This is chapter 10 of The Teacher. Sorry it took so long, because my STUPID, focus on the word STUPID computer, crashed on me and deleted my previous work, so I had to write one totally new, all over again. Damn this piece of junk. I swear, I'm going to ask Bill Gates to improve on his cranked up boxes when I have the free time. Until then, I'm stuck with this lousy piece of junk. Chapter 10 everybody. Please read and review!

CHAPTER 10

" Akai. . .Shuichi?"

Shinichi bit his lip as he watched the man before him walk towards him, a small smirk on his face. In ways he was so similar to Shiho that he had no wonder that they were engaged. That smirk, the way he talked, everything from top to bottom. But this man was cold; almost too cold. He just surveyed Shuichi for a short moment more before looking away, sighing.

" Are you angry with me?" he asked softly.

Shuichi raised his eyebrows, and looked surprised for a mere moment before grinning at him. " Not at all," he said, and Shinichi looked up. " To tell you the truth, in fact, I'm actually relieved."

" Relieved?" Shinichi asked, confused. " I don't understand."

" Of course you don't." Shuichi answered, lifting a cigarette to his lips, lit it, took a puff and blew. All this while while he did the following actions, Shinichi just watched him, puzzlement written all over his face. " But then again, you're just another one of the many schoolboys in this school who spend all hours of their days here trying to look up her skirt, am I not wrong?"

Shinichi felt a ripple of anger.

" No, I'm not." he said calmly.

Shuichi grinned, the cigarette leaving his lips for a mere second. " Oh?" he said, which sounded more like a mockery than a question. " Then no doubt that you're her boy-friend of some sort?"

Shinichi clenched his fists.

Shuichi noticed this, but merely smirked once again. " No matter," he said. " I thank you for that all the same."

Shinichi blinked. " Why?" he asked.

" By what that girl and you were talking to just now. . ."

" Sonoko?"

" That's the one. By what you were talking with her just now, it seems more or less that the two of you are together in a way. At least there's hope that Shiho would forget me as times goes along."

Shinichi's eyes widened, his mouth opening and shut like a goldfish out of water. Was this. . .really the man that Shiho was still in love with?

Was he really the one. . .

Who she wanted to pick up his phone?

He grabbed Shuichi's collar angrily, clenching his jaw as he glared at the man, whose eyes remained ice cold, although there was now a flame of anger and irritation in them.

" Let go of me." he whispered.

" Go to Hell." Shinichi growled out, but he merely flinched. " Who the Hell do you think you are?"

Shuichi said nothing.

" Do you know how much Miyano-sensei misses you?"

Shuichi shut his eyes.

There were almost tears in Shinichi's eyes now. " Do you know. . .how much she loves you?"

Shuichi snapped, grabbing Shinichi's fists and pushed him away. There was sorrow and pain in his eyes for a moment until it disappeared without a sight, and there was that cold smirk once more. " You don't know anything." he whispered. " So keep your nosey face out of our buisness."

" You. . ." Shinichi started, raising his fists to strike Shuichi, but no sooner had he done that when Shuichi turned around, hitting him square in the jaw.

Shinichi fell to the ground, gasping as he fell unconcious.

Shuichi just stood there, sighing. " I'm sorry." he whispered, before walking away.

He was at his car when he heard his phone ring.

Biting his lip, he pulled it out and looked at the screen.

' Shiho Miyano calling' it said.

He just pressed the phone against his ear, not answering. Soon the ringing stopped, and Shiho's voice reached his voicemail. " Hey Akai. . .it's Shiho here."

He said nothing.

" Sorry for not calling yesterday, I had a fever. . ."

His face bore concern.

" . . .But I'm alright now, don't worry."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

And she continued to talk to an invisible person, not knowing that he was hearing her every word. It was a one-way conversation, but it benefited both sides; she felt confort talking to him, even if it was just his answering machine, and he heard her voice.

