(￣▽￣)ゞ ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Akane is going to have my head, thought Otaki Goro as he ambled down the hallway. He leafed through the last-minute report that someone had dumped on his desk, glancing up only every moment or so to make sure he didn't run into anyone. It was late, and most of the officers had gone home. At this hour, only a few stragglers running on fumes and bad coffee were at the station. The custodial crew had already begun cleaning up.

Tomorrow, this wing of headquarters would be closed so that the floors could be shampooed. Heavy in Otaki's bag were all the case files he'd been assigned to complete over the next few days. While it was a simple matter of organizing the information into a comprehensive format, it was a lot of paper.

Glancing up again, movement at the end of the hall caught Otaki's eye. Near the exit, a figure methodically mopped the floor, slowly moving the mop back and forth in a repetitive movement. Something about her movements- she was a woman, her uniform fitting closely around her chest- didn't sit right with Otaki.

Something in his gut urged him to go to another exit, to avoid her at all costs. With a mental groan about how far away the other exit was, Otaki dismissed his unfounded fears. He took the uneasiness as a sign that he needed more sleep and waved a hand in greeting as he passed the woman. "Have a good night."

The woman glanced up for just a moment, long enough to smile before returning to her work. Her hat hung low in front of her face, so he didn't get a good look at her. Nevertheless, a tingle ran down his spine so powerfully it hurt. With a wary backwards glance at the woman, Otaki shifted the papers in his hand so that he could reach his holster. You are in danger, screamed his instincts. Get out of here now.

You didn't become a police inspector by ignoring your instincts. To do so once was to tango with trouble. Twice meant throwing Lady Luck out of a moving truck and then jumping out of a plane without a parachute. Infinitesimally, Otaki quickened his pace, a persistent get out get out get out get out looping through his mind in time with his heartbeat. Only eight steps away, I'll be fine, I can get a drink when I get home. He barely touched the door handle when a sickening crack echoed through the empty hallway.

A sharp pain in his neck, and suddenly Otaki knew where he'd recognized the woman from. He shouted in pain. His papers fell from his hands and scattered across the floor. He tried to swing at her, but his muscles refused to cooperate. They convulsed and spasmed as thousands of volts coursed through his body. He let out a weak moan as his knees buckled. Darkness closed in from the edges of his vision. Slumping to the ground, Otaki muttered "Akane" before darkness overcame him.

The woman watched with fascination as Otaki fell unconscious. Once she was sure that he was knocked out, she took the stun gun from his neck and tucked it back into her pocket. Carefully, quietly, she picked up the scattered papers and shoved them into his messenger bag. Digging around in his pocket, she found his car keys and stashed them in her pocket. She then dragged him to the janitor's cart and hid him inside.

Beneath the janitor's hat, the woman smiled wickedly. "You saved my life long ago, Otaki-chan," she purred. "I'm going to repay you a thousand times over. Both you and my Kijo-sama."

Name: Hayashi Chika (46). Occupation: Retired Librarian, Serial Killer.

‾͟͟͞(((ꎤˋ⁻̫ˊ)—̳͟͞͞o

If someone asked Heizo if he believed in the supernatural, he'd give them a long, hard stare. "If it cannot be logically explained," he once told a superstitious friend, "then ya're not using the right kind of logic." The only charm he didn't pine over having in the house was the one Heiji kept on his phone. He went to shrines only on holidays and followed tradition only to maintain the history and culture of his homeland.

Heizo did not believe in the supernatural. He did, however, believe in a little thing called instinct.

A few months ago, a clattering downstairs woke Heizo. He jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs to find his son with a half-empty cup of coffee. Judging by the color of the drink and the array of sweeteners strewn across the tabletop, Heiji seemed to be drinking himself into a caffeinated sugar shock. A small prompting was all it took for Heiji to tell Heizo of the nightmare he'd had- his newest friend, Kudou, bleeding out, stabbed in the stomach, dying. "I need ta borrow some money," he pleaded, "an' bring Kudou here. I need ta know he'll be safe. Please." The sugar and caffeine only exaggerated his nervous energy. Heizo agreed with only a brief hesitation.

When Mouri Kogoro and his family showed up instead, Heiji provided little explanation. Heizo didn't have much time to press the issue, either. With the murder case at the time, he had to devote all his time to solving the case. By the time Heizo had a moment of freedom, his son was in the hospital, shot through the stomach. According to Otaki, Heiji kept Sakada from killing himself, dragging the both of them from a burning building. According to Kazuha, Heiji saved Conan's life, too, when he gave the young boy his omamori. Numabuchi Kiichiro tried to stab the boy, but thanks to the omamori, Conan escaped with only a scratch and a stomachache.

Heizo scoffed at mind readers and stared down conmen claiming to be wizards. That didn't mean anything when it came to his son, however. It wasn't supernatural. Heiji just had incredible instincts- if he said something was off, then something was off. So, when Heiji recounted a nightmare about Otaki to his parents that morning at breakfast, Heizo took it as seriously as though he had witnessed it himself.

