Chapter Fifty-Two

I am so sorry. Literally nothing can excuse my absence. I have been gone for over 4 months, and I haven't even updated this story. I'm not dead, so ...yay...? Eh. LET'S GET ON WITH THE SHOW!

Reminder:

Spoken sentences in italics are in English.

Natsuki clutched at the messenger bag Haibara had given him. It was supposedly filled with an assortment of items like medicine or spare clothes. Of course, he hadn't looked inside when he was forced out of the Kudou mansion at approximately 4 in the morning to ride a train to Ekoda. Which brought him to now.

It was 7:15 AM on a school day, and students were trickling in despite the earliness. He spotted the occasional teacher as well, but only two so far. It seemed they were running late.

Anyway, the school building had become very opposing since the last time Natsuki had seen it. Worries filled his head and he began to shake.

Would he see Kaito today? What about Aoko? Hakuba? Would they ask where he was? What would he tell them? Would Kaito be suspicious? Would he hate Natsuki?

...Does he hate Ruri?

...Why do I care so much what he thinks? It shouldn't matter. What was that breathing exercise they taught? Breathe in and out, relax...

"I can do this."

"Ah!"

With a jump that felt like he was taken through the stratosphere, Natsuki spun around.

"It is you, Natsuki-kun!" Aoko smiled and rushed over, clasping onto the boy's hands. "It's been so long since we last saw you!"

"Ao-N-Nakamori-san," Natsuki attempted to smile. "Long time so see."

"Really! You'll have to tell us all about where you went!" the long haired brunette gave a short laugh and let go of Natsuki's hands. "But you'll have to tell all of us later because I'm on day duty today."

"Ah- un, see you," Natsuki waved at Aoko's retreating form.

Oh dear God.

The first thing that Natsuki was greeted with when he got back to the Kudou mansion was a very familiar tanned face and tiny detective.

"Good! You're here! Now you and da squirt can explain ta me what's goin' on!" Hattori's voice blasted from where he sat on the couch.

Natsuki's mouth flapped open then shut, and he trudged numbly to the adjacent couch.

"Hello Hattori-san," the brunet greeted with a tight smile, flopping onto the cushion.

The Osakan detective nodded and folded his arms across his chest.

"So?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Natsuki glanced over to where Conan sat and the detective nodded, giving the go-ahead.

"I'm Ruri, simply put."

"Ah figured that out, but how come neither ah ya' told me sooner?" Hattori uncrossed his arms and placed them on the glass coffee table in front of him, leaning forward. "I ain't da Detective o' da West for nothin'!"

Natsuki blinked twiced before smiling and shrugging. "I guess I should've expected you to figure that out."

The smile was quickly replaced with a bitter frown and a sigh. "I'm in a similar position to Kudou-san. The same group that poisoned him poisoned me. A different drug, of course, meant to kill, but somehow failed."

The tanned detective leaned back into the couch and nodded. "It makes sense. But how come they want ya?"

Natsuki shrugged again. "I'm not sure. It could be that they saw me with Kudou-san or Kaitou KID and didn't like that."

"Oh yeah, you do hang out with dat thief..."

"Did. I did, but..." Natsuki gripped at his pants. "He didn't want me around anymore."

"So ya ended up stalkin' him in this body?"

"Stalk- I don't-!"

"Ya follow him around despite da fact dat he's avoiding ya, therefore: stalker."

"I don't collect samples of his hair, or his discarded items!" Natsuki yelled, jumping up from the couch red-faced.

"Ya get mah point though, right?" Hattori smirked with a raised eyebrow.

"...I guess..." The brunet quietly sat back down, looking at the floor. "So you're saying to just not associate with him at all?"

"Well, dat would be da logical course o' action, if the reason ya were poisoned was because they saw ya with him, but Kudou is over here living with nee-chan despite da fact dat he keeps sayin' he doesn't want ta get her involved."

"Hey!"

"Mah point is, ya should fly low, but do what ya want. If ya avoid them too much, it may become counterintuitive."

"So act natural?"

"Yup."

"Ya should definitely come visit us in Osaka. Kazuha has been gettin' all annoying and wondering where ya are. It looks like she really likes ya," Hattori smiled.

"Yeah. I'll come visit if I can. I've missed Kazuha-san as well. It'd be nice to see her."

"You too, Kudou! I'll show ya both all da great places to eat! And da food is better than Tokyo's. I bet mah life on it."

"It was nice to see you again, Hattori-san, even if it was for these circumstances," Natsuki smiled.

"No problem, Ruri. Ya just be careful, ok? And make sure to keep an eye on Kudou for me, ya know?" Hattori grinned and gave a knowing look to Conan.

"What?" the shrunken detective growled.

"I remember," Natsuki laughed. "You take care of yourself too."

"You're talkin' to da Great Detective o' da West! Ah know how ta take care o' myself. But thanks for da sentiment."

Natsuki fiddled with the four leaf clover hair clips Kaito had given to Ruri on her birthday. That felt like a lifetime ago.

"I wish I hadn't met them," he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

"'Cause now I care so much."

BOOM. DONE. Anyway, in regards to that last chapter, my worries still stand. I want to give STSG a facelift, but I don't know if I have the energy to do so. It's more likely that I'll go back and make some changes to previous chapters to give 'em a better look.

HOW ARE Y'ALL? TELL ME HOW YOUR SUMMERS WENT. I WANT TO KNOW.

Also, serious kudos (hah) to anyone who's been here since the beginning. I want all of you to know that I am so thankful for the support you guys have given this story. When I look at the fact that this has over 200 reviews, I just want to cry. Thank you. Thank you all. Even to those who just picked up the fic. I love all of you.

NEXT TIME: LOOK OUT WORLD, HERE WE- ohMYGO-

DFTBA!