AN: And here's chapter twelve, hot off the presses for everyone to read and enjoy! As always, I want to take some time out to thank everyone for their support of this story, especially those of you who take the time to leave reviews! You really make my day! Anyways, thanks for reading, and until next time!

Phantasmal Black

Chapter Twelve

Faith

He had fully expected that Kazuha would be angry with him when she learned the truth. He just hadn't expected how angry.

Though she had gotten most of it out of her system last night- or rather, early in the morning, he thought, letting out a slight yawn- it was clear that she was still more than a little miffed at him. A one AM house call from a furious Kazuha was not on his list of things that he had anticipated to happen, and if he had to be honest, he had been completely taken off guard when she turned up out of the blue, dragging him out of bed with the most bone chilling smile he had ever seen. In that moment, between the police officer and the assassin, he was definitely more afraid of the cop. At the very least, he hadn't suffered through it alone- Hakuba was on the receiving end of her inferno of a temper even more than he was.

Somehow he wasn't all that surprised when Ran reported to him later that when she had found Paikaru, it almost seemed as if all of his systems had overheated. If he had been holding it in the entire time he had been talking with Kazuha from when they met, then all of those flustered emotions he didn't know how to handle had come out all at once- rendering him momentarily unable to do anything more complex than crouch in a ball, trying to sort through feelings that he didn't quite understand.

He'd joked about Paikaru being unable to handle Kazuha if the slightest bit of kindness from himself could send him into a flustered mess, but apparently, he was completely on the mark. Kazuha would probably think it was cute, if she knew.

"Are ya sure ya don't want some real coffee, Kudo-han?"

Paikaru's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and Shinichi very quickly shook his head. He had made damn sure to wake up before him this time- and thus, prevent him from making that monstrously powerful coffee yet again. He'd sulked a little when Shinichi had presented him with a cup of his preferred blend, mumbling underneath his breath that it just tasted like bean water. Somehow, he wasn't quite certain how, Shinichi had managed to bite back a comment about how that was what all coffee was, really.

Hakuba had said it for him, of course.

"No, no, this stuff is more than strong enough for me." Shinichi told him, casting a quick smile over towards the somewhat skeptical assassin. "Sorry, Paikaru, but I'm pretty sure if I tried drinking the stuff you made yesterday again, it might actually kill me."

"An' put my hard work ta waste." Paikaru muttered underneath his breath, his voice so low that Shinichi could barely hear him. Leaning back in his chair, he frowned at the coffee mug in his hand, before he set it down, pushing it aside. "Well, whatever."

"I'm just surprised you didn't take her up on her offer, Paikaru." Hakuba noted, casting a doubtful glance over towards him. That Merlot had attempted to infiltrate the manor last night was a bit of information that they had gotten from Kazuha, and not Paikaru himself- and frankly, he saw no reason to doubt it. It was only once Kazuha had said that much that they finally managed to pry the details from the assassin himself. That she had come this far was worrisome- but he had to admit, Paikaru had exceeded his expectations this time. Perhaps he should give him a bit more credit.

"Don't say such things, Hakuba-san!" Kazuha interjected, casting a fierce glower at him, slamming her own coffee mug down on the table, drawing his- and everyone else's- attention to her. "Honestly, if he hadn't been there, ya might be dead right now, so give him a bit of appreciation!"

Not quite catching the way that Paikaru turned his head away, desperately trying to conceal the red color that had tinted his cheeks, Hakuba frowned. To think that the two of them would have simply crossed paths like this, in a manner in which none of them could have prevented- it was outside of his expectations. The fact that Kazuha had accepted the truth with apparent ease, and was interacting with Paikaru in a manner that seemed no different from how she had interacted with Heiji in the past, was also outside of his expectations.

Perhaps he was the strange one here? No, that was probably wasn't the case. As the only one of this group who didn't know Hattori Heiji all that well- or even really like him to begin with, he supposed that he was viewing everything from a more logical perspective. He could only hope that their attachments to the one once known as the high school detective of the west wouldn't backfire on them all.

