Heya !
Ok, after that depressing start (sorry Heizo ! :' ( ), let's move into the investigation !
And meet an old... friend ? haha... ^^
o.O.o
emmahoshi : Haha yeah, this story starts harshly, once again. And no, it won't be a story that depressing :p And nice memory here, yea, Taiga is that guy (he did shoot Heiji with an arrow but what brought him in the hospital was a fight with bokken). I didn't want this story to be too depressing, seeing I'm using first person and all, so I didn't really describe the first two days after Heizo died, but you can guess those days haven't been easy ones for him. The investigation is of course Heiji's way to cope, to get out of his room after these two days, since it's no really in his character to just get depressed. But that doesn't mean we won't see his "carapace" crack from time to time, who'd stay calm in such a situation ? ^^;;;
estelle : Thanks for being here once again : )
Varun Dhawan : Moved to see my fic gave you the urge to put a review, I know phones aren't really easy to write with^^;
Chapter 3 : Old acquaintance
One half hour later, we were both on my bike, travelling at high speed towards Kyoto. Everything began there, I was sure to get some information about what happened if I went straight to the police station.
Saijô Taiga...
That man had killed several persons, starting with the owner of a little restaurant in Osaka I was pretty fond of.
That's what got me on that case. I had taken my bike for a trip to Kyoto, wanting to find answers, to instead find my best friend sticking his reduced nose everywhere around, on a case that, at first look, seemed unrelated but, well, it turned out to be the exact same culprit. A few scratches later, as always for me on a big case, that bastard had kidnapped Kazuha to force me to give him what I thought was a pearl belonging to my first love, when it was only an 'eye' from a Buddha statue. Disappointing, I had to admit. Though, since I found out in that case who that first love was, I guess it didn't matter anymore. I was still surprised today to have found out I've been so long in lov...
I shook my head, now was not exactly the time to think about a certain ponytailed girl.
Focus.
Ok, back to the case. After a short but intense appearance of our guest star Kudô-in-his-shiny-knight-armour and a fight against that kendoka that looked taken right out of an old samurai movie, we managed to arrest him. For theft. And murderS.
So those guys in Kyoto better had some good answers as to why he was hanging around in the park around Osaka's castle.
o.O.o
Oh. Joy. Was the first thing I thought when I saw who the reception had sent to welcome us.
"- Hattori Heiji-kun." The inspector briefly saluted as he came closer to Conan and me. "I am very sorry for your recent loss."
I didn't know what was worse. To see I had in front of me the inspector of the Kyoto's police I hated the most or for that chipmunk-dumbass to almost seem to be sincere about what he just said.
The hell, if what his colleagues said was true, he was the one in charge of the convoy that was supposed to bring Saijô to the court, that very one during which he escaped.
"- Ayanokoji Fumimaro... - han" I finally answered with a small sign of the head, my tone as cold as an arctic gale.
I guess he felt some of my hostility since he sighed before speaking again.
"- I heard you were looking for me ?
- Yea, I'd like ta know how a serial killer from a jail in Kyoto ended in Osaka with a bow an' a thirst fer blood ?
- I understand you are upset but no one could have ever foreseen, seeing his profile, that this man was the kind who could get external help, a very well informed, organized and dangerous one...
- Keep yer crappy excuses fer yerself an ' stop with the bullshit. Just admit ya messed up an' we picked up the pieces !"
I knew I was going too far before even feeling Kudô grabbing my pants and trying to hush me with a discreet "Hattori !" but I couldn't stop myself. I already couldn't stand that guy so the idea his lack of professionalism was the main cause of ... what happened to Oyaji was flying me into a dark rage.
Ayanokoji, on his side, was just watching me with his usual cool, looking down on me like you'd look down at a 6 years old making a scene.
"- I am, once again, sincerely sorry about what happened to the Superintendent General Hattori and also wish for swift justice to the culprit. I therefore gave the information I possessed to his successor. It will be his choice to imply you in that case. Or not. It isn't mine.
- Yea, got that, I'll call ya if I don' need anythin' ...!"
