The Most Important Person in the World to You Is…?

Chapter 7

One Who Could See The Future

After Shinichi has left the professor's Haibara had rejoined her elementary school friends, listening to them talk about Kamen Yaiba, soccer, and various new video games coming out soon; Genta and Mitsuhiko anyway. Ayumi had smiled and listened to them, adding in a little comment every now and then, but her mind was somewhere else.

Haibara pulled Ayumi aside as they stepped inside the school's front entrance. Ayumi gave her friend a puzzled expression, but Haibara wasn't buying it.

"Edogawa-kun is just fine, Yoshida-chan. He's just busy with a case. He's out of town, okay? He…wanted me to tell you that he's sorry he didn't get to eat your lunch and that he'll try it another time, okay?" Haibara said, putting as much childish sympathy as she could into her voice. Ayumi only grinned, hiding whatever hurt she was feeling.

"It's just a lunch box. Besides, it didn't go to waste. Genta-kun ate it. I'm just glad it tasted good. I would've been okay with any of you trying it, I just asked Conan when I was with him. It's no big deal, I promise, Ai-chan." Ayumi explained. Haibara set her hand on the little girl's shoulder, seeing Ayumi's usual mood gone and forgotten. She didn't like it. Ayumi should be acting like a little girl, playing with friends and not crushing on a boy who's ten years old than her.

"Well…alright, but just as long as you're okay. Try to perk up. Edogawa wouldn't like it if he knew you were waiting for him to come back before you were happy again. Spend time with us and have fun. I like it better when you smile," Haibara admitted, immediately feeling embarrassed that she said that. However, it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. Ayumi was like a little sister to her.

Ayumi smiled. "Thanks Ai-chan, I'll really try, but not for Conan-kun. I'll try for you, since you're my precious friend who's actually a girl!" Ayumi said, a special sweetness to her voice. Before Ayumi walked away, Haibara grabbed the elementary school girl's wrist gently and blushed, embarrassed to treat Ayumi specially again.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to that cake shop again today, just the two of us. Some girl time. This time, I'm paying, okay?" Haibara said. Ayumi thought for a moment, then grinned.

"I'd love that, Ai-chan. Thanks," Ayumi said, skipping off to class. Haibara ran a hand down her face, laughing at herself.

I'm becoming softer the longer I'm away from the organization…

"I have the information you wanted, Kudo-kun," Takagi said, putting down some papers on the table in the police headquarters. All the officers involved, Inspector Megure, and Shinichi and Heiji were present. Kogoro sat in the corner, wondering where this was going.

"What happened on November 24th last year?" Heiji asked.

"A car accident, at the intersection close to Professor Agasa's house as Kudo-kun mentioned. A young man around twenty years old, Isao Hideyoshi, was hit by a car when the pedestrian light was red. According to some witnesses, he just randomly walked out into the street, not caring that there was traffic coming. Some presume it was a suicide, while others say he was deep in thought and got hit by accident." Takagi explained. Shinichi nodded slowly, staring at the newspaper clipping Takagi had brought in.

"What does this accident have to do with Ran-kun, Shinichi-kun?" Megure asked.

"I don't know yet, but I just have a feeling. Trust me on this. We should look into it further," Shinichi said. Heiji grinned, willing to follow his friend wherever he felt it was right.

"Why November 24th?" Kazuha squeaked. Heiji patted her shoulder gently, hearing her speak for the first time in hours.

"November 24th was the day she went missing. She was kidnapped no doubt, so this accident might have something to do with the same date. Are there any relatives who are close to Hideyoshi-san?" Shinichi asked.

"There are a couple…only one is available for questioning though, Keiko Hideyoshi, his aunt. His father, Juro Hideyoshi quit his job and went missing about half a year ago. I called his previous co-workers and they all said he moved away to escape the guilt of not protecting his son, or something like that."

"There's no contact whatsoever?" Heiji said.

"No. Not at all. It's almost like he just disappeared into thin air. I thought maybe he could be one of our suspects, but then I saw this article about the Hideyoshi family," Megure said, picking up a newspaper clipping and handing it to Shinichi. He skimmed over it, dropping it into his lap.

