Okay, I'm finally back... And I'm still working on my 7th chapter which I'm getting nowhere at... And I'm working on trying to concentrate on my Japanese school studies rather than doing this....
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention when I was first starting this fic: This story does not contain resolutions to the entire Pandora story... This fic basically started out with me thinking abou Saguru's past... (If you don't want to read this anymore, the back button is up there^)
With the last ring of the school bells, Kaito and Aoko walked down the steps and emerged from the school gates. Outside, a young woman stood, as though waiting for someone.
"Nao-san! Are you waiting for someone here?" Kaito asked.
"Kaito, who is that?" Aoko asked cautiously. The fact that such a pretty looking woman knew Kaito and was waiting for someone outside of their school gates bothered her.
Nao introduced herself. "Hello. I'm Saguru-chan's older sister. You must be Aoko-san. Saguru-chan talks about you often."
Aoko blushed slightly. "Speaking of Hakuba-kun, where is he? Hasn't he been gone too long to be having a cold?"
Nao glanced over at Kaito as she said, "Oh, he got caught up in some sort of a case…Anyway, I'd like a little bit of time with Kaito-kun. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course," Aoko said. After Kaito and Nao left, she felt angry at herself. Why am I letting that lady go walking around alone with Kaito???She huffed, slung her school bag over her shoulder, and stomped in the opposite direction of her home. She quickly arrived at a small restaurant. Aoko sat down at the counter, and asked for an iced coffee.
"What's wrong, Nao-san?" Kaito asked as he found Nao in the bathroom. Having to buy some groceries for his mom, he had gone home first before arriving at the Hakuba house, only a minute after Nao. He immediately saw that Saguru's bedroom door was left open. He also heard the sound of running water, and felt hot vapor from the bathroom. Nao and Kaito found Saguru sitting by the filled bathtub, arm inside, and dark liquid flowing in the water. Kaito immediately knelt beside him, and put his hand to Saguru's neck. "Nao-san. Help me pull him out. He's still alive, and by the look of the amount of blood, he hasn't been in here for long."
After pulling him out, Kaito bandaged Saguru's wrist, changed his clothes, and laid him in bed while Nao cleaned up the bathroom. Kaito decided that for once, he would like to act like Tantei-san, and began to investigate Saguru's room, hoping to find the cause of his suicide attempt. There was a medium sized box on the floor next to the door. Kaito cautiously walked up to it, and peered over the flap of the cardboard lid. His eyes widened as he saw inside the box, a white sip of paper, written, "To My Beloved Sounai Saguru Sama," and underneath it, a pile of cash, all in 10000 yen banknotes.
Hearing a slight bit of movement, Kaito asked, "Are you awake now?" as he turned around towards the bed.
Saguru was sitting on the bed, upright, and staring down at his hands.
"You alright?"
"I'm such an idiot aren't I?"
"I can't say that you aren't. Why d'you do this? Seriously, if you have something that's really bothering you, just tell me. Everyone else has been worried about you until now since you refused to come to school, and suddenly you decide to commit suicide."
"Was everybody really that worried?"
"What else would they be? Rumor was that you got killed in some sort of case, and nobody was really very happy about that you know. Now why did you try to go and kill yourself? Hm?"
"You know the real reason why I wanted to be a detective?"
"Hakuba, what are you talking about so suddenly?"
Saguru continued, ignoring Kaito's question. "It didn't really matter actually. What I became, just so long as it was something that would make me famous. I just wanted to prove to them, my parents that I was someone they would regret abandoning."
"Abandoning?"
Saguru nodded. "When I was about seven or eight. Nobody really knows why; it's not like they had financial problems or debts, there weren't any strange family relationships according to police investigations, and I was definitely blood related to both parents, confirmed by DNA tests…"
"Hakuba… Your last name used to be Sounai?"
"Oh, you saw that?" Saguru asked, gesturing toward the box.
"Yes, but you still haven't completely answered my question. WHY did you try to commit suicide?"
"I was just afraid… That everyone else would leave me like my parents. That's why I didn't want Aneki to get married… I'm just being paranoid I guess. I'm just scared that if she gets married, she'll disappear. That's why I don't like to make friends. They seem to all disappear, and I swore to myself long ago that I wouldn't make any more friends… But… I just can't seem to listen to myself… I don't want to be alone, I don't like to make friends, but I still want to. I really am such an idiot aren't I, Kuroba-kun?"
With that last statement, Saguru felt Kaito's knuckles tap his forehead, and he looked up.
