Happy Birthday Seto's Darkness!
Title: Investigations
Genre: Mystery; Drama; Supernatural
Word Count: 3102 + Omake {790}
Pairing: 10051
Universe: Alternate,
Warnings: Weirdness? A little rushed
Rating: T+
Posting a little early in case I can't get on later, but anyway: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the wonderful shinigami39 ! Her awesome stories are very awesome. Unfortunately this is about the best I can do for her because I suck. XP Sorry, but maybe it's better than nothing?
-=-
The building in front of them, Shouichi supposed, could be classified as modern. Or at least trying to look modern, with its extremely angular shape and large windows, balconies protruding every which way. The blend of stucco and metal and glass. There were even two decent sized palm trees on either side of the automatic door. Shouichi was no architect, but he knew enough about physics to be suitably impressed.
“There’s definitely something here~”
Shouichi almost gave in to the urge to roll his eyes. Almost. Of course there was something here, it was Shouichi’s job to know if there was. He’d never been wrong before and it rubbed him the wrong way that Byakuran always seemed to act like it was surprise. The redhead gave a mute shake of his head, brushing off his mild annoyance as easily as dust.
“Notice anything else?” Shouichi asked.
Byakuran looked thoughtful as he stared at the odd building, then he turned and directed a chipper smile at Shouichi, “Nope~”
Shouichi sighed. It was never that easy. He adjusted his tie for probably the sixth time since putting it on a little over an hour ago. He couldn’t help it, it never felt right to him. It was always like he was a little boy trying to wear his father’s suit; out of place. And so unlike Byakuran, who looked ungodly gorgeous in whatever he wore, including the white suit- minus the jacket- and black dress shirt he was currently parading about in.
Byakuran sauntered up the walkway and Shouichi trailed behind him. His stomach started to do a little flip and he mentally scolded himself, how many times had he done this with Byakuran? He shouldn’t get so worked up.
Shouichi was disappointed to find that the lobby was the picture of normalcy, despite the impressive exterior. It had only the most standard seating, standard plants, standard reception area, and hell, even the receptionist seemed standard. Shouichi wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but it wasn’t anything this ordinary. It didn’t even look like the sort of place that-
“Mou, Shou-chan takes me to such boring places,” Byakuran pouted. Apparently he shared Shouichi’s sentiments but not his sense of tact.
“Byakuran-san…I didn’t bring you here-” Shouichi began, but was interrupted by the receptionist, a pretty brunette with glasses.
“Hello, welcome to Ofisu, do you have an appointment?”
“Ah, yes, I’m Irie Shouichi,” The redhead recovered, he gestured to the white-haired male beside him, “and this is my associate, Gesso Byakuran.”
Byakuran waved cheerfully, suddenly all enthusiasm. Shouichi had to question the man’s level of sanity, or lack thereof.
“I’ll contact Tanaka-san immediately, please take a seat,” The woman said, first pointing out the seats, unnecessarily, and then punching in numbers on the phone in front of her.
“I hate waiting,” Byakuran whined as he more or less flopped down into the nearest seat, “but it’s not so bad since I get to see Shou-chan in his cute suit~♥”
“Don’t say such things,” Shouichi snapped, taking his seat with care so as not to wrinkle his clothes. Because I know you don’t mean it…
Byakuran chuckled, light and airy with a musical lilt, “Maa~ Shou-chan’s so cute when he’s bossy~!”
“Byakuran-san,” Shouichi admonished, but Byakuran’s smile didn’t wan. If anything it grew. The redhead expected as much and he decided that it would be best if he just dropped the issue. Instead he turned his attention to the short, portly gentleman suddenly approaching the front desk. The man spoke too low for Shouichi to hear, but when the receptionist pointed at them he felt confident in assuming the man was Tanaka.
The plump man started to waddle over and Shouichi rose to his feet, followed shortly after by Byakuran.
“Tanaka Hideki,” He introduced himself, holding his hand out.
“Irie Shouichi, we spoke on the phone the other day,” Shouichi said as he grasped it. The man looked relieved and anxious all at once.
“Come, come, we can discuss matters in my office. This way.” Tanaka instructed. He turned quickly on his heel and made his way towards the elevators. Shouichi was actually impressed; the man was more graceful than he had given credit.
