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Purpalz Miner: Good thing you didn't rip your head off XD Sorry I guess I got you confused Kayo was Ran and Kayo number 2 was Shinichi—Shinichi(Kayo number 2) went missing, and Ran(Kayo) is deathly worried, news got to Heiji about his whereabouts, but Heiji didn't know if he's about to die. So he doesn't know whether to tell Ran (Kayo) or not. Not sure if that explained it but hopefully it did.

Chic White: Haha ah sorry about that XD so basically Kayo was Ran and Kayo number 2 was Shinichi—Shinichi(Kayo number 2) went missing, and Ran(Kayo) is deathly worried, news got to Heiji about his whereabouts, but Heiji didn't know if he's about to die, and he doesn't want to hurt Ran more by having to witness his death. So he doesn't know whether to tell Ran (Kayo) or not. Hopefully that cleared it up?

Hshh: Haha glad that you like the story! Thanks for reading^^!

Sorry I seemed to have gotten you guys confused with the 'Kayo' part It was a story that Hattori made up to help him decide if he was going to take Ran to see Shinichi. So basically Kayo was Ran and Kayo number 2 was Shinichi. I should've clarified it haha XD

Xxx

"H-Hattori-kun!" Ran protested, running after Hattori. "You can't just leave Kazuha-chan behind! And Otou-san told us to wait there!" They had started running for some time now, with Ran following Hattori without a clue what was going on.

"Ah, but someone else with a much higher goal in mind has called us out, so pops can wait." Hattori grinned, rushing ahead. "And besides, I'm sure this guy's priorities are much more important than the pachinko parlor."

"What is it about this guy?" Ran asked, desperately confused by the whole situation. "I-It can't be…him can it?" A small stab of pain and hope shot through her heart. It was a difficult feeling to understand, pain and hope as a mixture.

"Let me explain something first, nee-chan." Hattori said. "So I assume ya saw the letter right?" He jumped over a poodle, calling out random apologies to the owner of the dog.

"Eh? You mean that piece of paper?" Ran asked, thinking back to the note Hattori dropped. "Yeah, I found it on the floor after you rushed out."

"I thought so, since I found out it wasn't in my pocket." Hattori sighed. "Okay so, that note was from Kudo ya." Hattori panted, starting to tire. They slowed down to jogging pace, dodging various people and obstacles like signs for restaurants.

"W-what? Really?" Ran exclaimed, her face lighting up with surprise and hope. "Are you sure, Hattori-kun?" In truth, there was a block of doubt that shielded her from completely believing in Hattori. She herself had searched so long for him, but once Hattori came his whereabouts were suddenly clear. It was as if he was just lying in wait for Hattori to show up.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Hattori breathed. "I can't tell ya the reasoning behind it yet, but I'm very very sure it's Kudo!" He stared confidently into Ran's eyes. "The note was addressed to "Detective Master" from "Your apprentice". That's a clue to me that it actually wasn't to your dad. This is the part I can't explain to ya yet, but just believe in me. So, that note was written so that even if your dad saw, he wouldn't suspect it was written for me. There were keywords in the note that told us where Kudo is."

"It tells you where Shinichi is?" Ran couldn't believe the words she was hearing. 'Finally! A lead on where Shinichi is! After all this time…!' She couldn't help having her bottomless hope bleed onto the words she said. It was literally a miracle to Ran.

"Yeah, the keywords were 'scientist', 'serial murders', and 'reside'." He said. "He had a specific goal in mind when using these words. If scientist was referring to Doc, then he wouldn't have needed to say 'scientist', since it was written so your dad wouldn't know it was actually addressed to me. It would have been fine to write 'Agasa Hakase.'" Ran nodded along with his reasoning, trying her best to understand. "Secondly, Kudo used 'serial murders' in the note. He could've just said 'a case' or somethin' like that but he used that word. And then, the word reside, as in where he was. He could've used another less complicated word, like 'live', but he used 'reside', which meant it has a meaning to it."

"But what do those words spell to?" Ran asked. "They don't seem to reveal anything major."

"It was hard to decipher but it makes a ton of sense. So first, I put the words into Kanji. And then I thought about the reside part, and then it hit me. It was telling me to place the words 'scientist' in kanji in between the kanji for the words 'serial murders'." Hattori grinned. "The 'reside' told me what to do, and when I did, I came up with a series of two word phrases, "continued science, continued knowledge, killing house, case."

"But… what does that mean?" Ran asked. "They don't really connect to each other…"

"Ya wouldn't know about it. It was something kept to me and Kudo and the police force. What connected those words was a case from a long time ago. It was a really tough one, and it was really…amazing to see it getting untangled." Hattori said. "This case was about a butcher who got slaughtered in his own shop. You see, a butcher shop is a 'killing house'. He was murdered by a scholar friend of his, and these were his exact words when he confessed to his crimes: "I was pursuing the emotions in a murderer. I wanted to continue science, continue knowledge, and stretch it beyond what we know today. And I will and have sacrificed myself for this passionate pursuance." Ran gasped as she realized what Hattori said.

"So they were referring to this case!" Ran exclaimed. Hattori nodded, clearly triumphant in deciphering the coded note.

"Yeah, and now we can determine where Kudo is. This scholar lived in the school dorms, but apparently his father bought an empty storage area and he lived there before going to live in school. He was going to take it down but then he committed the murder. So now that area is completely empty, and my bet is that Kudo is there!" Now that they know their goal clear and well, they ran, sprinted, faster and faster, adrenaline rushing thorough then. "We had investigated the area through and through, because we were deathly certain he was the one who killed the butcher. The storage area is located in the empty part of town, so nobody would even notice that Kudo's living there."

"But…why would Shinichi need to hide there?" Ran asked "Couldn't he have just come back?" Hattori was silent for a moment.

"He couldn't." Hattori finally sighed.

"Eh?" Ran asked. "Why?" A deep worry spread through her, tinting every part of her with the negative emotion. It ached, like a bad sore throat.

"There was another message in the note." Hattori said, the semi-triumphant look on his face fading away. "It was so, my master, please forgive me for leaving apprenticeship early. I will be moving to another area that is unreachable for you in what I calculate a few days." That part of the message had burned itself into Hattori's mind, and he recited it perfectly. A cold chill rushed down Ran's spine, and she felt herself go pale.

"T-that means…" Ran breathed.

"Yeah." Hattori answered, depressed. "He's dying." A scream of despair exploded in Ran's mind, and she fought to cry out. 'Shinichi's dying! Dying!' her mind howled. 'He's going to leave me again! Leave me permanently!' Tears pricked Ran's eyes, and she bit her lip.

"But if we hurry." Hattori said quickly. "We mind be able save him." There was a false note in Hattori's words, and Ran didn't miss it, although she hoped she did.

"…yeah." She whispered between desperate breaths, trying to convince herself it was true. They rounded yet another corner, and their eyes saw the hazy tops of the empty buildings in the distance.

"Almost there." Hattori announced, panting even harder, if it was physically possible. They were lucky they weren't that far from the empty side of town. If their starting point was even farther away, it would be impossible to make it without a car. They had been running for what seemed like hours to both of them, and both were mentally and physically tired. They needed something to make them run faster, sprint faster, fly through the streets faster.

It was the cry of agony that pierced the air seconds later that pushed them to their limits.
XXX

Cliffhanger again XD I feel like this was poorly written, is it? Well so Hattori explained his reasoning's, and Ran now knows what it means, and then there's the cry of agony! Any guesses^^ If the reasoning part was confusing I'll explain if it's needed! Thanks for reading!