After nothing better to do and some prompting from Alice Edogawa, I decided to update. I also fixed the mistakes in the first few chapters, plus the prologue. I'll get the next ten fixed some other time.
Chapter 27: Holding Back
The entire day had been a mish-mash of coincidences.
When she'd left the Agency that morning, she expected to simply get some groceries, go back, prepare and have lunch, then meet up with Sonoko sometime later in the afternoon. Rather than that, she'd stumbled on Saguru having a conversation with a not-so-polite lady (though she was really beautiful, she was amazed the British detective hadn't seemed fazed by her physique at all), been invited for a cup of tea, met his irreplaceable companion Watson, gone out to a restaurant with him (and he'd insisted on paying the entire bill even though she could have very well payed her share- the stereotypical gentleman, it almost made her giggle), and gone for a walk in Beika Park with him before the two of them leaving to meet up with Sonoko like she'd originally planned.
She'd learned a lot more about him during that time, too.
"...'Jay'?" Ran repeated, confused.
Saguru smiled. "My London friends, when I tried to speak about Kudo, were always confused about his name, eventually turning his name from 'Shinichi' into 'Jimmy'. But since we also had a Jimmy among our classmates, we ended up referring to Kudo as 'J'. I'd met Watson not too long after we opted for Kudo's final naming, so in the end she only knows Kudo as 'J', or 'Jay' as J-A-Y if you spell it out."
"That's a weird story," Ran giggled. "What about your name? Did they think yours was strange?"
"No, they thought it was funny, if anything," Saguru deadpanned. "What they actually decided was to strip my name from its first syllable, 'Sa', and kept 'Guru', which they found all the more hilarious due to my unique tastes in clothing and referred to me as 'Fashion Guru'. But since that was too long, they called me 'Fash', until they eventually forgot why they called me 'Fash' in the first place. I didn't deem it necessary to remind them."
"Western people sure have weird ideas for nicknames," Ran grinned.
"I couldn't agree more," he sighed. "And thank goodness the other three have never had the privilege of hearing that name- Kuroba would spend his entire life bugging me with it."
She laughed.
But if she thought finding Saguru was a fun coincidence, spotting Conan and Agasa walking up to the same bank they were (because Ran had to pick up some extra money) had been even stranger. And Conan took Saguru's presence as a very nice surprise.
"Ran-neechan! Sonoko-neechan! I didn't expect to see you here! And what are you doing here, Saguru-niichan?"
"I happened to run into Mouri-san this morning," he smiled. "I was in a delicate situation, and she came to help me. It was nothing particularly dangerous and a rather trivial matter, so don't worry," he added, seeing Conan's eyes flash with slight concern.
"So that means you're the friend Ojisan mentioned, right?" Conan asked, a little relieved. "Because when I asked him, he just said 'Ran is out having lunch with some punk who's face I've never even seen!', and started grumbling around, so I went to Agasa-hakase's."
"Tou-san tends to do that when he knows I'm out enjoying the day with a boy," Ran explained, turning to Saguru. "Especially if there's no one else around."
"He is just concerned for your well-being," Saguru smiled. "You are lucky to have such a caring father."
"I'm glad you've got such an optimistic view of her father," Sonoko snorted. "I think he's almost too overprotective. What's the big deal about her having fun with guys instead of girls every now and then? She'd never be able to have some romantic time with Kazuki-kun otherwise! Or even the other Kudo! Or maybe even you! What did you guys do today?"
"Sonoko, there's nothing like that between us!" Ran waved off. Saguru just chuckled.
"Nothing much, we mostly talked," he replied. "It was a good occasion to get to know one of my school friends a little better."
"Are you suuure nothing happened?" Sonoko teased, smirking evilly.
"I already told you, we just went for a walk in the park," Ran said flatly. Next to her, Saguru blushed slightly, grinning a little sheepishly. Conan gave the blond teenager a deadpan stare.
"That, and he invited you out to a restaurant!" Sonoko snickered.
"I am not rude enough to send away a friend when we find ourselves to be in the middle of an interesting conversation," Saguru explained. "I rarely leave my home or meet anyone outside of the school grounds, her presence may have been mostly an excuse to go out and enjoy the sunlight a little. Even a bookworm such as myself could sometimes use some fresh air."
