Chapter 20: The Worst Birthday To Ever Exist
On Saturday, Kiyoiri felt scared for the first time since she'd come to Tokyo. After the gunshots rang out, her mind was a blank. She couldn't remember anything except the blurred voice of Koji-kun calling her name, the feeling of wind blowing past her, and then... Waking up. It was really late in the morning when she had woken up though, so she had to rush to make it to Mitsuhiko's house like she'd promised earlier that week. He, Genta, and Ayumi wanted her to play video games with them, and, having 'grown up' with Jino (Not that she mentioned him), how could she say no? This would be fun!
-bzzzzzzt!- Kiyoiri pushed the doorbell and waited outside Mitsuhiko's house, eyes drifting around the building in the usual unconscious motion they did. It was harder to do this at 'her' house, because it was so big, but she'd noticed that most houses here were much much smaller really. The windows made bad exits on the second floor, save for the one that exited onto a small balcony- She could easily make it from there to the tree. Windows on the main floor were large, easy to get through, or be taken out through. She hoped there were curtains. The door was-
"Ah! Kiyoiri-chan! Please, come inside!" Kiyoiri looked back at the front door and smiled, following Mitsuhiko inside and taking her shoes off.
"Ano, what games will we be playing Mitsuhiko-kun?" They walked upstairs, soon coming to his room where both Ayumi and Genta were sitting in front of a small sized t.v., in front of which was a 'Wii' system. Taking a seat between the two as Mitsuhiko grabbed one of the controllers, she stared at the screen briefly. "...Fishing?"
Mitsuhiko nodded nervously. "Ah.. H-Hai... We were playing Okami while we waited.. We caught a really big fish though, would you like to see it?" Watching his friend nod in response, he took a seat and moved the 'wii-mote' over the screen until a gallery of fish appeared. "There- See? It's an oarfish!"
"Oarfish?" Kiyoiri blinked, looking from the screen to her friends, who also seemed clueless as to the specifics.
At least... Aside from Mitsuhiko, who was currently in 'elaborate' mode. "Yes. It's called 'oarfish' because of the two fins it has, which look like oars. It's the longest living fish in the world, but it isn't that good to eat... They live very deep in the ocean, and resurface when they're about to die, or if they're sick! Supposedly, they're the fish that inspired tales of sea-serpents and dragons!"
"Wuaaaaah... Cool..." When Kiyoiri got home that day, the oarfish and many of the other things she'd seen in the fish gallery was one of the constants left in her mind, the second being the message from last night. Eyes drifted over to the white rose in a glass jar while feeding Kero, and stayed there when she lay down in her bed. What if.. Something bad happened, she thought. What if something happened and Mitsuhiko-kun, Genta-kun, Ayumi-chan... Kira-chan, Ai-chan, her Otou-san... What if the 'Black Organization' got them? What if...
A knock came on her door. "Kiyoiri? Can I come in?"
"Ah.. Ok!" She nodded as she said this, even though she knew that her father wouldn't have seen the gesture. Watching the man come in, the girl sat up in her bed.
Taking a seat on the end of the bed, Shindou looked around the room before looking back at Kiyoiri. "I heard you had fun with your friends today. What did you do?"
"We played games mostly... I found out a lot about fish though!" For some reason, she couldn't quite get in the mood to talk about her day. Normally, when she came home, she'd go to her 'Tou-san instantly to tell him about her day but.. For some reason, she couldn't shake this feeling of fear... "Otou-san... If something bad happens, you'll always be there right?" Why did she ask this? It wasn't possible for him to help if he was at work when something happened right.."
Kiyoiri was met with a serious and honest face. "Of course!" He gave her a hug, the girl returning the embrace. "Of course, Kiyoiri... I will never let anyone hurt you..." Giving her one last squeeze, he stood up, a calm smile on his face yet again. "Now, it's getting late, and we have a lot of things to get ready for, neh? You're going to see where I work remember? Goodnight, Kiyoiri." Watching the girl nod before slipping deeper into her blankets, he left the room, flipping the light off as he did so.
