Chapter Ten: And Your Enemies Closer, Baka


They stood frozen, resembling wax figures at the edge of the balcony. One boy who appeared to be from feudal era Japan, his arms loosely held in front of him, half defending, half surrendering. Another, slightly shorter, held his hands raised above his silver haired head, mimicking the shorter, spectacled boy beside him. The last, in the meantime, whose hair was now more the dyed blond colour it had been 'originally', cowered behind the tallest of the group in fear.

And in front of them? A smirking 'gaijin' with a gun. "Isn't this a lovely situation we've found our selves in..." She seemed tempted to laugh, her smirk widening as she paced towards the group, three out of the for sending ice cold glares at her, which seemed to have little affect on the woman. "One who I'm supposed to kill thanks to the infiltration of the section... One supposedly dead young man who also needs to die... One former agent who also needs to be killed, and..." She looked at Issun, before grinning maliciously at him. "Well, we can't have any witnesses to the fact, now can we? Though I suppose a hostage would be good as well..."

Said boy practically snarled at the woman, gritting his teeth. "The hell I'll help a bitch like you-"

"Issun! Not now!!" The human sized poncle was pulled back quickly by Conan before he could move, both boys quickly returning to their 'surrendering' poses. ".....It's not like she won't be killed either way right...?" Mentally, Conan panicked; how did she know who they were? DNA should have been sabatog- In Japan... They hadn't done anything to the records outside the country! If anyone were to check in the US, or anywhere else...

He chose not to think of that as the woman in front of them spoke again. "Really, how cruel.." Madeira cocked her head, grin still fixed. "And here I thought I would kill you both last... To think I'd be thanked so rudely..." Conan frowned deeply as the woman came closer to his end of the row than the others. "Granted, you won't be first either..." Suddenly, the gun was pointed at Shiro and Shiro only, the other three paling as the woman walked over to Conan. "Hm hm hm hm... After all, it's not everyday we see a survivor from that poison..." He shuddered as she took his chin in one hand, snapping it up before turning to Koji. "Hnn.... Though you appear to be in the same situation... Decisions decisions..."

Gun still fixed on Shiro, she walked back from the boys before turning to them once more, eyebrows furrowed in a mock frown as she smiled. "Who do I keep I wonder..." As the woman stared down at them, the three who didn't have a gun pointed directly to them had to wonder if she had a domination complex... If she was going to kill them, could she just do it now...?

All at once however, the gun moved from Shiro to Koji, Madeira's grin widening madly. "Quite frankly, even if the other will die soon, I'd rather see the one who used to sit above me die first! Enjoy hell, Gin!" The gun fired, and all at once things seemed to slow down.

Screams could be heard from the hallway, cries of 'FBI' heard along with multiple shots that ran through Madeira's body, the grin on her face fading to a look of shock in Issun and Shiro's eyes. While her body fell however, Koji's also went backwards, though not from the force of a bullet wound. Glass shattered in the balcony styled window, and to Koji's shock, rather than a bullet going through only his body and the glass...

'Baka megane!! Did he forget this won't kill me!?!' Flipping himself over in the split second he had, the boy grabbed the jagged, glass covered edge of the floor, grunting as Conan fell over him as well. A split second more, and Conan's arm was in his other hand, the one on the floor slipping slightly as he held tight. "Tch... Me... Ga... Ne..." They dangled there, the chaos above heightening in Koji's ears to a dull roar as he winced.

Conan merely looked up, face pale with shock and blood loss- The bullet... That was one of the poison bullets, wasn't it? He looked up for a bit, his chest still bleeding through the hand that held tight to the wound, which was healing painfully slow. Koji looked down with a frown. The poison... They didn't really know what effect that poison had, now did they... "Megane..." He struggled to adjust his grip, looking up as Shiro and Issun were taken away by the two of the agents that had shown up, the ones coming towards him being FBI agent Jodie Starling (Who he recognized with grim pleasure) and... Gibbs.

In the brief moment he had, he looked down at the boy that he still held firmly in his left arm's grip, frowning. "Megane... Why the hell did you do that..."

Koji however, did not get an answer. And as Gibbs and Jodie both pulled them off the edge, he, too, found himself joining Conan in a shock and exhaustion induced sleep.


A memory...

He was a trainee, with no name, no identity. He sat at the edge of the bed, running rules in his head as he cleaned his gun carefully, almost roboticly. He thought of rules for the kill, rules for betrayal, rules for the safety of himself... And rules for those with partners.

It mattered not who it was; If a partner fell, injured, it was their duty to kill them off should the situation be grim enough to call for one or the other's life. If it was your life or his, let his life go. After all, should he not be thinking the same thing, he holds no respect for his own life, therefore, the safety and success of the mission. Lack of faith in ones self, leads to lack of faith in ones practice, leading to a failed job.

There was no room for failure. It was all or nothing. Each for their own. And yet...

