Another update! That's three in like one week! I'll attribute it to being inspired by the new DC opening theme. So I have absolutely no idea when the next update will be. If I'm inspired, it will probably be in the next week. If not, it will not be sooner than two weeks form now.
Also, I probably should've clarified my hint in the last chapter: the two characters are DC/MK canon, but their relationship isn't necessarily canon. So yeah, sorry if that pokes a hole in anyone's deduction. But if you guessed the person whom the killer called, you probably could have figured out that their relationship isn't canon, since it hasn't been stated in canon whether either of the people in the last chapter have any siblings.
…But after reading this chapter, you can probably guess who the other person was from the last chapter.
xXx
"Black Star Heist"…I know that one, but the only people who would be angry as a result of what took place are the Suzuki family, Ran, and myself. But I doubt Suzuki-san would attack anyone due to that, especially not Ran…Conan mused, scrolling down a list on his phone, mentally checking off heists that might inspire vengeful thoughts in a psychopathic "victim." He was currently riding in uncomfortable silence (which he ignored easily, wrapped up in his list) with Hattori in the back seat of Agasa-hakase's car.
"Oi, Kudou." Hattori elbowed Conan in the shoulder as the shorter detective continued to poke at the buttons on his phone. "Why's she comin'?" he muttered under his breath, gesturing toward the passenger seat.
A child's head swiveled around to glare at Hattori from said seat. He started guiltily at her gaze. "Because this case requires damage control. If we aren't careful, Kudou-kun's name could resurface in the media due to this case of mistaken identity. Then they will get involved."
"The Black Organization," Conan clarified, never removing his eyes from his phone.
Hattori nodded, then leaned over to peek at the screen over Conan's shoulder. "An' what're ya doin' now?"
"I called Takagi-keiji form the house while you were calling Toyama-san and told him that Occhan needed a list of cases involving Kaitou KID to be sent to my phone." Conan grimaced at the dark-skinned detective. "But I'm not having much luck. In all the cases I'm familiar with, everyone who could hold a grudge (and who fits the profile of a serial killer in the making) is in jail…as far as I know. And then I've never heard of some of these cases. Have you?" Conan held out the phone to Hattori, who took it hesitantly.
"I don' really keep tabs on KID, but there was a heist in Osaka awhil' back….Ah, here." Hattori pointed at a case name about two-thirds down the list. "'The Fire Diamon' Heist.' KID actually uncovered a smugglin' ring, but I'm pos'tive that all the guys involved're in jail."
Conan took the phone back and glanced out the car window when Hakase brought the car to a smooth stop; Hakuba was already waiting for them outside the hospital entrance.
"I guess you'll just have to ask that guy then." Haibara gestured to Hakuba as he approached. "From your description of him, he seems to know a great deal about your thief."
Hattori's frown deepened and he grumbled something about "obsessive" as Conan slid to the middle to allow the blonde a seat.
"Where's my hat?" Hattori asked abruptly as soon as Hakuba pulled open the door.
Conan rolled his eyes. "What he means is, is she alright?"
"Of course." Hakuba closed the door and clicked on his seatbelt. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have left. And I left your hat with her: she's still unconscious, but as she passed out, she grabbed your hat. She's holding on to it as if her life depended on it." As Hakuba settled into his seat, he winced slightly.
"What's wrong with ya?" Hattori asked in a manner that lacked any hint of concern whatsoever; in fact, he looked mildly hopeful.
"Nothing," Hakuba muttered, frowning.
"…She threw ya, didn' she?"
Hakuba winced again. "It was on a concrete street. You could have warned me that she's a black belt."
Hattori snorted amusedly.
In the front seat, Haibara cleared her throat impatiently; Conan raised an eyebrow questioningly. Now what does she—oh. "Um, by the way, Hakuba, this is Agasa-hakase and Haibara Ai."
"Pleased to meet you," Hakase said cheerfully as he restarted the car; Haibara merely nodded pleasantly. Conan's eye twitched. Oi, oi, you're the one who wanted to be introduced, right? Or were you just irritated that I was being rude?
"Likewise. But Conan-kun, you didn't call me Hakuba-niisan." Hakuba spoke as if it were an observation rather than a reprimand.
"They know," Conan assured him.
"I see. I suspected as much."
"Hakase invented the gadgets that help me continue to solve cases," Conan continued. He held up his wrist. "…Including the Stun-gun Wristwatch and Voice-Changing Bowtie I use to act as Occhan. And my shoes, which use electric and magnetic fields to stimulate the muscles in my feet to let me kick as if I were still a teenager."
"Impressive," Hakuba commended Hakase as he leaned down to inspect the aforementioned shoes.
Hakase laughed proudly. "Thank you, Hakuba-san!"
