Summary: In which, Kaito and Aoko investigate the museum and Ran takes a look inside the fake rock.

Notes: Ahhh, you're feedback makes me really happy. I'm super glad that you're enjoying it. Thanks for the favs/follows/reviews! :D

Water flows from taps as Sonoko draws the bath, offering white noise, something that keeps Ran's thoughts from overflowing.

She sits on the small stool Sonoko brings forward before peeling her jumper off. Behind her, Sonoko kneels and assesses any damage from the glass. She lets out a small whistle, and then, after placing a hand on Ran's shoulder as a form of warning, she pries the first bit of glass from between the knots of Ran's shoulders.

Ran lets out a small hiss.

"I know it hurts," Sonoko says, "but this is what happens when you get caught up in mystery work."

There's an element of disapproval in her voice. Worry. Ran doesn't usually get such seriousness from her best friend, but she supposes being covered in glass and mentioning how she'd been shot at could be a sobering experience for anyone.

"You're not angry at me, are you?"

For a moment, Sonoko is silent. She plucks another shard of glass from Ran's skin, before pressing gauze against it, applying pressure to stop any potential bleeding. Then, she sighs.

"I knew you were looking to help Shinichi-kun," Sonoko says. Her voice is quiet, like she's not sure just how much she should say. "Your dad told me when I visited once how the two of you just… poured over the files together, looking for new leads. I knew you weren't going to give up."

Ran bites her lip. She knew, in some sense, that Sonoko had always known about her trust in Shinichi, but they'd never brought the topic up. Mainly because Ran hadn't wanted to ask Sonoko what she thought, hadn't wanted to bear the idea that her best friend didn't trust him anymore.

"As soon as the news said Shinichi-kun was free, I knew you'd look even deeper. And it looks like you found the lead you were looking for." She sighs again. "I'm not angry at you, Ran, I just wish you'd talked to me about it."

Another small pause.

"About him."

Ran shudders at the idea. Perhaps it's selfish not to ask, not to talk about things, but she doesn't want to. If they cross this divide, if they share their innermost thoughts and they're contradictory… Ran doesn't know what she'll do.

Still, Sonoko might not be begging for the conversation, but she wants it. And it's long since overdue.

"… I'm sorry," Ran whispers. And then, "Do you think Shinichi is really capable of murder? Would you have told me to stop looking?"

There's another tug against her skin and then, Sonoko pushes herself up. The tweezers make a small clink against the bathroom sink as she places them down. Ran turns, meets Sonoko's gaze.

The expression is set, determined. Like it's not something easily changed.

"I grew up with that nerd too," Sonoko says, and for a moment her eyes soften. Then, they're hard again, unrelenting. "Of course, I don't believe any of the charges for a second. Ran – I'm not going to pretend I didn't consider it, all that evidence against him is convincing, but I know him."

Has she really been so foolish as to think Sonoko wouldn't understand in the same way she did? Jeez, she really is an idiot.

"And as far as the investigating goes," Sonoko says, "I… I don't like the idea of you putting yourself in danger, and Shinichi-kun wouldn't like it either, but I wouldn't tell you to stop. I'd have helped, if I could have."

Ran bites her lip.

"The bath is ready," Sonoko says, "I'll let you warm up – I'm going to go check on Hakuba-san."

Ran turns, lets her lips tug upwards and offers a small smile. "Thanks, Sonoko."

Sonoko flashes the same smile back and says nothing.

Aoko doesn't like the way the exhibition room leaves her feeling cold.

Even with Kaito beside her, a warmth by her side, she feels frozen. She pushes her hands into her pocket so that he can't see the way they shake, and grits her teeth, anticipating the shivers that wrack through her body.

"What do we look for?" Aoko asks, because it's better than admitting that the place spooks her. That standing in here reminds her of how her father had bared firearms at the man she loves, how a red dot on her own forehead had led to Kaito's injury.

"The night I was shot," Kaito says, as if it doesn't matter to him that he'd been injured, as if he can so easily leave it in the past. Aoko wishes she knew what he was thinking. "It wasn't by the police. They would have never shot without a clear line of sight. Without a clear ID on me."

Right. They've already gone over this. The shooter had been external, probably part of whatever case Kudo had gotten Kaito caught up in. Which was why they were doing investigative work, despite the fact neither of them are actually detectives.

