Chapter 17: What happened to you?
Totally random thought/ question: all of you readers who know Japanese better than I do, following the fandom logic (eg 59, 27, 18 etc), what code numbers would Shinichi and Kaito have? They can't have letters since Squalo has claimed S already. Whilst not currently relevant to my story, it's a thought that has been bugging me for the past couple of weeks.
During the past week, Reborn and I, with the help of Gokudera, have ruthlessly trained Hattori in the art of normal English/Japanese. Hattori rather pleasantly agreed (whilst a gun was aimed at him, and a sparking dynamite rested near his face) that he will make an effort to lose some of his accent whilst in my presence. However for those fans who do like his accent, he will retain it for other fics and Conan episodes. I noticed that in a chapter 9 Conan and I call him Heiji, yet I've been calling him Hattori ever since. This is because I don't think in my fic they've become that friendly yet. Since they are in different parts of the country, they wouldn't see each other all that often. Plus Hattori nearly calls Conan Kudo every time, showing they're on last name basis not first. I'll go back and change it.
Please forgive my lack of knowledge of guns. I researched as best as I could to find something that fit my needs. Being a bit impatient, I went with the first gun image I found that worked, a link to the gun is here. http : / / www. thegunzone. com/ gaudy-mp5. html . It looks weird because the top half is an inbuilt silencer. If anything about the gun, or indeed any sentence concerning the gun in any way is wrong please forgive me, but guns, their bullets and impact marks are not my speciality. In fact I've never even seen a real life gun, held one or fired it. Whilst this may have given you a clue as to what this chapter is about, I thought it was best to disclaim this before you got to that point, and it doesn't impact the story in any way.
6 O'clock that day finds Shinichi sitting on a bench under a tree. The setting sun reminds Shinichi of the colour Tsuna's eyes go every now and again. I wonder why that happens. The atmosphere changes around him too. He suddenly gets serious and calm- the total opposite of how he is normally. It's almost like a switch is pressed, or like a totally different person surfaces.
As a cold wind brushes through the trees, Shinichi wraps his scarf around his neck tighter, and tugs his coat more firmly around him. It was turning out to be a rather cold November, colder than it usually was. A text on his phone draws him out of contemplating Tsuna's varying eye colour. It simple read: I'm here.
Shinichi sends a text back, telling Hattori where to find him. After a few moments, footsteps rustling through the leaves announce Hattori's arrival.
If Kudo hadn't told Hattori where he was, he doubted that he could have found him. Kudo was in disguise, for obvious reasons. Long gone was the blue suit that normally graced his figure. The Kudo infront of him was in black jeans tucked into grey boots, and a long grey and blue winter coat. He also had on a three piece hat-gloves-scarf combo: black with white dots.
Shinichi lowers the scarf from where it was covering his mouth and jaw before he greets Hattori. "Long time to see Hattori" he smiles at the joke. It hadn't been that long since Conan had seen Hattori, but it had been nearly half a year since Shinichi had.
Hattori waves the joke off with his own greeting "Yo, Kudo" before taking a seat on the bench under the tree.
"Are you alright Hattori, you sound rather tired and stressed" asks Shinichi, turning slightly to face him. "Ouch!" Shinichi flinches marginally.
Hattori laughs "Forget about me, what happened just then?"
Shinichi rubs the back of his head, raising his face to look at the tree above them. "A nut from this tree fell on me." Lame excuse he knows, but he can't exactly tell Hattori the truth.
"Ne, Kudo, are you recovering alright? That guy on the phone said you were wounded. I'm guessin' it's your eyes." As if to prove his point, Hattori waves his hand infront of Shinichi's eyes, with no reaction.
"Yeah, I'm recovering alright. I was in a bit of an accident and harmed them both. I'll be able to open them again tomorrow. But until then, I'm under strict orders not to open them." Shinichi answered embarrassed. He was hoping that he could have used the excuse of the sun setting in his face, but it seems as if Hattori remembered the phone conversation from earlier.
"God Kudo, It's always somethin' with you, ain't it. You haven't even been recovered for all that long and you've gotten yourself involved in something dangerous. What are your parents gonna say?" Hattori chides lightly. Shinichi just scowls.
"It's not my fault. It needed to be done." Shinichi decides a change of subject is in order "So, how's life with my parents?" Shinichi laughs as he hears Hattori scoot away from him. His eyes flicker, wanting to open and see the scared expression on Hattori's face. Once again, another nut sky dives onto his head.
"Your Dad's alright actually. He's calm, keeps to 'imself and I've had a few rather interesting conversations regarding work with him. Your mother on the other hand… She's a force to be reckoned with. Does she not know the meaning of private or personal space?" Shinichi laughs again.
They sit in relative silence for a few moments, each contemplating Shinichi's mother. In the background, the sounds of children playing football, dogs being taken for walks and other normal sounds can be heard.
"So where you've been Kudo?" asks Hattori.
Ah, the all-important, million dollar, life or death (or at least imprisonment and torture) question.
"I've been with a friend of mine for most of it. Staying out of Beika in case people with a bad fashion sense find me again. I met loads of new people in that city too." Shinichi smiles to himself, remembering all of the new people he has met over the past month.
"And, just how did you get big again? I thought the little Genius hadn't made any new discoveries lately. I was too distracted by the news last time to actually ask you properly." Hattori looks at him, a sceptical look on his face, yet there is a small hint of happiness. Too bad Shinichi can't see it. Shinichi can, however, hear the hint in his voice. So he sends a message to Mukuro.
A brush of very familiar mist flame against his own, tells Shinichi that Mukuro has, for once, agreed with him. Mukuro's being far too nice based on what I've heard from the others. Apparently I should be watching out for a catch. But I think they just aren't close enough to him for him to care about them.
Mukuro hides his presence totally from Shinichi's friend before coming down from his hiding place and sliding onto the bench next to Shinichi. For this to benefit Shinichi, it would help if he was on the same level as Shinichi was. It took careful control of his flame to handle all the tasks that had been given to him. First of all, he had to present an illusion to everyone who looked at Shinichi. He made it so that Shinichi was totally unrecognisable. In fact, anyone looking this way wouldn't even see a boy, but Hattori talking to a girl. There was no way those men were getting to His Shinichi. But this friend represented task number 2. Mukuro needed to exclude Hattori from this illusion so that he could see Shinichi. It was a lot easier to just cast his flames about him, than it was to exclude one single person… and the rest. And now Shinichi has presented him with task number 3. To allow Shinichi to see his friend. This technique took a different type of control over his flames, but basically projected what he saw into Shinichi's mind- hence the need to be sitting in nearly the same position Shinichi was.
Shinichi's eyes flutter, believing that they should be open to be able to see. Another nut smacks him on the head.
Finally he can see Hattori. There is definite concern on his face.
"No, Haibara didn't create the antidote." Whilst he could lie and say she did, if Hattori asked her (which he certainly would) she would deny that she had. So it was better to tell Hattori something closer to the truth. He didn't like lying to his friends anyway. After lying to Ran for so long, it was something he had promised himself. "You heard about the last KID heist right?" Hattori nods, making a sound of agreement for his blind benefit. "Well, you'll know that KID and I fell out of the sky."
"Yeah, I remember hearing about that. I assumed that KID had you caught in one of his stunts, so I wasn't worried. He's big on no one getting harmed at those heists of his. So, what about it." Asks Hattori.
"Well, I've become friends with those people who were acting alongside us. You know, the masked pair." Explains Shinichi.
"Oh, them. They did look like actors with those masks on and everything." Agrees Hattori, still wondering where this is going.
"Well, they had connections and got me hooked up. After a little bit of research, they found an alternative. I'm not cured. The drug is still running havoc in my blood, but this experimental technology allows me to be Shinichi again full time." He finishes, and wishes that he could see Hattori's reaction but Mukuro has looked away, and by consequence, so has Shinichi. Seeing what Mukuro has focused in on, Shinichi finds he's not surprised. Across the park are the rest of the Kokuyo Gang taking a walk whilst chatting and drinking. Of course they wouldn't be too far away. Shinichi draws his eyes back to Hattori, Mukuro following the body's movements and focuses back on Hattori too.
"Experimental Technology? Just got Hooked Up? Kudo, how stupid do you think I am? How did they even know in the first place?" growls Hattori, not liking the answer.
