A/N So I'm back with a squel one shot for Takagi: Looking Back. If you havent read that then I suggest you do, otherwise this won't make any sense.
I realise that this is a long on, around 8000 words. If it would be easier for me to split this into multiple chapters, drop me a line and I shall. Enjoy.
Things are never as bad as they seem.
- Harper Lee
Kuroba perched atop a tall building, watching the men from the cop car swarm into the stairwell of the apartment block opposite. Next to him, the Osakan tantei stood, looking nothing like himself with a pale face and light brown eyes.
"I'll see you in a minute. " Hattori-kun muttered before turning on his heel and walking to the door that led off the roof, the jacket of his casual suit billowing behind him. Kuroba watched minutes later as he emerged from the building he was stood on to cross the road, flash an ID at the man stationed at the door and disappear inside the building.
Heji half ran up the stairs, not bothering to pocket his fake ID which proclaimed him to be Satori Kiba, a high ranking Police Inspector with access to the crime scene. He stopped at the door to clear his throat in preparation before stepping through it. Barely anyone reacted to his presence, most eyes on the corpse by the window.
Heji felt bile rise up in him at the site of his friend lying dead on the floor. Takagi's expression was one of surprise, his eyes wide and staring at a point above Heji's head. Blood stained the carpet beneath him in a large puddle.
A through and through. Heji thought disgustedly, before trying to squash his sympathies and regain the analytical coldness that he had mastered in recent years. He joined the milling officers and examined the bullet which was embedded in the wall. He called a forensic over and instructed them to remove the bullet, which he did. Heji took the bullet in gloved hands and excused himself, moving through to the dingy kitchen. Then, holding a pocket light in his teeth, he compared the bullet to one he drew out of his pocket. The light threw the ballistic markings into sharp relief and Heji swore as the markings matched up, effectively dropping the light.
Disheartened, he pushed the bullet back into its little plastic bag and back into his pocket and turned to leave, stooping to pick up his light. Before walking out, he turned to have a final look around his friend's kitchen. It was as if he had just left, the kettle was sat on standby by the oven, the box of tea bags sat open on the counter and the spoon used to stir the tea on the washing up side.
He walked back into the living room and gave the forensic the bullet, thanking him quietly for his patience. He saw the tea having spilt from its white porcelain cup mingling with the blood. Ignoring that, he lined up the bullets landing place with the hole in the window and saw the building, adjacent to the one that the shadow of Kuroba was watching from, that the sniper had shot from. He signalled to Kaito who moved silently across the roves, easily leaping the gap and landing gently on the other roof.
Heji turned into Shiratori, who was standing just behind him.
"Oh, sorry. Sorry. " He muttered in a Tokyo accent, ducking out of the way, feeling Shiratori's eyes on his back as he moved across the room and through the other door that led into Takagi's bedroom and study.
It was darkened, the bed neatly made as Takagi's need for order shone through. Heji crossed to the computer which sat on the desk and ignored it, instead crouching and reaching under the desk in the foot well, fumbling about until he found the disk taped to the wood. He pulled it off and tucked it into his coat pocket. Double checking to make sure that he was alone, he walked to the closet and found a similar disk taped under the shelf, where Kaito had said it would be.
Finished, he turned to see Inspector Megure opening the door and entering the room.
"Excuse me," Heji inclined his head and made to walk past the policeman when he spoke.
"He was involved with something big, wasn't he. " It wasn't a question.
"Pardon, sir?"
Megure turned to him with sad eyes, "You were working with him. On something big. "
"I'm sorry sir, I don't-"
"He could have come to me. I would have helped. " Megure's voice was tinged in desperation.
Heji walked up to him, placed a hand on his shoulder in condolence for his lost colleague before walking on past him to leave the apartment. Megure let him go, turning to watch him until the door closed.
Heji crossed the street and looked up behind him, to see Shiratori's face in the window, following him. Heji turned and walked down the street, joined half a step behind by Kaito who was disguised as a businessman. It was only after they'd turned a corner that they walked together.
"I've got them. " Heji muttered.
"Me too. " Kaito replied. "Meet you in half an hour. "
They both went their separate ways, each taking long and complicated routes to their preordained meeting point. Heji arrived there second; Kaito was already sitting by his laptop with a cup of hot chocolate by the smell of it. He was examining some security footage, belonging to the snipers building probably.
"There," Kaito froze the footage and pointed to a small figure on the screen. Heji leaned in and anger raged through him when he saw the dark hair and small stature of Edogawa Conan, holding a small blue rucksack which Heji bet held the sniper.
