AN: Oh hey, here's chapter sixteen, fresh off the presses! And with it, the beginning of the long awaited confrontation. As always, thanks to everyone who reads this fic, but a special shoutout to those of you who take the time to leave a review afterwards!

Until next time!

Phantasmal Black

Chapter Sixteen

Contact

She would come to him.

In this uncertain situation, with too many variable factors to count, the one thing that he knew for sure was the fact that Merlot wouldn't hesitate to come right for him, should she be given the chance. It was touching, almost, the way that Shinichi didn't seem to quite want to use him as bait, in spite of the fact that he was as keenly aware of this fact as he was- but in the end, it was the plan that they had decided to go with.

Because he naturally stood out, it wouldn't be hard for her to find him if she started looking for him. And because he had come to know her better than anyone, if she picked up his trail, he would know. And even if for some reason, he didn't, then those eagle eyes that were tracking his every movement probably would notice something. He didn't doubt that Merlot would just as equally take notice of the likes of Kuroba Kaito, but since he wasn't her main target, she would probably ignore him.

For a professional, it would be rather easy to lose someone tailing them. Well, that was provided that the person tailing them wasn't also a professional- but out of all the things that she could possibly know, that woman had no way of knowing that. Even now, Paikaru wasn't quite sure exactly what it was that Kaito did with his free time that had enabled him to become so good at this sort of thing, but there were moments when even he lost his ability to locate just where he was watching him from.

At first, he thought he had perhaps accidentally lost his tail, but he had been able to confirm through their wireless earpieces that this wasn't the case. He was really something, that Kuroba Kaito- there was probably one hell of a story there too, but not one that Paikaru was really all that interested in. He had more things to concern himself with than Kudo Shinichi's strange choice in friends.

Well, he supposed he fell into that category himself, really- as perhaps the strangest one of them all.

"Ya see anythin' yet, Kuroba-han?" Placing a hand on his wireless earpiece, Paikaru's lips twisted in a frown. It wasn't that he minded being given license to wander around Osaka, but it almost felt like he had a chain attached to him. Well, that too, was a feeling that he was already rather familiar with- it was basically the way that he had felt for his entire life, or at the very least, the five short years that made up the part of he knew anything about.

"No, not a thing. Are you sure that she's not going to try and change her appearance?" Kaito asked, narrowing his eyes as he once more adjusted his binoculars. He could see why it was that Shinichi had called on him now- as much as he hated to admit it, keeping track of someone who was accustomed to moving in a way that was easy to lose wasn't easy. Still, there was no way that the one known throughout the world as the famous Magician in the Moonlight was going to back down from this all too important challenge.

"Probably not. She's not that type." Paikaru said easily, tugging at the hood of his hoodie once more, eyes narrowing slightly as he felt someone brush up too close against him once more. He had been given two tasks- make himself obvious enough for Merlot to find him, but to also avoid the police that were milling about. It wasn't hard to pick out the plain clothes officers from out of the crowd- he had been trained to do that much, after all, but it was a bit of a pain when there were as many of them as there were. He could understand the reason- of course the police would be on edge if they heard that there might very well be dangerous people roaming the streets, looking to start trouble.

Well, the fact that Kudo had given him a short list of police officers in which he should be certain to avoid made things a bit easier. People who would have the most cause to know Hattori Heiji's face, it would seem. They didn't ring any bells with him, but he'd keep an eye out for them regardless. He didn't want to make the situation anymore complicated by throwing the familiar face of someone who should have been dead into the mix.

Even if they didn't try anything, it was better to be safe than sorry. And it would appear that Shinichi's hunch was right- since early that morning, a suspicious package had been spotted on none other than Ebisu Bridge. Although it had turned out to be nothing, there was no way that it was some kind of coincidental prank.

It was a warning.

We've tracked you down this far, it said, even without the need for any kind of words. We've tracked you down this far, and it's only a matter of time before we find out where it is you're hiding yourselves. That was probably that old man Gin's work, rather than Merlot's. The bomb might have been a fake, but there was still a chance that there might be real ones set up somewhere within Osaka- and ever since then, the police had been subtly looking for them, disguising their numbers with plain clothes officers.