"Has anyone seen Otaki-han since yesterday?" asked Heiji, frowning at his untouched pancakes.

Shizuka poured herself and Heizo another cup of coffee. "Heiji, it's seven in the morning. He won't be at work for another hour. Otaki-han's married, correct?" She nodded to Heizo.

"I believe so, but he doesn't talk about her much. In any case, Otaki an' some other officers will be comin' over. The office is closed, so we're hostin' the meetin' here." He took a long drink from his coffee.

Heiji sighed. "Ya don't hafta worry 'bout me bein' in the way. I told Kazuha I'd get outta the house today. She's draggin' me ta a movie er somethin'."

"Some sunlight will do you good. You're starting to look pale," Shizuka commented, smiling at Heiji's eyeroll. "I'll watch over Kudou-kun while ya're gone. I'll need ya back by noon, though. I've got a lunch date with an old friend. When is Kazuha-chan comin' ta get ya?"

"She an' I are meetin' at the train station at nine. I'm gonna head over ta Otaki-han's. I've got a bad feelin' 'bout all this." Heiji rose from his chair, picking up his crutch in the process. "I might come back home first, but I'll call if that ain't the case."

Heizo nodded. "Please do. With Hayashi runnin' loose, we can't be too careful."

Heiji grinned. "Don't worry 'bout it, Oyaji. I'll be fine."

As he walked out the door, he slid on his hat. The brim faced the front, and Heizo suppressed a shiver.

(つ･･)つ¤=[]::::::

Otaki Akane ushered him in as soon as she opened the door. "Ya need ta stay off yer feet," she insisted. He barely had the time to introduce himself— she seemed to recognize him on sight.

"Ya're here 'bout Goro," she said. Taking up the chair across from Heiji, she fixed her eyes on his. Straight to the point, then.

"I was wonderin' if he came home last night."

She shook her head. "I was hopin' you were here ta tell me that you'd found him. When I woke up this mornin', I called the police an' filed a missin' persons report for him. He said he'd be home late last night, but he didn't show up at all."

Heiji took out a little notebook. His phone was just as accessible, but it was easier to remember things when his hands actually wrote out the words. "When did he call ya? Or did he text?"

She pulled out her phone, checked her messages. "He called me at eight ta say he was workin' late an' texted at ten ta say he'd be home shortly. I tried ta get the GPS on his phone ta track him, but whoever took him must've taken out the battery."

Nodding, Heiji jotted down the information. He looked up at her with almost a smile. "Normally, I'd ask ya if Otaki-han's got any enemies, but bein' a member of the police…"

Akane quirked a smile before frowning in thought. "Actually, there's that girl on the news lately. Her name's Chika?"

Oh, Kami, let her be wrong. "Ya mean Hayashi Chika?" Heiji asked, a lump forming in his throat.

"That's the one. When Goro an' I were still engaged, about fourteen years back, he saved her from a burnin' buildin'. The fire was set by a cult member, an' he happened ta be inside the buildin'. Even after the case was all over an' the arsonists were caught, he kept in touch. He found her a real good therapist, an' I helped set her up on a blind date. Chi-chan was still recoverin' from her divorce, though, so the date fell through. I heard she worked at the library for a while, though."

He wrote as fast as she talked, his pen flying across the paper. He looked over the notes, absorbing the information. At the bottom, in smaller, cleaner kanji, he wrote: Fact: Otaki saved Hayashi. Fact: Hayashi is in Osaka. Conclusion: Hayashi may be connected to Otaki's disappearance. "Ya think she mighta gone after Otaki-han? After the two of ya did so much for her?"

Akane only shrugged. "She was always a little off. I guess she finally snapped." At Heiji's forlorn expression, she leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Hattori-kun. I know that doesn't help. I know there's a connection there, and I thought ya could do somethin' with it. Chi-chan's in Osaka, isn't she?"

"Yeah. The employees at the train station haven't reported anythin' ta Oyaji or any officer, so we think she's still here." He lifted his head. "What ya said is really helpful, Otaki-han."

She snorted. "Please. 'Otaki-han' is my husband. Akane will do just fine."

"Akane-han, have ya told any of this ta the police?"

She returned to her chair. "None of them have gone to such lengths as you have. Ya came ta my house. Do ya see a police officer here, askin' me the questions ya are? Neither do I. Don't get me wrong— I have incredible faith an' trust in the police. They're just busy with findin' Chi-chan. Goro ain't at the top of their list right now."

Heiji took his crutch and stood again. "I'll tell Oyaji that Otaki-han's connected ta Hayashi. Trust me, he'll put more resources inta it ta make sure there isn't a connection between Otaki-han's disappearance an' Hayashi's appearance in Osaka."

Akane beamed. "This is why Goro has such faith in ya, Hattori-kun." She led him to the door. "I won't keep ya, then. Good luck, an' find my husband quickly. He's strong, but he's human. I don't want him gettin' hurt."

"You an' me both, Akane-han," Heiji said. She held open the door for him, and he bowed deeply to her. "Thank ya fer yer time. I promise, I'll find him soon."

