Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own any of the characters in this fiction.
Author's Notes: This update took later than usual because I was busy with my big two and two. I'm getting older.
O O O
Chapter 4: Friendly Enemies
I just slipped out of the heist outfit when the door bell rang.
Is it her? Is she back? I put on my night dress and checked my watch. It was a little past one in the afternoon.
It couldn't be her. She knows Kaito should still be at school. Unless she also knows I'm still here, and I'm the one she's actually after…
The doorbell rang again when I finally reached the gate. I opened it to Hakuba Saguru, gasping for air.
"Hakuba! What are you doing here?" I gestured for him to come in.
"I couldn't stop thinking the whole morning," he said. We went in the house.
"Thinking about what?" I asked as I closed the door behind us.
He looked away. "Well, you of course… You were alone in this house and some kidnappers are after you. I know you're a very capable young lady but it's quite irresponsible for a detective to leave a victim alone. And most of all, in Kuroba's house!"
He eyed the ceiling and floor suspiciously as we both stood there in the doorway. "If I knew any better, I'd say there's a stack of corpses somewhere in their basement…"
Deduction's a little off but it would be best not to let him in Chikage's room.
"So, you sneaked out of school just so you can keep an eye on me?" I asked. This is somewhat surreal. Hakuba Saguru, I can't read you.
"I didn't sneak out," he said. "I asked permission to be excused because of a case… I mean, this is a case, ne? Attempted kidnapping."
I nodded. "I appreciate the gesture but I don't mean to pay you because I didn't even hire you in the first place."
"I know, I know." He put his hands in his pockets. "Pro bono, then. Special rate for a friend." He looked at me. "We are friends, ne?"
I opened my mouth but didn't know quite what to say. I was bewildered why my cheeks were growing hot.
He shrugged. "We're not close but beside Aoko, you're the only girl in the school not crazy about KID. I see you at his heists but you've never held a banner or cheered him on."
"You could say that," I replied. Well, that's one way to look at it. I could never tell him that though we share the same desire to capture KID, our intentions with him differ. When you think about it, we could actually be rivals.
"And you defy that convention that if you're not – as how the girls would say it – "Team KID", you're in "Team Hakuba" which all sound ridiculous but it makes me feel comfortable toward you," he continued saying.
I looked at him and was surprised to find myself attracted. His good looks is undeniable and so is his wit. He has a prominent bone structure, making it seem like he is a very serious person, but the soft, blonde waves falling on his face balanced it with gentleness.
"Is there something on my face?" He placed both hands over his cheeks and rubbed them. "Or did I say something – "
"Iie. I was just thinking… Yes, we're friends," I said. I didn't offer a smile but I said this as polite as I could.
He gestured toward the kitchen. "You still haven't eaten anything. I can help you reheat the food from last night. Just don't eat too much of the cabbage. I felt dizzy after we ate and I fell asleep right away. It might be spoilt or something."
I remembered seeing him asleep on the bed last night. I blushed even more.
"You're getting all red in the face," he said. "Is your fever still high?"
"I feel better but I may need to sleep the rest of the day," I said. Almost instantly after I said it, I felt fatigue creeping in my body. Spending half a day in Kuroba Chikage's room was no treat.
"Well it's never good to sleep with an empty stomach," he said as he held out a hand.
"Let's eat?" he asked.
I took his hand and nodded. I felt myself genuinely smile for the first time in a long while.
O O O
As we stuffed ourselves with the leftovers, Hakuba interviewed me about the alleged kidnapping. He also apologized for not asking the details sooner, but it's only because he didn't want to me to relive right away the details of such an incident. I just kept answering that I don't remember much and he finally agreed to let my mind "recover" until it "remembers anything helpful to the case." I couldn't really tell him that my kidnapping was just a cover up to what really happened. In truth, if there's someone who might be kidnapped, it's Kaito.
He also suggested that he watches over me while I sleep. He said something about kidnappers going in through the window.
"Better we stick with each other," he said, adding that I shouldn't worry because he was not Kuroba Kaito and that he was taught "courtesy and a lady's virtue" early on.
"I'll be sitting myself on a chair or on the floor beside the bed. To pass time, I'll finish re-reading The Sign of Four," he said. "Holmes case. One of my favorites."
"Maybe it's better if I sleep in your room instead?" I suggested, remembering Chikage's walk-in closet. "My sheets are all sticky and dirty from sweat and I don't know where to get a change of sheets."
"I understand," he said. "Only the best for the princess."
He escorted me up the stairs and into his room. Under the afternoon light, I could clearly see the details of the guest room. It was smaller than Kaito or Chikage's room. The walls were painted butter yellow and had simple, white pieces of furniture. Once inside, he took the chair from the dresser and positioned it beside the bed. He also took the book, resting on top of a pillow.
"After you," he said. Then, a look of embarrassment on his face. "What I mean to say is that I don't intend to climb into the bed, rather I'll take my seat after you've made yourself comfortable."
I obliged and snuggled under the sheets. He sat on the chair and opened his book to a page I estimated to be past half the story.
"What's that about?" I asked.
"One of the most action-packed Holmes cases where he dealt with a group of – " He frowned at me. "Say, you don't look tired at all."
"I think I just needed to lie down… I was feeling sleepy a while ago but not so much now," I said.
"Well, I'm afraid that if you want me to read you a story to be sleepy, this won't do," he said as he closed the book. "Do you want me to tell another story? A bedtime story, perhaps?"
"Not really." I started to twirl strands of bangs on my forehead. "Was never fond of stories, especially those fairytales. I never understood why the witches are portrayed as ugly and miserable. They also get killed in the end."
Hakuba shrugged. "Children have simple minds. They need radical examples to teach them to differentiate right from wrong."
"But that's not really what happens in real life." I brushed the strands of bangs aside. "Life's full of gray areas."
Hakuba was looking intently, like he wanted to say something but is choosing not to.
"These fairytales are just disillusioning the children," I continued. "They should just replace the fairytales with stories about kidnappings, murder, torture, violence, heartbreak, losing your parents to accidents. That sort."
Hakuba out down his book on the dresser table nearby. "Well there are certain fairytales with not-so-happy endings, you know. One's The Pigkeeper by Hans Christian Anderson. In the end, the princess was banished from the castle and her prince also left her. The Little Mermaid, another story he wrote, also ended differently in the original version. The protagonist threw herself onto the sea and died. In the original version of Cinderella, there was also a morbid scene where the stepsisters cut off their toes just so their feet could fit in the slipper."