The room fell silent... Kiyoiri stared at the ceiling of the room before slipping out of her bed and sneaking out of her room. Walking down the hallway, she slowly creeped into Koji's room and looked around hesitantly. Good, she thought to herself, no one was in there... Walking over to the other side of the room on her toes, she opened the top drawer and sighed mentally. Typical Koji-kun, putting things like this in plain sight.
There it was. The last pill. Grabbing it and hurriedly stuffing it in her mouth before swallowing, she slipped back out of the room after placing an unwrapped strawberry sweet in the pill's original position in the back, and shutting the drawer. Koji-kun may be able to smell better, but she knew that this would fool him. Both the pill and the candy smelled the same and looked the same when both were surrounded by plastic bag after all.
Laying back down in her bed, Kiyoiri smiled to herself and went to sleep. Now everyone would be safe... Now they would...
Darkness settled in outside, but on the other end of the cameras in the rooms, Okiya was no longer watching. He was too busy bandaging the wound he had on his arm, while writing a note that read 'Gone to visit relatives in Hokkaido, be back in a week'. He was too naïve... It seemed took more than skills to keep his position where it was.
It took a price that he wasn't about to pay as well. He grimaced as he slipped out of the room, the house, and eventually the street, keeping to the shadows as he eventually made his way to the house of the one who had ironically warned him of all this. How ironic... For catching a traitor, he was now seen as one...
It was a week after the warning from Kaitou Kid, and still no signs of action on the enemy's part. Things had settled down considerably, and oddly enough Ai and Conan's relationship seemed to have patched up to what it had been before April began through that very topic. On relaying the warning to Ai during a visit in the girl's lab (He couldn't shake the feeling of paranoia upstairs..), she herself seemed to burst with that unknown feeling again, her slightly red face turning away. When questioned about this later however, she simply said that she had eaten something odd, and then told him it was thoughtful to tell her to lie low for a while, but how much lower could she get without drawing attention exactly?
That was a good point really...
In any case, he thought to himself as cheerful cries of 'Happy Birthday!' surrounded him, at least nothing happened today either. That would really be bad. Being attacked on his birthday was not something he wanted to happen after all. (Even if they were celebrating it half a week after the actual event.) Still, mentally sighing again, nervously opened up the presents his friends had gotten him, wincing when Genta said 'You'll really like it!' He had a bad feeling about this somehow...
Before he could open the present however, there was a high pitched scream down the hall of the kareoke building that he, the Shonen Tantei, Ran, and Sonoko were all currently sitting in. It was hard to miss the glimmer that appeared in Conan's eyes as he ran towards the source of the scream, the old feeling that usually came at the scene of a crime in place. Adrenalin flowed through his body, reacting to the intense feeling of knowledge, knowledge of who, what, why...
And more importantly, how.
Outside the final room of the building, a janitor's closet, the manager of the building stared in shock, the small girl who had simply asked for a mop to clean up some spilled soda shuddering in fear. Not missing a beat, Conan immediately asked the manager if he knew the man. Meanwhile, Kiyoiri looked over at the other girl and went to comfort her. "Hey... It's ok, neh?"
"Ng.. Ng..." The girl simply stared off, shaking considerably until an ambulance and the police arrived, the former taking her away to treat for shock. The latter, in the meantime, found that yet again their job had been made slightly easier. As per Conan's instructions (At first questioned- Would you listen to a '9 year old' in a situation like this?), those who were also in the building at the time were gathered together, the only exception being the small girl's parents. After their fingerprints had been taken to the pair's incredible annoyance and rage, they had left to accompany their daughter in the ambulance.
