Amuro Tooru hasn't been introduced in the anime has he? I haven't been keeping track... so for those who hate spoilers, this isn't the fic for you. Sorry.
I'm working on two new stories right now(this is one of them, though one's a one-shot) so I probably won't be posting anything for Of the Thief and Thank You until middle of September since I'm moving and I will have no internet. :( Sigh.
Anyways, enjoy! :)
The bullet ricocheted off a wall near the left side of my head. I winced, taking cover on the flipped table we (Satou-san and I) were sitting on for a late night dinner. We had agreed to go to Columbo, expecting a peaceful dinner date.. not this.
"Say, Takagi-kun," Satou-san said, taking a bite of her lasagna, "isn't that Conan-kun?" she asked me, pointing her fork towards the door where a man in jeans and a black bomber jacket with the aforementioned little boy entered the vicinity. She was about to wave and call out when I stopped her, noticing the hunched posture of the miniature detective and his hushed serious tones as he spoke with a frowning man... He looked quite familiar.
"Wait, I wonder what he's doing here at this time of the night?" I wondered to myself, glancing at the wall clock near the restaurant's bar area. Columbo was nearing it's closing time at two in the morning; it was midnight. There were only a handful of people left on the vicinity, most of which are all drunk and hanging by the bar area. We were near it, in one of the corner booths.
"..Maybe that's his Dad?" Sato-san piped up, curious but amused, "He certainly looks old enough." she said, turning back to her plate.
I hummed, my gaze never leaving the pair as the familiar man requested they be seated at the very far end of the resto, "The guy's around our age, Sato-san. And he kinda looks familiar." I said, sipping my iced coffee.
She shrugged, dismissing it. "I know you have this never-ending curiosity for Conan-kun, like everyone else, but I think watching him like your about to go paedophile on him... isn't such a good idea." she slurred, her mouth stuffed with food.
I sputtered, spilling my drink on my brand new suit. I pouted, half-heartedly glaring at the 'oblivious' officer while I dabbed at my pants with a towelette, the woman in front of me was looking anywhere but at me, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk when your mouth is full?"
She chuckled, smiling that sweet smile of hers, and looking straight to my eyes, "All the time, Takagi-kun. All the time."
I blushed, unable to tear my eyes off her brown ones, "..Sato-san." I muttered, lovestruck as I slowly inched my hands towards her. A tint of red appearing on her cheeks and I grinned cheekily. Finally, alone time. I thought to myself, the grin growing wider a Sato-san leaned forward...
But I guess I spoke too soon.
The companion Conan-kun was with stood up abruptly, planting his palms on the table with a smack, sending his drink and the little detective's tumbling, "You know not to mess with me." he exclaimed, loud enough for everyone to hear, but not enough people looked to see the commotion, too attentive to their own conversations... but me and Sato-san had all ears on the odd pair, "Even though Anokata plans on fixing you in our ranks, you know you can't survive without me or Vermouth." his words were coated in venom, and I felt a shiver run through me. What does he mean? The one-sided conversation (Conan-kun was looking at him with a glare, not talking) confused me, and from the looks of the female officer in front of me, so was she.
Conan-kun's voice was as calm as ever, holding his own against the daunting man. I couldn't hear his reply, his voice soft as a feather, too low to drift into eavesdropping ears. Sato-san was about to stand up when I stopped her for the second time that day, "Let's see where this is gonna go." I told her with a fierce look, or as fierce as I can get. She frowned but nodded nonetheless.
The stranger frowned at something the little boy said and he stalked forward, turning around once he was a few feet away from his table, his companion frowning suspiciously at him, "It doesn't matter, Gin's been trying to find a way to prove Vermouth's a snake ever since They discovered you," he snarled, his dark skin appearing chocolate in the dim lighting, his blonde hair a sharp contrast, "And I know what you're planning once They put you in training... and you won't succeed when you don't have my full support." he finished, walking out the door.
Our gazes remained on the closed door until a small voice popped in beside our small booth, "What are you guys doing here?"
