Declaimer: I don´t own Detective Conan! I wish I did, but I don´t. And I don´t speak Japanese... I want to!
Words: 4 053
A/N: Yes, I am still alive. And yes, my tests ended for the time being! I love you freedom! And sleep! XD Enjoy!
Two favors
The lights of the night shone brightly in the darkness, red, white, blue, green, yellow… all kind of colors illuminated the dark night, bringing the city´s residents peace and a life full of movement. Small children laughed happily, their eyes on the many, many lights.
In a certain amusement park, which attractions were still full of people looking to have fun despite the late hour, two people walked slowly together, chatting happily, as the older man held a small blue eyed girl in his arms. She smiled and chatted with him, a smile never leaving her angelic features, as her long hair flew after her.
"That was so amazing!" The little girl stated, grinning even more, and the man smiled back to her. "Soo cool! I want to learn that trick, Toichi-san."
The man named Toichi laughed a little bit at her excitement, a white dove following him. "Tomorrow, Shinichi. Tomorrow." He promised, and the girl nodded. "Today uncle has something really important to do, ok? Maybe tomorrow you can finally meet Kaito. That little runt loves to run away a little too much."
The girl´s face lit up even more, as if that was possible, and she blushed as he kissed her a good-bye kiss, putting her down as her parents appeared in view. "See you tomorrow!" Waving as Toichi went away, more and more doves following him; the little girl suddenly stopped smiling.
For some reason, she had a really bad feeling… like something was going to happen and she would not be able to avoid it. It was only a feeling, but she always relied on her intuition. It had help her run away from dangerous situation a lot of times… like her mom and her crazy ideas. That was too dangerous.
"Wait, Toichi-san!" She yelled, running after him. No, she couldn´t allow him to leave. If she did, he would… something would happen. "Wait!" The doves surrounded the man in question, who turned around and smiled at her once more, before he disappeared into the white feathers now falling down toward the ground. "No…"
Blue eyes opened in the darkness in hurry, their owner startled at the memory and confusion. However, they closed right away, tired and sleepy. There was no need to think, to see, to feel, to fear, to live… in the darkness named unconsciousness, everything was perfect, and there were no painful memories to face.
However, the night ended, the worries and fears came back, and the sapphire eyes opened again quickly, in worry, pain and fear. Currently, the dream was more than forgotten, only one question in her mind: where was she?
The warm blanket on top of her confused her, the patched wound gave her some hope, and the blue eyes staring at her freaked her out, as she yelped and tried to stand up and run.
"Now, now…" A kind voice, one she knew too well, and kind of feared; calmed her down a little bit. But only a little bit, one she would never admit because she would never accept the fact she actually kind of liked and trusted the person in front of her: Vermouth.
"What… where am I?" Shinichi asked confused, remembering it had been some hours since she last took a painkiller. Now that explained why her arm hurt so much… Urg, gun wounds were the worst kind… Not only they took a long time to heal, but also they hurt like crazy and made everyone worried. Everyone.
"Calm down, Silver-chan." Sitting down at the bed, she gave the detective a glass of water and a pill, receiving a suspicious glare from her. "It´s just a pain killer. I believe it is time for you to take one, no?" Still suspicious, she took it in one go. If it stopped the pain, she didn´t mind taking it.
No one said a thing for a while, until Shinichi, now feeling much better, started. "So… why did you kidnap me again?" Now that she was calmer, her alert level came back to normal. The room she was in obviously belonged to a hotel, the lack of real personal belongings aside from a small suitcase a decisive factor. In addition, she truly doubted Vermouth had any real house to stay in, considering she was a ruthless killer and all.
"How mean, Shin-chan." Sapphire blue narrowed in irritation when her mother´s voice came out of the older woman´s mouth, promising to hit her if she dared to repeat that stunt again. "You are so not fun. First, I did not kidnap you. I found you, unconscious and bleeding out. Honestly, you should take better care of yourself, silver-chan." Sighing, the woman continued before someone had the chance to interrupt her. "And second, I have an amazing offer I know you cannot resist."
Narrowing her eyes even more, she waited eagerly until the woman continued. Nevertheless, she just grinned, allowing the silence to last a little longer. "Do you remember Irish?"
