Here's chapter six, hot off the presses! This has a scene that I looked forward to writing ever since coming up with the idea for the new version of this fic- and the start of a beautiful (further expanded) friendship. I'm a sucker for that sort of stuff. Also how about those sweet new canon episodes? Akai and Amuro's baby fights are old hat, but I'm here for Sera and Haibara's baby fights.
As always, thanks for reading!
(don't) believe what you know
chapter six
can I ask you a question?
"Ran-san! What are you doing here so late?"
Glancing over her shoulder, Ran directed a relieved smile towards Takagi. Despite the late hour, the Tokyo MPD headquarters was buzzing with activity, so seeing a familiar face was something of a relief.
"Conan-kun slipped out." Ran said. "I was hoping he might be here."
"Conan-kun? I don't think he's been here." Takagi said after a moment of thought. "I know Mouri-san was here earlier, but he wasn't with him then."
"I see." Ran frowned slightly. She was so sure that she'd find Conan here, but if Takagi said he hadn't been, then she had no reason to assume he was lying. Even if things did look busy enough that a single child could have slipped by unnoticed- especially one who was known for being pretty sneaky.
"Sorry," Takagi said, "-but I'll let you know if do I see him. Did something happen?"
"No," Ran shook her head, "-I think he may have just snuck out to try and stick his nose into the case Inspector Megure called dad about."
"In that case, he might be with them now." Takagi said. "I was just about to head that way, if you want to ride with me?"
"Thanks," Ran smiled, "-that would be a big help."
Really, it would. There was something almost eerie about the streets tonight. Maybe it was just because there seemed to be police everywhere- probably because of those news reports about women having been assaulted. She was confident she could protect herself from any attacker, but even so, she'd caught herself jumping at shadows. Going by car would be a welcome relief.
"Is Detective Sato not with you today?" Ran asked, glancing around for any sign of the female detective.
"She's on patrol with Chiba." Takagi said. "The Inspector ordered another increase."
"Did something happen?" Ran asked. "I heard about the assaults on the news, but..."
"A man was killed, apparently," Takagi said, "-likely by the same culprit."
"A murder?" Ran asked, her lips drawing tight into a frown. "It's not just the assaults?"
That was bad enough by itself, but...
"So it would seem." Takagi said, gesturing for her to follow him. "I can brief you more in the car if you like. Although..."
"Although?" Ran repeated, tilting her head slightly.
"...you may not like some of the details."
"Any luck?"
"No," Kogoro shook his head, "-I couldn't find any sign of the culprit."
"I see," Megure said with a deep frown, "-that's too bad. I guess they got away."
Again, Conan mentally added. He didn't know if the culprit was really that Nakao Aiko person or not, but one thing was for sure- they were familiar with the area. He'd been able to ask the Inspector for more details while Uncle had tried to track down the culprit, although he'd been somewhat reluctant to give them at first.
From the sound of it, they'd been deliberately picking low traffic areas- which just made this attack all the stranger. While it didn't exactly get heavy foot traffic, especially at this hour, it was hard to say this area was deserted either- there were a number of bars nearby that were still open, and a twenty four hour convenience store just across the street. There was also the fact that the victim this time was male- though it could just be a coincidence that the previous four victims had all been women. If they were all part of the same acting seminar...
What really got him was the blood- or rather, the lack of it.
There was plenty of blood by the victim, but in spite of having pulled out the murder weapon and left, there was almost no blood trail. It stopped abruptly several paces away- almost like the culprit had vanished.
That wasn't possible, of course. There had to be some kind of logical explanation.
"Did we find out the identity of the victim?" Kogoro asked.
"Yes," Megure nodded, glancing towards the body with a deep frown, "-fortunately he had his driver's licence on him. His name is Sasakawa Shindo, age twenty six."
"Do we know if he took part in the acting seminar?" Kogoro asked.
"Not yet." Megure said. "I'm having Takagi bring me the list of participants that the leader sent. We'll know then."
"And you're certain he said that it was a kuchisake-onna, kid?" Kogoro asked, glancing down at him.
"Yeah, I'm positive." Conan nodded. "He definitely said kuchisake-onna."
"So now they've moved on to murder." Megure mused, his brow set in a deep furrow. "I was afraid of this."
He couldn't agree more. Studying the area, Conan looked around for anything that might help, before his gaze paused on the convenience store across the street. If he wasn't mistaken...
"Hey," he said, pointing to it, "-is that a security camera?"
"Where?" Megure asked, following his finger. "You're right. It might have captured something. Mouri-kun, sorry, but could you ask if they'll show us the footage?"