Tanaka hit the up button and the elevator doors opened with a soft ‘ding.’ Shouichi watched the man press the button for the fourth floor as they stepped inside. Sadly the elevator was just as uninteresting as the lobby. Shouichi decided to focus on the reason they were there rather than the uninspiring surroundings, so he leaned over to Byakuran and quietly whispered, “Anything?”
Byakuran shook his head, then he nudged Shouichi to look over at Tanaka, who was dabbing his receding hairline with a white kerchief. The man looked extremely anxious now, and why would that be?
“Has it gotten worse, Tanaka-san?” Shouichi asked. The man shot him a furtive glance, and shook his head.
“Not here,” He murmured hoarsely as the doors opened and he hurried out into the hallway. That was rather strange, in Shouichi’s opinion. The redhead gave a quick survey of the hall. Large cubicles, an office at both ends and a gaggle of girls, most likely interns, whispering to each other.
“I think I’ll leave the boring stuff to you, Shou-chan~” Byakuran said. There was a familiar spark of interest in his violet eyes. Shouichi made an un-amused face as he watched the man approach the young ladies. He knew it was just business but he couldn’t prevent the knot from forming in his stomach.
“What is he doing?” Tanaka asked, his tone bordering confusion and outrage. More towards outrage.
“Don’t worry, Tanaka-san, he’s a professional. Now, which way is your office?”
-=-
“So, there have been sixteen accidents since last month, one of which was a death, correct?” Shouichi asked from his seat in the brown leather chair. Tanaka’s office was opulent, to be sure. Mahogany desk, exotic plants, sconces and framed pictures. Dark muted colors that reminded Shouichi more of a parlor than a place of business.
“Yes, that’s right,” Tanaka’s head bobbed up and down as he said it, giving the words a soft warble and making the man look rather comical. Very similar to a bobble-head actually.
Shouichi shifted in the seat, resulting in a loud squeak that made him cringe on the inside, “I understand the company underwent some changes then…can you tell me about them?”
The podgy man looked a bit baffled, but went along with it, “Well, you know, our competitor lowered their prices significantly and we had to do something, so we relocated some people, and laid off a few others. We had to though, or we’d lose everybody.”
Shouichi scribbled down ‘disgruntled employee’ in his notebook.
“How many, exactly, were fired?”
“No, no, not fired. Laid off. Laid off, there’s a difference, you know? And only twenty people.” Tanaka assured, still looking shifty. Shouichi gave a tight lipped smile and nod. It only takes one…
“And those that were relocated, where did they go?” Shouichi asked, mostly to be thorough.
“Other departments, or to work on the inventory, dreadfully cold in there.” Tananka said and he pulled out a cigar box from his desk drawer, “Would you like one?”
Shouichi froze and glanced up from his pocket-sized notepad, “What did you just say?”
“Would you…like a cigar?” Tanaka offered again, hesitantly, he appeared quite startled at Shouichi’s sudden mood change. Shouichi might have felt bad about it, but he was more concerned with other things.
“No, no, what did you say about the inventory room?” Shouichi pressed earnestly.
“It’s… cold? Don’t worry, we have someone coming in to fix the heater, we would never force our employees to work in such an unsafe environment.”
“Tanaka-san, where is this room?” Shouichi asked. Tanaka lit his cigar and inhaled deeply. It served to calm him down some.
“It’s closed my good lad, but it’s on the basement level.”
“Can you grant me access to it?” Shouichi asked, already standing up. It had to be there, in that room. Tanaka stood up too, looking scared but determined. It seemed that he had finally caught on. He hurried out from behind his desk and motioned for Shouichi to follow. Not that he needed to, Shouichi was hot on his heels as they exited the office.
The redhead searched for a familiar head of white hair, but came up short. Byakuran was probably already inside. Shouichi picked up the pace, hitting the down button for the elevator and tapping his foot impatiently when it didn’t open right away. The knot in his stomach tightened and coiled until the door opened, and he slipped inside along with Tanaka.
“And the cold, did that start a month ago too?” Shouichi didn’t really need an answer, he was already certain of his conclusion, but the man’s nod in the affirmative solidified it. Someone who had been demoted, or as Tanaka said ‘relocated’, to checking inventory had probably-
Ding
The elevator doors slid open and Shouichi had to tamp down on his urge to order Tanaka to speed up. Luckily the room wasn’t very far, and all Tanaka had to do was wave his card and input an access code for the door to unlock.
