A/N: Gah, not out on time, but it turned out decently sized. Not as big as it was supposed to be, but I owed you guys an update on the fourth. (Glares at Notes) Mage&Magician is late now, too. Guhhh…Oh well. (Sighs) I hope you enjoy this update and I will get out the rest of the case soon! Hopefully not too long and they'll probably be longer updates. Maybe. (Contemplates). Well, one of them will be, anyways. ….Onwards~! Oh, if anyone is confused about the order – I go by when the manga events show up, but I use the anime episodes to make the chapters. (Nods) Also, all chapters are now edited! Except for this one...
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form.
Chapter Twenty Two
"Hey, Hakase~!" I greeted brightly as I walked up to the four of them – seems Genta arrived before me. They all turned to me with smiles, clutching a small, rectangular square in each hand. I blinked but brushed it off as I greeted the children as well. "'Morning, guys~!" I drawled.
"Good morning, Koizumi-san!" Ayumi chimed happily, still clutching the rectangle in her hands like it was the greatest thing ever. My curiosity spiked, but I held it in once more while the two boys greeted me.
"Morning, Koizumi."
"Good morning, Koizumi-san."
I flashed them a smile before looking at the rectangles in their hands in undisguised interest. "Ne, what's that?" Ayumi blinked before extending out the rectangle to show it off. I vaguely recognized the character on the cover thingie – it was Kamen Yaiba. There were three buttons and what looked like a dial on it and I leaned a bit closer to get a better look, but was stopped halfway when Agasa's hand suddenly appeared in front of me, holding one out to me. I looked up at him, "For me?"
He nodded cheerfully and I carefully took it, turning it in my hands to see a large speaker on the back. Huh… "What is this, Hakase?" I asked, again, with no little interest. My hands moved the dials a bit before I heard his answer. "It's a Yaiba Voice Changer. You record what you say and you can change your voice to something completely different." He said with a grin that seemed somewhat smug. I let out a noise to acknowledge, what I assumed was, his invention and turned it over in my hands once more.
I stuffed it into my pocket when Conan came running up to us all. A smirk twitched at my lips as we all got into the car – Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, Genta, and I in the back while Conan took shotgun. My fingers brushed the small voice changer. This could come in handy sometime…
As the professor started the car, I still couldn't shake the feeling that this felt awfully familiar.
ooOOoo
"Hey, Hakase, is there really treasure at that place we're going to?" Ayumi asked brightly, a wide smile on her face. Earlier, the professor had told them that they would be looking for treasure and it had prompted excitement and a contemplative silence, save for the kids whispering their plans to each other; something about checking every inch and then what they would buy once they got the treasure. I had sat silently, a bemused smile creeping onto my lips as they continued their 'private' conversation. When asked what I would want, I had a moment of awkward stuttering.
"Er, uh…well, I guess…I'm not sure… A…um…book, maybe…?"
To say I got strange looks in return was an understatement. Agasa's eyes looked back at us four as he glanced into the rearview mirror. "Yeah, of course!" He turned slightly to look at us better and I felt Mitsuhiko shift beside me to lean forward in interest, like the two others were. Following their example, I leaned forward, too. After all, I would like to get to the bottom of this familiar feeling. It was beginning to make me uneasy. Was I forgetting something, perhaps?
"But, you'll have to use your own heads to try and find it." He stated merrily. That sounds fun! "Yay!" The kids and I cheered, excited for the challenge of finding the treasure. I mean, it was treasure and trying to find it would be awesome! I never had had adventures like this in my world; maybe it was because I didn't actually have many friends back home? I had a few, but we rarely saw each other anymore. Being states away can do that to you. "Only us, the Detective Boys, will be looking for it!" Mitsuhiko input, turning to look at Ayumi. "Then the treasure will belong to us!" Genta grinned, one hand clenched into an excited fist, and I could feel my excitement rise as I added my own, "Yeah! We'll be rich!"
