Summary:
Book 1. AU. Freedom is what drives them to live for tomorrow. To soul is a delicate thing but how much can someone take until they break. They use to live in true darkness longing to live amongst the surface. When that wish comes true, how far will they go to keep it? When everything they ever knew is put into question, how can they differ from reality and lies? Chapters now merged.
Author's note:
Wow! Is this a chapter?
Hope you guys are liking this story as much as we are writing it! Make sure to review because I would LOVE to know what you guys are thinking. If anyone has any tips or any constructive criticism, don't hesitate to tell me. That's how I am able to improve and do what you guys want.
How long can you survive?: Chapter 11- To Be A Kid:
"Aw, but I want to see what they're up to!" Kaito whined as they got out of the car. His whole being was itching with anticipation- wanting to see what the two teens were doing.
"No." The small hand, that was wrapped around his wrist, tightened it's grip as the owner gave a semi-effective pull; diverting his attention to land on the small figure beside him. "I know what you are thinking and Chikage said no. Besides, we have other things to do than spy on people. Now, come on or we're going to be late!"
Grumbling, the taller let himself be lead inside by his little brother. The small boy twisted his grip to get a better hold of the older's arm. Conan sighed. He tried to stop himself from pointing out that there was no time limit being set, by anyone who was in the meeting room, for them to be back. Even so, he knew that they were to hurry back. The Inspector's haste for them to leave was a strong indication that they should.
"Over here boys, they'll be in Megure's office!" They looked over to see that they had been going the wrong way and ran towards the woman before following her towards their destination. As soon as they approached the door, they jumped as it suddenly opened and Yukiko came out.
The woman blinked at the three and then smiled brightly. "There you are! The inspector was getting worried." And with that, she went around them and gave them an encouraging push inside the room. She was just about to go and see where they were and was pleased that she didn't have to go far to find them. The smallest stumbled but managed to catch himself with the help of still holding onto his twin's hand.
"Ah. You're back!" He spotted the shrunken teen and blinked, "and you are?"
Shinichi looked up and gulped. He couldn't actually say his alias for his teenage form- that would cause unnecessary trouble. The last thing they wanted.
"This …" Yukiko's mind went blank and she tried to come up with a name. Any name would do. Not finding one that was fitting, she had to resort to author's names. Who would know the difference? "This is … um. Kazuo. Another one of Chikage-san adoptive son's." Chikage nodded, patting the small boy on the head.
He peered down at the boy and frowned. He was so tiny and vulnerable looking. How could he allow him to go up against someone who could easily kill or harm such an innocent person? "I am unwilling to put a child in danger. I thought you didn't mean a real child." He declared, a little purported and surprised they were actually talking about in a literal sense. He leaned forward on the chair, waiting for acceptance or argument. Whichever they choose, he was determined to make sure the child didn't come to harm.
"In due respect Magure, you haven't handled this case as well as you could of. You let this out of control and the best and most effective way is to send in Kazuto and stop the killer from murdering anyone else." Conan bent down and placed a hand on top of 'Kazuto's' head. "He is more than just a child. This boy is a prodigy and a fast learner." The child in question blushed and smiled sheepishly up at the man. Reaching up, he pushed Conan's hand off and frowned up at the teen. He didn't like the way that Conan was pitching him as if trying to make someone buy a new project.
Mergue put his hand up, stopping the boy from speaking once again. "Conan. I am not sending a child to do the adults jobs. The police can handle it from here."
"And yet you were considering the option before. Why the sudden change in mind to allow this defenceless looking, adorable little boy onto the field?" Kaito smirked, patting the mentioned child's head.
The youngest scowled and turned to the taller boy. "Hey. Don't call me defenceless!" How dare his own brother say anything like that. "I can defeat you in a fight any day, 'aniki'," he spat.
"Oh yeah, bring it own little man. Show me," 'and this overweight man', he added privately in his head. "What you've got."
The four watched in absolute horror as the child launched himself at the older, who stepped sidewards, narrowly missing his fist. Next, he jumped up and delivered a surprisingly powerful kick to the chest, making the older boy fly backwards and fall on his ass. Kaito landed on the floor, wincing at the impact. That would have seriously bruised an ordinary person but he was lucky just to have only the tiniest bit but of a red spot as he learned upon quick inspection.
"Kaito!" Three voice shouted, laced with concern as Chikage and Conan ran over to see if he was okay. The four occupants could not believe what had just transpired. The two had fought- well it was mostly Kazuto- but it still shocked them. Never before had they done anything verbal or physical that was against one another. Sure, they had joked around a couple of times but never done anything hurtful or violent. Suddenly, Yukiko was right in his face with a frown set on her face while she gave a cold look.