"Those are as equally radical, I suppose," I said. "I might not have heard of them because, as I said, I was never particularly fond of fairytales."
"You'd be surprised how some of them can be interesting," he said. "One of my favorites has to be The Princess And The Moon, an old English tale that hailed from a lullaby. It also has a sad ending. Have you heard of it?"
"I think we read that in English class," I said. "The princess fell in love with the moon and a fairy gave her the chance to become either a star, the sun or the clouds. In the end, she just chose to remain as she is."
"My okaa-san used to tell it to me when I was younger," he said. "She used it as a sort of explanation why she and dad don't live together. She said some things are better loved from afar."
"Oh yeah, you said once your okaa-san is staying back in England while your dad is the director for investigation here," I said.
"I was young when they separated and I didn't really understand what was happening." He turned his face away. "Up to now, I still don't know why."
It wasn't every day that Hakuba Saguru shared something so personal but his voice was cool as always. He said all these without any hint of emotion, as if they were just some data from an experiment he conducted. I wasn't particularly bothered. I knew exactly how years of frustration could make you indifferent toward some matter.
"Is it okay for you to share something so personal?" I asked right away. "You don't have to, you know… and I'm sorry if I said anything to make you think you need to – "
He smiled. "It's okay. About time I tell someone, too."
It dawned on me that I was not particularly good at these kinds of conversations. I barely had any idea what to say or do. To avoid looking him in the eye, I just stared at the framed painting of doves, hanging on the wall.
"But you must've asked her," I thought out loud. "If she offered a vague reply, you must've kept asking her."
"I did," he replied. "Countless times when I was younger. I always get the same response – she'd repeat the lines by that princess in the fairytale. Some things are better loved from afar."
"It might've been that time when I started to get interested with the why behind every case." He looked at me. "'Cause everything that happens need to have a reason. It can't be totally random. Even serial killers have preferences, creating a pattern in choosing their victims. Do you get what I mean?"
"So, not knowing the reason behind the separation of your parents is what eventually caused your motive obsession," I said. "I watch the news every now and then and most commentators actually say it humanizes the suspects."
"Not everyone," he said. "I once handled a case about a woman who stabbed her husband at the back... Literally. When I asked her why, she said it's because her husband kept complaining that she had heavy feet and her footsteps are too loud. She did it to prove him wrong. And she was right in the end – her husband didn't even hear her creeping up behind him, that morning when he was reading the Sunday paper in their living room."
I stopped myself from saying that I understood her intention.
"But as for asking their motives, it's not so bad," I said. "At least we get to hear their side of the story."
He nodded. "Once found out, they usually fall on their knees and confess their story, anyway. But since we're on the topic of why, I have to ask you something…" A slight tremor in his voice.
"What is it?"
His brow tied in a knot for a second or so. "Why do you like him?"
"Do you mean Kuroba?"
"Who else?"
"I don't."
He crossed his arms. "You have to stop denying that, you know. It will only hurt you more in the end. And you're already headed down that road."
"Now I don't understand why we're talking about this," I said. "It's surely not making me feel sleepy."
"He's in love with Aoko, you should know that," he said.
My chest tightened. "That's not for you to say."
"I know the secret the two of you share – I saw you both on his bed yesterday night…"
I stared at him. He couldn't have –
"I woke up after passing out and was heading down the kitchen to look for a pain killer when I saw his door ajar. I opened it a bit more and peeked in and saw you both on his bed," he said. "My suspicions were right all along. You two have that kind of relationship. That's why the two of you were so jumpy when Aoko suggested we stay."
Oh. So he was the one who opened the door, and that's the secret he thought he uncovered. That's better than some newfound evidence tying Kuroba to KID, I guess.
"Did you hear what we were talking about?" I asked.
His cheeks turned red. "What I witnessed was a private matter. I left right away, as I should."
"Even if you two are sharing that kind of relationship, don't confuse Kaito's curiosity with love," he continued. "He's just giving in to the primal desires of boys our age, but in the end, he'll go back to Aoko."
"That isn't for you to decide." The tightening in my chest won't go away.
"In any case, that shouldn't be a problem, right?" He picked up the book again and leafed through the pages. "You said you don't like him."
A let out a long exhale. "Maa, you said yourself that the things we want the most are the things we can't have."
O O O
I eventually fell asleep when Hakuba decided I was "stubborn yet inconsistently consistent". So he read his book, without uttering a single word to me. The silence lulled me to sleep and when I woke up hours later, it was Aoko and not Hakuba, watching over me.
"You finally woke up," she said. She was holding our English textbook. "Kaito and Hakuba-kun are downstairs, eating dinner and arguing about – well, at first it was KID, then it was about the justice system, then something about bread knives I think, then KID again, after that, it was about morality on – oh, I forget and I got annoyed so I just left."
"Hmm," was all I could manage to reply. Remembering what Hakuba said about her and Kaito sent another pang of pain to my chest.
She set down the book on the drawer. "I can bring up your dinner, if you like. I made it myself. Hot pot, but nothing special. I can bring in a bowl."
"I would appreciate that," I said. "Thanks."
She smiled and left the room. Not a minute has gone by when Kaito entered the room with a tray.
"Aoko was quite disappointed that I beat her to bringing your dinner." He set the tray on the bed. "Or she's probably just jealous again. She's been going on and on and on and on the whole day that I should confess that we have something going on."
"I heard you didn't deny it either," I said as I took the bowl.
He smirked. "It'd be fun to mess with her for a while. Act all mysterious and then when she finally discovers all her stupid suspicions are wrong, she'll realize that being paranoid 24/7 isn't a good thing."
I shrugged as I started to eat the hot pot. I was mildly surprised that it was tasty. I may not favor the girl, but she knows how to cook. I'll give her that.
"Anyway, she's downstairs doing the dishes with Hakuba," he said. "Which gives us some minutes to talk. So, did you uhm, did you find anything interesting in haha's room?"
"I found some tapes of your okaa-san and otou-san," I said. "Recordings of his classes and techniques."
"Haha's tapes? Toichi's Wold?" Kaito started laughing. "Did you listen to the first one? I didn't understand it when I was younger so I asked haha and she told me it was fan service."
