The Vampire Detective

Chapter Ten – Communication and Complicity

Disclaimer - I TOTALLY own the nervous passengers. Anything else? Uh... *slinks away*

No man is an island, entire unto himself.

---

The Japanese countryside in its various shades of green and blue passed them by, peacefully ignoring any and all disruption they might make, in blissful ignorance of the tense atmosphere that filled one carriage in particular of the Shinkansen fast train from Kyoto to Tokyo that morning.

The tension wasn't born of danger, anger or grief. Perhaps that was how it was possible for most to be unaware except for an impatience to get to where they were going. A couple or so looked like business types had computers or notepads out. More were reading. One, a girl of maybe seventeen, was fast asleep and oblivious to the palpable aura of worry that emanated from the boy next to her, whose shoulder she was resting on.

The boy didn't mind this in the slightest, apart from the soreness that came as a result. It meant, at the very least that one of the two was relaxed enough to rest and regain energy lost in a frenzy of packing and arguments with parents.

In fact, the noises and motions of the train were lulling enough that he too would have slept and denied it later if they had been there under any other circumstances. As it was, he couldn't.

Worry tore at him. For himself, for his friends, for his family, for anyone who might end up being affected. For the girl resting against him.

Wearing a serious look that would disappear the moment the girl woke up, Hattori Heiji's white Sax cap had long since been turned to the front.

--

Toyama Kazuha had been drifting slowly for a while, half aware and probably half dreaming as well, and had it was likely that she'd heard the tail end of his phone call to Kudo. As a result, she was woken right up by the much louder sounds and screeches of the train pulling into the Tokyo station. Yawning, she stretched, almost hitting Heiji in the face with one of her elbows. The boy grouched, but merely steadied the cap on his head and picked up his bag with clothes and bokken with only a token muttering of stupid idiots.

For herself, Kazuha glared at him, but the look was cut short by the sight of a familiar hat which was being worn the right way round for a change. He turned back to her with a frown as the train fully stopped.

"You coming, or are ya going to just stand there staring into space all day?"

"I – I wasn't - ! I was just wondering how Kudo-kun is going to be able to find us on the platform, was all. I mean, he might be all powerful and all, but in these crowds- !"

She was cut off as they stepped off the train and into a sea of bodies and noise. Heiji shrugged.

"Dunno," he started to say, then froze.

"What is it?"

"I thought - I was sure I just saw Kudo. Over that way. But he ain't there any more. . ."

"Are you sure it was him?"

"Yeah, I'm sure! What d'you think I'd do? Mistake him for some other guy with – ack!"

Heiji tensed and whirled, wishing that is bokken wasn't packed so tightly away. The hand that had clamped itself lightly on his shoulder, resulting in the alarms ringing in his head with accompanying mantra of danger! flowed away like water in his grasp. His body was going into a reflexive defensive stance when he saw who it was. Rather than relax, he scowled and hit the other hard in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"You deserved it, you idiot. Just be grateful it ain't gonna bruise."

Kudo Shinichi paused, blinked and snickered.

"Follow me."

"Where to? You gonna tell us who your new friend is?"

Shinichi shook his head, irritating both Osakans by not being bothered in the slightest by the jostling crowds as will as his refusal to tell them anything. The eastern detective had been less than forthcoming in his call to Heiji the night before, either. Which was strange, because usually Kudo was willing enough to share info.

The journey from there on went smoothly enough. Small talk was shared over various innocent topics, despite Heiji and Kazuha's probing into what was really going on and the tense atmosphere that permeated everything even with all three attempting to keep the tone of conversation light.

"Oi, Kudo."

The other detective, after their second and last bus journey and the thinning out of the crowds as they went further out into the suburbs and away from the city centres, had started to become more and more like his normal self – that is, pensive to the point of looking depressed, with his hands buried deeply in his pockets.

"Hn?"

The vampire detective sounded preoccupied with something, which Heiji figured to be their direction when his friend looked with a harassed air at a signpost before simply standing still for a moment or two. Whatever it was he'd done, they were moving again in seconds.

"You ever gonna tell us where it is you're taking us? Or who yer friend is? Before we get there?"

"Eh. . . nope."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Kazuha butted in.

"We've got to have some idea of who they are, Kudo."

