AN: Chapter five is here! Things are starting to heat up! I'm pretty excited for this plot to move forward myself, there's some things I'm looking forward to writing in store in the future!

As always, I'd like to take a moment of time to thank both my readers and reviewers- and ask that you leave a review on your way out! It's super encouraging to hear what you guys think!

Phantasmal Black

Chapter Five

Omen

"You must be out of your mind, Kudo-kun."

"Relax, Hakuba." Shinichi said simply, casting a look back towards the half-British detective who had decided that he was going to follow along after them from the very moment he'd heard Shinichi's idea. "It'll be fine."

"What part of bringing an assassin to a crime scene is fine?" Hakuba asked, glancing back towards the person in question, who flashed him another placid, business-like smile from within the shadow of his hood. "We're trying to keep Paikaru hidden, not parade him around for all the world to see. Not to mention that there are members of the Tokyo MPD that are very likely to recognize Hattori-kun's face, and need I remind you, legally speaking, he's been dead for five years."

"And that's why we're not going to introduce him as either Paikaru or Hattori Heiji." Shinichi said simply, glancing back towards the person who was somewhat lingering behind them. He'd fallen almost instinctively into step behind them, casting a suspicious look in Hakuba's direction whenever he thought that they weren't looking. It was probably pure instinct that caused him not to want to show his back to Hakuba that easily. He obviously still didn't trust him. "We're going to introduce him as an acquaintance of yours from overseas. How's your English, Paikaru?"

"My English is perfect." Paikaru told them, switching over towards the language in question. He couldn't help but note with no small bit of amusement that Hakuba seemed to be visibly surprised by this fact. It was a bit odd, he thought to himself- he'd been active in America and England for any number of years, one would have thought Hakuba would have simply assumed that he was skilled at speaking English. Perhaps it had less to do with him, and more to do with the person he'd been in the past. "If you're going down the foreigner route, I can play that act pretty well. Most people don't think I'm Japanese at first to begin with anyways."

"Now that you mention it, something like that happened in the past..." Shinichi trailed off a little. It had been back when he'd met Jodie for the first time, he recalled. "At any rate, if we obviously can't bring him back home to Osaka that easily. I was thinking that at the very least, some of his memories might be jostled if he helped me solve a case, like he did back in the day."

"Oh, did something like that happen?" Paikaru asked, tilting his head a little. He was still speaking English, Hakuba noted with a small hint of frustration- he'd never expected to hear near flawless English come out of Hattori Heiji's mouth. "A case, though, huh? Frankly, I don't know how much use I'll be ta ya, Kudo-han."

He was rather skilled when it came to killing people, not solving the mystery behind their deaths. Honestly, it was more than a little difficult for him to comprehend the fact that he'd once been on the other side of that dynamic- working as a detective to discover the true identity of a murderer, to bring them to justice. He'd developed a fundamentally different set of skills and instincts since then, and he couldn't help but wonder if any of his old skills even still existed. He doubted that amnesia alone would have wiped them away- rather, it was a question of his training.

And his brainwashing, he supposed. He might have not been one of Merlot's obedient puppets that she had raised from birth, but there was no other way to explain someone going from being a detective to a murderer other than there being some pretty intense brainwashing involved.

It made perfect sense though. It was strange for him to think about it now, but when he'd first started out in this sort of life, he'd been more than just a little hesitant to take anyone's life. Idly rubbing his bandaged left wrist, his eyes narrowed a little, the smell of charred flesh and crackling electricity haunting him. When had it been, exactly, that he'd been turned from an amnesiac detective to a professional killer, someone capable of taking lives with any qualms?

Frankly, he was just amazed that Shinichi didn't view him as some kind of monster wearing his dead best friend's face. That's more or less what he felt like, now that he knew the truth of who he had been before he'd lost his memories. And yet, even with that, he'd still take having the answer over not knowing any day. It somehow made him feel more like a real person, to know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, he did actually have some kind of past, even if he couldn't remember it.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Paikaru." Flashing a small smile back at him, Paikaru frowned a little, unsure of what to make of such an expression being directed at him. There was no way that the detective who cast it didn't resent him at least a little, he thought to himself, in spite of the words they had exchanged earlier. He was probably just putting up a strong front. "Besides, maybe if you spend some time around Takagi-san, you might pick up some clues on who it was that wanted you to kill her."

