Hello everyone. I hope you are all staying home and taking care of yourselves during these times. Thanks again to all of you that still follow this story. I can't belive it's been years since I last updated. It's been so long, I'm really sorry about that. Despite everything, I promise I will finish this story. I'm finally getting time and inspiration to write more and I hope I can keep riding this wave. This chapter is a bit longer than usual to compensate for the last one. Please enjoy!
Chapter 23: Red
Kaito walks side by side with Aoko, having just left school. Today's classes passed in a blur. Kaito kept his poker face up all day as if noting was wrong, but Aoko staying more quiet than usual in all classes made him unable to really concentrate on anything else but his current dilemma. Kaito's usual pranks disguised it well, but to someone looking closely, the tense aura between these two was still noticeable.
The young magician tugs on his backpack, his mind wandering to the small gadget inside it. Yukiko had disguised herself as a student and they exchanged goods via his locker. She gave him the package from the Professor and he gave her the Eye of Paradise, before quickly disappearing from school grounds to avoid any kind of suspicion to fall upon them.
With the high possibility of the Black Organization stalking him, he can't risk his routine going out of the ordinary any more than it already has in the last days. Along with Conan, they agreed to limit their home visits to deflect any link to be formed between Kaito and Shinichi.
"Well," Aoko starts, taking him out of his thoughts and making him realize they have reached their parting point, "I'll see you tomorrow. Take care, ok?"
"Yep, see you tomorrow, Aoko." he replies.
She hesitates before leaving. "Say, Kaito…" He turns back to her. "What do you say we hang out tomorrow, just the two of us?"
Kaito is a bit surprised at the request but easily accepts, they agree at a time before finally parting ways. He understands how worried she is after her encounter with Gin and Snake. He would rather she keep her distance, keep her and her dad as safe as possible, but he knows pushing her away would not only be suspicious, but make her even more determined to follow him everywhere.
He gets a small snack from the fridge and plops down in the living room sofa as soon as he reaches home. He stays there for a while, staring at the turned off TV. Things sure were getting messy. Deciding that mopping around won't help anyone, he goes to his room to install the device. The sooner he gets this done the better.
Putting some music, he starts the act. Haibara assured their first step is always microphones, never risking cameras the very first time they enter a house, to keep the disturbances at a minimum. Using his great acting skills and trained vocal chords, the young magician pretends to practice magic tricks, while quickly and silently installing the device in the portrait entrance. After trying it out a few times, he hides the remote control in himself before keeping practicing a few magic tricks, for real this time.
After practicing for a bit more of an hour, he quickly does his homework. Wanting to break the dullness of the day thanks to the current situation, Kaito decides to go out and get some ice cream.
As he wanders the busy mall in search for the ice cream parlor he feels someone grabs his arm. Suddenly startled, he turns around quickly to find himself staring into deep crimson eyes. It was Akako Koizumi, her slender fingers warped around his bicep.
"K-Koizumi…" He stutters, wide eyed.
"Hello, Kuroba-kun." The teen witch greets, letting go of his arm with a mysterious smile. "I've been meaning to talk with you. What a coincidence to find you here, don't you think?" The look in her face tells him it wasn't a coincidence at all.
"Talk with me? Couldn't you just have talked to me at school?" He asks with a bit of annoyance.
"I'm sure you wouldn't like that," she lets a small smirk grace her face before looking at him seriously again. "The topic is quite private after all."
"Why don't we go the that ice cream parlor by the corner? I know you love ice cream." Her mysterious smile returns, this time with a knowing glint in her eyes.
Kaito eyes her warily for a moment before sighing. He doesn't know how but she absolutely knew he was coming here. Shrugging nonchalantly, he replies "Fine. Let's go."
Of course Akako knew he was coming. Since arriving to class with the Not-Child, her readings on Kaito's luck and future look bleaker by the day. He didn't take her advice last time, so she needed a more direct approach this time before he got himself killed. Contacting her spirits for the perfect moment to speak with Kaito, she went ahead and scouted the parlor before his arrival, putting a protective spell to keep out anyone with bad intentions towards the teen magician. As they entered the establishment, she whispered under her breath the last of her spell, earning another suspicious glance from him.
