A/N: New arc, new file. A lot of what happened in Episode One has only been paraphrased here. I really do recommed you watching it for any additional information. Or if for nothing else, then for improved animation quality. And checking out .com comments on the tag "one+blogging" are worth of reading. I definitely probably channelled them in Shugo and Yamato...
Anyhow, I'm just glad to finally update this. I hope you also enjoy reading this and also, do check out the family tree at deviantart. The Kagemiya-Midorikawa family tree has been updated there recently.
The sixth file: Conan Arc
Subfile one: Episode ONE
Shugo looked at the traditional Japanese house sitting squeezed between the other houses at Ponto-cho. It was one of the many that belonged to the Kagemiya family and the one where Tsubaki resided currently… as well as Hoshi had lived past ten years.
Hoshi…
She was a difficult person to get a grasp on. Emotionally at least. Intellectually Shugo knew she was his sister but… she wasn't Tsukiko. Not yet. She didn't have yet any properly common shared memories with Shugo and considering the past ten years or so of separation…
"Just what an earth was mother thinking in separating us… Or is the world just intentionally fucking us up…" Shugo muttered before taking a deep breath and ringing the doorbell. This was the first time in his memory of meeting with Tsubaki… Not with Hoshi, she was at school currently and Shugo doubted he could handle both women at the same time.
The door opened and Kagemiya Tsubaki stood there, grey hair perfectly pinned into a braided bun and deep green kimono immaculate.
"Konnichiwa, Tsubaki-baasan." Shugo bowed.
"You're grown, Daiki-kun." The woman replied. She took a step outside. "Let me look at you."
She was so short. While Shugo knew that he was tall for his age mostly because of his western heritage from his father's side in this world… Tsubaki was half a head shorter than he was.
The said woman was now holding Shugo's face between her palms and inspecting him.
"You take after Ki'ichi… Same eyes and nose." Tsubaki smiled wistfully. "Same posture too."
"Thank you, Tsubaki-baasan…" Shugo murmured, not really knowing what else to say. Kagemiya Ki'ichi had died some nine years ago.
"Do come in, Daiki-kun. We have a lot to catch up on." Tsubaki led the boy inside. Indeed, they had a lot to talk about and lot to discover about each other.
Shugo sat on the zabuton pillows in the tatami room and considered the teacup in front of him on the table. He preferred coffee but tea was perfectly alright too.
"Last we saw was ten years ago." Tsubaki began. "Last we talked was yesterday when you asked to visit. Prior that our contact has been sporadic."
"Did Hoshi-chan like the Christmas present I gave her?" Shugo asked, not really knowing what else to ask right now.
"The thief merchandise? She did."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Tap.
Tsubaki laid her teacup on the coaster and laid her hands on her lap. Her eyes bore straight into Shugo and he felt his hackles rise in anticipation of whatever she was going to say next.
"Daiki-kun, I'm going to be frank now. Have you been experiencing visions of things that are not there or switches in personality in dire situations?"
Shugo stiffened.
"I…" How did she know? Yes, Akako had talked about supernatural and shadows in relation to Kagemiya but was it really that known and that common within the family?
"I had a feeling." Tsubaki continued then, like an answer to Shugo's whirling thoughts. "The Midorikawa have usually had a stronger than usual sense for possible ill events to happen. Especially when it comes to our family members and other people close to us."
"Yes…" Shugo swallowed. "Six years ago… I almost died and then I had to take my mentor's life because there was no way he'd get help in time to survive and the other option for him was agonizing death."
"Ah… That would certainly do it. Something traumatizing enough to trigger it and… You felt the need to chase after truths soon after that, didn't you?"
Just how did she know all these things?
"Tsubasa-chan was the same in personality. Very serious but very passionate as well. Couldn't let injustices stand. There was an incident when she was twelve that triggered it for her. Since then, she wanted to become a police officer and gather more and more knowledge in order to become better. Thus her scholarship to America and eventual joining to Interpol." Tsubaki explained. She picked up her cup then and sipped delicately from it while Shugo mulled over this information.
