Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Haima ❯ Chapter 16: Once of a Life time Chance ( Chapter 16 )

Haima
Author: Nekocin
Genres: Action, slight Drama
Warnings: OOC, possible cliché ~_~
Rated: PG13
Disclaimer: Anime in question doesn't belong to me. Never was. Never will. So bow down to the creator!
Author's notes: See end. Happy Belated New Year, everyone!!

Chapter 16: Once of a lifetime Chance 

Ever got the feeling of being trapped in a void? A void of nothingness that enhance the unknown and threaten to pull you deeper into a whirlwind of helplessness.
Deeper and deeper. 

Falling--perhaps at some point, the fall would be broken with an enormous splat--broken bones, torn skin, burst veins, flowing blood and pieces of flesh--
Dead.

No! No! No! Never! 

He didn't want to die yet--didn't want to give into the void of desperate hopelessness--life. It felt as if he was moving around with a blindfold, without a sense od direction. Without a sense of life.

He clawed, clenched and bit on empty air, trying to swim his way through murky darkness. Helplessness tore into his chest, making him unable to breathe properly--breathing, panting, couhing, wheezing--sufficocating.

Wheezing. Wheezing.

He wheezed as he clawed into empty air again, clearly exhausted and momentarily blind. All hope fled--like a little wind breeze.

Wind breeze?

Slowly and with much effort, he opened his heavy-lidded eyes and looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling with exactly 7 gaping holes. He sighed, so it hadn't been a dream when he got kidnapped and tortured. 

He remained lying on his back as he took in the room in which he was confined.

The walls on the room were dusty and half the wallpaper were torn, hanging shamelessly curled down from the walls like fresh-untouched bananas. 
The windows were weren't much better: they were coated with a thick of dust and not only that, some of the glasses were broken as well. 

Gathering his strength, he pushed himself up in a sitting position, wincing automatically when pain shot through his back and tied wrists. Whatever the hell the bastard had done to him--his body, that is--would probably scar and mar his sensitive skin permanently! 

He grit his teeth together as he tried to block out the pain and the whiny voice at the back of his mind that continued to wail about his skin getting wrinkles, scratches and markings. 

Finally!

He breathed in deeply and noticed suddenly that he wasn't gagged anymore. Much to his relief. 

His kidnapper and soon -to-be (perhaps) executioner wasn't around--the guy (assuming he's one) must have mistaken the period in which he would gain his consciousness back. At least he was nice enough to pull the gag away. 
Knowing how his body the best, Otogi guessed he'd been knocked out for about 2 to 3 hours. 

He took in the room again from a different angle. 

The room was either abandoned, close to being broken down or just plain dirty because of its actual occupant's laziness. He was in a place that might have been called the bedroom, because it had a broken closet in the corner, a tattered mattress, a torn teddy bear head, some wrinkled blankets--

What a messy room! 

Wherever he was at the moment, he has to get back up or at least, some help.

He tugged at his binds quickly--a cloth, a ragged cloth. Sadly, no success. So he sat on his hands for awhile. He tucked his knees to his chin and pulled the tied hands from underneath to relieve his arms from the uncomfortable position behind his back. 

After that, he looked around for something with a sharp edge--

His green eyes lit up immediately when he found himself looking at the window. Broken windows were bound to have sharps edges at some point!

Otogi scrambled up from his crumpled and cramped position, all the while wincing and hissing from sudden attacks of pain in his back and legs, and staggered towards one of the broken windows. He looked outside the window just to familiarize himself with the area--

From this side of the window he could see his station at the far East because of its striking blue-painted roof with the many flag masts. to the farther north, he could see Jounouchi's station with station six's awful gray-painted roof complete with this weird, giant crest of a--a white horse with wings--the Greek mythological winged-creature called Pegasus. 

So this particular room was part of an apartment building--almost ready to be crushed to pieces. 

Besides that the building itself was situated in the middle of a sport center, a day training, and a--race track Centrum? Ah! He knew this area. But for now, better go to work.

He held his bound wrists to a broken piece of glass and began the painstaking process of rubbing the cloth against the sharp edge with calculated care and desperate speed. 

"Come on! Come on!--" he muttered repeatedly to himself through clenched teeth. 

SHHRRRIT! He was free! 

