Four points of the same star.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Detective Conan.
-...- transceiver talk
FOUR POINTS OF THE SAME STAR Chapter 28: Trust and Hope (B)
Trust: To rely on, to confide, or repose faith.
Hope: To trust with confident expectation of good..
-
It was late, very late. So late that it could almost be early from a certain point of view.
This was what Matt thought as he walked on his crutches through the hospital's corridors, inwardly cursing Vodka for having shot him.
He stifled a yawn and felt his eyelids heavy. He angrily brushed a hand on his face as the recent events came back to his mind, waking him up completely.
'Why?' he wondered, increasing his speed, 'Why doesn't this damn day end?'
He had talked... discussed,.. -oh, all right, argued with his father as soon as he had heard his last piece of news. It was the last thing he had ever expected.
It was too much. After all they had gone through, all the troubles, dangers and risks..
No, this was definitely too much.
It should be a day of celebration. They had won! They had vanquished the Organisation: they had what many thought was impossible.
'But at what cost?' he thought, stopping near a window at looking out. It was still dark but he could see the sky changing colour at the very end as the rising sun was going to come.
So many had died that day: some people that he didn't know, some that he had barely seen but there were others that... he knew. They had been his teachers before entering FBI. His advisers once he became an agent. His colleagues and companions once they learned about MYSTERY.
And now they were nothing more than still, soulless bodies.
He had seen them along with his father while they were talking in a silent alley.
Matt would never forget the feeling that chilled his body as he saw the line of beds wheeling on front of him, carrying bodies covered by a white sheet or already in a black plastic zip-bag. Neither will he ever forget the look on his father's face. Those men had been comrades, colleagues but most of all friends of old time. That were no more now.
The boy looked up towards the sky.
'You're cruel, you know?' he mentally remarked to the Entity above, 'Those men had families. Wives that won't see their husbands, children that will grow without fathers.. Why?'
The Organisation was the main responsible of all of this not Him. He knew it but.. even now that they were all captives, there were still the wounds left. Wounds that were hard to heal and that maybe would never heal completely. Who was the one to blame? Who could he blame to feel slightly better somehow?
A sigh escaped the boy's lips and he suddenly recalled Ryu's arrival at his home.
That had been the first time he had ever seen his father that shaken: he was close to tears as he said that the Kazamas had died and that little Ryu would live with them.
Matt remembered Mr and Mrs Kazama: they often came to his house with their children. Mrs Kazama was very beautiful: a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes that spoke English with a French accent. She had captured little Matt's heart with her gentleness and care. She was like an aunt to him: his favourite aunt. Auntie Catherine...
He liked Mr Kazama too. Uncle Misaki.. The man, he remembered, often repaired the toys he accidentally broke. He played with him too, just like his Dad or Uncle James did. Ryu, Matt and their fathers often started long car races that ended at dinner time when Ryu's and his mother would forcefully drag them to the table.
And then there was little Françoise.. A cute little girl that bounced here and there, playing with a doll that his mother would always buy for her. Matt smiled, recalling the child's face when Ryu would ask her to play with him and Matt: she would frown and shake her head. A disgusted "Ew.." would come from her at the mention of boyish things such as cars and trucks. Matt would put on an equally disgusted face when she would show him the doll, asking him to play with her.
Ryu often agreed. Little Matt had never understood how he could even stand to hold a doll, yet alone play with them.. But later he understood. Ryu loved his sister beyond anything in the world: he would do anything for her. Matt regretted that he had didn't have siblings so that he could share a bond like that.
His wish had been granted in the worst of ways...
Matt sighed, passing a hand through his hair. So many things had changed since then, since he was just ten. It seemed as it was another lifetime and not only eight years ago.
When people asked what he would like to be when he will be older, little Matt promptly replied "A lawyer!" and not a policeman like his Dad. Not because he didn't respect his father: he loved his Dad. He didn't want to become a policeman because he didn't like guns. The simple thought of handling something so dangerous terrified him. He could hurt with a gun. Even as a child, Matt never played with guns. Water-guns, yes. Toy guns with rubber bullets, no. And a lawyer, he had thought, was a bit like a policeman, wasn't he? He protected innocent people but in a courtroom and not outside using guns but with words. A haughty smirk appeared on the boy's lips.
'What has happened to that Matt?' he wondered.
Now he was an FBI agent. One who you used guns, the same weapons he despised as a child.
'I have just changed..' he thought, 'As everyone. Time changes you...'
He had become a lawyer in attempt to keep up with his past wish but entering FBI had been a decision he had taken in a second moment. When he found what Ryu had in his mind.
He still remembered the little Ryu, so unlike the present one. When he was still Ryu Kazama, before the tragedy of his family and his adoption.
He was like any other child. Just like Matt himself. Vivacious with an impish twinkle in his eyes, joyous with a constant smile on his face. He loved his parents very much and adored his little sister. A happy child with a happy family. And then..
"Poof.." Matt whispered, snapping his fingers with a sad smile. Everything vanished just like a wisp of smoke.
Matt couldn't forget Ryu's arrival: he had came at his house straight after his stay at the hospital. After having known to be the only survivor of the fire.
He was a ghost of his usual self. The eyes of the twelve year old were blank, all emotions were gone. Even the pain had vanished, leaving only a sense of voidness. But as the days passed, Ryu changed. The weeks became months and Ryu got used to his new family but he wasn't the old Ryu.
He changed completely.
Matt saw it everyday. Ryu Kazama slowly disappeared, leaving free space to Ryu Xanders, becoming Matt's new adoptive brother. But the American saw that despite his attitude, he wasn't happy as he was once. Every smile, every laugh, every feeling and emotion never touched Ryu deeply: it brushed his heart but didn't go inside. The sense of loss and the grief had built up a wall around him, an unclimbable wall.