For the time being and maybe forever, this was the way it would be.

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Shinichi opened his eyes.

Then he shut them again.

Then he opened them, then shut them again.

This went on for a few more times until he groggily sat up, surveying the area around him. The place was dark, the whole room pitch black expect for the small lamp right beside him. Ran was sitting next to him, and smiled at him as she saw him look her way.

" You're awake." she said.

"Yeah," he said, wincing as she placed a cold towel on his face.

" Did you get in a fight or something?" Ran asked.

He didn't say anything but put his jacket on, getting to his feet.

" Shi- - -," she started, ready to press into the question, but stopped as she noticed Shinichi turn, smiling at her.

" Thanks for tending to me, Ran." he said. " I'll see you tomorrow."

And he left.

She just sat where she was for a moment before opening her eyes, running after Shinichi. He was just at the door, ready to open it when Ran burst into tears.

" Shinichi!" she called out, and he stopped, but did not turn around. " I love you."

Still, he did not turn around, his fingers slipping off the door handle.

Her eyes widened, still brimmed with tears.

" I'm sorry, Ran." he answered.

She almost broke down, then and there. But she held herself, forcing herself not to end up bawling again.

" It's Miyano-sensei, isn't it?" she whispered.

He didn't answer.

" I sort of guessed it all, Shinichi." she said, smiling sadly. " The way you always stayed around her and everything. . .and you and her were alone in an empty classroom twice in the past few days."

" You know about that?" he asked.

She smiled. " I came back a few times after karate to get my things out of my locker." she replied.

He kept quiet after that.

She wiped her eyes in vain, biting her lip. " Shinichi," she started.

" You dumped me, Ran." he whispered, his hand on the door handle once more, and the door creaked open slightly.

She bit harder into her lip. " Yes, I know that, but---"

She stopped as he finally turned around, a sad smile on his face.

" I guess it's my turn now, isn't it?" he whispered.

Time stopped.

" Gomen, once again, Ran." he said, and disappeared past the door.

She sank to her knees, and wept.

Inside the darkened room just a few steps away from Ran's sobbing figure, stood the principal. His face was etched with grief, clutching his head tiredly as he got himself into the chair behind him. " I'm so sorry to the four of you." he muttered sadly, one eye opening slightly to catch the sight of Ran's shivering body, her eyes clammed shut, desperate to hold the tears she was previously so eager to let out.

" I guess that this whole thing would be my fault," he went on to himself, looking at the photo in the photo frame next to his desk table. It was a picture of him and two young girls, smiling along with them. Both had gone through so much because of him. One by the name of Akemi, the other by the name of Shiho.

FLASHBACK (Chapter 3)

" Soccer pitch?" Mister Maki asked, puzzled. " What was she doing there?"

The principal bit his lip, frowning. " I think she was looking at the game." He said. " But she asked me for the name of one of the players there. Kudo Shinichi."

Maki's eyes widened.

" Why?"

An unknown smile slid up upon the principal's lips.

" I guess she thought she saw him before." He said.

Maki raised his eyebrows, but no question came out of his lips.

END FLASHBACK

Indeed she knew him. But it was he himself who banished young Kudo Shinichi from his house right before Shiho's birthday. Why did he do that, people would ask.

" Because I didn't think he was the right one for you." he whispered to himself.

It was after he decided that Shinichi was not the one when his eyes fell upon Akai Shuichi, and thought that he was the perfect match. But just before Shuichi planned to propose to Shiho, he and his men went to Shuichi's place, and forced him to stay away from his daughter. It was years later after Akemi's illness when he left the two of his daughters and his wife, and they never saw him again. But little did Shiho know that her father, the man who had caused her all her pain, was just a few steps away from her. The principal bit his lip angrily, looking outside once more. She had left. The room was dark and now was empty, devoid of the presence of the two people who were there just minutes ago.

" Who really is the one for you, Shiho?" he whispered, fingering the photograph. " I guess from now on I'll stop butting in. . .and let you be the one who decides."

