A/N: And here's more... The last chapter of Tokyo for a while. This has many scenes, to wrap up things of this File. Which means many guest appearances. I hope you like them. :)
The First file: New world, new life
Sub-file Six: Away
Christmas came and went. So did the New Years. Shugo began to see some edginess in Yamato. It worried the boy. So he began searching free apartments from Osaka. It was perfect place. It was a place far enough to hide but also close enough to get there quickly. Big enough place to hide. Not to mention the contact he could make there discreetly… The Hondou's.
But the boy's time wasn't only planning. He still spent time with his friends and homework. And although the trio didn't have as exciting adventures than in the beginning, they still had fun. It made the time pass remotely quickly.
Other that Shugo did whenever he could was visiting different magic shows. Especially the ones where one Kuroba Toichi performed. the boy even got backstage passes to meet with the magician along with Kaito. The two boys were becoming fast friends and with common things of interest, like they'd discovered already when they met for the first time, they had a lot to talk about.
"You're much nicer company than Shin-chan." Shugo stated one night when the two boys were sitting on a bridge right above a giant water tank filled with fish. It was situated on a backstage since it wasn't needed right now. And no, it wasn't for a magic trick. It was just moved aside so the restaurant where the show was, would have enough space for the trick the magicians were doing.
"Sure I am, That book-nerd sound so boring and annoying, I know how to have fun." The messy haired boy grinned and leaned down to get a better look on the fish below. All the colors of them were so interesting and exotic.
"True that." Shugo laughed but sobered then when he saw how dangerously Kaito was leaning down. "Oi, Kai-chan… Be careful. We don't want you to fall in there, do we?"
"I can swim. And don't call me Kai-chan. Only my mom does that."
"Which is why I do that.I collect people's nicknames to use. That's how they won't be forgotten in the future when we grow up."
"Should I start calling you Shuu-chan then?" Kaito smirked.
"If you really have to. Yukiko-obasan already calls me that." The computer geek shrugged. He noted now how close Kaito exactly was to the edge. "Kai-chan… Really, come back here."
"I don't wanna…" The magic boy whined but then Shugo snapped.
"Kaito, there's blowfish in there too!"
"Wha-!" Kaito startled. He tried to turn around and back simultaneously, resulting him to slip backwards.
"Iyaaaah!"
Shugo watched in horror the messy haired boy to fall two meters from the bridge to the water and then to sink two more.
"Kaito!" Why weren't there any railings on this bridge. Why they hadn't been more careful? Why didn't Kaito listen to him?
Shugo was panicking. What should he do? He couldn't jump in. He wasn't strong enough to get Kaito back to the surface. The faux child ran. He ran to the restaurant where the show was just about to start.
"Toichi-ojisan!"
The magician turned slowly to face the boy. "Shugo… What is-?"
"Kaito! He fell into the fishtank!"
Kaito was saved and the performance cancelled. They had been stung by one of the blowfish but thankfully he had been taken to the hospital fast enough The young magician had had to stay in the bed in observation for a week until he was finally discharged. During that time Shugo visited him every day. Even Yukiko visited once, since Kaito had been 'such a charming young man'.
Toichi didn't blame either of the boys. He did say that Kaito shouldn't have been so close to the edge and Shugo shouldn't have startled him so but let it at that. He could see who the event had affected both of the boys.
One night after Kaito had been discharged from the hospital, Shugo had been invited to stay at the Kuroba's. The boy had a feeling that Toichi wanted talk with him. The man probably had wanted to do so for the last year entirely but there had always been business to make it push the moment back. Mostly it had been either Shugo's research or Kaito hogging the boy for himself but also the man's two 'jobs'.
So on that night when Kaito had fallen asleep and Chikage was on a late grocery shopping, Shugo came to the downstairs and the living room where Toichi was drinking tea while watching the night sky outside.
"Ah, Shugo. I was wondering when you'd come down." The magician mused as he glanced at the boy's reflection on the window.
"Well, I had a feeling you have been wanting to discuss with me about something. Probably since the first time we met." The boy smirked from his place near the sofa.
