Oliver's hands had remained loosely tucked in the pockets of his hoodie, his expression flat as he walked at Hiroki's side, staring ahead as the voices of reporters in the distance grew louder by each stride in the detectives steps. He let out a small scoff in disgust at the sight, looking away with a frown.
Hiroki meanwhile was much more focused on the task at hand rather than the distraction of news journalists trying to do their jobs, albeit a bit too intrusively. He had already slipped out a notepad from his back pocket along with a pen, spending time flipping through the numerous papers from previous cases until he landed on an empty page.
An officer stood before the yellow tape concealing the entrance to the narrow and dim alley, face stern and his pose domineering, holding his hands firmly behind his back with his legs spread a couple feet apart. Other officers were a few meters ahead holding back the onslaught of reporters and the few stray citizens who happened to be walking by.
Dozens of voices could be heard, throwing out questions left and right but due to the wide variety of input, each question would only be tuned out by another. Oliver had felt the corner of his lip twitch out of frustration due to all of the commotion and Hiroki took notice, a grin forming on his lips as he glanced over.
"You didn't sleep last night, did you?" He suddenly asked as they approached the officer.
Oliver focused on what was ahead of him, slipping out some disposable gloves from his front pocket and beginning to slide each one over his hands.
"Two nights, for clarification. I already have a headache from that and you. Those reporters are about to become a statistic." He grumbled out.
Hiroki sighed.
"Yeah, I have to admit, they are irritating me as well."
Oliver's partner wasted no time doing the same, retrieving his own gloves and carefully slipping them past his fingers, giving the rubbery texture a small yank to push through it's friction upon his palm.
As the two finally reached the officer on guard, Hiroki slipped out his wallet, smiling. He raised his arm forward, the wallet falling open to reveal a golden badge with the detectives name plastered just below it.
"I'm detective Hiroki Akiyama and this is detective Oliver Young. We are here to investigate the scene."
Oliver meanwhile, lazily tugged out his own wallet from his pocket, only showing it to the officer until he had a clear look before concealing it once more.
The officer looked at both forms of identification, his demeanor sinking as he grinned.
"Ah, Hiroki! It's a pleasure to formally meet you!"
Hiroki's popularity on the force never ceased to end. Even at a fresh murder scene, officers would look on in awe just by the presence of their top detective. Oliver, on the other hand, preferred being in the shadows of his colleague. He didn't have time for superficial admiration and knew it would only break his focus.
Hiroki chuckled at the officer's response, giving an affirming nod.
"You as well, could we go in?"
"Of course sir!"
The man on guard was quick to scurry over to the right end of the tape, carefully lifting it to clear the barrier for the two detectives.
Oliver had stared into the narrow, crooked alley's deep abyss, the depths of darkness seeming boundless in its hold over the crime scene. It felt as though it's hold would breach and consume anything it touched, only to take a retreat in response to the flashing lights behind the detectives, protruding inwards of the alley's entrance.
Oliver slipped his phone out from his pocket, being sure to turn on its built in flashlight, quickly illuminating the entrance to the crime scene. The brick walls that confined the tight space were covered in small cracks, dirt wedged between them. The concrete sidewalk had been cracked as well, filled with potholes that still had water from the mid-day rain that had occured earlier. A green dumpster was layed against the alley's right wall, one of the lids left open and likely filled with water as well.
"Yeesh..." Hiroki responded to the sight, a frown coming to his lips.
"Yeah, thank god wearing gloves is protocol."
After his statement, Oliver took a step forward, Hiroki soon following right behind. As the two ventured into the alley, the sound of reporters grew distant once more, eventually becoming obsolete as they were met with a right turn.
Upon making said turn, the detectives were met with two officers, glares of glow coming from the flashlights attached to their chests. An ambulance could be see in front of the alley's exit, ready to get to work once the investigation was complete.
"Alright, you guys can go take guard. We have it handled from here." Oliver suddenly called out to the two men.
The police on guard both glanced up with wide eyes, a look of bewilderment on their faces. Oliver's brows furrowed in response, watching as the two scurried off as they were told. He knew officers would accept any commands thrown at them, but he didn't expect the two to run off like children being scolded by their parents. The two officers brushed past their superiors, both Oliver and Hiroki turning to glance back at the men as they walked off hurriedly. The detectives shared a glance, shrugging in unison before they approached the body in question. The body of Ren Sawaya.