Shinichi sighs, knowing this wouldn't be easy. "Hattori, I'm not messing with you. It seems that KID knows about me. He's hinted at it before, whenever he's helped us in the past. These guys are legit, best in the business: KID's a high profile criminal, of course he's got connections in high places. And the experiment isn't legal, hence why I can't tell you too much about it. Don't you think I could have come up with something better than that if I was going to lie to you?" Shinichi crosses his arms and turns away from Hattori slightly.
Hattori puts his hands up in defence. "Oy, Oy. I understand. Yeah, you would have come up with something more believable. But the important thing is you're alright. No side effects or anything?" Hattori adjusts the baseball cap on his head.
Shinichi relaxes before answering Hattori's question. "No side effects to worry about Hattori. And no spontaneous transformation either. I'll change when I want to, not because something has caused a reaction by itself." Shinichi gives Hattori a smug smile, remembering the first time Hattori found Shinichi rather than Conan.
"Does Nee-chan know? How 'bout the two scientists?" interrogates Hattori. He doesn't want to mess this up by telling the wrong person. He nearly does that by constantly calling Conan Kudo.
"Ran doesn't know I'm back. As far as she knows, I taught Conan how to be a detective, and he's now living in America with his mum. I am still on a case, at a crucial point since I couldn't even see Conan off. Agasa and Haibara know and are willing to let it be for the moment. My parents will know once I'm done with them. And of course the Kid's and Division 1 only know Conan has left. To them, Shinichi is nowhere in sight." Outlines Shinichi, making sure Hattori is following along. He doesn't need any mistakes.
"Wow Kudo. I'm guessin' that you like havin' your body back?" asks Hattori gingerly, looking at Shinichi out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah, I do" Shinichi says warmly. "Everything is so much easier. I can do things for myself, I'm not stepped on, and people respect me more. I didn't realise how much I missed it until I regained my body." Almost as if to prove his point, Shinichi stretches, arms above his head, mindful of Mukuro.
Both turn to look at the people around them in the park. It's not that late, and the sun is still relatively high in the sky for a sunset.
"Ne, Kudo, is it a new fashion trend here to wear black suits and spotted ties. I haven't seen that look in Osaka." Comments Hattori, noticing at least 4 people around the park dressed like this.
It's a weird sensation, keeping your head still whilst your eyes look around the park infront of you. His eyes and brain demand that he should be moving his head to receive this information, yet they know for a fact he is not moving. Feeling this in Shinichi's head, Mukuro looks around slower, and notices the people Hattori pointed out. Spaced near the exits to the park are men in standard Mafia attire, wearing the Vongola standard tie. Even Kaito and Shinichi had their own ties, exactly like this, when they were mere subordinates of Vongola. The background was black, with 7 circles running in a line straight down. All of the colours of the rainbow, starting with Orange, then red, were on this tie, representing Tsuna and his guardians. To outsiders, it would look like a fashion statement- a way to get colour into a boring work uniform. But to those in the know, it was a blaring Vongola symbol. The only other thing they could have done to declare their allegiance more was to have the Vongola crest on their person as well.
Shinichi stilled and tensed at their arrival, unnoticed to Hattori. "Hm, must be I guess. Maybe they are friends, or work for the same company." Suggests Shinichi. Why are they here? They wouldn't come here just for me. I'm not important enough to have an escort like that. Tsuna! Boss must be here. Wondering why his Boss is here and more importantly where he is, Shinichi reaches behind him and taps Mukuro's leg. When Shinichi's vision shows him his own hand, he writes out 'Tsuna?' on Mukuro's leg. Again his vision unexpectedly swings around, giving Shinichi slight nausea, as Mukuro attempts to find his all-important Boss.
"Whoa, Kudo watch out" yells Hattori suddenly. Mukuro's vision swings back to the man, who has started to rise out of his seat. Flicking his eyes right, Mukuro notices a football coming their way. But it's too late to dodge it now. A rock slams into the errant football, knocking it of course. Mukuro looks behind him to see who threw the rock. Further down the path, Gokudera is standing by a tree, Tsuna leaning against it. From his position, it seems as if Gokudera threw the rock. Shinichi moves to look in that direction too, and beckons for them to come to him. Hattori fully stands out of his seat, grabs the football and runs over to the children who were playing with it.
After giving them a lecture on park safety and etiquette, he walks back over. "Oy, thanks Man. I didn't notice the ball until it was too late" says Hattori, extending his hand towards Gokudera. Gokudera takes it and shakes it.
"Are you alright Shinichi?" asks Tsuna, worried. Shinichi turns towards the voice, as does Mukuro. So Tsuna is here, and naturally Gokudera is too. So those Mafioso are keeping an eye on him. It must be hard for Tsuna, being watched every minute of his life. I know I'd go insane.
"Yes, Tsuna, I'm fine. Thanks Gokudera for that. I didn't even hear it coming." Thanks Shinichi, sitting back on the bench.
Since Mukuro was looking at Tsuna, Shinichi missed the questioning look on Hattori's face. How did Kudo know who the other guy was? Even if he did hear two sets of footsteps, he only heard one voice. There is no way he could have known who the other man was. Plus, how did he know it wasn't this Tsuna who saved him, but the other guy. Kudo didn't open his eyes the whole time. There's no way he could tell who saved him. Hearing more feet running towards them, Hattori looks behind him.
Those people rush past him, a dark haired girl and a blond in the lead. A few moments later, a dark haired male and a boy wearing a ridiculous apple shaped hat walk past him. All stop infront of Shinichi. Hattori does notice the girl bow at Tsuna before turning to Shinichi and nodding at him. Strangely enough she nods twice, with a slight repositioning of her head between them.
"Ne, ne Shini-chan, are you alright, byon?" asks the blond, bouncing on the spot. Shinichi turns to the voice before answering
"I'm fine Ken. Gokudera got rid of it. It was only a football after all. How much damage could it do?" Shinichi laughs.
Hattori stares on in disbelief. Shini-chan! What kind of name is that? And Kudo just accepts it, no complaints. That doesn't sound like a name Kudo would accept. He'd bite their head off. And what's with all of these people anyway. It's weird that they all just happened to be here and to notice the flying football.
"You didn't open your eyes did you?" Ken growls. Noticing the sharp wolf like teeth Ken has, Hattori wonders what kind of company Kudo now keeps.
"No, Ken I didn't. There wasn't any reason for me to." Replies Shinichi exasperated- he knew that question was coming. For their benefit, he gestures to the rest of the bench behind him. For a brief moment, Mukuro materialises to the Vongola there. Hattori, of course remains oblivious to the extra member of their gathering, but does notice everyone's eyes flicker to the space next to Shinichi. There are differing reactions though- Gokudera looks mad, whilst Tsuna looks relieved. This new group of people all look happy. Hattori gets the feeling that he's missing something, or is being kept out of the loop.
"Oy, Kudo" says Hattori, drawing many pairs of eyes to his face. He feels nervous, but doesn't show it. "Mind introducin' us?" Shinichi looks ashamed that he had forgotten that.
Waving a hand at the black haired teen and the blond who are directly infront of him, Kudo introduces them. "The blond is Ken and the other is Chikusa. I've known them since childhood. I've been staying with them recently whilst I've been recovering. The girl is Chrome, and the young boy is Flan. The brunet over there is Tsuna and next to him is Gokudera." Shinichi points to them as he introduces them, and they all wave or nod their heads in greeting. Shinichi looks sharply at the group. "Anyone else I should know about? I don't want any more surprises. I'd like warning if he's going to show up."
The others around them shake their heads. "No Shinichi. He is currently sleeping; he's worn out from earlier. Juudaime and I weren't 'exercising' as hard and came to see how you were doing. Apart from us" and at this point he taps his ring "there should be no one else in the park." And then he fiddles with Uri's ring.
Hmm. Kaito is recovering. Well after fighting them all, I'm not surprised. Gokudera and Boss weren't fighting as hard, and Tsuna being Tsuna was worried about me. Gokudera included the Vongola guards in that sentence, meaning he knows they are here. Hell, he probably ordered them to come. The last bit? In this park… Uri's ring… Oh, other guardians must be around the place in case they are needed. It would be weird if they all showed up.