For a moment, Paikaru thought he hadn't quite heard him right. A look of genuine surprise crossing his face, he could only look towards the detective with an expression of pure befuddlement.

"You're bringin' me ta a crime scene that's headed by the Inspector I was supposed to kill?" Paikaru asked, his tone disbelieving, gaze briefly flickering back over towards Hakuba. "Blondie over there is right, Kudo-han. You are out of your mind."

"He's not home right now."

Startling a little at the sound of Ai's voice, Ran glanced down towards the junior high student, wondering when it was that she had appeared next to her. She had just been about to ring Shinichi's doorbell when she'd startled her, and she couldn't help but frown at her words. "Is he still working on that case for Miwako-san?" She asked, heaving a sigh.

She had just gotten back from Osaka herself, and had hoped that she would have been able to see her fiancee today. But if he was still working on the case that had dragged him away from Heiji's memorial service last night, there wasn't much of a chance of that. She already knew too well how he operated.

"Something like that." Ai said simply. Shinichi had left behind very specific instructions to not tell Ran anything for the moment, and Ai couldn't help but agree with him. The less people who knew the fact that Hattori Heiji was still alive, the better, at least at the moment. Perhaps if he managed to regain his memories, that might change, but for the time being, it was best to keep this whole affair under wraps.

"I suppose it can't be helped then." Heaving a sigh, Ran couldn't help but frown a little at the young girl in front of her. Come to think of it, she'd left for Tokyo herself on that same night, apparently only telling the Professor by cellphone about it after she was already at the station. She couldn't help but get the feeling that this was somehow related to the way Shinichi couldn't have left Osaka fast enough.

It didn't have something to do with them, did it? But if that was the case, why wouldn't Shinichi tell her? She thought that after all of these years, he would have learned that it was safe to tell her these type of things.

"Hey, is he really working on a case for Miwako-san?" Ran asked, unable to keep her worries out of her expression. "He's not actually doing something else, is he?"

Well, as much as she agreed with Shinichi's decision to try and conceal things from Ran, that didn't meant that Ai thought it would go over all that well. She'd gotten pretty perceptive about this sort of thing recently, ever since she had been told the truth behind the one known as Edogawa Conan. Letting a slight sigh escape from her lips, Ai folded her arms in front of her chest.

"That's what he was just called out to do a moment ago, at the very least." Ai said, the implications of her words crystal clear- that he hadn't been working on a case for Inspector Takagi Miwako until just a little bit ago. "He and Hakuba-kun left just now."

"He's keeping things from me again, isn't he?" Planting her hands on her hips, Ran's eyes narrowed, already planning on giving Shinichi a piece of her mind the next time she saw him. They were engaged to be married, and he was still doing this sort of thing! Unbelievable!

Heaving a frustrated sigh, Ran gave Ai a pleading smile, hoping that maybe she would help her out with this. "Hey, Ai-chan, can you tell me what he's working on now? You know I worry about him, after all."

"I can't." Ai's voice had a stern tone to it that was well beyond the age she looked. "He specifically told me not to." Closing her eyes, she let the smallest of sighs escape from her, before opening them back up, looking straight up at Ran. "It might be better if you just accept that for now, Ran-san. Kudo-kun has a good reason for keeping you out of the loop this time."

"It involves them, doesn't it?" Ran asked, her lips arranged in a tight frown. The fact that Hakuba had been mentioned in the same breath as her fiancee was clue enough to that, she didn't need to be a detective herself to put two and two together. After all, the last thing she'd heard about Hakuba from Kazuha was that he was on the trail of a Black Organization member. If he was back here in Tokyo, then something must have been going on.

And if it involved them, then it was very likely that Ai would know some of the details. She still didn't quite understand what Ai's ties were to that dreaded Organization, and frankly, she didn't really care that much. The girl in front of her was simply Haibara Ai, Professor Agasa's beloved granddaughter, and no one else- she didn't need to know anything further that the girl herself wasn't willing to tell her.