"Leave it to me, Inspector!" Kogoro said, before hurrying across the street.
Naturally, Conan followed him. He got a little angry when he realized it, but it was worth it. It turned out the owner of the convenience store had installed it two weeks ago, after one too many unpleasant encounters with drunks had happened outside of his store. When asked by the great detective Mouri Kogoro for help with the investigation, he'd been more than happy to comply, bringing up the footage that had recently been taken.
Based on the angle of the camera, they could just make out the entrance of the alley the victim had been found in. The owner rewound the tape until a few minutes before the murder, and they watched, holding their breath as they waited for something to happen.
When it did, it was so abrupt that he might have missed it if he hadn't been paying attention. Sasakawa suddenly dashed into view, but before he could reach the main road, he was stabbed. Based on the angle, they could just make out a pale hand pulling the knife out as he fell to the ground, before the culprit disappeared off camera entirely.
"Go back a little and pause it!" Conan said.
After a moment's hesitation, the owner did, stopping the video where he indicated. Narrowing his eyes, he peered closer at the footage, his brow furrowing as he realized that the arm didn't actually seem to be attached to anything. Based on the angle, they should have seen at least a little bit of the culprit's body, but...
...and was it just his eyes playing trick on him, or was their arm almost translucent? Was is just some kind of glitch? Or some kind of trick? But for what purpose?
A shiver abruptly shot down the length of his spine. Pivoting on his heel, Conan looked behind him. For just a second, it felt as if someone had been watching him-
-but there was no one there.
Heaving a sigh, his shoulders slumped. Oi, oi. He wasn't letting this fake kuchisake-onna stuff get to him, was he? Unbelievable.
In the end, all Uncle could do was thank the man for his help, and ask that he turn the video data over to the police when they arrived. With any luck, the police analysts would be able to pick up on something they'd missed. Following Kogoro outside, he noticed that Takagi had arrived while they'd been watching the footage. He was about to call out to the officer when-
"Conan-kun."
-his blood ran cold.
"R-Ran-neechan," Conan stammered, slowly turning around to face her, "-what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" Ran repeated, unmistakably angry. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in bed, not following dad around!"
"Ah, that's..."
"And dad!" Ran's attention snapped towards her father. "Why didn't you bring Conan-kun back home right away? It's a school night, you know! He needs his rest!"
"Ah, well..." Kogoro began, trailing off slightly as he very pointedly did not look his daughter in the eyes. "I didn't actually run into him until a little while ago, and then the case..."
"Sorry, Ran-neechan," Conan apologized, "-I just wanted to help."
Heaving a long sigh, Ran folded her arms in front of her. "Unbelievable. Do you know how worried I was to find you gone?"
"I didn't mean to make you worry..." Conan trailed off.
"Come on," Ran said, holding out her hand, "-we're going home."
Crap. He felt bad about worrying Ran, but he didn't want to leave yet- not when there'd just been a murder. What if the culprit attacked someone else?
"I don't want to leave!" Conan protested, making good use of the fact that he looked six to sound as whiny as possible. "I want to help Uncle Kogoro!"
"No," Ran said firmly, taking his hand anyways, "-it's late, and this case is way too creepy! We're going home."
"You know about the case?" Kogoro asked.
"Detective Takagi told me all about it on the way here." Ran said. "That there was some woman dressing up as a kuchisake-onna and hurting people."
Clicking his tongue, Kogoro glared across the street at Takagi. "That Takagi. I didn't tell you about it for a reason."
"Well I know now." Ran said sharply. "And that's why I'm taking Conan-kun home. It's dangerous out here! He's only in elementary school, you know!"
Crap, at this rate Ran really would take him home. There had to be something...
"No," Conan protested again, "-I'm worried about Heiji-niichan!"
Ran paused, glancing down at him with a frown. "Hattori-kun? What does he have to do with this? He went back to Osaka"
"He came back, actually." Kogoro said. "I ran into him earlier. Apparently an old classmate called him for help, so he came right over."
"Without stopping by the detective agency first?" Ran asked with a frown. "That doesn't sound like Hattori-kun. He always comes over when he's in Tokyo."
"Maybe it was already late when he got here?" Conan suggested. "He probably didn't want to wake us up."
Which now that he thought about it, sounded like a plausible enough reason for why he hadn't, but somehow it didn't sound right.
"I guess that could be it," Ran mused, "-but where is here? I didn't see him."
"About that..." Kogoro trailed off.
