Hallo all! ^_^ SG-chan here, back from the dead (again)! Good news, I found the notebook I was writing Schismatic in! Even more good news, I'm almost done writing the next chapter! Even more good news, the next chappie of SPLSHIMS is almost done! Seriously, it'll be up by Friday. That said, enjoy! ^_^
Anonymous reviewer who did not leave a name: Update ahoy! xD And you'll be finding out whether Shinichi's crazy or not in a couple chapters, give or take.
Kayla: Glad you like! ^_^ And you theory will be either confirmed or denied (coughconfirmedcough) next chapter ^^ And here is update! ^_^
Hakuba held back an irritated sigh. "I know you're there, Kuroba."
"You know tantei-san, you really should get this obsession with your classmate fixed; if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking him or something." KID emerged from the shadows of his rival's room.
"I'm not going to ask how you got past the security system. As for my 'obsession' with Kuroba, it's because I know you're KID; I just have to gather solid proof."
"Not now though?" the thief asked.
"No, not now," Hakuba agreed. "Until whoever was responsible for faking that heist is caught, we have a common enemy."
"As well as common allies." KID smirked slightly at the confused look the detective sent him. "I visited tantei-kun earlier. Did you know that he doesn't blame me for what happened? Says that he knows I was set up. He even managed to convince tantei-han."
Saguru groaned. "He's here?"
"'Fraid so," KID replied, not sounding the least bit conciliatory.
"Bastard," the Brit growled as he stripped off his gloves.
"Whatcha doing?" KID came out of his shadowy perch to look over Saguru's shoulder at whatever he'd been working on at the desk.
"Going over various reports of the crime scene," Saguru replied. "To see if anyone noticed any discrepancies, or if anyone's report seems out of place."
"To determine whether the criminal might have had an accomplice either disguised as police, or someone who was police," KID reasoned.
"So far nothing. There haven't been able to ID the body yet either."
"Can't really blame them. Not many people would want to find out if their missing loved one had possibly been chopped up into tiny bits and their blood used for decorating purposes. And before you ask, that leak? Not me."
"No, you're not one who would want to upset the populace like that," Saguru admitted. "In other ways, yes, but to frighten? No." A thought occurred to the British detective. "By the way, what was up with you and Koizumi-san earlier?"
"Koizumi? I know a Koizumi Itsuki, but I had no idea you knew him too, tantei-san," KID mused.
"Plausible deniability," Saguru huffed as he rolled his eyes. "Okay, two can play at that game. A hypothetical situation." He watched as one of KID's eyebrows rose. "Kuroba and a classmate of mine, Koizumi Akako-san, were arguing." He paused as he thought how to word this next part while KID made a 'go on' motion. "Kuroba accused Koizumi-san, saying, and I quote, 'Tired of trying to kill me and decided to go after more interesting prey?' Needless to say, when one of my classmates, specifically one I suspect of being involved in certain extracurricular activities, accuses another of my classmates of trying to kill him, well, you can see my cause for concern."
"Hmm, that is quite a conundrum," KID mused as he lay back slightly against the wall. "You're sure he was talking in the literal sense of killing? He didn't mean that maybe she had tried to kill his reputation, or perhaps his chances at something?"
"From the way they were talking, it seemed most likely he was speaking in the literal sense."
"Interesting. What's your impression of the ojou-san?" KID inquired.
"Well, Koizumi-san is one of the most popular people in our class. She's not one of those very shallow people, but she isn't a quiet person either."
"Aww, it sounds like tantei-san has a crush~" KID teased. The death glare Hakuba sent didn't seem to faze him in the least.
"I don't have a crush on her," the blonde growled, leaving out the details he'd been noticing about her lately.
"Me thinks the tantei doth protest too much," KID chuckled.
"If we're talking about crushes, it almost seems like you have on Edogawa-kun, with all the attention you pay to him," Saguru challenged. He was surprised when KID genuinely laughed at this.
"Ah, tantei-san, you do know how to give me a good laugh. Tantei-kun is quite the interesting person, but it's his mind I'm interested in, his ability to give me a thrill each time he comes close to catching me. Besides, with all the murders he runs into, I think he appreciates being able to use his intellect in different, less morbid ways."
Hakuba fought the urge to gape. This was the most the thief had ever spoken to him at one time that wasn't derogatory or an attempt to stall. Plus the fact that KID did this (partly) to give the child a break from all the murders he ran into- Wait a minute.
