AN: Gosh, thanks for all of the feedback on the first chapter everyone! Five reviews for one chapter! That made me especially happy, doubly so considering that the previous two chapters of fic I've uploaded for other stories still haven't gotten even a single review, ahaha~. But still, I'm really happy that everyone has taken to this fic so well, so without further ado, here's the second chapter!

Thanks for reading!

Phantasmal Black

Chapter Two

Ghost

The fact that he'd received a text message from Hakuba alone had been enough to catch Shinichi's attention. He wasn't normally the type to communicate with them, always preferring to make actual phone calls. When he sent someone a text instead, it usually had some kind of meaning.

Excusing himself from the table, Shinichi got up, and headed outside of the restaurant. The memorial service had been nice- it always was, he thought. They had then gone as a group to clean off Heiji's grave together. He'd been unable to help but notice that even now, after all this time, there was a sense of guilt and regret that haunted his parent's eyes- the burden of having outlived their son was something that weighed heavy on their shoulders, all the more so as they faced down his grave. They'd excused themselves afterwards, perhaps wanting to spend the rest of the evening in private. Sera had pardoned herself as well- she had some work to pick back up on of her own.

That left himself, Ran, Kazuha, Ai, and the Professor to eat dinner together that night, dining at the establishment that Shinichi had pointed out towards Ai earlier in the day. At the fond smile of memories that crossed Kazuha's face as soon as she saw it, he knew he had picked the right place.

Leaving the sound of their chatter behind him, pushing aside the faint sound of Ran's laughter as Kazuha related a story from her childhood with Heiji, one that they hadn't heard before, Shinichi stepped out into the night air. Pulling out his phone again, he opened up the text message, eyes narrowing as he read the message contained within.

'There's something I need to discuss with you, face to face. I'll be waiting at the park closest to Hattori-kun's house. Come alone. Don't tell Toyama-san.'

The message was enough to make his skin crawl, and although he hated to essentially abandon Ran and the rest of his friends like this, his instincts as a detective knew that this was something important, something that couldn't wait. If Hakuba was telling him to come alone and to not even tell Kazuha, who he had been working on the Paikaru investigation with, then it must have been something quite serious indeed.

A slight chill crept down his spine then, and Shinichi frowned. The weather was still warm, after all, even long after the sun had set. Rather than the weather, it was the ominous feeling that clung to him that caused it.

Putting his phone away, he took in and let out a deep breath, peeking his head back into the restaurant and flashing those assembled a smile. "Sorry, everyone. Takagi-san just called me about a case. I'm going to step out for awhile to talk some things out with them, so don't wait up for me, okay?"

Amongst the noises of protest, Shinichi didn't miss the way that Ai's eyes narrowed, unconvinced of his story. Quickly dismissing himself before she had time to question him, Shinichi stepped back into the night, his thoughts turning towards what it was that Hakuba could have possibly wanted to tell him. The last thing he'd heard from Kazuha was that he was back in Tokyo, tailing Paikaru. For him to show up here in Osaka so suddenly, something big must have happened.

Making his way to the park, it was fairly easy to spot the half-British young man waiting for him. As he called out to him, he couldn't help but notice the rather troubled expression he wore, something that was almost uncharacteristic for the otherwise composed detective.

"How was the memorial, Kudo-kun?" There was something strange in the way he spoke as well- there was a strained tone to it. He didn't quite meet his eyes, instead focusing off into the distance. "My apologies for being unable to make it."

"It was nice, as such things go." Shinichi said simply, a slight frown gracing his features. After such an urgent sounding text message, it wasn't like him to beat around the bush like this. "What is this about, Hakuba? Last I heard, you were in Tokyo tracking Paikaru. Did something happen?"

Closing his eyes, Hakuba seemed to almost hesitate for a moment- before he made up his mind. "You could say that." He said simply, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his camera. "It took a number of months, but I was finally able to obtain a picture of what is highly likely to be Paikaru's face. There's probably no mistake."

"Isn't that great news?" Shinichi asked, only growing more befuddled at his fellow detective's less than enthusiastic reaction. "Shouldn't you still be in Tokyo following him though? It would be trouble if he managed to get away while you were here. If it was just a picture, you could have sent it to me on my phone."