Ryu, at the age of twelve, was able to hide the deepest pain under a smile.
'Even Kid would have trouble to keep such a Poker Face..' Matt thought.
He would show his true feelings only when his guard was down. And that was during his sleep. Dreams, or better, nightmares haunted Ryu's sleep and Matt, who shared the room with him, was the only one to know how in pain the boy was. Ryu never voiced anything about his personal tragedy loudly but in his sleep, he trashed in his bed, murmuring pleas and apologies full of regret and guilt. It was heart-breaking to hear him beg his sister to forgive him for not having saved her.
At the end, when he realised that things were getting out of hand, when the nightmares were becoming more and more persistent, Matt confronted Ryu, sincerely worried for him.
The blond, after many restraints, opened up a bit. He confessed him that he felt guilty for being the only one to have survived and he told him about his plan to discover the truth.
Matt remembered how surprised -no, saying that he was surprised was an understatement. He was completely astounded to hear he plan that Ryu had created. The twelve, nearly thirteen year old boy had come out with a detailed schedule for his following four years during which he would have done the amount of studies and work that would have taken at least ten years for a normal person.
And all to find the killer of his family.
Matt had been skeptical at the beginning but then, when he saw how serious Ryu was, he changed his mind and something surged in him. Something new.
Brotherly concern. The desire to help and protect a brother.
That very day, Matt and Ryu became really brothers. It wasn't just a common surname behind their names or living in the same house.
Matt learned that everything wasn't only black and white: there were shades of gray and sometimes compromises had to be taken. This lead him to become an FBI agent: he wanted to help Ryu.
Ryu, on the other hand, learned to open up a bit. He still didn't speak about his inner feelings but nevertheless, he wasn't the introvert he had been before. He knew he wasn't alone as he thought.
They had gone through Junior High, High School and then College together. Always together, though they were a year apart. They studied together, did sports together, had fun together.
As friends. As brothers. And when they were already settled in college, another person joined them.
Matt smiled when he thought of Rei. The quiet Japanese girl that appeared in their lives and that studied Computer Science at their college. The outstandingly brilliant undergraduate that never boasted her intelligence and that blushed whenever she was complimented for it. The only girl, besides Chris, Matt told himself, that he cared for dearly.
'When she doesn't irk the living hell out of me talking about computers...' the boy thought with a smirk, 'Or when she starts rambling of computer science with Chris, Luc or Ryu.'
She was the one that had pierced through Ryu's shield. Matt had seen from the start: Ryu had fallen for her straightforward. The look in his eyes, the smile on his face, everything of him changed with Rei. Occasionally, Matt could see the old Ryu Kazama surface back.
When they joined FBI, when they planned MYSTERY and when they asked Rei to join them, Ryu slowly dropped his shields, allowing the people next to him to see what were his feelings. Matt knew that the only one that managed to get deep inside was only Rei.
He and then Shinichi and Shiho, knew Ryu deeply but the one that knew him throughly, the one that had the key to his heart... that was Rei.
Matt pondered for a while and then looked out from the window towards the sky.
"Maybe, I was wrong.." he stated to Him, "You helped us. Making us meet Rei, then Shinichi and Shiho.. Kuroba..Agase... Akemi Miyano..We needed help. Ryu needed help for his plan: if we hadn't met all of them, we wouldn't have been able to be here. We wouldn't have brought the Organisation down." The boy's green eyes clouded as he stared at the sky. "I've never been a religious person and I have to admit that I pray rarely but if you are there and can hear me..."
He stopped, choosing the right words.
"Make them be fine. All of them. I don't ask for anything more."
With that the boy walked away, feeling definitely lighter.
--:--
As soon as Shinichi, Rei and Ryu came out of Intensive Care, they were approached by Agase and, again, the young detective took the decision to tell him what was going on. In the meanwhile, Rei was introduced to Detectives Satou and Takagi by Chris while Ryu joined Kaito and Lucas.
Ten minutes later, Matt entered the room. His eyes were clouded but they lit up slightly when he caught sight of Rei and Shinichi. The dark-haired girl smiled broadly and approached him and they hugged each other in a brotherly fashion.
"How are you, Rei?" he asked, parting and taking in her appearance.
"Fine. Now at least." she said. The boy smirked.
"Yeah, you sure look better. Last time I saw you, you had landed on the Uncle James' car, covered in a burnt jacket and with blood and soot all over you."
He smirked again when he noticed the look on her face. He turned to Shinichi who nodded solemnly at him. One look at his face and Matt knew that Shiho was still in danger. The boy just nodded back, a small encouraging smile on his face. The detective had a faint smile on his face as he nodded in gratitude. He walked towards him after giving a small pat on Agase's back.
Matt looked around and saw Ryu and Kaito looking at him: he gestured the two to come closer.
"I have to talk to you guys." he whispered as soon as they approached him, "All of you." He eyed Ryu, Kaito, Shinichi and Rei seriously. He then looked over at Lucas and Chris. "Luc? Chris? Can you say here and tell us if anything changes? We'll be back in a bit."
The boy nodded, noticing the look on the other's face but the girl stared at him, questioning him silently. Matt smiled slightly and shot her a look that seemed to say -I'll tell you later. Chris nodded and Matt turned to the other four. "Come on."
They walked out of the waiting room and down the corridor. Matt stopped in front of a room, allowed the others to get in and then closed the door behind him, locking it. He turned around and saw the questioning looks on the other teens' faces. Looks that went from curiosity to concern. Ryu and Rei, in particular, was staring at him with tensed expressions.