"He got into a fight with someone at the hospital." Conan said.
"A fight?" Ran asked, her brows knitting together in concern. "Is that true, dad?"
"Yeah," Kogoro nodded, "-the younger sister of the first victim was apparently an old classmate of his too. I don't know what it's about but, apparently there's some bad blood between the two of them or something. He took off on his own after that."
"He's not answering his phone either." Conan said. "That's why I'm worried about him."
Ran frowned, clearly more hesitant than before. It felt kind of underhanded, using this as an excuse, but he didn't want to be pulled away from the investigation just yet. Besides, he wasn't lying- he was worried about Hattori. Even putting aside the way he'd seemed... off since he'd first appeared, his behavior back at the hospital hadn't been normal.
And...
"Haven't ya caused me- caused my family- enough problems already, ya jinx!?"
...what had she meant by that? And why hadn't Hattori denied it?
"How about this?" Kogoro began, his voice snapping him back to reality. "We were going to interview someone about the case in a little while. If we run into Hattori-kun anywhere, it'll probably be there. I can send the kid home with Takagi after that."
Conan frowned slightly, glancing up at Kogoro. He would have expected him to leap at the chance to ship him off with the Ran, but maybe he was actually worried about Hattori too. He'd been the one who'd told him to go after him, after all.
"Well, I guess that's fine..." Ran trailed off a little, clearly not entirely happy about it. "But he has to come back home right after that, okay? Whether you meet Hattori-kun or not."
"Yes!" Conan agreed. "I promise!"
Ran gave him a skeptical look, like she didn't quite believe him. It would sting but... well, he couldn't exactly blame her. She had good reason not to- his track record wasn't exactly stellar.
"Then, I guess I'll head back." Ran said. "I have to wake up early for morning practice tomorrow. With the tournament coming up, I can't afford to miss it."
"Are you sure you don't want someone to come with you?" Kogoro asked. "I'm sure the Inspector could-"
"It's fine," Ran said, holding up her hands with a smile, "-you need Detective Takagi's car to get around, right? I'm not a child anymore, I can make it back by myself just fine. Besides, the culprit is just someone pretending to be a kuchisake-onna, right? I can beat someone like that with my karate in heartbeat."
That was true. Anyone stupid enough to attack Ran usually deserved what came after.
"Well, that's true." Kogoro admitted. "Still, be careful."
"I will." Ran promised. "Then, good luck with the case, dad. And Conan-kun-"
Sweat trickled down the back of his neck as Ran turned her attention towards him, an underlying threat lacing her next words.
"-make sure to keep your promise."
"...yes."
"He's not on the list?"
"No," Megure shook his head, "-I checked over it several times to be sure, but Sasakawa Shindo is nowhere to be found on the list we were sent."
"Then could he be connected to the victims some other way?" Kogoro asked.
"It's possible." Megure said. "I asked Shiratori-kun to look into any other possible connections in the meantime."
Conan frowned, leaning back in his seat. They weren't connected? He'd been certain that the connection between the five victims had been the acting seminar, but if he wasn't on the list...
...then how were they connected? Despite the change of modus operandi, he didn't have any reason to believe that this attack was carried out by a different culprit. The news media had never specified that they were imitating a kuchisake-onna, so the chances it could be a copycat were low. It wasn't impossible, but...
...it just didn't sit right with him.
Speaking of culprits, they were currently on their way to the home of Nakao Aiko, leaving the crime scene in the care of other police officers. There wasn't much more they could learn from the scene, and the body had already been taken away for examination. Even though the latest victim threw something of a wrench into their possible connection, right now Nakao-san was still the strongest lead they had. It was worth checking out.
It was, but there was something that was bothering him.
"Hey," he piped up, looking towards the Inspector, "-did Kawakami-san really identify Nakao-san as her attacker?"
"No," Megure shook his head, "-she said they had similar builds and scars, but she stopped short of identifying her as the culprit. Still if the scars matched hers, it's not a stretch to assume she might be the culprit."
"She sounded weirdly hesitant about it, though." Kogoro added. "She couldn't recall having done anything to earn her hatred."
"Then it could be someone else?" Conan asked.
"It's not impossible." Megure admitted. "But if their scars match..."
"That kind of injury isn't exactly common." Kogoro agreed. "Kawakami-san was probably just too scared in the moment to really focus on the details."
"In any case, it's clear we need to speak with her." Megure said.
He couldn't argue with that. Even if she wasn't the culprit, it probably wasn't a coincidence that someone with similar scars was involved with at least four of the victims. There had to be some kind of connection.
