Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the next chapter of this story.
This chapter as promised will be presented from the view of our blonde detective. Hakuba is in for a bit of a surprise and will stumble on something that he did not expect.
I am so sorry… This is madness here I tell you. I actually wanted this chapter to be a lot longer, but from the looks of it, it would take me at least another week to write, so I decided to cut it a bit and move the rest to the next chapter. Most probably next chapters will be shorter as well, so I can write a bit more frequently.
So now – onto the reviews ~!
PickleWitch - Haha~ You are so right about that~ Sorry I kept you waiting for so long.
Cerlinfia - Yeah... well he is lonely you know and he is quite attached to his detectives. And he does like to take things fast, don't you agree? ;)
Mists - Haha~ Thank you for putting so much faith in me ;) I so loved your interpretation of Kai's thoughts - especially that they were so accurate xD He does love attention now doesn't he? ;) And as for Hei-chan... he is somewhat of a blabbermouth xD
DaLantis - Well unfortunatelly they won't be working together here and in the near future Kaito will intend to work ON Shinichi insted of 'with' x) In the end he did promise Heiji that ;) I'm glad you liked it~ Wonder how will you like this chapter? ;)
SilverSapphire34523 - You are forgiven xD Sorry - just joking ;) I'm glad you got your phone back and that you managed to return to reading my little story~
So without further delay…
Please enjoy and review! :)
Chapter 25: Darkened mind
Hakuba had to admit he had fun during the weekend. Initially, he wanted to check up on Kuroba, but after the heist, he had a conversation with Kudo, and they decided to leave the magician alone for now. They did put some pressure on Kaito lately, and it was obvious that he wasn't feeling comfortable with it, and the last thing they wanted was to make Kuroba feel cornered. Also, Conan wanted to make it up this way for attacking him last week. So with little worry, they spent their whole weekend with the kids.
It was a little surprising and, frankly speaking, flattering for Saguru how the children were amazed with him. They seemed quite dedicated to their futures as investigators and decided to take any opportunity to make that dream come true. Due to that, they were interested not only in his detective's work, but also the way he started his career. They weren't very glad to hear that he was another child of a higher up police officer. This conversation made Hakuba wonder how much his father's occupation influenced his choices and how his life would look like if he decided to make his own path. He asked the children about their parents' professions and what encouraged them to become detectives. It turned out that initially it was only a game for them, until they got inspired by noticing how amazing Conan was with his deductions and solving cases. Hakuba didn't miss a faint blush from his fellow detective, but didn't comment on it.
The only one who didn't seem interested in him was a reddish-brown haired girl, who for the most time simply preferred to watch while smirking or have quiet conversations with Kudo. The few times she spoke up, her words were surprisingly mature and sarcastic. This made Hakuba wonder if the girl really was who she seemed to be, but he decided to not dwell on it, figuring that it wasn't his place to question either her or Kudo.
The mansion at night seemed oddly empty, when Saguru returned there alone. Despite the seriousness of the situation that lead to the other two staying over, he discovered that he did enjoy the presence of his fellow detectives there.
Sunday was also enjoyable for the Brit, although he doubted Kudo could have said the same. The game the kids compete in was not soccer based, but a car race, since that way all of them could have played together. The other children were more than happy to beat their friend over and over again. Ran apologized to the shrunken teen, apparently figuring that her presence really did stress the boy too much. The professor turned out to be a joyful and kind hearted man, who eagerly took the opportunity to show his inventions to Shinichi's new friend and shared his crazy ideas for future ones. This left Hakuba wondering if the man was actually crazy or genius. He decided that it was most likely a mix of both. Later on the kids pulled Saguru into playing with them and it was Kudo's turn to watch him get beaten.
Surprisingly, Hakuba overslept on Monday and had to rush to school. For some reason he couldn't find his phone immediately and had to go without it. It wasn't often for him to sleep so well, and on top of that his alarm clock's batteries died out during the night. That day was a quiet one - apart from slight teasing and some pranks from Kaito and the fact that class beauty - Koizumi Akako, was absent, nothing worth mentioning happened. Later, when he returned home, he found his phone under the bed, where he must have kicked it unwarily during his morning rush. He still found it all slightly suspicious, but he didn't find anything off neither in the house nor on his cell, so he eventually let it go. He spent the rest of the day at the police station, searching for something that could explain why KID decided to move the last heist to another location.
He was about to leave, when he noticed a lot of commotion, and heard Nakamori's roar silencing everybody. Interested, he reached the cafeteria and noticed officers staring at the TV. He turned his attention to it also and he froze, seeing all too familiar cocky grin on the white clad kaitou's face.
