Jap word mini-list.
Hashi: chopsticks
Boy, I haven't done this in a while! xD
You know, that 4,000 words max per story I promised to stick to?
Yeah, can't seem to get anywhere below 7,000 and still end up adding whenever I split a chapter in two... so no chapter will be less than a 6,000 (aka like too long if you're not up to it... coffee helps~)
Ch 21: The Broken Trust
Part 1:
(Continuity of baby Kaito's memory flashback)
Eleven-month-old Kaito's adventure continues as he manages his way back into his parents' heart…
Two weeks after his attempts to detain his parent's attention, he began to weep none stop, and things become truly unbearable that sometimes Toichi got mad; yet he tried to detain his anger. There was something wrong with his son, but he couldn't know if it was for attention. However, Kaito himself couldn't even tell them, he only cried all day all night, until one day, he stopped for an hour.
"Do you think he's okay?" the mother secretly watched the child holding the cubes, observing them trying to fit them inside the shape box. His face was pain and ill; he felt too tired to play. After ten minutes, he began to weep a bit.
"Let me hold him," he went to his son, whether or not Kaito will allow him. Kaito covered his little eyes, still sobbing; he dug his head into Toichi's shoulder. The man tried to calm him, as much as he failed to do so; the baby wouldn't seize his tears. "Oh I don't know anymore!" he sat down, panicking. "Hold him, maybe he'll calm down."
She did, yet nothing changed. "Huh?" she saw him putting his fingers in his mouth. "How long has he been doing that?"
"Come to think of it, it's been a few days." He held the infant's little hand and Kaito began to weep more. "Let me see, what's wrong in there?" he raised the child's head looking in the little mouth. "T…" and he smiled despite seeing Kaito sniveling. "He's having his first tooth… three teeth actually!"
"Oh that's wonderful...and painful, I'll be back~" she rushed to the pharmacy and got something for the baby. "It'll calm him~" and she opened Kaito's mouth struggling until she managed to rub it on his gum. Within a few minutes, the child ceased his tears. Now, his smile was comforting. The parents were happy to solve this problem; though it was nice to see those little white baby teeth.
Kaito sat down playing with a ball half his size. He bounced it a few times and stopped when he didn't hear any sounds around him. "Pa-pa" he looked around him, they weren't anywhere. He crawled all the way to the kitchen, spotting the two, he went closer.
"He's here," Toichi said in French without moving his lips, "Don't let him notice that you saw him." They continued cooking, yet within mere minutes, Chikage felt guilty.
"Oh, look who's here~" she resumed the Japanese words that he knew, saying softly with a vast grin upon her mien. Now that his pain stopped, he could focus again on his policy. He didn't permit her to hold him; he preferred to detain his distance although it's nearly two months now. She looked at him for a moment, trying to figure a way through him. She turned and spoke with Toichi in French: "He wants us, but he keeps pushing us away."
"I know... I hope he understands what he's doing. Whatever his intention is, he needs to find his way. Do not worry, he'll be himself again." He bent to the infant. "Kaito, how about ice cream?" he bid with a gentle smile. The child clapped and cheered, Toichi smiled and held the boy up and sat him on the baby-seat by the table. He ate the chocolate ice cream peacefully, covering his face and hands, and his dad's hands too.
After a few hours, the doorbell rang, "Congrats, for the kid~" Yusaku smiled.
Toichi rubbed the back of his neck, "Thanks~" and smiled. "At least he's more cooperative than before!"
"Of course! He'll forget it, don't worry. He was hurt only recently, he'll need some space." He walked to the infant. "Hi there," he gave a warm smile and held him. "Look what I have here for you!" and he got out a blue stuffed bear. "Recognize this?"
(It's…)
"Jay-Jay~" the baby clapped, spreading his hand towards the stuffed animal. Yusaku moved it, positioning a hug with Kaito.
"Where did you get that from?" The father asked as he looked at the novelist.
"It was at the edge where we found your son. I don't know how he got it or from who, but it won't do any harm if it stays with him." he smiled observing Kaito still hugging the bear. "You can't separate them now~" they laughed. "Friends already!"
(Obviously~), mused the older Kaito.
Everywhere began to darken and the memory began to fade.
Beeping sounds began to echo in Kuroba Kaito's ears, and he finally felt his heavy eyes allowing him to escape the headaches from the memories. A white bright light flashed in his eyes and moved from one to another slowly. Once it was pulled away, he rubbed them, mentally telling the lights floating in front of him to go away. Beside him was a young doctor, one who he hadn't seen before.
The doctor took out a pen and asked him to follow its movement
'Success, I won't miss you, light bubbles!'
In addition to the brown-haired doctor, Kaito also noticed the needle in his arm, pierced in the back of his hand. 'This again…'
"I need you to stay still while I do some tests, can you do that?" the medium tone wasn't too nice, just an average one.
'At least he isn't treating me like a baby' he let his eyes wander around, he was alone in a hospital room. The tests were shortly done and Kaito thanked his God that the doctor didn't have to use the cold stethoscope or a pressure machine thanks to the monitor saving them both the trouble.
The bed looked gigantic compared to his small body, even the rails were heavy-looking, and the color of the room wasn't much appealing to his eyes now. The doctor rose from the chair, pressed a couple of buttons here and there, and placed a nasal cannula around Kaito's face connected to his nose. The first breeze of oxygen made the boy hold back a shiver, he remained still as the man placed the two transparent sides behind his ears and let them rest gently above his chest.
"Do you remember what happened? Or why you are here?"
"…Breakdown?"