"Dammit!" he swore, slamming his fist into the desk. Kaito looked at him out of the corner of his eye before clicking out of the screen and holding his hand out for one of the disks that Heji had collected. Heji passed it to him, placing the other on the table. They were the same, both containing the contents of Takagi's computer. They all had them, but only two people knew the location of each copy, the owner and one other of the group. The group now down to two. They had connections and contacts everywhere, but none of them knew the true depths to which the investigation ran.
Kaito was working on the laptop screen, pulling up relevant files.
"You don't know what it was that Wataru-kun had found do you?" Katio asked.
"Nope. Just that it was something that Haibara-san had prepared. " Takagi had been working on and succeeded in hacking into Haibara's contact accounts, including those belonging to Miyano Shiho. Buried somewhere in one of them Takagi had found something which gave him hope. Hope that was short lived as he was shot soon after by his old friend, Conan-kun. Not that that was still his name. It was probably some obscure alcohol title now.
"Aha. " Kaito grinned, a grim shadow of his old smile, "I think that this is it. "
Kaito clicked on the video file and leaned back so that Heji could see the screen.
The screen showed a young women, in her early twenties. A woman who they could both recognise as Miyano Shiho, the true face of Haibara Ai. She looked ill, with a layer of sweat painting her brow as she looked into the camera.
"My name is Miyano Shiho, also known as Haibara Ai, also known as Sherry. I have been involved for years with a Black Organisation which infects the country. My parents worked for them, under the codenames Cointreau and Amaretto. My sister and I were raised within the org, I became a scientist in charge of experimental research into an untraceable poison. My sister became an ordinary member. However, she tried to get out and the organisation killed her at the end of her final job. The police have the murder under case file number M-35, related to case T-67. It remained unsolved. After her death, I took my own poison in a suicide attempt. This was three years ago. "
Haibara winced and placed her hand on her chest, closing her eyes to gather herself before continuing.
"My poison proved effective. It was called Apotoxin 1442. The first test subject that wasn't a rodent was Tantei Kudo Shinichi. He was poisoned after solving case M-29, at the Tokyo Paradise Land on September 12 2008. It was used on many people since then, but his was the only one where the body remained undiscovered. After further research, I succeeded to figure out his true fate which I shall explain in a moment. At the time I destroyed any record of my further research into him before I was taken to an execution room following my sister's death. I was believed corrupted. This is when I took the poison and found myself subject to the same side effects as Kudo-kun. "
She drew in a deep breath,
"Two hours ago I took an antidote which was effective for two hours, it is currently wearing off. "
She smiled grimly,
"It's funny, Kudo took it so many times, and I studied his reactions. But I never realised how much it really hurt. "
Her breathing hitched and she curled in on herself. She gasped and slipped on her chair as she began to scream. She'd angled the camera so that the viewers could see the floor and her squirming upon it. Both Kaito and Heji watched in shock as Miyano's form convulsed and shrunk underneath her clothes. It was over in a few minutes. The screaming stopped and the small bundle moved and a small hand reached for a pile of clothes on the floor within arm's reach. Moments later after the bundle moved purposefully, little Haibara Ai climbed from the clothes she'd been wearing moments before, now clad in a long T-shirt and pulling on a pair of trousers unblushingly.
"Well done," muttered Kaito, "Impossible for it to be a trick. The camera was on her the whole time and she was nowhere near any possible hiding places. Now if I was her, to prove it, there we go. " Haibara kicked the clothes from the spot on the floor so all could see that beneath them was solid concrete. She shakily pulled herself up onto the chair back in front of the camera.
"I know that it is hard to believe, but what I say is true. Due to my new size, I was able to escape from the Org. I traced Kudo, who affected by the same poison, took on the identity of Edogawa Conan. "
She held up two pictures, one of Conan and one of Kudo. You couldn't mistake the similarities between them.
"I took up residence with his friend, Professor Agasa and worked to create an antidote which I tested regularly on Kudo-kun, the records of which are attached to this video. I have also attached with all of my antidote records, everything I could devise in relation to the apotoxin, records of all of Kudo's interactions with the Org and a record of all of his other cases which he kept orderly filed at Agasa's house. The organisation has many members,"
Haibara then went on to list all of the members she knew of, what their positions were within the organisation. She even went as far as to hold up detailed sketches of each and every member as she spoke, including the boss to which she had been required to give updates on the apotoxin to regularly. She also told the camera the phone number and how it echoed a famous child's song.
"I am making this video because last week, Kudo-kun disappeared. And I know that it is Them. The best I can do is hope that he's dead because after he's been in their hands this long. . . he won't be the same. This is allmy fault, the poison, Kudo's predicament and now I am doing as much as I can. Too little, too late. I know it won't be long before they come for me. I can only hope that people I can trust will get this video, for I'm certain that I will die before I can ensure that they receive this. Feel free to edit this tape for the audiences intended.