Shinichi looks relieved, knowing Kaito wasn't about to interrupt anytime soon.
"Okay, good to know. This is a good friend and ally of mine, Hattori Heiji, Detective of the West." Hattori brings two fingers to his forehead in a mini salute before flicking them slightly in greeting.
Shinichi feels something's wrong. His flame's bouncing around like crazy, telling him to get up and go.
Suddenly Shinichi's flame flares, even lighting up his ring through his gloves for a moment. Everyone notices this and gasps. However since his hand resting on the bench, Hattori was the wrong side to see it. About to ask what the sudden collective gasp was for, he gets his answer:
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
The sound of a frightened woman's cry comes from far behind them. Immediately the two detectives are up, looking in that direction.
"Hattori, go on, I'll catch up!" shouts Shinichi, wishing that he could open his eyes. Yet a firm invisible hand is planted across them. Hattori nods in agreement and runs out of the park, around a building and out of sight.
"Boss, please, let me open my eyes." Pleads Shinichi, his need to get to the crime scene clear on his face.
"Shinichi, no. There are more than enough people here to look after and help you, there is no need for you to open your eyes." Denies Tsuna, looking sharply at Shinichi.
"What if your flame goes off again Shinichi?" asks Gokudera logically.
"It won't. It was just warning me of the death, I can feel it. Let me go and solve it!" explains Shinichi. Tsuna thinks for a moment.
"Same rules apply." He states. "Mukuro shall follow you and supply illusions to disguise you."
"Boss, I'll need you and Gokudera too" states Shinichi. Tsuna looks confused. "Well, as far as Hattori knows I can't see, so I'll get Gokudera to solve it in my place." He doesn't mention that he needs Tsuna so that Gokudera will comply. He reaches into his back pocket and brings out Conan's voice changer bow tie. "I'll use this to sound like Gokudera and 'he' can solve the case"
"But how will you be able to solve it if you can't see?" asks Tsuna, still not understanding.
"The illusionists have that covered. Ken, take me to where Hattori is." The illusionists nod, saying they indeed have it covered. Ken understands what Shinichi needs, he looks to Mukuro (who had materialised as soon as Hattori left), who looks at Chrome. It would be better for her to take care of this illusion. He already has a lot to concentrate on. Tapping her trident on the floor, she makes it so that no one will find anything suspicious with Ken.
"Kong Channel" he growls, inserting the correct pair of teeth. Gokudera stands infront of Juudaime, wary of an attack. However, Ken merely picks Shinichi up and runs off after Hattori, Mukuro and Chrome following.
"Shinichi has really influenced them" remarks Chikusa. "Both Mukuro and Ken have been interested in him even since we met as children. I'm amazed that they follow his orders like that, especially Mukuro-sama." And at a slower pace, he and Flan follow the others.
"What do you think he meant- the illusionists have his sight covered? It seemed strange, but it did appear as if Shinichi could see. He knew I threw the rock for starters." Asks Gokudera, watching them leave.
"I'm not sure, a type of illusion I guess" states Tsuna, missing how obvious his statement was. "Well, we had better get going, hadn't we Gokudera?" And with that Tsuna jogs to follow the others. Gokudera sighs and reaches for a radio walkie-talkie on his belt.
"Juudaime has left the park."
Following the guidance of his flame, Shinichi directs them to where the scream originated from. When they arrive, they are astounded to see that Shinichi was right, and a death had occurred. A woman in tears is leaning against a wall, her face white and blotchy. Hattori is kneeling against the pavement of the alleyway, examining the body.
Ken puts Shinichi down and steps back, knowing that he would get in the way. Mukuro, invisible once again, resumes his position next to Shinichi, giving him the best view possible.
In front of them is a man, face down on the floor, appearing to have fallen. A pool of blood leaks from his stomach, a trail of blood leads from his position north until it turns a corner.
"Chikusa, follow that trail of blood and see where it leads. Ken follow him and make sure no one steps in the blood or comes down this way. This is now a crime scene." Ken and Chikusa nod and scoot around the body and continue down the alley to complete their tasks. Rummaging in a pocket, Shinichi finds his phone and holds it out. "Gokudera, phone Megure-keibu. It'll be under contacts. Tell him we have a murdered man behind Sakura Boutique." The phone is taken from his hand. Gokudera takes a few steps away before doing as Shinichi asked.
Tsuna looks at the dead body and pales. His eyes keep being drawn to the pool of blood, slowly getting darker as it dries. His breathing picks up and he starts to shake.
What drives people to kill? I couldn't do it. Never.
He is snapped out of his fear induced shock by Gokudera's hand on his shoulder and his warm presence behind his back. "It'll be alright Juudaime. Shinichi will catch whoever did this. Trust in him." Tsuna nods. Raising his voice, Gokudera addresses Shinichi and Hattori. "Megure-keibu will be here in less than 5 minutes."
Shinichi nods in agreement, far too focused on the body to answer properly. "What have we got here then Hattori?"
Hattori looks up and explains. "This woman came down here on her way to the park. Just as she turns the corner, bam, there's a dead body there. He wasn't breathing when she found him. However, based upon Rigor Mortis, the body has been dead less than half an hour, since there is practically none." Shinichi nods in understanding.
"Chrome," he says quietly. Gently but steadily she walks over and looks at him. "I want you to look after that woman. She's just had a traumatic experience, but we need to keep her here for the police questioning. Can you keep her calm?" She nods in determination before walking over towards the woman and placing a hand on her arm. Getting Mukuro to look around, Shinichi notices the state Tsuna is in. He can understand that someone as innocent as Tsuna is wouldn't like the scene infront of him. Instead of making Tsuna come closer to the body, Shinichi walks over to him. Quietly he asks, "Boss, can you go down there and wait for the police to arrive. Megure-keibu will be here soon. He'll be in brown, wearing a hat, kind of short. Bring him and his officers here when they arrive, okay." Tsuna takes another look at the body and shudders. Gokudera rubs his back and places his hands on Tsuna's shoulders. Giving a light turn, he guides Tsuna down to the front of the shop.
Chrome sees this and asks "Shinichi, is Boss alright?"
Shinichi turns in her direction and gives a small smile. "He'll be fine. I suspect that he can't handle seeing a body like this." Chrome nods before turning her attention back to the woman.
Gokudera walks back and joins Shinichi. "Gokudera, I need you to work with Mukuro." Gokudera looks disgusted. Shinichi carries on anyway "Megure-keibu doesn't know I'm back. I usually handle these cases over the phone or as Conan. So like I said earlier, I need you to be my stand in. I know that you're smart enough to handle this. Plus you can stand to get near the body right." Gokudera nods, far to used to seeing dead bodies before. "Mukuro will be my eyes. I'll be able to see what he sees. I'm going to go around the corner where they can't see me. Stay next to Mukuro and I'll speak for you. Take this scarf and cover your mouth, it'll make it easier. It's cold enough here to warrant you wrapping up." Gokudera takes the scarf and wraps it around his mouth and jaw. Shinichi also pulls out a button speaker and attaches it under one of the folds to keep it hidden. Changing his illusion, Mukuro makes it so that everyone but Hattori can see him.
Chikusa walks around the corner, yo-yo bouncing in frustration. "The blood leads from here, around the corner and into a block of flats through the back door. Looking inside, it looks like a storage entrance. I blocked the door to the rest of the building so no one can enter in that way." Shinichi nods, taking all of this information in. Hearing the sound of police sirens, Shinichi goes to hide. Mukuro points up towards the roof of the shop.
"Take Flan and hide up there. You won't be found up there and it gives Flan a good vantage point too. With Flan's illusions, you'll be able to hear what's going on, and I can hear any messages you want me to pass on to Gokudera." He beckons Flan over and explains what he wants him to do.
"Haiiii~ Master. That'll be easy." Flan replies, before following Shinichi to the service ladder. Vongola watch as Shinichi and Flan climb the ladder. Hattori wonders what on earth Shinichi is doing.
"Ne, why's Kudo going on to the roof? Is there a clue up there?" he asks. Gokudera scowls.
"Che, he's hiding from the police. He doesn't want them to see him yet- he shouldn't be back here. He'll be able to keep an eye on the investigation and help." Gokudera snaps. Seeing Tsuna round the corner, his expression does a 180 and he beams at his Juudaime. "Juudaime, are you alright? Were the police nice to you?"
