PREYS
by Kamorgana
Chapter 19: Alpha-male
blues
It was early in the evening when Saitoh entered Tokio's office without
knocking, and closed the door behind him.
"Are you ready?"
"I beg your pardon?" she asked, dismayed at his casual attitude.
"Time to leave," he just said.
"Sagara and Kitaoka are going to assume my protection tonight. Didn't
you
hear?"
No, he didn't. He had gone out just after the briefing, in need of
fresh
air. He was still investigating Shishio's past, but the lead on
Raijuta,
which he had got from his informer during lunchtime, had turned into a
dead
end.
"And how come?"
"Considering your gracious attitude today, Sagara thought that it might
be
a better choice," explained Tokio, not sounding as detached as she
wanted
to.
"He thinks? That's a scoop."
"Yes he does. He noticed that we weren't "getting along", wanted to
spare
me some stress, obviously to spare you a chore, and to allow Aoshi, who
got
no sleep last night, to rest a little," she answered, managing this
time to
stay polite.
She had no intention to have the same attitude as him, letting personal
resentment interfere with their work, and neither to be the victim of
his
bad mood when she had nothing to do with it. She was tired of his
games.
She shouldn't have entered them in the first place, but it wasn't too
late
to correct the situation.
"After their moronic behavior of yesterday, they can't be.."
"They ARE good cops and I trust them. And I certainly don't want to
impose
on you the burden of my company again," she finished with an ironic
smile.
Saitoh controlled his rising irritation, letting out with the same
tone:
"That's very thoughtful of you. "
"Isn't it? Well, Detective, was it all that you had to tell me?"
"No. I'm.."
A knock on the door interrupted him.
"Come in!" she said, ignoring his furious glare.
"Boss, are you ready to go? Ah, Saitoh.."
"Yes, I'm ready, Sagara."
She stood up, putting her cell phone, cigarettes and lighter in her
handbag.
"My investigation led to nothing this afternoon. I'll keep you informed
if
I get something else," announced Saitoh, standing up, too.
"Yes, please. See you tomorrow, Detective," she greeted distantly,
before
leaving with the two other cops.
He came back to the main room, where Shinomori was alone, finishing the
classing of his files. Saitoh could feel the frustration hidden behind
the
cold demeanor.
"Care for a drink, partner?"
***
Saitoh and Aoshi chose a booth in a corner, at Kamiya's. Both ignored
the
lame jokes of the waitress, and ordered their favorite beverages,
respectively warm sake and hot green tea, in a barely polite tone.
They stayed silent for more than an hour, Saitoh smoked and drank,
talking
only to order more, while Aoshi stared straight in front of him,
sipping
some of his tea from time to time.
A group of three men entered the pub, getting Saitoh's attention. Aoshi
finally reacted at the glint in his partner's eyes.
"Internal affairs," stated the profiler.
"Takeda is there."
"And?"
"She thinks he's in charge of Yukishiro's miss."
Aoshi could barely contain a bemused grin, at the way Saitoh had
pronounced
the "She", in spite of his shitty mood. Yet the mention of Takeda was
preoccupying.
"How come she didn't tell us? This can have some implications."
"She didn't get the information officially."
".."
"A good friend of hers gave her the tip," Saitoh went on.
Aoshi stared intently at his partner. He was very surprised that his
silence got him to say more. The glaring hostility stinging in his
voice
was equally strange. He reviewed mentally why, and who could have
provoked
such a reaction in him. Seeing suddenly the beginning of an
explanation, he
decided to try his luck.
"Hiko?"
"A buffoon."
Saitoh gulped the last cup of his sake, and asked for another flask.
This
was the fourth.
Aoshi was frankly entertained now, and satisfied to see that his guess
had
been right, once more. He had hesitated to let Tokio go with him the
previous night, when she was so shocked. He knew that Saitoh wouldn't
try
to hurt her, but she was proud and she would never forgive herself if
she
let the cop see her being so vulnerable, considering the state of their
relationship. In the morning, he thought he had worried for nothing.