Goodbye"
There was a silence after the tape came to an end with Haibara reaching past the screen to turn the camera off. Kaito smiled sadly.
"I have a plan. "
On the other side of the country, Jodi of the FBI received a text from a secure untraceable number.
WE NEED TO MEET. This was followed by a cleverly configured Kid caricature.
A week later, two young men were being led down the deserted corridor of the fifth floor of an FBI branch building in America. They'd just been flown over by private jet from Japan in the deepest secrecy manageable. They were led into an interrogation room.
Jodi stood opposite them as they sat down, looking at the two she'd last seen four years ago, one of them in a photo attached to an obituary. Now they were both older and more haggard looking. Hattori Heji had let his hair grow slightly longer; he was no longer wearing his trademark cap and looked exhausted, worn down, older than he should be for a young man of twenty-two. Kaito had dyed his hair; it was now a light brown, near coppery colour with green eyes. He also looked exhausted. Neither looked relaxed, both tense and ready for flight.
"I've seen the tape and I've reviewed the evidence. " She told them. "I'd like to hear your plan. "
Kaito leaned forward. "I say we edit out the sensitive bits, say the phone number, and then release it to all of the TV stations across the world, with subtitles for those who don't speak Japanese. Across the world, at exactly the same time, twice, for the allowance of time zones. Also release the soundtrack on radio stations. This way everybody would know, it'd be impossible for the organisation to cover it up. "
Jodi appraised the lads for a moment, thinking over the pro's and con's of the idea. After a moment, she nodded. "We can do that. "
"Send the DVD's to the stations closed off. Tell them that it is the scoop of the century but they can't open it until they broadcast. "
Jodi nodded, "I have a team I trust. I know for certain that none of them are affiliated with the Organisation. They will remain in Isolation while they prepare the DVD's. Give us a week. I must ask that you remain isolated as well. Maybe you could both record your stories as well, we can post them the next day. And the day after that. Then send them across the internet. "
"There is one thing. " Heji placed his elbows on the table, "Kudo-kun is alive. "
Jodi frowned, "Kudo... as in Cool Kid?"
Heji nodded, "He's been moulded by the Org. He... he assassinated Takagi-kun. " He continued over Jodi's gasp, "We have camera and forensic evidence. We want to catch him, before the information is released and he is put at risk. We know that we can't undermine the whole operation for the kid, but we owe him at least one try. "
Jodi pushed he shock and sadness down and nodded, unable to speak.
"I believe that the Org is deliberately having him shoot down those he used to know to make a sick, ironic point. So I am certain that should there be another Kid heist, he would be assigned to it. "
Jodi nodded, "Send a note. "
Kaito grinned, "Already have. "
Two days later Kid was skimming the sky, the blue crystal safely tucked in his pocket.
"Spotted him. " Said the voice in his transceiver, "South East of your position. "
This was all the warning he had before he felt a bullet graze his chest. He was lucky insofar as it was stopped drawing blood by his FBI grade bulletproof vest. He was less lucky as it ripped through his glider.
He swore as the glider started to list and began a down ward spiral. With a flick of the wrist he unattached his safety straps, leaning heavily to direct the glider. As he predicted the spiral became tighter. A few meters above the closest building, he relinquished his grip and let the momentum throw him off onto the buildings gravel.
He hit it hard and skidded, rolling. Pain exploded in his shoulder, then his knee, his hip and finally his head as he hit it on the bricks of the wall surrounding the door. His ongoing momentum snapped him round and put an end to his rolling.
He just lay there, unable to find the will to move immediately. Then Heji's voice crackled to life in his ear.
"We've got him. Tried to swallow poison, but we got him. I saw you go down. What's your condition?"
"Tad beaten up. I'll be there soon. "
"Get a move on. We have no idea who was keeping an eye on the kid. They'll still be after you. "
"Got it. "
With a groan Kid rolled to his feet, by the time he was standing, he was no longer clad in his flamboyant white suit having substituted it for dark clothes and a black hoodie. Working through the pain which matched with the last time he'd been seriously shot, he expertly made his way across the roof and out of any possible public or private eye. Minutes later, he was in the street, milling with the thousands of Kid fans, one face amongst many.
The next day, Kaito was bandaged up and looking through a small window at the boy he'd once admired so much who was now staring at the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees.
"I want to talk to him." He'd said, but now he was here, it seemed so much more real. Swallowing his nerves he opened the door and entered. He gracefully sat on the floor opposite him, happily not feeling his injuries due to a large quantity of painkillers.