The team that arrived seem a bit different at the moment, and for fairly important reasons. For one, Shiratori was missing, as he was on his honeymoon with Kobayashi- Though they really couldn't call her that now could they. Miwako Takagi, having married a year and a half ago, was also missing, though her reason was quite exciting for most- Her first child was due in a few months it seemed, so she was on leave. Her husband however, as well as Chiba and Megure, and a replacement officer were there, and within a few moments things were settled down slightly as Conan slipped around the group currently questioning the suspects on their whereabouts.
"Oiiiii, Megane..."
Conan jumped as a hand clapped his shoulder, glaring at Koji before turning back to the body, a horrifically disemboweled man by the name of 'Takemane, Ushio'. "Tch! Don't do that!"
Koji merely shrugged, looking over Conan at the body and wrinkling his nose. "Well, sorry if I don't know what it's like to zone out around a body, but I just thought you might want to know that this guy smells something fierce- I can't tell what it is, but I know for a fact that whatever it is isn't healthy. Though maybe if I get closer..." He walked around the boy, hands on his knees as he looked at the body. The man was dressed in a suit, his jacket unbuttoned and open wide, as were his arms. The man's palms faced up, and his fingernails were clear of anything but the blood that dripped from his dissected abdomen. Taking a cautious sniff, Koji drew back instantly and covered his nose with one hand, waving the air with his other. "Tch! Never mind, I'm not getting anywhere near that thing!"
"..." Well, that was impressive. Conan silently thanked the fact that scavenging birds didn't mind the smell of anything really, before rubbing his head with one hand. "Right... If you want to help, Hisoka, you could just figure out who the suspects we should worry about are while I look over this... The metropolitan police dept. has gotten more lax about me being here it's true, but if they found me examining the body right now, I doubt they'd approve. But I can't really focus on three different conversations and a body at the same time neh?"
Koji shrugged, moving past Conan. "You're assuming I can. Well, makes me look better in any case." He smirked, ignoring Conan's half-lidded glare before walking out of the dark closet. "All right, I got it... I'll go do some spying for you, but you owe me in the end, ne?" He cocked his head slightly, face tight with focus before he spoke. "...Your 'birthday' party is all cleared of course... You never left the room, the guy at the front desk can vouch for that. Since there's only one camera there though, your room is the only one under surveillance, or at least the door anyways... Seem's kinda unfair really..."
Catching Conan's unimpressed stare (He knew all this already...), Koji rolled his eyes and turned away from the closet to focus on listening in on everyone else, while the shorter one continued examining the body. The man's face was contorted with fear, his eyes frozen with the emotion of shock, surprise... He was caught off guard, the boy thought. One of his hands was slightly cupped, as though it had been holding something. Looking to the side of it, Conan walked over to where he saw a small dented and cut plastic bottle, the area surrounding it clear. It also smelled horrible. "Eugh..." Catching a glimpse at the label, he narrowed his eyes and stepped backwards. Why was it that cleaning products like ammonia had to smell so bad? At least he knew what Koji had been talking about though- If it smelled bad to his completely human nose, then who knew what Koji's enhanced one felt after taking a sniff.
Another thing caught Conan's eye, and he frowned, walking over to the back of the room behind the just-dead man. There was a void of dust where a bottle had been... Turning around, the boy looked over at the ammonia bottle and the man. Ahh... So that was it then... Walking out of the room just in time to see the police move towards the closet, he looked around as he walked towards the rest of the group.
Now to determine the culprit... He had a pretty good idea now, but if he could just confirm it... Just where was Koji anyways?
Koji was having an interesting experience with the police force while Conan examined the body, his eye twitching almost non-stop as Kiyoiri, who had followed along with him, gained the multitude of exclamations all centered around one thing. She looked so much like Conan, and Shinichi...
The boy had, however, come off as quite rude when he simply stalked off alone to take a seat in a bench outside the room, much to the children's distaste, but when Ai caught a few of the words he was muttering, she smirked.
'Damn hyper sensitive ears... Never going to walk properly again now...' Ahahaaa... It seemed that the general fact that dizziness and high pitched noises went hand in hand still applied. She would have to remember this for something.
