Chapter 18 What is the reason?
For those of you who got to my story before I changed it, I have corrected Shinichi being called Moon Capo rather than Star. A very silly mistake on my part. So sorry to those who read the chapter before I could change it. Also thank you to everyone who answered my question! That was so kind of you all XD.
To purplebunny93. Thank you for your kind compliments! Lots of people have given me idea's for Hattori, just like I asked for, which is nice. I'll take your idea into consideration. I'll try my best to keep up the good work for you.
To kaorixra, I'm glad you found it interesting. You'll see what I've done with Hattori here. Not any KaiShin in this chapter, but there will be more soon. Shinichi can fight, but I haven't really shown it a lot. Like Conan he kicks footballs at people, and he has his pen to fight with too. I was trying to explain his other move more first. It'll come into play eventually.
In the first section, the changes in names and titles are intentional. I'm not going mad ;)
Blood.
All he could see was that huge puddle of blood surrounding the corpse. He could even see his reflection in it. His face was red, his hair was crimson, his eyes were ruby, his hands were scarlet. The only thing that wasn't red was his gloves. Is this why they were midnight black? To hide the colour of the blood of all the people killed by Vongola? Were they this colour specifically to hide the evidence of the sin now on his shoulders? A sin he never wanted to carry, still doesn't want to, yet was force upon him by Primo.
Wait, he didn't even have his gloves on at the crime scene.
That body was just lying there, suit gradually becoming more and more and more stained. The blood moved, the river of red slowly meandering its way towards him. No longer able to look, he spins, and comes face to face with the barrel of a gun. That gun. Raising his eyes, he stares right into the face of the Black Wolves leader.
He grins showing teeth as sharp as the wolf he is named after. Looking behind the man, Tsuna expects to see the rest of the Wolves. But instead, he sees homeless girls, starving old men, a women screams in fright as the loan sharks raid her house. The Leader sneers, and gestures to his right. There is Gokudera, on his knees infront of the bomb, frantically trying to diffuse it. As the counter ticks ever downwards.
But Tsuna's too scared to move. He's frozen in place, unable to drag Gokudera away from the bomb. All he can do is stand there. He can't breathe, can't blink, can't even move a finger.
And the bomb goes off.
He flies forwards, into the blast, determined to save his Guardian, his friend, the first person to truly accept and admire him. But he can't find him. Gokudera is nowhere in sight.
Tsuna collapses to his knees, head resting on the floor, eyes squeezed shut. He screams in despair over his friend.
The scream wakes everybody up. It's not one of Tsuna's Heeii's in comic fright. It's not one of Boss's shouts of defiance towards an enemy. It's a mixture of the two- not as high pitched, but not as deep either. It's a shout of pure anguish.
There is a moment of stillness whilst people recognise that the scream was Tsuna's. There is another moment as people realise that the scream wasn't from inside the house. Running towards their windows, they find their answer.
From their position, he is floating in mid-air, laying on his back, silhouetted by the moon which is directly behind him. Bright flashes of Orange light show that it's his gloves keeping him in the air.
Having seen the flash of orange race past his window before the scream, Gokudera was half way down the stairs before the shout came. Now, only a few moments later, he can be found in the garden, staring up at Tsuna.
Suddenly there is a flash of bright blue light. As the light fades, they can see it's source is from below Tsuna. From his position in the ground Gokudera can easily see what it is- The Vongola Seal.
A warm hand brushes his head, and Tsuna stops crying. Looking up, he notices that the area around him is no longer the red of the explosion, nor the brown of the museum but the bright pure blue of the sky. His eyes flick up, following the arm up to a face.
Primo.
"What is wrong Decimo?" he asks, voice soft. Unlike last time Tsuna was here, there are no masks between them, nor do there seem to be any other Bosses in sight. "Your flame was in turmoil."
Tsuna just continues to stare up at Primo. Sighing, Giotto uses his other glove to wipe Tsuna's tears away, before kneeling to the boy's level and pulling him into a hug.
"It'll be alright." He croons. Tsuna just sits there, held in the man's embrace.
"You should know" mumbles Tsuna. Finally getting a response, Giotto pulls back slightly, arms still supporting the teen infront of him, yet he can now see Tsuna's face.
"Why do people kill?"
Primo looks shocked at this question, before Giotto tilts his face in pain and understanding, tightening his hug on the wounded Decimo. "So that's what it was. I understand. Was that the first time you had seen a body like that?"
A stiffening Tsuna answers that question. "And the gun?" Tsuna just grabs Primo's shirt in his fists, shaking slightly.
"And the bomb?" Whilst he hates to ask Tsuna these questions, he needs to know. He can only see Tsuna's life up to the point where he first placed on the Half-Sky ring. Not before. Tsuna just rests his forehead on Primo's shoulder.