A heartbeat. "Irish?" Of course she remembered Irish… and the way he died protecting her with his own body. She still had nightmares about it. The blood splashing right into her face, the helpless feeling taking over her body… Who wouldn´t? "Why are you touching that subject again?" It had been at least a year now… and she truly didn´t feel like bringing it up again.
Smiling even more, Vermouth stood up. "The memory card which got destroyed…. I have one just like it, with the info undated and all. Every single member of the organization, their addressed, names, jobs and what they have done in the past and even present. You want it, don´t you?"
The girl stared at her in disbelief for a moment, her palms sweating with excitement. There was no question about it, she wanted it, she needed it more than ever. That was her ticket to destroy them and get her life back. However, she knew Vermouth would not give it without asking something in return. And for something that big, the favor had to be big too. "What do you want?"
"Just two small favors." Looking out of the window, staring at the night´s glow of the city, she seemed suddenly really sad. The smile, the fake smile Shinichi had seen so many time on her mom, Kaito and even her own face… grew sadder with every second, until she woke up from her worries and continued as if nothing had ever happened. "First, my name will not be on the list and I do not plan on getting caught. As my first condition, you will have to find me a place to stay and live until I die."
Silence. And even more silence. Shinichi´s jaw fall down, her eyes grew big, her mind went fuzzy. Vermouth had asked… "What?"
Grinning at the reaction, the blond haired woman closed the curtain, and sat down near Shinichi again. "My life was stolen before I had the chance to live it." She stated, looking up at the ceiling. "I won´t tell you the details, but the truth is I want to live a peaceful life… or as peaceful as my life can get. I kill, I steal, I do whatever I need to survive… But even the best need to retire sometime."
"And why don´t you do it in jail, with the rest of your colleges?" The grin grew wider, that playful look back into her beautiful features.
"But of course I don´t want to spend my time there." Shaking her head, she continued. "Who would? In addition, considering I am an American citizen, I will be sent to the electric chair or something like that. You know, I hadn't been paying attention to the newest death punishments, but I am pretty sure they will send me there if they catch me…"
"So instead of that, you want me to help you escape so you can turn back to crime when you get bored of normal life?" Shinichi´s eyes narrowed again. She promised she would catch her, and she usually kept her promised. "There is no way I´m doing it."
"I will pay for my crimes, Silver." Vermouth stated, the playful grin long gone from her lips. "However, I do not plan to do it while being locked in a cage. From the moment the organization falls down, I will stop stealing, killing and other thing you do not approve. Moreover, I will stay at any place you tell me too, except the jail. Been there, and honestly that place sucks."
Frowning, Shinichi considered the option for a moment. Vermouth was a criminal… however; she also was her mom´s friend, and someone who helped her many times already. Actually, if it wasn´t for her, she would have been caught long ago.
However, those facts did not erase the fact she killed dozen, even hundred maybe, people. She needed to pay for her crimes, one way or another. But then again, that woman would never do it in jail. The blond woman was right. If FBI got their hands on her, she would die. Jodie-sensei would make sure of it.
"What is your next request? And I am not asking this because I agreed to the first one, I am still thinking." Vermouth smiled again, nodding in understanding. Actually, she half expected the tiny detective to refuse her right away. Maybe that´s why she prepared that long, long speech…
"Well, how about we have dinner before talking about it." She suggested throwing some clothes her way. "Or maybe I should call it early breakfast? It is almost six o´clock after all." The detective frowned even more, but obeyed without saying a word. In the end, she was hungry… and her wound wasn´t hurting anymore.
As Shinichi put her new clothes on, which she hated right way since it was a dress, (honestly, what was going on with everyone, forcing her to wear a dress? First it was Haibara, then Kaito and now Vermouth… and she had the feeling it wasn't going to end that soon), Vermouth smiled even more. Yukiko had been right… Blue did go well with Shin-chan´s skin color.
"Ready?" Taking the little girl´s hand, ignoring her annoyed expression, she made her way out of the room and towards the elevator. Apparently, the hotel she was staying in had an amazing restaurant that was opened all day and night. At this hour, there were almost no people, so they could have a private conversation without having to worry about anyone overhearing them.