Back in the front of the room however, Koji now had a small note book and a pencil, occasionally scribbling down a few things as he listened in on the 'interviews'. This whole 'detective' thing was kind of bitting him in the back as a reminder of what he did, but nonetheless, it seemed that the 'attention to details you cannot leave behind' skill was paying off here. There were three suspects, not counting those who went with the little girl to the hospital. Wife of the victim, 'Takemane, Miwa', the woman's brother, brother-in-law to the victim 'Kokuzuku, Moujin', and the victim's best friend 'Kinnouka, Souzen'. The three came in with Ushio to celebrate Moujin's birthday, and as he found out from the conversation, Moujin was amazing with memory. The man was blind, so of course Takagi had asked why the group came to a Kareoke... But it seemed that Moujin could remember things with incredible skill, and so, when the music for whatever song he had began playing, he had always gotten a high rating for the performance.
Or so they said. He certainly wasn't testing anyways. So far the time line was this: The group came in, and about an hour later Ushio had to use the washroom. Soon after this, Moujin spilt his drink over, so he and Souzen left to get paper towels. After reaching the janitors closet, Moujin told Souzen he could manage from there, and about 10 minutes later returned with the paper towels. Right after this, Souzen left to go check the washroom for Ushio, only to come back a while later with no luck. Soon after this, they heard the scream and were gathered into the hallway.
This was what the police had gotten. But what Kiyoiri and the kids had done, was way, WAY more helpful. First, they were asking what the 'tube' on Moujin's stick was, and what the stick was for. Moujin explained that he used it to find his way around, and that the tube was to keep him from pricking his finger when he collapsed the stick- It had a rather sharp point, as it was also used to collect garbage. Kiyoiri had made a face at this, which ended the conversation right there it seemed.
The next person that the Shonen Tantei 'interrogated' was Miwa. According to her, things had been getting awkward between her and her husband lately... But when Ayumi had asked why this was, the woman had been unable to answer, until Souzen joined in the conversation. Souzen said that Ushio had been about to throw a divorce on Miwa- She would have been in a rather tight situation. Granted, he said this after Miwa left, so it was quite likely that she didn't know about this.. And as Mitsuhiko worriedly asked this, the suspicion was confirmed. Moujin and Souzen were the only ones who knew aside from Ushio, as the man had been drunk when he told them. Genta got rather upset about both lying to Miwa, at which point they were tugged away from the suspects by a rather annoyed Sonoko.
"Really, I know you want to help and all, but now you're just bugging everyone!" And just like that, the kids found themselves 'banished' to the room they'd had from the beginning, Koji hearing the door shut behind them. Ahahaha... Hadn't everything been shut down for the moment though?
Hopping from the chair, Koji went over his list of information. Hn.. From what he could tell, Miwa was the least likely suspect of the group at the moment, followed by Moujin for the sheer fact that he was blind. However... Frowning as he looked around for Conan, he remembered just how 'blind' Kira acted even though she could see no better than Moujin. Well... He thought so anyways.
-sniff- Koji's nose twitched slightly, the boy turning as a familiar scent entered his nostrils. The garbage? Walking over and looking inside, his frown was joined by half-lidded eyes as he plugged his nose. Eugh... The smell was so... Strong...
"Koji-kun?" He looked up from the garbage at Ran, before flushing slightly. Heeee... He'd been caught. Whoops! "Koji-kun, what are you doing looking in the garbage can...?"
Quickly stepping back from the can, he pocketed his notepad in the same moment, hoping that Ran's eyes didn't catch it. "Um... Just... Throwing something out..." That was it. Yea. Had to be. Koji hoped that his pathetic lie wasn't seen through.
"Ah... Alright. I was just wondering if you'd seen Conan-kun, Okiya-san has been looking for him." Okiya? The boy leaned over to look around Ran, spotting the man instantly before his nose gave an involuntary twitch. This man.. Smelled of blood, and it wasn't someone else's... Watching Okiya disappear out the building however, he decided to let it go- Right now, he needed to get the information to Conan.