That matter was for the man who was supposed to be his father to handle though, not any of them. If they let themselves be swept up in a scenario that Gin wrote, then the chances that things might go south for them increased.

It might have been meant to intimidate, but frankly, he couldn't help but get a little bit excited. Finally, once and for all, he could escape this kind of ball and chain lifestyle he had been living for as long as he had known. It would probably only be for a short while, perhaps no longer than the span of a day- but for everything it was worth, he was planning on enjoying it.

After all, there was no telling what would happen after that. Since he had resolved himself to sticking around to find out, to not run away from here, from his past, he couldn't say what the future held for him. He trusted Shinichi's words, that was waiting for him at the end of this, at the very least, wouldn't be death- the kind of death he had barely escaped from five years ago, taking his memories in exchange.

It was probably wasn't freedom either.

"You sound like you know her rather well, this teacher of yours." Kaito couldn't help but observe. He knew that Hakuba was connected to the same frequency as they were, so perhaps he shouldn't be talking about these sorts of things, but he couldn't help but deny that he was curious. He almost regretted having never met Hattori Heiji, not understanding the reason why he had inspired such deep loyalty from the people who had known him, even for those who had only known him for the span of a year.

"Of course I do. I spent a lot of time with her, after all." Taking in his surroundings, he turned on his heel, deciding to move on. Faintly, he could make out the eyes that had been watching him from the very start move as well, readying themselves to follow him. "I spent five long years under her care, it's only natural that I would learn a thing or two about her durin' that time."

"Not her real name, though." Hakuba's voice made itself known, and hearing the sound of it right in his ear was enough to make Paikaru faintly twitch. "It would be quite useful to us if you happened to know anything like that, Paikaru."

"If she had somethin' like that, it's obvious that she threw it away a long time ago." Paikaru observed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he strode down the street, taking in the scenery around him. It was a strange mix of familiar and not familiar, a strong sense of deja vu following him almost everywhere he went. He had thought that wandering around here might jog his memory a bit, but other than that strange feeling, nothing like that had really happened. Well, given his chat with that Sherry girl yesterday, he couldn't say that he was surprised. "I wasn't given anythin' like that myself either, ya know. The two of us are only just supposed ta be shadows, not actual people. We didn't have any real need."

Frankly, it hadn't even bothered him that much until he had started staying with Shinichi and the others- the lack of a real name to call his own. Sure, he did technically have one, but it was hard to use a name that he didn't feel like he deserved.

Honestly. Becoming a proper human was a bigger pain than he could have ever imagined. It would have been so much easier if he had just stayed as an empty shell, never suspecting that everything that he had been told was a lie.

"Well, if you say it like that, I suppose it might be true." With a slight frown, Hakuba picked up his tea cup, glancing out the window of where he had been stationed. From this cafe, located in a high rise building with windows overlooking the scenery below, he had a perfect view of the building that they had established as their hideout. If something happened, if someone came here who wasn't supposed to, he would be the first person to know.

Of course, when the time came, he would leave this post to join the other two, but he wasn't alone here either. There were plain clothes officers who had been handpicked by Osaka's chief of police himself, stationed in the very cafe, observing the very same building. When he left, they would pick up his slack. Beyond them, Sera was still inside, lying in wait in the event that someone managed to track them that far.

If everything went well, she wouldn't have cause to do anything. If things turned south... she might very well have the most important role of them all. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"I haven't lied ta any of ya yet." Paikaru observed, shaking his head and heaving a sigh. "Honestly, put some more faith in me, Blondie. I want this ta be over with just as much as any of you do."

"Forgive me if I find it difficult to put my faith in an internationally wanted assassin." Hakuba noted, dropping his voice so that nobody who passed by could hear him. He had chosen an out of the way seat for just that reason. "Well, if you impress me here, Paikaru, I might change my tune about you a little bit."

"Well, just sit back an' prepare ta be amazed then!" With a broad grin, Paikaru couldn't help but let out a small laugh. It wasn't just Hakuba that he wanted to prove himself to- nor was it even Merlot, really. The person that he wanted to prove himself the most to was probably the one who was no longer here- the one who could no longer come back. For better or for worse, even if he did one day regain his lost memories, that guy was probably gone for good.