"And Haibara—is in my situation," Conan said vaguely upon catching Haibara's warning glance. She evidently didn't fully trust Hakuba. Fortunately, the latter noticed Conan's hesitance to breach the topic and didn't pursue it.
"Anyway, Hakuba, this is a list of cases that KID has been involved in since his reemergence. Do you recognize any of them?" Conan handed the phone to Hakuba. "We're trying to isolate anyone who may have been wronged somehow as a result of a heist."
Hakuba nodded, taking the phone. "I haven't had many experiences with his earlier heists, but I'll see what I can do."
It was then that Conan noticed Hattori's uncharacteristic silence. He glanced up to see the Osakan glaring at Hakuba—no, not Hakuba, his eyes were too unfocused for that. His gaze was aimed out the window.
"Oi, Hakase, would you stop the car?"
"Uh, sure." Hakase immediately did as requested, having conveniently spotted a place to pull over quickly. "But Shinichi—"
Conan ignored him. "Hattori. Get out."
"E-Eh?" Hattori blinked at the boy. "What?" Even Hakuba had taken his eyes from the list on the phone to look down at Conan bemusedly.
"If you're worried about her, you should go. We need your help, but not if your head isn't in it." Piercing blue eyes met alarmed green. "So get out and go back to the hospital."
"K-Kudou…" Hattori's eyes widened before quickly narrowing in fury. "Ahou! Yeah, 'm worried 'bout Kazuha, who wouldn' be? But 'm not gonna ditch ya now, a' all times! Ya think that little a' me? An' 'sides, this guy's not after Kazuha anymore, but he migh' still be tryin' ta kill us; goin' ta Kazuha'll jus' put her in more danger!"
Conan waited a beat before grinning. "Thanks, Hattori. That's just what I'd hoped you'd say. We can keep going now, Hakase." I'll have to remember to thank his father for giving me that particular manipulation technique. Hattori wasn't about to get his mind off Kazuha unless I tried to block him out of the investigation. Which would naturally get him angry and fired up about the case.
Wait! Conan jumped slightly, startled at his sudden epiphany. "That's it!"
Hakuba and Hattori responded immediately and eagerly:
"What did you realize?"
"Whatcha got, Kudou?"
"We decided the culprit is somehow involved with the police, right?" Conan said, his finger under his chin contemplatively. "Because he managed to booby-trap Nakamori-keibu private room. What if he was somehow demoted as a result of a KID heist? What if was blocked out of investigations, and as a result became bitter and vengeful? Of course…" Conan asked, glancing subtly at Hattori. "…he would have needed to be a psychopath already to go on a killing spree over something so trivial."
Hakuba nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with your logic, partly because I already scanned the list of remaining heists on your cell phone and—from those that I have knowledge of—there are not any criminals remaining capable of being the culprit. However, from an emotional standpoint, as someone who knows the personalities of the Task Force members, none of them profile as a psychopath. Furthermore, none of them are ever demoted; no one has a particularly successful time of trying to catch KID, so it's difficult to have a particularly dismal time of it."
"Have you considered the loved ones of the people who are in jail due to KID's interference?" Haibara suggested. "It could explain why the culprit targeted each detective's significant other as well. There's also the possibility that the culprit is an enemy of Kudou Shinichi. That's who he believes KID to be, ne?"
"Well, it can' be 'cause a' Kudou, we know that. The culprit likes ta be in control, an' he wouldn' target Kudou unless he knew where he was. So he musta figured out that KID was Kudou in this revenge setup, 'stead a' the other way aroun'," Hattori pointed out. "Although, we never thought a' the scorned lover angle…."
Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose. "That means we have to go through all these cases again just to composite a list of criminals that KID helped catch, then check to see if they even had lovers who were angry enough to kill eleven innocents to cover up the murder of one thief."
"Well, we can cross off Shimizu Reiko and Masaharu Nishio," Conan noted grimly. "It's a start."
Hakuba blinked. "Who?"
"Oi, don' ya remember?" Hattori grunted impatiently. "It wasn' that long a—oi! What was that fer?" Conan looked up at Hattori innocently, as if he hadn't just plunged an elbow into the teenager's midsection.
"It was just a case we were involved in awhile ago," the boy assured Hakuba, ignoring Hattori's grumbling.
The British detective didn't look appeased. Instead, he facepalmed. "He impersonated me, didn't he?"
"Ah, well…"
"In any case," Haibara interrupted loudly, with a look on her face that clearly conveyed her distaste in their topic of conversation, "you can at least narrow down your search with the fact that your culprit has connections with the police, though it appears that he is not a part of the Task Force."
xXx
She had received the location of the target house only a few moments ago via text. By chance, however, she had been in the area and arrived swiftly; she was now crouched in the bushes in the forests surrounding the house, absolutely sure that she couldn't be spotted by the people inside. The shades were down, but she could see their silhouettes; there seemed to be three of them, a man and two women. One of them had to be the owner of the safe-house.
