Part Fourteen
Heiji and Ran raced up the temple's northern steps. When they reached the top, Heiji was certain they were at the right temple. It was old and worn down; there were very few people there, mostly elderly who had probably been coming here since the temple's heyday years ago. The main building was where any people would be gathered, but Heiji could only see, at best, two or three inside the main temple, including the priest. They wouldn't be of any help. Saiko would go to a more hidden alcove or building.
"Conan-kun!" Ran cried out, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Conan-kun!!"
She had a good idea. Heiji was certain that if Kudo could hear them, he would definitely try and get their attention somehow. So he raised his voice as well "C'mon! Where are ya?"
The priest inside the temple looked at them with a small scowl. No doubt they were interrupting whatever ceremony he was performing, so the old man merely stepped forward and shut the doors. Fine with Heiji. No more distractions.
From somewhere off to their left, Heiji and Ran heard a distinct shout. "RAN-NEE-CHAN!!"
"C'mon," Heiji shouted, running towards Kudo's voice. Ran didn't need to be told twice as they both surged forward. There was a rock garden and off by a wall, Heiji could see a batch of trees and shrubs near an indent that would be perfect for hiding; just over the bushes, they could see a man glancing around.
"Saiko-sensei! Give him back to me!" Ran shouted as she charged forward. Heiji swung his bokken case off his shoulder and pulled out his sword, tossing the case aside as he ran forward with the Nee-chan. They both skidded to a stop when Saiko pulled out an automatic and put it to Kudo's forehead.
"Now, now, Ran-kun," the shrink said in a warm, friendly voice. "Conan-kun's a most unusual child. And I don't just mean his intellect. At the moment, his blood has a fair bit of anti-coagulant mixed in. If I were to pull out either of these IVs, he'd bleed out in no time."
That was when Heiji really registered what he was seeing. Kudo was bleeding. Not through a gunshot, or a stab wound, or anything like one would expect when one thought of the word "bleeding". No cuts or scrapes could be seen anywhere on the minimized detective's pale, pale skin. But by Kudo's feet was a bucket that was filled with blood. A bucket that was being fed by an IV coming out of Kudo's left arm. Now Heiji had seen a lot of people bleed and for many reasons over the years, especially when he started his detective work. It was all horrible and one of the many reasons why Heiji had such a strong sense of justice. People should never have to bleed like that. But this... Seeing that Kudo was watching himself bleed to death... It wasn't just horrible; it was horrifying. Heiji's stomach lurched and he gripped his sword more tightly.
"Ya better turn yerself in," Heiji growled. "This ain't gonna help yer case any."
"Oh tut, tut," Saiko replied, a warm smile on his face. "Hattori-kun, it may shock you to know that I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am."
The Osakan said nothing, instead, taking up a kendo stance and pulling out his sword. Justice may need a sharp edge that night.
The psychologist shrugged. "Allow me to say a few things about the two of you. I am, after all, a trained observer." There was a faint tug on the IV in Kudo's left arm, the one that led to the bucket. "I hardly think you can refuse me the opportunity."
Heiji growled and Ran had her hands to her face as her gaze flittered from Shinichi to the bucket to Saiko's hold on his IV.
"Stop it," Ran cried out. "He's just a child! Stop it!!"
"What th' hell ya playin' at," Heiji shouted. "Yer makin' him watch himself die! Ye're supposed ta be a doc. This ain't no way fer ya to be--"
Saiko cocked his gun. "I am a child psychologist. I've had to deal with children for a very long time. But let me tell you, children don't get the research they need in order to best treat them. I am merely doing an experiment to advance my field."
"By making him watch himself bleed to death?" Ran shouted. "That's not advancing your field, that's torture!"
"Exactly." Saiko gave a warm gentle smile. "The scientists of Germany who preformed human experimentation on the victims of the concentration camps were taken in by the American scientific community so that everyone could benefit from the results of that research. I was granted an opportunity at my elementary school to study how tragedies can affect a child's mental health. How could I not do a case study? And now, little Conan-kun here offered himself for another type of experiment."
Heiji scowled fiercely, the grip on his sword getting tighter yet again.
"Now, before either of you even attempt to claim that the police are on their way, I beg to differ. Ran-kun, I doubt the thought even crossed your mind. You probably were only thinking of dear Conan-kun. I've heard from those Shounen Tantei that you normally have to be told by your father or by Conan-kun here to call the authorities. No, you haven't thought about them at all." Saiko turned his warm smile to Hattori. "As for you, Hattori-kun, you're far too short-sighted. In the middle of an investigation you don't think of calling the police until you have the culprit in hand. You're known for your recklessness. And now, both of you are in a stalemate. Neither of you can do anything because I'll either pull out Conan-kun's IV, making him bleed out, or I'll shoot him. Thus, the two of you have no other choice but to do as I say."
"Ne? ... Psycho-sensei?" Kudo looked up at the crazy shrink with the confident smug smirk he used when facing down even the most terrifying of criminals. "You clearly ..... don't know ...... either of them ..... at all." And with a firm kick, the bucket was knocked over, spilling its contents everywhere.