"No." Opening up his eyes, Hakuba stared directly into those of his own, a serious look in them. "This was something I had to show you in person. As for Paikaru, he probably won't change hotels until at least tomorrow morning, so there's still time. If he's on a job, he's most likely just scouting today."

Opening up his mouth to speak, Hakuba cut him off, his eyes narrowing. "You have two options here, Kudo-kun." He began, his tone warning his fellow detective to allow him to finish speaking. "Either you can leave the investigation of Paikaru completely up to me, from start to finish, and not involve yourself at all. Personally, I would recommend it."

"The second option is that you can look at the photograph that I obtained." Hakuba said finally. "But once you do, there's no turning back from this, Kudo-kun. Please consider it seriously."

"What's there even to consider?" Shinichi blinked, his brows knitting together. "Is something wrong, Hakuba? This isn't like you."

"I suppose you could say that." Giving him a small smile, a trace of what seemed to be pain laced in it, Hakuba held out his camera to him. "Are you certain about this, Kudo-kun? This may very well be something you wouldn't want to see."

"Of course I'm certain." Taking the camera from him, Shinichi narrowed his eyes. From the way Hakuba desperately seemed to be trying to keep him out of this, it almost felt as if he were Edogawa Conan again, being chased out of another crime scene by adults. "I've already said it before, but I won't be satisfied until each and every one of those bastards is locked up where they belong."

"So be it." Hakuba said simply, his expression, for a moment, becoming completely unreadable. "It's the most recent picture."

Shooting Hakuba a look, Shinichi switched on the camera, quickly bringing up the memory storage. Perhaps the way his heart seemed to skip a beat as he looked at the thumbnail should have been a warning, as if there were alarm sirens going off in his head. Nevertheless, he pressed forward, enlarging the picture- and as his own eyes fell on the blue eyes captured within the image, he felt his breath catch in his throat.

It was as if his whole world had shrunken down to this picture, as if nothing else existed outside of it. In spite of five years having passed, in spite of the fact that he'd grown into a proper adult in that time frame, he recognized the face instantly. Unbidden he could almost hear his voice in the back of his mind, calling out his name, a broad grin showing white teeth against dark skin.

What he was looking at was unmistakably a picture of none other than Hattori Heiji.

Shinichi hadn't even realized that his hands were trembling, not at first. A complicated mix of emotions surged through him almost all at once- relief and happiness were almost automatic, before the joy was swept aside in an instant as the detective part of him caught up, reminding him of how such a photograph had come into his hands to begin with. On the heels of this realization came anger, betrayal, and finally- disbelief.

"Is this some kind of joke, Hakuba?" He finally cracked out, unable to look up at him, unable to tear his eyes away from the face in the photograph, studying every inch, every detail. Searching for signs, looking for clues, trying to find anything that would indicate that this wasn't the real face of the person captured in the camera. But everything in the picture- the shade of skin, the color of his hair, even the thickness of the eyebrows- screamed to him that this wasn't a mistake, that this was real.

Swallowing, Shinichi finally tore his gaze away from the camera, anger flashing through his eyes as he repeated himself. "Is this some kind of joke, Hakuba?"

"I'm afraid not, Kudo-kun." Hakuba said simply. He couldn't honestly say that he hadn't been expecting this kind of reaction, given how close they had been. "There's no mistake."

"There must be!" All but tossing the camera at the half-British detective in frustration, Shinichi turned on his heel, refusing to look at him for the moment. "This couldn't... He wouldn't! Hattori wouldn't be- he's dead, Hakuba!" Whirling around on his heel to face him, his entire body coiled with anger. "Hattori's dead."

"His body was also never found." Hakuba stated simply, putting the camera back away for the moment. "Please calm down, Kudo-kun. I imagine this is a lot to take in, given how close you were with him before, but this is a matter that we need to discuss seriously. Getting angry isn't going to help."

"That's easy for you to say!" Although his eyes narrowed as he snapped at him, nevertheless, Shinichi knew that he was right. He'd tried to warn him, after all- but never in a million years could he have expected something like this. Even now it still seemed so impossible to him- that someone who would have been so willing to take a bullet for him could ever possibly be involved with the likes of the Black Organization- it was absurd!