"Yes, they way you have insight in different things is certainly interesting as is the way you relay that knowledge to just the correct parties. I've been watching."
"Kaito the Kid."
"Exactly." Toichi turned slowly around and took another sip from him cup. "Now… could you tell me how you know all this? I promise I won't tell anyone."
"I know that." Shugo replied bluntly. "I know it because no one would believe you if you were to tell. And I'm going to leave Tokyo at any given moment and by the time I'm back… Let's say there's no one to talk."
The phantom thief frowned briefly but that's all the poker face let on. "Is that a threat?"
"No. Let's just say that I have some foreknowledge. I came to Tokyo to help my sister in future. But due some miscalculation I ended up looking like this." Shugo gestured his appearance. "Ten years younger physically…"
"Incredible…" The magician breathed.
"And you swallow it just like that because of the gem Pandora that you're after so that Organization doesn't get it first."
"Indeed." A chuckle. "I've already seen a lot of unbelievable things in my life. Seeing some sort of a time traveller just fits right in. I'm too tired to be surprised anymore."
"...I'm glad we have some understanding."
"May I ask though… what is it that you need to help your sister with? So much that you need to be in this time to be prepared?"
"There is another Organization that's manipulating Japan. I don't if it's the same that the one you have your eyes on but it doesn't matter. That Organization is dangerous and I know my sister will be mixed with it in future. Regardless of the amount of allies she has, she needs someone to watch her back without her knowing it. And more preparation I do, the safer she is."
"I see… I wouldn't anyone important to me be in danger either but sometimes… You just have to deal with the cards you've been given."
"Yeah…"
Kaito… was terrified of fish. So much that his reactions were downright funny. At first Shugo laughed whenever the boy jumped up screaming about fish but then…
"I really are scared to death of them, aren't you, Kai-chan?" The boy asked one day when they were in the park and Kaito had vehemently refused to feed the carps at the pond. After the accident the boys had become closer than ever and Kaito didn't even protest the nickname anymore.
"W-Who wouldn't?! They are icky and slimy and they have those scary eyes!" The magician-to-be protested a good distance away from the pond and from behind a tree. Shugo sighed and sat down on the ground near the pond.
"You used to like fish. And now you can't even eat anything with fish in it."
"It tastes like sawdust! I don't like anything of fish. Anything even a bit related to fish."
"... My horoscope is Pisces."
"..." That shut Kaito up. The messy haired boy blinked stupidly. "Oh. Does that mean your birthday was already?"
"Yeah. It was around the time when you were at the hospital..." What Shugo didn't mention was how the birthday had been on the exact day of the accident, the 28th of February.
"Happy birthday, Shuu-chan…"
"Thank you." Shugo let a smile grace his lips. Back home he would be legally an adult now… He could move out and go to university, given that his results from the entrance tests would be good enough. But here… Here he was just one eight-year-old kid among the other.
Yamato walked along the corridors of one of the buildings owned by the organization. He knew that right now there were many higher ranked people inside and less of the lower ranked ones. Thus he knew both his brother and Cordita would be there.
Everything was packed now. He and Shugo had been preparing to move as soon as the boy was through the first grade of elementary school.
"We go first to Osaka and then to somewhere in Nagano." That was their plan. Some of their stuff was already at the apartment they'd rented with Shugo's "father's" name. Right now the two were waiting for the final bang to signal their leave. It was the last day of the term in many schools. In April the boy was supposed to beginning on the next grade. But by then they'd be far away.
"Yamato." A cold voice stopped the young man's advance. Anyone else would frozen at the sound of that voice, the owner's reputation was so terrifying and blood-curdling, and most of all widespread inside the organization, that whenever that person addressed you, one almost no doubt was more or less terrified. Even some senior members had some healthy respect towards him. Yamato in the other hand...
"Jin-nii… I didn't expect to see you here… yet." The blonde smiled, glancing over his shoulder at his older brother. Gin was wearing that same clothes that would later become his trademark look but the coat was shorter as well as his hair which was even lighter of a color than Yamato's.
"Yamato, what are you doing here?" The assassin questioned.