Silence.

" Am I not right?" he said in a hollow voice, a sad smile on his face. " My lost child."

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Shiho slowly walked to her car, stepping into it before shutting the doors once more. She looked at her phone once more before smirking, dropping it into her bag. " He didn't answer my call again." she whispered sadly.

She turned on the ignition, and slowly left the carpark.

A figure appeared from the shadows, a man by the name of Akai Shuichi.

" Goodnight," he whispered. " Shiho."

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" And THAT, of course, leads us to the end of the lesson."

There were cheers from all four sides of the classroom as they got up from their desks, wanting a sniff of the air out of the classroom and were just about to barge through the closed door, when they were brought sharply down to earth.

" BEFORE you go," Shiho said sharply, and there were many sounds of screeches of shoes back to their seats.

" BEFORE I let you all off for your short holiday. . ."

You could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

" Promise me that. . ."

A pin dropped.

" You would have a good weekend."

There were sighs of relief and cheers as they left, shouts of goodbye were heard all over.

" Good luck with the balloting tomorrow, Miyano-sensei." several people said as they stepped out.

She flushed slightly, but nodded curtly.

A group girls walked over, grinning.

" The get-a-date is a week after the balloting, right?" one of them asked.

She sighed. " Don't even remind me about it."

They laughed.

" Who do you think will pay for a date with you, sensei?"

" Besides the many perverts around of course," another said.

She blushed. " Shouldn't you be going home now?"

They grinned cheekily.

" Don't avoid the subject, sensei." they said.

" I'm not," she snapped, but there was a full-formed blush on her face.

" Come on," the girls said. " Who wouldn't you mind? Sanshriyuki? He's dreamy."

At that moment, Sanshriyuki walked past, nodding at Shiho. " Goodbye, Miyano-sensei."

" See you." she said, while the other girls swooned.

" He's so hot!" one girl squealed.

" No he's not." Shiho said.

They knew that they had gotten her, right there and then.

" Yoro, isn't it?"

" No." she said, dreading them to continue.

" Shinichi?" they asked.

She stopped, whipping her head around.

Did they just say. . .Shuichi?

" What did you say?" she asked.

" Shinichi. . ." they said, grinning. " Got right on the dot, didn't we?"

" N- - -No," she said, unknowingly flustered, but sweatdropped as she noticed the huge grins on their faces.

" Goodbye, Miyano-sensei." they said, running out of her class.

" Wait!" she called out, but knew it was all in vain as they screamed, laughing their way down the halls.

" Oh, for crying out loud. . ." she muttered to herself, shutting the door behind her, expecting to see Shinichi alone in the classroom, and was surprised to see that Ran was in there too, Sonoko walking out. She had ignored Shinichi for the whole day, and Shiho was amused at that. Sonoko, not Ran, by the way. Ran bit her lip as she watched Shinichi's back, wondering if it was right to start a conversation when he suddenly turned, catching her by surprise.

" Goodbye, Ran." he said.

Her eyes widened, before smiling.

" Goodbye. . .Shinichi."

Shiho blinked.

Was it just her, or did something between the two of them happen yesterday?

Sonoko glared at her before walking off. Shiho barely noticed that, and smiled at Ran.

" Goodbye, Ran-san."

Ran smiled back. " Goodbye, sensei. Good luck with the balloting."

" You too." she said.

And she left.

Shinichi raised his eyebrows, while she did to him.

" What the heck was that?" the both of them asked each other at the same time.

Shinichi laughed as she smiled, stuffing her hands in her pockets. " Follow me." she said.

He raised his eyebrows as he followed her out of the classroom, jumping out of the way in time to prevent himself from being squashed by the door that Shiho had just shut, locking it. " Where are we going?" he asked.

" My house." she said.

He blushed unknowingly.

" Oh, grow up." she snapped. " I just wanted to give you lunch."