Conan didn't look up at him. Kaito sat in silence opposite examining the boy before him. Conan's hair was slightly longer, he'd finally tamed his unruly fringe. He didn't wear any glasses to shield his eyes and his blue irises seemed blank and empty. They lacked the spark that they had once held, the hint of mischief and curiosity. He was in the midst of a growth spurt, his arms and legs slightly out of proportion with the rest of him. He wasn't wearing the black attire he had had on when he was arrested, instead wearing a loose white shirt and trousers. Nothing to hide, he'd been thoroughly searched upon his capture.
They sat there for half an hour, neither of them moving before there was a knock at the door and Jodie entered, gesturing for him to follow her. He stood and obeyed having gotten over his ingrained fear of authority. He felt more at ease here, in this government building then he had in a long time. He, Heji and those on Jodi-san's squad were living in an isolated section of an obscure FBI building. Their food had been stocked up and was stored under supervision. Kaito himself had tested the facility to see if there were any weak spots.
He followed her into one of the conference rooms where Heji was already seated. Kaito sank into a seat and looked expectantly at Jodi-san.
"We've made movements to discretely draw your families and friends over to America. Some will come here, others will go to other safe houses across the country."
Heji's head jerked up, "You mean... "
Jodi nodded, "Yes. "
Heji's head fell and he rubbed his forehead with his finger and thumb, "After all these years... I have no idea what to say. 'Specially after I ended as I did. "
"There's something else. It might help Conan, or it might make it worse. "
Both the teens looked at Jodi, curiosity painted on their faces. Jodi looked at them with practised calm.
"Mouri Ran didn't die in the explosion four years ago. "
Heji surged to his feet,
"'Ow is that possible? We examined th' scene! There was no way-"
"She wasn't in the house. She thought that she saw Conan-kun out of the window, ran outside and followed the kid. He was just a neighbourhood child. Then the bomb went off and she turned to see her home crumble. We picked her up and put her under protective custody over here in the US. "
Heji was staring at her in open mouthed shock.
"I can call her and tell her that we have found Conan. She can come, maybe elicit a response. "
Heji ran a hand through his hair, "That's risky. "
"But probably the best we've got. " Kaito was standing now, "It's also probably best that she's here when the truth comes out. This will come as a massive shock to her. She doesn't deserve to go through it alone. Not to mention, she's female, we all know how unpredictable they are. "
Jodi nodded, "I'll make the call."
She left, leaving the two young men, one of them perched on the table, the other leaning against a wall.
"You think you've got it bad," Kaito muttered from the table, "Aoko thinks I'm dead. " He chuckled without humour, "This video's going to shock a lot of people. "
"What was he like?" Heji asked, fists clenched. "Kudo-kun. "
Kaito didn't answer immediately, instead choosing to transfer his whole weight onto the table.
"He was unresponsive. "
There was a bang as Heji drove his fist into the wall snarling, "Bastards!"
"At least he's alive. " Kaito muttered.
"You don't understand. " Heji growled, "Years ago, Kudo-kun told me that as Detective we couldn't allow criminals to try to kill themselves after backing them into a corner with our evidence, that it made us as bad as them. He's killed other people! He killed Takagi! He tried to kill himself!"
Heji hit the wall again before storming from the room to rant and rave, to let his anger out at the whole situation.
Kaito's face was smooth. He'd not shown a true emotion in four years. He wasn't planning to start now.
"Heji-kun?"
Heji and Kaito were leaning against a wall talking when the door behind Heji opened. He turned in response to the voice to see a young woman walking towards him. She was taller than she'd been when he'd last seen her. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, her fringe hanging free around her face, framing her worried blue eyes.
Ran was dressed smartly in jeans, white roll neck and a black jacket as she sped up and threw her arms around Heji. He reciprocated before stepping back and letting her go.
"You look well. " He told her, smiling weakly.
"It's been so long! You look different. "
"Yeh, well, the years 'avent treated me as well as you. "
Ran's face tightened, "You've been working on the same case as Kudo?"
Heji's eyes scanned Ran's face, "How much do you know?"
Ran let confusion filter onto her face, "Just what Jodi-san told me on the way here. "
Heji sighed. He opened his mouth to tell her all, but the words got stuck in his throat, "Let Jodi brief you, "he croaked, hating himself for his cowardice. He looked away from Ran's frown as she was guided by Jodi into the same conference room the boys had been in the day before.