He pulled his wrist free from the tattered cloth and flexed his sore muscles. An automatic satisfied smirk reached his pained lips, hurting his cheeks that had somehow gotten swollen--probably through a beating, who cares! 

Checking himself if he was capable enough to escape from the window once, Otogi wasn't very happy what he was seeing. It seemed as if his body was mangled and gnawed upon by fire--he's got to get the heck out of there! 

There was a weirdo on the loose in town! And Otogi's his next victim. He had to fight for his life. 

Never in his life had he faced such a threatening approach. He'd prided himself for being the most fearless one at his post--the prettiest one, the coolest--but never the most attractive one to become a corpse in twenty-four hours. 

Whoever the serial killer was, Otogi had a feeling he had met the man before. Anyone he knew could've been the killer--or maybe not just everyone. 
There's still that retarded rookie from station 6. 

Otogi was very sure Jounouchi couldn't have been the serial killer--he's far too gloomy and less bright to even think up such a wonderful trap or even make such an incredibly-structured poem. 

He threw open the window in front of him and leaned on the window-sill to see how farther from the ground he was. Hopefully not too far, he did not like heights. That's when a sudden big hand pushed him over the window, sending Otogi to his death...

-Nearby Coffee-shop-

He frowned deeper while re-reading the poem. There was something familiar in it, something close... the rookie nibbled on his lower lip, deep in thought. Jounouchi's hand hesitantly scribbled something on the paper.

"This is as far as I can go" Jounouchi sighed dejectedly and slumped his shoulders, lying down over the table on his arms. He flexed his sore fingers, looked over the answers once more and let out a long sigh.

"I don't get it. How come you can solve the poem all on your own regardless of possible wrong answers in your draft" 

"Would you believe me that a little bird has told me?" Katsuya pointed out incredulously and grinned a bit before grimacing. Ack! That's a bad joke. It's getting old too. 

The inspector crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat to study the slumped officer. He winced slightly. Ugh! Damn headache had come up. He blinked once or twice, focusing on keeping his headache at bay... if yhe could. Perhaps he should have stayed in bed and let agent Yuuki handle the case. 

Mokuba would have scolded him for getting out of bed though; his wound hadn't healed yet. 

Why had he wanted to work on this case immediately? Hn. Must be because of the rookie's... pathetic life before becoming an officer? Or was it because of this empty feeling inside of him, when he couldn't catch that killer? [Indeed, he was someone who wanted to complete all the work he had started as soon as possible] The answer was probably the latter one. 

He took the crumpled notes from Jounouchi's line of sight on the table. Seeing as Jounouchi hadn't said anything, it's probably okay to read the answers.

1. Ryuuji Otogi
2. Japanese Red Rose
3. ?
4. ?
5. Clues
6. Love Poem
7. Challenge
8. ?
9. Approach
10. Ryuuji Otogi

"How come--the riddle part-- can be 'clues'?"

"It's like you've said -I quote- 'Of course, the poem is easy, only mixed with unknown spice'. The riddle itself looks easy, but the clues are hard to find" Jounouchi shrugged carelessly and grabbed the cup of coffee, which had stood forgotten near his left arm when it was served.

The inspector frowned, trying to see the logic in the hastily-scribbled notes. 

"A challenge?"

"Uhm... yeah. The poem says 'just hope you can race, because my treat had yet begun'. 'Challenge' had just immediately come to mind when I read that line. I think he means challenging someone when that someone is caught unaware in a situation," Jounouchi chuckled lamely, sipped his coffee and continued his explanation.

"Uhmm, yeah sort of... 'the treat' he had mentioned must be referring to the killings. To put everything logically in place, he is challenging us -I assume- to stop his plots or something like that. It must have been quite a boring life, when he was still untainted by people's deaths" He pointed out, snorting at his sarcasm on the last comment. He was rubbing his temples slowly. 

A headache had made its presence known in his tired-out mind. Doing puzzles like these weren't so easy. A lot of energy was needed for the complicated thinking. 

Besides that, he should actually think of nothing troublesome like his constant worries about his sister, his guilt, his duties etcetera. It hadn't been an easy task, he supposed that he was chained to those matters. 

And still, he'd managed to clear his head from them, while puzzling the poem out even though there were still three spots left to fill.

"Ten?" Inspector Kaiba inquired, looking at the slumped officer.

"Aa" was the officer's neutral response.

