File Eighty-One: The Anonymous Shooter
"You don't have much time.
I'm not going to sugarcoat it, or try to lie my way around it ─ it would be pointless with you either way.
You might have even realized it yourself."
Frowning to himself, Kudo Shinichi cracked an egg and let it fall on the frying pan. It was only morning, but he knew those thoughts wouldn't leave his head anytime soon. The letter he had read yesterday on the train back to Ekoda, and their words that had been carved into mind, had already kept him awake all night.
"Acute chest pains. Excessive sweating. Shortness of breath. Feeling faint. All those symptoms you had felt ever since you were poisoned, but stronger. Time between these episodes must have been drastically decreased, too.
And before you ask, I'm mostly alright. It had barely been a year since I took the drug. You, on the other hand…
A year and five months have passed already ─ my, time does fly, doesn't it?"
Unconsciously, his hand to his pocket, fingers curling against the flask he had found inside that little box, together with the letter in question, folded so many times that he had almost missed it.
"Remember, what I just gave you is only an improved prototype. I'm not certain that it will extend your lifespan, but at least it will lessen the symptoms and make sure you just don't drop dead from the time being… I hope.
We need to hurry, Shinichi-san. For all we know, you could die tomorrow.
Happy birthday.
─ Haibara Ai."
Honestly, Shinichi could have laughed dryly, right there and then if there weren't other people in the same room he was at. Happy birthday, indeed. Not that he would have expected anything else from her ─ blunt, and so straight to the point that it practically hurt.
Though he couldn't deny it ─ she was right.
"AH!" He jumped at that, startled out of his own mind. "You're burning them, Hirai-kun!"
That, and the unmistakable smell of something burning, caused the teenager to gasp and hastily retire the frying pan away from the fire. Damn it. He cringed, staring at the blackened mess that was there for him to witness. I completely messed this up.
Aoko's reaction wasn't much different when she moved closer to see. "It… could be worse." The detective raised his eyebrow, to which she smiled stiffly. "Well, maybe you should take care of the coffee instead..."
Might as well ─ Shinichi sighed tiredly.
"But are you okay, Hirai-kun?" she asked, sounding concerned. "You were getting better at this."
"Give him a break," yawned Kaito from his spot at the table. "It's like eight in the morning, and not a school day."
"Hey, you're not blaming me for it, are you?" She glared at the boy, even if she ignored him. "Chikage-san asked me to make sure you get up early, even on days off," Aoko explained, crossing the kitchen to gather more eggs. "And have a good breakfast."
She opened the fridge, "Ah, don't worry, Nakamori-san," but Shinichi's voice stopped her in her tracks. "We don't need any."
Before the girl could even ask what he meant with that, something flopped down on Kaito's empty plate. "What the-?" He glared at his housemate, motioning to the burnt eggs he had just been served. "I was just defending you!"
"Sorry. Must have done it out of habit," at the glower he was receiving, Shinichi only smiled politely. "And you shouldn't waste food."
"Then eat it yourself!"
"Now, now, no need to be so picky-"
"... Suzuki Jirokichi-shi of the Suzuki Group has challenged KID yet again!"
Eh?
Two heads instantly snapped towards the television, blinking equally clueless eyes at what was displayed at the screen for them to see. "That old man still hasn't given up on KID?" Aoko's comment fell on deaf ears, as the boys exchanged a bewildered look.
In a blink of an eye, Kaito gulped down the food ─ burnt and all ─ and without even waiting for the coffee, raised from his seat. "Thanks for the food," he mumbled quickly, and darted out the room. "I just remembered something I have to do!"
"Ka-!" she tried, but was interrupted by the sound of the door closing. "What the heck?! Even though we haven't even finished eating yet..."
You meant 'started', thought Shinichi, with a sigh.
"Whatever." Huffing irritably, Aoko turned back to the egg she was preparing. "He will just have to make it up to me later."
"You actually make me feel bad for Kuroba. Hey, how do you do that?"
She chuckled lightly, then turned back to the television, and her smile dropped completely. It actually made him worry a little, when her eyebrows furrowed in thought for a moment, before her eyes went wide ─ as if something had just occurred to her.
"Hirai-kun," she spoke, and he almost dropped the mug he was holding. "Do you have something to do this afternoon?"
"Uh, no?"
"Then tell Kaito this." The way her lips stretched into a bright, confident grin gave Shinichi the feeling that he wouldn't like this. "We have a meeting. Two in the afternoon. My house."