But at the very least, he wanted to at least try and be a little bit like that high school detective that people described to him with such fondness. He might have been the younger one, but he couldn't help but angle towards that as his goal, as much as he could. It was probably too little, too late in his case, but a guy could still try, couldn't he?

Although from the sound of it, it would seem as if people would like for him to be a little less impulsive and a little less rash than that one. That too, was something that he couldn't really guarantee them- that element to him had certainly been tempered over the years, but if he didn't have that kind of element to his personality still, he probably wouldn't even be here, in this situation, right now.

"Well, let's not fight, the two of you." Kaito said quickly. There was no way he was going to play peacemaker in this feud of theirs. From the sound of it, Heiji and Hakuba had never gotten along, and the bad blood between the two of them had only gotten worse. "We can't allow ourselves to be distracted, right?"

"I suppose yer right." Paikaru admitted, sparing a glance about his surroundings. Narrowing his eyes at he did so, he slightly turned on his heel, reducing his presence to almost nothing until the scarred man that he had spotted coming his way passed him by, not sparing him so much as a second look. That somewhat round looking man had been one of the pictures that Shinichi had shown him, easy to remember by the scar above one of his eyes, one of the members of Osaka's police force that he had been told to be careful to avoid being spotted by.

"Is something wrong?" With a slight frown, Kaito narrowed his eyes, wondering what it was that he had spotted.

"Ah, no, it's nothin'." Shaking his head, Paikaru let out the breath he had been holding, once more tucking his hands into his pockets and heading on down the street. Pausing only to spare a slight glance back at the figure that had no melded into the crowds, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship the two of them might have had in the past- if Shinichi was telling him to avoid contact with him, they had probably been somewhat close. "I just saw someone that Kudo-han told me ta avoid, that's all."

"I see." With a nod of his head, he let out a small breath. For the moment, things were going well- maybe there would be no need to contact Kazuha after all, in the end. As much as he had doubts that she would actually stay put, he wasn't about to go back on his promise- if only because he knew that if she found out that he had afterwards, there would be hell to pay.

He didn't want to find out firsthand if she was anything like that Mouri Ran woman could be when she was angry. It almost definitely wasn't worth it.

Every inch of Ebisu Bridge had been checked thoroughly for any trace of a real bomb before it had been allowed to reopen to the public, but even now, there still weren't many people there. It was a far cry from the time that he and Heiji had tried to discover the identity of a drug dealer in the same place- although he hadn't been there in person himself, even through the video call that Heiji had started with him, Shinichi could still tell what a crowded place it was.

In the end, the drug dealer had never shown up, but something rather interesting had nevertheless happened as a result. If only he still had that recording around somewhere, then maybe he could have used it to jog a bit of Paikaru's memory. In the end, it had only been played one more time before it had been deleted from the phones of the Detective Boys forever- played so that the person those words had been meant for could finally hear them.

It had only succeeded in making Kazuha cry again, but it was a different kind of crying from before.

Right now, there was hardly anyone around. People who needed to pass over it did so in a hurry, even though they had been assured that the bomb was just a nasty prank. He knew it was more, but the last thing they needed to do was throw the city of Osaka into a panic over a bomb scare. There was a still a chance that there could be real bombs planted somewhere in the city, very likely in a place just like this one, where many people gathered. But that was something he would have to leave up to the Osakan police and the FBI, and it wasn't the reason why he was here.

He was here to respond to the warning. He didn't doubt that Gin was somewhere, watching the bridge for that very same reason. And if it was his prey that he wanted, then his prey would respond to his warning- by issuing a challenge of his own.

Come and get me.

There was no need to say it out loud, no need to make any obvious movements to convey the message. Just his presence here, on this bridge, was more than enough to say what he wanted to say. There was no way that Gin would forget the face of a person that he had failed to kill, and who had in return, not only helped to capture his partner, but to bring down most of the Organization that he worked for. It would have been burned into his memory, in the same way that the faces of Sherry and Akai Shuichi had been, the same way the faces of the Organization's two moles, Hondou Hidemi and Amuro Tooru, had been.