"Hideyoshi Juro…he's in a coma in the hospital since two months ago?" he questioned.

"He was walking around drunk one night and got mugged, beaten up pretty badly. He's in a coma to this day," Megure said.

"Then we still have no suspect…" Shinichi sighed.

"I don't understand though, how does the Hideyoshi family have anything to do with Ran-san?" Heiji asked.

"I was only pointing out suspects for Shinichi-kun because of a feeling he had. We don't know what their connection is yet. If we find out, then we can go to Keiko Hideyoshi's residence and find out what we can about Isao-san," Megure concluded. "Takagi-kun, find out as much as you can on this young man and get back to us within the hour. Show us what you've got by then."

"Yes sir!" Takagi said, running off to do his research.

An hour later, after the officers and young detectives worked out tactics to finding Ran's next location, Takagi came back with more news than they expected.

"Sir! I have incredible news on Isao-san,"

"Bring it over, let's take a look." Megure said, looking at the information Takagi picked up as he laid it on the table. Shinichi leaned over the table, looking at anything that might spark his interest. His eyes stopped at a list of awards he'd won in a sport he knew too well: karate.

"He was a black-belt in karate?" Shinichi said.

"Yes, he was quite the master, some would say. He won too many awards to count and had recognition for becoming a karate instructor. However, that never happened, I'm guessing. His recognition was overlooked when he lost against the girl we're looking for…" Takagi said, laying an article on the table.

"He lost against Ran? Is that his connection?" Heiji said. Shinichi shook his head slowly. He knew from the moment he heard his name that he had a connection to her. He remembered that match too. Ran beat him fairly quickly too, which surprised a lot of people. A sixteen year old high school girl beat a well-known karate champion, but there had to be something else, right?

"I remember that match from over six months ago…Sonoko and I were in the audience watching and Hideyoshi-san was beaten almost two minutes in." Shinichi said. Megure stood up from his seat.

"Well then, their connection is revealed. Shall we contact Keiko-san?" he concluded, heading out of the meeting room to call the victim's relative. Shinichi sat and thought, putting his thumb and finger to his chin as usual, thinking about everything they'd gone through. Every detail sounded right, but there was something missing; something that made all of this come together.

Shinichi, Heiji, Kogoro, Takagi, and Inspector Megure headed down to Keiko Hideyoshi's home once she'd accepted their request for questioning. She waited outside on her apartment balcony, looking down at the police cruiser as they all stepped out. Shinichi looked up at her, knowing she was the one right away.

Shinichi had seen a picture of Isao, with his dark brown short hair, caramel coloured skin, and deep blue eyes. Keiko had the same dark short hair and skin, but her eyes, from what he could tell, were much brighter than her nephew's. She was short in stature and had a petite frame, as most women in their sixties did.

As they headed up the stairs to her apartment, Shinichi was the first to approach the door. Keiko opened the door and smiled sweetly, a little too sweetly. She might've been uncomfortable with the police since half a year ago. As one of Isao's legal guardians at the time, Shinichi couldn't imagine the assault the police gave her for information.

"Please come in," she said shyly, stepping aside to let them in. They all slipped their shoes off and took the slippers she offered them.

"So…what would you like to know about Isao?" she asked, sitting down in her worn armchair, sipping steaming green tea.

"This case on his passing was closed long ago, but someone precious to our detective here, Shinichi Kudo, has gone missing. She had a slight connection to him when she beat him in a karate competition earlier this year, only two minutes into the battle. We believe your nephew has something to do with Ran Mouri's disappearance." Megure explained. Keiko paused, looking at the wooden floor. She sighed.

"I don't see how Isao has anything to do with a high school girl's disappearance. He was her opponent in a game, nothing more." Keiko said. Shinichi turned away from the picture on the wall of Keiko, Isao, and what he assumed to be Juro, and faced her head on.

"Tell us about Hideyoshi-san. Please," he said, almost demanding it. Keiko set down her cup of tea.

"Isao always had troubles in school…from his early years to junior high. When he hit high school, he still had problems learning like everyone else, but suddenly, during the middle of his first year, his grades went from below average, to the top of his class."

Shinichi listened carefully to her every word, not seeing how his grades had to do with Ran quite yet.