"Justice was given to that Man Tsuna. He is now in the custody of the police."
"But he was helping people" mumbles Tsuna, more tears silently making their way down his face. "He was using the money to help people on the streets. To save people from Poverty. And I put him away. What's going to happen to them? How can I balance the life of one man against all of the others he was helping?"
"So you feel bad over that? You need to balance the Good and Bad, Decimo. Good: he was providing a living for him and the Wolves. He was giving the money to those who needed it. He gave the counterfeiter a living, and the plastic surgeon too. As well as who ever made fake papers for them. But weigh that against the bad. He is breaking the law. He traumatised those guests. He was going to blow up a building, the guests and the police who were in the blast area. He is removing valuable pieces of history. If they were found to be fakes, who would get the blame? Certainly not him. Instead of comparing the death of the man who did die, maybe it would be better to compare who could have died. And they would stay dead. Those people who the Black Wolves were helping can find other places to help them; as long as they are alive they have that chance. And maybe when you are Decimo fully, you can be the one to turn their lives around."
Tsuna nods slightly, and stops shaking. He brings one of his black gloves up to wipe the remaining tears away, and is reminded of his original question.
"Why do people kill?"
Tsuna watches as Primo leans back and removes his hands. Instead he stretches out, hands behind his head, as if lounging on a sofa. "Why do people kill? In self-defence- you do not blame a soldier for firing back on the battlefield. To protect something important to them. To remove people who do bad things." At this one, Giotto looks out the corner of his eye at Decimo. Tsuna looks shocked, yet the Decimo inside of him is accepting- Byakuran is a good example of this. "Emotions can get in the way, creating anger so bad that death just happens, especially with guns making it so easy to kill these days. People kill for their own form of justice."
"You've killed people"
Giotto turns his head to look at Tsuna. He wasn't sure if that was a statement or a question. Seems as if Tsuna doesn't know either. "Yes, I have. To protect those precious to me"
"Like G, and Asari, and Lampo, and all of the others." Tsuna looks into Primo's eyes, seemingly searching for something.
"Death happens all around you Decimo. The law known as the Government kill. They kill criminals for their crimes. The law known as the Mafia kill. It is something you will have to get used to. As long as there is a justified reason, then who are you to say who can and cannot die?"
Tsuna thinks this over for a while.
"Niwa Kouske died. Yet because of his death, you saved hundreds of lived. That means he didn't die a pointless death. If death does occur around you, you should strive to make it mean something. There is nothing worse than a pointless death."
Decimo seems to accept this, and Giotto notices that Tsuna has calmed down significantly. Sitting up fully, Giotto pats Tsuna on the head.
"It's about time you went back, Decimo. Your friends are worried about you. Speaking of friends, I've noticed that you have 2 new Guardians. Star and Moon were very good friends of mine. You should look after yours, they will be needed for the future to come. Yet remember that you cannot hold them as close as the rest of your Guardians. There is a reason that the moon and the stars are so far from the sky, even though they reside in it." And with that, Giotto becomes covered in Sky flames and disappears.
Tsuna opens his eyes to find himself outside. Wait… when did he get outside?
Awake Tsuna loses control of his flames, not even realising they were on in the first place, and falls from the sky.
"Tsuna"
"Juudaime!"
"Vongola"
Several shouts of his name reach Tsuna's ears. Tsuna closes his eyes, readying his body for the inevitable impact with the ground to come. But when he does land, it's not on the ground, but into the arms of those below him.
Opening his eyes, many concerned faces peer down. Yamamoto, Gokudera and Ryohei, even Spanner, Shoichi and Kaito.
"Thanks guys" Tsuna whispers.
"Juudaime, are you alright? What happened?" questions Gokudera.
Tsuna yawns. "A nightmare, and a talk with Primo. I'm alright now. No need … to… worry" And in the comfort of his friends arms, Tsuna falls asleep.
"Well, it was an eventful day yesterday" comments Kaito, since it's 1 AM. "I don't think he's seen a dead body, or faced a bomb before. Chrome said he even had a gun pointed at him. It would have been hard on him."
"Che, and you would know?" remarks Gokudera.
"Kufufu, of course" Smirks Kaito. "Me and My Shinichi both. All three in fact. Bodies, guns and bombs, a usual day in our lives." And with that bombshell, "Goodnight" Kaito releases his hold on Tsuna's foot and walks off back to bed.
"Haha, he must be joking" laughs Yamamoto. The others don't comment.
"Did Kaito just… Ku-fu-fu at us?" asks Shoichi a moment later.
"Hm, he did sound rather like Mukuro at that point." Agrees Yamamoto.