"*Thank you for your attention ladies and gentlemen, that is all for the special broadcast. Remember, if you have the solution, you should contact your local police station~ I apologize again for interrupting your show~ We will now return to this weekend's horse race review~*" KID said and gave a gallant bow, after which the broadcast shifted back to the previous show.
Hakuba caught one of the officers, asking what it was about. The man still seemed startled, but sighed heavily and just showed the detective his notebook. He started whining that he hoped to get home faster today and then KID just had to show up on the TV to announce his riddle, instead of sending it somewhere in the morning – like he usually did. The Brit read the riddled notice, without giving the moaning man too much attention.
On the wettest time,
Where no drop falls
And the countless lights glow so bright
The dawn will not shine, until the sun comes again.
Saguru frowned, searching the text for the key to solving it. The whole thing didn't make much sense. He muttered words of gratitude to the officer and wrote a message to Kudo, sending him the riddle in case he missed it. The detective wondered about sending it also to Hattori, but he dismissed the thought, deciding to leave this decision to Shinichi. He knew the Osakan would be now in trouble for being away for last week without permission, so there was no need to risk him jumping into the next train. Absently, he noted a few officers rushing out of the station, most probably headed to the studio, where KID appeared, but he didn't feel the need to tag along. If it was the kaitou, he wouldn't leave any evidence, if it wasn't, then most probably the officers could handle it themselves. Instead, he figured it would be far more important to solve the riddle as fast as possible. So he wandered into the briefing room, knowing all too well that the rest of the officers would gather there to make a brain storm. A text message from Conan informed him that the boy also saw the broadcast and was working on unraveling its meaning, but as for now he was clueless about it. Hakuba sat at his usual spot, wondering why Kuroba decided to change his habit of passing his notice, while the chatter around him rose and officers started throwing ideas.
"Well, it's obvious that the heist will be this Friday, like all of those lately." A new officer to the Force, the one the detectives overheard after the last heist – Yuzu Michi, spoke up.
Hakuba smirked at the words of the bulky man with sharp features. If the detective recalled right, the officer transferred to Kaitou KID's Task Force from Division 3, which took care of controlled substances or organized crime. The higher ups every now and then did try to mix experts from various divisions into the Force, but usually they either had to adapt to the methods and attitude typical for KKTF, or they eventually asked to be transferred back. Saguru wondered idly how it would end up for Yuzu.
Nakamori growled at the officer. "You might still not know it yet, but you'll learn fast to never take anything for granted about this thief. Only those who learn to expect the unexpectable can endure encounters with him." A few knowing chuckles echoed in the room.
The man grimaced and argued. "Everybody follows certain patterns, sir-"
The inspector snorted, cutting in. "He does, too, of course. The problem is that he has multiple patterns which he follows. And before you can figure out which it is, he will be long gone. His main goal is always to surprise us. So unless you want to end up chasing your tail, shut up and listen. Anybody else got ideas?"
Yuzu looked away and another officer stood up, raising his hand. "Well, I noticed that he mentioned as the place an area 'where no drop falls', so he must mean somewhere indoor…" He noticed Nakamori's bemused stare and started speaking faster. "I-I mean, this could be the key, like, if he mentions drops, then it probably means that 'the wettest time' must be a reference to the rainy weather. We could check the broadcast and find when there should be the heaviest rain."
The inspector frowned, clearly not liking the idea, as much as Hakuba. The weather broadcast can be precise only for two-three following days and while standard notices sometimes did cover such a short time, the riddles usually gave a bit more. In the end, the kaitou wanted his audience present. But despite that, he reluctantly gave a nod to that and wrote it on the whiteboard.
"And how about the part with the dawn and sun as a reference to exact time? He could mean that the heist will start at sun rise, but due to heavy clouds it would still seem like it's night. Depending on the exact day, it would be around 4:25 AM." Somebody else spoke up.
"Isn't it rather late for him? He does prefer to work at night…" Another officer argued, unconvinced about the idea.
"Well, it will be still dark enough for him, if the clouds will be heavy and he might want to have us tired. Or you know… Simply trying something new." The first officer defended his idea with a shrug. "It's KID after all, he likes to try new stuff every now and then."
"But he would have to be sure that the weather will be bad."
"Maybe that's why he decided to broadcast it now." Nakamori muttered, focusing his gaze on the marker in his hand. "He does give very short notices sometimes. He might even strike tonight." He growled, angered.
Hakuba folded his arms. This whole deduction felt wrong, especially because it left to little potential information about the place, target and method. He doubted Kuroba would leave them only with the information that the heist will be held inside a building. He tried to turn it around.