Probably the same way that Paikaru's face had been- or rather, the face of Hattori Heiji. The gamble that he had wanted to take, sending a former ally to finish off the one who had destroyed so much for him, had ended up turning against him. Someone was prone to holding grudges as Gin was unlikely to let that go.

But probably, Paikaru was still more of Merlot's target this time. If there were a second time, perhaps things would be different- but he didn't plan on allowing such a thing to happen. There would be no second time- right now, he was betting everything he had on ending this, once and for all, today if possible.

Shinichi lingered on the bridge for a moment longer, making certain that his message had been properly delivered. It was dangerous, what he was doing- but if he was going to turn Paikaru into living bait, the least he could do was to do the very same himself. Whether Gin would take the bait and follow him, he couldn't say. It was possible that he would, it was possible that he wouldn't, not wanting to fall into any potential traps that he might have set up for him.

It didn't matter. His goal here was merely to throw back his own challenge in the face of Gin's warning.

Thanks for telling us that you've arrived. Come at us any time, we'll be more than happy to welcome you, it said, without any words needed.

"It's not often to see you looking so troubled, Heizo."

"A fine thing to say, considering you're the one who brought such a troubling thing to my attention, Toyama." With a slight quirk of his brow, Heizo couldn't help but glance over at his longtime friend, the father of the girl that he had once suspected that his fool of a son would one day marry.

"In my defense, you were the one who asked to see it." Ginshiro noted, turning his gaze back towards the scene that was unfolding before him. It had been awhile since the police headquarters had been this busy- at the moment, it was a flurry of action, all revolving around a rather large map of the city, as police scoured every inch of any potential place that a bomb might be found in.

Even just with this much, even without even having to use any actual explosives, the police were likely to have their hands full for a good bit of time now. No stone would go unturned, and eyes were everywhere, looking for even the slightest bit of suspicious activity, anything that seemed out of place.

"A fair point indeed." Heizo observed, turning his attention towards the two FBI agents who had thrown themselves into the middle of the action- or perhaps that was a more fitting description of the female agent only, who had situated herself right in the middle of things, helping to direct efforts in a way that made it seem as if she had belonged there right from the start.

He had been rather surprised when Kudo Shinichi had returned to police headquarters, with the pair of FBI agents in tow, who he had introduced to him as Jodie Starling and Akai Shuichi. Though even if he said that they had been introduced to him, in truth, he was already somewhat familiar with one- the female agent had been the one who had come to the door of the Hattori household in the first place, five years ago, to inform them of the tragic news.

To think that their paths would cross again like this, when once more, thoughts of his son were fresh on Heizo's mind. And it wasn't only because there was a chance that they were finally closing in on the ones who had stolen his only son from this world- but rather, it was because that there very well might be a real chance that his son hadn't left this world after all.

His body might have never been found, but Heizo had always been a realist. The chances that Heiji could have survived that were next to none, and if by some small miracle he had, the only reason he could think of as to why he wouldn't one day return home on his own was that he was still lying comatose somewhere, as an unidentified patient. Judging from the way that Shinichi had scoured every hospital in Japan looking for even one trace of Heiji, that was probably impossible.

His son stood out far too much to go unnoticed. Even if his body never turned up, he knew that most likely, Heiji was dead. His wife had always still clung to the faint hope that he was still alive and out there somewhere, a hope that he knew that Kazuha had shared with her- but he had always known that such a thing would have truly been nothing short of a miracle.

But there was no mistaking what he had read in that report. A dark skinned young man with a rather heavy Osakan accent, dark hair and blue eyes. Even the age would have been just right. Even more than that was the woman who had come to meet him, dragging him away from the bridge before the officer who had responded to the call could arrive- a woman with dark brown hair and green eyes, a single purple charm hanging from around her neck.

Perhaps he ought to start believing in miracles.

But he doubted what brought this young man to his city was anything resembling a miracle. Nothing so pretty as that. From the way that Shinichi had avoided speaking with him in private, and had even excused himself early, leaving the rest of the evening's matters up to the Sera Masumi woman, he was almost certain that he was deliberately keeping something from him.

"Did you hear from the FBI?" Heizo asked, glancing over towards Ginshiro. "That piece of information that Kudo-han didn't share with us before."