Hattori once again wonders what kind of company Kudo is now keeping. First of all is the weird nickname Ken gave Kudo. Now that wimpy brunet has been called both Boss and Tenth, not usual nicknames- sounds more like a gang or Yakuza or something. And now that weird apple boy called Kudo Master. But he wasn't even looking at Kudo. It looked as if he was looking at someone next to Kudo. And all of them except from Tsuna don't even seem to mind the dead body in the middle of the pavement. And what Gokudera said has made me suspicious. They know that the police can't find Kudo here. Does that mean they know he's Conan?
Who in the Hell are these people?
The Vongola Members have nothing to fear from these police. None of them have criminal records, nor are they involved enough in the running of Vongola to be recognised as part of the Family. Especially since these aren't even police from Nanimori. At the moment they are Mafioso in name only. Tsuna leads them to the crime scene. Seeing the body, Megure jumps into action, giving orders to his men.
"Get the area tapped off, I don't want the public coming close. Someone get the other end of the alley too. Nakajima, get photos of the body." Turning around, the Inspector addresses the rest of the crowd. "Has anyone touched the body?"
"I have Keibu" says Hattori, standing up from where he was kneeling next to the corpse. "I checked for a pulse and for signs of Rigor Mortis. Apart from that, no one else has touched the body."
Megure nods. "Nice to see you Hattori. What are you doing here?" he asks, knowing the boy is from Osaka.
Hattori stiffens, mind fumbling for an excuse that isn't 'I'm here to see Kudo'. "I came to see Nee-chan, to check if she was okay after Conan left." He stutters. Megure accepts this, and turns back to the rest of the group.
"Friends of yours?" Megure asks.
Hattori nods, deciding to go with the lie presented to him. Again he couldn't say they were Kudo's. "Yeah, I met up with them before I was going to see Nee-chan. When I heard the scream they followed me. None of them have touched the body nor the blood. They helped to secure the area and followed the trail of blood." Hattori points to the line going behind him. "It leads to a block of flats around the corner, straight into a back entrance. They secured the door and made sure to preserve the evidence. None of the public have come near."
Megure nods in acceptance. "Who found the body?" fingers point to the woman with Chrome. "Sato, can you question her please" Sato comes over and takes the woman away from the corpse. "Takagi, take a look at the body."
Putting on a pair of latex gloves, Takagi walks over to the body. Rolling the body over slightly, he takes a look at the wound causing so much blood.
"Gunshot to the stomach Keibu." He reports. "He would have taken a while to die. That's why there's a trail from there to here."
Gokudera and Mukuro wonder over to stand behind Takagi. Gokudera leans forwards and take a look at the wound " Looks like a .40 S&W bullet to me- right size and burn markings around the wound."
Everyone looks at Gokudera, amazed at the deduction. Standing up straight, chin raised defiantly, he answers the unasked question. "My Dad used to be in the Police force back in Italy. He made sure to tell me about different bullets and guns and showed me examples of them and their impacts. This particular bullet was widely used in the American Police force, introduced in the 1990's." That sentence was even true, if you changed Police force to Mafia.
Takagi continues to examine the body. Moving the body slightly, a phone falls out of the man's hand. Mukuro takes a closer look, allowing Shinichi to read what's on the screen.
The phone is in the middle of a text message: Bomb ransom work event 2nite Black wolf|
The cursor was still flashing, waiting for more text. There was no name entered in the recipient bar either.
Whispering, Shinichi passes on a massage to Flan. Via the power of illusions, only Mukuro can hear the message. Walking over, unseen to the police or Hattori, he stands next to Tsuna. Unfortunately, Tsuna followed Mukuro's movements, something Hattori noticed.
"Shinichi needs you to find out where that man works. Vongola should be able to find that out." He whispers. Tsuna nods.
"What's his name?" asks Tsuna.
Across the alley, Takagi has found the man's wallet. " One Niwa Kouske, aged 27 Keibu. Nothing to suggest where he works"
Mukuro smiles at Tsuna, the answer given for him. Tsuna sighs and gets out his phone.
"Reborn, I've got something for you. Could you help?" he asks, knowing to remain polite when asking Reborn for anything.
"It's rare for you to ask anything of me. It is personal or for work?" comes the voice down the phone, sounding smooth yet suspicious.
"I'm asking you as Decimo" whispers Tsuna, forcing authority into his voice- hard to do when whispering.
However, Hattori overheard, walking past Tsuna to look at the patches of blood leading away. He had moved out of the way to let the police find their information. He didn't want to touch the crime scene without gloves if he could help it. And the police would answer any questions he had anyway. There it is again. But that wasn't Japanese nor English. I'm asking you as Decimo… It sounds like a position, maybe linked to the Boss he's already been called? I'll have to look that one up.
"Oh, as Decimo really? It's unlike you to use your power. What are you up to?" asks Reborn, slightly surprised Tsuna is using his position.
"Pft, as if I need to tell you that. I'm sure you know better than me what's going on" Tsuna smiles at Reborn's amazing network "I need you to find out for me where a man called Niwa Kouske works. He's been killed but is suspected to be part of a bombing. There was an unsent text on his phone claiming that there was going to be a bombing at his work event, and something about a ransom too. Right at the end there were the words Black Wolf. No idea what that means. I need the information asap."
There was a pause as Reborn took this in. "I'll see what I can do for you Tsuna." And Reborn hangs up. Tsuna knew there was a condition attached to the request; Reborn did nothing for free.
It seems that the police have come to the same conclusion. Megure is sending off some of his men to find out where this man works too. But Tsuna suspects that Vongola will get there first. Looking up from the phone call he notices Mukuro and Gokudera walking down the alley following the patches of blood. Tsuna, however, is quite content to stay here, away from the blood.
Shinichi wants a closer look at the room in the block of flats. When Mukuro and Gokudera enter, one thing is clear: This is where the man was shot. Of course this being the start of the trail makes that obvious. But the giant pool of blood and a splatter on the wall make it even more so.
"What's in here then?" asks Megure, having followed the pair. Mukuro, unseen, pulls Gokudera's scarf up higher, making sure to cover his mouth. As Gokudera turns, Shinichi speaks.
"It seems as if this was where the victim was shot. By the look of it, he was shot against this wall, fell against it and down onto the floor. The pool of blood here shows he stayed siting on the floor for some time. I suspect that he blacked out from the shock, or pretended to be dead to allow the killer to leave. Once the killer had left, or when he awoke, he left the room, leaving the trail of blood, until he collapsed and died in the alleyway." Gokudera gave a conclusive nod, agreeing with 'his' statement.
"Hmm," considers Megure. "That does seem very likely. If Niwa knew about the bombing, then the killer most likely shot him, in hopes of silencing him. Niwa must have found out and been against the plan" hypothesises the Inspector. "But why leave the body here? Why not clean up after themselves?"
Chikusa answers that. "When I arrived, the outside door was locked, but there was blood dripping out from under the door. I searched around and found the key under that plant. The door to the rest of the building was locked too, but I tied the doorknob up so that no one from inside could open the door and walk in here. It seemed to me as if the killer was going to come back for the body and deal with it later."
"I agree Megure-keibu." 'says' Gokudera. Feeling his phone vibrate he says "Excuse me one moment" and they leave. Looking at his phone, it's a text from Juudaime.
He works at the Museum. We need to leave.
Gokudera, Chikusa and Mukuro re-join the others and go stand with Tsuna, Ken and Chrome.
"Excuse me, Megure-Keibu" says Gokudera. Megure turns his attention to the group. "Is it okay if we leave? Hattori can tell you that we have nothing to do with this murder. We don't want to get in your way- it seems as if you have everything under control here." It's strange to see Gokudera act so polite and calm, but they all agree this is the best way for them to leave quickly.
"I'll need you to fill out some forms about what you've seen here, but apart from that, I don't see why you all can't leave. Just don't leave the city until we are done, and be available in case we need you." He says thinking. The group all nod, and wonder over to a police officer whose holding the forms. After 10 minutes of filling them out, they walk towards the exit.
"See you later Hattori." Says Tsuna, giving him a wave. Hattori lamely waves back at them, and then takes a look at the roof Kudo was on: he is nowhere in sight.