"Could you… Could you tell me more? About our family… I mean, I know some… Names and stuff but in general…" The boy asked then. Tsubaki considered.
"As long as you are not going to relay things to Ishikawa-san, I don't mind. Some things are family secrets after all."
"Of course."
For hours, Tsubaki educated Shugo about his closest and not so close relatives. About family history: the Feud with the Koizumi in Muromachi period in the 1400's, the alliances with Shisengumi and the Shogun during Bakumatsu but the curiousity towards Western culture all the same, the persisting alliances with Midorikawa, Ayanokoji, Okita and some other families… The strife and later reparation between Kagemiya and Ooka.
Then there were the connected families… Like Shugo's great-aunt, Kagemiya Aina had married Miyano Akira and had son named Atsushi. There was also a note about Sera Elena and their daughter Akemi.
"I'm related to Akemi-neechan?" Shugo gaped.
"You know her then?"
"Yes… She is Yamato-nii's friend from… from stuff." He made a vague gesture with his hand, not really wanting to mention the organization.
"I see…" Tsubaki narrowed her eyes but didn't ask for elaboration. "Atsushi-san and Elena-san came to visit us with Akemi-chan some twenty years ago. They used to work for Shirohato Pharmaceuticals until it was shut down but were slowly getting on their feet with their little clinic in Tokyo. Ki'ichi had met Atsushi-san and Elena-san before in their wedding but with their visit we added Akemi-chan to family records."
"…You should add Miyano Shiho as well." Shugo said quietly. "She is about my age, Akemi-neechan's little sister."
"I shall do that."
They then continued to other relatives. To Tsukasa who was a police officer but passed away in the line of duty a couple years ago. To Tsubame who was a librarian, had married Takenaka Satoshi, moved to Hokkaido and suffered through several miscarriages until giving up on having a child.
In the end, they weren't able to touch the Midorikawa side of the records before Shugo had to leave in order to catch the bullet train back to Tokyo but it was alright. Everything had been new information to him and Shugo was grateful for it all.
"Tsubaki-baasan… Could it be possible for you to call me Shugo? It's the name I go by now. Midorikawa Shugo." He requested just when he was leaving.
"Of course. I trust you are going to visit more now that we've reacquaintanted each other."
"…Sure." Shugo lied. "Say hello to Hoshi-chan."
"Naturally. She'll be sad to have missed you though."
"I know. But I need to get back. Got schoolwork to catch on."
With last wave of goodbye, Shugo left the house. It would be a long while before he would come back to that house. And that would be when his sister would enter many months lasting coma.
In Tokyo, Shugo sat down opposite Yamato.
"You know my parents quite well, don't you?" The boy asked. "When I visited Tsubaki-baasan, she focused on the extended family and Kagemiya's in general… but you specifically knew my mother and father." Few years ago Yamato had sat Shugo down and told him about his family in this world but it had never seemed real enough. Not until Shugo had gone to Kyoto.
"Yes. About eleven years ago I was almost caught by the Interpol. Well, I was actually caught for real but after giving them information and tips about how to infiltrate the organization, I was let go. The agents who arrested me, were your parents. About a three years later, Lucas Ahola infiltrated the organization… and eventually gained the codename Marshall."
"Father is Marshall?!" Shugo exclaimed.
"Yes… and according to Tsubasa-san, he is no longer reporting to Interpol." Yamato sighed.
"But your other sources say he is alive?"
"Yes. I think he either has genuinely switched sides or then gone through the same treatment Jin-nii did."
"I see…"
"Your mother in the other hand joined the Saitama Police under the alias Kagemiya Michiko a couple of years ago. I haven't been in contact with her much lately but… she is apparently doing alright."
"Okay. Good to hear that."
"Your uncle, Tsukasa-san was a good man too."
"Was?"
"He died approximately three years ago according to Tsubasa-san."
"Tsubaki-baasan mentioned something of that effect as well. You knew him then?"
"In passing. I met with Tsubasa-san and Tsukasa-san on that one New Year before your class's skiing trip."
