The Darkness Inside
Chapter 10 Christmas Spirit
To: Aoko, 2016.12.23, 16:01:12: Gomenne Aoko. I couldn't shake Conan-kun so he's accompanying me now
To: Ran, 2016.12.22, 16:02:45: That's fine. Kaito came unannounced just a few minutes ago and won't leave for a reason. I'm kind of curious how those two will react to each other
To: Aoko, 2016.12.23, 16:04:12: I wonder if that's so good though. In the end they join forces…
To: Ran, 2016.12.22, 16:04:45: don't worry, it'll be fine
"Ne, who are you messaging all this time? Did you get a boyfriend or what?"
Aoko put the phone away and turned to her friend who was lazing on the couch in her living room instead of helping her decorate.
"First of all, that's none of your business. Maybe I got a boyfriend, after all. Second of all, you should be helping me out here and third of all, just for your information, Ran-chan is coming and Conan-kun is with her."
She would have wondered why Kaito froze up for a second if she didn't know the reason – and she wished she didn't know. How badly she wished she hadn't seen his reaction and didn't understand why he'd freeze up when told about Conan-kun.
Sighing, Aoko turned her back towards Kaito again and continued rummaging through the box containing all her Christmas decorations.
Today, she'd felt much better after having slept a few hours – more than usual – and she'd gone shopping. Thankfully, she was able to get some presents for all the important people even though it did feel kind of dull this year. She had barely the mind for school, much less for this. Still, it needed to be taken care of. Though, she did wonder if maybe they should simply skip Christmas and continue with the next year celebration since her father wouldn't be present and neither would be Kaito. It wasn't like Christmas was that special anyway. It was a western tradition and if her father wasn't around, what was the point? Besides, what a great Christmas was it if she had to spend it all alone? Not much she was looking forward to and much less when there was Christmas decorations reminding her all the time about all the opportunities she didn't have.
But Aoko wouldn't be Aoko if she didn't at least try to find the Christmas spirit even if she'd probably regret it the next day. So, she'd spent the whole day so far with shopping. She'd just gotten home when Kaito knocked on her door and didn't want to leave anymore, though, instead of making himself useful he just lazed around and bugged her. So much for best childhood friend.
So far, her only consolation was Ran who'd probably willingly help her set it all up. She'd intended to talk to her and maybe talk about preparations and plans but as soon as Kaito had invited himself, that plan had died rather quickly. Well, but maybe things would get interesting after all, since Conan-kun is coming as well. She wondered if the boy would be able to make the connection between Kid and Kaito – and hoped that no, he better didn't.
"Conan-who now?"
Aoko grinned inwardly. "Ah, I guess you wouldn't know him. Edogawa Conan. The Kid-Killer – on another thought, you probably do know him even if not personally."
What a lie, though.
"Ah, I see. I'm shocked to find out what kind of people you're acquainted with."
Aoko half looked back at him and raised an eyebrow in question. "Because…?"
"Because you're just the daughter of that third-class inspector. That kid's been barely around and already he was closer to catching Kid than your father has ever been – and ever will be. Though, to be fair, that kid has no chance, either. Kid-sama is way too amazing for either of them."
Aoko's eye twitched in annoyance and hurt. Did he really think that? That she was basically worthless? And her father, too. And being his daughter made her even more worthless? Why did he have to be so mean all the time?
Her trusty mop lay in the corner, though, and it would take her a second only to grab it and give Kaito a good swooping which he so deserved. "Kaito", she seethed but the second he jumped up to run away and she jumped for her weapon the bell rung.
"That's probably Ran. You're lucky she came when she did. But don't worry, Kaito. I'll make you eat your words, just you wait."
She cackled evilly and went to get the door. Just before opening it, though, she turned around one last time and gave Kaito a stern look. "Behave!"
Hastily opening the door, a smiling Ran and company awaited her. "Hello Ran, Conan-kun. Come on inside."
She closed the door so the cold air was not getting in any longer. Even if it was winter season there was no snow in Tokyo, so far, but that didn't stop the temperatures to fall beyond zero. A storm was coming up, Aoko could feel it in her bones – both metaphorical and quite literal but while the snow storm was awaited up north, the metaphorical storm stood right behind her in the form of a small child.
Whatever Conan's problem was, she needed to solve it. She needed him to trust her – trust her with Ran and with everything else. Ran had told her that Conan didn't seem to like her very much but he didn't know half of it and so maybe this was the opportunity to get him on her side.