"You know" Shinichi suddenly interrupted her explanation, waiting patiently for the elevator to reach the right floor. "Taking in account my own experience, talking in a place with a lot of people works better sometimes. There is less chance of someone overhearing you, the noise muffling any kind of sound."
"Oh, did that happen on a case or maybe a personal experience?" Sighing, Shinichi answered personal, recalling the time Kaito had overheard her talk about the shrinking process… He hadn't left her alone for weeks after that until she explained what was she talking about. Moreover, considering he actually almost followed her into the bathroom, he sure knew how to freak out people.
Smirking even more, Vermouth caught her hand again, guiding her to the restaurant. "It was your knight who overheard, wasn´t he?" Shinichi blushed a little bit, and it only amused the woman even more. "I bet he heard you talk about the poison… and then forced you to explain him. Let me guess, he stalked you?"
Nodding, knowing there was nothing, or almost nothing; she could hide from her, Shinichi felt her cheeks burn even more. Damn, where the hell did her poker face disappear when she needed it the most? It better came back before BO came back after her… "He followed me for weeks... until I couldn´t handle it anymore. I still remember the face Haibara made when I told her."
"Yes, Kuroba men tend to be a little over the top." Laughing, she waited for the sleeping waitress to come and get their request, ignoring the inquiring gaze her companion sent her. "I used to take the same lessons as your mother."
The blue eyes narrowed even more, their depth growing with every moment her face grew darker. "So you know who he is… when did you find out?" The poor waitress was becoming impatience, praying her shift already ended so she could go home.
"I will have black strong coffee and a croissant with cherry marmalade for now." Writing the request, she turned around to stare at the little child. "Yesterday, at the bus. He had been careless enough to use his real voice with me. But then again, considering who his dad was, there is no surprise there."
"Black coffee for me too, along with a French toast. No sugar needed." Blinking a few times, the poor girl who wanted to sleep so badly looked at the adult, wondering if she was beginning to hear badly. However, the blond woman just nodded, so the poor waitress made her way back to the kitchen, wondering what kind of people let their child drink black, sugarless coffee.
"So you know who his dad was… However, as you said, no surprise there." Sighing, Shinichi allowed her eyes to close, ignoring the faint noise around her coming from the two drunk man some tables to the left. "I bet my dad knew who Kid was. So that´s why you came to check on his a few days ago, worried your teacher´s son got into big trouble?"
"So perceptive of you, Silver-chan." Her eyes on the child, Vermouth relaxed a little bit. Everything was going well. For now that is. If the first request had been strange, and her reaction amusing; than the second would blow her head off. "Yes, I actually cared for Toichi, and I truly regret how his life ended. I check on his family sometimes, to make they stay out of trouble."
"You cared for him?" Shinichi asked in disbelief, but then something hit her and she smirked. "Oh, I see… You had a crush on him. Oh god, I never thought this day would arrive… I actually thought you loved no one."
Rolling her eyes, Vermouth sighed. "How mean of you. I may be cruel sometimes, and have a wicked mind and all; but I am still a human. In addition, it was only a momentary crush. I got over it as soon as I heard he had a child. You, on the other hand…"
Blushing slightly, Shinichi wished she was bigger so she could hit that annoying woman. "Oh, shut up! And never ever in your life tell Kaito I had a crush on his dad… It´s already hard enough to make him like me without the freaking stuff." Wait did she really say that? "Scratch the last part, I didn't mean that!"
However, it was too late. That amused, and half-scary, smile she had seen her mom make a few times already took over Vermouths face, what meant only one thing: she was planning something. "No, forget it. I don´t care what your plan is, but forget it right away.
"But Shin-chan!" Once again, her mom´s voice left those perfect lips, and Shinichi found herself standing up, grabbing the jar of flowers and almost hitting the laughing woman. Almost. The waitress decided to arrive at that exact moment, staring at the with huge disbelieving eyes.
Embarrassed, slightly cursing under her breath, the little girl sat down again, not daring to look up until the intruder was long gone. She wasn´t going to hit Vermouth, just splash water on top of her. "Now that was amazing." Glaring at the only person who was having fun, Shinichi took her coffee and started at it with love. Maybe that would help her calm down. "Who thought you could behave like a normal teenager. You know, your mom was worried you would stay the same calm person forever."
