File Fifty-One: The Silver Bullet
"Don't be so unreasonable!"
Alarmed by the panic tinting the high schooler's voice, Agasa turned away from the screen that he had set up earlier today to glance at Shinichi, who sat on the passenger seat of his beloved Beetle. He did not like what he saw.
Shinichi was pale, frown prominent on his face as he spoke to the transmitter on his ear, words rushed by some sense of urgency Agasa couldn't understand.
"Hey, Shinichi..." the professor's hand went over the teen's shoulder, so he could give him some sort of comfort.
"I'm telling you to stay there and-" but Shinichi paid no mind.
He simply focused on his little brother's sigh, awaiting for him to tell him that he understood. What he said then, however, made him freeze.
"Oniichan."
"Oniichan," said the kid, sipping in a cup of coffee his mother had prepared not that long ago. "Calm down, I know it sounds a bit risky, but..."
"Risky?! This... This is incredibly insane!" Shinichi snapped before sighing, running his hand through his hair. "... Just forget it. Forget all of this..." his eyes narrowed. "I will personally attend that party."
"And you say my plan is risky," Conan scoffed. "Ah, right. I know. That isn't even a plan, just your plain, dumb impulsiveness speaking."
"Then what am I supposed to do?! Am I supposed to just stand back and see you commit suicide? That's what you're telling me?"
The child said nothing for a moment, setting the cup back into the table before staring, with an unreadable expression, at his own reflexion shown on the liquid. His brother did not say anything either, just waiting patiently for him to talk, but unwilling to change his posture.
A tiny, timid smile caused him, for the slightless second, to waver.
"For this crazy plan of mine to work out, it's crucial for you to be right there."
Shinichi swore he saw Conan smiling at him.
"Because there's absolutely no way I can do this without the great Heisei Holmes watching my back."
"You have my back, remember?"
Then, the sounds of shattering glass filled his ears, and Shinichi felt his heart nearly stopping.
"CONAN!" the voice teared apart from the depths of his throat.
"Shinichi!" Agasa was now more than worried. "What's going on, Shinichi?!"
It took a moment for Shinichi to reply. "Conan is being an idiot," he said without looking at the professor, focused on the sounds he could hear.
Calm down, he took a deep breath, willing his head to clear up. Out of all members, Vermouth is probably the most unpredictable one, but...
As long... As long as it's Conan...
... It will be okay. He will be okay.
That was when Conan suddenly started screaming, unusually hysterical for some reason. He was shouting at someone to run away, sounding as if he was terrified, and he didn't understand why. Shinichi was shouting at him before he had even realized it, demanding to know what was going on, but got no answer.
Until he yelled:
"Run away, Haibara-san! Quickly!"
Shinichi's eyes widened in horror. "Ai-chan is there," he breathed out.
"Eh?! Ai-kun?!"
No, no, no... What do you think you're doing, Shiho-chan?
That woman... Vermouth isn't going to let you go. And you know that.
Then... Then, why?!
Breathing deeply and rubbing his forehead, Shinichi racked his head for a way out. There had to be one, after all.
Haibara showing up changed everything.
He did look towards the screen when Agasa gasped, frowning in confusion as he watched Conan's heart rate suddenly dropping. "Goodnight, baby," Vermouth's words let the high school detective realize that the little boy had been knocked unconscious somehow. Shinichi suspected it had something to do with that cursed wristwatch of his.
"And welcome, Sherry."
"Professor Agasa," the old man was almost worried about the seriousness of his voice. "Drive me to the place they are."
"... W-What are you going to do?"
Shinichi did not answer.
"Shinichi!"
"I don't have any other choice!" he snapped, turning to face him, a frown still present on his face, but his eyes were pleading for him to do so. "Professor Agasa!"
Agasa did not know what to do.
As the professor hesitated, Shinichi could hear Haibara telling Vermouth that she was willing to trade her life for the safety of each and every single person involved. And the woman had agreed, even if Jodie was still an exception.
"Whatever," he huffed and went to open the door. "I'm going to run there."
"Calm down, Shinichi!" Agasa managed to take hold of his arm before then. "The place where they are is far from our position. It will take you forever if you-"
"Then what?!"
Shinichi's movements suddenly came into a halt when he heard loud noises. His eyes opened, widely, horrified.
Gunshots, his mind supplied. In the middle of the chaos, he could even hear Vermouth calling Calvados' name, demanding for him to cease fire, which didn't make any sense, considering that the woman, for some reason unknown to him, had always hated the girl to the point of having the strong desire to kill her.
"Move it, Angel!"
... Angel? Who is that? his blood then froze on his veins when he heard, in the distance, that voice. Ran?!