Heiji was determined to have a long talk with Kudo about idiocy. Spilling his own bucket of blood! Was the shrunken sleuth insane? But it gave Heiji the chance he needed. He ran forward while Ran went after Kudo. Heiji's sword flashed as he brought it down, diverting Saiko who was aiming for Kudo. Or rather, aiming for Kaitou Kid (where the hell had he come from?) since the thief had completely hidden Kudo from view while he took care of Kudo's restraints.
The gun fired as Heiji landed the back of his sword, breaking Saiko's hand and things got painfully chaotic for a few moments. Kaitou Kid had disappeared with Kudo. Ran was missing as well, no doubt following after the thief to ensure that Kudo was alright. Saiko was holding his gun with his other hand, seeing as how Heiji had rather sufficiently broken the first one. (This pleased Heiji more than he'd rather admit.) But Heiji himself toppled over because his body was on fire. The gun's discharge hadn't hit Kaitou Kid or Kudo, but it had gone right through his hip.
"Ow" didn't even begin to cover it as he hit the ground and rolled, hands instinctively dropping his sword to clutch at the wound. Pain was radiating from his hip outward, down his leg and up his torso; every twitch his body involuntarily made set his nerves on fire. Kendo mental training be damned, he grunted in the pain - it hurt, damn it. Cursing, he tried to angle himself to somewhere where it wouldn't keep shooting fire up his nervous system.
As a fan of samurai movies, he'd more than once seen someone take a serious blow and just shrug it off. "Just a scratch," the samurai would say with rich, masculine bravado, and all the viewer would see is a trickle of sweat and a circle of blood around the fabric. He decided it was a load of bull. His jeans were soaked in blood, to say nothing of his hands and his shirt, and blood was still spurting out of him, the wound burning with the fire of agony.
"Shit," he growled. He reached out blindly, and wrapped a bloody hand around his sword. He realized belatedly that in his rolling and writhing on the soft earth he'd rolled into Kudo's spilled bucket of blood. The urge to throw up warred valiantly with an urge to pass out.
Growling, anger at everything that was happening pumped adrenaline in his veins, and he surged to his knees, pain threatening to overwhelm him, trying to balance on his good leg and lunged forward, intent on catching Saiko before the shrink could escape. It appeared as though he'd never seen someone shot, Heiji observed, because he was staring in fascination as Heiji struggled to work through the continual explosion of pain. But the psychologist proved to be slippery. Perhaps returning to his senses, the shrink backpedaled, but not before Heiji swung his sword again, slicing part of Saiko's leg. It wasn't debilitating, but it would be enough to slow him down and leave a trail of blood for people to follow. The shrink ran/limped away while Heiji tried once more to get to his feet. Even if he had to crawl after the psychologist, he would not let him get away.
Kaito changed out of his secretary outfit as soon as he was on the roof of the school. Watching Hattori and the girlfriend run off to wherever the shrink lived, he was glad he had taken the chance to plant a tracker on the Osakan when he came up with the attendance rosters. Now wearing the guise of a teacher, he pulled out his disposable cell phone and dialed a number he knew, oh, very well indeed.
"Kaitou Kid Task Force, Nakamori-keibu speaking."
"Ah, keibu!" Kaito, in his Kid voice, said brightly. "Good to hear your voice!"
Static mixed in with the long string of curses.
"Now, now, keibu," he said in confident tones, "That's no way to greet a man who's going to ask for a favor."
"A favor??" the inspector cried out.
Kid kept his voice teasing. "First of all, I just wanted to reassure you that you're still one of my most favorite critics, and considering how many critics I have, please take it as a compliment." After he heard another litany of profanities, Kid put on a much more serious tone. "Keibu, I do have other favorites, and one of my critics is in serious trouble. The next time I call, make sure your people have the equipment set up to triangulate the call."
Hanging up before Nakamori could respond in any way, Kaito calmly but quickly went back to the stairwell and left the school, ducking into a side alley and taking a few turns before he found the fire escape he was looking for and hoisted himself up, climbing it easily and reaching the roof of a thirty story apartment building. Pulling out his tracer, he flipped open the screen to see where Hattori had gone. He was in Kid regalia, now, and was already hooking up his hang glider. The Detective of the West was in one location and holding steady. Good. Checking the winds, Kaitou Kid leapt off the opposite side of the building where the gales were the strongest. His timing proved excellent, thank Lady Luck, and within ten minutes he had circled his way to an altitude of over a hundred feet, floating about the streams of air like a fish in water. Ugh, bad metaphor. Again.
Looking at his tracer, he made his way northwest towards Hattori. He'd just made site of the building when his little device beeped, and, looking down at it, he saw that the girlfriend and the kendo kid were on the move again. Circling back behind them so as not to be seen (very few people indeed ever looked up; but they were friends of tantei-kun, so one never knew), he gave himself a few blocks of distance before following them. With his bird's eye view, he saw the small temple, a dark square in a city of sun-tinted buildings and rectangular shadows. Given what he remembered of the psychologist blessing balls, it made a perverse amount of sense, and so Kaitou Kid landed on the tiled roof of the temple, his hang glider folding in on itself and hiding under his cape.
A quick glance around found that the grounds were pretty simple: the temple itself he was standing on, sacred tree in the back, rock garden on east and west - it was the east garden, away from the sun, that Kid spotted two bodies in the shadows; one tall and one painfully, painfully small.