I almost threw up my last bite. "It was audio pornography."
Kaito stopped laughing and scratched his head. "I was young and when she said it was fan service, I still didn't get what she meant until a few years later."
"Was she honestly planning to sell those?" I continued eating more of the beef and vegetables in the hot pot.
Kaito shrugged. "She even made vinyl copies and she was supposed to give it to chichi for his birthday 'cause my chichi loves vintage things. But before she could give it, he… You know…"
"My haha gave the vinyl recordings to me, instead," he continued. "I always listened to them when I was younger, every time I want to hear chichi's voice. It came to a point that I scratched some of them from listening too much." He was smiling and he looked like a little kid who was embarrassed to admit some naughty deed.
I gave him a sympathetic smile.
"There's actually an interesting tape, the one about him as a teacher," I said. "A student named Imai Rika implied that your chichi might be having affairs with his students. She said he was available for – "
"Chichi loved haha and haha alone." His voice was harder and his face suddenly looked serious. "Imai Rika is nothing but a delusional, obnoxious girl. I met her younger cousin, Reiko, recently. They share the same characteristics. They act so proud just because they own some theater companies."
"She's not a threat, then?"
"I hardly believe a spoiled heiress like Imai-san would join a syndicate," Kaito said. His voice and face hasn't softened a bit. "Knowingly, at least."
"If it isn't Imai-san, then it's probably someone else, but definitely someone from that class," I said. "Kisa-san's true voice sounded exactly like one of those girls during the voice imitating exercise."
"Really?" His eyes widened. "That confirmed that she's really one of the students, huh? From what I remember, haha recorded that session from Yukiko-san's class. I wasn't there when it was recorded, but Yukiko-san's class always met every week at the same time."
"And it was during that time that Chikage-san recorded the episode about the voice changing?"
Kaito looked up, as if the memory of that day was just floating above us. "I remember 'cause I was supposed to visit my chichi that day too, but I got chicken pox that week so I couldn't leave the house."
I tried to picture a small Kaito with little, red pox marks on his skin. Almost instantly, my imagination also included Chikage-san, doting on him and saying he's "super kawaii" while pinching his cheeks. I emptied my bowl and set it back on the tray.
"I can't find a list of all the students," I interrupted his reminiscence. "But your okaa-san has interviewed all the students in the class of Yukiko-san and some other students from a different batch. It's from the Toichi as a sensei episode. Since we're only concerned with the students in Yukiko-san's class, we can use the process of elimination."
"I see where you're going here." Kaito cupped his chin with a closed fist. "We can eliminate Yukiko-san, her friend Sharon-san who is now dead, and Imai-san who I already met. That leaves three more people. Either way, I think we'll find out soon enough."
"You'll confront her as KID?"
Kaito made a "tut, tut, tut" sound while shaking his head. "Don't you mean if I was KID?"
"I forgot about that," I said. "How will you hide your identity from her? She seems convinced that your otou-san was the original KID. That's a very strong link to you."
He averted my eyes and kept silent. It dawned on me what he was planning to do.
"Setting up traps around the house, constantly looking if someone is following me, it would get tiring, I suppose…" He sighed. "It's only delaying my inevitable confrontation with them."
"Kuroba, you can't be serious! You're… you're going to confront her?" I shook him by the shoulders. "You can't do this! That's suicide! There's still time... We can come up with a plan that would dispel her suspicions about you! Just keep setting up those traps around the house and even at school until we perfect a plan to cover your identity! For tomorrow night's heist, you can have another double appear! I won't go through my own heist and I'll just appear as your double, just please – "
"This is my fight." He still wasn't looking at me. "And I've been thinking about it the whole day that I can't keep on running away from them, or anyone who knows I'm my chichi's son."
He took my hands off his shoulders. "Gomen, Akako… My mind's made up. I need to know exactly what happened to my chichi and if that means facing all the dangerous groups he dealt with, then so be it."
"Kuroba…" The tears came again. "Kuroba, please…"
He took my tray and stood up. He smiled. "Get your rest. Tomorrow will be a long day..."
O O O
I went back to Chikage's room that night. Aoko changed the sheets as I took my evening bath. It was a good thing that I hid the dagger and notes under the bed the night before. As we settled in, Aoko told me that the boys in school were planning to camp outside my house to "guard" me until I get better.
"I think they found out you were sick, but they still don't know you're staying here," she said.
She was still updating me about what's been happening around school when I gave slipped into slumber.
I dreamt a very odd dream that night. At first, I was holding a beating heart in one hand, the obsidian dagger in the other. My arms were covered in blood. I looked down and I saw myself covered in bloody bandages. Someone, somewhere was laughing. A soccer ball flies past me.
Then, I was in another place. I didn't have the heart nor the dagger with me anymore. I was in a forest and I could hear waterfalls from afar. I ran toward the sound but I just kept going in circles. I heard screaming, then laughing.
My surrounding suddenly blacked out. I was in total darkness, save for the tiny light source on my chest – a purple gem, no bigger than my fist, encased by gold chains, hanging from my neck.
Someone, somewhere, was screaming, falling…
And then, a whisper in my ear, "Once upon a time, there lived a princess, who fell in love with the moon."
O O O
"WELCOME BACK, PRINCESS!"
"We missed you!"
"We were lost without you!"
"Your beauty is the sun that shines over Ekoda High!"
It was pandemonium in the classroom during that lunch break, as usual. I was seated on my table and the boys crowded around me, offering me fruits, flowers and get well cards.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay, princess?"
Nameless faces – all the same, vying for my love and attention.
"Thank you for your concern," I told them all.
"We were supposed to visit your house," one of them said. "We were all so very worried because you have never been absent that long!"
"We thought something terrible happened to you!"
They all cried and I gestured for them to calm down. "Please, don't feel sad. I feel better now. I just needed to rest."
How can they be so simple-minded? Of course, now I understood how tears work and could sympathize with them a little. My eyes wandered to where Kaito was seated. He was there, his eyes staring out the window. His thoughts probably lost in the cloudless, autumn sky.
"If you gentlemen would excuse me, I have some matter to discuss with the princess," said a familiar voice from somewhere behind me.
I turned around. "Oh, it's you, Hakuba… What is it about?" My cheeks were growing hot again. I don't understand what's happening to me.
"I'd rather we talk about this in private," he said. He cocked his head toward the corridor. Much to the objection of the boys, I obliged.