The parlor isn't crowded but there's still a moderate amount of people enjoying the cold treats. After ordering their ice cream, she guides him to an empty table near the back.
"I will be direct with you, Kuroba-kun, if you keep your act as Kaito KID, you will die." She states clearly.
Kaito immediately tenses. The organization is following him and here comes Akako directly referring to him as KID. She's the one that will get him killed! "What are you saying? How many times do I have to tell you to drop this nonsense." He can't help quickly glancing around the establishment.
"You don't have to worry about unwanted ears and eyes, Kuroba-kun. I am not an amateur. As you surely guessed, I was expecting you to come and placed a spell on the area beforehand. No one will be able to eavesdrop or interrupt." And to prove her point, she stood, loudly scrapping her chair along the floor before yelling towards the people. "I, Akako Koizuki, am a witch! And the one with me is no other than Kaito KID himself!"
Kaito's heart skipped a beat at her outburst but he quickly realized that no one payed them any attention at all. Not even those walking outside the ice cream parlor batted an eye at her loud announcement. He stared, perplexed.
She gracefully sat back down."As you have witnessed, we will not be disturbed. This is quite serious and I couldn't think of anything else to make you listen to me."
He looks at her with a grave visage but keeps quiet for her to continue.
"I know you are being followed. Before, people wanted KID dead, but now, Kaito Kuroba is also being followed by a great danger. If your initial reaction was any indication, you are also aware of this fact. Despite previous confrontations between us, I do not wish you dead." She admits. "Both you and the Not-Child have death looming over your heads."
Kaito slams his hands on the table. "How do you know about him...!" He hisses.
She looks at him with slight disdain, "I'm a witch, and a very powerful one, at that. I can see things normal people can't. One may be able to change their appearance, but their aura, their soul, that cannot be changed." Akako explains. "Your cousin might as well be holding a glowing sign over his head when he is near me. It's curious, thought. His change doesn't have a trace of magic."
He stares at her before sighing. She already knows his secret, and apparently, Shinichi's as well. After debating it on his head, he decides it's better to get all the information he can from her.
"Alright. Yes, I am Kaito KID and many are after my head. What are you trying to tell me exactly."
"The ones who are after you belong to a big organization. I don't know why they are after you but they are growing desperate. They are getting even more dangerous individuals after you." She rummages inside her bag and takes out a small bone pendant on a string. "I made this charm to keep them of your way as much as possible but the mark of death on you is already too strong for it to be 100% effective."
The magician takes the offered pendant from her hands, observing it between his fingers, "I know you don't really trust me, but I want to help you."
"Why?" He asks honestly, thoughtfully.
A teasing smirk appears on her face and she rests her chin on her palm, "Well, I cannot make you mine if you get yourself killed now can I?"
"Heh" Kaito breathes a small laugh, "Of course. I guess not."
"Very well. I will trust you," he puts the pendant on as he speaks, "I would rather not have you involved in this, but I will come to you if I need your help. What else can you tell me about the organization?"
"Thank you." She takes a small paper from her bag and slides it over the table towards him. "This is my number, if you need it. I will also be in contact if anything comes up." Kaito opens his mouth but she interrupts before he can ask, "I already have your number, don't worry."
The teen sweat drops at the glint in her eyes. What else did he expect, honestly.
"As for the organization itself, I don't have detailed information because I don't know who they are. They also seem to have multiple protections spells. But honestly, I would not be surprised if there were a few lesser witches in their ranks, that would explain how well hidden they are from the human law considering their great number of members. The information I have now I have managed to get because of their connection and intentions with you specifically."
Witches in the Organization? The thought makes his head spin. As if they didn't have enough problems as it is.