"It does." Ai replied frankly, giving her a curt nod of her head. "That's why it's best for you not to pry any further, Ran-san. If things work out, he might tell you eventually. And if they don't..." She trailed off there, her eyes narrowing as she considered the possibilities. "It would be better for you if you didn't know anything then."

That unusually serious expression on her face, the one that didn't belong on a girl of her age, was something that Ran had come to know well over the past five years. There was probably a truth to what she was saying- but at the same time, Ran couldn't help but want to know. She wanted to be able to stand by Shinichi's side and help him in his hour of need- there had been too many of those in the past when she hadn't been there for him, in spite of the fact that they had been living underneath the same roof, something which she had no idea about at the time.

"It involves that Organization member, at least, doesn't it?" Ran asked, trying to recall the codename in question. "Paikaru?"

That complicated expression that crossed Ai's face was something that Ran wasn't familiar with. As the girl turned away from her, fully aware of what kind of expression was on her face, Ai could only manage to give her a small smile- one that had no traces of happiness or joy.

"It does."

As much as Hakuba didn't want to admit it, Shinichi did have a point.

Introducing Paikaru to Takagi Miwako had gone over rather smoothly, much to his own relief. He didn't miss that glint that had surfaced in Paikaru's eyes as he shook hands with the woman, knowing full well that it wasn't the glint of any kind of returning memory, but he'd made no moves to indicate that he had any desire to fulfill what he'd originally come to Tokyo for in the first place. For her part, although there had been a slight frown gracing her features as she shook hands with the hooded young man, she didn't seem to recognize him herself.

They'd never interacted that often to begin with, Shinichi had told him. If her husband, on the other hand, were around, he would have never brought Paikaru to the scene, but thankfully Takagi Wataru hand long since retired from the police force to raise his and Miwako's children. He had more or less completely settled into the domestic lifestyle the last time he'd met him, the very image of a doting, devoted father.

Even if working to solve a case with them didn't jostle any of Paikaru's memories, then at the very least, it would allow them to gauge just how much of Heiji's deductive reasoning had remained behind. He doubtlessly hadn't had much cause to use it over the past five years, but from the fact that he'd been able to accurately notice and deduce that he was being lied to by Merlot, and had been able to determine that he most likely hadn't always been an assassin, it didn't seem like they had all vanished.

Even if his angle of approach had changed, Hakuba thought to himself, unable to help but notice that the assessing gaze he cast towards the victim and the suspects alike was not that of a detective's. What Paikaru was looking for was something that a detective like himself would most likely be unable to notice, at least not half as well as someone whose main purpose in life up until this point had been killing.

"But you sure have an unusual friend, Hakuba-san." Miwako's voice startled him somewhat, and the half-British detective couldn't help but turn towards her. Whose idea was it to introduce Paikaru as his friend, anyways? "It's too bad he only speaks English, I would have liked the chance to speak with him myself."

"Ah, well..." Trailing off a little, Hakuba coughed into his hand, regaining his composure. That had been the lie that they had told her, after all, and Paikaru was more than happy to comply, chatting away in nearly flawless English, all while pretending that he didn't understand a word of Japanese. Lying might not have been Heiji's forte, but Paikaru was quite skilled in doing so. "Yes. He's quite the interesting fellow."

Well, that wasn't technically a lie.

"Is he going to be staying here in Japan long?" Miwako asked, watching as Shinichi and the young man in question chatted back and forth in quick English, beyond her level of understanding.

Hakuba, however, did understand, and found his gaze sliding over towards one of the suspects. It was certainly true that the butcher wouldn't have made such an amateur mistake as the one Paikaru was a little too vividly describing, even if what he was accustomed to chopping up were animals, and not people. It was more than a little disquieting that he could so easily realize something like this just from looking at the knife wound, and judging from the shadow on Shinichi's face, he got the feeling his fellow detective was thinking that as well.

"That hasn't been decided yet." Hakuba told her, flashing her a small smile. "He may only be here for a short while."