...then what about the fifth victim? What did he have to do with all of this? And why was he the only one who'd been killed?
"Hey," he piped up again, "-about the culprit- how exactly did Kawakami-san describe them?"
"If I recall, she described her as a slender woman of above average height with long black hair." Megure said. "She was wearing a surgical mask, but when she took it off, there were long scars on both sides of her mouth."
"She took it off?" Conan asked.
"Yes," Megure nodded, "-just like in the urban legend, she apparently asked if the victim thought she was pretty, then took off her mask."
"For some reason, the Osaka brat was weirdly insistent about that part." Kogoro frowned, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "He kept asking her if she really took off the mask before she answered the question, and other weird things like that."
"Heiji-niichan did?" Conan asked, tilting his head curiously.
"I believe he said something about there being several variants of the legend, so knowing which one the culprit was following could tell us something." Megure explained.
Conan hummed. He couldn't say that didn't make sense, but...
...he didn't know. It just felt off. But why? He'd been feeling that way a lot tonight, but every time he tried to pin it down, he couldn't come up with a concrete answer. Was he just overthinking things? Was it just now that he knew Hattori was keeping some kind of secret from him, it was making him question things he'd never so much as thought twice about before?
Scratching his head in frustration, Conan heaved a sigh. With any luck, they'd cross paths with Hattori again at Nakao-san's place. Despite how quickly he'd left the hospital, he doubted that confrontation was enough to throw him off the case, though he'd definitely been lying about meeting another old classmate to discus it.
For all he knew, he might have been lying about being hired by them too.
Then why was he here? Did he really just come because of the social media posts? He had gone all the way out to Gunma just because of a single photograph- he'd never really gotten a clear answer as to just who had hired him to look into it. And what was with that piece of paper he'd picked up from Uncle?
And what exactly had happened between him and Atsuko in the past?
Closing his eyes, he heaved a sigh. There were too many unanswered questions, and what he really needed to focus on now was the case at hand- especially now that there had been a murder. There was a chance that whatever grudge had prompted the crimes in the first place had been fulfilled with it, but...
...he'd rather not take the chance of being wrong.
"She's not here?"
Fortunately both of Nakao Aiko's parents were already awake when they rang the bell. They let them inside after a moment's hesitation, guiding them into the living room to talk, where they had introduced themselves as Nakao Iona and Nakao Satoshi. Unfortunately, Nakao Aiko herself wasn't there.
Neither was Hattori, for that matter.
"No," Nakao Iona shook her head, a slight frown on her face, "-she left three days ago to see a friend."
Megure and Kogoro exchanged a look, while Conan's frown only deepened. The attacks had started two nights ago- if Nakao Aiko had left home before then...
"Did she perhaps say where she was going?" Megure asked. "Or who it was that she was meeting?"
"No," Nakao Satoshi said, "-she only said that it was someone she had met over the Internet."
"Over the Internet?" Kogoro asked.
"Yes," Satoshi nodded, "-she said it was someone who she could finally relate to."
"Relate to?" Conan chimed in. "How?"
Both parents cast him an uncertain look, no doubt wondering what such a young child was doing hanging around a bunch of detectives at this hour. Well, he was used to it.
"I don't know," Iona admitted, "-she never really said. But she seemed happier lately, so we didn't really question it. It's just..."
"Just?" Kogoro asked.
"She hasn't contacted us once since she left." Satoshi said. "It's not like her. Honestly, we were considering speaking with the police in the morning, but you say that she's been involved in some kind of incident?"
"No, we don't know that for sure yet." Megure said, holding up his hands. "But just in case, is it alright if we search her room?"
Her parents exchanged a look, before Satoshi slowly inclined his head. "That's fine. I can show you the way."
Megure gave his thanks, following the man upstairs with both Takagi and Kogoro in tow. Conan chose to linger in the living room for a few moments longer, his gaze drawn towards a row of photographs on top of a bookcase. The young woman in them was probably Nakao-san- likely photos taken after her accident, given that she was wearing a surgical mask in all of them. She was definitely slender and on the tall side, but she had a short hair, not long. Something like that could easily be disguised using a wig, but...
Oh? Now that he noticed it, there was actually one picture that looked to be from before her accident. She was wearing a uniform, so it was probably a picture from high school. There were four other girls in it, as well as what looked like a teacher.
Maybe a club picture?
"Is something wrong, boy?" Iona asked. "You don't want to follow the police officers?"
"I will in a second." Conan glanced towards the photos again. "Your daughter sure is pretty."
