A/N: I just had to... Sorry, if someone haven't read the newest file yet. I tried to be as vague of the contents as possible so I won't spoil it.
Chapter 42.
A message binged to Tsukiko's phone and she dug it out once again. Totoro dangled happily from the Lumia as she went to check what was the message about.
"Asdfghjkl! It's the chapter 896 spoilers!" The blonde's face brightened immediately and she went to scroll the pages of the Chinese files.
"What is it?" Subaru tilted his head a bit to see what the girl was reading.
"Ah! Uh… Spoilers!" Tsukiko pulled the phone closer to herself. "You shall not read them. It might ruin the Plot!"
"The Plot… So you have a connection to your world's files now…"
"Yes. The new chapter appears weekly there. They're ahead of our time for months, maybe even years…" Tsukiko explained. "So I won't show them to you."
The phone was connected to internet in Jade's world, allowing Tsukiko to read the files and watch anime now since Jade was doing that too. Tsukiko could feel it in her gut that Jade hadn't stopped reading DC. The blonde even read her other self's posts on the DCTP forum as MoonRaven and to Cbox as Akai Tsuki.
"To think she uses that too…" Tsukiko chuckled mentally before stopping. Since when she had begun considering Jade as a separate person from her. Probably when she realized that the two of them lived separate lives now.
"I wonder if I'll ever go back there… If I even ever want to…" She read the last pages of the file and her smile vanished. While the girl had anticipated that something like that would happen and was kind of excited over it, she couldn't help but worry… What would happen to her then?
No! Now was not be the right time to focus on that. She should concentrate on the situation right now!
Tsukiko put away her phone and walked to the direction Subaru had gone to. She peeked into the cafeteria area where the man was looking out of the window.
"Subaru-nii…" The man turned around.
"Ah, Tsukiko. Sorry for leaving so suddenly." He smiled as the girl approached.
"It's alright… I wasn't really paying attention to anything. I'm the one who should apologize…" She shuffled her feet, a bit uncomfortable under his gaze.
"What is bothering you now?"
"Nothing!" Tsukiko replied quickly. Too quickly, making Subaru give her a pointed look. "Well… I guess those spoilers both excited and worried me… But I'm sure it'll be solved before it comes crucial in our timeline." She added hastily.
"…If you say so." Subaru knew not to pry when Tsukiko began talk circles. Circles that both pulled people into conversation but also pushed them away.
"…" The girl frowned and fidgeted for a moment before hugging the bespectacled man tightly. Subaru looked down at her in surprise before returning the hug and patting her head a bit awkwardly.
"I think I should ask now too of what's going on." He stated.
"Nothing yet. Just enjoying the moment as long as it lasts… Because I guess that there will be a day when there won't be any Okiya Subaru whom Okiya Tsukiko could hug…" Tsukiko muttered against his shirt. "And no matter what I'll say then, I know I'm going to miss this all."
Subaru spotted Gin's Porsche parked in front of the department store and Chianti keeping watch in the window above it. During that all Tsukiko kept quiet as she sat on one the chairs of the café but a faint smile was found on her face. She had a plan. A plan to mess up with the organization a bit.
"Sir… Excuse me?" A waitress asked Subaru.
"Ah, pardon me… I'll be going now…" He answered. "I just wanted to see what was going on outside. Even though this floor is occupied by a bomb, those outside are paying no mind at all…
"However… For those holding their breath, waiting with impatience in this heat… I'd like to treat them to some hot, bitter coffee."
"Hmm… I would like to have a tea actually." Tsukiko told the waitress with a smile as her 'brother' left the room. She didn't really fancy listening to Conan's deduction this time. And she really felt like drinking a cup of tea. It always calmed her down.
Mai watched as Tsukiko first followed her brother to the café on the side and a bit later her brother coming out but not her. The class president frowned. Why had that happened? So she went to take a look.