"Sort of, yes. Your doctor informed me of your condition, and it so seems that the memories weren't easy on you." he waited to let that sink in.
"The first two weren't a problem..."
The doctor didn't say anything, the child was uneased to mention it, but he still spoke and that was a good start.
"It's just one guy that I don't want to see, and he insists to come every night..." the child bit his lip.
He prescribed some pain killers, and strictly prohibited any sleeping pills. "Rest for now, with the medication in your blood, you shouldn't be going extreme. It should keep that guy away."
Kaito nodded and watched him leave the room. Once the door opened, Kaito caught a glimpse of Kudo, Conan and Yusaku seated on the chairs outside the room. Their eyes easily drifted out of their reverie and landed on the doctor as he walked calmly to them.
"He's okay," he assured with a smile. "Minor breakdown, but there's no brain damage. He's free to leave in an hour, in the meantime, it's best to leave him alone." with a node from Dave, he walked away.
Yusaku and Conan returned looks, while Dave sank alone in his thoughts. It wouldn't be wise at all to ask the boy what the memories were, what would be wise was to help him forget them now. A call came to both Kudo's phones. Respectively, the wife and the British detective.
"What is it?" both said at the same time and diverted their sight from each other. "Let one of you stay on the line while the other closes. Just put us on speaker." Conan said. Both nodded and Yukiko hanged up.
"Nothing," the teen said. "We were just checking to see what happened with Kuroba-kun, is he alright?"
Conan was done narrating what Kaito went through the first time he encountered the three memories, along with the results of the scans as the others gave a hum. Kaito, of course, was only busy watching TV in his room; trying to cast his worries on the side. They'll ask him sooner or later. Kaito was left in the hospital for that night and the three men returned home.
"But ever since the memory of the house, Kaito would always drift away when he feels something fishy going on," Dave explained. "So it's better if he doesn't suspect you're watching him or something similar."
"Lyin' to a kid is a piece of cake!"
'When did you come here?' Conan mentally jumped off guard.
"Hattori-kun, maybe with others," Yusaku began. "It's hard to fool Kaito, trust me, we know. Even without his memories, he's observant as ever."
"As expected~" was all that Hakuba added as the others looked at him. "Smart kids become smart thieves~" he smiled.
They laughed; it was the reality that couldn't be altered. They were right, he wasn't an ordinary child, not with fragments of his life surfacing in his dreams.
"So, about what the organization said, him being the silver bullet," Shinichi began. "What does that mean?"
Everyone turned to Aoko, who was among them. "Everyone knows what it means, chibi." she pressed a few keys on her phone. "Best bet is to ask the other silver bullet. Aoko is sure he knows more." when the stares she received wouldn't die, she pressed a call. "Heard?" she put him on speaker.
"God, I really hate it when you call in inconvenient times, Aoko." beeping sounds were on his side. "No, I wasn't listening, a little occupied with our injured friends."
She bit her lip. "You're on speaker, 1412."
"Mention that from the start!" but she only laughed more. "So, why you'd call?" the voice came out different.
Conan grinned. "Looks like you know what a silver bullet is, care to share?"
She looked down for a moment as 1412 began telling them what she already knew of the story. Only three in that room knew what the word 'silver bullet' meant, and those were the two Kudos and Dave.
"It was said a long time ago, that when Pandora first came to earth, it created powerful humans. Those who drank from its tears became immortal. We encountered one, as you all have, Vermouth." he waited for the shock to subside. "Ten thousand years ago, was when Pandora first came. And not long ago, Vermouth's friend Founded the Shadow syndicate, what you know as The black organization. But... with the existence of such power, a balance had to be made. Thus, the silver bullet was said to be born."
"A prophecy?"
"That's what everyone calls it, but no, it was a warning."
Aoko cleared her throat, "The syndicate waited for the silver bullet for two reasons, the first was to help them find Pandora, and the second was to destroy him when they get it."
"Destroy him? Why?"
"Because only the silver bullet can destroy Pandora, and thus, the syndicate. The one to destroy it is born with the mark of the full moon; and is known to be different from normal people."
"Well, that does explain you kaitous witted acts..." Hattori brushed it off, "Any proof of the mark?"
"I think I know," Dave began, while Yusaku sank in his musings, "Kaito has a birthmark on his arm, it is indeed like a moon"
"1412 has one too," Aoko said, their eyes focused on her. "saw it a few times on his arm when Kaito was tending to his wounds but 1412 didn't look worried or anything."
"Because I only considered it a birthmark, nothing more, nothing less. And Kaito never told me what it meant. There's a lot that he kept in the dark from us, it's better that we don't know any more than we already do, he said."
"Can't ya stick to just one language? Not all of us know English, brat."
"Since you asked so nicely, nope. Deal with it."
Aoko laughed, "tousan doesn't know English, 1412."
"Sure thing, Aoko. No problem~"
"Hey! what gives!"
Aoko chuckled, "Aoko was nice. You, on the other hand, weren't."
"Any news on the gem?" Yusaku raised, casting a playful grin at Hattori.
"We couldn't find it in the forest. It's lost for sure!" Ginzo retorted taking out a cigarette.
"No, Pandora dwells in a safe place," His daughter said, then silence herself once she knew all their focus was set on her. Yusaku was stunned, as everyone was, they didn't see that coming.
"Where is it?" Dave asked, "Kaito didn't have the time to move it."
Aoko shook her head, "What Kaito had with him over the forest was a fake, embedded with a light inside it made like the real thing. Kaito always has backups like these, in case a gem turns out to be it and they tail him."
