Author's Note(s):
Sorry for the long wait for this chapter really. It's because author's block and the realization that I cannot do any decent fanfic about mystery and I'm thinking of cutting the case short so I could proceed introducing Conan but I can't. I need it. Second, this chapter wasn't grammatically checked nor spelling checked so feel free to point out the mistakes so I could correct them. And that's all-I think.
Let the Hidden Memories Commence!
Today so far was never been the greatest day of my youth. It was in fact the opposite; meeting a nostalgic person, encountering such weird premonitions and being knocked out cold by the person whom I seemingly concluded as the culprit.
Hahaha it's a little funny though-to think that I would have at least this kind of drama when I'm supposedly cold- that I could still state my perspective.
So what am I supposed to be right now, a narrator, a dead person or a MIA? What do you think? Again it's very funny when you're alone talking to yourself even though I don't find any logic in doing so. I'm so pathethic.
"Hey are you done with your monologue? My skin is starting to get itchy right now so I suggest you better be"
!?
"Now now Mr. Narrator, there's not much time to waste. Your precious friend's life and in the line you know and your just here resting. Come on, get your eyes open kid so you could start searching"
!?
I wonder whose voice was that? Surely it's not mine since my body is still immmobolize or so what I thought of. I carefully opened my eyes and found two foreign colored orbs staring opposite to mine.
I blinked a few times before processing the information that some unknown person was staring at me (with only a few inches gap between our faces). I examined the person's face and I could tell that this was no time for joke; he looks like a person in a business mood.
"Umm who are you and...could...you please stop staring at me this close" I started. The boy obeyed and removed his striking blue orbs and his face so close with mine.
I then sit up crossed leg position and inquired information about why, when, how and such stuffs that I'm curious about. Take asking for his name as an example. "...Who are you and how did you find me?"
"Who knows" the boy just shrugged. "But let's just say I'm your mysterious helper. And the information on I was able to find you is classified though I want to tell you that your friends are already on their move and have already establish their plan" he said crossing his arms.
"You mean Ayumi and Genta?" I asked and he then nodded. "Good to see that they are fine but...what about the culprit? She/He is still on the looseand he/she might purposely hurt at least one of them like the person did to me. Wha-
"Calm down little detective" he said interrupting me. He put his finger to his mouth and grinned slyly. With one eye closed playfully, he reminds me of
a raven carefully observing his prey before attacking and coincidentally, his hair was the color of that said bird. "You saw the culprit's face didn't you? That alone is enough to say that you are indeed a witness but the evidence aren't yet sufficient."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked as I was perplexed by the teen's profound words. "What do you suggest I should do?"
"Simple" he immediately replied. "You could go and listen to one of the possible suspect's alibi and ask her for more. I know it sounds foolish knowing
that you have already seen the face of the culprit but what I want you to do was to gather more solid information about the suspect and trap him/her for a sure win.
"And how do you suggest I do that? I mean we're in a what...a sewer with no way out"
"Oh did you forgot that I came from the outside, didn't you?" he playfully said. How am I supposed to know when I was still out cold back then? "How pitiful you are, Mitsuhiko-kun. I thought you're better than that but I suppose to be wrong with that assumption"
Figures. "How did you-" I trailed off as I begun to realized that this person is...testing me. The way he chose his words and the way he comprehend every reaction I have simply states that he's here for something and I'm not liking it. But right now, I'm giving up to his words and see what he has in his sleeves. "Okay I get it. Now what do you want?"
"For you, Detective Boys, to win this case" he smiled. "You see, that person who you had befriended earlier is actually dear to me and whether I like it or not I have to cling my hopes to you who are selected by her father"
"...Fine" I groaned. Looks like I can't force him to spit out any answers out nor tell me any information about himself. "Show me the way"
He grinned and displayed that playfully and slyly expression again- as a sign of triumph- before turning around. "Hmm you made the right choice, detective-san. Now follow me this way"
He gestured me to follow him and stop by one of the corners of the room (or jail cell or sewer or what every you call it) and pulled one of the vine hanging on the walls. "Alright this should do it" he said. Grasping the vine tightly in his hands, he started climbing the mossy walls and left me dumbfolded. "Hey are you coming or not?" he peered over his shoulder.
"I'm coming alright" I said taking the vine next to the vine he's using then climbed up. Well I got to admit, the climbing the wall thing somehow freaked me out knowing the fact that I've slipped down for a couple of times and the thought of the vine snapping lingered throughout my mind but good thing I was able to make it out...alive.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" he asked when we're done climbing the walls. He showed no sign of panting nor shortness of breathe but he did showed a sign ofa pathethic lunatic.