"What's wrong?" the blond asked.
Matt's eyes were unreadable. He pushed away his bangs, eyebrows knitting together in concentration. He hesitated for a moment, then looked away as though he was trying to find the right words to start the conversation. His expression was unreadable too and the others could see that whatever was going through his mind or whatever had happened (for they all realised that something must have happened), the thoughts were troubled. However, when Matt looked up, he knew that he had to be as clear as possible.
"There's a problem." he blurted out, "And I think that you all should know since you're the ones involved." Matt paused and saw that he had the others full attention. He took a deep breath.
"Dad called the Headquarter a few hours ago to inform them of this operation. And of our victory. You know that it has been kept secret. We knew that the top heads wouldn't be enthusiast for have been excluded and for not have been informed from Day 1 but..." He ran a hand through his hair: he didn't know how to tell them.. "Dad sent them a full account of MYSTERY. All the data you worked out, Rei, and that you, Ryu, took out from the Organisation. He sent them everything, also a bit of the material we took from the Headquarter here in Japan."
"Already?" Rei asked in surprise.
"Yes, Dad though that they wouldn't have got too mad if we gave them fresh information. But those.. those idiots at the top..." Matt ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"What?" Ryu asked sharply, "What's going on?" He was getting slightly annoyed by his attitude.
Matt looked at the the whole lot of them. There was a strange glint in his eyes: anger, yes, but also pity and concern.
"Among the material that we sent, there is the report we wrote about the operation and the database with all the members of Organisation's names. Dad got a call less than half an hour ago and it seems that our chief in commands are not happy about a few.. people that have taken part of the operation. Their words could be summarised like this: 'Yes, yes, very good job in tackling the Organisation but why did you use that guys?'"
"So, who are the people in questi..?" Kaito asked but stopped abruptly as he caught sight of Matt's face. He turned to look at Rei, Ryu and Shinichi and saw that they were bewildered just as him.
"Us?" Shinichi asked, "They are mad because we took part of the operation?"
"That's ridiculous!" Rei exclaimed.
"Did they realize that it was us that started the plan from the principle?" Ryu remarked coolly, crossing his arms against his chest and leaning against the wall. "That we are the ones that risked everything since Day 1?"
"I know that." Matt stated just as coolly and leaned on his crutches, "But they don't. Or better, they know but don't seem to care. Now that everything is over, now that the Black Organisation is down, what do you think will happen? Everyone worldwide will know it. And what do you think will happen when the world finds out that the largest criminal group in the world has been taken down mainly by a group of teenagers and a group of agents that have kept the whole thing silent to their chiefs? Right under their noses? The chiefs will not be glad. And more than the fact that we kept everything secret... it doesn't help that we put up different stunts to carry on the plan. For them, you.." Matt looked up and pointed to Ryu. "..are a traitor, a double crosser agent that sold himself to the Organisation." His finger went to Rei. "You are considered dead for suicide." He jerked his thumb to himself. "I've gone through inquiries because they suspect I'm a double crosser in collusion with Ryu." He turned to Kaito. "And you are Phantom Thief Kid, wanted by police forces of different countries. I suppose that should be enough to understand why they aren't so eager to let the world know that we have big parts in the operation."
There was an odd silence in the room. Everyone was too shocked to speak. It was an aspect that they hadn't considered: the police's reaction to their plan. They forgot about what FBI would have said once everything would have finished. But maybe they didn't think of it because, unconsciously, none of the teens were really sure that there would have been an end to this.
"What will happen now?" Rei asked, after a while.
"There will probably be an inquiry. Another one." Matt said, rolling his eyes, "But Dad said that he'll try to stuff some reason in the chiefs' brains. He's on his way to the airport and is going to take the first plane back to New York. The chiefs won't know what has hit them when he'll get there. I've never seen him like that: he was pissed off beyond belief."
"And that's saying something.." Ryu remarked with a smirk. Matt frowned slightly. The two brothers were thinking about the same thing: Mark Xanders putting on a spectacular shouting fit that time when Matt had crashed his father's old motorbike against a parked car.
"Wait." Shinichi said, making everyone turn to him, "What about me? You didn't tell anything about me. Is FBI against my cooperation?"
Matt shook his head.
"Actually, no." he remarked, "You are pretty famous here and have cooperated many times with the local police forces so FBI can't say much against you.. Though they will surely ask where you have been in the past year. To tell the truth, Shinichi, I asked you to come because... the last.. person involved in MYSTERY..." Matt didn't know how to put this. "Well, her case is definitely more troublesome than ours."
"Shiho?" the young detective asked, his head jerking up in alert and making him wince slightly. "Why? What do they have against her?" Shinichi looked at Matt questioningly, waiting for an answer that didn't come. It was Ryu that talked instead.
"She left them, Matt." he remarked from his corner, "She betrayed them more than a year ago."
"And she helped us bring them down." Rei added, "She gave us information and names."
"Not to mention that she was the first name of their 'Wanted' list." Shinichi said, "They have always tried to kill her. And they have nearly managed to do it this time."
The last sentence came out as a whisper.
"I know that." Matt said patiently, "Dad knows it and so do all the people involved in MYSTERY. Unfortunately, the chiefs don't and, let's face it, even if they did, they wouldn't bother..." He ran a hand through his hair again. His ruffled hair was giving him a wild appearance. "They are annoyed because they didn't get involved in this operation, mad because they won't take the merits and if they find even one thing we missed, they will get to it. And Shiho could be a good point to start: ex-member, listed on the files and who knows what else they could make up."
