*Hello! I am finally back on ! I know it's been a while since I've done anything here, but I had writer's block, vacation, and I was addicted to Detective Conan World. Mainly the last one. *hehehe* (dodges tomatoes) Yeah, it's a stupid excuse, but it's the only one I've got other than I've been writing a HeiShin fic alongside this, which did not give me writer's block. So, um, yeah. Same deal and blah. Next chapter to be published who knows when. Oh, and try Detective Conan World. It has a great DC wiki, and great forums! I'm the fourth top poster! (which is the reason I'm never writing anymore, and neither is tonsofstuff. She's third top poster.) Read on, and please review at the end please!*
Chapter 46
"Viura, my darling, is that you?" The voice emanated from a corner of the darkened room. There was no light to illuminate the speaker, only enough leaking in from a small window near the high ceiling to lessen the shadows. The real light came from the flashing computer screens on the wall. "What do you have to talk to me about? It's not about Snake or that Miyazaki boy, is it? I already know what happened."
"It's not that." Viura's honey sweet, yet dangerous tone echoed in the empty space, red eyes glowing even in the shadows. The boss liked darkness, and never showed his face to anybody except the highest ranked agents. While she was not technically 'highly ranked', she was one of the only people to ever see his true self, not hidden in the shrouds of grey and black. "I want to nominate someone I've found to be my 'co-worker'."
"And who is this person?"
She and Kaito, who was shivering from both fear and the cold aura of the place, heard the almost silent revolving of a chair. He could feel the frozen glare, however invisible, of the sitting man. Like a tiger waiting to strike.
Viura hesitated slightly, unsure of what would happen to Kaito if the boss didn't happen to like what he was about to hear. Would he kill him? Mouth dry, she answered, "He's Kaitou Kid. And he's lost his memory." She hoped he would notice the hidden meaning behind it, He's safe. He doesn't remember who he is.
"I see, I see. How about we let this phantom thief give himself a little introduction before I decide, shall we?" It sounded as if he were about to laugh, something that was both scary and held unpredictable consequences, as if daring someone to challenge hi. It gave absolutely no hints on Kaito's fate.
Kaito struggled to find the words, feeling icy barbs surround him as his tongue started moving, unsteadily forming a slightly convoluted sentence. "I-I'm Kuroba Kaito- and Viura-chan said that I used to be her friend before I got shot and that I lost my memory because of my-," he stopped for a moment, considering what he should call them, "other friends and-"
"I see." Cognac let the words hang on the heavy air, letting Kaito and Viura stand in the deathly, almost serene silence as he thought it over. The sound of his light breathing gave no hint, leaving his next actions as predictable as a tornado. "Viura-chan. Never knew you'd let someone call you that, my sweet Viura."
His comment was unnerving, avoiding the main topic and trying to throw her off his intentions. Viura stiffened, filled with worry for the boy who was starting to cower beside her, and then smiled. "I make exceptions every once in a while." Two can play at this game, Daddy dearest. There's no way I'll let you touch him. I can outfox you, she thought, determined to ensure Kaito's safety. "Anything wrong with it?"
"Not at all. It's just so…" He paused for a moment, seeming to be searching for a word, "interesting to see you so close to someone. You haven't really opened up to anyone after Ver-"
"Please stop talking, Cognac." Viura was staring at the ground, red eyes gleaming with hatred as he started to say that name. That cursed name. "Can we get back to the topic on hand? I want Kaito-kun as my partner. Will you accept it?"
"You'll have to prove that he's capable first. Does he have any talents? I don't want to hand off my daughter to a disgraceful wretch." She could hear the malice in his voice, the evil in the honey-sweet tone that matched her own. While she liked the boss as a father, sometimes there was no possible way for her to remember that love. Not in a situation like this.
"It's not like that, Daddy." She let the 'Daddy' slide off her tongue, knowing it might appease his hidden anger. "I just want someone to work with. I thought he'd be a good choice."
"So, what makes you think he'll be a good choice? Is he good with a gun? Is he loyal? Is he helpful? Smart? I need the details before I can make a decision you know, dear." He sounded as if he was laughing, sending another jolt down Kaito's spine.
