Chapter Twenty-Five
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"Geez," Sonoko sighed aloud. Eisuke glanced around and decided that he was the only person in the immediate vicinity, even if he was just passing her desk on the way back from the bathroom, and therefore that she must be talking to him. He followed her line of sight and saw her watching Ran, who was alternating between chatting with a couple of girlfriends and apparently holding some form of conversation with Kudo, who was otherwise absorbed in a couple of notebooks that he occasionally scribbled some extra note or other in. It didn't look like schoolwork.
"Something wrong, Sonoko-san?" he asked. The bleach-haired girl sighed in frustration.
"I don't get it," she complained. "Kudo-kun and Ran've been broken up a week and weren't even officially together in the first place. I thought she'd have suitors out the door already. Where are they? The girl's depriving me of precious gossip, dammit! I hope Kudo-kun's not scaring them away…"
"I'm sure he wouldn't," Eisuke said reassuringly, though he wasn't that sure; while Kudo had made it clear to Eisuke that he was abandoning any claim to Ran, he had also expressed a fiercely protective nature regarding his best friend and Eisuke could imagine him scaring off anyone that he felt wasn't "good enough" for Ran. "I'm sure they're just observing a mourning period, you know?"
Sonoko suddenly whipped around and focused her fierce, calculating glare on Eisuke. He stepped back slightly. "Hmmm. Are you just observing a "mourning period"?"
"Uhh, I…" Eisuke stuttered, mentally cursing as he felt himself flare up. He had had a slip-up of some sort approximately once ever half-hour since he learned to walk, but that hadn't immunised him against vicious blushing. Sonoko's sudden grin was not reassuring.
"I see," she said maliciously. "You know, much as I tend to forget that you're a guy-"
"Excuse me?"
"-You are a guy, and not a bad one at that. Hmmm… okay, I've decided!"
Eisuke actually groaned aloud. He had known Suzuki Sonoko about a year and had spent half of that in the States, but he still realized that that phrase portended doom.
"Here's the plan," she said, snapping her fingers to get him to pay attention. "I'll set up a shopping trip this weekend, you and me and Ran. Then I'll beg out with a flu about five minutes before the meeting time. It'll just be you two!"
"H-hold on," Eisuke insisted. "Look, if I want to ask Ran-san out, I don't need sneaky plans, okay? I-I'll just… ask h-her out…"
"St-stuttering all the way?" Sonoko said mockingly. "Come on, it'll be fun, it'll be a comfortable way to be alone together… don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine!"
Eisuke quickly walked away again before Sonoko could launch into full planning-mode, knowing that he had probably already been ensnared.
He had to wonder if Kudo had supersonic hearing. The second he glanced over the busy detective again, he looked up from his notes, flashed a reassuring grin and rolled his eyes a little, before returning attention to his notebook. Eisuke glanced from him to Sonoko, who was also actually making notes on scrap paper with a disturbing grin on her face, and wondered what he was getting into.
"Eisuke-kun? Have you had lunch yet?"
Eisuke smiled and sat down next to Ran as she smiled brightly at him, joining in her conversation. "Oh, yeah. Well, if it works, it's worth putting up with Sonoko."
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"Poor Hondo, Sonoko seems to be drawing him into her insane matchmaking," Shinichi commented as he wandered back to Kaito, having been eavesdropping on his classmates for a while. Kaito glanced up to see the guy, now very red-faced and sputtering while Sonoko grinned disturbingly. He gave the guy a reassuring grin, before rolling his eyes at Sonoko's expression and returning to the notebook.
And you called me a stalker, Kaito scribbled in the margin of the notebook, being within close earshot of Ran and as such not wanting to risk muttering to himself. He was currently going through a few of Shinichi's notebooks of Syndicate information, adding notes and markers of his own and looking for links to his own notes, which after some sweet-talking of Megure-keibu Kaito had received permission to look at come the weekend. Akai was around again, adding his own comments to Kaito's notes, and it seemed they were going to have a right spiritual pow-wow over Kaito's notes this weekend, with Pisco, Irish and Bourbon being brought along for their input and knowledge base. It seemed that the Cerberus threat didn't just apply to Kaito.