"So.." Rei remarked, "They only want someone to arrest. On their own."
"A scapegoat." Shinichi stated.
"No..." Kid stated, shaking his head, "They want..."
"A trophy." Ryu muttered through his gritted teeth, cutting Kaito's sentence.
Silence filled the room.
"Exactly." Matt said at last.
--:--
It was nearly seven in the morning when Ran, Heiji and Kazuha entered the hospital. The three teens had barely slept at the Mouris house because they were too worried for the recent events. Ran, in particular, had slept an hour on the whole.
As they got out of the elevator, they were startled to see Kogoroh and Inspector Megure right in front of them, talking to Detectives Satou and Takagi. The two officers looked quite exhausted but were trying to be efficient and alert nevertheless.
"Dad!" Ran exclaimed, running to him. The man turned around, eyes definitely lighting up at the sight of his daughter. You could say anything about Kogoroh Mouri but he really cared and loved his Ran.
"Are you all right?" she asked, approaching him, "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, no." he said and laughed in his usual boastful manner, "No one can harm the great Kogoroh Mouri! You should know that, Ran." He laughed like a maniac again.
Ran, Heiji, Kazuha, Satou and Takagi sweat dropped. Megure coughed lightly.
"Ran, your father wasn't involved during the raid." he remarked, "He waited with the men that were guarding the Bay, far from the fight."
Ran nodded and took in the other men's appearance, noticing details that she hadn't seen before. Inspector Megure was exhausted and his usually tidy and crisp suit was covered with dust, dirt and, in some spots, blood; her father looked perfectly unscathed, only tired judging by the huge bags under his eyes.
"Where's my father?" Heiji asked.
"And mine?" Kazuha added with concern.
Megure smiled.
"They're both fine." he replied, "They are at our main police station. They're interrogating Chief.." The man's eyes clouded as a frown crossed his face. "The Black Organisation's leader." The correction was quickly made.
Heiji looked at the man and nodded slightly, understanding that he must be in a state of rage and shock that went beyond his knowing. What would you do if you discovered that your boss, the person who you thought was the example for every policeman, was instead the worst of criminals?
'I can't even imagine how Tousan's taking this...' he thought.
"Why are you here?" Ran asked as an afterthought. She turned to Megure. "Did you come to see Shinichi and his friends' conditions?"
"Oh... er- yes." the man replied, stammering slightly,"We.. me and Mouri-kun.. we have just come. And were just asking Takagi and Satou what had happened during the night. Let's go to the the waiting to see if we can get any news, shall we?"
The man motioned them to walk and the small group started down the corridor. Heiji strolled behind Kazuha and Ran who were asking Detective Satou what had happened during the night. He barely heard the two girls' squeal of delight when she said that Shinichi had woken up and was fine. He just stared at Megure who was acting.. weird. He had noticed the hesitance in his answer, the quick, nervous glance that he had shot at old man Mouri thought the latter didn't notice it..
'Something is up..' the boy thought, 'Something has happened..'
The little group reached the waiting room after a few minutes.
The room was very quiet both because we were in a hospital and also because the people in there were half asleep.
Sitting on the wall-benches were Chris, Rei, Ryu, Matt, Lucas and Kid. The group of teens looked exhausted: the long night, their injuries and their worry for Shiho was affecting them. Inspector Knight had left hours ago, saying that he had to reach the other Inspectors for the preliminary interrogations. Detective Fabian was nowhere seen: he had left with Inspector Xanders.
Ran looked around the room: it was empty, excluding the teens.
'Where's Shinichi?' she wondered.
As soon as the new group had entered the room, the boys and girls got up at unison. Heiji's eyes widened slightly as he scanned them: they were all sporting injuries, judging by the bandages that covered them. Who less, who more...
Inspector Megure walked towards them and turned to Matt, Chris and Lucas, the ones he knew.
"Agent Xanders." he said with a nod, "Agent Evans. Agent Daimon."
"Inspector." the three replied with a nod.
Matt stepped to the front.
"Inspector Megure, can I introduce you my friends and colleagues?" He motioned to Ryu and Rei with a hand, balancing himself on the crutches, "Agent Reila Ikeda, our best computer scientist. She's the one that decrypted the files from the Organisation." The hint of pride in the boy's tone was audible. Rei blushed deeply.
"Very pleased to me you." she mumbled, shaking his hand.
"My pleasure." the man replied, taking in the appearance of the girl in front of him. She was hurt, bandaged and yet there was something in her look that didn't show fragility but a great strength.
"This is Agent Ryuji Xanders...no, sorry, Kazama." Matt swiftly corrected his slip, "He's our infiltrated man: the one that took the information we have been working at." Again his voice carried a note pf pride.
"Pleased to meet you, sir." Ryu said, shaking the man's hand.
Megure nodded with a small smile. The boy too was injured but just like the girl, there was something in his stare that gave out a hidden strength.
'They did a lot but...' he thought and immediately recalled the conversation he had had with the other inspectors down at the police station. He slowly shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts as well and looked around he room.
"Where's Kudo-kun?" he asked, "Takagi told me that he had recovered.."
"I'll go and get him." Rei said softly and walked to the doors that led to Intensive Care. Ran peered from behind when she opened the door. She caught a glimpse of Shinichi's tall figure next to the shorter one of Hiroshi Agase. The man's face, she saw, was etched with concern.
Ran frowned slightly.
'Why is Hakase so worried?' she thought. Kazuha who was peering over Ran's shoulders, voiced her question.
"What is Agase-san doing here?" she asked, "And why does he look so worried?"