Ayumi opened her mouth, beginning to talk but my attention was stolen as Conan began to talk. He seemed unimpressed, if his tone was anything to go by. "Hey, Hakase," He began, making the professor look down at his small stature. "Eh? What?" The good, absentminded inventor questioned, glancing back at the road for a second as Conan continued. "The treasure that you're talking about… don't tell me it's those bunch of toys you made me buy…," Yup, definitely unimpressed – it wasn't too hard to imagine the deadpanned face he was probably sporting. I felt my breath rush out of me in an almost-sigh. Aww, he just ruined the surprise! Maybe I should stop eavesdropping on his conversations, I thought as my lips twitched, wanting desperately to pout at the revelation.
Agasa reacted quickly, taking one hand off the steering wheel to put a finger before his lips. "Shh! Don't let them hear that!" Too late for that, I internally grumbled to myself, eyebrow twitching in irritation. Though, I suppose it was okay, as long as the real kids didn't hear. My eyes stared at the kids beside me, still talking excitedly, and I let out another sigh before turning to the window and watching the scenery pass by at high speed, blurring.
"You're always like that." Conan chided lightly and I tried to tune out their conversation to no avail. "No wonder you have no girlfriend."…What? I bit back a laugh that wanted to desperately escape at that comment, making my frame shudder as I laughed silently. I heard the professor laugh, too – seems like instead of being offended, he was just as amused as I was.
"But, lately you've been acting so generous. Since you've also recently bought this new car." Hm? This car was new? Really? "Maybe, you robbed a bank to get all this stuff?" Conan joked and I could tell the professor was shocked by his tone. "Don't be stupid! How could I have possibly done that?!" Suddenly, the professor's attitude took a 360 and I blinked in surprise. "It's actually because of this."
"Kamen Yaiba?" I heard him ask and I finally turned from the boring scenery to look forwards to the two talking. The kids were now listening to them talk, too, and I vaguely saw Genta whispering into his voice changer. My eyes went back to Agasa when he looked down at Conan, beginning to explain his recent source of money. "Some friend's office wanted me to help them. To help them start off their new business, in exchange for some cash." An obnoxious laugh had me covering a snicker with my hand.
"And what might this be?" Poor Hakase – Shinichi still sounded unimpressed. I saw Genta put up his voice changer, pressing a button. "A Yaiba Voice Changer!" It roared out in a deep, not-Genta, voice. Conan turned to see us all leaning forward, looking at his shocked face. I let out a chuckle at the expression. "Surprised, huh?" Ayumi grinned.
They all presented him with their voice changers and I dug mine from my pocket to also show it off. "The professor gave us all one of those this morning. The Yaiba Voice Changer." Genta informed the shrunken teen. Conan looked away to his own voice changer, interest in his eyes. "Voice changer?"
"You can record your own voice then change it into a completely different voice. It's a new Kamen Yaiba product." Mitsuhiko explained. Conan deadpanned, pulling on his bowtie. I rolled my eyes at his obviousness. He was readable like an open book, seriously. "I think that it'll get a lot of sales. Not many people have voice changers, after all. It could come in handy." I smirked at Conan as he looked over to me in surprise, only for him to backup a bit with suspicion. It could come in handy, indeed.
The professor gave me an appreciative look before he turned to Conan, grinning smugly down at the boy. "What's wrong? You never did admire my inventions." His grin grew a bit bigger, if possible. "That product is now available world-wide!"
A jovial, self-satisfied, laugh erupted through the car once more.
ooOOoo
We arrived at the house as the car came to a stop and we all herded out of the car. I glanced back at the car – the familiar yellow beetle that would make several more appearances – before looking back at the huge house that was looming over us. I personally thought it looked somewhat creepy, but maybe it was because it was freakin' huge.
"Wow! What a big house!" Ayumi said in awe and I found myself nodding in agreement. Mitsuhiko looked kind of skeptical as he assessed the house. "Is this place really the professor's uncle's house?"
