A/N: Okay, this was fun to write, but painful. I bruised one of my finger and it aches with every typing move and it's currently 4:05 AM. What am I doing with my life? XD… All for you, readers. All for you. (Laughs) Enjoy?
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form.
Chapter Thirty Two
"Oi…," The sound invaded my consciousness, but I brushed it off as Kaito downstairs. "…She's still asleep…," The tone was disbelieving and I pulled the blanket up over my face to block out a sudden, flooding light. Damn it, why did he open my window…? "Go 'way…," I growled absently before feeling sneak out from under my covers.
"Ah, her cat." There was a slight pause. "–Ow! IT BIT ME!"
The yell woke me up completely and I realized that I wasn't at the Kuroba household anymore. Who the hell was in my room?! I jolted up, blanket falling from my face to fold around my waist and I quickly flicked my bangs from my eyes to see the figure in my room. Hattori Heiji stood in all his glory, holding his hand to his chest – probably because of his previous statement – and staring quite warily at Kin, who had taken up a defensive stance at the foot of the bed, fur standing on end. My mind processed this a bit slowly, but when I did…
"Hahaha–! You–you! I apologize in advance to anything Kin-chan may do to you–haha!" I practically doubled over in my laughter, Kin finally relaxing a bit when he realized I was awake. The mere thought of Heiji getting bitten by Kin was somehow very amusing to me. Heiji deadpanned at me, "So that means that it may do this again…?" I gasped for air, finally calming from my laughing attack. "Y-Yeah, haha, he just might. It's half your fault for sneaking in here, though." Calling Kin over with a beckoning hand, I scratched under his chin as praise. Hey, if it had been a real intruder, I would want him to do that.
"I didn't sneak in here!" Heiji asserted, indignant. "I knocked on your door about twenty times before being worried that something happened! It's already past one!" I blinked. "Eh, really?" My eyes darted to the clock on the wall and, sure enough, it announced '3:35' loud and clear. Whoops. At least my sleeping schedule was returning to its previous state, I thought with amusement. "Sorry for worrying you. Guess I didn't get so much sleep last night." I said sheepishly, coming up to ruffle my, probably, already-messy hair. And it wasn't a lie, either. I had truly had a hard time falling asleep with today's events in mind.
It was his turn to blink and he came closer to place a hand on my forehead, "Ya don't seem to be sick…," He trailed, pulling his hand back and taking a step from the bed when Kin's golden eyes stared at him. I chuckled, "Maybe it was because this isn't my bed. Or that camera." I gestured my chin to the fake security camera in the corner, "I felt watched all night~"
He nodded, frowning. "Yeah, I think the cameras were a bit much." He voiced, not noticing I was joking. "Anyways, ya just missed lunch. He raised a brow as I shrugged carelessly. "Eh. I'll just eat dinner then. Thanks for waking me; I can sleep all day, if I want to. Now, shoo. I'mma get changed." I waved him away and he grinned, "Okay, okay. No need to get all worked up, chibi." Just as a retort was on my tongue, he had already left the room, closing the door behind him.
"I'm not short…," I stuck my tongue out at the door, knowing he wouldn't hear or see, but feeling the need to defend myself either way. Placing Kin down on the bed, I picked up my back from the floor, getting out a fresh pair of clothing.
ooOOoo
I wandered out of my room, news clothes on and Kin standing proudly on my shoulder, relaxing happily against the side of my neck. Making my way to the main room, I found only Ran, Mouri, Conan, and Heiji sitting at the tables. Everyone else is probably in their rooms. It made sense, since a lot were probably still working on their Holmes tests. I hadn't even bothered to start mine. There was really no point to it, after all.
"Everyone else still working on their tests, I'm guessing?" I started up, gaining the attention of all four characters. It was bit unnerving, but I only bit my lip and pulled out a chair at the table they were all sitting in. Conan was the first one to speak up, "Ah, it's the black cat oneesan!" He sounded genuinely surprised and I flashed him a sweet smile, deciding to ruffle his hair just to spite him. He hid a glower as he tried to matt down his hair again. "Yup, it's me, kid! Watanabe Midori, nice to meet you all." I directed to the three Tokyoites.
"I'm Mouri Ran, it's nice to meet you." Her head bowed a bit before she gestured to Conan and her father, "This is my father, Mouri Kogoro, and that's Edogawa Conan." She gave me a gentle smile as I nodded in greeting to the two. "How do you and Conan-kun know each other?" She questioned curiously. I saw Heiji lean forward in interest at that and internally cursed his strange sixth sense to know when someone was either a liar or hiding something.
"We briefly met while at Beika Hotel, where a bombing took place." I answered honestly. "I remember you letting my friend take a turn on the strength game." I added.
Ran gave a face as recognition filled her, "Oh! I remember, you also had that cat with you." She giggled, "It seems to be quite attached to you. How cute." Heiji's face turned a bit sour at the mention of Kin, "He's not cute. He bit me." He muttered, making me snicker as Conan looked on with bemusement, apparently also finding it funny as Ran gave him a concerned look and Kogoro smiled, taking a drink from his cup. "I apologized for that." I chuckled, leaning forward to rest my chin on my palm.