"Well, as Kaitou Kid I know he wielded a card gun. He should still have the muscle memory and it won't be too hard to introduce him to the real thing. He trusted me enough to follow me here, and he's not scampering off with his tail between his legs, so I know he won't leave under pressure. And of course he's intelligent. Could the Kid pull of all of those heists without a brain?" she challenged, sounding perfectly confident.
"Good point," he mused, the computer light seeming to glint off of a pair of eyeglasses. While he was facing them, only a faint outline could be seen, showing that he was rather tall and had a strong, but not too large, body stature. "I'll give you three weeks. How does that sound, Viura darling? That way, you'll have enough time to train him. Then I'll be the judge."
"That's perfectly fine, right Kaito-kun?" she asked him, pleased to see the relief in his blue eyes. She looked down at him, saw him smile weakly, happy to know that he was now allowed to leave. "Then, I'll leave you to your next appointment, Daddy," she spit with invisible, unnoticeable venom.
"I wish you the best of luck." It was impossible to tell the feelings behind it. Was his intent to kill Kaito, or to keep him alive?
I'll prove it to you, Daddy. There is no way in hell I'll let you kill him. You'd have to get past me first.
Ai entered the Detective Agency tired and bleary-eyed, exhausted from the night's affairs. Not only had she been woken up at about midnight, she had gone through the stress of searching for the missing Kaito even after she had been chased off. Yawning, she entered the room she and Ran were supposed to be sharing, settling on the mats prepared on the ground.
She was about to fall asleep when she noticed a small, buzzing noise, like muffled voices. Occhan must have left the TV on. It's not the first time he's done it; I'll go turn it off…..
Walking unsteadily down the staircases, she stood up onto her toes to reach the doorknob of the office, barely reaching it as she opened the door. No wonder Ran is so responsible, having to look after a father who can't even remember to lock a door after closing time, Ai thought, seeing the flashing light of the television from the corner of the room.
Approaching it, she was about to press the power button when the news reporter started talking about an arson. An arson that took place at a Miyazaki residence. Ai froze as the reporter continued.
"We currently have no leads on the suspect responsible for this tragedy." She pointed to the ashes behind her, the pitiful remains of what must have been a once glorious mansion. "The entire family died in this fire. Miyazaki Tatsuya, head of the Tokyo Police department, Miyazaki Midori, his wife, and their young fourth-grade son, Miyazaki Ryuu."
Ryuu-kun. Ryuu-kun, she repeated his name, feeling the empty word silently fill her head, lips forming the inaudible sound. No, it can't be! How could it have happened this quickly?
She had thought the Black Organization might have made him a target, but to act so fast- not to mention taking care of him and Kaito simultaneously- was extremely frightening. Both fear and her loss made white-hot tears flow from her light blue eyes; the ice in them melting, running down her cheeks. If they have Ryuu-kun, then I'm next. Then Ran, and Hattori, and Kazuha…
She had to call Ran. Warn her of the danger. She ran over to Kogoro's desk and hopped onto the chair, grabbing the phone. She dialed the number that she had memorized in case of emergency, and then waited impatiently for the teenager to answer. Come on, she thought, heart racing. Pick up the stupid phone, dammit!
"Is this Ai-chan?" asked Ran, sounding frantic and worried.
"Yeah, it's me," she answered, voice getting faster. "I need to tell you something important. Ryuu-kun is dead. They just announced his death over the TV, but I think it's a rerun."
"You mean that little boy who was always following you around?" Ai could make out the sharp intake of breath, and the muted sounds of footsteps. "What happened?"
"There was an arson," cried Ai, sobs racking her body as she looked back at the TV, which had switched programs, and remembered the bare skeleton of wood. "He and his family are dead. I think- I think we'll be next." The last sentence was a mere whisper.
"What makes you think that, Ai-chan?" Ran could hear the terror in Ai's frightened tone, and knew she must be shaking in fear. At times, even the mention of the syndicate would paralyze the young-adult-turned-child. "Just because Ryuu-kun might be dead doesn't mean-"
"You don't know them!" she screamed, and then became silent, realizing that she might have woke up the sleeping Kogoro upstairs. When there was no sound from above, she continued quietly. "They have all the resources, all the connections, everything. They already know Haibara Ai because I was with Ryuu-kun in the cabin. They know who was around Kuroba-kun. We're next."