"Thank you," Iona smiled, though there was a sad undercurrent to it, "-I think so too."
"Are these all photos from after her accident?" Conan asked.
"Yes," Iona nodded, "-she asked us to take down all of her old photos after the accident. Ah, but recently she put up one of her old photos from high school. See?"
Strange. If she'd put up a photo from before her accident, wouldn't that usually mean that she was overcoming whatever trauma her scars had inflicted on her? Would someone like that really pretend to be a kuchisake-onna and attack people?
Conan hummed, pretending to have just noticed it. "Was she in a club?"
"That's right," Iona smiled, "-she was part of the movie research club. She always wanted to become an actress, you see."
"Is that why she was taking part in an acting seminar?" Conan asked.
"Yes," Iona nodded, "-one of her old friends from the club invited her."
"Really?" Conan asked, glancing back at the photo.
"Yes," Iona said, pointing to the girl with a braid that was standing next to her daughter in the photo, "-see? That's her right there. Her name was Hirase Yumiko, I believe. She was skilled with movie makeup even back then. She went on to work in the industry, if I recall."
"Movie makeup?" Conan asked, perking up at that morsel of information.
"That's right," Iona replied, "-I think she works mostly with horror movies."
"Horror movies, huh?" Conan asked. "Then she must know how to make people look like monsters and stuff! That's pretty interesting!"
Iona's lips twitched slightly downwards, as if she was suddenly bothered by something. "I suppose she would..."
Conan tilted his head. "Is something wrong?"
"Ah, it's nothing." Iona said, shaking her head. "It's just that the boy who came here before you asked all the same questions."
That got his attention right away.
"A boy?" Conan asked. "Did he have dark skin and an Osakan accent?"
Iona blinked, more than a little surprised. "That's right, he did. He said he was a high school detective. If I recall, his name was Hattori Heiji."
So Hattori really had been here. What's more, he'd gotten here one step ahead of everyone else- he must have really been lying about meeting up with that old classmate of his.
But why? He could understand if he'd just wanted some space, but...
"Did he say where he was going after this?" Conan asked.
"No," Iona shook her head, "-but wherever it was, he sure left in a hurry. Why?"
"No reason." Conan said, before glancing in the direction of the stairs. "Ah, I think I hear Uncle Kogoro calling me! Bye-bye, obaa-san!"
Hurriedly escaping the room, Conan let out a breath. Well, at the very least Hattori couldn't have been too rattled by what had happened at the hospital if he was already back in case investigation mode- unless he was using the investigation as a means to distract himself, which was entirely possible knowing him.
Still... why wasn't he answering any of his texts?
Ah, what a pain. Heaving a sigh, Conan trudged upstairs. The last thing he wanted was to go back to the detective agency after this- especially since he was now more certain than ever that Nakao Aiko wasn't the culprit.
But if his hunch was right... then she was probably in danger.
And Hirase Yumiko... she was definitely suspicious. Someone with experience in horror makeup would definitely be able to create scars that could fool a person, especially if they were scared. She'd also been the one to invite Nakao Aiko to the acting seminar in the first place, which meant she likely had some kind of connection to at least the first four victims. He wasn't sure what her motive could be, but he wasn't about to write this off as a coincidence.
He just had to figure out a way to the get the Inspector and Uncle to interview her. If Hattori were here, they'd probably listen to him, but for whatever reason, he was keeping information to himself.
...actually, now that he thought about it, he might be able to use Hattori's presence here to his advantage.
"Hey, obaa-san?" Conan poked his head back into the living room, one hand brushing over the voice changer he had hidden in his back pocket. "Where's your bathroom?"
Halfway through the walk home, Ran caught herself wondering if she really should have accepted that ride after all.
No, no. She didn't need it! It wasn't like the one attacking people was a real kuchisake-onna- it was just someone dressed up as one. The police even had a suspect already! As long as she didn't take any weird shortcuts and stayed on the main roads, she didn't have anything to worry about, even this late at night.
And if they did try something anyways... pounding her fist into her open hand, Ran narrowed her eyes. If they did try something, they wouldn't even have to wait for her father to fall asleep to solve the case. Anyone who cut up women's faces deserved a good punch or two, even if they were also a woman.
...but even for this time of night, the streets were awfully deserted. Weren't there supposed to be police patrols around? It was kind of creepy.