Once outside, he lowered his voice. "Your kidnappers, do you remember what vehicle they used? The model, more specifically. Year manufactured will also be helpful."
Oh… but how can he possibly expect me to remember those details?
"I already told you that my memory's not much help," I said. "I think the whole ordeal was quite traumatizing for me."
He stepped closer. My cheeks grew hotter still. "I still think it's unsafe to be outside, to be honest," he said. "It's good that you came to school with us but we can't keep an eye on you all the time. There is also that suspicious car, driving around the parameter of the school since this morning."
"I asked the guards, earlier this break," he said. "They said they noticed that a black Porsche 356A has circled the school several times. They tried to approach it but it drove off."
"Iie, I don't remember the kidnappers using a car. I remember a red motor bike, but I'm not so familiar with brands," I said. Might as well ask him.
"The guards didn't say anything about that." He looked at his pocket watch. "There's still seven minutes, three-point-seven seconds until the break ends. I can ask the guards to watch out for that red bike. For now, don't wander alone. We shouldn't discard the possibility that they've already penetrated the campus."
He ran off. "I'll be back," he called as he left. "And get some rest! You look absolutely flustered!"
I frowned and rubbed my cheeks. What on earth is happening to me?
I went back to the room and the boys were still around my table. I told them that I was feeling dizzy so I politely asked them to disperse. They followed right away and some of them even left candies and smelling salts on my table. I just stuffed them into my bag before I approached Kaito.
"There's a black car circling around the school," I whispered.
"I know," he said. His eyes were still focused at the open window. "I've installed some devices around the school since earlier this week."
"Until the heist, don't leave my side," he said. "Understood?"
I nodded. My heart started to beat fast. He sounded serious again. Maybe he feels it too – that the upcoming heist won't be an ordinary one that he can just relax about.
"Hakuba will be going to the police HQ straight from school. You, Aoko, and I will be going back to my house to eat dinner and get a change of clothes. She will also be preparing a bento that she will bring for her dad who will be staking out in the museum." He grabbed from inside his pocket and took out two elastic bands. He started to play with them. "If there's any preparations you have to finalize, your best bet would be when we return to the house, when Aoko would be busy making the bento."
"When do we go to the museum?" I asked.
He formed a complicated pattern with the bands. "An hour before the announced time, give or take a few minutes."
"Speaking of the girl, where is she?" I feigned interest.
"With Keiko, in the girl's bathroom," he said as he continued to fondle the bands.
"How can you possibly – " That's when I saw a portable video player on his lap. It was showing the girl's bathroom from a camera installed at high angle.
"You never graduated from being a spineless pervert, did you?" I grabbed the player and turned it off. "This is an important day and you still have the nerve play those tricks and – "
He hung his head as he created another pattern with the bands. "Say, if this is your last day on earth, wouldn't you carelessly do all the things you enjoy?"
"That's not a very funny joke." I gave him back his player then folded my arms.
He looked up at me and smiled. "I'm looking forward to see your performance later, princess. I won't go easy on you, remember that."
I watched him create different patterns with the bands and he'd show me his finished product after several maneuvers with his hands.
He stretched the elastic bands so hard but before they could break, he made them disappear. The bell rang and most of our classmates returned to class.
Aoko was with that girl in pigtails and she was looking at us when she entered the room. I knew that look very well. She was jealous, but she also looked worried. Is it possible she could also sense the danger?
She sat on her chair, which was just beside Kaito's. She smiled at me. "Akako, you shouldn't tire your body. I don't think it's a good idea that you come with us to the museum, too."
"But after what Hakuba told us about the gem, I want to see it," I said. Stay out of our business.
"I was just thinking that it will be too crowded and you can get light-headed easily," she said. "And as for your kidnappers, Hakuba also thinks they may still be on to you… Where is he anyway? Break's almost over!"
Kaito stood up. "Sensei's not here yet so I'll go look for him and drag his ass back here." He put a hand over Aoko's left shoulder. "Wait for me."
We watched him exit the room, but neither he nor Hakuba have returned to the room that afternoon.
O O O
It was during last period when we heard the explosion. It came from the south wing of the second floor, where the laboratories are located. Both Aoko and I must have sensed that Kaito and Hakuba were implicated in whatever happened. We rushed out of the room, amid the chaos and shouting, and despite a stern warning from Yuriko-sensei that we should leave the room in an organized fashion.
Other students were already running in the corridor. They were all hurrying away from the direction of the laboratories, and we had to fight our way through them. Some of them were covered in soot and dust.
"Kaito!" I heard Aoko scream from somewhere behind me, as we reached the south wing.
Thick clouds of smoke blocked our view. It smelled heavily of chemicals. My guess was that the explosion came from the chemistry laboratory.
Our eyes got misty as we blindly pushed forward. It was also getting warmer. Somewhere beyond what we could see, there was most probably a fire. Aoko was coughing.
"Don't touch anything!" I warned her. "Stay close to me!" I felt her hands grab my arm as we ventured on, step by step.
The smog was getting thicker and I struggled to cover my nose and mouth with a handkerchief.
"Kai – " Aoko coughed. "KAITO! Where are you?"
I was about to explain to her that no one could hear her through the smog, when a pair of voice answered back.
"Aoko!" Kaito's.
"Aoko, is that you?" It was Hakuba's.
"We're here!" Aoko answered back. She waved her hands behind me.
There were figures approaching us. The smog wasn't dispersing but the figures were getting clearer. I told Aoko to stay put.
First one visible was Hakuba, his light-colored hair now dirtied from who knows what. He carried by the shoulder a girl in our uniform, her hair the same color as his. We couldn't see her face as it was sunk so low. She appears to have fallen asleep, or passed out, based on the amount of blood dripping from the right side of her body. Limping behind them was Kaito, who was clutching his left arm. We could see that it was bleeding as well, but a piece of cloth was tied around it, stopping much of the bleeding.
Aoko gasped as she let go of my arm and ran to Kaito. I rushed forward to help Hakuba carry the bloody girl.
"What happened here?" I asked Hakuba.
He coughed. "No time for explanations. Clinic."
We hurried out of the smog as fast as we could, but it kept chasing us. The warmth from the fire was licking the back of our necks. The corridors were almost deserted now, save for some students who went back for their bags.