"Meeting?"
"Kaito KID, of course!" Aoko looked exasperated at his evident confusion. "We have some planning to do!" Her fist pumped into the air, excited ─ unlike Shinichi, obviously. "This will be our debut! Isn't this exciting? We, as a detective team-"
"Nakamori-san, you're burning those eggs…"
"AH!"
"For the eleventh time… No."
"Come on, Ai-san-"
"No. I'm definitely not telling you."
"Please, just a little hint-"
"No."
Seeing that there was no way around it, the boy huffed, arms crossed behind his neck as he mumbled. "What's the big deal? It's just a gift.."
She barely held herself from giggling ─ though she doubted he had noticed himself, Conan was definitely pouting. "If it isn't that of a big deal, why are you so insistent in knowing, Conan-kun?"
"I'm a detective and you two are being incredibly secretive about it. Of course I want to know."
"Is that so?" Ai smiled back at him with wicked mirth. "Then the more I don't want to tell you."
"What is it that you don't want to tell Conan-kun, Ai-chan?"
Startled at the new voice, both children turned around, and the initial shock drained ─ none of them was really surprised to see the other members of their little detective club staring at them, curiosity clearly brimming in their eyes.
"Something I'm definitely not telling anyone," replied Ai, smirking and evidently amused by the situation.
Genta and Ayumi exchanged a clueless look, and Conan sighed, taking a moment to massage his temples before turning back to them. That was, until he noticed the gradually growing bewilderment in Mitsuhiko's face ─ Conan couldn't, for the life of him deduce what was going on in his friend's mind.
"Conan-kun!" The bespectacled boy could only raise an eyebrow at the accusatory tone. "You aren't trying to pressure Haibara-san into telling you where her New Year's money is, are you?!"
Conan stared back, impassibly.
"Well?!" he pressed further.
He gave him a long look before replying. "Mitsuhiko, you're the only one here that saves all your New Year's money."
As a matter of fact, that was the reason they were all hanging out in a bank. Seeing that he wasn't going to touch his money anytime soon ─ it was May already, for crying out loud ─ the Professor had agreed to take him to deposit it in his own account, that he had opened a while ago.
"Speak for yourself," Genta scoffed, almost offended.
This prompted Conan to stare at him incredulously. "You still haven't used it?"
Figured he would have used all on food by now...
"I gave it to Mom for safekeeping!" The bigger boy grinned. "She said she'll use it to buy expensive stuff for me."
Ah, that explains a lot.
"And?" Genta's grin dropped when Ai intervened. "Did she buy anything for you?"
"Come to think of it, never… She'd say, 'Don't be extravagant'..."
Too bad you didn't get your mother's brain, Genta.
"Well," Agasa tried to pull off a convincing smile. "She could be saving up just in case Genta-kun becomes terribly sick."
"Then… I'm going to get back everything I've received so far! After all, I won't get sick!"
"Ah, because idiots don't get sick?" Conan wondered out loud.
"Yeah… Wait, no!" At his friend's amused grin, Genta could only wave his arms around. "I'm not-!"
All possible defense he could offer died down instantly when he leaned over, holding his stomach with a grimace. As the rest of the group shuffled closer, undoubtedly concerned, Conan stared blankly, "My bad, seems you grew a brain somewhere along the way..." and said to the kid, who was definitely sick of his stomach. Probably ate too much.
His theory was confirmed not long thereafter by the boy himself, prompting Agasa and Ai to leave them to go buy some medicine while the four other kids made their way to the closest bathroom.
Really, that Genta. Conan rolled his eyes, watching his friend disappear inside a stall as soon as they arrived. Making things more complicated...
Well ─ he shrugged quietly ─ this should be over quickly, and then all they had to do was deposit and Conan would be free ─ free to, possibly, go back home and read a good book as he should have done already. I haven't had the chance to read anything, and I'm halfway over Golden Week!
It didn't matter ─ it was still early, he had time. Time for some peace and quiet…
"EH?! Conan-kun, did you know this?!"
"Suzuki Jirokichi challenged Kaito KID!"
Apparently he wouldn't ─ the thought slowly sank in his mind the moment he set his eyes on his friends. Mitsuhiko had his eyes glued on his phone screen, while Ayumi peered from over his shoulder. "What now?" he sighed, moving closer to look.