Matt and Ryu shared a quick glance. Kaito, from the corner where he had positioned himself tensed slightly. Lucas and Chris looked at them with mild puzzlement. And so did Heiji.
One thing had been kept secret during the whole plan. Only one thing was unknown to the whole MYSTERY squad.
The shrinking effect of the APTX.
No one, besides the original MYSTERY team, only the six teens, knew about Conan and Ai. How could they explain about Agase's connection to Shiho without revealing partly about Ai?
"Shiho is still unconscious." Ryu explained slowly, "Hakase knows her since he knew her father and when we called to tell him about our... accidents, he came here right away." He looked through the glass doors towards the old man's direction. "He was worried for all of us and won't t leave till we're all fine."
The others nodded in understanding and the blonde nearly sighed in relief. they had believed him. He did notice though that Heiji had a thoughtful look and so did Detectives Satou and Takagi.
'This isn't good..' he thought, 'They're suspicious..'
He was drawn out of his thoughts when the doors of Intensive Care opened and Shinichi and Rei walked out. The boy's face seemed to be chiseled in stone. He had shut down his emotions: only an emotionless mask was placed on his face. Ran who had been worried sick, couldn't even open her mouth to talk to him as she saw his appearance. Heiji was staring at his friend as though he had never seen him before.
"Inspector Megure." he said with a nod.
The man stared at the boy that he knew since he was a small child. The usually sharp eyes that he was used to see were void and empty.
"Kudo-kun." he said. The man scanned the boy's injuries and inwardly cringed at the thought of what he and the other teens must have gone through. He quickly looked at the other boys and girls, the sinking feeling in his stomach deepening.
'Kids shouldn't be involved in this sort of things..' he thought, 'But they.. they aren't kids anymore: they have lived through so much...'
He had learned about Agents Ikeda and Kazama's past through Inspector Xanders. He knew that Matt Xanders had joined the plan because he wanted to help his friends. But...
'How did Kudo-kun get involved?' the man wondered. Even Inspector Xanders had given him vague explanations as he asked the question: the man didn't know exactly how or when Kudo had got involved. Neither which could be his relation to Miyano Shiho. The girl's involvement in the plan was unknown too. But her past... that he had heard of: he knew a lot of that.
"What are you doing here?" Shinichi asked. Despite his worries, his mind had immediately registered the fact that the Inspector shouldn't be there. Not with all the arrests, all the captives, all the interrogations that had to be done.
No, something was wrong. All his inner alarm sirens were on: something was wrong.
Megure looked at the boy and then looked away, absently rubbing the back of his neck. Shinichi's suspicions increased.
'All clear signs...' the young detective thought.
Ryu and Rei had come to Shinichi's same conclusions and were eyeing the man. Both were expecting the worst; especially after Matt's last piece of news.
"Well?" Matt pressed on. He was thinking on the same lines as the other three.
Megure fiddled with his hat, that was in his hands and clearly avoided making eye with any of the teens. Satou glanced at Takagi as though silently asking him why their senior was behaving like this. The man shrugged, looking puzzled.
Megure was carefully trying to stall for time and find the right words. He had been sent there because.. -wait, why had he been sent there?
Inspector Xanders had come to the police station from the hospital: he said that he had phoned to America and that was going back. He had hurried out of the door with a murderous stare on his face. Inspector Knight who had come with him explained the whole situation to the other dumbfounded Inspectors.
And Megure had been asked to go to the hospital because... he honestly hadn't figured it out yet. Probably because he knew Kudo-kun or maybe because this was his district and he had to arrest the criminals in this area.
'Whatever...' the man thought, 'Now... How exactly am I going to bring this up?' He eyed the young detective and then the other teens. Inspector Xanders had mentioned that their was a strong relationship between all of them. They wouldn't be pleased to hear his words..
'Not at all...' he thought.
After a few minutes of embarrassed silence where no one talked and just looked at the orange suit-clad man, the latter coughed lightly and looked at Shinichi.
"So.." he started, "How are you, Kudo-kun?"
"Fine." the boy replied, arching an eyebrow at the sudden and unexpected question. He eyed the Inspector carefully and noticed his appearance. "You look pretty worn out, Inspector."
The man waved a hand and put his hat back on.
"It's nothing." he replied. When he looked at the boy, he seemed to have recovered his usual professional tone and stance. "Kudo-kun, I don't if you have heard this already but Koji Koizumi, Head Leader of the Black Organisation, has been caught shortly after the raid at the Bay of Tokyo."
Shinichi nodded. Matt had told them this during the talk they had had before. "The other FBI Inspectors and Hattori-san are trying to make him talk but he isn't cooperative. Not at all."
Rei and Ryu exchanged a glance. Why was Megure telling them this all of a sudden?
"That was predictable." Shinichi stated dryly, "You honestly couldn't be thinking that he would have started to cooperate and confess all his crimes."
"No, indeed." the man agreed, "But.. he pointed out a few things that we haven't noticed before.."
Shinichi, Rei, Ryu, Matt and Kaito's attention perked up. Megure continued. "During the preliminary interrogation, Koizumi taunted us. He went on telling that no one had ever realised who he really was. How foolish we were to believe him, follow his orders even." Shinichi noticed that Megure's fists were clenched by his side and Satou and Takagi looked quite irate too. "He didn't give us any information but he pointed out that we were really pathetic if a group of teenagers manged to stop him. And not the police forces."
There was a moment of silence. The aforementioned 'group of teenagers' could feel their heartbeats increasing. Matt had told them what had happened before his father's departure but now? The reaction of the local police and of FBI... Was this the reason of Megure's arrival? Had he been sent there to deliver the chiefs' final words.