"Hakuba, you really are an idiot," he scoffed. "It was exactly the same with me when my old man died. I didn't want to see or talk to anybody, because I felt that everyone would just disappear sometime. But in the end, there's nobody in this world who can make it out there by themselves. We all need friends. But you know what?"
Saguru remained silent.
"I decided that, I'd trust my friends until it's proven that they aren't friends. I decided that if any of my friendships are false, I'd just go on and make them true."
Shinichi, fully transformed and over with his first few shots of strange drugs Haibara claimed to be sure to work, stood outside the Hakuba residence. He still hadn't gone to meet Ran yet, but Haibara had said that she would disguise as him for now, and it would seem less suspicious if there was a difference in the times which he and "Conan" appeared. Now, how to explain to him about how he is currently targeted by some dangerous, unknown person who made Hattori unable to walk... He pondered for a moment. Well, I guess I'll somehow manage improvising. Gotta be sure I don't accidentally act like a kid out of habit. He walked up and pressed the doorbell.
"Yes?" A female voice called from inside. Nao opened the door, and the two of them stared at each other for a minute.
Holy crap. I didn't know that Hakuba had such a young-looking mom…and a total killer too…
Nao, stunned by how similar Shinichi looked to Kaito, couldn't move for a while. Then she said, "Are you by any chance, Kaito-kun's brother or something?"
"Kaito-kun? I'm an only child. I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion but, I am Kudo Shinichi, a high-school detective just like your son, and I was wondering if he was home."
"My son? Oh no. I'm Saguru-chan's older sister, Hakuba Nao."
"O-ol-older sister??"
Nao chuckled. "I got the same exact reaction from Kaito-kun. Both he and Saguru-chan are here right now, but Saguru-chan might not want to talk right now."
Shinichi stared at her questioningly as she led him inside. Just as he'd gotten his shoes off, Shinichi froze once again. Before him, stood Kaito, equally as surprised as the detective.
What the hell is Tantei-kun doing here. Or rather, how the hell did he get here, in his original body??
Then, Kaito smirked. "Hello, Kudo Shinichi-kun. I've seen you a lot in newspapers, Meitantei-san, though you were rumored to be dead."
Shinichi smiled back. "Yes, I am alive and well. You must be 'Kaito-kun.' What an honor it is to have the chance to meet one of the two other people in this world besides myself who looks exactly like me. We both have to be careful now don't we, since they say that 'Out of the two others besides yourself that could be mistaken for you, your meeting with one may be forgiven, but the second one you see will be your death.'"
"Then the third one of us must be Edogawa Conan-kun," Kaito said with the usual panache of Kaitou KID. "He's been on the newspapers a few times in your absence, and he's famous for being a member of the Detective Boys, as they call themselves."
Shinichi suddenly found the poised attitude of Kaito strangely suspicious, and without thinking said, "And he's also famed for defending the Suzuki family's treasure, the Black Star from Kaitou KID."
"I've heard." Kaito's smile weakened slightly before he remembered his poker face.
What the hell am I doing? I'm supposed to be here for that Hakuba guy. Shouldn't be wasting my time with this freakish twin person. Shinichi kicked his ankle. "Hakuba-san? About…"
"Just call me Nao. My father and Saguru-chan are bothHakuba family members you know."
"Nao-san then, I was wondering if you were really sure that I can't meet Saguru-kun right now. It's rather… important."
"Oh, in what way?" Nao asked, hoping that it had nothing to do with his parents.
"A life-or-death situation involving a *ahem* friend of his getting into a motorbike accident."
"Oh no. What has he gotten himself into now?" Nao asked.
"Could it possibly have anything to do with that strange package in his room that I found?" Kaito spoke up.
"What package?" Nao asked.
"There was this box in his room. It was open, and apparently it was filled with a huge sum of cash, along with a note addressed to him in his real name."
Shinichi perked up at that statement. "Real name? You mean to say that 'Hakuba' isn't his real name?"
"No, it isn't" a voice sounded from the stairs. "To see Kudo Shinichi-kun, the famous detective who's gone missing for quite a long time, being here, it must be quite urgent. Now, what is it you'd like to talk to me about?" Saguru asked.
"Well, uh… First things first, you know Hattori right? The high school detective of the east?"
"Yes? What about him?"
"Well, he got caught up in this extremely dangerous case, and there's a high possibility that you are going to be pulled into it to."
"What makes you think that?" Saguru questioned.
"I suppose this picture of you which seems to have been taken in a hurry and in secret, which was sent to Hattori beforehe got caught in his so called 'motorbike accident', would be most convincing," Shinichi said, holding up the picture he had borrowed from Heiji. "But before we discuss anything any further, I request that we be alone."
Saguru nodded, and led Shinichi into the library.