.............

...A memory...

He clutched the wound on his arm, the one he had given himself to stay awake from the sleeping poison that the unseen man who saved that woman shot into his shoulder. He stumbled; the poison, though resisted, was even overpowering the pain from the gunshot wound, and he was threateningly close to unconsciousness.

He saw his partner come towards him, asking him about what happened. He saw the gun in his hand... And waited for the shot to fire, or at least to be left behind. That was, after all, the fate of one who failed; and even those of lower rank had the right to do so. There was no doubt, what so ever after all, that even immediately after he had killed another failure, he himself had failed just now.

Instead, as he collapsed into unconsciousness, he felt someone's arms grab him, pulling him into the car and to the Section's hospital. A few weeks later, his arm was almost fully healed... He was 'forgiven'... And back on duty, with a new assignment.

His partner had saved him... But why?

Why?

"Why...."

Bright, blinding florescent lights shone down from the ceilings, the entire room bathed in nothing but white. Beneath them, the boy blearily opened his eyes, stretching himself up to a sitting position on the bed. "Ung...." Hands reached for his head automatically as he groaned, biting his lip as he muttered to himself. "Ow..."

"Good morning to you too, Hisoka." Koji jerked his head up, looking beside him as his vision refocused. Slowly, the white, blinding light toned down, and he could see the hospital bed beside him, along with its occupant.

Shaking his head again, he frowned. "Megane... Ung... How long have I been out..?"

"Three hours- But really, if you had fallen, you likely wouldn't be waking up at all. Though it's a wonder you're waking up right now really..." The boys turned to a voice below and beside them, as some sort of furry 'rodent' crawled up on the bed. Behind the woman (They assumed it was female, as there were obvious lumps in that tank top), another clambered up, looking a little less serious than his partner.

"Of course... You didn't so really, it doesn't matter any more right?" The second one was swatted over the head playfully, and he ducked with a grin.

Meanwhile, the boys were still staring, the one in glasses finally speaking. "Who... You two... Are you both from NCIS..?" The two ottsels (As Koji recognized them as) turned, Conan feeling a few waves of confusion from both of them before the slightly taller of the pair spoke.

"You are correct. It's nice to see you again, Conan... How long ago did you wake up?"

Before Conan could answer, Koji stared at the ottsels in shock. "David-san... And DiNozzo-san.."

There was an awkward silence as blanks were being filled in the boys mind, Ziva and Tony looking at each other and then the boys. The darts... The stuff in them... The whole VR mess... Finally Conan was first to speak. "I woke up about an hour before Hisoka did... But.. ah... What are you both doing here, if you're..."

Tony had an odd happy grimace on his face, and Conan instantly read the look as 'holding something important back that I should probably say, in fact, I think I'll do it now before the one beside me swats be on the back of the head, since my actual boss would give me brain damage if he tried himself.' "Ah... Yea. About that..."


While a plane landed in Tokyo only a few hours later, allowing an increasingly worried Mouri Ran to just about tackle Conan to the ground (To which he quickly said 'I'm still injured,' contrary to what his perfectly fine appearance said and was), another plane landed in D.C. Standing by a car as he waited for those on the plane to get off, Eisuke sighed, stuffing a folded piece of paper in his pocket for what was probably the fourth time that day.

It had taken a lot, honestly, to get Abby to hold off on the DNA testing from the scene of Ziva and Tony's apparent 'murder'. And he meant a LOT. He was likely going to be broke for the next month with all the caf-pows and candy he owed the woman now. In fact-

"Ah, Boss!!" Eisuke ran over to help McGee with the things from the plane, while Gibbs walked past with a smile on his face. Noticing this, the teen looked over at his 'as of now' co-worker with worry. "Ah... Why is he smiling...?"

McGee bit his lips as though he were biting a sour lemon, before he finally turned to Eisuke and gave him a curt nod and answer. "It's... Probably best not to ask for now." The pair walked back to the car, loading the trunk before McGee spoke again. "So... I heard you spent a lot of time in the waiting room with a 'Miss Mouri'..." He had a look that said 'ohoho'... While still keeping the slight smile and awkward conversation starting tone.

Eisuke, fumbling with the bags briefly, merely laughed nervously. "Ah... W-Where did you hear that McGee...?"

This conversation ended up lasting until Gibbs finally shut them up with a new case... And that was for... Quite a while. Which made for multiple loop-hole escapes that McGee could now add to his writing.


Meanwhile, Abby 'gleed', verb or not. Sitting on the stool in her forensics lab, she stared down all of her trusted, highly trained comrades in arms. "We have... One hour... It'll be hard... But I know, that together, we can make it! This DNA will be tested before he even gets here and-"

"Talking to machines, Abbs?"