‾͟͟͞(((ꎤˋ⁻̫ˊ)—̳͟͞͞o

"If we assume she's using the same pattern, we can narrow down our search area," Heizo explained to the room of officers. He held up a stack of papers. "This is a list of all th abandoned warehouses an' various buildings that can triangulate with one another. Yano, Tsutsumi, Okuma, Kanai. Each of ya will get a portion of the list an' will search each location thoroughly with your men. If you find anythin', you report ta me. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" answered the previously named men.

Heizo looked to two of the officers in the front. "Enomoto, Ida, the two of ya are ta look inta her family. They're mostly in this area. Shizu's got a list. Split it in half an' get any info on Hayashi that ya can."

Shizuka handed the taller of the two a few papers which they both read over quickly and silently. "Yes, sir!"

"The rest of ya will be investigatin' various leads. Come ta me once this meetin's over an' I'll give ya yer assignment. Any questions?" Heizo cast a narrow, piercing gaze across the room. Otaki wasn't here. Something must've happened to him, then. Frustration burned in the pit of his stomach. He had no forces to spare for good reason. Hayashi Chika was a deranged murderer with an unknown motive and a trail of bodies in her wake. Unless given good reason to do so, Heizo could do very little to find Otaki.

A hand shot up near the back. Heizo pointed, and a stocky man stood up. "Sir, do we know anythin' 'bout her motive?"

Heizo gestured again to the projector screen. "We know she intended ta have bodies put in these spots once she was finished. We have analysts tryin' ta link this pattern to her name, Kijo-sama, but we've had little luck as of yet."

The officer nodded and sat back down.

"Anythin' else?"

Silence hovered in the air like a swarm of bats.

Heizo met each one of the officers in the eyes. "We will not let this woman trash the reputation of the Osaka police. We will capture her and bring her to justice. Understand?"

"Understood, sir!" the men shouted as one.

"Then get movin'!" barked Heizo.

With a sigh, a tall man in a black cloak opened the door to his hotel room. He trudged in and dumped his bag on the floor, went to his bed and flopped down on it.

"Amburana," he groaned, "why did you call me here? I was busy."

From the bathroom came a sharp reply. "Quit whining and get your things set up. The Osaka police has already started their investigation. Prata infiltrated the meeting, but he won't get as much as you can."

"Hai, hai." With a grunt, Cachaça collected himself. "My apologies— this other assignment with KID is beginning to affect other aspects of my work."

Amburana emerged from the bathroom in a warm red robe, her hair now dyed a dark reddish brown. Cachaça raised his eyebrows and grinned. "That's a good look for you."

She shrugged. "It's not permanent, and I'm cutting it in a short while. My hope is that I will be mistaken for boy if it comes down to it."

"Unlike the drama queen Gin who claims his hair is his life." Cachaça's grin turned mischievous.

She chucked the towel at his head. He ducked with a yelp, barely dodging it. "Get to work. If Vermouth finds out you're here and not there, she may revoke your privileges."

"Wakata, Ana-dono," muttered Cachaça. "Hey, once you're dressed, give me a hand. This equipment isn't light, you know."

She picked up a few articles of clothing from her suitcase and disappeared into the bathroom again. "Shut up. You only need a laptop, and it's in your bag. Get to work," she snapped.

Nearly an hour later, Cachaça had finally settled into his work. He took off his sunglasses and coat and exchanged street clothes for a black pullover and surprisingly comfortable black jeans. He sat on the bed, fingers flying across the keyboard, the constant clicking and taps filling the room like the sound of rain. Hacking into police systems were easy enough, and it only took a simple filter to find what he was looking for. He skimmed over the police report and smirked in satisfaction.

"Oi, Amburana. I found it." Cachaça shifted on the bed to pass the laptop to his subordinate. "Hattori-san is sending officers to these locations, so you and Prata only need to search here," he clicked his mouse, and a portion of Osaka was highlighted in red, "and here." Another click, and a second area lit up in blue. "It shouldn't take any longer than the policemen will take. You're one of the best intelligence people we've got, right?" He didn't bother to hide his attempt at stroking her ego.

His mind games were lost on Amburana, however, as she stared intently at the screen. "I'll take the red area, and Prata can take the blue."

"Good. Don't report to me. I'll be busy for the next few hours." He closed his laptop and went into the bathroom.

"And what exactly will the computer security prodigy of the Organization be doing for the 'next few hours?'"

He didn't answer right away. "Do you still have my mother's supplies?"

"In the striped bag. Do you want help?"

"I can disguise myself, thank you very much," he huffed.

Rolling off the bed, Amburana walked to the bathroom, leaned on the doorway. "Where will you be going?"

"I'll be following Hattori Heiji-kun. He's a prodigy like me, after all. He'll have insights that no one else will."

"And what of Hayashi?"

Cachaça fished out a large makeup set and began crafting a mask. "Same orders as always, you know," he said casually, as though they were talking about the weather.

"Kill on sight. Leave no witnesses." He cast another glance her way. "Can you grab some good okonomiyaki while you're out? I don't want this trip to be a complete bore."