The clinic was in the first floor of the east wing and the stairs going down was located a little past our classroom. We were already going down the stairs when the girl between me and Hakuba stirred. She lifted her head to look at me. Her face was blackened with dust but I instantly recognized her. It was the true face of Kisa-san.
"Hang in there," I felt compelled to tell her. The side of my uniform was also beginning to stain with her blood. She groaned and fell back to unconsciousness.
Having reached the first floor, we navigated through the first years' corridors until finally, we were out of the building. We needed to cross the field to get to the clinic but we were approached by several men in bright yellow uniform. One of them told us in haste that everyone was asked to evacuate the school and that if we need medical attention, several ambulance were waiting by the gates.
We looked around and saw from a distance that students are leaving the school in orderly lines. We could hear ambulance sirens from afar. Some of the men in uniform were going to the direction where we came from, to search for students who might've been trapped, I heard one of them shout. There were also some of them who were trying to put out the fire. The flames were visible from several windows of the second floor.
"What happened to her? Can she walk?" The one who talked to us earlier asked.
"She needs medical attention right away," Hakuba replied.
The man signaled for his colleagues to bring a stretcher over to us. Two men of heavy built brought a stretcher and placed it on the ground. They then asked us to transfer Kisa-san's weight on theirs, and they placed her on it. Before they carried her out, Kaito insisted that he should be in the same ambulance as her. The man who ordered for the stretcher agreed, adding that Kaito should also let the paramedics take a look at his arm.
"Matte! Kaito!" Aoko called out.
"Stay here," Kaito said, without looking back.
"But Kaito – "
"I already told you a while ago to wait for me, and you still rushed toward the explosion!" His voice was angry. "Honor my request this time, Aoko. Don't be stubborn!"
"Bakaito! You think I'll – "
She was about to rush forward but I put my arm in front of her. "You heard him. He needs to take care of this on his own. He doesn't want you involved."
She started sobbing as we watched Kaito and the men carrying the stretcher walk toward the gates. The students in line parted to make way for Kaito and the men with the stretcher.
"He's hiding something!" Aoko said as Kaito passed the gate. "It's not just about the two of you! The whole week I could feel that he was so unsettled! There's something bothering him and he doesn't want to tell me…"
I turned to her and slapped her. Hard. "So what if he doesn't tell you? Do you think you could help? All you can do is worry and you worrying about him makes him worry for you, too! It makes you an added nuisance! So grow up and learn that there are fights you can't fight! You can't save him all the time! You're just a helpless little girl!"
She fell on her knees and cried harder. My eyes started to tear up, too. I soon realized that I wasn't only shouting at her. My last few statements were also directed at myself. I was angry and frustrated that I currently have no powers and that I couldn't help Kaito. So this is how powerless feels.
Hakuba stepped in between us. "Ladies, I know the ordeal we went through has been very stressful, but we need to compose ourselves." He held a hand out to Aoko, who took it. He pulled her up. "Actually, we also need to go to that direction because the officer advised us to get treated. Just in case we have chemical burns and such."
We nodded and started walking silently. Only a few students were left in the field. These were several seniors who were the last to go out. When we approached the gate, we had to line up after them so we could exit. It was a good thing that the man who spoke to us earlier noticed that we also lined up, so he told the seniors to make way for us, because we're injured. When we finally exited the school, the ambulance was waiting for us by the gate.
The back door of the ambulance opened. "Your classmate told us to wait for you," said a man in green overalls. He gave us a toothy smile. He then ushered us inside and had us sit on a mobile bed. He closed the door and the van started moving. Inside was bigger than I thought. The walls of the ambulance were covered with cabinets, filled with medical apparatus and bottles of what I assumed to be medicine. There was also a sink, and several small windows, where we could barely see what was happening outside.
A lot of students were just standing idly at the street in front of the school. They parted to give way for the ambulance. Several more students were also walking, some running, away from the school. Teachers were talking to groups huddled near the gate. A news van was also going to the direction of the school.
"Hey, are you okay?" Hakuba touched my hand. I looked at him and nodded. He was between me and Aoko and… even covered with so much dust, anyone could tell he was still good-looking.
Aside from Hakuba, Aoko and I, the man who welcomed us was also inside, as well as a doctor. A driver was seated on the front of the vehicle. Behind the driver's seat was a similar chair where the doctor was seated. He must've been the doctor because he was wearing the white lab gown.
"Ladies first?" the doctor said, as he gestured for Aoko to sit on the stool in front of him. She did as bid, and he asked her several questions and examined her eyes and reflex and stuff. He also had her pull up her sleeves to check for bruises and burns.
Meanwhile, the guy who opened the door for us handed Hakuba and I some towels. I started wiping off the dust and soot on my face.
"You two look pretty beat up," he said. "Were you there inside the laboratory when it exploded?"
Hakuba shook his head. "I was outside the room. Kaito and the girl were inside."
"But you helped them, ne? You were the guy who carried the girl, I was told," this guy who seems to be the doctor's assistant, asked.
Hakuba was rubbing his face with the towel. "It was by chance that I was near the laboratory, for another investigation. I trained my ears to know different types of explosion, so I knew it was a chemical explosion right away. I also know the exact time, right down to the millisecond, how long it would take for the fire to spread. Both Kaito and that girl were blasted out of the room and seeing their injury, I calculated that they would never make it out alive if I won't help them."
Hakuba had removed most of the dirt off his face and hair. He handed the towel back to the medic's assistant. I did the same.
"You're – you're – I know you!" The medic's assistant pointed at Hakuba's face. "Your face was so dirty a while ago that I didn't recognize you but I remember now! You're one of those high school detectives! I saw you in the news last week!" He seemed overjoyed. He handed us two plastic cups with green hot, green liquid inside.
"That's tea, for the nerves," he said. Then he gave us towel to put around our shoulders "for the shock."
"If you excuse me, detective, and pretty miss, I'll go hand a cup of tea to your friend," he said. "The doctor will be with you after he's examined her."
"Before you go, would you tell us where Kaito is? As well as where we are headed?" Hakuba said.
"Your friends are on their way to Ekoda Hospital. We're headed there too, just in case one of you has some sort of concussion or something. Standard ops." He shrugged. "Oh yeah, we need you to undergo a CAT scan, too. It's your school's request to anyone who was near during the explosion. And you five seem to be at the scene of the crime!"
"Are there others injured?" Hakuba asked.