This was Hattori Heiji they were talking about here, after all. Honest to a fault, good natured, hotblooded Hattori Heiji. Quick to grin and even quicker to laugh, with a smile that lit up a room like sunshine. Shinichi's own complete opposite in so many ways, someone that he had trusted without even a shadow of doubt from the very first time he'd revealed his secret to him. He'd never even thought twice about trusting Heiji with information in relation to the Black Organization, and he'd even trusted him in the past to have his back countless times.

So the idea- the very idea that he might have been one of them- was enough to make Shinichi's skin crawl, and his blood run cold. Part of him wanted to write it off as a coincidence- the fact that Heiji was alive was true enough, but it was just by pure chance he happened to be at the same hotel Paikaru was supposed to be staying at, and it was by pure chance that he happened to match the description the witness had given.

But the other part was already starting to question exactly how long the one known as the detective of the west had been involved with them. Even before they had met? Was the reason he'd turned up at the detective agency in the first place looking for Kudo Shinichi because he was given orders from the Organization to look for him? Or was it afterwards, after he'd already gotten involved with Shinichi's plans to take them down.

And why? Was there a reason? Kazuha? Had it been Kazuha? Had Kazuha been in danger? She was the only person Shinichi could imagine Heiji betraying him for, after all. He'd do the same thing for Ran, in the end. But if that were the case, why take a bullet for him? Were the feelings of friendship that the Osakan held for him actually genuine? Why risk his life for him? It didn't add up, it didn't make any sense.

If he had already been working for the Black Organization even before they had met, had he been lying to him all this time? Had that friendly, open personality of his been a complete lie? Or had there been some part of the teenage detective that had grown to like him- perhaps all this time he'd been trying to tell him about this, but he'd just never noticed, never really second guessed him in the slightest. Had he lived with his secret as a weight on his conscience, then? Had he always wanted to try to confess the truth to him, to reveal the truth to him. How would he have even taken it if he had?

Was taking the bullet for him some kind of attempt to redeem himself- did he think he had no other avenue but death?

What exactly was it that he'd tried to tell him, before he'd slipped from his grasp, disappearing into the ocean?

"Kudo-kun," Hakuba began, but Shinichi cut him off, holding up a hand.

"I'm alright, Hakuba. I'm fine." He repeated, taking in and letting out a deep breath. Taking a seat on a park bench, he rested his forehead against his hands, trying to rack through his brain for information, trying to figure out why such an absurd truth had come to light. There was something in the back of his mind that was bothering him, something he was attempting to dig up. Something... something about someone, something about-

Something about Haibara.

"That's right!" Dropping his hands, Shinichi rose to his feet so quickly that it almost startled Hakuba. "Haibara!"

That was right! She'd always been able to sense members of the Black Organization. Even when Vermouth had been in disguise, she was always aware of her presence. And though they hadn't spoken often, she'd never had such a reaction towards Heiji- in fact she never really so much as questioned Shinichi's trust in his fellow high school detective. With a slight sigh of relief, Shinichi sunk back down on the park bench, gaze turning up towards the starry sky above.

It couldn't have been before, then.

Maybe it was a bit careless of him to be so quick to dismiss the notion based purely off Ai's supposed sixth sense for Black Organization members- but it had never failed them before. If that was the case, then it was impossible for Heiji to have joined their ranks while he had still been 'alive', so to speak. It was a little more than just that though- if taking the bullet for him really had been an attempt to atone, then it still wouldn't explain why he'd disappeared and continued to work for them afterwards. If anything, he would have come back and confessed everything.

Perhaps with Hattori Heiji believed dead, he might have thought it was only a matter of time before the truth came to light, and had simply decided to continue with the only other life he had available to him. Maybe he thought that would be easier than to stick around and wait for people to learn the truth during the Organization's fallout. Maybe he'd always expected that one day Kudo Shinichi would catch up to him like this. But even then, he didn't think Heiji had so little faith in him that he wouldn't be able to come to terms with the truth.

If that was the case, it must have been afterwards.

Which still, admittedly, left the question as to why. Again his thoughts turned back towards Kazuha- it was possible that they'd threatened him to cooperate with them, otherwise they would kill her. If that was the case, even Heiji would have probably gone along with them- but there was still something about that that didn't quite sit right with him. If that really was the case, why have him disappear? Why not have him return home to Osaka, where he'd do them the most good? He'd be able to gather information for them from there, from both Conan himself and the likes of his father, information that could have prevented their downfall.