Kudo was shirtless in the late autumn air, and shoeless too - and oddity in the Phantom Thief's mind; did the shrink figure out the gimmick of the shoes? Pulling out binoculars and zooming in, Kid realized the horror of what was happening.
"Shit, he's bleeding into a bucket." His stomach turned and he ducked behind the roofline before he fought against the urge to retch. "Tantei-kun I have got to talk to you about that lack of self preservation."
Whipping out the cell phone and the earpiece he'd been using for Kudo's bug, he quickly adjusted the frequency to that of the tracer he'd put on Hattori, and then dialed Nakamori's number.
"Kid?!"
"Yo, keibu," he said in hushed tones to the inspector in one ear while he listened to Hattori and Ran's pleas in another. Good. "Hope you have recording equipment as well as the triangulation equipment, this little harangue might just be admissible in a court of law. Oh, and get here quick, my little critic isn't looking too good." He smiled, and put on a more singsong voice: "In the meantime, keibu, for this heist I'm going to steal some time."
Pulling the phone away from his ear, he placed it on the tiles and set his earpiece, volume up to full, next to the receiver and silently moved away. Poker Face in place, he filed through his inventory; hat and hidden pockets were full, as were normal pockets. He didn't have the time (re: days) to prep for anything big, but he could set up some rudimentary basics. Hattori could only stall so long, and frankly his priority was grabbing Kudo and whisking him off to safety, let the detectives do the arresting; it wasn't in a thief's job description, gentleman or otherwise.
Not that he wasn't thinking of some very creative ways to handcuff the bastard, not after seeing his best critic being drained of life's essence, thank you very much. He looked up to the rising moon. Tsukiyomi-sama, I'm calling in a favor from you, too.
Once he was done with set up, he slid back onto the roof and let himself be seen by Kudo; the teen-toddler's head kept rolling back, and there was no way he wasn't looking for any avenue of escape. His blue eyes widened; Kid could see it from his perch on the roof, and Kudo pulled his head back down. Was he planning something?
Kid had just pulled out a smoke bomb when, to his abject horror, he watched his tantei-kun kick over his precious bucket of blood and; while hardly squeamish, Kid found his Morbidity-Meter well beyond its limits. Time didn't allow him to be sick, though, and he took advantage of the diversion Kudo had generously (and stupidly) provided to leap down twenty feet, spinning around before bracing himself and tensing his legs on impact to absorb the energy. Cape glittering in the moonlight, he only needed a split second to assess the IVs in each arm before clamping them both and cutting off the one attached to the blood-thinner and picking up the painfully light child before taking off. "Safe at last..." the teen-toddler mumbled, making the Kid's ears suddenly burn. He heard a shot, and experience made him duck low, tuck and roll, before coming up running again.
Someone screamed in pain, and instincts for Everyone's-Safe asserted itself, but he overrode the impulse; if he didn't squirrel away Kudo somewhere safe and get him warm, he was going to be in serious trouble.
Skidding to a halt, Kaitou Kid ducked around behind the sacred tree, leaping over a giant root and crouching behind it, pulling out a black cloak and throwing it over himself, making him virtually disappear in the early evening.
Kudo was panting across his chest, his sweating skin ice cold. Up close, even in the shadows of the black cloak his skin was as white as could be. He looked like death, and for a brief moment Kaito remembered the news of his father, the terrible night he watched his mother cry and scream and wail, and Aoko crying silently beside him, holding his hand and hugging him and saying it would be okay.
Kaito held Shinichi close, a gloved hand on the back of the small boy's head. "It'll be okay, tantei-kun," he said softly, echoing his childhood friend. "You were right, you're safe now."
A twig snapped, and Kid put his Poker Face back on quickly and scrunched himself even lower. Kudo's gasping was loud in the thief's sensitive ears, and he hoped it wasn't as loud as it felt.
"Conan-kun? Conan-kun?" That was the girlfriend's voice.
Kid paused; leave her to worry, or risk being seen by the psychologist?
"Conan-kun!"
Softie.
Grunting silently, he tugged at his black cloak away from his head and lifted himself enough to see over the giant root. There was Ran, frantically looking around, her winter coat flapping open as she darted first in one direction, and then another, head swiveling this way and that. Frowning, Kid did some quick geometric calculations while his free hand pulled out a mirror and a penlight. Angling himself quite carefully, he turned the penlight on in three quick blinks, three long ones, and then three quick blinks; Morse code for SOS. His math was correct, it shown right on her face, and she came to a full stop, looking around for the source of the light. Kid flashed his signal again, and Ran soon pinpointed the source.
She had enough intelligence to check to see if anyone was following her before jogging over. Hopping over the root, she squinted her eyes to the darkness of the shadows before recognizing the white top hat.
Unprepared for what happened next, Kid couldn't hold back a yelp of surprise as Ran, faster than he ever would have guessed, shot her hand out and grabbed his throat.
"Where is he?" she demanded, her eyes fierce in the shadows.
Tsukiyomi offered her favor at that moment, though, and let her moonlight peek through the branches of the sacred tree, showing Kudo's pale features, whiter than even the Kid's immaculate suit. Then Lady Luck graced Kid with her presence, and Kudo opened his eyes.
".......... Ran..." he whispered, his voice sounding more childlike than when he ever tried to play a child.
