File Thirty-Eight: Living in Fear
"What?!" Conan screamed in the middle of the bus.
Every single passenger, including his friends, turned around to stare at him, causing the child to blush a bit, before turning back to the phone, speaking more softly this time.
"What do you mean Kato Momoka-san was declared dead?"
"That's what they said at the hospital," Heiji let out a sigh. "Her co-workers told me they had found a suicide letter in her lover's desk. Days later they discovered her shoes in a cliff next to the sea. Her body hasn't been found yet."
Conan's eyes narrowed. "It's weird to think she would do that considering she was so determined to find the truth behind Tanaka-sensei's death."
"True, but we don't have any proof yet. I'll try to ask around a bit more, but..."
"Ah, now that you are at it, could you please do something for me?"
"Huh?"
"Try to get some information about Watanabe-sensei. Anything. Weird quirks, habits, birthmarks, scars..."
"Oh? Do you have any leads?"
"Nothing like that. It's just a hunch."
He heard Hattori chuckling at the other side of the phone and, somehow, Conan could tell there currently was an amused smirk drawn on the Osakan detective.
"Alright, got it," Heiji finally said. "I have got so much work in my hands, so I have to hang up on you. Have fun in your skiing trip."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Keep yourself out of trouble, alright?"
Once the call was finished, Conan released a long sigh, that spoke of the current exhaustion he was feeling, as he rested his back against his seat, eyes focused on the cars that passed by the bus from the window at his side.
"Well, you look troubled," he couldn't help but let out another sigh, laced with annoyance this time, at the sound of the girl's voice, who sat right next to him. "I thought you have completely given up on Singani's case."
"Yeah, but I'm taking it up again," he simply replied, nonchalantly. "It is weird, though. You still haven't nagged me about 'being in denial' and all that stuff you love to shove in my face."
"I was just pointing out the obvious," she replied, not batting an eye. "If I'm not saying anything right now it is because, for once, you are actually using that brilliant brain of yours to obtain the truth, not to run away from it."
"Should I take this as a compliment?"
"Definitely not. Not when it took you months to reach this stage."
Conan huffed, crossing his arms behind his head. "You know, this could've been much easier if you just told me what is going on, instead of playing the role of the mystery young lady."
"Oh?" a smirk blossomed on her face. "I thought you were attracted to mysteries."
Her eyebrow raised a little when the little boy's eyes widened a bit, opening his mouth then closing instantly, before fixing his gaze back to the window. Giggling a bit, she noticed his ears were red, so it wasn't hard to guess the current colour of his face.
"Kudo-kun," she shook her head, with a sigh. "I meant the mystery behind Singani."
"Oh," he jumped at that, not turning to face her yet. "I knew that."
... Boys are so immature.
Shrugging she glanced towards the rest of her friends, her amused smile not leaving her face as she watched the three children scold Professor Agasa for pushing himself so hard when having a terrible cold ─ apparently, he had stayed up until late watching videos to learn how to ski.
I wish, she gazed at them with a tender smile, before looking back ahead. Conan was glancing at her, the remains of the blush that had just attacked his cheeks still present, and looking hesitant about something. As if he wanted to ask her something more about his brother, but didn't want to risk embarrassing himself again.
I wish I could just stay here, with everyone.
Just like an ordinary elementary school girl.
"Then," she heard the boy say, after taking a moment to compose himself. "What is the real reason you haven't said anything?"
"Do I need a reason?"
"In most cases, yeah, you need one."
Haibara crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I didn't think it was my place," she replied. "Shinichi-san wouldn't be happy if I just messed with his family matters. I wouldn't, at least, if I was in his shoes."
"You sound like you knew my brother well."
She shrugged. "You could say that."
Conan was about to say something else when he stopped, frozen as his eyes dilated from surprise, at the sight of something. Haibara followed his gaze with her own and noticed he was staring at an old man making his way to the seat in the back.
He was dressed all in black, so she supposed that was the reason he was suddenly that alarmed.
"Wrong," she whispered to him, with a monotone voice. "They have a scent. A scent all of them carry-"
"I don't smell anything on you."