For a moment they had no reply, but then the un-chibified detective ran a hand through his hair, a sure sign of stress that he had been able to keep mostly under control. At long last he sighed, making Heiji smirk.

"Fine. But I'm only telling you this."

"What?"

"You know that call the other day when I told you about that heist? I didn't tell you everything."

Huh? But that doesn't explain anything! At all. Naka. Zilch. It ain't as if Kudo would've met someone there that made him react like this to something. After all, it's hardly like he'd suddenly be friendly with that blowhard Nakamori or that smug bastard Hakuba.

No, the only reason Kudo would have made him bring Kazuha along with him like this would be because something had happened involving that damn organization of his. Something that'd mean Kazuha would be in more danger staying at home and not knowing.

The thought had him frowning and again tugging at his hat – he didn't like it when dangerous things happened around Kazuha.

The buzz of a doorbell shook him out of his thoughts, and he was surprised to find himself still in a rather nondescript-looking street, nothing special looking at all. Kudo was a few yards ahead of them, having pushed the bell of a house that Heiji would have walked straight past. He shrugged and moved to catch up.

As they waited for the door to open, he was treated to a display of changing emotions on the other detective's face, ranging from amusement to annoyance to a strange sort of smirk that he saw more often on pranksters than on detectives. Weirdly enough, it reminded him of something else, as well, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Never mind. Probably doesn't matter anyway.

It was about then that the door finally opened, to reveal the last person he had ever wanted to see, smug expression and all. Heiji crossed his arms, scowl evident.

"You coulda told me it was him."

The English detective only smiled slightly, as if he was in on a joke that he, Hattori Heiji, the great detective of the west, simply didn't have the brains or patience to figure out.

"Now then, Mr Hot-blooded Detective-kun. No need to be that way. I am quite simply helping out a friend in need. Just as you are doing, I suspect," he added with a twitch of one eyebrow.

'Helping a friend?' Would that mean that he was helping Kudo, or that they were both helping someone else? Hopefully he'd find out sooner rather than later. He didn't like being left in the dark.

"Oi, Kudo."

The vampire's rather amused outlook on things was really starting to irritate him.

"Yeah?"

"I know you and whatever army needed help, but did it have ta be that guy?"

A short glare in the direction of that guy only made the target smirk slightly and lean casually against the doorframe. Kudo on the other hand looked about ready to start laughing.

"Yes, Hattori, it did have to be him." Aside to Hakuba, whose smirk was slightly wider than before, he added something else. "They are who they say they are, by the way. And if it's about that other thing, you should remember what I told you before. You might as well let them in – they've come this far."

Hakuba sighed, taking a glance at his watch.

"You simply live to enjoy spoiling my fun, don't you, Kudo-kun? Never mind – we'd best be heading in anyway. It's about time."

Kudo nodded absently as they filed in, the blond holding the door open and Heiji letting himself in last. Hakuba sent an odd-looking sour look the vampire's way before allowing himself to relax. Shoulders dropped and back slouched, the detective really didn't look much like himself anymore, even though Heiji had only been around him once or twice. Add to that the fact that Kudo was shooting amused glances between him and the maybe-Hakuba, and things were getting weird.

They only got weirder when a couple of thumps could be heard from the upstairs section of the house, closely followed by the thunder of footsteps coming down the stairs in a tightly controlled rage.

The rage of what appeared to be the exact clone of one Hakuba Saguru.

The one Heiji and the others had followed in had had his face run through a series of expressions from vaguely worried to immense enjoyment before settling on an increasingly familiar smirk as a suspicion began to form in the back of the detective of the west's mind. The two were even dressed alike, except for outer wear, and the copy – or was that the original? – was now pointing irately at the other.

"You." The British detective for once had something more than cool disdain or restrained, calm amusement. "I swear, Kuroba, if you ever do anything like that again, I will be dragging you for a meeting with a certain someone across the road."

"Me? But I didn't do anything."

Now even the voice was different, and of all things and people, the Hakuba-that-wasn't sounded like Kudo, and finally Heiji went slackjawed as he began to understand.