"I wouldn't have been able to tell her. "
Heji turned to Kaito who was standing next to him but the thief wasn't looking at him. He was watching her through the window in the door Heji looked back into the room as Jodi sat next to Ran and began to talk to her. He gut clenched as Ran's face cycled through a range of emotions, hope, shock, despair, grief. Finally, Jodi got onto the subject of how Kudo and Conan were related and Ran, who'd succeeded so far in keeping herself together, broke down into Jodi's shoulder. Heji looked away.
"It's interesting that she didn't argue, you know try to deny it. "
"I think she always knew." Heji murmured. "Or at least suspected. There were many times when the kid was sure she'd figured it out. "
"I helped him cover it up once. The Last Wizard of the Century case, with the Russian jewel eggs. "
"Oh yeh. I remember tha'. They were good times back then. "
"Innocent. " Kaito concluded as they watched Ran collect herself, standing and walking towards them, to the door. The door opened and Heji found his insides withering under Ran's gaze. The young woman turned back to Jodi.
"I want to see him. "
Jodi nodded passed through the two men, followed by Ran. Heji and Kaito fell into step behind her, not saying a word. There was nothing to say, the atmosphere was claustrophobic and the corridors they walked exuding sterility. It felt as though any words that they could try to say would get stuck in their throats, such was the stiffness of the air that choked them.
In tense silence they reached the antechamber to Conan's cell. Ran looked into the white room with restrained tears in her eyes. Then, without looking back, she twisted the door handle, switched the lock at the top of the door and entered the room, letting it close softly behind her.
The boy in the centre of the room didn't look up. Ran took a step forward and spoke. The words were picked up by the microphones that were inside the room.
"Conan-kun."
His head flicked up, those blue eyes widened with shock. This was the first reaction the boy had displayed since they'd caught him. Ran approached him as one would a nervous animal. Sliding to her knees beside the kid, she wrapped her arms around him. For a moment there was no reaction apart from his body tensing. Then he crumpled into Ran, his shoulders shaking while she rocked him and whispered comfort. The microphones picked up a few muttered words as well as Conan's repetitive, "I thought you were dead."
Heji couldn't watch the scene any longer. He turned and seated himself on the table on the other side of the room and waited for Ran to come out.
Kazuha stretched as she came down the steps of the jet before moving aside to let her fellow travellers descend behind her. There was a girl who'd introduced herself as Aoko who reminded her horribly of Ran. She once again quashed her memories of her old friend and focussed instead of the blonde man who had been sitting protectively next to Aoko the whole journey. No, he was a Tanteii, that made her think of Heji. She'd not seen him since he'd moved to Tokyo, not heard from his for just as long. He hadn't even called after Ran had died. Hadn't he cared! Ran was his friend too! It had all changed when Conan-kun had vanished. Heji had become jumpy and nervous, easy to anger. Then he'd started that fight... She shuddered.
She looked at her two companions. She'd been told by the FBI that they were involved in a high profile case and needed to be put under protection for a bit. Their parents and families had also been taken into protective custody, but taken to a different safe house. When she'd asked why they were being separated, she'd been told that she was closer to the root of the case and so the circumstances were different.
The whole thing worried her; she hadn't been involved in a case for years, not since Heji.
She was looking around the heavily secured FBI hanger when an official looking blonde woman came walking towards them.
She stood before them and nodded saying in accented Japanese, "Hi, I'm Agent Jodi Starling; I hope you had a safe journey."
At loss for what to say, Kazuha nodded, but Hakuba asked sharply, "Can I ask what we are doing here?"
Jodi nodded and indicated for them to follow her. They did so, as she led them across the hanger and through some double doors. They passed through several filters and were nodded past by several guards. Security checks were performed. Kazuha got more apprehensive at every stop. What was so big?
Agent Starling didn't speak until all the checks had been cleared and they had entered a hallway that made Kazuha think of one of her University hallway.
There were windows in some of the doors revealing conference rooms and a few lounges, some which were occupied by people gathered around small tables with cups of what she assumed were coffee. These people were looking haggard and tired, but the eyes that looked up and met Kazuha's shone with determination.
"This is the main hub pertaining to a case in combating an organisation which plagues the world. They are known as the Syndicate , or Black Organisation. Recently we received a key piece of evidence which we believe can bring the Org. to it's knees."
"What's this got to do with us?" Hakuba looked at Jodi seriously.
Jodi paused, looking as if she was trying to figure out the best way to phrase what she had to say.
"There are a few people who are heavily involved, people you know. By bringing you here, we are hoping to protect you from the shrapnel of this mission." That said, she pushed a door open and beckoned them inside.