And yet they hadn't.

Something, he thought, was missing.

"Kudo-kun," Hakuba spoke up again, and this time made sure he could finish what he was trying to say. "You can leave this matter to me, you know. It's too close to you. My relationship with Hattori-kun was never that good to begin with, so I-"

And yet Shinichi still cut him off, shaking his head.

"No." There was resolution in his voice, resolve reflected within his eyes. "This is something that I need to do myself, Hakuba, entirely because it's so close to me. If it's true that Hattori is one of them, then I should be the one to deal with it. I need," he began, hesitating slightly, wondering if he should tell him this. "...I need to hear it for myself. I need to know the why and the how and the when, and I need to hear them for myself, with my own ears."

"I need to meet Hattori myself, Hakuba." Shinichi said, before he backtracked a little, closing his eyes as he spoke again, not wanting anyone to see the expression in his eyes, the pain of betrayal that haunted them. "I need to speak with Paikaru."

The codename rolled off his lips as if the word itself were poison, a poison worse still than what had started this all.

"What do you mean you're going back to Tokyo already, Shinichi?" The frustration was evident in the voice of his fiancee, Mouri Ran- and in her body language as well, hands placed on her hips, a cross expression on her face. "On Hattori-kun's memorial day even!"

"I don't want to go back either." Shinichi told her, as he finished repacking his overnight bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "But Takagi-san's in a tight spot with this case, I can't just leave her."

He'd decided to continue with the lie that it was Takagi Miwako- formerly Sato Miwako- now a chief Inspector with the Tokyo MPD and on her way to becoming far more- had been the one who had called him out for a difficult case. There was no way he could let Ran know the real reason he was returning to Tokyo in such a hurry. If Ran were to know, it would only be a matter of time until Kazuha knew- and both Shinichi and Hakuba agreed that this was something they should keep her out of.

He didn't want to see the expression on her face when she realized that the man she loved, and had been waiting for all this time, was a criminal. An assassin, at that. As Shinichi dwelled on that for a moment longer than he wished, he felt another shiver run down his spine, finding it hard to swallow the notion that Heiji could be capable of taking another person's life.

"Hattori- have you ever killed someone?"

He wasn't certain what brought up that memory, from a time when he had still been known as Edogawa Conan, but he couldn't help but recall now that Heiji had never technically given him an actual answer. At the time he'd merely thought he'd been thrown off by the question, but what if it had been something more? As much as he was leaning towards the theory that he had joined them later, he still hadn't yet ruled out the before theory.

"Even so, couldn't it at least wait until tomorrow morning?" Ran asked with a frown, though she finally seemed to relent. This aspect of Shinichi hadn't changed at all in the past five years. If anything, he were even more prone to suddenly running off, following the scent of a case- when it wasn't the scent of them that he was chasing.

Sometimes she still didn't believe the whole story herself- and she'd been involved in their takedown.

"That's what I asked, of course." Shinichi told her, lying through his teeth. "But it really can't wait, Ran. I'm really sorry." Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, he shot her an apologetic look. "I'll make it up next year."

"You'd better." Ran's tone alone was enough to tell him that there would be no mercy should he not keep his promise. "At the very least say goodbye to Hattori-kun before you leave."

She didn't need to detail her words any further- Shinichi knew what she meant. Giving her a quick kiss on her other cheek, he carefully made his way into the living room of the Hattori household. There he found the altar that his father had set up for his son- a picture of the brightly smiling teenager placed on it, black ribbons draped over the top edges. The scent of incense filled his nose- his mother must have been here not long ago.

For a brief moment, he wondered if they knew, wondered if the Hattori family as a whole had some kind of connection with the Black Organization. But those raw looks of grief and sorrow that he had seen in their eyes when they had learned what had befell their son on that stormy day on the boat- that had been too real. Whatever the truth was, Hattori Shizuka and Hattori Heizo alike probably had no idea.

It was strange to look at, this memorial altar for the departed, with the knowledge that the one it was dedicated to was actually still alive. As much as there was a small part of him that wanted to believe that the person in the picture wasn't the real Hattori Heiji, he already knew full well that probably wasn't the case.