They
had grown closer, as far as Aoshi could tell, and he hadn't understood
Saitoh's sudden change of attitude in the afternoon. Now he did.
"Not really. Very smart man."
"Nosy."
"Protective with his friends."
"Her safety isn't his business. Nor these two morons'."
"And whose business is this supposed to be?"
Saitoh was getting drunk. He was usually very careful to control his
alcohol consumption, as he hated to loose grip on his reactions. Yet he
wasn't drunk enough to miss the irony of Shinomori's question. He was
sure
that his partner knew, somehow, but he had to establish some boundaries
on
what could be told explicitly or not. Fortunately, he had a way to. He
waited for one of the twins to put his new sake on the table, then
retorted, nonchalantly.
"Do you want a plain answer? Then we could pursue this interesting
conversation by discussing the reason why you were so grim today.
Worried
about some other safety policy decided against your advice?"
Aoshi stiffened, to Saitoh's delight. No better way to get over one's
frustration than to provoke someone else's.
"It's different."
"Obviously. Yukishiro has more brains than Kitaoka and Sagara combined.
To
be fair, Sagara's IQ being in the negative, no one can make up for it."
"We made a mistake with Yukishiro."
Saitoh gave Shinomori a sharp glance.
"We thought that his protective behavior toward women would balance his
temper, but in the light of last night's events, we were wrong."
"You didn't voice that, did you?"
"She wouldn't listen to me. He sees her as an older sister, but she is
willing to fulfill the role. She trusts him."
"The damn woman is more stubborn than a bunch of donkeys," stated
Saitoh.
"And as dense."
"Did it come to your mind that you were not easy to read?"
"That's the pot calling the kettle black, Shinomori."
Some laughs from Takeda's table made them turn towards it. Himura
Kenshin
was bringing them some more beer and food.
"HE's in a good mood."
"That means nothing good for the section. You were at the Academy with
him?"
"The guy is a snake," spat Saitoh.
"Not surprising that he made his career on the rats' brigade. His
records
from the Criminal Department weren't good."
"Internal Affairs are a necessity. Corrupted cops have to be punished.
Takeda and his alike only are a disgrace. He orients his investigations
on
what can serve him or his personal likings, when only justice should
prevail."
"So we can expect him to show some particular pugnacity in this
investigation. It's no secret that he took the rejection of his
candidature
to enter the section very badly."
"The faster we solve that case, the better. Too many things are getting
out
of control."
"I really need to profile the partner. Anything new about Raijuta?"
"The information I got today led to a big nothing. And Komagata, if she
ever knew anything, is definitely mute. You seemed to be pretty sure to
get
more yourself?"
"It seems that I can't expect rapid results by this method. I have
another
idea, though."
"Seta."
"He's the only one who can know about Shishio's past."
"She's not going there again," warned Saitoh.
"No, not in the near future anyway."
"Not ever."
Some thoughts about bunch of donkeys and black kettles crossed Aoshi's
mind
briefly, but Saitoh wasn't in the mood to appreciate the irony.
"I want to try another approach. Seta was very devoted to Shishio, and
utterly loyal. He seems to think that Shishio felt the same loyalty
towards
him. If I can shatter this belief, he might talk."
"I thought that you got the authorization to interrogate him only about
the
new murders? That his shrink was referring to the Defense Agency before
accepting a visit?"
"That was before. Now, we have a witness who identified Shishio,
without
the shadow of a doubt. They can't forbid me to interrogate Seta on him
anymore, they have no pretext to."
"Dream on. They won't give up that easily."
"Probably. But now I can obtain an official order, and their opposition
would be a very bad publicity."
Saitoh smirked, appreciative of his partner's manipulative temper, and
served himself more sake. They didn't talk again for a while, the
tension
accumulating behind the silence. He wondered if the growing impatience
he
detected in Shinomori was only the result of his own.
"I'll drive you home," Aoshi said, eventually.