Agasa turned to us all, smile on his face. "Yes, it is. My uncle's name was Agasa Kurisuke. He was known around here for being a very rich man." No kidding, considering this house. The professor crouched a bit and held up his hand as he continued, "Fifty years ago, he hid a bunch of treasure, but not long after that, he passed away." I heard the others make sounds of interest, the loudest being Genta, but I stared at the professor with wide eyes as he continued.
This sounds too familiar…
"That's why I brought you guys here, so that the Detective Boys can help me find the treasure." One finger was held up close to his face in a matter-of-fact way and I continued to stare, even if I was listening to the conversation behind me. "To the looks of it then, there is treasure here!" Genta started and Mitsuhiko continued, "Yeah. It doesn't seem that Hakase came here earlier and hid the treasure, after all." A smirk curled onto my lips, though I was still staring at the house. "Didn't I say? Hakase's not the type to trick kids like that." Ayumi chided them lightly, sounding happy all the same.
"Right, Hakase?" Ayumi prompted. The professor backed up a bit, looking nervous – of course he did – and then stated, quite awkwardly, mind you, "Uh…Of course." Conan gave an ironic little laugh as the professor let out his own nervous chuckle.
Conan seemed to notice my stare on the house, turning to me curiously. "Hey, what's wrong?" I blinked out of my daze and gave him an uneasy smile, laughing a bit as my hand came up to scratch my cheek. "Nothing, it's just…," I searched for an explanation before just going with the easiest choice.
It's almost like…
"Just déjà vu."
He raised a brow, but didn't question it as we all headed to the door of the house, where Agasa pulled out a key and unlocked the door. The kids and him were the first in and Conan and I walked in last, him closing the door behind us. I bit down the urge to turn to look at him – I could feel his gaze on me and it was making me uncomfortable, darn it – as we followed the other into another room. Genta was the first to enter, opening the door with an almost-battle cry, "Let's start searching in this room!" The three ran into the room, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko replying to Genta, "Yeah~!"
Shinichi and I both stopped walking once we entered the room, eyes centering in on the clock. The clock that had both pointers towards the floor, like an arrow. Like…an…arrow… A sudden flash of remembrance hit me. No, didn't hit me. It smacked me in the face because it was being so freakin' obvious! The Yaiba Voice Changer, the treasure in his uncle's house, the whole thing! It was– it was– it was–
"The 'Professor Sunshine' one!" I whisper-shouted to myself, ignoring Conan's questioning glance before he walked further into the house, deciding not to bother with it. I didn't bother with him, either, smacking my forehead much like the revelation had earlier. How could I have been so…so, stupid?! It was right there in my face, waving hello, and I didn't even notice until now!
Boy, did I feel like a chump.
My mind scrambled for details of this certain case, but I couldn't remember much except that there was a secret room, and there was a robber… That was it. I swallowed thickly as I began searching with them, trying to quell my fast thoughts that were currently tumbling through my brain. Several things didn't sit well with me about this case.
But, I had a feeling that the only thing that would be worse was when this case ended. Why? I didn't know myself.
"Here? Here?" Genta questioned himself as he opened two different cabinets. I headed for one cabinet near the door, opening it to see a couple plates and a mechanical doll. I hurried to close the cabinet; that doll was important for the case later, if I remember correctly. I turned and walked back to the professor's side, deciding to not do anything for the time being. "There doesn't seem to be anything in here…," Mitsuhiko trailed, shuffling through his own cabinet. "There's nothing in here, either." Ayumi announced, standing up with a disappointed face.
"Say, Hakase," Conan began and I looked over to him as I followed Agasa over to his side. "Is your uncle the man in that picture?" He asked, and my gaze was redirected to the picture on the wall. "Huh? Yeah, that's him." The professor answered and I stared in awe at the picture. It was beautifully painted, strokes light and colors vibrant, giving it its own type of life. The woman behind Agasa's uncle was very pretty and was drawn with a kind face – well, it does say that you draw what your heart feels. The painter must have been fond of the woman, I noted as Conan began to talk again and I swiveled on my heel to pay attention.