What followed then was a mess of sounds of shouting, shooting and more yelling ─ and that included Akai Shuichi's name, somehow ─ that Shinichi couldn't tell apart. Then there was a demon-like snicker very close to Conan's ear and the sound of an engine.
Everything was silent after that.
"Shinichi, please, say something!" Agasa wasn't far from pleading. "What's going on?!"
"Conan has been kidnapped, I think."
Even if he was seriously scared because of the words that had just been spoken, Agasa was mostly confused.
Because Shinichi had slumped against the seat, a relieved sigh escaped him.
Despite it all, despite everything that had happened in that chaotic night, it was quiet. Only the sounds of the car engine, or the cold breeze that caressed their cheeks, that came from where the windows were supposed to be until they got shattered by several bullets on her escape.
But none of them were currently capable of enjoying the silence. The criminal was far too focused on driving as quickly as she could, in order to avoid capture.
And the hostage lied slumped against the passenger seat, still as a doll in the place he had been put into, completely passed out cold. A voice, his brother's, in his ear was loud, calling his name, over and over again, trying with all his might to snap him out of it.
It didn't quite reach him.
Because, in reality, he was not there, but somewhere else.
"The culprit is you!"
Every single child in that room, regardless of what class they were in, focused their attention at that bespectacled, usually shy, little boy that he stood in front of, one of the adults, in the middle of lunchtime. The expression on his face was so serious that it would be almost cute for the grown-ups, if it wasn't for what he was saying.
Two kindergarten teachers exchanged confused glances at each other, before they focused back on him, and blinked at the same time.
Or so he guessed. One of them, the more feminine looking out the two, always let his long hair loose, flowing everywhere including his face.
It gave out quite a creepy vibe, if he was honest. More to the reason, he had to be the culprit!
"Conan-kun," the other one, his teacher, moved closer and kneeled down in front of him. "What are you talking about?"
"He is the culprit!" he accused him. "I heard you talking the other day, Sensei. A girl from Sakura Class has disappeared. Her name is Hana-chan, right?"
"Hey, hey, Conan-kun, you can't just..."
He didn't get to end that sentence, however.
"Eh? Did something happen to Hana-chan?"
"Something bad?"
"I bet an ugly monster ate her!"
"Waah! I don't want that to happen to me! No, no, no, no!"
Even amongst the chaos and panic that had begun to settle in, Conan's expression did not waver, just glared at the teacher in charge of Sakura Class, as he fumbled around with the Apple Class' one so they could calm all children down. Conan's teacher, however, simply sighed, taking in the mess that had been produced in less than a second so he could focus on the one in front of him.
"Na 46-49," before he could speak, the child beat him to it. Not that he understood a word. "I saw him arriving the other day, he has a car."
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
"Hana-chan is the girl with the black hair and the braid, right? When Oniichan came to pick me up the other day, I spotted her heading right from the gates," his eyes were wide and innocent as he spoke. "I asked a few others of her class and they saw that she often goes the other way."
"Which means?"
"That Hana-chan was trying to escape from someone else!" he exclaimed, completely convinced about his own words. "If someone caught up with her and captured her, how else would they have taken her away without anyone noticing? She must have been thrown inside a car!"
The teacher merely smiled at him. "But Conan-kun, even if that's true, how do you know it's Miura-san's?"
The infant gave the adult a look, as if he was stupid enough not to understand what he meant with that.
"Because Hana-chan left without waiting for his older sister, who was always there to pick her up. So the person she had been running away from was definitely a teacher, and Miura-sensei is the only one that has a car!"
A loud laugh caused Conan to blink, confusedly, and to give his teacher a confused look. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized, once he realized what he had done. "You did an excellent job, Conan-kun, but I think there are a few things missing in your argument."
"What?" he was almost annoyed.
"That's all circunstancial evidence, you need more concrete proof. Not to mention that, even if I don't have a car, Miura-san always gives me a ride after school, so I should've noticed if he kidnapped someone on my way home, right?"
Little Conan's eyes were wide as he realized he had most likely been wrong, before visibly deflating. Sensei was right, that theory right there made absolutely no sense at all.
"Alright then, now that's settled, why don't we go apologize to Miura-san for saying all those ugly things to him?"
"Right..."
And he did, even if reluctantly. Sighing loudly, he bowed slightly in front of the clueless Sakura Class teacher even if, deep down, he was only thinking about how far he was from his detective father and brilliant brother.
But, ever since he had heard about the case, the little child had made a decision. If he wanted to be a great detective in the future, he had to start somewhere.
Which meant no help from his beloved Oniichan.
So he didn't give up and, when naptime came around, he chose the spot closest to the door and, carefully, slipped away from the room when everyone was asleep and the teacher not in sight.
Hadn't his oniichan said that in order to figure out the truth, investigation is always needed?