"Bad description. Bad fractions. Bad constructions. Very misleading. He sucks at poetry" Katsuya added non-committal, grinning winningly at his companion.

"You have experience on that field?" the inspector raised curious eyebrows at the grinning officer for some explanation. 

"Not really. But I do know when something is crap or not -like this coffee for example. I like my coffee with whipped cream, this one tastes plain dirty with some goo stuck on top" He grimaced as he took another sip from his cup.

Okay... but that still didn't explain about the rookie being able to unlock the 'keys' -the clues-, himself. Usually, it's not really easy for rookies to adept to the criminal minds, which was why an older, more experienced officer had to keep the newbies in check. 

Seeing as this rookie had taken the assignment of finding Ryuuji Otogi in living state with stride, inspector Kaiba began to wonder if it was really easy to have the same mind as their killer. Probably not.

The killer must have known about his bad poetry, but had succeeded in veiling the possible clues with non-existing, disciplined poetry structure -not that he knew much of their structures. And yet, the rookie...

"So where do you suggest we go find these clues?" he cautiously picked his words out, eyeing the rookie coolly. 

Jounouchi's grin fell promptly and his eyes darkened. "... how about trying a good-luck hunch?"

"Don't answer me with a question, Jounouchi,"

The officer straightened his back and put on his police cap; the cap he always seemed to be forgetting to wear.

"Let's go take my hunch,"

"And where will this hunch of yours might be?"

"You'll see," The officer flashes him a cryptic smile. Before the inspector could prod some more, Katsuya had already slid out of his chair and was already outside the cheap coffee shop. 

It didn't take a minute longer before inspector Kaiba scowled at the closed door; the rookie had left the bill on him

The light was on red. 

Vroom. Vroom.

The track was cleared, black-and-white-checkered flags were waved around and the nearby track-supporters cheered. The announcer commented about this season's newest additions and spiced his jokes up with subtle perverted implications.

Inspector Kaiba looked miffed as several strangers intruded his personal space due to the over-crowded race-track supporters. He did not like strangers' bodies pressed against him in the middle of an investigation. He did not like hearing the cheers around him; they gave him throbbing headaches. He did not like the afternoon heat, he did not like track-racing, he did not like anything about this place. And damn the rookie seemed to be enjoying himself.

Kaiba glanced at the back of officer Jounouchi's dirty-blonde head. He did not like this situation one bit.

"This is your hunch?" Grabbing the officer's elbow, he practically propelled him out of the crowd.

"Yes. Now, all we need to do is find the connection between the other clues," 

The inspector also didn't like the tone in which Jounouchi had spoken. Impatient and silently enigmatic. It frustrated him to find everything he was sure of jumbled in a messy heap just because the rookie had seen the potential in following his instincts. 

How would he know about the connection between the clues? How would he know what or where the clue was? He's not some psychic or anything. So, why can a mere rookie like Jounouchi get an almost possible lead--even if it might not really lead to their killer's hide out--in this case?

"Oi, let go! Are you trying to fracture my elbow or something?" Jounouchi snapped.

Kaiba blinked, mildly surprised as the rookie pulled himself roughly loose. 

"Ch'! I swear you guys take great pleasure in torturing rookies," Jounouchi muttered, while rubbing his bruised elbow absently.

<<"OH MY GOD!! I can't believe it. It's HIM. It's an honor to be graced by the presence of the legendary Phoenix today. Let's heat it for Phoenix!!>> 
The enthusiasm of the announcer was apparently shared by the crowd as the cheers increased in volume. 

It sparked Jounouchi's interest immediately. He quickly made his way back into the crowd, trying to see how this legendary Phoenix looked like and was followed by a fuming inspector. Besides, he's a great fan of track-racing; it made sense why he loved driving at top speed.

The legendary Phoenix--was a race car's name. The driver stepped out of the vehicle, pushed off his helmet and looked at his fans charmingly.

Jounouchi felt his jaw drop and his eyes widening in shock, when he caught a glimpse of Phoenix's driver. 

"The hell?!" 

Kaiba lifted a surprised eyebrow at seeing station six's Chief there, complete in race track suit with racetrack fame and race car.

He'd never been close to people like Mr. Crawford-too eccentric and too proud about his achievements. Well, apart from Yami, who had always been an eccentric man in his eyes, with his wild spiky hair, his wood-like deadpanned face, the disgusting costumes he always seems to prefer dressing up with. 