At the sight of the boy next to her grabbing her arm so he could sniff, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Would you please stop?" Haibara sighed, as if she was resigned to share a seat with such an idiot.
"But seriously, how can you smell them?"
"I just do."
"Are you secretly a dog or something?"
"Are you?" she raised an eyebrow, clearly referring to the fact that he was the one sniffing her up until a few seconds ago.
"But wait," he ignored her question. "Why didn't you sense anything from Pisco?"
"I suspected him from the beginning," she stated. "But I wasn't positive. There was someone else there..." her eyes narrowed at the memory. "Right, someone with a stronger scent than Pisco. Someone with a scent that terrifies me."
"More than Gin?"
"That's hard to tell. They both are-"
A gasp escaped from her lips before she could help herself, causing Conan to give her a questioning look because of her reaction to whatever she had just felt. Blood suddenly drained from her face and her hands, now shaking badly, tugged the red jacket she was wearing closer to her.
"...K-Kudo-kun," Conan now was a bit concerned. He had never seen Haibara this terrified. "Switch seats with me so I can hide... Please!"
Because of the urgency on her voice, he didn't even argue, just changed seats with her as soon as possible. Without even wasting a second in saying 'thanks' to him, the girl pulled her red hoodie over her head and just sat there. Still as a statue and eerily silent.
Did she just perceive that 'scent' she has been talking about?
That means...
His eyes narrowed, looking at the people that were getting up in the bus they were in.
One of them...
One of them is part of the Black Organization.
"Ah, it's Araide-sensei!" Ayumi's excited voice caused the boy to look up.
Indeed, he saw Doctor Araide smiling at the little girl as she moved closer to them. Dimly he remembered having met him before at a checkup on their school.
... Come to think of it, Haibara had been absent that day, hadn't she?
"Hi," from behind Araide a head popped out, badly startling Conan. "Boys and girls!"
"Jodie-sensei?" he managed through his shock.
"Oh, Cool Kid," the child silently wondered when and how he had gotten that title. "We meet again."
Agasa looked at the kid, confused, so he just told him she was Ran's English teacher, before she introduced herself with a smile and claimed she was on a date with Doctor Araide. Of course, he quickly denied it.
They sat right in front of them. By the corner of his eye, he saw Haibara letting her face fall forward, making it impossible for anyone to see anything but her fists, which clenched on top her lap.
A man passed by them and Conan couldn't help give him a glance. Black hair peeked out from a knit cap and his mouth was covered by a facemask. Despite of the bags under his green eyes that caused him to appear sleep deprived, there was something on his gaze that made Conan feel a bit wary of him. His look was piercing, and even a bit evil.
Without even making eye contact, he sat on the backseat, between the man in black from before and a woman, who was chewing some gum.
"Hey, look ahead," he heard Genta say. "Up there! They're ready to ski, it seems!"
True to his words, two men, dressed in ski clothes ─ they had their goggles on and everything ─ stood in the corridor, carrying a big bag each. Conan initially guessed their skis were inside.
But that thought vanished into nothing at the instant they took out something he would recognize anywhere. "Everyone stop!" one of them pulled out a gun, waving it around. "We've taken control of this bus!"
Conan felt the air freezing on his lungs, watching as one of the bus jackers threatened all passengers with his gun. Calm down, he willed himself to take a deep breath, in an attempt to compose himself. This is not the time to start panicking.
It shouldn't be surprising if, after everything that had happened at Aquacrystal and the repressed memories that that particular event brought out, he pretty much didn't want to see a gun ever again. But those people had one each, so, he guessed, he needed to bear with it if he wanted to get everyone out, alive.
He closed his eyes, tightly, when the criminal made a warning shot. Trying his hardest not to let his fear show, he opened them again and glanced towards Haibara.
She was still terrified. Conan could tell, however, that her fear had nothing to do with these criminals.
The bus started moving, after one of them threatened the driver with placing a bullet on his skull. When his partner asked for every single phone on the vicinity, the boy gave it up without so much of a struggle. It's okay, he thought to himself, his hand curling around the earring cellphone inside his pocket. It's not like I have no way to communicate.