Putting on the best smile she could muster, she turned around. "So, Conan-kun, I don't think we've been introduced to each other."
She squatted in front of him and smiled broadly. "My name is Nakamori Aoko. It's nice to meet you. I think we even could have crossed paths since my father is Keibu of Division 2 – head of the Kaitou Kid squad."
Conan nodded and smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Aoko-neechan. I'm Edogawa Conan. So, there's a new heist message. Has the police force solved it yet?"
Aoko slumped and stood back up. "Who knows. But probably not since Otou-san's still away. Well, anyway, that slouch on the couch is my friend Kuroba Kaito."
"Oi, you…!" came the short protest of the greatest magician ever. Yeah, yeah, great my ass.
To be honest, Kaito had just wanted to spend some time with Aoko, annoy her a bit and find out what she'd been doing lately. That failed when he realized she wasn't home and he had no idea where she went. He could have easily met her somewhere but she didn't react to neither calls nor messages so he was stuck with waiting. Which wasn't so bad since he could continue planning his heist – not that he wasn't long finished planning. It was supposed to be a rather large heist, more of the dangerous sort. It had needed a lot of planning and he just made reassurances that he had made no mistakes.
Then, finally, she got back home and he realized that the girl went Christmas shopping. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't reach her – in the end he would have had to carry her bags. Not that he'd mind that much but well.
So, when Aoko was finally home he thought he had the chance to get her to talk but Aoko was surprisingly tight mouthed. Though, maybe not so surprisingly because that's how she'd been a lot lately. Still, Kaito had hoped he could maybe let her drink some alcohol and find out things like that. That plan got overthrown when she announced that that little detective was coming along with the Mouri-girl.
He wondered how exactly those two got to know each other since it was a rather weird friendship. Not that he couldn't see how they could be great friends but it came so suddenly. They weren't even living close to each other. Maybe the Mouri-girl was the answer to the problem and maybe, now that he was thinking about it, the little detective could be of use. He just needed to be careful so he didn't realize he was Kaitou Kid. The kid was abnormally smart, he wouldn't put it past him to figure it out sooner rather than later. Hakuba, after all, was rather quick to put the pieces together, as well.
Deciding to put his plan forth, he smiled broadly and stood up. "Mouri-san, was it? And Tantei-san. Nice to meet you two. I'd like to say Aoko has told me a lot about you so far but I'd be lying. So, how did you two meet each other?"
It was weird and an absolute jackpot seeing how the two girls looked at each other questioningly. It seemed the boy was watching them as intently as he was. So, maybe he wasn't the only one looking for some answers. Maybe they could work together even. Or maybe not since it would put him at risk at being discovered as Kaitou Kid, seeing as the kid knew Kid nearly personally.
"We actually met at a Kid heist because someone was too busy with who knows what and we kind of stumbled upon each other. You know –" Aoko turned to Conan and squatted down again. "That nerd there is the biggest Kaitou Kid fan. Can you imagine that? My best friend being a fan while I condemn that damn thief? Unbelievable, right?"
Kaito scowled. Now, what the hell was she trying to do here? Was she intentionally planting some seeds in that kid's head? Not that she knew that he was Kid – but sometimes, sometimes he wondered about that. But then again, if Aoko really knew about his nightly activities, she wouldn't have waited even one day to confront him about it and since nothing like that happened in the recent past, he was rather sure that Aoko was still very much in the dark.
"Heeh, really? Kaito-niichan likes Kaitou Kid? Well, I can say that Kid is not that special at all and his tricks, while tricking the crowd, are mediocre at best. I'll make sure to catch and imprison him."
Kaito was grateful to have perfected his Poker Face or else he'd have raged at that brat already. Mediocre? His magic? Was he sure he chased the right person? His magic was genius at least. Scowling, he wanted to tell him a piece of his mind before Aoko interrupted.
"Oh ha-ha. Maybe you should leave the catching and imprisoning to the experts, Conan-kun. You're just a little boy, after all."
"Oh, but Suzuki-ojiichan thinks I'm the only one who can catch Kaitou Kid."
"Ne, Aoko, is this the box with the decorations for the Christmas tree? Let me help you put it on. I can also help you make dinner."
