A/N: No one reviewed the last chapter! Did no one like it then? Or why... I had so much work with it... Anyways here is the new one. It's a bit fillery beginning but the end is a new case. I hope you like this one.
Chapter 27.
Tsukiko bid goodbye to Miyoshi by the end of the day before heading towards Ekoda. She had managed to arrange a meeting with Kaito. The boy would teach her lock-picking. After the mishap at the hospital, Tsukiko had become determined to become better at breaking through different kind of doors and other 'road blocks'.
"Kuroba-kun!" The blonde waved enthusiastically when she spotted the boy. Then she noticed he wasn't alone at the gates of his school. Nakamori Aoko was with him.
"Ah, Tsuki-chan!" The magician greeted. He had already calling her by a nickname? Oh well, don't question the train of thought of Kuroba Kaito. "You are early. I thought it would take longer for you from Beika."
"Nah, Kawaoka-sensei let us go a bit earlier since our class behaved so well for once. And who is this?" The girl turned to face Aoko.
"Ah, this is Nakamori Aoko. We've known since we were kids." Kairo introduced the girl.
"Nice to meet you Nakamori-san. My name is Okiya Tsukiko." Tsukiko offered her hand to shake the Ran-look-a-like's. The other girl took it with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too, Okiya-san. But do call me Aoko. I'm more used to hear my father being referred as Nakamori-san."
"I understand. You can call me Tsukiko then. Usually people refer my brother as Okiya-san."
"Okay, Tsukiko-chan!"
"Are you done?" Kaito asked from the sidelines. Apparently the introductions had taken too long time on his taste. Well, he was quite informal person.
"Yes, Kuroba-kun, we are done." Tsukiko said mock-seriously, making Aoko giggle.
"How do you know each other then?" The dark-haired girl asked them. "I've never heard of you from Kaito."
"Well, we met quite recently and Kuroba-kun agreed to help me with one thing so here I am now."
"Where did you meet then?"
"Actually it was during one of Kid's heists. We happened to talk while waiting for the great trick happen and got along quite well since we are both fans of the phantom thief but not obsessively so like… Suzuki-senpai."
"Yeah, I've seen that girl… She… is quite scary actually." Kaito thought aloud.
"So you also support Kaitou Kid." Aoko frowned.
"Yes, I do. You just need to see past the mask to understand him." Tsukiko smiled.
"Understand? There's nothing to understand on him. Kid is only a thief who ridicules honest hard-working people!" Aoko protested.
"Well… That's also one opinion…" Tsukiko and Kaito exchanged an awkward glance when Aoko went into a rant about how Kaitou Kid was a bad person and no one should admire him.
Eventually they parted ways with goodbyes despite their differing opinions about Kid. Well, Aoko wasn't a petty person to judge people on what they liked. Otherwise she would have cut her ties with Momoi Keiko who was also a Kid fan
"Say… Why do you want to learn lock-picking again?" Kaito asked.
"I simply want to be get out of room's I'm locked in. The last time it happened I spent almost all night trying to get out and broke at least two hair pins. You could've done it in a minute." Tsukiko shrugged as they arrived at the Kuroba house.
"Why do you get into locked rooms then?" The boy shot her a suspicious look while fumbling for his keys.
"Well… Last time it was a pure accident really. But don't want it to happen again."
The house was really nice. Homely. A smile spread on Tsukiko's face. From all the places she had been this far, the Kuroba house was her absolute favorite.
"Okay, my room is in the upstairs." Kaito nodded towards the stairs when they had taken their shoes off and put slippers on.
"Alright! I love your house by the way."
"Err… Thanks?"
"Not bad. You can use hair pin quite well for an amateur." The young magician grinned when Tsukiko finally tossed the padlock to him. It had been a test to see the girl's skills as they were now.
"I take that as a compliment…"
"Do so, it was one." The boy placed the lock on the table on his right before turning to face Tsukiko again. They were seated in the Kid's lair where was a whole box of padlocks and actual locks removed from doors. "I guess you have never used an actual lock pick, have you?"
"Nope."
"Alright. I think it's better if I teach you to use one. They are more accurate than hairpins anyways."
"But less inconspicuous." Tsukiko stated when folding her legs on the chair she was sitting on.
"True but they can be hidden quite well." Kaito pointed out.
"Yeah…"
"So, pick a lock." The thief gestured the box between them. "And I'll start your first lesson in the art of lock-picking." A Cheshire cat grin spread on his face. Apparently he started to get used to the idea of a new ally and friend.
The next weeks Tsukiko hand and wrist were hurting continuously and she had to use a brace on it while writing so she wouldn't get a tenosynovitis. It annoyed her a bit but at the same time she was glad for two reasons. One was that she made some progress (She had managed to lock and unlock the front door of Jodie's apartment when the woman was at work somewhere.) and the other one was that she got to know Doctor Araide. The man was really nice. Maybe a bit timid but always ready to help when asked. And he didn't question what she was doing to get her hand so sore.