Once they stopped moving, they forced the driver to call the station. As it turned out, they demanded a prisoner, Yashima Kunio, to be released immediately, warning that they would kill a hostage each other until they did.
Conan recognized that name as he had read it in the news not that long ago. Yunio the leader of a robbery group, caught when they attacked a jewelry store with a bomb. His three partners had managed to run away.
Another shot made him jump, startling him out of his thoughts. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed the woman with the chewing gum sitting, still as a statue and pale as a ghost, with a hole burned on the seat a few inches from her arm.
"Aah!"
Next thing he knew, the criminal was on the ground and the ambient was silent. Jodie, the one that had accidentally tripped him ─ at this point, Conan couldn't really be sure if it was an accident, though ─ remained unaware, until Araide prodded her with his arm.
She blinked twice, right as the man was standing up, turning around to glare at her. "Oh! Sorry!" the teacher reacted, rushing towards the criminal and resting her hands on top of the gun, pressing it against her chest, as she profusely apologized at him. "Oh my God! What have I done?"
Pissed off by her, he whisked the gun away from her grasp before yelling at her to get back on her seat. As she did that, she looked at the child from over her shoulder and winked at him. He could only let out a dry chuckle in response.
The bus continued moving, in silence for an unknown amount of time, in which Conan's eyes hadn't left the criminals. At one point, they both were talking to the driver, their back facing the hostages and the child, naively, thought they couldn't see him.
I need to tell Inspector Megure about this, like so, he took out the miniature phone from his pocket.
Yet, he didn't even press a single button before he looked up. Wide, confused eyes blinked at the person who now stood in front of him, whose face twisted in a scowl
"What are you doing?!"
Conan didn't even have the time to feel fear before the criminal grabbed his shirt, pulling him up with it and threw him into the floor. His little phone had fallen as well, he barely noticed as he landed painfully on his back.
"Hey, brat! If you try anything else, you won't be forgiven," he picked up the gadget that lied in front of his feet. "As for this, I'll be taking it."
Groaning a bit, he sat up, just in time for Ayumi to rush over, frantically checking over him. "I'm fine, Ayumi-san," he offered the girl a tiny smile. "Go back to your seat."
Shakingly nodding, his friend went back to her place beside the professor as he stood up. How did he...? he wondered, eyes narrowed at the criminal that had returned to his previous position. No matter how hard I think about it, there is absolutely no way he could've seen me, then, he glanced over the three people sitting at the backseat. Now that I think about it, there were three members besides the leader, right?
Going back to his seat, and glancing at the people on the backseat, the kid realized it. One of these three had snitched on him.
Hattori Heiji's eyes did not leave the notepad in his hands, even as he walked outside the hospital he had already visited far more times than the one in his hometown, ─ and that was saying a lot, since he would constantly get in trouble ─ writing the last few words he had heard before he forgot them. Once finished, he leaned against the wall and observed his notes.
Cheerful, a bit too soft, single, an excellent sight and has a nasty scar along his leg from when he was a child, Heiji sighed. Now, why did that kid want to know all that random stuff?
Suddenly tired, exhausted as if he had suddenly aged fifty years, he took his phone from his pocket. What is going through his mind, really? At this point, shouldn't we be looking into Kato-han's case instead? he was about to type the kid's number.
But then, he paused. Why, though? Heiji frowned, as he immersed himself on his own thoughts. Why did it took them so much time to try and erase the evidence? Why did they keep Kato-han alive for so long? If they knew about her, she would have been shot the same day Tanaka-sensei died...
His hand went to his chin. Are they getting messy? No, that can't be it.
Not finding an answer to his questions, he decided to leave them for another moment. He glanced back at the phone, Conan's number staring back at him from the screen.
Then, he shrugged. I will phone him later. He was going to a skiing trip with his friends, wasn't he? he decided. The kid had been through so much lately.
He deserves to relax a little bit every once in a while.
Conan was tense.
From what he had heard, the police had decided to release the criminal they had been asking for and the criminals told them that they would release three hostages once their leader had confirmed this by himself.
But he couldn't bring himself to believe a single word from those people.