Kaito watched Aoko sigh in relief and nodded in approval. Well, those two were quite good at changing the topic, but so was he.
"That's right. Usually at this time of year the whole house would be sparkling already. And I haven't heard about the party, yet."
Aoko scowled at him. "I had more important things to take care of. Besides, I'm kind of tired of preparing for parties and then cleaning up afterwards. Can you even imagine how tiring that is? It's not like you stay long enough to help out."
"Well, it's not nice to make your guests work, now is it?"
Aoko lunged at him and he grinned while he evaded her swing. "And who said you're a guest? You're never guest enough when you help yourself to my refrigerator, now are you, Kaito?"
"But that's different. One time I'm invited for a party and the other I'm here for the company. It's two totally different things."
"Kaito!"
Kaito knew he was carrying it too far but he infinitely enjoyed their chase which they hadn't done for a way too long time. Generally, falling back to their usual antics felt refreshing and he wished he could revel in it a little longer. But all things had to come to an end and when Aoko got too close to swipe at his head, he needed to stop.
"Okay, okay, I'll help. Now calm your horses. Jeez. Besides, you have guest."
That stopped her good, making her blush in embarrassment. "Ah, well, yeah. I'm sorry. So – uhm, let's decorate the tree. Yes, the tree."
Kaito chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "So, where's that decoration?"
Soon after they all went to decorate the tree together and contrary to his fears it was actually kind of pleasant. Tantei-san was actually kind of nice if not for his witty remarks and he could easily see how Mouri was kind of good for Aoko. While he'd been neglecting her for a rather long time, she had found a great friend in someone else and he was glad for that. Aoko somehow wasn't her cheery self anymore. And it wasn't like that just since yesterday. The girl though made her laugh and overall the atmosphere felt light. He enjoyed himself very much.
"Ah, I forgot the star crown in my room. I'll go get it", Aoko announced suddenly. He was very proud of himself. The tree looked really nice.
"Wait, I'm coming, too."
Hm? Both of them going together? That was suspicious as hell if one asked him. Maybe he should really plant a bug on one of her buttons or something – not like he didn't before. In that regard his morals had become kind of low and twisted. Spying on his best friend? Well, what could he say.
"Ne, so you're Aoko-neechan's friend? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Fixing his gaze on that little boy who was way too smart and acted way too dumb, Kaito raised an eyebrow in question. Maybe once that question would have baffled him but too many things happened between him and Aoko and hell if he didn't want her to be his girlfriend.
"No, we're not. What makes you think we are, tantei-san?"
Now, this was going to be good, wasn't it?
"Ah, well, but you know. You've been looking at Ran-neechan quite often and I have to inform you that Kudo Shinichi is her boyfriend."
It was kind of funny and interesting – the way the boy said that, the tone and the blushing. Kaito couldn't help but grin. "Oh, is that so?"
It was true, though. While in the near future there wouldn't be anyone besides Aoko for him, he had been watching Ran quite intently. So much was true. But he'd been watching her because he was interested in the way she was interacting with Aoko and he wanted to find out what changed her friend so much. Besides, maybe the girl knew things and she just might give him a clue. And even though she looked nice enough, for his tastes, though, she looked too much like Aoko (he feared he might mix them up one day and then there'd be hell to pay), he couldn't betray Aoko in that regard. Of course, he didn't know if Aoko actually liked him back. So there was also that but he'd cross that bridge when he was there.
"Yes, so please kindly refrain from making a move on her."
Kaito couldn't help but laugh. "Honestly, tantei-san. Aren't you too young to be concerned with such things? Also, let me tell you a secret."
He crouched down to his eye level and smiled reassuringly. "I have no interest whatsoever in Ran-chan."
He couldn't quite understand why the boy started scowling like that but well. It was rather cute, though.
"Then why have you been staring at her like that?"
"Maa, aren't you protective?"
He ruffled Conan's hair and sat down at the table and the boy followed suit. "You're right. I'm worried about Ran-neechan. Ever since she met Aoko-neechan she has changed quite a lot. Do you maybe know something?"
Ah, so it wasn't just Aoko? Could it be? Could those two be working together? He was sure that Aoko had lied earlier about how they met. But then – how did they meet? And what exactly was the connection?
So, in the end this tantei here was as clueless as him about what was going on. Well, wasn't that just nice?
"Well, Aoko has been acting weird lately. But what exactly are you getting at?"