"I'm in the mood for a walk. And I don't live near the hospital..I
wouldn't
want you to make a long detour," he added, his expression turning
ironic,
as he realized why his partner wanted to leave.
Shinomori glared at him, before recovering an impassive face, and took
something from his pocket. A business card. He set it on the table,
pushing
it towards Saitoh, who raised a brow inquiringly.
"Sagara let it fall down in the section's room this afternoon. It might
help you to orient your walk."
Aoshi stood up and left, under the half vexed, half bemused stare of
Saitoh.
Finishing his sake, the cop shrugged. If Shinomori wanted to behave
like a
protective idiot, it was his problem. Saitoh wouldn't lower himself to
that.
***
Leaning on the gate of the park facing the hotel, Saitoh decided for
the
fifth time in one hour that he was going home. He had. He had gone
home,
and spent 4 hours on his couch, smoking cigarette after cigarette.
Restless. He had been restless, and that was becoming a habit. He hated
this. What he hated even more was that he had taken the card even
though he
had decided not to, and that he had ended up going to the hotel, when
he
had sworn that he wouldn't.
He didn't care about her. He had taken the card only to avoid that
somebody
else found it. Whatever Yukishiro said, her key could have been stolen
at
Kamiya's as well. And he had come only because there was a chance that
Shishio or his partner showed up there. He was restless because the
bastard
had escaped him during the pursuit. He didn't want to miss an
opportunity
to even the score.
His presence had nothing to do with her. She wanted Sagara to look
after
her? Perfect. She wanted to end-up like Sanjo and the others? Her
decision.
He crushed his empty cigarette pack, in an exasperated gesture.
He had never lied to himself. That was good for fools and cowards. And
that
was exactly what he was trying to do now. Of course, he was there
because
of her, and that was driving him mad.
Damn her.
The depth of his possessiveness towards her was upsetting him. He
wasn't
jealous of Hiko, it was obviously over between them, and anyway why
would
he, but the blatant complicity that linked them had unnerved him. He
could
have stood it if the moron hadn't proposed to protect her. She was his.
She
was his to protect. Nobody could but him. Nobody else had the right to.
He just couldn't bring himself to think straight when it came to her.
If he
decided to ignore her, like after they slept together the first time,
he
couldn't stop thinking about her, or more exactly, he was getting
obsessed.
He couldn't try to despise her again, he didn't believe it himself, and
it
ended up showing up on duty. He could not allow any personal feeling to
disturb it anymore. If he stopped rationalizing his reactions...He had
done
that the night before. He understood now that it was even more
dangerous.
He knew that she could affect him to some extent, yet his confrontation
with Hiko showed him that he had been fooling himself, thinking that he
dominated the situation. He was trapped.
The realization had infuriated him to no end, at himself for reacting
like
a moron, and at her, for shattering his self-control like this, and he
had
rejected her. The only thing that he had been able to think was that
she
was a threat to him. That he needed a way out. And so he had behaved
like a
perfect idiot, not only when they were alone, but during the briefing.
Intolerable.
Then came the most upsetting part. After calming down, he had decided
to
erase the embarrassing incident, and to act as if nothing had happened.
After all, he wasn't M. Sociability, and she was used to his shows of
bad
mood. He had thought that a night together would solve the problem. He
was
confident that he could make her forget about it. He hadn't been really
surprised by her distant attitude. She had let a bit of resentment
show.
She was annoyingly proud, and he had thought that his cold attitude had
hurt her. It was fine with him. It meant that he could affect her.
Fine,
perfect, even. He could allow himself not to be in total control of the
situation, as long as he was *more* in control than she was.
The problem was that he couldn't be sure. Was her unnerved behavior due
to
his hostility interfering in their professional relationship? She had
been
indifferent in the evening, more than angry, and even if it had been a
reflex of pride, she had been able to master her reactions. He hadn't
thought that she would put some physical distance between them, either.
That wasn't fine with him at all.