"I wonder if Oniichan will be surprised when I solve it," he mumbled to himself, giggling softly to himself, as he tiptoed through the halls.
Successfully sneaking inside the classroom, Conan took his time to study with his eyes every single spot, hoping that there was some clue waiting to be discovered. He shuffled through the cabinets, the toys and even the several drawings.
"Oniichan and Dad make it seem much easier," he huffed, crawling from under a table after another fruitless search.
Sighing loudly for the second time that day, little Conan seriously considered giving up and going back to his futon ─ he was a bit sleepy, after all ─ and turned around to leave, a dejected pout present on his face.
But he decided against it the moment his eyes spotted something. There, next to the door, was a table. On top of it, there was something he had forgotten to look into.
The clay figurines that Sakura Class had made a few days ago.
"Around the time she disappeared," Conan noted.
Eyes glimmering with hope, the child rushed to continue his detective work. "Hana-chan, Hana-chan..." he looked through every single of the names that each figurine had been labeled with. "Ah, here it is!"
A cat, Conan realized, with a slump of his shoulders. Nothing unusual there.
At least, until he lifted it up on his hands. "It's light," for good measure, he compared with all others to realize that, yes, this cat weighed significantly less than all others.
Remembering how his brother and his father would act in similar situations, he knocked his knuckles against it to realize that it was strangely hollow. Why though? He had no idea.
So, he stared at it for a long while.
Conan's expression didn't change as he simply let it fall.
His eyes didn't leave the floor, or more precisely the tiny little pieces of broken clay that lied in front of him, scattered across the corner of that empty, silent room. Noticing something that shouldn't be there, the little child crouched in front of the mess he had just created.
There, in the middle of it all, was a tiny little piece of paper, folded neatly.
His fingers reached over to grab it.
And when they did, he noticed something. A word, written in bright, green ink, met his curious eyes.
"Oneechan"
"Conan-kun!" he had managed to hide the note inside his pocket by the time his teacher had arrived, alerted by the loud noise. He barely batted an eye as the man scolded him, loudly.
It wasn't until he was back on his futon, all alone even if the room filled with children ─ all fast asleep ─ that curiosity won out, and he finally read the rest of words that he discovered upon unfolding the note, written in the same green ink.
"Please, listen to my words.
In this big classroom, filled with so many people, I feel completely alone. I miss you so much, Oneechan. I desperately want this day to end so I can see you again. So I can have dinner with you, feel the gentle touch in every bit of food that you cook for me, even if it does not taste good..."
The rest was written in black, causing the child to wonder if the girl had suddenly run out of ink or something.
"Did you know, Oneechan? Today is White Day. Yet, on a day like this, I...
I don't know, it's messed up, isn't it?
Please, don't hate me for this.
There are lots of things I still want to tell you, but I guess I'm far too shy to tell you about them. I need to take my time, be patient with myself until I can say them.
Please, don't forget me.
I love you so much and I hope that you feel the same for this girl that, even though she seems to think so highly about herself, will always remain loyal to you.
So thank you for being generous enough to give me a place in your heart. I will always treasure this strong friendship the two of us share.
─ Hana."
To say that Conan had absolutely no clue of what all that meant was the understatement of the century, but he didn't let this bother him.
Instead, a bright, childish grin drew itself on his face.
Somehow, the feeling of not knowing was exciting.
"... nan. Conan, please, wake up."
That voice, which he would recognize everywhere in a heartbeat, filtered through the haze in his mind, causing his eyelids to flutter.
"Wait, don't move," before he could open them, Shinichi quickly stopped him. "Pretend you're sleeping."
He did as he was told without any protest, and remained there, quietly still, taking in every single thing he could feel and hear.
His fingers were resting against something, a smooth material. Just like his back. A car seat, he eventually recognized it.
And there was someone breathing ─ gasping for air ─ right beside him.
"Okay, Boss," the sound of the voice belonging to that woman, speaking in English, let him know everything he had to know.
Vermouth, he shuddered at the realization. I'm in a car. Alone. With Vermouth.
... Why am I not dead, again?
All thoughts came into a sudden stop when he heard some sort of melody, sad and, in some way, familiar. It didn't take long until his mind processed that information, and came into the conclusion that it was just her pressing some buttons on a phone.
Then, he heard some shifting and felt it. Her gaze on his form, even the smile on her face, and he had to do his best to compose himself. You got so far, you can't cower away just now, he chanted over and over in his mind, convincing himself that everything was going to be okay. I'm not alone, he remembered. Professor Agasa and his brother were out there, after all.
Her hand rested on his shoulder, before going stiff with a gasp.