"Well, I think Aoko-neechan is dragging Ran into something dangerous. Maybe you could talk to her and talk it out of her."
Kaito couldn't help but raise another brow. Well, talk something out of Aoko once she set her mind on something? Fucking impossible. Even for this great and amazing magician and phantom thief. There was just no way he could talk Aoko out of anything if she really wanted to. Also, Aoko dragging that girl into something dangerous? Think again!
"Aoko wouldn't force anyone to do anything. So, if they are doing something dangerous it's because they both are willingly in it together."
He didn't like what this boy was implying. Aoko was no criminal even though he had discovered new sides of her. Still, at least she wasn't more of a criminal than himself. It wasn't saying much, true, but it was enough. Enough for him at least.
"Well, but Ran-neechan is often easily influenced so maybe if Aoko-neechan talked her into it, Ran-neechn wouldn't decline."
Honestly, the boy looked innocent enough but what he was saying was utter bullshit and he was having none of it.
"Aoko is not a manipulative witch, trust me on that. But whatever is going on, Ran-chan is in because she wants to."
Sure, maybe Aoko changed so much that he didn't know her anymore and she in fact did manipulate Ran into joining her on whatever crazy plan they were following. But Kaito highly doubted that possibility. And maybe he felt a little bit more at ease knowing that whatever she was doing, she wasn't alone. Especially with Mouri she got someone reliable and extremely strong. He didn't mean that he was alright with whatever was going on, but if she was involved with Mouri then things would most likely work out.
Conan huffed in annoyance.
"Mind telling me what's going on? And why you would accuse Aoko of basically being a criminal?"
"Alright, listen, before they get mistrustful I got us something" Ran happily announced after she followed Aoko into her room. The latter curiously watched her friend rummage through her bag and take out a few small boxes. She couldn't help but anticipate what was coming now.
"I don't really have a present for you so I kind of feel bad if you are going to give me something."
Ran just shook her head and thrust two boxes into Aoko's hands. "Don't worry about it. I would have gotten it regardless of the season but it kind of fit with Christmas, so merry Christmas, Aoko. And to me too."
Both laughed merrily at that.
"Alright, unwrap it, unwrap it."
It was contagious the way Ran was delighted and it made Aoko forget her fears for a second. For now, everything seemed bright and warm and she kind of didn't want to muss this feeling again.
Unwrapping the boxes, Aoko found a rectangular box which could be a glasses box (she'd seen those before), a smaller box and a third even smaller box. Opening the biggest one first, she found, as expected, some big rounded glasses. Actually, they quite looked like those Conan-kun wore except that the frame looked bigger.
"Glasses?" she asked in wonder. But Ran just grinned and nudged her to open the rest of the boxes.
In the smaller one she found a watch and in the last one was an ear piece. Or was it? Aoko was really wondering what this all was about. Why would Ran give her these things? She didn't need glasses and she also had a watch already. It was really nice of her and mindful but unnecessary.
"Uhm, thanks, Ran. But – what exactly are these? Besides the obvious that is."
"Ok, let me explain. I got the very same set right here, long unwrapped though. I thought, since we are doing all this dangerous work we'd need to somehow stay connected. Calling each other is fine but a hindrance if you ask me. I know someone who is rather good with technology and I had him develop some spy gadgets."
"Spy gadgets?" Well, wasn't that nice? Spy gadgets sounded really nice. Maybe it was something they really needed, after all. Depending on what it was able to do, though.
"Ok so, put on your glasses, watch and the ear piece. There is a small button on the ear piece to activate sending and receiving."
Aoko nodded, pressed the button after she found it on the side and put in in her ear. It was a pretty white color and she was kind of reminded of the ear pieces Apple had recently developed. Only this one was probably not seen in the ear if worn properly.
"I'm really excited to test it out later. Hopefully, it'll work without a hitch. So, now to the watch. It has a few more buttons. The red one on the side is the off and on button. Also, if you press it for about three seconds it will synchronize with all the gadgets in your proximity. Don't forget about it. Next, the blue button is pretty neat but I'm not sure if we'll ever need it. If pressed it will start to measure your stats, you know, like your heart beat, or your daily activity."
Aoko put the watch on, it was white sprinkled with some gold and rectangular but also rather small and she quite liked both the form and the color. Turning it on, the illuminated screen showed the current time after it greeted her. Well, if it wasn't a great watch she didn't know what was.