"Oy, Hakuba. I think they got away from here." Heiji motioned the blond over, pointing to a thin, golden strand of hair on the ground. He picked it up carefully, shining his flashlight on it. "Doesn't it look almost identical to the one we found earlier?"
"I personally do not have microscopes for eyes, Hattori-kun, but it's the same shade if that's what you mean," answered Hakuba, retaining his technical, sarcastic personality.
"You get my point! The person who kidnapped Kuroba had to have driven away from this parking lot! If we can get a witness on what type of car it was, we might be able to find more clues!" declared Heiji excitedly, happy to have gotten one step closer.
Morning had not completely set in yet. The sky was a dark gray, taking on a hue of pink. They had been searching continuously for evidence that would show who kidnapped Kaito, and perhaps a hint of their whereabouts or intentions. Both detectives found it extremely strange for the Organization to not have killed Kaito immediately.
While that would technically make the situation even worse than it was right now, it was more logical and by far the easiest way to get rid of the thief. As proven by the murder of Shinichi, they were definitely more than capable of killing and not getting caught. They probably did it every single day.
"Hattori-kun, who would look into an empty parking lot like this at one o'clock in the morning to see if there was a car here, let alone remember it? We've hit a dead-end. The only thing we can decipher from this is that the car turned right." He pointed to the tracks leading off of the poor dirt lot. "We're finished."
"No way, Hakuba. You can't give up this easily. There's gotta be something else here. There has to be." The moment he leaned down, the loud ringtone of a cell phone emanated from his pocket. The caller ID labeled the number as 'Kazuha' and he picked up the call. "Hey Kazuha! What's going on?"
"Shinichi says you might find more leads here. We think the Organization hit his house almost immediately after Kaito was taken. The first floor has been ransacked." Kazuha's frantic voice showed that was not the only problem, and Heiji could easily detect her hesitation.
"And what else?"
"We can't find Pandora."
Heiji knew that was part of it, but as a detective, he realized that there was news of maybe even more immediate importance. Kazuha paused, forcing herself to continue. "And they killed Ryuu-kun."
"That little ochibi?" exclaimed Heiji, watching Hakuba jump in surprise next to him. "What happened? He wasn't found dead on the streets, was he?"
"Hattori-kun, what the hell is going on?" whispered Hakuba, sounding irritated and worried. His blond hair glinted in the morning sunlight, though his eyes spoke of the night with their depressed, darkened look.
Blocking the mouth piece, Heiji answered, "You know that little boy, Miyazaki Ryuu? The one who was hanging outside the door while the little girl was talking? He's been killed by the Black Organization."
Hakuba's eyes widened in shock, and he was about to speak when Heiji cut him off. "If you want details, wait a second. I'm still trying to listen to Kazuha."
"It's terrible, Heiji!" she cried, sounding like she was bursting into tears. "Someone burned down their entire house, and Ai-chan said it was them. She also said- she also said-"
"What did she say?" asked Heiji, sounding impatient.
"She said we're next." The words were spoken almost silently, with a conviction and confidence that he hadn't heard for a while. The words were the truth.
He tried to laugh it off with a slight chuckle, however, it hardly lifted any of the weight. Life is short… But I never imagined mine was hanging this close to the edge, he thought. "Don't worry about it, just calm down and forget it." He sounded bright, but all his true feelings were hidden behind a mask, talking as if through a machine. "That little girl gets paranoid from time to time, you know? She's probably just over-thinking things."
"She knows them best, Heiji. You know she does."
Heiji sighed, looking up at the rising sun behind him. The same scarlet, crimson sun that he wasn't even sure the magician was alive to see. "Okay, I'll admit that much, but isn't it better to be optimistic than pessimistically? At least this way, we can expect the best and work through it instead of sitting and waiting for something terrible to happen, don't you think?"
"I guess so." Kazuha didn't seem certain in his logic, but she trusted, and she changed the topic. "Heiji, are you finished with your investigation yet?" inquired Kazuha, a certain longing in her voice that made him blush. After blinking off the strange feeling, he replied.
"Well, I don't think there's much else we can derive from the scene here," he said, slightly rushing the words. Hakuba stared at him questionably, his deep blue irises asking what was going on. "I guess we can go back."
"Then I'll see you in how long?"
"Um…" Heiji looked back at Hakuba. "Hey, Hakuba, how far do you think we are from the house?"