The brunette found Tsukiko sipping tea while sitting sideways on her chair, her legs crossed and watching out of the window. The blonde's glasses were placed on the table and she was leaning her right elbow on the chair's back. Tsukiko took another sip and Mai left. No need to be noticed yet.
Sleeping Kogoro gave out his deductions about the case and revealed that the 'innocent civilian' was actually the culprit himself. But what followed a bit after was confusing to the class president. It was something about an e-mail message that the man had received. Ran sent a reply message which went to the cell phone of a random man. When asked, he denied making the deductions on the phone and told it had been a man with burn mark and evil-looking eyes. And that made Conan panic and Mai frown.
"So the fake Akai is also a good detective. He wants to get out of here and thus is even risking of being found out. But why would he want to get out of here so quickly? I understand that no one wants to be in the same floor trapped with a bomb but if he is enough smart to make such deductions, he should also realize that those bombs are fake." She thought while her eyes followed Conan who dashed to the escalators.
"I need more coffee…"
Conan ran down the moving stairs. He was panicking. What was Akai doing, walking around like that? It would endanger Kir!
The train of thought was interrupted when Jodie grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" The female agent asked the boy.
"J-Jodie-sensei?"
"Could it be that… you're looking for the same person that I am?" Jodie asked seriously.
"Ah… no…" The kid stammered.
"Seems that this place is dangerous, just like that message said…" Camel approached the duo. It got Conan's attention.
"That message?"
"The message Shuu left for me…" Jodie explained.
"Ah, did you meet Akai-san?" Conan asked immediately.
"No, he secretly wrote a message on my coaster while I was away from my seat at the café." The woman told. "It said 'Run! This place it dangerous'…"
"What is this talk about?" A new voice joined in. Tsukiko came down the escalators. Conan noted that she was wearing now the same jacket she'd had back then at Touto Tower. "This talk about Akai-san possibly being alive?"
"Tsukiko-neechan!" Conan exclaimed and was about to ask something but remembered then with whom they were. whether it was about the whereabouts of her brother or her choice to wear that jacket, the girl didn't know. But she replied nevertheless.
"Hi again, Tantei-chan!" The blonde waved cheerily but turned to address the agents then. "I think you are wrong. It was confirmed after all. Stop chasing ghosts, Jodie-san. Bakai wa Bakai and nothing will change that. Not now, not ever. Why don't you just accept it?" She stated sternly before walking away and leaving Jodie in mixture of confusion and anger.
"Didn't I tell you not to say that ever again?" The woman whispered. Tsukiko turned her body half-way to face the agent.
"You did but I decided not to listen." Came the reply and she disappeared into the crowd while pulling her cap on and stuffing her high ponytail under it. She took off her glasses then and put them into her bag since she was out of sight now but not out of earshot.
"So why is this so dangerous then?" Jodie decided to handle the situation with Tsukiko later and asked for an elaboration to what Camel had stated earlier. "The bombing case is over…"
"I saw in the window of the hotel across the street the shadow of a sniper and, below, a black Porsche 356A." The man answered.
"Camel, take care of the kid!" Jodie ordered and dashed off.
"That's my cue then…" Tsukiko muttered and went down the stairs. She hid her bag behind a potted plant where no one would spot it. All of those people failed to notice a third party observing them.
"Something big is definitely going on. And Jodie-sensei and that man, Camel …they both think the fake is a real one. And according to Conan-kun's reactions, he does too. But he is more panicky. He knew from the beginning that Akai didn't die in the first place…" Mai frowned but smiled then. "Wasn't it his phone that confirmed the prints? I guess I found accomplice number one."
"But I need to check my theory first. Always check, check, double check and check again…"
Chianti peered through the sniper scope at the crowd coming out of the department store doors.
"It's him! It's him, it's him!" She called gleefully into her radio. "I found the ghost! He's at the left side of the front entrance… Right next to your car! If you want confirmation, do it quickly Gin! I have an itchy trigger finger, you know… It could go off at any moment!"