"So where is the real thing now? He wasn't far from the heist, which means he placed it somewhere along the route of his escape"
Aoko held back a shrug. "Correct, but the location so far is unknown"
"You've got to be kidding!" Hakuba said stunned at her straight confident reply.
She denied. "Kaito didn't get the chance to tell anyone, so the location is safe with him alone, and unless he remembers, no one will be able to find it"
"Can't that 1412 kid find it?" Heiji said, turning his sight to the phone.
Nothing came from him for a while. More beeps followed, unstable echoing like a warning. They heard something like a bag open. "Hold on," the words came muttered.
"1412? they okay?" Aoko was worried.
"... No worries. I got everything covered..." sounds and more unknown things clicked on his side. The beeps stabilized. "Sorry, Aoko, gotta hang up. Stay in touch." he didn't wait.
Aoko let her thoughts slid, everyone was staring at her.
"I thought we can't call him. How did you call him?" Saguru watched her expressions.
"Aoko has a program that lets her call him. 1412 has to confirm the process, it's something complicated." She stashed her phone into her pocket before any could see the apps on her phone.
Heiji hummed, "Sure he did. You must be special to have access to everything."
she grinned, "Aoko is engaged to a certain thief we know. Whether you like it or not, Aoko isn't in the dark. Of course, there are limits, even 1412 isn't entitled to know everything. It's a matter of priority, the information puts everyone at risk. Aoko isn't happy to that either. Go blame Kaito." she crossed her arms. "Aoko didn't tell 1412 anything about the last heist Kaito made," eyebrows crocked at her. "He only woke before faking the body." She stopped momentarily, "He was in a coma for a while. But Aoko is sure that they told him about it when they went to him."
"Were you aware of the two here hours ago?"
She nodded, "They tell Aoko whenever something is risky, especially since Aoko was coming here. 1412 and 1311 caught Chianti and Korn, they're now in a trusted prison that the syndicate can't reach, one that has no spies or infiltrators. All the others are there too. So no need to worry. No one managed to get out."
'Chianti and Korn too? No way'
"Aoko came to deliver some answers on the partner's behalf. But you won't get more if you ask anything they don't want to tell." she turned her gaze to the shrunken detective. "1412 is working on the antidote for both Conan-kun and Kaito. It so seems that the scientist was unable to make it?"
Conan allowed his eyes to meet his knees. "It backfired... terribly."
"It's okay, Chibi, 1412 will find a cure, he's good at this kind of stuff." She held two fingers up, raised with a smile on her face. "Every partner can do these things."
"And you?"
"Aoko is a horrible chemist~" she chuckled.
Hattori let out a laugh, "Of course they can, where do ya think the smoke bombs come from?"
She smiled, "Anyway, 1412 only gave the list of the antidote, so the Miyano girl had to find what annuls the effect, there are many options to use, and only a few are the right." Conan also knew that from the moment he was given the list, personally by Aoko when she visited after the cemetery trick. "Since the last Syndicate snipping attempt two weeks ago, the partners have been working on many problems. But, when 1412 got kidnapped by the two agents, the search stopped at the most important stage, so he's resuming everything, now that he is allowed to get out of bed."
"And how is he?"
"According to him, he's never been better, Kudo-san" she smiled, "1311 was mean to drug him... he knew 1412 will tail to deactivate the booms. Oh, by the way, there are currently only ten syndicate people, excluding Amuro-san and the boss. Only Vodka and Gin are of the old ones left. The others are totally new, which also means, that no one is left to do disguise skills and only one person can help if asked."
"Vermouth"
She nodded. "In any case, that shouldn't be a problem when they are busy hiding," he noticed that her gaze fell on her bag, she opened it and got out a small device. She took out a hidden antenna and spoke through the speaker. "Haido Museum." she totally forgot about the rest, her wrist beeping, a digital map displayed on it. Once she gave the location, she retracted the device and placed it back in her bag, "Gomen, heard the question through the earphone~"
"What earphone, you have none on."
She smiled, "Aoko isn't stupid to not hide it well~" Kudo allowed a smile to cover his face. Now that the map was closed with a press on the side button, Aoko looked at the time. '10:30? Aoko should go back to watch over him, the drug should wear out at 11:30... not much time to spare here'
"Are you expected somewhere?" came the curious British voice into her head, her father didn't like the question either. "At such a time?"
Aoko looked up, allowing it to be expected. "Well, Aoko won't go alone and won't be alone either. And before Hakuba says stuff like it's dangerous, remember what Aoko can do."
"Try not to kill anyone~" his gentle smile sang in her ears. "Kuroba-kun is a skilled magician, others aren't. You might get them seriously hurt." He grinned.
Aoko huffed, "They'd be asking for it."
'He he he, just like Ran~'
'Worse than Kazuha!' Heiji rubbed the bridge of his nose, then landed his eyes on the window. A sound came from bellow, 'a bike?'
"That's Aoko's cue~" she got up, "Later~" she waved and closed the door behind her. Hakuba and Hattori saw her ride on a black Yamaha sportbike behind a person covered in black himself. The person threw a glance at the people watching from above, waved lightly and took off.
"Did ya see the plate number?"
Conan turned the magnifying glasses off. "1412." he cleared his throat. "The same as the van."
"Does that mean they're all that brat's stuff or it's to say they're KIDs?"
"Ask them when we see them again."
As they were approaching Ekoda city, Aoko decided to ask and calm her excessive accumulating worries. "Ne, how's Kaito?"