Something cut through his shirt ─ a knife? ─ and Conan knew she had seen everything. A heartbeat mapping system with electric waves, together with a wave recorder and emitter caused the woman to gasp, completely taken aback, before leaning to disconnect the device he had on him.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Vermouth froze at the warning, slowly raising her head to meet with a pair of piercing blue eyes. "If you unplug that, it will seem like my heart has stopped beating. Then the email address of the message you just sent to your boss, will be immediately sent to my partners. Then, it would be a matter of time until the direction and name of your boss is revealed, right?"
Vermouth just looked at him, eyes wide in shock, as he explained that his original plan was to be taken to some of her superiors while dressing as Sherry, but his plan got obviously ruined when Jodie got shot.
"Then, wouldn't it be better if you just took me to your boss?" he frowned, tugging lightly the wires. "Unless, of course, you want to cooperate and tell the police every single thing. Every detail concerning the Black Organization."
"Ah, really?" she scoffed. "Why would I do that?"
The child paused, gazing into his eyes for a while, before he smirked softly.
"Because I can tell," he simply replied. "I can tell you don't want to keep doing this."
Blinking owlishly, Vermouth simply stared back at the little boy, shock written all over her face, while he didn't break eye contact. "If you cooperate, they can get you into the Witness Protection Program," his gaze, sincere and innocent, remained impassive. "There is always another way."
It took a moment more than needed for Vermouth to recover, before the same venomous smirk came back to her lips. "Is that so?" she let out a chuckle. "What makes you think I'm not comfortable with the position I'm in?"
Conan looked troubled for a second, coming into the realization that he really didn't know what had made him think that. "I'm not dead?" he offered, unsure.
Laughing a bit ─ even if that laugh didn't fail to make Conan's skin crawl ─ Vermouth flipped her phone close. "Seems like I lost," she sighed. "I'll let Sherry go."
The little boy did not say anything, wondering if he could trust this woman to fulfill his promise. Not that he had much time to wonder, though, as she, for some reason, pointed at him with his phone.
Conan blinked.
Before gas was shot at his face, causing him to cough, and to try and move his head away from it. "It's only sleeping gas," she informed him, gripping his arms tightly before he could pull the wires.
"Stupid," the gas was filling the car, and he had absolutely no idea of what to do so he could prevent the inevitable. "You'll breathe it in too!"
"Yeah, this is a bet," Conan's eyelids were already dropping. "If you wake up first, you can call the police to catch me, and give the wave signals to them to find out where the boss lives."
Vermouth's face was beginning to blur, and the child had no idea if it was the gas blocking his vision, or his senses giving up on him.
"But if I wake up first, you know what I'll do."
Like that, the lights got switched off.
"Damn it!" Shinichi cursed, loudly, when he realized that all his attempts of waking the child up were completely in vain. "He's completely out."
"We need to hurry," said Agasa, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, as he drove through the forest they had been parked at. "We need to go and call Conan up!"
Shinichi nodded and went to focus on the sounds coming from his headphones, wondering if Vermouth had passed out as well. Highly unlikely, he frowned. Such an unpredictable woman would never pull out something like that without having a plan...
A plan that clearly involved bullets, he noticed with a startled jump at the sound of a gunshot.
The horror must have shown on his face, because Agasa quickly asked what was wrong, to which Shinichi simply shakily shook his head.
"... Singani-kun," the playful, female voice caused Shinichi to shiver. "Still alive, huh?"
It took a moment for the high school detective to answer.
"I hope you remember," there was such a cold, dangerous tone in his words that caused the professor to glance at him momentarily. "Those words I said to you that time when we met in New York."
There was a chuckle, between pained gasps, before every single bit of sound suddenly died down. The next moment, all signals coming from Conan's side suddenly came into a stop, badly scaring the professor.
"Don't worry," the teenager was fast to reassure him. "Conan is okay. She probably just smashed all of his devices before escaping."
Agasa let out the air he didn't even know he was holding, before focusing back into the road and, eventually, Jodie's stolen car came into view. The Beetle had barely skidded into a halt when the high schooler hopped out and hurried closer to it.
As he had expected, Conan was still there, breath even, covered by Vermouth's jacket that she had most likely put over him with a motherly touch ─ the detective had shivers when the word 'motherly' crossed his mind.
By the time the professor had gotten out the car, Shinichi had already pulled Conan out from the already shattered window. The old man couldn't help but notice the way the detective's eyes softened, gazing down at the child that was sound asleep, safe and leaning against his chest, with a fond smile on his lips.
He couldn't remember last time he had seen Shinichi smiling so openly.
It didn't last long. Sighing loudly, he turned to the professor. "Here," he then passed the kid to him, before taking Vermouth's jacket from the little boy. "Take him to the car, I'll catch up in a moment."
Agasa nodded, as he watched Shinichi take his own jacket off so he could drape it over his brother. "What are you going to do?" he asked, genuinely confused by his actions.