"Isao would come home with test paper marks in the high nineties and sometimes even perfect scores. Juro wasn't concerned, but the higher they got, and never wavered lower, it began to scare me. He went from this extremely shy boy lacking social and academic skills, to this outgoing, overly happy young man full of this scary pride that almost seemed fake. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought he could jump off a building and fly." Keiko said. Shinichi's attention was caught. Isao's character changed so quickly, but what caused it?

"And that's when my family's extremely rare hereditary ability came into place…" she said quietly. Heiji and Shinichi didn't move their attention from her face, reading her every expression and every thought, judging by how she would say everything else.

"Passed down through my family, is an extremely rare mental, psychological ability called 'psychic premonitions'. They allow you to see the future while you sleep."

"So…you believe Isao cheated on those tests by using this…ability?" Megure asked. Takagi wrote down the name of his ability.

"Not only his schoolwork…but the karate championships as well. He would see the matches ahead of time and know exactly how to beat them based on what he saw himself doing. He had this…lie going on in his head, telling him that he was invincible and no one would ever beat him in anything…but, this girl, Ran Mouri, did."

"What happened to Isao's ability?" Megure asked. Keiko shrugged.

"He didn't have a premonition dream that night. He didn't see the match ahead of time. He saw every single one except the finale, against Ran Mouri. He panicked, not thinking straight as he fought. He tried moves he'd done on other opponents, but she was stronger than him. When the fight was over, his recognition as a karate instructor was lost, his school marks went down again, and he became severely depressed. He'd never shown any signs of wanting to commit suicide for what happened but…I truly believe he committed suicide by walking into the street." Keiko said, tears coming to her eyes.

"How do you know it was suicide if he never showed any signs?" Megure asked.

"I…" Keiko paused. Shinichi knew she hadn't said everything yet, but he let her continue.

"I have the same ability…since I was a little girl." She confessed. Megure's eyes widened, but Shinichi remained the same, not fazed by anything. Heiji had glanced at his friend every now and then. He hadn't moved since the moment he told her to tell them about Isao.

There was something still not right about Shinichi.

"I saw Isao's death before it happened! I didn't want to believe that he would kill himself, so I let him go on with his day…when I got a visit from the police, telling me my nephew had passed away in a traffic accident, I…I shut myself out from everyone…including my partner and my children from a previous marriage. I haven't seen them since just weeks after Isao's death," Keiko exclaimed.

"I had a premonition last night…about you police officers and young detectives coming to see me…I had prepared myself for this long ago."

"I see…thank you for your time, Hideyoshi-san. If you have anything else to tell us, anything you remember, just call or come by headquarters." Megure said, giving Keiko his office card. She nodded.

Shinichi walked behind the other four visitors of the elderly woman, but stopped before heading out the door.

"Keiko-san, please tell me how Isao's premonitions first started." Shinichi said bluntly. Heiji stopped in the hall, waiting for Shinichi, but he didn't come, so he walked back to look for him, but heard the two talking.

"What?" Keiko asked.

"You didn't tell the inspector everything. Please let me know when his first premonition was," Shinichi said. Keiko looked away, fiddling with the hem of her blouse.

"The night his mother was murdered…he was in junior high…his last year, and he had a dream one night his mother got stabbed. He told me he only saw the shadow of the killer and his mother's bloody body, which was why he ignored it, but a few days after he told me about it, he came home from school late and found his mother's bloody, stabbed body laying on the living room floor…and his father's, my brother's, body standing over hers," Keiko explained, shaking with fear. Shinichi's expression softened, feeling her pain as well.

"Juro killed his own wife…" she mumbled. Shinichi nodded, thanking her for the information, apologizing for what happened, and leaving. When he spotted Heiji, he frowned.

"I'm sorry…I knew she had something else to say…she was afraid the police wouldn't believe her. I'll tell them about it back at the station." Shinichi explained, walking past Heiji. Heiji sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Are you really okay, Kudo?

Here's the seventh chapter! Some cray-cray-crazy stuff happin'! ;) Review and let me know what you think! Another chapter coming soon! Or not...depends on my writer's block, which I seem to have constantly. Don't we all? Ha!

Enjoy! :P