checkmate

Mariko stared up at the young man offering her assistance, relieved that she had finally found someone who understood her plight. Quite simply, her momma was lost. Mariko was quite clear where she, herself, happened to be located, which was right outside the zoo. The fact that her mother was no longer there, and she was so worried that tears were streaming down her face was enough to alert an older man, a boy really, wearing white jeans, a blue jacket, and a black t-shirt. He bent down on one knee, as if accustomed to the frustration most children felt when having to stare up at adults, trying to catch a glimpse of their faces. He spoke with a strange accent, Mariko realized, as she struggled to understand what he was saying.

"Are you lost?" He asked, concerned, stopping briefly only to brush his dark brown hair out of his sharp, intelligent blue eyes.

Mariko nodded, still a tiny bit wary. However the boy didn't LOOK like he was a bad man, the kind that her momma whispered about on the phone to her friends in hushed worried tones when she thought Mariko was asleep. Mariko didn't exactly know what a bad man looked like, or did for that matter, but vaguely she thought they might look like the bad guys on one of those police shows her momma liked. They always had mean, scary faces and carried guns. Sometimes they even shot people...

As if reading her thoughts, the young man smiled.

"Don't worry. I'm Kudou Shinichi, a detective."

***

The girl didn't even see it coming. The makeshift noose tightened around her neck, causing her to gag and feebly try to claw at whatever was choking off her air supply. It was almost beautiful, her body struggling to get oxygen into its lungs, striving to live for just a few more scant seconds.

And then she finally gave up, the only sound throughout the whole ordeal was the crickets chirping in the deserted area of the park and the dull thud of her tiny legs hitting the bench. Soon only the crickets' song remained.

With careful, calculated movements he released his grip on the string, checking her pulse, or lack thereof, while kneeling down beside the park bench. After ascertaining that the girl was in fact dead with no chance of a miraculous recovery, he quickly relaced his shoe. There was little chance of the murder weapon being found, considering it would be with him all of the time.

It was so late that dew was already collecting on the grass, he noted with concern. Wet grass meant footprints that could be easily followed. While it wasn't a major problem, he had hoped he wouldn't have to walk along the main paths to escape the park. The more variables there were, the harder it was to calculate all possible outcomes, and that in turn increased his chances of being caught. This was not something he wanted to mess up.

He stood up, obviously it couldn't be helped. His mind recalled the map he had studied as he mentally computed his best escape route..

Finally, his plan in mind, he once again grinned into the winking lights of Osaka, his mouth looking like the blade of a knife, sharp and deadly.

The girl was dead.

The game had begun.

"Your move, Hattori." He thought, before sauntering off into the darkness.


Checkmate

~Prelude~


Heiji maneuvered through the crowded hallway of the police station gracefully, not even glancing up from the sheath of papers in his hands. He frowned at the paper in question, namely a note written in code. It had been found at the scene of a murder. Or at least what they THOUGHT was a murder… There was blood and a weapon…just no body. "Honestly," He sighed inwardly, feeling faintly disgusted, most likely because of lack of sleep. Kudou was the one who tended to be the more disgruntled of the two high school detectives, with Heiji definitely on the more cheerful side. "You'd think that criminals would have something better to do than to write coded messages and set up elaborately difficult murder scenes..." Apparently they didn't, as was shown by the sharp increase of these particular types of murders in Tokyo and Osaka.

He swerved sharply to the left to avoid a youngish woman, most likely just out of college and itching for an assignment, judging by her business-like yet eager walk towards Chief Hattori's office. All of this registered nearly instantaneously in the back of his mind, most of his focus still being on the task at hand. He half wished Kudou was here; things always seemed to just...well, it was hard to explain. It was as if he and Kudou had a rapport. Cases always seemed to go ten times easier when he was around. Or maybe it was just because Heiji wouldn't constantly be wondering what was going on with his friend when there was a good three hundred miles separating them. It was also the reason he jumped at any chance to bridge the gap and go to Tokyo. Kudou was the best friend he'd ever had. (Heaven help him if Kazuha found out he even had the thought, however...Honestly, the girl got so jealous at times!)

Or at least that was his excuse.

An excuse that seemed to be wearing thinner and thinner as the thought of one Kudou Shinichi occupied even more of his mind as of late...

Heiji jumped in surprise as a hand clasped his shoulder, nearly dropping the papers. That same woman who had been strolling purposely towards his father's office was now staring him directly in the face, her mouth was a compactly anxious smear of red lipstick as she attempted, but didn't quite manage, a smile.

"Heiji-kun," She said seriously, "We just got back the results on the body that was found yesterday. Remember, the little girl?"

Remember? How could he ever forget? He had seen many dead bodies in his lifetime, but this one had affected him deeply. Perhaps it was the almost doll-like way the poor girl's body had looked, stiff and lifeless. Or maybe her hysterical mother's deep choking sobs as she identified the body of her child.

"The lab managed to get a good set of fingerprints from the body." She took a deep breath as Heiji turned his attention entirely on her, wondering what was going on. "They've been identified as Kudou Shinichi's."

The papers escaped from his suddenly limp grasp, and he was only dimly aware of the fluttering sound that filled the air as they scattered across the floor.

Only one thought screeched through the corridors of his mind. It couldn't be Kudou! It just couldn't!!

For, you see, Kudou Shinichi was currently a seven year-old boy named Edogawa Conan living in Tokyo.

Or at least that's that Hattori Heiji had thought...

Now he wasn't so sure in his "absolute" knowlege anymore.


tsuzuku