Invisible to Hattori and the police, Shinichi and Flan climb back down and exit along with the others. Once they are far from the crime scene, Shinichi directs them towards the museum.
Once there, one of their questions is answered. The museum is having a private exhibition tonight, displaying its finds to its sponsors and other important people. And it's most recent exhibition? A display of guns from all over the world.
"So that party is going to end with a bang" Says Flan, looking the building over.
"Seems so." Agrees Shinichi. "But I wonder why? If we look at the text message we have most if it figured out. 'bomb ransom work event 2nite'. So since this is where he works, and there is an event going on here, we can assume we have the right place. 'ransom and bomb' most likely mean the killer is going to hold the sponsors to ransom, using the bomb as a threat. Based on events like this in the past, there will be some very influential people here tonight. Holding them to ransom will mean that their demands are most likely to be followed."
"That's horrible" gasps Tsuna. "Why would people do that? It's just not right." And his eyes change colour and the atmosphere around him grown serious. "We have to stop it."
"Yes Juudaime!" agrees Gokudera.
"The first thing we need to do is to get into that party. Gokudera?" explains Tsuna.
"I'm on it Juudaime. How many tickets will we need?" asks Gokudera, phone already in hand, pleased to be useful.
"Four tickets. Shinichi, you and I as well as Mukuro." Gokudera tenses slightly, knowing Mukuro is going to come, but still follows orders anyway. "Shinichi wouldn't be able to see without him, so he has to come along. When does the event start?"
"I'm afraid it's already started." Supplies Shinichi, looking at the signs on the building.
"Right. We'll need the others to do crowd control." Reaching over, he takes the walkie-talkie off of Gokudera's belt and speaks into it. "Boss to everyone, come in"
Immediately there are responses from the other Guardians in the area, along with the Men stationed to protect Tsuna. "Meet me infront of the Beika Museum."
Within 5 minutes, everyone has gathered.
"Yo Tsu-" noticing the colour of Tsuna's eyes, he quickly changes "Boss. What do you need?"
Tsuna quickly explains the situation to those around him.
"Me, Gokudera, Mukuro and Shinichi will be going inside to deal with the bomb. I need the rest of you to stay outside and protect as many people as possible. Yamamoto, I need our involvement in this kept from the public, especially Shinichi. Whilst Mukuro's illusions should cover him, I need you to make sure that his name is not leaked out to the media. Ryohei, I need you to keep anyone else from entering, and to keep people as far away from here as possible. When we evacuate the guests, you need to guide them away from here, got it?"
Yamamoto nods at his commands, understanding the need for secrecy.
"Got it to the EXTREME!" shouts Ryohei. "We need to protect them. Make sure to catch these guys Boss, I don't like people who hide behind innocents. They should be man enough to face the enemy directly- a 1 on 1 fight." He growls, punching one fist into the other hand. The others around nod in agreement.
"Got it Boss. If we walk in there, they'll let us in. Courtesy of Vongola backing, of course." Informs Gokudera.
Tsuna turns to him, accepting the new information. "Right, now all we need is suitable attire for this party."
"Over here Boss," directs Shinichi. He leads them to a suit shop a little way off. They quickly enter and buy some simple suits, paying with Tsuna's Vongola credit card.
As soon as they walk out, they head for the museum and enter.
The inside of the museum looks like any high class party, with waiters walking around with drinks and ladies in elaborate dresses. All around the main hall, men are in conversations or admiring the displays of history around the room. As soon as Tsuna is noticed, the most powerful people in the room flock to him, eager to greet him. Whilst Gokudera stays at his side, a disguised Shinichi and Mukuro walk around, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
The others had understood that they couldn't just walk in and announce the bombing. The terrorists would just leave with no trace and nothing would get done. Whilst it risked the safety of the guests at the party, they needed to capture these criminals to make sure they never harmed anyone again- meaning they had to let the party continue as normal.
"It's an honour to see you here Tenth. I didn't know you invested here." Exclaims one man, owner of a shipping company.
"I find History very important." Explains the Tenth, orange eyes smouldering gently "It is best to look at history and not repeat the mistakes of others, right. For how can we advance if we do not look at what has happened before?" Men and women all murmur over Tsuna's insight, stating what a wonderful philosophy it was. Even Gokudera was impressed.
Shinichi was worried about history in a different way. To him, it looked as if some of these artefacts were fakes. Well done replicas admittedly, but fake all the same. Walking out of the main room, Shinichi and Mukuro go to look around the rest of the museum. Eventually they arrive at the brand new gun exhibition. Shinichi notices that a few of these are fakes too. Some of the fake guns were even on loan from other countries. One such example was a MP5K from America. It reminded him of what Gokudera had said earlier. It was defiantly a weird Gun, covered in curved silver engravings and a triple S logo inlaid with gold. The shape of the gun was different too: the barrel was taller with a box on the end. Reading the article about the gun, it seemed that the weird additions were actually part of an inbuilt silencer. The gun was a special order that was never picked up, and had been sitting in an American show house until it's loan here.
Just as they were about to move onto a different area of the museum, one of the waiters came up to them.
"Excuse me Sirs, but may I ask that you return to the Main Hall. The Manager of the Museum is about to make a speech, and all guests are required to attend." Whilst the man remained friendly, he had positioned himself so that they had no choice but to walk in that direction. Exiting the room, Shinichi saw that other guests were also being herded back to the Main Hall. Once all of the guests were gathered in one place, the waiters closed the doors and stood infront of them. Even more waiters line the edges of the room. To Shinichi, there seemed to be far too many waiters for a small event like this.
"Kudo? How did you beat me here?" asks Hattori, wondering over. A few more people follow him too. Shinichi looks at the small group, and realises it's Megure, Takagi and Sato in disguise, obviously having found out where the man worked. They must have had a similar idea to Tsuna and decided to infiltrate rather than announce the police presence. However looking around the room, it seemed as if they were the only ones who had managed to get into the party.
Shinichi looks sharply at Mukuro, wondering why Hattori can see him, as can the other police members.
Leaning in close, Mukuro whispers into Shinichi's ear, "Sorry, Shinichi, but my flames are wearing thin. I've been using them all day. Entering your mind and body like that takes a lot of flames. Then I've been disguising you all day, and I'm running out. It's either see or be in disguise. I think that you would rather see" Mukuro's voice did sound slightly laboured. "You'll have to trust that Yamamoto can keep your name out of the papers. I doubt that many people here will recognise you; you haven't been in the news for over three years. These types of people will have been too busy to remember a small fry like you. The police are the only ones you need to worry about, I believe."
Mukuro leans away, but stays with Shinichi instead of wondering over to Tsuna, a small show of comfort. Taking in a deep breath, Shinichi comes up with a cover story.
"Hello Megure, Sato and Takagi. It's nice to see you again, it's been a while." The three police officers all nod, but Shinichi continues before they can ask their own questions. "I'm here escorting a friend of mine, Sawada Tsunayoshi from the V.F Corporation. It's sad to hear about Conan leaving wasn't it? I loved that little brat." Surprised over the sudden change of topic, the police nod, and say how it's going to be different without him. Seeing the manager take the stage, Shinichi excuses himself, and wonders away, trying to find Tsuna in the crowd.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for coming this evening. It is such a delight to see the faces of the people who back our research so generously. The results of your lavish donations can be seen all around you. It's amazing what the rich and powerful waste their money on" The manager's voice is still as sweet as honey, despite the obvious hate in those words. Murmurs ring around the room, the guests wondering what the man is going on about.
"There are far better things to be spending your money on than broken pottery, ancient jewellery, and weapons that no longer can be used!" The man's voice has risen, the anger clear for all to hear. "And we Black Wolves are going to change that!" Guests scream as the wait staff all aim guns towards them. Gokudera doesn't know where to look, trying to protect Juudaime from the guns. He calms down as some Vongola subordinates who had also managed to infiltrate the party, form a circle around Tsuna. Luckily no one has shot yet.
"Phones on the floor!" shouts the manager. Many guests immediately throw their phones on the floor, not used to hostage situations. One gunshot rings, shooting a phone that someone was using. "Next time we'll shoot the person not the phone." The wait staff move through the crowd, taking phones of guests and checking their persons. Purses are ransacked, jackets checked, trousers are patted down. Assured that there is no way they can contact the outside world, the phones are thrown into a bag and placed on the stage.