"Now, now, stalking is no bad thing," Toichi cautioned lightly. "It's an important aspect of both our professions. The main difference is that detectives can be paid for it."
"It's called tailing," Shinichi snapped. Kaito's only response was to scribble Potato, potahto in the margin.
"How much do you have on them, anyway?" Akai interjected, always on-topic. Kaito flicked to a fresh page as Eisuke sat down next to Ran and tried to wave off any conversation about the evil plans of Suzuki Sonoko.
A couple of files full of stuff. A few sketches and photos I took surreptitiously of familiar faces, especially Snake's, and a few addresses and locations. Some have been destroyed or disused since, but most They don't know that I know about. I decided that I needed a few aces up my sleeve.
"Not bad," Shinichi said approvingly. "We can hit Them before They know we're coming."
"Just so long as none of Their people in the police have seen the files," Akai pointed out. "If They have, They'll abandon the places in very short order…"
Unlikely, Kaito wrote. Nakamori-keibu has custody of the files, and as far as I can tell so far only he's seen them. He won't let anybody else touch them. It took a lot of work from Megure-keibu to get us in. Something about the Clock Tower case.
"You mean the only case where I handed your ass to you as Kudo Shinichi rather than Edogawa Conan?" Shinichi teased. Kaito blinked and nearly spoke aloud before writing again.
Oh please. You didn't catch me. Everything went off just as planned. I achieved my objectives.
"Saving the clock tower?" Shinichi said shrewdly. "Your code said that you wouldn't let them take it…"
You knew that? The police said nobody figured it out.
"I figured it out. I just didn't tell anybody because I respected your objectives." Shinichi grinned. "Even then, you were already the most… interesting adversary I've ever had. Catching murderers is my major passion, but figuring out what made someone like you tick sort of became a hobby."
What makes you think anything makes me tick? Kaito quipped, though he couldn't help a little grin as the notebook began filling with his half of the sniping contest. Akai sighed heavily and vanished, sensing that no more work was getting done today, and Toichi just grinned.
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"How are you doing, Nakamori-san?"Saguru greeted the girl as she cracked open the door to the Kuroba residence to let him in.
"Pretty good, actually," she said, offering him a warm smile. "How're things at school?"
"Disturbingly quiet," Saguru commented, following her in the door. They couldn't linger long on the porch steps without the press, who had learned Kaito's name if not his hospital, going nuts. "Even the teachers are commenting on it."
"Thanks," Aoko said brightly, taking the worksheets from him and flipping through them, making a face at the Physics sheet. Saguru raised an eyebrow slightly. She hadn't flinched at the allusion to Kaito; no reaction at all.
"You seem in good spirits," he said, as Kaito's mother popped her head out of the kitchen to greet him. She was pulling up a smile too, though she still seemed pale and wan.
"I am, actually," Aoko said, leading him to the living room and sitting down to spread out the sheets next to her notebooks. "I guess… I've gotten it all out. My feelings, I mean. The confusion's cleared. I still can't quite forgive him, but I know that'll come with time. Bad memories fade faster than good, especially when it comes to those that you loved."
"Nakamori-san…?" Saguru said tentatively. She looked up at him, giving him a shockingly peaceful smile.
"I can accept that now," she said softly. "I did love him, or a part of him- however much of him he was willing to show. I had to accept that to let it go. I'm angry at him, I hate him for how he lied to me and what he did to me… but that doesn't change the fact that I did love him. But he's gone. His life's over, and mine…"
"You've got your entire life left, Aoko-chan," Kuroba's mother said as she appeared with tea. "And Kaito… even I can't say I know everything that went on in his head. But I am his mother, and I do know that you were very, very important to him. I think, wherever he is, he doesn't want you to suffer."
"He'd better be kicking himself for causing you all this grief, too," Aoko grumbled, passing a cup to Saguru. "So, you've decided…?"
The older woman sighed, settling herself down on the couch next to Aoko. "Like you said, Aoko-chan… he's gone. He's where Toichi is now, and I have to accept this. I can wait forever, the doctors said, and he won't wake up. I need to stop torturing myself with that near-impossible possibility. I can't move on until I do."
