lA/N: Again sorry if this is confusing… It's not exactly being clear with me either… Also for everyone worried about Yukiko, she's fine. Mild concussion, but otherwise fine. She makes her reappearance next chappie. Thanks to FireStorm and Hittocerebattosai for the help editing this beast. This first part from Shinichi's PoV takes place before Vodka's scene last chapter.
Oh, and Heiji is an idiot, don't let him fool you, he's an utter idiot this chappie, not to mention I've decided not to be creative about that, so… Kuroi- black, because I don't feel like finding another word for Kudou, yea…you'll see. Sorry for the utterly awkward switch it makes! Also the note with this is** referring to child which is pronounced Kodomo. More Heiji related translation issues… ugh…
Thanks to: Mariena D' Alonna, smexyforever, firestorm, ILovefanfiction-AnimeAdik(that is a really lonnnggg name), lilgreblob, Seirei, Panda san, icarusdg, kuroange1, pheonixshadow, solera, vetis1056, aniki chan, kat-sakura, mai-chan, and the two guests for your lovely reviews.
And yes A. , it is a really slow plotline in terms of the romance. It is kind of irritating at times that is so slow and the yet the idea of those two falling in love with each other is so appealing that it makes me want to do it the right way, which unfortuantely for all us rabid fangirls is quite slow because these two are such stubborn morons at times. Enjoy everybody!
PART THIRY SEVEN- IT POURS
As Gin drove off to deal with the Organization directly, Shinichi got the distinct impression that he was being watched. The shrunken detective's paranoia was already in overdrive after his dealings with the Black Organization earlier. He searched for his would be observer carefully, his eyes darting back and forth; seeing no one he resumed his trek up the stairs. He let out an impressive yawn as he reached for the Agency door handle. Between thwarting the Bioterrorism attempt that morning, and the taxing calls with the American agencies afterwards, he was thoroughly exhausted. All he wanted to do was go pass out on his futon for the night. Too bad he had to deal with Mouri first…
Mouri turned to face Shinichi as the smaller detective opened the agency door slowly. The elder detective looked vaguely surprised to see him, but turned back to his television program, uninterested beyond finding out who was coming in. The fact 'Conan' was home before Ran was probably all that was interesting to Mouri.
It had actually been the assassin who mentioned it might take more than a single day to deal with everything, so 'Conan' had planned with his pseudo-family accordingly. Shinichi had planned for up to three days if needed, but being home that first night might cause Kogoro some slight confusion. Sonoko had kidnapped Ran for the weekend once she found out that 'Conan' was going to be gone. Shinichi sat down on the client couch, fully prepared to 'bite the bullet' to get the antidote back. That last phrase would be literal instead of figurative, otherwise.
"Occhan," he started meekly, "can we… talk?" The elder detective set down his newspaper, and muted the news that he had playing. Shinichi swallowed thickly, he wasn't looking forward to this, but at least Ran wasn't there… That made telling the half truths considerably more bearable for him.
"Is it about why you're home early? Most of the time when you make plans like this," Kogoro punctuated the statement with his hands, "you end up showing up just before school… You were involved with that explosion downtown earlier, weren't you? How is that going to see your little friend, that one that moved away?" Kogoro accused correctly.
Shinichi nodded, admitting that the elder detective's connections were correct. He also raised his shrunken hands reflexively in defense, this was already quickly getting out of hand. The elder detective wasn't staying on the topic he needed long enough for him to get a chance to explain anything! Best to start where he was most uncomfortable then…
"Well actually, there's more to it Occhan…" Shinichi frowned, but it was best to do it now while he had the chance to explain without undue interruptions, "Hattori niisan, he told me you found it. The pill I had hidden, that was more or less what I was talking about. Unless you'd rather I tell you about what happened at the warehouse," he acknowledged unhappily before continuing with, "which I might add is going to be all over the news for the next few weeks to remind you to ask me later?"
