grounds to arrest him on,” Jounouchi said. “Bakura was seen at the Kaiba mansion.”
“Yeah, only he was seen by you.”
Jounouchi was silent. The captain was often derogative. Ushio arched a heavy eyebrow.
“No, I’m serious. He was seen by you and by you only. I’ve gone over the security footage, twice, with and without Kaiba, and he’s not recorded. Not for a single second.”
“How..?”
“I watched two beefy guys, who could probably lift me with one hand and spin me around, going down in just one second. We studied the footage and spliced the images, but there’s nothing to be seen. There’s absolutely nothing that indicates someone touches those guys. No visible impact, no weapon, nothing. They just stand there and the next second, they’re on the floor. Just like that.” He snapped with his fingers.
Jounouchi didn’t know what to say to that. He wanted to tell about the incident in the interrogation room so badly, but he decided against it.
“I don’t know Mutou Yuugi as well as you do,” Ushio continued. “I hired him as a profiler and he did excellent work. I pride myself in having good judgment of character, Jounouchi. Your friend couldn’t lift up a gun or a knife even if his own life depended on it. Unfortunately, he’s been described by Amelda, and Amelda’s a reliable witness.”
“I know. Captain, Yuugi has been my friend for a long time...”
“I noticed from the way you were working together,” Ushio cut him off. “Solving the case takes precedence over your friendship, you know that.”
“I know.” Jounouchi braced himself.
“However, in this case I’m willing to make an exception.” Ushio narrowed his eyes. “Like I said at the Kaiba Manor, I want this case solved. I don’t like the thought of a serial killer on the lose, attacking CEO’s, international or not. We’re dealing with a meticulous, cunning psychopath who’s searching for something, probably extracting revenge. Someone with great patience, someone who plans into the finest detail and who doesn’t care how long he has to wait to strike.”
Jounouchi couldn’t help but smile, as that had been the major conclusions in Yuugi’s profiling report.
“I’ll take full responsibility for this,” Ushio said, “so remember, Jounouchi, that my ass is on the line as well. Here’s what I want you to do. Take Yuugi to Kaiba’s manor and have him psycho-analyze the hell out of him. Kidnapping Mokuba was just an attempt to get to Kaiba himself, and I’m very sure this psycho will be back. This time, we’ll be ready for him. Now get out of my office and back to your work!”
“Yes, captain!” Jounouchi all but jumped out of the cramped room. He was so glad that Ushio hadn’t taken him off the case, that he forgot all about the physical pain in his abdomen. More so, Ushio wanted to involve Yuugi - that meant that the captain didn’t believe he was guilty, he didn’t even believe he was a suspect! Jounouchi wanted to sing. Not a moment ago, everything had looked so bleak, now it was taking a turn for the better. First things first - he had to call Yuugi to let him know that he wasn’t a suspect. Jounouchi retrieved his cell phone, flipped it open and was so busy staring at the display that he didn’t notice where he was going, and he bumped straight into Hirutani.
“Hey man, out of the hospital so soon?”
“Yeah, there wasn’t much they could do for me but to give some painkillers. Nothing is broken, just bruised.” His voice was still raspy. “I don’t know whether to press charges or not.”
“Fuck them. He attacked you!”
“Yeah, I know… but I’ve been on the Ishtars’ trail for so long, I’d be ruining my own lifework if I pressed charges. I’m keeping an eye on their gang, the Rare Hunters…”
“Rare Hunters…” Something started to click. Hunters. Hunting for what? Marik hasn’t his Item yet. Were they hunting for that ‘Item’?
“Jounouchi, I’ve read your report on the Dartz’ case and Amelda’s witness report,” Hirutani said, interrupting Jounouchi’s train of thoughts.
“Yes?”
“I took notice of the... unique description of the possible perpetrator,” Hirutani answered. “I remembered you talking to me about your friend… and I think he’s being framed.”
“What do you mean?” Jounouchi’s heart skipped a beat. He and Honda were convinced Yuugi was framed, even if they had no leads as to whoever could be behind it all.
“You know my team is specialized in gangs, right?”
“Yeah, how could I ever forget?”
“My team has discovered that there’s been a significant shift in the world of gangs, as of late. The Rare Hunters, the Ryuzaki, the Haga, they’re quite silent on their turf but they’re communicating with one another. We were afraid they were joining forces, but it looks like they’ve been forced to work together, willingly or not. Someone else has taken the stage.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.” Hirutani looked just as frustrated as Jounouchi. “One of my contacts described him, before he had to pull out of his undercover operation.”
“Tell me more!”
“Apparently, this new guy is always accompanied by a tall dude who acts like his bodyguard, which isn’t uncommon in the gang world, of course. My team has already picked up on some serious stories about this guy’s power, and how he all but told Ryuzaki and Haga to do what he ordered them to do, or else!”
Jounouchi whistled. He knew those two infamous gangs from his own childhood days, and they weren’t to be trifled with.
“Bottom line is, when I read Amelda’s description of the suspect, I remembered the description my contact gave me. The striking hair is a match, that’s for sure.”
“Really?” Jounouchi had to refrain from yelling. There was actually someone else with a similar hairdo like Yuugi, and he was in Domino City?
“You have to be careful when you go after him,” Hirutani said. “Like I said, I’ve heard quite the stories. He’s a dangerous man and his bodyguard will kill you on the spot if you just look at him. I don’t know his name, but I do know how they call him on the streets.”
“How?” Jounouchi asked. The ‘he’ the others had refused to call by his name.
Hirutani looked grave. “They call him the Pharaoh.”
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