Eyes fixed on the photograph of the person he had considered his friend and rival, Shinichi's eyes narrowed. Say goodbye to him, Ran had said. Perhaps her words hadn't been too far off- perhaps this would be the last time he would see the face of the one known as Hattori Heiji. After all, the one who wore that face now went by an entirely different name- one that filled his thoughts and veins with venom.

Whatever the reasons were behind it, it still filled Shinichi with the same feelings of hurt and betrayal all the same.

He knelt down before the altar, lighting up a stick of incense of his own. Closing his eyes, letting the aroma fill his mind, the memory of the last time he'd seen Heiji alive played out behind his eyelids. Just as he watched him plummet into the sea all over again, he opened his eyes, his own meeting the blue of those that belonged to the boy in the picture.

"Goodbye, Hattori."

Rising to his feet, he felt the weight of the camera he'd borrowed from Hakuba as if it were burning a hole in his jacket.

From here on out, whatever happened, he knew he couldn't approach the person whose image was contained within it as his old friend. In what was at least five years of living such a life, it was to say how much he might have potentially changed. He would not be reconnecting with Hattori Heiji, high school detective of the west, but rather a dangerous criminal who had claimed any number of lives, a member of the remnants of the once dreaded Black Organization.

Hardening his heart, he prepared to meet Paikaru.

"This has something to do with them, doesn't it?"

Drawing in a sharp breath, Shinichi looked up to come face to face with none other than the one formerly known as Sherry. He had known that she hadn't been convinced by his act at the restaurant, but he hadn't expected her to show up here, waiting for him at the train station. Her bag worn over her shoulder and an assessing look in her eyes, it appeared that she was ready to accompany him back to Tokyo.

"Haibara." Shinichi blinked. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back with the Professor?"

"I told him I was going home early." Ai said simply. "So? If we stand around here for much longer, we'll miss the last train."

"Ah, right." Nodding his head, Shinichi accompanied Ai into the train station, buying tickets for them. She remained silent until they were at the train platform, all but deserted at this time of night. "What gave me away?"

"The look in your eyes." Ai said simply, sparing him a glance. "You always get the same look in them whenever they're involved. There was only a glimmer of it when you excused yourself from the restaurant, so I wasn't one hundred percent sure, but I was certain when you came back. Well," she paused, turning away from him. "There was something else in them as well."

"So you could tell that much." Letting out a small sigh, Shinichi tucked his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. "I really can't underestimate you, Haibara. How do you feel about becoming a proper detective?"

"Oh, am I not one already?" Ai asked, quirking her brows. "After all, it's not as if the Detective Boys had ceased activity just because Edogawa-kun isn't around anymore. Although it's the Detective Club now."

"Well, that's true enough." Nodding his head, Shinichi let a hint of a fond smile creep onto his face as he allowed himself to think about how far those three had gotten in the past few years. Individually they were inexperienced novices, but when you put them together, combined with Ai, then they had a rather promising future ahead of them. He couldn't help but be a little bit proud. "So then? What's your theory on what's bothering me, little miss detective?"

"Given what you said earlier, and given what Kazuha-san told you earlier, it most likely involves the Organization member known as Paikaru." Ai said simply. "Something's come up in that case, hasn't it? Something big enough to cause you rushing back to Tokyo. Which either means that his identity's been discovered, or someone close to you is being targeted. But if the latter were the case, you probably would be taking the earliest flight out since it's faster, so it's probably the first option."

"That's correct." Nodding his head, Shinichi spared her a look, before he turned away, gaze fixating on the train tracks before him. "Hakuba managed to track him down, finally. After all these years, we finally got a good look at his face."

Sensing that there was something to this that he wasn't telling her, Ai waited in silence. It wasn't until the train arrived, and the pair stepped on board to the nearly empty car, that he finally broke his silence again. Gaze fixed on the ceiling of the train, not wanting her to see the empty expression in his eyes, Shinichi finally broke the question he'd been wanting to ask the most.

"Hey, Haibara." He began. "Did you ever sense anything strange from Hattori?"

"From Hattori-kun?" Though she at first blinked in confusion at the sudden question, wondering what could have possibly brought it on, it only took a second longer for her to make the connection, her breath drawing in in a sharp gasp. "Surely you can't mean!?"