She waited and waited for a reply but got nothing.
"What are you doing! Kill him? Don't kill him!? Decide now!" The sniper practically screamed. And on that moment the person they thought to be Akai looked up and smirked at her.
"He noticed… That guy, he noticed me!"
The people began rushing back into the store and Chianti lost sight of the man.
"Wh-Where!? Where'd he go!?" But as she looked for him, she spotted someone else. Someone weaved their way through the crowd while keeping a firm hold on their black velvet cap that covered their sandy blonde hair. Someone with violet jacket and black, fingerless gloves. That person stumbled out of the crowd backwards and looked around, their left arm covering quite well their face as they still hold onto the cap. And then they looked up too, grinned while the cap shadowed their eyes. They lifted their right arm up and closed all fingers except the thumb into a fist and then jerked it down, giving the sniper a thumbs-down. And they rushed back into the crowd, crouching slightly so they couldn't be spotted from Chianti's position, no matter how good of a sniper she was.
"That brat! He appeared again!" The woman cursed.
"Brat?" Oh, now she had Gin's attention.
"Yes, that brat from Touto Tower. The one Irish told to be dead when he wasn't! He was down there too! I saw him!"
And so was she seen too.
"It's useless staying here any longer, Chianti… We're leaving. Inform Korn as well." Came the orders.
"Wait, what do you mean!?"
Tsukiko dodged the worst of the crowd the best she could. It was surprisingly easy actually. Kaito had taught her well and now she was going into the same direction that the rest of the people around her.
But she could avoid everyone. The blonde bumped into someone and stepped on the side.
"Gomenazai…" She muttered while making sure her cap wasn't leaving her. But then she looked up at the person whom she'd bumped into. She got a glimpse of a black cap and a burn mark on the cheek before her instincts began working and she fled, not knowing what else to do in the situation.
In the safety of the department store, she quickly took of her cap and jacket, and put them into her bag which she retrieved behind the plant. She stuffed her gloves into the pocket of her white jeans and put on the glasses once again. Now she should find someone… Hmm…
"Tsukiko-chan, there you are." Jodie grabbed her arm. "I was worried."
"Worried? From our previous discussion, I would've assumed that you were angry." The girl snorted.
"Yes, I still am but this place is dangerous. Camel saw Gin's car outside earlier."
"Oh…"
"Who-Whoah! Gaah!" Someone stumbled from the crowd next to them, towards them, probably accidentally tripped since there still were many people and at the moment they were rushing to get those gift certificates. Tsukiko got a glimpse of dark brown hair on a ponytail and a pair of glasses but then her attention went on the can of coffee that slipped from the grasp of one Miyoshi Mai. While the class president and to-be-writer managed the right herself, the coffee can continued its way down, down, down…
Down. Right on Tsukiko's hand. The blonde straightened her bended knees and offered the can back to Miyoshi.
"You should be more careful, Mai-san. Otherwise you miss what's right in front of you." The girl grinned. Mai blinked once, like frozen by those words, before waking back to the reality. The brunette smiled and took the can.
"You could say that again, Tsukiko-chan. It just gave me a brilliant idea."
"Really? How so? And how come you are here?" The blonde girl gave the class president an uneasy look and a crooked smile.
"Well… I merely followed a hunch… And now I'll follow a lead." Mai glanced at the coffee can she had and smirked. "I need to go now thought… To locate that lead."
"Ano, Mai-san… What's that case of yours called? Do you name them?" Tsukiko called after the brunette.
"Yeah. At first it was called a 'Confusing cellphone' case but now… Since I love mysteries and Sherlock Holmes… I'm going to rename it. I'm not going to tell it you thought. It's a secret! And secrets are what make the life interesting." Mai waved to the two. "It was nice to see you again, Jodie-sensei!"
"You too, Miyoshi-san." Jodie waved back before turning to address Tsukiko. "Now… we're going home and no disappearing acts, Tsukiko-chan."