Kogoro's pinched expression gave Shinichi the impression he was thinking it over. The elder detective moved to his usual couch. Score! The elder detective didn't appear to expect the topic about the pill to come up willingly it seemed.
"You hid drugs here, and you expected me not to find them?" Kogoro accused, "Conan, you know what type of clients we normally deal with, and I know you know better than to mess with things you don't understand, so why did you hide drugs in my office? Or do I need to have that baggy dusted for fingerprints to get you to confess?"
Shinichi wanted to laugh inwardly, if only it was as simple as that...
"I didn't want you to find out about it, it's something I am honestly ashamed of Mouri Occhan. I would like to clarify to you something very important about what you found though," Shinichi hesitated for a moment, he needed to phrase this very carefully, "that pill you found was not a drug, but an antidote. A specially designed antidote." Shinichi easily read the surprise on the other detective's face, clearly he hadn't been expecting that.
"Then why did you hide it, and what exactly is it an antidote for Bozu?" Mouri asked, not sure whether or not to believe him yet.
"It's an antidote for an environmental poison that Haibara and I were exposed to. I was afraid that if you found out I had this condition that you wouldn't let me go on the cases anymore," the idea of being unable to go on cases was a somber thought indeed for the shrunken detective, almost as bad as that first case where Ran had to rescue him…
"So you thought you would expose Ran and myself to this as well?" the elder detective looked irritated with him.
"You're wrong, it's not like that at all!" Shinichi countered, the thought of either of them being exposed to the Apotoxin was horrifying, "It's not contagious, both of us just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"That seems to happen to you a lot Bozu," the elder detective commented.
"I can't help the fact I'm curious…" Shinichi grumbled, "but the fact is that it's not a drug Oochan, it's an antidote for my condition."
"So then why did your mother leave you here with us, if that's even the case," Mouri questioned, "wouldn't she want to make sure you were okay rather than leave with relative strangers who knew nothing of your condition?"
"I… I couldn't go with her, the places that okaasan travels… they would aggravate my condition…" Shinichi explained in sad tone, it was more like she worked at irritating him because he was back to this size again… "She's traveling around looking for a cure right now, that's why she doesn't call so much. She doesn't want to get my hopes up, so she tries not to bring it up when we're together. She had just left me with Agasa Hakase when Ran met me at Kudou san's house. 'Kaasan left the first antidote for me at his house a couple of months ago, and I left it there because I didn't want you to know…"
"You should have told us anyways Bozu," Mouri leaned down to look him eye to eye, "why were you trying to hide this from us?"
"I thought that if you knew you'd treat me differently than you have been," the smaller detective turned his gaze downwards, he knew how to sulk if nothing else, "I especially didn't want Ran neechan to know for that reason. I can't even remember what my condition is even called… only what it causes when it's acting up." Shinichi wondered idly if Kogoro knew he had stained several spots of the rug with cigarette ash…
"So what happens when it's acting up?" the elder detective asked. Shinichi had to pause at that, he couldn't exactly explain that it was always acting up. Or that it made Kudou Shinichi shrink into the size of a small child, no… neither of those answers would do…
"It why I get colds so often, and it's related to all the fevers I get. It weakened my immune system so I have to be extra careful," Shinichi answered, "and the antidote doesn't completely eliminate the symptoms so much as mask them temporarily… That's why I don't take it most of the time, it's only for use in dire situations when I can't avoid it. That said its better than no antidote at all."
Everything he had said was true of course. He had taken some of the answers out of context, but the fact remained that he only given Kogoro the truth. Which meant that there was little that was send the detective to go looking for answers that Shinichi didn't want him to find. Shinichi's mother was looking for a cure, it just so happened that Gin and Haibara were the ones manufacturing it from scratch. He was also testing their prototype antidotes for the Apotoxin, and they were so fleetingly temporary otherwise he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.
Well… at least one of these messes.