"I see." With a slight frown on her features, Miwako then brightened up, seemingly heedless of the fact that she was at the scene of a pretty grisly murder. She'd seen it all already, after all, nothing really bothered her much at this point. Patting Hakuba on the back, the taller detective stumbled a little at the force of it, something which she failed to pick up on. "Well, be sure to properly show him some sights, Hakuba-san! Don't just drag him around with you to murder scenes!"

"Yes, I'll be certain to." Hakuba told her, quickly excusing himself to join the other two. Kneeling down next to Shinichi, he caught the brief annoyed look that Paikaru sent his way. Apparently one of the things that Hattori Heiji and Paikaru had in common was the fact that neither of them appeared to like him very much.

Which was fair, he didn't care for Paikaru all that much either.

"So if we eliminate the butcher, that leaves us with the baker and the hat maker." Hakuba noted, switching over to English. They had an act to keep up, after all. Briefly wondering exactly what kind of case involved a butcher, a baker, and hat maker- not to mention the deceased candle maker, he turned his attention towards the two remaining suspects.

"They both have strong motives." Shinichi mumbled, placing a hand on his chin, his brows furrowing together. They'd already been able to figure out the trick behind the locked room, but both the remaining suspects would have had a chance to pull it off. What they were lacking was definitive evidence that pointed towards one or the other. "There's something about this case that we're missing."

Tilting his head to the side, Paikaru curiously watched the two detectives discuss it out. If they'd asked him, he would have told them his money was on the baker- but then again, it was just his instincts that told him that much. There was a glimmer in the woman's eyes, a certain stiffness to the way she moved, something in the way her breath sometimes caught in her throat that made him read her as a woman who'd just killed someone for the first time in her life.

But well, he wasn't sure he should bring something like that up. He'd already watched the way Shinichi's expression had shifted when he'd told him about the hack job the killer had done of actually murdering their victim in the first place. There was no way someone as familiar with a knife as the butcher obviously was, would have ever made such amateur like mistakes. Even if it was his first time using his skills on a human, rather than animal, that wouldn't explain the complete and total hack job that had been done when it came to dismembering the corpse.

He'd have done better in his sleep, if he cared to. Dismembering wasn't really his thing, though. Too much work, too little benefits. Really, there was no point in doing it here other than to apparently mimic some kind of ghost story.

Well, he probably shouldn't mention that either, Paikaru thought, quirking a brow as the two detectives seemed to rapidly be coming to a conclusion. When they locked eyes with each other, the both of them briefly almost seeming to be mutually stunned into silence, he couldn't help but frown, feeling the faintest tug in the back of his mind. There was something about that silent exchange, and something about the ensuing way that both detectives suddenly sprung to their feet, each heading off in an opposite direction, that felt almost vaguely familiar.

Maybe he really had done something like this in the past, he thought to himself, watching as a triumphant looking Shinichi returned to the room, holding in his hand a pair of broken off fake nails, ones that caused the baker to visibly blanch. The red color that stained them, he knew, wasn't supposed to be there.

As he watched Shinichi and Hakuba give their conjoined deduction, Paikaru couldn't help feel a strange shadow fall over his heart. There was something there, of that much he was certain- but even when he racked his brain, trying to recall what it might have been that made him feel this way, it was a fruitless effort. All it earned him was a sharp, stinging pain in the back of his head, and no shortage of frustration.

As much as Shinichi had tried to reassure him that it was alright if he didn't remember, he couldn't feel the same way. Idly placing a hand over where his omamori was, now tucked back underneath his shirt, Paikaru's eyes narrowed, watching as the two detectives finished up their deduction show, watching as the culprit collapsed, their own guilt finally getting to them.

He didn't understand that, either. Or at the very least- he thought he didn't.

As she placed a hand over her omamori, watching the bank robber that she'd just apprehended being escorted off into a police car, Kazuha couldn't help but notice that it felt slightly warm. Perhaps somewhere out there, Heiji was touching his own, she thought to herself, a fond expression crossing her face.

It was enough to make her ignore the rather vicious obscenities the bank robber was slinging her way. Honestly, some people had no class. If you were going to try and rob a bank by yourself, while trying to pass off a model gun as the real thing, then you really shouldn't act all that surprised when you got caught. She'd never lost her skills at aikido- in fact they'd gotten even better over these past five years. Taking out one measly bank robber had been no real challenge.

With a 'good work' given to her fellow officers, Kazuha promised them that she would join them at the station shortly to fill out the appropriate paperwork. Honestly, and she hadn't even been on duty today! She always took the days surrounding Heiji's birthday off, unless there was something involving that Organization brewing.

Come to think of it, Kazuha thought to herself, putting on her battered motorcycle helmet, another memento from Heiji, much the same as her battered motorcycle, Hakuba hadn't gotten in touch with her since yesterday. She should probably give him a call. He seemed to have been under the impression that he was closing in, after all.

Switching the ignition key on, Kazuha let out a small grumble as she heard the motorcycle start up- only to sputter and die. Giving it a good whack on the side, she all but glowered down at the aging vehicle. "C'mon now, ya don't need ta die on me just yet. Ya've got some more life in ya."

Almost seeming to be coaxed by her words, the motorcycle roared to life again, the steady hum of it's engines reassuring her that it was going to agree with her for now. Slipping her way out into the Osakan streets, she made her way back towards police headquarters. After she called Hakuba and filled out her report, she would head out to treat herself to some takoyaki, she thought.

Pulling into the parking lot of the police headquarters, she took off her helmet, shaking out her hair. Setting aside her helmet for the moment, she pulled into her purse, pulling out her cellphone and calling Hakuba's number. For a few moments, he didn't answer- given the fact that he was usually so prompt, she couldn't help but feel a slight surge of worry rise in her chest- what if the reason he hadn't contacted her yet was because something had happened?

But then finally, he picked up.

"Toyama-san?"

Kazuha couldn't help but note a slight... something in his voice. She couldn't quite place what it was- Hakuba was always difficult for her to read. In many ways, he was even more of Heiji's opposite than Shinichi was, in spite of the fact that they came from rather similar backgrounds.

"Ah, Hakuba-san?" Kazuha let out a slight sigh of relief at hearing his voice, the note that didn't quite fit in it put to the side for the moment. "Is everythin' okay? Ya haven't called me since yesterday, so I was a bit worried."

"Ah, my apologies. I've been a bit caught up in work." Hakuba told her. "Things haven't changed over here. I still haven't been able to make contact with Paikaru."

"I see." With a slight frown, Kazuha narrowed her eyes, her little finger idly rubbing up and down her phone, feeling a slight itch from it. It tingled, sometimes, whenever he was brought up, for reasons she didn't fully understand. "You'll contact me if you learn anythin', right?"

The Black Organization's assassin, Paikaru. There had always been something about the one who bore that codename that had always made Kazuha uneasy, but she never really knew why. It was part of the reason that she had decided to assist Hakuba as best she could with his investigation into him- she wanted to shake away this dark feeling she had in the pit of her stomach.

"Of course I will, Toyama-san." Hakuba reassured her- but there was something in his tone that she almost knew for a lie. Her eyes narrowing further, Kazuha felt the uneasy feeling surface within her, a cold, black feeling that rose up from her gut. "But if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."

"Alright." Kazuha said after a moment. No sooner than had the words left her lips did she hear the dial tone on the other end of the line, telling her that she had been hung up on. Frowning suspiciously at her phone, she tucked it back away. Was Hakuba lying to her? He hadn't suddenly decided that this investigation was something she couldn't handle, had he? If he got any kind of idea like that into his head, she'd remind him personally which one of them was more skilled at actually taking down criminals.

It wasn't him.

Letting out an irritated sound, Kazuha pushed herself onto her feet, deciding that she would pay him a visit in Tokyo herself very soon. If she went to Shinichi's place, she was certain that she would learn where Hakuba was.

It was a slight tearing sound that caught her attention, pushing her frustrated thoughts away from her. Instinctively checking her jeans first thing, she let out a slight sigh of relief- something which caught in her throat, as she caught a hint of a purple color on the ground beneath her feet, just out of the corner of her eye.

Kneeling down, she reached out with a slightly shaking hand, carefully scooping up the fallen object. Her precious omamori, the strap of which she used to hang it from around her neck having frayed at the seams, giving way, allowing it to tumble unto the ground. Had it gotten damaged when she was tangling with that bank robber?

Her grip tight on her omamori, Kazuha held it tightly to her chest. For some reason, she couldn't shake the distinct feeling that this was an ill omen.

From the way that Paikaru had perked up at the mere mention of Kazuha's last name, Shinichi almost couldn't help but mentally compare him to a dog that had heard it's owner come home. One minute the assassin had been lost in his own thoughts, and then the next, he was hovering far too close to Hakuba for the half-British detective's comfort, listening into their conversation in the most unsubtle way possible.

"So? You remember anything from hearing her voice?" Shinichi asked, watching with some mild amusement as Hakuba had to literally shove the amnesiac away from him. He allowed him to do so without much of a fuss, before turning his attention towards Shinichi.

"No, not really." Shaking his head, Paikaru gave him a simple shrug of his shoulders. "She has a really nice voice, though!"

The bright smile that dawned across his face then was nearly too dazzling to look at. By far, Shinichi noted, it was the most Heiji-like grin he'd given them yet. And naturally, it was in regards to Kazuha.

After wrapping things up at the crime scene, they had made a quick swing by the local ATM, allowing Paikaru to withdraw a considerable amount of money from the bank, in an account that was naturally under a fake name. With that safely pocketed away, they were en route back to Shinichi's home. He'd gotten a text from Ai informing him that Ran had returned home and was looking for him- and that she no longer bought his excuse of having to hurry away the night before because of a case sent to him by the police. At the very least, Ran had decided to not wait around Shinichi's place for him to come back, but he knew that dealing with her in the coming days was going to be tricky.

He didn't want to involve Ran in this just yet. Once Merlot came looking for her missing assassin, he was almost certain things were going to get tricky for them very quickly- especially if his theory was actually correct. That was something he wanted to discuss with Hakuba, but in private, without Paikaru lurking around.

But for the moment, there was one thing he wanted to confirm while the amnesiac assassin was actually here. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out his own phone, he brought up an picture that Ran had sent him awhile back, one of her and Kazuha. Glancing up at Paikaru, a hint of slightly sly grin appeared on his face.

If his intuition was on the mark, this should be rather amusing. Granted, there was a reason behind this other than simple teasing, but that was no small part of why he was asking, if he was going to be completely honest.

"Come to think of it, you haven't seen a recent photo of Kazuha yet, have you?" Shinichi asked, catching Hakuba shooting him a strange look out of the corner of his eye, doubtlessly wondering what he was doing. "I happen to have one here. Do you want to see it?"

"Oh, sure!" Flashing him a quick grin, Paikaru peered around his hand, taking a look at the image displayed on the phone screen. "This one here is Kazuha?" He asked, tapping the screen, indicating which one he meant- when Shinichi nodded in confirmation, he turned back to look towards her once more. "She as pretty as she sounds!"

"Pretty, huh?" Shinichi could help but note, casting his sly grin up towards the enraptured Osakan. Tucking his phone away, he decided to ask the question he'd been prevented from asking him earlier in the day. "Paikaru- are you in love with Kazuha?"

"W-what are ya talkin' about!?" From the way Paikaru's eyes went wide, his guard momentarily almost entirely dropping, Shinichi had a feeling that he was more or less right on the mark. That sort of flustered reaction- he was going to file that under things that he had in common with Heiji. "H-how can I have feelings fer someone I've never even met before!? Don't say such stupid things!"

"But you do think she's pretty." Shinichi noted simply, watching as Paikaru narrowed his eyes, apparently realizing that he was being teased, and not liking it one bit. "Now, now, don't get angry. There's nothing wrong with it, Paikaru. Hattori was in love with her too, you know. If anything, it's probably a good thing if your feelings are the same."