He still desired her like crazy. She was dominative and submissive,
sweet
and wild, and the explosive cocktail gave him more complete
satisfaction
than he thought was possible. So complete that it paradoxically created
a
need for more.
Did she surrender only because she had been vulnerable? Was she able to
dismiss what happened after she had regained some control, when the
need of
her was still crawling in his veins?
Stupid.
She had been his, completely his, the previous night. He couldn't be
wrong
on that. The soft light in her gray eyes, her needy sighs, her sweet
voice
pleading, all of her had told that to him. She had asked him to make
love
to her. His eyes glowed in the dark, as he remembered how fully she had
given herself to him. Of course her distant attitude had been a reflex
of
pride. She couldn't resist him.
She was his to take, thus his to protect.
He had to rectify the situation, and deal with her stupid pride. He'd
never
apologize, and anyway it was HER fault, but he'd find a way to mend
things.
Then she'd admit it. And once he was sure, he wouldn't be possessive
anymore. He'd have certainties again. He'd won, and the need would
disappear. How simple.
***
Tokio opened the window of the hotel room. Thank God there was one. She
couldn't have bear to be locked tonight. She had been careful not to
make a
noise, but she was sure that Sanosuke and Tsunan were sleeping now,
anyway.
She welcomed the night air, although it was already hot and heavy. The
rainy season wasn't far. She checked her cigarette packs. She had three
sticks left in the current one, and two new boxes on the nightstand.
She
had the feeling that it would be barely enough until morning.
She took the first drag of the one she just lit, trying desperately to
get
some peace of mind.
She had managed to forget her problems during the nice, friendly
evening
they had spent at the hospital with Enishi and Misao. It was the first
time
that she had been included in the group of the young cops, and their
care
for her had made her feel fine. Yet now she was alone, and thinking of
Saitoh.
Again.
And as usual she was feeling miserable because of him. She was
conscious
that she was the only one to blame, though. She had thrown herself at
him.
She had let him see how vulnerable she was. It wasn't like she didn't
know
him, and couldn't guess the kind of behavior that he had in the
afternoon.
It wasn't like she didn't know that she had feelings for him, either,
and
that she was bound to be hurt in the process.
She sighed, exasperated. And now she even stopped to deny it.
She couldn't believe that she had felt so good, so certain that she
could
deal with any kind of relationship with him in the morning. What on
earth
did she expect?
She of course didn't expect them to grow closer on the personal level,
but
she thought that they had an understanding. A connection? That was
stupid,
but she had assumed that at least they could have some complicity on
the
professional level, like these last days. How ridiculous it sounded
when
she was trying to put it into words.
She had been so hurt, how could she admit that, so hurt at his cold
reaction. How could she allow that? Where was her control? Her pride?
The truth was that she had none. That was why she was in her hotel
room, in
the dark, unable to find any kind of peace. There was a diffused,
unidentified yet growing worry taking over her. She felt alone, and
empty,
and even though she was absolutely exhausted, she couldn't sleep.
She didn't feel like this yesterday. He had made her feel safe and
wanted
and complete. Nothing else could do, not even the warm friendship and
care
of the others. She needed him.
Oh, God, how frightening was that. He was impossible, he didn't care
the
least about her, and yet she felt like calling him, asking him to come
and
make her feel good. Asking him to make love to her again. She was
pathetic.
She had never given herself to anyone the way she had with him, and he
was
rejecting her. She had known that he would, still she had. Worse, she
wanted to again. Pitiful. She didn't even have enough self-respect left
to
pretend otherwise, to find a pretext, to dismiss the importance he had
taken. To pretend that any man will do, when he was the only one she
needed.
She opened a new pack, wishing she had bought one of his. Wishing to
feel
the taste of his mouth. Wishing to have his strong arms around her, his
hot
body pressed to hers, to hear his low voice whispering that she was
his..
She didn't imagine that, did she? He had told that. He had looked at
her
with these burning amber eyes; he had caressed her and possessed her
like
she wanted to be. He had felt the way she had. He had lost control,
too.