"Why did you do that?" She started hotly and he shrank back at how close she was and how angry she looked. A lump formed in his throat as he avoided eye-contact. He was in deep trouble. "I am disappointed in you. Attacking your own brother like that!" Man, was she mad. The brunet shifted and shuffled an unconscious step backwards. She was way too close for comfort. He opened his mouth, only to close it again. He gaped like a goldfish for the next twenty seconds until he found no valid reason to tell her, that was appropriate in front of the very confused inspector and stared at the carpet.
"I didn't mean to!" He cried suddenly, biting his lip while his shoulders started to shake slightly. He looked up and Yukiko gasped. Tears were pooling in his eyes and his feet were barely supporting him. It was the first ever time he saw anyone of them cry. To watch was heart-wrenching and utterly terrifying.
"Aw, I know you didn't, sweetie. Please don't cry. Come here." She pulled the child towards her and hugged him close. Wrapping her arms around his small frame, she rubbed his back and stroked his hair. The boy stiffened but then relaxed in her grip.
Burying his head on her shoulder, he mumbled, "that went better than I expected," into her ear, making her freeze. It was an act, she realized. The fighting, the crying, the anger; it was all staged.
"I hope you're ready for acting classes for the next month." She whispered, turning her head away from and towards him so that others could not hear or see. "Think of it as punishment for nearly scaring us half to death."
The bespectacled sighed and sunk more into the embrace. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Keep dreaming." She added with a smirk. This was going to be fun. And maybe she could blackmail Shield into joining as well. Silver huffed before pulling away. Yukiko took a deep breath and put on her 'mom' mask as she pretended to 'sooth' the boy with her calming, yet angry words. "Just never do that again, okay? Save it for the mean bad guy who's ruined people's lives and families. I promise, if you kick his butt, I won't be angry anymore."
Kazuto sniffed, adding to the effect as he nodded. Satisfied, she pointed over to the small group on the other side of the room. "Now go and apologise to your brother. And smother him with your cuteness!" Rolling his eyes, Shinichi stomped over to the three and they smiled at him. They had been updated in the short length of time of the reason behind the act and to be honest, they were quite impressed.
"I'm sorry." He started shyly, hands deep in his pockets and a small blush on his face.
"Hey, it's okay you totally won that. I had to go easy on you, after all." The older boy winked and pulled his twin into a hug.
"Kaito," Chikage gave him appointed look and he quickly added, "nii-san." The older boy chuckled and ruffled his twin's hair.
"I'm only teasing." Shield winked at him and Silver rolled his eyes in response before sending him an 'I know' look. "Anyway, when did you activate-" He started to ask the younger but was interrupted.
"My sneakers? When you were distracted by trying to spy on Hakuba and that other girl. Which is rude by the way," he answered, reaching down to turn the mechanism off. It was Kaito's turn to roll his eyes as he made a 'yeah, yeah' motion with his hand and Shinichi frowned.
Kogoro listened to this quietly and when he finally ingested the words, it dawned on him. "Wait! Was that 'other girl' with brown hair, about this high?" He asked, raising his hand.
The four swung around to look at the man and the indicated height. "Yes, but doesn't a lot of people have brown hair. Yukiko did say it was common in Japan," Kazuto mused out loud.
"If you are referring to the young lady my cousin is with, then would she possibly be able to punch a hole in a tree by her fists?" He thought for a second and then asked, "or has all girls got that type of strength?"
At this, the man became panicked. "Where did they go?" He asked hurriedly, suddenly alert. The twins shared a confused look before settling back on the man.
"To the building down the road. I believe it was something called a 'supermarket'?" And before anyone could add to that, the man started running out the door, shouting things like 'I'll save you' and 'he better haven't touched my daughter' while waving his fists up in the air.
Most of the group watched in amusement but the twins were only more baffled by this. "He does know that Hakuba doesn't like to touch anybody or people touching him that isn't close to him, right?" Kazuto inquired with a blink.
"I suppose someone forgot to tell him about that little detail," Kaito added, amusingly.
"Guys, that's not what he meant," Conan started and soon regretted it as they turned to him for answers. "Just forget it. They'll be fine. Hakuba can handle himself." He commented before getting up and helping the older twin to his feet.
"Megure-keibu, let us assist you in this case. As a minor, Kazuo name will be, by law, not be mentioned or his involvement released to the public. He is skilled enough to look after himself and is a brilliant actor. This is the only chance you're going to get to catch this creep and we'll be around to monitor it if something would go wrong- which I extremely doubt it."
