Loyalty

"Nakamori-san, get over here. Kuroba might have been your friend once, but he is nothing more than a criminal."

Ah.

Yeah. It had to come to this one day.

That day came sooner than she anticipated, sure, but it wasn't unexpected.

"Nakamori-san!"

They were surrounded, well, more like Kid was surrounded and just because she was standing close to him, consequently she was surrounded, too. They held their guns up, loaded and ready, in their blue uniforms, bodies tense and still.

"Nakamori-san." Kudou Shinichi fought his way through the throng of officers, the blue uniforms, the guns, the grim faces, and stopped next to her father's successor. "It must be a shock to you, but you have to get over here."

"And if I don't?"

Her voice was steady, steadier than she thought she'd sound if she opened her mouth now. Weirdly, she also felt calm. Her nerves should be on end, her heart should be racing in her chest, but she felt a weird calm overcome her instead.

Kudou didn't hold a gun but the disappointed look he gave her hurt more than a bullet ever could.

"You'd be obstructing a police investigation and if, by chance, Kid was able to flee because of you, you'd be treated as his accomplice."

But Kid was Kaito and Kaito was her best friend. And though blood might have been thicker than water, water could be dyed red, too.

And Kaito was Kaito, Kid or not, and he was the last steady fragment of her broken life.

But it wasn't like any of them knew that.

And they didn't really need to know, either.

"Aoko-san. Don't throw it all away."

Her career, her path that she had been walking for so long now, but it was a path sowed with blood and skeletons and she wondered if she really wanted to continue walking it.

"Aoko."

Kid.

No.

Kaito.

She had her back to him, stood just a step or two away from him, but she barely felt the distance.

"He's right. You should-"

"Shut up!" she yelled, keeping her back to him.

In a different year, on a different week, she might have listened, she might have decided something else to be the best thing for her, but even then, being told what to do wasn't something she would have listened to anyway. She'd always been a rebel, deep down. But back then she still might have chosen a different path.

"Where is the truth here, Kudou-kun? Wasn't it you who preached that there's only one truth? Then tell me, what is the truth?"

The truth was, she'd never give up her loyalty.

"The truth is that Kaitou Kid, the man standing behind you, is an internationally wanted criminal, a notorious thief and a big waste of taxpayer's money. Moreover, he was also at least involved in an attempted murder. Your father might not wake up, Aoko-san. Open your eyes and get away from that man. He'll bring you nothing but misery."

Aoko closed her eyes, exhaled slowly and shook her head.

"See?" She looked up again. "I don't believe in there to be just one truth. What is the truth anyway? It's like thinking in black and white and I know about that. I've done it most of my life. But you know? There is no such thing as black and white. This world is full of greys and you'd have to look very closely, you'd have to find all the truths and then choose for yourself what you want to believe in."

"What are you talking about, Aoko-san? People might perceive things differently but that doesn't change the fact that there is just one truth."

Kudou was always a righteous person but he'd lost his way along the road.

Or maybe it was her who'd lost her way.

"You'd have to have all the facts to determine the truth."

Maybe her views of the world were warped and scattered all over the floor.

Maybe she was wrong.

But for what it was worth, she'd walk that path to the end, no matter where it'd take her.

"You're right. Enlighten me then, what facts do I not know, then?"

All the facts.

Sometimes darkness only seemed dark but if one looked closer, they'd see the light.

"If you can't even see that much, Kudou-kun, then I don't see how my arguments could persuade you of a different truth."

With that, Aoko stepped back, back towards Kaito, back and to her right, just in front of him. As if there was an invisible line separating good from bad, just and unjust, and she just made the conscious decision of crossing to the evil side.

She felt Kaito flinch behind her, slightly, but it was there, and she knew he might hate her for it, but she'd seen worse.

"You wanted me to choose. This is my choice."

She'd choose loyalty over anything else, bloody water over any kind of other tie she might have pledged upon.

I don't think I'll ever finish this, so have a little something. Work has been overkill the last months so I rally had not time or strength to write much. I hope it'll change soon. Well, after I played through One Piece, Final Fantasy and Persona 5 ahaha ^^"

Stay safe and healthy guys!