"I see. Your uncle sure seemed rich…," Agasa's face became confused. "Eh?" Conan smiled. "Just look at that fireplace behind him, it's exactly the same as the one over there. So, in other words, he hired someone to come over to paint that painting." The not-child stepped forward a bit. "He had enough to get that done, so he had to be a rich guy." Ah, that made sense, I guess. Usually, you're the one who goes over to the painter. I regarded the painting once more, smirk on my lips; must have been nice to have that much money.
"Yeah, I heard that the year before my uncle had died, he hired someone to paint that picture."
"The lady behind him is?" Conan and I asked in unison, only to send each other weirded out looks before brushing it off to listen to the professor's answer. "She is my uncle's sister, who took care of him. She was my uncle's most trusted person. I think that she was teaching in an elementary school. After my uncle died, she left this place and went back home. So no one has come to this house in the past fifty years." He explained, looking around. I let out a huff of breath in fond amusement. Reminds me of my sister, in a way.
"But there are lots of things here; all the silverware and books…," Conan trailed, looking over to Ayumi who was now standing on a stack of books to open a plate holder thingie. I made a face as dust was kicked up, resembling a sand storm, before it dissipated. Ugh…Am I glad I'm not allergic to dust; this place would kill the person with dust allergies.
"Since uncle's belongings were here within the past fifty years later after he died, no one touched any of it." Agasa turned as he explained, "So that's why all his belongings are still left here. But they decided to tear down this place next month." Conan stopped with his looking around, giving a smirk as he deadpanned, "I see. So, that's why you wanted to come to this dust-filled house with the kids, before they tear it down, you wanted them to play your treasure hunt."
"Exactly!" Agasa smiled down at Shinichi before they both froze, noticing me for the first time after Conan and I's weird in sync talk, turning to meet my gaze slowly. Their expressions reminded me oddly of a deer in the headlights. A smirk twitched onto my face and I raised a brow as I crossed my arms, "Don't worry, I already know. I heard you guys talking in the car earlier. Edogawa-kun ruined the surprise. He's not very good at keeping secrets; that much I can tell already." I snickered slightly, as both expressions grew annoyed. One directed at Conan and the other directed at me. I'm sure you can guess who was who.
I blinked out of my growing amusement as I heard glasses clinking and I looked to the side, Agasa and Conan doing the same, to see Genta pushing bottles aside. He seemed to be mumbling things to himself, probably something about the treasure.
"Hey, make sure you don't make a mess of the things here." The professor called, making Genta pout as he began, "But –"
The professor looked upwards, hands behind his back. "Be careful, and just keep searching and you will discover something interesting." Conan's face became deadpanned, and I'm sure mine had, as well. "That right, for example, underneath my foot, there's some weird writing." The shrunken Heisei Holmes drawled calmly, stepping onto writing I hadn't seen there before. Obviously, I wasn't as observant as I would have liked.
"What?"
"Eh?"
The kids rushed over, making Conan jump out of the way as they practically lunged at the clue. I snorted in amusement, walking forward to stand next to Conan as the kids looked over the clue. They were so enthusiastic – about mysteries, no less. I'm sure they would all end up like Shinichi when they got older, just as a group, and hopefully they wouldn't get arrogant enough to actually be stupid enough to walk right into turning into kids again; like a certain…someone. My eyes drifted over to Conan who was looking at the kids. "Wow! You're right!"
"Mo-za-ri-sa-wa-so-de-ru." Ayumi read out loud and all the words went over my head – a bunch of jumbled words that made no sense. Did the gem's translation fail suddenly for some reason? Gosh, I hope not, that would be a mess…
I was proven wrong when it suddenly became understandable again. "What is this?" Genta questioned, leaning a bit closer to the word puzzle. Good, apparently, I wasn't the only one who that it was jibberish. "Is it English?" Ayumi asked next and I felt a bead of sweat run down my cheek. Haha, highly unlikely there, Ayumi, considering I didn't understand it.