"Ah, the one when you got the call and had to go… And complained about Shibazakura afterwards." Shugo remembered with a grin. Yamato chuckled.
"Indeed." The blonde man hummed thoughtfully while spreading the day's paper on the table between them. "They were both quite capable agents. Thus they caught me. Tsubasa-san definitely cared for both you and Hoshi-chan even if she left you both behind in order to chase the organization. Lucas-san I did not know that well as that was the only situation where I met him."
"…So you can't really say what actually would've led to him cutting contact with Interpol."
"Not really, no. But in my experience the aforementioned two options are the only viable ones. Of course, it's possible that he cut contact in order to go even deeper in the organization but… It's dangerous. Especially to one's mental health…" Yamato sighed pensively. Shugo agreed silently. Isolation was not good for anyone. Especially while in a place where hostiles were everywhere and there was no one to trust.
"But just in case if I want to find out more about my parents, my best bet would be tracking down Tsubasa-san?"
"Yes."
"I'll consider it…"
Shugo stretched as he walked through Beika-cho. It had been a while since he walked these streets. Many, many years. And while he had kept contact with Yukiko, the woman was abroad and thus giving Shugo little reason to visit the second block. Shinichi may have been Shugo's friend but that friendship was based on mutual sarcasm, teasing and poking. Honestly, Shugo didn't even know what the detective thought of him.
Ran was easier. Sonoko too, though more distant. Heiji was fun to tease but he took Shugo and his supernatural sense seriously enough. Kazuha had the easy acceptance too. Kaito and Aoko were closest to Shugo though, along with the rest of Kyuudo Club. Akako's animosity might have simmered down but her thoughts about him were clear anyways. Hakuba was interesting but distant.
But overall… The person from his age group that Shugo had known longest, was the most indecipherable of them all.
"I think you shall remain a mystery forever, Shin-chan…" The hacker sighed, stopping in front of the gate for a moment before continuing onwards.
It was a rainy day. Yamato was staking out a bar named Black Widow. One of his contacts was meeting with Vodka and… there was a minion alright, rigging explosives to the contact's car. This wouldn't do… While there had been rumors about Fujioka Takao's dubious loyalties, Yamato still needed the man.
Listening through the bug in Fujioka's clothes Yamato heard the man talk with Vodka while exchanging information for money before Gin joined the conversation. With other ear he listened for any disturbances while approaching the man who rigged the explosives. Icepick through cranium and then maneuvering him to sit in Fujioka's car. The door was ridiculously easily picked open.
And not a moment too soon. Fujioka came running from the bar, spooked expression on his face. No wonder, Gin had just implied that the other man was a rat and would die soon.
"Toss me the keys, Fuji!" Yamato barked when Fujioka came to stop. "Your car is rigged with bombs."
"Sure." Fujioka was quick to react. He threw the keys to Yamato who put them in the ignition and started the car with the help of the body's weight pressing down on the clutch pedal.
"My car is parked at the next block. Keep walking, I'll catch up." Yamato instructed the man who jogged away with a nod to him. Then Yamato closed the car door and from underneath the car, attached a timer with half a minute in it to the switch. Just enough for him to get away and for Gin and Vodka not be suspicious about the delay.
The blonde then hurriedly slid out and jogged after Fujioka.
"Run!" They couldn't afford to be seen by anyone. Thanks to the rain and the area being near Beika Harbour, there wasn't any people around but one needed to make sure. No witnesses, no leads for the police. Only a car and a corpse.
"Arigatou, Yama." Fujioka sighed when they both were safely inside Yamato's car and on the road away from the scene.
"It's the least I could do. You are one of my best men." Yamato replied, eyes on the road as the scenery sped by. "Sitting in the same space with my brother and his babysitter… It isn't easy."
"Don't I know it. Vodka is easy to handle but he blindly follows Gin's cues so it had become more difficult lately."
"So? Did you find out more about agents abroad?"
"Everyone is tightlipped but things are churning beneath the surface. After Vermouth failed to kill Akai Shuichi in New York, everyone has been urged to take more careful stance. But at the same time, Rum and Gin both have turned their eyes on everyone even remotely suspicious. Curacao, Cointreau and Marshall are all on the move." Fujioka ran a hand through his hair. "My digging for information is probably what alerted Gin for my status though."