"There's no telling who will find this car first," his face adopted that serious look again. "I can't leave any trace of Conan's involvement behind."
Professor Agasa had no time to say anything else, just cluelessly watched as Shinichi turned around and started to wipe every single place of the car, probably in an attempt to erase every one of the child's fingerprints.
Conan was a bit too heavy on his arms, yet the old professor couldn't help but stare, still standing in that place, amazed by how quickly Shinichi was doing his job.
Like a professional, he couldn't help but think.
"It's all over."
Heiji smiled in relief, leaning over the edge of the ship, eyes wandered away to the horizon as he listened to Kudo. Thankfully, Conan was safe and sound, currently sleeping in the backseat of Agasa's Beetle. Vermouth was nowhere to be seen, but had promised she couldn't chase after Sherry anymore.
He was curious as to how Kudo knew they could somehow trust that woman, but pushed it aside. Maybe he would ask later.
Not that he thought he would ever get a straight answer from his fellow high school detective, though.
"How are things over there?" Shinichi asked.
"Ah, the culprit has been apprehended," he stated. No need to tell him about the case since Shinichi was already aware of it ─ in fact, it had been Shinichi who had given out the deductions Heiji made because the boy couldn't copy his accent to save his life. The voice had been broadcasted by the special necktie Agasa had created in record time. "Occhan is talking with the police over the phone and your mother... She's enjoying herself, I guess."
There was a sigh and Heiji knew Shinichi was most likely rubbing his face, to which he couldn't help but laugh a bit. "I guess everything is in order," then, he decided. "Alright then, thank you for everything, Hattori."
Shinichi was about to end the call.
"Wait," he stopped at the sound of Hattori's voice.
"What is it?"
"If you ever need help, you can call me."
The detective from Tokyo paused at that, confused for a moment.
"You don't have to fight an entire Organization on your own, Kudo," Heiji continued, serious, then smirking a bit. "I'll ask Conan for your number later."
"Are you sure? I might be a murderer, remember?"
Of course Kudo knew about Heiji's previous suspicions, the Osakan detective realized, with a brief roll of his eyes.
"But you are not, right?" still, Hattori's smile did not vanish. "You're a good guy, Kudo, I know. Detective instinct speaking and everything."
"Just..." another sigh. "Whatever you say, Hattori. See you."
The line was cut after that, yet Hattori didn't give it much thought. Just shrugged, before turning to watch the wide sea in front of him, calm for the first time today.
The kid was safe, after all. That was all that mattered for now.
He caught the sight of something by the corner of his eye, so Hattori turned to see a woman standing right next to him, a bright smile plastered all over her face.
"Ah, it's you," Heiji recognized him as the woman that had been in the reception desk before. "You were a big fan of Kudo, right?" he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry for disappointing you, I don't really know where he is so..."
Her smile only grew wider, confusing the Great Detective of the West. Then, she moved closer to his ear and whispered something:
"I do not require your services any longer, Hattori Heiji."
She stepped back, leaving Hattori to stare right at her, blinking several times as she giggled, then bowed slightly.
"Thank you for your hard work," the woman said to him, before turning around and leaving.
Hattori Heiji had never felt that clueless before.
Conan woke up with a start.
Heart pounding against his chest, the little boy's head spun from side to side, taking into his surroundings, completely soaked in cold sweat. He was leaning down in the back seat of a car, and that caused him to shiver, not failing to remember Vermouth's cold laugh as she watched him go to sleep.
Where was she taking him? What happened with all those gadgets he had with him? Did she-?
He couldn't help but gasp when a hand fell on his leg. "It's alright," he blearily blinked at the source of that reassuring voice and realized that his brother was there, leaning closer to him from his spot in the passenger seat. "You're okay. Nobody is going to hurt you."
Conan took a moment to recover his breath, but Shinichi did not rush him, just waited patiently as the child gradually calmed down, his terrified gaze not leaving his, until he slowly sat up. Upon realizing he wasn't in Jodie's car any longer, but Agasa's, the boy finally understood what his brother was doing there.
Even Agasa flashed him a brief smile before he focused back on the road.
His brother's jacket had fallen, and only then he noticed it. He must have put it on him.
He could have sighed in relief until, little by little, all other memories started to fill his head.
Haibara's terrified face popped up in his mind and he froze. "Ai-chan is okay," noticing Conan's pale face, Shinichi filled for him. "Ran called the Professor a few moments ago to say that she's staying at her house. Apparently, her fever had gotten worse because of everything that had happened."
"... Ran-neechan?" Conan blinked.
Shinichi shook his head. "She saw the photos on Jodie-sensei's bathroom and jumped inside the trunk of her car," he explained. "When she heard gunshots she got out and tackled Ai-chan into the ground. Honestly, that crazy woman..."