He brushed off my apology – though, from his face, I could tell he'd already forgiven me – and instead decided to ask about the bombing I was talking about, "A bombing at a hotel?"
"Yeah. My dad solved the case, though." Ran replied, proud of her father. Due to her inadvertent praise, Kogoro's smile turned to an arrogant smirk that had Conan rolling his eyes, unnoticed by everyone but Heiji and I. There was a short bout of silence, as none of us knew what to talk about, before I gave a loud sigh, drawing their attention once more. I fished a deck of cards from my pocket (ones I had borrowed from Kaito for the weekend with Akako), bringing it up so that the others could see.
"Who's for Old Maid?"
ooOOoo
The day had passed swiftly and before I knew it, we all were already finished with dinner. I had switched tables, now being at the same table as, I'd learned, the gym teacher, the train station employee, the gloomy librarian, and the fortune-teller, who was doing her best to sit far away from me. Overall, dinner was good and I had some nice chats with the two, non-rude, ones at my table. It was about 9:23 PM when I heard Kogoro announce, "Ah! I'm stuffed!"
The maid served the train station employee, Fujisawa Toshiaki, a cup of tea as he spoke up, "The owner hasn't shown himself all day." To say the people were getting restless was an understatement. They were all getting annoyed with waiting, even though it was well after dinner – for most, Mouri had been eating since just now – and it was getting late. "Hurry up and call the owner! I want him to start grading the quizzes." Girlfriend demanded of the maid, who suddenly looked nervous. "B-But, I was told to entertain the guests until he arrives, so…," She trailed uncertainly.
"Don't worry about it so much." I interrupted the complaining, flashing the maid a grin as she turned to me in surprise. "Can I have another cup of tea, please?" I almost bit my tongue, not wanting to drink anymore of said tea – truthfully, I hated the stuff – but I felt the need to help out the awkward maid, who looked very grateful at my interruption.
The clock's hand ticked as yet another minute flew by.
ooOOoo
12:04 AM.
I yawned, absently toying with Kin's tail gently, who was lying on my lap. My chair was balancing precariously on two legs as I leaned back, one legs dangling while the other was extended to grip the underneath of the table and keep me up, rocking me, much to the unease of the others around me. They obviously thought I was gonna fall, but I knew I wouldn't. I had done this a lot in the past, having mastered the art of it.
Suddenly, Fujisawa decided he was done waiting, standing abruptly, making the table shake and making me hurry to steady myself. "Damn it! I'm through with waiting! I'm going back to my room." He growled, already beginning his way out of the room. "S-Sir!" The maid exclaimed, trying to get him to wait, to no avail as he ignored her and stormed out of the room. "I guess that rumor was true, after all…," The fortune-teller, Toda Maria, muttered sullenly, "The deal about the first edition being the prize is a big lie! Nobody gets all the questions right and he just keeps the book and shows it off. That's all his tour is about."
She stood up, "Excuse me, I think I'll go to bed now." "Me, too." Ikuo Kawatsu agreed and following her lead, got up, the gloomy librarian following them as well. I was now alone at my table, the maid trying to stop the others before Kogoro also said, "This is ridiculous. I'm off to bed, too." And with that, he got up and left as Ran turned to Conan. "What are you going to do, Conan-kun?" She asked.
"I'll stick around a little longer." He answered with a small smile.
Heiji glanced at me, "What about you, Midori-han?"
"Eh, I'll stick around a bit longer, as well. Patience is a virtue, after all~!"
ooOOoo
3:24 AM.
Heiji let out a loud yawn, breaking my peace as Kin chewed on my finger, obviously as bored as I was. "I think I've reached my limit." He said, rubbing at his eye. "Hey, Kento, let's go back to our room, too." Girlfriend's tone was exasperated as she whispered to Boyfriend. However, Boyfriend obviously wanted to stay longer, "Hang in there. In these situations, the first who flinch loses. Huh? Isn't that the car we arrived in?" Blinking sleep out of my eyes, I turned my attention to Boyfriend, where he was looking out the window in confusion.
Through the window, I could see the vague outline of a car moving slowly closer to the edge of the cliff. With a clang, the two front legs of my chair once again met the ground as I leaned forward, pulling my finger away from Kin's mouth to grab him and wander a bit closer to the other table.
"It's the owner! He's driving the car." His girlfriend pronounced. Everyone else stood up to see out the window and we all ended up in a single file line, standing between Boyfriend and Heiji. "See? Now he's going to start the deduction quiz." The curly brown-haired guy next to me stated, and his long-haired girlfriend replied in kind, "You were right, Kento."
"Doesn't he look a bit strange, though?" My voice was low, as if I was speaking to myself. "And he's heading towards the cliff…,"
My hints were only accentuated as Girlfriend exclaimed, "H-Hey! Wait a minute!" Boyfriend threw in his two coins, "She's right!"