Growing slightly less tense, Paikaru took half a step back, carefully studying the detective in front of him as if trying to learn what his game was here. Was this what they called light ribbing between friends, perhaps? Or was there some other goal that the detective was after? "Now that I think about it, ya did mention somethin' like that before." Rubbing the back of his neck, he averted his gaze slightly from Shinichi, unsure of what to make of this information. Honestly, he hadn't given it much thought before- but love? Him?

No way. That was totally impossible.

Even if he did feel a strange warm feeling in his chest whenever that girl was brought up. And even if she had turned out to be the one that had made the omamori that brought a feeling of warmth and calmness with it whenever he held it. It had been his only lifeline back to a past which he could no longer remember, and although Merlot had wanted to dispose of it, he'd managed to hold on to it all this time.

But there was no way someone like himself could be in love! It was absurd, unthinkable, preposterous- and why the hell was that damn detective looking at him like that?

"What's that grin fer?" Paikaru asked, casting Shinichi a suspicious look. Out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice that Hakuba was watching this all unfold with a rather dry expression on his face, wisely deciding to stay out of it. "Seriously, Kudo-han, stop lookin' at me like that. It's creepy."

"Sorry, sorry. Don't worry about it." Shinichi told him quickly, shoving his hands back inside of his pockets, taking notice of the fact that they had made their way back towards his house. Checking for any signs that someone might be inside, he confirmed that this wasn't the case. "Anyways, we're back. Hakuba, why don't you come in for some tea? Paikaru, don't you still have some novels to finish?"

"Ah, now that ya mention it." Blinking, Paikaru tilted his head, unable to shake the feeling that Shinichi had brought it up because he wanted him out of the way for the moment. Well, whatever. If that was what he wanted, he'd play along for now. He doubted that the detective was going to do anything behind his back- he didn't seem the sort.

If he was going to turn him in, he would have done it a long time ago.

Watching as Paikaru made his way back towards the library, Shinichi turned back towards Hakuba, motioning for him to take a seat in the living room. Following behind him, Shinichi sat on the chair across from him, a far more serious expression crossing his face, taking place of the jovial one he had just moments before.

"So?" Shinichi asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What do you think of him, Hakuba?"

"I'm uncertain of what to think." Hakuba said after a moment, a tight frown on his lips. "I feel more ready to believe that he means what he says about wanting to leave the Organization, but I'm still not entirely ready to throw my lot in with him. It's not impossible that if things start heading south, he might betray us, or at the very least, abandon us. He's geared for survival under any circumstances, I can tell that much at the very least."

"I don't think he would." Shinichi said after a moment- though this was admittedly something he had to consider. He also got the feeling that Paikaru himself would be likely to agree with Hakuba's perception of him- but even so, Shinichi just didn't think it was correct. He'd been proven wrong before, but he didn't think he was mistaken this time. "It's not like the things that made up Hattori have completely vanished. If anything, it's more like their direction has changed."

Hakuba couldn't help but feel that he might understand what it was that he meant by that, casting an eye up towards the stairs where Paikaru had headed. He didn't like the idea of letting him out of their sight, but he supposed that he couldn't force Shinichi to observe him twenty-four seven. Whatever measure of trust he'd earned from Paikaru would doubtlessly wane away if he started doing something like that.

"What was that about earlier though, Kudo-kun?" Hakuba asked after a moment. "That whole farce regarding Toyama-san."

"It wasn't a farce." Shinichi said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "There was something I wanted to ascertain. Just like Paikaru hadn't seen a recent photo of Kazuha, you haven't seen a photo of her from back in the day for awhile, have you?"

"I haven't, but what does that have to do with anything?" Hakuba asked, blinking a little.

"If I'm right, you'll understand once you see it." Shinichi told him simply, pushing the scrapbook that he had kept out on the table ever since he'd shown it to Paikaru earlier that morning. Taking it from him, the half-British detective cast Shinichi a doubtful look, before opening it up, locating a picture of the aforementioned seventeen year old Kazuha.

The spark was instant.

A single, teenage girl, her hair worn high in a ponytail, orange ribbon tied tightly to hold it in place.