"Exactly like Mukuro. He even had the walk down and everything" replies Shoichi. Deciding to leave Kaito's mysterious acting alone for the moment, they decide to head back to bed.
Ryohei hoists Tsuna over his shoulder and carries him back through the mansion, up the stairs and tucks him back into bed.
"Sleep tight, little Bro."
It was after lunch by the time Shinichi, now able to see everything and open his eyes without a major headache, arrived back. However he noticed two things. Firstly, that the others were keeping their distance from Kaito. They were watching him from the corners of their eyes and… giggling at him? The second was that Kaito didn't seem to be himself. It seemed that since he was in an argument with Lambo, he didn't see Shinichi walk through the door.
So, walking over to Tsuna, Shinichi asks, "What's wrong with Kaito?".
Tsuna shakes his head as if he's just stopped laughing and turns to face Shinichi. "Welcome back, Shinichi. It seems that you aren't the only one to have repercussions from over using your flame." Shinichi gives Tsuna a questioning look, so Tsuna continues "As you know, yesterday, Kaito fought all of us with his moon flame on the whole time. However, to create more of a challenge, and I suspect to train our teamwork too, Reborn got more than one of us to fight Kaito at a time. During the training session, Kaito switched his flame so fast and so many times, that his flame… Pft… has gone haywire" and Tsuna bursts out laughing.
"It's gone what?" gasps Shinichi.
Tsuna, still laughing, just points to Kaito and says "Watch."
"Juudaime, this isn't something to laugh over. If I can't control my flame, then I don't deserve to be your Guardian" Kaito says, whirling around to face Tsuna instead of Lambo.
"Kaito has been acting like people in the base all day. Apparently it started last night: There was an … incident last night, and I kind of woke the house up at one in the morning. After I fell back asleep, the guys tell me he started to act like Mukuro before heading back off to bed. When he woke up this morning, he was acting like Yamamoto. At breakfast, him and Ryohei had an extreme eating challenge, which Ryohei didn't start. Then, pfftt, straight afterwards, he starts acting like the maids." Tsuna bursts out laughing again "He was clearing up the plates and asking 'Is there anything else I can get you young Master?'. And then goes and starts on the housework! The next time I see him, he's acting just like Tasumi."
"You mean that guy from the HR department?" asks Shinichi. Tasumi was known for his wide and highly academic range of vocabulary, some of which even Shinichi didn't understand. Along with that, he was known for shuffling around, always tapping away on his PDA. "And now it's Gokudera."
"Yes. We asked him to light his ring earlier and instead of white, it was flickering through all of the other colours. It's driving him up the wall. Like I said earlier, Reborn reasons it's because there were too many changes in a limited period. For both of you, the more you train, the less you'll be affected. We were never affected like this though."
"That's simple Dame-Tsuna" comes a voice. Both Shinichi, Kaito and Tsuna all look towards the door, where there is a new umbrella stand. The umbrella stand jumps, and Tsuna ducks. However Reborn isn't having any of that, spins and still manages to whack Tsuna.
"Would you tell us the reason Reborn" asks Kaito. Still as Gokudera though- out of respect for the Hitman, Gokudera was always polite to him.
"Out of the nine of you, how many use weapons as your main ability?" asks Reborn, wanting them to find the answer themselves.
"Well counting Chrome there's 10 of us" Starts Shinichi, but Kaito interrupts.
"10 Guardians for Vongola's Tenth Generation, pretty cool that."
"BUT" Shinichi continues "she and Mukuro use the same weapon."
"Weapon users… Well, Mukuro uses a trident, Gokudera uses dynamite, Yamamoto a sword, Hibari's tonfas and Lambo's horns. So five of us do." Counts Tsuna.
"Actually 6 including you" comments Shinichi, looking towards Reborn for reassurance. Reborn nods.
"For this example, Tsuna your gloves count." He affirms
"So that leaves, Kaito, me and…Ryohei" finishes Shinichi.
"Hm, but you use that pen-knife and I use cards." Questions Kaito, seemingly back to normal, for the moment.
"I know what Reborn's getting at." Explains Shinichi. "We are the only ones who are having repercussions because we don't channel our flames into a weapon the whole time. My Star Observation focuses on my eyes, whilst your Moon:Mirror is on your mind and whole body. By channelling their flames into weapons, the others aren't as affected. This is also why Tsuna's gloves count as a weapon in this case. Unlike Ryohei, he doesn't use his bare fists, but channels the flames into his gloves instead."
"But Onii-san didn't have any repercussions either" informs Tsuna.
"He was careful how he used his hands after training I'm guessing- following our pattern." Extrapolates Shinichi.
Tsuna gasps "That's right! According to Colonnello, it was to put energy back into his cells."
