Shinichi was giving up.
Maybe he was just imagining things, overthinking. Everyone was safe, they were about to track the main hideout, police got their backs... Small stress. He liked to tell himself that it didn't deserve more than that.
Yet, he was scared.
He was scared of the people that took away so much from him. He was scared to attack a powerful and old organization that no one had taken down.
He guesses that's why the nightmares were so intense and so vivid when he fell asleep.
There was this silence buzzing in his ears as the bullets sounded, a few moments going by in complete stillness. The floor was quickly turning red in color, every killed person hitting the ground with a wet thud. He watched it all, glued to the ground, his short legs trembling like never before.
The floor under his small shoes collapsed once more, making the detective fall down into darkness, consumed. His eyes clouded, quickly losing light as he fell deeper down. Shinichi was regaining height as he fell faster and faster towards the ground he couldn't see, the nonexistent cold wind going through his hair. Hitting the solid black concrete soundlessly, Kudo stood up slowly, looking at the only lit place down here. There was something purple on the ground, shining in light that came from nowhere.
Black tall figures were standing all around it, their glowing glass eyes daring Kudo to try to pick it up.
The teen looked down, not feeling like he was in control of his own body. Kneeling down so he can pick up the object, Shinichi examined it thoughtfully, feeling the familiar cuff piece inside the amulet under his fingers. As the place was getting hotter and hotter, the amulet slipped through his hands, falling towards the ground.
Shinichi was sent to another place yet again, more black clothed people standing closer around him. He saw them attack someone else too, meaning he wasn't alone. The figures jumped on him as soon as he looked back up, their hands clawing at his clothes, holding his limbs still and hearing Ran's cry in the far distance. The black figures hands went towards his throat, causing him to feel utter and true terror. Desperately trying to get away, the young detective started struggling against the force holding him down, finally feeling himself and being pulled out of their clutches.
Shinichi woke up with a start, sitting up straight in bed, still coughing and struggling. He was covered in a layer of sweat from his dream, wishing for nothing more than to be dry and calm again as soon as possible. He felt a tissue press down on his forehead, drying his face slightly as he relieved the memories from the dream in his mind. Looking up into the brightened room he spotted the dark-skinned detective's hand holding the tissue, the rest of him sitting next to Kudo, falsely calm.
He caught the last remnants of the fleeting nightmare into his memory, the screams he heard being engraved even more strongly. Maybe it was because of his imagination, Kudo's always more real than he liked.
"Good mornin'. You good?" Hattori asked, not making any eye-contact with his friend yet.
"Yeah. It's-... It's fine."
"You started breathing weird, so... i got... worried? I think you had a nightmare, and so i tried to wake ya up."
He stopped quickly, his expression playful. "Don't be angry tho, it's already 10! Your crazy dreams sure take a lot of time..." Heiji signed, looking away in shyness. "Never told me you had those, eh? I heard tha' it helps once you talk about them... so... uh... would you like to?" Heiji asked, again going back to not looking in Kudo's general direction.
"Uh... It's not really... interesting, i guess?" He tried keeping the sleepiness out of his voice, failing. He didn't really want to talk about it yet either, so...
"I would be glad to hear it anyway if it will make you feel better. Sounded rough, and trust me, i would know." Heiji repeated, now looking at him intensely as Shinichi reached for the tissue he was holding and accidentally touched him.
Kudo frowned a bit, honestly not up to it but still thinking about how to answer. The progress he had with Heiji was very large already, so he needed to play this right. Before he could do anything though, a wave of extreme tiredness swept over him.
"Not gonna lie, the only thing i wanna do is sleep. Maybe if you would carry me to the car i could think about telling."
"Sounds good enough."
From what Hattori gathered, Shinichi was... still is... affecting his poison. Somehow, when they finally reached the car, Hattori managed to even forget about the whole thing. And he was supposed to be dead. Dying, right now.
If getting away from the car hadn't reminded him, he probably would.
He reached for his phone as he laid Shinichi on the cushions inside the car, his friend looking downright drunk with a rare sleepy expression. He shook his head and got back on task.
The message didn't show, in it's stead a string of numbers and symbols, none making any sense. He squinted as normally he was able to read the thing, worrying slightly as now it couldn't be treated as evidence. Not that it would be, ever.
The feature letting the victims decipher the code after taking the poison so police wouldn't get it, what a surprise. He felt a slight tingle behind his eyes though, his body feeling as if something was under it's surface.
He focused for a second, getting his thoughts together...
Taking enough wary steps back, the message became more clear. His body shook as soon as he left the safe zone, setting a barrier.
