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Preys	By : kamorgana Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 5568 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don�t own Rurouni Kenshin. The characters belong to Watsuki, but the plots, ideas, OCs and text are *mine*.
Preys
Chapter 12: One step forward, two steps back

Shinomori was alone when Saitoh showed up at work, shortly before ten. The cop had arranged a meeting with his contact before, which had been for nothing. The profiler was immobile, leaning on the desk, arms folded, contemplating a big map of the city which was pinned on the white board. The locations of the two recent crimes and of the previous wave had been indicated respectively in red and black.
�Still trying to guess his next move?� Saitoh asked negligently.
��
�I�ll take that as a yes.�
Shinomori turned finally to him. �We have to figure it out.�
�It might be at random.�
�I have to think more.�
Saitoh took his old folders and notes. If Shinomori concentrated on the locations, he would check the victim�s profiles. The profiler was right. They had been so busy looking everywhere for Shishio, Komagata and some new clue that he didn�t have yet the time to sit down and think. He had to order the facts, to be logical. It was his method. Dismissing mentally another annoying issue that had distracted him from the case, he read the files completely again. Then he began to list. Categories: 7 prostitutes. A housewife. A convenient store employee. Yukishiro Tomoe, a cop. Seta�s mother, this was different. A shop-owner. A student. Komagata Yumi. This time: Komagata, maybe. 1 prostitute. Sanjo Tsubame, a socialite�
He cast his glance on Shinomori, who was writing numbers on the board now. 4 numbers�
He was a moron. A total, absolute, winner-of-the year moron. He deserved to be slapped to death for his stupidity, and to spend an eternity in the section of hell reserved for idiots, with Sagara for sole company.
�Komagata is already dead,� he finally announced. �He�s murdering them in the reverse order.�
They shared a look.
�I see that the 31/13 problem has retained your intention,� Saitoh added, savoring his cigarette, for once; most of times he wasn�t even conscious of the taste anymore. �I can�t believe that it took me so long to figure it out. I was so focused on Sanjo being the Mayor�s niece and taking part to social events that I forgot her real occupation. And I had her bloody student card in hands! So, what can we expect?�
The other thought for a while, as always very spontaneous. Not that Saitoh disliked the fact.
�The location problem is a bit different. No other type of victim has been murdered in the 31st precinct. So I think he keeps the order of location, just reversing the number,� Aoshi finally decided.
�The order of the killings, or the order in which the murders have been attributed to him?�
�That�s precisely the point, Saitoh. If he acted in the order of killing, Sanjo�s body should have been found in the 32nd, since the second victim was found in the 23rd. Therefore, I think that if your theory is right, Komagata was executed in the 13th precinct also. And the next one will take place in the 12th as Yukishiro Tomoe was murdered in the 21st.The target will be a prostitute. Then only there will be one in the 32nd�.What?�
Saitoh was grinning. �32nd is the harbor area. It wasn�t a lucky place for Shishio. Anyway we�ll arrest him before that, believe me.�
Anticipation was running through his veins. They had a grip on their prey.
�I call Kondo.�
�It�s not your job,� Shinomori warned.
�So where is she?�
�She arrived by nine, but left again few minutes later.�
�Really.�
It was past noon now. Was there an amused glint in the icy eyes? If Shinomori was waiting for him to ask for more details, he was wasting his time. Saitoh tossed his cigarette in the ashtray. People might be right: he was paranoid. He stood up to pour himself some coffee.
Takani rushed in. It was becoming a habit. He had always thought that her calm demeanor was only a fa�ade, and her late behavior only confirmed his opinion.
�I have news. Tokio-chan isn�t back yet from the funeral? I can�t believe that she went, or that you let her. After what the brat��
She cut off as Shinomori gave her a warning glance. She whirled and realized his presence. She blinked, confused for an instant.
�Oh�.Good morning, Detective.�
Saitoh nodded, ironically.
***
(Earlier in the morning)
The small cemetery was located on the hills, outside the city. Tokio turned away and they walked together to the gate.
�Is he going to be OK?� she asked Hiko, nodding towards the young man who was still kneeling in front of the grave, his hand extended as if taking an oath, tears escaping from his burning eyes.
Seijuro used to �bully� him as a payback for dating his precious niece. Yet since the murder Tokio had noticed, with relief, that they were supporting each other instead of bickering. She knew that Hiko used alcohol the way she used cigarettes, and she didn�t want to see him drowning in the bottle. He needed someone to keep him in line. He had organized the private funerals officially to avoid journalists, but she knew it wasn�t the real reason. He was so cynical and disabused about people that he had only business acquaintances, no friends. He was content with himself. He only had let Tsubame in, and although he didn�t show it, she knew that for the first time he experienced loneliness as a burden.
