Hey there, Andie here. I have no way to apologize enough for the insane wait for this chapter. This chapter was specialy hard for me to write, I wasn't really sure how to order certain events, this is also my first year in college so it's been crazy and to top it off my laptop almost dies and I had no backup for this story, but luckily I managed to fix it and everything is fine now. As always, bless the soul of all of you who put up with me and all of you who fave/follow my story. Now, without further ado, please enjoy!
Chapter 20: One Step Closer
The bespectacled boy yawns into his hand as he sits from the couch. After brushing his teeth, Conan walks to the kitchen where he finds Haibara making coffee and frying eggs on a pan.
"Morning." He greets, sitting by the counter.
"Morning." She yawns softly and puts a coffee mug in front of him. The boy mutters a thank you before sipping the contents of the cup. He sighs contently. Ran never lets him have coffee back at the agency.
"And the Professor?" Conan asks.
"He's still asleep," The girl gives him his plate and sits across him with her own. "I don't think we'll see him until we come back from school. He's out cold."
"We'll talk with him then." He nods. "Itadakimasu." Their breakfast consists of eggs fried in butter, two slices of whole wheat bread and sliced apple. It wasn't your conventional breakfast but it was really good.
After getting ready, they walk to school together. While Haibara still looks tired, Conan is glad it's at least more like her usual tired. Being a biochemist genius she should know how lack of sleep kills you slowly. If he didn't know any better he would say she did it on purpose just to get on his nerves.
"How is your leg doing?" He asks, signaling the bandage on her calf.
"It's doing alright." She dismisses it with a shrug.
"Conan-kun! Ai-chan!" The shrunken teens turn to see Ayumi running towards them, Genta and Mitsuhiko close behind.
"Hey." Conan greets. "Good morning." Haibara nods.
"Good morning!" The three children chorus.
The Detective Boys chat the rest of the way. They soon arrive to their classroom and take their seats. It's a pretty uneventful day and classes pass without trouble. The hours seem to last forever and by the fifth period Conan couldn't be more bored. To top it off the teacher is explaining the three stages of matter. The boy sighs and turns to his side, planning to comment about it to Haibara, only to stop dead on his tracks.
Conan blinks away his surprise as he sees the shrunken chemist asleep on her seat, using her arms as a makeshift pillow, somehow managing to hide from the teacher's sight behind the kids in front of them. Up close, the boy notices the dark circles under her eyes.
He sighs and raises his arm above his head. The teacher addresses him, "What is it, Edogawa-kun?"
"Can I take Haibara to the infirmary? She isn't feeling well." He says in a soft, childish tone. The teacher finally notices how the girl is resting her head low on the desk and asks Conan to please deliver her.
Conan shakes her shoulder gently and her eyes flutter open. She looks slightly confused at first, probably not even realizing she fell asleep in class. As her eyes land on him, he explains in a low whisper, "Come on. I told the teacher you're not feeling well. I'll take you to the infirmary so you can rest."
A flicker of embarrassment crosses her face before getting serious again. She nods wordlessly and they stand. Conan shoulders her backpack and both leave the classroom quietly.
As they go through the hallways, Haibara lightly holds the boy's shirt brim and he turns to look at her. He soon realizes this is just to guide herself, as she lowers her head slightly, yawning silently and rubbing her thumb and index finger over her eyelids for a moment before blinking a few times and letting go of him.
Conan opens the door to the infirmary but it's empty. He puts Haibara's backpack beside the bed as she jumps to reach the edge of the mattress. He closes the door and walks to an armrest chair besides a writing desk.
"Are you going to stay here?" Haibara asks as she starts putting the thin covers over herself.
"Yeah. Class's ultimately boring today, anyways." He sits on the armrest chair and flips out his phone without looking at her.
"Okay." Is her only reply as she lies on her side by the edge of the bed, closing her eyes without further ado.
The boy looks through the news but there's only one event everyone's talking about. Kaito KID's heist tomorrow night. People's going nuts for another heist after the shooting issue. He clicks an article describing the next target. The Eye of Paradise, a pear-sized fine-quality alexandrite, is currently on the Tokyo National Museum exhibit of rare gemstones. This gem is extremely valuable not only because alexandrite is one of the rarest and most expensive gemstones in the world, but because only three other fine-quality alexandrites of this size have ever been found throughout history.
The bell rings signaling the end of school hours and the Detective Boys run to the infirmary, worried as neither of their friends returned to class.
"Let's hurry!" Genta rushes, hauling over Conan's backpack that was left on the classroom.