And just like that, as if a switch had been turned, Heiji and Conan were quick to jump at the oddities. The window was thrown open by the two of them, sliding with little sound and Heiji vaulted over the edge as Conan climbed over it. Surprising me, though, Heiji called out, "Midori-han! Come on!" Startled, but compliant, I quickly placed Kin in Ran's surprised arms before vaulting over the edge of the window with ease and catching up to the two boys quickly. "Take the other side!" Heiji instructed and I nodded, heading to the passenger side.
"Oh no! He sped up!" Heiji shouted as the car, indeed, sped up a bit. Straining my legs forward, I made it to the window, seeing Heiji on the other side, banging against the window. "Hey, old man, what are you doing?! If you don't stop, you'll fall off the cliff!" Heiji yelled, trying to get the driver's attention and with a stray thought, I absently wondered if I could get into the car and stop this whole case altogether. With the evidence of the body, it wouldn't take Heiji and Conan long to find out the murder.
Deciding that it was a good idea – and would stop future murders –, my hand reached down to pull at the knob, yanking forcefully as Conan hopped up and hung on the rearview mirror on the other side, noting the blanket on top of the dashboard. Growling, I realized it was locked – figures – and in my frustration, my fist banged on the window angrily. A small crack in the glass appeared, extending through it like a spider web, and I blinked before smirking. Could work.
Steeling myself, I brought my fist to the opposite shoulder before ramming my elbow into the already cracked glass once. It shattered loudly, making Conan and Heiji's eyes turn to the owner to me as I reached in, a surge of warm air hitting my face, as I leaned in, reaching for the ignition and steering wheel. My fingers brushed his arm and I tried to make my reach longer by leaning in a bit farther, a stab of pain assaulting the skin above my ribcage.
"Hey!" Heiji called out to the owner before shooting me a frantic look, "It's no use! Get out!" Glancing out the front window and seeing the edge of the cliff dangerously close, I followed his instruction, sliding out from the window hurriedly. "Old man! Old man!" Heiji continued pounding on the window and Conan hopped off just in time as I finally managed to unsnag my sweater from the window glass that was still clinging to the frame. And just as I managed to detach myself, the car made a sound as its front wheels went over the edge before it spiraled downwards in the sea.
The sight was something out of an action movie as it collided with the rocks below, igniting the gas and car, exploding with a loud eruption from below. I swallowed thickly as my face paled, as did the two detectives. Remembering them at my side, I couldn't help but feel just the tad amused, despite my horror at the situation – I could have been in there!
This was the beginning of their 'bodies falling from tall heights' curse.
ooOOoo
We had gathered everyone together again at the scene of the fall and the result was chaos when Heiji had announced that the owner was dead, Conan and I confirming it. "What?! The owner is dead?!" I winced at the harsh loudness, Kin at my heels, his eyes glowing eerily in the night. I was vaguely surprised when I didn't see scratch marks on Ran's arms, but perhaps he'd taken a liking to her.
"Yeah, he is…," Heiji said, one hand in his pocket. "He fell into the ocean right before my very eyes." The maid seemed the most devastated and, seeing as he was her employer and she'd probably been with his a while, I could tell why, "How can that be? Why?" Kogoro yawned from the back of the group. "It was suicide, I tell you. He didn't want to give up his book." He seemed irritated and tired with the whole situation and my brows furrowed in distaste. Couldn't he have a bit of respect for the dead?
"No, I believe this was homicide." Everyone's eyes turned to Boyfriend as he announced this. "The culprit killed or knocked out the owner and put him in the driver's seat. If you shift the gear into drive, the car will move on its own." He pointed a finger to the garage, "This probably all took place in that garage."
"Eh, you seem very knowledgeable about this incident…," I muttered in a whisper only he would hear, watching as his eyes widened just the slightest. A smug smirk came onto my lips at the reaction before Maria's worried voice spoke up, "Could it be that one of us could be the culprit?" Her eyes flickered briefly to me and I scowled at her in return. What the heck?! Why was she so rude to me?!
"It would seem so." Boyfriend answered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Perhaps, but somehow the car accelerated on its way to the cliff." Heiji cut in, making Boyfriend give a 'what?'. "Also, there was this strange hissing sound in the car. It wasn't a sound produced by the engine." His face was quite serious and having spent the whole day with him and his carefree expressions, it was odd. Somehow, he seemed a bit older than he did usually. More professional, I guess. "Oh!" Ikuo started, "Maybe it was the air conditioning! It might have been left on and started running when the engine was started." It sounded logical enough to all the others.
"Anyway, retrieving the body would be impossible. All we can do is contact the police and wait for them to arrive." Kogoro grumbled, still looking tired. "But the owner took all our phones, and…" Ikuo trailed, cut off as the maid gasp. "Then, the phones must be in the owner's room!" She dashed off to the house, probably to go to the owner's room. My attention was captured by Conan, though, as Ran questioned him. "Why are you looking at the tire tracks?"