"I suppose that much is true." Hakuba admitted after a moment, sparing a glance over towards Paikaru. "As I said last night, I suppose thanks are in order."

"Hakuba-kun is right." Ran said, glancing over towards Paikaru with a smile. Even though the thought of the close call that they had narrowly avoided gave her chills, she felt it was proof that the fundamental things that had made up Heiji hadn't really changed. "Thank you, Paikaru."

"I didn't do anythin' that needs thanks." Paikaru muttered, unable to quite look them in the eyes, fighting the urge to all but bolt from the kitchen. Would he ever get used to this kind of thing? "Just consider it payback fer not turnin' me in just yet."

Those words cast something of an awkward silence across the kitchen table where everyone had gathered for breakfast, leaving Ran to let out a slight sigh. Were it not for that tense air that hung about them even during cheerful parts of their conversation- and the presence of Hakuba- it was almost just like it was in the past, when Heiji and Kazuha had come over for a visit and stayed the night. It was a bit like they had been able to reclaim something of the past- but in reality, perhaps such a thing wasn't truly possible.

Things had changed since then.

"But what are we going to do?" Ran finally asked, glancing over towards Shinichi. "She'll just come again tomorrow night, won't she? And from the sound of what she told Paikaru, she's probably already contacted Gin by now."

"We're going to leave." Shinichi said simply, taking a rather nonchalant sip of his coffee. "I've already had Kuroba arrange an alternate residence for all of us for the time being. When he's ready, he'll come and pick us all up. The Professor and Haibara should already be there, in fact. Sera as well."

"Now that ya mention it, I was wonderin' why I hadn't seen that little Neechan lately." Paikaru observed, a slight frown crossing his features. "But can ya really trust that Kuroba guy?"

"I don't think you, of all people, have the right to ask that question." Hakuba noted, quirking a brow- before heaving a long sigh at the intense glare that Kazuha sent his way. Goodness but she was quicker to defend him than the person himself was willing to. "But yes. Kuroba-kun has a rather interesting history in his own right, but he's trustworthy when it comes to these sorts of things."

"What about Aoko-chan?" Kazuha asked, tilting her head a little. "She's not goin' ta get mixed up in all of this too, is she?"

"I believe he sent Aoko-san out on the first flight out to spend some time with her mother in law in Las Vegas, last I checked." Hakuba noted, shaking his head. "She'll be safe and far away from all of this. I'm not sure how much Kuroba-kun has told her about what's going on, but enough to impress a sense of urgency on her, at the very least."

"Aoko?" Paikaru blinked, tilting his head a little.

"Ah, Kuroba-kun's wife." Ran spoke up. "You wouldn't have met her before, I think. She's a nice girl."

"Not that I'd remember." Paikaru muttered to himself, before rising to his feet. There was something about this atmosphere- the close, friendly feeling that it gave off, that was starting to make him uncomfortable. What was he even doing? He didn't belong in a place like this.

"Are ya already done, Hei-" Kazuha turned towards him, before catching her slipup, quickly correcting herself. "Paikaru? Ya barely touched yer food. Is my cookin' really that bad?"

"Ah, no." Quickly shaking his head, Paikaru did his best to give her something of a grin. Rather, it was delicious. "It's fine. I'm just tired, that's all. Didn't really get any sleep last night. I'm just gonna hit the hay fer awhile."

"Then, sleep well." Kazuha told him, returning his smile with one of her own. He wasn't as quick to grin as Heiji was, and seemed a fair bit more guarded when it came to expressing himself- and such differences stung at her. It wasn't because of the change in itself- that she could handle- but it was what had brought on the change. She had gotten a good bit more of the story from Shinichi when she had confronted him early that morning, and every new detail just managed to twist at her more. The more she learned, the more the last vestiges of lingering anger she had for the one known as Paikaru began to fade away- and the more it was redirected towards the one with the codename Merlot.