Kudou Shinichi was the single worst liar in the history of the world, he suspected nothing ever would change that. He did however luck out when it came to Kogoro drawing the wrong conclusions for his situations most of the time. He hadn't managed to put two and two together about the fact that Kudou Shinichi and Edogawa Conan were the same person, even if Ran had very nearly outted him with her own suspicions…
"Conan," the elder detective spoke, "I think I understand what's going on here…"Shinichi cringed inwardly, what on earth had he got himself into now… Then a gentle hand game to settle on his shoulder "… the fact is Bozu, neither of us would think any less of you just because you're not perfect."
"Occhan," Shinichi wasn't sure what to think…
"That said don't ever hide something like that in my office without telling me again," Kogoro growled, "wouldn't want some else to get the wrong impression. Like Megure keibu, okay bozu?"
"Ok Occhan, what are you going to tell Ran neechan?" Shinichi didn't really want to go there, but he had to know what the other was going to say. The elder detective remained quiet for a moment, possibly picturing what he was going to tell his daughter and her reactions…
"That it was a misunderstanding and not to worry about it," Kogoro decided, "Bozu, you do know that you can always come to us if you get in over your head, right?" Shinichi nodded, relaxing visibly now that the confrontation with the other detective was over.
"Thanks for believing me Occhan, a lot of people wouldn't have," the shrunken detective added. The elder detective smiled a little at him.
"It makes it really easy for me to believe you when you tell me the truth Conan," the elder smirked in that moment, "besides the only person who lies as bad as you do is that detective brat. If you hadn't told me the truth it would have been painfully obvious." Shinichi inwardly groaned, of course Kogoro would have noticed that… The hand left his shoulder as the elder detective sat back on his own couch rather than continue to kneel comfortingly in front of the younger detective.
"That's very true," Shinichi conceded quietly.
"I wouldn't have sent you away anyways," Kogoro reached for one of his cigarettes, "since you came to stay with us I seem to have gotten my groove back with my cases. I was worried for a while there that damn detective brat was going to make all the business around Beika dry up."
"That wouldn't have been good," the younger quietly agreed.
"No, it wouldn't have," Kogoro confirmed, "but then you came to stay with us. It seems like my luck has finally turned around." The elder detective smiled slightly, and it sent a warm feeling of content straight to Shinichi's heart. It was nice to know the elder detective didn't actually resent Conan's presence or anything like that.
"Luck is a fickle thing Occhan, maybe it's just your good karma finally arriving from taking me in?" Shinichi countered. The younger detective honestly didn't believe in luck or karma considering his luck at running into things that more often than not tried to kill him. Whether he stumbled upon a body or not…
"Eh, maybe it's just the will of the gods, maybe they are finally considering giving me a chance with Yoko chan," Kogoro mused, "well whatever it is I'm glad it brought you to us Bozu. Sorry I didn't so it so well those first few months." Was Kogoro referring to his daily head thumps, or was that just his imagination?
'Try years if that's the case…' Shinichi thought to himself dryly, aloud he managed to say something else, "I promise not to hide anything like that again Occhan… I didn't mean to cause any trouble, really." The elder detective sighed, getting up and stretching out his back slowly.
"I'll hold you to it Conan, because if a detective's word is no good than he is worth nothing," Kogoro explained as he made his way to the liquor cabinet, Shinichi inwardly groaned as a familiar baggy was pulled out from next to the Paikaru. Of course they had put it there…
"I understand Occhan," Shinichi nodded, just managing to hide the exasperated look at the Mouri's collective idea of a hiding place. Kogoro didn't seem to notice, or more than likely didn't seem to care about the little detective's slightly sour look about where they had put his antidote.
"We can put this in my room then, that way your friends don't try to take it," Kogoro said as handed over the baggy, "next time just hand it to me, that way we can avoid this talk next time." Shinichi nodded, by sheer dumb luck his story seemed believable enough to elder detective… Thank Kami sama that he had the guts to get it done.
