Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

Sky Colored Eyes

3: Chorus of Whispers

By the following morning, the news of the murdered student had already spread through the entire population of Ekoda High. The halls were abuzz with subdued whispers and fearful looks. The classrooms were supernaturally quiet, but the teachers were anything but pleased. They would, every one of them, have preferred the usual unruly ruckus of healthy teenage minds.

The victim, Takamura Sakuno, had been a shy girl with few friends, but suddenly everyone in school knew her name. It was ironic and tragic all at once, Aoko thought.

Propping her chin on her palm, she let her gaze drift around the classroom. It was eerily quiet despite the teacher's voice. Kaito must have sensed her mood because he hadn't tried any of his usual pranks or teasing on her that morning. Part of her was grateful because she really didn't feel like dealing with having her skirt flipped or some other embarrassing stunt, but on the other hand it just made the somber mood of the day all that much more prominent.

Her eyes moved from her childhood friend to their class's original detective. Saguru appeared to be focused entirely on the lesson. Then again, that was just like him. A small smile tugged at her lips. He was the kind of person who preferred to take things one at a time so that he could devote his full attention to each task. Out of all the people she knew, he was definitely the most organized. Kaito made fun of him for being 'an obsessive freak' (his words, not hers), but she rather admired that about the blonde. The ability to manage time that well was something not many people had. It was a comfort to see him listening so intently to the teacher.

Realizing how long she'd been staring at him, she blushed and tore her gaze away, turning instead to the newest student in their class. He too was diligently taking notes, though every now and then he would stop and stare out the window with a distracted expression. Earlier, when she'd passed by his desk, she had noticed that he had been drawing symbols in the margins of his notes that looked like the marks that they had found on Takamura's body, so she had a pretty good guess what was on his mind.

He had turned out to be rather different from what she had expected when she'd first heard from her father that he would be moving to Ekoda. In the midst of his griping about having another know-it-all brat to deal with, her father had told her that Kudo had had to transfer to their school because he'd missed too much time at his old one gallivanting around playing detective with the FBI and Interpol, "poking his nose into grownup business" (what business that was, her father didn't appear to know). Knowing that, she'd expected someone brash and too proud of his abilities to care about trivial things like school since he'd skipped so much of it just like that. She'd also heard through the grapevine that a lot of his old classmates thought he was stand-offish because he preferred reading a book over spending time with them. From what she'd seen though, she was inclined to think he was more shy than he was aloof. Maybe he just didn't deal much with normal people?

She had decided that she would get to know him better. He seemed nice if a little quiet, and she liked how Kaito and Saguru didn't spend so much time trading snide comments when he was around.

And so her thoughts had come full circle and landed back on Kaito—who, she noticed, had abandoned his notes in favor of eyeing the room at large with a speculative expression she knew all too well.

X

Kaito had been trying to keep a lid on the pranks for the day in honor of recent discoveries, but all the gloom and doom in the atmosphere was getting on his nerves. It wasn't that he wasn't feeling some of it himself—death was never something to be taken lightly—but the tension in the air only seemed to be feeding in on itself. It was as though the more time everyone had to dwell on the loss, the heavier the weight of its reality. The strange circumstances surrounding her passing probably didn't help. It was making people worry.

So when lunch came and went with no improvement, the magician decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.

And that was why half the student body was now running around being chased by balloon animals because they'd seen what happened to the other half that hadn't run fast enough. Loud, boisterous music was blasting through the PA system and there were bizarre rockets zooming down the halls, trailing a rain of confetti. Yells and screams filled the air, but there was laughter there too, and as the noise grew the brittle atmosphere from before shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Kaito grinned and gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"Kuroba-kun, can I talk to you?"

Slightly startled despite himself, Kaito turned to see the one person he'd ever met who really made him nervous. The slender, red-haired girl stood a few steps behind him, her crimson eyes serious. The grim and slightly worried expression was so unfamiliar on her face that he thought for a moment that it was just another girl who looked like her.

"What is it?" he asked a bit warily.

Koizumi Akako hesitated for an instant, her gaze drifting to take in the chaos of the classroom before returning to the magician. "It would be best if we stepped outside."

Kaito debated with himself for a moment before nodding. While he would probably never be truly comfortable around the witch, she had mellowed out quite a bit over the course of their acquaintanceship. He might even venture to say that she had become a friend—albeit a creepy friend who should be treated with respectful caution.

"So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Koizumi-san?" he asked once they were out in the empty hallway.

Akako didn't answer immediately. Instead her eyes shifted to stare over his shoulder as though reading an invisible script. Then she shook her head and let her breath out in something that wasn't quite a sigh. "There is something…coming."