"Yea right. I bet she said I behaved like an old man." Correcting the always-smiling woman, who was laughing again who knows why, Shinichi decided to ignore her. Her sanity would not survive if she continued with that subject.
For a few moments, they table felt silent, as both of them enjoyed their breakfast. Or more like coffee, since the croissant and toast were forgotten, the bitter drinking too loved to be forgotten even more a moment.
If someone looked for afar, they would think a mother and her child were having an early breakfast together. However, the poor waitress who had the horrible luck of serving the pair couldn´t help but shiver every time she looked at them, worried one of the would end up killed one day. A woman who allowed her child to drink coffee and the child who clearly had no problem in hitting her mom… was a crazy combination.
In addition, another puzzling subject kept the poor girl´s attention on them. Both of them were beautiful. The older woman with blond long hair and pale blue eyes could easily be a model, or even an actress. Her figure and posture were flawless and the face so beautiful any man´s head turned her way. However, the cold eyes kept everyone away from her. Actually, she could easily play the role of the Ice Queen and no one would think she was out of place. The child, with her long brown hair and fair skin, looked like a doll. Sapphire blue eyes, darker and deeper than her mother´s, also repealed people. Sharp, serious and enigmatic… eyes she never saw on a child. It was as if you could look at her, but never touch her.
Shaking her head, trying to get rid of those thoughts, the girl slowly made her way to the table. Not that she wanted, but the manager forced her. It was rare to get normal costumers as such a time… Clearing her voice, she slowly asked. "Is there something else you need?"
The first to react, a few moment after the girl talked, was the little child. Her deep blue eyes froze her for a moment, until the child smiled. "Thank you for your concern, but we are fine." Her voice as sweet as honey, eyes suddenly calm and kind… Oh god, that child was so cute!
"We will call you when we finish, ok?" The woman startled the poor girl, whose eyes flew from the sweet child to the Ice Queen. Yup, ice queen. That kind smile fooled no one. Bowing, the girl went back to the kitchen, hopping her shift would end soon. Because honestly, that pair was too creepy!
"What a nice transformation, Silver-chan." Vermouth stated as the girl went away, smiling even more. "You could easily become an actress. When you get tired of being a detective, just give me a call and I will get you awesome roles. You will love it."
"No, thank you…" Shaking her head in horror, Shinichi faintly recalled those days her mom tried to force to become a child actress. "Mom tried… a lot of times… And honestly, one would think after failing so many time she would stop. She still calls me from time to time asking if I would like to act."
Laughing at her friend attics, Vermouth had to admit she never had that much fun in a long time. Maybe she should kidnap… borrow Silver-chan more times. "That is something Yukiko is capable of doing… I still wonder how you managed to survive with those two. And you didn´t end up that bad, aside from you hatred for people."
Skulking, Shinichi mumbled something similar to "Well, sorry for being somewhat anti-social" with a lot of sarcasm, staring at her coffee before remembering why exactly she followed Vermouth. Not that she wasn´t hungry, but she needed to know everything.
"Now that we have eaten, or more like drunk coffee, I would like to know your second request." The smile left Vermouth´s features for a moment, a calculative expression taking its place… until it came back again.
"You are right." She agreed, sighing. "Well then, you may thing this second request is stupid, but I must warn you it´s your entire fault I am asking you this. If you have been more careful, this wouldn´t have to happen."
Bilking a few times, worried, Shinichi quickly ran through all her memories, wondering what she was talking about... More careful… Now that she thought about it, there were so many times she could have been more careful than she was but… "Stop right there. Considering you still haven't figured it out, it means you will never do it. I am talking about Bourbon."
"Bourbon?" Staring at Vermouth confused, the little child´s tired mind woke up. "Don´t tell me… he knows?" As she nodded, Shinichi cursed. She had expected Bourbon to know something, but not the whole truths. "How…? When…?"
"Long time ago. I made a deal with him. He won´t tell a soul, and if he gets caught by FBI, I will help him out one time." Narrowing her eyes, feeling she wouldn't like the next part, Shinichi eagerly waited. And as she expected, she truly didn't like it. "I need you to help me free Bourbon."