"I do." Closing his eyes, Shinichi leaned his head against the wall of the train, feeling the vibrations of the train through it. "That's exactly what I mean, Haibara, though I don't want to believe it myself." Glancing over towards her, he gave her a slight grin, holding out his arm. "Want to pinch me? I want to check that this isn't a dream."

Almost wordlessly, Ai reached out and gave Shinichi a rather sharp pinch on his arm, one that left the detective yelping in pain and nursing the area. Giving him a look that he got what he'd asked for, Ai fixed her attention back towards the question he'd asked of her. Closing her eyes, she tried to recall back, thinking about the first time she'd met the detective of the west- it had been when she was posing as Conan, in order to absolve Ran of her suspicions. He had tried to badly impersonate Shinichi, something which had turned out to be wholly unnecessary, since Shinichi himself was on stage that night.

"No." Ai said simply after a moment, opening her eyes and turning to face Shinichi. "I never felt a thing from him. But it's not as if my senses are infallible. For the longest time I used to believe that Subaru-san was one of them as well."

"A false positive is different than a false negative." Shinichi said with a slight frown. Besides, Okiya Subaru- or rather Akai Shuichi, as he'd gone back to his given name- had once been a member of them. He'd been infiltrating them for the FBI, but considering he'd been with them long enough to gain a codename, it wasn't that surprising he'd picked up some of their scent that Ai so dreaded.

"Kudo-kun, are you certain about this?" Ai asked, a look of concern appearing on her face. She knew exactly how important Heiji had been to him- and how much he'd blamed himself for his death all of these years. To find out that he was not only alive, but was a member of the very Organization that he so despised with every fiber of his being- no wonder she'd seen that painful expression of having been betrayed in his eyes. "It's not impossible that this is some kind of trick."

"To what purpose?" Shinichi asked, heaving a sigh. "I considered that myself as well. But for a trick, it's ridiculously elaborate. It would have been faster to show up in front of me with that face than to allow Hakuba to trail him for months. No," He shook his head, pulling out the camera, bringing up the photo to show Ai. "Without a doubt, this is the real Hattori."

Taking the camera from him, Ai cast her eyes downwards, studying the picture. "So it seems." She said simply, finally handing it back to him. "Given the fact that you're racing back to Tokyo, it seems that you intend on meeting with him."

Nodding his head, a grim expression crossed his face. "I need answers, Haibara, and I need to hear them from Ha-" He hesitated, almost half not wanting to use that name. He wanted it to forever be linked to the cheerful, reckless detective from Osaka who had thrown his own life away in exchange for Shinichi's own- not a member of the Organization. Swallowing, he eventually continued, averting his gaze from Ai's. "Paikaru. I need to hear them from Paikaru myself."

"And once you hear them, what do you plan on doing?" Ai asked, gaze sharpening as she watched the complicated mix of emotions that crossed his face as he stopped himself from using the name of his old rival. "Whatever the case might have been in the past, it's clear enough that he's a criminal now. He's killed people, Kudo-kun, there's no real doubt about that. Do you really think he's going to speak with you that easily? All the more so if he's always been a member of their number."

"Even if he tries to run, I'll just capture him." Shinichi said simply. "But I don't think he'll try to run. Even if he was a member of the Organization even back then, it's true enough that he took a bullet for me. There was no way he would have known he'd survive that. That clearly wasn't a calculated action."

"In other words, there's two possibilities here." Ai said simply, holding up one finger. "One, Hattori-kun was a member of the Organization while you knew him, most likely since before the two of you met. For whatever reason, he ended up getting attached to you in spite of his Organization ties, and decided to switch sides and help you, all while not saying anything about them to you."

"And two," Ai lifted up a second finger. "Hattori-kun only became a member of the Organization after he nearly lost his life. The reasons as to why being unclear."

"That's about right." Nodding his head, Shinichi folded his arms in front of him in thought. "Considering the fact that you never picked up anything from him, I'm leaning towards option two. Which of course, still leaves the question wide open as to why."

"And why an assassin." Ai finished for him. "With Hattori-kun's skills, it would have made more sense to put him to work as an agent like Bourbon, rather than a killer. And yet, such skills weren't made use of. Almost as if they weren't what caught the Organization's attention in the first place."