They would finally know what would be of them. Ryu felt Rei move closer to him.
Megure looked at Shinichi, Rei, Ryu and Matt. He shot a glance at Kaito too.
"I want you to answer sincerely." he started. "Everything you will say will be used for or against your case. Satou, Takagi and I will attest whatever is said here in the proper site."
Heiji's eyes widened.
'What's going on?' he thought in bewilderment. Megure was behaving as though Kudo and his friends were enlisted in a suspect list or something. Why was he behaving like this? What had happened in the hours he had left?
Lucas and Christine shared a confused look. The whole conversation was going on in Japanese and they didn't have a clue of what was going on. They did come to the conclusion that it must be something important, judging by Matt's barely-hidden angered face.
"What do you want to know?" Ryu asked calmly. If he was angry or even annoyed, he didn't show it: his poker face was equal to the one Shiho could put on at times.
Megure took a deep breath and faced the blonde young man.
"About the last year's events, have you...?" He stopped as though trying to find the best way to formulate the question. "Have you betrayed FBI to join the Organisation?"
It seemed that Megure had opted to be blunt to the fault.
Matt's eyes widened and looked ready to attack Megure. Ryu stepped in front of him to prevent him from doing any damage and looked at the Inspector.
"No." he replied, "I never did."
"You joined the Organisation though?" the man pressed on, "Unknown to any of your seniors?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you inform them immediately?"
"They wouldn't have understood. They wouldn't have allowed me to do it: they would have sent someone else. They wouldn't have understood my reasons."
Megure stared at the boy. Without another word, he looked at Rei.
"Did you feign you death using the body of suicidal?" he asked, "Making everyone believe it was your own?"
"Yes." she replied, not bothering to the stares she was getting from the people. She glanced at Ryu and he looked at her. "I had to."
Matt opened his mouth to speak but Rei stopped him with a stare. Any further explanation was unnecessary at the moment. She was going to let her friend get in trouble. Not because of her.
Megure didn't say anything again. He looked at Kaito but didn't question him. The boy merely smirked: what did he expect? He was the Phantom Thief, Kaitou Kid. No explanation was needed. The man's stare fell on Matt.
"Did you know of Ikeda and Kazama' actions?" he asked.
Rei and Ryu turned to stop him: he shouldn't... couldn't get involved in whatever was going to happen to them but Matt was thinking otherwise.
"Of course." he said, shooting Megure a crooked smile. Then, he looked at the stunned, irate faces of his friends and his eyes seemed to say - We're in this together. No matter what-.
Megure nodded slowly, slightly surprised by the boy's attitude.
"You didn't refer their intentions to your seniors? To your father?"
"No. Not immediately: I waited for Ryu and Rei to give me the permission." He looked at the man, his bright green eyes boring sharply through him, "I wouldn't have betrayed their trust."
Seeing the deep bond among the three FBI agents, Megure couldn't help but just nod again. He cast a wary look at the doors of Intensive Care.
"As for Miyano Shiho.." he started, addressing himself to no one in particular, "Is she a member of the Organisation?"
"No."
Three voices echoed throughout the room in unison. Megure looked taken aback by the the three teens firmness. So were the others in the room except for two who hid a smile.
But Megure's words lingered in the air, slowly getting into the heads of the non-MYSTERY-group. Heiji looked at Shinichi in astonishment. He had been working with.. a member of the Organisation all time long? Had he gone insane?
Ran seemed to be thinking on the same lines. Miyano was a member of that Organisation. How could Shinichi be helping her? How could he..
'How can you love her, Shinichi?' she thought, looking at him. The boy felt her stare and looked back. His face was unreadable but his eyes showed an amount of pain that was nearly palpable.
Kogoroh Mouri had remained silent the whole time. Mostly because he was too tired to formulate a coherent sentence. He had accompanied Inspector Megure because it was the only way to leave the police station. He had been cooped in a room for the entire night, sitting on a hard chair without any entertainment more than the stack of files regarding the Organisation that were lying on the table, forgotten by an absent-minded policeman. All the Inspectors were busy with the interrogations and he couldn't leave the station since he didn't have a car. Buses were out of service at the time; as for a taxi... He didn't have cash.
All the money he had was in the bank, mostly because of Ran's good sense: business hadn't gone well in these months and she had said that till he got back to his former brilliance that money was untouchable.
Kogoroh was wondering when he would be back to his former shape. He still hadn't figured how or when he had become so brilliant to solve all cases: he only remembered a sharp sting at his nape, a black-out and then everyone congratulating him for solving the case.
The Great Sleeping Detective.. He wondered if he was some kind of psychic that fell in a sort of trance and then didn't recall anything of what he did.
Anyway, coming to the point, Kogoroh was tired of waiting. Megure had taken him along because he had promised to drop him home and now they were just wasting time.
"Ha, liars.." he muttered after Shinichi, Rei and Ryu's answer.
He hadn't realised that the whole room had been quiet: his voice was audible to everyone.
"What?" Shinichi growled. His nerves were strained and the last thing he needed was that fool of a detective to meddle in their business.
"She is a member of the Organisation. I read her name in their database." Kogoroh said with what seemed like pride. "She's a criminal. You just have to arrest her, Inspector."
That was the last straw.
That words were enough to send to hell years of patient training to keep down their emotions. Their nerves were already too strained, their minds too full of concern and worry to accept this last blow.
"Why you, damn..."
If Matt, Heiji and Lucas hadn't rushed forward to stop them, Shinichi and Ryu would have torn Kogoroh limb from limb. The three boys struggled to keep the other two back.