"Okay Occhan," Shinichi answered with one of Conan's happy smiles, "what are we doing for dinner, the café's closed isn't it?" There was a reason Ran cooked all their meals after all, Kogoro could happily live off of only of beer and cigarettes.
"Well then it's a good thing I'm here isn't it?" Hattori announced as he burst in, "there's got to be a decent place to get some grub around here, and I'm sick of hospital food." Shinichi knew Mouri was staring at Hattori as well, hadn't he done enough?
"Then go by yourself, and take the Bozu," Mouri announced, evidently bored by Hattori's arrival, "after all my Okino Yoko drama should be on next!" The elder detective gushed, getting a soft smile from Shinichi, same old Occhan after all.
"Here, just let me know where later, ok?" Shinichi handed him back the Apotoxin antidote. A show of good faith, hopefully he could avoid any more of these misunderstandings in the future. Shinichi however forgot just who was standing next to him though…
"Are you sure that's wise Ku-ku-kuroi! That's it kuroi!" Hattori corrected himself hastily, "There's… well there was a Kuroi* clothed man over there!" Shinichi couldn't tell if Heiji had actually spotted someone in black or if he was making it up to save his own skin. Mouri of course didn't know anything about the Black Org. or its members so this diversion tactic didn't actually work that well on the person he was intending it for… Well, if it was a diversion at all.
MOURI KOGORO
His latest chat with Conan had gone so well too, and then he had to show up. Why did Hattori Heiji seem to follow the child around like a plague? Then again why was he sure Conan had told him the absolute truth about that pill? Actually… that last one wasn't really a question, Edogawa Conan's lying skills were actually worse than Kudou Shinichi's, anything but the truth would have been obvious.
"Heiji niisan… what man in black?" Conan asked cautiously, in a voice that made their earlier conversation all the more real for Kogoro. The brat hadn't been hiding things when it was just them, and now he had that sickening sweet undertone that made Kogoro's detective senses twitch in irritation.
Edogawa had gone from completely relieved to stressed out then to blank all in matter of seconds, that child was seriously thinking something over. Did he know a man in black? Was that who he was with earlier during that explosion at that Beika warehouse? He had so many questions, but he couldn't ask them with the Osakan high schooler there… or could he?
"And?" he pressed, perhaps he could get them to blurt it out. Conan had a carefully constructed look of utter calm, but there was the utter stiffness of his shoulders and rigid spine that screamed panic. The same one Kudou once gave Eri when she spoke to him.
This was the behavior that was absent earlier when the boy was telling the truth.
"Eh?" Hattori responded, looking back and forth between Conan and Kogoro nervously, "Well I just thought, ah never mind… It wasn't really that important after all." Conan sighed, the sputtering way the Osakan's sentence came out made Kogoro's bullshit detector go off louder than an air raid siren. Not important his ass, why else would he have said it? Not to mention Conan's reactions to it… Come to think of it… He'd ask the brat at a better time.
"A man in black clothing is always important Heiji niisan," Conan scolded in a childish manner, "it could be a bad guy hanging around waiting to kidnap me or Ran neechan, it could be someone who's spying on Occhan, or it could be someone who's just out for no good in general…" Kogoro could have snickered, that sounded like something the other members of Conan's Shonen Tantei would say rather than Conan himself…
"Or it could be just another detective on the hunt for someone suspicious," Kogoro threw in just to remind them he was paying attention, "either way it's never just nothing. What did this man you saw look like?" Kogoro questioned, Conan nodding beside him in earnest. The Osakan looked very nervous still…
"He was tall I think… really tall. He just took off, running down the road as soon as he saw me looking at him," Hattori answered scratching behind his ear as he looked up and to the right. Kogoro scowled, who did this brat think he was kidding with that show?