"I just saw him before I came to pick you up, he's sound asleep. His vitals were normal, nothing to worry about."
Aoko dropped her eyes on the side of the road as her partner drove. "Aoko has something to say," that got the person's interest. "The two, Dave and Kudo-san mentioned Jeff-kun's apartment. They've been there."
"It's time to move then," the partner said, "What more did you come to know since you were with them?"
"That..."
"That?"
"You know, Jeff-kun being… your…"
"Oh, that." she stopped her from continuing. "But we didn't mention the names, did we?" Aoko shook her head, "They will discover it sooner or later, and I just don't want Jeff-kun to find out from anyone aside from us. I want to explain to him myself." they stopped at the traffic lights. "It's only fair if our side of the story is said first."
Aoko turned to a familiar sound, "Look, look, over there. See that car?"
"Gin." Vermouth held back her acts, keeping her hands on the bike's handlebars. They had their helmets on, nothing suspicious to attract any attention from the silver-haired man.
"Tail them."
"No," Vermouth said, "Not while you're with me!" Aoko rolled her eyes away, "I'll tail them later, I have a tracker on him, remember?" Aoko huffed the answer. "Besides, I need you to watch over my son."
"Oh, admitting the relation out in the open~? Joking, Aoko is joking. You can count on Aoko!" she placed her hand to the side of her head like an officer. "1413 will make sure he won't get out of bed, and he won't dare to anger Aoko~"
Vermouth raised a mental smile, "Aoko-chan sure is lucky, I wish he would listen to me directly when I say something, without having to say it three more times until he listens to me."
"What about as his mom?"
"Whatever I'd him, he'd directly do it~" she allowed a smile to show, "you know, as a person who's been beside him all his life, he is different now, by that I mean he's not being himself. Silent all the time, more distant. I miss the boy with a smile on his face, eager to do everything."
Aoko smiled, "Aoko thinks Jeff-kun is only distancing himself from everyone so they won't get hurt. He's hurt too... he will try his best to show that he's okay and in control, even when he's breaking inside. But Aoko thinks that Jeff-kun can handle it, you guys being his parents, that is."
"Me, maybe, but Amuro being his father? He doesn't like him."
"Does Amuro-san know that?"
Vermouth only made a slight nod. "Only because he acts cold around the boy, even he doesn't want him to know now, besides, he can't be nice around Gin and the others."
"But Jeff-kun saw the difference, didn't he? Amuro-san acted completely different once the hallucinations and headaches started, and he wasn't mean or pushy, to begin with."
"We spoke about that," she began, "Eventually, since he had all the evidence and spoke about it with 1211 and me, I had to side with it and spill the secret."
"What secret?"
Another bike was approaching from far, on the same track as they ere. The rider seemed focused more on the road than on the passers. Vermouth slowed down, allowing the bike to become near them, the rider didn't notice that. He kept speeding to reach somewhere on time.
"Yo~"
He heard a voice from his earphones, and a person beside him slightly turned.
He looked at them, said figure slipped a card from his jacket. A KID drawing stared at him. Bellow it, he saw the numbers clear as day. "Arent you supposed to be at someone's place?"
"Ditched early~" she smiled, shifting her eyes ahead of her, keeping her hands holding onto the person facing her, "What brings you here~? You shouldn't have left the hideout." Vermouth kept her eyes on the road, waiting to hear his reasons too. "Is it related to the person that 1211 asked to find?"
"In a way, yes. He's was kinda in a sticky situation, so I went to help him. We caught the guy, and I'm heading back to the ap-"
"No!" Aoko quickly said, "We're returning to the hideout, Aoko will fill you in on why later." Jeff turned his eyes ahead of him, the light was green again. Both advanced, maintaining a distance between them. All three had their helmets on, no one would notice a conversation between the two riders of the bikes.
"Do you need anything from that place?" Vermouth finally spoke, Jeff thought for a few seconds, he didn't leave anything important in the apartment. His laptop was in his shoulder bag on him now, "School books? You have exams coming up soon."
"Oh, I forgot about that! My bad~"
Vermouth raised a smile, "I noticed."
"Am I gonna be moving again?"
"Correct~"
"Great, just when I was getting used to the place~"
Aoko held her laugh in, "Until you learn that the only place to stay at is home, you'll keep moving~"
"It's only the third apartment, you know..."
The door to Jeff's apartment opened, a soft crack was heard as it reached the wall. Jeff took a glance around, brown eyes showing under his hat.
Vermouth approached from the bedroom towards him, "All clear, no one's here" she had glasses on her eyes that showed heat radiations, she then lifted her arm, pointing behind her towards the bed. Jeff went to grab his school bag. After swinging it on his back, he helped her remove the evidence in the room.
She first strode to the bathroom, sprayed everything, and then took important things like the toothbrush and hairbrush, as main and critical DNA exposures. In the meantime, Jeff removed the covers and pillow faces, placed them in the washing machine after spraying them, then placed new sheets on the bed and a cover while wearing a pair of white gloves.
The closet was then emptied, although he had little stuff inside the first door to his right. He took a clean towel, applied a liquid to it and ran it over the doors and shelves.
After clearing all fingerprints, Vermouth used a blued light to detect bloodstains, once few were found, she sprayed them. "Keys?"
Jeff took it out, holding it lightly in his gloved hand, "I cleaned it." he looked back at the desk and strode to clean it too while Vermouth removed the hidden cameras, placed by both them and the syndicate. "1412..."
The boy turned, "Yes?"