He blinked. " Lunch?" he asked. " Why?"

She blushed, biting her lip.

" You. . .you gave me porridge before." she said. " I wanted to return you the favour."

He smiled, not noticing her embarrasment.

" Thanks." he said.

" No problem."

They were in the carpark when they noticed someone walking up the stairs to the lowest basement as they were walking down. It was the principal.

Shinichi bowed, along with Shiho. " Goodbye," the both of them said.

" Where are you going, Miyano?" he asked her.

" I'm going him tution classes." she said, which was partly true.

Shinichi frowned at the man before him. He had never been this close to the principal before, and it was at this moment when he reminded him so strongly of someone before, but he just couldn't quite think of who. His surname sounded fake, all of a sudden. What was his REAL surname? What was his real name?

" What's wrong, Kudo?" the principal asked kindly, and he noticed that he was sweating all over.

" Nothing." he muttered. " Feverish. . .that's all."

" Oh." the principal said, nodding at them as they moved out of the way so he could walk past.

" What's with you?" Shiho asked him as they reached her car, and got inside. " You were staring at him like you had seen a ghost."

" It's nothing. . ." he muttered. " Just got the feeling like I had met him somewhere before."

She cocked a brow. " Oh really?" she asked. " When?"

" That's the thing, I simply can't remember." he muttered.

She smirked as they pulled out of the carpark, riding on the road silently. " That sounds like some soap opera. Guy loses his memory. . .sees someone who looks similar. . .blah blah blah."

" I'm not making it up." Shinichi snapped.

" I know you aren't." she said, amused. " I feel it too."

His eyes widened.

" Really?"

" Yeah." she muttered. " Whenever I'm around him. . .I have feelings of being with. . ."

Her fingers clutched on the steering wheel.

" . . .A father."

He nodded.

" Try asking your sister." he said wisely. " If he's your father, he'll be hers, right?"

" I tried." she said, stopping for a traffic light. " But she lost her memory for a point of time, remember? I told you in the staffroom."

He smiled silently. " Yeah," he said. " I remember."

There was silence, once again, in the car.

" It's cold."

" Yeah."

Silence, again.

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Akemi was watching television, legs crossed, a bag of chips in her hand.

Natoinal Geographic was what she was watching now. But every second she would change the channels, making full sentences out of nothing at all.

' And thus, the lion. . .'

' . . .takes the basketball, and DUNKS it into the hoop! What a. . .'

' . . .dry weather expected for the many days to come, as. . .'

' . . .the president of Malahentau. . .'

' . . .broke into a donut shop in the 4th of July, fortunately. . .'

' . . .everybody stares in awe at the fantastic. . .'

' . . .tiger from the zoo lets out a loud roar at. . .'

' . . .This fantastic cooking pan!'

She let out a yawn and was about to stop, and get some shut-eye when the door behind her let out a click.

She turned, ready to welcome her sister home.

" Ohio, nee-san."

" Ohi. . ." she started, when she noticed Shinichi behind her.

Hello. . .who do we have here? Akemi thought amusingly.

She looked at Shiho, then at Shinichi, then at the wall bwteen them.

Then she grinned as wide as humanly possible.

" Oh, don't misunderstand." Shiho started. " I just wanted to cook him something."

" Oh, is THAT right?" Akemi said, accidentaly squashing the chips below her, grinning almost madly now.

" Come on," Shiho said hurriedly to Shinichi.

" Ohio." he said to Akemi nervously.

" Oh, Hi OH." she said, grinning at him.

" Oh, grow up, sis." Shiho snapped, almost dragging Shinichi into her room and shut the door.

Akemi smiled warmly.

" Well, what do you know?" she said softly.

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" Wait here," Shiho said, dropping her bag on her bedside table.

" Don't you need my help?" he asked.

She smiled truthfully for once. " No," she said. " I'll do it myself."