“I’ll…”
“Wait out here,” Shouichi finished for him, and Tanaka looked beyond relieved. Shouichi couldn’t blame him as he cautiously entered the room.
It was cold, was stupidly his first observation. The redhead could feel Goosebumps prickling his skin and every nerve went on alert. He wished the room wasn’t so large, or so unorganized. There were boxes of unfiled papers scattered throughout the room and there was a faint smell of something in the air. Shouichi took a few more steps, each one echoing and ricocheting off the walls. He practically jumped when he heard the door close behind him, which was somewhat mortifying. It was just a door.
Shouichi sensed the room growing colder as he traveled further in, to the point he could see his breath in faint little plumes as he exhaled. He fought not to shiver. And where the hell was Byakuran? The knot was back, filling him with dread, and the smell was getting stronger too, which certainly didn’t help matters. Shouichi’s eyes flickered around the room, not one-hundred percent sure of what he was looking for, but hoping that if he came across it he would know.
He felt an irrational urge to call out for Byakuran, but Shouichi knew that if he was there his presence would have been made known by now. A playful tease, or flirtatious comment, something.
“A door…?” Shouichi murmured to himself. White vapor snaking out from his lips. He rubbed his arms in order to salvage some warmth. It wasn’t just a normal cold, it never was, it was a chill that seemed to steal any heat. A cold that clogged his veins and choked his lungs. Unnatural.
The door wasn’t even an impressive door, just a plain wooden one, unmarked. Shouichi wondered if it was even locked, he reached out to test the knob.
He drew his hand back before he fully registered what was wrong. The knob was actually so cold it burned. Shouichi inspected his hand, his fingers were a little red, but were otherwise unharmed. So it was definitely in that room. Shouichi pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around his hand, then he tried it again.
“Oh ho~ Maybe I should have stayed with Shou-chan after all, since he beat me here~”
Shouichi let out a breath, had he been holding it the whole time?
“Byakuran-san,” He called out, “You’re slow.”
The male quickly strode over, all warm chuckles that soothed Shouichi more than they had right to, “Maa~ I can’t help it if you’re better at gathering information~”
“It is my job,” Shouichi retorted. Byakuran smiled and rested a hand on Shouichi’s shoulder, which sent butterflies flying in his stomach. Shouichi was fairly certain his own hands weren’t that warm.
“Shall we?” Byakuran asked as if he were inviting Shouichi to dance rather than to open a door. With his free hand he helped Shouichi turn the knob. Shouichi felt his heart rate speeding up, and muttered a soft curse at himself. It didn’t seem to matter how often they did this, every time Shouichi was filled with dread…
Byakuran was the one to push the door open.
“Oh!” Shouichi heard himself exclaim before his hand flew to his mouth in disgust and shock. Then the smell hit him and gastric acid bubbled, forcing him to clutch his abdomen to prevent himself from retching all over the concrete floor. His emerald eyes looked over it again, not quite comprehending.
In the middle of the room, suspended from the ceiling, was a corpse. Still fleshy, but horrifically mutilated. The eyes were plucked out, the mouth sown shut, the muscles and tendons peeking out on the arms where the skin looked to have been peeled away. Shouichi dry heaved as Byakuran stepped into the small room.
“I take it back, Shou-chan brings me to such interesting places~” He commented as he circled the body. He pressed his hand against one of the legs and gave a slight push, making the corpse spin. “I bet someone had a lot of fun with this~”
“I…I need some air…” Shouichi announced. Byakuran moved to look at him.
“Maa, I forget. Humans can be so sensitive~” The white-haired man chuckled, keeping a close eye on Shouichi as he rushed to get away. He shouldn’t have come, he knew he couldn’t handle this sort of thing. He should have let Byakuran go alone.
A breathy series of snorts and pants and guttural noises reverberated throughout the room, which made Shouichi freeze, his eyes scanning the area for the source.
He saw! He saw! He’ll squeal! We’ll be found! Get him! Kill him! Kill him!
