So as everyone can see i am no good when it comes to drama
or getting characters correctly
I am actually just making a way from burning coal towards a field of cotton candy
that's exactly what my boredom makes me do
The girls were sitting in the living room, chatting idly with smiles on their faces.
Apparently, Kazuha-chan asked Ran about her character and what she can do to make friendships last longer. Now, practicing her new attitude on Ran's dad wasn't part of the whole teaching process - but guess what -
"Alright, Osakan girl, i can be your friend." - Mouri finally said to the lady before him, watching her growing smile and his daughter giving him a 'thumb's up' from behind.
He never thought teenagers can change attitudes that quickly by gaining friends and learning a few jokes.
...Thinking about jokes, where is this little dude Conan?
Mouri hadn't seen him going out of the office but he was sure he was here just a while ago... so there was no reason for him to not be here...
Well, in the end he deduced that the most likely possibility was that the little kid was on some of these adventures with detective boys again. He does disappear for them sometimes, so it's not even worrisome anymore.
Weird kid.
Kudo held his phone with his shoulder while clutching and turning his map in his hands.
The map was showing the city Hattori supposedly was in, as Agasa just happened to have one of them laying around. When the phone emitted sound again, old professor's voice gave the boy directions yet again, which Kudo followed. Agasa's voice buzzed with "His phone is most probably near the field and the alley just behind that store" and as Kudo followed, he looked for a more exact place Hattori may have stayed in.
Normally going after a case, there was police all around and it was Kudo who visited his friend.
Normally if it was an investigation, he would see his friend looking for clues or a few passer-bys frozen looking.
This time however it didn't seem like any of those was happening, and that made Shinichi's job a bit harder.
huh.
That meant that his conclusion from earlier was correct. The way Heiji sounded while on the phone... His broken voice indicated a state that would prevent Heiji being his normal-acting and energetic-detective self.
Shinichi had a feeling he was hurt or in danger - so he must have looked for a safe place more than fun this time, which would suggest some space to recover. Whatever business the detective had in leaving his talisman-girl-friend over and not telling Shinichi anything must have been something big and overwhelming enough to make him go alone and not prepared.
On the way, Kudo started wondering what was this all about. Trying to piece the puzzle together proved unsuccessful in the end, but that did not make his theories go away. There was too many gaps that his friend will have to fill him on before his deduction would even get the chance of being true.
The only thing on Kudo's mind that would leave his friend in a bad state when he could barely talk...
No... he couldn't even think about it in such way.
...
...Still, did Hattori lose his trust in him and that's why he went alone? Was that why he was so distant last time? Because if not for the lack of trust or sheer unwillingness to accept help from him, why didn't he say anything? - Was there a reason he answered a call from Shinichi and not anyone else?
"Kudo! ...Hey, Kudo! This is the area your friend's cell is. Hopefully with the owner attached. Let me know how it went, alright?" The professor asked, equally curious and urgent.
"Y-yes, i will." - he took the map in one hand, hanging up the phone and putting it back in his pocket. Checking if he had all of his gadgets in case of emergency or danger on him, he found them present. After that, he looked around the destined area his informator had told him about, and started thinking. His eyes landed on a small house that didn't seem to have an owner, a perfect place for escape from curious gazes.
Bingo.
At least, the detective of the east hoped so, his instincts telling him to check there first. The house looked unprotected, completely devoid of any outstanding qualities besides a lack of a nameplate in front. The gates weren't locked, and the pavement looked dirty save for a few places.
Perfect for an easily accessible hiding spot!
He had no idea why Hattori would visit this town, or maybe this house, or what he was searching for initially - but one thing was clear. He was about to get all his answers. ... Too bad it wouldn't go as smoothly as he expected it to go.
His small hands twisted the doorknob which opened softly. He readied his watch with sleeping darts just in case, as the years had made him wary and more cautious.