Quickening her pace, Ran shivered. Maybe she should have worn a thicker coat. She knew it was winter, but was it supposed to be this cold? She thought-
click
Instantly, Ran froze. What was that...?
click
Her breath hitching in her throat, Ran swallowed. That sounded an awful lot like a woman's heels, but she was the only one on this street, wasn't she? Slowly turning to look behind her, she could hear her heart pounding in her chest to find-
-nothing. The sidewalk was empty.
Slowly exhaling, Ran's shoulders slumped. Of course. She was just imagining it. Besides, if someone really was pretending to be a kamaitachi, they probably wouldn't wear something as impractical as high heels.
Turning back around, Ran froze. Strange. She could have sworn the two streetlights ahead of her had been on just a moment ago. Had they burnt out? But both at the same time? And the street felt eerily quiet...
No, no. It was just her imagination. It had to be. After all, kuchisake-onna weren't actually real. They weren't real, but...
...then who was that, standing underneath the streetlight that had just flickered back on?
At first glance, they almost looked like an ordinary woman- pretty even, with long black hair, a slender body, and stylish clothes. But there was something in the way they held themselves that sent a chill up Ran's spine- some subtle wrongness that she couldn't help but pick up on even without knowing the source.
Or maybe it was just the way the knife in her hand gleamed under the light of the lamp.
Maybe it was the dark spots she was almost certain were blood.
Instantly on alert, Ran raised her guard. No matter how scary she seemed, she was just an ordinary human. The police had a suspect, so she must be human. Besides, none of the monsters from any of the past cases she'd been involved with had turned out to be real- why should this one be any different?
The streetlight flickered off.
She could have sworn someone laughed.
"Who's there?!" Ran demanded, her eyes scanning the dark for any sign of the woman's silhouette- and failing to find it.
...had it been this dark before?
"Hey."
Just as the streetlight right in front of her abruptly flickered back on, Ran found herself taking half a step back. The woman was standing there, staring at her with eyes nearly as black as the surrounding darkness. Up close, the subtle sense of something being wrong with her became even more intense, enough to make her skin crawl.
Maybe this really was-
"Can I ask you a question?"
Ran didn't wait, aiming a powerful kick at the woman just as the streetlight flickered off. Nobody carried around a knife like that just to make conversation. But instead of hitting anything, her kick just met empty air. Stumbling, she quickly regained her footing, searching frantically around in the darkness for her. Where had-?
"Am I pretty?"
Jerking backwards, Ran's heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she realized the woman was practically right next to her. When had she gotten so close?! She hadn't sensed anything!
...she hadn't sensed anything.
"Hey," the kuchisake-onna was right in her face now, and she swore her breath stunk of death, "-am I pretty?"
"Yes!" Ran blurted out almost automatically. She covered her mouth, but it was already too late.
Under her mask, she could tell the kuchisake-onna was smiling. With one hand she reached up, taking off her mask in what felt like slow motion. She could see her white teeth through the deep scars that carved her mouth into a frozen smile.
"Even now?"
"Yer kind of so-so, if ya ask me."
Huh? That voice...
"Hattori-kun?!" Ran gasped, taking her eyes of the kuchisake-onna against her better judgement. But strangely enough, she didn't even seem to react- if anything, she seemed...
...confused?
"Come on, let's go." Heiji said, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her along. She stumbled at first, but quickly matched his pace. She nearly glanced over her shoulder to look back...
"Don't, Neechan." Heiji warned.
She didn't know what it was, but something in his tone prompted her to take it seriously. She followed him, even though she wasn't quite sure if he knew where he was going, until they came out onto another street and were promptly greeted by bright streetlights and the chatter of a pair of convenience store employees out for a late night smoke. Heiji exhaled, finally releasing her wrist, which was a bit sore from how tight his grip had been.
"Hattori-kun-"
"Not here," Heiji said, his gaze briefly flickering towards the convenience store employees- both of whom were giving them the kind of look that made her cheeks heat up, "-let's get back ta the detective agency first."
Ran frowned, but ultimately, she kept quiet. Honestly, she'd feel a little calmer once they got back to the detective agency too. Her heart was still racing in her chest, and she swore she could still smell the rancid scent of blood. What had that even been? There was no way that was a normal human!
And where had Heiji even come from? For a coincidence, it was a little...
Wait, hadn't Kazuha said...?
"This idiot has had weird dreams since he was little. More often than not, they'd come true."
Her frown deepening, she glanced up at Heiji. Could that be it? Come to think of it, he'd given Conan his charm once before too- it had been what saved him when he'd jumped in the way of Numabuchi's knife. He'd brushed it off when Kazuha had brought it up, but could it be...
