… remember when I said I'll update once a week?
NOTES: I'M NO MEDIC. IF YOU'RE SHOT OR SOMETHIN' LIKE THAT GO TO THE FICK FRACKIN HOSPITAL.
Also, I'm not Japanese. *gasp* I'm just a lowly American fangirl, so don't expect me to use the honorifics perfectly. Other than 'jii-chan', 'botchama', and soon 'Tantei-kun', they shouldn't be used too much.
I'm, personally, content with this chapter. It was hard to try to write in a similar style to my old writing but I think I got it. Any mistakes made are my own.
6:30am, unknown location
When Kaito opened his eyes he expected to be met with at least the white ceilings belonging to a hospital and the ever present beeping marking every time his heart pounded. So, when he opened his eyes to a dark room with the ceiling fan spinning slowly above him he was surprised (whether he was pleasantly surprised or not will yet to be determined). Hospitals didn't have fans, did they?
He groaned. His shoulder hurt. When he looked over at his injury he realized he wasn't able to see it because it was covered by an expensive looking quilt. Come to think of it, his whole body was covered by said expensive off-white quilt. It was quite comfy actually. Like a cloud plucked from the sky and shoved under the sewing machine of awesome.
Okay, getting off track and he blamed the blood loss.
Wait… blood loss? Injury? How did he know he was diagnosed with stuff like that? Come to think of it… where was he?!
He wracked his brain, but something as intense as thinking only caused his previously unnoticed headache to become… well… noticed. He let out something that sounded like: "uagh…" and used his left hand - because his whole right arm was out of commission - to grab his offending forehead as he closed his eyes, beginning to regret opening them in the first place.
Okay… first things first. Instead of trying to dabble in the foggy headache inducing past he decided to focus on figuring out his present to decide what to do with his future. Injured shoulder under cloud quilt, check. Offending nail piercing the inside of his brain, check. He experimentally flexed his right hand and swallowed nervously when his fingers moved slowly and stiffly. Maybe something important in his shoulder was torn to make him loose full mobility? He didn't like that thought, so he hoped it wasn't something a little therapy couldn't fix. He carefully peeked under his covers and looked thoughtfully at his change of clothes. He was no longer in his KID outfit. How he knew he passed out after a heist he would figure out later. Oh look! He was provided with socks! Granted they looked worn and they were also a fluffy pink, but he appreciated the thought from whoever put them there.
His hair felt clean and so did his skin so he concluded he was probably washed by someone, he'll have to thank whoever did that - he hoped it was Jii - later. He moved some of the quilt off his shoulder and was met with… his shirt. He clicked his tongue and carefully shifted his right sleeve to be met with the sight of thick bandages. They looked professionally wrapped as well, which made Kaito happy.
Now that he had his body conditions looked over, he decided to switch his focus from his physical being to the room he was placed in. The bed he currently lying in was full-sized and was placed in the center of the far wall directly facing the bedroom door. On either side of the bed there was about three feet of carpet that laid as carpets usually do: perpendicular to the wall. Other than the old looking dresser at the foot of his bed and the black office chair to his left that looked like it would be a blast to do some spinning on, the room was empty. There wasn't even window, which worried him. Also, combining the missing glass barriers to the outside world with the sound of pipes and running water above him, he figured he was in a basement of some sort, but the basement of where? Jii's secret house he was never told about? Blondy and Sunglasses's secret hideout? The possibilities were endless! (He was slightly confused of who 'Blondy' and 'Sunglasses' were, but their evil looking smirks of evil popped up in his head randomly).
After fully studying the room to the point of boredom, he found himself gently tapping his fingers against the mattress to an old American song his mom showed him during one of their long talks. He didn't know the name or words, all he knew was that it was quick paced and - a deduction from the laser and alien sounds - defiantly an 80s song. But after a few minutes of repeating the same dang tune to the point of annoyance because he couldn't freaking remember the words, he decided that maybe he should attempt get up.
