It's a Mistake... maybe - Chapter 4: Convicted was the Book
DISCLAIMER: I don't own D. Gray-man, UNFORTUNATELY all is into the hands of that crazy woman whose name is hoshino... Because if it was otherwise... D. Gray-man manga wouldn't have become a shapeless and disgusting jumble of nonsenses, and Lavi would have been together with Kanda from a VERY LONG TIME!
WARNING: YAOI - if you don't know what this word means, or if you don't like boy/boy relationship this story is not for you, don't say I didn't tell you! You know the song, DON'T LIKE DON'T READ!
Yeah, again, sorry for the long wait. But, as you can see, I'm still working on my stuffs. The other translations are in progress, too. Chapter 4 of "From Doomsday to Doomsday" is quite done, as well.
Anyway I have issues with FF. net, looks like I can't access my files to update. So, until it's fixed, I'll post only here on LJ. But I have no idea about how to let FF. net readers know of this trouble...
Well, let's hope the mods will fix it soon.
As always, a big THANKS to EM1&EM2, aka Saxon-Jesus who did the beta work for me, being so patient and helpful!
I love you!
It's a Mistake... maybe
CHAPTER 4: Convicted was the Book
In the meantime Lavi tried to call his old man, as he was on the subway on his way back to the newspaper building, hoping there was enough coverage down there so that the communication would hold for the needed time.
"Yo, Gramps! Spoke to yer writer, he's a soap bubble. 's just a poor policeman, rude and arrogant. He has no talent." He began in a cheerful voice; on the other end of the line he heard a groan. "What, wizened old mummy? Dont'cha hear me?"
«I hear you loud and clear, unworthy grandson!» Bookman Senior roared in his usual reproachful tone. «If he's so lacking in talent, then tell me how it is possible that his book has topped the best-sellers lists!»
"Someone's helpin' 'im, that's for sure, they revised the text after ya refused his stories." Lavi informed him, trying to hire a professional tone, and failing miserably. "Not worth wastin' time on this guy."
«Lavi.» Bookman Senior rebuked him, and when he used that tone it was a sign that he didn't believe a word of what his grandson was telling him. «Are you hiding something from me? You read the book, didn't you?»
"Err... No." Lavi admitted quite embarrassed, even if it wasn't entirely true, he'd read a page... Well, two. "Why?" He asked in an innocent tone, knowing well the answer his old panda would give about it.
«What are you waiting to read it, you idler! Did you know that he used you as a character?» Receiving no answer, Bookman Senior gave him additional orders. «If that really wasn't his work, which I have no difficulty in believing given the limited capacity he demonstrated, find the one who 'adapted' his stories; we must convince him to sign with us at all costs! Everything's clear?»
"At yer orders, Methuselah! I'll sling myself to the newspaper office, read the book, then come back pesterin' that Kanda t'find out who's helpin' him!" And over Bookman Senior's satisfied exclamation, Lavi cut off the communication.
Dammit, he just couldn't put a sweet girl, such as Lenalee was, into the old man's clutches! Although, to write things like that she couldn't be that innocent... Lavi wondered if that glutton guy of an albino could know something about it. He drove the thought away from his mind, it was too gruesome.
Entering the newspaper building, he met Allen in the hall with a fabulous T-shirt showing the flashing writing 'Mr. Donut' and the ubiquitous bag full of donuts in his hands, his mouth full of them as usual. Lavi returned with a wave the choking greeting the British boy gave him, and headed quickly to the floor in which the editing of the newspaper was.
Once arrived, he started to rummage into his desk frantically, muttering various imprecations to himself for not finding the object of his searching.
"Hey Lavi, do you need something?" A little man wearing thick rimmed glasses was staring at him with his head tilted to meet Lavi's gaze, a perplexed expression on his round face.
"Oh, Johnny, it's you. Yes, I needed that writer's book, the old man ordered me t'read it and said he sent a copy here at the newspaper's editorial office." The short man blushed violently, shuffling his feet and looking down on the floor. "You've read it, have ya? Ya all have read it except me and didn't say a word!" Lavi exclaimed, making a pouting expression.