The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, instinctually Shouichi took a step back, his head moving from left to right. He heard skittering but he couldn’t place that any better than he could place the screaming. His heart hammered, it felt like it would beat right out of his ribcage at any moment. The scuttling noise picked up. Dull thumps and the sound of nails tap, tap, tapping against a smooth surface. It made shivers run down Shouichi’s spine.
He took another step back, his eyes darting around in a frantic pattern. A tiny voice informed him he was panicking, and panicking was not good, but he still couldn’t calm himself. It was gaining speed, and Shouichi hadn’t even caught a glimpse. He had no idea where it was coming from.
Something warm, and wet, and slimy hit his shoulder, and with burgeoning horror he looked up. There it was. The creature hissed at him as it leapt down to the floor, Shouichi let out a scream too and fell backwards. It hissed again as Shouichi struggled to push himself up and out of his prone sprawl. The redhead quickly gave up and settled for moving backwards, which now meant towards the exit instead of the hanging corpse, as fast as he could manage.
The creature’s eyes bulged and its maw widened as it spewed more saliva everywhere. It tried to pick itself up on two legs, but only managed to flop back over, too weighed down by its five arms. It howled in frustration and began crawling again. It grabbed for Shouichi’s leg, and the redhead was able to land a square kick and stomp combination that crushed at least some of the fingers. It shrieked in pain and redoubled its efforts.
Shouichi looked towards the door, which seemed miles away.
He screamed again as he felt fingers curling around his ankle and dragging him. He flailed his leg wildly to no avail. The creature continued to drag him across the floor, closer and closer to its gaping mouth. Shouichi reached around for something, anything, that he could use.
“Byakuran‼”
A blur of white and sick slicing sound was all Shouichi managed to process. Then the grey head lolled off, rolling on the ground until a pale hand grabbed it. Shouichi followed the arm to the shoulder and then to the face. Yes. Byakuran.
The White-haired gentleman was crouched on the ground, his white wings neatly folded, but still very much visible. Shouichi hoisted himself up on his elbows, his heartbeat still incredibly loud, but slowing down. His breathing still labored.
“They’re starting to look more human, ne?” Byakuran asked as he toyed with the severed head. He swiveled it to face Shouichi and he worked the jaw as if to mimic speaking.
“Is that what we look like to you?!” Shouichi spluttered. The thing was grey, its nose a tiny triangular hole, no ears, stringy patches of hair, its teeth much too few and far too large. Byakuran turned it back around so he could study it more carefully.
“I think it’s pretty close,” He chuckled and tossed it aside, “but you saw it too, right?” His tone suddenly serious.
Shouichi let himself slump to the ground, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling, “You mean how it tried to stand up?”
“Yep~ They’ve never done that~”
“ But why? Why would they start trying to look human?” Shouichi asked. He heard bones snapping and crackling and a tiny pained noise. Byakuran must have been retracting his wings.
“It’s only natural. Humans are the scariest creatures they know.” Byakuran explained as he lay down next to Shouichi, “I bet that man in there is the one who summoned it. Probably discontent with his own death and wanting to take down as many others as possible.”
“But it’s the one killing people! How are we scarier?”
“Because humans are the ones in control. The ones with the power. If humans didn’t exist neither would they. Even from beyond the grave all you can think about is hurting each other.”
Shouichi let out a puff of air, noting he couldn’t see it.
“Huu, I’ve upset you,” Byakuran pouted, but brightened, “Let’s go get some ice cream~”
Shouichi felt a tired smile tug at his lips, “That’s just because you want some.”
Byakuran hoisted himself up and then extended a hand for Shouichi, which he took. He shuddered as he shook his ankle free from the now weak grip.
“Fufufu~ Shou-chan’s face is so cute~”
“Don’t say things like that,” Shouichi snapped. Because I know you don’t mean it…
Because I know to you humans are the worst…
-Omake-
Byakuran watched as Shouichi downed his sixth consecutive drink, making a sour face afterwards. He was only nursing his second root beer float. He chuckled as his redheaded friend ordered a seventh round of some Scotch or another. The bartender shot Byakuran a questioning look, seeking permission presumably. He gave a happy nod, if Shouichi wanted a drink why stop him?
The bartender gave a half-hearted shrug and served the beverage. Shouichi downed that too, making another strange face.
“Burns,” Shouichi hissed out.