Kaito waited, but when she said no more, he sighed. "Really Koizumi-san. I know you like to be cryptic, but if you want me to understand what you're trying to tell me, you're going to have to give me more than that."

Expecting her to give him one of those mysterious smiles and some line about hellish informants and whatnot, he was surprised when she actually looked away.

"It is…difficult to put into words."

Indigo eyes blinked. "Okay. Why don't you try?" he suggested, keeping his tone light and encouraging despite his inner amazement that Akako of all people was sounding unsure.

The witch closed her eyes and took in a deep, contemplative breath. When she opened her eyes again, the strange, uncertain expression from before had vanished to be replaced by a more neutral one. "There is—"

The sound of a door opening caused the girl to cut herself off. Both teens turned to see Shinichi step out of the classroom they had just left.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said politely, "but the teacher wants to speak to Kuroba-san. She says if you don't come in right now she's going to give you detention for the next month."

Ah yes, Kaito mused. This teacher was fairly new. Most of his teachers would rather eat their own shoes than give him detention (the last thing any of them wanted was to put themselves at the mercy of the king of pranksters' undivided attention). While he certainly wouldn't mind enlightening her on why this was so, he had plans to head over to Beika later today to see what he could find out about where Tantei-kun had really gone. He also had a heist notice to deliver and a few extra supplies to pick up.

"Sorry Koizumi, I'll talk to you later, all right?"

The redhead's lips thinned but she nodded. "Don't forget."

X

Shinichi had always liked libraries—and no, it was not only because they were full of books. Libraries were quiet and people didn't expect you to be social while you were there. At the same time, it wasn't quite as stiflingly still as an empty house. Even when there weren't any other visitors, the books themselves always felt as though they had their own presence—as though the worlds of thought contained within their pages had given them a life of their own.

He had headed to the local library right after school let out to finish his homework and begin researching those strange brands. He'd expected it to be mostly empty, and it had been when he'd first gotten there. When he'd finished his homework and stood up to head to the history section however, he'd been mildly shocked to find all the reading tables had become packed while he'd been distracted.

Not only that, but he recognized several of the men pouring over stacks of books at said tables. They were police officers who worked with Nakamori-keibu.

He blinked. So the library had suddenly been flooded with policemen. He couldn't help but notice that several of them were taking notes like students preparing to write reports.

"Ah, Kudo-san, good evening. May I sit with you?"

Shinichi turned to find Hakuba standing beside his table. The blond detective had set his book bag beside the empty chair opposite him and set out a notebook and pen.

"Go ahead, I don't mind," Shinichi replied, looking from Hakuba to the police officers and back again. "Do you know what's going on?"

"KID just sent out another notice," Hakuba explained. He gestured to the police with a wry smile. "As I'm sure you can guess, this one is quite complex."

"Oh, I see." Bemused, Shinichi turned again to the officers busy at their research. He'd always known the KID Task Force was a dedicated bunch—none more so than one Nakamori Ginzo—but he'd never realized quite how much time and effort they had to put into their work. All those police officers pouring over stacks of books and comparing notes was certainly a sight to see. But did they really need this many people just to solve one note?

Remembering belatedly that he had been talking to Hakuba, he returned his attention to the blonde. "Are you here with them?"

Hakuba shrugged. "In a sense. However I like to use my own approach for such things."

"Do you often attend KID heists then?" Shinichi asked though he already knew the answer.

"When I can. I don't think anyone should be allowed to mock the law the way he does." The blonde grimaced at some private memory. "What about you? I heard you confronted him yourself a few years ago."

"The clock tower," Shinichi murmured, his own thoughts drifting towards memory lane. "It was a long time ago. I didn't know it was one of KID's until a lot later."

One blond eyebrow rose. "Really? You should tell Kuroba. I am sure he would be most offended."

Blue eyes blinked at him, confused. "Why would he be offended?" He'd understand surprised, but offended seemed a bit extreme.

Hakuba glanced around then leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Well, he claims to be one of KID's biggest fans. However, I—"

"Hakuba-kun!" one of the officers called out, interrupting him. "We think we know what the first two sentences mean. Could you come take a look?"

Hakuba glanced over at the officers in question then nodded to Shinichi before standing. "Please excuse me."

X

Taking a sip from his steaming mug of hot mocha, Kaito adjusted his earpiece then turned a page in the book he was pretending to read. All around him, the quiet murmur of the café's other patrons provided a soothing background to match the evening skies outside.