"Sh..." words failed her.
".... 's....... okay. He's..... okay."
At last, the girlfriend released her grip, and Kid let in an explosive and over-desired gasp of air.
"Geez," he whispered, rubbing his abused neck. "No wonder Kudo picked you."
Her blue eyes snapped to him, questioning, but only briefly before she reached out and took tantei-kun out of his hands greedily. Even Kid had to admit, she was beautiful in her concern, and Kaito found himself thinking of Aoko and wondering where that thought had come from. Back on track, thief-boy...
"Your coat," Kid whispered, "He needs to keep warm."
Ran nodded, shrugging off her coat and wrapping it gently around Kudo.
".... Where's... Hattori...."
"He went after Saiko-sensei," Ran whispered, holding her beau close. "I don't know what happened."
"I'll go check," Kid offered softly, poking his head out again to spy if anyone was around. This was also classic magician-misdirection as he grabbed the wire he'd set up on his initial sweep. With his free hand, he carefully tossed the black cloak over the two of them. "Stay low, stay quiet. And Mouri-kun," he added, a playful smirk on his face. "Hold him tight. I think he likes it."
Her utterly confused look was worth it as he tapped the button on the wire's grip, zipping him up into the tree where he disappeared into its branches. It was two leaps and a quick jog back to the rock garden to see if he could pick up a trail.
Leaping down as he had not ten minutes earlier, he gaped when he saw a blood covered Hattori trying to crawl along. The Morbidity-Meter wasn't just beyond its limits, it was shattered completely.
"Kid..." he grunted. "I got 'is leg; there shou' be a trail o' blood. Catch th' bastard..." He winced in pain.
"Where were you hit?" Kid asked slowly, kneeling down. God, there was so much blood; he was going to be sick!
"Hip," Hattori replied, face laced with pain and anger. " 'm no good ta Kudo like this..."
Kid offered a smile. "Next time I'm in Osaka, I'll send you a personal invite," he said simply. "Stop struggling, tantei-han, I'll go steal some more time."
Standing up, he turned around and saw the trail the wounded detective had made.
No One Gets Hurt, but deep in the walls of the Phantom Thief, Kaito was imagining some very creative ways to make the psycho psychologist explode in agony - ranging from magic bullets to miss-tied straight jackets to poisoned smoke bombs, handcuffs - yes, handcuffs, with iguanas, and chickens too; that sounded about right. But those kinds of thoughts always reminded him of his father, and that was ultimately why he would never hurt anyone. He couldn't stand the idea of causing a family and friends that kind of misery.
He followed the blood trail around to the front of the temple, drawing his card-gun as he did so, and watched as it led inside. Perfect. Tight places, corridors, and dim lighting, perfect for a phantom thief.
Kaitou Kid smiled.
Saiko limped into the temple, his hands still shaking. His mind was still working though, and he wasn't sure that would have ever happened after events fell apart so disastrously. Oh, he knew as soon as Champagne had approached him with this fascinating business venture that he was getting... involved... in things he heretofore never thought of. He had purchased the black-market gun for that exact reason - to be prepared and to protect himself.
That never prepared a person for actually shooting someone.
Accident though it was, watching the Osakan fall to the ground as blood spurted out of his hip pushed buttons he didn't like; and why didn't his hands stop shaking? Even the broken one wouldn't stay still, and it was sending shockwaves of pain up his arm.
"Saiko-kun, what was that noise just now?"
To his own surprise, Saiko saw his hand with the gun rise to aim at the elderly man. The priest's eyes doubled in size in a comedic shock take that didn't sit right in the psychologist's head.
"Things are getting a little messy outside, sir," Saiko said politely, giving an award-winning smile. He watched as, even with the gun pointed at his chest, the monk involuntarily relaxed under the gaze before tensing up again. It was, perhaps, Saiko's greatest weapon. "I recommend hiding."
The monk quickly disappeared, down the hall and into a private room. Good, Saiko knew where to go for a hostage if necessary. Now, forward thinking: what happened after he got out of this? His time in therapy had given him quite a wealth of resources. There was the politician who confessed while raging in his office that he'd killed his wife; the idol singer who didn't want her long-since-over drug habit ever discovered, the banker who confessed that he'd cheated on his wife multiple times. Opportunity was something that knocked on his door several times over the years, and now it was time to call in his favors.
The banker first, to get money; the idol next, to have a place to hide; and the politician last, to get him out of the country. Oh, and a call to the engineer, for the new identity. Then... America first, perhaps England; yes, that sounded good. That should keep him hidden from not only the disaster of his life, but also from the Black Organization. He couldn't look to them; they were no doubt taking steps to set him up as the fall guy.
Plan decided on, Saiko could focus on the more immediate goals: getting out of here with a broken arm. He was fortunate that none of all that ghastly blood landed on him; if he worked fast enough he could check into a hospital and have his arm set before the cops started checking them.
"Yo, shrink-sensei!"
The voice stopped all train of thought in the psychologist's head. He spun around, looking for the Western Detective.
"Saiko-sensei, how could you do this?"
That was from his right, but swiveling his head he didn't see any sign of Ran-kun.
"Psycho-sensei," little Conan-kun's voice whispered, almost right in his ear, and that freaked the older man, making him jump and spin around, but still no one was there.