"Saa… I don't know…" The nineteen-year-old youngster shrugged and stepping aside to lean against the wall. "Walking around? Stalking my prey? Say, Jin-nii, if I were to kill Cordita, would you watch my back afterwards?"
The question was unexpected. It froze the emerald-eyed man, reminding him of the conviction he'd had for years.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I want out. I've had enough of the Organization and I know they don't need me anymore to keep you in check. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to find a killing order on my head right now…"
"What do you want then, Yamato?" Gin frowned. The boy had learnt his way around his brother: skirting around the problem until the other gave in and just demanded the boy to spit it out. And usually the request was a reasonable one.
"If I do kill Cordita, which I'll do in a few hours, will you make sure that no one comes after me or that the search is delayed long enough for me to get aboard?" The damned smile didn't leave Yamato's face even though his eyes - which were almost the same color than Gin's but less cold - were completely serious now. The elder of the two brother's remained silent before asking a question on his own.
"Tell me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right here and now."
"Because you can't. No matter how easily you kill people you don't know and other members of the Organization… I'm still your little brother. If I kill Cordita - a task you failed - you owe me that much of help."
"And you just assume the Organization will let you be even after I've done my part?" Gin snorted, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag.
"Don't worry. I'll disappear for a good while and you don't need to hear anything from me." Yamato grinned before making a move to continue to his destination. "This moment is the last you see me, Jin-nii. I hope you'll take care of yourself. If you really need to contact me… Well, don't. Sayonara, onii-chan."
"Tch…"
Shugo was walking home. It had been the last day of the school year. Ran and Shinichi had left with their parents (yes, Eri and Kogoro together too) to the beach to celebrate. Shugo and Yamato had declined… For quite obvious reasons.
"Cordita shall die today… If she already isn't dead…" The boy mused while bouncing the soccer ball he'd snatched from Shinichi right before the boy was out of the school yard. The detective kid was so 'enamoured' by Ran that he hadn't noticed a thing.
"Daisukuna~… The first grade is done now…" Shugo sighed. "Why do the years have to go on so slowly? And then there'll be that endless loop when I get to high school…"
Further the shrunken kid didn't get in his thoughts when he heard a scream. A girl's scream, and not very far either. Shugo took a sprint and rounded the corner of the block. No one. But now he could hear grunts and smacks, like someone was in a fistfight. It was near too…
Carefully, Shugo walked towards the noises. They were coming from a side-alley where two young people were surrounded by a group of thugs. And while the male of the pair was holding up on his own and keeping some of them at arm's length, he was still obviously the underdog there. The girl in the other hand… She was probably only in junior high and couldn't do much but cover on the ground.
"Mugging?!"
Shugo bounced the ball a couple of times before kicking it right at the head of one of the thugs. While he didn't have the force that Conan would, he had accuracy. Just enough to distract them.
The ball hit the thug, that was right about to aim a kick on the young male's stomach, right on the head, causing the criminal to stumble and fall.
"Oi! Leave Onee-san and Onii-san alone! I've called the police!" Shugo yelled, making the thugs stop. They looked at the kid. While Shugo obviously didn't pose a threat, the possibly coming police cars did. The… seven of them scampered away.
"Seven versus one? How pathetic…" The computer geek thought when he stepped on the side street. "Nee… Are Onee-san and Onii-san alright?"
Once being addressed directly the two looked up. The young man with brown hair helped the girl with long black hair on her feet.
"Yeah, we are fine… Thank you for your help…" The girl smiled. She seemed nice. And somewhat familiar too.
"It was nothing. It seemed that the bad guys were overwhelming Onii-san even though he looks really strong!" Shugo grinned.
"Is that so?" The young man chuckled. "Well, who can we thank for this miraculous rescue then?"
"The name is Midorikawa Shugo. Nice to meetcha!" The boy grinned. Inwardly he cringed. The little boy act was too natural for him now…
"Well, thank you very much Shugo-kun." The girl smiled and dusted the skirt of her school uniform a bit. "I'm Miyano Akemi and this is my friend Furuya Rei. It's nice to meet you too."