Maybe if she had acted on that deep, dark feeling of dread within her stomach from the moment she had felt it, maybe things would be different now. But that was the past- and there was nothing that she could do to change the past. Bit by bit, piece by piece, she had to instead accept what the present had brought her. Really, it would be wonderful if his memories returned- but even with that, she couldn't imagine that after everything that he had been through, that it would be some kind of miracle cure that would bring back the exact Hattori Heiji she remembered.

He would probably never entirely return to the way he was before. She was just going to have to accept that, and everything that came with that.

It was only once Paikaru had departed, the last traces of that lingering aura they all had started to be able to pick up on, to some degree, fading away, that they let out a collective breath. Breakfast together had been Ran's idea, believing that a bit of normalcy might be beneficial to him, but it was hard to say if it had actually done any good or not. Well, it wasn't like any of them thought that his issues would be cured over the course of a few days, not when he had spent five years developing them.

"Are we really certain about this, Kudo-kun?" Hakuba finally asked, glancing over at his fellow detective, giving him something of a skeptical look. "The location of the alternate residence that Kuroba-kun has picked out for us, I mean. If we're trying to avoid complications, it might be better to go somewhere else."

"It should be fine." Shinichi said simply, a rather firm note to his voice. "It's safer for us there than it is here. When it comes down to it, their police force was more deeply involved with the Organization takedown than the one here. There's no requirement to tell them all the details just yet. Besides, it might be good for Hattori to get him back there. He doesn't know Tokyo nearly as well."

"Eh?" Blinking a little, Kazuha glanced between the two detectives. "Don't tell me the place we're goin' ta stay at is in..."

"Where else would it be?" Shinichi told her, a small smile appearing on his face. "I'm sure you'd rather be back at home right about now yourself, Kazuha."

He must have been more exhausted than he thought he was, because no sooner than did his head hit the pillow, Paikaru found himself drifting off to sleep. He was usually better at enduring lack of sleep than this, he'd undergone pretty harsh sleep deprivation training, after all- it must have been the weight of everything that had been thrust upon him recently that was complicating matters so much.

Well, it wasn't as if his dreams were particularly restful in and of themselves- especially lately, with that guy here.

"You again?" With a slight sigh, Paikaru cast his eyes on the young man who stood before him, eyes still concealed by the low brim of a baseball cap. In spite of that, he could tell that he was staring straight at him, an intense expression on his face. He was nothing more than a manifestation of his subconscious, he knew that full well- even if he was a rather chatty and self-aware one.

"Don't complain ta me about it." The detective flippantly responded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Yer the one whose subconscious keeps dreamin' me up. If ya want someone ta take an issue with about this, take it up with yerself."

"Well, you are me." The assassin pointed out, tilting his head slightly before shaking his head. "So who else am I supposed to take the matter up with other than you?"

"That's a fair point." The detective admitted after a moment, merely shrugging his shoulders, accepting it easily enough. "Well, think whatever ya want, I suppose. But I gotta say, I'm a bit surprised that ya'd stick yer neck out like that. Ya tryin' to imitate me, maybe?"

Eyes narrowing slightly as his words, the assassin took a moment before he could formulate a response. He still wasn't quite sure why he had done something like that- part of him was quick to convince himself that he had only done it to ensure their trust in him, and to ensure that once this was all over, that Shinichi would view him favorably, and pull whatever strings he needed to allow him to go free. After being shackled by lies for so many years, there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do to finally obtain freedom. He was just using them to that end.

At least, that had been the original plan. Play up the detective's sympathy by playing the amnesiac card, give him a bit of a hand, and walk off scot free in the end, with no more worries about anyone chasing him- at least from the Organization. Start a new life somewhere else, somewhere that nobody else would find him, where he could live however he wanted. That had been the goal.

"You. He's you, Hattori."