The inspector heaved a heavy sigh. "I cannot. The reason for having a police force is so that innocent people are kept safe and that they can deal with the criminals causing people harm. It would be irresponsible for me to accept a child's assistance on a case that could hurt the little guy." He told him, eyeing the child- who looked uncomfortable of being the topic of their convocation. Or, rather, polite argument.
"Can I speak to you in private?" The teen asked suddenly, causing the older man to blink but agree. Sets of eyes watched the two exit the room.
"Look Megure, I know you have worked for a few years now. You trust me, right? You value my advice?" The man nodded slowly, ready to open his mouth to say something but was cut off by Conan. The boy seemed to be set on being so stubborn with his decision. "I promised someone that he could help, I don't intend to break that promise. So, I am asking you, from one friend to another. Let us lead this mission and I guarantee we won't let you down."
Heaving a sigh, he looked into the boy's blue-eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Conan. You know I can't do that. There's a child in there. He shouldn't be here," the inspector reasoned.
"Here, call this woman. She'll explain a few things." He reluctantly sighed, pulling out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. A lot of things would come to light as they stayed and they had been asked by Jodie to inform an officer trustworthy enough to help them keep things concealed. Conan couldn't help but think of a better candidate than Inspector Maguire. The man was loyal and eared to know at least some of what was going on- well part of the story. Powers were a need to know basis.
Silver looked up at the boy in surprise. The conversation back at the museum filled his head and he remembered he asking to help. It made him so happy that Conan had remembered him wanting to catch this creep over everything else that had happened afterwards and was doing something he didn't have to. Calling in a favour from the inspector like that, only for him, left him speechless and left ingratitude towards the older boy. He could hear the convocation through the closed door.
Pinching his nose, the inspector's eyes shut. "I swear you can be as reckless than you are stubborn." The man muttered before opening his eyes to stare at the boy. "Fine, we can base this plan around the kid but on the condition, you can never tell the higher-ups. They could have my head for putting civilians in danger."
"Haven't even crossed my mind," he quickly dismissed and the others nodded in agreement. "And the records?" Conan asked with nervousness. He didn't want their names splashed everywhere. Especially if someone were to investigate the fake ones in the report. That would be bad. Doctor Agasa, Ai and his father were working on the fake documents for the teens. Now that he thought about it- he wondered how his dad was getting along. He had gone to America to see an old friend and was once again hiding from his persistent editors that were currently trying to get more content. Conan grimaced at the thought. His dad's fans were a wild bunch and would do anything to get another scoop or a story out of the mystery writer. He did miss him; his only reason he had survived through his mum's and Chikage's craziness. He was one of the only people who could balance them out- and he thanked his dad for that.
"Altered. I'm sure we can come up with something for the report. You know I am sticking my neck out for this, Conan-kun?" He spoke aloud as they came back into the room.
"Yes, I am grateful. Thank you," he bowled, a smile on his face. He turned to the smaller boys and they smiled back. "So, here's the plan …"
"Ah, wait, Conan-kun. Before you start, maybe it would be better to wait for the others?" The man suggested and nodded. That was much more tactful. He would hate to repeat himself.
Suddenly, Yukiko gasped before jumping up. "Oh, no. I left Hattori in the waiting room." She smacked her head dramatically with a sigh she added, "how could I forget?" The group watched her go, muttering curses to herself as she left to go and get the teen.
Kaito raised an eyebrow and mentioned his head towards the door. 'What was all that about?' Conan got the message and shook his head, he had no idea. Neither of them nor Chikage saw the small boy slip out the door and follow Yukiko towards the front of the police station with a curious expression set on his face.
Once they approached, they saw the pouting boy sitting in the chair he was forced into. The said teen was slumped on his chair with his arms draped lazily on over his stomach. His feet were tapping to an invisible beat as he looked around with a glum expression. When he saw Yukiko, he frowned and then looked away.
"Can I go now?" He asked boldly. He heard a small noise beside him and turned to notice that his cousin had climbed up onto the chair and saw now turning to sit properly in it. His legs barely draped over the chair and he smiled sadly. He knew it must be hard to manoeuvre in such a small body. Plucking the small boy, he heard a whine from the said 'child'. He was about to ask why he would waste the effort of climbing up on the chair when he was about to put back on the floor and blinked when he was placed in the dark-haired teen's lap instead.
Yukiko watched this and smiled in amusement. "Yes, you may go," she confirmed and the boy stood up- placing the shrunken teen on his shoulders instead. Kazuto let out a giggle for being so high in the air and hugged the older teen's neck. Now, this was something they both could get used to.