"No, that's not it, it's in Arabian!" Mitsuhiko decided, and I almost face-planted into the floor as I lost my balance from the ridiculousness. Seriously, Arabian? That didn't sound very Arabic, if I do think so myself. I stepped closer, peering down at the word puzzle that was most likely made by the professor.
"I don't think it's Arabian, Tsuburaya-kun. It's not English, either. Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way?" I softly murmured, catching their attention as I circled the writing like a hawk or vulture analyzing their prey. My brown eyes narrowed in thought as I vaguely heard Agasa laugh a bit before I heard him wonder where Shinichi went. I snapped back to attention and turned to see that Conan was, in fact, missing.
Darn, I took my eyes away for only a second–!
Agasa looked worried for a moment before he hurried to a door and opened it. The small stature coming out made the professor freeze – maybe in fear that he'd solved the code? We both watched him move forward slowly, hand coming up to his chin in a contemplative gesture as he let out a soft hum. The professor looked surprised before it smoothed over to happiness.
"Looking at things, seems I've even gotten you confused with my riddle." The inventor laughed, hands on his hips proudly. Conan's eyes faded from the intense, narrowed look. "Huh?" The professor's smile grew, "Well, I'm not surprised. I spent three whole days planning it out." He stated, beginning to twist one side of his mustache in between his fingers. It reminded me of a cartoon character that I couldn't remember the name or face to at the moment.
"Oh, if you're talking about the thing which you've hidden, I already found it underneath the bed in the other room." The not-child smiled up to the plump man, who let out a shocked gasp. "I didn't open it and look at the treasure just yet. Since it's just too easy, I put a piece of cloth of it and pushed it in a little more." He elaborated, hands in his pockets in a casual pose. The professor's eyes shut and a somewhat strained smile played on his lips, "Well, good work…," When Shinichi wasn't looking, I saw the look flash to irritation before I changed my focus onto the diminutive detective.
"Good work, Edogawa-kun." I clapped my hands quietly, kind of mockingly. I walked closer, treading on silent steps I usually reserved for other things. That was quick, I couldn't help but think as he ignored me – how rude! – in favor of putting his hand to his chin once more, eyes serious.
"But I'm still thinking about this place, since I've stumbled upon another mystery."
"Another mystery?" Hakase inquired, annoyance replaced by curiosity.
Conan turned to regard the elder man. "Yeah." His hand reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small silver circle thing. It glinted in the available lighting and I soon recognized it as yen. "Hakase, what do you think about this?" The professor leaned closer. "Huh? Let me see." The yen was taken out of Conan's hands and Agasa examined it lightly. "Why, it's just an ordinary one yen." But, it obviously wasn't if it had caught Conan's attention. I bit my lip to keep in my ironic snicker – nothing was normal if it's caught Conan's attention, after all. Even me.
"I found it underneath the bed." The not-child's tone was strangely grim. Agasa smiled, "Then maybe I was the one who dropped it." Sharp blue eyes averted to the floor, and then the wooden boards were on the end of a laser glare. Poor wood – what had it ever done to him? "No, that's not it…That coin had been completely covered with dust and it doesn't seem that it had been rolling around, either." My eyes locked onto the small piece of silver in his hand, interest making me pay extra attention. I think I remember this part…
"The first time that this one yen was released was approximately in 1955, which makes this coin 40 years old." Oi, oi! Only forty years old?! How far back in time am I?! I felt my face pull into an impassive mask as I internally screamed out in defiance in the inside. Hell, I wasn't even born yet in my world at this time…
"And it was already lying in this place, not to mention it's covered in dust….so…," I could feel the tense atmosphere increase to an excited buzz. "Can it be?!" Agasa shouted in realization and I felt myself coming to the same conclusion. "Someone just came and broke into the house?!" I nodded my head shortly. "That's how it would seem, Hakase." I agreed, but was once again proven wrong by Conan.
"No, they didn't just come here, they actually lived here for a while, and they were a very sensitive old man." I had obviously forgotten that part, along with several other important aspects.