"Well there you go." Smirks Reborn.
Kaito looks at Shinichi and blinks, as if only realising then that he had returned.
"Shin-chan you're back!" Kaito shouts, clapping his hands. After one clap, a load of confetti come out of Kaito's hands. Clapping again, and slowly drawing his hands apart, a banner unfurls between them. It has welcome back written on it.
"Yes, Kaito I'm back. I wasn't gone that long. And I was only with Mukuro, it wasn't as if I was kidnapped or anything." Says Shinichi, smiling at Kaito's greeting.
But suddenly Kaito turns cold and aloof. "Only with Mukuro? I should bite you to death for being gone so long with him." And he stalks off.
"Oh dear" Tsuna laughs nervously "He's acting like Hibari now. You'll find him on the roof then."
Shinichi nods and makes his way to the roof.
He finds Kaito on a rooftop veranda and sits opposite him, looking out at the gardens.
"I've finally solved that problem." Shinichi remarks, seemingly to thin air.
"Oh, a problem that the Heisei Homes was having trouble with? Please divulge." Says Kaito. That was the way Risa from Finance talked. A posh, upper class, snooty little so-and-so.
"Ever since Pandora cried on you, you've been having mood swings." Shinichi looks to the side at Kaito's shocked face. "ha, after all the time we spent together as kids, and the past three years of chasing Kaitou 1412, I've gotten to be able to read you pretty well. It's even easier to read Kaito over KID though. Even though you tried to hide it, I've noticed them. It's your flame affecting your personality. Just like it does for all the others. A split flame like yours gives you mood swings, and may even be the cause for your multiple personalities."
Kaito looks out over the gardens and contemplates this. So many things have changed after being cried upon by Pandora. But they couldn't really be described as changes. It's more like answers had suddenly been found. "And what about you? Surely you can't be the only exception."
"Me? Well I found out my answer yesterday. My flame draws me to death."
"D-Death?" gasps Kaito, shocked at Shinichi's personal analysis.
"Well, black does represent death after all. And for as long as I can remember, death has occurred around me far too often to be natural. Who else do you know that finds crime scenes and murders as often as I do? You could say the police do, but that's because they go looking for it. It's their job to handle it. People come to them with the dead body. I never ask for a dead body, one just literally falls into my hands. So my flame could be the answer to that." Kaito looks sceptically at Shinichi, not believing a word the detective has just said. "I've got proof. My flame flared just seconds before we heard a scream. The others even saw it. We follow the scream, and there's a dead body on the pavement."
Shinichi's phone chooses that moment to go off. Seeing the caller ID, he sighs. Kaito snatches the phone and answers, in Shinichi's voice of course. For Shinichi's benefit, he places it on speaker phone
"Hello Hattori"
"Yo, Kudo. I thought you were coming back? Your parents really want to see you, you know. And… I need to ask you about something."
Kaito looks at the phone as if he could see Hattori's expression through it.
"Oh god my parents" moans Shinichi, dragging a hand over his face. "Sure, Hattori, I'll be there soon. I'll leave the house in a minute."
"Okay Kudo. See you then" and Hattori hangs up.
"You don't want to see your parents?" asks Kaito.
"Noo, I love them, I really do. But they drive me up the wall. They appear and disappear when it suits them. And Mum's just so, bouncy, and in your face and god damn nosey about really embarrassing things. She does what she wants and forces you along for the ride. If she wants you in Tokyo, then she'll kidnap you in the night and you wake up the next morning strapped to her to stay on the bike. It was even worse when I was Conan, I was far too easy to pick up. I felt like one of those Handbag dogs."
Kaito laughs at this image before announcing out loud, "I want to see them again."
Shinichi pales. His mother…and Kaito… in the same room! Shinichi backpedals, waving his arms for emphasis. "No, no way! No way in hell Kaito."
But Kaito is Kaito, and Kaito is KID and KID always gets what he wants. Grabbing Shinichi's arm, he drags Shinichi down the stairs and through the corridors. Just as he gets to the next set of stairs KID shouts
"Oi Tsuna" KID knows how to project his voice, sounding like he was anywhere in the room. He gets a frightened 'Heeii' in answer, telling KID that Tsuna was downstairs. So continuing on their way, KID descends pulling Shinichi behind him.
"You stupid thief, treat Juudaime with more respect" shouts Gokudera back, seemingly at thin air since he doesn't know where KID is.
"I'm KID-napping Tantei-kun" No one misses the capitals on KID. "His parents want to see him, and I want to see them. So I'm taking him." He opens the door to the garage without waiting for an answer and pushes Shinichi into the passenger side of one of the cars. Sitting in the driver's seat, he pulls some keys from his pocket and turns the engine on.