"Yeah!" Ayumi says, "Hm!" Mitsuhiko nods.
The freckled boy comes to a stop in front of the infirmary and opens the door. "Ah… hello!" Greets the nurse, "Are you here to fetch your friends?"
The three children enter the room and see Haibara under the covers, sleeping on her side by the edge of the bed, and Conan far apart on the other side of the bed, asleep over the covers with his arms resting on his abdomen and his head leaning slightly to the side, his glasses and phone over the side table.
"When I returned from the restroom, these two were in here. The girl hasn't moved since I arrived and the boy fell asleep on my armrest chair, probably playing some games on his phone." The nurse starts explaining, "I recognized these two from the theater bombing yesterday I saw on the news, so I let them rest. I took the boy and laid him on the bed. I put his phone and glasses on the table."
"I see. Thank you very much." Mitsuhiko bows with a shy smile, Ayumi bowing her head.
"Oi! You guys! School's over, we have to go home!" Genta exclaims, putting his hands on the edge of the mattress. Both sleeping kids jump awake by the sudden noise, Conan almost falling off.
"Genta-kun!" Ayumi and Mitsuhiko chide.
"What the- !?" The boy exclaims, turning to look at the Detective Boys. Haibara just sighs with exasperation, sitting and taking the covers off herself. Conan is confused for a moment. What is he doing in the bed?
"I put your glasses and phone in the table." The nurse explains, mistaking his confusion by his apparent need for his spectacles.
"A-ah…! Thanks…!" The boy says, pressing a hand on his face. He hadn't even realized he didn't have his glasses on.
"Ai-chan, are you alright?" Ayumi asks the blonde as they walk home.
"Yes, I'm better now." The other reassures with a small smile. "I was just a little dizzy."
Haibara continues walking behind everyone without paying attention to the kids, looking nowhere with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Say, what if we go to the park after finishing our homework?" Mitsuhiko offers, "My sister got me a RC helicopter, and it has a video camera on it! We could try it out!"
Ayumi and Genta agree immediately, wanting to try the contraption as soon as possible.
"I don't think I can. I'll try to get some rest after getting my homework done." Haibara says.
"I pass as well." Conan rises his hand.
"Aww…" The brunette girl sighs.
"Well, maybe when you are feeling better we can use it again." Mitsuhiko says hopefully.
"Thank you, Tsuburaya-kun." The blond smiles lightly, nodding her head.
The two shrunken teens soon arrive to the house of Professor Agasa. Haibara heads to her room as soon as she steps inside the residence, asking not to be disturbed while she rests.
"Professor," Conan says in a low voice after Haibara is out of earshot, "We need to talk about something." This catches Agasa's attention quickly.
"What is it?" The old man whispers.
"That bombing man, Miura," the boy starts seriously, "He knew about Sherry."
Haibara turns around her bed again, unable to sleep anymore. Taking her cell phone from the nightstand, she checks the time. 3:42 p.m. Pocketing the phone, the shrunken chemist gets off the bed and heads for the door. Opening it quietly, she stops to listen. Conan and the professor are "whispering" to themselves behind her back. Again. Rolling her eyes, she closes the door behind her with a barely audible click and climbs the steps soundlessly. Slowing down while nearing the top of the stairs, she can see her two companions too busy talking to notice her. Not taking any chances, she quietly sneaks out through the back door.
Reaching the street, the girl exhales a breath of relief, glad neither of them saw her. Glancing quickly at the time again, she starts walking down the sidewalk. A few moments later she arrives to the main street, where she grabs a cab. She arrives at her destination in 20 minutes. Paying the cab, she hops off.
She just sighs and approaches the house in front of her. She rings the intercom and waits, reading the name plate above it. Kuroba.
"Yes?" comes the voice of a woman.
"Good afternoon. I'm…" she hesitates. Does Kuroba's mother even remember her name? She's just this random kid she met for a few hours. "I'm Haibara Ai."
"Oh! Ai-chan, right?" the woman recognizes, "Please come in!"
Haibara walks to the front door just in time for Chikage to open it. "I'm glad you came." Seeing the confusion in the girl's eyes, the woman elaborates. "You see, I think Kaito could use a friend right now."
If the wording and sad, knowing glint in the woman's eyes is anything to go by, Haibara is sure Kuroba's mother knows she's not just a normal little girl. Oddly enough, this neither surprised nor bothered the small chemist.
"Kaito is in his room." Chikage guides.
"Thank you." Haibara nods, and climbs the stairs, following the other's directions.