"Should I take that as having to make a mental note and send Shinichi-kun to you every now and then?" Agasa joked.
Saguru smiled. "I do not imagine him to be bored, but if he ever feels the need to occupy himself with something else, I have plenty of spare time. My door will be open and ready to welcome him any day." Agasa nodded in response. "And the same to you, Mouri-san, Suzuki-san, Conan-kun," he added, looking everyone in the eye as he said their respective names with a smile.
"I don't mean to interrupt you, but maybe we should start standing in line?" Sonoko suggested. "There's a reason we're all here, right?"
"Ah! Right," Ran nodded, and proceeded to walk into the bank with the others. Not too long into the line however, and she saw Saguru already crouching down to Conan-kun and having a whispered conversation with the bespectacled (and annoyed-looking) boy.
"Now that the boys aren't exactly paying attention, why don't you tell me the truth?" Sonoko whispered, almost snickering. "What do you think of him?"
Ran rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, he's definitely waaay more polite than Kazuki, and doesn't immediately ramble on about Sherlock Holmes and mystery novels and whatnot, but how does that automatically mean I also have to imagine a romantic relationship with him? It's not like I plan on falling in love with every guy I meet."
"Aw, but Ran-chan, you deserve to have a great guy and be happy with him! I'm just trying to help push you in the right direction by hearing your thoughts on the guys you hang out with so you choose the right one! And Hakuba looks real good, you'll have to admit."
Ran sighed and shook her head with a smile. She appreciated Sonoko's concern, but in the end the decision ultimately belonged to her and only her, didn't it?
She stopped in front of the counter and smiled at the person behind it.
"Hello, I would like to withdr-"
Her sentence was interrupted by the sound of a very loud gunshot.
xXx
A wave of shrieks and gasps flooded the room in the span of two seconds.
"Alright everybody, nobody move! This is a hold-up, and don't anyone dare think this is a joke, hear me?"
Conan shifted into something of a defensive position, quickly looking around. Then again, there wasn't much he could find in a bank that he could use to kick at them, though it would've definitely come in handy. He didn't like rash actions, but he would've liked to knock them out while they hadn't gotten complete control over the customers yet, just to make things easier.
"Conan-kun."
Conan looked up at Saguru, staring intensely at the newly arrived intruders.
"Stay close."
Conan frowned. Saguru knew he wasn't a kid. He knew that Conan wasn't the type of 'child' to need protection, even if his small body wasn't exactly the best for resisting against adults- much less when they were armed.
That's when Conan noticed Saguru's clenched fists shaking slightly.
"Stay close," Saguru repeated, not taking his eyes off the bank robbers even for a second, not even blinking.
Conan watched him for a little longer, nodded, and gripped Saguru's sleeve tightly.
"Alright everyone, get to the floor with your hands on your head!" one of the masked men shouted. Conan could hear the evil grin. "If there's even one sign of resistance, I'll personally make sure you pay, got it?"
"Ran-neechan!" Conan hissed, watching as she and Sonoko kneeled down to the floor like the rest of them, though Conan was still holding Saguru's arm. The long-haired girl glanced back at him, listening. "I know you could knock them out any day, but please don't do anything, alright?" He thought of Saguru shivering beside him, and added in much darker tones "These guys aren't holding a bunch of toys, they'll really kill us if we do anything."
"Oi, twirp, what are you hissing over there, huh?" the talkative one growled, spinning around with his gun at him. Conan assumed by now that he must be the leader. The other customers around them whimpered in fear. "Spat another word and I'll leave a bullet in your head as a present!"
"B-Boss!" another one stuttered, not as confident as his leader, and continued quietly, not so quiet enough that they couldn't hear him. "Boss, I recognise that kid! He's that Edogawa boy that keeps showing up in the papers, the little kid that lives with the Mouris!"
"Eh, a celebrity, then?" the leader smirked. Conan frowned. The gun clicked, and Conan's eyes widened. "Maybe I should just get rid of you right now, in that case?"
"No!" Ran screamed, making to stand up.