"Welcome back, Hattori-kun."

"Heiji is still Heiji, after all."

Everything hadn't gone according to plan. For them to be people from the past that he could no longer remember wasn't according to the plan. For them to embrace him even as he was now, wasn't according to the plan. For him to actually desire to be this better person they spoke of, with both fondness and regret in their eyes- that wasn't according to the plan. And most of all, the fact that he'd gone so far as to risk himself for them, most definitely was not part of the plan.

"I don't have an answer for that." He admitted finally, for once turning away from the detective that he once was. "Maybe that's it. Honestly, each and every one of them is weird. You would think that they would all hate me." With a slight laugh, the assassin tucked his hands into his pockets, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe they all really do. Maybe they're just messing with me. Maybe-"

"Is that what ya really think?" It was the tone of the detective's voice that made Paikaru turn his way again- it wasn't sharp or harsh like he had expected it to be, especially not after their first conversation. "Do ya really think they're like that?"

"...No." The admission escaped the assassin as a whisper, but within his own dreams, that sort of thing didn't matter. "They're good people, all of them. Even that Blondie. That's not the sort of thing they would do. Really, they're way better than I could ever deserve. You really had good friends, Hattori."

"I guess I did." The slightest of smiles worked it's way onto the detective's face, this manifestation of everything he should be, everything he had been- everything he didn't know if he could ever get back. "Ya'd better look after them, Paikaru. There's nothin' I can do fer 'em now."

"Surprisingly enough, you apparently don't have to tell me that much." Feeling the slightest of grins work it's way onto his own face, the assassin shook his head. "I'll look after the lot of them as best I can. There would be no point in you coming back if none of them were around for you to return to, right?"

"That's not the only reason." The detective told him, shaking his head. "It's not just me, ya don't want ta see anythin' bad happen to 'em either, right? In the end, that seems ta be the sort of person ya are, underneath everythin' Merlot stuffed inside of ya."

"I don't know about that." Shaking his head, Paikaru carefully gave the figure before him an assessing look. "Isn't your tone towards me a lot nicer than last time, though? Why's that? Thought you couldn't stand me."

"Who knows." With a simple shrug of his shoulders, the detective placed a hand on the brim of his hat, tilting it forward a bit. "Maybe ya've just learned ta like yerself, just a little bit. I'm governed by yer subconscious after all, idiot. Figures Kazuha would be the one ta talk some sense into ya."

"Ah, but that's right." A quick grin surfacing on the detective's face, just for a moment, one of his eyes briefly became visible underneath his cap, a dazzling blue in the black surroundings. "As a figment of yer subconscious, let me pass on ta ya a little bit of advice. There might be somethin' waitin' fer ya if ya go back ta that place from the bit of memory that ya obtained, Paikaru. Go back ta Ebisu Bridge."

"Oi, wait a second!" Opening his mouth to say something, Paikaru barely got a word in before the scenery before him changed- and he opened his eyes to face the ceiling of the room that Shinichi had leant him. Slowly realizing that he woken up, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, running a hand through his hair.

"...Ebisu Bridge?"

"I'm starting to understand why you wanted to sit up front with me, Hakuba." Sparing a glance towards the half-British detective, Kaito quickly turned his attention back towards the road. He was quite confident that nobody was following them- though he did get the feeling that someone was watching the house when he pulled up. It was a good thing that he had thought ahead enough to temporarily switch the license plate out for a fake one, only switching back to the real plate once he was confident that any prying eyes had long since been left behind.

Judging from the expressions on Shinichi and Paikaru's faces when they exited the Kudo manor, he got the feeling that he wasn't the only one to pick up on this. There was something that had happened that nobody had quite told him about yet- Toyama Kazuha's presence here was testament enough to that. He'd heard about Ran discovering the truth from Shinichi already, but seeing Kazuha there was something of a surprise to him.