"Mou, Otou-san. Hakuba didn't do anything to me! So cut it out already!" Ran protested as she was dragged through into the room by her father- who had a special look upon his face. No way was this kid innocent. He would expose him for the creep for who he truly was. No way was a teen that polite as he appeared to be and not have a motive. He wasn't going to stand by and let his poor, innocent Ran be a victim of such an act. Yukiko sweat dropped and sighed. This was going to take a while to convince this poor, deluded old man that Chikage's 'adoptive children' were harmless. It was easier said than done- she had found out. Mentally preparing herself, she went up to him and asked what the problem was.
Kaito appeared in the doorway and blinked at the two and mentioned towards the group- who were still trying to sort the whole mess out. The three just gave a shrug as their gaze travelled back to focus on them. Conan shook his head as he followed and watched the scene. Chikage and Conan sighed at the same time. Were they ever going to get to the mission done? Apparently, they had to wait even longer.
"Man, I'm tired! I thought that man was never gonna shaddap!" Hattori whined, coming out of the building as he stretched his limbs. They had been sitting in a boring meeting room for the past two and a half hours and he was beyond bored. For the police force, they do waste time planning every single detail and going over different alterations should different scenarios arrive. Even back at the Black Organisation, they didn't really have to go to meetings; they had everything already planned out for them and acted the orders out- improvising when and if something went wrong.
Conan rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm just glad it's over," he told them. He was so glad that they were going to do the mission soon. If he missed another day off school, Ran would definitely try to kill him.
"Well, I have to pick up Ai. I'll see you later and good luck if you do the mission without me!" Yukiko waved goodbye as she went to her daughter's car and got in. A few minutes later, they were waving her off as she drove away and then made their way over to Conan's car to depart the other way.
Shinichi ended up in his brother's lap, as there were no other seats available, as they left the police station for the Tokyo park.
The weather was mild but not chilling enough for coats and scarfs. Few children played in the park and a group of teenagers were hanging around chatting and drinking energy drinks- minding their own business. Amongst the children was a girl and two boys with a football. The real field was used up, but they made do with the grass and their coats and jumpers as goal markers. The larger of the two boys kicked a ball by his feet but instead of it heading towards its target, the object was kicked way out of proportion and flew across the grass towards the playground.
"Ah, come on," the large boy groaned as he watched it helplessly gain distance from them.
"I told you that you should be in goal. You can't hit a target even if it's right in front of you," the smaller and thinner boy snickered.
"I told you I don't want to be in goal!" The first boy argued as he crossed his arms and pouted.
The last child, Ayumi, sighed. "Aw, come on guys. If Genta doesn't want to be in goal, he doesn't have too." She reasoned as she came back from retrieving the ball and deposited it on the ground, ready for her kick.
"Easy for you to say, you never have to be goalie," the current goalkeeper muttered as he got ready to try and intercept Ayumi's kick. His feet spread apart as he crouched low, hands cupping together out in front of him, facing outwards. Taking her leg back and then forward, the ball went forward but was stopped by his feet as he kicked it back towards them. Moving out of the way, she let Genta take a go and it was worse this time. Once his foot was about to make the impact, he was distracted by a shout and sent it sidewards and onto the path. It rolled away and down a hill.
"Aw, man." He moaned before stalking after it.
Silver knew he wasn't perfect. Nobody was and he knew that perfectly well. There was just always this room for improvement. Something for everyone to work hard at so they can become a better person. There's always been some type of bars to reach and ladders to climb. He believed everyone had their flaws- even within his own team. A bunch of genetically altered, super-powered teen. Even the best technology up to date can't make anything perfect- no matter how hard they tried. It just how everything was.
Everyone expects great things from him. Vermouth, Conan, Yukiko, Chikage. Even Blade and Elextrix. Silver had come to find that Shield was the only person who could fully understand him. Shield acknowledged that he isn't as strong (physically and emotionally) as everyone believed him to be, nor the person who could deal with all types of situations. True, he was a brilliant straightest and had a fine eye for detail and finding people's weaknesses but underneath he struggled with reading people and knowing how to deal with anyone older than his child forms apparent age.
Children were easy, he found out, because of his resemblance to them and he copied actions of young people he had never seemed to grow out of. He found it easier to be a child than an adult. Things were so much simpler. Maybe it had something to do with his later developments after being locked up away more than the other test subjects or being the youngest of the four but he was he was not entirely sure what made him act this way. Not that he was complaining.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, feeling the afternoon air. He liked nature. It was peaceful and quiet as well as beautiful. It was a shame people were too busy these days to stop and admire what the world had to offer. He found it fascinating how much nature could really say about the world and how other species lived to survive. It was just a shame many people could neglect something so amazing. All life should matter- no matter how small or strange the creature or plant is. He couldn't understand why humans could play god just because some of them took their superiority in size and strength too far to decided to play God with other lower and undeveloped life forms.