"Where are you?" he demanded.
"Ya hadda go 'n' shoot me, didn' cha?" Left.
"Why did you do that to Conan-kun?" Above.
"There's so much blood on your hands." Behind.
"D' ya really think ya c'n get outta this?" Right.
"I'll never forgive you!" Behind again.
"Do you really hate children that much, sensei?" Above again.
Saiko was almost completely turned around now, trying to locate where the Kaitou Kid was - because he knew there was no way Edogawa could be talking, and likely there was no way Hattori could be up and walking around; but damn if he didn't sound just like them.
"I know it's you, Kaitou Kid," he called out, taking a step back, trying to gain the upper hand. "I must admit; you were a surprise. How is it that you got involved? You're known by your fans for never letting anyone get hurt, did you glide across this on your way to a heist and feel compelled to interfere? That all implies," he added, hearing no response and wanting to squelch the ringing of adrenaline in his ears, "that you've had a negative experience with violence, likely someone close to you being hurt. Was it family? Your mother? Your father?"
Then, "Na, sensei, may I ask you a question?"
And that voice surprised him more than any of the others. "Kudo-kun?!"
But the voice continued unhindered. "What makes you think you know anything about anybody?"
Then there was the sound of the shot of a gun, only it didn't sound quite right, and Saiko watched as a card embed itself in his own gun, at least three centimeters into the barrel. Damn, there went his only weapon. His hands were shaking violently now, and the pain in his broken arm was sending shockwaves up his nervous system, making it hard to concentrate.
There was a light popping sound, and suddenly he was encased in smoke. Saiko coughed and sputtered, his body shuddering under the offensive odor and he could feel the presence of the Kaitou Kid circling him, closing in for the... he wouldn't kill, but Saiko didn't want to guess what someone as unpredictable as the Kid would do.
Hostage. Now.
Stumbling, Saiko fumbled through the smoke, still coughing as his eyes watered against the irritants in the gases assaulting him. Unable to see clearly, he banged into a wall, jarring his broken arm and gasping as pain shrieked up his arm and right to the pain center of his brain. Disoriented, he spun around and tried to back up away from the smoke. He thought he saw a shadow of white, and he ducked back further. Finally getting his wits about him, he recognized he was in the right hallway, and so he spun around and plowed down the hall.
Slinging open the door, he found the elderly monk cowering in a corner under a blanket. Snorting at the cowardice, he ripped the blanket off, causing the old man to whine, and dug his good hand under the older man's arm, yanking him up.
"Sorry, old friend," he said softly, shocked at how calm his voice was. "This isn't how I expected to repay you for all the help you gave me at school."
"There is still time, Saiko-kun," the old priest sniveled. "I won't say a word, I promise!" He actually shriveled away from the man he'd watched grow up.
"Unfortunately, that won't help, old man," Saiko said, still the picture of calm even though listening to Kid's impersonation of Kudo's voice had disturbed him greatly. "I've left a little too much evidence. One thing you can do, however," he added, "is keep me safe from a certain madman."
Tugging and pulling, Saiko went back out into the hall, angling the old priest in front of him.
"Kaitou Kid, where's your card-gun now, eh?" he called out.
The shadows didn't reply.
"Lost your voice now, haven't you?" he shouted. "Hate violence right? What if I told you I could snap his neck if I wanted to?" The priest jolted at the comment, his struggles increasing but, old as Saiko was, the priest was older, and infinitely feebler.
"Well, you've certainly got my attention," Kid responded, his voice seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere.
"I find it interesting that you only show respect to people who hold power over other people's lives," Saiko said slowly, trying to edge for the door. It was damn difficult with the old priest struggling as he was; the psychologist was tempted to just dump him in favor of running - but he knew as soon as he did Kid would take him down. Why the hell had an international thief gotten involved in this?
"It's quite the opposite, really," Kid replied, a dry chuckle of confidence in his voice. "I only respect people who respect life."
"Then you should take no issue with me," Saiko said evenly, his nerves finally calming down. Talking he could do, he was more than amply trained to talk. "I respect life more than the people you steal from."
"Oh? Yet you're willing to snap an old man's neck?"
Saiko snorted. "Like you haven't had your back against a wall. Look at my work, Kid, I'm a clinical psychologist - my research can only benefit people."
"Oh, yes, there's that," the voice replied with an undercurrent of sarcasm. There was still no sign of him anywhere; perfectly content, it seemed, to hide in the shadows. "But then," he added in much more serious tones, "you fail to realize the amount of hurting you do to your experiments. That,"
There was a sudden hissing sound and the crackle and pop of... fireworks? This late in the year? His ears rung from the sudden loud noise.
"is something,"
Sirens could be heard in the distance, only in Saiko's ringing ears.
"I can never forgive."
And Kid's voice was coming from the priest, who suddenly stood up straight and spun out of the psychologist's grasp, flinging his robes off to reveal the Kaitou Kid, monocle hiding one of his furious blue eyes. The card gun appeared in his gloved hand, leveling itself to Saiko's chest. "In fact," he said in low tones. "I hate the idea so much that I might just turn violent myself."
At last, Saiko's mind went blank.