"Thank you again, Araide-sensei." Tsukiko smiled when she hopped off the bed of the nurse's office. She had been there again for the check-up on her wrist.
"You are welcome. It's getting better now but don't put any strain on it so it won't get any worse." The doctor smiled back. "Come to the next check-up in a week."
"Okay… Good that it's getting better. Jodie-san was getting worried I would fall behind with my school work." The girl chucked, picking her school bag on the floor.
"J-Jodie…-san? Jodie Saintemillion-san?" Araide stuttered, his hand stopping writing the memo of this check-up.
Whops… Well, thankfully it was Araide who heard it since he knows that Jodie is an FBI agent and knows that she is still most likely in Japan.
"Yea, that's her name. Do you know her?" Tsukiko tilted her head while smiling her eyes closed. Not that it was seen due her glasses.
"She was an English teacher here some time ago." The doctor answered.
"Oh, I didn't know that. She's really wonderful person don't you think?"
"Yes, I suppose so…"
"Well, this was quite an interesting piece of information and enjoyable conversation we had earlier but now I have to go. See you next Friday!" The girl waved before leaving the office.
"See you…"
"Gee… I hate this…" Tsukiko huffed on the next day when she lifted her pencil off the paper again and shook her wrist.
"Then what have you been doing with it since it hurts that much?" Subaru asked behind his book, Study in Scarlet.
"Um…" Tsukiko hesitated a bit before deciding to answer. Subaru wouldn't tell anyone anyways. "I've been practicing lock-picking with a help of a friend so I wouldn't get locked somewhere again."
"…" The man lifted his gaze from the book. Tsukiko held his gaze until he laughed. "You are still bitter about that?"
"Yes. I spent the whole night trying to open the door! I still haven't forgiven Camel for that." The girl huffed.
"I guess you've been practicing really hard then."
"Yes, I have." The blonde nodded seriously before a wide grin she had adopted from Kaito broke out. "And I have already managed to break through Jodie's front door."
"Oh, that's impressive. Has she noticed it?" Subaru asked.
"Nope! Or I don't think so…"
Subaru's phone rang.
"Ah, Agasa-hakase… Of course I can… Yes, I'll be going now."
"What's it?"
"Professor asked me to get the kids from the fishing trip. He has gone to fix his 'ham and eggs' cooking machines he gave to his neighbors and its taking longer than it should."
"Oh, I remember this!" Tsukiko snapped her fingers in realization.
"You do? Does that mean someone is going to die?" Subaru frowned.
"Not exactly…"
It was the time for Shonen Tantei-dan to leave home and excited, they rushed to the edge of the pier and started waving to the approaching boat. Their excitement faded quickly away though when they noticed it wasn't Professor Agasa coming to get them but Subaru and Tsukiko.
"Huh? It's not the professor?"
"He's the one who is living next to professor's house, right?"
"If I'm not mistaken he's Okiya Subaru, a graduate student…" The kids talked.
"Did something happen to professor?" Conan thought aloud when Haibara grabbed his shoulder. "Huh?"
"Hey, kids!" Tsukiko waved from the boat with a bright smile on her face.
"It's Tsukiko-oneesan/-neechan/-san!"
"Eeh!? Professor couldn't come!?"
"Are you sure?" Genta asked when Okiya had explained the situation to the kids.
"Yeah. Seems that the machines for making 'ham and eggs', that the professor created and gave to the neighbor, were bad, so complaints poured in. He thought he'd be able to fix them quickly, but it's taking more time than he expected, so he asked me to come to pick you guys up."
"And I tagged along just for fun since I was already at niisan's." Tsukiko added.
"'Niisan'?" Mitsuhiko repeated.
"But didn't Tsukiko-oneesan say back then that it was a coincidence that you had the same name?"Ayumi asked.
"I said that, yes, but it was because we were in the middle of a case. I didn't want to affect on your judgment. Even though I had a complete faith in Subaru-nii, he was still a suspect in the eyes on the police." The blonde teen explained.
"Ah, I see. That makes sense." Mitsuhiko nodded. Tsukiko straightened from her half-crouch, she had been while talking to the kids, and shot an 'I-told-you-so' smirk to Subaru. The kids had accepted the explanation just like that, like the girl had predicted.
"Ok now, continue your chat after getting on the ship!" Iwao, the captain of the boat they had used to come to the pier. "Hurry, or else the sun will set."
"Mind your steps." Okiya instructed the kids who were helped on the boat by Iwao.