"Hattori," Conan's voice was deadpan, confirming Kogoro's suspicions that there was a reason for him to want to know about a man in black… well besides the exaggerated reasons earlier, "what type of idiot tries to lie, especially in a room he knows is full of detectives?" So Conan had caught that tell as well. It appeared the smallest detective was learning something from staying with him, the Osakan had the decency to look embarrassed at being caught.
"I'm insulted that you even tried to lie to us, now try again," Kogoro grabbed a cigarette and lit it before casting a suspicious look at both of the younger detectives, "and both of you have yet to explain to me what is so interesting about some man dressed in black. We have all the time in the world, and I'm listening." He leaned back against the couch daring either of them to object, the funny thing was that Conan had the more interesting expression. Clearly the Bozu was the one who knew the most about that last subject, did that mean the Osakan actually knew anything?
Kogoro suspected that either one of two things was about to happen. He was either in for a great story that he was hardly going to believe, or it was going to be the biggest load of bull he'd ever heard… Well, that was besides Ran's suspicion that little seven year old Edogawa Conan was actually that stupid, detective, brat Kudou.
HATTORI HEIJI
Kudou's questioning certainly hadn't helped him think of anything better, it wasn't like he wanted to say something about someone in black clothes! Hell, he should have just said child**, Kudou's ego be damned. Now here he was sitting on a couch trying to outsmart Mouri Kogoro alongside Kudou without telling the old man about it actually being Kudou that was sitting next to him.
"The kid here keeps telling me about some strange guy in black," he started off, jabbing a finger towards Kudou, "and I thought maybe that was the guy. Then again I don't know that much about that guy." Kudou's expression, if not murderous read something along the lines of 'Hattori, if I didn't believe in non-violent solutions…' that didn't bode well at all for Heiji…
"And yet you thought he was a woman," the shrunken detective muttered under his breath just loud enough for Hattori to make out, "It's just Ishida san—" Mouri han looked less than convinced, in fact… The old man looked more like he was downright confused if Heiji wasn't mistaken.
"I fail to see what Ishida chan has to do with this," Mouri han responded flatly, Kudou was having a difficult time trying not to laugh. What the hell was so funny? Did Mouri han also know about Ishida before him?
"No no, not Ayumi chan," Kudou explained with a shake of his head, "Occhan, Ishida san is a very tall man who wears mostly black clothing. That's just his undercover name while he's here, he actually works for some super secret spy organization or something like that." Kudou's voice had long since gone into its overly childish little kid voice. During this Heiji couldn't help but hum the 'Secret Agent Man' theme. Kudou spared him a short glance that spoke volumes, but mostly about how not amused he was.
"Sorry," Heiji muttered.
"Anyways he's kind of like a darker version of Kid san, or perhaps a not so evil Night Baron. Isn't that right Heiji niisan?" Kudou's shark-tooth grin as he looked to Heiji was completely deceiving.
Heiji had no idea who the hell the Night Baron was, and he shot Kudou a look that said that clearly. Then again, maybe he did know… He remembered the name vaguely, why was it so familiar? Wait… Kudou's father wrote mystery novels didn't he? Oh shit, that's exactly what the other teen was referring to. Well damn, way to make him feel like a total idiot. Now that he knew what Kudou was referring to…
"That's a good way of phrasing it, guy's extremely good at whatever it is that he does. He got into a sort of rough spot a while ago, even had to call in Kudou to fix a mess for 'im," Heiji responded without really thinking. When he saw the shrunken detective's shoulders tense he realized that somehow he'd made a major mistake, not that he knew what it was…
"He actually managed to get through to that detective brat?" Mouri han's scathing tone sent a shiver down his spine.
"Yabe…" Heiji mumbled trying to think of a way out of his last statement. Leave it to Kudou to save both their asses, smirking little bastard.
