Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ A Certain Clarity ❯ 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: A Certain Clarity (2/30)

Author: Franzi Dickson

E-mail: fdickson@ix.netcom.com

Archive: The SxSAS Archive, fanfiction.net and others (eventually). If
you want it on your site, just ask.

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: There are Bad Things in this part. Most especially a body.
Dead bodies are gross.

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. I'm just doing bad things with
them. Don't sue me.

Author's notes:

1. At this point I must acknowledge the indispensable help of my
trusty Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances. Let me recommend it to
everyone, junkie, writer and curious bookworm alike.

The sun was just beginning to rise as the constable guided him through
the twisted maze of streets and alleyways. The air reeked of garbage
and mildew. They were near the river, he realized. They met Chou at
the entrance to a quiet alley, even narrower and dirtier than the ones
they had just traversed. The other man looked grim.

"It's like the other times; he was just dumped there, no clothing,
nothing to identify him. He couldn't have been more than seventeen,
eighteen at the absolute outside."

Saitou sighed. "Another John Doe?" Damn. "And we still have no leads
on the drug?"

"Not exactly..." Chou looked uncomfortable. "This one's a little
different. Come have a look for yourself." He turned and beckoned for
Saitou to follow. Saitou dismissed the young constable telling him
he'd speak with him later and stepped into the dark passage.

The body lay at the end of the alley, propped up on the piles of
trash. Its sprawled legs were illuminated by the light just beginning
to seep over the tops of the surrounding buildings. Their skin had the
same gray sheen Saitou had come to dread and the air thick with the
same sweet-sharp smell from before.

"The smell is stronger this time."

"It looks like they didn't wash this one as well. You can see the
traces of vomit." Chou crouched by the body, trying to get a better
look in the gloom. "They must have been in a hurry to get rid of him.
The hair's getting shorter too, have you noticed."

Saitou wished he hadn't. The spiky, black hair was plastered against
the youth's forehead, but jutted out wildly elsewhere, matted, he
supposed, with the boy's own vomit. "You said this one was different?"
His voice sounded flat in his ears.

"You don't recognize him?"

Saitou shook his head.

"His dad's some government bigwig. We're supposed to have been looking
for him for the last six months."

Saitou looked surprised. "That's quite a change." The other bodies had
all been the sort of lowlife street rats one would expect to find in
an alley like this.

"Whatever the drug is, it's moving up in the world. It's weird though,
they're all about the same age and they all look kind of similar. I'd
almost think we were dealing with a serial killer."

Saitou pondered that. It was true that the bodies did look similar,
though this one was more muscular than the others. Still, the face,
now that he could see it better, was quite beautiful. "Any signs that
the drug was administered by force?"

"Not so far, but we'll have to wait to examine the body better."

Saitou frowned. "I hope this one turns up some clues. If his father is
really as important as you say, we're going to be under even worse
pressure to solve this case."

The other man snorted. "Look on the bright side, at least they moved
you to Tokyo to deal with this."

"Not just this. There has been a resurgence of all sorts of
trafficking; drugs, arms and so on." Pornography too, he thought. Oh
well, at least he hadn't had to handle those cases.

They returned to the mouth of the alley to wait for the medical team
to arrive. Saitou lit a cigarette and hunched his shoulders against
the cold morning air.

The warmth of the small room made Saitou doubly glad that the corpse
was so fresh. He watched as the doctor examined it, probing the mouth,
examining the neck. Scraping bits of vomit off of the cheek. He moved
lower, prodding at the boy. No, the body, Saitou reminded himself.
Distance was important. He really was feeling odd today.

"Kinda well hung, wasn't he?" Chou snickered from a corner.

Saitou glowered at him. The remark did have some justice though. He
really did resemble the other one. Saitou remembered his dream and
wondered how far the resemblance went. Damn it!

"Fujita-san... Fujita-san?"

He blinked. "Doctor. Is there something I can do?"

"Could you help me turn him over? I need to examine his back now."