"Okay," Aoko says, "so what're we focusing on first?"

"They didn't dig a bullet out of me," Kaito says, "it went through my arm. So somewhere, there's a wall with a bullet imprint on it."

Aoko pauses. Bites her lip and says, "I thought you said the bullet skimmed you."

It hadn't even crossed her mind that Kaito might have lied to her, to make his injury out to be less than it is. But really, that's such a him thing to do – and she hates him for it.

"Skimming, going all the way through," Kaito says, leaning forward to grab her hand, "they're the same difference."

She's not pleased. Lips tightening, shaking her head, she wants to pull away, to punch him for not telling the truth. But she won't. A lie from kindness… she can see how he'd been trying to kind.

Even if she'd have preferred the truth.

"You better not be lying to me still," she whispers.

"Nope," Kaito says. "Let's find my bullet fragments alright?"

Aoko sighs, and together they make their way towards the grate that Kaito had been meaning to make his escape by. They've since refastened the screws, keeping it in one place.

She doesn't know where the vent leads, but she can imagine how cramped and dark it might be. That's one thing she's always found shocking about KID's heists, that he doesn't mind the sharp squeezes, that he trusts his plans so much that he'll crawl through dusty vents just to procure his prize.

"Here it is," Kaito says. He lifts his hand, points toward a hole in the wall. Dry paint has crumbled around it, but there's a hole around the size of her little finger. Aoko leans forward, imagines the bullet going through.

Inside the wall, where cleaning hasn't got to it, there's specks of dried blood. This time, Aoko does shudder.

"I don't know much about bullet sizes," Kaito admits, finally, "but this one seems like it was small. It seems like the diameter was less than a few centimetres."

Aoko blinks, nods her head.

"I'm gonna take a picture of it, use my finger as a reference." Kaito says. "It would be easier if we had the bullet fragments, but the police have already taken them away as evidence."

She shrugs.

"We can't get out hands on that," Aoko says. And then, turning her head, she considers the wall. "But we can figure out where they shot from, maybe?"

Kaito nods his head. He says, "we take the angle of where the bullet went into the wall and consider where someone could have shot from. Which vantage point."

Aoko nods. She almost wishes that she had some ribbon, something that she could use to create a taut line, a path that the bullet could have taken. Instead, she shakes her head, tries to visualise a path instead.

"How much of an angle from the window to the wall?" She asks. "If we figure that out, we can figure out between the buildings too."

Kaito hums. He says, "it's not particularly steep."

He runs his hand from the bullet hole, walks towards the window and slowly adjusts his hands, as if creating a triangle between the two and the floor.

Aoko can't help but find it interesting, a vivid line of red in her vision, where the two points meet. She heads towards him, glances out at the buildings around her and takes a moment to consider. There's a fire station and two multi-story flat complexes, not to mention office buildings and restaurants.

"How far can people shoot?"

Kaito shrugs his shoulders. He says, "It depends on the gun, really, but the longest shot is thousands of metres long. I'd say… in an area like this, someone could manage a couple of hundred?"

Aoko hums. Then, she points up towards one of the apartment buildings. If she imagines the path, imagines the trajectory, it seems like the roof of that apartment building is one of the only ones it could be from.

The other apartment building is too far left from the window. The bullet wouldn't be able to hit the glass at the correct angle from that building. The fire station is out of the equation too, since the building isn't high enough to create a downward slope.

Similarly, with the restaurants, they're singular storied, no area for a sniper to climb up to, to offer a good enough vantage point.

"How about that apartment building?" Aoko says.

Kaito clicks his tongue. He says, "lets go check it out."

The first thing Shinichi does as he races into the cabin, energy bursting as he'd forced his way through Osaka, remaining unseen, is check for any signs that he's being watched.

Then, he searches for any signs of Hattori and Kazuha. They'll be around soon, he knows. So, he takes some time to consider his next course of action. His mind has been racing since Vermouth left him in Kyoto, but now, he wills himself to slow down.

To think everything through.

To give them the time rather than to come to hundreds of conclusions, to drive himself insane. Shinichi sits down, presses his back against the wall, aching without having really done anything.

Vermouth's plan echoes in his head, and he pushes away the guilt, the horror for what was meant to be her kindness, by breaking everything she'd said into facts.

She'd left clues for him. One that had been heavily guarded by a sniper – and if Hattori and Kazuha aren't harmed, then that clue must have been found by Kaito and Nakamori. They're the only other people, Shinichi knows, to be capable of finding the clue – because Kaito had been the only other person with access to his case files.

There are only two options for what might have happened. Either Vermouth knows about Kaito's breakout from the hospital, insinuating that without proper medical treatment following his shooting, he might not survive. Or, in the hours following their breakout, they've been injured again.

Shinichi bites his lip, lifts his hands up and curls his fingers into a fist. He shudders, hopes that Vermouth means the former. Kaito's been shot before, Shinichi's seen the scarring, which means he'd had at least one contact capable of getting him the help he needs.

(Even though, well, he'd not been a wanted man back then.)

Heaving in oxygen, Shinichi pushes forwards. He doesn't have enough information to do anything but worry, so he needs to trust in Kaito and Nakamori, trust them both to keep themselves in one piece, whether they're injured or not.

It makes him wonder: What clue is so important that there'd been a sniper waiting outside?

He worries his teeth against his lip, until he can taste blood, metallic on his tongue. Another thing he doesn't have an answer to.

He needed to focus on what he can answer. It's frustrating because he's lacking in them. There are barely any.

Shinichi startles at the sound of conversation, caught off guard. He closes his eyes, listens quietly enough until he can confirm the voices belong to Kazuha and Hattori.

Going over all the information – or, well, most of it – will help clear things up, offer much-needed clarity. He pushes against the wall, peers from the window, pulling the blinds open enough to see outside.

Hattori has driven them on his bike. Kazuha stands opposite him, brushing her hand through her hair, trying to rid herself from the static her helmet has caused. Hattori has taken both helmets, holds them in one arm each.

Even though they've told him they're fine, that they're not injured, Shinichi does a check up and down anyway. They don't seem in pain, don't seem to be guarding any area of their bodies more than another.

They seem fine, it helps some of the tension roll out from his shoulders. His shoulders are still tight though, and Shinichi lifts a hand, presses his fingers beneath his collarbone to try and release some of the rest.

It doesn't help but, it's something to focus on as he heads towards the front door, ready to meet them. They turn to look at him as the door opens, and as he makes strained eye contact, Shinichi offers a strained smile.

"So, what's this about a clue?"

Ran leaves the bath behind and finally lets herself feel as worn down as she actually is. Adrenaline gone, her joints feel heavy, her skin bruised and cut from litres of water and a sharp flow of glass and the odd dead fish.

She sighs, pulls at the sleeves of the jumper Sonoko had left on the side for her, and pushes back into the sitting room. Sonoko sits on the couch opposite Saguru and the doctor, low conversation that fades off when Ran enters.

"Ran," Sonoko says, patting the seat opposite her. She reaches over the side of the couch, and as Ran sits back, drapes a blanket around her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ran breathes. As much as she aches, she is warmer now, doesn't seem like she's going to freeze over. "Yeah, I'm better now."

She turns towards Saguru, and finds, with wide eyes, that he's awake.

"Saguru-kun," she starts, but he doesn't turn to look at her. His eyes are wide, as he watches the doctor finish up his stitches. His lips are pinched shut, a wince spreading through him, and Ran can see the way he tenses, trying not to flinch.

"I'm okay," he breathes, finally, voice light. "We're almost done. Give me a… a second?"

Ran falls into silence, tries to consider everything that's happened. She still can't quite believe that someone shot Saguru, that they were in that situation little less than a few hours ago, but it's true.

It means that they've gotten close to something. Right?

Something important?

"Araide-sensei gave Saguru-san some pain killers," Sonoko whispers, nudging her foot against Ran's ankle. She hums in response. "Nothing overly strong, but it should help. If you're in pain, we've got over the counter tablets?"

Ran bites her lip, and then, shakes her head. "I'm fine, if I start hurting, then I'll take one."

Sonoko doesn't push her, and Ran is thankful for that. Instead, she simply stays quiet, shifting to a more comfortable position when Ran leans her head against her shoulder, watching Araide apply a dressing to Saguru's wound.

Finally, the doctor steps back, says that he's finished and removes his gloves. He places the gloves in the bin, and to Saguru, he says, "I'll write you a prescription for antibiotics, which should keep the wound from getting infected. But if you start feeling unwell, you need to go to a hospital."

Saguru nods. "Thank you."

Sonoko shuffles, and Ran finds herself shifting too, lifting her head to allow her friend to stand. Sonoko waits until the prescription is written out, passed over to Saguru, before muttering about how she'll show him out.

With Sonoko gone, Ran forces her focus onto Saguru.

Finally, he turns to look at her. He's pale, and he winces as he moves but he meets her gaze, his eyes steely and determined. The expression almost reminds her of Shinichi, of when she'd seen him at the heist days before. How he'd not wanted to give up on helping Kaitou KID.

It's a determination, Ran realises, that only the desperate really ever manage to tune into.

She wonders if she's wearing the expression on her face too. It wouldn't be surprising to her if she is – after all, they're injured. Maybe they knew people were out to hurt them before, but now they have proof, and the proof includes blood splattered against their clothes.

"I'll have to take a detour to the pharmacy before we continue the case," Saguru says.

Ran stills. She's not sure why she'd had the thought that they'd step back now that they've faced danger, but it's only now that she begins to realise that… they probably can't.

Maybe before they'd stepped foot inside that apartment they could, but now they've been injured – which means they've been seen – and they can't stop.

"Where do we go next?" She asks, "we can't go back to that apartment again, and they saw us."

Saguru shakes his head, and says, "I doubt we were any more than outlines to the shooter. I don't think we need to worry too much about being tracked, as long as we don't stand out."

Ran thinks that maybe the fact that Saguru's been shot might make them stand out, but well… maybe they'll be able to pretend he hasn't been. It'll be difficult but if they can avoid having any eyes fall on them…

"That sounds dangerous," she whispers.

"Probably," Saguru responds, and his expression shifts. His eyes are bright, and he leans forward despite himself, lifting his hands up, "but it's a little exciting too, don't you think?"

"N-not really?"

He blinks and the brightness shutters, replaced again with a wince as he moves back. "The case I mean – if it's dangerous, it means we're closer to things than we ever were before."

Ran isn't one hundred percent sure that this is what he'd really meant, but she doesn't want to press. Instead, she nods. Falls quiet.

"That rock," Saguru continues. "The one we got from the fish tank. It's about time we opened it up, right? There was something important about it."

Reaching down for her bag, Ran unzips the pocket, brings out the rock and holds it closely enough to see it. It's plastic, bound together by rubber bands. She loosens them, dropping the bands into her lap and slowly watching the plastic unravel, ever so loosely.

"Is that a…"

Ran doesn't finish her sentence. Instead, she presses her nails into the space between the two halves of the rock and pries them apart. They fall into two, leaving behind a plastic bag that's been wrapped up in a similar manner, to avoid any water damage to it.

"What is it?" Saguru says, as Ran unfolds the bag, removing more packaging. She bites into her lips, pulls the plastic open, and reaches inside.

"An address book?" She mutters. "Why would someone hide that in here?"

Kazuha doesn't really think that they should be exchanging all the information and clues that they've come across, since it's past midnight, they all need to rest, and Shinichi seems beyond spooked but… but it seems like they're doing it anyway.

"I'm glad I brought coffee," Kazuha mutters under her breath, as she sets the travel kettle on the heat, boiling water. She'd thought maybe coming would give them time to see how Shinichi's doing, emotionally, mentally, after spending time in Kyoto, but there's no time for that, apparently.

Which is a load of crap, but both of her detective friends are stubborn and apparently all talk about feelings is off the table.

Just because she's not pushing the subject, isn't asking the questions, doesn't mean that she's going to forget about it. Either way, she finishes coffee, stirring it and distributing it amongst the three of them.

"Thanks," Shinichi says, and then, "you said about a lead."

Kazuha wants to tell him to calm down and be patient, but at the same time: She really wants to talk about the notable sponsors list they'd found and what it might mean. So she shrugs, glances at Heiji and lets him take the lead while she rummages in her back, searching for the paper they'd scrawled each name down on.

"I started thinkin'," Heiji says, leaning forward, capturing attention in the way he always seems to when offering a deduction. "About those pictures tha' were sent in those messages. I think they weren't just taunts, ya kno'?"

Shinichi's expression shifts. Eyes glazing ever so slightly, his lips tighten, his brows furrowing. He says, "It was a clue, I know."

Kazuha can't stop herself from gaping. She says, "If you know it was a clue, then–"

"I didn't – I – It doesn't matter." Shinichi shakes his head. "I hadn't figured the clue out yet, so if you've figured it out."

Blinking away any of his surprise, Heiji continues.

"Well," he starts, "it's uh – well, we kno' the clue is tha' sticker of the alcohol label, right? So we thought, if they're masqueradin' as this alcohol agency, then they're gonna leave a trail. We thought maybe the agency website itself is a clue."

Raising an eyebrow, Shinichi shifts. He sips at his coffee, waiting for an explanation.

"…Of course."

"We looked on the site," Kazuha says, taking over, passing the list over. Shinichi sets his cup down, smooths out the creases, without a word. "It had a list of notable sponsors."

Heiji fidgets beside her.

"We thought it might o' been your organisation," he says, "so we jotted it down, thought maybe you'd know more 'bout it than us."

Scanning the list, Shinichi is quiet. He mumbles alcohol names under his breath, trying to place names to the drink, but doesn't seem to figure them. Or at least, it seems that way at first.

Then, his eyes widen, and he glances back up, looking between them both.

"What?" Kazuha says.

"It says here, that the sponsor for Vermouth, is Sharon Vineyard." He says. "That's true. And Miyano – her younger sister – she's on here too. Sherry."

Kazuha blinks. Feels bitter spread across her tongue. She bites her lip. "This is what that woman told you? So, we can trust the list?"

"She told me bits and pieces," Shinichi says, "I'll explain later. But – I think this list is legit. It's got the main players. I think the list gives us people we need to look into, we need to find the evidence."

For a moment, they're all silent. Shinichi reaches for a pen, scrawls notes onto the page.

Then, Heiji says, "I don't get it."

Shinichi lifts his chin, raises an eyebrow, a silent question. Don't get what?

"Whoever left the list, committed those murders." Heiji lifts his hand, runs it through his hair as he tries to think. "The point was to frame you, Kudo, so what was the point in leaving you a clue to solve who did it?"

Shinichi flinches. He blanches, skin paling in a way that Kazuha's always does whenever Heiji suggests they watch horror movies together. No – he looks almost like the ghosts that terrify her.

Or… or almost like a corpse.

"I don't get it," Heiji continues, and he's not noticed Shinichi's expression, Kazuha knows, because you can't see such an expression and not realise. Not realise that Shinichi has an answer to that question, that it horrifies him, that it'll leave him awake tonight just thinking about it.

"Shinichi," Kazuha says, "do you want to talk about it?"

He makes a show of checking the time. Shinichi shakes his head, and his lips are red, bloody, from where his canines have torn through the skin. He says, "Tomorrow, we'll finish this tomorrow."

"But everything tha' happened in Kyoto–"

Kazuha rests her hand on Heiji's shoulder, and when he turns to her, she mouths, 'not now' at him. He quietens – Kazuha is glad. Sometimes, he never takes her lead. She's glad he's taking it now.

They want to solve the case, yes, but making sure they don't break their friend is far more important.

"Alright," Kazuha says, "we should probably be heading home now anyway, it's late. And we can only sneak away from our parents for so long, anyway."

"Tomorrow," Shinichi mutters again, and Kazuha takes the muttering as it's intended to be: A plea for them to leave.

Fighting birds for ownership of the rooftop, Aoko shifts, making her way towards the side of the building that overlooks the museum.

"You sure it's this one," Kaito says, "and not the offices next door?"

Aoko nods her head, taps a finger on her chin. She says, "well, there'd be more cameras in the office building than inside the apartments, right? And if the police are already on high alert, you don't want to go on to become suspicious."

Kaito nods, moves forward to the edge of the building, kneeling down. He glances around and then, leaning forward, scoops up a small metal casing. Aoko blinks at the sight of the bullet casing.

"What're the chances that multiple people have fired a gun from here?" Kaito says, clicking his tongue. "Because, this doesn't seem like it should be here."