"Y-Yes, I read it..." Johnny admitted stuttering sheepishly. "But I'm perfectly aware that you didn't know that Kanda until yesterday, so why has he imagined such a story with you?"
"Forget it Johnny. Too long t'explain. Gimme the book instead." The little man nodded, promptly obeying and then disappearing from Lavi's view.
So the entire editorial staff knew about him and Kanda, about the fantasies written in the damn book at least. If they too believed that there was some truth in them, he couldn't say for sure.
Oh, to Hell with that! He would continue to see Yuu all the same; despite everything, he liked the guy, even if he was really violent and rude. And after all, he had to get onto Lenalee for the old panda, right?
Lavi immersed himself into reading; it was indispensable to evaluate how good the girl actually was at writing.
That night Kanda opened the door of his home with a heavy heart, a feeling that he hadn't often happened to experience or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he never had.
He felt betrayed, the person he trusted most in the world had deceived him and her actions exposed him to ridicule in front of the world. How could he justify her? And more importantly, how could he forgive her? She made his book a best seller, of course, but at what price? His pride was gone to Hell along with his self-respect, and the most ridiculous thing was that people admired him for having written such a vulgarity!
To all this had to be added that all the living beings working at the 49th Police Precinct now believed that he was gay. Like the rest of the world probably did, as was really uncommon for a non-gay male writer to undertake in that kind of stories. Or at least he thought so.
Lenalee was sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for the dinner to be ready. At the sound of the closing door she turned towards the entrance, expecting to see Kanda appear any moment now. But when the young man came to the kitchen's door, it was immediately clear from the expression on his face that something was wrong.
Something very serious, because in his eyes was shining a bitter light, his features were tense and his whole being was trembling as if to keep control of himself was extremely difficult to him. As for how the girl knew him, this was an extremely serious symptom.
"What did you do, Lenalee?" The question was an accusation, uttered in an empty, heavy tone, as if its meaning was to Kanda a burden too big to bear.
"I don't understand, Kanda-kun, what do you mean?" Lenalee's eyes widened, as the fear of being discovered was taking her breath away, making her heart beat faster.
Kanda walked a few steps toward her, his gaze hard, cold as ice, but that charge was burning in the back of his eyes like scorching embers of a blazing fire.
"The book, Lenalee." Kanda simply said, shoulders downcast, the pain now clearly visible on his face, mixed with impotent rage, giving his expression something twisted, a light of madness.
"I didn't…" The girl sprang to her feet, scared by Kanda's reaction, and when he reached a hand toward her to calm her down, she screamed, running away. Lenalee's long black hair, gathered up in two high pigtails, blown after her as she rushed to her room, locking herself inside it.
Kanda had immediately moved to grab the girl, but he missed her, and after the first moment of dismay he went after Lenelee, insistently knocking to have her come out from her - his - room.
"Lenalee, open the door." he ordered in a hard tone. "I want an explanation. Now."
"No!" Came the girl's agitated answer, panic clearly audible in her voice. "You're too angry..." Sitting on the bed, arms wrapped around her body, Lenalee was thinking of a justification for getting into a trouble that huge, meddling in her childhood friend's private life, who was - to make things worse - like a brother to her.
She felt as if she had stabbed Kanda in the back, yet at the time it seemed the right thing to do, to her. She couldn't have imagined these so heavy consequences…
Kanda sighed, trying to mitigate the tone of his next sentence to reassure Lenalee about his intentions.
"You know that I would never hurt you, come on, get out." In response he heard a stifled sob. "Lenalee... explain to me. I won't yell." As much as the girl's behavior had hurt him, he couldn't hate her like he did the rest of the world; he had never been able to.
"Do you promise me?" Lenalee's hopeful voice roused him from those thoughts, and Kanda nodded even if she couldn't see him doing it.
"Promise. Lenalee, please... now get out of there."