There was also the fact that nobody had come after her. To the very last, they'd protected the secret of where Miyano Shiho went, knowing that as long as Gin was still out there, he'd never give up on finding her. If Heiji really was one of them, then he had obviously kept his silence.

"Well, he was also ridiculously strong in kendo." Shinichi recalled, vividly remembering some of the more absurd stunts he'd seen Heiji pull early on as they worked to combat the Organization together- before that had happened. "Out of the three of us, he was always the most athletic. But you're right. It doesn't make any sense that they wouldn't put his detective skills to work at all. They might have even been able to avoid their eventual fate if they had."

"So there must be a reason for that as well." Ai said simply, heaving a sigh, leaning back in her seat. "And if I tell you that coming face to face with him is a bad idea, would you actually listen?"

"No." Shinichi said frankly. "If you found out your older sister was still alive, and was actually a dangerous member of them, wouldn't you do the same?"

"You're probably right." Ai admitted. "More than anything, I'd want to know the reason why. For a detective like yourself, I can only imagine the desire is that much stronger."

"You do, I hope," She began, looking up at him with a mild frown. "...have some kind of plan?"

She didn't like that smile he gave her- not one bit.

In the end, Shinichi's plan had been extremely simple. So simple that she could barely call it a plan, in fact. Donning a pair of sunglasses and a hat barely qualified as a disguise, she thought to herself, narrowing her eyes underneath her own. And why had she gotten dragged into this mess as well?

Positioning themselves in the hotel's lobby had been the easy part, the pair of them grabbing newspapers through which they casually pretended to browse. In reality, they were both keeping their eyes wide open, looking for any signs of Heiji- or rather, Paikaru, entering or leaving the hotel. They'd confirmed with the front desk that a young man matching his description was in fact staying there, so there was no mistake about it. With a familiar watch strapped to Ai's wrist, the two of them exchanged a silent look.

And that was when Ai felt it.

A crawling sensation, a powerful, overwhelming bolt of fear, that she hadn't felt once in the past four years, not since the Organization had gone to the ground. Even now, it sent a shiver down her spine, momentarily reducing her to a helpless girl- before she pulled out the steel that she had found within herself over these years, taking in a deep breath, and prepared herself to come face to face with one of them.

And Shinichi watched, eyes narrowed, as Ai gave off a reaction that made his skin crawl. It was exactly the same as it had been whenever she had noticed a member of the Organization in the past- and as he looked up, tracing her gaze, he felt his heart drop in his chest, the pang of anger and betrayal shooting through him again, just as vivid as it had been last evening.

He thought he had been prepared to see him in person, but apparently he was wrong.

For a moment, he almost forgot how to breathe. Shinichi could only watch as the young man stepped out of the elevator, casting what on the surface appeared to be a disinterested glance around the lobby- though the detective could recognize it for what it was, and buried himself quickly within his newspaper. Those blue eyes, so familiar, yet all at once looking as if they belonged to a complete stranger, passed over himself and Ai without so much as a second glance.

That in itself was slightly unusual- even if they had tried to conceal themselves, Shinichi had deliberately chosen disguises that weren't meant to hide them very well. There was no way that Heiji- Paikaru, he reminded himself- wasn't going to have some kind of reaction to them, some spark of familiarity pass through him.

And yet there had been nothing.

Nothing at all.

As he made his way to the lobby's front desk, Shinichi was able to get a better look at him. From the distance, he could determine without a shadow of a doubt that this was the real deal. His years of dealing with Kaito Kid alone had enabled him to get far better at detecting people who were in disguise. When he heard him speak up, being close enough to catch his voice, it cemented what he already knew to be true.

Without a doubt, it was Heiji's voice. It had changed somewhat, due to the passage of time, but it was unmistakable. The only thing missing from it was his telltale Osakan accent- and even that, he thought he could still hear a faint trace of if he trained his ears. As he made arrangements to check out, a single duffel bag worn over one shoulder, Paikaru spared a glance behind him, almost sensing eyes on him. Shinichi didn't avert his gaze so much as he looked up, acting as if he were checking the clock above him, which seemed to satisfy the assassin.

Once again, no sense of familiarity passed through his eyes, no spark of recognition. There was no way he wouldn't have been able to tell who he was through this flimsy disguise, so why?