"You? Not do anything? You have the guts to say that while wearing my jacket and my watch?" At the number of snickers and giggles that erupted around the room, the detective glared at collective allies as a whole before continuing on his tirade at the slowly un-disguising boy. "How exactly you managed to obtain exact replicas of what I happened to be wearing, I do not and most likely do not wish to know. However, if you try to do anything like that ever again without my express permission, I think that I will more than probably do something that we would both regret."

And with that, the irate Hakuba Saguru strode deliberately over to Kuroba, took both watch and jacket, and headed over to the kitchen, where he could be heard politely asking a homely woman who looked like Kuroba's mother for a cup of tea.

Struggling not to start laughing again – and promptly failing every so often – Shinichi introduced his new friend.

"Hattori, this . . . I don't think you've met before. This is Kuroba Kaito- "

"The Kaitou Kid, right?"

Heiji found himself grinning at the thief who somehow seemed able to look like a twin of Kudo, unable to be at odds for long at someone who was able to get Hakuba's hackles raised and not get worked up himself. Slowly but surely, a matching grin edged its way onto the Kid's face

"Took you long enough, Tantei-han." The thief smiled enigmatically at a confused Kazuha and gestured towards the kitchen. "The rest of the girls are in there, so you can tell Hakuba that once he's finished moaning, he can come up and show the rest of us what he's been up to on the computer."

She looked from Kuroba to him and over to Kudo and back again in a lost sort of motion, but before she could cay anything, Heiji planted a hand firmly on her shoulder.

"Look, Kazuha. This is gonna be hard, but you gotta trust us. Kudo and I know what we're doing, an' that guy's vouched for. It's all gonna be fine, so go talk girl things with 'Neechan and stop bein' an idiot."

A bit of the flame came back to her eyes at the familiar taunt, but she simply huffed and stalked off into the kitchen from which female voices could be heard in conversation, muttering something about going somewhere that she would get answers.

Heiji simply shrugged and smirked, following the twins up the stairs. Well, they are, he thought to himself. Only differences are that – apart from the whole vampire thing Kudo's got going – one's a know-it-all who likes to wear suits, and the other's a non-conforming rebel in all senses of the word.

He only shook his head at his thoughts in slight bemusement – who would have thought that detectives such as himself, Kudo and, surprise of all surprises Hakuba of all people, would be working with the International Criminal Kaitou Kid, after all? – but above all he was wondering what kind of kami-forsaken mess he'd invited himself in for, and that he wouldn't have willingly missed out on the thrill ride for anything.

---

Hours later – hours spent going over blueprints and schematics again and again, spent bickering and arguing over the best plan of action if they were driven one way or another, hours spent disagreeing with Kaito simply because he was a thief and thought like one, disagreeing with Hattori because, like Hakuba said, he was too hot-blooded, disagreeing with Hakuba because he wasn't hot-headed enough – their legs carried them down the stairs and back to the others. As they gathered in the dining room, the largest room to fit so many people and their various teas, coffees and, in Shinichi's case, carefully disguised blood, the teenaged detective of the east found himself reflecting on how strange and good if not easy it was to work with so many people instead of not being able to trust anyone.

Something that the women-folk were discussing, however, distracted him.

"Well, there's Sonoko – Makoto-san's out of the country, so we don't have to worry about him – and there's Keiko – you told me about her, she's Aoko's friend, and then there's the Shonen Tantei – they're Conan's friends who helped him solve mysteries – and that would have to mean their parents as well, since they're only first-graders, after all. Ah- " Ran stuck a finger to her mouth in thought. "'Course, that's not counting 'Tousan and 'Kaasan and anyone they'd need – yes, Shinichi?"

By that point, Shinichi had been watching her wide-eyed for a while, and with every few moments someone else had noticed until everyone was staring and paying the utmost attention to what Mouri Ran had been saying to Toyama Kazuha and Kuroba Fumiyo. He swallowed, unsure whether or not he even wanted to know the answer to his question.

"Eh, Ran? Is there something we need to know?"

Ran smiled thinly and crossed her arms. "Yes, I rather think there is, you idiot."

Kazuha nodded emphatically, pointedly not looking at Hattori since a short but scathing row that had occurred over his apparent inability to trust her once she had found everything out from other sources. It hadn't been a pretty sight, and Shinichi wasn't sure whether her nod was simply because she thought that the boys were idiots or if she actually agreed with Ran, or even likelier, both.