"Well, you managed to run over two miles over here with your nose to the ground looking for clues," answered Hakuba sarcastically, though the distance was far from over exaggerated. "If you're looking for a taxi, we'd have to walk a couple blocks to a main road and then it'd be about half an hour."
"Did I really run two miles?" joked Heiji, trying to ease the darkness he saw in the other boy's eyes. Why is he always so downcast? he wondered. Even though he's the one who revealed Kuroba's identity, he shouldn't blame himself so much. He's putting all of the weight on himself….
"In your hot-blooded search, yes. And we didn't discover much more than faint tire tracks and the fact that they were here. This is why I suggested we should have given up earlier." The words threatened to light Heiji's now short fuse, made even lessened than usual due to a lack of sleep.
"Kazuha, we'll be back in about half an hour or so. I guess I'll see you then. Ask Kudo if he can figure anything out. He's still a detective." He ended the call before Kazuha could reply, and started jogging down the street. "Come one, Hakuba. We need to get a cab."
"Hattori-kun, you have that hair, right? You didn't throw it away?" asked Hakuba, who was standing still. "My family has a lab. I can test the DNA on it."
"Yeah, I have it. Here, take it." Heiji carefully placed it in his palm, and then looked up with a much more serious expression. "But you can't let your family know about this. The more people who know, the more people will be in danger. Especially our parents, since they're with the police. Do you understand?"
"Yes I do. For your own awareness, I'll be going to my house instead of Kudo-kun's. I'll be able to tell you the results of the test before noon today. We'll know who captured Kuroba-kun."
"So, what do you think, Miyazaki-kun?" Jodie had the boy stand in front of a mirror, after having an F.B.I. agent disguise him. His hair had been combed back so it stuck to his head instead of flying all over the place and he had been given a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his conspicuous green eyes. "Can you recognize yourself?"
"Well, yeah," he answered, inspecting the image he saw reflected. His clothing was a little big, sagging downwards, and his pants had to be kept up by a belt, making the scene a little comical. If he wasn't so depressed, he probably would have laughed. "I've been me for about ten years now, so I can tell that it's me in the mirror."
"As a person who's just met you, I doubt the Organization would suspect you looking like this. We've informed Daiki-kun's parents of his death, but we've convinced them not to leak it to the mass media. This way, unless the syndicate decides to search farther into it, you're safe for the time being." She winked, ruffling his hair, but not enough to make it messy again.
"Okay…" It was hardly hours after he had been informed of the damage done and on the outside and he seemed to have mostly recovered. But inside, his mind was still reeling. Nobody he knew had ever died, left him forever, never to come back. And now, all of a sudden, three precious people had been taken away. "Why do I have to be disguised like this again? I thought I was staying here for the next couple of days."
"Someone suggested you go to school, but that's too dangerous. I thought that, after all, you are still a kid, and you don't deserve to be trapped in here all the time. I'm going to take you out to the mall and you can buy a couple of things. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything in the ashes."
"How many people know I'm in here?" he asked, sounding innocent and desperate. Does Ai-kun know? She was warning me to be careful, but, even though I told nobody, this still happened…
"Only members of the F.B.I. like me and that dark-capped man who helped disguise you. His name is Akai Shuuichi. He's probably the one person who'll be able to take down that syndicate." Grabbing his hand, she started leading him to an elevator after exiting the room they were in.
"Can I tell anyone about this?" He looked down at the ground, knowing the obvious answer was most likely no. It was just one more thing that he was forbidden to do.
"Well, I'm in charge of you, and I guess it'd just depend on whom. But I don't want you telling any of the friends your age, because they'd probably tell their parents, and that would make keeping Daiki-kun's death a secret pointless, and put you back in danger." She pressed the button for the elevator, and it opened gracefully without a sound, revealing its plain interior.
"Can I tell Ai-kun? The only people she would tell are Ran-neechan, and the others, maybe Kaito-niichan. They wouldn't tell anyone." He shook his head in emphasis. "I might even be able to live with them in Shinichi-niichan's house! They were already hiding Kaito-niichan there before!"
"Did they tell you all this?" Jodie found it hard to believe that such teenagers would give away all of that information to a ten year old, no matter how special he seemed to be. It just wasn't safe to hand off secrets to children.