The woman turned, first bearing an expression of surprise, then looking at Gibbs with a more positive form of it. "Gibbs!!!" She ran forward, wrapping her arms around the slightly surprised man's neck, his own arms held out to prevent the caf-pow from spilling. "Gibbsgibbsgibbsgibbsgibbs," she released her boss, practically jumping in place as she gratefully took the caf-pow to drink. "You're back~" She put the caf-pow on the desk, before giving her usual smile to the man. "Ah! But... Are you here to say hi, or just give me work!" Abby turned to give a mock glare, pointing almost accusingly at Gibbs, who returned the point with his usual 'not at all' stare.

"Sorry... But there's evidence from the VR case for you." He leaned over, whispering something in her ear as he handed her something else. "But I'm sure you can make it."

As Gibbs left, Abby held the 'instant caf-pow' in her hands with wide, happy eyes, before one of the machines beeped and tore her out of her glee. "Ah-! The DNA!"

What she saw was rather interesting.

"No... Way...." This... Was...

-SCHEWWWN-

"No.. No no no no no no!!!!"

From upstairs, Abby's loud scream of 'AAAAAAUUUUH!!' could be heard, McGee wincing from his laptop as he folded it over. Leaning over from his new position in McGee's old spot (McGee having taken Tony's desk), Eisuke gulped and whispered hurriedly. "H-Hey... W-What will she do, when she finds out we were told by the director to..." He looked around nervously, before continuing, "...To hack into the database... And alter those records?"

McGee, who as even more pale than Eisuke, merely looked over at the elevator and back at his new coworker. "It's... Probably best not to think of that right now."

"R-Right... ACK!" -TSCH!-

Eisuke's thoughts were quickly brought from 'terror of Abby looming' to his current position on the floor, under the wheel-y chair he had been leaning on. Just his luck...


As Conan and Koji were released from the hospital, they were, of course, bombarded with questions from their 'guardians' and friends. The media, thankfully, was held off, as they themselves were 'not involved', however... After refusing 'Witness Protection', it was still rather difficult.

Even after the tight embrace (followed by harsh scolding) from Ran however, things were not done for the day it seemed. As Conan returned to his room at Kogoro's small home, collapsing on the bed, the beeping from his cell phone made the boy groan. "Unnnnnggg..." He pulled it out; it wasn't as though any one else really knew what happened out in the states. ". . ." Or... So he thought.

CALLER ID: HATTORI HEIJI

"Auuughh... God... Damn it..." Flipping the phone opened, he grudgingly answered, knowing he would probably regret this in the end. "Moshi moshi..."

"Oi, Kudo!"

Conan resisted the urge to groan again, instead face-vaulting into his pillow. "It's Edogawa now, Hattori.... And how do you get away with saying a dead-man's name on the phone?"

On the other end, there was a stuttering pause. "Ah- Well.... There are other living kudou's around right, Ku- …. Edogawa?"

Oh. Close save. Conan sighed, before speaking again. "Ok... And you called right after all that because...?"

"Because you keep runnin' into stupid things, that's what! Seriously, I know we've done some crazy stuff K- Edogawa, but tonight-"

"Heiji! Who are you talking too??"

Conan blinked as Kazuha's voice cut over the phone. He should probably hang up if they start really talking but.... He stared at the phone from the corner of his eye. This could prove entertaining.

"E-E-Ehh... K-Kazuha! I'm just talking to a friend!!"

"You disappear for the entire month after skipping out on our date, and then don't bother to tell me you've come back!? Just how important is this friend!?"

"Ahou! Didn't you see the news!? He was in the hospital fire!"

"It's made of concrete, ahou!"

Conan laughed on the other end. "Should have said something else Hattori..."

"S-Shut up, ahou!"

"Ahou!? What are you calling me ahou for this time?? HEIJI!!" -CLICK-

-BEEEEEEEEP-

'Your call has been canceled. Please hang up, and try your call again. Your call has been-'

Still laughing, Conan hung up the phone and rolled over on the bed, his laughter eventually quieting before he frowned. Shoot... How the hell was he supposed to sleep now, he was all hyped up on the images of what Heiji was probably going through! "Ffffff...."

Eh... He had time to find out he supposed. After all, he told himself as he rolled over in his bed, it wasn't as though anything would happen anytime soon... Not until school began at least, and really, who cared about skipping grade school? The point was, as the boy rolled over to take a well needed sleep, was that things were settled for now...

And that in the future, perhaps it would never happen again.


AN : BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. Epilogue will be posted in a few minutes... And then... We're done! And we're off to the next one! ...To those waiting for Feet in Sand or Oceans of Red, please forgive me.... TT_TT But unfortunately, while my Conan crossover brain has been raring to go, my Sonic and Avatar brains... Have not. TT__TT

In any case, leave a review, tell me what you think! Any questions on the story, let me know! I'll answer anything that seems unanswered in this story, so long as it's not something that will be revealed (And is meant to be revealed) in a later fan fic. ;)