The insides of the house were pretty bright, lit by not yet hidden sun, reflecting off the nice pale-ish colors and light leather furniture. There was some dust on the items around but not enough for it to be abandoned for longer than a month. Perhaps it was just barely getting winded before being sold or someone is planning to use this house as a spare?
Shinichi still had no idea what to think about it all and hoped his friend wasn't just pulling a prank on him, making him believe the situation was dire. Not so long ago he pulled a similar joke, but it was way more funny and less disturbing.
As he checked his surroundings, he assumed the house looked safe. Upon closer inspection for clues he didn't notice anything bloodied or any signs of struggle or fight. What struck his attention were sharp objects scattered on the table and a few torn bandages, some rolling on the ground.
What the...
He was just turning around the corner when-
"-WoaAHH!" Kudo jumped as the familiar figure of his tall friend stood just above him, apparently turning a corner.
Hattori himself flinched strongly, looking at Shinichi with a surprised gaze.
...WAh, oh, he didn't expect me to come here to help out, no wonder we both startled each other... but wait, i'm here to get some answers, not explain the most basic of behaviors to myself! - Shinichi continued staring at his friend for a good few seconds before they both moved to action.
"Hattori!"
"Kudo! Sorry, didn't really - uh, expect you. Yo' alright? Ya got startled pretty hard! "
Kudo just stared at his friend, calming down for a second before filling up with anger. Hattori looked playful - "Don't blame me tho', wasn't my choice ta have startlin' abilities... and you aren't exactly easy to notice... " Kudo halted him-
"You ask me if i'm alright?! Ugh, when i called you couldn't even say my name, i thought someone was killing you, Heiji ! " At some point Kudo stood up at his toes, trying to appear menacing.
Heiji looked at the ground briefly, making a slight pause in the sea of accusations Shinichi was currently drowning him in. Again.
*See? How cute, he even got angry... *
Hesitating, Heiji chuckled jokingly ... yet humorlessly. Looking away from his rival, he successfully avoided a look of confusion being thrown at him.
"Heh... Well ya may be onto something there actually. No matter, i have a clue i have to show yah..."
...What does he mean? and...Wait...Now that i look at him more closely...
Shinichi took a while to make some more observations about his friend's state.
His clothes were dirty and torn in some places, there was a lot of bruising near his hands and some on his chest, same with cuts. His usual brown skin was slightly more pale and sweaty, his eyes more dull and blue than his normal focused gaze. He looked pretty much at his last legs, trembling and swaying from time to time. It took Kudo less than a second to figure out the worst case scenario.
Smaller detective came closer to his friend, stopping his babbling and extending a hand to check some of his injuries. - "Are you alright? Did someone attack you?" - he tried to touch Hattori's wrist but the Osakan took a step back.
"I am alright, yah don't have to see anything. I shouldn't have made you come here anyway." After that, he put his hands innocently forward making a sheepish face, proving a point. Weird.
"What?"
Heiji then spoke once more;
"I guess i will just ask ya for forgiveness for my inability to talk and making you worry. I didn't mean...-"
Hattori lost his focus for a split second, bringing a hand towards his head lightly. Kudo's attention shifted faster than lightning, immediately getting more alert.
- "Hattori? What's going on?" He asked, but his friend was too busy catching himself from toppling over to answer.
He balanced his stance just as he was about to hit the wall, shaking his head as if to clear it. Shinichi looked at him with concern and caution, now fully focused on his friend's condition, hands unconsciously outstretched for assistance.
He was concerned for his friend and that made him want answers even more.
"Sorry."
As the detective of the east tried to help, Heiji still seemed very closed off towards him.
"What's going on with you? You look pale. Actually i'm surprised you are still standing on these shaking legs." Reaching out even more, trying to appear as peaceful as possible, Kudo lowered his voice, "Here, just let me help you."
Shinichi started again after a second of hesitation, again coaxing Hattori with "Relax a bit, i only want to help."
Hattori looked hesitant for a second but took Kudo's hand for assistance. As he let his friend guide him to the pale-colored couch unsteadily, his legs pretty much going completely slack by the end of their journey, he lost his facade and looked plain tired.