Oh. So that's why they seemed so familiar. And Amuro - well, Furuya - still had brown hair instead of dyed like in the manga…
"Hey, kid, would you like an ice cream?" Rei asked then. "To celebrate the great rescue and the end of first grade. Akemi-chan and I were just about to get some."
"Really? I'd love to!"
The ice cream was good and the conversation flowed. Shugo decided to start calling the duo 'Nice-oneesan' and 'Strong-oniisan'... or Akemi-neechan and Rei-niichan.
"Ano saa, Rei-niichan… How did you know it was the last day of first grade for me?" Shugo asked then.
"Ah, that was easy. You were obviously in elementary school and the majority of schools let out the students today, including Teitan Elementary which is the closest one. And while you seem tall for your age, you had a tag on your schoolbag with the text 'Class 1-A'." Rei explained easily.
"Oh, I see! That's smart. There's a kid on my class that does that deduction thing too but he is annoying. Rei-niichan isn't annoying."
"Yes, Rei-san is really smart. He is probably the smartest person I know." Akemi giggled, making the said boy blush. Shugo laughed too.
"A-Akemi-chan… Please don't exaggerate." The brunet tried and seemed to be saying something else when…
"Shugo-kun!" Yamato had arrived to the park where the trio had been eating the ice cream.
"Ah, Yamato-niichan!" The faux child jumped down from the bench and hurried to the young man. "I met new people today. They are Nice-oneesan and Strong-oniisan."
"Is that so…" Yamato mused, looking up from the boy to the duo still sitting on the bench. "How did you meet them?"
"I saved them from the bad guys and they bought me ice cream. And Strong-oniisan is really smart too!"
"Yamato-kun…" Rei had stood up and walked to the blond. "You know this kid?" Was it hostility in his voice? Or something else? Akemi hurried to them too, probably to stop any fight that might occur.
"You could say so… Rei-kun." Yamato's reply was equally frosty. He then addressed Akemi. "Nice to see you again, Akemi-chan."
"Y-You too, Yamato-san." The girl gave a little bow.
"What are you doing here, Yamato-kun?" Rei asked then. His hand found Shugo's shoulder, as if a protective move to keep the boy away from Yamato.
"I came to pick up Shugo-kun. We are in hurry and since he didn't come home on his own, I got worried. One never knows what might happen on these streets." The hidden message was conveyed through the locked gazes.
"We are in hurry?" Shugo butted in. "Is that mean woman dead then?"
"'Mean woman'?" Akemi repeated.
"Yeah, Yamato-niichan said that he'd kill one day that mean woman who killed his parents. And when that day comes we'd have to leave quickly." Shugo explained with a child-like innocence. Well, as much of innocence that one can when talking about killing.
"...You killed Cordita?" Rei's eyes widened.
"Yes. And if either of you utters a single word about Shugo-kun… I'll make sure that'll be the last you ever speak." Yamato's eyes narrowed dangerously. He almost resembled his brother when he did so, speaking so coldly too. "Is that clear?"
"Y-Yes." Akemi nodded, scared. Rei remained silent but nodded too. The platinum blonde picked Shugo from the ground and lifted the boy to sit on his left forearm. He turned to leave but stated then:
"Good. Because I really rather not kill the few people I actually care about."
The stunned duo remained standing in the park while Yamato carried Shugo away. The boy continued his act as a first grader and waved goodbye to the pair. Akemi offered a wave but Rei seemed frozen still.
"What was that about?" Shugo asked once he was sitting on the front seat of the Toyota and Yamato was driving the car out of Tokyo. "Why the hostility?"
"...When we drifted apart, I began training more and more. At the same time Jin-nii's reputation was growing, so that made people around me wary too. Rei never liked it. He probably thinks I wanted to advance in ranks and become a person like… like Gin. Akemi-chan became scared of me and for me. So we took distance. And right then at the park… I guess Rei thought I was trying to influence you and get you in the Organization too where they'd completely brainwash you." Yamato explained. His eyes were fixed on the road and hands were clenching on the steering wheel. Shugo looked at him before sighing.
"I guess they just wanted to remain as your friends."
"Yeah… But I couldn't afford anything being used as a leverage against me."
"They knew about your desire to kill Cordita then?"