"And with Marshall… also Riesling?" Yamato frowned.
"I assume so. Why are you so curious about Marshall especially?"
"…" Yamato hesitated before starting to recite information. "Marshall, real name: Lucas Ahola, nationality: Finnish, age 40, occupation: Agent of Interpol. Current mission: infiltration to international criminal organization based from Japan. Status alive but suspected to have defected. Notable mentions: responsible for arrest and information extraction from criminal Kurosawa Yamato. Kurosawa released later and has been known to defect from the organization."
"That's… You?" Fujioka guessed.
"Yes. Ahola and his partner caught me eleven years ago and I gave them the means to infiltrate. Thus I've kept tabs on him ever since he started his mission. Considering that Riesling is a BND agent, I worry for her as well. Marshall might sell her out."
"I see… So what now?"
"Now… Now, I'm going to stash you to a safehouse and then I'm going to contact Hibiki for new IDs for you. Then we need to decide what you want to do and whether or not you want to continue working for me."
"And I already have money to help me get started." Fujioka replied, taking the envelope out from his pocket. When he'd made a show of counting the money in front of Vodka, what he was actually doing was checking the envelope for bugs.
"And Hibiki can liberate the rest from your accounts."
After the mess with Yamato's informant, Shugo was relieved to return to normal school life. And then one weekend run into Ran, Sonoko and Shinichi in shopping district. Well, more like run to Sonoko, got to see Wada Hina stop a purse thief with a knife and then met up with Shinichi and Ran who were there as well. And Sonoko started narrating the encounter.
"And that was her first encounter with her life-time rival on the road of karate, which was unavoidable… Mouri Ran. 16. That happened at spring…"
"Sonoko!" Ran exclaimed.
"…like that!" The rich girl grinned.
"Why are you suddenly narrating? And it's not even spring yet!"
"Oh, stop, it's for the atmosphere!"
"And it was amusing to listen to…" Shugo added. "At the very least."
"Mou, Midorikawa-kun, don't spoil my fun!"
"And besides, this is not the first encounter." Ran pointed out. "We meet at the matches a lot!"
"Ran! Please come to my house!" Sonoko remembered then. Apparently the scene before had side-tracked her from her original purpose of searching the karateka out. "Shinichi-kun and Midorikawa-kun can come with us as well!"
"B-But… we were going…"
"You can always have a date, guys! Come on!"
And thus, they all were dragged away by whirlwind Suzuki.
Shugo couldn't resist but slap Shinichi to the back of his head when he commented Ran getting fat for eating soft cheese puff delicacies from Hokkaido. Honestly, this boy and his foot in the mouth syndrome. Though he wasn't as bad as Heiji…
"Just let her enjoy sweets. She practices everyday anyways and burns the calories away, unlike you." The hacker pointed out.
At Suzuki residence, the three of them were introduced to… Wasn't that the culprit from the pre-Tropical Land case? What was he doing here? Nonetheless, aside from Tomoko scolding Sonoko and the culprit guy's electric wheelchair going out of control and Ran needing to save both the man and a china vase… the visit went quite well and they could eventually go to the reason why Sonoko had invited them in the first place.
A karate dougi for Ran, made by Suzuki corporation from ultralight material and with narrower sleeves to enable moving easily. Not to mention the embroidery at the back of the neck that was Sonoko's addition. It was pity that according to regulations Ran couldn't wear it for the tournament but it was nice of the Suzuki couple to cheer her on and sponsor her this way.
Through a couple of conversations with his friends, Shugo managed to find out the tournament date and promised to be there to cheer Ran on. There wasn't a Karate club in Ekoda which was why he hadn't known the date previously.
And with that Shugo bid goodbye and headed home. There were some commissions that he needed to look through before the day would end. And Yamato was snooping with Fujioka about the gun dealer and his connections to Daisenkai, a Yakuza group. While Gin and Vodka were on their way to extort money from the man, Yamato aimed to cripple the connection between the man and organization. After all, once extorted, the man would be susceptible for the next time as well and maybe even start supplying guns for the organization.