And with that, she left the room as quickly as she entered. He clicked his tongue, looking around her room when he suddenly heard a tap on the window, causing him to jump, startled. His head turned to the direction of the noise, and rushed to open it. The person was Akai Shuichi, who did not look one bit surprised that Shinichi was there. Instead, there was a huge smirk on his face.

" I guess you live with her too, don't you?"

" No." Shinichi said, embarrased. Then he glared at him. " What the Hell do you want?"

Shuichi smiled reassuringly, and Shinichi felt his anger ebb away. " Look, I just wanted to talk to you. I waited for her to leave before I knocked, didn't I? You're the detective, you should have known."

" Yeah." Shinichi said bluntly. " You were in the taxt which followed us from the petrol station."

Shuichi let out a whistle. " Not bad. You'll make a fair FBI."

Shinichi grinned.

Shuichi tossed him a small package, and Shinichi caught it with one hand.

" Meet me on Monday during your recess." Shuichi said, and walked off.

Shinichi raised his eyebrows and watched him leave.

After half a minute or so, he fingered the package, and looked inside.

It was a band-aid.

He raised his eyebrows.

Well, THIS was surprising.

END OF CHAPTER 10

This wasn't so much a cliffhanger as my other chapters, wasn't it? Okay, that was a gimmee. So how did you find this so far? Hopefully you're wondering how I'll piece everything together. And I hoped you got a shock to find out the truth with the principal. Hehehe. . .well trust me, I have an ending planned out already. So please read and review this story! I hope to get 15 reviews for this chapter, and I just hope to get there. So please read and review!

NEXT CHAPTER: The Start of Sonoko's Plan

ReViEw ReSpOnSeS

Adilla- - - -Thank you for your support. Please continue to read my stories!

KristiexxNguyen- - - -Well, I'm trying my best to. Marrying Haibara is one huge wall in front of me though. Oh well, I guess I'll try to leap over it. Or ram through it, for that matter. Lolz.

wayupi- - - -Thanks for liking that scene, it was one of the ones I liked writing the most too. And, er, yeah, if I was the person next to you in the internet cafe I would be freaked out too. Or the next, for that matter. Lolz. Thanks for reading my stories.

tantei- - - -I'm not so sure myself. . .But I probably won't say it in the story to keep Shuichi mysterious.

ShinichixShiho- - -Hey, better to yell out in school than in an internet cafe. Or your dad's office or something. The girl who was yelling at Shinichi was Sonoko, just so you know. And, another fact. Yes, Shuichi WAS Shiho's fiance. She said so in her confession to Shinichi in the teacher's office, remember? (I think it's chapter 6 or something. . .) Lolz. Thanks for being so supportive of my story!

anime-obsession260- - - -Oh crud, I really want to read the next chapter. You can use your friend's computer too right? Just hurry up and update. . .the faster you do the faster I will too. Agreement, YAH?

SN 1987A- - -Yep, I noticed my flaw, and told who it was in this chapter. Indeed, it's Sonoko. Yeah, I like Shuichi a lot too. He's like. . .the cooler version of Shinichi. That's why Shiho helped Shinichi out, because she saw an image of him inside Shinichi. Whoa, I wasn't even planning to put that in my story. Lolz. Thanks for the compliment, I don't like it when writers get biased towards Shiho, because Ran's a nice girl too, right? But she annoys me, for some reason. Still. . . .But anyway. Thanks for the last statement, it brought tears to my eyes. Lolz. And yes, there will always be readers supporting you too. Update Galatea, as soon as you can, if you may.

Vash- - - Hahaz. . .who were you thinking of in the behinning?

fanfic maniac- - -Right. You're the most hyper review I know. Lolz. But that cheers me up whenever I see your reviews, because my grades sucked. Not in my school, but to my parents especially. Darn, life suck. But whatever, right? Don't worry and be happy. :) Thanks for continuously reading my stories.

YumeTakato- - -Odd? Really? I was hoping it would be cool.