They rolled the youth over onto his stomach. His back and legs were
discolored where the blood had pooled, but otherwise unmarked. The
doctor spread his cheeks. Chou looked like he wanted to speak, but
managed to restrain himself. Saitou simply stared into space.

"It appears our victim had some company not too long before he died"
the doctor said with satisfaction. "I thought so with the others, but
this is much clearer."

"Rape?"

"I wouldn't think so, Fujita-san. There are traces of oil and there
doesn't seem to be much damage. If he was held down, you'd expect
those bruises to be at his wrists, or maybe his forearms. It's hard to
see on his back, but on his front, all of the bruises are consistent
with the idea of self-inflicted wounds. It's not uncommon for poisons,
recreational or otherwise, to induce convulsions. It's quite possible
that he injured himself during the over-dose."

"Can you tell us anything further about the drug?"

"Hmm... The smell is interesting. It has certain similarities to opium
smoke, but it's definitely different."

"So the smell is a product of the drug?"

"Perhaps, but I suspect that it was administered orally. The vomit
alone wouldn't produce this scent. Perhaps he was in a room where
something was being smoked."

"We know the drug isn't opium, or isn't pure opium at any rate..."
Saitou looked at the doctor inquiringly.

"It may be a combination of things. There are a number of animal and
vegetable poisons that could have been added to the opium or used on
their own. He probably died from respiratory failure; it isn't an
unusual side effect. Without a sample of the drug, it will be
impossible to tell anything more."

Saitou sighed. There had not been many bodies thus far, but they had
all been so similar, and normal informants disavowed any knowledge of
a new drug being introduced to Tokyo. He turned to go.

"There is one odd thing though."

He looked around inquiringly.

"He's too clean. The other bodies had been washed, but there's still
vomit clinging to this one. The muscles of the body relax at death;
all of the muscles. That's why most bodies stink so much. This one
though... There's barely even a trace of urine. That's unusual. He
probably fasted before taking the drug."

Saitou frowned. That was unusual.

"Maybe some kinda religious thing?" Chou offered.

"It's a possibility. We can check if any cults have started up
recently." He was relieved. At last, they had somewhere to start.
"Could you inform the family. I'm going to go catch a couple of hours
of sleep" he asked Chou wearily. He could interview informants later.

He was back in that stuffy room and the heat was sending torrents of
sweat down his back, making his uniform stick to his skin. The young
man on the table pushed himself up, the strangely similar features
rearranging themselves into more familiar ones.

"Saitou-sama. Saitou-sama" It crouched like some terrible giant cat in
heat. The blood was draining away from its back, leaving that as gray
as its other side.

Saitou backed away.

"Saitou-sama." The figure reclined, reaching out languidly to stroke
its erection. It licked its lips.

With a thump, Saitou's back came to an abrupt stop against the wall.
"Stay away!"

The thing reached around its legs and spread itself for him, inviting.
"Saitou-samaaaa!" it mewled as its hips thrust in unconscious need.
Then, slipping a finger inside its entrance, it brought its other hand
back to stroke its length. "Saitou-sama!"

"No!" He didn't want to look at it.

Its breath was a hysterical gasping as it came. Its convulsions became
wilder and bile spilled from its mouth. "Saitou-sama!" it screamed
wetly as a wave of salty blood and cum washed over him.

He couldn't breath. The smell was everywhere; the smell of blood, the
smell of sex, the sharp-sweet smell of the drug. He was choking. He...

Saitou bolted upright, the blankets falling in a sweaty tangle around
his feet. Where? A dream... A little different this time. He shook his
head. He was never going to catch up on his sleep. Might as well get
on with speaking to the informants, he thought as he dressed himself
quickly. The usual ones had so far failed. Perhaps it was time he
looked in new directions. Perhaps that was all that the dream had
meant. It was true that the most recent victim had been someone who
would be missed, but the others were scum, low life street scum. Well,
if he wanted low, he knew where to look and it should be nearing
dinner time now. With that thought in mind, he headed towards the
Kamiya dojo.