She couldn't be wrong on that. Saitoh wasn't a man who pretended to
feel
something he didn't.
She muttered a desperate curse. She didn't know what to think anymore.
She
couldn't allow him to hurt her further, but she couldn't bring herself
to
get away from him.
Maybe she could. After all, she had been able to stay away from him
tonight. She had *some* pride left, though there was nothing to brag
about.
She couldn't fight her feelings, less her physical attraction to him,
but
if he went on behaving like a jerk, maybe they'd disappear. She should
stop
trying to guess his motives, and above all, stop to expect anything
from
him, even as meaningless as professional complicity. It would be easier
when the case was over, and that she could put herself together. For
now
she'd just have to cope, the better she could.
She could do that..maybe.
She stubbed her cigarette, in a definite gesture. Peeking through the
window, she noticed a figure leaning on the gates of the park, down the
street. Familiar figure. Lighting a cigarette. The flame of the lighter
showed his face for a second. Saitoh. He was there.
She shook her head, refusing to wonder why, to find an answer to the
questions or to acknowledge the feelings assaulting her mind.
Stop guessing. Stop expecting. She could do that..maybe not.
***
Tokio had finally managed to fall asleep, and her slumber had been deep
enough for her to feel better in the morning. Sano and Tsunan had
kindly
let her sleep a little more than she should have, so they hurried to
the
office before having breakfast. They were just a bit late.
None of them could help a movement of surprise as they saw who was
there
already, nonchalantly smoking at his desk.
"Enishi! Hey man!" smiled Sano.
Tokio frowned, wondering briefly if Misao was fine. No, this time he
would
have called to warn them. He had gotten his lesson.
"What are you doing here, partner?"
Enishi stared at Tsunan, then at the others, obviously dismayed. "Kondo
sent two blues to replace me this morning, he wants to see me. Isn't
there
a meeting with him now?"
"Really?" said Saitoh, stepping in the section room, Aoshi following
him.
He sent a rapid glance to Tokio, whose perplexity and annoyance were
blatant. "It seems that none of us heard about it."
"No, indeed," she stated, her voice reflecting her frustration. "He
said
he'd call back to reschedule the canceled reunion of yesterday morning,
but
as he didn't, I thought that he realized that an investigation was out
of
proportion, or that the IA found nothing to justify it."
Catching Saitoh and Aoshi's swift, silent exchange, she asked
impatiently:
"What?"
"I wouldn't count on some good news if I were you."
"We saw Takeda and two of his colleagues yesterday at Kamiya's, and he
seemed particularly self-content," explained her friend, noncommittally.
"Takeda?" exclaimed Sano. "Why would..Wait a minute. Kondo put Takeda
in
charge of this investigation???"
"Elementary, Dr Watson," groaned Saitoh, though he didn't seem, for
once,
very satisfied at his shot. It sounded more like a habit than like a
real
attempt at bickering.
Tsunan, unusually, didn't try to calm his hotheaded friend's outburst,
his
voice lowering, and eyes brightening dangerously as he turned to Tokio.
"Is
that a bad joke?"
"I'm afraid not. We can't be sure, but it's likely that he is."
"Kondo has probably nothing to do with that decision," reminded Saitoh.
"And the section being his idea, he can't protest without being accused
of
favoritism."
"Come on, Takeda's resentment is no secret. He could have done
something,"
spat Tsunan.
"Please, let's not start arguing with each other," interrupted firmly
Tokio. "We all know that as soon as Kondo will hear Enishi's
explanations,
this whole matter will be dropped, anyway."
."You're right, boss. You're just off that case..more or less," smiled
Sano, obviously relieved, to Enishi, who seemed lost in his thoughts.
Noticing that Tsunan was still preoccupied, too, he added, cheeringly:
"If
Misao was there, she would say: it'll be alright, let's forget about it
and
have breakfast! Think positive!"
Against himself, Enishi let out a little smile at the imitation of the
girl's tone and attitude, and Kitaoka grinned. "Not the part about the
food."