Hattori Heiji was, he recalled, her childhood friend. It hadn't been until he overheard her use his codename that he was able to come to the conclusion that she knew the full truth herself. Although he hadn't known the one called the high school detective of the west at all- he'd never so much as shown up at even one of his heists- it still brought a bit of warmth to his heart. Judging from the way he was looking at her whenever he thought she wasn't paying any attention, it quickly became clear to him that even without such memories, Paikaru probably still held some pretty fond feelings for the Osakan girl.

If he'd been so nervous that he could have sworn his heart was going to leap out of his chest when he admitted the truth to Aoko before he even considered asking her to marry him, then he could only imagine that it was ten times worse for Paikaru, memories or no memories. They might both be criminals, but an assassin and a thief were really quite different. From what he remembered, that Kazuha woman had been working together with Hakuba to track Paikaru down before this- to have your missing childhood friend turn up under such circumstances... it was far from ideal.

Frankly, he sort of felt like an outsider to all of this. He hadn't, after all, known Hattori Heiji at all. He could only imagine that the intense black aura that he picked up from Paikaru from time to time was probably something new.

"Toyama-san is... rather angry with us." Hakuba confessed after a moment, sparing a glance towards the back of the van that Kaito had rented. Whenever Shinichi so much as turned to address Kazuha, she would give him something of a cold smile, one that sent a chill down his spine even if it weren't directed towards himself. "More so myself than Kudo-kun. I thought it might be wise to give her some space."

"Smart move, tantei-san." Kaito joked, flashing him a quick grin. "So how did Toyama-san...?"

"Pure and complete coincidence." Hakuba noted, almost snorting as he recalled the way Kazuha had briefly insisted that it must have been fate. She was a bit old to be holding on to such ideas as that, wasn't she? Besides, if it really was fate, then wouldn't that mean it was her friend's fate to end up killing people?

Well, there was no point in bringing something like that up, not unless he wanted Kazuha to hate him. And after working with her for a number of years now, he decided he would rather avoid that. He supposed if she was happy, and willing to embrace Paikaru, then he really should try and put some effort of his own into it- more and more, he was starting to feel like the odd one out.

At least nobody could hear them up here. There was a window dividing the front and the back of the van, and with it rolled up, he couldn't hear a single thing they were saying back there, so it was reasonable to assume that the same was true in reverse.

"Hmm." With a slight frown, Kaito fixed his full attention back on the road ahead- they were making good time, but the sooner they were somewhere indoors, the better he would feel. At the very least, he was used to this kind of pressure- and that was the reason why he was the one put in charge of finding them a place to relocate to. He hadn't questioned it at all when Shinichi had pulled him aside in private and told him to find a place in Osaka, if he could- and found a place he had. He had gone over the place very carefully himself, making sure it was secure as one could get.

"Well, from what I hear, Toyama-san is pretty strong." Kaito noted with a slight shrug. "So the more the merrier, I guess. Even if there's only two people of any real note left in that Organization, there's no telling what kind of thugs might be hired to look for us in lieu of proper members. Everything I hear about this Gin guy gives me a seriously bad feeling."

"Given the way Kudo-kun seems to feel about him, I'm inclined to agree." Hakuba noted, glancing out the window. "I can only hope that we all make it of this situation with our lives."

"Paikaru included?" Kaito couldn't help but inquire, briefly glancing over towards him again.

"Of course." Hakuba said simply, returning the look. "I'm hardly a monster, Kuroba-kun. I do believe that he needs to pay for what he's done, but it's a fair trail that he needs, not death. I do feel bad for him- for Hattori-kun that is."

"You don't really show it." Kaito couldn't help but note. "He's still thorns and bristles towards you, though it seems he's gotten used to almost everyone else."

"Someone needs to keep a clear head." Hakuba said simply, a rather grim expression crossing his face. "It's not Hattori-kun we're dealing with here, after all. If regains his memory, then maybe, but..." Letting out a slight sigh, he narrowed his eyes. "It's a complicated matter. Someone needs to keep tabs on the darker side of it, and it might was well be me."