He said it. Kanda had begged her to come out, gently, a thing she had seen him do only once, when they were children and she locked herself in a dangerous place as a joke.
With hesitant steps the girl slowly walked to the door, looking for the words to apologize.
"I... I did a terrible thing; you would have every reason to slap me in the face..." Lenalee heard Kanda opposing his usual 'Che' as a response, and a smile curled her lips. She opened the door, and he was motionless in front of there, his face pale and tense. She sustained Kanda's gaze, staring into his eyes, genuinely grieved for having dragged things to this point.
"I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you, but when the book became that famous in a record time, I was afraid. I was scared you would get mad, just like you are right now..." Lenalee hugged him, burying her face against Kanda's chest, feeling the young man stiffening but resting his hands on her shoulders anyway with a consoling gesture. "I didn't believe he could exist... I've never imagined you knew that man and took inspiration from him.
Kanda snorted slightly, the damage was already done by now. He just wanted to understand the reason behind such a behavior. He led Lenalee to the living room, and sat with her on the couch, embarrassed about having to ask that kind of questions, but determined to know the whole truth.
"Lenalee, I don't care how you did it, I just want to understand why." He finally asked, looking at her mortified expression; the girl bit one of her lips, thinking about how to explain.
"Don't get mad. I did it for you, because I saw how much effort you put in your writing and it wasn't getting any results... I just wanted you to be happy, so I corrected the text, but as it was it couldn't work; too flat and without verve, so I put in the relationship between the two main characters." She paused, noting Kanda's scandalized expression, and gripping the edge of her skirt nervously with her fingers. "I didn't realize that you identified yourself with one of the two, you have described him really little. I didn't want to offend you…"
Kanda shook his head in disbelief, the girl he believed to be the most innocent being ever existed under the sun was able to write a sex scene like that one, between two men no less!
"You... really... how...?" Kanda gestured blushing visibly, unable to pose the question clearly, as always when it comes to sex, and this made Lenalee smile; the girl in an instant forgot all her fears.
"Ah, Kanda-kun! I'm not a baby like everyone seems to believe. I gathered information. Google is a great help, also illustrated." At that specification the redness on Kanda's face increased, and the youth hoped that the moyashi hadn't had any part in this 'informative process'. He must be showing a quite horrified expression, because Lenalee giggled, and then, as she was reading his thoughts, dispelled his doubts. "Don't worry, Allen didn't read a single word of the book, and knowing it was written by you he doesn't even feel like it."
"But he would read it now, because of Lavi!" Kanda thought, certain that the young redhead would have widely talk about it in the newspaper's editorial office. He was a journalist after all, and those people didn't keep any secrets. Never. So now his reputation had gone to the winds, with everyone, including the albino idiot.
"What need there was to be so... so... Oh, damn! You got it!" The Japanese man snapped, exasperated, terribly uncomfortable for having to talk about sex among all just with Lenalee.
"I know that for you it is absurd, but sex sells well as you've found out yourself, people can't do without it. And a transgressive relationship sells even better." Simple and disarming, as always. Lenalee's explanation was faultless, and Kanda didn't know what to respond. "You needed money, I thought that if someone bought the stories you would have had enough to settle the debts; I didn't expect such a great success, really."
Sex was a primary need, he knew it too, although he blamed that behavior in others and never ever indulged himself in it; never, for any reason in the world. He had never been interested in the subject that was why he wasn't prepared. Lenalee was staring at him with that little pout which he had never been able to say no, and Kanda knew by now that he would forgive her this time too, as always.
"Am I forgiven?" Lenalee questioned; he was certain that she would ask for it, and when he nodded slowly, frowning, the girl threw herself at his neck, happy, making him almost fall off the couch.
"Lenalee, now stop." Kanda urged the girl, moving her away from him firmly. Then he took a deep breath; there was another question he had to ask her, and it needed of some psychological preparation. Kanda formulated the sentence in his mind, repeated it to himself a few times, then tried to say it all in one go while maintaining a firm voice. "So... I should continue what you started; it would be rather pointless trying to censor everything in the subsequent episodes." He said, by now resigned to the inevitable.
