Title: Rose Red Author:natt_barn Summary: When Saguru noticed it, the rose was lying innocently on top of his pillow. Characters: Kuroba Kaito and Hakuba Saguru Table, Prompt: Table 2 Fantasy, #09 Vampire Rating: pg-13 Warnings: Character death, blood. Words:1243
When Saguru noticed it, the rose was lying innocently on top of his pillow.
He stared at it, knowing perfectly well that it had not been there fifteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds ago. Nor had anyone entered the room through the door, it was currently locked, and he would have noticed that despite being absorbed in his work.
The windows were also closed when he checked, both of them from the inside and he found no tricks. Saguru hadn't expected to find anything either, the strong wind outside would have let him know if a window had been opened.
Odd. Interesting. Frightening.
Someone had been in his room, while he was present, but without him noticing. It couldn't be his father, or Bayaa for that matter since they would have used the door, and let him know they were there.
The rose was still lying on his pillow. Saguru had half expected it to disappear while he was going through the room, but no.
It looked quite beautiful from where he was standing.
Saguru went over and picked it up. It was an odd shade of red for a rose, and looking closer, he realized it had been painted. Red wasn't the original colour of the flower, there were a few white spots visible between the petals. He glanced at the pillow, noticing the red stains the apparently newly painted rose had left behind.
Saguru nearly dropped the rose. The red colour that looked so strange on the rose looked so very familiar against the light blue of his pillow.
Someone had wandered into his room without him noticing and left him a rose, painted red with blood. Judging by the stains it left, it was fresh blood.
This time he did drop the rose, and left it lying on the floor as he ran out of his room and down the stairs. He didn't bother being quiet, taking the chance that whoever had been there was either gone or didn't want to hurt him. They'd already had a perfect opportunity to do so.
"Father? Bayaa?" Saguru called out. Both of them should be home, his father had for once been home early and Bayaa was always there.
No answer. Saguru entered the living room, finding it empty. He swallowed thickly, feeling slightly sick. Why was the house so quiet? His father always turned on either the television or the radio, and Bayaa preferred to have some kind of music on in the background.
It was too early for either to have gone to bed, it was barely nine. Saguru shook his head, and went to the kitchen.
"Bayaa?" The door was stuck, and he knocked, trying to push it open at the same time.
It moved slowly. Something was blocking it, and Saguru couldn't help but look down. The blood didn't surprised him, but his stomach twisted. The blood was smeared in a way that suggested the person bleeding was lying against the door.
He shouldn't open it more than he had. He really shouldn't.
Saguru forced the door open, just enough for him to get through and knelt down next to the old woman. Her skin was already colder than it should be, and she wasn't breathing. Her throat was torn open, and it wasn't bleeding.
He checked for a pulse.
Bayaa was looking at him, and Saguru nearly reached out and closed her eyes. He forced himself not to, and stood up, trying not to destroy more evidence than he already had.
His father would most likely be in his study. Saguru ran as soon as he'd stepped out of the kitchen. He didn't knock this time, just threw the door open and went in. The door slammed loudly against the wall, echoing through the house.
Saguru didn't check for a pulse this time. He didn't walk over to the body, he didn't scream for his father to just wake up, and he didn't break down crying.
He turned around and walked out, leaving the door open behind him. In the living room Saguru collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily.
He was not going to throw up. He was not.
"Shouldn't you do something, Tantei-san? Solve the case, find the murderer? Or at the very least call the police to do it for you?"
Saguru didn't have to look up to see the speaker. Kid knelt down in front of him, placed a hand under his chin and tilted his head back. The thief was smiling his usual fearless grin, and his white clothing was stained red.
"You're crying." Kid stated, voice soft. "So this is what it takes to make you lose your precious control?"
"W-what?" Saguru choked out, staring wildly at the thief. He hadn't, he couldn't have, Kid didn't hurt people. Kuroba didn't hurt people.
"Always a step behind." Kid laughed.
Saguru suddenly felt calm. It was as if his mind had frozen over, leaving behind not the previous near panic and shock, but crystal clear thoughts.
Kuroba wasn't going to go to jail for this. Saguru was going to kill him.
Saguru moved, throwing himself at the thief, who barely managed to get out of the way.
"I'm not going to chase you." Saguru whispered. "I'm going to kill you."
"With you standing there, blood on your clothes and hands... I almost believe you." Kid replied, sounding as if this was all a big joke. "You'll have to catch me first. But we'll have all the time in the world. Because I found her, I used her and changed. You're going to have a chase on your hands, Tantei-san."
"You're speaking nonsense." Saguru spat, looking around for a weapon, while keeping an eye on the thief. There was nothing useful. "I'm not going to play your games."
"Yes, you are." Kid lowered his voice. "You have a mother, don't you?"
Saguru froze. For a second he couldn't see anything, and the he was looking directly into the thief's eyes. There was something horribly wrong with them, but Saguru couldn't tell what. Kid was holding his wrists firmly. There was definite warning there.
"You will chase me." It sounded so final. Saguru swallowed, blinking away tears he hadn't noticed earlier. "Like we always do."
"Yes." Saguru agreed quietly. He was not going to risk his mother. Even if she was in England right now, she'd come when she was told what had happened.
"She changed me, I'll change you." Kid muttered, letting go of Saguru's wrists and grabbed his hair instead. He pulled, forcing Saguru's head to the side, and exposing Saguru's neck.
Kid leaned in, and Saguru shivered. He tried to push the thief away, but he could just as well have tried pushing one of the walls out of the way. Then Kid bit him. Saguru gasped, out of shock and pain. He started feeling numb, the energy he'd previously had gone.
An arm wrapped around his waist pulled him closer to the thief. Saguru allowed it, leaning on the thief in an attempt to remain standing. It didn't quite work, as Kid soon was holding him up.
Saguru barely noticed when Kid let go of him. He felt it when he hit the floor, he saw it when the thief knelt down next to him again, but all of it seemed far away.
"Tomorrow, Tantei-san." Kid whispered, and then he was gone.