Indeed, there was an article about it. That old man is persistent, he would give him that. Though the challenge by itself, though… It wasn't nearly as elaborated for someone like him. He had to wonder, however, if there was something else in this world that would prove an actual challenge for the magician under the moonlight.
The target is the Purple Step… In the middle of a pedestrian mall?
I see, I see… Your wings are clipped like this, huh? How will you pull it out?
"... Conan-kun, are you okay?" questioned Mitsuhiko, disturbed by the fact that the boy hadn't reacted for a while now.
Ayumi glanced at him curiously before she giggled. "He's okay," she declared. "If anything, Conan-kun looks very happy!"
Mitsuhiko took a better look and realized, with awe, that she was right. He doubted he had noticed it himself, but Conan's lips were stretching into a wide smirk, but that wasn't by a long stretch what it really took him aback.
It was the twinkle of his eyes behind thick lenses, which reminded him of that of a normal child their own age ─ only that it wasn't normal in Conan's case. To think that even Conan-kun can have such an expression… They had known him for over two years, and been friends for almost a year and a half, so he could say with certainty that it was rare.
Everything melted away with a loud sound ─ a gunshot, Conan's brain filled for him pretty quickly.
"H-Hey!" Genta was panicking from inside the stall. "Did something happen?"
"Genta, stay there. Mitsuhiko and Ayumi-chan, you too." Before they had time to say anything, the boy had taken off running ─ as usual, would remark Mitsuhiko with a frustrated groan. "I'll check out the situation."
"Ah, Conan-kun!"
It fell on deaf ears ─ the boy was gone before he could even listen to Ayumi's worried call.
"Oh, look. Nakamori-san tripped on something."
"I believe that is a trap set by Suzuki Jirokichi-san for tonight. Kuroba-kun noticed it, too, since he looked at it for zero point thirty seconds longer than an ordinary citizen."
"Well, it's quite dangerous to keep those there. Nakamori-san could have sprained her ankle… What is your opinion, Hirai-kun?"
When he realized he was being addressed, Hirai sighed, "That we're just wasting time here," and replied, without bothering to even take his eyes out of the book he was reading. "Are we stalking Nakamori-san and Kuroba or something?"
"We're making a field investigation… Or so Nakamori-san said," replied the girl, but Hirai barely paid her attention ─ just flipped a page over. "I thought you knew already, considering that you were the one to suggest splitting out to cover more area."
True, that had been his idea. Considering that the challenge had been issued this morning, Shinichi doubted Kaito had actually thought of something to pull off tonight, so he believed that giving him a hand by taking Hakuba away from him was in order ─ though now he was regretting it, badly. What had he done to deserve to spend the afternoon with this incredibly sharp detective and this odd woman he had no desire to spend a second more with?
"Yeah, cover area..." He decided to keep his thoughts to himself, obviously. "By sitting in a restaurant and eating cake until the sun sets?"
"Well, there's a reason I just wanted coffee." Hakuba shrugged with a smirk. "More than Kaito KID, however, there's something that intrigues me..." Hirai didn't look at him, even then. "Why did you decide to hang out with all of us, so suddenly?"
He successfully hid back a flinch. "Just letting Nakamori-san and Kuroba free to work without distractions," and continued, as if nothing had happened. "Since I know that none of you are actually trying to do anything."
"Oh?" Akako leaned forward, resting her cheek against an open palm. "And why might it be it?"
"Because you two firmly believe that Kuroba is Kaito KID."
Certainly, none of them expected such a straightforward answer ─ Hirai chuckled in quiet victory after seeing their perplexed reactions, at least until Hakuba scoffed.
"I assume you're admitting it… I hope you know that aiding a criminal is a serious offense."
I wonder to which of us two that applies best, actually...
"Why? Just stating the facts." Closing his eyes, Hirai closed his book and lowered to the table. "You two are certain that Kuroba dresses up at night and goes out to play with the police. I believe that's an absurd claim backed up with not a single proof whatsoever." Then he laughed to himself, as his gaze met Hakuba's frown. "Who would have thought that the Hakuba Saguru would believe in such stupid conspiracy theories?"
Having said that, Hirai gave the detective a last smirk, before scooping up some of his lemon pie and lifting the spoon to his mouth.
"You might be actually right, Hirai-kun. Maybe I'm fond of conspiracy theories..." Hakuba rested his elbows over the table and latched his hands together, gaze narrowing as they tried to pierce through the seemingly unsuspecting teenage student in front of him. "You wouldn't have believed what kind of stupid theories I came up with after the last heist ─ the Midnight Crow heist."