"Look," Ran continued, "You're all concentrating on what you'll have to do once you've found her. We were talking about they'll do in the meantime. It's hardly as though they're going to just sit there twiddling their thumbs waiting to be found, is it?" For the most part, blank and slightly embarrassed faces stared and blinked back at her. Shinichi instead called himself a fool for not thinking of that properly himself and then found himself with a slight shiver. Ran should never have had to talk about them so knowingly, use the word they the way they, the detectives and thief who were in the know, used it. It just wasn't right – or fair. "We figured that if they went after Aoko-san just because she was connected to Kid, they might go after other people that we're close to. People," she put bluntly, "usually don't work so well if they have to worry about someone they love, wondering if they're even still alive." The last was aimed at Shinichi through the way she said it even if she wasn't looking at him, and he winced, making Hakuba stare at him for a couple of seconds.

"We were making up a list of people we're all real close to," Kazuha put in. "Friends and family, you know. The kinda people who'd have a real hard time putting up a fight, too."

For a few minutes there was a thoughtful and tense silence as the gravity of the situation weighed down on them. This was the first time the Organisation had taken action first, after all, and who knew what they might do next.

Kaito, likely unable to survive in silence and having gone without the opportunity to gain an audience, was the first to speak up.

"We're not going to be able to fit all of those people in here. And no matter what anyone says, Nakamori-keibu stays as far out of it as it's possible to keep him."

"We could get everyone to fit into your place, Kudo-kun – that big house of yours is massive."

Shinichi shook his head.

"There are only a few spare rooms and the others aren't big enough for more than a few people to bunk out on a full length futon. Maybe the Shonen Tantei could fit in the study all together, but most of the rest of the house is- "

"Packed full of junk and mystery novels everywhere you look," Ran finished not too unkindly. Shinichi didn't deny it, only smiled and ducked his head slightly to hide the blush.

"Not the most appropriate situation for a base of operations, then."

Everyone turned to stare at Hakuba, who just spoken. His golden eyes narrowed and he stared right back at them, but that did was make a couple of the others smile – or rather, smirk.

"No. Absolutely not."

"But it's perfect, Hakuba," Kaito said, grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat that'd just caught the cream.

"Your father's company does use electronics in detection, doesn't it?"

Kuroba Fumiyo was half frowning and half smiling.

"An' if you live local," Hattori contributed with a grin that almost rivalled Kaito's, "We'd be able to see Nakamori-han every so often that much easier, right? Not to mention I've heard it ain't as much a house as a mansion."

Attempting to keep a straight face, Shinichi finished the last of his red drink and turned back toward Ran.

"How many people did you say would need to be accounted for?"

"I didn't. But. . . a lot. An awful lot."

Hakuba glared at them all, but Shinichi only shrugged.

"You've got to admit, it is a good plan."

The glare lasted a few moments longer and then the blond detective long, controlled breath of a sigh.

"Have it your way then. You will have to contact everyone and come up with some reason for them to be there without giving the game away to hundreds of people, though." He stood and made to leave, assumedly to use his cell phone while not in the presence of the others. At the door he turned briefly and gave them one final word of advice before heading upstairs again. "You do, of course, realise that you will have to find an alternative place for anyone who has an allergy to birds, don't you?"

Various snickers met the statement as the speaker disappeared. Topics of discussion wandered from who they were going to ask to what would be useful to take. It was around this time when Kaito suddenly stopped saying something and started to smile, which turned into one of his trademark Kid smirks. That and the way he was now laughing made the hairs on the backs of the detectives' necks stand up on end. Finally, someone asked what the joke was and the thief enlightened them.

"I just realised. If we're basically moving operations over to Hakuba's, then I'm going to have to take some of dad's old stuff. After all, if they don't know that the Kid's me, there's no use letting go of the advantage if we don't have to. Except what that means is Hakuba's going to have to work next to the Kid – who he's only been trying to catch for the last few years!"

His mother crossed her arms across her chest while raising a brow, doing a fair interpretation of the stern mother she was.

"Be nice."

---

Ran sighed. It was already well past midnight, and she had long since resigned herself to the fact that sleep would be long in the taking this night.