"What--"
The gun was cocked, Saiko's eyes focusing intensely on the gun in hand, as the finger slowly, oh so slowly, squeezed on the trigger. In slow motion, Kid fired the gun and instead of a bullet or a card, a net made out of ribbons and scarfs flew out of it, pounding into Saiko's chest so hard the air rushed out of him, and the weighted ends spun around themselves, interweaving and knotting, to say nothing of their weight dragging him backwards and making him land first on the elbow of his broken arm and then on his back. He shouted in pain of the aggravated wound, but the Phantom Thief looked on impassively, no compassion in his eyes at all. If anything, he calmly checked his watch.
"I think I've stolen enough time," he said lightly, adjusting his contentiously large top hat. "Enjoy your life in prison."
And, with a puff of smoke, he was gone.
Ran shivered under the black cloak that Kaitou Kid had given them to hide under. While made of a heavy material, it couldn't stop the wind from slicing through. She angled her back to the chill breeze and did her best to keep Shinichi covered by both her coat and herself. Her detective had passed out again, shortly after Kid had disappeared into the tree, and he did not look or sound good in the slightest. There had been no sounds other than Shinichi's labored breathing; no sign of Hattori, Kid, or Saiko. So Ran stayed hidden, holding her detective close to her.
"... Ran..."
"Sh...Conan-kun!" She was going to have to get used to referring to Shinichi as Conan-kun while in public. In some ways, that was very easy, and in others, it was extremely difficult. "Are you alright?" Dumb question.
"... tired.... hard to focus......" He managed a deep controlled breath before returning to gasps. "... Hattori?"
"I don't know. I haven't heard anything since Kid-san left."
Shinichi gave a small nod, his worn face dark with worry. "Hattori... he was... the first one... that got close..." His bleary eyes looked up at her, breath still coming out in gasps. "... Sorry... you... should have been... first..."
Emotions too varied to name welled up in Ran. She wondered how many realizations like this she'd be making, now that she knew everything. That Hattori was the first one that Shinichi had let past his "Conan" exterior; it was a deep sting of betrayal in her heart; even though she knew it wasn't by choice, even though she knew it was because Shinichi - dear, beloved, stupid Shinichi - was trying to keep her safe the only way he knew how. Then another realization hit her, as she traced back in time to when they first met Heiji, and how long "Conan-kun" had been alone up until then, and a different wellspring of emotions overtook the first set, and she felt so much compassion for her detective that she pulled his cold body closer to her.
The small form of a boy lifted his head, eyes squinting. "Sirens.... are coming..."
Ran gave a watery smile. "You always had better hearing than me, Conan-kun."
A tiny laugh. "... Heh... Not worth... a damn..... compared to.... your karate..."
She hugged him tighter. "Mou..." she grumbled through unshed tears. "You dumb mystery-otaku. You scared the wits out of me."
".... Sorry... Ran.... Didn't.... mean to....."
"I know you didn't." Ran held back a sob as she ran a hand through his hair. "This is merely an adjustment. Adjustments take some time and have some rumples along the way."
"... Some.... rumple.... this is...." Shinichi mumbled through gasps of breath.
"Good to see you're still with us, tantei-kun."
Ran instinctively leaned forward, covering the tiny form in her arms with as much of herself as possible before she recognized the voice.
"Kaitou Kid?"
A white figure dropped down gracefully from the branches above them. "In the flesh, milady," he said with a wide grin and elaborate bow.
The wail of sirens drew closer and closer.
"If you don't mind, I think I'll take my cloak back now. As a proper Gentleman Thief, I must be on my way."
Ran scowled at the international thief. How could he sound so upbeat after everything that happened? Shinichi stirred in her arms, levering himself up with strength he didn't have.
"Kid... How's.... Hattori?"
The grin disappeared completely. "He'll live, Kudo. But Saiko shot him in the hip while I was getting you to safety."
Ran gasped as she felt the not-child in her arms tense.
"Don't worry, tantei-kun. He was still crawling after that... man before I took up the chase."
The tension eased but didn't disappear. "And Saiko-sensei?" Ran asked, unconsciously stroking Shinichi's back in an attempt of reassurance. "Shouldn't we make sure he's--"
"Oh he won't be going anywhere," Kid smiled broadly. "I stole all the time we needed, but I can't exactly return something like that. So instead, I gave something else back to the police. One gift-wrapped... person."
Shinichi gave a small nod before he fell limp again. Ran hugged him close.
"Tantei-kun?"
"He'll be fine," Ran replied, smiling at the small form in her arms. "Kid-san. I really can't thank you enough. I don't know how I'll ever repay you for this."
Kid knelt down and kissed one of her hands, exuding charm. "Such a gentle smile, milady, is all the thanks a gentleman ever requires."
From the entrance of the temple, a voice was starting to yell out a long string of curses that seemed determined to scorch the very earth.
"Ah, I think that's my cue to disappear."
Ran nodded, the black cloak around her and Shinichi disappearing in a puff of smoke before a final bow made the Phantom Thief 1412 disappear in a mist of pink smoke. She waited a moment, holding her precious, precious detective close to her, and giving the thief a chance at a head start. She owed him that much at least.
"Ran-kun!"