His arrangements finished, Paikaru turned on his heel, leaving the front desk. Exchanging a look with Ai, the two of them waited all of fifteen seconds, before they slowly got to their feet, quickly moving to follow him. Ai lingered longer still than Shinichi, before she too, fell into step some distance behind the detective. He'd already made a fair bit of progress already, Shinichi noting through narrowed eyes that he'd grown to become a good deal taller than him. Mentally assessing his height, he judged that he was probably around six feet two, at the very least- a good five or six inches taller than himself.

The clothes he was in appeared to be more casual than what he'd worn yesterday, judging from Hakuba's photograph- although even then he could hardly call that black suit 'formal'. Black was still the color of choice- a black hooded sweatshirt, black jeans, and black boots- apparently his tastes in fashion hadn't changed all that much, even though his color palate had grown substantially more limited. He looked for all the world like a normal person and a trained killer, which was probably the entire idea.

With Ai several steps behind him, having been given instructions to keep an eye on him as well in the event that anything went wrong, Shinichi carefully followed behind the young man clad in black. He couldn't help but feel a certain tension build up within him- and his eyes narrowed as he got the distinct sensation that Paikaru definitely was aware that he was being followed. He made no outwardly indications of knowing as such, and it was purely Shinichi's own instincts that allowed him to catch on in the first place.

But rather than try and lose them, Paikaru allowed them to continue to follow him. He'd even stopped to purchase a newspaper and a pack of gum from a newsstand, a rather carefree expression on his face. Briefly, as he reached out to pay, Shinichi caught sight of a strange silver bracelet on his left arm- but more than that, what really caught his attention was the distinct traces of what he knew to be Lichtenberg scars, that spread out over his left hand, before crackling upwards on what he could make out of his left arm.

And the fact that even within the dancing pattern of the Lichtenberg scars, he could still clearly make out a faint scar on his left hand, one that he knew all too well. If he had even the slightest doubt within him that Paikaru and Hattori Heiji were one in the same, it was gone now. The scar that had been left behind as Kazuha desperately attempted to sacrifice her own life so that Heiji could save his own was proof enough.

When Paikaru turned a sharp corner, Shinichi knew that it was meant as a challenge to him, his pursuer. Before he knew it, they had already made their way to a more deserted area of town- there weren't many people passing by them in this area. Casting a look back towards Ai, who only narrowed her own eyes in response, Shinichi took in a deep breath, readying himself for whatever was to come when he turned that corner.

"You've been following me since the hotel, haven't you, detective?"

Paikaru's back was still turned on him as Shinichi rounded the corner, his hands tucked within his pockets. Shinichi forced himself to keep his gaze fixed on those hands, not allowing himself to look up towards his face- the face that he knew belonged to someone he had once considered his best friend. Once again, he was struck at the unfamiliar way in which Heiji addressed him. Perhaps he was simply being thrown off by the lack of an obvious Osakan accent- but there was more to it than that, he thought.

"How do you know I'm a detective?" Shinichi asked, tensing his body for anything that might happen next. "We might have just been going the same way."

"No, I don't think so." A slight hint of a smile made it's way onto Paikaru's face, as he finally turned around to face him. Frankly it made Shinichi shiver- that smile was at once something he knew so well, and yet, like his eyes, it was strangely alien on his face, as if it were an expression belonging to someone he didn't know. As they came to face to face, nothing sparked within Paikaru's eyes, not even the slightest reaction to being confronted by someone who knew him from another life. "As fer your question," he continued, a slight hint of Osaka-ben working it's way into his speech, "...I've seen your face in the papers before. You're a hard one to miss, Kudo Shinichi."

The name rolled off his tongue as if it were the first time he'd ever spoken it. As Shinichi looked into those eyes, the blue color so familiar to him, he felt as if he had finally found the piece of the puzzle that he had been missing.

Shinichi recognized him.

Paikaru didn't.

As Ai shot past the corner with an almost breakneck speed, hand raised towards the watch on her wrist, Shinichi finally felt the answer come to him. And yet even as he managed to find one answer, as he watched Paikaru sink to his knees, giving himself over to a deep slumber, another one rose up within him.

This had been too easy, he thought. Far, far too easy.

Paikaru was letting them capture him. As he instinctively reached out to catch the slumbering form of the one formerly known as Hattori Heiji before he could hit the ground, Shinichi could only find himself wondering why.