The assistant shook his head. "From what I heard over the radio, only you five seem to be near the laboratories."
"Are they hurt badly?" I asked.
"Don't worry, young miss," he said. "They'll be fine. Something fell on them, must have been some heavy equipment for some of your science experiment. The boy has some second degree burns and some glass stuck on his arm, but the girl seemed to have shielded him from the explosion. That much he explained, anyway. Burns and shards of glass on the right side of her body. Not pretty, I tell you. But she'll live."
"Well, thank you for that information, sir," Hakuba said. His hand was still holding onto mine. I felt him squeeze it harder.
"I don't understand," he whispered, as soon as the assistant was out of earshot.
"What happened in there? You said you arrived in time for the explosion?" I asked him.
"I already deduced that your kidnapper, that lady who owned that motor bike you told me earlier, was hiding somewhere in the school and I searched for places and rooms that were empty. I was going to inspect the laboratories last and was on my way there when the explosion occurred," he continued whispering.
"Matte, rewind a little. How did you know she was inside the school in the first place?" I asked.
"I searched around near the school for a red motor bike whose owner had left it," he started. "I found one in a nearby restaurant. To check if the owner had abandoned it, I went up to the cashier and had her announce that a red motor bike had its tires slashed. It was the only red motor bike in the vicinity and no one in the restaurant claimed it was theirs, so it coincided with my theory that the red motor bike was abandoned, and must've belonged to your kidnapper."
"Why were you looking for a red motor bike that was abandoned?"
"I know there's something you and Kuroba are not telling me yet, but I was led to the conclusion that your kidnappers are the type who would carefully plan their attack, and gather surveillance first. That's why you were staying at Kaito's, you said. Now that you have survived the first attack, their next logical step is to wait until you get back to the house. Of course, she soon discovered, after a few days of your absence, that you weren't staying there. Her next step is to wait for you at school. Since I found out about the kidnapping, I've been wary if surveillance has been installed around the school, or if suspicious characters have been lurking around the vicinity. The guards who I employed reported no suspicious lurkers, until today. It's either she just discovered that her best bet is to wait for you at school, or she must've just chosen to act now. The abandoned motor bike was her getaway vehicle after she infiltrates the school with surveillance devices, and whatever else she needed to do."
"Then why were you searching for deserted areas around the campus? If her only plan is on surveillance, then she could've installed it right away then left. It's probably safer for her to listen or watch from somewhere else," I said.
"The black Porsche," he replied.
"What about it?"
"She wasn't going to act alone this time," he said. "Though you weren't familiar with the car, I assumed the previous time, she tried to take on you alone, but now knowing how strong you are, even having managed to avoid her the past few days, she would surely bring back up. The porsche circled the school several times, as I told you. Now why would they do that unless they are planning to act now?"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My kidnapping story was a fib but his deduction bore something… something that might even be exactly what happened.
"My guess was, she reports from the inside, she takes you out personally and they wait somewhere near outside, to help her, well, carry you out and take care of you, if you're being quite troublesome," he said.
"Are you saying they probably planned on hiding me inside a body bag and throwing me over the school fence?"
"Maybe, or she pretends to be a student who will leave the school because she got sent home, and hides you in a big bag and strolls out of the gate. Or, she drugs you, and you'll be the one sent home, and she pretends to be your sister who will accompany you going home. You saw that she was already wearing the uniform of the school, ne?"
"There's a number of ways to sneak out of school, I guess," I said, having known some of them personally because of Kaito, of course. However, the uniform thing only adds up if she was indeed out to kidnap someone. That someone was Kaito, not me, but since Hakuba's deduction was coming from a kidnapping point of view, I guessed the truth wasn't far.
"But something doesn't add up," I said. "You said Kaito and the kidnapper came from the laboratory, where the explosion occurred. Why is Kaito there and – ?"
"I know I usually call that boy a thief, and I'll deny this if ever you decide to tell him, but he's got a good head on his shoulders," he interrupted. "He knows your complete story, after all. He might have some deducing himself and tracked her there. So as I was saying, I was looking for areas in the school where she could hide and listen or watch from her bugs, and wait for the right time to make a move on you. I went to the gymnasium, the music rooms, the club rooms. I searched the laboratories last because I thought it would be a stupid hiding place. All the flammable chemicals there, if ever you decide to squeeze in between the cabinets or such."
"I already get that part." I noticed he was still holding onto my hand. "My question was actually, why did she shield Kaito from the explosion? That assistant told us that… Why would she do that if Kaito tracked her down and confronted her? Wouldn't the logical explanation be that she caused that explosion to get rid of Kaito?"
"Maybe she doesn't know there was going to be an explosion," he said. "Remember she had accomplices. They disappeared after circling the block a few times, but they're still probably nearby, also getting information from her. I just thought about this now – the south wing of our school building is directly parallel to a high-rise apartment complex. They may have a sniper on the lookout there. Whoever caused the explosion wasn't either of them."
"Even if she wasn't responsible for the explosion, why would she shield Kaito?"
"Maybe she didn't agree with their sniper shooting Kaito down?" He shrugged. "Or maybe she was the one being shot for being found out, and Kaito saved her from the bullet. However, in their escape, they bumped into some chemicals, causing the explosion. Either they bumped into it or the sniper went crazy and shot the cabinets, too, knowing it would take care of them, both. The latter explanation makes more sense and continuing with that logic, as the explosion occurred, it was possible she felt she needed to return her gratitude to Kaito, thus shielding him."
"That makes sense, I suppose," I said. "The sniper and whoever else is part of her group, you said they were at the apartment complex. You think they're still there?"
He shook his head. "The explosion already caused quite a commotion. They would be wise to leave their location, plus they now have to bother about getting their colleague back."
"So they're heading toward the hospital too?"
He smiled. "That's where we're heading, ne?"
O O O
The announced time for the heist was at nine in the evening. It was half past seven when we were all finished with what the hospital attendants called "standard ops" for people involved in explosions and similar accidents. Each of us were given rooms to stay for the night, and Nakamouri-keibu, Aoko's otou-san, even dropped by, having heard about her daughter's fate.
"Gomen, otou-san," she told him as he visited her in her room. I was there that time, because we all decided to have dinner together.
"I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," she explained. "I couldn't bring you a bento to work today… Gomen…"
"Don't worry about it," the inspector said. "To make you feel better, I promise to catch KID tonight! You can watch it on the news! It's being broadcasted live, as usual!"
