Chapter Twenty-Three
"We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we're capable of."
-Phil McGraw
"AMERICA?!" Ruri yelled, slamming her hands against the table.
Tomoharu and Aki flinched.
"You didn't even think to-" Ruri was cut off as tears began to fall.
She wiped them angrily away with enough force to bruise.
"Ruri- we're sorry, please, believe us. Your obaa-san needs us to-"
"You didn't think to tell me until it was literally time for you to go?" Ruri growled, tears still falling.
"We're sorry, Ruri..." Aki tried, before Tomoharu's hand was on her shoulder and he was shaking his head.
"Just go already..." Ruri mumbled.
"Ruri..."
"Take care of yourself, ok?" Tomoharu asked, as he picked up his black suitcase and Aki's red one.
Ruri sat silently at the table until she heard the door close and the lock click.
"A ticket to see a silent play?" Ruri looked at the slip of paper in her hand
Hakuba nodded. "I was wondering if you would like to go with me."
"What play?" she asked.
"The Triumph of Folly," the London detective smiled.
"A John Benson play...huh?"
Hakuba smiled. "I knew you'd recognize it."
"Well... I don't have anything going on... so why not?" Ruri smiled.
Hakuba hoped Ruri would cheer up. She had come to class with red eyes and a tired look on her face. Kaito had already given her a white rose and she gave him this fake smile that even Aoko knew something was obviously wrong.
"Sorry, but it seems I won't be able to make it. Something just came up. Go ahead and watch it if you want to"
Ruri silently read the text on her phone and sighed.
"Well, I guess I'll just go inside..."
Ruri shoved her phone into her pocket and walked inside the theatre.
She took a seat and waited for the play to begin.
The lights began to dim and the curtain rose.
Ruri watched as the two actors fought with amazing skill and was enraptured by the way the rapiers clanged together.
The actor wearing the owl mask suddenly managed to catch the other's rapier and flung it away. The other actor wearing a white and red mask (Ruri wasn't sure what kind of bird it was supposed to be) slumped down and began some hand motions to signify wanting forgiveness.
The owl masked actor simply plunged his sword into the other actor's chest, making him slump over.
The actor started laughing and lifted his arms in triumph as the background flashed with lightning. When the spotlights turned back on, the actor was gone.
The king sat down on his throne and began to pour himself a toast. He lifted the cup to his lips and drank. But the moment was short lived when the cup clanged against the stage and the king clutched at his chest before reaching for the sky and falling.
The lights came back on slowly and all the guests began to filter out through the exits. Just as Ruri was about to do the same, she spotted some familiar backs just a few rows down.
She started to make her way down to greet Kogorou, Ran, and Conan.
"Ran-san?" she called as she stood outside the aisle.
Ran turned to look at her.
"Ruri-chan!" Ran smiled and got up. "What a coincidence!"
Ruri smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, Otou-san got a job from Shimizu-san here and Conan-kun and I decided to tag along!" Ran said. "What are you doing here, Ruri-chan?"
"I was invited to go with a classmate of mine, but he said he had some things to do," Ruri explained.
"So you're all alone here?" Ran asked.
Ruri nodded.
"Ne, Otou-san, do you mind if Ruri-chan tags along? She's a good detective in her own right, so maybe she can help you!" Ran turned to Kogorou.
"Well..." he started.
"How about Conan-kun and I just hang out?" Ruri asked.
"As long as it gets the brat away from me, I don't care," Kogorou huffed.
"At least stick with us for a while!" Ran protested.
"I..."
"Otou-san!" Ran turned back to Kogorou.
"Ok, ok..." he sighed.
After investigating the lift and the prop room with Kogorou and Ran, Ruri found herself hiding in the prop room near Conan, under a clothed table.
"I knew we'd end up doing some independent investigating..." she laughed nervously.
"Shh!" Conan hissed.
The door to the prop room slid open and Ruri shut her mouth obediently.
Soft footsteps tapped against the floor and the sound of a sword being drawn filled Ruri with panic.
"By switching this rapier with the real one, Robert will..."
Ruri's eyes widened as she heard the sword being sheathed.
"Kyoko... Although I may not know where you are now... I only hope you will see tomorrow's news."
Ruri tried to steady her breathing.
"Because the news will be about the accidental death of the man that's having a secret affair on you!"
She heard the sound of a flip phone being snapped closed.
"Robert... come tomorrow, the sword of justice shall pierce right through your sinful heart!"
Ruri watched as his feet turned towards where Conan was hiding and saw Conan take a step back.
He somehow managed to bump something, because the next thing Ruri heard was the sound of a ball bouncing onto the ground.
"Hm?"
A turn.
"W-Who are you?!"
"H-Hello... ahahaha..." Ruri heard Conan say.
"Bye!" he tried to rush off.
"Hold it!"
Ruri watched Conan's feet stop abrubtly and then shift to what Ruri assumed to be a position so that Conan could see the person.
"You... You're Mouri-tantei's...!
"Me? I didn't hear a thing!" Conan tried.
"There's no way you didn't anything! Now that you've heard, there's no way I can let you go! Until the show is finished at the earliest."
Ruri listened as Conan cries were muffled by something (she thought maybe tape).
"To be honest, staying here... Damn... my alcoholism is acting up again...!"
Ruri heard something large being moved and scraped against the floor.
She patiently waited until the feet were walking away from wherever he had put Conan and left the room. The door slid closed again.
Ruri burst out from her hiding spot and began to search throughout the room.
"Conan-kun? Where are you?"
She heard a muffled voice and tried to walk towards it.
"Conan-kun?" she tried again.
More muffled speaking.
She turned towards a big sarcophagus and walked towards it.
"Conan-kun? Are you in here? It's some sort of Egyptian sarcophagus..."
Muffled affirmation.
Ruri heard footsteps outside the door and she looked around in panic.
She dove underneath the same table just as the lock clicked and the door was opened.
Footsteps clacked against the floor and hands pulled out a wooden box.
She watched as someone sat on the box. Ruri heard the sound of a liquid being poured into something.
"Geez..." she heard a man's voice say.
"He just keeps going on and on. The main role was supposed to belong to me, originally. But because of you, everything has been ruined."
The sound of something being placed on a shelf was what Ruri heard afterwards.
"You must know by now that the audience is growing tired of watching you only act like you've been poisoned. Well, for the next performance, I'll be the one in the spotlight."
AND HERE IS WHERE I MUST STOP~ *cough* Ok, sorry. I just wanted to get a second chapter out in apology for not getting the last one out in time. So, I hope you all will forgive me for being a bit late!
NEXT CHAPTER: THE MALICE BEHIND THE MASQUE (PART 2)
DFTBA, EVERYONE!