With some tactical maneuvering, Sonoko, Shugo and Shinichi had managed to sit between Kogorou and Eri, thus separating them from bickering too much. Ran was doing wonderfully with her matches and in no time had gone through semi-finals. Of course, that's when Shinichi got a phone call and had to excuse himself to answer it. Honestly that boy…
"Who wants to bet that it was about the case your parents' acquaintances were talking about?" Shugo murmured to Sonoko.
"Ha ha ha …" The girl laughed wryly. "If he does leave now… then we gotta cheer Ran on even more."
"True… And it's entirely possible that Shin-chan's idiocy will fire her up and lead her to the win."
"Final sparring match between female martial artists is about to begin." Announcer said. "Red: Haido High, Wada Hina. Blue: Teitan High, Mouri Ran."
"Hajime!" The referee gave the sign and thus the match began.
It was exciting match. Wada was the first to go on offensive but Ran retaliated in kind. All four of them leant forward in their seats to see the battling pair circling each other.
Then Wada scored a half point and immediately afterwards continued her assault. Ran was in trouble.
"She isn't focusing…" Shugo frowned when Ran went down. Next to him Sonoko got up to shout encouragement.
"Ran! Fighting spirit! Spirit! Will-power! Guts! Lot of guts!" The polka-haired girl shouted.
"You can do it, Ran-chan!" Shugo joined in.
The match continued. Ran got up and tied her belt again as it bad become loose. And… Shinichi was at the edge of the area, apologizing that he had to leave. Naturally because of the case.
"Welp… That gets her focused and fired up." Shugo sweatdropped when the blue-purple aura enveloped Ran and she shouted her frustration to the skies. Not exactly most… etiquette abiding behavior but… Well, it's an anime.
Ran got her victory. Shinichi made it to news. Sonoko continued hunting for a boyfriend. Shugo got some job commissions. Kaito did research on future targets. Aoko squabbled with the magician. Life went on. School for all of them.
It would only be a matter of time until Tropical Land. Oh wait, that was tomorrow.
As much as Shugo would've liked to be in person to see the proceedings and maybe even have fun at the amusement park, it would be better to keep his distance and not even accidentally drop in Gin and Vodka's radar…
But he could try and retrieve surveillance camera footage from the moment of crime solving… Have Yamato bug service room and then Shugo could to the rest.
It was through sheer luck that and some interference on Shugo's part that the Tropical Land's surveillance system was buggy and Yamato was able to replace the maintenance man. His name tag read Ishida and through that little bit of subterfuge he was able to enter the server room to install the bugs allowing Shugo to hack in through the firewalls.
The deed done, Yamato was about to leave when he spotted a familiar face. Several familiar faces in fact. And sirens ringing in the distance. So the murder had already happened…
Apparently being the only maintenance man in the building currently, Yamato was asked to give a testimony about the cameras working and lead police officers to inspect the footage before the rollercoaster car left the platform (in the case of sabotage) and also the moment of the car arriving back to the platform with the headless corpse in tow.
And Yamato really didn't appreciate being in the same space with Gin. It had been nine years since they last saw each other. And the last thing he needed was for the older man to connect Yamato to Kudou and Mouri or to hear his current surname in use…
Time to make the first move then.
"Ah, Shin-chan and Ran-chan!" Yamato greeted the teens cheerily. "Last I saw you, you were just a little kids!"
"Yamato-san!" Ran smiled in relief. "How are you?"
"Just fine. Doing odd-jobs here and there still. No babysitting anymore though. You two were quite enough for me. Sho-chan agrees with me." Yamato angled himself in a way that Shinichi could see Gin over his shoulder while Yamato pressed a finger on his lips and then used the same hand to point at his name tag. The boy's eyes widened and narrowed. The similarity was there and even though Yamato kept his hair short nowadays, there was no doubt Shinichi remembered the time when it was almost as long as Gin's. Considering the fake name on the nametag, wrong syllable used for Shugo and the obvious suspicious mafioso look on the two men, the high school detective got the right idea.