Shinichi almost choked.
"Ah, yeah?" He did his best not to let it show in his face. "Well, I wouldn't know, since I wasn't there."
Hakuba's eyes squinted further, if possible, watching Hirai Arthur go back to his prized copy of Line-Up in the Dead of Night, not to raise his gaze ever again.
"What? You're awake?"
"Yeah, but my head is spinning and I can't get around by myself..."
With a quick promise to go help him, the man took his ski-mask off before hanging on. Calmly, he took his jumper off and gave it to one of his fellow robbers, promising that he wouldn't take long.
Everything was going according to plan, he convinced himself as he made his way to the bathroom. Most of the hostages were tapped up, and that foreign woman that had knocked out his partner was unconscious and under tight surveillance right now. He could say, with the most certainty, that nothing else could go wrong. No more surprises now.
Or so he thought, until the moment he opened the stall to find his partner still out cold.
"Then… who the hell just called?!"
"Must've been a message from Dreamland, huh?"
And there he was, the culprit. A brat that couldn't be older than nine was standing right in front of him, smirking as if everything was according to plan. His plan.
It really took him by surprise, and that was probably the reason he faltered for a moment more than usual, thus giving the brat the time to take off running. But he couldn't have it, no, so gritting his teeth he began chasing him.
The kid turned around the corner, and so did he, hand latching on the gun he carried beneath his shirt. Yet, he barely had the time to do anything before he felt his feet losing friction, and his head hitting the floor.
With a relieved sigh, the lid went back into place with a quiet click and the kid gave the now unconscious criminal a blank look. He's completely out cold, which wasn't exactly what he had been planning but, hey, he wasn't complaining either. Better save my stun dart for later.
Timidly, the rest of their club peered from a half-opened door, asking if it was okay to come out, and came out running as soon as they were allowed to, grinning at their strategy succeeding ─ this strategy being lining toilet paper on the floor so that the criminal would slip and fall when he chased Conan.
Excited, they asked what was next, and he answered them by plucking out the phone from the criminal's pocket. "Rinse and repeat," was all he said, before raising his bowtie to his mouth and calling the last contact the guy had spoken to.
Too bad he had apparently contacted his girlfriend before the robbery ─ he did what he could and cut her off right away. Really, this bastard… He mentally groaned, scrolling down in the list just to realize he had only called the guy Jodie had knocked out earlier ─ definitely not helpful at all.
"Hey, Conan, what are you doing?"
"Hurry and call them!"
"He said there wasn't much time left..."
Conan paused at that, giving Mitsuhiko such a crazed look that actually made him step back. Time? Indeed, he remembered them saying that when they took Jodie away after using a taser on her. Also, there's that… Jodie had told them they had sorted out the ones with companions and allowed only the branch chief to pack the money. And why… He looked at the robber that laid in front of him. Why didn't he keep his mask? If the police came charging in, his face would…
… Oh.
"No way. I'm not doing it."
Kuroba Kaito nearly groaned when that reply popped up on the screen. That was fast, he thought, almost amazed by the fact that the detective had barely taken a second to reply to his request.
Another message came before he could type something.
"And don't insist. I thought I made myself clear when I said I wouldn't do that again after your date with Aoko."
This stole a roll of eyes out of the boy. "You did it before," he typed back. "Why is it different now?"
"Last time you were about to be discovered. This time you're just acting like a complete moron."
"If it is 'acting', I will take it as a compliment, Meitantei."
He didn't get an answer right away ─ Kaito could easily imagine him huffing and rolling his eyes, before actually getting to write another word. "Kaito?" He didn't have the chance to read the text when it came, however. "Who are you talking with?"
Quickly he slipped into his poker face, successfully hiding exactly how much the girl had just startled him. "Ah, it's just Hirai," he replied, swiftly hiding the phone away from her curious eyes. "Says he headed back home."
"Eh? Why?"
"Wasn't feeling well." He waved her concerns off with a shrug. To be fair, I wouldn't feel good either with that bastard Hakuba watching me like a hawk.
Now that I think of it, usually it would be me who he would harass until I tell my secrets… But he seems to have taken an interest in Meitantei lately ─ more than usual, I mean.
Aoko's shoulders dropped then, twirling around and facing the street. "Hirai-kun seems to get sick rather easily, doesn't he?" she commented, hands latching behind his back, and continued when Kaito didn't react. "... I knew he had been acting odd lately."