"Stay down!" Conan shouted as he paled, and Ran froze.
The boss chuckled. "Smart boy. No wonder you appear in the news so often, putting all those criminals behind bars with your good old uncle Mouri and your kiddy-friends." His grin faded for a second as he noticed something. He then pointed at something with his gun, tilting his head a little. "You're supposed to have both hands on your head, not just one. Let go."
Shit. "Saguru-niichan isn't feeling well, so I'm trying to comfort him."
"I don't fuckin' care whether he's just scared shitless or sick and dying, I want both your hands on your head!"
Conan gritted his teeth and slowly obeyed. If he tempted him any further he'd probably let the gun go off, and whether he turned out as the target or not, he preferred nobody died that day.
"You," he nudged the guy beside him. "Keep an eye on the kid. If he moves even a tiny bit, shoot him."
"A-Alright," he replied, still hesitant, while the leader went to deal with the guys behind the counter.
Four men, armed, all confident and willing to kill- well, the last two had kept silent, so it was hard to tell for sure- except for the one watching him. Conan strongly suspected he'd been recruited recently and was doing this for the first time. He couldn't help but think that he shouldn't anger him too much- once your hands were dipped in blood, you couldn't wash it off, and Conan figured it would be best if this man could keep them clean while they still were.
Conan imagined all sorts of possible scenarios, ones where they came out unharmed, ones where some were killed...But either way, he couldn't take any risks unless some really good chance came walking by, or the others understood what he was implying and moved accordingly, also noticing that chance.
The second the leader turned away from the counter, Conan heard Saguru wince, and saw as he twitched and made to put his arms around himself rather than keep them on his head. Of course, the guy that was supposed to watch them noticed.
"O-Oi! Hands on your head!" he demanded, pointing his gun, hand shaking slightly.
Conan's eyes flashed. "Saguru-niichan! Just a little longer, okay? It'll all be over soon, I swear!"
"What's up?" the leader snarled, walking up to them. "Tch, stupid foreigner not feeling too good? Want me to give you relieve you from your pain maybe?" His gun clicked again. Conan started to panic.
"Saguru-niichan!" he continued, straightening a bit. "Remember the last time, when Heiji-niichan was with us? I know it's hard to keep it all to yourself, but it's okay to sometimes let go a little! So don't worry, okay?"
"Shut the hell up, you little runt!" And Conan doubled over as the guy kicked him in the stomach. Ran gasped. It hadn't been particularly hard, but it was enough that his little body couldn't take much of it. The man then turned to Saguru. "Alright you piece of shit, get your hands on your head before I blow it off. Or what, are you gonna try and make me believe you don't understand what I'm saying? Don't joke around with me!"
"Conan-kun, are you alright?" Ran asked quietly, worried.
"I'm fine," he replied, trying to smile a little. "It'll be even better if no one dies by the time they leave."
"Alright kiddo," he smirked evilly, "I guess I'll be generous and cut your suffering short. Why don't you show me your ugly face before you depart?" he added, gripping Saguru's hair and pulling his head back.
The rest happened rather quickly.
The leader's eyes widened slightly as he immediately let go of Saguru and backed a little. Ran and Sonoko were already half-way on their feet, the long-haired karate-master giving the main intruder a punch in the stomach- revenge for the little brother. Sonoko grabbed the first big, solid thing she'd found on the wall- a signboard of some sort-, and passed it to Ran without waiting another second. The confusion of the two on the other side of the room was enough that Ran had the time to advance with the signboard as a shield towards them, and knocked them out with a couple of swift kicks. The last one, panicking, was frantically looking from one accomplice to another, and to Ran. Feeling a tiny bit of compassion for him, Conan simply darted him to sleep with a satisfied smile.
xXx
"Thank Kami we managed to get away before the police came," Ran sighed, giggling.
"I wouldn't have minded being on TV," Sonoko huffed, arms crossed, despite the fact that she was grinning.
"You wouldn't, but I know I don't consider publicity a priority," Saguru smiled.
"You're a mystery-geek and you don't plan on being famous? Are you seriously trying to make me believe that?" Sonoko teased. The rest of them chuckled.