His thoughts were disrupted when a ball came into view, rolling near his feet. He blinked at it and held it up, wonder shining in his eyes.
By the time he caught up with the ball, a boy about Ayumi's height was holding it and was examining the tri-coloured object with fascination. Noticing Genta standing there, the boy lifted his head and smiled.
"Is this yours?" He asked shyly, holding it out to him with a small, embarrassed blush on his face.
"Um, yeah. That's mine alright." The taller boy started awkwardly, reaching out and grabbing the ball from him and pulling it towards his chest.
"Genta, what's taking you so long?" Mitsuhiko asked, appearing a little away from them. It shouldn't have taken him so long to collect the ball and he wanted to go and investigate. "Oh, hey? I've never seen you around here before," he greeted confusingly with a smile and the boy smiled back sheepishly. He didn't say anything and the other two quickly put it down to shyness. "I'm Mitsuhiko, this is Genta. What's your name?"
"Kazuto," he answered in a quiet voice but Mitsuhiko managed to catch it.
"Hey, would you like to play with us? We could do with another player to play teams," he offered with a grin.
The shorter shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know how to play," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Oh, don't worry, we can teach you! Right, Genta?" The larger boy nodded in agreement and Katsuo grinned. The three made their way back to the pitch and introduced Ayumi to the smallest boy. Katsuo felt himself become more comfortable with someone around the same height as him there. The three were quick to explain the rules of their game to the boy and he listened carefully to what they had to say. They even went to as far as Ayumi and Mitsuhiko demonstrating each role as she kicked it and the boy stopped it.
"Okay, I think I get it. Can I try?" He asked sheepishly and they nodded, moving out the way to give him space while Ayumi mentioned towards the colourful ball. He swung his leg back and kicked it. Three jaws dropped as their eyes widened at the power behind the kick as it went through the goal and was getting away. The kick was not as powerful as a professional's but it was strong and shouldn't have come from a child his age and stature.
"Woah! That was awesome!" Genta commented, patting the smallest boy's shoulder with a grin.
"How did you do that?" Mitsuhiko asked, disbelief in his eyes.
"Can you teach us how to do that?" Ayumi questioned, her expression full of hope as she cupped her hands together.
Kusuto shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Not used to being praised and admired by people as well as a group of almost strangers surrounding him- even if they were just kids. Scratching the back of his neck, he smiled sheepishly. "I'm not sure how I even did it," he answered them carefully and belittled himself of the spark of disappointment that weathered their expressions a little.
"Then … do you think you can do it again?" He nodded unsurely and they cheered before Ayumi went off to collect the ball with a smile on her face.
Blade watched as Shield paced backwards and forwards. He was nervous and Blade couldn't help but feel the on edge himself. He felt a pang of empathy towards the other teenager and knew how Shield must be feeling. It must be hard for the overprotective twin to be away from his counterpart for long with the possibility that something was going to go wrong. It was also hard to see the rare occasion that the two weren't together as it reminded him of the years before Silver was taken from the rest of them. He shivered at the thought and then pushed it away. It was not the time to bring up past events.
Sighing, he looked through the bonociouls they had been provided with and blinked. The teenage child was playing with three other children as they kicked an air-filled ball around and ran after it when it got too far away.
"Hey," Conan waved as he came through the open door with three bottles of water. He gave them out- Shield accepting his giddily- before sitting on the roof's ledge and unscrewed his bottle cap. "Seen anyone suspicious, yet?"
"Nope! He's probably hidin' in de shadows, lookin' for kids ta snatch. I would go lookin' for 'im but he might get suspicious." Blade snorted and took a swing of his drink. Shield nodded, rubbing his hands before stalking over to the side of the building and sat down on the edge that overlooked the park. He had a bad feeling about this.
A set of eyes were on the teens, watching them- observing them. A frown was set on the person's face as she thought about what they were doing. The situation was dangerous on their part that the four even choose to participate in and she found them very brave to perform this kind of act but it didn't make them any less stupid. She knew little about them but enough to know they were smart so it seemed out of character. Would the four go as far as exposing themselves to catch one guy? A risky move indeed.
Sighing, the girl took out her phone and began to dial a number that she was all too familiar with. She knew that she had to tell her superior of the developments that had happened the last few days and hope she wasn't spotted.
"Targets sighted." The girl started, bored.
"Good. Update," the voice on the other side spoke and the girl could practically hear a smirk in the person's voice.
TBC: