File 4: Tangled Relations

The sunlight revealed through the transparent window of Kyoko's bedroom that belonged to the Yumiko Kudo. The rain last night had refreshed everything and left its marks like the mud puddles on the field. It was only a matter of time until mother earth will absorb and erase what was left of the rain. However, Kyoko won't ever forget the taunted events that happened that night. She had done something that she thought she could not ever had the heart to do. Since she did it, lying on the widen bed, Kyoko hoped that she could be strong enough to able to do what her mom and dad would want to accomplish, what her mind demanded her to accomplish. As the tears once again reached the pillow, Kyoko heard a sound. She quickly opened her eyes and saw Conan standing beside the bed, but looking away at another direction. Kyoko quickly stiffen herself, toughen her voice, and stood up.

" You're here… Very early…" Kyoko softly said as she glanced at the clock. 7:00 AM. Oh great. " I thought you would be tired from last night. After all, you suffered through the rains."

" Yeah, thanks to you," Conan turned and faced Kyoko. His voice sounded a bit difference. Of course, he must have the cold or something. " I came here and hoped to retrieve information."

" Of course," Kyoko slightly smiled. " But before that, do you mind making breakfast? I want to refresh my strength."

" Sure," Conan replied plainly. He struggled about the way how Kyoko act. How could she treated him so casually, so carefree as if they had known each other for a long time? While Conanfacing the challenge of questions, Kyoko watched his back as he walked down stair and slightly smirked, wondering if Conan was thinking what she thought he would. Conan has no idea how much Kyoko knew about him as much as he knew her.

Earlier at Dr. Asaga's house at 5:30 AM.

" You awake, Conan?" Ai sat beside his bed along with Dr. Asaga, looking worried. Conan glanced at the watch. 5:30. Great.

" Ran called," Dr. Asaga said. " Thought you might want to know."

" Is she alright?" Conan weakly spoke as the blanket on top of his head began to slipped down his pillow.

" I think she's perfectly fine," Dr. Asaga assured Conan.

Yeah right, Conan thought bitterly. She was probably cried all night. The thought of Ran saddened Conan more and more as he remembered her images running away from him in the harsh rain.

" Keep resting," Ai said. " I'll make you breakfast when you wake up maybe mid noon. You were pretty soaked yesterday. Your forehead was on fire, so just rest and don't worry about anything, for now, okay?"

Conan sat up. " No."

Ai angrily glared at him. " Just lie down, right NOW."

" I must go to Kyoko," Conan solemnly said. " We all can be in danger right now. You know that? I have no idea how to trust this girl, and –"

" Don't worry about that," Ai cut him off. "Kyoko won't turn on you. She kept her words."

" How are you sure with that?" Conan argued.

" Because I know her lots more than you do, more than anyone else does."

Back to the Kudo Residence at 7:15 AM.

On the table, Conan already set up the dishes, toasts, jelly, and juice. It seemed like that Kyoko has lived her for a while. Conan felt foolish all this time for not noticing this fact for weeks. Kyoko stepped down stair with a towel on her wet hair and wearing his mother's cloth. Conan felt kind of awkward for some reason.

" Let's get to business, shall we?" Kyoko sat down on the table as she began to put jelly on the almost not ediable burden toast. Kyoko chuckled inside her head and carefully not to let it slips.

" About what you said yesterday, how do you suppose me to help you in killing Gin?" Conan's face stricken as he yarning for answers.

" I have no idea," Kyoko said plainly without any expression whatsoever as she took another bite into the sandwich. " But I've been thinking. I could lure Gin here a lone, and we could kill him."

She made it sound so easy. Conan irritably thought. " Are you crazy? Stop playing around. I demand real answers."

" I am giving you real answers. I don't have any real plans, but there are ways I know to lure him here. After all, I'm still a member of the Black Organization. Don't worry about that for now because Gin is away in some country, and he won't be back for another two months."

" How do you know that?"

" Didn't I told you that I'm a member of the Black Organization?"

" Yeah, but why would you want to kill Gin?"

" As I said, that I shall keep that to myself."

" Okay, then why did you pretended to be my so-called girlfriend yesterday on front of Ran?"

" You should thank me for that. I just push Ran away this situation, so she won't get involved. No harm done, really. Even though Ran probably stayed up all night crying, compared to her life, that would mean nothing."

Appalled by Kyoko's answer, Conan remembered the conversation that he had with Ai before he departed to his house.

Back at Dr. Asaga's house at 5:33AM.

" What do you know about Kyoko?" Conan's face look more serious than before. He was thirsted for answers.

" Didn't she told you that she was a member of the Black Organization?" Ai asked dully. " Kyoko and I have been friends for a long time. She was the one who helped me in the project inventing the pills that shrunk us."

" She said she wanted to kill Gin. Why do you think so?"

" Since I was fifteen, I overheard Gin talking to Vodka about her family that vanished one night when she was three."

" They were killed."

" Yes. The BO thought that it would be profit to use her to work for them. The BO has filling her mind with things like her family died in a car wreck while going to a party, leaving her alone. Not only giving her the thought of being abandoned, but they persuaded her to felt hatred and became more loyal to the BO as her savior."

" Did she know this?"

" No, I didn't tell her. It was foolish of me…"

" Is there a reason you didn't tell her?"

" Yes. She was madly in love with Gin."

The room fell in utter silent. Ai looked quite sadly as if she was about to cry. The quivering tears inside her eyes kept shaking to be let out.

" I remembered Kyoko, in that lab suit everyday in our office. She always smiled and talked to me about Gin all day with no one beside us," Ai slightly smiled as the beautiful memories came back to her…

Flashback: A few years a go in a Ai's and Kyoko's lab…

" Where have you been, Kyoko?" Ai asked as she put her tools down. " Wait, let me guess. You wereseeing Gin again, weren't you?"

" Yup," Kyoko smiled happily as she continue a happy humming.

" You know, Kyoko, Gin is not a typical guy that … you know… love-type."

" Yeah, I know," Kyoko sighed though she still looked as happy. " I just can't help it… Do you think he noticed it?"

" Oh yeah."

Kyoko chuckled. " Is it that obvious?"

" Well, let's see. You followed him around since you were five. Meeting him every morning at the coffee area if he's still in town that is. Trying to call him at least ten times per week even though he barely answeredone out of those ten times. So yea, to me, it seemed really obvious."

" Good," Kyoko grinned and continue on to talk about another-exciting-Gin-facts that Ai has no interest about, though she would pretend to gasp in surprise and make fun of it for her friend's sake.

It's better for Kyoko not to know the truth… even though she's falling in love with a guy who was originated from a group that killed her parents. Ai once thought. Gin has nothing to do with their death anyway, right?

End Flashback.

"That's strange," Conan said. " Then why would she wanted to kill Gin if she was so madly in love with him. Beside, you said that Gin has nothing to do with it, right?"

" I'm not certain about the incident. She must have found out the truth. That's why she's determined to kill Gin," Ai replied. " Kyoko can act hostile without thinking at times."

" Great. This is chaos," Conan sighed. He wished now was yesterday again when he can just walked out of the house with Ran, going to school, not knowing this crap… Isn't that better? " Okay, what else can you tell me about her?"

" She likes to finish her business trying not to involve any innocent people," Ai said, her soft voice filled with such sadness that Conan remembered like whenever they talked about her dead sister. " Overall, she's not a bad person, Shinichi. She really is not a bad person, Shinichi."

" So what do you think about this kill-Gin thing, Ai?"

" Total foolishness."

" Great. Any better comment?"

" This is suicide. You can't let Kyoko go and kill herself."

Conan closed his eyes, narrowed his eye browns. He seemed quite mad. " Damn it. Is that all you care about? I'm the one whogot stuckedwith this stupid situation. One mistake and Ran, Dr. Asaga, YOU will be in danger. I don't want everyone's life on the line because of some foolish girl I have no intention of knowing or doing favors of."

" Then what do you want me to say, Shinichi Kudo?"

" Something that's helpful. We're dealing with tigers here, and all you do is worry about Kyoko killing her damn self."

" Okay, I'm sorry."

Conan fell silent. His hatred for Kyoko was on fire. " What should I do? Accompany her on the mission of killing Gin or not?"

" Like you said, I don't think you have a second decision."

" But Kyoko wouldn't put you in danger, would she?"

" The Kyoko I knew and Kyoko nowadays… are probably two different person now, Shinichi. I have either connection nor certain of her personality anymore."

" Hm… Thanks."

" No problem. I think Dr. Asaga, you, and I might want to make a few plans if things got ugly. We can't depend of Kyoko alone."

Kudo's Residence, 7:30 AM.

Kyoko had almost finished her breakfast. It seemed like she was starving and hadn't eaten for days because she sure has a big stomach.

" There is something you should know, Kyoko," Conan voice was as sharp and solemn as ever.

" What?" Kyoko mumbled as she took another bite of her fourth or fifth sandwich.

" Gin has nothing to do with your parents' accident."

As soon as Kyoko swallowed, she's practicallystaring at Conan with the scariest look. " What can you possibly know about my parents' dead? They were killed. God-damn-it. And you don't know how it felt after being fooled by 18 years!"

Kyoko calmed her voice and continued eating her sandwich.

" Oh jeeze whiz, and that's your reason for killing Gin?"

" Ai had told you all, hadn't she?"

" Yeah," Conan mumbled.

" Did she tell you that on that day of my parents' incident, Gin was assigned his first mission? You can probably already guess what his first mission is already."

" Are you certain?"

" Didn't I tell you that I was a member of the Black Organization?"

" Yeah Yeah Yeah…" Stop reminding me of that already, Conan bitterly thought. After thinking for a while, Conan looked at Kyoko directly in the eye and solemnly said. " Look Kyoko. If all you want is to kill Gin and to revenge your parents' death, it's the most stupidest suicide that not only your life is on the line, but about others' as well."

" I believe I can do it. As much as I know about you, Shinichi Kudo, I think you'll do quite well."

" Snap out of it. The goal is NOT to kill Gin at all. The goal is to bring the dark crimes done by the Black Organization has done to the light."

" That is your goal, Shinichi. As for an orphan girl like me, my goal is something else. However, you and I all share a same general result."

" Arguing with you is really making myself even more pissed and felt stupid about this whole thing," Conan said.

" Don't worry about it," Kyoko said, quite relaxed. " You see, you and I are not the only one in this together."

" Who the hell is also in this clan of yours?"

" OURS, Shinichi. About five others, so that made OUR clan a band of seven."

Great, Conan thought sarcastically. Things couldn't get any better.

" Oh yea, Shinichi," Kyoko stood up and began to clean up her breakfast.

" More surprising news?"

" Well, I thought that you might want to know that Ran is in my hand, so no last minute runaway. Our band will be coming at 8 o'clock to discuss the plan."

Clenching his anger, Conan managed to speak. " Who the hell are they?"

" Don't worry. They're people who are just like me," a bitter sadness appeared on Kyoko's face as she turned away and walked upon the stair.

I guess, Conan thought to himself as he was sitting on the diner table, it's time to make plan B.

Chae.Rim: End File 4. NOT THE END yet. I kind of drag this a little. This chapter was mainly to explain the background. More actions will be coming. Thank you for reading once again. I'm still having a few minor problems with grammar and things, but I'll try to improve. Please review if you have time. :)