Tokio also knew that she couldn�t fill this void. He had given her a lot; he had taught her that a relationship could be about respect and exchange. She had showed him that not everybody tried to use him; that he could be wanted for himself. Nevertheless, even back then it hadn�t been enough, and Tsubame had made them aware of it. When she had come into their lives, she needed her uncle and didn�t want to share him. Tokio had taken the decision when the girl had pushed to it. She had realized that she didn�t love Seijuro enough to fight for their relationship and neither did he. Yet they had changed each other�s vision of life, in a sense, so they�d always have a special link, and what they had shared was still there, in the odd friendship that their relationship had become. Even if they didn�t see or call each other on a regular basis, whenever they met the complicity was unchanged.
�He needs time,� Hiko answered.
�And you? I know how important she was to you.� First hand.
He grinned. �I�ll survive. Thank you for coming,� he added, solemnly. �You didn�t have to.�
�I�m your friend, Seijuro. When you need me, I�ll be there. And it isn�t like Tsubame and I couldn�t stand each other anymore. We had a disagreement a long time ago, that�s all.�
They stopped outside, near the gate, silent for several minutes. The melancholy she had felt in him during the short ceremony and in the cemetery faded, leaving place to the Hiko Seijuro whom everybody knew.
�No damn journalists in sight. Good. Will you thank Takani-sensei for me again? I really appreciate that she covered the release of Tsubame. She looked very tired, I�m sorry that I had to wake her up so early this morning. By the way, she thought that you were at my place, last night,� he finished on a detached tone.
She glanced at him sideways.
�I didn�t confirm nor deny. Isn�t that collar a little too high on your neck for the season?�
She shook her head. �You know, I�ve always hated that in you. This habit you have to notice or remember the most embarrassing things about people�and to tease them with it.�
�So there is something embarrassing about it?� he countered innocently, which made a funny contrast with his serious face and cynical smile.
She smiled back. Hiko cultivated a rather strange sense of humor, usually at people�s sake, but she was glad to hear it now.
�None of your business. I have to go back to work now. I can hope to be back by noon.�
�I promised you to stay out of it. But catch him.�
�We will. I promised you, too.�
***
Saitoh was quite satisfied at Takani�s confusion. She didn�t need to tell more for him to guess where *she* was.
*She* came back at that very moment. She inspected their faces, and asked cautiously:
�Another disaster?�
�Yes,� Megumi answered, at the same time when Saitoh was saying �No�.
She sighed: �Let�s clear that,� sitting in her chair next to the board.
�Bad news or goods news?� Saitoh proposed, leaning on his seat, his feet crossed on his desk and more wolfish than ever.
�You have good ones?� Takani gasped.
�Somebody said good?�
Misao had stopped on the threshold. Behind her was Enishi. Could he look more somber, Tokio wondered. She discarded the thought. �Sit down. Should we wait for Sagara and Kitaoka?�
�Sano is trying to contact some old �friends� about the first murder. They won�t come back before late afternoon, unless you want them to,� the young girl provided. Her expression was eager. �Is there really some good news?�
Tokio stared expectantly at Saitoh, then at Megumi.
�There�s another one,� her friend stated.
�We figured him out.�
Tokio took her cell phone. �Kitaoka? Come back, now.�
***
Guessing that nobody had had lunch, Tokio had called a pizza delivery service and the food arrived half an hour later, at the same time as Sano and Tsunan.
�Let�s start with the bad news,� Tokio started. She didn�t touch her food, smoking instead.
Megumi stood up, pinning pictures of the autopsy on the board, next to the city map.
�I could *finally* get the first victim�s body for another autopsy early this morning, and could compare her wounds with what I saw on Sanjo�s body. These were too close to Shishio�s to be the work of a copycat. Nevertheless, what I examined this morning was a 100% perfect match. The difference of strength is even slighter than in the Shishio/Seta crimes, yet it exists. Overcoming this fact had slowed the investigation ten years ago. Shishio is not working alone. I think that there are two killers this time, too.�
�Aoshi?� Tokio didn�t care about revealing her nervousness now. She took another cigarette right after she finished the first one.
He waited, as always, before giving an answer. �To speak the truth, I was quite surprised that Shishio worked alone. Serial killers working in team are no common phenomena; they rarely change their pace. Moreover, we know that Shishio was the dominant. Killing to appeal at the partner, using the old modus operandi, would have been more believable if Seta had been the one out. There�s another problem��
�Why did he wait for ten years?�
Aoshi rewarded Enishi�s remark with an approving nod. �He must have been severely wounded, considering the circumstances of his disappearance. The time for him to heal his wounds is likely. But he could also have needed time to form another disciple.�
Nobody talked, the silence getting thicker minute by minute.
�What would be the profile? Close to Seta�s?� Saitoh�s eyes glittered.
�Probably. I have to work on that, and I lack references. Young, abused, vulnerable so that Shishio could model him to his way of thinking. He and Komagata moved next door to Seta about ten years before the crimes began. It matches.�
�Saitoh, I think it�s time for you to give us your good news�.The troops� moral couldn�t be lower,� Tokio sighed.