"The green button is the switch between normal watch functionalities and what I am about to show you. Now, to the glasses. Obviously, while it's not simple glass, it has no diopters, either. On the right side there is a small button which will activate the built-in camera. If you push the button on the left side you will be shown whatever mode you chose on your watch."
Aoko put on the glasses with white and golden rim, which she really liked, and tried those buttons. Nothing happened, but then again, it still wasn't configurated so it was to be expected.
"Alright, so, first of all you have to synchronize the three units. When done so, you change into spy mode on your watch and choose whatever mode you want. So far I found the camera mode, the tracking mode, the sound mode and the showing what the other one is streaming. I'm sure hakase put in even more modes but we'll to see about them. Oh, I nearly forgot. This works best if you connect it with your phone via Bluetooth because the range is only about 500 meters which is enough if we're at the same spot but I highly doubt that'll always be the case."
Aoko took out her phone to see if it all worked.
"And now let me explain the technology behind all this. With the glasses you get a picture. Like, I might be in trouble and I'll send you whatever I'm seeing right now. You can put it on the glasses and see the very same thing. Also, through the ear piece we are at all times able to speak. If our watches are connected through our phones, we wouldn't even need to call each other because somehow the watch can access the phones functionalities and basically, if we're talking through the ear pieces and get too far away from each other, the watches will automatically switch to phone functionality and we'll be able to keep talking to each other. At least it should work in theory. Hakase hasn't tried that one out, yet."
Now, Aoko began to be excited as well. A listening and talking device without having to use your phone? How great was that?
"Well, if we have no service on the phone, though, and are too far away from each other, it won't work though. It will, at least, in close proximity. Maybe the only disadvantage is that we'll have to wear all the gadgets, especially the watch since it's all connected to it and also controlled through it. The good thing is, the watch is battery-operated so at least we can have spares with us and we'll be good."
Aoko nodded and a few modes. "So, when the camera is running, there's a tiny blinking light, huh? That's really thought out. But the ear piece and glasses need electricity, too, don't they?"
"Yes, but they are rechargeable and I think that's alright. The ear piece will hold quite long since it only connects to the watch which is quite near. The glasses probably will need loads of charging since it's not just receiving and sending sounds. But we'll see about it when using it."
Aoko grinned. "Geez, this is really awesome. We can really talk all the time. You just your ear piece in your ear and I can talk to you and you can do nothing about it – unless you take it back out. Just imagine all the possibilities."
Ran grinned, too. "Yeah, absolutely. We have to be a little careful with the glasses because everyone knows we don't need any. So we'd keep them with us but only put them on when needed."
"How did you get that hakase to do it, anyway? Didn't he ask what you'd need this for?"
"Yes, he did. But I told him that a friend of mine was seriously thinking about starting with this whole detective business and that I'd needed some devices to track her and help her if needed. Of course, some bribery was involved but no one needs to know about that. I also had him promise me not to tell Shinichi anything about it and when I picked them up I bribed him again, so I think we should be quite safe."
Chuckling, Aoko nodded. "Sounds good. And I also have another idea. Let's try out these watches and ear pieces. I'll stash away they glasses for now."
"Good, let's just calibrate and synchronize our watches and we will be automatically connected. Oh and before I forget it, any inductive charger is fine for them. Since hakase didn't have any we'll need to buy our own."
"That's fine. How about I do that since you got us these nice little babies. And now let's change our clothes. I think it's high time to put our training to good use."
Ok, guys, honestly, this took way too long. I'm not too satisfied with the chapted but after changing it like four times I don't wanna anymore, also I didn't wanna make you wait mouch longer.
First of all, thanks so much for all your reviews!
Second of all, I'm back, hopefully for a longer time again haha. But after I came back from Japan, I had to finisch my thesis, which I did, and in two days my university days will be officially over (finally! not finally! XD). I've been trying to type something but somehow I was stuck with a really bad writer's block. But I really hope it's over and done now.
This chapter is pretty raw, sorry about that but it's midnight now and I need to go to work early tomorrow and yeah - this chapter was also supposed to be much longer but I think before making you wait any longer, this should suffice for now.
Well, next chapter we'll get some great acting and some Kid!Aoko goodness because I just love them. I'll probably split the chapter, too, buut we'll se.
So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next chapter ;D
Reviews make the author infinitely happy.