"Yes is was so much fun!" I sarcastically replied. Seriously, what kind of person would enjoy a scene similar to this? Maybe a very few would but of the sanest people I knew, they would probably decline. "So what's next?" I asked.
"Take a small left turn over there and you would find a door- which is connected inside the mansion- and enter it" he said. "That's it and there you have it"
I raised an eyebrow at him and sighed. "What are you expecting for more? Sorry but I don't do much walkthrough since I'm ain't your fairy or so. Besides I have more important businesses to do than helping you around"
"Then why did you help me back there?"
"I told you earlier didn't I? I wanted you to win the case because that person is also important not just to me" he crossed his arms. "And because I know you guys have a strong sense of justice that proves my belief into reality. Let me see what was it again...ah! I forgot!"
"You're not serious, right?" I sweatdropped. "Anyway, so this is goodbye then?" He nodded. "In that case let me introduce myself even though you already
knew my name. My name Mitsuhiko" I waved him goodbye before turning my back against him and followed his direction out of this place but then he called me out for the last time and said:
"There is only one truth!"
.
.
.
"Mitsuhiko-san, are you okay?"
"Yes I'm fine" I snapped out of my dazed and replied to the old man. "How about you Kyosuke-san? Standing here for at least half an hour could surely makes your muscles ache, no?"
"A little" Kyosuke replied. "But all of this I am doing for the sake of my daughter. I know that many people at least have a little grudge on her since she's wise beyond her age and that father's attention was always onto hers and this is the least that I could do to help with the investigation"
"Perhaps you're right" I sighed. It's really hard to not sacrifice yourself for the sake of the once you love and this man shows a definite example of this one. "Sacrificing for the sake of others are truly an act of heroism for others but some finds it foolish. That kinds of reminds me of something which I don't clearly can't remember"
"Pardon?" he raised an eye brow.
"...No, it's nothing" I just shook my head trying to dismissed the topic. "It's just that time moves so slowly at this pace and many things had happened in only with a span of a day. Now that you think about it that much, how much do you think would happen in just a minute?"
"Plently I suppose" Kyosuke replied. "Usually in a span of one minute, I was able to do two to three things thanks to multitasking so why not?" he shrugged.
"And by the way, Mitsuhiko-san what happened to you?" he asked. I tilted my head in confusion not understanding what he just said. "I meant that, why is your head bleeding? Did something happened bad had happened to you?"
"A little" I said sheepishly; I couldn't let him know that I was knocked out bu the culprit earlier or else I wouldn't be able to put my plan into action. "I slipped on the stairs earlier while finding my way in here, but I can still manage anyway"
"But that's no good" Kyosuke shook his head clearly stating that he was against me holding this kind of wound. "If that was not treated immediately, it might get infected and thus they say that you need to have it checked up to see if there's blood clothing or else you might die"
"That's exagerrating, sir" I gulped for I knew he had a point, chuckled a little bit. "Maybe after the case I will"
Kyosuke was still going to protest with that if not because of Megure coming out of the door with Annie behind him. Megure stood firmly and cleared his throat, his eyes was scanning the surroundings as if he was expecting someone and finally he begun speaking.
"We're finished taking Miss Annie's alibi here and may I proceed interviewing the victim's father? Plus, where were those other two people?"
"You mean Ayumi-san and Genta-san? They went to the main hall to investigate and to interview further about the case to find more information, sir" Kyosuke replied.
"No, not them" Megure shook his head. "I mean where were the two other possible suspects? Where are Marie and Franz?...Takagi!"
"On it sir!"
"Oh I can't believe we were so careless in this one" Megure sighed one hand holding his forehead due to frustration. "And here's the testimony of Annie as you three have requested" he handed me bunch of papers.
"Thank you" I said taking the papers from the man. I carefully then rolled my eyes as I read the woman's alibi and took some valuable information that I could use to prove that the suspect is indeed that person.
"So am I free to go or not?" Annie asked the inspector. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she waited for his asnwer.
"Not quite" I told her not leaving my eyes off the paper. "I still have questions to ask you Miss Annie"
"I thought I was done with it" Annie said. "I already gave my statement and all the things that I know regarding the case and still why do you want to ask me a question?"
"It's because I have a problem understanding the statement over here" I told her. I showed her the written copy of her full alibi and showed her the lines that is quite confusing for me. "You said here that she was waiting for you so she prepared you a chair, but why would you need a chair? For you to sit on? For her to carefully apply nail polish on your toe nails? Is that it?"
Annie bit her lip, grimacing on the fact that I was able to see a flaw on her alibi. So what shall she do about it? However I wasn't still finished; this was only the beginning. I looked at Megure and Kyosuke and told them to start their conversation in the room while I confront Annie and there weren't any problems with that.
