Chapter 3: Hidden thoughts & feelings


A lot of things had happened ever since the masked detective had interfered Kudo Shinichi from his detective works. Although some detectives are an exemption – that would include Kogoro Mouri – Shinichi did not see the others as obstacles but as competence. He recalled the weird voice who threatened his life. It was indeed not just a prank call; after he had insulted the masked detective the call came. It does not seem like a coincidence, is it? He picked up the phone and called the Mouri residence. It took five rings before someone had picked it up. The voice was breathed heavily as it spoke, "M – Mouri r - residence, Ran speaking…"

"Are you alright?"

"Ac – tually, I just got home." Ran panted. Shinichi could hear her throwing stuff on the ground.

"What is that?"

"I – um – bought groceries remember?"

"Oh yeah. What took you so long? Look at the time." Shinichi said.

"I – uh – keep it down, will you? Oh sorry, it's my dad. He got drunk again." Ran apologized. "Anyway, I still have to cook dinner. I got late since some thugs try to mess with me, but I'm alright now."

"Oh, did they?" Shinichi sweat dropped. "So nothing else happened? I mean did they follow you home or something? They might get revenge on you, you know."

"As if they had the courage," Ran's eyes burned up. "Let's see what they've got."

"Ha, ha, I get it, I get it. Okay, I should get some rest now. I'm too tired to eat anything. Can I stop over – ?"

"No! The house a mess! I had a rough day, so please." Ran almost whispered.

"I – I see."

The phone clicked and Ran kicked an unconscious body lying beside the couch. Her voice suddenly changed as she removed a device on her neck. "Hey, get up, you…"

"Ouff!" was all the voice could say. Its eyes glared at Ran. Its lips, hands and ankles were all tied up, making the person unable to speak. The other one was fast asleep; snoring in the midst of what was happening within his home.

"Don't you scream or your father gets it." Another voice spoke from behind the real Ran Mouri. Ran's eyes widened and tears were flowing down from her eyes. She bit her lips and nodded in response. The person behind the real Ran slowly removed the handkerchief from her lips.

"Careful now…"

"What do you want?" Ran sniffed.

"Just listen now." The fake Ran smirked amidst the dark Mouri residence. "And no one gets hurt. Don't you know it's hard to pretend? So cooperate, if you want everyone dear to you to live."

Ran could only stare at the ground with tears on her eyes. Shinichi, tell me what to do.

"Ohayou!"

"What's got into him? He seemed so lively today."

"I don't know."

"Ohayou, Ran!" Shinichi greeted lively.

"What? Oh, Ohayou, Shinichi…" Ran muttered. "You're pretty lively today. Anything unusual happened?"

"N – No, Ran, what's happened to you? You look like a zombie!" Shinichi noticed Ran's large eye bags.

"I – I'm fine." Ran tried to cheer up. "So, why are you feeling so lively?"

"Don't mind me. Really, what's up with you? Is there a problem?"

"Oh, I, I couldn't sleep well because of my dad." Ran forced a smile and to make Shinichi convinced she added. "And I had a terrible nightmare. Yes, a nightmare wherein everyone I care about were murdered because of me."

"Looks like you got caught up with my detective works." Shinichi chuckled.

"Yeah, I think so."

Shinichi did not bother to ask her more about the nightmare. Instead, he babbled on about the new idea in his head on how to help the Kanzaki siblings to find their lost parents. Ran let Shinichi's voice drain in her thoughts. She could not utter a word to him. She could feel that she was being watched. A chill on her nape made her believe that someone was keeping an eye on her. And if ever she would get alone with Shinichi, probably, whoever was watching her would believe that she had told Shinichi the slightest thing that was happening to her and her father.

"Ohayou!" voices greeted from behind which made Ran jump. Her heart almost left her chest in astonishment.

"Ohayou, Minoru, Mamoru and Sayuri…" Ran mumbled.

"Eh? What's with the long face, Mouri-san?"

"Had a terrible nightmare…" Shinichi explained shortly. "I was just talking about my ideas to Ran awhile ago on how to find your parents…"

"Oh really? That's amazing! Let's talk about it!" Sayuri praised.

"Nah, it's nothing…"

"So, how does it go?"

"Probably, later, during the break…"

Their voices trailed away as Ran followed the rest of her friends behind. The bell rang loudly in her ears; everyone around her ran towards their own classrooms but she could only walk. It was difficult to pretend to be fine in front of all of those people. However, if she does not do what she was told, then everyone else would turn into nothingness.

"I'm dying to go home!" Minoru stretched his arms out wide. "School time's boring…"

Ran shivered in reaction to his statement. She, on the other hand, wanted to stay at school as long as she could. She could not feel comfort in her own home. Yet, she could not even hand a clue to her beloved detective. It was break time and the rest of them were hanging out at the top of the school building. Shinichi and the others formed a circle while Ran sat beside the fence, looking at the people near the gym.

"So, how are you going to help us find our parents? Is there any other way?" Sayuri finally asked.

"I've thought of looking at the police records…" Shinichi blinked. "Besides that, we would visit the headquarters where your parents used to get their jobs."

"Ah, great idea!" Sayuri exclaimed. "Do you know where it is exactly?"

"Yes, I've traced where it is. We'll go there or I'll go there on the weekend."

"I'd like to come!" Ran exclaimed. Shinichi gazed at her with confusion. It was unlikely for Ran to volunteer to come to his investigation. She usually tagged along him with no comment at all except that she wanted to be beside him. Shinichi slowly grinned at Ran's sudden change of mood and waited for the rest to respond.

"Shall we all go then?"

"Don't you think we're a bother to you?"

"Yeah, we could be a burden…"

"Well, as long as you listen if I told you to stay where you are then it's fine with me. You will all be a burden if you don't listen to me at all." Shinichi slurped the rest of his drink up and stood up. "That's final. We'll talk about meeting up during dismissal time. For now, we have to think of disguising you up."

"Why?"

Shinichi did not respond and left the rest of them in wonder. Ran followed behind. She wanted to grasp his hands now that they were all alone. But students were wandering on the corridor and she had no idea how to tell Shinichi everything in just a seconds. She knew she was being watched. A single mistake could lead to something she might regret for the rest of her life.

Sorry for the late update readers! Been really busy these days! So here it is!