"Just looking for something." He mumbled absently, still gazing intently at the tire tracks. I saw Heiji and Conan's head path's collide before they even ended up hitting each other, their foreheads making a dull thud. "Ow!" Their voices were almost simultaneous, but not quite. I chuckled at the sight. "And why are you down there, Hattori-kun?" Ran once again asked, surprised. "What do you think? I was just checking to see if the air conditioner was actually on and again this kid–"
The expression on his face changed instantly, eyes wide, before his head whipped around to stare at Conan, who was still rubbing his head. I could see thoughts run through his blue-green eyes and I shuffled over to his side, "Suspicious kid, isn't he?" He seemed startled by my appearance and my words but nodded slowly, all the same. As I was about to say something cryptic again, Conan interrupted.
"It's kind of hard to see in the dark, right?" He verbalized, looking for all the world an innocent little boy.
"Y-Yeah, you're right…," Heiji uttered, put off a bit. A click sounded before a small light appeared behind all of us, making us turn, seeing Ayako – Girlfriend – there, holding out the light. "How's this, young detectives?" We all smiled nervously back at her – for different reasons; Heiji because he'd been questioning Conan a second ago, Shinichi because he actually was a detective, and me because it was just awkward to be called that when you lived with a phantom thief – and after the two said their thanks, I muttered back, "Ah, thanks…"
Talk about awkward…
ooOOoo
"The phones are all broken!"
We all had gathered in the owner's room to get the phones. So much for that, right? Boy, am I glad that I didn't put my phone with theirs. Sure, I felt bad that mine was the only living phone – and I couldn't say anything (or could I?) – but it wasn't exactly my fault that I had known they'd be broken.
"W-Who could have done such a thing?" Maria gasped and I rolled my eyes, finally deciding to get back at her for all her rudeness. "The criminal, obviously…," She looked surprised at my direct sentence, but couldn't say anything as the maid announced, "The book is missing, too!" And sure enough, the vault behind her that was wide open only had a few pieces of scrap paper and empty boxes in it. "Damn!" Toshiaka cursed, "Let's take the other car and get out of this crazy place!"
"That won't be possible." Heiji stated, walking to the entrance of the door. I'd been wondering where he'd gotten off to after I'd gotten a bit cold and went for refuge in the warm confines of the house. "The other car in the garage has had its gas tank punctured. All the gas has leaked out and the battery's dead. That car isn't going anywhere."
The only person smiling – more like smirking – was Boyfriend, as Ran asked worriedly, "How can that be…?" Boyfriend gave a sinister chuckle. "It looks like it was murder, after all, tantei-san." He mocked Kogoro. Heiji walked forward through the surge of people, breaking off the impending retort and more scared mumbles, getting the attention of others as he continued, "The trick the culprit used to cause the car to accelerate is still a mystery, but the fact that the other car is out of commission means…," He paused for effect before turning to look back at us all, "The culprit isn't done with this murder mystery."
The room's silence seemed to maximize – obviously, his added effect had worked well with the others – and I suddenly felt the strange need to laugh. Covering it with a stray cough, a stab of pain in my side had me flinching, a bead of nervous sweat running down my brow when Heiji's eyes seemed to zero into the action. Great, was he getting suspicious of me, too? This was a bad idea, such a bad idea…
"Anyway," Thankfully, Mouri broke Heiji's concentration and he looked back to the oldest detective. "The culprit is one of us. If we follow the leads, we will figure it out."
"I've got it!" Ikuo announced, "If we check the security cameras, we might find something."
And, low-and-behold, I found unneeded words tumbling out of my mouth. "It's no use. They're all fake." Everyone seemed surprised by my knowledge of the false cameras and I felt myself instinctively take a step back to safer territory, by the window. "Eh? How did you know, Watanabe-san?" The maid asked curiously, and the others reacted with shocked sounds at her question, realizing I was telling the truth. I swallowed thickly as Conan and Heiji's eyes narrowed dangerously in my direction. No! I didn't kill anyone, you two! Don't give me that creepy detective look! It makes my skin crawl!
And it really did. It felt like they were stripping me under their gazes, peering into the depths of my soul. Utterly…discomforting. "W-Well, you know. They had to be fake. After all, people change in their bedrooms and it's illegal to peep on someone when their getting changed!" I rushed out, internally smashing my head into the nearest wall. That sounded so stupid, just now…
"So it's true?!" Fujisawa was disheartened by this news.
The maid frowned in apology. "Yes, they're just props that the owner uses for this tour." Mouri grumbled 'props?' under his breath before the other Osakan teen took the stage once again. He practically owned this episode with his epic deductions and suspicion about Conan being Shinichi; and possibly about me, too. "One thing we know for certain is that the culprit killed the owner and put him in the car around 3:30 AM. That means it's impossible that I, or these six people, who were in the living room for the past few hours had committed the crime." Maria sent an almost apologetic glance to me, but I blatantly ignored it stubbornly, crouching to pick up Kin, who had starting to claw the ends of my jeans.
