"I'm Mouri Ran."
Heiji's eyes widened once more. Kudo Shinichi's girlfriend?" he said teasingly, jotting it down on a piece of paper.
However, there was no amusement in her voice as she continued, "Yes, this call is about him…and his death."
"I'm listening," he prompted encouragingly.
Hugging her bent legs close to her body, Ran planted her chin on her kneecaps while holding up her cellphone to her right ear weakly. The heat radiating from her core warmed her a little, but her insides remained frozen with apprehension.
"Kudo Shinichi is not dead."
Ran began with a shuddering breath. She felt the impact of her words from the stern silence that immediately followed – she knew that it sounded crazy, unrealistic – impossible, even.
"Kudo Shinichi is not dead."
And yet she insisted with firm determination. It couldn't be anything else. It had to be this. It had to be.
Ran held her breath and hoped for an affirming answer. It felt as if the world spinning around her, and she felt so scared, so lost, that she did not even know what to expect.
Say nothing, she thought, her thumb painfully close to hitting the 'End' button on her phone. I don't want to know anything. Please say nothing, say nothing, say nothing –
"Ran-san?"
It was only then that Ran realised that she had paused for a moment too long. She pulled herself together.
"It's as you've heard," she said. "Kudo Shinichi is not dead. I know this sounds crazy and completely unbelievable, but this is true!"
"Kudo Shinichi is not dead," Hattori finished for her. "Is that what you're saying?"
Ran massaged her temples. "Look, I don't know about this as much as you do, and I just…I don't know anymore."
Ran sighed. "But yes, I suppose so. He was dead, yes – but he was also resurrected. Does that even make any sense?"
"No, but it's interesting nonetheless."
Ran looked out of the window wearily. "You think I'm joking, don't you?"
Hattori laughed. "As a matter of fact – yes, I do – but this is so absurd that I can't help but take it seriously."
Ran unconsciously clenched her fists. "I am most certainly not joking."
"But how is it possible?" Hattori continued, slipping into reverie. "His house exploded! His body was blown off to pieces. The police couldn't even find his remains. Resurrection is impossible."
"Unless…" Hattori's eyes widened. He stood up and looked out of the window with narrowed eyes. This makes sense.
He lowered his voice, "Let's meet up to discuss this in greater detail."
There was a calendar on the working desk, which Shinichi was grateful for. It allowed him to keep track of the number of days which had passed since he first woke up. A blue mark tinted the second box of the page titled September, and Shinichi frowned slightly.
"It's been three days," Shinichi muttered with a heavy heart. He woke up on 2nd September, and it was already 5th September. Indeed it was disheartening to know that he could not recall anything. However, he had discovered interesting things about Shiho, so he considered it to be quite a good thing.
He wandered around the vacant apartment, feeling extremely lonely. He had gotten used to Shiho's presence and it felt abnormal not having her around. To some extent she was the only person she could remember now – so he was dependent on her.
"I'll be going to work tomorrow," she had said after their argument last night. The stony expression on her face warned him of dire consequences should he probe further.
Nodding, Shinichi had asked. "What day is it tomorrow?"
"Wednesday…" Shiho seemed to be deep in thought. "Do you know how to cook?"
"Cook? Uh, yes, I think so –"
"Never mind. I'll prepare all three meals for you. I don't trust your culinary skills."
Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "If you're worried about your kitchen being burned down, allow me to assure you that the possibility of that happening is zero."
Shiho shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, I'll be back at 9pm."
"How do I contact you?"
"Don't even try."
"What if it's really urgent?"
"You should able to survive on your own. I have faith in you."
"You still haven't told me why I am here, Miyano-san."
Shiho merely gave him an impassive glance. "Solve the mystery, then."
Giving no indication of hearing her, he peered at her bruised skin. "Have you applied medication?"
"If that is your way of apologizing, don't bother. Otherwise, this is none of your concern."
"I'm sorry. You know that, right?"
"Goodnight, Kudo-san." Shiho had turned her back to him, her hand lingering on the doorknob. It had seemed that she, too, was battling her own demons.
"Goodnight."
Shinichi winced slightly as he clamped his hand over his forehead. His head would throb painfully whenever he tried to think of the past, however recent it was. Given Shiho's distrustful personality, he was surprised that she had not locked any of the rooms in the apartment. In other words, he could roam the apartment freely. However, there were more urgent matters to attend to.
I'm starving.
The search for breakfast was not hard in the least. Shiho had nicely left it on the dining table. It cheered him up slightly to know that someone out there still cared for him. He did not really want to question her motive because it would just lead him back to the biggest question of this whole mystery: Why was he at Shiho's home, and why couldn't he remember anything?
He picked up the sandwich with one hand and chewed it slowly. Shinichi was very certain that Shiho was the key to the mystery, but there was no way he could ask her anything without triggering any emotional response.
A few days ago, Shiho had mentioned that Shinichi had a girlfriend. Apparently they had gone on a date to Tropical Land. Had she also mentioned something about a transaction?