He bent at his abdomen and tried to use his good hand to steady himself, but the sudden wave of nausea instantly made him regret the dumb decision. He flopped back into his mattress - which he was delighted to find out had memory foam beneath it! He's living in luxury with his pink socks and foamy comfort that made him feel like he was slowly sinking into a bed of leaves on soft forest ground!
He soon found himself chuckling. There he was, without a clue of what happened before he woke up in the room he currently was in, with an injured shoulder, and a splitting headache, barely able to move and he found things that were funny! He could be in enemy territory at that very moment! For all he knew, Blondy could be planning Kaito's death just a floor above with his evil smirk and his dead fish eyes while he laid down all comfy, thinking that even though he didn't know where he was, at least he had fluffy pink socks.
The sound of two pairs of footsteps outside the bedroom door caught his attention and cut off his amused chuckle. He instantly went silent, calculating, and cautious. Judging by the weight of steps they both could either belong to two heavier woman with large feet, or two men. His heart started to race. Crap! What if he was trapped in the secret lair of Goldilocks and his partner who wears sunglasses at night! He hurried to try to calm down and readjust his poker face, knowing he was jumping to conclusions. If he was captured by Snakes new friends (how did he know Snake and the two guys worked together?) he doubted he'd be laying in comfort, let alone alive.
He groaned, trying to think of what the heck happened. Let's see… first there was the heist… then he was out the vents as Tantei-kun followed him at to speed… then… oh. Oh yeah. He was shot.
A conversation started outside his door suddenly. The voices sound both hushed and urgent. "Look, I know I told you I owed you one but this," Kaito imagined the voice waving furiously at the bedroom door, "is not what I had in mind."
"I know Tsuku," came the second and more familiar voice of Jii. Kaito physically relaxed at the hushed and careful voice of his friend. Of Jii was there on the other side of the door, Kaito knew he was safe. Jii continued. "I couldn't take the boy to a hospital."
"Why not?!" 'Tsuku' hissed. "Why is it so important that the boy isn't taken to a hospital?"
"That isn't something I can answer."
If Kaito hadn't been trying to eavesdrop he would have gasped at how serious and intense that one sentence sounded as it left Jii's mouth. It almost reminded him of McGonagall from Harry Potter, when she spoke in her 'no crap' voice when she says something and it was final. He could practically imagine Jii in a pointy hat and lips pressed together in an almost pencil thin line. It was clear that Jii did not want to go more into the topic and he will not even if he was begged.
Tsuku sighed loud enough to be heard by Kaito. "Fine. I won't ask what's going on. Just… just make sure you are both gone by the time Misuki and the kids get back."
Nothing was said after that so Kaito guessed that Jii nodded. After a few tense moments of silence the magician heard the click of a doorknob opening before Jii walked in and sat down with a sigh in the office chair. Kaito instantly went limp to pretend to sleep. He didn't want Jii to know that he listened in on the short conversation, so after waiting a few moments, he made a sleepy groan and stretched his limbs, wincing when his right shoulder sent a lightning bolt of pain up his neck.
"Botchama! You're awake!" Jii said, voice full of worry and relief.
Kaito mentally rolled his eyes before opening them. Of course he was awake! People don't usually stretch and make zombie noises during sleep unless they were in a very questionable dream. When he did open his eyes to look at his partner he instantly felt bad for his previous thought. Jii was so pale and his face was painted with worry. Kaito wondered how long he was asleep, how long he made the man worry.
"Jii-chan…" he said. His voice was scratchy and dry. It felt like his head was shoved into one of the sand dunes in the Savannah as he was force fed sandpaper, but not just any sand paper, it felt something like 20 grit. Anyway, long story short, his throat was parched.
"Oh, that's right, you must be parched. Here have some water…" Jii bent down and picked up a plastic water bottle from the floor that Kaito hadn't noticed before.
After helping Kaito to a sitting position on the bed, Jii popped the cap of the bottle and handed it to the thief, who gratefully took the liquid of life and took a few slow sips.