Agasa deflated a bit. "Hm…sensitive…old…man…," He muttered to himself. "Hey, hey, what are you mumbling about? I don't get it at all." He directed to Conan and I could feel a smirk twitch at my lips. "Take out a one yen and compare it to the one you're holding, Hakase." I started, not bothering to cover my smirk as the professor looked down at me. "I'm sure you'll get it then. Ne, Edogawa-kun?" Again, that unnerved twitch was such a beautiful thing to see.
The inventor blinked before complying, taking out a one yen from his left pocket. He put one over the other, regarding it with a careful eye… "What?! That yen is way smaller than the one I took out! And it's so thin! It's smaller than mine by a whole circle!" Snapping back to business, Conan began to explain once more.
"I'm thinking that that one yen was an original that the person cut with a knife, making it smaller. That person's handworks are very well done. See? Even the word 'country' has been changed." Agasa bent down as I wandered closer, getting a better view. And there it was – the difference between the kanji. I found it strange that I could tell the difference even though I still, technically, didn't know how to speak the language. I stared at it for a bit longer, thinking, as Conan continued, "I'm not sure if that person did it on purpose or if he accidently did it. But, I don't know why they used the old version of 'country'. Though, since it's like that, they must be an old person."
The detective began striding away from Agasa and I, towards a pile of books. The professor stood up now that I was done with my cataloging. "But how did you know that the person lived here? They didn't do anything." Good point, Agasa-hakase. Point one for the inventor!
Conan moved to the books, opening the first one to a random page. His blue gaze seemed even more focused when he looked at it and I hoped no one saw my uneasy step backwards. "Nope, there's no doubt that they did do something. And they did it while reading, too." Pages began falling slowly as he let them, a faint rustle of noise. I glanced over the kids for a moment, who were still enthralled in figuring out the code to even care for what we were doing, before looking back to the not-child.
"Reading?" The professor's voice mixed with mine as we asked in unison. I absently wondered if this was going to happen a lot more; it'd happened twice only today, after all. "There are fragments of coin material within this book and pieces of white hair." His gaze was suddenly on the both of us and I shifted closer to Agasa on impulse. Scary gaze, nice gaze, gentle gaze…. Gah! That wasn't helping much… "There couldn't have been who, within this short period of time, could have done that to the coin." He closed the book, standing out of his half-crouch.
"So, we can only guess that person was living here at that time." I blinked. The professor blinked. What an untimely amount of time to deduce that… "Oh, I see." Agasa managed beside me and I kept my mouth shut as I stared for a bit before shutting my eyes slowly. That was incredibly fast…
"But, why?" The professor wondered and Conan swiveled coolly, arms crossing. "Who knows. Maybe just to kill time…" Hah, surrre. And I'm just here because I thought it would be nice to drop by for a visit, I commented with an internal eye roll. "Wasn't there only one person who was living here?"
I jumped as a new voice suddenly intervened our conversation. "There should have also been some kids." Mitsuhiko said, coming up to us while carrying a boring looking vase. "I just discovered this… Proof that kids have been living here. Here, look at the bottom of this flower vase." The vase was exchanged into Conan's hand and I leaned over his shoulder to see the encoded message that I knew would be there once he turned it over. Soon enough, it was turned over and Conan started in surprise. "This is–!"
"It was drawn by kids." Mitsuhiko continued, smiling. My eyes were drawn to Genta and Ayumi – both of which were near a red, cushioned chair; Ayumi bouncing on it and Genta holding it so it wouldn't tip over – as the tallest and most rambunctious of all the Detective Boys spoke up, "I also found something like that." He stated, pointing his thumb at himself and Ayumi stopped her fun to also state her findings. "Me too!" I could feel Conan's revelation, since I was so close and I backed off a bit so I had my own personal bubble again and he had his.
Genta moved to the fireplace, lifting a candlestick to show the bottom. "Look, there's some on the bottom of this candlestick!" He announced, finger pointing to the familiar symbols.