[To Yamamoto]
Find out who the Black Wolves are. They hate the rich and are possible counterfeiters based upon the number of fake items here.
Yamamoto sees the message in the air infront of him, nearly jumping when it just appeared. Immediately he's on the phone with Vongola contacts, trying to find out who these men are. The clues help somewhat.
The Leader of the gang takes one phone out and takes a look through it.
"Hmm, Hoshi Mira, leader of Blue Star Industry. Ahh~ you've even labelled members of the Board of Directors on your phone, how nice of you." After a few presses of buttons, the Leader raises the phone to his ear. The crowd falls silent, wondering what he's doing.
Fitting a device over the mouth piece, his voice comes out different. "Hello, is this Nina? Yes, I've got your Boss Mira here held captive. Call the police and she, along with the other guests will die, and you don't want that burden on your shoulders do you? Now listen carefully. I want 125,000,000 Yen [approximately £1 million British Sterling], in unmarked notes in a briefcase. Come to the back wall of the Beika museum and throw the case over the wall, with a little note attached to tell us it's from you. You have one hour before I shoot your Boss. Bye Bye~" and he hangs up. The man's grin is feral, all teeth.
That's a good plan for the money. Whilst that amount doesn't sound much, when you multiply it by the number of guests, it quickly becomes a very large number. Plus a number that small can be quickly found for these Businesses. They aren't going to quibble an amount that small over the safety of their Boss, best to ignore the police and give in to their demands. They are certainly more likely to receive their money this way.
The Boss places the phone into another bag, before handing both to one of his subordinates to repeat the process for the other phones.
Reborn most likely informed Vongola of the situation when Tsuna phoned earlier. If not, then they would have had the rundown by now. They would know that Tsuna was handling it. For Shinichi's own phone, there was a contact called Boss on there, linked to a Vongola number- untraceable. Apparently it was for situations like this, or when Shinichi needed an excuse involving work to get away. He didn't need to worry that they would pick a contact at random and call Ran or the Hakase.
What those men didn't know, was that there were three members of the police force, and a son of the Osakan Police force General in attendance as well. The Beika police were already informed of the apparent threat, but Shinichi wasn't sure if Hattori's Dad was as well. Either way, there would be more police surrounding the area soon.
"Oy, rich Bastards" shouts the Leader a little while later. "Which of you lot is the most powerful here?" there is silence. The man bunches his fists "All one of you lot needs to do is nominate someone. Just one person is all I need." The leader watches with a keen eye as the guests start to look around themselves. He notices a trend of where these people end up looking.
Eventually one of them shrugs off his body guards and walks forwards. The leader smiles, this was the one everyone else was looking to for guidance, a pretty good indicator that he's the most powerful one here.
"I am" states a young Brunet.
Shinichi, forgetting that Hattori and the Police officers are trailing him, steps forwards, hand half raised and shouts "Boss" in shock. Mukuro and Gokudera do similarly, practically at the same time.
Gokudera curses to himself, knowing that Juudaime would do something like that to protect the others; he should have silenced Juudaime himself beforehand.
Hattori and the Police officers wonder at Shinichi's outburst. He had introduced Tsuna as a friend, rather than his Boss. For Hattori, it raised even more suspicion. He hadn't called Tsuna Boss all day, even though the others had. Was Shinichi part of their gang too? How much of what Shinichi had told him today was true? And those men around Tsuna; they all had on that tie they were talking about earlier on today. Shinichi had said he didn't know what it was, yet it was linked to Tsuna.
Around them, gasps of 'Tenth' were heard from the guests, which confused Hattori even more.
"I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, heir to the V.F Corporation." States Tsuna, orange eyes glaring at the Black Wolves' Leader
"Oh-ho~ The Famous Tenth. Well, the V.F Corporation is indeed the most powerful." Sings the leader in glee.
So the Tenth comments are all due to Tsuna's position as heir to a company! Wonders Hattori.
Two men come up to Tsuna and each take an arm, leading him up to the stage.
"Take your hands off of Juudaime!" shouts Gokudera, mad at the manhandling of his Boss. One of the men in suits protecting Tsuna holds Gokudera back, whispering to him that Tsuna will be safe, he has his gloves in his pocket after all.
[to Chrome]
Come in here invisible. Boss has been taken from us protecting the guests. Keep an eye on him and feed information back to us.
A minute later, a ghostly touch against his hand informs Shinichi Chrome is here.
"Behind the stage to the right, 2 armed guards along with their leader" he whispers to thin air
"Okay, I'll protect Boss." A soft voice sounds from nowhere, before the ghostly touch leaves his hand.
Tsuna is currently in a room off of the main stage, away from the guests. One by one, Suitcases filled with money are brought in here, names being ticked off of a list as the cases are checked.
Sitting on a chair, his arms are loosely tied to his sides, his ankles bound together too. But there is still enough room to reach his pockets if he needs too. Something touches his knee, before a voice whispers in his ear, breath hot on his neck.
"I'm here Boss, don't worry. Everyone else is safe and unharmed" It was Chrome, using illusions to hide herself from the others. It was amazing how far her powers had come in the past three years. Tsuna nods his head, accepting the message.
"Why are you doing this?" Tsuna asks as the Leader walks past him. The Leader turns, a wicked smile on his face.
"We Black Wolves make better use of the rich people's money. There are starving children running alone on the streets. Homeless men wonder around in the cold. Innocent people run out of money and turn to loan sharks, never being able to make the repayments. You rich people do nothing to help them. You most likely don't even know they exist. Instead you waste large amounts of money on things dead people owned, or on paintings, stupid pieces of paper and ink! So we come in pretending to be art experts and Gallery managers, take valuable items and leave counterfeits behind, with people like you none the wiser. Then we hold an event like this, and get even more money off of you rich Bastards, before blowing the place sky high- our fake counterfeits along with it. And like Wolves, we disappear back into the forest, never to be seen again. With the money we gain, it's easy enough to get a new face, a new body; we never get caught."
Finally Tsuna understands, and the softer part of him baulks, hesitating over their good intentions. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do? Use the Mafia to protect the weak around me? But I'd never do it like this. I wouldn't involve bombs.
A little beeping noise sounds in the background. "It's been an hour Boss. We've got nearly all of the money. Enough to cut out losses."
"We're going to stop you." Growls Tsuna. "I won't let you bomb this place down. Not while there are innocent people in here." The Leader looks shocked.
"How do you know we have a bomb set up in here?" he snaps, getting right in Tsuna's face.
"We found the man you killed and hid in the block of flats. You should have cleaned up earlier. So why'd you kill him?"
"Kill him? I'd be more worried about your own safety if I were you!" The man shouts, pulling out a Gun- the same silver one Shinichi was so suspicious about- one he was certain was a fake. "Hehe, I killed him with this gun. Stupid fool found out we were exchanging the goods with fakes. He confronted me about it, so I shot him. Right through the stomach. He fell to the floor dead. I left him there, knowing no one was going to find him soon. Hardly anyone goes into that room. But if you know, then I'm going to have to kill you." The gleam in the man's eyes doesn't bode well for Tsuna.
"Boss, we need to leave. It'll go off in less than 5 minutes. You know what the blast radius is like- without the Van we'd never get away in time." Whines one of the men, not wanting to get caught in their own trap.
"You're right. We'll leave him here. He can die in the explosion." He sneers at Tsuna, before going to the door, opening it and shouting, "Black Wolves open the doors. We're leaving."
The majority of the wait staff jump onto the stage, run through the room and outside. The sound of vans leaving reaches Tsuna's ears. The Leader walks onto the stage. "We are going to let you all go now. Any mentions to the police, and we kill young Tsunayoshi. We're taking him with us." The doors are opened and the guests rush outside.
Hattori exits with the other guests, looking for Kudo. However, instead he notices a lot more men with the spotted tie directing the fleeing Guests.
"Oy, you're Shinichi's friend right?" comes a pleasant shout. Hattori looks over and sees a male with black hair come towards him. "Are they all alright? I don't see them nor Boss."