"Ah, you mean this morning's breakfast?" A bright green light signalized it was okay for them to cross. "I told you that wasn't something to worry about. He has never been a good cook to begin with."
"No, not only that." Kaito blinked at her unexpected answer. "Around when Golden Week started, I noticed he would just space out ─ more than usual." Her eyebrows creased together, slightly. "I wonder if there's something in his mind."
The boy went strangely quiet at that, a thoughtful frown taking hold of his features before he could do anything about it. Aoko added nothing else, just walked ahead, allowing the other to get another glance at his phone.
"Not a chance. I have no interest in having Hakuba more motive to suspect me. Thanks.
He mentioned it to me today. He doesn't believe you disguised as him during your last heist. And I would say he believes I have something to do with it."
Kaito wasn't surprised to learn that. That Hakuba is such a pain… he thought, giving the screen a long stare, before his lips stretched into a smirk and wrote his last message:
"You know Tantei-kun is going to be there, don't you?"
"There's only way to know, right?"
Blinking owlishly, the magician raised his head to meet his childhood friend's determined gaze. With a confident smile, she pointed at him and declared:
"You are going to find out what's wrong with Hirai-kun."
… Eh?
"Find out and report back tonight at the heist, alright?"
"... Wait…"
"I'm leaving it to you, Kaito."
He… was in a bit of trouble, wasn't he?
"Bombs?!"
"Yeah," replied Conan, utterly calm despite the situation at hand, while he tightened the bathroom tighter around the criminal's wrists. "They plan to fake their own death and escape as hostages." He gave the guy in front of him a slight glare. "That's why this one over here, and the one Jodie-sensei knocked out in the bathroom, are dressed as civilians."
Then he continued explaining ─ the plan was so painfully simple that it made him wonder how he hadn't realized it before. After putting five hostages that had come alone, Jodie and the branch thief to sleep, they were most likely planning to set off the bombs, so that the police would consider the robbery a failure. They had forced the branch chief to transfer a large amount of money to a bank account online, to later be forwarded to their own ─ probably to some foreign bank outside Japan's jurisdiction.
Mitsuhiko frowned, letting his friend's words sink. "They are intelligent criminals..."
"More like stupid." Conan sighed, stepping away from the robber. "Any remittance over five million yen without proper cause as required by law will be stopped by the headquarters of the foreign exchange bill center." His three friends awed at that, clearly surprised. "Well, that regulation didn't exist before, so I guess they planned this robbery a long time ago… And didn't even bother to check."
Having said that, the kid looked back at the rest, only to halt and blink cluelessly at the sight of them huddling close and whispering to each other.
"Say, how does Conan know all that?"
"He says it's because he reads a lot… Maybe I should start doing the same..."
"Well, even if Conan-kun reads weird stuff, sometimes it turns out to be rather useful. Like that time on the plane..."
They know I'm still here, aren't they?
Rolling his eyes, he decided to just look away. When he did, however, his gaze caught into something lying on the ground, close to his feet. Ah, right. His confusion vanished right away, his dumbfounded expression replaced with a rather emotionless facade as his dulled blue eyes just stared at the object on the ground. That guy dropped this before, didn't he?
All sounds ceased all around him, yet he couldn't really tell if it was his friends finally stopping whispering, or his own brain blocking it all. He didn't have the presence of mind to worry about it, instead he, ever so slowly, crouched down and gingerly rested his fingers against it.
"Let's play a fun little game, shall we?"
"Now be a good little boy and bring it here! Hurry up!"
The cold, familiar feeling caused him to flinch back and whisk his hand away.
What… He let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head and reaching for the gun on the floor. What am I doing?
His fingers curled around the weapon ─ it was heavy ─ and noticed with dull surprise that his hand instinctively adjusted itself to hold it properly ─ so naturally that it was almost disturbing, even to him. Guess it's to be expected, he thought, raising it to his eyes to observe it. It isn't the first time I have held one of these, is it?
This was the third time, if his memory served correctly. Each time he did ─ Conan bit his lip ─ the results were far from satisfactory ─ his finger was in the trigger, only the safety lock preventing him from actually pulling it, and it was so easy that it was actually scary.
It was unbelievably scary someone could be hurt so easily…
"Conan-kun?" His gaze teared away from the gun in his hand to Mitsuhiko's concerned eyes. "Are you okay?"