A plate clinked beside me, and I looked up to see Ayumi taking out a glass plate. She showed the bottom to us with a wide smile. "There's some on this plate, too!" An almost inaudible gasp from Shinichi as he turned to look at the plate as well. My eyes scanned over the marks, taking in the obvious similarities and admiring the good calligraphy that was used to make them. Must have taken a while to draw…
"It must have been done by a really naughty kid." Ayumi commented as she hoped down from the book pile. Conan took the plate that was offered to him and Mitsuhiko was the one who wanted to get back to Detective Boys business. Really, he was a very organized and logical kid for someone his age. When I was his age, I was nothing more than a snot-nosed brat like all the others. Haha – hard to say, but horridly true.
"We should quickly go and try to figure out the mystery on the floor." The kids headed off and I started to head their way, too – albeit very, very slowly (we're talking ameba pace) so I could listen to the last of the conversation.
"That's weird. Uncle didn't have any kids, and more so, what about that mysterious old man? Why did he bring children?" I could tell Agasa was probably looking at the code with a baffled face. Almost cutting the poor professor off, Conan began to speak again and there was something in his voice that made me want to run and hide. "Hakase, do you know about 'The Dancing Men'?" There was a short pause. "Dancing Men?" Another rshort pause before recognition entered Agasa's voice. "Ah, you're talking about that code from the Sherlock Holmes book? About that stick-figure's mysterious dance pattern? I still remember that drawing of the mysterious dance." Ah, Sherlock Holmes. I had just read that book recently, actually…
I jerked when the professor suddenly spoke a bit louder. "Ar-are you saying that this is the same as that?!" My movement slowed as I waited for Conan's answer. "There's no doubt about it. The flower vase, the candle, and this plate…," His tone grew excited and there was that tone that made me want to hide for cover again. "If I compare them, the three symbols to the right are the same. So, in other words, those three symbols are required for the code."
An uneasy shiver ran down my spine and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. "That's right. It's a code." He sounded too happy. Like, slap-happy. The evil chuckle that followed afterwards only seemed to accent my term that I had used and I felt myself stiffen as the professor asked, "What happened? You seem happy." Seriously, how did he not feel unnerved?! That's such an evil laugh…
"Did you already figure out what the code means?" The good inventor questioned and another chill ran down my spine at Conan's answer. "Nope, I don't get it at all…," Slap-happy, I tell you! SLAP-HAPPY! "The mystery of the old man, and the mystery of that one yen. That's why… I'm actually quite excited. The more I don't understand, the more excited I get. I just can't face this mystery and be calm."
I was suddenly walking faster to the kids, trying to get away from the overwhelming atmosphere Conan was giving out – the unnerving feeling of being caught.
"A detective's blood boils unstoppably...," Agasa muttered and I couldn't help but agree with that notion. "…huh?" I blinked, turning back to Agasa as he stared at the symbols on the candlestick. "Speaking of this, I think I've seen these symbols somewhere before…,"
Ah, and the mystery thickens…
Review Replies:
To: Iriss-sama – Haha, don't worry, I like playing around with my own OCs, too. XD It's fun. (Nods) And yay! I'm glad you love it! Lol, yeah. XD That's her bad memory coming into play. (Laughs) Here's the update~! And, yeah, she would freak out. XDDD I actually have that planned for later on in the story, lol. Thank you~! (Catches Luck in Bottle)
To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – Yay~! I'm glad I could give you something to read before exams. I hope you did well! ^^ (Don't worry, your secrets safe with me. *grins*) (Grins as snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie) Thank you~! 8D
To: MagicMilkbone – Okay, so I got that well! That's good; I was worrying that I got it wrong. XD;; I find it sort of weird too, but mostly just plain confusing. (Laughs) Haha, yeah, I thought Agasa and Alice would have a nice friendship and the DB badge thing was too tempting to not put it in. XDD Thanks for your review~!
-Well~, let's see if I manage to finish this case before December 15th. (Cracks Knuckles)