Because I've been bad about updating lately, I'm updating today when I wasn't planning on it to make it up to you guys. So, enjoy!

Onwards!

10

Preparation

"Migi," said Shinichi, "are you awake yet?"

No reply. Again.

Shinichi had been sitting at his computer for over an hour, thinking about all the possibilities. Had Migi been discovered? If so, how had he not known about it? It wasn't as if Migi could separate from him for long. Furthermore, who was Kuramori's employer? Could the employer know about Migi? Nothing added up.

"Now I'm scared to even open my mouth because there's something deep inside of me you don't know about, and I wish there was a way you could see, if I could show maybe I'd know if I'm a man or a beast. Just take one look in my eyes, you'd see right through my disguise…" Shinichi sighed, reaching for his cell phone. "Hello?"

"Hey," said the voice on the other end.

"Who is this?" asked Shinichi, getting up and sitting down on his bed. He felt a little glad that the phone call was giving him a small break from the whole situation with this Kuramori character.

The voice giggled. "It's Kana! I called to tell you that I'm running away from home and coming to you!"

"You're doing what?" said Shinichi, the slight feeling of relief instantly gone.

"I'm coming to True Cross Academy! Besides, now you've cut ties with that Murano girl, right?" asked Kana with a hopeful tone. Shinichi could hear the sound of shuffling feet and bags opening and closing on the other end.

"You can't run away! What about your family and friends? What about…uh, that Mitsuo guy?" Shinichi said quickly. He had thought everyone was finally safe when he had moved away. He had thought that Kana had moved on. Why was she so obsessed with him?

"Mitsuo? You're worried about Mitsuo?" asked Kana, laughing. "I broke up with him long ago. You're the only one I need. Everyone will get along just fine without me. Anyway, I have to finish packing, so I'll see you once I get there!"

The phone line went dead.

"Was that Kimishima Kana?" asked Migi, his eye right in Shinichi's face.

"Yes. She's apparently moving here," said Shinichi. "How am I going to avoid her?"

"Do you know where exactly she's moving?" asked Migi.

"No, but I don't think she knows exactly where Dad and I live. Hopefully she won't move in too close," Shinichi replied. "Anyway, there's something more important than Kana that I need to tell you about. I hacked the files of a private detective named Kuramori Shiro. Under his in-progress investigations was my name."

That immediately grabbed Migi's undivided attention. "Someone is investigating you? I see no reason for that in the eyes of someone who does not know of my existence."

"Maybe this person found out somehow?"

"Impossible. I would have known. Who is the employer?"

"I don't know. I couldn't get that information. The firewalls around it were big in number and all of them were very difficult to get past."

"Interesting."

The room fell to silence as Shinichi lay on his bed and thought about the case. Finally, he concluded that there was no point in what he was doing and started on his homework.

Over the next couple of weeks, Shinichi was awfully paranoid. He subtly checked for anyone following constantly. He kept having to remind himself that he couldn't act differently than he had been or Kuramori would get suspicious. He seriously didn't need that. One question bothered him to no end: Just who was this employer?

Shinichi shook himself once again out of his thoughts and entered Yukio's classroom.

"Ah, you're here, Izumi. I'm assigning shared dorms to everyone right now for your week of preparation because it starts tomorrow. Do you have a preference who you share with? Two people will occupy a room," said Yukio.

"No, anyone is fine" said Shinichi.

"Take Shima!" yelled Bon. "Please!"

"Hey! My snoring isn't that bad!" Shima retorted, glaring daggers at Bon.

Both Bon and Konekomaru burst out laughing. Shima's cheeks turned a dark pink and he turned towards Shinichi. "I didn't want to share a room with them anyway."

Shinichi wanted to laugh but he couldn't do it.

"Boy, Izumi sure is humorless," remarked Bon quietly, but Shinichi could hear him because of his enhanced hearing.

"Oh, Migi," muttered Shinichi. "How many meters is it between the dorm I'll be staying at and home?"

"It is not within my range. That's what you are asking," replied the Parasite.

Shinichi paled. He didn't like being more than about 150 meters away from his father, yet where he was staying wasn't even in Migi's range? So many problems were piling up right in front of the teen.

"The chances of a Parasite coming after him are low. There hasn't been much Parasite activity in over a month," said Migi.

"If I recall correctly, you said almost the exact same thing when Mom and Dad went on that vacation," said Shinichi icily, slamming his fist on the table. He looked up to see everyone staring at him. "Sorry. My hand slipped."

No one dared argue with him. Shima gulped from behind him. Was he really going to be sharing a dorm for a week with this guy? That wasn't quite Shima's idea of fun.

"Izumi, how many times do you plan on interrupting my class?" asked Yukio impatiently.

Shinichi looked up and gave him a cold stare. "Sorry."

Yukio was quick to turn around and nervously continue his lesson.

"He just seems like a normal teenage boy to me," said Kuramori, taking a sip of his coffee. "I see no reason to continue investigating him."

He was in a small café near Izumi Shinichi's school discussing his investigation with his employer, Tamura Reiko.

"Did you notice anything odd about his right hand?" asked Tamura, looking at him expectantly.

"His right hand?" asked Kuramori, clearly taken aback. "No. What's so special about his right hand?"

"Doesn't he seem odd to you for a boy his age?" asked Tamura.

"Sure, he seems a bit aloof for his age, but there are people like that. Not every teenage boy is a party animal," said Kuramori, looking his employer in the eye.

"Just continue investigating him. As I am the employer, I will tell you when what you have done is satisfactory," she said, getting up and putting the payment for the beverages on the table.

Kuramori got up as well, shaking hands with her as she left the establishment. He had never really gotten a good answer from her why she wanted him to spy on Izumi Shinichi. He saw nothing wrong with him. His record was immaculate, free of any kind of criminal activity in the past.

What was her reasoning?

Another chapter up! Shinichi's ring tone was a NateWantsToBattle song called "Monster Inside." I thought its usage appropriate because it's a Parasyte song.

Edit: I just went back and edited all the chapters in an attempt to fix the fact that Shinichi is overpowered. Thank you Aria for pointing that out. You don't have to go back and read it though. The only thing that's different is that Shinichi doesn't win that fight with Rin.

Until next time!