"Your Boss got captured protecting the guests, gave himself up willingly. Apparently, they're going to take him with them as insurance" says Hattori.
"Shit. Why is my Boss so stupid? It's exactly something he would do. Reborn's not going to be happy." Yamamoto hisses to himself, yet Hattori still hears.
"Rain Capo!" shouts one of the spotted tie men. Yamamoto turns to face the man who half bows at him.
That wasn't Japanese. Capo…capo… sounds more Latin based, French or Italian maybe. So does Decimo.
"Report from the Mist Capodecina." He says, straightening up. Since Mukuro wanted nothing to do with the mafia, that role had fallen onto Chrome. However it was a rarely used position, used more to protect her name from outsiders. "That claim is false. Boss is still in the building, they plan to leave him there and let him die in the explosion. He's found out about their plan. Like Star Capo suggested they are counterfeiters, and they are selling off the originals to make money to help people on the streets."
"So what Shinichi said was true. They must use the bombing to destroy their fakes. We need to get these people away from here before the bomb goes off." Mutters Yamamoto, not realising Hattori was listening.
Feeling like he's lost track of everything, Hattori adds this latest piece of information to his list. Star Capo suggested… What Shinichi said was true… That makes it sound as if Shinichi is the Star Capo, whatever that means. Following that logic, and Shinichi's earlier outburst of Boss, he really must be in with these guys. But he never was like this before. Nee-chan's never mentioned Conan hanging out with anyone but his little followers. And she keeps a tight eye on him. Hell, the kids would even tell her if Conan started hanging out with people like that. So it must be something new. Since he changed back maybe? That sliver guy, Gokudera, mentioned that the police shouldn't know he's back yet. Sounds like they know about Conan… Arg, this is all too much, just focus on the bomb for now, sort Kudo out later.
As soon as the men left him behind, Tsuna reaches into his pocket and places on one of his gloves. Lighting it, he tells the flame to burn through the ropes. It was a weird trait of his flames, most likely a reflection of his personality, but his flames never harm anything unless he wills it to. If he wanted them to burn or heat something, he had to physically think about it. The same applied if he wanted to burn a person, which so far, he hadn't, except maybe Byakuran.
Chrome materialises infront of him, a piece of paper in her hand. Gokudera rushes into the room shouting "Juudaime!". He skids to a halt directly infront of Tsuna before checking him for injuries. "Are you alright Juudaime? How could I let you do something like that? I couldn't protect you! I don't deserve-" Tsuna cuts him off there before Gokudera goes on any further.
"Gokudera I'm fine. I need you to help me diffuse the bomb." Gokudera immediately stops and turns serious.
"I managed to take this blueprint off of the Leader. I think it's for the bomb" says Chrome, waving the piece of paper. Gokudera takes it from her before looking at it.
"This is what we need, Juudaime. Now all we need to do is find it." Confirms Gokudera, before looking up at his Juudaime.
Tsuna nods before putting on his other glove. "It's just us in here right? Shinichi's friends are all outside?"
"Yes Juudaime." Putting a hand to his Bluetooth headset, he changes channels until he finds what he's looking for. He had had it hidden during the checks, as did Tsuna. "Yes, he's talking to Yamamoto at the moment." Changing channels again he adds "Megure-keibu is outside helping Ryohei to keep the guests calm. Wait… Shinichi confirms that it's just us in here now. "
And in a flash of orange flames, Tsuna is gone. Flying down the hallways, he searches for anything that shouldn't be there. A mental timer ticks ever downwards in his head.
However, it seems as if his efforts aren't needed, for soon there is a shout of 'Juudaime' from Gokudera. Flying back to his position, he sees Gokudera kneeling infront of a sports bag. Shinichi and Mukuro have also arrived during the time Tsuna went flying.
"Seems they didn't want anyone to find it, so they kept it with them." He explains, moving slightly to allow Tsuna a look.
"Chrome, you should leave now. Take Shinichi and Mukuro with you too. Make sure no one comes in here. We don't want anyone close in case we can't disarm it." Tsuna orders.
"Juudaime, you should leave too." Says Gokudera, a look of determination in his eyes.
"What! I'm not leaving you here Gokudera." Shouts Tsuna, whirling back to face him.
"Listen to me Juudaime. You're the only heir Vongola has left, your safety is top priority." Explains Gokudera, standing up to be on the same level as Tsuna
"Like I give a shit about that. I'm not leaving you here to do this by yourself Gokudera." Argues Tsuna, eyes blazing fire.
"I'll be in contact through the headsets. You can still talk to me through that." Seeing Tsuna about to retaliate, he continues "If the bomb does go off, you should be outside so you can protect the innocent guests outside. With your flames, you and the others can protect them from the blast. I don't have time to argue with you, GO!" Tsuna freezes from having Gokudera shout at him like that. Chrome grabs Tsuna's arm and drags him out. Shinichi and Mukuro leave too.
From around the corner Tsuna shouts "You'd better survive Hayato. I need you to live, you hear! I need my Right Hand Man by my side"
Gokudera smiles to himself, before getting to work. Lifting the lid off of the bomb, he checks the blueprints and starts.
As soon as Tsuna is outside, Yamamoto and Ryohei descend on him. Tsuna shakes off his fears and faces them with purpose.
Hattori watches as Tsuna starts to give orders, both men in suits and those teens around his own age coming and going from his position. In fact, Tsuna seems to have the situation under control and settled quicker than the Police can.
"Shinichi, you were right: they were counterfeiters." Informs Yamamoto.
"How did you know, Star Capo?" asks one man, clapping Shinichi on the back
That confirms that. Shinichi is the Star Capo. He's definitely in with them. But who are they? They are handling this far too well. The structure seems off though. It's the teens like Shinichi and Tsuna that seem to be in charge, rather than the older men in suits.
"I've seen certain artefacts in there from my childhood, and noticed the differences. Those imitations weren't perfect, but still very close." Explains Shinichi, the others listening and nodding in understanding.
"Haha, your flame's great Shinichi" compliments Yamamoto.
Seeing the sharp looks others are giving him, Shinichi ducks his head, raises his hands in defence, and laughs "Don't worry, I didn't open my eyes. Sheese you guys, lay off"
"Talking of seeing, Chrome, take over." Orders Mukuro. Chrome nods and moves to stand behind Shinichi. The images leave his head, and he can feel Mukuro's now very small flame leave his mind. After a moment, Chrome's similar yet different flame brushes his, and he can 'see' again. Whilst not as clear as when Mukuro did it, and with a slightly different view, Chrome still does a very good job. Mukuro walks away from the group, soon to be surrounded by Ken and Chikusa, who are ready with drinks and snacks for him.
"Yo, Kudo, ain't you missing one?" asks Hattori. The group focus on him, looking startled to find him so close.
"Gokudera's diffusing the bomb. He's got more experience than I have. Plus, I can't even see the bomb to attempt to diffuse it. He's the only other one who has the knowledge." Explains Shinichi.
"Tako-head is doing what?" shouts Ryohei in worry.
"Juudaime, I'm down to the last two wires" reports Gokudera through his headset. For the benefit of those without receivers, Tsuna takes his off and turns up the volume.
"Well done Gokudera." Says Tsuna warmly.
"I don't know which to cut though, they're not on the blue-prints" he explains rather sheepishly.
"What colour are they?" asks Yamamoto.
"Rather cliché, but red and blue."
Shinichi stiffens and blinks, remembering the bombing incident with Ran. It all came down to a red or blue wire.
"Juudaime, you pick. Red or blue?" eyes turn to Tsuna
Red?
Blue?
How could he decide that? Gokudera's life was on the line. ALL of their lives are on the line.
The others all remain silent, giving Tsuna time to think it through.
"10 seconds Juudaime" warns Gokudera.
Tsuna's eyes widen, and he takes a breath in.
Red?
Blue?
7, 6, 5,
Why me? Why is it always me who has to make these decisions? I'm not a genius like Gokudera or Shinichi. I'm just Dame Tsuna. No- Good Tsuna. I don't have the right to make a decision like that!
4, 3,
"Juudaime…" prompts Gokudera.
Tsuna closes his eyes and gives his answer.
2, 1.
Everyone turns to face the building, readying their flames just in case.
Zero.