"What do you mean, 'all the murders'?" he questioned suspiciously.
KID blinked in surprise. "You haven't noticed that each time you meet him, outside one of my heists, it's at a death of some kind?"
"I've only met him twice," Saguru retorted as he suddenly realized that when he usually heard about Mouri-tantei's cases, Edogawa-kun was present. Add to this fact that when he'd met the boy at the Tantei-Koshien, he'd been accompanying the Osakan, who also ran into many murders (according to his sources), and the two seemed to be friends… "Holy shit," the British teen muttered weakly as he sat further back in his chair. "How is he still sane?"
Or maybe he isn't, Saguru realized suddenly as he recalled the events at the heist.
"He seems sane enough," KID reasoned, drawing Saguru's attention once again. "At least when I talked to him he did. I must say, tantei-han displayed an amazing amount of maturity when he accepted tantei-kun's word that I had nothing to do with what happened.
Well, it was nice to know he wasn't the only one who found the Osakan to be brash and immature, Saguru pondered.
"Tantei-kun's a very special person to be able to do that," the thief continued his thinking aloud. "Without him, a lot of people would be in trouble."
Saguru blinked rapidly as he tried to take in all the thief was saying. "He's a child," he found himself protesting. "A precocious, unusually intelligent child, but a child nonetheless!"
"Tantei-kun looks like a child, but above all else he's a special person," KID counteracted. "There are a few things only he can – only he will do."
The ominousness of that statement made Saguru swallow heavily. "J-just who is Edogawa-kun?"
A deceptively simple smile graced KID's face. "Tantei-kun is tantei-kun." He tipped his hat. "Adieu, Hakuba-kun."
The lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. When they came back on the thief was gone, and Saguru couldn't bring it upon himself to be angry about it.
"I'm sorry, but we need to get in to speak with Conan-kun!"
Shinichi perked up from his faked slumber at the sound of Satou-keiji's voice. "It's all right Kasumi-neesan," he said to the nurse who'd almost immediately taken to mothering him. "Satou-keiji knows not to bother me too much."
Kasumi reluctantly let the policewoman, followed closely by Takagi, in the room. "If they start to bother you, you just ring, all right Conan-kun?" Kasumi fixed him with a motherly glare.
"I will, Kasumi-neesan," the boy nodded. He'd heard snippets from the other nurses on how she was the best oat calming even the rowdiest of patients, so he didn't want to get on her bad side, angel she might look.
"Hello, Conan-kun," Miwako greeted the boy as she came in, followed by Takagi and shadowed by Kasumi, who hung around in the doorway. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, Satou-keiji. Ran-neechan and Heiji-niichan came to visit me earlier. Heiji-niichan would've stayed longer, but Ran-neechan said he needed to see the sun."
Takagi felt very out of place as Satou-san and Conan-kun shared a laugh.
"From my interactions with Hattori-kun, that certainly sounds like him." The woman chuckled again before she turned serious. "You know the reason I'm here, right?" The officer couldn't hold back a slight shudder as he saw those blue eyes turn calculating, and much, much too cold for a child. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Something else you might have remembered?"
The boy closed his eyes for what seemed a lifetime but was only a moment before he opened his eyes and slowly shook his head, saying quietly: "No. Nothing else."
The expression on Satou's face was almost one of relief as she closed her notebook. "I'm sorry to have bothered you again Conan-kun," Miwako apologized softly.
"Take care Satou-keiji, Takagi-keiji," Conan replied with a strained smile as the two police officers stood to leave.
"Oyasumi," Miwako said as she and Wataru exited under Kasumi's watchful glare.
"He wasn't telling the truth." It was a statement, not a question.
"You caught that too?" Satou glanced at her colleague. "Do you think he means to solve this on his own?"
"No," Wataru shook his head. "The way he acted... it was more like he didn't want anybody to know, as if it was private."
"Maybe he knows whoever did this to him?" Miwako seemed a tad horrified at her own suggestion.
"No, he'd have at least given us an underhanded clue if that were the case," Wataru reasoned. "I suppose he'll tell us when he's ready."
I must say, I certainly like writing Kaito and Saguru's banter x3 'Tis quite amusing. Also, anyone who can guess where Kasumi is from gets cookies! ^_^ Oh, and remember to review please! ^_^
Chapter title translation: Friendly Interrogations