Conan fell oddly silent, taking into his words for a moment, before his gaze fell on the window beside him, pensive for some reason.
Shinichi just watched him, genuinely curious about what was going through his mind.
"Oniichan," his voice was almost audible.
"What is it?"
The boy hesitated, for motives that his brother couldn't hope to understand, gently pressing his face against the cold, cold glass of the window. His brows furrowed together, as if struggling to put into words his thoughts, and his conflicted eyes never met his gaze.
And Shinichi just waited.
"Was it..." Conan's mouth went dry all of sudden. "Was it my fault that you got involved with them?"
That... Shinichi definitely did not see that coming.
And then, it was silent. So silent that even the sounds of their heartbeats could be heard in the middle of the quiet night.
Conan took a deep breath and, gathering all courage he could manage, finally met Shinichi's eyes and detected it. They were wide and surprised, but there was something hidden behind them that told the child that he had most likely hit the nail in the head.
It wasn't long until Shinichi's laugh filled the silence.
But it was too loud, Conan couldn't help but notice.
"Are you still half asleep?" said the older Kudo, grinning widely ─ a bit too widely. "You're talking nonsense, Conan."
The youngest's expression did not shift besides the slight narrowing of his eyes. "Ah, is that so?" his tone was dull and tired.
Even Shinichi, deep down, knew his words hadn't been believed. That didn't mean he was going to give up that easily.
"Maybe you're tired, it's well past your bedtime already," Shinichi wasn't sure that Conan had a bedtime, but he still hoped he did ─ hell, the sun was about to come up in a few hours. "Try to get some rest in the meantime. The Professor's home is still a bit too far from here."
Yet Conan didn't. Just sat there, motionless, his empty, exhausted eyes not breaking away from his reflexion in the window. His brother, far from reassured, had to force himself to look away from the child's overall exhaustion ─ physically and, understandably, emotionally.
Shinichi didn't know what exactly the child had remembered, but judging from the question just now, he had quite the good idea. So, with a sigh of his own, rested his elbow on the door and his cheek on his fist. "Say, Professor," he said, softly to the driver.
Conan was far too immersed in his own mind to notice them talking.
Naturally, given how out of it the kid was, he didn't even realize the car had stopped until the door beside him opened.
"Just... What are you doing?" Conan's eyebrow rose on its own accord when he realized that Shinichi was kneeling down in the sidewalk, back facing him, and a bright grin directed at him over his shoulder.
"I don't trust you enough to walk up the stairs without passing out and breaking your neck."
"... Stairs?"
The older detective did nothing but snicker at his confusion, and the child frowned, already annoyed at him, before reluctantly complying and climbing up his back. "Alright," despite everything, Shinichi was still smiling, as he straightened up and bounced a little, shifting his hold so both of them would be more comfortable.
Burrowing his face against his shoulder, Conan couldn't help but smile a tiny little bit, failing to remember last time he had been carried like that.
There was one time he could reminisce, however, when he was younger. He might have bruised his knee, he didn't remember, but recalled being carried by Shinichi, just like this time, as they walked back home after being picked up from daycare, and Ran giggling at the cute scene beside her.
He hadn't been too preoccupied at that, as he was far more enchanted with the sight of the cherry blossom petals, beautifully dancing all around them.
Conan could have laughed. Things were way simpler back then.
And it wouldn't have changed if I... his fists clenched, without meaning to, around Shinichi's shirt. If only I didn't...
The older brother noticed, but did not give out any signs of it besides the way he glanced briefly at the young boy, before looking back to the road.
He stood right in front of Mouri's Detective Agency and, while he now understood what he meant with stairs, Conan had absolutely no clue as to why he was there. After all, he had been told he was going to spend the night at the Professor's.
Shinichi knocked on the door, an action that was followed by some shuffling inside before it opened. Ran's face came into view, and soon her neutral expression morphed. Her mouth, which had opened to speak had gone slack with shock, which filled all inches of her body, promptly making it freeze.
The childhood friend she had not expected to see there pulled out a sheepish, almost apologetic, smile.
"... Conan-kun," upon noticing the boy he was carrying, she began to fuss over him, completely forgetting about Shinichi. "Are you okay? The Professor said you were almost kidnapped."
"I'm fine, don't worry," he managed a tired, hopefully reassuring, smile. "Shinichi-niichan got me out of there."
Shinichi flinched.
"Eh? Shinichi-"
"Anyway," the older Kudo interrupted her. "I'm sorry for this, Ran, but would you please take him in, again?"
Ran blinked, confused, but then let him pass without a word. "He can use my bed," she said, as they made their way through the house. "Ai-chan was so adamant in not taking mine I had no choice but to use Conan-kun's futon."