"Wait a minute. You're saying the culprit is one of us five who wasn't in the living room at the time?" Fujisawa was obviously not a very compliant person and I absently pitied his wife – or future wife, whichever it was. I surely didn't see a ring on his finger, though, so I guess the later. Unless he was a cheater, that was a definitely something to consider…
"Please don't include me in that category." Kogoro gruffed to the man.
Putting the weird thoughts swirling about in my head, I gave Kogoro a grin, letting Kin back up onto my shoulder and nuzzling his cheek with mine, liking the feeling of his fur as Ayako walked up to Heiji to whisper something in his ear. "Now, now, Mouri-tantei." He turned to look at me, giving a slightly unnerved look as I narrowed my eyes in amusement. "Just because you're a good detective doesn't mean that you aren't the criminal."
He gave me a surprised face, before frowning, but just as he was about to say something – and Ran, too, since she was stepping forward a bit –, a laugh broke through the room. Girlfriend was laughing to herself, arms crossed smugly. "A-Ayako...?" Boyfriend trailed.
"Because I have figured out…who the culprit is and what trick he used." She smirked, lighting up a cigarette. She took a drag of her cigarette before releasing the smoke slowly, "I have evidence to prove it, too."
Shock spread through the room. "What?!" The voices were mingled as one, not having a specific owner.
"I'll give you ten minutes. If you don't want me to expose you, then you should give yourself up." She said, before starting to walk out of the room. My brow twitched as I tried not to rush after her, and save her from her terrible fate in the near future. "H-Hey, Ayako, where are you going?" Boyfriend asked, making me nauseous. "The bathroom." She answered simply, still walking out. "A-Are you crazy? If you go alone, the culprit will come after you!" You would know, right?
Huffing out a regretful breath, I steadied myself, marching forward through the flood of people as she turned to her boyfriend, "Then you can protect me."
Just as he was about to follow her out the door, I caught his shoulder roughly, trying to look friendly. "Ah, don't worry about it, I'll go instead." "Bu–!" My smile strained, my eyes hidden from the others as the flashed with threats unspoken and I walked in front of his as he stood there, frozen by the look. "Didn't you hear me? I said I'd go. Besides, you shouldn't follow a girl to the bathroom, it's rude." Giving a small chuckle to mask the venom, I closed the door behind me as I followed Ayako out into the hall to her way to the bathroom. A spike of pain riddled up my side as my muscles tensed.
There was a moment of silence between us. "Ah, Midori-san, why are you so tense?" She questioned smoothly as we made our way to the bathroom, finally noting my rod-straight stance. I sent her a small smile, "N-Nothing much, just a bit worried for you, is all. You did just announce to all the suspects that you knew who the criminal was." She sent me a sly glance, "But doesn't that include you, too, dear?" The way she said the endearment was similar to Akako, but warmer.
"I suppose so…," Laughing a bit nervously, I reflectively stuffed my hands in my jean pockets as we reached the bathroom, regretting it a moment later as yet another stab of pain laced up my ribcage. Unbidden, a small groan passed my lips, informing my company of the wound. She looked back at me, her brown eyes scanning me before stopping at a part of my stomach. "Oh my! You're bleeding." Before I could react, she pulled me into the bathroom with her, closing the door, and reaching under the sink to take out a first aid kit. How she knew that was there was beyond me. Then again, everyone had had a longer amount of time to explore while I'd been in dream world, so it wasn't too strange.
"Lift up your shift." She commanded and I awkwardly did what she was told, raising it to just below my chest. And sure enough, a long, bloody, gash ran across my left side, specks of glass embedded in it. Ouch. That looked really bad. Apparently, Ayako thought the same, since she gave a short gasp, hurrying to survey the damage properly and getting out a pair of tweezers. She wasn't gonna do what I think she was gonna do, was she? My face paled considerably.
"This will hurt, but otherwise it could get infected and make the injury worst." Oh, god, she was…
Nausea quelled at the back of my throat as I nodded stiffly, closing my eyes so that I didn't have to see what she was about to do. Small pricks of pain were felt as she picked out the pieces of glass from my side and I cursed my earlier recklessness. A wet, cold, cloth was ran over my side every so often, probably to clear her vision of the blood I could feel sliding down my stomach. The feeling wasn't very pleasant, to say the least, but Kin's comforting warmth on my shoulder was welcoming. Surprisingly, he was letting me be treated.
"So, where did you get this injury?" She finally asked as she continued her first aid. My eyes remained closed as I sighed, "I broke the window of the car, thinking that I could maybe stop it if I could get inside. Obviously, it didn't work how I had planned." I heard her give a quiet laugh at my sarcastic tone before she pulled back from her work and I felt a cold cream slide over the opening, stinging just the slightest. Antiseptic. And as she began to coil gauze around my torso – seriously, it hadn't even been that long since I'd gotten my neck gauze off… –, I opened my eyes and looked down to her concentrated face.
"Thanks, you know, for the help." I thanked her awkwardly, still finding it weird that someone was tending to my side other than a doctor or paramedic.