Receiving an affirmative nod, Kanda brought one hand to his face. He certainly wasn't able to write obscenities of that sort, he should let Lenalee work on them.
They were officially a duo of perverts who wrote porn stories. Not exactly the goal he was aiming for.
But it helped to pay the bills, so he couldn't get out of it.
Lavi had to stop reading several times, before someone would notice that it was causing him some physical problems... For God's sake, that girl had a real talent as for descriptions! It didn't happen to him for ages to let himself be involved in such a way by some well written sex scene.
Because there wasn't one chance in the world that this could be Yuu's work, now that he read the whole book he was more than certain about it. And however hard he tried not to think of it, he continued to feel his hands on Yuu's body as if he really was the protagonist of the described events. And, it had been a while since he masturbated before Playboy...
Besides, Yuu wasn't a charming maiden. OK, he was a charming male detective, whom he had mistaken for a girl the first time he met him, if he really had to be honest with himself. But nevertheless, male.
Lavi noticed that the expression on his face was being examined by every living being in the editorial office, and this irritated him a lot. What kind of opinion his colleagues had formed about him? He wasn't the type to run after men, and they knew it well!
However, he had to go check that Yuu hadn't done something stupid, so he quit everything, picked up his coat and went out at full speed, without saying where he was going, but reading on the faces of his colleagues that each of them knew exactly where, as if the he had it written on his forehead. Damn. Perhaps he had to start worrying...
That night Lavi couldn't see Kanda, when he arrived at the detective's house the man had already went back to the Police Precinct he worked in; anyway, Lavi had an interesting conversation with Lenalee.
First of all, he was greatly relieved to learn that the two explained themselves, as the girl said, and still according to what she said Kanda had understood the reasons that drove her to revise the stories, and also that there was nothing wrong with continuing on that road. Very strange.
He had to talk about it with Yuu in order to hear the other side; the girl seemed to have unusual powers of persuasion. In addition, she kept an evasive attitude, as if she were playing chess with him and Yuu as pawns and didn't want him to understand. Maybe she was not as helpless as he judged her, perhaps he should have introduced her to the old man, there was always a good understanding between business-men... OK, business-men and business-women. Well, whatever.
Lenalee answered all the questions Lavi addressed her without waiting to be asked twice, telling the details of her childhood with Yuu, how they met, how she considered him as an older brother, and many other things.
Lavi learned things about Kanda that would take years for him to find out if he had tried to have Yuu tell them, and the Chinese girl put particular attention to the Japanese man's way of thinking and his reactions to people, such as the use of his first name and the difficulty to relate.
Particularly interesting was the discussion about sex. Lavi would never have expected so vast a knowledge of sexual habits and preferences of men and women from a girl looking so chaste, even going so far as to cite the statistics...
And above all, he didn't expect that Yuu considered sex a useless waste of time (actually Lavi suspected the young man to talk like that because the whole thing embarrassed him too much to deal with it), and therefore he didn't want to hear about it (again, Lavi was sure it was out of shame).
According to Lenalee, reasons had to be sought in Yuu's difficulty in letting himself go, accomplice his obsession to control his every single reaction and wanting to suppress any sign of emotion that could appear on his face. A sort of piece of ice in short, who couldn't stand physical contact and hated having to deal with people.
Apparently, listening to Lenalee, Yuu had no true friends, which was why she hoped their meeting would turn into friendship (that's the reason she had been so generous with information on how to deal with Yuu, Lavi told to himself), because Kanda needed to have someone to talk to, or spend his free time, he couldn't live only for his work.
On his way back home, Lavi was reflecting on what he had learned that evening. So Yuu's violent temper was a form of defense from the world around him, a way to cover any other emotion that he happened to feel. Yuu was really an interesting subject.
Lenalee had also said that the day after Kanda was almost completely free, maybe he should go to the Police Precinct around dinner time but it wasn't sure. A clear invitation to come back looking for him. Something that Lavi wanted to do even without the girl's encouragement, actually.