"I'm mostly surprised Conan-kun didn't stay to give testimony," Agasa admitted.
"I like Takagi-keiji, but not so much that I want to spend my life on a chair facing him and telling him about everything I do," Conan replied, rolling his eyes. Ran giggled again.
"And I am surprised that I have been picked on so much today," Saguru sighed. "What is with everyone? 'Foreigner, foreigner'...Maybe I should dye my hair a darker color, nobody would notice the difference then..." he wondered, fiddling with a strand of his fringe and trying to stare up at it.
"Don't worry, most people aren't like that," Ran assured gently.
"Yeah, she's right," Sonoko agreed. "Besides, I think blond looks good on you!"
"Am I supposed to feel flattered or embarrassed?" Saguru joked, grinning and blushing slightly. Ran and Sonoko simply grinned back. "Well, either way, I suppose I should head back home now. Forgive me for leaving you in such a rude manner, but I do believe that I have had enough adventures for today..."
"Don't worry, we understand," Ran nodded. "I still have to get some money, so I'll probably go to whichever bank I come across next and hope it doesn't get robbed too," she smiled. "Sonoko-chan, are you also going home?"
"No, I'll stick with you," Sonoko grinned.
"Saguru-kun, since my car is right here, would you like me to drive you back?" Agasa offered, pointing at the yellow car no five feet away.
"I will gladly accept, if you see no problem with it..."
"I offered, so I doubt there are any," Agasa chuckled.
"Ran-neechan, can I go with Saguru-niichan and Agasa-hakase?"
"Only if Agasa-hakase plans on bringing you back before dinner," Ran winked.
"Okay!"
"In that case I shall see you again at school tomorrow," Saguru bowed slightly. "Mouri-san. Suzuki-san."
"See you tomorrow, Hakuba-san!" Sonoko waved as the two girls walked away. "Goodbye Agasa-hakase! See you around, squirt!"
"Thanks," Conan grumbled with a deadpan. Saguru chuckled. "And what the heck was up with you? You're usually so serious, and no two minutes ago you had a grin worthy of Kuroba plastered on your face!"
"Oh please, Kuroba is an exaggerated comparison," Saguru rolled his eyes, yet still smiling. "But I must say, I am quite surprised myself. I cannot remember many other times where I have felt so...laid back. Even the other three have rarely seen me try and relax."
"Well, try and relax more, a smile suits you better than a stick-in-the-mud face."
"Why thank you for your most valuable advice," Saguru deadpanned, getting into the car.
Conan chuckled, climbing onto the front seat. There was a very long pause as everyone got their seatbelts while Agasa started the car and began driving through the streets. Conan raised his head a little to look at the rearview mirror. Saguru was seated just right from him to be able to see him, and watched as the blond detective gazed absently out the window at the passing cars and buildings.
"Guess you're glad the situation didn't worsen, huh?" Conan commented, crossing his arms. Saguru simply blinked and glanced back at him through the mirror, not bothering to turn his head. "You're thinking that it could've easily turned to the worst, because being the only one of the four to have the genes of an actual predator, your blood tends to react quicker than that of the others, and that until now you've always relied on the presence of the other three to help you if your instincts took over. Having someone around that was aware of your standing, in this case me, was comforting, but I wouldn't have been of much help had it gone any farther, and so you are now mentally thanking Ran and Sonoko-chan for their reacting, which saved you even if they didn't know in what way. You're also trying to come up with a proper cover-story to explain your reaction when the robbers came bursting into the bank with their guns practically blazing so that you're prepared if anyone ever asks."
Saguru smirked and looked out the window again. "That, and also that I am not used to having people other than the three reading my mind. It would seem that we aren't detectives for nothing, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Conan smirked back.
xXx
"The bird got away."
She didn't look up at him, nor did she smile. "I see," was the only reply she could give.
A pause.
"I didn't think it would ever come to this..."
"...I did. I've known from the beginning that this would happen."
"You mean the bird escaping?"
"No. But I know what the higher-ups are thinking of it, and the consequences of it on me."
Another pause.
"Redwood won't be happy."