That person was smart when suggesting a forest fire, she mused, turning her attention to her surroundings. The house was located in a highly secluded portion of woodland, and a forest fire would draw the least the suspicion.
Suddenly, a car pulled around a bend and into view. Startled, she retreated further into the underbrush. She was even more shocked to see the car pull into the driveway; a man and two blindfolded teenagers, a boy and a girl, stepped out. Her first thought was the realization that the man with the teenagers had to be the true owner of the house, which meant that everyone inside must be those who required protection. And her second thought…
Those—those kids…they can't be…
"Ne, Kaito, where are you?"
"I'm right here, Ahouko."
"I can't see. Hold my hand so I don't trip."
"Wh-why would I do that? And I can't see either!"
She heaved a sigh of relief. They aren't them….But that boy…I know him. He must be Kuroba Kaito. She shook her head. Ignore him. He'll die soon enough too. But why are those two in need of protection? Don't tell me that the Kuroba boy….
She quickly forgot about her suspicion as she watched the trio approach the house. The man removed the teenagers' blindfolds, unlocked and opened the door, and escorted them inside. A few moments later, the man left the house again, got in his car, and drove off the way he had come.
She raised an eyebrow. He just left them? Does that mean I'm supposed to—However, she was quickly distracted when Kuroba Kaito lifted the shades, and the silhouettes she had previously seen were replaced with people. People she knew. Her breath caught in her throat.
No…Angel….
xXx
"Mouri-san!"
Ran and her father had been standing anxiously beside the window. At this point, her mother had gotten a headache and decided to lie down in a guest room. None of them were permitted to use a phone, and there wasn't even basic cable in the house. Furthermore, their food consisted of bread, canned soup, and water.
Needless to say, her father was miserable. Which made him snap at her mother. Which made her mother miserable (Ran suspected that had been part of the reason she had chosen to go to bed). And her parents not getting along made Ran miserable.
Not to mention the threat of murder looming over them.
So when the man in whose house they were staying (they were told he was a bodyguard for a princess who happened to be visiting Japan) informed them that they would be adding another teenaged girl to their party, Ran was admittedly a little relieved. Apparently, this other girl had almost been killed because of Hakuba. Like Kazuha had been hurt because of Hattori. Like her parents—she tried not to think about that. She also tried not to think about the fact that she was going to be targeted because of Conan.
Conan-kun…why? Why would someone do this? Especially to him: he's only seven!
Also, if the safe-house were to be attacked, it would be because the murderer wanted Ran dead. So if they were all attacked at the same time, it would be because of her.
She tried not to think about that either.
When their host finally returned with a friendly shout of their family name, he unknowingly (and thankfully) broke a particularly tense silence between the two anxious family members. They both stood to greet their new group member, but stood shell-shocked when the girl entered.
Not only did her face look identical to Ran's, she came in with a teenaged boy. A boy who just had to be….
"Shin—!"
"This is Nakamori Aoko and her friend, Kuroba Kaito," their host introduced the pair before Ran could finish her exclamation.
"But…but he…" Ran protested weakly. He has to be Shinichi. It can't be a coincidence; they look exactly the same! Except for his hair, but—
"Now, I apologize, but it just occurred to me that I should probably pick up more food, given that our group has grown by two. So I'll leave you all to get acquainted. I'll be back soon." With that, the man left, regardless of Ran's father's protests that he had a few questions first.
"Kuso," he cursed as the other man ignored him completely, returning to his car out front. Ran was partially relieved: between his thick beard and gravelly voice, their host unnerved her.
"So it's as he said," the girl—Nakamori-san—said brightly. "I'm Nakamori Aoko and this is my friend, Kuroba Kaito. You may call him BaKaito if you wish."
"Oi, Aoko!"
"Quiet, Kaito, you're being rude—so what are your names?"
"I'm Mouri Kogoro, tantei-san," Ran's father boasted. "Perhaps you've heard of me, Nemui no Kogoro?"
"Of course!" Nakamori chirped. "My father has talked about you! He's the inspector who can't catch KID. But I'd bet anything he will one of these days. Ne, Kaito?"
"Uh…s-sure…" the Shinichi-lookalike shook his head, contradicting his statement, but Nakamori chose to ignore him and turned to Ran.
"And you are?"
"I'm his daughter, Mouri Ran. My mother's here too, but she's currently lying down." As she spoke, Nakamori's friend moved toward the window to fold up the shades and peered out. Ran blinked. "What are you doing?"
He waited a few moments, but finally shrugged and responded, "It's nothing, I just got a weird feeling…like we're being watched."
"Geez, Kaito, you're so paranoid."
"Shouldn't I be? I'm here to protect you, ne?"