Kanda forced himself to re-read all his stories to find out how much Lenalee had changed them, taking advantage of a moment of pause as he sat at his desk before his computer. He transferred the file he had been given from Lenalee and began his calvary, because he knew it would be terrible... And in fact in some ways it was, but not in the one way he expected it to.
Lenalee gave body to the story's intrigue, enhanced the plot, and gave life to his characters, making them so real that he felt personally involved in every event of the novel, far more than when he wrote it.
Not only that, what at first impact had seemed unacceptable to him, reading the background now it appeared so natural that he was scared by it, especially because Lenalee was damn good at describing the interactions between the two main characters, particularly in bed.
Even if he found it extremely embarrassing, imagining Lavi over him in the way evoked by the narration suggested made him feel strange, hot, and... Oh, no! Not that reaction, not in front of the entire Precinct! If he had imagined that his body would react in such a way he would never read the novel in public.
He moved uncomfortably on his chair, crossing one leg carefully in an attempt to hide the bulge in that point of his pants... And the more he tried to control himself, the more the pressure increased against the other leg, so that he had to try to start a short meditation to calm down.
He almost succeeded in the difficult undertaking when Miranda came to him with a prostrate look, and Kanda mentally cursed his bad luck countless times.
"K-Kanda?" the woman begun, afraid of an angry reaction. "I... I'm terribly sorry..."
"I don't know what you're talking about." The Japanese detective spat out in a flat tone, hoping the woman would give up and go back to her seat, but Miranda took courage and continue her speech.
"If I made you two fight and he left you, I..." She said, visibly upset, continuously twisting her hands.
Kanda rolled his eyes in disbelief, and reserved one of his 'Che' to her.
"I didn't have a fight, and I'm not together with him, is it clear or not?" He then hissed, taking care to use his best harsh tone.
Miranda was about to lavish with apologies again, when a detective with an impressive appearance came in breathlessly, calling for Kanda loudly.
"It's happened again, Kanda! The killer took another victim; the Captain wants us all in his office!" The man stopped in front of the Japanese detective panting, and the news was more than enough to cool down the problem that afflicted him, something which Kanda was really grateful.
After the briefing during which Tiedoll had assigned to each of them new tasks for the ongoing investigation, Miranda approached Kanda again showing a circumspect look, making him motion to step aside for a moment.
Annoyed by the woman's insistence he complied, hoping she would then leave him in peace once and for all; but instead of the nonsense he was expecting to hear, Miranda pointed his finger at a detail that he had missed, and it was a very, very serious matter.
"Kanda, I... I noticed one thing, but... well, I didn't want to say it in front of everybody, because I know it embarrasses you, and..." she started stammering; Kanda interrupted her abruptly, blood which had already risen to his eyes.
"Get to the point, dammit!" He hissed angrily, startling the poor detective, who immediately hurried to finish the sentence.
"Oh, yes, yes, I'm sorry! It's about the murders, I realized it only after this latter one, but... the serial killer is now following your book!" Miranda said in one breath. "Did you notice the position of the body? The woman's clothes? It's taken from your second novel!"
Oh, fuck, yes! Now that he thought about it, it was exactly so! That was a really big trouble. How would he explain it to the Captain?
"Uhm, maybe you're right," Kanda admitted weighing his words carefully "but it might just be a coincidence. We should wait to have more news on this felony crime before making rash assumptions." he suggested; meanwhile, it was better to take time, as long as the other detectives don't notice the analogy as well, he could try to remedy to all this mess alone…
"Ah, yes, yes. Maybe mine it's just suggestion." Miranda agreed, returning to his duties.
Kanda called to the detective with the powerful physique who was looking for him just before, and with whom the Captain had just assigned him to the investigation, impatient to reach the place where the murder had been committed.
"Let's go Marie; the Medical Examiner is waiting for us." As they were leaving the Police Precinct, Kanda hoped with all his heart that Miranda was wrong.