"Where did you get those?" asks Shinichi, as if asking a little kid where he kept finding sweets from.
"From the pin board at the entrance, where they always are, silly Tantei-kun." States KID simply. Shinichi was sure that he didn't see KID reach for them though.
Tsuna and Gokudera burst through the door and KID gives them a grin, before waving and flooring the accelerator. And there they were, gone.
"I hope that KID's alright now." Comments Tsuna before returning back inside the house.
And so a little while later, Shinichi and Kaito, thankfully dressed in casual clothes rather than Vongola-styled suits, are standing outside the Kudo residence.
Shinichi turns to Kaito. "Let me see your flame" he orders. Kaito huffs "I'm not having you act like people from the Base in front of Hattori and my parents. Flame Kaito, now" Kaito complies and lights his ring. The flames were something they were still getting used to. Kaito's is pure white again, no flickering colours at all. Shinichi is fine with that, and faces the house again.
Shinichi takes in a deep breathe, before walking up the path and opening the door.
"Ah~ Shinichi-baby" cries his mum, running over and enthusiastically hugging him.
A head appears around the kitchen door. "Now, Now Kiko, you're crushing the poor boy."
She does loosen up a little in response to her husband's warning, and runs a loving hand through Shinichi's hair, patting it down. "But I haven't seen by baby all grown up for so long."
"I'm going to miss the little guy though. He was cute like that" joins Kaito.
Yukiko immediately answers that remark "Yes, I did have the cutest child in history" before craning her neck around Shinichi to look at the person who had said that. Hearing that remark, Hattori pokes his head through the doorway to the living room. All three residents realise this means that this stranger knows.
Yukiko's eyes widen in joy and recognition, and she lets go of Shinichi, only to jump and clap her hands "Oh, Yusaku look, it's little Kaito." Before literally pushing Shinichi out of the way and hugging the life out of Kaito.
Said husband appears at the doorway again to take a look and hums in agreement "He's all grown up too."
"It's lovely to see you again, My Lady." Greets Kaito, not sounding like the breath is being squeezed out of him. A flick of his wrist, and a rose appears in his hand. That gets Yukiko off.
"Oh, just like your Father" Yukiko says as she takes the rose.
"Mum, can we please get out of the doorway?" asks Shinichi, pressed up against the wall.
"Of course of course. Kaito hunny, come and sit down." Hands on his shoulders, she propels Kaito into the living room, narrowly missing Hattori who had jumped out the way in time, and flings him on the sofa. Yukiko leaves the boys alone to go make them some drinks.
"Hattori, this is Kuroba Kaito. Our parents knew each other so we became friends when we were younger, hence the dramatic greeting from my Mum. Kaito, this is Hattori Heiji, Detective of the West"
Whilst KID most likely knew who Hattori was, Hattori would get suspicious without a return introduction.
Yukiko re-enters the room, a tray of drinks in her hands, she sets the tray down and looks at the three boys. Yusaku comes in too, having finished what he was doing, and sits on a different sofa with his wife.
"So, are you going to tell us how it happened, or do I have to guess?" She asks, eyes on Shinichi.
Just likes his mum, straight to the point. Keeping in mind his conversation with Hattori from yesterday, Shinichi starts. Having Hattori and his parents here makes it harder, since they know about Kaito, but Hattori doesn't. Kaito keeps quiet, not knowing how Shinichi wants to play this. But he'll still be there, to offer any support he can.
"Haibara and the Hakase didn't create the antidote. I met some new 'acquaintances' at the KID heist. Somehow, KID knew about me being Conan, and brought them along"
Now whilst not quite the truth, with KID sat next to him, it might as well be. And he wasn't sure if Kaito knew he was Conan beforehand. From his reaction when Pandora cried on them, he seemed shocked. He'd have to ask one day.
"These people found a different way to cure me. Haibara was looking for a biological and chemical solution- a literal antidote. However, these guys were into mechanical science and cured me that way. The Apotoxin is still in my body, but I won't just randomly change anymore."
There- practically what he had told Hattori. And he knew from the look in his dad's eyes that the added information about a mechanical solution was exactly the type of information he was looking for.
"But how does Kuroba know?" asked Hattori
Ah.
Saying he was there wasn't exactly the best answer. Saying that it was KID sat next to him wasn't an option either.