She turned her head. That sounded like Inspector Megure. But how did he know they were at the shrine? Never mind, one thing at a time. While Kaitou Kid had said that Saiko was under wraps, she wasn't going to just go about like everything was fine. Not with Shinichi still gasping for air, not until she was with Megure or she had seen that Saiko was no longer a threat. So, getting her freezing legs under her and standing, she carefully left the enclosed roots of the sacred tree and started to make a stealthy approach to the collected officers. Her coat fell slightly, slipping off one of Shinichi's bare shoulders; she shifted his tiny amount of weight to free an arm to fix the situation and covered him more thoroughly with her coat. Meanwhile, she saw the Inspector's trench coat, bright in the moonlight, as the heavyset man scanned the area, the taller form of Takagi behind him.
Ran snuck closer, hiding behind shrubs and walls of the temple in order to avoid notice by wherever Saiko had hopefully been detained.
"I know Kid was here!" a new male voice, a tall man Ran vaguely recognized as the voice with the vocabulary, had appeared. He was giving Megure a gleeful look for some reason. "Sorry Inspector, Kaitou Kid is here, and he's my catch as head of the Kaitou Kid Task Force, not yours! So butt out, this is my jurisdiction!"
Megure scowled harshly. "I beg your pardon, Inspector Nakamori, but I got a call from the Osakan detective Hattori Heiji about a child who had apparently been spirited away to this location. Now if you'll excuse me, as head of the Major Crimes Unit, this makes it my jurisdiction."
Nakamori chomped down hard on his pipe, looking almost like he would burst as his face got redder and redder. "I got a call from Kid himself. He's here, so back off!"
"Inspector," Megure growled with a flat stare, "I have to conduct a search, now would you and your Task Force please leave."
"Like hell!" Nakamori shouted, making men from both MCU and the Task Force back away. "I'm searching the grounds for that bastard of a thief!"
Ran had had enough. She was close enough, and if they were going to bark about jurisdiction, they had time to give Shinichi the help she needed.
"Inspectors!" she called out, stepping around the corner and into the moonlight. "Help me!" she shivered in the cold air. "Kaitou Kid has Saiko-sensei tied up around here somewhere! Get him out of here and call an ambulance!"
"Ran-kun?" Megure asked, a raised eyebrow. He and Takagi rushed forward while Nakamori barked to his men to find this gift-wrapped shrink. "Are you hurt?"
She rushed between the two Inspectors and shifted her coat, pulling it back to reveal the panting and pale not-child in her arms. "Saiko-sensei had him bleeding into a bucket!"
Jaws all around dropped. Nakamori's pipe fell from his lips; Megure's eyebrows disappeared under his hat, Task Force and MCU officers crowded around to see the tiny form of Conan.
"Conan-kun!" Megure shouted, leaning forward.
Nakamori turned to his men. "Find that son of a bitch now!"
Takagi, ahead of them, already had his phone out and was calling for an ambulance in a panicked voice.
"Where's Hattori-kun?" Ran asked, feeling Conan, Shinichi, stir in her arms. "Kid-san said he was shot in the hip--"
"Saiko-sensei..." Shinichi breathed, his head lolling back. Both Inspectors looked down. "... he was poisoning... the kids... I got... too close... and he..." but his eyes closed again.
"Please!" Ran begged, looking at both of the Inspectors. "Do something!"
The two men gave appraising glares at each other, "jurisdiction" radiating off of both of them. It faded under Ran's pleading look to them both, and they gave the great sigh of the defeated. Megure turned to his assistant.
Takagi responded to his unspoken question. "And ambulance will be here in six minutes," he said.
"And Hattori-kun?" Ran asked.
"'Hattori-kun'?" Nakamori asked. "That Osakan detective you mentioned, Inspector Megure?"
Men! "Kid-san said he was shot in the hip," Ran repeated, frustrated. "Is he alright?"
"Nakamori-keibu!" a new face appeared, one Ran didn't recognize; he was white in the moonlight. "There's a teenager, he's covered in blood!" He then threw up on the spot.
"Rookie," Nakamori muttered, marching off in the direction the Task Force member had come from. He paused long enough to turn around. "You coming?" he demanded, his voice dripping in polite overtures. Ran was already moving, however, and Megure and his team were hard pressed to keep up. The rookie joined them, taking even pace with Ran as they backtracked to the east garden.
Ran very nearly fainted at the sight of it. Hattori was covered in blood, chest to knees, and he kept writhing, unable to stay still as pain seemed to keep shooting though his body. Shiratori was with him, kneeling down gingerly with a hand on the Osakan's shoulder.
"Calm down," he was saying in his traditional monotone.
"Not 'til I know how he is!" Hattori was shouting. He moved to get up again and fell back, grunting in pain. "Shit this hurts."
"Hattori-kun!!" Ran called out, jogging up to him with the limp Shinichi in her arms.
"Nee-chan!" he cried back, working himself to his elbows. "How'z he?"
"He keeps going in and out," she said, kneeling down by Shinichi's best friend. "Look at you! There's so much blood!!"
"Ain't all mine," Hattori replied, morbid grin on his face as a trickle of sweat ran down his forehead. "Somehow got mixed up 'n K-Conan'-kun's blood."
"... Hattori..." Everyone froze when Conan opened his eyes a sliver again. His unfocused blue gaze fell in the Detective of the West's direction. "... 'm sorry..."