But they didn't think of Rei. They didn't even think of her because.. the only thought of her as a menace was ridiculous. She was the calm one, the voice of reason. The quiet one that spoke honestly and tactfully. She used her strength and fighting abilities only as personal defense and extreme situations. She.. just couldn't be so... irrational.
Rei stepped past the five boys and headed straight towards Kogoroh. No one stopped her because it happened all very fast: everyone's attention was still focused on Shinichi and Ryu.
Her eyes were covered by her bangs, her head was low, her steps quick.
Kogoroh just caught a glimpse of her stare when she stopped in front of him and looked up. Her cobalt blue eyes were storming with rage.
The next he knew was the impact of her hand on his face and then recoiling against the wall. He groaned in pain, reaching for his cheek; the red stain of the hit was glowing brightly.
The entire room froze. Even Shinichi and Ryu had stopped trying to force their way past Matt, Lucas and Heiji and were just staring at Rei, mouths hanging open.
Rei had just.. hit Kogoroh?
The girl lowered her shaking hand and took a deep calming breath.
"Don't. You. Ever. Badmouth. Shiho." she said icily, "You don't know her. You don't know what she has gone through."
Kogoroh mumbled something incoherent under his breath. Rei merely stared at him.
"And thank God that I got to you before Shinichi or Ryu otherwise you wouldn't have left the building with your own legs."
And with this last statement, Rei turned around; without looking up at anyone, she brushed past Ryu and Shinichi and entered Intensive Care, closing the doors behind her softly and joined Agase.
"Rei..." Ryu muttered and followed her. The doors swung open and closed again.
Matt looked at them behind the glass doors. He saw Ryu reach Rei, whisper something to her and then gently embrace her. Rei buried her face in his chest.
'This is getting ridiculous..' Matt thought, 'It can't go on like this..'
After all that had happened in the last year, despite all the events and problems, he had never seen Ryu loose his calm or Rei get even close to angry. And now..
He had to put a stop to this. They had to understand what his friends had gone through.
Matt looked at Megure and approached him.
"Have you ever heard of Hayato and Saiyuri Ikeda?" he asked him.
The man looked at him surprise.
"Ikeda?" he repeated, "Who..?"
"He was a diplomat." Shinichi said slowly, "She was a lawyer. You must have heard of them."
"They died in a car accident years ago." Heiji remarked, "I remember that: it was on the papers."
"Yes.." Takagi agreed, "I remember that accident too."
Matt smirked mirthlessly.
"It wasn't an accident." he said, "It was a murder. They were killed by the Organisation." A stunned silence followed his words. "They were asked to join it but rather than being corrupted and betray their beliefs, they refused. And that led them to their death."
Ran took in the boy's words in silence. Her eyes widened when she recalled the conversation she had had with Ikeda, Kazama and Miyano shortly before Christmas.
"Ikeda..?" she said, "They... Were they..?"
"Rei's parents." Matt replied, looking at her. "Hayato and Saiyuri Ikeda were Rei's father and mother. They died when she was twelve." He balanced himself on the crutches. "Have you ever heard of Misaki Kazama?"
"The name's familiar.." Takagi remarked, "Isn't he a scientist?"
"He was a scientist." Matt put a great emphasis on the past tense. "An engineer: one of the best of his field. He had been contacted by the Organisation, too. And he refused. He lived with his family in America and one day the house was found on fire. Mr and Mrs Kazama were found dead for gun-shots, their seven year old daughter dead for smoke intoxication. Only their son survived." Matt pointed to the doors of Intensive Care. "It was Ryu. He was only twelve and he saw his family's massacre with his own eyes."
Matt looked at Megure: the man was halfway from being sick.
"That's why they didn't say a word to anyone about the plan." he said in a forced calm tone, "We knew that there were spies: we couldn't take the risk. If only one of them had heard of the plan, everything would have been ruined. But, most of all, Rei and Ryu would have been killed. When our plans leaked nevertheless, Ryu disappeared after having sent us a warning note. Rei was forced to put up the suicide antic to leave America and find Ryu. It was the only way we had to keep the plan going: we were an inch from the goal. We just couldn't abandon everything. I stayed back to keep up with the events and waited for their news."
Megure nodded in understanding. Matt's eyes moved to Kogoroh who was standing up, hand still on his cheek. Rei's red hand print was glowing. The calm eyes narrowed as the man looked at him.
"As for you." he said, "Do you know Akemi Miyano?"
The 'great' detective stared blankly at him.
"Who?" he asked.
Matt smirked.
"Oh, yes.. You might remember this name then. Masami Hirota."
Ran gasped, remembering the young woman that was looking for her father. And that had been found dead near the harbour.
"Ha, the the perpetrator of the one billion yen robbery?" Kogoroh remarked, "The girl that killed herself rather than being caught by the police."
"She was killed." Matt corrected, "Murdered. By the Organisation. She was Shiho's sister."
"Haha!" Kogoroh exclaimed triumphantly.
Many men usually learn from their mistakes. But this one clearly didn't...
"I was right! She's a criminal! Both her and her sister!"
Matt was on the verge of hitting old Mouri with his crutches but was stopped by the voice coming from behind him.
"They are not criminals."
Shinichi walked till he was standing by Matt's side. His eyes were fixed on the man that he had called for months 'Uncle' when he was Conan.
"You don't know what has happened to them." he went on, "You don't know what they had lived, how they had lived. You don't know anything about them."
"Then tell us." Megure said, stepping to the front, "Kudo-kun, I need to know who Miyano Shiho is. I need to know if she could be implied with the Organisation."