"Sounds like you alright." Kaito noted with a slight frown. "Did something happen while I was gone? He's hiding it well, but he seems to be pretty sensitive on one side. And given the fact that someone seemed to be watching the house... something's going on, right? Did they already arrive?"

"Merlot did." Hakuba noted, narrowing his eyes. "Ironically enough, we have Paikaru to thank for chasing her away last night. Apparently in spite of everything, she's a woman of her word."

"That could be useful information." Kaito noted, drumming his hands on the steering wheel as he changed lanes, once again checking the rear view mirror to see if there were any suspicious cars behind them. Satisfied that there weren't, he focused on the front again. "Still, she sounds like bad news herself, from what little Paikaru told us of her. I get the feeling our combined youth isn't quite enough to surpass her experience."

"She's like a shadow." Hakuba noted, closing his eyes. "If circumstances were different, I might still be searching for her without any clues right now. The more I hear about this woman, the less I like her. She and Gin have that in common."

"We've really gotten ourselves into it this time, huh?" Kaito couldn't help but ask. "Compared to them, those guys who were chasing after Kid for so long are next to nothing. I suppose we can't just trick Gin into jumping off a moving train, can we?"

"It would be nice, but no, it's doubtful." Hakuba said, shaking his head. There was a mental image that Shinichi would likely appreciate far more than himself. "Honestly, I'm just amazed this person you told me about actually managed to survive that."

"Hey, it got him off my tail for a good while there." Kaito noted, recalling the event in question. That look on the face of that smug bastard who had caused him so many problems- had been instrumental in the death of his father- when he realized that he was about to run out of train- now that was quite the delight. "In the end, I've got Shinichi to thank for shaking those guys off of my tail for good, so if he needs my help, I'm willing to do whatever I can to repay him. Well, that, and he hasn't had me arrested yet. That too."

"I suppose he's got a history of that sort of thing." Hakuba noted, his comment mostly meant for himself. Pausing to spare a glance back behind him, his gaze falling on Paikaru, his frown deepened. For the most part, it seemed as if nobody was thinking too hard about what would happen afterwards- if everything worked out the way they planned it to. He could sort of understand the reason why, in the end- it was the sort of thing that nobody was quite ready to face just yet.

Would he stay? Would he go? Would he accept whatever decision was waiting for him, even if it meant taking away his freedom for good? Would he reject it, and vanish once more without a trace? Once, Hakuba thought he had a clear answer to that question- but now?

Now he wasn't quite so certain.

Still, whatever happened, there would be no fairy tale conclusion to this. There was no magic wand to wave that would vanquish Paikaru's sins, that would turn back time, and once more bring back the one who lost five years ago. Hakuba wasn't about to begrudge the happiness of those who knew him, of those who thought him long dead, of those who thought they would never see him again- but someone had to keep the situation in perspective.

To allow them all to hold onto that happiness for as long as possible, that someone would be him.

"She must have been tired."

Paikaru didn't miss the small smile that Ran badly attempted to hide behind a hand, as she took notice of the fact that Kazuha had drifted off to sleep, gently resting her head on his shoulder. He had noticed it with such a start, it was a wonder that he hadn't woken her up, really. Maybe she really was that tired.

"Come to think of it, I don't think she got any sleep last night either." Shinichi said, dropping his voice down to a low whisper, so as not to wake her. He hadn't been the least bit surprised when Kazuha had slid in the seat right next to Paikaru- and frankly, he was just pleased that his prediction had worked out as well as he had hoped it would. Even better, he'd say, given how well both of them seemed to be taking to each other. It wasn't just Kazuha who was at ease in Paikaru's presence, so much so that the trained martial artist let her guard down to the point where she had drifted off to sleep next to him- but it was also Paikaru who was almost at ease in hers.

Almost.