"I did." Ginshiro said, a grave expression crossing his face. He knew all too well what his old friend was thinking, even though it was doubtlessly something that churned his gut to even consider. The timing really was too perfect- and if there was one thing that they had come to learn about Kudo Shinichi, it was that when it came to him, there was no such thing as a coincidence.

"We can't let Shizuka hear of any of this. Make sure that it doesn't get out to any of the officers that knew him, but especially not Otaki." Heizo told him, opening one eye to send Ginshiro a warning look. "Not until I know for sure what's going on here. If it really is what I fear... well, it would appear that I'll need to have a very long discussion with Kudo-han the moment he manages to find some free time for me."

"I understand." Ginshiro told him, giving him a rather curt nod. If what he suspected was really true, then it was a rather grave matter indeed. "It would appear that I might need to have one as well, with my own daughter. She hasn't contacted me once since she returned to the city."

"I imagine that she wouldn't." Heizo said simply, closing his eyes. "If that fool of a son of mine is really alive, that's probably the only thing filling her head right now."

"She has been waiting for him to come home for five years now." Ginshiro replied simply. "And what of you? Do you plan on welcoming him back, if he's really still alive?"

"That depends on what he's been doing these past five years." Opening both of his eyes, for a moment, the stoic expression that he showed the world seemed to shift, the father making an appearance, instead of the feared police chief. "And what sort of person he is. I can only imagine the answer has changed, since I last saw him."

"At least he's still alive." Ginshiro said after a moment. "If that really is him."

"Yes." Closing his eyes again, Heizo back stiffened up once more, his usual stern expression once more taking it's place on his face. "I suppose there is that."

"Kuroba-han."

After a long period of no contact, Paikaru's voice suddenly cracked through the wireless transceiver. Placing a hand on his ear, noticing that something was off right away from just the tone of his voice, Kaito narrowed his eyes, quickly fixing on his current location. He had been following him practically all day now to no avail, but if his instincts were right, it would appear that the fish that they had been looking for had finally decided to take a bite out of the bait.

"Yer my eyes in the sky, so ya'd probably know the best. I've got someone trailin' behind me right now, don't I?" Judging from the sound of his voice, his words were spoken in a rather hushed whisper, his manner being that of someone who was trying not to draw any attention to his actions. "It would appear that we've netted us our fish."

"I'll make contact with Kudo-kun." Kaito noted, reaching for his cellphone even as his eyes remained fixed on the throng of people that had gathered in Paikaru's wake. Of their number, there was one woman that stood out to him- he had gotten the description from Shinichi, a description that had been passed down to him from her pupil. Just as Paikaru had expected, she had made no obvious moves to conceal her appearance.

And as the woman turned her head, her gaze turning his way, for a moment, Kaito felt a shiver run down his spine, ducking down underneath the rooftop, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't scare easily, but there was something downright bone chilling in that woman's gaze, as she so easily managed to locate his position. Even though she had been smiling, there had been no joy in her eyes, something he could clearly tell even with the distance separating them.

So that was what a professional assassin was like. Scary, scary! He hadn't felt a surge of fear like that since he and Aoko were plummeting to their deaths, as he desperately attempted to free her from the handcuffs that would have sealed both of their fates. Without a doubt, these guys were definitely on a whole different level than the shady organization that had bothered him so much during his heyday as Kaito Kid, and suddenly, he was grateful that he hadn't ever had to deal with them directly.

Well, expect for that one time, on that mystery train. What a disaster that had turned out to be. Hearing that the man who had held him at gunpoint was a double agent wasn't nearly enough to cause him to change his mind about him. He seriously thought he was going to die back then!

"Yeah, yeah, that's definitely her." Remembering his actual job, Kaito peeked out from behind the cover of the rooftop, letting out a long sigh as he realized that she was no longer paying any attention to him. "I'll contact Kudo-kun. You know what to do from here, don't you? Lead her to the designated site, if you can. Hakuba and I will be there before long as backup."

"Well, I'll see what I can do." Paikaru merely replied. He could feel her gaze on his back, feeling as if it were almost boring holes in it, from the intensity of it alone. "She's a rather capricious woman, after all. Let Kudo-han know, an' probably Sera-han while yer at it. I probably wont' be able ta contact ya fer awhile."