"But I gotta find Subaru-nii…" The blonde muttered, looking pointedly to other direction. "We got separated when the bomber case got solved and I went to follow Edogawa-kun… He surely is worried."
"Fine… I need to find Camel anyways. You go to find your brother. But call me when you're coming home. We need to talk." The agent stated sternly. The girl nodded before hurrying away.
"Talk… God, I'm in trouble! I really hope it won't be anything bad though…"
"Subaru-nii! Found ya!" Tsukiko tackled the man from behind. He took a step forward from the sudden weight she threw on him but straightened himself quite soon.
"I see you got back inside safely." Subaru stated.
"Yes, it's a pity I couldn't hear their reactions though…" The girl mused. "Are you going to find Tantei-chan now?"
"Yes, that's what I was about to do. That strategy of his… Did he really think that it was…?"
"According to his reaction, yes." Tsukiko nodded. "He was about to ask even me about it but Jodie and Camel were around. Speaking of which, I managed to provoke her again."
Subaru didn't quite deadpan but the tome in his voice was slightly amused. "You didn't happen to say the same words than on the hospital."
"No…?"
The sibling duo met up with Ran and Kogoro and found Conan then. The boy was following while people crowded around the help desk and the poor department store workers.
"I see… A gift certificate… I'm not sure if this was the smartest method, but seems that the customers' criticism will be even higher now…" Subaru told the kid.
"Subaru-san!?" Conan exclaimed in surprise.
"He said that he was on the same floor as us when the bomb case occurred." Ran explained to the boy.
"Why are you here!?" There was an edge of panic still in Conan's voice. Tsukiko resisted the urge to chuckle.
"I had some business at the Teito Bank, which is located nearby. As I was leaving I saw you guys and figured I'd give my greetings, but as soon as I got close the case happened." Subaru told with a smile.
"I found him quite soon… I was surprised to see you here though." Tsukiko smirked. "I could've dragged you into shops with me if I had known earlier that you were coming here…" She threatened the man playfully as they both knew how the girl hated shopping.
"Tsukiko…" Her 'brother' warned her.
"Yeah, yeah… I know… I won't ever do it." Tsukiko waved a dismissing hand.
"But But you could've come and talked to us at any time…" Ran told Subaru.
"I thought you were busy, so… Even Tsukiko left you alone and I know how much she loves participating in solving puzzles…" At that Kogoro had to ask Ran who exactly Subaru was thus they were introduced to each other.
"But what did you mean?" Ran asked then. "About Conan-kun causing the customers to criticize something?"
"Ah… It's nothing important…" The bespectacled man smiled. "It's just a boring story about a pack of wolves who lost their easy prey."
"And missed their Shadow(Kage)…" Tsukiko added, winking to Conan's direction.
"But isn't Teito Bank rather far away from where you're living?" Kogoro asked Subaru. "Why's your bank account in such a far away place?"
"No… I went to that bank for some other business…"
"Other business?" Conan hung into those words immediately.
"There was a robbery case there, remember? They were showing some videos of it on the news, and someone I used to know happened to appear, so I went there hoping that he might use that bank…" The strawberry blonde man told the boy. "If he uses that bank, he might live around here… I thought I might get lucky and find him…" He turned a bit to leave.
"So you couldn't find him?"
"Actually, I happened to see him on that floor…"
"And I spotted him on the outside." Tsukiko added while straightening her glasses.
"Unfortunately, it seems he wasn't who I thought he was, so I didn't talk to him…"
"But there's no way we could've been mistaken… So known that face is to us." The siblings went to their separate ways, leaving Conan to ponder what exactly had happened during the last minutes.
A/N: That was cryptic. I guess. But I hope you liked this anyways. :D
Review replies:
-GeekyGenius:
Thanks for the review. I hope I've been putting your favorite parts in the chapters too.
-zahraa:
Ahaha. I hope you didn't die since here's the chapter.
-Akai4Ever:
Yep. And there they are.