Then,
"Ahou!!" Anyone who knew the Osakan rolled his or her eyes. Even the rookie gave a snort of amusement. "When ye're conscious enough I'm gonna yell yer ears off fer this stunt! Knockin' over yer own bucket o' blood fer a distraction!"
"Nakamori-keibu," the rookie said, looking distinctly green, "may I...?"
The taller Inspector rolled his eyes. "You've already contaminated the crime scene, go watch the perimeter or something."
The rookie nodded and turned to leave, giving Ran one last look and one distinctly Cheshire grin. Her eyes widened, was that--?
A new set of sirens could be heard, and at last she could relax, because now her dear Shinichi could get help. Hattori sensed it as well, because he finally allowed himself to be pushed to the ground, muttering, "Kazuha's gonna kill me..."
The overriding priority for the police and the Task Force both was to get the two injured civilians taken care of. Megure, more familiar with those involved acted as spokesman. Nakamori watched for several minutes before nodding, giving the trio a look of sympathy before motioning for his men to head back into the temple.
The EMT that looked at Shinichi quickly and methodically removed the IV lines in both of his elbows, taping them both shut while asking questions. Ran answered as best she could, but Hattori seemed to be of better use; as he explained that Conan was likely filled with anti-coagulants and blood thinners, and that he'd been losing blood slowly for around two hours. Shinichi opened his eyes again, and offered an approximation of how much blood he'd lost before drifting off again, and even the seasoned EMT couldn't hold back a widening of the eyes and a frown of disapproval.
The men in charge of Hattori did not have so pliable a charge; he kept twitching, every movement causing him pain, and the idea of an anesthetic was rejected whole sale. "Ahou!" he'd shouted, "Not 'til ya take care o' th' kid!"
"Sir, we're doing that now," the EMT had said.
"Then where's th' blood bags?" Hattori demanded. "He needs - ow! Stop pokin' that! - He needs pints o' blood!"
Ran tried to step in, "I have the same blood type as Conan-kun, you can--"
"Kudo'd kill me if I letcha do that!" Hattori replied, spinning his angry green eyes around to her. "Ya jus' got outta th' hospital fer bein' poisoned over this case!!"
A younger EMT muttered under her breath, "Can't we just knock him out?"
Things eventually settled down, and Ran was just about to get into the ambulance with her precious charge when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Kid inspector, Nakamori, stomp out of the temple, assistants dragging Saiko-sensei in multi-colored rope and Sato keeping a firm grip on Saiko's handcuffs with a furious eye.
Hattori, insomuch as he was able, tried to lung out of his stretcher. "That's him!! That's th' guy!"
Ran, more mobile than he, could only see red as she stormed out of the ambulance, her focus narrowing as she took a deep breath. She heard Megure's cries but only distantly; the only thing she could comprehend was that it was this man who had hurt her beloved Shinichi, and Hattori, and Kazuha, and Ayumi-chan and Genta-kun and Mitsuhiko-kun, and all the children, and who knew whom else. This man had worked with an organization of people who dealt in death and harm. This man had poisoned the students of Conan's elementary school, and was guilty (if by association if nothing else) for poisoning Kazuha. This man had shot Hattori, and this man had made Shinichi watch himself bleed. This man had a lot coming to him. And Ran was just the person to deliver what was coming.
"Ran-kun!" Megure called.
"Ran-chan," Sato said, getting in front of the coming karate champion. "Calm down, it wouldn't be a good idea to--"
Ran swiftly ducked around the female officer and every Task Force member between her and the deranged psychologist with the grace of her discipline in martial arts. When she reached the shrink, Saiko was pale and unable to defend himself with his hands cuffed behind him and wrapped in scarves and colorful ribbons.
This man had earned some retribution.
"Haaaaaah!" It was a perfect spin kick, with the full force aiming right for the shrink's pale, frozen face.
It was only one voice that made the red film of her vision clear.
"Ran!"
The foot stopped millimeters from the nose. Saiko fell backward with a muffled cry of pain from his arm. Ran's face went blank as she lowered her kick. She turned slowly, looking through all the officers that she had sidestepped to the ambulance where one small child was gasping for breath in the arms of an EMT, slumped forward, sweat streaming down his face, and looking her in the eye.
"Conan-kun," she whispered. The far away child nodded and let the EMT push him back to the stretcher.
Ran turned and looked down at the school psychologist. Saiko looked up at her, and offered a friendly smile. "Go ahead, Ran-kun," he said quietly. "You're better at nurturing children than karate any day of the week."
"Keep up that psycho-babble, and I'll finish Ran-chan's kick," Sato retorted, roughly pulling up the shrink to standing again.
Ran ignored them and rushed back to the ambulance. Shinichi was far more important.
Author's Notes: Just the epilogue left to tie up some loose ends. Thus, Psycho-sensei is taken down through a combined effort of Conan-kun trying to unhinge him, Hattori doing some physical damage, and Kid tiying things up. Nice team work. Hn, anyone notice how Shinichi and Kaito got a little closer this chapter? One wonders how this will affect their future.... ^_^ After all, we do have sequels planned. And we're both rather fond of the whole jurisdiction battle between Nakamori- and Megure-keibu. Poor Hattori. His twitching keeps making us cringe. We hope that this also appeases the bloodthirsty fans out there, even if getting shot is rather blah after a while.
See ya next week!