That was the reason he currently was crouched down beside the ski bags they had lined up vertically on the ground. Ever so slowly his hand moved closer to one of them, hoping to find anything else but what he believed he would.
He didn't get to see anything but the muzzle of a gun in front of his head. "You again?!" the criminal yelled and Conan felt his entire body tensing, then shaking lightly when the coldness of the weapon made contact with his forehead. "If you want to die this badly, I'll grant you your wish."
Conan struggled to keep his breathing even, and the terror from showing on his eyes.
"Boy, stand up!"
Not paying attention as his friends and Agasa screamed his name, Conan slowly got on his feet, gaze still fixed on the criminal, refusing to even glance at the gun on his hand. If he did, he honestly thought he would lose his composure.
His view got blocked, however, when Araide suddenly jumped in front of him. "Please stop!" he shouted, a tint of desperation seeping on his voice. "He is just a curious child! They met your demand. Wouldn't it ruin your plan if you killed one of us now?"
Angered by his interruption, the gun was now pointed at Araide's forehead, who just stood there, unmoving. He would have been shot him right there if it wasn't for the criminal's partner.
"What if the bullet hits one of the bags?" he whispered to him.
Yet, Conan still heard. That was the confirmation he needed to know that, yes, those bags actually contained bombs. I really need to figure out who out of those three in the back is their partner...
"Hey, Haibara-san, I could really use your help here," he whispered to his friend, before noticing he didn't even get a reply. "Hey-"
Then he saw her. Haibara's terrified expression hadn't vanished, yet only became more evident. Sweat was dripping from her very pale face, her hands curled into fists, resting on her legs. Her breathing, he noticed, was becoming more ragged at the second.
T-This... What is this pressure? that was the only thing that occupied her mind. It's the pressure from before. It's her. She's on this bus!
Is she with the Organization? Is she after me? Is it a coincidence...?
If she finds out who I am... If she finds out I betrayed the Organization...
Then everyone...
The Professor, Yoshida-san, Tsuburaya-kun, Kojima-kun, Kudo-kun...
Every single one of them...
Her eyes closed, tightly, silently praying to whatever deity was out there.
Please... Please! Don't let her find me!
Upon noticing she had started to shake for some reason, Conan naturally worried. "Haibara-san..." he tried to get her to talk.
But another voice joined in:
"Don't take too many risks, Cool Kid."
For some reason, Haibara's breath hitched at that. Conan noticed that, but didn't understand, so he blinked confused eyes to Jodie.
"You will get your chance," Jodie winked at him, before noticing the girl in red, who just sat there, in silence and staring at the floor, away from the gazes of everyone else. "Oh, everything will be fine! Everything will be over soon."
The boy looked back at Haibara, wondering what was happening to her, before directing his gaze back at Jodie.
He felt it then. Her sweaty hand resting on top of his, clenching so tightly that, for a moment, Conan wondered if she would broken any bone had she held on with a bit more force.
"What's your name, Little Red Riding Hood?" asked Jodie, with a kind smile on her face.
The boy watched her grimacing even more at being addressed, and felt her grip on his hand tightening even more, if possible.
"She's just a girl a met on the bus," Conan said to the teacher, an innocent expression plastered on his face, before he leaned forward a bit, whispering. "She's also really scared. Could you not talk to her?"
"Oh! I'm so sorry!"
The man screamed at them to keep quiet, and Conan mentally sighed, almost relieved that her attention was off Haibara. At least, until she turned around and smiled. "Let's talk about it later."
Let's not.
Without any further word, she sat back. Her eyes narrowed as she stole a glance at the two children sitting behind him.
She saw Little Red Riding Hood clenching his hand, just for Cool Kid to actually squeeze back. A gentle smile was on his face as he whispered some words to her, which Jodie couldn't hear.
It was thanks to a random girl in the street that had lost her pink balloon that Conan figured out who the third member was. The next second, he had already brew together a plan to make their escape. Meanwhile, Doctor Araide and the man with the knit cap were called, ordered to move to the front of the bus.
Jodie barely paid attention to the young man, who had been sitting beside her through the whole ordeal, standing up. She just picked up a notepad that had hit the back of her leg and opened it.