"I'm a childhood friend of his, so I recognised how similar Conan and Shinichi looked. And one day, about a year ago, I caught him solving a case when Mouri was asleep. Shin-chan has a rather unique way to solve crimes. It was easy to tell it was him. Since me and Shin-chan have been keeping in touch with each other ever since I moved, I called his cell. It lit up in his pocket and stopped at the exact time I hung up. I did it a few times just to make sure it wasn't a coincidence. So after the case, I managed to catch him by himself and asked him about it. We met up a few days later and he told me about what had happened. We've met up a few times since then, whenever he needed some time away from Ran and his followers. He came to me when he needed time to recover after the operation." All three of them seemed to accept this, as did Shinichi. It would be easy to find days when they 'could have met up'.
Shinichi reached down towards the coffee table for his drink. Which was right infront of Hattori. A flash of light glinted against Shinichi's ring, drawing Hattori to it. With Shinichi wearing gloves yesterday and the tension of the party, he hadn't noticed it. But Kudo didn't seem the type to wear rings. Especially one that looked like that. However, it wasn't the huge rock on Shinichi's finger that shocked Hattori. It was the white star in the centre of the stone. And being this close to it, he could even make out words on the metal band holding the stone in place. Or rather one word.
Vongola.
Kudo passes a drink over to Kuroba. Who also has on a ring. Just like Shinichi's it was a rectangular diamond shape on a black band, held in by metal hooks on the top corners. At the bottom was a metal band holding the ring in place too. However instead of Kudo's solid black with white glitter, Kuroba's was an opaque white with rainbow sparkles. Not very manly looking. However it was hard to miss the pure black crescent moon engraved on it, in the exact same place Kudo has a pure white star engraved. There was even a small emblem engraved above that, but Hattori wasn't close enough to see it.
(Tsuna and the others were surprised when the rings appeared in their Original Forms. They were expecting them to be in their sealed forms, like when they fought the Varia. But according to Talbot, since these rings went missing, they were never sealed by Primo and turned into half rings, therefore, they were already unsealed.)
"Shinichi, you were right: they were counterfeiters. How did you know, Star Capo?" They called Kudo Star Capo, and now he's wearing a ring with a star on it. I've never seen him express an interest in astrology, nor seen him wear any kind of jewellery before. And Capo, a Mafia term for crew leader. So Kudo really is in the Mafia. And maybe that guy is too.
Both Yukiko and Yusaku noticed the atmosphere around Hattori change, and decided that the boys needed time to themselves. They had both heard the phone conversation Hattori had held with their son only an hour before. He had said that he needed to talk to Shinichi. It was best to let Hattori talk about whatever he needed to first. They could stay for a little while longer, but Hattori needed to go back to Osaka soon.
Stretching, Yukiko turns to her husband "Yusaku, darling, I think we need to go out and buy ingredients for dinner, don't you? Of course Shinichi and Kaito will be staying for dinner" and there it was, Shinichi knew it would happen sooner or later. Yukiko had decided, and there was nothing Shinichi and Kaito could do short of run to the car and drive. Assuming she didn't jump on them to stop them running off.
Both adults stand and quickly exit the house, leaving the three teens staring at their seats in amazement.
"And there goes Hurricane Yukiko, just like before" laughs Kaito. He turns back to his companions and doesn't miss the analytical look Hattori is giving Shinichi. A look that he'd been giving Shinichi since they had entered. He too remembered the phone conversation from earlier and so offered to be somewhere else. "Oh, Shin-chan, do you still have that amazing library? We used to play in there forever when we were younger."
Catching onto Kaito's drift, Shinichi plays along "Yes, we still do, it's even bigger than before now." Kaito looks towards Shinichi, puppy dog eyes glimmering. Shinichi sighs and laughs at the same time. "Go on, Kaito. There are both Lupin and Night Baron books in there." Kaito stands and exits the room.
Not that he goes to the library. From where Shinichi is sat, he can look through the doorway and into the hall. Looking into a mirror on the wall, he can still see Kaito, and Kaito can still see him. Kaito looks concerned though, and judging by the serious face Hattori has on, Shinichi feels that's rightly so.
"Kaito only came with me to see my parents. So with them gone, he's already gotten bored. He'll be in the library until they come back. And you know how far away the library is, he won't be able to hear us. But what's wrong with you? You seem slightly off Hattori, is something bothering you?"
"I think I should be asking what's wrong with you Kudo" says Hattori gruffly. "Ever since you've been 'cured' everything's been weird around you. First of all is KID's involvement in curing you. Next is this mysterious person who did the illegal operation. And finally, are those people who you were with yesterday." Shinichi looks at Hattori, not knowing what to say.
"I don't know what you mean Hattori." Shinichi answers nervously.
"Answer this. During the time you've been cured, were you staying with Kuroba, or with those other friends of yours, the ones you introduced as Ken and Chikusa?" Hattori meets Shinichi's eyes, a little bit of anger and confusion in them.
"I stayed with both. I stayed with Kaito immediately after the operation until I got used to my body again. I met Ken and Chikusa a few days later, and stayed with them" answers Shinichi truthfully.