"You're switching him off?" Saguru asked. Kuroba's mother nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"As soon as I can get out of the house without being swarmed by the press," she said ruefully. "They're among the reasons that I saw only a few of Toichi's "shows" live and none of Kaito's. Necessary as they are to the Kaitou Kid, they can be such vultures."
"True," Saguru commented. "What about you, Nakamori-san? Are you going to grace the school with your presence again before graduation?"
"You should go back soon, Aoko-chan," Kuroba's mother encouraged. "Thank you for being here… I don't know what I'd have done without you… but I won't have you ruining your schooling on my account. I'll survive. I have before."
"I know," Aoko said, giving the older woman an affectionate hug. "But remember, you're not alone. You've always got Tou-san and I."
"I'm going to the station this weekend to go through Kuroba-kun's records, see if we can't track down these mysterious snipers," Saguru said. "We're also reopening the investigation into your husband's death, though it may have been too long cold to find anything. Still, I swear to you as a detective… we will bring them to justice. Murder cannot be excused."
"Thank you, Hakuba-kun," Kuroba's mother said, smiling warmly at him. "Thank you…"
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"Hattori Heiji," Heiji said as he picked up his phone, announcing an "unknown caller".
"Hattori-san?"
He paused as he recognized the voice. "Hey… ain't you Haibara?"
"Brilliant deduction. I need to talk to you about Kudo-kun."
"This about the antidote?" Heiji said, checking the clock. He didn't have to meet Kazuha for twenty minutes, he had time to chat. This was important. "I guess ya found th' proper one…"
"Actually, I didn't. The antidote I gave him… frankly, it was a strain he'd used before and shouldn't have lasted more than twelve hours. I can find no chemical or biological explanation for it. Emotional turmoil over his breakup with Mori-chan doesn't produce any hormones that would affect the drug to this degree, and in any case he's remained remarkably chipper about it… just acting oddly."
"Hell yeah he's actin' weird," Heiji said with a frown. "I mean, it's like- how do I say it? It's not just that he ain't himself. I've seen 'im down an' out. He's not even actin' like himself when he ain't himself."
"I know what you mean. And more than that… Something strange happened not long before the antidote. An Organization member got into his house, and I believe tried to kidnap him…" she fell silent for a few minutes, waiting patiently for Heiji to finish swearing violently. "Quite. At any rate… I didn't quite know what was happening until afterwards. I just had a- a terrible feeling… it was more than a feeling. I knew something was wrong, and it was wrong in Kudo-kun's house…" she trailed off uncertainly.
"Go on," Heiji prompted, knowing that the scientifically-minded girl was clearly uncomfortable with such intangible things as bad feelings. "I know personally how real bad feelin's can be. So what happened?"
"…I'm still not sure what I saw, and I'm sure my memory is playing tricks on me, but I thought I saw lights flickering… oddly… in Kudo-kun's house. I mean, the lights were an odd colour. And there were strange crashes inside… it sounded like furniture was getting thrown around. Then the Raven came running out and drove off on a motorcycle… but he looked scared. Not just a little frightened like he'd had a football kicked at his head, but truly terrified. And then Kudo-kun went after him on his skateboard… but…"
"Yeah?" Heiji prompted. He was already trying to think up possibilities for what Haibara thought she saw in Kudo's house; he knew that the girl wasn't prone to an overactive imagination. Kudo was known for having weird allies, maybe there was an FBI guy or some such hiding out in his house that got into the fight, maybe Agasa had made him a new gadget that Ai wasn't aware of…
"Objects were flying after him," Haibara blurted out, sounding like she didn't believe herself. "I mean genuinely levitating. A few books, a lamp, a football and a bedsheet. They were floating two feet above his head and following him, turning corners and all. When I went into his house, his room was a tip- his bed had been thrown into the hall, with enough force to crack it in two. No single adult, at least not one of that Raven's size, could do that, and even Kudo-kun's shoes aren't that powerful. I swear on my sister's grave that I'm not making this up, but I'm praying you can think of some logical explanation, because I sure as hell can't."
Heiji really, really wished she was making it up, but the girl was one of the most coldly logical souls he'd ever met, far more than Kudo or Hakuba. "… I'll try an' bring it up when I see Kudo this weekend."