She flashed a calm smirk up to me, "It's no problem, you did come to protect me from the big, bad, criminal, after all." My response was a sheepish smile as I lifted my arms a bit so that she could secured the bandages. "About that, Ayako-san…," My eyes wandered to the ceiling as I thought of how to come up with how to put it. "Um, just in case, don't take any offers from the criminal. Even if it's someone you know. Because, I've heard that lots of criminals bribe people into keeping their secret a secret…and stuff." I finished lamely.
She taped the bandages and pulled back to survey her work before nodding, signaling that I could pull down my shirt now. I did just that, biting my lip expectantly and she looked back to me. "You sound like you know what you're talking about, Midori-san." Either that was sarcasm, or she actually thought that, I couldn't tell. "But, I think I'll decide if I do or not. Why do you bring this up? Do you know who the criminal is?" Her toen was purely curious.
I hesitated before giving a tiny nod. "Y-Yeah, I think so…," Finally gaining the courage, I shouted, "So please promise not to make any deals with him!" I didn't want her to die; she was actually a nice person.
She stared at me a moment before smirking, "Okay, I promise, Midori-san."
Letting out a relived sigh, I grinned as I stood, helping her up from her place on the floor with an extended hand. "Okay, I should head back, now that I know that." And with that, feeling reassured that she wouldn't do anything stupid, I waved before walking out of the room, thanking her once again for the help, and heading back to the owner's room.
Arriving back in the room, I was met with probing questions. "So, who's the culprit?" Fujisawa, along with the others, leaned forward for the answer. Even Maria wasn't acting nervous around me anymore; I think she finally realized that I wasn't a bad person. "She told you, didn't she?" As if on cue to my thoughts, Maria asked frantically. "Please tell us!" Ikuo added, as if that would help.
I shrugged, uncomfortable under the attention, used to being a bit of a wallflower. "She didn't tell me, either." I said truthfully, putting my hands up in defense. "Damn, she's just toying with us!" Fujisawa growled and Boyfriend snuck past me, out of the room, "I'm gonna go check on her." He said, and before I could pull him back like before, he was off, the door closing behind him. I blinked uneasily before covering it with a shaky smile. Nothing would happen; I'd warned her, after all.
"Hey, Maid-han, besides Ayako-san, there were other people who didn't eat lunch, right?" Heiji questioned and maid answered, "Yes, Toganou Kento-san, Shimizu Nanako-san, and Watanabe Midori-san." Boyfriend, the gloomy librarian, and myself had both been absent during lunch. The others who didn't notice the conversation didn't bother saying anything, but I wandered closer. "I was asleep. If I'd been awake, I would have loved to eat your food; it's great." I complimented her as Heiji went back into his thoughts. Boyfriend arrived back in the room and almost immediately, Conan was at his side.
"Hey, oniichan, did Ayako-san come to your room during lunch?" He asked in his 'I'm a sweet little kid' voice. Boyfriend smiled down to the shrunken Heisei Holmes, "No. I was working on the quiz during lunch and nobody came." He looked quite calm for someone who had probably just been bribe-rejected by his girlfriend. …She did reject him, right?
Ran interrupted my train of thought with a concerned tone, "Hey…Isn't Ayako-san taking a bit long?"
She was, but I knew before that she was only still using the bathroom. "N-Now that you mention it…," Ikuo stuttered, glancing at the clock with the rest of the group, except for Fujisawa, who looked down at his watch, "It's been over twenty minutes." Wow~! Times flies when you're worrying about murderers, huh?
"Could it be–?" And with Mouri's exclamation, all the men in the room rushed out to check on the missing Ayako. I stayed behind with Ran, the maid, and Maria. Taking a seat on the owner's chair of conduct, I leaned forward sleepily. This case was tiring and so late at night…so early in the…whatever…
With a yawn, I fidgeted before leaning back into the spinning chair, eyes glued to the white of the ceiling.
So tired….
ooOOoo
I jolted awake at the familiar sounds of Conan's sugary tone, "Huh? Where's Ayako-san?" Sleepily, the phrase registered in my mind, before I stood from the spinning chair, not caring as to how it clattered from the ground, startling a few people. Heiji raised a brow at my disheveled appearance, as if saying 'how can you sleep in this type of situation?' but I ignored it as Kogoro answered, "That woman went out to take a walk." "Huh?"
"We told her not to go, but she said there wouldn't be any more killings." Ran said, though her tone was still anxious. Ran cared about everyone she met and greeted and even people she didn't; I'm surprised she could withstand so much murder in her life. It was almost sad to think of it…
My eyes darted to the side as another, arrogant, voice spoke up, "Anyway, all the suspects are here." Boyfriend shrugged helplessly and my teeth clenched together with a clatter. The bastard, he still thought he could win when she'd promised–! "If we all stay put, nothing will happen." Fujisawa added, brows furred in worry. Then just like that, the promise was broken.
My heart stopped as a loud explosion wracked through the building, shaking the ground faintly like an earthquake and lighting up half of the room with an orange glow from the windows. It couldn't be…
"What was that?!" "It came from the garage!" "What happened?!" My mind filtered out the voices, not even caring who was saying what, as I dashed out of the house with the others, ignoring the sting on my side. Kin hopped the height from my shoulder as I didn't have time to secure him, but I didn't care at the moment. We all stopped in shock at the sight of the garage, burning wildly, crackling as if it were alive. "Could Ayako-san be in there?" I vaguely registered Ran's voice.