"Ah," he said, swallowing as he enjoyed the soothing coolness of distilled water running down his throat. "That's better."
Jii smiled and leaned into his chair. "How're you feeling?" He asked, with all the sincerity of a real grandfather.
Kaito shrugged - which resulted with pain bursting at his wound, but he ignored it. "Like I was shot. By the way, where are we?"
"At… an old friend of your father's house. Toshiri Tsuku, an extraordinary doctor with many connections. I brought you here because he'd have the means and way to get you patched up without going to the hospital," he explained.
"Friend of Oyaji's?"
Jii nodded. "Ten years ago, Tsuku wasn't exactly… on the right side of the law. Your father and I offered him a way out."
Kaito wondered what Jii meant by Tsuku not being on the right side of the law, but he decided to not look the gift horse in the mouth. "So's this an I-owe-you kind of thing?"
Jii laughed. "You could say that." Silence filled the room before the magician's assistant released a breath that seemed to carry the weight of the world. "What happened that night, botchama?"
Kaito lifted an eyebrow. "'that night'? How long have I been out?"
"It's Monday, botchama. It's been almost two days since the heist."
Normally one would gape and stutter out the time with disbelief. Not Kaito though, he was good at both masking his thoughts of surprise and rolling with situations. So what if it's been two days? Doesn't affect his life much other than the amount of texts from Aoko he'd have to sift through later.
"I see," he said. "Well, what happened is that we have enemies other than Snake. I was attacked and that's that. What we need to do now is figure out who they are."
Kaito knew he saw Vermouth working together with Snake but he got the feeling that they weren't exactly associates. It seemed to Kaito that they may have the same goal of wanting to end KID's life, but Vermouth, Blondy, and Sunglasses wanted just that while Snake also wanted Pandora. Maybe the three new enemies were hired assassins? Vermouth did say she was something like one. His eyebrows went together. He remembered Snake calling the woman 'Vermouth-sama', which hinted that maybe these new dressed in black men and women were not associates, but superiors.
"What do we do then?" Jii asked.
Kaito sighed and tapped that stupid 80s song on the mattress as he tried to think. He replayed every conversation, every action Vermouth and the others did over and over in his head, but there wasn't much to go on. Then, he remembered something the blond woman said.
"Hey, does 'Silver Bullet' mean anything to you?"
Jii lifted his eyebrows. "Silver bullet? If I remember correctly it's the ammunitions required for killing werewolf's in most entertainment sources…"
Kaito nodded. "One of the people who attacked me mentioned someone who went by that… I wonder what side they're on."
8:13am, Mouri Detective Agency
Conan opened his eyes and was met with the gentle rays of the sun creeping into his room through the slightly cracked window. He pushed himself up from his futon and yawned as he rubbed tears from his eyes. When he caught sight of the time on his 'Conan' phone he jumped from his bed in a panic. He had school an hour ago! Why didn't Ran wake him? She usually does! Did she leave without him?!
Working fast enough to shame fighter jets, he got ready for the day. He hardly cared what shirt he threw on, as long as it smelt okay, but he didn't worry too much about that. A perk of being six again was that his body didn't sweat as much, and when it did sweat, it didn't stink. He jumped in a pair of jeans, grabbed a random jacket, shoved his backpack over his shoulders at such a ferocious speed he was surprised the straps didn't tear, then burst out the door into the main living area, scaring Ran who was making pancakes half to death.
"C-Conan-kun?" She gasped, grasping her chest like she had just been given a heart attack.
"Ran-neechan!" Conan yelled, without really thinking. "Isn't there school today?"
Ran lifted an eyebrow at him. "We have today off from school today, remember? Also… where are your glasses?"
Conan swore and darted back into his shared room with Kogoro. He dived for his glasses and shoved them on his face. He emerged out of the room a few minutes later with red cheeks. He couldn't believe that he forgot that students had a break from school that Monday.