She smiled. "Gambatte, otou-san!"
With that, the inspector left the room and we continued eating from the trays that the staff brought us. We were all dressed in hospital gowns because our school uniforms were tattered and stained with chemicals and blood. None of us spoke for a while and Aoko made an effort not to look at, or communicate with Kaito at all.
"You sure we're not breaking hospital rules for leaving our rooms?" Hakuba asked Kaito.
"This nurse said there was nothing seriously wrong with u – I mean, you guys so it would be all right," Kaito said.
"But what about you?" I asked.
"I'm strong!" He beat a fist on his chest. "It would take more than that to kill me!"
"What would, huh?" It was the first time Aoko spoke to Kaito that night. "And you never even explained why you were there in the first place."
Kaito pouted. "I was looking for Hakuba, when I found this chick playing hooky and I warned I would rat her out so she offered that we make out, in exchange of not telling on her. The laboratory was the only empty room nearby."
Aoko looked away, hurt.
"Next time, try the truth," Hakuba said. "It takes much longer to explain but at least it makes more sense."
"Whatever," Kaito said. "I'm going to check on her, see if she woke up."
"I'll go, too," I said.
"Me too." Hakuba stood up from his chair.
"And you're going to leave Aoko alone?" Kaito asked Hakuba. "I thought you were more of a gentleman that that! Akako's coming with me, 'cause we'll go straight to my room after. No peeking." He looked straight at Hakuba.
We closed Aoko's room behind us and walked straight to the end of the corridor, where we knew Kisa-san was sleeping. We all checked on her an hour before, and she still hasn't woken up then.
"So, what really happened?" I asked him. It was the first time that night that the two of us were alone, and free to talk.
"You know that I was checking on the girls' bathrooms?" He removed the hospital band from his wrist. "Okay, part of me wants to check out the girls, but I really installed it there because I had a hunch she might need a closer surveillance on me today, because of the heist, since she suspects I'm KID."
We passed by the nurses' station and he gave the attendant a wink. The attendant went all googly-eyed and smiled at him.
"That's Rina-san, she treated me a while ago and basically gave me liberty to walk around her freely," he said.
"You were saying about Kisa-san?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah, so, anyway, I was expecting her to infiltrate the school but she has to be in a disguise of sorts, ne? And whatever disguise she would use, she would need to adjust her make-up and stuff in the bathroom, so I monitored all the bathrooms since this morning." He stuffed the wrist band in his pocket. "Since she already knew about me and some of the people I know – you, Aoko, Hakuba, I paid close attention to you guys, too. I had a hunch she would bug any of you to get to me. You barely left the room since the morning and Hakuba was running around asking the guards so I doubted she touched either of you. It was easiest to get to Aoko and true enough, I saw her change her disguise in the bathroom at our floor and she stayed there for the entire break. When Aoko finally showed up, she pretended to bump into her as she placed the bug under her collar."
"She probably didn't know you could sink so low as to put hidden cameras in the bathroom, huh?" I crossed my arms as we walked. Whoever knew that his being a perv can be helpful one day.
"Most probably not. It wasn't my chichi's style to bug bathrooms and she probably thought I had the same principles, that's why she felt safe to adjust her disguise inside a bathroom," he said. "Anyway, Aoko just got back to the room and I knew that she installed the device underneath her collar so I took that too and I talked to her using the bug, told her to wait for me outside the bathroom."
"Was she the one who suggested you talk at the laboratory?"
"I didn't suspect the apartment complex nearby was housing their sniper. I barely noticed it. I thought she chose it because it was just the nearest deserted place," he said.
"And you confronted her?"
"Sort of." He dragged his feet. "She asked me first how I knew she was there, and I told her what I just told you. Then she asked why I was cautious that someone was after me. Don't worry, I didn't tell her that you saw her. What I said was that from the moment I saw her, I suspected… Oh, but I did tell her that she dropped by the house and showed you the photograph. That's when I told her that I checked it up with my haha and when their facts didn't add up, I did research."
"Did she deny it?" We were now three rooms away from Kisa-san's room.
"Not at all," he said. "She even commended me for my work. She said it would be useful to their organization."
"So we were right that they wanted you to join them."
"She was pretty confident I'll say yes. After all, she said she can just blackmail me because she knows my secret."
"That being your otou-san was KID, and now, you took over the job."
He didn't answer this. "She talked for a long time. She told me all about chichi. She said that a lot of organizations were out to get my chichi on their side. He was talented, and the talent he showed using his alter ego attracted the black market, the most dangerous of people, those in the shadows."
"Her group was one of those," he continued. "That's why they asked her to sign up for his classes, to investigate him and confirm if he really was KID, then blackmail him to joining them. If he wasn't KID. as they suspected, at least she would also learn some tricks and disguises, which was also valuable to their job. What she didn't expect was for chichi to find out her true intentions early on."
"Your otou-san knew about Kisa-san?"
"She said that chichi asked her if she liked what she was doing. She said she didn't have a choice. She said she was cursed and only the organization could help her. Then she said that chichi told her that she always have a choice, and even hinted that if she wanted freedom, he would help her get it."
We were already in front of Kisa-san's room.
"What did she say?" I asked.
Kaito gripped the doorknob. "She said she doesn't want it, and that if my chichi was wise, he'll accept their offer, because he doesn't have a choice, too."
He was about to turn the knob when I asked, "But your chichi didn't accept the offer, ne?"
He shrugged. "I already knew he was involved with another shady business of a different organization. I asked the same thing but Kisa-san didn't answer me directly. She just said that if I was wise, I would realize that I don't have a choice, too. So I should just give up."
"What did you tell them?"
"I said they didn't have proof. And she said, 'we'll just see about that tonight' but that's when their sniper, who was apparently listening to our conversation, fired a shot that almost hit me. I took cover as they argued because they didn't agree on what to do with me. More shots were fired and it finally hit this cabinet that caused an explosion."
"This medic said that you told him that she covered you."
He sighed yet another deep one. "She shouted my chichi's name as she pushed me out of the way." He turned the knob and we entered the room. It was dark and I fumbled for the light switch. Kaito's eyes seemed to be accustomed to the dark as he was already sitting on the bed, when the lights came on. The bed was empty.
"Where is she? She couldn't have moved in that condition!" His eyes were filled with terror, and confusion.