As they continued their banter, Ran smiled at them fondly. No, he was definitely not like Shinichi. More like Hattori-kun, if anything. And watching them interact…was like watching Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan. She giggled, but couldn't shake that hollow, jealous feeling that always crept up at times like these.
I wish…we could be like that again. Shinichi and I.
xXx
"Ne, Haibara, do you think it might be possible—"
"No."
"But what if—"
"You've got KID. If any emergencies crop up, you won't need it."
"But we don' even know where that ahou thief is or what he's doin'!"
"Keep out of this, Hattori-kun."
Hattori raised his hands defensively when the girl snapped at him and sunk back into his seat. Saguru raised an eyebrow as Conan continued to try to persuade her of something. So far, she was sticking to her guns. However, Saguru could tell she wanted to help him in some way.
Even when she wasn't talking to any of them, she had glanced back at the boy's face thirteen times since Saguru had entered the car.
"No is no, Kudou-kun. Do you want to become immune? Is temporarily returning worth never being able to be Kudou Shinichi permanently?"
Now Saguru could figure out their line of conversation. But he had no clue that Kudou had the option to temporarily return. Nor could he understand how this girl was mixed up in the situation. She obviously controlled Conan's dosage, so she likely developed the antidote. Conan had said they were in the same situation, but even then, her mind should only be seventeen or eighteen. She was obviously brilliant, but how could she be smart enough to develop an antidote to a drug she never encountered? That meant that there was only one explanation.
"Don't tell me you developed the drug that shrunk him!" Saguru gasped.
Haibara glared at Conan accusingly. She apparently hadn't wanted the unfamiliar detective to know about that. Conan shrugged helplessly and turned to Saguru. "You're right. Haibara used to be in the Organization. They killed her sister and she tried to escape, but they caught her. She…um…took the untraceable poison she developed for them and accidentally shrunk herself. She knew who I was, so she came to me for help. She's living with Hakase right now."
"I see…" Saguru was still mildly confused by the situation—for one, why was Conan associating with a person who developed an untraceable poison, let alone one that ruined his life?—but he decided to drop the subject; the girl didn't look as if she would appreciate his prying.
Fortunately, Saguru's ringing phone provided a perfect distraction. "Hm? It's Nakamori-keibu." His curiosity suddenly turned to alarm and worry: What if something happened to Nakamori-chan?
"He might have some info 'bout KID," Hattori suggested, but Saguru was already answering the phone when Hattori spoke.
"Moshi moshi? Nakamori-keibu?"
"Sorry to disappoint, Tantei-san."
"KID? How—?"
Conan and Hattori turned their attention to Saguru hopefully.
"Simple. I relieved Nakamori-keibu of his phone. It would seem that his daughter was transported to the very same safe-house as tantei-kun's girlfriend. So I secretly followed their car. I'm merely calling so tantei-kun can have some peace of mind when I tell you the location. That aside, they seem to be pretty safe here. The police have taken many precautions. I only got by because I can fly above the ground."
"That's reassuring, at least." Saguru took out a notebook and pen. "Can you give me the location now?"
"Sure thing. Just—"
Saguru never heard what KID said next, and he never would. For at that moment, Hattori screamed "GET DOWN!" and bullets ripped through the car windows.
xXx
"Tantei-san?" Kaito asked urgently. "Tantei-san! Oi, Hakuba!" It was no use; even if Hakuba could answer him, he probably wouldn't. From the sound of the shattering glass, the detectives had just been targets of a machine gun—or, more likely, a machine pistol.
"Kaito? Who are you talking to?" Aoko's muffled voice floated through the closed door.
Kuso! "Geez, Aoko, I'm in the bathroom! I'm not talking to anyone!" Fairly certain that he wouldn't hear a reply from Hakuba, Kaito worriedly hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.
"I definitely heard you say something, Kaito!"
"I stumbled a little bit, okay? It surprised me!"
There was silence for a moment; Kaito almost couldn't believe he had appeased her. "Well anyway, I came to tell you that I told Ran-chan that you're a magician, and you'll do a magic for us once you get out!"
Oi, she's calling her "Ran-chan" already? Wait—that girl can't see me perform! She'll figure out my identity immediately: she knows that KID looks like Kudou Shinichi and is a magician. There's no way she can ignore such a coincidence. "B-but Aoko! I left all my stuff with your father, just in case."
"Liar! You've always got stuff on you!"
Kaito sweatdropped. That girl knows me too well….
"Look, you better be out here in five minutes to give a magic show, and I won't take no for an answer, you got that?" Aoko huffed stubbornly and backed away from the door.
There's only one way to get out of this: ruin Kuroba Kaito's reputation as a magician. That should relieve any suspicion. Kaito winced. However painful that may be. And speaking of pain…are the tantei okay? Kaito glanced down at the pocket which cradled Nakamori-keibu's phone, and suddenly had another thought, a thought that chilled him to the bone.
Did they even survive?