"I found this," she gave him a small camera, "It's like the one that I saw in the Kudo's house when I went to get you." she paused allowing him to understand, "They've been watching you."
He nodded, 'I got to be more careful around them' she sustained to his thoughts and went towards the window. "I'll hand the keys to the hotel and meet you a street away from here, the same spot as always." she left with a nod, once she was on the other side of the window, she swiped it and closed it back.
Jeff pressed the button with his gloves on, and entered the elevator. Once inside, he switched his medical lenses with colored ones and removed the white gloves into his favorite black ones. With a swift move, he pulled his disguise on, then walked towards the reception when the double doors slid open.
The receptionist looked up recognizing the young man who just approached the desk, "down so soon, Ken-kun?" he nodded, "what can I help you with?"
He glanced around deftly without letting anyone notice, "I am handing these back," the man accepted them, "I removed and changed everything, it's ready to be rented."
The receptionist nodded, "There was no need to do that yourself... anyway, thank you. I hope you enjoyed the stay?" Jeff nodded, proceeding to close the bill. "Hope to see you again, Ken-kun~"
Jeff raised a smile, allowing the brown eyes to be shown. "Likewise, Goodnight, Taki-san." he walked out with a normal pace, deftly scanning the hall for any syndicate members watching him. When none were found, he strode to his bike in the parking lot and shortly met with Vermouth at the agreed place.
The bikes reached the KID HQ 2, and the two partners went down to meet the rest. Jeff removed the colored lenses inside his room and placed back the ones he always had on.
There came a knock at the door and Jeff told them to come in. "Aoko prepared super, the table is ready"
"Okay~ Will be there in a sec." she nodded yet stayed by the door. He took the hat off to change his hairstyle back, then closed the lenses' case. "Why am I get a stare?"
"Why don't you put the glasses on instead? Your eyes need to rest from those, you know..." she waited as he took his kid jacket off.
"I know, but I don't like wearing them... lenses are lighter."
Aoko signed, "Take them off and put the glasses on." She stopped observing his face, "Aoko is asking you."
He held a gasp back, "Okay, since you asked nicely~" she smiled, teasing him more. He did as ordered and went with her to the kitchen.
"Took you long," 1211 said. "Oh, you convinced him to wear the glances, well done, Aoko-kun!"
Aoko beamed, "Aoko will fill~" she poured Gyudon into four deep elliptic bowls and salmon fried rice in round small glass bowls, passing each their dishes, she sat back down.
"Itadakimasu," she said and Jeff held a laugh, "you'll get used to it someday, foreigner," Aoko said with a smile, "Yumm, it turned out better than before!"
"I agree~" 1211 began with the salmon fried rice, "though I am sure you had help."
Jeff laughed, "That's evident since you and I are innocent, it leaves one suspect."
Vermouth allowed a grin to show, "Do you prefer eating something a little overcooked? But we have to admit, Aoko-chan improved a lot. Besides, I only stirred the side dish."
"Yeah imagine Kaito-bocchama walking in to see this!"
Aoko chuckled, "Kaito would kill Aoko~ Besides, Aoko was planning to cook as much fish foods before Kaito returns."
"Yeah, it's not nice to see him eating alone until we finish the finny things," Vermouth said calmly as she held her Hashi, taking out the rice as she held the bowl. "Besides, it's nice to see you here," she shot a glance at her son. "And I only had to lock the doors to keep you from leaving."
"And it's better that you stay here before you begin looking for another apartment, it's easy to find the new renters if it happens the same day you left the old one."
'He would have probably eaten out or the usual everyday meal' Jii-chan mused finishing his dish. "I am planning to make Udon and chicken rice tomorrow."
"Can I help? It's gonna be dead boring to sit around..."
"Yeah, you're bored already!" Vermouth teased. "While Jeff does the dishes, I'll go for a little walk with Amuro, maybe we can finish the rest of the mission."
"Ne, ne, speaking of Amuro-san, you wanted to tell Aoko something about him, right?"
Jeff nodded, "while she was taking the list of the PSB spies in the syndicate, Amuro-san's name appeared. His real name is Furuya Rei, a friend of the agent known as Scotch."
"The guy that Akai Shuichi pretended to kill?" she asked and Vermouth nodded.
"Scotch committed suicide to not be caught and interrogated. In any case, Rei-kun and I are working together, while pretending to be loyal to the ravens. They think that he's spying on the PSB."
"Aoko doubts anyone is loyal, aside Gin and Rum," Aoko said with half eyes, "Aoko wanna pound some sense into them when we catch them."
"Aoko, we both know that no one will let you," Jeff said with a smile, "unless after the threat is completely over." He paused thinking of something. 'I haven't heard or seen Snake for weeks now. I wonder where he is hiding'
Vermouth's gaze fell on the young teen, for a second, she knew exactly what he was thinking of. "Which reminds me, did we explain the issues of three weeks ago?"
"That issue?" Aoko interrupted. "Aoko recommends to not say anything."
Jeff blinked, "It involves me?" Vermouth nodded, "Well, if it isn't anything big or important, I don't mind being left in the dark, again~"
Vermouth laughed, "Well, I do find it important to tell, unless you decide to do reckless things again."
"Which means, I was either caught or joined the syndicate again" Jeff began, she raised a smile.
"The first option, but you were lucky, kind of. The boss ordered Amuro and I to kidnap Kaito and bring him to the syndicate_"
"But you gained on their tail and made an exchange based on Amuro-san's deal. For two days, you remained with them until your condition worsened. Which was why you were in the hospital."