"How about you tell me what this is all about once you feel better?" Kudo asked in gentle and cautious tone. Seeing his friend about to respond, he quickly added: "And don't lie to me. You need more time to feel better, not just half a minute on this old couch."
Hattori looked back towards the ground, letting out a tired sigh.
"..."
They sat in silence for a while, the only noise in the room being wind outside and their breathing. Meanwhile, Shinichi still did not let go of the darker-skinned boy's hand, keeping them close.
'He looks just about ready to drift off or fall asleep' - He thought while having a closer look at the state of Heiji's body. He knew exhaustion when he saw it, just as well as he knew when his friend was hiding something important. His clothes look... and all of the dirt and blood... how did that happen?
And then, the detective of the west said something that shook Kudo to the core.
- " It's kinda embarrassing to say how exactly, but long story short, i may have an antidote for yer' poison. "
Heiji stopped right after this, pointedly looking at the place he was standing before Kudo came in. On the counter, over 16 small vials with various labels lay down in a row, all different in colors and structure.
"Wh... What? How?!" Shinichi pointed his gaze at his friend with urgency, making the Osakan flinch softly from surprise.
"I hope at least one of them works. These guys told me where it lay, i took as many as i could. Please, have your friend check them in the lab. There... is a small chance."
"No, wait Hattori. How did you get them in the first place?! And don't tell me these guys were..."
"They were, Kudo. Who else would dip into yer' poison?"
"T- There is no way you found them! How are you even alive after that? Why... wait... Why didn't you say something?! Do you know how dangerous they can be?! You could have died and i would never even know the fucking cause! Why... "
Hattori looked sharply away, momentarily ashamed.
*Look what you did, look how useless it is.*
Shinichi was yelling at him for some time now. Random stress words, confusion and horror spilling out from his mouth. He was afraid that if he let himself hope, if he believed there was an antidote in these vials, he would have that hope ripped away along with his sanity.
He held Hattori's hand closer, tensed from the whole conversation. The bruising on his wrist caused his friend to wince a little but other than that his face was impassive, taking in all of his little friend's confusion and fury. Drifting in and out of it, the Osakan boy was just lazily looking at his rival, cushioning his slight slip of character. Shinichi caught onto this quicker than expected, stopping his sharp words.
He reverted back into his earlier state, careful and uncertain, looking at the hand he was griping just a second ago and then upwards towards Hattori. "Hey, hey, are you listening?"
When the small detective looked at him, the piercing gaze kept him grounded.
"Look, tha agency left a couple of new people to cause trouble around. They just... happened ta' tell me where these were."
"If it works on you..." Heiji started and took some deep breaths. Kudo stood.
"If it works on you, it would make you free again." Hattori tried to point towards the vials but couldn't really lift his hand half way. He gave up and chuckled again, empty laugh making him want to cry, light filling his thoughts. "It's so pointless... maybe it really tells the truth... did i fail again? " Once more, Heiji muttered to no one.
Many things were going through Shinichi's mind right now. The most alarming one was the very weird and incomplete words his friend was trying to say, leading to the second most alarming one being Heiji's overall state.
These injuries and this weird way of behaving his friend was showing wasn't looking normal. It was almost absent now, so not-like him, even if he was injured.
I mean, he would know, since he saw his friend in worse states already.
There was a lot of things to process and even more to gather. Kudo made up his mind, not staying without a plan for long, and started looking over his friend seriously this time - and seeing exactly what needed any medical attention at the moment.
"Let's talk about these-" he pointed at the vials at the counter "-later. You don't sound like yourself at the moment and i will need to know what to tend in the meanwhile."
He took his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt a little as a stress reliever. "I will hear about all of it straight from you later, though." He turned. "You will tell me what they did, and then we will talk about your investigation." Hattori stared at him for a moment, unblinking and unseeing the detective he had before his eyes. Silence followed.
"For now, just let me help you."