"What about the target?" He spoke up. "Let's leave the time for now. The riddle would be pointless if it didn't say about the target, the owner, or at the very least the exact place where the heist will be held, so we could deduce the rest. As far as I remember, there isn't any especially significant jewel being brought in the incoming days, for the date solely to give us all the information we need." He looked up at Nakamori. "On the other hand, if we know the target then all other information might be simple. And if there is something that we know for certain about KID, it's that he wants to have audience and his adversaries present on his heists."
The inspector smirked at the teen. He still didn't like to deal with the smart-ass high schoolers, but Hakuba did prove himself many times to be an asset while dealing with KID, so eventually he learned to accept his presence and help. Despite that, he had sometimes most ridiculous ideas for the inspector's liking.
"So? Do you have any proposition?" He asked the detective, folding his arms.
"As a matter of fact, I might." His gaze fell on his notebook with the riddle. "I'd say he means an accessory named something with 'winter', or 'frost', or something like that. It's most likely encrusted with smaller gems."
There was a murmur throughout the room, before somebody asked him to explain. The Brit sighed and read the first three lines out loud.
"You see winter is a time when there is actually a lot of water around, but instead of drops of water it comes with snowflakes, 'countless lights shining so bright' might be a reference to other jewels, accompanying his real target. I'd guess it should be something big, like a crown, or maybe an encrusted piece of dress. It is possible that the whole set carries the specific name, but more probably it's solely given to the gem in question."
"Then the last line would give us the time and method." Nakamori stated.
The detective gave a reluctant nod. "It would seem that way. But only if there will be a significant date accompanying the target…" He replied, while his mind was searching for another explanation to the riddle. He wanted to leave the room to share his idea with Kudo.
The brain storm didn't last long after that, so Nakamori gave each of his officers assignments and contacted the team that went to the studio himself, to learn what they found there and to announce that he would join them there. Hakuba wasn't officially a member of the Task Force and as such was left to do what he found best. So after sending a text to his fellow detective, he went to the video room to watch the broadcast where KID made his announcement. While he was at it, Kudo responded him that he was surprised with the deduction, he himself focused on the possible place and came up with a tomb, or a temple surrounded by well-kept graves, which would explain 'the countless lights' surrounding the place where no drops fall. Hakuba hummed and focused his gaze on the record of the grinning thief. Shinichi's deduction also sounded reasonable, but it was unlikely that both of them were right. It wasn't typical for KID to let one line have double meanings. But he usually didn't go to the television studio either.
"Just what in the world are you up to this time..? Why show up like this..?" He asked quietly the grinning figure on the screen.
They agreed that if Kudo's deduction was correct, then the jewel would most probably be named after a storm or a tempest of some kind. Unfortunately, he couldn't help with the research, as he had to already act like he was asleep. Hakuba promised to keep him updated, if they would find something interesting and braced himself for a long night.
When Nakamori returned, the detective filled him in with 'his colleague's' idea about the target and place. The Brit buried himself deep in research, until eventually he was nearly kicked out from the station and ordered to go home and rest. He wasn't happy about it, but figured that maybe he could gain something from interacting with Kuroba on the next day, so he obeyed. Before he left, they managed to find quite a few winter-like jewels, but none of them were a part of an accessory. On the other hand they did find out about the 'Eye of the Tempest' stored in a tomb in Ishioka – a town two hour's drive from Tokyo. But no particular date was connected to it.
The weather forecast research predicted that heavy downpour could be expected only around Hokkaido region by the end of next week. Due to that discovery, a few officers were dispatched to search for a potential target there, especially ones that could cover Hakuba's deduction on the target name and form.
Tuesday started like most of regular days. Hakuba had prepared two alarm clocks just in case, but woke up before either went off. At school, on his way to the classroom, he managed to move out of the way of a stampede that was after Kuroba, for something he did. When he reached his destination, he noted that most of other students were quietly chatting in groups over newspapers, who were discussing KID's last night's heist notice. Saguru sighed heavily, sitting at his desk, hoping that he would manage to talk with the magician. Unsurprisingly, the prankster seemed to be very busy on that day – either doing his antics, or escaping from his enraged schoolmates. On the bright side, Hakuba didn't get his hair color changed on that day.
He was just about to make his last attempt to talk with the magician after the last lesson when he noticed Akako approach Kaito. He saw Kuroba apologize to Aoko and quickly left with the beauty. Hakuba knew he probably shouldn't pry into their matters, but something he noticed on Kaito's expression stirred up his curiosity. He took his time to pack his things, so nobody would notice when he followed the pair. Unfortunately, when he decided it was safe to follow them they already disappeared from the corridor. He was sure he would find them on the roof, but once he got there he surprised another couple making out. Blushing madly, he apologized and shut the door escaping the roof. He was on his way out, deciding that it might be better to not know what business with each other his two classmates have when he overheard familiar, drowned voices coming from a classroom he's been passing by. He stopped by the door recognizing slight anger in Kaito's growl.