"A-Ayako…,… Ayako!" The scream sounded dull and before I knew it, I was rushing to the fire as well, my body feeling numb from shock. It couldn't be…
"Someone put the fire out! Or else the book…!"
"Ayako-san! Ayako-san!" My voice didn't sound like mine, cut off and ragged. A hand snagged my arm, tugging me back before I could reach it and I thrashed violently, trying to yank away. "Let go! Let go! Let me g–!" My throat constricted as I was pulled back into strong arms, keeping me from running off, even as I leaned forward and promptly dry gagged, saliva dripping to the ground. My stomach had long been emptied and the night's dinner digested. It couldn't be…
"Calm down, Midori, there's nothing you can do now!" The male voice sounded familiar, but didn't register and it wasn't until I slumped, just staring at the burning building in shock, did the person slowly release his strong grip and lower me to the floor, where I could sit. A paw bat at my leg in concern and my hand automatically came to touch the soft fur on instinct. The smell of ashes and the heat from the fire surrounded me, suffocating, and then suddenly my attention was pulled away as gentle hands guided my face away from the chaos – the chaos which I knew was coming, which I knew I could have stopped, which I knew would happen, which I knew was coming…
Motherly eyes stared back at me, the lilac color of Ran's eyes, her caring face leaning in as she focused on calming me down. "Midori-chan, it's okay. Breathe." She seemed a bit sick, too, but she obviously had a stronger stomach than me. I'd just been talking to Ayako a moment ago and she was just, gone. Hadn't she promised me…? Maybe if I'd done something more…
"It's not your fault, Midori-chan. Please, calm down." And just like that, my thoughts immediately snapped to speed, as if elastic had been pulled then released. I sucked in a breath, swallowing the lump in my throat. The orange glow had flickered before disappearing out of the corner of my eyes and I realized that it must have been put out while I'd been out of it. "Ran…san." I muttered, pulling back a bit to escape her worried face, feeling guilty for being such a wimp.
It looks like this will still take some getting used to, I thought with bitter amusement. Finally, I gathered myself together, wiping the edges of my mouth with my sleeve. "S-Sorry…I just wasn't expecting…," I trailed uncertainly, voice rough from my throat's abuse. The arms around me let go at last and I turned to see Heiji standing up, "You had me worried there, for a minute." He joked, trying to lighten my mood. Unexpectedly, it worked and I cracked a small grin, "'For a minute'? You even forgot an honorific." I chuckled, feeling tired and content with just sitting on the floor.
"Ah, sorry about that, but it was the only way to get through to you." He laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't think you were one with a weak stomach."
"I'm usually not. It's just…," I changed the subject before I got myself sucked up in the moment again, "Nothing. Anyways, it's okay. If you call me that." I added and he looked down in confusion. "Midori, it's fine if you just call me that." I clarified and I saw him nod with a happy smile before his face turned serious again as he headed to the garage to survey the damage and look for the body. The garage was nothing more than scraps now and I turned back to Ran to avoid the sight.
"Um, Midori-chan, this may not be the best time, but….," She pulled something out of her pocket. The crinkled paper was sent gently into my palm and I grasped it as she stood back up, to leave me to read it. "Ayako-san left you a letter, before she went out on her walk. …I thought you might want to see it." With a careful smile, I thanked her as she walked away and I took a shuddering breath before opening the folded paper.
My eyes found the words easily enough, written with elegant scrawl across the page.
Sorry, I lied.
Next to it was a small, drawn heart, shaded in. I blinked at it before a small snicker erupted from me, as I was suddenly feeling much better. "Ayako, you fool." My tone was still growled out, bitter feelings for her broken promise still there, but before I knew it, I was adding, "You'll always have a bad personality."
Folding the paper and standing up shakily, gaining my balance again, Kin comfortably in my arms, I put it in my back pocket. "But, hopefully, I'll see you again, sometime…," The wind didn't answer me like in all those cliché movies, but I could have sworn I heard her sly laugh vaguely.
Looking up, I ignored Boyfriend's screams from the garage and smiled a bit, "You're still a moron, though."
ooOOoo
After the body had been confirmed, all of us had gathered around the scene of the crime. The burnt remains of the garage didn't bother me anymore, much to the relief of the others. They obviously didn't want to deal with a hysteric thirteen-year-old. Truthfully, I couldn't blame them, since I wouldn't want to, either. "Judging by the clothes and build, it's definitely her." Mouri told everyone solemnly.
Ran's head bowed a bit from her place beside me, where she was just in case I needed support. "Ayako-san was fine just a moment ago…," She intoned gravely, still in a slight state of shock. I grinned, trying to cheer her up now. My arm slung around her shoulder, surprising her, "She's in a better place now." I whispered, just low enough for her to hear. If she believed in heaven or the afterlife or not was beyond me, but since she believed in ghosts and other things, I figured she would. She smiled a bit at my attempt. The others seemed to take my mood swing a bit cautiously, but I paid it no mind.