"Rei knew. I told him. Akemi-chan… Unless Rei told her, she wasn't supposed to know. Now that the bitch is dead and they know it was me… It's hard to say what will be their opinions now. I hope they can one day forgive my behavior."
"I hope so too, Sanjuu."
Rei and Akemi covered behind a corner among some other members-in-training. From the end of the corridor angry voices were heard. Higher-ups were pissed. One was because one of their senior members was dead by the hands of a rookie and other was that the murder had happened inside the secured building. Moreover, the rookie had been important leverage... who was lost now.
"What do you mean you don't know where he is, Gin?!" One of the nameless and faceless superiors raged to the man in his mid-twenties. The silverette just shrugged and lit a cigarette.
"I mean what I say. Yamato hasn't spoken to me in months, years. I don't know what is going on in that brat's head and I'm not interested in his whereabouts. But I do am thankful for what he did. Otherwise I would've offed Cordita myself."
The duo in hiding shared a glance. It had been indeed Yamato.
"Then find him!" The superior yelled.
"No."
"No?"
"No. Like I said… I'm not interested in that brat's whereabouts." And with that the man left.
"Rei-san…" Akemi began. "Will Yamato-san be alright?"
"I hope so. Especially considering…" The sentence remained hanging. It wasn't safe to mention Shugo. It wasn't safe for the pair of runaways nor for the two of them still in the Organization.
"Yes… I wish them luck."
"Me too. Good that they have a head start. After Gin declined from the assingment, it'll be harder to find someone else to take it. Rookie that kills a senior operative in a secure building and gets away? No one will want to challenge him. Yamato will become a living legend among us."
The Toyota was parked by a roadside diner. Since neither Yamato nor Shugo had eaten anything since lunch(ice cream doesn't count), it was already the time for them to get some crub.
"Yamato-san… You should probably do something to your hair. It's pretty distinctive." Shugo noted when they were walking back to the car.
"Hmm?" The young man fingered his bangs under the cap. "You're right. Do you still have the Magician's Knife with you?"
"Do you have to call it that?" The boy grumbled under his breath but pulled the mentioned knife from under his jacket. It was the same one he had taken from the wall during the Moonlight Case: hence the reason why Yamato called it the 'Magician's Knife'. Now the knife had a sheath and Shugo had taken to carry it around with him, hidden of course.
"Because we have many knifes with us and this one is a special. This is a knife of beginnings. Perfect for an occasion like this." The blonde unsheathed the knife and brought the blade to the nape of his neck, right below his long ponytail. With a swift movement the long locks fell on the ground accompanied by the dark green hair band. "From this day onwards I'll be officially Ishikawa Yamato. No one will tell me anything else. And no one will take that from me."
Shugo picked up the ponytail. Wind was picking up. When the boy spread his hands apart, the wind took a hold on the long locks and lifted them up in the air, to spread them on a large area.
"It's all in the past…" The boy mused.
A/N: It's quite annoying to keep things vague in the case something radical is revealed in the manga. I'm talking about Rei. We know next to nothing about his past apart from the fact that he knew Wataru Date and Elena Miyano... and Akemi yeah... He is a hard character to write! Oh well... BTW the brunette thing is from Gosho's interview. Rei apparently has brown hair in reality... It's significant I hear...
I hope you also like my intepretation of young Gin. He was pretty messed up even back then. But maybe you can understand that considering his past...
Shugo still is at odds with Shinichi to a degree. They refuse to acknowledge each other as friends. Shinichi is jealous every time Ran's attention is on Shugo and Shugo in the other hand is annoyed by the other boy's attitude to... well, everything. I would've loved to include Sera in this chapter too but until we know her exact relation to Ran and Shinichi, I can't really do anything... Dammit Gosho...
Review Replies:
-Zeladious:
o/
-Kitty Offline:
Thank you very much. :)
Toichi is here! And so is Kaito. And his fear of fish is explained. I've always thought it is trauma-originated because of Kaito's extreme reactions...
()
Alright, next file will start in Osaka. No Heiji or Kazuha though, sorry. They won't appear until Shugo is middle schooler. Bear with me please. And review this chapter, okay? ;)