At the thought of that stubborn little girl Shinichi wondered why wasn't this equally stubborn little boy loudly protesting at his point. But he understood right away upon realizing he could feel his calm breathing on his neck and the dead weight of his head on his shoulder. The kid must be dozing off at this point. Good.
Upon arriving at Ran's room, Shinichi made his way inside and sat on the bed, letting his little brother slide down into the mattress. Unexpectedly, brilliant, bleary blue eyes were on him the instant he was set down.
"Just get some rest," Shinichi just smiled at him, placing a hand over his head.
"... If I fall asleep... you will just leave, right?" the older brother's smile faltered slightly. "That's... That's your favourite move, after all."
"Hey, you make it sound as if I actually liked doing that."
"... Don't make it look like you do, then."
This earned him an exasperated sigh, to which he didn't even blink. Just stared up at Shinichi, who seemed to hesitate, before he let out a smile.
"I need to talk with Ran about something and I will be back, okay?"
Conan couldn't bring himself to trust his words, not after everything that had happened throughout last year, but he couldn't help the words he whispered after that either.
"... Promise me you will."
"I promise," he knew if he shouldn't have believed his words, or his widening grin, yet he did.
With a ruff of his hair, Shinichi stepped out to leave, so Conan turned to see him. Only then, he noticed that right beside his bed was a futon, and a girl sleeping inside, a wet rag keeping the fever under that had most likely spiked up after everything they had gone through.
The door closed softly behind the detective.
Yet, Conan did not react.
Because he would remember whenever he looked at her.
The black haired girl named Hana that had disappeared four years ago.
"I think I know where she is, Sensei!"
Groaning, Conan burrowed his face against the pillow. He seriously didn't feel good when all those random bits of information that had been repressed for years suddenly surfaced, leaving him partly confused, partly wishing that he hadn't remembered at all.
Peeking over Ran's pillow, Conan studied Ai for a moment.
Though her face was pale and her cheeks flushed, her breathing was even.
She was breathing. Safe. Alive.
So you got out of it alive, huh? his gaze softened. ... We all did, somehow.
Willing his mind to just, just stop, Conan focused on her. Her deep breathing as she slept, peacefully, and her chest steadily rising and falling, in an almost rhythmic motion.
Everyone...
Rising and falling. Rising and falling...
... is safe...
... Rising...
Conan wouldn't remember ever closing his eyes the next morning.
"Sorry for bothering you, Ran," from the other side of the door, the teen detective apologized to his childhood friend. "I know we were supposed to take him to the Professor's for the night, but..."
Ran shook her head immediately. "It's okay, this is Conan-kun's home," she replied, moving towards the kitchen. Shinichi followed, without a word. "I feel a bit bad, though."
The high school detective did not understand, so he just owlishly blinked as she went to fill a pot with cold water.
"I need to take care of Ai-chan, so I will keep coming in and out of that room," she explained, walking right past him and back to the door of her bedroom. "I hope I don't wake him up without meaning to. He looked so worn out..."
"Ah," she was taken aback when he seemed to snicker. "It's alright."
"Why?"
Without any further word, Shinichi opened the door for her.
She blinked in surprise at the sight of the young boy, deeply asleep on her bed, arm dangling over the edge, mouth slightly open and even a small, almost unnoticeable, amount of drool over her pillow ─ he would most definitely going to be so embarrassed if he ever found out he did that.
Shinichi took the bowl from her hands so she moved closer, and couldn't help but giggle, as she wiped his mouth with her sleeve. His slumber remained untouched, even as she sat beside him and tenderly stroked his hair.
She couldn't remember last time she had seen him so childlike, so tranquil.
"That's why I brought him here," his brother whispered while dipping Haibara's rag into the water. "Knowing him, he wouldn't get any wink of sleep if he didn't see for himself that we were all safe. You, me, Ai-chan over here..."
Ran laughed a bit at that, as she fixed the blankets all around the sleeping child. "That's so like Conan-kun," she expressed. "He's so stubborn sometimes."
"Most of the time," he carefully set the wet rag over Haibara's forehead. "If not every single waking second of his life," his eyes lingered in the little girl and let out a chuckle. "Not that this small lady is any different."
His childhood friend blinked. "Is that so?" she didn't miss the way the detective winced. "You seem to know Ai-chan pretty well, even if you met her only a couple of times."
He forced a laugh, and hoped it didn't sound as fake as it did in his ears. "Conan talks a lot about her," he lied. "That kid definitely has a crush on her."
Shinichi could have sworn that Ran's eyes narrowed for a moment there. "I know, right?" but then she giggled, so he decided he had just imagined it. "Sonoko thinks he likes Ayumi-chan, though."