"No, he won't. But there's nothing to be done now. I'll accept my fate. That's all I can do."
"...He'll try to-"
"I know what he'll try to do. I won't let him. Not when others still need him. More than I do, anyways."
"..."
"...Why are you here, anyway? I thought you didn't care about me anymore."
"What you believe is up to you alone. What you figure out is something different entirely."
"No intention of giving me a straight answer?" she smirked.
"I can't. Even though I would tell you truth..."
He turned away from the cell, his long silver hair swaying behind him, his blue eyes out of sight, as he started to walk away.
"...I also wouldn't."
Seems everyone is a fan of Watson now after the previous update XD
I'll just say this again, and probably again in about seven chapters or so (random number, don't actually expect it), but thank you so much to all those who've supported me up to now by reviewing, to Chu-chan (Mangaluva) for her opinion and occasional beta-ing, and to those that don't review but still read anyway XD I really really appreciate your being here- especially if you managed to stick with me this far- and hope you'll still be by the time this fic ends, because it makes me feel like I'm finally able to do something that people actually care about.
Thank you. Rant over XD
Marie Ravenclaw: Well, here's also the fact that I could probably put more effort into updating more often, so I'm partially to blame too.
Daisuke Kazamatsuri: ...Yep, I felt the drought too. Which is why I updated. I figured I don't get any updates out of it, but at least others will be happy XD And, well, I tried to make the Heart something you can't think of when you try to guess, but that seems obvious once you know what it is XD
Kayla Edogawa: Oh hey there, welcome back to the review section! And WPBIO STILL TOTALLY PWNS EVERY FIC IN THE DC SECTION, even if there are lots of other good fics 8D *ahem* I'm not sure about the canon characters being in character, seeing how they tend to slip out occasionally (Saguru was being particularly OOC in the previous chapter, but I guess just the one line managed to tone it down a little, thank goodness I put it there xP) As for the OCs, I'm still struggling to put them in as much as I can without making them overshadow the canon characters. I'm glad if they haven't yet. (PS: I checked. Last review was on Ch14. That was so awesome I laughed XD)
A Smiling Cat: Very much so. Remember when Akako saw his scars? She thought that maybe he'd been cursed, but she couldn't think of any witch that would curse someone like him without any reason save for one. That would be Chijumon. The fact that Chijumon didn't know him, and mentioned that he wasn't even cursed, just adds to Akako's questions x3
Nequam-tenshi: Since this fic seems to revolve a lot around birds, even though it wasn't supposed to be the main issue of the story, I figured I would try to make Watson a little special. The three others also have feathery companions, but none of them were released, and probably won't be after the Dark Ring stupidly lost Watson XD
Chelseaj500: I'm not sure how I write all this. But I've just always assumed that it's from giving in to insanity 8D
Angel's Detective: Soon. Very soon XD
Animegirl1987: I'm glad I can seem to make everybody's day with an update XD I really appreciated your review- of course I always love reviews from anyone, there's no trying to claim otherwise- but what I enjoy most in reviews is people telling me what's wrong about my fic, and if not, then what's right, and what makes my story worthwhile. I think it's great when readers point out mistakes, or something that doesn't make sense (unless it was wanted), but also what it is that I should try to keep on doing. As for this story bringing DC into a new light, I think I'll just blame it on the fact that it's an AU- and I've got tons of those still up my sleeve, if you're still around by then and want XD
Idia199: Oh, hello there! I saw you adding all sorts of oneshots to your list, so I was wondering if you'd eventually get to this one or not- I'm glad you did XD And yeah, I know I still have some mistakes to check up in the early chapters, I just never got to doing it. I should. I also found the symbolism for magpies to be a happy coincidence, or Kaito would have continued to live on as Raven- not necessarily the worst comparison, but Magpie definitely suits him in more ways than just his fetish for shiny objects, I think I even gave a link a few chapters back that explained the various reasons why Kaito is Magpie. You're right, Sparrow does suits Conan too, doesn't it? But when I thought of Heiji, he came across as a bit a social person to me, and sparrows despite not being domestic birds are still very man-friendly, so that's probably why I chose that. Thanks for your review, I hope long replies don't bore you out XD