That night (but perhaps it would be more exact to say that morning, considering he returned home at seven AM) Kanda had restless dreams, featuring the fucking serial killer who continued to escape him, but above all, he dreamed of having Lavi in his bed... and awoke in a pool of sweat.
He took a long shower - after changing the bed sheets - and allowed himself some breakfast (let's say brunch, given the hour), slightly more abundant than his usual; he felt in pieces and he needed energy.
He hadn't yet given a second bite at his onigiri when he heard knocking insistently at the door. Oh, no, the damn witch again! What else could that fucking concierge want now, the rent was paid... Kanda didn't have the time to complete his thoughts as the knock repeated itself, this time with more force.
"Quit bothering me for once!" He shouted angrily toward the door.
"Yuu? Yuu, it's me!" Lavi identified himself, hoping that the Japanese man didn't hold it against him anymore. "Willya let me come in?"
Kanda looked up at the sky in disbelief. Him again, the fucking idiot journalist, who, for whatever absurd reason, was knocking at his door that morning too!
"No." he replied curtly, continuing to eat. How to be successful in getting rid of that red haired problem? Kanda shook his head, frowning.
"But, Yuu!" Lavi protested, and when he didn't receive any reply he resigned himself to sit again on the corridor's floor. "Okay, I'll wait." He said in a melancholy tone, a barely detectable hint of disappointment in his voice.
Moments later the door suddenly slammed open, and a highly irritated Kanda Yuu addressed him with extreme rudeness.
"What do you want?" The Japanese man growled, barely holding himself back from kicking his persecutor in the ass.
"Talk?" Lavi said with an angelic air, at which Kanda felt the irresistible impulse to grab him by the neck and squeeze until he stopped breathing.
"I don't." Kanda was about to slam the door in the red-headed idiot face again, but said idiot was quick to stand up and block it with one hand.
"Yuu, I know ya didn't write those things, what I don't know is why ya chose me as co-protagonist." Lavi said showing a sudden serious expression; he noted that his words had hit the mark this time, and immediately a satisfied smirk appeared again on his face. "Mind ya, I'm honored, I've no objections 'bout it. Only, I'm curious t'know why, and who helps ya with, let's say the 'hard' scenes." Kanda's eyes widened slightly, staring into Lavi's emerald green one, and he stood there looking in vain for a response to give him.
"What make you so sure it's not all my work?" Kanda finally asked after a moment of awkward silence, getting from Lavi a smile even wider than the previous one, only this time not anymore mocking but sympathetic, something that surprised Kanda a lot.
"Can we talk inside?" Lavi suggested. "It's more 'private'." The Japanese detective slowly stepped aside allowing him to enter, although he was by no means happy about that, leading Lavi into the living room.
"Well?" He exclaimed impatiently, seeing that instead of continuing the conversation the idiot was losing time by examining his house. Lavi cast at him an eloquent look, accompanied by his perpetual smile.
"Even if I hadn't seen with my own eyes the face ya made readin' that passage, as if ya didn't know what it was 'bout, yer attitude as a person tells me that ya're not comfortable talkin' 'bout sex, let alone writin' it. Yer the private and closed type." The redhead said with absolute certainty, as if he had known him all his life.
"Che." Was Kanda's only reaction to this analysis of his behavior, his face turned to the side, looking away, his expression forcedly neutral.
"B'cause, if I may say," Lavi continued as if he were holding a press conference "ya don't seem t'have any kind of sexual appetite, yer cold and insensitive towards anyone, so…"
"Did you come here to inquire into my sex life or something?" Kanda snapped, an unpleasant sensation of heat rising to his cheeks, reddening them slightly. Again, his relationship with sex was brought up, by someone whom he had no intention to talk about it with!
"No, absolutely not!" Lavi laughed heartily, greatly contributing to Kanda's increasing embarrassment. "Just explainin' t'ya why I don't think those gay sex scenes could be yer work... Yer too rigid and intransigent, almost 'puritanical', not t'mention the fact that ya shun human contact. Maybe it's the work ya do; maybe it's a form of defense from the world-"
"It's a form of defense from idiots like you! What, you also want to psychoanalyze me now?" Kanda snapped; he was beginning to have enough of that unpleasant conversation, and especially of the continuous sniggering coming from the idiot redhead, who sat in front of him as if he were at home on his own fucking couch instead of on his.