Kazuha entered first and stopped in the doorway in shock. They were in one of the lounges, a few couches a couple of tables and a coffee machine on a side. Two men had stood ap from their perches on the sofa against the far wall upon the door opening, and one of these men Kazuha had never thought she would see again.
She darted across the room right up to the man, who was staring at her in surprise. He muttered her name just before she slapped him across the face. He took the blow, his head swinging around with the force. He turned back to her.
"Jeez Kazuha-san! It's been four years and the first thing-"
"Where the hell have you been!" she snarled, cutting across him.
The shock and general teasing left his face as it stilled and she saw that he'd put on the voice for her and old times. He'd changed. His hair was longer and while otherwise he looked the same eh was different. His eyes were tired and his face strained. His entire demeanour was world weary and he was thinner than ever, his cheekbones standing out from his face. Just visible at the hem of his sleeve was the end of a scar.
"Kaito-kun?"
A moment of Kazuha's attention flicked toward the man at Heji's elbow. He was tall and under the copper hair, green eyes and strain, he bore a startling resemblance to Kudo. She felt her hopes rise until the man smiled a sad smile which was directed to Aoko.
"Hey Aoko-san. Hakuba-san."
Kazuha registered the formal honorific and realised that Heji had addressed her the same way.
"You're involved with this case?" Hakuba asked tightly.
Aoko flicked an incredulous look at her companion. "How can you take this so calmly? You were dead!" Kazuha saw the muscles around Kaito's eyes tighten, "We went to your funeral!"
Kaito wrinkled his nose. "Bit dreary wasn't it. I always figured, me being me, that there would at least be doves."
Evidently the wrong thing to say.
Kaito now found himself on the receiving end of a slap that he didn't even bother trying to dodge.
The slap seemed to ring in the heavy air and Kazuha stared in surprise as Kaito turned his head back to look into Aoko's face.
"I'm sorry." He murmured.
Kazuha looked away from this private scene back to Heji who was ignored in the other three in favour of staring at her with an indiscernible expression.
She repeated her question, her voice shuddering with restrained anger.
"Where the hell have you been?"
"On the run."
"What?"
"Yeah, what he said." stated Kaito jerking his head in Heji's direction.
"Explain." Hakuba interjected, looking between the two offending men.
"Shall we sit down?" Kaito asked, gesturing to the sofas nervously, sitting himself back down where he'd been upon their entrance.
Kazuha slowly lowered herself into a sitting position before leaning forward to place her weight on her knee to regard the two sitting opposite her.
"Well, I'd better start," said Kaito, a false cheeriness entering his voice, "by saying after all these years, Hakuba, as much as I hate to admit it, you were right."
Kazuha frowned and looked at Hakuba, as did Aoko. The person under scrutiny however just raised an eyebrow before asking in his measured British accent, "And why are you saying that now?"
"'Coz it's part of the story. You see about six years ago, I made two major discoveries," he raised two fingers, "One, my father was the original Kaito Kid." He lowered one finger and ploughed on over his audiences reactions of shock and surprise, "Two, He'd been murdered by an organisation he'd refused to steal for." He lowered the other finger and continued, "In fact he went out of his was to annoy these people, trying to find and steal what they wanted before they could."
"Wait, the original Kaito Kid? Then-"
"Once I discovered this, I took on his hat and monocle to try and find his killers and annoy them as much as possible in the process."
Kazuha stared at the sheer... whether it was bravery or stupidity she didn't know. Meanwhile there was an explosion of sound from beside her
"BAKAITO! Not only were you the Kaito Kid that caused Otou-san so much grief, but you were pissing off murderers! How stupid are you!"
The corner of Kaito's mouth quirked into a sad, nostalgic smile, "Well I wasn't going to let them find the jewel first was I?"
"That's why you returned them." The cogs were clearly going in Hakuba's head as he processed and filed the information Kaito was giving them, "You were checking the jewels for whatever it was this Organisation was looking for and if they didn't fit the bill, then you gave them back."
Kaito nodded, "Yup. Still haven't found it. It allegedly glows red under the full moon."
Hakuba nodded to himself, his chin clasped in his left hand, a pose that she'd seen all the detectives she knew adopt at some point or other. Aoko had sat back against the sofa, her hands circling behind her neck as she stared in disbelief through watery eyes at Kaito.
There was an awkward pause which Kazuha broke determinedly.
"Not tha' this ain't interesting an' all, but wha's it gotta wit' all" she waved a hand to include the government lounge and Heji.