That brief moment when Paikaru had been looking through the photo album, when his eyes had first fell on the photograph of Kazuha- it was in that moment, that his guard had almost completely disappeared, all but taking his aura with it, according to Ai. That brief instant in which he had realized the reason behind why he had spared that one girl back then- probably a question that had been plaguing him ever since it happened.

Losing your memories sounded terrifying. Being lied to about them sounded even scarier. To have a void of nothing where one should have everything that made them up- Shinichi still couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like.

Perhaps it was just because he had been spending more time around him, but he slowly was starting to pick up on bits and pieces of what Ai could sense from him. Sometimes it would flare up, become so obvious that everyone in the room could sense it. Sometimes it would die to down, to the point where he barely realized it was there. One day, he hoped, it would vanish forever, as it was something that he was never meant to have in the first place.

Ran and Kazuha probably picked up on it in their own way- they were trained martial artists, after all. Things like raised guards and killing intent- that was something that they could sense. He didn't doubt that someone like Makoto would probably be able to sense it from half a block away at it's most intense. Thinking about that, he felt like perhaps it was best not to let the two of them meet for quite some time. There was no way that situation wouldn't result in a fight.

He hated it.

"She did say somethin' like that." Paikaru muttered, taking care to keep his own voice low so as to not stir her. Once he got used to her presence there, he did his best not to move, sitting as if he were a rock. In it's own way, it was a cute- but it was also doubtlessly a talent he had developed for far more sinister reasons. "S'why she was out so late at night in the first place. Honestly, if it was gonna be this way, she should have taken a nap before she left."

"It's not that bad is it, Paikaru?" Ran found herself asking, unable to help but tease him about the situation. Like Shinichi, she believed that things would go over smoothly with Kazuha- and seeing the two of them together like this, after all of this time... honestly, it was more than she could ask for. "This sort of thing used to happen a lot in the past as well."

"Did it?" Paikaru asked, blinking a little, sparing a glance down towards the sleeping woman by his side. Trying to dig up such a scene in his memories only hit him with a sharp headache- so he quickly stopped. Still, he couldn't help but feel that Ran was right- even if he couldn't remember it exactly, there was a sense of nostalgia to the whole thing. "Well, I'll take yer word fer it, Neechan."

"It did." Ran told him nodding her head. "Whenever we would come back from a long case, she would fall asleep on your shoulder like this. Or well, so Shinichi tells me. I would usually fall asleep myself, actually. Though not always on his shoulder."

Come to think of it, they hadn't told Paikaru about the whole Conan thing just yet. Well, perhaps that was for the best- it might be a bit hard to believe now. Even if he had figured it out himself, now that the time had passed, and Shinichi was Shinichi again, such a thing sounded strange even to her, who had lived through it. It would be best not to confuse him more than he probably already was.

"You don't need to tell him that part." Shinichi muttered, his cheeks a bright tint of red as he spoke. From the slight way that Paikaru leered at him, the expression all too familiar on his face, he knew that his flustered face was amusing him. "What? You got something to say?"

"No, nothin'." Shaking his head, Paikaru simply grinned at the both of them, glancing between the pair. They were also childhood friends, or so he had been told- and he could feel that much when he watched them. There was a certain closeness there, that went beyond just that of lovers- a kind of closeness, a kind of bond forged by knowing each other for almost as long as they could remember.

He wondered if he had such a bond with Kazuha before. Maybe. Perhaps the shape of it was different, though.

"So when are ya two gettin' married anyways?" Paikaru asked, almost not certain what brought the question up. It felt kind of strange, to talk about normal things like this- and as much as it still gave him an uncomfortable feeling, as if he wasn't supposed to be here, in such an atmosphere- somehow, it wasn't bad.

"In December. A Christmas wedding." Ran told him with a smile. "We've already booked a wedding hall and everything. Well, I still haven't picked out a dress just yet, but there's plenty of time before then..."