"Okay, Yoshida-chan, hop here." Tsukiko held out her arms for the smaller girl who jumped on the teen's lap giggling. During all that Haibara didn't remove her eyes from the 'siblings' and clutched onto Conan's jacket while staying firmly behind him.
Finally Conan got enough. "What's wrong with you?" The chibi detective asked.
"I can feel that person… The both of them…" Haibara whispered. "They feel like what you call the 'Men in Black'…"
"Y-You can still feel it?" The boy stuttered in surprise.
"No… I felt that when I first met him on that arson case but… The source of that unique pressure must have been him. And then her… There was no doubt of it when she confronted the food critic who died later… I'm sure that I snese those who turned your body into a child's with that drug!"
"Aren't you just thinking too much?" The male faux-child sighed before they were ushered to the boat too. Haibara tripped (because she wasn't looking where she was going) but thankfully Okiya caught her in time.
"Whoa… Keep an eye on where you're going." The man advised the girl.
"Y-Yes." She stuttered.
"But it's unfortunate…" Mitsuhiko sighed when the boat was off. "We caught so many, but we can't eat them…"
"The professor seems to be busy…" Genta continued.
"So how about I do it for you guys?" Subaru offered.
"Can you actually cook?" Genta asked in wonder.
"Yeah, more or less… I'm not as good as a first-class cook but I can do home cooking."
"Nah, Subaru-nii is a great cook!" Tsukiko laughed. "I love his food." And apparently that was enough confirmation to the kids, making Haibara watch the two of them in confusion. The dark pressuring aura was nowhere seen or felt after all.
They all ended up admiring the sunset from the boat and after Ayumi noticed Ikkaku Rock, they all wanted to see it closer. When heading toward it, they met briefly three men looking for their friend but paid no particular attention on them. So they docked by the rock.
"Anyways, this Ikkaku Rock is the Children's rock!" Iwao announced while tying the rope on a smaller rock. "Please enjoy yourselves!"
"OK!" The kids chorused.
"After looking at it more closely, it's more like a rock covered with many holes than a horn." Mitsuhiko observed.
"Aah, Seems that is was scraped off considerably by ocean water." Conan stated.
"Erosion." Tsukiko ran her hand along the rough surface. In her other hand she had a camera she had borrowed from Jodie for the trip a few days ago. "It makes this place look more mysterious and gives the surface aged look. I like it."
"Ah, look over there!" Ayumi exclaimed, pointing at the sunset. "Let's take a photo of the sun before it sets!"
Smiling, Tsukiko brought up the camera and snapped a couple of photos. "Okay, kids, line up there! Subaru-nii and I will take photos."
"We're counting on you!" Genta smiled as the elementary school kids hurried to take places. Tsukiko zoomed the camera's focus closer while Okiya used his cell phone.
"Ano… Subaru-nii…" The blonde girl blinked at what she saw on the stone next to Haibara after snapping one picture. She zoomed in even more. The man looked at the screen on the camera briefly before walking closer to the kids.
"Hmmm?" He leaned close to Haibara. "The rock behind you… Something's written on it."
"Saba, koi, tai, hirame?" Conan read aloud.
"Could it that someone engraved the name of fish they caught for memory?" Mitsuhiko guessed.
"But it's awful to do things like this…" Ayumi whispered.
"Hey, check this out!" Genta yelled from short distance. "Something is stuck between the rocks!"
"What!?" Conan shouted.
"It's a fin you out on your foot when diving…" Mitsuhiko noticed.
"It's stuck tightly, and I can't take it out."
In no time Conan had sprinted of, looking for the owner of the fin. And he found her. The kids and Okiya and Tsukiko followed him to the body. Subaru was quick to take a look on the body with Conan while Tsukiko stayed in the background. She didn't really fancy being close to dead bodies. She had managed to get through the sushi case by thinking it was just a fictional character that had died and by really disliking the victim who was as guilty as the murderer.
"I guess she had trouble while diving and couldn't swim well so she struggled until she ended up here, but unfortunately nobody found her." Haibara stated.
"Yeah… This is Ikkaku Rock where ships sink… Nobody would approach this area." Mitsuhiko agreed.
"Anyway, let's carry her to the boat!" Genta decided.
"Yeah, it's pity to leave her like this." Ayumi continued.
"No… I say we wait until the police arrive before moving the body." Subaru said while crossing his arms on his chest. That got the kids' attention. While Conan explained them why this was a murder and not an accident, Okiya turned to face his 'sister' who was sitting on a smaller rock and calmly watching the situation. He walked closer and spoke on a low voice to the kids wouldn't hear them, neither the actual ones nor the shrunken teens.
"I thought you said 'not exactly'…"
"Yes, not 'going to die' but 'already has'." Tsukiko smirked.
A/N: Okay, I'm going to sleep now. See ya!