He looked back at Ran, before nodding. "Right... I'll let Megane know then..." Walking past the two, he made his way near the group of suspects, stopping when he heard Sonoko's voice. "Heh..." Sniff. Sniff. Oooook. Sonoko smelled like sleeping toxins, and Megane was definitely behind her.
"Megure-keibu! There's something I think you should know..." Conan's voice from behind Sonoko was instantly turned into the woman's voice through the voice changer he held in front of him. "...About the culprit, and what they did at least."
Megure blinked, looking down at Sonoko. "Hn...? Suzuki-san, you know who the culprit is?" This seemed oddly familiar- Like the 'sleeping Kogoro'... Recognizing the same pattern (Annoyance, a shocked expression, and then suddenly they were 'asleep' in a chair, making deductions), he decided to listen.
Koji meanwhile snuck over and around the chair Sonoko was sitting rather haphazardly in, while the rest of the people in the room instantly turned towards the woman. Okiya as well, looked over there, his eyes narrowed even more than they generally appeared to be. "Psst, Megane... What are you doing? I never gave you the information..."
Conan pointed at his bowtie with a look that said 'what does it look like', before blinking when the boy mentioned 'information'. Oh. Mind as well look at that he supposed... Motioning for Koji to hand the notebook over, he continued to speak through the bowtie. "Correct! I have seen more than enough, Keibu, to make my accusation."
Skimming the notes, Conan found little that changed his deductions. Suspect, plan, and everything really was still all there... And then he got to the few notes made while Koji was listening in on the kids. As well as the final note that the boy had added before 'kicking the bucket' on detective work. The smell he'd found in the closet was coming from... "Keibu! The murderer is... Kokuzuku, Moujin!"
Shock filled the room, and both Miwa and Souzen looked at the blind man with fear. Moujin however, shook with rage, an emotion clear to everyone in the room even without the visuals of his eyes, blocked by dark sunglasses. "What?" He clacked the stick on the ground, his face red. "How dare you! My sister's husband has been killed, and you accuse a member of her own family? Ushio was like a brother to me!"
"Is that so?" Conan appeared to be staring at nothing, Koji noticed idly as he rested a head on his hand. He also made expressions as though he really was the one talking to the police. It was.. Actually pretty amusing. "Then explain why the end of your walking stick smells like ammonia!"
Moujin froze, Takagi taking a cautious sniff beside him. "...She's right! There's a faint smell coming from it... I'll need to see this." The man grabbed the walking stick, looking at the tube at the bottom. "...It does smell! But, Suzuki-san, this doesn't explain how Kokuzuku-san murdered anyone- The most it could mean is that he cleaned it meticulously..."
"Check again, Takagi-keiji. That walking stick is covered with a plastic tube.. And underneath it, you'll find a razor sharp blade, the murder weapon!" As Takagi removed the plastic covering, Moujin paled considerably. Not only was the blade concealed beneath the tube, but it was covered with dark red stains that were occasionally blotted out by the clear fluid of ammonia.
Miwa's eyes welled, having slowly been tearing up the entire time. "M-Moujin... Your... How..."
Before Moujin could say anything, 'Sonoko' spoke again. "With his phone. When Kokuzuku told his friend to leave, he used speed-dial to contact Takemane from the washroom. Most likely he said something like 'I am having trouble finding something', or 'I've gotten stuck'. In any case, when Takemane arrived to help, he was attacked with the walking stick, which was rammed into his side and used in the same way a sword would be. The smell from the stick was caused by the ammonia bottle he was holding, as it was cut open in the attack. After killing Takemane, all Kokuzuku had to do was return to the room and wait..."
"But why!" Miwa looked from Sonoko to Moujin, her hands on her head as she cried. "Why... My own brother..."