"It's not nice to interrupt people, Aoko-chan," Vermouth said, having her hand under her chin, she watched the young girl's shot a glare back at her. "In any case, you saved me half the trouble of explaining. Around a week from now, the boss will order us to kidnap you again, this time I am telling you because I don't want the events of three weeks ago to repeat. And since we all know now which side Amuro-kun is on, the mission should be easy. All you have to do is to be convincing that we kidnapped you."
"Sounds easy~" he began, "a week from now is the full moon."
She nodded. "He wants you to find the gem."
"Code 3" all denied, good, no one is bugged. "I found it," all looked at him stunned, "two days ago, to be precise. I was going to take it out today on my way to the apartment."
"Why didn't you say so back then?"
"My bike is bugged," he said, "Besides, I saw Gin nearby. He could easily track me and find the location."
"Where is the location anyway?" 1211 began, "it wasn't in the forest, right?"
Jeff approved, "Hidden in plain sight. A place the syndicate wouldn't look in anymore"
"The former hideout?" and the teen nodded, "But why in that factory?"
"I don't know," he said.
"In any case," Aoko smiled: "For now, keep it secure. There is no need to get it out before it's time." And he sustained. "And in case they do interrogate you, you won't know the place."
"But I already_" he stopped himself, "what do you mean? Are you planning to move it?"
Jii looked at Aoko puzzled. He lost concentration and sank in his thoughts, "You're moving it without telling him where?" Aoko nodded, "I see, that way, he won't be lying and it will pass as the truth."
"Ne, which reminds me, Jeff-kun. How long have you known about Pandora's location?"
Jeff looked away, "Kaito left me a hint on my phone, with a code. He chose what only we would know, but it took me a while to figure the exact place." He took out his phone and showed her the text her husband left for him.
Now Aoko was confused. "That doesn't make sense even! It seems Kaito is on a new level of riddle making, too many notices are effecting him!" the older partners laughed.
"No," he bid. "We used to do this all the time when we were little, and we still do that, even now."
"Kaito-kun and Jeff-kun had their way of communicating, which is why no one will be able to decipher the code aside him. Now, let's keep that between us alone."
"Why do I have the feeling that you can decipher it too?" He said with half eyes, she chuckled. "That was our secret friendship language, ya know!"
Aoko smiled. "Serves you right for hiding it from us~"
"It's not like I could have told you," he said. Everyone was ready to leave the kitchen, he took the bowls and put them in the sink. After opening the tap to clean the dishes, he continued as they remained seated. "Secrets are secrets, and unless both Kaito and I agree to it, it wouldn't be fair to expose our little language."
"Aoko guesses so," she said, raising her eyes up thinking of what it was like between the two. "Are we getting Kaito back anytime soon? His memories are already confusing him, it won't be long before he tries to figure the truth out, and he'll probably run into those guys before he is himself again."
"Maybe..." Vermouth bid. "I hope he returns to himself, I don't want him to stay with Kudo and Dave any longer"
Kaito watched the white plain ceiling in the room for the tenth time, desperately trying to busy himself. He was more than just bored, and no one was around to talk to and nothing to do to pass his time. The time was still early for Dave and Yusaku to return, although he wasn't sure if he wanted to go back with them anymore. He felt something was wrong the moment he opened his eyes and saw Hakuba standing beside him, and he knew it was wrong when he saw his reflection in the mirror. Something felt weird, he was never able to convince himself that he was only four years old. With more than ten people backing the story up, he believed it was only because he couldn't remember anything to begin with.
'Ever since that guy showed up, things started to make a bit more sense. I'm different from normal kids, I already knew that. But him and I being the same person? That's kinda extreme. There's no way my body shrank, Hakuba said himself that it's not possible_ why did I call him Hakuba and not Hakuba-nii-san?' he grabbed his head a bit firmly, 'it feels like it's what I've always been calling him.' The time was still nine forty-three, at least he was alone to think. How was he going to explain to himself anything now? None of the chats with the thief made any sense, the guy talked weird. 'A gem that cries, is he stupid? Besides, the last dream I had today had dad killed, and I was older, but dad is alive and I spoke to him a day ago. But I know for sure what my parents look like now, I just need to figure out the rest.' The door opened and a nurse came in. She closed the door behind her as if she didn't want anyone to see anything. She raised an assuring smile. He looked at her confused.
She raised a finger to her lips. After he gave a slight nod, she approached and told him to stay still while she makes a simple checkup.
"Who are you?"
"I'll tell you that later, Kaito" her voice sounded familiar to his little ears. "Just stay still, okay?" she gave him a little stuffed animal, after placing a little device in it. "We'll remain in contact through this, don't let anyone know about it, Kaito. The hospital always gives toys to children, so no one will be suspicious." her face was serious, nothing about it looked familiar. "This is a disguise, I can't come here with my real face and expose the meeting with you." she waited until he nodded, "All that I can tell you now, is that I'm on your side, and I'll help you understand what's really going on." she looked behind her, the door was still closed, "We'll talk when no one is around, I only ask you to be patient." He nodded. "We'll meet when you're alone, with disguises though. For now, behave normally with everyone, I'm here without anyone knowing, so keep it a secret until we take you back home."
'Home?' she advanced. While patting his head, she secretly showed him a number on a small card. '1-4-1-3?' she smiled, "it's like_" she covered his mouth, "O …Okay"
"When you remember it, press the green button on the device, it's where the battery is, hidden. See you later, Kaito" she left closing the door behind her.