He glanced at Aoshi, who wrote the numbers on the board, in line: 31, 31, 31, 21, 23, 14, 9.
�These are the first precincts where the Slayers struck, in the order that the crimes were attributed to them by the police and the media,� he stated. �Now��
He wrote the reverse numbers under each one. 13, 13, 13, 12, 32, 41�
�The next crime will take place in the 12th precinct,� Saitoh began.
***
Needless to say that hope was on every face once he finished. Saitoh was surprised, nevertheless, at Takagi�s genuine smile directed to them. To him.
�Good work,� she said simply. �Aoshi, do you have a theory concerning him repeating the same scheme? After all, the difficulty to figure his choice of victims had been a factor in the time it took to get him.�
�I would say publicity. He wanted us to now that it was him. I�ve always profiled Shishio with a large ego �reason why the crimes� frequency raised after the media got in- but chewing the facts for ten years must have increased it in quite a proportion. He obviously stopped to care about his own safety; this is surprising, since Shishio has always paid a particular attention to it. Yet in ten years he must have accumulated a serious amount of frustration, assuming that he didn�t kill. The other possibility is that his new partner wants the credits too much for caring. It�s a twisted need for recognition.�
�That�s why we get them all in the end,� Saitoh snorted.
�It can also explain why he is using the order of attribution and not the order of the killing for the locations. He appeals, consciously or not, to the collective memory of the crimes. It may be a way to challenge us, though changing the rules enough to keep some advance,� Aoshi hinted.
�And why don�t they change the frequency? It would surely be a better way to take us by surprise. Sorry if it�s a stupid question, it�s not my usual field�.�Tsunan explained.
�A serial-killer masters the time. When he kills has to do with his compulsion, how long he enjoys the anticipation before the need to kill is stronger than him, before the memories of the previous murder begins to fade and he needs new ones to replace them. For instance, in the Slayer case, the publicity gave them more pleasure, increasing their urge to kill. But unless he reaches a new stage, he will not change the frequency. His ego wouldn�t stand it.�
�Reverse the order of the victims, and the locations but not in the same way�Isn�t that a little too complicated? I know, these guys aren�t thinking straight, but�� Sano was a bit dubious.
�If they were as simple-minded as you, it wouldn�t be such a problem to arrest them in the first place�.� Saitoh was smirking. Pissing off the rooster was almost as satisfying as a cigarette.
�It�s only a theory,� Aoshi pointed at the same time.
Tokio stood up, cutting short Sano�s yelling. �It�s all we have, and it�s better than nothing. I�ll ask Kondo to have the whole 12th precinct on patrol next Wednesday, and some help from the Criminal Department. Makimachi, I don�t cancel the search on Komagata: dead or alive, we have to find her. For the alter ego, you and Yukishiro can work with Saitoh and Shinomori. Sagara and Kitaoka, you�re still on the other murders�and if you can convince the pimps you know not to let their girls on the streets�but not a word about the 12th, or the second murderer. It�s classified. I think that I could give another press conference tonight. Text-book style, he�s not as smart as he thinks, we�ll get him soon, but I can�t comment?�
�They will take it as a provocation, but that won�t prevent them to strike again. Only make them more eager,� Aoshi answered.
She smiled. �It seems that the roles are finally reversed. We take initiative now. The research work can be made through phone or computer. Do the most you can this afternoon, and don�t feel compelled to come tomorrow unless it�s necessary. Take your Sunday off, next week will be busy.�
***
It was past seven when Tokio came out of her office. Only Saitoh was still there, sitting at his desk. He turned to her, and they really stared at each other for the first time since the morning.
Tokio saw him walk to her, taking her roughly in his arms, pulling off her collar to reach the mark he had left at the crook of her neck. He kissed it, teased it with his tongue, as she closed her eyes, her fingers tangling in his hair, feeling him hardening against her, heating her skin from head to toes.
Saitoh felt her pressing to him in response to his embrace, her arms gripping his shoulders, her nails digging in his back already, yielding to him, and whispering his name again before she welcomed his insistent tongue in her warm mouth�
�See you on Monday, Detective,� she managed to say on a mild tone, walking to the main door.
�Aa,� he answered coldly, not moving from his chair, reporting his eyes on the documents he was reading before her intrusion.
To be continued�

Author�s notes:

About the briefing in this chapter, it shows their first theories on the murder. On some things they will be right, and on some others wrong. The modus operandi is very basic but there�s a reason behind it, too.

Part of the last scene is of course a fantasy, I�m not sure that I managed to make it clear, I wanted to show that although Saitoh and Tokio managed to have a normal behavior at work, they didn�t erase the events of the previous chapter so easily.

Next chapter: Saitoh is annoyed, Tokio is upset, Enishi paranoid, nothing new under the sun. But why is Megumi hysterical and why is Aoshi going to visit Misao at her place? Some new revelations on the Slayers, too.
- 11
- 12
- 13
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