"They don't seem to be that strong at all, though, otherwise they would have found you long ago, so don't worry about that. Their weak little spells only work as a thin veil keeping them hidden on plain sight. I could get rid of it given the time." Akako reassures at his distress.
"Really? You could do that? Would that make it easier to uncover them by conventional means?" Kaito leans forward, interested.
"Of course I could." She offers. "I can get started as soon as I get home and inform you when it gets done. Shouldn't take more than two or three days at most."
"Yes, please, let's do that. We are trying to take them all down in a single strike." He exclaims eagerly. This could be a great help. If this works, they could get somewhere! He hates to admit, but Koizumi has the potential to be a powerful ally.
"It's a deal then." She agrees joyously and offers her hand. "But be aware of this, Kuroba-kun. If I see things getting out of your control, I will have to take matters into my own hands. Your survival is my priority." She warns him.
He nods and takes her hand, smirking with an intense shine in his eyes. "It won't come to that. Don't you know you are talking with the great Kaito KID?"
She smiles at this. "How can I forget?" After finishing their ice creams, they go their own ways.
Kaito isn't the only one with an eventful evening however. Conan, along with Professor Agasa, return home after accidentally stumbling across another murder case. And in that crime scene was no other than Inspector Megure, who they questioned further regarding Jinta Miura the theater bomber.
"You took longer than expected." Haibara greets as the duo enter the Professor's home.
"Came across another case after leaving the store." Explains the older man as he puts some bags over the kitchen counter. They were originally grocery shopping while Hibara stayed preparing dinner for the three of them.
"Oh." What a surprise. Not. "Well, dinner is ready. I already ate without you, though." She starts heating up the food again.
"It's fine. We are almost an hour late anyways." Conan finishes storing some eggs in the fridge.
"We have some key information Inspector Megure gave us after helping with the case." The Professor starts as they sit down to eat, "It's about the theater bomber."
Haibara stills as she hears this. "What is it?"
"The police questioned Yagami-san, the pianist, at the hospital about Jinta Miura but he refused to cooperate. He then committed suicide later the same day by jumping out the window when left unsupervised for a few minutes." Conan rolls his eyes, clearly not believing it was suicide at all. "His home was later searched and the police managed to find the remains of documents linking both Yagami and Miura to a small gang from Nagasaki, which the police went to investigate right away."
Haibara can already see where this is going. "Let me guess, the police managed to find just the right amount of evidence to imprison all the members of the gang both in relation to the bombing and murders."
Conan just frowns, annoyed, before nodding. "Not only that, but the gang members blew themselves up along with their hideout using the same king of bombs as the theater when they were cornered, leaving nothing behind."
"How come the police don't suspect anything?" She asks, incredulous.
"They are suspicious of how easily it was 'resolved' but everything lines up perfectly," Agasa intervenes, "there's no evidence that shows something bigger occurred."
"Tch... That's just like them." The shrunken chemist mutters. "The small gang was probably part of the lowest ranks of the Organizations and were swiftly disposed of after they served their purpose. Miura's crazy revenge plan was the perfect set up to get rid of them all."
They sit in silence for a moment finishing dinner before Haibara jolts with realization.
"Right! Edogawa-kun, you mother brought something while you were gone. Come down after you are done." She hops off her chair and heads to the basement.
Conan and the Professor look at each other before taking care of the dishes and following after her down the stairs.
Haibara is sitting in front of her computer, a small package sitting beside it."Kuroba-kun gave her the Tear of Paradise as accorded and she brought it to me." She pats the package before looking something up on the computer. "And while you were gone this is what I found."
A few pictures of the gem come up that show some x-rays and close ups. They all have something in common: a noticeable mass at the very center of the gem. In the last picture, however, her hand can be seen holding the gem to the moonlight, and more strikingly, the unmistakable red glow shining through.
Another cliffhanger? Whoops. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again for everyone reading, specially those long time readers that keep up with my bs updates. I wonder how many of you are left. Either way, thank you so much. I have already started writting the next chapter so hopefully I will be able to update soon.