'She didn't use any honorifics, which means that we are either close or friends. 1413? It's just like 1412, the code Conan-nii-san said belonged to the thief' he looked around the room, 'Am I supposed to trust her? If uncle and Dave-san don't know about her being here, then, she doesn't trust them to know about talking to me. Should I not trust them too? Behave normally with everyone? So I have to pretend as if nothing ever happened, which means, that I shouldn't mention the memories that I saw either...'
The door opened and the same doctor from yesterday entered, he walked calmly and sat beside him. "Slept well?" he nodded, "You're family will come to take you at eleven, until then, you can watch T.V or play some games." he gave him a Game-boy. "You're already bored, huh?" Kaito smiled and accepted the toy. "I'll be passing by again before they come, do whatever you want as long as you don't leave the bed." with a nod from the child, he rose from the chair and left.
The game was exciting at first, then he got bored and fell asleep while he was lying. The door finally opened again and Dave went in. he placed the game on the counter and observed the monitor. Nothing to worry about. The boy's face was still pale and tired, but he was okay and calm. With some sleep, he'll be okay. He saw the blue stuffed rabbit, tucked warmly in the boy's arm. He gently placed his hand on the shoulder and called his name. Kaito barely opened his eyes, heard something and sustained half asleep. Dave held him up after he nodded, and headed outside towards his car.
At the Kudo manner, Dave rested Kaito upstairs, while the conversation continued once he sat back down between Yusaku and Ginzo, facing them sat Hakuba beside Aoko to his left and Conan to his right. Yukiko sat on the single couch on the same row as the three adults.
"Is Kaito-kun alright?"
Dave nodded, "we watched him before we left, and he looked perfectly fine, tired, but fine. The scan wasn't anything bad, he broke down because of the stress."
"We'll postpone preschool for now, until he rests well. Until then, we'll put reading and T.V on the side. Since no drugs are allowed, he'll have to sleep on his own." Yusaku said calm, as Dave nodded.
Aoko took the information in, 'in other words, he needs to rest because the memories are stressing his mind, tiring him more than he already is' Dave's eyes secretly watched her, she seemed worried even with her skills. Yusaku also had been observing her reaction, while Conan made few glances on everyone. Yusaku coughed, catching her attention.
"If Kaito-kun regains his memories, will the partners be taking him back?"
Aoko nodded, "Of course, and even before that happens!" they didn't like what she just said, "With his memories coming, he's gonna be having a hard time taking the info in. It might just end catastrophic, but with us, it won't be too hard. Kaito already had backups in case stuff like that happened to any of us, and certain acts are enough to help him remember. Actually, Aoko thinks it's enough to bring him back."
Yukiko's eyes trailed between the girl and the men, why was she the only friend to deliver what the partners had to say? She never demonstrated any skills or the likes, not that she ever saw any, so the chances of her being a KID partner were slim.
Dave kept his silence, the message she conveyed was clear. They can't keep him with them without having to look for him all the time. Keeping him against his will, will only backfire and make things worse. Even now, they needed to explain things the easy way.
Aoko stood and said she'll check on Kaito, the moment she went up, a slight beep was heard.
"Hear that?" they looked around. "Aoko-kun's cell phone?" Hakuba held it to go upstairs, but they were curious. There were two messages.
Aoko, please get back to HQ 2, I need your help. 1211 is badly down
-1412
Please, come as quick as you can. And get Kaito-kun too.
-1412
They heard the door opening; they put the phone away. Aoko got down and saw her phone beeping. She picked it up, trying to hide her expression. "Aoko has to go." she bit her lip. "And Kaito too"
Dave suddenly said: "That won't happen!"
"He has to. Unless you want him killed tonight, let him come with Aoko. Don't worry, he'll be okay."
Dave thought for a moment. Kudo didn't want to let Kaito out of his sight, but he read the message, he had no other choice. "For how long?"
"Until the moon disappears, they won't need him when it's not there."
"But... it's ten days!"
Yusaku interrupted his wife. "All right! But not more than that. Go to your friends, they might need you."
Kaito came down the stairs rubbing his eyes. "Why's everyone shouting..."
"Hi," she said a smile, "Kaito-kun, go get ready, you're going with Aoko."
He looked at the lady, she gave a smile. Dave nodded. "Okaaay" he ran up and got his stuff, and they left. Hakuba looked through the window, watching them leave.
"So it seems, she knows enough about them, the hideout included. No wonder she always up to date and now we know why. Besides, they probably taught her enough to handle injuries." Saguru said.
"Doubt they have anyone else to rely on."
"Why did you let her leave, tousan? what they need is a hospital, not some amateur girl's help!"
"1412 will need all the help he can get. We all know they won't relly on someone out of their circle."
"He knows Nakamori-Kun can help." Dave added.
In the latest syndicate hideout, stood a woman by the parking gate. "Watch out, my little silver bullets"
Then someone came from amid the darkness. "I see you're still here"
She smiled. "Of course, unless you want me to go somewhere else at midnight" and he laughed. "What brings you down anyway?"
"Some unfinished work." He looked towards the sky, "Have you been notified?"
"Yes," she grinned. "It's time to catch him again."
"Although I hope this time to be different, Vermouth"
"Don't worry, Bourbon, I'm sure we can manage this time, we only need the drugs and he'll be calm. It was merely a mistake last time, I guess we only have to keep him from getting hurt," she assured with her dead serious face when the signal on her indicated that someone was listening. "He'll learn as long as he sides with us. Now, it's best if you go back inside. We don't want people to begin some rumors~" she winked.