"Well' tha's the same Organisation tha' I got involved in, via Kudo." Heji finally joined the conversation. From there, between the two of them, Heji and Kaito told the whole horrific tale. Kazuha didn't know if she should believe them, shrinking adults and worldwide conspiracies, really? But it fit the facts. They also went to see Conan
Seeing that once bright eyed boy curled into Ran's side staring at nothing, caused her eyes to fill up. She couldn't help it. Her vision began to blur as the full gravity of Heji's words hit her and she remembered all the death and loss and pain. Hot tears streaked her cheeks and next she knew Heji wrapped his arms around her and she was crying into his shoulder. After all these years, he still felt the same and she clung to this familiarity.
Conan's muscles tightened as that feeling overwhelmed him. He was curled up in the corner of his room, content with feeling numb and thinking nothing when it spread up his spine. He'd known that it was coming and had been waiting for it. Know that he'd felt it, he knew what he had to do. He knew the routine. In less than five minutes that door would open and one of the Doctors would come in. He needed to be ready.
When the door opened he was ready. Because of how unresponsive he'd been so far, they weren't expecting it. He disabled the doctor before the door could close and struck quickly at the guard. His training had prepared him well and it was child's play. He relieved the man of his gun, feeling the support of the weapon strengthening his resolve.
He'd watched through the window when people arrived, and they mostly approached the door from the right. He figured that meant that the centre of the complex was in that direction. Choosing his destination, he began to run, swiftly and silently. He didn't have long.
His nerves were high thanks to the feeling that was still rolling through him and getting stronger as he ran. That unmistakable feeling that Haibara had explained to him. They were here.
The main group convened in the only lounge with windows, to take a small moment to relax and debrief. Tensions were high as the release date grew closer and they were all beginning to feel confined and skittish. Ran had had the brilliant suggestion of dubbing the videos, putting translations over the original speech without editing it out, like they did with documentaries. Heji and Kaito re-taped theirs in English, so it was only Haibara's that was dubbed and Ran offered to speak for her. She now sat quietly listening to Aoko fill Kaito in on her last four years of University, her thoughts fully with the small boy held captive elsewhere in the building. She stood, fully intending to go and visit him.
"Mouri-san."
She turned and saw Heji; he had also stood and was looking towards her with concern. She smiled softly, "I'm okay."
He nodded, suddenly unsure of what to say. Suddenly the door burst open and Ran turned to see the boy of her thoughts standing in the frame. None of them had time to react. She saw his eyes flick towards the window, and didn't even register what he was holding before he ran at her.
They collided and Ran went down. At the same time there was a colossal shattering. One of the windows had imploded sending shards flying into the room. Small projectiles tore into the room a seemingly endless tattoo.
The deafening noise stopped and Ran kept her head buried in her arms. The weight on her shifted and the new, still silence was broken by two crisp, unhurried shots.
She opened her eyes and twisted around to see Conan standing, gun still raised. His blue eyes were fixed at a point outside the window, the gun pointed in the direction of his gaze. Agents flooded into the room and a couple zoomed in on Conan, grabbing him and relinquishing him of his weapon. He went limp in their grip and allowed himself to be manhandled out of the room while another man asked Rachel if she was okay. She nodded, still preoccupied and in shock. She suddenly realised that she need to check on the others.
As it turned out they were lucky. Upon Conan's charge at Ran with a gun, they'd all made to dive at him, or duck out line of fire, meaning that they were already out of the bullets' paths by the time the onslaught began.
Agents investigated the shooters and found, lying by their weapon, two bodies. One of them, a stout man identified as the organisation member known as 'Vodka', lay dead, a bullet in the centre of his forehead. The other, a tall wraith of a man, 'Gin' had also been hit, but the bullet had merely clipped his temple, knocking him out. He was found lying in a pool of blood, his creepily long hair flared around him.
He was collected and searched, all possible weapons and poisons removed from his person as he was tended to in a high security medical centre so that he could be questioned and made to pay for his crimes. Conan took it upon himself now to mention that Gin would have a tracker implanted in the back of his neck. Much like he had.
Jodi rolled her eyes. If she'd known about the tracker before now, she'd have dealt with it much sooner. That was how Gin and Vodka had found him after all. She asked the boy why he hadn't mentioned it before but he just stared through her. He spoke again later only to say that Gin and Vodka worked on their own in such circumstances and wouldn't have involved the main organisation. She wondered sometimes whether the boy had planned for them to trace him so he could inflict his own revenge. Gin and Vodka are the ones who'd done the worst to him after all.
After the shooting they upped their security. The Organisation's piercing bullets had torn through the reinforced windows and had nearly killed them. It was a comfort that the Org. didn't seem to know what they had planned otherwise they'd have chosen a more efficient way to destroy everything, other than just a couple of those involved.