His surprise had surely shown on his face, but brushed it off with a raise of his eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I be?"
By the corner of his eye he noticed Genta stepping up to point out something, just to get silenced by a frantic Ayumi, but promptly ignored it to observe the boy in front of him who, in turn, had looked away, strangely apprehensive.
"It… It had come into my attention… You know, since that incident on the plane… And other instances, too..." Mitsuhiko was unsure of how to put it, by the looks of it, but Conan didn't think of hurrying him. "... You… You don't like guns, do you?"
Conan hadn't really expected that. "Do you?"
"Well, no." Mitsuhiko shifted, uncomfortable. "But you, Conan-kun, you're… the bravest person I know." He closed his eyes, hands clenching a bit on his lap. "Whenever we face a dangerous situation, you're the first to pull through. You're quick, efficient." Looking up, Conan was shocked that his friend appeared to be dead serious. "But when a gun is involved, even if it's for a brief moment, you… you freeze. You look terrified, Conan-kun."
A part of his mind realized that Mitsuhiko was there, expecting an answer, but his mind couldn't pull together a proper one, so he did the only thing he was able to do, stare.
"You're… holding into that, aren't you?" Mitsuhiko then added, and he reacted with a slow nod. "Do you want me to do it instead?"
"No." Conan woke up from his haze instantly, rising to his feet and smiling at Mitsuhiko. "It's okay, I can handle it." Ignoring the way his gaze dropped to the ground with a frustrated huff, he carefully tucked it in his waistband. "We don't have time for this either way. The moment of strike will happen in any second now-"
"SCREW IT, WE'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND BLOW THE BANK UP!"
"... There."
Quickly, and not taking his time to explain it any further, he instructed Ayumi to keep the elevator door open and Genta to move the cart in front of the elevator to the counter where the hostages were gathering, before telling Mitsuhiko to follow him.
What they found there caused the freckled boy to pause and watch his surroundings, shocked to see no sign of the robbers. All he could see were the hostages, sitting on the floor with their eyes and mouths taped ─ and only then, he realized why Conan didn't find it dangerous to walk in, since nobody could see them like that.
Unlike him, Conan didn't even waste a second. As I expected, he thought, crouching in front of the suitcase where, presumably, the bomb was hidden. His eyes didn't move from the small clock, counting down. Only about two minutes left until the explosion. He smirked. This is more than enough.
"Hey, Conan..." Genta's whisper reached his ears. "The cart is here."
Nodding at him, he motioned Mitsuhiko to the suitcase and the both of them, ever so carefully, began transporting the suitcases to the cart. Once their work was done, they took off running through the halls, as fast as they could, and shoved the cart inside the elevator Ayumi was keeping open.
The doors closed just in time for a loud bang to echo in their ears. Terrified screams filled the bank, yet the kids just looked at each other and smiled in relief before, now calmer, beginning making their way back to the hostages.
"But, how do we find the robbers among these people?" asked Ayumi, whispering in Conan's ear.
"Ah, that's the easy part."
"Eh?"
As a reply, the boy just smirked, before raising his bowtie to his mouth. "Listen up!" The voice of the robber that they had knocked out in the hallway boomed through the room. "Everyone stand up and slowly walk towards the direction of my voice!"
At first, none of the other three children could understand how that was supposed to help, but then, they took notice of something else. Unlike all other hostages that immediately stood up and began to make their way to them, three men stayed behind, whispering to each other with frantic voices.
"Nice try, you three," said Conan, approaching them. The three robbers jumped, startled to hear a child's voice of all things. "But next time you organize a robbery, check if nobody is hiding in the bathroom… Well, not that there's going to be a next time." With an arrogant smirk, he turned back to his friends. "Anyway, let's get the tape off the bank employees and ask them to open the doors. When the police charge in, they'll take these three men, the guy bound in the corridor and the guy lying in the restroom-"
"Who's lying in the restroom?"
The next second, Conan found himself unable to breathe properly, and it took him another one to realize the reason for his sudden lack of oxygen ─ an arm was pressing his neck against a body, lifting him from the ground rather violently. "Whether it's that foreign woman or this brat… What are they up to?!" At that moment he completely understood what was happening ─ the guy in the bathroom woke up with the explosion. "Hey, you brats over there! If you don't want to see his neck broken, hand me that gun on the counter!"
