Chapter 5 – The Hatching of a Plan

(At Shinichi's house)

Kudo Shinichi spent the entire night yesterday helping Hakase sort Shiho Miyano's books and other personal belongings, such as microscopes, centrifuge, billions of fashion magazines, etc., in his house. Having drained his energy from all the moving he did, not to mention from the authoritative pressure his young chemist teacher had on him whenever she spoke to him to tell him where to put things or to ask if he wanted to rest a bit, Shinichi woke up with back pain and a set of cobalt blue eyes that just wouldn't show because of heavy eyelids. Nevertheless, he had to go to school because he still had a lot of catching up to do with his studies, at least with the requirements such as papers and tests but not with the lessons. When after dressing up for school, the young detective went downstairs to eat breakfast only to see that Ran and Sonoko were already right outside the gate of his house waiting for him.

(Outside Shinichi's house)

"Oi, oi, oi. You guys are already here? I thought school started at 8am, it's only 7.", Shinichi painfully said to his friends hoping, no, begging that they made a mistake so that he could still grab a bite before they walk to school.

"School does start at 8 but we go to school earlier now than when we did before.", Sonoko answered Shinichi who, after being gone for over a year and a half didn't know how much things have changed exactly, asked with both confusion and pain, "Eh? Why?".

"That's because Miyano-sensei has been walking with us since and she has to arrive at school much earlier than us.", Ran told Shinichi who looked as if he would collapse any moment now due to sleep deprivation.

"Oh? Is that so.", replied Shinichi while at the same time, was thinking to himself just how much of Miyano-sensei he has to deal with. He asked himself if maybe he wouldn't be this bothered if he hadn't seen the face of her beast back on the bus. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the voice of the very beast he was thinking about spoke from behind him.

"Why? Would it be so awful, Tantei-san, having to walk with me to school every time?", Shiho, who didn't seem tired at all and was even looking extremely pretty, asked to the only detective at sight but Shinichi could only force a smile to keep his shock and embarrassment from showing.

"I'm surprised actually", the young teacher continued, "I didn't think you'd go to school today after all the heavy lifting you did last night.". Hearing this, Sonoko and Ran could only look at each other in confusion and curiosity. "Shinichi and Miyano-sensei were together last night? What could they had been doing?", asked the two best friends to each other in their eyes. "After all, a work like that is meant for real men and not for a little boy like you. You look exhausted.", Shiho finished her remark with a blank expression that didn't hint whether it was a joke or an actual insult. Shinichi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Of course I'd be exhausted. Hakase and I did all the heavy lifting and all you did was out your clothes in the cabinet and organized you shoes. How heavy could they have been without your extremely large head?" Shinichi then thought to himself but quickly dismissed it when he caught Shiho's suspecting stare as if she knew what he was thinking about.

(At Teitan High 2-B classroom)

Shinichi and the others were walking the school hall to their classroom when more than a couple of students, often girls, were obviously staring at them or maybe, just at Shinichi and Shiho. Two girls, among others, awkwardly paused at the sight of the famous high school detective as if they were having second thoughts whether to greet him or not; Shinichi, without knowing exactly what was bothering the two, merely smiled politely at them so that they wouldn't be as embarrass. A slight, uncontrollable blush could be seen surfacing their cheeks but soon disappeared after spotting their chemistry teacher walking just right behind him.

It was Ran and Sonoko who first entered the classroom of students busily talking to each other about a "couple" that must be destroyed. Both girls had absolutely no idea who the class was referring to but apparently, the entire school was talking about it as students from other classes entered the room only to talk about the same rumor with their friends. Sonoko was in disbelief about what she was hearing as she, the queen of gossip herself, was clueless about the couple that everyone was raging about. He spotted Hattori, who came to school before them and seemed to be talking about the rumor with Kazuha, and immediately approached him for interrogation. "You're the detective here right?", Sonoko asked him in panic. He could only nod at the mystery, that is Sonoko's seriousness, in front of him. "Then would you tell me what exactly is everyone talking about? And why on earth would they not talk about it to me, Sonoko queen of gossip, first? What is this rumor about a couple?" Sonoko hastily demanded of the dark-skinned detective. Both Hattori and Kazuha whispered at Sonoko, one at each ear, their report.

"WHAT? What-what-what?", Sonoko loudly asked for clarification of what seemed to be a rumor she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"What is it Sonoko? What is it?", asked Ran pleadingly who was still outright clueless about what is going on.

"Did you say Shinichi and Miyano-sensei are—", Sonoko started to say but was cut short out of a sudden.

"GASP!", the class, indeed, gasped at the direction of the door. Sonoko was so focused at absorbing all the information that she didn't notice that Shinichi and Shiho had already walked inside the room, so did the entire class. They couldn't believe what they were seeing, Shinichi and their Miyano-sensei entering the room at the same time. The startled detective and teacher were confused by the heartbroken looks on the students' faces, staring at them as if the two betrayed them.

"Wha-What about us, Sonoko?", asked Shinichi, who was slightly freaking out about how the guys were looking at him –both with anger and jealousy.

Sonoko didn't know what to say. She couldn't just tell Shinichi that the entire school were raging and plotting against him and Miyano-sensei being a couple. "I was saying that… that… you and Miyano-sensei a-are …", said Sonoko who just couldn't figure out what answer to give.

"That you two are neighbors!", cut in Hattori. "Yeah. We were just talking about how convenient it is for you to have a teacher living next to your house especially since we are still trying to catch up with rest of the class… He. He. He.", Hattori finished with a nervous chuckle, hoping that Kudo wouldn't see through his lie.

Naturally, Shinichi was suspicious but because he couldn't think of anything else they would be talking about him and Miyano-sensei, he shrugged it off.

"Okay then. Well, class has already begun so if you don't mind", Shiho said to the class and then to Shinichi, looking at him demandingly. "Anytime you want to take your seat, Tantei-san."

"A-ah. Sorry, sorry.", Shinichi said sheepishly while quickly taking his seat in the room.

Oblivious of the rumor spreading about them, Kudo Shinichi and Miyano Shiho were completely unaware of the gravity of every word that they utter to each other. They didn't know that with every syllable, the jealousies of the students are growing stronger and their plan against their 'romantic future', becoming more sophisticatedly wicked and cruel.

"No. We can't let that happen. Just you wait and see.", thought the every student in Teitan High with enough conviction to sentence an innocent, or in this case, two innocent and currently single people, to death.