"And I've told you how many times to stop calling me Shin-chan, Ishida-san?" Shinichi retorted.
"Too few." Yamato winked. "You've grown cheeky, Shin-chan."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever… Why did you come back to Tokyo anyways?"
"Work. World revolves on money after all."
There. Distraction, false trails, butchered information. All laid out neatly. No direct link to Shugo. No too close relationship revealed between Yamato and these two teens. No knowledge of where exactly Yamato had been in the past few years.
Things were going a-okay.
But of course, the world wanted things to happen as they were intended. Yamato was walking with Ran and Shinichi when the boy spotted Vodka glancing around in suspicious manner before slipping away. It was no surprise that Shinichi decided to follow him then, both Gin and Vodka had been pinging on the detective's radar during the entire case.
Well, it's not like the pair had been terribly subtle about it, wanting to leave as soon as possible, calling the framed girl an amateur, publicly walking in full black attire… Being prepared to commit a shoot-out in a public place simply because Megure wanted the identities of everyone involved taken up. Yamato was not impressed and it was only thanks to Shinichi's intervention that no one else had died at the platform.
"Sorry, Ran! Go ahead without me! I'll catch up with you right away!" Shinichi said then, running off already. "It was nice to see you again, Ishida-san. Bye!"
"Is he implying that I should get lost before he catches up with you?" Yamato wondered aloud.
"Probably." Ran huffed, rubbing tears away from her eyes. "Shinichi has been nothing but awful lately. First a case at Aquarium, then he runs off to solve another one when I got an important competition going on and now this and… whatever he is running after!"
"Sounds like and ass. And the same self-centered brat he used to be." Yamato mused. "You should get a better boyfriend. Have you thought about dating Shugo?"
"Shinichi isn't my boyfriend! And Shugo is just a friend." The karate champion retorted. "By the way, why was Shinichi calling you Ishida-san? You are Ishikawa, aren't you?"
"Ishida was a temporary name." The blonde shrugged. "By the way, congratulations on your victory. You definitely deserved it if Shugo's account on your tournament was accurate."
"Thank you!"
Yamato managed to persuade Ran to go home before it started to rain and headed himself towards the ferris wheel. Hidden under his hair was an earpiece that was connected to a bug in Shinichi's clothes. So nice to have Vodka give out so much information in the name of threatening that company president. Land for a new laboratory huh…
"You getting this Shugo?" Yamato asked aloud.
"Loud and clear. While I feel bad for using Shin-chan like this… We gotta use every opportunity we can."
"True. And apparently they did make use of Fuji's photos."
"And after they supposedly eliminate Shin-chan there is no loose ends left when it comes to this company's gun deals."
"Did you find Shinichi?" Through the Mystery Coaster's cameras, Shugo had naturally gotten to the rest of the park and was now keeping eye on Shinichi. There was a camera blindspot where Vodka, Shinichi and Gin all were but the hacker had tracked all of them towards it until they disappeared. And was now guiding Yamato.
"Yeah, keep the course you are on. You'll be there in five."
Shinichi was lying on the ground after being hit with telescope baton by Gin. The boy was barely conscious when the two men were talking about killing him. About not using guns because the police were still being around in the aftermath of the murder. Gin then took a pill case from his jacket and force-fed one to the Heisei Holmes.
"Abayo, meitantei…" Gin gave a mocking nod at the boy, before turning to leave. With Shinichi suitably distracted by the drug burning through him and the pair already a few meters removed from the boy, Yamato decided to make himself known.
"Oya, oya… You two are just so sloppy…" Yamato sighed and stepped out. While he really didn't feel like confronting Gin after all these years, he needed to prove himself to his brother. And make sure no one would come after him.
"Yamato. What are you doing here?" Gin spoke tonelessly.
"Mocking you? Critisizing the absolute lack of subtlety you displayed today, niisan? Honestly, were you really trying to kill a senior officer of law in front of a couple of dozen witnesses? Or what about that babysitter of yours, spouting all that information in such a well-lit and open space…" Yamato sighed dramatically. "Oh, how the standards have fallen after I left."