He raised a grin, "Goodnight then~"
She turned her sight back towards the sky, 'we only have to be convincing'
Kaito and Aoko went to the Kaitou KID HQ 2 on her KID bike. She pressed the stone behind the trees and the pathway opened. Kaito only looked around as they reached white rooms separated by walls. Greeted by no one, she pressed the codes and they went into the main part. She led him to one of the rooms, "Kaito, stay here until Aoko comes back." and she left. He sat down, watching her as she entered another room.
He looked around, it was probably a boy's room. Neat, tidy, and enough for one person to move freely. The bed was on the left side of the room against the wall. On its let was a desk, and facing the desk, between the door and the wall, was a closet of three doors. Aside from those, the room was spacious and empty. No pictures of any kind, no games, only a plain and simple bedroom. He sat on the bed as told and waited patiently for the lady to return. 'She's the nurse from the hospital. So, that's what she really looks like, she's familiar, the same girl from my memories too!'
Aoko went quickly to the recovery room, after opening the door, she scanned the room for the boy. "Jeff?" when she spotted the latter, she went in. "How's 1211?"
He turned back, his voice sad. "I don't know what to do..." tears in his eyes. "Nothing is working…"
Aoko ran to him, "It's okay, I'll help you." she helped him close the wounds, "What do you need?"
with major efforts and closing multiple wounds, the partner's condition began to stabilize after an hour.
Aoko injected the painkillers, she turned to Jeff and spoke. "Where's 1311?"
"She's in the syndicate," he said as he removed the soaked gloves along with the mask covering his face.
"What happened?"
"Crossfire… again. 1211 has to stay out for a while."
Aoko pursed her lips. "Maybe he could stick to monitoring..."
1412 bit his lip. "You're right. he's too old to play KID. Did you get Kaito?"
"Yes, he's in your room, Aoko hopes that you don't mind."
"It's fine. It's the only none suspicious room, good choice." he smiled. "Thanks, if you didn't come, I don't know what would have happened to 1211..."
She smiled, putting one hand on his shoulder. "He'll be okay, don't worry. He'll need some rest and he'll be good as new."
He got up and went into another room, afterward, he came with clothes in his hands. "Here, wear these."
She accepted them and got changed in the bathroom, putting the blood-soaked ones in the drier.
Jeff sat beside his injured ally, regret in his eyes. She approached him, assuring the latter will be fine. "I know, but…I don't like seeing this happen. 1211 doesn't deserve any of this... all this KID stuff is too hard on him."
"Aoko knows. but 1211 won't sit out, he promised Kuroba-san to help." she hugged him. "1211 will be just fine. Don't worry. Aoko will go make something hot, it's freezing."
She returned with Kaito and introduced him to 1412. But this time, it was Jeff who popped a flower out with a smile.
"You do tricks too! Cool~" Kaito looked at him. He raised the hat a bit for him to see his face. "You're…?" The guy the KID knows…the guy I knew...
The latter smiled. "Yup, in the flesh~"
"Oi, Jeff-kun, don't use such expressions!" she complained. "Kaito, here~" she gave him a plate. After finishing their bite, they sat by the recovery room.
"Shouldn't you be called differently?" Kaito asked him.
"I go by a fake name now, it's best this way." he smiled. "Hope you will understand it soon." and Aoko held her smile as hard as she could. "Kaito-kun, listen, there's something I have to tell you." the child was all eyes and ears. "Have you heard of the gem, Pandora, from your memories?" once the child gave a nod, the teen proceeded, "Pandora mustn't be mentioned now, and must stay hidden, okay? Don't try to find it, until you're my height and with all your memories. Okay?"
"But that's too long!"
"Hopefully not, I am working on it... your height at least." he looked away. "Don't be sad, you'll be physically older before you know it~" he smiled. "All that's left is to get your memories back. Shouldn't be too long." Kaito pursed his lips. 'The drug isn't responding as it should, although I tried many times until now.'
They missed having him as the one to encourage them. He was always everyone's source of smile and support. But now, the tables turned, and it was their job to protect him. At least, until he was himself again, the daring magician who no one could catch.
"Who's that?" Kaito pointed at 1211. "Is he okay?"
"Y-yes. H-he's just resting," he looked at his watch indicating four past midnight. "And so should you!" the boy chuckled. "Aoko, can you take him to bed?"
"Sure!" she held the child's hand and walked away. While 1412 remained alone, he continued to do his work.
It was not after five in the morning that 1311 returned from the syndicate. She found Aoko and Kaito asleep in her room. Jeff asleep on the chair and 1211 next to him on the bed, 1211's chest and arms covered in bandages, thankfully he was stable. He checked the latter's wounds and did what was necessary. Afterward, he got two covers out to cover the two sleeping teens. Aoko had fallen asleep at the feet of her bed, waiting for Kaito to fall asleep, while Jeff had fallen asleep watching over the injured partner, holding his laptop on his lap. Vermouth put the device away and carried her boy to the bed beside 1211. That done, she lifted Aoko put to her bed beside the shrunken magician.
Ginzo sat by the window in the living room, watching the T.V still worried about his daughter. "It's dawn already, and Aoko isn't home yet!" bags were showing under his eyes. "Those Kaitou KIDs… hope nothing bad happened to that partner." He leaned down. 'They'll need our help...' he mused. "I'll tell Aoko to tell them. They can't manage surgeries on their own all the time!"
He flipped to Nichiuri channel for the news, the moment the announcer spoke, a white background appeared behind him. As he was reading it, Ginzo leaped out of the chair in astonishment, almost waking the entire neighborhood with his voice. "WHAT THE!"