"And the rest? Is Tsuna a friend or your Boss? He seemed to be the Boss of all the others." Interrogates Hattori, eyes still holding Kudo's to him.
"He's both." Shinichi covers "He doesn't like being called Boss, but when in a professional setting like that Party, I have to call him that"
"And do all of the people who work for him wear rings like that, Star Capo?" asks Hattori, with sarcastic emphasis on the title.
Shinichi's eyes widen ever so slightly, and his eyes flick to Kaito's in the mirror, who looks equally shocked, a poker face settling into place.
"That's a weird name Hattori, where did you hear me called that?" Asks Shinichi, fiddling slightly with the ring to calm himself down. Please Hattori, don't make this worse. Back off now. Don't go there
"You know those men with the coloured ties we were talking about? The ones you didn't know about? Well at least two of them called you that. I wonder how if you don't know who they are."
Shinichi doesn't have an answer for that. He didn't know that Hattori had overheard.
"I think it's weird that a load of teens, who supposedly work for a Business like V.F, seemed to be in charge of the situation. What I find even more suspicious, is that they were all called Capo. Or would you prefer the term Capodecina? And don't lie to me Kudo. The proof is on the ring you wear. I know it's not a coincidence that he called you Star Capo and you're wearing a star ring."
"Hattori I…" starts Shinichi, grasping for anything he can say.
"Don't give me bullshit Kudo! Why are you in the Mafia?" Hattori slams his hands down on the armrests and stands, looming tall over Shinichi.
Omertà.
"Haha, I don't know what you talking about Hattori, why would you think that?" answers Shinichi, slightly more aggressively than he wanted to be.
"Your Boss just happens to call himself Decimo when asking for a favour? You all happen to be called Capo- an Italian mafia term for crew leader- when you all seem to be in command? A Japanese company just decides to use Italian mafia terms these days?" With each question, Hattori takes a step towards Shinichi, until they are finally face to face. "An illegal experimental technology cures you, so you can't tell me about it?" Hattori places heavy hands on Shinichi's shoulders. "What on earth are you doing Kudo?"
"step away from Shinichi" growls Kaito, entering the room.
"Kaito, stop this, it's alright." Calms Shinichi, seeing Kaito is angry too.
"No Shinichi, I won't. If he's going to argue with you over this, then I'm not letting you face it alone." His eyes flick from Shinichi's to Hattori's, who has turned slightly to face him. Addressing Hattori, Kaito states. "I am the Moon Capodecina. If you have a problem, talk it out with me."
"I thought so, you've got one of those rings too. Did you drag Kudo into this?" Hattori growls, letting go of Shinichi to turn on Kaito.
"The Organisation did" shouts Shinichi. "The FBI isn't getting anywhere, and the Organisation keeps coming closer and closer to us each day. I had to do something." Hattori turns and looks at Shinichi, shock and worry on his face. "If I want to protect Ran and the Shounen Tantei and everyone else I know, then I need to take more drastic measures. I'm only doing this for them. But Tsuna is not a Mafia Boss."
The code of Silence.
"So you're not in the mafia? But what about those Mafia code names?" Hattori asks, sounding rather lost.
"The previous Boss liked that kind of thing. So it's a passed down tradition" answers Kaito. "A silly childish whim for when they first started the group. That's all."
"And what about KID? Where does he come into all of this?" asks Hattori, trying to wrap his mind around it.
"KID is part of the group too. He stops other criminals taking the jewels. Having them targeted by KID means that the security gets jumped up, and most criminals back off." Answers Kaito again- THE authority on everything KID related.
"V.F puts a large amount of money into stopping criminal activities. And they have the resources to do it too." Explains Shinichi.
No. No. It's all to perfect. And all too mixed at the same time. Kudo is easily smart enough to create a cover story. But protecting Nee-chan sounds so realistic. I could see it in his eyes. That truly is his reason for joining. No company I know would risk their reputation by dealing with criminals. He's lying to me. I know it. I know that…
"I don't believe you."
Shinichi takes a step back at the assurance in Hattori's voice. Hattori storms past Kaito and runs upstairs. A few moments later, and he comes down with a large Backpack.
"I'm going to get to the bottom of this Kudo. I've always had your back, and I'm still going to. So I'm going to stop you from harming yourself." And he walks out the door and away from the house.
Punishable by the Vendicare- who even the hardest criminal is scared of.
"Hattori" Shinichi whispers as he falls backwards onto the sofa. Immediately Kaito is by his side, rubbing Shinichi's back to calm him down.
"Shin-chan, it'll be alright." Kaito utters.