"So Annie, what do you mean by this?" I asked. "Why did she prepare you a chair? Does that chair has something to do with the ventilator, no? But if I were to carefully think about it, I could perhaps use the chair to accommodate the person who went via ventilator while entering and exiting the kitchen" I saw from the corner of my eye that she winced.
"Alright fine you caught me" she raised her hands in the air. "You were right about that. She prepared the chair for me to safely go down so that she could give me what she wanted to give. However that doesn't change the fact that I wanted to hurt her. Truth to say, she was the one who proposed the idea in the first place and I only complied"
Hmm okay. I looked again at the paper and without taking a second thought, I ripped the paper into pieces. Annie seems to be surprised but then shortly became unfazed. "Why did you do it? Why did you ripped the paper?" she asked.
"I don't need it" I shrugged. "I don't need an incomplete report or so I think. But I know one thing, I need to confront you right here right now. I must know all you know about the case that even police doesn't know" I looked at her sternly as if I'm looking for the prey to become vulnerable before devouring.
"You know" she bit her lip. "You're the wisest among the three yet you're the most intelligent. You could notice things that the other two can't. It is as if you are made for this kind of thing...interesting. You're just like him, truly"
"Who" I raised a brow. She shook her head and said to me to to dismiss the thought off, which I did. "Fine, let's start from the beginning. May I ask your alibi before and during the scene?"
"Why not" she said. "Okay where should I start? Ten minutes before the the crime had happened, I was on my way to the kitchen via the ventilator as instructed by her. I waited for the turkey table's position to be moved near the ventilator so that no one would notice my disappearance nor my disgraceful act. When I arrived, I went down on the chair that she prepared for me and then started talking about things and personal businesses which she couldn't naturally talk with her father"
"Like what?" I asked. "Give me examples of that "things and businesses of yours"
"Well take her experiences on her first day in school for example" she said. "The planned 'surprised' birthday party for her and the things that constantly annoys her-the family business. It bugs her since she could feel like someone was watching her every time she moves and go and it doesn't stop there when she learned that there was a letter threatening her."
Upon hearing those last words of her statement, my ears quickly caught it and thought back carefully. 'Haibara-san knew about the threat letter...but how?' I shifted back my gaze to her and gave her an inquiring look. "Umm may I know why you know about the threat letter because from what I had heard it wasn't supposed to be leaked nor found out by anybody except for Kyosuke or his hired detectives, am I right?"
"Indeed yet it didn't leaked but yes, it was found out by the heiress herself" she replied licking her almost dried lips. "She snuck upon her father's working room and took the letter herself-she has a spare key for his drawer- and returned it as if no one had took it."
"Oh..." I said. "Then what happened afterwards?"
"She gave me a small present- the nail polish- and asked me to keep it with me all the time so that I won't feel lonely now that she has move here in Japan. Right after that, I went back to the main room using again the ventilator and maybe at some point, the nail polish might have dripped and that's what you saw earlier back there...and that's it"
There was a short moment of silence after finishing her statement and I continued processing - read as memorizing- all the things she said and the vital points she gave out. Finally after a few minutes I decided to shatter the looming silence on the corridor. "Well thank you so much for cooperating with me, ma'am and to be honest, I never knew that you would open that much information with me that you didn't open with the police. I guess that you really shouldn't judge a book by it's cover" I said as I smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of my head. Shoot, I accidentally rubbed the injured part, I mildly winced.
"Well you're doing it not only for her sake but also for her safety...you really cared for her unlike the police who's only doing it for the sake of their job, so why not" she crossed her arms. "And you're one of Kyosuke's chosen detectives so I really have to do so otherwise, she might lose her life. Speaking of which, where were the other two?"
"To be honest I don't really know" I shrugged. "But someone told me that they're in the main room interviewing guests for further information"
"Is that so?" she said. "Very well then, I wish you three good luck"
"Thank you"
Bzzzt...bzzt...Hello Marie are you there? This is me ***** I heard that one of the kids have been attacked, are they alright?
"Oh nice to hear you again,***** and yes she's alright. She's currently in the hospital resting, why do you ask?"
Nothing is just that I thought it was them who attacked her but maybe I am wrong. Besides I wanted to know how my friend is faring, can I not do that?
"Don't worry I'm fine; I'm just listed as one of her possible culprit *sigh* So, when will you arrive here in Japan?"
Just a few more days; I'm still sorting some documents here in the office and I still have to book a flight. It's really tedious, you know. And oh don't forget about that, okay?
"Sure I promised"