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, and Tsuna runs in, straight to Gokudera. Not bothering to stop, he barrels straight into his right hand man, capturing him in a hug, tears of relief falling out of chocolate eyes.
"You're alive. Well done Hayato."
"It's all thanks to you Juudaime." Says Gokudera, wiping the tears away.
The others cheer and hi-five each other for a job well done. Shinichi walks away from the group, Chrome following.
"What made you choose the blue wire?" asks Gokudera. Yet in his head, all Shinichi hears is himself, asking Ran that same question.
Forgetting that the others can hear through the headsets, Tsuna replies honestly. "Because red represents you. And I didn't want to lose you."
"I didn't want to cut the red string of fate between us."
A handkerchief is passed into Shinichi's hand and he quickly wipes his tears away before anyone else finds out about them. After all, it's only him and Chrome here.
10 minutes later and raucous laughter can be heard from all of the Vongola present, Guardians and Subordinates alike. Hattori and Megure's team stare on in disbelief.
For coming down the road are the Black Wolves, tails figuratively between their legs.
Handcuffed together in one long straight line like slaves.
A smug Hibari leads the pack, members of his Disciplinary Committee keeping the Wolves in line. He walks straight up to Tsuna, places the leading chain and handcuff in his hands before leaving.
"Well done Hibari. Thank you" shouts Tsuna after him. Hibari doesn't respond, but Hibird soars into flight, singing happily.
"Che, what's he like?" mumbles Gokudera looking at the captives before him.
"Luka" says Tsuna loudly over the laughter. One man detaches himself from a group of Subordinates and stands before Tsuna
"Yes, Boss?"
"Take a team and go clear up Hibari's mess. The van's they left in will be a wreck, and judging by the Wolves appearances, there will be blood on the road. I want there to be no evidence left of their fight. Understand?"
"Of course Boss. Right away" He bows to Tsuna before turning away, calling over some help and walking the way the Wolves had come from. He gets on the phone and calls in whatever backup he may need, along with a call for a cleaning crew. Vongola knew how to make something disappear.
Watching them walk away, Tsuna turns his attention to the Wolves infront of him. Tugging on the chain, he leads them to Megure-keibu.
"Please lock them up and allow them to atone for their crimes." Tsuna says, handing over the chain to the stunned man.
Once the chain is in his grip, Megure seems to snap out of his shock and starts ordering the police around him about. Very quickly, the men are lead away escorted by a parade of Police officers.
"I believe that's everything Inspector" says Tsuna, once the men have left his sight.
"Um- Er, Yes." Stutters Megure.
"Can we go now, Keibu?" prompts Tsuna. "We filled out all of the forms you needed us to before the Black Wolves arrived."
"Err, umm Yes." Is all the dear Inspector can say at the moment, amazed by what this group of teens have managed to do.
Tsuna nods and turns away, before nodding to Gokudera.
"Alright men! We're going home!" Gokudera shouts, loud enough for everyone to hear. All of the men and Guardians assemble before Tsuna, before a trail of cars comes down the road.
"Shinichi?" shouts Tsuna, for Shinichi is over the other side of the road, leaning against a building, out of the way, just watching Tsuna and Vongola work. "Are you coming home, or are you staying with Mukuro?"
Are you coming home?... Wait, he's coming with me!
But before Hattori could shout his opinion, Shinichi had already stated that he was going with Mukuro, and gotten in a different car along with the girl, and the blond, and the rest of their little group. Just before Shinichi got into the car, he shouts "Bye, Hattori, see you later!", and then he is gone.
Hattori stands there for a few moments, shocked like the Police are over this mysterious group of Teens that had invaded Beika. Finally, he turns on his heels and makes the trip back to Shinichi's house. Along the way, he gets a text from Kudo
Crazy night eh? Will be back soon, want to meet parents when I can see them. Too defenceless otherwise. Thx for the help.
Crazy night indeed.
Walking back into the Kudo estate, he lets himself in and immediately raids the fridge, and makes himself some coffee. Bringing them upstairs, he enters the guest room he's been given, places his meal on the desk before digging his laptop out of his bag.
Booting it up, he opens a word document and starts to put down everything strange he can remember from today.
Finally he turns to the matter of Kudo's new friends, especially the brunet. He had been called Boss, Juudaime, and even called himself Decimo.
Typing Decimo into a search engine, the first thing that comes up is a wiki page. Decimo: Italian meaning tenth.
Okay, so that goes with the others, Juudaime means Tenth. Everyone at the party called him Tenth too. So it's related to his position as Heir to a company. Kudo did say that Tsuna was part of V.F Corporation, which is huge. Being a rich heir could explain some of the bodyguards he had, but not all of the men that arrived. The company route also explains why they all had the same ties on. It clarifies why it seemed as of Tsuna was in control, but it doesn't explain the orders he gave out. I don't think a Company heir knows how to deal with crime scenes or bombing scenes either.
Moving on are those people who were with Tsuna and Kudo. That guy outside was called Rain Capo, and the man also mentioned Mist Capodecina. What to those mean? Certainly not Japanese, and from my knowledge of English, not that either.
Back on the search engine, Hattori types in Capo. The first page that comes up is an article about a musical instrument, so Hattori ignores that. It's the second one that catches his eye. Again another Wiki article.
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" ...
He clicks on the page and reads more of the article. It seems that Capodecina is Italian, whilst Caporegime is only used for American based Mafia.
Wait… MAFIA. Decimo is Italian too. A company wouldn't use terms like that without knowing their full meaning. And why would a Japanese company use Italian terms anyway. And Tsuna's friends did seem to be the leaders there, which would go with what this article is saying about Crew Leaders. So what's Kudo doing with guys who use Mafia terms. In fact… He was even called Capo. Oh, what was it… Star Capo! And one of them even diffused the bomb. That's not something a Businessman needs to know. But Mafioso might.
And right at the end, Tsuna asked Kudo if he was coming home. And I don't think he meant here. So does Kudo see his place with them now? He must have been staying with them since he changed back then. But how does he know them? He never mentioned them before the change, so it must be after the change. He said that KID had connections, and they changed him back. But it was experimental technology and not legal. Did KID introduce Kudo to the Mafia? But I can't be sure without a Family Name to go on. Apart from those coloured ties (which may be part of the company, rather than a Mafia Family symbol) there were no other signs as to their family allegiance. No one mentioned who they belonged to. That silver head guy was sure to address them as everyone, rather than shouting out the Family name. So what names do I have to go on? Tsuna, Gokudera, that guy Tsuna was on the phone to… Reborn. He was mentioned by the Rain guy too 'Reborn will be mad'. So that's another name to go on. Mukuro seemed to be the leader of the little gang, when he finally appeared at the party with Kudo.
Shinichi, what have you gotten yourself into?
At first this was going to be a simple Murder case. Then I decided that Vongola needed to be involved to make Hattori suspicious, so I decided he was going to get kidnapped. Then I had a flash on inspiration and wrote notes for a bombing incident. But I didn't feel as if it was Detective Conan without a dead body, so I used both. It fulfilled my purpose anyway. I am very surprised that no one told me off for there not being a dead body. How many Conan Action fics last this long without a dead body? I suppose that the Heists make up for it but still…
Yamamoto is referred to here as Rain Capo by one of the subordinates. This (short for Capodecina) is a mafia term referring to the head of a section or department. All of the guardians are referred to as this by their subordinates, as a show of respect and following natural mafia rules. In addition, most subordinates most likely don't even know their names, especially Shinichi who is so new. Capo is most likely the only form of address they can give. Just one small way to get them used to the idea of being in the Mafia- sneaky Reborn.
This is your last chance to decide if Hattori should follow Shinichi into the Mafia, or be his Rival and Moral Compass. Whilst I have an idea myself where he should be to make a better story, I just wanted to know your views.
This will practically be your last chance to suggest chapter ideas and story arcs before I move on to the next part of the story. I say practically, since you reviewers usually remind me of bit's I've forgotten.
This is the first Detective Conan case I've ever written, so please point out anything I've left out, or loose ends I haven't tied up.
See you all next time!
Phantom Hitman 1412
First published 14 Feb 2012
Edits: Thanks to Shadow Phoenix 16 for correcting my Star and Moon crossover. I had called Shinichi moon although out the fic, when he is the Star. Lol, silly me.