...and something was strange about today's Heiji. She couldn't pin down exactly what, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something different about him. Sure, he didn't have his usual cap, but she'd seen him without it a few times before, so it couldn't be just that. It was something... something more fundamental, like...
"We're here."
Coming to an abrupt stop, Ran blinked, realizing that they'd already made it back to the agency. Had they really been that close? It didn't feel as if they'd been walking that long.
"Well," Heiji lifted a hand, turning to leave, "-I've got a case ta get back ta, so-"
"Wait!"
Heiji abruptly stopped, though she couldn't help but note the way he didn't look back at her. Come to think of it, he hadn't looked at her once this entire time.
Strange. This Heiji was too strange.
"How did you know where I was?" Ran asked.
"It was just a coincidence, a coincidence." Heiji dismissively said. "Don't worry so much about it. More importantly, don't have ya morning practice tomorrow? Shouldn't ya get some sleep?"
She did, but...
"How did you know I have morning practice tomorrow?"
"That's because-" Heiji began, before abruptly snapping his mouth shut. She didn't even need him to turn around to know what expression was on his face. After all, he'd hadn't been there when she'd brought up morning practice, so how did he know?
"The kid, the kid!" Heiji said hurriedly. "The kid told me!"
"When?" Ran asked. "Conan-kun made it sound like you only ran into each other at the hospital, and from the sound of it, you ran right out afterwards. When did he get a chance to tell you?"
"That's..." Heiji trailed off, clearly at a loss, before just as quickly going on the defensive, finally looking at her in the process. "It doesn't matter, does it?"
"It does matter!" Ran insisted. "And what was that back there?"
"What was what?" Heiji asked. "Ah, ya mean with that weird woman? I gotta say, Neechan, that wasn't like ya at all, ta let yerself get cornered like that. Ya tired or somethin'?"
"Don't play dumb." Ran narrowed her eyes, feeling herself bristle. "You know, don't you? There's no way that was a human! Of course I couldn't use my karate against it!"
"What are ya sayin'?" Heiji said, holding up his hands, his expression a strained mask of a more familiar expression. "There's no way that was a real kuchisake-onna. That kind of thing isn't real."
"Is that so?" Ran asked, arching her brows. "Then why didn't you try and catch them? They murdered someone already! Aren't you a detective?!"
Heiji flinched, clearly unable to answer that. As she thought-
"It was real, wasn't it." Ran said, crossing her arms in front of her. "That kuchisake-onna."
"Don't joke around like that, Neechan." Heiji said. "How could that-"
"Hattori-kun," Ran cut him off, leveling her most powerful glare at him, "-don't lie to me."
Heiji opened his mouth like he was about to protest more, only to slowly shut it, heaving a long sigh instead. "Yeah, I kinda got the feeling that wasn't gonna work either. But ya can't blame me fer tryin', right?"
She swallowed, her heart briefly shuddering at the admission that had been real. It hadn't been a costume, there'd been no trick- that was a genuine kuchisake-onna.
And somehow, in spite of all of his past skepticism, Heiji didn't look the least bit surprised.
"So you were lying." Ran accused- and she didn't just mean now.
"Sorry, sorry," Heiji said, holding up his hands to placate her, "-I didn't do it ta make ya mad. I just can't have people findin' out I believe in that stuff. I have a reputation ta keep!"
"This is a little more than just a matter of belief." Ran stated. "I was almost attacked by that- that thing!"
She couldn't help but shiver as she remembered it. She'd been holding it back all this time, but now that she actually stopped to think about it, she'd been close to having something terrible happen, hadn't she? She might have ended up with her face slashed, or even worse- she might have died!
"It's fine, it's fine." Heiji said. "We got away, right?"
"That's true, but..." Ran trailed off, her lips curling into a frown. Wasn't he afraid at all? "That still doesn't explain how you found me in the first place. And how did you know about my morning practice? You weren't spying on us, were you?"
"Spying's a mean word, Neechan." Heiji said. "I just happened ta be in the area, that's all."
"I didn't see you." Ran said.
Heiji averted his eyes. "Well that's..."
She doubted he intended to finish that sentence, but perhaps fortunately for him, he was cut off by the sound of a ringtone. Instinctively she checked her own pocket, before realizing it wasn't her phone- it was Heiji's.
"Sorry," Heiji apologized, pulling out his phone, "-I have ta take this."
Ran frowned, but stayed silent as he answered. But what was with that ringtone? It sounded so ominous.
"What do ya want, Koizumi?" Heiji said. "This had better be good."