Moujin turned his head downward, his fists shaking as he spoke. "Miwa... Last week when Souzen and I were drinking with Ushio, he said something.. Miwa, he was going to divorce you, leaving you with nothing! I just couldn't-"
"You could have told someone else, someone who could help at least." The crowd turned to Koji, who now stood beside the chair with his hands behind his head. Pulling on the 'I don't know anything' cover however, he continued. "I may not know much about this sort of thing, but I'm pretty sure that even that would have solved most of this..." The others went silent at this, Moujin simply turning away. From what Koji could see, the man was crying...
The blind man was still shaking as handcuffs were latched around his wrists, his sister and Souzen watching as the police cruiser drove away. Meanwhile, while Sonoko woke up in a yet again confusing situation (Which was yet again covered with obliviousness), Ran told the kids they could come out now.
"Mou... If I'd known that the officer would tell you to stay in here so long, I would have gotten you something to do at least... ...Kira-chan?"
As the others turned to look at the girl, Ai blinked. Odd... When did Kira arrive? "Hello, Ran-neechan. The party was quite enjoyable, but I must leave now..."
While the kids stared as well, Ran simply nodded. "Ah.. Ok, Kira-chan... Next time please let me know when you arrive though! You frightened me!" Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears however, as Kira was long gone by the time she said this, having gone outside after Conan and Koji. Watching her leave, Ai frowned slightly. Normally Kira would say something before she left... What was going on...
Outside, Conan and Koji were simply watching the cruiser disappear, before the latter turned to his friend (Not that he would ever likely admit that he saw him as one). "Huh... Glad that's all over.."
Conan looked at Koji as though he had grown another head, frowning. "Hn? What do you mean?"
"No offense, Megane... But I really can't see how you would ever want to do that for a living... Then again, it doesn't require any musical talent at all, so I can see where you're going there.."
The glasses wearing boy went red, glaring at the taller one. "Eh! I can sing fine you ass!"
"Maybe compared to a banshee- Though I have to say, I might listen to one of those instead..." He dodged a swipe from the other, smirking as he stepped back. "Only saying Megane! Oddly touchy about this, were you hoping to serenade someone?"
This only gained another glare, Conan's face heating up considerably as he shook with anger. "Hisoka..."
"Oh my... I do hope I am not interrupting anything..." The two boys turned, Koji paling as Kira walked up to them. "I was hoping to ask you something, but it would likely ruin the moment, however long that moment may last..."
Conan frowned, crossing his arms. "'Ruin the moment'? What are you talking about Kira-chan?" Why did he have a bad feeling about this...
Kira smiled, chuckling softly before pointing towards the general direction of the coast. "Mhmhmhmhmhm... The raven's opposite is within her element, but not to the preferred extent... My dear friends, I must ask you this... Where is Kiyoiri-chan at this current moment."
"K-Kiyoiri.." Koji paled more so, frantically sniffing the air before wide eyes turned towards where Kira was pointing. "I-Iye.." Running off as Conan called after him to wait, the boy's eyes were dangerously wide, flashing continuously between green and blue as razor sharp teeth ground together.
In a nearby parking lot, Okiya's small smile was replaced by a frown. No... They were going after them after all... He had hoped that those two would at least stay out of things but instead.. When the replacement officer passed him with the children, somehow he'd just known... Maybe it was the look that Kiyoiri seemed to have been making under the man's gaze, but something seemed off... And then the officer went missing. And now it seemed that Kiyoiri was gone as well.
Damn it... Clenching his fists, he made sure that the gun at his side was fully loaded before running off in the same direction along a separate route, watching as Conan and Koji both sped off on the former's skateboard once the boy had caught up to his friend. Shit... Things were not going to end well, were they...
Blind eyes seemed to stare off at all three people through the girl's hat, as Kira's smile quickly dissolved into a small frown. "Spirits of those who have long since passed... Protect them if you will..."
The sun was setting in the distance... And a clear sky showed that soon the only light source would be the full moon.
Perfect weather for an attack on those who lived by it.