He had planted bugs in the Mouri Detective Agency and assigned some of his spy doves to follow the members of the Shounan Tantei. The curious children that Tantei-kun used to hang out with still talked about him quite a lot—lamenting that he wasn't around anymore and wondering if they would ever see him again. The only member of the group who didn't seem depressed whenever the subject arose was the little honey-haired girl who'd always struck Kaito as being sharp beyond her years in a way very much reminiscent of Tantei-kun himself. She didn't participate much in those conversations about where Conan might be, but when she did it was usually to tell the others not to fret so much and that they should be happy for their friend. After all, he'd been away from home so long, it was high time he got to go back. The rest of the kids would come around and agree, but Kaito couldn't help but notice that the Haibara girl herself never sounded entirely sincere. It was as though she was trying to convince herself more than her friends.

The strangest behavior he had observed, however, had to be that of Mouri Ran. From what he remembered, she'd always doted on the brat like any overprotective big sister. Yet not once had she even mentioned his name in the days since he'd first planted his bugs. She'd never wondered how he was doing or reminisced about the time he'd spent in her home. Even her father occasionally voiced a comment about how it was a little strange not having the nosy squirt wandering around his cases anymore. At other times he would laugh about not having to put up with a freeloader now. Every time the boy came up though, his daughter would change the subject.

Listening to the subtle inflections in her voice, Kaito couldn't help but feel that there was something unnatural about her behavior. She sounded more like someone who was determined not to think about something upsetting than someone trying to move on from missing a departed friend. Well, at least there was no anxiety in her tones. So whatever was bothering her, it was unlikely to be some terrible accident like Kaito had started to dread.

Now the question was, what in the world could little Tantei-kun have possibly done to anger his loving surrogate sister so much?

Kaito had a great imagination, but he honestly couldn't think of anything that could fit the bill.

Since the Mouris were a dead end, he'd turned his focus to the next set of odd behaviors—Haibara Ai.

He had tried planting bugs in the Agasa household before, but—to his surprise and increasing curiosity—they had all been disabled only a day after he'd put them there. He switched to sending doves after that whenever he felt the need to scope the place out (it was, after all, one of Tantei-kun's most common haunts). They couldn't get inside the house, but they did allow him to observe the little girl and her elderly guardian and exercise his lip-reading skills. Not perfect, but better than nothing. Let's see, who had he sent over there today…

X

There was a bird on the windowsill. She frowned, turning to get a better look. The bird, however, fluttered and darted off the moment she placed her full attention on it.

Well, that was only natural. A lot of the wild animals that lived around cities ignored humans as long as the humans were ignoring them. The moment they sensed the weight of human eyes however, they would vanish in a heartbeat.

Shaking her head, the young scientist tried to focus back on her ridiculously easy homework. She could solve these problems in her sleep. On the other hand, if she did a little extra, she'd have the rest of the week's non-school hours free for her own research.

At precisely seven thirty, she picked up her cell phone from where it lay beside her textbooks and pressed the speed dial number for Shinichi. It rang a few times before the detective answered.

"Go eat," she said into the phone, not bothering to introduce herself or offer a greeting.

"…How do you know I haven't?"

"Have you?"

"…"

"As expected. I'll be calling again at ten." She hung up before he could answer. Adding the period to tie off the last sentence of her English homework, she closed her books and packed everything neatly into her backpack. That done, she hopped off the chair and headed for the kitchen. Today was a salad night, which meant mixing everything before the professor got back from visiting his friend so that he would have no excuse to add too much dressing.

On her way to the kitchen, she noticed that the bird was back. It was perched on the window's outer sill and preening its feathers. It stopped when she glanced at it, fluttered its wings, and darted up into the branches of the tree outside.

Proceeding into the kitchen, she took a small dish and filled it with clean, lukewarm water. Heading back to the window, she opened it and placed the dish outside before closing it again. That done, she returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Cooking had never been something she was particularly interested in, but over the last few years she had learned a little. Being a scientist, she was good at making sure she put just the right amount of everything into the mix and didn't leave it on the fire too long. And it was her way of helping out around the house with the added benefit of making it easier for her to keep track of what Professor Agasa ate.

Behind her, the dove flew back to the sill and spent several moments examining the water dish. Satisfied that it was safe, the bird set about washing itself. But it was careful to keep its right leg away from the water because it knew the master would be annoyed if the tiny camera secured to said leg got wet.

X

Hakuba had invited him to the KID heist. They still didn't know exactly when the heist would be, but the blonde was confident that they would soon, and he'd suggested Shinichi go with him.

The invitation had left Shinichi at a bit of a loss. Part of him wanted to go. He…kind of missed KID—KID's heists, he amended quickly. But his reasons for avoiding them hadn't changed either. Not that he could share those reasons with the other detective.

His breath left him in a quiet sigh. The sound was lost amidst the hum of the cars passing by as he made his way home.

In the end, he hadn't been able to give Hakuba a straight answer.

And yet there was now a copy of KID's latest heist note written carefully on a new page in the small notebook that never left his side.

TBC