I jumped, startled, "W-what do you mean?" I started, laughing nervously as I watched Conan-kun climb into the booth to sit next to Satou-san. Seeing the glare she had on me, I realized that my statement made it seem like we were stalking him, "I mean, we were just having dinner, Conan-kun." I covered up, hoping that he'll overlook it, but with this kid... I doubt it.
He hummed, watching as a few people filed out of Columbo, "Did you see the guy I was with?" he asked, eyes still trained on the door, as if waiting for something.
Satou-san answered, nodding, "Us he your Dad or something?" she asked, and from the look the boy gave her, it was quite obvious, "Just a small speculation." she harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Just then, I suddenly remembered why the man looked familiar. I made a triumphant noise, "He's Mouri-san's new apprentice!" I exclaimed, looking to Conan-kun for confirmation, only to see a small spark of a frown before dissolving into his usual childish grin. I narrowed my eyes, suspicious of the small boy's sudden topic of his companion.
He nodded, "That's right, he wanted to take me out for dinner."
"At this time of the night?" Satou-san piped in, oblivious to Conan-kun's secrecy, "Awfully late, isn't it?" she asked, glancing to the clock, it was 12:15 already.
"He came home from work late, but he promised to take me so we decided to go to Columbo 'cause its open late."
Lies, I thought, you're hiding something again. I remembered the elevator incident, the cases we solved without the Sleeping Kogoro. What is it that you don't want anyone to find out?
Satou-san hummed, "But why did he leave you?"
The little boy smirked, uncanny, "He's still outside."
We frowned, "He is?" I asked, "He looked pretty mad when he walked out."
He nodded, fiddling with his watch before looking at the table and flipping it to its side, earning a gasp from me and Satou-san and the bartender as kitchenware crashed on the floor, breaking, "Sorry." he muttered before turning to Satou-san and holding his watch up, "I can't trust anyone right now, though I do trust Takagi not to ask questions until all of this is over." I frowned at the way he called me... He's never just called me 'Takagi'.
Satou-san slumped on the wall of the booth and my eyes widened, frantically reaching to her and grasping her wrist for a pulse.. it was there, loud and calm, "What did you do?!" I screamed at the child in front of me, I wasn't even sure if he was a child. He was staring hard at the door, the bartender slowly approaching us.
He turned to the clueless man, "I'm sorry, I'll be sure to pay up, but can you ask everyone to take cover on your side of the bar? And can you take her with you?" he pointed to Satou-san.
The bartender frowned, as if discerning something before nodding, lifting Satou-san from me as I gawked, "Yes, sir!" he turned, calmly directing the people left in the restaurant to stand beside him... His actions seemed like a police officer's, and again I wondered about the boy in front of me.
"Takagi-keiji, take out your gun and take cover." he warned, just as a bullet ricocheted off the wall near the left side of my head. I winced, taking cover on the flipped table... screams of the final occupants of the restaurants filling my ears.
I heard Conan-kun curse as he ducked beside me, "When you fire, make sure you don't hit anything fatal... we need him." he told me before flipping his phone open and dialing as more bullets imbedded itself in our table and the walls around us. I had a feeling I wasn't the only ones with a gun, other than the man that started attacking. "They're here." he said to the phone, "One of your agents is here taking cover for the civilians.. I need back up, They're filing in.. No, I'm quite sure he hasn't told him.. Got it." he closed his phone, shoving it in his back pocket as he took out a gun from beside him and cocked it, unlocking the safety. My eyes widened at his expertise, noting that the gun he was holding was Satou-san's. He looked at me and smiled, unlike the creepy smirk he had on back at Touto Tower, "I'll tell you.. if you survive this."
I breathed in sharply, nodding as he checked the scene, "Can you just answer one question?" I asked, time seemed to stop at that moment as he slowly turned towards me, the same mysterious light glinting off his glasses, "Who are these people?"
He smirked, "...They're the reason for Edogawa Conan."
Oooooh. I'm thinking of leaving it as is. Should I? xD
Re-edit: Aug. 13, 2012 (too many eye catching mistakes. -_-)