...'I guess i won't go far away from ya today. I need to figure out how this all works if i want to do anything.'...
...
"- O-r you can ask somebody who knows."
Kazuha sat neatly in the room protected by the Osaka police. It was nice, the dark walls illuminated by bright lights, and that amazingly pretty plant on the table was... uh, really adding some good color... and...
No, it totally wasn't nice.
The doors were made out of metal, locked on 6 locks, god knows how many policemen running behind them in the frenzy that was catching a large group of criminals. She was targeted by a bunch of guys with bombs strapped to their chests, who, apparently, tried to ambush both her and Ran. She wasn't even sure if the cops outside weren't spies, waiting to attack...
So far the only thing she knew for sure was that Heiji gave the order of having her and Ran in protection. And what do you know, all the attackers met in her house was just a bunch of police officers. There was a lot of men injured, enough for this thing to be serious. Hattori gave all information Heizou needed to start this thing, causing the two friends to be interrogated for any details. She sent some messages to him, asking where they're standing, not getting a response so far.
She tried asking her dad to, like, let them go already, as she and Ran was very certain of their own self-defense techniques, only to receive a "worried dad" speech.
Failure.
No matter.
Apparently, Hattori got a threat sent to him. The attackers thought Hattori wouldn't be fast enough to get all the police involved, what a shame... - Osakan police is one of the better ones in Japan lately, after all.
There... may had been the fact that the guys tried to kill themselves after they failed, one bomb per each chest. She does not like to think about that.
Apparently, Ran knew more than she did. Said Kudo was chasing after a case and some words slipped out, returning in this scenario. Kazuha was sure that if she was as close to Kudo as she was, she would have caught more. If Heiji says even one word out of the ordinary, she knows immediately, pushing him until he spills. Ran though seems scared, not only when Kazuha suggest she try this but also when she tries to convince her to ask about it. Was Shinichi some sort of god? Untouchable and fragile and running away from her... Ran didn't seem confident about their relationship at all, too. Kazuha expected her to be more... confident, open, about Kudo.
She remembers that when Hattori walked about him, he seemed so energetic, passionate - so certain, so happy and even into the whole idea of friendship like never before.
That was part of the reason she also misnamed Ran Shinichi, as Hattori's description took her thinking completely different tracks about the detective.
"You know why i thought you were Kudo the first time we met?" - Kazuha asked her friend, the silence making her decide on sharing some stories from before they all met.
Everything was a bit foggy, but isn't it always when he wakes up?
He heard some voices, smelled the interior of a car, felt a hard cushion under him... Wait, were they already going or did someone just stuff him into the car?
"-o ya thi- -ork? "
"-es. "
"Wo-, i'm su-d, but- i... "
"No worries."
He hoisted himself up, groggily rubbing his eyes. He had a good sleep, not like he had a choice. 8 hours, no less, no matter the circumstance, although he wished he didn't need as much. ...And no coffee? No way i'm getting up...
"Damnnnn..." He stretched, almost making a hole in the ceiling with his fingertips. Oh, wait. Heiji got him here, how could he forget. Now though, it seemed like he was talking with someone.
Heiji got into the car seat next to him not long after they quieted, giving a very specific glance in his direction, Haibara getting in after.
"All on the back seats? You finally got how much cooler it is?" Kudo asked Ai in surprise. "So you wouldn't mind if i sat on the front...yes?" He smiled, ignoring the two making an eye roll.
...Finally, my revenge...
"I hope through all your victory you won't forget your promise."
"Yeah yeah later."
Kaito and the professor were coming quickly, the old man nodding playfully at Shinichi sitting next to him in the front. Seemed he didn't mind, meanwhile Shinichi minded a lot. Some balance, that's what this ride needed. Was it 2 hours to destination or 20 minutes, there gotta be some of that shotgun goodness.
When he was getting ready for the oncoming challenge of deducting the BO location, also being overly happy about his front seat glory, everyone got ready to go.
"You okay?" Ai asked in a hushed voice, receiving a nod.
Kaito shot the two a questioning look, some words already on his lips. Hattori's signals silenced him though, the message getting across. They were about 10 minutes away, so who really needs that conversation. The thief shrugged, quick to turn towards the front to banter with Kudo as much as he could.
Who cares i have it all planned, i'm probably not gonna continue. Never had the talent to write, so what's the point. There is so much better pain and angst everywhere, so much better mangas than detective Conan, so much better cartoons and animations than the anime and a lot of amazing writers. Why would someone bother?