The inspector didn't even flinch, the insult once again slipping on him like water on a snake's skin - and I couldn't say it helped for me to calm down, so I decided to turn away to interrogate Otaki-han or Tôyama-han.
"- You are to leave with a police escort, Hattori Heiji-kun. What happened Thursday evening proved what we feared when he escaped : he's coming after you.
- I noticed. As ta the escort, don' bother. I wouldn' want ta feel in debt with ya." I concluded with a defiant glare before turning my back to him and heading towards the entrance, keeping for myself my urge to slam something.
o.O.o
"- … ttori ! Hattori ! "
I turned to my best friend to see, at his expression, it wasn't the first time he called me. Well, I perhaps left the police station a bit quickly, seeing how much he panted, and that meant he had probably to run to follow me.
" - Yea ?
- What was that ?
- A long way not ta have any answers apparently." I bluntly summed up as I grabbed my helmet.
"- How could you hope to have any, seeing how you talked to him ? You need to calm down…
- Calm down ? I am calm." I assured as I held his helmet to him after I put mine, a bit hurt and feeling he was unfair since I honestly thought I was pretty much controlling myself seeing what happened.
"- You are many things right now, Hattori, but calm isn't part of the picture. Get a grip on yourself, you can't just kick doors and insult the ones who could give you some information, that won't help you to progess in that investigation..."
Clenching my fists with anger, I turned to look at Kudô to snap at him, but stopped when I saw his calm face. There wasn't any reproach in his eyes, he was just stating facts.
And I was too upset to notice it.
Pausing a second, I took a deep breath to shoo away a bit all those emotions twirling inside of me.
"- I don' want ta hear that guy is runnin' free any longer…" I finally explained, trying to keep a low voice. "An' knowin' there isn' any proof, just my testimony is…" I didn't finish my phrase and gulped as I mounted on my bike. "I'm goin' back ta Osaka. If ya don' like my ways, I can bring ya back ta Kazuha's house.
- I'm good, Hattori. I'm just telling you to keep your cool. At least better than ten minutes ago." He pointed out as put his helmet and got on the bike too, circling my waist with his tiny arms.
My lips answered "Got it" while my mind thought "No way" when I started the engine.
No way I could keep my cool. Not after what that man had done to Oyaji. Not when it was my fault. Because I was sure of it now. Saijô wanted to have his revenge on me and my old man had been on the way, that's all. If I hadn't been so close to a bunch of policemen, I'd probably be dead too. And if I had listened to Oyaji's subordinates and came home like a good boy, all of this would have never happened…
o.O.o
I was taken out of my dark ruminations barely ten minutes later by the noise of a horn from a car that was passing me at high speed, before suddenly stopping in front of me.
My reflexes took over and I threw the bike to the right, hoping there wouldn't be anyone, almost scratching his right back light, avoiding the shock by a handful of millimetres.
"- Oy, the hell !" I yelled through my helmet, stopping at the driver's level and rising dramatically both my hands, when I saw there was nothing in front of the car except for a green light.
And then, my mind just went blank. Because the face of the driver belonged to the exact man I was looking for.
Did that damn dude follow me from Osaka to taunt me after my useless trip to Kyoto ? That would be... So much like him. He had already proven he was quite the stalker a few months ago when he chased me and Kazuha with a bike on our way back to Osaka.
With a smirk, he started his engine and our mad dash through the roads of the former capital started.
I knew I should have been careful, with Kudô on board, but I just couldn't ignore that taunting. Saijô was here, in the very city he escaped from, driving with a smirk on his face as if nothing happened. With all the charges against him, that guy's trial would have ended either with death row or life imprisonment. And last time I checked, it wasn't involving high-speed chase at the wheel of a powerful foreign car.
We drove through the city before ending in a kind of empty area, just near the place where the Katsura-gawa met the Kamo-gawa, where he finally stopped after a sharp u-turn to face us, playing joyfully with the accelerator pedal, clearly defying me.
"- If that's how ya want ta play it... Kudô, go down." I ordered, playing with the accelerator to have some nervous noises out of my engine.
"- Hattori, just don't play his game..." The boy behind me advised with a cold tone, nevertheless listening to me.