"Come to think of it, I still haven't finished picking out a suit yet myself." Shinichi said with a slight frown, folding his arms in front of his chest. His mother kept bothering him about it every time she called- actually, speaking of his mother, now that he thought about it, he hadn't yet remembered to call his parents about the current situation. He should at least let them know not to go anywhere near the Kudo manor for the foreseeable future, at the very least. He knew that Ai had already contacted the Detective Boys, and told them that she and the Professor were going to be gone for awhile, and that it was best they stayed away from his place for the time being.

They still didn't know anything, those three- but they knew enough to know when to listen to Ai's words very carefully. He wasn't sure what Ran had told her father, but he knew she had told him something. Thankfully, he was away in Hokkaido at the moment, if he was remembering right. He might have never gained back the great detective reputation that he had lost once Conan had left them, but he was in a better situation than he had been before, all things told.

"Kazuha's going to be one of my bridesmaids." Ran mentioned, glancing over towards the sleeping woman. She really was tired, completely drowning out the sound of their voices. "We've already looked at several dress options already... I can promise you that she'll be quite pretty, whatever it is that we decide on."

"A-ah, I see. T-that's good, I guess." Feeling a slight tint of red rise to his cheeks, Paikaru glanced away from her, scratching one of his cheeks. He didn't doubt that, honestly. Avoiding the leering look that he got from Shinichi in turn, he grumbled to himself, not quite sure what to do with the information that he'd probably been completely on the mark.

Being in love with someone he had only just met- how ridiculous. It was ridiculous that someone like him could even be in love with someone in the first place. After taking and shattering so many lives with his own hands, what was he thinking, trying to fool himself into believing that he had any right to be in love?

"Do you want to come, Paikaru?" Shinichi asked, the question startling him out of whatever the former Organization member was thinking about. It wasn't that hard to guess- he might not be as easy to read as Heiji had been, but it was still pretty easy to guess what he was thinking about most of the time. "Right now, Hakuba's my best man, but..."

"I can't possibly take ya up on that offer, Kudo-han." Paikaru said, lifting up a hand, shaking his head. "I'd just bring the whole mood of the place down if I went. Besides, there's no way I could be anythin' like yer best man. I'm sure that guy would be happy fer the offer though."

"Well, I'll ask again come December." Shinichi said simply. "Think it over, Paikaru. We'd be happy to have you."

Lips twisting in a slight frown, casting a skeptical look over towards Shinichi, Paikaru simply heaved a slight sigh. "Honestly, I really don't understand ya, Kudo-han. Or you either, Neechan. But well..." Trailing off a little, he averted his gaze from them, blue eyes flickering down towards the ground. "...at the very least, I'll think it over."

Come December, maybe he would actually remember things about his past. Provided he- all of them, really- would still be alive come December. He knew all too well about what kind of people they were about to throw themselves into conflict with, and although he had enough face in Shinichi's plan that he was willing to bank on it, that didn't mean he wasn't ready for the chance that it could all blow up in their faces.

Where he would stand if something like that happened would be the real question.

"Give it some thought." Shinichi told him, nodding his head. December was still several months away now- and anything could happen between now and then. Even if his plan worked out like expected, there was no telling what would happen after that, not with Paikaru's fate.

Fairy tale endings might not be something that happened in real life- but happy endings were, if one was willing to fight for them. That, and more, he was willing to do- more than anything, he wanted to create a chance for the one sitting across from him, a slightly soft edge to his expression as he glanced down at the woman dozing away on his shoulder, oblivious to the rest of the world.

If his actions had lead Heiji down this path in the first place, then it was his responsibility to guide him off of it. In the back of his mind, a vague idea was already starting to bud- and he could only hope that Jodie would be wiling to listen to him with understanding ears.

Well, that too, would have to wait. Gin and Merlot took precedence over almost everything else now. And deep in his bones, Shinichi couldn't shake the feeling that the black nightmare that had left his life for so long, was already on it's way back.

Only this time, he wasn't a child anymore.