A few, or maybe not so few, kilometers away from the Hotel, a certain chibi was walking eagerly at the Kuroba house, her short brown hair jumping up every time she made a sharp turn. The little child sure looked tensed, worried and annoyed, as her tiny feet made their way through the small room.
"Where is she?" The child asked, red-brown eyes glaring at the two teens in in front of her. One of them looked completely terrified, while the second only started to realize he was in deep trouble. "I am asking you again. Where. Is. She?!"
The teen with a darker skin shivered. Kudo always warned him not to make the tiny scientist mad… and now they made her mad beyond help. "We don´t know…" Kaito dared to mumble, blinking confused. His mom was sitting at the small sofa, enjoying the sight. After all, not every day someone managed to make her Kai-chan scared.
"You don´t know?" The little child repeated, her eyes flaming in anger and annoyance. "What the hell were you two idiots doing in the school then? How many times do I need to repeat: when Kudo says she can get away by herself, it means she is in deep SH*T! You little f…"
"Now, now, Ai-kun." A fat man came inside the living room, just as worried as the little girl was. "You know Shinichi-kun, she always manages to escape somehow. Let´s just wait a little bit longer." The girl named Ai looked at him, sighed and went to sit down. However, to everyone´s surprise, she didn´t just sit. Taking out a laptop, and a huge notebook, she started to work on something.
Looking at the Osaka teen, whose punishment for stealing his Tantei had been delayed a few moments, Kaito whispered. "What is she going?" He truly didn't understand at first why was the dark skinned teen looked so scared when she suddenly appeared at his door, but now he knew… She was scary as hell. Not as scary as an angry Tantei, but still deadly scary.
"Oh, she´s working on the cure for the poison, y´know." Hattori stated, almost whispering. No one was in the mood to make the scientist even angrier. "Since she was the one who made it and all, she promised Kudo she would fix her."
"Made it… Wait, what?" Staring at the dark skinned detective as if he was an idiot, Kaito looked at the child. "Isn´t she just a child? How could she have made it… Oh…" As the realization hit him, Kaito sighed. So Tantei had been talking about her… "Then we shouldn´t interrupt.."
Before he had the chance to finish his sentence, the door bell rung, starting everyone. Kaito quickly ran to the entrance hopping it was Tantei, while the little girl disappeared into the kitchen. Who knows why… "Let it be Tantei…" The teen wished, opening the door.
And what he saw there surely surprised him… For more than one reason.
A/N: I
am back with one more chapter... and I know I missed one week, but I have an explanation. Short story, school. Long story... na, it will take too long to explain. -.- All I can say I slept little, and studied too much... It was like one week full of math, than another with Physics and then one day with Chemistry XD Who wants to bet on my grades? The range is from 0 to 20. :)
But all jokes aside, I was too busy. However, now everything ended and I am free! Ok, kind off... I still have one week and two days of school. By the way, who was the idiot who decided school ends on a Tuesday? I have to wake up at 9 am just to attend one class. One! Stupid people with stupid ideas... -.-
Assasin8: Thank you. :) So, did it surprise you? I just had to have fun with Vermouth before the things went from bad to worse. XD P.S. I don´t know what Kaito is thinking... Actually, I try really hard not to think about what he is thinking, or else the chapters just will get really strange... More than they already are.
just somebody: Hello again, Steffi-chan. :) Thanks for liking the story. I have more strange ideas waiting for you, just let me short them out and find enough time and will power to write. XD Welcome abroad, as someone says. (Who I don´t know... just somebody XD)
Yuri Kumiko: Off to America? (I just had to ask...) XD Intense... well, you can call it that.
hitomi65: Thanks for always commenting! :)
Liliana Pelangi: Poor all students in the world whose teachers decide to hunt them and put a lot of tests on the same day... XD I didn´t want to insult your friend or anything! I swear! Sorry... *hides in embarrassment*
kaitoukidlove: A kind of late update, but it´s still here! Many embarrassing moments for Shin-chan! Enjoy! XD
If the update comes late, it means I am too busy... But I don´t think there will be late updates so soon... and least not until January. XD
I hope you enjoyed and comment/review/follow/fav, do what ever you want! P.S. Just don´t insult me with bad words... I will strike back. Consider yourself warned. XD
Kaggami-chan