Desperate for something to do, anything really, in order to keep her from brooding over the immediate future, she headed down to the kitchen from the guest room that she and Kazuha had been taking up. The boys had been dumped half in Kaito's room and half in the now infernally messy entertainment suite.

That pair-up brought a smile to her face. After all, it was hardly as though Shinichi could share a futon in the same room as anyone else who didn't know his secret – he slept, quite literally, like the dead. A thing that had more than startled her the first time she had found out. Consequentially, her friend (and perhaps more, if they would stop deducting and start saying) had bunked down in the shadier part of the thief's room, as the entertainment suite's window was a lot harder to black-out for mornings, and to do so at all would bring unwanted questions.

It all ended up with Hattori-kun and Hakuba-kun, two people deemed almost complete opposites, having to share a room. More than once, one of the others had needed to go in to stop an escalating argument.

Her feet lead her to the fridge, hands took out a carton of milk, poured some into a glass that had been left on the drainer. Putting the carton back, she tried and failed not to see the packs which had been expertly disguised as some sort of red grape juice, complete with cartons and logos.

She closed the fridge door and sighed again. It was getting easier. It was.

For her, anyway. She finished her milk and pretended that she hadn't seen the oh-so-familiar silhouette outside. Just standing there, in the cold.

Heading back up and promptly wincing at a creaky floorboard, a thought crossed her mind.

At least he doesn't have to put up with things like being afraid you'll wake everyone up with the creak in the floorboards when you finally do go to sleep at last. Even though he'd never admit it, there really are a lot of things he should be thankful for. . .

A yawn escaped her, and when she reached her futon, this time, sleep welcomed her.

---

"Oi, Hakuba."

The blond detective didn't answer or respond in any way. Which in a way was only to be expected.

"Oi. Lemme take that."

He punctuated his statement with a hand on the other boy's shoulder to make sure that he was paying attention this time and was rewarded when tired amber eyes met his.

"I was under the impression that before we set out from Kuroba's, you took it upon yourself to carry the heaviest of the equipment. I assure you Kudo-kun, that I will be able to survive at least a little longer."

He snorted.

"Yeah, and then I'll be having to carry you into your own home – hardly. Give. I swapped with Hattori ten minutes ago while you were too busy looking at the ground."

All right, so the story of him switching with Hattori was a lie; anyone could see just by looking. That didn't mean that he couldn't take any more – almost the opposite, in fact. He was strong enough that he could accomplish what he set out to do.

Finally, Hakuba stopped and put down his load, looking fairly sceptical when the recently returned detective of the east took up his new burden as though he hadn't been carrying something a lot heavier previously. In true fact, even that impression had required work on the vampire's part to make things seem heavier than they were.

Dropping back a little – in part to keep up the pretence and also to check up on how well the rest of their private caravan was doing, he saw Hattori and Kuroba in deep discussion with Ran. Out of the blue, they started to laugh about something he didn't catch due to the light breeze being strong enough to steal their words away from him. He was, however, treated to the sight of Hattori reluctantly handing something over to the thief and Ran shaking her head in a way that he recognized, just enjoying watching them.

For a moment, everything was all right, except for what it was they were all there for in the first place, and he almost smiled.

Then a feeling of familiar unease hit him and he froze in place in the middle of the path. Looking around helped him not at all and neither did closing his eyes and concentrating on the sounds around him. Everything was just the way he had left it only minutes ago, except. . .

"Yo, Kudo. What's got you bugged?"

He sighed and fell back into step with the Osakan.

"I don't know. I feel like someone's watching me – us. I just don't know where from. The others seem fine."

Hattori snorted. "You haven't seen Kuroba for a while, then," he said with unexpected seriousness. "Maybe it's just 'cause detectives are practically in custody of his dad's old stuff, but the guy's been set like there's a bomb under his top hat ever since we left."

He nodded once, his blue eyes narrowed slightly in concentration and distraction.

"I did notice."

---

AN: For one thing, this is just a fraction of the original chapter. I'm still writing the rest. I just thought that you'd want this bit before you started to think that I'd stagnated the story in the realms of Star Wars and other fanfics. No, total word count for the chapter in full so far is approx. 9225 words. 0_0 .

I've been looking forward to some of these bits I've been writing for SO long.