Hushed whispers from the lips of a girl who had managed to escape death by hiding herself away, quietly handing him his first clues as to Paikaru's appearance. A girl who grew pale and trembled as she recalled that terrible night- and yet nevertheless, for a moment, had hesitated to describe the one who had killed the rest of her family, a flicker of something that he hadn't been able to identify at the time in her eyes.

"They look alike." Hakuba said slowly, setting the album down, pushing it away from him. "Toyama-san and that girl... They're alike."

"I thought that was the case." Shinichi said, closing his eyes. It was something that he had no way of confirming himself- he'd never seen the girl in question, the one who had survived the assassination of her parents and brother. But Hakuba had, and if his hunch proved right, then he knew exactly what kind of reaction he would get by showing him that photograph.

Kazuha hadn't worn her hair in a ribbon in at least three years, after all. It was no wonder he'd forgotten.

"If my theory is correct, that girl didn't just happen to escape death by hiding." Shinichi told him, opening his eyes and looking directly across at him, conviction filling his eyes. The impression of Paikaru that he'd gathered thus far only strengthened it. "She escaped death because Paikaru let her live. He let her go, Hakuba. The fact that she's the only one who has ever escaped him, and the fact that she and Kazuha look so much alike can't be a coincidence."

"But why he do something like that?" Hakuba asked, unsure what to make of this new information. "He doesn't even remember anything about Toyama-san in the first place. You said so yourself, Kudo-kun. Why would he let her live just because she resembled her?"

"There's something there." Shinichi told him. "It's faint, but it's something. Back when we were giving our deductions, there was something there as well, something in the way he was watching us. Probably on some subconscious level, he can faintly recall things, enough so that he couldn't bring himself to kill that girl, even though he himself most likely didn't understand why."

"Ah. That explains it."

That tender tone in his voice as Shinichi explained to him who Kazuha was- and the ensuing tears. Paikaru was an assassin, a murderer- but he wasn't a monster. His crimes couldn't be written away, waved off in light of the things he had done before he'd lost his memories- but he wasn't a remorseless killer, even if that wasn't something he understood himself. Sparing a life after all of these years had doubtlessly stirred something inside of him- even if Paikaru himself didn't realize what it was.

"And this girl also explains why he's here, now, in Japan, after all of this time." Shinichi finally continued. "There are countless assassins in the world, and yet the one who was hired to kill Takagi-san was Paikaru." Shinichi told him, making sure to keep his voice low. He didn't want it to carry throughout the rest of the house. "Why do you think that is, Hakuba? Don't you find it strange that after trying to keep him away from Japan for so long, not only does Merlot let him come here, but his target ends up being someone he would have known in the past. Why?"

Leaning back against his chair, Hakuba's brow furrowed in thought. If Shinichi was going where he thought he was with this line of logic, then...

"It was a test." Hakuba said finally, his eyes narrowing. "A test to see if Paikaru could manage to kill someone that Hattori Heiji knew. Merlot was most likely worried that his memories might have been gradually returning to him."

For that purpose, Takagi Miwako was the perfect target. She was someone that he had known in the past, but not as well- someone that had been closer to Hattori Heiji would have created an even bigger risk of his memories returning if that really had been the case. Merlot had probably sat on this thought for months before she caught wind that someone wanted the female Inspector dead- and saw it as her perfect chance.

"Yes." Slowly nodding his head, Shinichi closed his eyes, able to feel the cold hand of them reaching out- something that he hadn't felt in years now. "Two days from now, Takagi Miwako will still be alive. And that means Merlot will most likely think that he's failed the test."

"She'll come looking for us." Hakuba said. "Or more precisely, she'll come looking for you."

"Without a doubt." Giving him a curt nod, Shinichi let out a long breath. "Which means we have two days to not only prepare for Merlot's arrival, but possibly Gin's as well."

In spite of everything, Shinichi couldn't help but smile. This might very well be the perfect chance that he had been looking for to grab hold of Gin's shadow, and to drag the man clad in black into the light. He had already escaped him for far too long.

"We're going to need some help, Kudo-kun." Hakuba observed.

"I know." Shinichi said simply, rising to his feet just as the doorbell rang, almost as if on cue. "That's why I called for some."