"You could always come back. I'm sure there would be use for your skills."
"A job offer, really? After all these years? After what I did before leaving? Yeah, I think not."
"Do you really think you can just walk away?" Vodka said menacingly, taking a step forward. Yamato arched a brow and then, flowed forward. He slid underneath Vodka's arm, grabbing it and then tripping the man on his stomach. He settled on the mafioso wannabe's back, one of Vodka's arm twisted behind the man and pinned by Yamato's knee while the other one was pressed against the ground by Yamato's other leg. Yamato's free hand held a gun pointed in Gin's direction. All the while Yamato was balanced in such a way that he could dodge to any direction in the case Gin decided to attack him.
"Yeah. I really think I can." The younger man smirked.
"You've kept honing your skills." Gin observed coldly, not concerned about the fact that Yamato was aiming the gun at him nor that Vodka had been overpowered so easily.
"Naturally. I really don't want to be caught off guard while in Tokyo." Yamato admitted.
"…"
"I'm here to stay. And I don't want people hunting me. I might be… amendable to cooperate with you but I'm not organization's lapdog and I refuse to be on your beck and call. If you want my… services, then you need to work for it and anyone sloppy enough to be noticed shall be disposed of."
"I expect nothing less of you."
Was that brotherly pride? Seriously? From Gin? After all these years? Pride because of threats and overpowering Vodka. So messed up…
Yamato got slowly up from Vodka, yanking the man upright and then pushing him at Gin.
"Get lost."
"Sentimental are you?" Gin drawled. "Because of a brat you used to babysit? You want to be there when he draws his last breath."
"Get. Lost."
They left.
Shinichi shrunk. It looked painful. Yamato watched it happen. Even filmed it. Then he left. Left before the park security found Shinichi. Left before the boy regained consciousness.
There was an email from Ran. She had probably gotten the address from Shugo. She was asking if Yamato saw Shinichi. Yamato replied negative. While lying to Ran felt bad, Yamato didn't want a pure soul such as her be mixed in the darkness that the organization was.
Shugo lifted his gaze from the camera he had trained on the Kudou residence. After Yamato had left Tropical Land and there was no other information to be retrieved about Gin and Vodka, Shugo had retreated from the amusement park's security system. He'd only remained long enough to erase all footage that there was of "Conan" so that the first mentions of the boy would be through Agasa, Mouri and Teitan Elementary.
And thus now Shugo was observing the introduction of Edogawa Conan to the world. Agasa was there. Ran was here. The shrunken boy was dressed in the old Teitan elementary uniform that even Shugo remembered wearing on the last day of the school year. While Teitan in general was not a stickler on uniform codes and especially elementary school had no official uniform anymore… There was still that old uniform that was used in official events, like start of the year, cultural festival, end of the year…
Shinichi looked ridiculously stiff and old fashioned in that uniform but considering that for the past year he'd worn Teitan High's uniform as well as other suit and tie/bowtie combinations, this uniform was probably the only adult enough clothing that he could find.
Ten minutes and several photos later, the newly dubbed Conan stepped out of the house in tow of Ran. Shugo watched them through a telescopic lens before backing away and the packing his equipment.
Life was changing. World was going onwards. Shugo could not afford staying still while others moved on. And he also needed a way to contact the Miyano sisters, or at least Akemi.
They were family after all.
A/N: Not much to say in this bottom AN... other than it's recommended to have read the most recent chapters of Leaping into the Dream.
Also, as with other fics, I'm moving with this fics to PMs when it comes to answering logged in reviews. This will be the last time I answer you guys here at bottom notes.
Replies to Reviews:
-Zeladious:
I think you might need to elaborate that statement.
-claravidya96:
Thank you! I had fun in writing those scenes. Shugo being all gentlemana and then all troll. Shin-chan really doesn't appreciate Shugo.
-Tsuki: (guest)
You're welcome!
-Tweetzuno:
Ah, a new reader! I hope you liked this new chapter!