He tried to tell them not to, but his voice wouldn't come out. Be it by breaking my neck or a shot through the skull… he's going to kill me either way. Gritting his teeth, he reached for his watch, but he couldn't. He couldn't aim.
"... What's this? You already got one."
The air froze in his lungs at the distinct feeling of the gun on his waist being taken out. "With things this way, we'll go down together! Just accompany me to hell!" Something pressed against his head, and the click that followed prompted him to struggle harder, but to no avail. "You just get ready to die!"
A loud bang pierced through his ears, but he was still fine, for some reason he couldn't instantly comprehend. That was until he felt his feet touching the floor again, and the criminal behind him groaned. One look at him, and the growing red stain on his shoulder, told him what had happened.
Who was it?! Amid people running around in a frenzy, Conan's eyes frantically searched for the person. Who fired that shot?! Was it Jodie-sensei?!
He froze in place when he caught sight of the blonde woman lying on the ground a distance away from him ─ Jodie was still unconscious, he realized with a gasp. Then… His head whipped around, back and forth. Who did it?!
Despite how much he looked, he couldn't find anything in that jungle of legs and panicked screaming. Soon, the police swarmed the bank ─ probably because of the gunshot ─ and the robbers were apprehended in a flash. As quickly as it had started, this terrific event had ended.
Yet, not a single clue of the mysterious shooter had been found.
Even then, even after they had let off to meet Agasa and Ai, with Jodie, who had just woken up, Conan couldn't get his mind off it.
"What's wrong?" Of course she had noticed it. "You and your serious face..."
Conan knew better than to wave her question off. "I was wondering who shot the culprit in the end…" he said, hand raising to his chin. "Jodie-sensei was unconscious… with a situation like that, who else could fire that shot-?"
"Did you see him?!" He was confused when Jodie suddenly exclaimed, head turning from side to side she, apparently, looked for someone. "Wasn't he with the hostages?!"
"... 'He'?"
Before she could answer him, Camel and James walked up to them, apologizing for being in the liquor store this whole time, unaware of what was going on. Jodie didn't react to them right away, just stared back with a bewildered look in her eyes.
She calmed down slowly and brushed off their concern, walking away with a smile on her face, which had probably shattered away a few steps later ─ Conan could tell even if he couldn't see her face, judging by the way she paused to gaze at the sky, and her almost melancholic posture.
It only made him more curious ─ who could that person be?
"You don't have enough information to tell who that was." Ai had walked closer to him and whispered close to his ear. "There's no point in wondering any longer."
She was right, Conan realized with a frustrated groan before turning away from Jodie to join the rest of the group.
"Besides, shouldn't you be worrying about something else?" He blinked at that, not understanding right away. "I heard you have a show to attend tonight."
"Ah, right." Ai chucked at the sight of the boy sighing, exhausted already. "Though depending on what happens tonight, rather than a show, it could become a tragedy..."
"Conan-kun, you can't murder KID." She shook her head while they walked. "If you do, who will you chase after in those boring nights under the moonlight?"
"I'm not taking about murder. Just… injure severely."
"If it turns out that KID doesn't make another appearance in this entire month, I'm reporting it to the police."
"Hey, hey, what makes you think I would kill somebody?"
"Let's face it. Out of all of us, you're the most capable of committing a crime without raising any suspicions..."
Have you seen a mirror? thought Conan, glancing at the scientist for a moment. It was scary, he decided, when she looked back at him, icy-cold eyes narrowing as if she magically knew what he was thinking. Yep. He focused back on the road. Definitely won't say that out loud.
"Hey, Kaito..."
How in the world did he talk me into this?
"Kaito?"
Frankly, Shinichi couldn't really recount the events that led him to stand there, in the middle of a crowd of people cheering KID's name over and over again as they wanted for the magician to make his appearance.
"... Kaito, I'm talking to you."
Still, as much as he was annoyed with what he had forced him into doing, he was a detective and his curious mind wouldn't stop asking what the thief could possibly be thinking. How is he going to take them away? he wondered, eyes fixed on the shoes that stood on a pedestal in the middle of the street, surrounded by so many fans and guards that deemed stealing them an impossible feat.
Of course, there was no impossible for Kaito KID ─ Shinichi shook his head with a slight smirk.
"KAITO!" A voice boomed through his ear, causing him to jump back, cupping it with his hand. "Geez, what were you thinking about?"