Honestly, he'd been so busy lately that he wasn't really surprised that he forgot. The heist two days ago was still making headlines of papers. Articles about KID apparently being shot during his heist were being written constantly. Nakamori and the Task Force were constantly barraged with the media wanting an interview while the said inspector struggled to not lose his temper whenever he was ambushed by them.
The press and people of Japan were obsessed with trying to find out what really happened two nights ago.
But the media wanting the truth wasn't the only problem involving KID going around. At the scene where KID was supposedly shot, cops worked hard to try and piece together the mystery of what really happened. Some samples of the blood left behind by the thief was taken to be examined as evidence, but mysteriously went missing before the samples could be properly looked at. There was also the problem of both the Brilliant Twin and the Dawning Twin not being returned yet.
Conan yawned and sat down at the dining table (after Ran helped him out of his backpack and jacket with badly hidden amusement) and buried his head in his arms. Something about that heist two days ago seemed strange, but he couldn't think of what exactly it was. Maybe more was going on than what the cops thought?
Something soft landing in his head tugged him out of his musings. He scrunched up his face and pulled his pajama bottoms from off his head and studied them with a confused expression.
"You know, brat, I don't appreciate your clothes being thrown at me in the mornings," Kogoro growled, walking out of of the bedroom with residue tears in his eyes from a yawn.
"Ehe… sorry…"
Gosh, Conan really was out of it. First he forgot he didn't have school, then he didn't even notice that Kogoro was still in the room when he woke up.
Kogoro clicked his tongue then walked to the front door to grab the newspaper.
"So, Conan-kun, I was thinking that we could go shopping for some summer clothes for you today," Ran said, placing a plate in front of him that contained his breakfast. She sat down across from him with her own plate and took a small bite. "You know, because it's getting hotter lately and you only have long sleeved shirts."
Conan nodded, knowing he couldn't refuse to go on a shopping trip even if he wanted to. "Okay!" He said, trying his best to sound excited.
She smiled. "Great, we can leave after breakfast."
Conan feigned enthusiasm as he grinned back, then he dug into his heavenly meal.
Kogoro returned a few moments later and sat down next to them, instantly searching over the his acquired paper. He took a sip of coffee that he probably grabbed before sitting at the table and studied the black and white words. They ate in silence, broken only by the occasional scrape of a fork against their plates or the crinkling of a page being flipped from the newspaper. Then, suddenly, Kogoro choked on his coffee.
He made less than pleasant noises as he tried to cough out the hot liquid that went down the wrong tube, and when he accomplished his goal of not choking anymore, he stared at the newspaper in shock.
"Otousan…" Ran stared at him with her eyebrows raised in both concern and slight annoyance that their pleasant meal had been interrupted. Conan rolled his eyes. The old man probably either caught sight of a beautiful woman in a picture, saw he won some gamble, or spotted his name in an article.
When he explained what caused his choking, neither of the minors were expecting the reason.
"Kaitou KID left a heist note!"
Conan grabbed the newspaper as fast as lightning and low and behold, the current page Kogoro was on was headlined with big, bolded words: "KID STRIKES ONCE AGAIN"
Conan didn't care about the actual article written under the headline, what he did care about was the black and white photo of the heist note written on the back of a King of Spades playing card KID sent to whoever published the newspaper.
"When the sun is at it's best,
It will switch with the moon for her to rest.
Then I will trail April showers,
And smell the sky colored flowers.
I'll pick 15 so I can at last,
Offer her my gift, her majesty the Queen's Past."
Below the note was the ever present KID doodle. But curiously enough, written down the right side of the note was a combination of thirteen numbers.
9
25
2
12
21
8
0
18
11
2
2
21
10
Conan studied the numbers at a loss, but it wasn't the only thing strange about the note though. It was also written in English.
The shrunken sleuth grinned. He always looked forward to a challenge. Hopefully, KID won't disappoint him with this one.
AN: can you figure out the riddle? Don't think too much into it, all it does is give the date/time of the heist and the name of the jewel to be stolen.
The real question is, what do the numbers mean? How many of you can guess?