It probably shouldn't be, Aoko knows that much. The police should have guessed the trajectory of the bullet, should have led their search across the street to where the gun had been fired. They should have taken the bullet casing into evidence, but they've overlooked it.

Aoko's pretty certain that her father wouldn't turn around and make such a rookie mistake like overlooking the shooters location. So, either the investigation into the shooter isn't as high a priority as it should be, or someone's pulling the strings, keeping people away from looking too closely into the shooter.

She doesn't want to consider why that would be, so Aoko shakes the concern away and focuses on the evidence they've got in front of them.

"Do you know what it's from?" She asks.

A pause, and then, Kaito heaves out a sigh. He shakes his head. "No… but I bet that Shinichi would know. He knows all about this kind of stuff."

Aoko scrunches her nose. She can't imagine being the kind of person to memorise facts about guns and bullets, to be able to identify them based off their casings and the size of bullet holes in the walls.

Still, she has to admit that in a situation such as theirs, it will be beneficial.

"It's probably for the best that we find him then," Aoko says, "you know how to find him, right?"

Kaito pulls a face. Which means that he does, but he's a little nervous to let Aoko know. Aoko supposes she understands, since she shouldn't know anything about their accomplice, about how Hattori had helped them out. But she does, she'd figured it out days ago.

It feels almost longer than that. Somehow.

"I don't know if he's stayed at any of the safe houses," Kaito says, "but we can check there."

"No," Aoko says, "I don't think after you got injured, he'd stay in Tokyo. I think he'd go with the one who helped you two break out. Hattori-kun, right?"

There's no point in lying, in pretending she doesn't know. It'll save them both time if they avoid a lengthy explanation.

"How did you–"

"He's not as good at lying as you are," Aoko says. She shrugs her shoulders. "As far as I know, Hattori-kun went back to Osaka the day after the heist. The likelihood of Kudo-kun remaining by himself in as populated a city as Tokyo – it's unlikely."

Kaito nods his head. He says, "I don't know where he'd go, but I agree. Hattori is probably most likely to know where Shinichi is. We should rendezvous with him in Osaka."

Aoko's lips lift up. She says, "You know, taking me on a trip sounds like a pretty nice date idea."

"We'll be sure to stop off at a nice restaurant while we're there," Kaito says, a slight laugh to his voice. "I'll see if we can get cheap enough tickets there."

"What would someone be hiding an address book for?" Sonoko asks when she comes back into the room. Ran has moved to sit beside Saguru, the two of them poured over the book, trying to figure out its meaning.

"One would think because of the addresses written inside," Saguru says, "but the words written inside are coded. They make little sense at all."

Ran nods. She hates that they've risked enough to get a clue that they can't immediately decipher, but it must be… important, right? Whatever is hidden inside the code must be vital, something that needs to be hidden completely, so the information can only be broken apart by a set person.

"So, you need to find the key?" Sonoko continues.

"Well," Ran says, "yeah, I suppose we do. But there's no clues here, nothing that we can use as a key."

She pauses, shares a look with Saguru and shakes her head. The only information in the entire book that isn't in code, are the words, 'for you, Silver bullet.' It's hardly a key, just a message.

She says as much.

Sonoko leans forward, picks at her nails and says, "why are you assuming the key is in the book? Wouldn't it be with the silver bullet person?"

Beside her, Saguru stiffens. Almost as if he's angry at himself for not thinking of such. And maybe they should have – why would someone leave both cipher and key together when they've gone through all the trouble of keeping things hidden, impossible to decipher.

So, they need to find the silver bullet.

The address book is a clue then.

"Who could the silver bullet be then?" Ran asks, and it seems almost weird to consider someone as such a thing, to have that name in her head. It's a weird label, hardly a name, more of a title.

Beside her Saguru is quiet. He shifts in his seat and finally: "Kudo-kun."

"Huh?"

"It can only really be him," he says. "If we think it over – we only found the apartment because of the lists. The lists about Kudo-kun. And there are only around six people who actually know Oogami is dead. Kudo-kun and I worked that case together, the fact I figured it out is pure coincidence."

Ran bites her lip.

"This is linked intrinsically to Kudo-kun." Saguru whispers. "So, I think… we've got the cipher, and he's got the key."

"So, we find Shinichi and we figure out what the coded message is?" Ran asks.

"Exactly." Saguru says.

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