"And she said she knew who the culprit was." Maria said. "Does this mean that the culprit killed her to keep her quiet?" The maid questioned. The gloomy librarian spoke up, "But when the fire broke out, we were all in the owner's room."
"Then who started the fire?" The maid asked, Maria adding, "It couldn't have lit itself."
"No, there's one person who could have done it." Ikuo began, "The owner! If the owner, whose car fell off the cliff, were actually alive, this would all make sense!" He looked frightened by the mere thought. "Y-Yes, it might have been a dummy or something in the car!" Maria gasped, agreeing with the theory. "I've heard a story like that." The librarian intoned.
"No, no." Heiji cut in, waving his hand. "That was definitely the owner in the car." "I saw him, too. There's no mistake." Conan said and I quickly added, "Me, too! It was definitely the owner's body."
"Then, who the hell did this?!" Boyfriend – no, Kento – shouted, tears in his eyes. "There's no denying that someone killed Ayako!" He surged forward a bit, but was stopped by Ikuo, who let out a calming 'now, now'. "Anyway, it's clear that none of us could be the culprit." Mouri stated, "For now, let's go inside and wait for morning."
"Let's all go to the living room." Ikuo suggested.
The others walked away, heading for the house, but I stayed behind with Heiji, Conan, and Fujisawa. "Hmph, as if I would mistake a doll for a human being!" Heiji shouted after them, offended. "But, all the suspects were inside. Did they plant a timer in the garage?" Conan spoke up from Heiji's side, catching the Osakan's attention.
I walked closer to the two of them, leaving the paling Fujisawa behind me, as I observed their conversation. "No, there was no such thing." Conan's head tilted downwards just the slightest, "Then how did the culprit start the fire?"
Heiji deadpanned at the smaller, "We don't know that. That's why we're…," His sentence stopped abruptly as he noticed what he was doing, watching Conan start walking away absently, muttering to himself about the case. I snuck up behind the taller teen, throwing an arm around him again and breaking his concentration. "He's a pretty suspicious kid, isn't he?" I commented, watching my friend nod.
"Yeah…, he almost reminds me of you, Midori." He smirked in my direction in a joking manner, but I could sense the underlying truth. Hiding my nervousness, I released him and scratched my neck nervously. "Ah, come on, I'm not suspicious~! Anyways, let's go solve this mystery~!" Grabbing his wrist, I began to pull him back into the house, ignoring his protests.
"'Let's go solve this mystery?' You want to help?" He asked as he regained his footing when stumbling from my harsh pulling. I gave him a shark's grin over my shoulder, feeling determined and ready for anything now. "Yup! You turned me into you assistant, anyway, when you asked me to help you with the car earlier." I joked, before hiding my expression by turning my head.
I was done playing games. Boyfriend has officially wearied down my last nerves.
Review Replies:
To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – (Laughs) Yeah, she's a bit of an oddity, but I do that to and it's fun when you're bored. XDD And really? That's pretty cool. XD I love "Charlotte's Web", though, I don't like that she died. : Made me pretty sad. ;;; (Grins as Snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie) Thank you, E-chan~!
To: Raifuujin – Wow, it really has been quite a while! It's nice to see (?) ((Hear from?)) you again~! (Laughs) I'm glad everyone has taken a liking to Kin. XD I'm quite fond of him myself.;; And thank you! Despite me not owning her, she's quite a fun character to add to the story and use for plot devices and other things. XD Yay! I made someone squeal! 8DD When my sister read that line, she literally said, "Oh no…," and I was like 'lol, why that reaction? XD'. And yeah, the Holmes Freak murder! I'm really glad I finally made it to it, I've been looking forward to it! And yup, I remember when you brought that up a long time ago and couldn't resist to add it to the story! ^^ And yeah, Heiji does have a type of sixth sense for things like that. XD (Gives Kin catnip and fish) Thank you for the review (Kin says thanks for the catnip and fish) and the pokemon Giratana is awesome! Nuff said~! XD
To: MagicMilkbone – (Laughs) Yeah, she is pretty creepy. XD Psychics have always come to me as slightly creepy, for some reason. XD And Kin-chan is Kin-chan~! (Dodges Question like Izaya dodges a vending machine; not sure if you get this reference. XDD;;;) And yup~! Midori needs more friends, even if said friends are dangerous detectives who question her every move. XD And yeah, he doesn't like many people. They're just not his thing, I guess. Yup, she's magical, so he probably – definitely – has a preference for those types of people. XD And yay – a fellow Rise of the Guardians lover! (High Fives) Has it come to DVD where you are? You can buy it and then watch it more. 8D (My mom hates me now because of how many times I made her come see it with me; especially that one midnight showing.. ouch. XD;)
-Hope you enjoyed. I'm really, really, tired… Goodnight. ;;;
"Next Conan's Hint: The Holmes Test!"