Conan opened up, with Rachel's coaxing, slowly and painfully. The day before the first release he said that he knew we'd been filming his accounts and if they wanted to include them in the releases they could. He wasn't recovered. Nowhere near. In fact he seemed to have retreated behind a wall of calm and cold rationality that was scarier than any break down.
On the 1st of July, around the world, on every imaginable media, the various adaptations of Ai Haibara's AKA Shiho Miyano's story was releases. It was on every channel of both radio and TV, the techies made it so that it popped up on every open internet screen and that it repeated again, twice that day, all officially stamped by the FBI which made a published statement regarding the videos, that they were official. Portions of the video were reiterated on the news, in every country, across the globe. Kaito's story came the next day. This time, a lot of people were expecting it, and so were tuned in, waiting for something like it to appear. The revelation of Kaitou Kid's identity created, if possible an even bigger stir.
Reports began flooding in. People who recognised people from the picture. Incidents that matched with the Organisations MO. The vetted Secret agencies of the world worked with a fervour, filtering the claims and sorting them. Some of the outskirt members of the Organisation came seeking protection for information, and so the retaliation grew.
Heji's video was the next day, substantiating the claims of the two before and preparing them for the forth video. The final video was a compilation of Conan's interrogations which included the failed ones in the beginning, along with his more recent ones.
The videos were picked up and ran like wild fire, sections being replayed, the issues debated in the papers and on talk shows. Several new shows found clips of Conan before he'd vanished, as Kogoro's assistant and Kid's rival and compared them with the boy in interrogation, creating sympathy and support from the population.
And like that, with fully publicity and now dark corners, the Organisation began to disintegrate. No one would deal with them, for fear of discrimination and the core members were easily recognisable. Their numbers dwindled as more were either killed or taken into custody. Vermouth held out the longest, with her ability to disguise herself. Unfortunate for her, check was developed upon entering a public building. The famous Nakamori pinching of the cheek. In fact some took it upon themselves to pinch the cheek of people they met, just to be sure. Vermouth, before she went down, led the police on a merry chase, right toe the door of the Boss.
There was a celebration the night of his capture, people across the world raising their glasses in memory of Shiho Miyano and the others who'd lost their lives or been hurt in their dealings with the Organisation.
Four years later saw those involved moving on with their lives. For the most part, people were courteous, leaving them be to live as they wished. There would be the occasional person who'd badger them with questions, but each person had their own way of dealing with it.
Kaito would perform a small but attention grabbing magic trick. He, along with the others had decided to go to college, where he was studying a tailored course made up of a menagerie of courses. He also had a part time performing at a local theatre where he'd give magic shows on a regular basis. He'd spend many a free day roaming the streets of the American city in which he'd taken residence performing street magic and building himself a name.
In the evenings he returned to the flat he and Aoko shared and, if it was his turn to cook, he'd whip up a flamboyant and unnecessarily decorative meal (even going so far as to dye a mac and cheese pink, to make it interesting).
Heji too went to college, where he studied the different branches of Criminology, taking on small investigations in his spare time for some extra cash. Kazuha occasional helped on these cases, if only to help Heji keep his temper in check, which, without being on the run to dampen it, arose once more. Just like old times. Most of Kazuha's time however was spent as an associate at the local law firm that she'd been accepted into. She had some tough times during her cases, but Heji was always there to help her through.
Ran adopted Conan and lived an easy going life in America, picking up where she'd left off when she'd been called away by the FBI. The Kudo's moved nearby and and helped Ran when she needed it. With their assistance she was able to open her cafe, entitled 'Kogoro's corner' in honour of her late father where business bloomed and it gained a popular reputation thanks to its delicious food and pleasant company. She met a man who took interest in her and often came by the cafe to help out with customers or washing up. He was kind to Conan, who never fully recovered.
Conan remained slightly distant, prone to zoning out in conversations and occasional but severe bouts of depression. He made attempts to attend school but of course knew all the of the content, and so developed a genius reputation. He was at reluctant to mingle with those his physical age as they often reminded him of the detective boys. Someone started a rumour that he had a condition such as autism which stuck and suited the boy just fine. There was a couple of people in his year which refused to leave him be and under their influence over a few years he lightened up and began to enjoy their company. He often seemed happiest helping Ran around the cafe and was a favourite of many customers. He would go on to attend university and study Literature before returning to Ran and her husband to work in the cafe and write novels on the side, like his father. He published under Shinichi Kudo and like father like son, was a best seller. Each of his books was dedicated to one of his lost friends and they were immortalised in his words.
A/N And there we have it. Any feedback would be mightily appreaciated, even if its only a smiley face or an exclamtion mark
Thank you for reading
CJaMes12