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VERY interesting revelations in the latest Kid arc. Those who haven't read chapter 733, look away now. Kid seems a bit more back in-character, delighting in messing with forging cheaters (I still think that the whole tazer thing was really OOC for Kid), but more interesting… was his mom really the Phantom Lady? That would explain how she and Toichi met, anyway XD Both manga and anime seem set on rewriting the character for Kaito's mom that I've got in my head… I even started thinking of her as Chikage now. For continuity's sake, I'll stick with calling her Minami for the rest of this fic, but I might switch to Chikage thereafter… or maybe I'll join Koorii and Dragon-sama's campaign to have her known as Nyoko, which also suits XD ("Jewel").
Also, who else, after watching the last Doctor Who arc, turned any little figurines or statues in their rooms to face each other, and set about any cracks in their walls or ceilings with a tub of Polyfilla? XDXD
You should get your teachers to start using fanfictions as study texts, Marie Ravenclaw XDXD What colour would that last rose have been…? :3
There are a lot of parallels between Kaito and Shinichi, Cat… that's probably why they understand each other so well… ;)
Glad you liked 'em, Teldra!
I guess I wrote the scene right if it made you cry, Phantom-Akiko :') It means I got the emotions through right. I think Kaito would probably facevault into the pavement if he saw Aoko… good thing he's hanging around Beika these days, and she's hanging around Ekoda…
Glad you liked the dream, llamaglamasama… and I'm really happy to hear I'm writing a good Toichi, too :D He's my favourite character
I like having Toichi be a bit of an omnicogniscent father figure, tsuanyue, and he's fun to write… Gotta love him
A jotter is a notebook, bloddy raptor. Y'know, for writing your work in class in? My old jotters from Math class are kinda empty because three-quarters of the way through the year I realized I was failing epically at math and just gave up… and started writing fanfic in the back of them instead XD
Indeed, SoftcoreOtaku XDXD The Vashta Nerada still freak me out because the way my ceiling lamps are set up, I always have three shadows… scared the hell out of me right after seeing that episode XDXDXD I think Midnight might have been one of the scariest, though, partially because of the insanity premise, and also because we never really did find out what the hell it was… I miss David Tennant too (yes, Matt Smith is a good actor, but he's just not as good-looking), but I have to admit that I really, really love Amy ;)
"NOBODY EXPECTS THE AKAKO INQUISITION!" *bricked for the Monty Python reference* I think everyone's guessed about the rose, Dragon's Hitokiri… except Shinichi :3
Kaito saw it, but did he guess what it meant, simply anonymous? :3 Here's your next (and somewhat more upbeat) chapter!
It's all for the sake of KaiShin, Madame of all Manga. Just remember that ;)
I'm slowly building up, AmaryMei. I'm not intending to go straight into KaiShin, like they were never in love with Ran or Aoko; That's what all the heartbreak is about. Of course, they are slowly falling for each other, but it'll take them even longer to realize because, of course, neither is aware that he could fall for a guy… am I making them bi, or is it just each other? As Captain Jack said: "You people and your quaint little categories!" XDXDXD Never heard of Niea_7, so if it does look like their fic, erm… great minds think alike? XD DCTP has subbed it now, and DAMN it's awesome! I have to say, among my favourite bits was Ginzo going "how long have I yearned- erm, no, how long have I CHASED you?" XDXDXD GinzoxToichi? *bricked* I love it, though, especially the jazzy theme tune ;)
Okiya turned up at the same time as Scar Akai, Pu7o, whom I do not believe is actually Akai. He is acting extremely bizarrely if he is really Akai, on top of having switched his dominant hand. I actually strongly believe that Okiya is Akai, but for the purposes of the fic Akai actually died, so Okiya got to be Bourbon. And Scar Akai does not exist :P
I want to thank BobbyNeko for all of your insightful and philosophical reviews. They are a joy to read :) Thank you, and I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so much! I'd love to see this animated too, but I'm just not good enough at animation to make even a stick-figure rendition :P
Did you have fun on your trip, tanteigirl69? :) Both of the boys are a bit dim… when it comes to romance, anyways XDXD
I do not own or claim to own Meitantei Conan/Case Closed. If I did, I would be luxuriating in my royalties, not writing fanfic in the back of old maths jotters instead of doing homework. -_-