Standing in front of the half open door, she can see the magician sitting on his desk. One hand supporting his chin, the other absentmindedly twirling a card, his eyes lost farther away than just outside his window.
The shrunken teen slowly opens the door further, making her presence known. Kaito snaps around at the sound. "Ah, Kagakusha-chan!" he immediately exclaims with a grin, "What a nice surprise!"
"Hey." Haibara nods a greeting, closing the door behind her. "Are you alright?" she asks, direct to the point.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" he laughs with confusion, "I'm fine."
She only stares silently, the teen's grin slowly fading from his face, scratching his head awkwardly. Seeing this is getting him nowhere, he just closes his eyes, a deep sigh leaving his lips. His hand falls from the back of his head onto his lap, a sad smirk twists his face as his eyes meet up with hers. "It really is pointless to try and act around you, isn't it?"
"Good liars are also good at detecting lies." She responds softly.
He laughs bitterly and motions his bed with his hand. The girl walks forward and sits on the edge of the mattress. They stare at each other in silence for a moment. Kaito has never seen that look in her eyes before. It isn't her usually cold or guarded stare; it has understanding. She is really willing to listen, without judging or patronizing. He knows she lost someone very important to her. He knows her story, just as she knows his.
"I… I just… " he struggles with his words, squeezing the arms of the chair, his hair falling over his eyes, "I… can't take it out of my head… the smell of the smoke… the heat of the flames, the screams… t-the look… on his f-face-" he stops himself.
Haibara clutches the bed sheet, her jaw clenched. She can see the light tremors of his body.
"I remember… " he starts again, his voice steadier but softer, "We'd always go to this parlor after his shows…" a small, painful smile on his face. "I always asked for chocolate ice cream. He would give me a look, saying I wouldn't be able to sleep afterwards, but still bought it for me every time."
Kaito stays quiet after that. The shrunken girl lets go of the sheets and sighs silently through her nose, making her body relax.
"When I was 13 I returned to Japan, from my studies in America." Haibara starts, her eye on the bed, slightly startling the young magician by talking about her past, "I was immediately put under the wing of the organization and began my… work with them."
"I had to stay with them, but allowed me a full day with my sister a few times a month. Akemi would always take me to different places. She never liked how much I was sheltered, saying I needed to go out and experience what normal people did." She explained with a light smile.
"Where would you go…?" Kaito asked silently, instantly double taking. He didn't want to voice the question out loud. He knows Haibara is not one to talk about herself, even less about her sister. To his surprise the girl just turned to him and continued talking, a peaceful look on her face. They continued exchanging stories of the good times they shared with their loved ones. While Kaito still didn't feel up to beat, talking with Haibara was comforting. And the fact that the stoic chemist went out of her way to help him feel better, well, he is just glad he has someone to relate.
I hope you liked this chapter and if you did please feel free to leave a review, it really motivates me to keep writing. I'm still not completely sure about how I feel about this chapter, but I did my best.
Kameo1: Thanks for the support! I will add them when I can :) sorry for the long wait.
New Universe Returns: I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Elfen Children: Thank you so much! :)
Guest: Oh man, thank you so much! hahahaha XD I'm still working that out but don't worry ;D
XxThe-Crest-Of-AnibisxX: Thanks for the support, you'll soon find out :)
Loyal DC Fan: What really happened will be brought to light, don't worry. I started thinking this story up before the Mystery Train arc so, yeah, I guess it's before. And about Aoko XD well, I'm pretty much basing her off more from the actual manga, were she's actually supposed to be of high intellect as well but they just keep making her more stupid as the series progress Xd im not getting any influence from nonchalant lupin's aoko of course not haha..ha..
LittleFan: The he Haibara mencioned twice in the last parragraph is Gin. Sorry for the confussion.
TsunaMoe: To be 100% honest with you, I'm not sure anymore. When I started this story it was ment to end as Shinran, but my true ship has slowly been showing through XD
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? SHOULD I END THIS AS SHINRAN, COAI/SHISHIN OR PAIRLESS?
Jay: Haha thanks, I'll see what I can do about that ;)
Serulium: Hahahaha my number one fan! Congrats with the account! Thank you so much for your constant support, YOU are the one that leaves me fangirling while reading you reviews hahahahah
leena15amjad: Thank you! Hahahah sorry for the long wait xd
Loner Kid: Wow thanks for reading and reviewing every chapter! Yes, I have read the original Magic Kaito manga, as well as it's 'prototype' Nonchalant Lupin manga. I did this a very long time ago though, so I think I should reread them just in case I mess up the details xD
SilverSapphire34523, DCF, Chic White: Thank you ~ !