"There's something inhuman about her," I reminded him. "Beside, her mates from the organization definitely followed us in here."
"But they shouldn't have moved her! Did they ask her to jump down? This is the third floor! She was heavily injured!" He clutched his left arm, and the bandage that covered a large portion of it started to stain with fresh blood.
"And so are you," I told him. "So don't you dare plan on running after her, or any of them!"
"I'm so close to the truth…"
"Kuroba, I know I can't stop you from doing whatever it is you wish, even if it's suicide, but can you at least track them down when you have healed?"
"I don't need to track them down. They'll come after me. Tonight."
"Kuroba, do you still plan to go on with the – "
"See you at the museum, princess."
A gust of wind blew from the open window. I shielded my eyes with an arm. When it stopped, I lowered my arm. Kaito was gone.
O O O
I approached the attendant at the nurse's station.
"We all left our mobile phones at the school, so Kaito wondered if he could borrow yours," I told the nurse.
She didn't hesitate for a moment and gave me her phone. I told her that Kaito and I were watching over our friend who's staying at the last room on the right, at the end of the corridor. She nodded and I thanked her.
Inside the empty room, I called the imp and told him to fetch me. A second later, he was in the room and he told me that he will cause a black out and I should take advantage of the black out to climb down from the window and make my way toward the nearest exit. He brought me a change of clothes, too, so that I wouldn't look suspicious leaving.
"If you weren't so ugly, I would've already complimented you," I told him.
"Anything you say, ojou-sama," he said.
"Have you brought the outfit?" I asked.
"It's inside the bag I placed at the back seat of your limousine that parked near the south exit, nearest here," he said.
"One more thing, try to mess up the surveillance cam from this room, especially after Kaito and I walked in, but leave everything else before that."
"As you wish," he said.
"I'll see you later. I'll be using this number to contact you from now on." With that, the room blacked out and he disappeared. I could hear screams of surprise coming from the nearby rooms. I immediately changed into clothes, then climbed down from the window. The railings, the windows, step, step, step. There was always something to hold onto. Step, step, step. I didn't leave any note because I wanted Hakuba to think it was a kidnapping. Kisa-san disappeared, after all. And he was already aware that her colleagues have followed us. If Kaito and I are missing, then it was only logical to think that we were both kidnapped by Kisa-san's colleagues.
I landed with a soft thud on the grassy ground. I walked casually out of the hospital and looked for our limo. I found it at a nearby free parking area. I entered it and told him to step on the accelerator because it was under an hour before we reached Touto's Museum for Modern Arts.
"Such a pity you couldn't use your broom," he said. "You were also such a magnificent flyer."
I told him he wasn't helping and that if I was successful, I can ride all the brooms I want. We sped up and reached Shibuya a little below ten minutes. I now had a bigger motivation to get to Purple Majesty. Change of plans, though. I should get it before Kaito does… before he appears as KID. He shouldn't appear at all tonight, so that organization wouldn't have any evidence to prove he was KID.
"There seems to be traffic from a bus that collided with a van," the imp suddenly said.
"That can't be! I can't be late! I have to get there before he does! I have to steal the amethyst before he appears!" I unlocked the car and grabbed the bag beside me.
"Ojou-sama! Princess! There's still seven blocks before we reach the museum!"
"I have to get there now! Just teleport there and leave the car here, or I don't know, can you teleport the car there? Just stick to the plan, only, we'll do it earlier. Wait for my signal!" I stepped out of the car and ran toward the direction of the museum. People in public utility vehicles were also stepping out and opting to use the sidewalk.
I ran as I clutched the bag that contained some of the items I needed for that night. I was making a shortcut, a left on an alley, when a boy in a skateboard bumped into me. We both fell on the ground.
"Watch it, boy!" I said as I staggered to find my footing.
"Sumimasen," said the boy. He stood up and picked up his ugly yellow-and-green skateboard.
"Conan-kun!" called someone from behind us. It was a girl, about my age, and I thought she looked familiar. She entered the alley and approached us.
"Gomen nasai," she told me. "He's just really excited to see KID. We came from Beika and we've been stuck in that traffic for ages."
"Oh," I said. Then I realized I have seen the boy before. He was the boy always chasing after Kaito. I noticed that he dropped his glasses and I picked it up and handed it to him.
"Here. I think one of the lenses is cracked," I said. Our fingers brushed as he took it back. I felt a chill down my spine. What is this? Something is unnatural about this boy. How could I feel it? Were there some remnants from my power that could sense this? Or was this the mortals called "instinct"?
"Arigatou," the girl said for him. "We're going our way then. And no skateboards. You wouldn't be late. There's still around fifteen minutes before his announced time." She took the boy by the hand and they started walking. I followed them.
"I'm going that way, too, but I'm also rushing to meet a deadline," I told them as I hurried past.
I ran two more blocks. I checked my watch. Ten minutes. I could hear the crowd chanting KID's name. I finally arrived in front of the museum, but the gate has been closed because of over capacity. A thick crowd still gathered in front, all holding banners, while some wore pieces of KID's heist outfit. I fought my way in, until I could reach the gate, where some police officers were standing by.
"I need to see Nakamouri-keibu," I told one of the guards. "My name is Koizumi Akako, a classmate of her daughter, Aoko. I was with her at the hospital and something happened. I need to tell him. It's an emergency!"
"Do you have identification?" he asked.
I didn't have school card with me, unfortunately. "If something happens to Aoko, are you ready to take responsibility because you wouldn't let me in on account of something so trivial?"
That seemed to have worked, because I soon found myself escorted by guards to where Nakamouri-keibu is. The museum only had one floor, but with a high ceiling. Displayed in the middle of the room was Purple Majesty, encased in a glass box. Police officers guarded around it and the KID fanatics loitered around. Some even pretended to be mildly interested in the noveau art that hung on the walls, or installed from a portion of the ceiling.
I have just passed the security terminal, when the two escort guards pointed me to where I could find Nakamouri-keibu. I thanked them and told them I could make it from there.
When they could no longer see me, I headed towards the bathroom instead. My plan was to change into my outfit and call the imp, to give him the signal. I was just about to step into the hallway that leads to the bathroom, when it grew dark.
"Ladies and gentlemen," bellowed a familiar voice, from somewhere in the middle of the room.
By then, I knew I was too late.
Next Chapter: Choice