Chief Crawford was very much like that: weird and eccentric. Perhaps due to his eccentric nature he was respected.

Kaiba would probably never understand how the higher authorities' minds worked placing such a wild person, Crawford on the head of station six.

"So that's why he hasn't been around a while ago," Katsuya marveled indulgingly and let out an absent chuckle. 

The current commentator rushed up to the Phoenix's owner and shoved a microphone under the other's nose.

<<"Truly, you are so wonderful to drop by yet again, Mr. Phoenix. Are you still up to this race?">>

Chief Crawford-slash-Phoenix' driver threw another charming smile to his enamored audience and held the microphone closer to his lips.

<<"I have yet to decide whether to make a come back or not. Maybe a quick race with the younger generation some day, but for now, we shall see in the near future if I'll ever devote my time on the track.">> Another charming smile, however, this time showing a set of blinding perfect teeth.

<<"Besides, I'm actually looking forward to meeting someone here, so please don't mind me dropping by frequently. I don't want you young drivers to feel so intimidated">> Chief Crawford continued with an amused chuckle in the background.

The crowd broke out in cheers and clapped enthusiastically.

Kaiba winced, grabbed Jounouchi by the wrist and proceeded to drag the other away from the crowd once again. 

"Hey! Hey! Hey! You didn't have to pull me that hard,"

"We have no use of this place," the inspector simply said and made his way to the parking lot.

"Oi! Let go, will ya?" Jounouchi pulled himself loose and stumbled backwards. Raising his index finger to point at the taller inspector's face, he narrowed his eyes threateningly into his direction.

"If you see it that way, then there's no point in solving this case. And sure, let all the rookies be killed. They are just inexperienced, right? Which also means failure on your part! I don't know about you, but I don't want to die yet--" Especially not before I see my sister getting herself a nice, good husband and having a couple of kids, Jounouchi added thoughtfully. "-and you're hardly the type who takes failures well,"

The inspector glared back, clearly offended, as Jounouchi rubbed his bruised wrists.

"What comes after that then?" the inspector began out of the blue. Jounouchi did a double take and blinked. 

"Huh?" He stared unblinkingly back at the inspector, surprised. The inspector already gave up without a fight?

Kaiba opened his mouth to explain in baby-talk what he meant, but no word escaped his lips for he was staring at someone approaching them, in mild surprise. 

Jounouchi caught on and looked over his shoulder curiously only to find himself looking at Chief Crawford,

"Jounouchi," Chief Crawford acknowledged indifferently. Even though the chief wasn't wearing the formal police uniform, he still looked endearingly intimidating--which disturbed Jounouchi to no end, so he nodded stiffly to the chief.

"Sir,"

The chief directed his gaze to the inspector and gave him a smirk or some sorts. "Kaiba,"

The inspector merely raised his eyebrows at the smirk. 

"What a surprise to see you here, the both of you," the chief drawled without breaking eye-contact with the inspector. His eyes glinted eerily--

"Hn,"

Feeling quite out of place, Jounouchi shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

End chapter 16

TheNekoTalks:

This is one suffering chapter that made me suffer for quite awhile. :cries: Looking back at the previous chapters :winces:, I notice there isn't a lot of Kaiba+Jounouchi stuff to mark this story as a KaibaJounouchi story... :cries: But I've finally decided not to make this story last till chapter 20+, so the end -is- nearing. :3 Finally!!! 

Ack! Please forgive me Otogi Fans~~~~!!! Note the "...," at the end.

And here comes a shameful announcement on my part-- :) I've finally got the guts to post 2 whole new Yuugioh Alternative Universes "Freedom" and "A Shutter Chance" (both will be posted at MM.org and SlashFF. But sadly, only one, the latter one, will be posted in FF.net. The first-named story is a bit--how you call it?--darker, very yaoi, R-rated, and not really my-style-themes). The side fics to this story ("Aventurien", "Turamali" and Fluere") will be planned out as soon as I get rid of all my newest plot bunnies out of my head. 

Anyways, I like to thank those who had reviewed my previous chapter (love you!) :feels happy because this will be her 2nd story that will have an end sooner:
- Beysie
- Crosshunt-c
- Shadowy Fluffball
- Misura
- Jou-pup

Thank you for reading!! I apologize for the long notes.

:smiley face: cin