"Yeah, OK, I made that up. Let's have some coffee. I'm going to the
vending
machine downstairs to get some sandwiches. Enishi, you come with me,
and
Tsunan, you get the drinks. For Shinomori, green tea, that's for sure!"
Aoshi didn't answer, as he had just picked up his ringing phone. "We
don't
know yet...don't worry about it..."
Tokio sighed, appreciative of Sano's efforts. She knew that Misao had
asked
him to lighten up the atmosphere of the section, as she couldn't do it
herself, and he was taking that seriously, though in his outrageous
way.
Once again, she appreciated the kind diversion he was offering. She
wasn't
so sure as she had said, and..
"I wouldn't be so sure. As you said, it smells bad," mused Saitoh. She
was
next to him, and he had talk low enough so only she could hear him.
She turned to him, to stare into his eyes. Yes, she had said that, when
he
was so cold towards her. This time, he didn't escape the contact. She
couldn't read his unexpressive face, but he sounded like..he was
offering
peace. Not an apology, of course, nobody would ever hear the word
"sorry"
coming out of Saitoh's mouth, still, his insistent gaze told her that
his
choice of words wasn't innocent.
She sighed inwardly. As long as she wasn't able to break their strange
relationship, she had to accept the way he was. From any other, she
would
have demanded a formal apology, or at least an explanation, but with
him..she had to be content with that. Disturbingly, she was under the
impression that it was enough. Like his presence at the hotel had been.
She
turned her gaze away to answer Tsunan's question about her drink,
before
whispering to Saitoh.
"I hope I was wrong, though. Oh, thank you, Kitaoka," she added louder,
accepting gratefully the cup of hot black tea he offered her.
As Tsunan turned to pour some black coffee for the others, Saitoh
smirked
wolfishly. "That'll be fine with me."
She smiled, absurdly relieved and..happy? Oh, was she in trouble.
There were more urgent troubles to deal with, though, and she focused
on
her duty again as, a few minutes after Sano and Enishi got back, Takeda
Kanryuusai made his entry, a satisfied expression lighting his lean
face.
To be continued..
Author's notes:
IA stands for Internal Affairs.
Lots of thanks, as usual, to Mara, Firuze and L.Sith (sorry for all the
mistakes I had let in this one), for their corrections, support and
encouragement! You're the best!
And thanks to the reviewers:
Mary-Ann: Thanks! I see Hiko as rather insightful.but Hiko is quite
everything to me (^-^). I'm glad that you found her reactions realistic.
Jadegoddess: I hope that it was interesting enough, thanks (^-^)
Devil: Of course, things aren't going to be easy! Thank you very much,
I'm
glad to know that you enjoy it! (^-^)
L.Sith: Thanks again! Yeah, that's pretty much my advice on the matter,
too
(^-^)
Firuze: And thanks again! (^-^) Well, I'm in dominatrix mode, lately,
especially with Saitoh-sama, who definitely needs to correct his temper
(and who happens to like it, LOL). But I'm afraid that somebody dear to
you
might be my next victim..in a far less pleasant way. Forgive me!
Fyyrose: What a nice compliment, thank you! I hope not to be at the
origin
of family trouble (^-^)
PhoenixEssence: Thank you very much! Well, I *wish* I knew Saitoh
personally, LOL. I hope that you get to read the manga, that pretty
much
how I get "acquainted" with him (^-^)
Oryo: Saitoh isn't jealous, not the "insecure" meaning of the term, at
least (due to his inflated ego), but he doesn't like to share..Yes, the
key
is a clue. And yes, I have serious explanations for the outcome. Thank
you!
(^-^)
Bonessasan: She has a backbone back, more or less (well, more in the
next
chapter), but she is dealing with Saitoh, and Saitoh saying he's sorry
being OOC, I had to pull my hair off to find a compromise. (^-^)
Next chapter: Tokio can't imagine what kind of trouble. Dear reader,
you
surely have an idea.
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