Her eyes narrowed at the written message that Cool Kid had passed her:
"Do you have lipstick?"
So, without thinking about it twice, the teacher passed him her lipstick.
Watching Conan smirking after receiving it and pulling out a badge, Vermouth smirked
Where can your lipstick bring us?
Show me your magic, Cool Kid.
Soon, they entered a tunnel and the hijacker pointed at Araide and the other man with his gun, while the other kept his weapon firm in place against the driver's head, after telling them to change into a ski gear. The plan, or so they were told, was to escape as the released hostages while they remained inside, pretending to be the criminals.
In order to pressure the driver to cooperate, they pretended to choose a hostage. Oh, that's surprising, thought Conan, sarcastically, as they picked the woman with the chewing gum. Yet he said nothing, just watched the woman moving closer to them and couldn't help but noticing the watch on her wrist. It was stuck in a single number: 01:00.
The realization of what it implied prompted Conan to act faster.
If they used this darkness in their favour, so would he. As discreetly as he could, he relied his plan to the rest of the Detective Boys. "The instant this bus leaves the tunnel..." he declared. "... we do it."
Speeding up as the bus began to get out the tunnel, sunlight illuminated the entire place. The criminals, now dressed up in civilian clothes, smirked to each other, confident that their plan was going smoothly.
So, one of them assured the driver that he, and all the passengers, would live as long as he cooperated.
"I don't think so," the child from before begged to differ, it seemed. "Aren't you planning to kill everyone on this bus after you get off?"
"What are you talking about, brat?!"
"Oh, you aren't?" Conan blinked, innocently, before an arrogant smirk crossed his face. Then, with the help of Agasa, he held bag over their heads. "Then, what is this bomb for?"
The two criminals panicked. One of them instantly pointed the gun at them while the other screamed him not to shoot, which only made Conan's argument more valid. As they discussed, they couldn't help but notice there was something written on it with red lipstick.
When the driver looked up through the rear mirror, he gasped.
"STOP"
The bus skidded to a stop right after that, as the driver stepped on the brakes all of sudden. As a result, the three criminals were knocked off their feet by the momentum, while Ayumi rushed over the old man from the back to remain upright, and the other two went for the bomb on the ground. Agasa and Conan grabbed on the one in their hands like dear life.
Conan took off running to the front the moment the bus stopped moving, successfully shooting a dart to the guy holding a gun to his face. The man with the knit hat just stared, slightly surprised, when the criminal he was about to hit just dropped into the floor, for no apparent reason.
"Araide-sensei!" the child shouted. "Restrain that woman's arms!"
The doctor blinked.
"Her watch is the switch to the bombs!"
The moment his words dawned on him, Araide turned around and did as he was told.
He didn't have much time to celebrate, because he saw the other hijacker facing him and pointing him with a gun, causing the boy to freeze in place, unsure of what to do. Before he could even worry about the fact that he didn't have any needle left on his wristwatch, a knee on the criminal's stomach caused him to groan, knocking the air off his lungs in the process.
Conan could only watch as Jodie elbowed him with such strength that brought the criminal down, who tried to shoot at her, only to realize he somehow had the security on. "Oh!" then she grinned. "You surrender?"
Definitely. That English teacher is definitely weird.
He couldn't even ponder about it any longer, because the woman Araide was restraining suddenly screamed, pleading to being let go.
"I must have hit the switch when the driver stopped the bus!"
Naturally, everyone started running outside the bus at the instant, puzzling Officer Sato for a moment, who was keeping guard on the door, until she was told about the bomb. Her expression grew serious at the instant, running away from the bomb as well, barking orders to the rest of the officers that were with her.
Conan didn't pay attention to any of that, just focused on keeping on running before the bomb would explode, taking every single of their lives away in the process.
But then he heard Ayumi's voice and he swore his heart dropped to his stomach:
"Where is Haibara-san?!"
Wide eyes looked over his shoulder, focusing on the bus that got more and more away from him with each step he took. She didn't...
"So, you ran away?" in his memories, he could see her. She was there, hands together behind her back, looking down at him with her ever piercing blue eyes, looking as if she could see everything that was going through his heart.