"He's not following me." Shinichi whispers. "I'm not letting him follow me into the Mafia, Kai, I'm not."
"Of course you won't, Shin-chan" agrees Kaito
"I'll disappear. Make sure he can't follow me. He doesn't know we're in Nanimori. He won't find us there for now. And when the time comes soon, I'll make sure that he can't follow me. I don't want him to get harmed over his friendship with me." Noticing that this has shocked the detective a little more than Kaito first thought- since ramblings like this aren't like him- he stands and finds a pen and some paper. Writing a note, he leaves it on the table, before guiding Shinichi into their car and driving off.
My Lady,
I'm sorry that we are going to miss our dinner together- which I'm sure would have been divine if made by you- but I need to take our Detective back with me. As you may have noticed, your guest has made his leave too, and our Detective needs time to think some things over. But do not worry, for I shall be by his side to make sure he doesn't do anything dangerous. Please know that your child is alright, and that there are no side effects to his operation. In fact his 'moments' are less painful than before. And I assure you that the surgeons are very kind and honest people, as are our new friends we are currently staying with.
I am not sure when we shall meet again, but I swear that I shall keep Our Detective safe.
And be sure to visit my mother, she would love to meet up with you again.
There was no signature on the bottom of the note, only a 4 leafed Clover and a Sherlock styled Magnifying Glass. But they only know of one person who would write in this romantic style, and that was Toichi. So they assumed that his son had picked up his style too.
"Oh dear. The two detectives must have had a fight. I hope they're both okay."
"I'm sure they will be Kiko. They are adults now you know. I'm sure they can work things out like men."
"We should go and see Chikage. I haven't seen her since before we left for America."
The conversation with Kudo kept going round and round in Hattori's head. And no matter how many times he replayed it, he couldn't remember hearing the words he needed to hear.
Neither Kudo nor Kuroba had said "I am not in the Mafia" . Kudo had repeated that Tsuna was not a mafia boss. Most likely suggesting that if Tsuna wasn't, then by association neither was he. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to become one. It just meant that Tsuna wasn't at this specific time. And it didn't matter if the man Kudo had called Boss wasn't in the mafia. It didn't mean Kudo wasn't either.
He needed information. And there was only one place he was going to get it.
"Ne Goro, what do you know about a group called Vongola?"
A gasp comes down the phone, and for a moment, Hattori wonders if he's going to get an answer.
"What are they that bad?" he asks concerned. He was sure that was what was written on Shinichi's ring.
"Heiji, you should stay away from them, they are bad news." Answers Otaki Goro, a friend of Heiji's who worked at the Police Department with his and Kazuha's dad. Hattori often went for Goro for information on cases, and knew he could trust the man not to tell his father what he was doing.
"Look, I reckon they are mafia. Am I right?" Hattori demands, needing desperately to know. Please let it be a lie. It's got to be.
"Yes, they are in the Mafia, based in Italy. But according to the files, they are a little more than just a Mafia family." Goro says, a little disturbed by what Hattori is asking about.
"Well, what else?" asks Hattori, dreading the next words.
"From what informants in other Families tell the police, the Vongola are the leaders. They're the biggest most influential Family. The Boss is practically the Godfather of the Mafia."
Hattori nearly drops the phone. If what he suspected was right, then that wimpy guy Tsuna was heir to the largest Mafia Family in Italy. And he was Kudo's Boss.
What drew you into becoming a Capo in the largest Mafia Family in the Italy? How did you even get to be in that position that quickly? Kudo, the Mafia is not a place you need to be, and I'm going to make sure that you don't stay there for long.
And this is the start of the dance between Shinichi and Heiji. I'm going to leave this relationship to fester for a little while, whilst more important plot points take over. But this is not the end. I have planned the ending actually, and will be returning to it, eventually.
And I'm sorry that Shinichi's parents didn't get much air time, but this is kind of how the chapter turned out. Unlike Chikage, they don't know about Pandora, even if they suspected/ knew (which I'm not sure about) that Toichi was Kaitou 1412, and therefore don't have any other reasons for Shinichi to tell them he's in the mafia. Pandora was a Kuroba family affair, and she would have wanted to know what happened next, therefore I could tell her that her son was entering the mafia.
Is there anyone else that I'm forgetting about? I'm going to deal with our scientists soon, but apart from them, I don't think that there is anyone else that would be concerned with Shinichi coming back. And until I decide otherwise, Ran still thinks Shinichi is on a really long case.
Or indeed, any calls for Reborn characters.
Check out my latest fic, A Guilty Crown fic called The Crown Thrust Upon me. One reviewer said it was interesting to see an author try to get inside Ouma Shu's head.
See you all next time
Phantom Hitman 1412
First Published 18 Feb 2012