"That was not the deal we had!"
"I wouldn't be asking for your permission, if it was." Akako huffed. "But you know you will profit if we do it. You must be curious-"
The magician didn't let her finish and cut her off. "I said 'no' already, so give it a rest. I'm not going through anymore torture just to satisfy you."
"But you must admit that you would have been in quite the trouble if it wasn't for my help." She pointed out with annoyance.
He snorted mockingly "That's why I complied with your request, despite that you did it all against my will. Anyway, you're not going to convince me, so leave it."
Hakuba heard the girl move towards the door, so he rushed towards another classroom, to prevent getting noticed by the pair. He heard them exchange a few more words, but he couldn't make out what they said. A few moments later, he noticed Kuroba storm next to the classroom he hid himself in, towards the exit. He sighed with relief that the magician didn't notice him, when the door suddenly opened and he found himself looking straight into mesmerizing red eyes. He felt a blush rise on his cheeks and found himself unable to form any words, his mind gravitating to the fact that he was alone with the beauty, and the images he saw on the roof. He did try to shove them away, but it seemed to be a wasted effort. Akako chuckled and went inside, closing the door behind her. She placed her arms on his shoulders, causing the detective to freeze, unable to believe it was reality. She leaned towards him and purred to his ear, casing his brain to melt.
"My, my… Aren't you the curious little mouse~ Mind telling me what have you heard~?"
He closed his eyes, cherishing the sensation of her hot breath on his skin, and spoke without even thinking about the words that flew from his mouth.
"Kuroba didn't agree for you to do something to him, despite that you helped him dearly. Do you want me to convince him for you..?" He asked, eager to please the beautiful woman.
She hummed, causing goose bumps on his skin. "No, I think I would prefer you to keep away from this. Could you do that for me~?"
A quiet voice at the back of his head screamed at him to snap out of it, but he ignored it. "Yes, anything…" He swallowed hard. "I'll do anything you ask of me."
She chuckled and brushed her lips slightly on his cheek, pulling away. "That's what I wanted to hear~" She crossed her arms loosely over her chest looked him up with narrowed eyes. "You do care for him, don't you?"
"I care only for you…" He confessed, making a step towards her, but she raised an arm and stopped him.
"Obviously, but that's not what I meant." Her voice lacked the seductive tones and that somewhat sobered the Brit. "You don't want to catch him anymore, do you?"
He blinked a couple of times and finally managed to look away from the girl. "I um… Do you..?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am aware of who he is, for even longer than you did. So there is no need for you to hide that fact from me. Could you now answer the question, please~?"
He looked at her, highly surprised at how casually she spoke of it and wondered why he felt it was alright to be honest with her. "Yes, I see him as a friend and don't want him to get hurt. But he is stubborn…"
"Unfortunately he is. Well, no matter. I wish you luck in bringing down his defenses, I earnestly hope you can manage that and in the mean time forget about what you've just heard, alright~? I have no ill intentions against him, just like you."
Hakuba frowned at her, unsure what to think about it, but found himself giving a nod despite it. She smiled gently and turned around, exiting the classroom. He stayed there a while longer, trying to sort out his confusion. Part of him wanted nothing more than to forget the whole thing just to please Akako, but his detective nature was fighting against it, eager to unravel what it was about. Partially, he felt angered with Kuroba that he refused the beautiful mistress anything she wanted from him, while at the same time he was worried about what she done to the magician, that he called it a torture. He fought hard to push away any images of the couple in a… intimate situation. He shook his head and exited the school. He called Nakamori to inform him that he wouldn't be able to get to the station this day, without giving any explanation and wrote a similar text to Kudo, before turning off his phone. He couldn't spare any thought even loosely connected to the magician or the beauty. To prevent it, he went back home to focus on any cold case files he could find.
Care to guess the riddle~? And the reason why did our kaitou show up on the TV screen~? I promise to give the solution next chapter~
Hopefully we will also have the heist there – but I won't promise that. Like I said in the beginning I might start writing it shorter a bit, so no idea where will I get with it ;)
My dear readers… I have a confession to make – I'm an idiot xD No seriously – don't know how, but when I counted the weeks while writing chapter 16 I made a mistake and somehow added a month. I've been wondering what to do with it and finally decided to correct it (which I did). This also means that this chapter covers 6-9 June. From now on I'll be keeping a calendar, so I won't make such a mistake ever again. Sorry again… But on the bright side it means that we only missed Shinichi's birthday and Kaito's are still before us~
See you next chapter *grins*