If Shiho had not been lying, then Shinichi had to take her words for it. It was always better to start off knowing something about himself. With a half-eaten sandwich in his hand, he jotted down the information on a piece of paper he found.
Me + Girlfriend Tropical Land: Saw mysterious transaction.
Briefly, Shinichi wondered if his supposed girlfriend saw the transaction too. If she had, would she have wound up like me?
Shinichi bit his lips. "Right now, I am in Miyano-san's apartment. Can I deduce that this is an effect caused by seeing the mysterious transaction?"
Me + Girlfriend Tropical Land: Saw mysterious transaction In Miyano-san's house.
"So, seeing the mysterious transaction led to my staying in Miyano-san's house. But why?"
Thinking hard, Shinichi scribbled a few more words on the piece of paper.
Me + Girlfriend Tropical Land: Saw mysterious transaction In Miyano-san's house + Have amnesia Miyano-san claimed to be curing my amnesia.
"The mysterious transaction has also caused my amnesia…" muttered Shinichi. "Did I get run over by a car? Or did I trip over my feet and suffered brain damage? Drugs, poison?"
Shinichi shook his head. "But if Miyano-san has been trying to cure my amnesia, then surely she is an expert in this field, no? Is she a doctor then – is that her occupation?"
Frantically, Shinichi scribbled down the words:
Miyano-san doctor at Black Organisation? BO is a hospital?
Hastily, Shinichi crossed it out. Black Organisation sounded far too ominous to be a hospital's name. The sharp throb in his head was coming back again, and Shinichi decided that it would be better if he would just finish the remaining bit of sandwich in his hand.
It was only then that he noticed a note left beside the plate containing the sandwich. He picked it up curiously.
"Fat-free. Made with fresh ingredients. 10/10 healthy.
- Miyano Shiho"
Shinichi could not help but chuckle.
Stealthily, Shiho put on her sunglasses and black heels. She glanced backwards to make one last check on her apartment: the freshly prepared sandwich resting on a plastic plate, all windows shut close, and all doors locked –
"I forgot the doors," cursed Shiho, removing her heels and scurrying across the floor. She pulled open Shinichi's door and peered inside. He was sound asleep with a smile on his face. Shiho heaved a sigh of relief. She had not woken him, after all.
She retrieved a set of keys from her handbag and fit a tiny key into the keyhole – before withdrawing it. Shiho stared at it in contemplation. It did seem rather unfair to confine Shinichi to simply his room and the dining room.
I can trust him, right?
"You had better behave," Shiho frowned to nobody in particular, placing her keys back in her handbag. "I wouldn't want to lose my life because of you." Shaking her head as if questioning what drove her to make that decision, Shiho stepped outside the apartment and locked the door.
Habitually, Shiho slipped on her cold, unapproachable façade. Her heart was pumping faster than usual, and she knew very well why.
She had betrayed them. She was a traitor. And she would be silenced if she were found out.
The dawning sky bled crimson mixed with her own trepidation. Shiho did not like the roar in her head warning her of terrible events to happen later in the day. She was not ready to go back. She had committed a sin. She felt like she was just walking into a trap and not being able to stop herself.
With all the awful thoughts swirling in her head, Shiho approached her car and unlocked it. She settled down on her driver's seat, shut the door and started the engine. While buckling up her seatbelt, she took a look in the mirror and she realised how frail, how tired she looked. Smiling bitterly, she noted to herself that her make-up skills have once again allowed her to cover up her blemishes and scars.
"I hate you," she mouthed, still looking in the mirror. "I hate you." She hated herself for being born into this pathetic existence known as the Black Organisation. She hated herself for indirectly killing thousands of people. Moreover, she hated herself for having no control over the things happening around her.
Shiho drove on. The trees and hedges were dark bones and spindles against the skyline. The streetlamps were lit, albeit dimly so. She thought about last night's argument. Maybe it would be better if Shinichi just figured out the whole thing together. Shiho laughed. She wouldn't mind imprisonment. She supposed she could cope with the moist environment of prison cells – she might even make a friend or two! Even though prison food may not be as nice as her usual meals, she could always delight in the knowledge that the Black Organisation could not touch her.
Shiho took a turn to the left. She wondered if the sky could read her thoughts – if not why would it have such a gloomy shade of blue? Shiho felt so lonely and scared. She did not know what to do. She could feel herself going insane.
"Shinichi…"
It would be fine; Shinichi would destroy the Black Organsiation, Shiho assured herself. I just need to cure his amnesia as soon as possible.
"But he's recovering too slowly," Shiho mumbled. Indeed it would prove to be problem as time passed. The Black Organsiation members would only get more and more suspicious, and Shiho could not lie forever.
She supposed she would look into other recovery methods later. For now, she would focus on calming her breathing. After all, she was but a clown in this satirical comedy.
Author's Notes: Finals are finally over! Thank you to every single one of you for your patience and encouragement. I am really touched by all of your kind reviews and I hope you'll be excited to find out more. I am planning to finish this story by the end of this year, so updates will be more frequent. :) I know this chapter is rather short compared to the usual ones but things will pick up soon. Once again, thank you so much! Do drop me a review and tell me what you think!