“If it tastes so bad maybe you shouldn’t drink it♫” Byakuran chuckled and took in a mouthful of ice cream. He didn’t care too much for alcohol, but he didn’t mind it either. Wine wasn’t bad and he was a fan of flavored vodkas, but Whiskey and Scotch weren’t that good.
“It helps,” Shouichi mumbled.
“Maa~ Maybe you should invent a memory-eraser~”
Shouichi made a half-hearted thoughtful noise as he toyed with his glass, clumsily running his fingers along the circular rim. Byakuran could tell he was drunk, even before he accidentally knocked the glass over. He found the way Shouichi panicked and rushed to pick it up humorous. It was even funnier when glassy green eyes locked onto his and a sheepish smile broke out.
“It was empty…”
Byakuran chuckled and nimbly plucked the glass from Shouichi’s hands, “That’s enough for tonight~”
The white-haired male never ceased to be amazed at how coherent Shouichi was when he was drunk. He didn’t slur his words, or string together nonsense. He just got really, really clumsy. And honest. Lowered inhibitions and all that, though his only inhibitions seemed to be holding back sarcasm. Byakuran smiled ruefully as he recalled a certain incident with Kikyo.
“Just one more, please?” Shouichi asked in a muted whine, his mouth drawn into a pout. The redhead must have really needed one. Normally when Byakuran told him he’d had enough, he relented. Their last case must have spooked him more than Byakuran thought. Maybe he shouldn’t have let it get so far, but curiosity had gotten the best of him. He had been wondering what other human behaviors it would try.
“Bartender, another round~”
The bartender looked unsure, but he served them anyway. Byakuran supposed that money played a fair part in that decision. Shouichi just looked happy to have another stiff drink, he chugged it down with a grimace. Humans were so strange.
Byakuran finished his Root Beer float and then paid the tab.
“We goin’?” Shouichi inquired, which surprised Byakuran a smidge. It was hard to gauge how alert the kid was.
“Yep~”
Shouichi made to stand up, but stumbled instead, landing on his ass for the second time that day. Byakuran chuckled and easily stood up and pushed his stool in. Clumsy as ever.
“Up we go, Shou-chan,” Byakuran murmured, effortlessly hoisting the redhead up. He looped one arm around his shoulders and grabbed Shouichi’s waist. He reconsidered when they took their first step and his colleague staggered. He chose to scoop him up bridal-style.
“Sorry…” Shouichi whispered. He wrapped his other arm around Byakuran’s neck in order to help stabilize himself.
“It’s fine~ I get to see Shou-chan’s clingy side~” Byakuran chirped as he stepped up to the elevator. It was wonderfully convenient that their apartment/office was upstairs from a tiny Bar and Grill. The doors opened and Byakuran was happy to find it empty.
The ride up to the sixth floor was silent, aside from the mechanical whir. It wasn’t until they were a few feet from their shared apartment that Shouichi cleared his throat.
“Could we have been together if I weren’t human?”
Byakuran was caught completely off-guard, but he would never let it show, “Ha ha, Shou-chan is such a maudlin drunk~♫”
The older of the two had to shift Shouichi so that he could reach the keys and unlock the door. Neither of them bothered to hit the lights.
“Do you think we…?” Shouichi pressed, his voice hardly there at all, his head tilted down.
“But if Shou-chan wasn’t human, he wouldn’t be Shou-chan.” Byakuran replied childishly as he entered the bedroom. He set Shouichi down on the bed and helped him move back the covers as the redhead cackled softly.
“I’ll take that as a no. You hate us, to you we’re nothing, worse than nothing,” Shouichi continued to laugh bitterly and then he went quiet, his tone turning contemplative, “but if that’s so…why? Why are you here? Why do you protect us? If you hate us…then…why…”
And then he was out. His eyelids closed, features slackened, peaceful, serene.
Because I’ve learned that humans have the ability to tickle your heart, to make it twinge.
Because…
“Because I’ve learned that humans can be beautiful too.”
-=-
Notes: Not my usual style, but I hope this is the sort of thing shinigami39 likes? If not, lemme know and I'll write whatever you'd like! It'll just take me a little while. I tried to write Shouichi → Byakuran, but it just didn't work out too well. And I don't do sad-ish endings. I just can't do it, which is why the omake is there. I know it's not so great but I hope you like it anyway Seto's Darkness!