Koizumi? Tilting her head, Ran's frown deepened. A friend? But she'd never heard Heiji mention that name before, and that expression he was making...
...and why was he answering calls from them, but ignoring Conan?
"Are ya sure?" Heiji asked whoever it was. "Okay, got it. Thanks fer the tip."
"Sorry, Neechan," he said, hanging up the phone, "-I really do have ta get goin' this time. Is there a chance we can put this discussion on hold?"
Ran narrowed her eyes. On the surface, it sounded like an excuse to get away, but something in his tone told her it wasn't. It sounded too urgent for that.
"Okay," Ran said, "-but we'll be talking about this later."
"Thanks!" Heiji said, already turning on his heel to leave. "I'll swing by the detective agency tomorrow morning, promise! An' don't tell the kid or yer old man about this!"
"Ah, wait just a second!" Ran said, abruptly remembering that her father and Conan were out there somewhere, chasing a real monster. "That thing won't attack them, will it?"
She wasn't sure what prompted her to ask, but Heiji definitely seemed to know more about what was going on than she did. If her dad and Conan were in any danger...
"Neechan," Heiji glanced back at her, arching a brow, "-do ya seriously think I'd let that happen?"
Ran opened her mouth, before slowly shutting it, shaking her head. She might not fully understand what was going on, or just what it was that Heiji was involved in- but she knew one thing for sure. He wasn't the type to let the people he cared about get hurt. The scar on his left hand was proof enough of that.
"No," she said, "-you wouldn't."
"There ya have it. Besides, the kuchisake-onna they're chasin' really is a fake. Ku- your old man could probably take her down with his judo, if needed." Heiji said, giving her a wave. "Hurry up an' get inside, though! There's dangerous things on the streets tonight."
"Ah, Hattori-kun-!" She began, but was cut off by a sudden gust of wind that forced her to look away. When she looked back-
-Heiji was already gone.
The city sped by in a blur of colors as he moved from rooftop to rooftop, hurrying towards the location Koizumi had specified. He wasn't as familiar with Tokyo's streets, but that was what GPS was for. Thankfully it still worked, provided he didn't go too much over to that side- but that probably wouldn't be necessary tonight.
And one way or another, he hoped to have this resolved before tomorrow night.
It was bad enough that Kudo was on the case, bad enough that he'd met Atsuko- but now Neechan had also been attacked. He'd made the right choice, asking Koizumi to help him keep an eye on things- even if he was certain she'd probably ask him for some weird favor later. He'd spread a number of his own across the city, but there was a limit to how much he could use them when he had to be around other people. It was bad enough that Uncle had picked one up- he didn't need anyone to see anything that might be hard to explain. He could still probably salvage the situation with Neechan, but...
...that was seriously going to be a pain to explain, even if he didn't tell her everything. And here he'd been afraid of Kudo learning his secret. What if she'd been the one his fortune had been warning him about all this time?
(Probably not, not when it had been in Kudo's fortune too.)
Something in his gut clenched as he thought about Neechan. She was the one most afraid of monsters. What if she...?
No, no. Neechan wasn't like that. Kudo was head over heels for her for a reason.
Well, whatever the case, he could worry about it later. He had a kuchisake-onna to deal with. If he didn't stop it from killing more people...
...no, it was already too late for that. Still one person's death would be easier to cover up than several people.
In the meantime, he'd just have to depend on Kudo to work the other side of the case. He didn't doubt his rival would be able to pick up on the same trail he had before he'd had to switch gears- hopefully before Nakao Aiko became a victim herself. If the real culprit saw the news about Sasakawa Shindo's death, it might be enough for them to decide to put an end to this farce, no matter the grudge that had prompted their actions in the first place. If that was the case...
...they'd end up as a murderer for real.
In a way, that almost made what he needed to do a little easier, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Even if he got rid of the kuchisake-onna tonight, if rumors of her existence still persisted, she would just appear again. In order to end things, the case had to be brought to a close.
All of it.
Grimacing, he stopped for a moment to get his bearings. He wasn't looking forward to pulling off that particular trick around Kudo, but he didn't have much of a choice. This was his duty. The balance had to be preserved-
-no matter what that meant.
Your faith in a close friend will be shaken as you unravel the secrets they've been hiding.
For his sake, he hoped Kudo's fortune was wrong about that part.
Nearby, someone screamed. Head turning in that direction, Heiji sighed. For tonight, he just had to focus on preventing any further deaths. Come daytime, he could focus on the case again.
Well, provided Kudo didn't solve the whole thing overnight, that was.
(Knowing him, he could.)