"Ah, Yuu!" Lavi said nearly choking in the attempt of trying not to burst into laughing in Kanda's face, knowing that such a thing would produce catastrophic effects for the progress of their friendship, and Kanda had just remembered that he hadn't ever given to the redhead his consent to call him by his first name (and consequently he was about to bang Lavi's head against the nearest wall) when a cell rang: Kanda's.
Lavi never knew that whoever was the caller had just saved his life…
"Kanda." The Japanese detective's face immediately became pale and his features tensed so much that Lavi feared to see the bones of his cheekbones coming out. The news Kanda was receiving couldn't be any good, judging by his reaction. "I'll be right there." Kanda said simply, closing the phone.
"Something's wrong?" The journalist in Lavi instantly resurfaced, longing to know what so serious could had happened to upset like that someone as Yuu.
"None of your business." Kanda stated coldly, and then grabbed his coat, gesturing with one hand at Lavi to indicate the door, inviting him to go out, or better, to get out of his fucking way. "I have no time to listen to your nonsense. And don't even try to follow me, or I'll have you arrested this time." He warned the redhead in a threatening tone as they left the apartment together.
Lavi knew perfectly well that Yuu wouldn't hesitate to put into practice those threats, so he pretended to obey, and parted from Kanda with a smile after excitedly greeting the concierge, who was now doting on him.
But when the detective had disappeared in the subway entrance, Bookman Junior called the newspaper asking Johnny to listen at the police frequencies searching for a serious event, such as a murder or a big accident, something particularly tragic in short, and the little man soon gave him the answers he needed: murder, between 7th and Broadway.
Lavi jumped on the first bus going there that happened to pass by him, impatient to reach Yuu and to find out why this crime was so important.
He reached the place of the murder that Kanda should have just arrived at, judging by how he was confabulating with a group of policemen and CSI agents. The reporter pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt disguising his flamboyant red hair, and mingled with the crowd, trying to get as close as possible to the agents - and thus for sure to the body - to be able to hear at least in part their speeches, and of course look at the crime scene.
Once within hearing distance he could catch fragments of conversation, and what he learned lit a bulb in his head; it reminded him of something, which for the moment escaped him, yet Lavi knew that it was damn important! He continued to move, following Kanda's movements, until the policemen stood aside and he could see the victim's body; her position and the way she had been killed made him suddenly remember what it was that it seemed so familiar in the whole scene, and the missing piece of the puzzle came into place.
The book.
The crime was based on Yuu's second story, on the second victim described in it: and so Lavi suddenly realized what troubled Yuu so much.
"Yuu!" He called in a low voice, gravely, and gesturing towards Kanda he crossed the yellow tape that marked the crime scene.
Promptly a policeman stopped him, but Lavi showed his press card, and the man called for the detective. Kanda's eyes widened recognizing him, and he walked angrily to the youth, motioning to the cop that he knew the redhead and he would see to him.
"What are you doing here, idiot!" The Japanese man hissed angrily, looking around himself nervously. "I told you not to follow me!"
Lavi was uncertain if it was because Yuu feared he could be involved in the aims of the serial killer who was copying the crimes from his novels, or because he feared the rumors about the two of them.
"The book, Yuu, I know what's goin' on. You can't keep me out of it; I'm involved as well..." Lavi began to explain, but Kanda snorted in annoyance, interrupting him.
"Che. You don't know what you're saying." he silenced him immediately before someone could hear, keeping his voice volume low but retaining his usual abrupt and angry tone. Then he suddenly motioned to two police officers behind him. "Rid me from this pest. Now." He ordered them, going away without another word.
"No! Yuu, wait! Yuu!" Lavi vigorously protested while the two cops dragged him away.