At the instant he was sitting up on Agasa's couch, shooting something back at her that he didn't remember at the moment. That wasn't important. This was important.
Who is running away now?
"C-Conan-kun?! Where are you going?!"
You big idiot!
Inside the bus, Haibara Ai sat on the seat, unmoving as she had been the entire time the criminals had hijacked the bus. As quiet as she had been, even in the midlist of screams and the ruckus that Conan had caused a few seconds ago.
This time around, the was all alone. For one part, she should have been glad she was, considering that the scent that had terrified her so much was now completely gone. Another part of her heart, however, ached for company. The three children, Professor Agasa, Conan...
They all were outside this bus, running away from this bus to save their lives, like any of them would have said she should.
"We will get out of this bus before they even realize you are here," he still could hear Conan's gentle voice whispering at her, as he squeezed her hand back, doing his best to comfort her. "I promise."
I'm sorry, Kudo-kun.
This is the best way. Even if I got away from her today, we would meet again at the inquiry.
If I go away now, everyone's only link to the Organization will be gone.
Knees pressed against each other and hands clenching on top of them, she couldn't help the nostalgic smile crossing her face.
I knew it then. When I fled from the Organization, I knew they would never just let me go.
But still... her eyes watered a little bit. I was foolish... Wasn't I foolish... Oneechan?
Even so, she still felt a bit guilty. Her sister had given up everything to allow her to live a normal life. She had even given up her life for her, even if her plan hadn't worked out.
... Yet, she hadn't been the only one.
"Why?" she remembered herself shouting, completely astonished by his actions. "Why are you...?"
"Because you have to live, Shiho-chan."
Shinichi-san, I'm sorry. I'm throwing away this precious life you have given me.
But you must understand...
Living in fear... is not living at all.
Just as she thought that her life would be over, a fire extinguisher whizzed right past her ear. A shattering sound followed not long thereafter, before a hand latched on her arm, pulling her on her feet before she could react.
She only managed to see a blur of blue before arms curled around her body, protectively, and an explosion sound ran through her ears. The next second she was rolling on the ground, a safe distance away from the bus.
A hand kept her head from looking up, but she didn't need it to know who was holding her. Kudo-kun, she thought, in shock, as the boy seemed to, discreetly as always, smear her leg with his own blood, since his arm had been injured.
The voices of their friends, and from Takagi, filled the silence.
"This girl is hurt," he managed to rely to Takagi between gasps. "Take her to the hospital with the Professor and the others."
"... Eh?"
"I'll go there on my own!"
Because he had insisted so much with such a serious expression on his face, the police detective agreed. Before they knew it, he had carried Haibara towards the car, who didn't speak a word throughout it all.
Before the door closed, the girl gathered the courage to gaze into Conan's piercing eyes.
"Don't run, Haibara-san," it was as if he could see right through her heart. "Don't run away from fate."
She didn't reply, just stared back at him until she couldn't see him anymore. Conan stepped aside as the car drove away to the hospital, disappearing from his sight in no time.
Only then, he allowed himself to let his shoulders drop and a sigh of relief escape from his lips. His arm still hurt a lot, and he might need to see a doctor soon ─ very soon, if Doctor Araide caught him first.
Yet, none of those mattered. Because he knew.
Everything would be okay.
I swear that girl is going to be the death of me.
A/N:
ajjr12: All I can say to answer your question is that it will happen soon. As for your idea, it's quite an interesting one. I might take it into in consideration if I write that movie.
Gamelover41592: No, I don't think I will. Maybe one or two more, but not every single one because this story would be much longer than it already is going to be XD
XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX: Only time will tell XD
Dy: I was wondering who Eichi was supposed to be, lol! But, yeah, Amuro and the Akai family are definitely going to appear sooner or later. And, sadly, I don't know if I will do the police officers' love stories, as much as I love those episodes...
Gamergail: Yeah, I don't think he's going to appear. Unless he is in a case that's actually important to the plot and that I'm not remembering at the moment. Even if he does appear, however, I don't think it will be more than a brief mention, though.