The two stopped at the sight before them and soon the officers unease became apparent. Ren's body could hardly be called his own anymore. A once beautiful model now had skin dry and tight against his skull, his hair having been separated from his body. But it didn't take long to find however, white strands surrounding Ren's head and shoulders, reflecting off the flashlight on Oliver's phone. Ren's jaw had fallen, crooked to it's right side as if it had been broken. The model's lips had been missing along with his teeth, only leaving his gums on display. He had a stare despite a lack of eyes, the depths of darkness reminiscent of the entrance of the alley.
Ren had now been nothing but a dry, wrinkled corpse. A simple white dress shirt laid over his body like a blanket and the waistline of his jeans had lost contact to it's once vibrant body. A shoe had fallen off his foot while the other loosely remained intact.
Hiroki couldn't help but widen his eyes in response, his mouth falling open just a little at the sight. It made him feel unsettled and he couldn't quite conclude as to why. The man had seen a lot in his days; people being burned alive, headless corpses, dead children. But something about this... It left him uneasy.
That had been when a small clacking noise could be heard colliding into the pavement, causing the tall man to flinch.
"Ah shit!" Oliver cried out.
Young quickly fell to his knees, grabbing his phone and tapping it's screen to examine it.
"God damn it, I just got this!" He whined.
The screen had a thin crack, running diagonally across. Hiroki couldn't help but laugh in response, his eyes shut tight as he held a hand over his stomach.
Oliver growled at the sight, glaring up at his partner with nothing but pure fire in his wicked eyes.
"It's not funny you asshole! You better hope the flash on this thing works. And thats if the front camera isn't wrecked too! Otherwise I'll be using your phone and trust me, you don't want me to have another 'accidental' fall."
Hiroki wiped a tear from his eye, a grin still plastered on his face.
"Don't worry, I'll get you a new one."
"I don't want a new one! I spent over a grand on this thing! It's irreplaceable. And you know how underpaid we are-"
"I said I'd pay for it didn't I? I'll get you the same thing, brand new. Now stop whining and take some photos of the scene and search the area for evidence. I'll examine the body."
Oliver frowned, a faint blush spreading over his cheeks.
"I wasn't whining..." He grumbled annoyedly, pulling himself to his feet and examining his knees. He only grew more frustrated, knowing he couldn't wipe them or else his gloves would grow too dirty and contaminate any evidence he found.
He strolled off to the back of the alley way to start from the entrance and work his way forward, leaving Hiroki in an overwhelming silence, only the sound of a crisp breeze piercing the air. Left alone with Ren, he stared down at the body once more, a soft sigh escaping the males lips as he began to write upon his notepad.
The once playful detective had knelt down over the body, taking notes of it's darker complexion and skeletal nature. He also took note of the corpse's smaller size in comparison to the once well fit clothes. That had been when the detective decided to touch the body for further examination, a familiar feeling of discomfort filling the man as he took a sharp breath. Wisps of darkness felt as though it leaked out of the eye sockets of Ren, causing the hand reaching out for the model's face to hesitate, flinching back a little as a small frown poked at Hiroki's lips.
The veteran detective shut his eyes, gritting his teeth.
"Come on Akiyama, don't be childish." He'd mutter to himself.
Hiroki then shot his hand forward, firmly gripping at the chin of the corpse. When everything seemed to remain the same, his unease melted away and Hiroki fluttered his eyes open, taking a deep breath of relief as he focused back on examining the nature of the body's mutilation.
He carefully turned the ghoulish body's chin from its fallen state and back in place, only to slip it downward. The tongue lawled right out, falling upon Ren's cheek. The dead model's mouth only conveyed the similar dark cave that his eyes sockets did, but now Hiroki had a clear view of the poor guy's gums.
He leaned in further, his two gloved fingers running alongside the bottom of said gums carefully, Hiroki's brows furrowing in response. They had been soft to the touch, no ridges of where teeth once were in place. No blood, no severe wounds, nothing. It was as if Ren's teeth had never grown in during his short lifetime.
Pulling his hand back from the dead celebrity's mouth, Hiroki grabbed his pen to write down his observations. As he wrote however, a small groan creeped from the corpses body, immediately catching Hiroki's attention.
Ren's head had fallen to one side, staring directly into Hiroki, the deformed jaw shutting and it's lips forming into a sinister grin. Darkness began to pour out from the model's nostrils and sockets, a scream blaring through the body despite it's lips not yet moving.
"Your soul..."
The voice was a croak, a thin whisper that still seemed to overpower the unidentified scream that was booming behind it.
"I'll have it... Your soul. I'm hungry and I want your soul."
Hiroki's eyes shot wide and he gasped, his body trembling as his lip quivered in disbelief. He felt himself stumble, falling back and as if on instinct, he retreated until his back collided into brick. Those dark eyes would consume his mind, triggering a cry of terror.