He laughed nervously, unable to come up with another kind of excuse. I'm not used to that name… She sighed in reply, and he was grateful for her not pressing the matter even further. "Anyway, as I was saying..." Aoko continued, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Did you find it out?"
Shinichi was sure he looked pretty stupid right now. "... Huh?"
"Come on, did you forget? That thing!" He was almost completely sure that Kaito forgot to tell him. "Ah! You actually forgot!"
"Well..."
"Kaito!"
It looked like he had made her mad ─ Shinichi shivered a little, taking a step back while mentally cursing Kaito for not bothering to inform him about… whatever that thing was. At least she isn't carrying a mop, or anything similar for that matter. Though he wouldn't put it behind her to manage to crack his skull without none of it…
At that moment, he wished he had just said 'no'.
"Oh?" Hakuba's surprised exclamation brought him out of their 'argument'. "Isn't that Conan-kun?"
"Eh? Ah! Hakuba-niichan!" Shinichi would recognize his little brother's voice anywhere. "Aoko-neechan… and Kaito-niichan, too."
Really, he shouldn't have been that surprised when he saw Conan's expression ─ eyebrows raised and eyes piercing through his being, as if wondering what in the world he was doing. Actually, the older detective had the same question, but didn't voice it ─ just raised his hand with a sheepish smile.
"Conan-kun?" Ran moved closer, Kogoro and Sonoko in tow ─ of course. "Do you know these people?"
Conan nodded eagerly. "I met them when I went to that heist in Ekoda," he replied with a bright grin. "Those are Nakamori Aoko-neechan, Kuroba Kaito-niichan and..." Then, the kid blinked, focusing on the girl that stood beside them, a permanent mysterious smirk on her face and bright red eyes that sent shivers down his spine. "... Uh..."
"Koizumi Akako," she replied, smirk widening a bit. "Nice to meet you all."
Unconsciously, Conan took a step away from her. Good instincts, thought Shinichi, with a dry chuckle.
"Nakamori?" blinked Kogoro, turning to the girl, who nodded. "Are you Inspector Nakamori's…?"
"Ah, I'm his daughter."
"Oh, I see..."
Well, at least the topic of the conversation had changed from whatever Kaito hadn't bothered to warn him about ─ he huffed irritably, remembering it again. Anyway. His eyes roamed around the place. It should be about time for...
As in cue, the constant cheering that suddenly increased to the point of threatening to explode his eardrums gave him the signal that it was beginning. Looking up, everyone was shocked to see a white figure soaring through the skies before exploding in a cloud of smoke.
KID's cape flowed with the breeze as he stood on the pedestal, his trademark arrogant smirk drawing on his face in an instant.
Reporters rushed to his side, raising their microphones to the thief in white. "KID-san!" they asked, and he obediently crouched down to give them the interview they were waiting for. "Please comment for us!"
"Sure, pass this on to Senior Advisor Suzuki Jirokichi… This time, it was a shot from the sea. My impoliteness was due to not having sufficient time to prepare a notice, so please excuse me."
Shinichi's eyebrow rose. And I am the show off… He rolled his eyes, hands sticking inside his pockets. Though I have to give it to him, that guy does know how to make an entertaining show...
By the corner of his eye, he noticed a child taking a step forward, gaze squinting as he tried to deduce what he would pull off next. … Entertaining for all audiences, huh? He thought, chuckling a little.
When Conan's eyes widened, Shinichi knew he had to pay attention to the scene, and was mildly surprised to see that a gigantic net had risen from the floor, trapping everyone, including the thief inside. Yet Kaito seemed to be barely affected ─ it was far from that, actually.
He was enjoying this, Shinichi could tell.
Instantly, the kid's expression smoothed, and the focused one returned. He could tell he was trying to guess what kind of move KID could pull to get out of the situation in hand.
"And, what will you do now?" the reporter asked him right away.
"Well, you see, with my work done… I will be going home."
Amused by the confused looks he received, Kaito KID's finger raised and, with a confident smirk, replied:
"Via teleportation."
A/N:
F. C. Meyer: Actually, that was how I planned it to go, but then I realized that they would have seen the gun he was hiding would be revealed when they took off his shirt, so yeah…
CherryGirl 21-6: Well, yeah, I have a few notes then and there, so I don't forget some stuff. At first I didn't, but yeah, this fic is a bit too long to keep everything in my head XD And thank you a lot for your suggestion, it's quite sweet to think about a situation for that, yet sadly I already have something in mind for Ai-chan… Sorry about it!