"Be careful." Kaito advised him, watching as he turned the corner, moving out of sight. Watching as the brunette followed behind him, weaving her way through the crowded streets with an almost effortless grace, he didn't relax until she too, vanished behind the corner. "You heard all of that as well, didn't you, Hakuba?"

"I heard it. Loud and clear." Rising to his feet, Hakuba placed enough money to cover his bill on the table, and made his way out of the cafe. "I'm on my way there. I should be there in at least twenty minutes, depending on the traffic. Hold out until then by yourself somehow, Paikaru."

"Easy thing fer you ta say, ya've got the easy part." Paikaru couldn't help but grumble, before reaching up to his ear, switching off the wireless earpiece. He couldn't afford to have it distract him. Not sparing a glance behind him, not needing to, to know that she was there, behind him, he made his way through the streets of Osaka, his feet tracing steps that his body, at least, seemed to be aware that he might have once walked before. For a moment, he felt a strange sensation wash over him, hearing the faint echo of much smaller feet following behind him- but he didn't have time to dwell on that.

Shinichi had been the one to suggest this place, in spite of being less familiar with Osaka than others. When he had asked him to find some kind of abandoned building or warehouse where he wouldn't have to worry about getting other people involved, he claimed that this place was the first one that came to mind. As he glanced up at it himself, a vague sense of irritation rose up in him, a feeling so strong that it had been left behind, even after the memories that informed him of the reason for it had been lost.

It was fairly safe to say, then, that he'd probably been here once before. And Shinichi as well, considering that he had been the one to suggest. Honestly, that guy- even now, he was still trying to figure out schemes to help jog his memory. It didn't seem to really be working, but he couldn't really fault his efforts.

Turning on his heel, Paikaru waited for the one that he knew had been following him all this way. It was rather dark inside the abandoned warehouse, but he was accustomed to moving around in dark places. It wasn't a problem for him.

And it was one area where he held an advantage, however slight, over Merlot. Even though she was hardly a doddering old woman, and probably never would be, even if she managed to live to a ripe old age, it was true that she was getting on in years- and as a result of that, her eyesight had slowly begun to fade. Not to the point where she would need glasses, even for reading, but just enough so that her night vision was no longer what it used to be. He, on the other hand, was still in the prime of his youth, and with enough time for his eyes to adjust, could see just fine in the dark, even as evening drew closer, the sun beginning to consider setting for the night.

"What a lovely place for a showdown that you've found, Paikaru." Merlot noted, a placid smile on her face as she finally stepped out into the open. "At least, I'm assuming that's why you've lead me to such a place. But is it alright? You left your friend following you back there behind."

"It's alright." Some part of him internally twitched, at the way he almost instinctively switched back to standard Japanese around her, even though he had been so freely using his natural accent up until just now. "They know where to find me if they get bored and decided that they want to join us. You've probably already realized that much yourself, so I don't see why you asked in the first place."

"Is there something wrong with wanting to make conversation?" Merlot asked, tilting her head slightly as she stepped into the old warehouse, glancing around her surroundings, checking for any traps. Of course, there weren't any- there had been no time to set anything up, and no point, really. Anything less than the most elaborate of traps would have quickly caught her eye. "We haven't seen each other for awhile now. Not since that night."

"It hasn't even been that long since then." Paikaru couldn't help but observe, quirking a brow. "What, don't tell me you're starting to get empty next syndrome? Don't make me laugh."

"Anyone would get a bit lonely when the child that they've been raising so suddenly decides to leave their side, and rebel against them." Merlot said simply, shaking her head. "But there's still a chance for you to come back to me, Paikaru. You understand by now, don't you? There's nothing that you seek lying with those people. They want someone that you can't give them."

"And like I said before, who was it that made me that way?" Paikaru asked, his eyes narrowing. No, this was no good- he couldn't let her rile him up. What he needed was focus and concentration, and not anger. It wouldn't do him any good now. "You shoulder the blame for all of that, and you alone."

"I suppose that's true." Merlot said simply. "Need I remind you though, that without me, you wouldn't even be alive right now?"