"Actually Occhan, Shinichi niisan sent me instead since he couldn't go," Kudou clarified in that obnoxious high pitched voice of his, "Shinichi niisan thought I would be able to handle it." Mouri's expression was a mixture of displeasure and not quite buying it.
"That detective brat sent you, a primary student, all by yourself with some secret agent guy who happens to dress in primarily black to help him with some random case?" Mouri han clarified in a tone that meant he didn't believe a word of it. Heiji resisted the urge to smirk back at the shrunken detective, he knew exactly how to fix this one.
"Actually Mouri Han, that's exactly it," man Kudou was going to owe him one for this, "just ask Ran san, he arranged the whole thing with her."
"Really?" Mouri han didn't sound convinced at all, "then how come 'your friend' Ishida san didn't call on-" Mouri paused for effect, "Mouri Meitantei when that detective brat was unavailable?" The shrunken detective exchanged a look with Heiji, which Heiji figured said something like 'because he's a fraud and doesn't know it…' either way neither of them was about to say that.
Taking Kudou (in whatever size he was at that moment,) was better than an entire department of police detectives, not that Heiji would ever admit that out loud. Kudou might let the idea to his head, as it was the shrunken detective was cooking up something interesting judging by the smile crossing his lips.
"Oh but Occhan, he might have been too intimidated by how famous you are to ask you!" Kudou's childlike voice giving all the necessary awe as well, "since Shinichi niisan hasn't been in the news lately he thought it might be easier for him to blend in." Kudou had left Heiji an opening as well, hoping to further boost the eldest detective's ego.
"Yeah Mouri han, Kudou and I don't stand out so much as a Meitantei like you does," Heiji added, "perhaps it was a matter of secrecy? I can't imagine that he'd want his bosses to know he had to hire a detective to finish one of his cases…" Kudou nodded, silently agreeing with the statement.
"Hai, can you imagine Occhan? Trying to turn in a receipt for your time as a business expense, when he's actually a super spy… Ishida san would have been in big trouble with his bosses I think…" It was then that Heiji realized their true goal. Mouri han started into a rant about how famous and well known he was. 'His' unique ability to uncover the most difficult pieces of evidence and traps despite all their tricks to cover their tracks, he was so engrossed in his boosting tales that he failed to realize that was exactly what Kudou wanted.
Mouri han, who was so pleased about their remarks had forgotten all about his questioning of the two younger detectives, making both of them smirk uncontrollably even as the eldest continued on his stories of the glory days. Kudou's secrets would be safe until another day, or at least until Heiji himself had a chance to peel them out of him.
GIN (sometime after Vodka's PoV from the last chapter)
After the shock wore off the blond, he retreated to Sherry's chemical lab, she was still in the process of testing the antidote for the Apotoxin. Even if it was an ungodly hour in the morning now instead of a reasonably late hour of the night, Sherry was still working on it. Her dedication to it was surprising, then again she wanted to see the detective cured as much as the shrunken detective himself wanted it. The blond wondered if he should be worried that Vodka, Vermouth, and Sherry were all aware of his emotional attachment to a certain detective…
The portly agent hadn't seemed overly concerned by the development, he didn't seem to think that Gin's own thoughts on the matter would interfere with the Organization's objectives… Vodka's unconcerned comment of 'it happens Aniki…', what the hell was that even supposed to mean? What happens? Well, people had to die, that didn't mean the detective had to like it, but Gin did. He definitely enjoyed the feeling that came from murdering someone in cold blood, but the idea of doing that for the Fox? That just made it that much more appealing…
"You can stop thinking about it already," Sherry's voice broke through his murderous daydreams, "he has that effect on everyone." The large shadows around her eyes indicating how much, or in this case little she was getting. He raised an eyebrow, watching as she had a silent stare down with her latest microscope, Gin resisted the urge to smirk as she pushed the offending machine aside.