"- I'm not playin' ta let him win.
- He's got a damn car and you a bike, just think about..."
The end of his warning got lost as Saijô and I both accelerated, throwing our vehicles at each other's.
We came closer and closer, neither of us wanting to give up, to the point I could see straight into his eyes, seeing there was only madness there, just like when we faced in that temple of Kyoto's suburbs. I was taken by the slightest doubt, thinking I perhaps just should stop that stupid game of will and turn to avoid him.
But no. Perhaps another day, I would have had more sense and would have steered but not today.
And it was something like one half second before the shock I remembered I could die. And waste that life my father died to protect.
But the shock came before I could even think about a way to prevent that worst scenario to happen.
o.O.o
"- Oy, ya ok, young man ?"
The face bending on me wasn't familiar, and it took me second to remember what I was doing on my back in the wet grass bordering the road, a middle age worker at my side. Probably the guardian of the nearby factory, since it was a Saturday, there shouldn't be any worker around.
"- I called the police and an ambulance..." I heard Kudô's voice state when he came closer.
"- Thank ya, boya !
- No need fer an ambulance..." I ranted, removing my helmet as I sat, still a bit shaking but feeling in great shape, when I compared the few scratches and bruises I felt to my bike. My dear bike was once again... Definitively out of service. Bye bye allowance for a few months, this was going straight to the insurance's pocket ...
I remembered I steered at the last moment, but the car still brushed my bike, sending me flying toward the side of the road while my vehicle kept going straight.
Feeling something under my left hand, I looked at it and found, as I was expecting, a deflated soccer ball. I had felt I was kind of cushioned when I landed, and that was thanks to one of my best friend's gadgets. I'd have to thank him for that. I probably wouldn't be in such a good shape without it.
"- Ya sure ?
- Yea, sorry fer disturbin' ya... Don' worry about me, I'll just wait here fer the cops an' explain them all."
The man didn't seem pretty motivated to leave me alone despite my efforts.
"- It's ok, I'll be with Heiji-niichan, I won't let him get up before the ambulance arrives !" Kudô declared with a proud voice.
"- I'm countin' on ya then, boya !" He answered, ruffling the boy's hair, to - I knew it - his displeasure. "An' I'll be in the buildin' right ther', call me if the cops or yer friend need me !
- Hai !"
Kudô and I looked at the guardian as he went back to his post and closed the door behind him.
And the second later, I was punched in the face. Hard. Much harder than I ever thought Kudô would be able to, in this reduced body.
"- What the heck was that ?!
- He was goin' ta run away !" I yelled back at him, rubbing my hurt cheek, shocked to see the boy's angry face, something I didn't witness often, since Kudô was the kind to keep his cool 24/7.
"- Run away ?! He was just provoking you ! And you, you jumped in with both feet and that almost killed you ! Just try for a second not to have yourself killed, your father didn't protect you for that... So take care of yourself and stop putting yourself in dangerous situations because you feel guilty !
- Wh... What ?! I just want ta arrest that guy !
- Then use your brain instead of rushing in ! You ending in the hospital won't help the investigation going any further !"
My eyes widened even more at his repeated yells. The hell, he didn't understand anything.
"- Ya're not gettin' it... Not gettin' it at all ! Ya just can' understand ! Ya didn'..."
Feeling my voice was breaking, I didn't finish my phrase and instead looked at my feet.
"- Lose my father ? No, I didn't. But that won't stop me to understand your pain, at least a bit."
Feeling his tiny hand on my shoulder, I turned to look at him, a wave of sadness wanting to overwhelm me when I saw the concern and the compassion in his eyes.
"- It's my fault... If I had listened ta him, he'd be still alive...
- And you'd perhaps be dead. We could remake the world with a bunch of 'if' but in the end, that won't change today's situation. Here."
Kudô hold to me my cap, it had probably fell from my pants with the choc, before settling against my back.
"- We report this to the police and have you checked. And after that, we head back to Osaka to see Otaki-keibu, ok ?"
I gratefully put the cap on my head, bending a bit the visor to hide my face with relief, not wanting anyone to see it right now.
"- Ok." I whispered.