"Yeah, I know. And I'm grateful for that, don't get me wrong." Nodding his head, for a moment, Paikaru allowed a rather complicated mix of emotions surface on his face. Deep down, he fully understood just how much he resented and hated this woman- but even so, it wasn't like he could just erase the times in which she had been kind to him from his memory. He knew that too, was all part of her grand scheme to manipulate him, such moments nothing more than a calculated act on her part.

He owed her his life. But she had also taken it away from him, all the same.

"Still, if it hadn't been for you, I would have died as Hattori Heiji. I wouldn't have to live on, like some kind of undead zombie, becoming a monster in the process." Narrowing his eyes, he took a step forward, staring at her square in the face. "I'm not coming back with you, Merlot. This isn't just a rebellious phase. I'm through."

"And what do you intend to do after this, provided your plans somehow succeed?" Merlot asked, glancing up at him, letting out a slight sigh. She had been hoping that it wouldn't come to this- she hadn't been lying about the talent that had so caught her eye. She had always had an eye for it, a trait which made her just right to train others in the craft. After finding someone with such talent, such promise, it was such a waste to see it all go down the drain like this.

But if it couldn't be helped, it couldn't be helped. If there really was no changing his mind, then at the very least, she would be the one to end his life herself, rather than leave it up to the law. For the pupil that she had come to cherish above all the others, that was the least that she could do for him.

"Who knows." With a simple shrug of his shoulders, Paikaru flashed her something akin to a smile. "I guess that's something I'll just have to figure out on my own. Maybe I'll go back home."

"Oh? Do you think they'll have you there?" Merlot couldn't help but ask, her brows arching at his words.

"Who knows. I'll guess I'll find that out too."

Paikaru made contact.

The message was short and concise, and really all that he needed. Taking only a moment to send back a short confirmation that he had ended received it, Shinichi once more tucked his cellphone back away. He had his own things to worry about at the moment, all but feeling the shadows shift around him.

Maybe he couldn't sense their aura in the same way that Ai could, though he could sometimes faintly make Paikaru's out. But he didn't really need such an ability to know that he wasn't alone here. It wasn't just the eyes of Ran, nor the eyes of Kazuha, the two of which who had been keeping tabs on him all of this time, forming something of a net around him. It would seem that he wasn't the only one who had noticed, not judging from the faint buzzing of his phone.

He wasn't worried though. Rather, he only felt strangely calm. After all this time, he finally had a chance to bring this nightmare to a close once and for all- and that was exactly what he intended to do.

Really, he hadn't changed one bit. His face still made his skin crawl.

The fact that he already had his gun out didn't surprise him at all. That aspect of him too, hadn't changed. He'd almost be a bit disappointed if it had been tempered by age- after all, it had only been five years since then. Hardly enough time for him to turn into some kind of old geezer, though given the color of his hair, he wouldn't blame anyone for making that mistake from behind.

"It's been five long years since we've run into each other last." Shinichi began, unable to help but find something akin to a smile surfacing on his face. "Last I recall, you ran away from Japan with your tail tucked in between your legs, Gin. I'm flattered that you would come all this way just to see me again."

"I merely came to finish what I should have done a long time, Kudo Shinichi." That cold tone of his voice hadn't changed either- and it too, still managed to make his skin crawl, even after all this time. "And to pick up the stray member of ours that you managed to lure away."

"He was never one of yours to begin with." Shinichi said, narrowing his eyes. "You must have been aware of that from the very start, Gin. We're merely taking him back. Too bad, though. I'm sure you were thinking of using Hattori to kill me. It would have been quite the plan too, if it had actually ended up working. Even I wouldn't have been able to do anything against it."

"But well, you always did care for the more direct approach in the end, from what I recall." Shinichi said simply. "You would think that you, of all people, would know better than to trust dead people to stay dead."

Releasing the safety on his gun, Gin didn't even so much as flinch at his words. "I've developed a habit of using two bullets since then, not just one. Makes it more certain. I hear that the bullet Vodka tried to deliver back then was intended for you, Kudo Shinichi. Still, I would say that your luck has just about run out."

"Well," narrowing his eyes, Shinichi let out the breath that he had been holding. "...it's a good thing I don't believe in luck, then."