"No, I overheard them telling Saguru-niichan about it. Then Ai-kun found me outside the door and told me not to tell anyone about it, but I thought it'd be okay to tell you since you saved me." His words were rushed, like he was begging, and Jodie couldn't help but sympathize with the boy.
"Mommy and Daddy are dead?" cried the little girl, clinging onto the tall man's legs. "Why? Why was there a fire?"
"We don't know, Jodie. But we want to offer you protection from the people who did this. Do you mind meeting some nice people from the Witness Protection Program? If you say yes, we'll be able to give you a new identity, a new address, and you'll be like a different person. However, you'll be taken away from this old life. You won't be able to tell your friends, though, that shouldn't be too big of a problem. You're not in school yet, right?"
"No," she answered hesitantly, staring at her late father's friend with large turquoise eyes. "What do you think I should do?"
"Say yes. This way, you'll be safe."
She hadn't been old enough to feel the loss of friendships back then, and this boy would lose everything he had if he was not allowed to reveal the truth to someone. She thought she saw tears forming behind his dark glasses, and frowned. Why did that damn Organization exist?
It had obviously been them. The scene had their name written all over it. Not to mention the tip-off she had received from Shuu about the Miyazaki boy running towards the burning house. She was happy she got there in time and took him away to make sure he wasn't killed or captured snared her attention. This boy had already interfered with the syndicate once, taking apart two bombs meant to kill over twenty children. He had seen an Organization member, and he was liable to tell his parents. There was no way he hadn't been made a target.
Upon exiting the building, Ryuu noted that it was an apartment, a small one. "Does that building completely belong to you guys?"
"Yeah. We've converted it so it looks more like an office inside though. We also transformed the gym into a training facility and etcetera. It's pretty useful." She stared at it wistfully. It was the one place that was technically kept 'secret' from the Organization, since it was well-established before they bought rights to it from someone out of the country. They knew most of the addresses of the F.B.I. agents in Japan, so it had been necessary to move them to a secure location.
"I see. Jodie-san. I'm kind of hungry," complained Ryuu, feeling his stomach grumble. He had refused breakfast that morning and was now feeling the effects. She smiled- no wonder those teens had revealed everything to him, intentionally or not. He was very easy to talk to.
"Do you want to eat ramen?" asked Jodie, pointing over to a nearby ramen shop. "I can take you there."
"Okay." He paused, and then looked up again. "But can I tell Ai-kun? I bet she's worried, and she seemed so afraid that somebody was going to die when I left that day. I don't want her to be scared."
It was almost impossible to read his expression under the too large shades, but Jodie knew that he had a right to tell the girl. However, her instincts screamed in protest. That girl was a part of them! They're dangerous, and you shouldn't let him take the risk of getting hurt! You can't trust her! Who knows which side she's really on!
"You'll have to let me think about it, Miyazaki-kun. I don't want anything bad to happen, okay?" You're so much like me, Miyazaki-kun, she thought. We're both alone in this world, no parents, and nobody to tell our secrets to. At least I have somebody to depend on now, but you still don't have anyone.
"You don't have to treat me like I'm absolutely helpless you know." His straight-to-the-point directness surprised Jodie as she looked downwards. "I might only be ten, but I understand a lot more than you think. I can decide who I can trust and who I can't. If Ai-kun was really a bad guy, she wouldn't have let me live. She wouldn't have helped Ran-neechan and Heiji-niichan and Shinichi-niichan! It'd just be a waste of her time!"
"You have a point there, but-"
"I trust her! If it's my life at stake, I think I can decide who I trust! Don't you think?" He pulled off his glasses, showing her the full effect of his stunningly powerful green eyes. It seemed almost as if they were on fire, the verdant emerald burning as he protested, attracting the attention of passers-by.
"Please calm down, Ryuu-kun," she whispered, using his first name to make it seem as if they were more familiar, trying to deflect the stares of the crowd that was gathering. "We can talk about this later. Now how about that ramen?"
He nodded solemnly, though Jodie could easily tell their little fight was far from over. The boy was much more outspoken then she had thought, braver and bolder than she would have believed. I wonder who will be the victor here….. she thought. Hopefully, whoever wins made the right choice….
*Hmm... Not much of a cliffhanger there, but I guess that'll have to do. Check out Detective Conan World, and maybe even my new HeiShin fic. (just don't kill it please) Please review!*~Aeyra (the math freak)