"What are you talking about?" Gin asked flatly. Sherry probably thought he was being sarcastic, sadly… he wasn't. One look at his expression told her as much, Sherry had cornered the market on reading his expressions a long time ago. Too bad she couldn't teach the Fox to do the same… (Elsewhere a certain detective sneezes…)
"You're here in my lab, at this hour no less. No, I don't really care what time it is either so don't tell me. That fact, it means you want to talk about him," she explained lacing her fingers, "you are not going to talk to Vodka about it, Vermouth is certainly out of the question for the obvious reasons, so that leaves little old me. I know both of you, which seems to be the main reason you decided to talk to me about whatever is bothering you." She signaled for him to take a seat, well her seat as she moved to where more of their antidote experiments were taking place.
The problem was, Gin didn't want to talk about it.
"Vodka… he wants to know where he can buy brain bleach," Gin started with, Sherry started snickering uncontrollably, falling off her newest stool to her feet, "should I be asking why?"
"I could tell you, but then you'd decide to kill me," she informed him between snickers. When the shrunken scientist had composed herself again she looked at Gin with a serious expression, "as for my earlier statement Gin, I mean it's okay to worry about that idiot."
"Does he know you call him an idiot?" Gin asked, the shrunken mad scientist smirked in response. The assassin could only wonder how that went over, the Fox seemed overly sensitive about being called anything other than his actual name.
"Of course he knows," she answered before moving towards yet another microscope, "we have an understanding, when he acts like an idiot, I call him an idiot. Trying to get to know you on a personal level… that is more than idiotic, it is suicidal. Then again why are you avoiding talking about that idiot?"
"Getting involved with me on a personal level is suicidal?" Gin questioned, the scientist shot him a look that said he really should know.
"You are an assassin, how else was this thing you two have going on going to end?" she spelled it out, "he's a detective and you kill people. What other ending is there? Oh wait, him arresting you. You'd shoot him before that happens and we're back to square one, he's suicidal."
"Why is that the only ending it can have?" Gin didn't disagree, that was the way he suspected things happened to anyone Chianti got involved with, but Gin wasn't Chianti. That and the Fox wasn't just anyone.
"The Fox will not join the Organization, you and I both know that," Sherry turned away from the microscope, "and that is why there can't be another ending." Gin found he didn't want to talk about the Fox anymore with Sherry, mostly because he didn't want to think about the idea of him having to shoot the Fox right now. Sherry got the hint after several minutes of prolonged awkward silence.
"If you're going to keep dancing around the subject than leave, I have actual work to do," Sherry made a shooing motion, "unlike you at the moment." That last grumbled statement struck a nerve with the blond. He growled as he left the her lab, leaving Sherry to her research and him in a considerably worse mood than he started in.
He didn't want to talk about that to anyone, he had thought that Sherry of all people would have understood that. Clearly she didn't judging by her irritation and shooing motions. Damn that irritating woman, brushing him off like that, it wasn't like he had another option. He stalked the halls trying to decide if he should: a.) go back and threaten Sherry, b.) call the Fox, and Kami sama forbid, whine to him about her, or c.) find someone else to torment until he was satisfied…
Tormenting Kir was a temptation, as was the idea of tormenting Chianti, and… well, he still wanted to know how Rye survived. Kir would have no one to blame but herself.. and Sherry and, well, and maybe the Fox indirectly…
A/N: ~~"I could tell you, but then you'd decide to kill me," she informed him between snickers.~~ Indirect reference to "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you" dates back to WWII during the planning of 'D'-Day when a body was left with the supposed 'plans' on where the Allies were going to attack when a Spanish soldier (then an ally of Germany) found it. Or one could say this quote was made popular when Dr. No (the first James Bond 007 film) was released back in the sixties.
There was a reference to the 'Candy Con' fic where Yukiko was using a crying young Shinichi to get herself sweets, but my beta and I decided that it didn't belong in here.
Omakes:
"Does he know you call him an idiot?" Gin
"Does a bear shit in the woods? Of course he knows," Sherry