Laughing a bit more, Shinichi finally stood up before sitting between his friend and his younger brother, taking a moment to really appreciate the silence, which he hadn't realized until now that he seriously needed. There, with Ran at his side and the two kids, who slept peacefully ─ acting, for once, like the children they were supposed to be ─ Shinichi couldn't help but genuinely smile.
Her hand gently rested on top of his, their fingers tangling with each other, letting him know that her feelings were exactly the same, even without having to look at her.
He would give anything for this moment to last forever.
"You will leave again, right?" but of course, the same question came through. "Suddenly, without giving out an explanation."
Shinichi was silent, his smile fading slightly as her grip on his hand tightened.
"I want to wait for you, Shinichi. I really do, but..." he didn't like the sorrow in her tone. "I need to know what's going on. This clearly wasn't an ordinary case of child abduction, was it?"
The teen frowned. "And I really want to tell you, Ran," he said to her, pain evident in his voice. "But it's..."
"Too dangerous, I get that already," her intense look fell on his face, but he didn't even dare to look back at her. "But, at this point, it doesn't only involve you. It also involves Conan-kun and Ai-chan, and I don't want them to get hurt. So please, please, Shinichi."
He still didn't look at her.
"You don't have to do this alone."
"... But I have to," he closed his eyes. "If more people get involved, more people will be harmed. And I don't want that."
"You're only human, Shinichi. You can't protect everyone on your own."
Shinichi knew she was probably right, but that didn't mean he would be willing to accept it. Because he was certain that this, this was the right way. In order not to let moments of peace like this one disappear, he had to do this.
And he was willing to risk everything for them.
Ran sighed, tiredly, and stood up to get some more water for Haibara, not without giving him a last, resigned look, before walking out the room. She most likely knew he wasn't going to be there any longer by the time she returned.
And she wasn't completely wrong. Once she had disappeared from his sight, Shinichi let out a heavy sigh, not daring to give a look towards Conan's direction. Sorry, Conan, he silently apologized for breaking his promise, and closed his eyes.
If he looked, even if it was a swift glance, Shinichi knew he wouldn't be able to leave.
Just as he was about to stand up, something pulled from the hem of his shirt. His eyes instinctively darted to see what was holding him down, and soon he realized his mistake.
Tiny fingers were grasping the fabric. Their owner had shifted, curling around his body and lightly pressing his forehead against his shirt.
"... Don't leave..." faintly, Shinichi made out a few mumbled words and, then, he noticed that his eyebrows were furrowed, even in sleep.
His big brother instincts kicked in soon enough, causing him to run his hand through Conan's sleep-mushed hair.
"Never."
Conan's face visibly relaxed.
"We lost because of Akai Shuichi?"
Vermouth hummed briefly, lowering herself to sit in the ground, inside the safety of a small phone booth. "I bumped into him and he broke three of my rib bones," she said to Gin, through painted pants, before looking down at her leg, which was bleeding.
That had been the price to pay to escape from the little trap that boy had set her into.
"T-The boss said that he might turn out to be our Silver Bullet," she continued. "He's to be feared."
Gin laughed, coldly, from the other side of the phone. "A Silver Bullet that can destroy us in one hit does not exist," he scoffed. "Akai Shuichi will eventually meet the same destiny that nosy high school detective suffered."
Vermouth remained silent and closed her eyes.
Then she saw him, looking at him with those determined, sharp blue eyes as she held on her arm, just like Ran, preventing her from falling into her death.
"For saving someone, a logical reason is not necessary," he had said to her next time they met, smiling a bit, before continuing his way towards Sherry's lab.
Asking for Gin to come pick her up and ending the call, Vermouth let out something between a sigh and a laugh. She should have expected this kind of outcome. He was Cool Kid, after all.
"Are you okay, Sensei?"
For the first time she could remember, Vermouth was in a loss of words. Her belwireded gaze fell on the child in front of her, who sat against the wall, hugging his knees tightly and looking undoubtedly scared.
But it was his bright blue, wide and innocent eyes that shocked her the most. They were looking right at her.
No, right through her.
The reason why he would be worried about her, despite his current situation, was completely beyond her.
"You look sad," the child stated, blatantly honest, as his piercing gaze continued to study her. "Why are you doing this if it's clear that you don't want to?"
Vermouth smiled at the memory, clearly amused by the fact that, all this time, Cool Kid had barely changed at all.
The one that can pierce our hearts... could prove to be either of those two brothers.
I wonder which one is our long-awaited Silver Bullet.
A/N:
ajjr12: Yeah, I have read that fanfic before and I really liked it. I don't know if I will do that movie, though. Even if I don't, however, I already have plans for both cast meeting in the future.
Bry: I don't know, it's still a possibility, I guess. Just kidding, I'm not that evil... Am I? XD