"Shiho is a chemist. Her parents were members of the Organisation and worked for them as scientists. They were killed shortly after Shiho's birth. She was separated from her sister and was forced to live following the Org's rules. When she finished her studies, since she was extraordinarily brilliant.." A proud smile tugged the corners of his mouth for an instant as he said this."..they gave her the project her parents had been working on." He paused.
The Apotoxin.
'I'll have to ask Shiho about that..' he thought, 'I can't tell anyone of it without her consent.'
He looked at the doors behind him with the corner of his eye. How was she? Was she getting better? He should be inside, by her side and not outside.
"Kudo-kun?"
Shinichi turned and saw Megure's expectant face.
'Yes..' he thought, 'Explanations first..'
"Akemi-san was an agent and she tried her best to get out of the Organisation, bringing Shiho with her as well. The Organisation had promised that the billion yen robbery would have been the last theft, the last criminal action. But.." Shinichi looked away, recalling Akemi's death with him as only witness. "When Shiho found out of Akemi-san's death, she escaped from the Organisation and came to find me. She asked for my help."
"When did this happen?" Megure inquired.
"More or less a year ago." the boy replied and looked at the man, "Inspector, Shiho isn't a member of the Organisation. She betrayed them and they tried to kill her many times. As they tried today."
"Kudo-kun, I believe you." the police officer remarked, "But you have to be honest with me. You disappeared for more than a year and I only saw you twice during this period. You said that you were working on a case: was it this one about the Organisation?"
"Yes." Shinichi said, after a brief pause.
"And where were for all this months?"
"Inspector..."
"Kudo-kun."
Shinichi shot a glance at Matt who shrugged slightly and then he sighed softly.
"I was here." he said. He didn't dare to turn his head, knowing that Ran was there. "I never left Beika. I have always been here."
Megure's eyes widened as did many others' ones.
"You.. were here?" he asked astounded, "But... How? We would have seen you? You could have asked our help!"
Shinichi didn't reply. He could feel Ran's eyes on him. He could feel her silent accuse. He could see the hurt expression on her face. The pain in her eyes.
"The stakes were high." he replied, "It wasn't just my life to be in danger.. If I told anyone about the Organisation, that person would have been a target." He looked at Megure. "Only a few people knew about my whereabouts."
"And they are..?"
Shinichi turned to Megure.
"Is that really important now?" he asked with mild annoyance, "You said that you wanted me to be honest. Well, I am: I was here. All the time, I never moved from Beika. Test me if you want: ask me anything that happened during this year. I know all the cases that you have been investigating on, Inspector. Every single one. Shiho can do the same too: she was with for nearly the whole time I disappeared from sight." Without bothering to the man's stunned expression, he went on. "Inspector, if we are done, I'll leave. I want to see how Shiho is doing."
The boy was already turning to leave when Megure stopped him, taking by the shoulder.
"Kudo-kun." he said in a fatherly fashion, "You have to give me answers. It's the only way I have to help you, otherwise, you will be in trouble too. Kudo-kun, I can help you."
Shinichi turned to look at the man. How long had he known Megure? Years.
A small smile made it's way on his face.
"I know, Inspector." he said simply, "But.. this isn't the moment to talk. I.. I only have one thought in my mind now. Shiho. Nothing else."
This surprised Megure. He cast a quick look to Ran and then back to Shinichi.
"I swear I will tell you everything, Inspector. But not now." the boy said, ignoring the unsaid question the man was asking him, "Not now."
Shinichi headed to the doors again. He had barely touched the knob that someone grabbed his good arm. Heiji.
"Kudo." he said seriously, "What's this story? Miyano an Organisation member? Who is she really? Why are you protecting her?"
Shinichi looked at his friend.
"I didn't protect her as well as I should have.." he said sadly. Noticing the look on the Osaka teenager's face, he added, "You know her, Hattori. You have seen Shiho before."
Heiji stared at him. He had seen her? When? He would surely remember seeing that girl with such peculiar reddish blonde hair and cool light blue eyes. He hadn't met anyone like that before..
"Don't let your judgement be distorted with suppositions before having any clues." Shinichi stated, "Remember that, Hattori."
Shinichi walked through the doors, leaving Heiji with that puzzling statement. As soon as he was gone, Matt turned to Kogoroh again.
"Akemi Miyano was not a criminal." he said, "It's thanks to her that the whole plan started. She came to Ryu, asking for help; she gave us precious information. If it hadn't been for her, we wouldn't have brought the Organisation down today. I met her: she's one of the best people I have ever met." He then approached the man slowly. "And one last thing, Detective Mouri. I don't care if you are famous or whatsoever but, if you even dare to badmouth or accuse Shiho or Akemi-san or Rei or Ryu or Shinichi, be sure that you'll have trouble. You'll get yourself with so many law suits that you won't know how to get rid them."
Kogoroh stood up, momentarily forgetting his red cheek.
"Is that a threat?" he asked, fuming with rage.
Matt looked at him. Surprisingly a ironic smile appeared on his face.
"No. It's an advice." he said, "From a lawyer."
Matt walked away from the man who didn't know whether to be worried or just mad. The boy headed to the window and stood there, resting the crutches against the wall. Chris came closer.
"What exactly happened?" she whispered in bewilderment in English, "What did Detective Mouri say to make Rei that mad? I never saw her that angry!" She paused. "Coming to think of it, I've never seen her angry.."
Matt looked at her. Knowing Christine, if he explained what the reason of the commotion had been, he was sure that old Mouri would go around with two hand prints on his face..
"I'll explain you another time." he replied and she looked mildly annoyed for not getting answers to her questions. He smirked slightly and looked at the doors of Intensive Care: Ryu, Shinichi and Rei were standing opposite Agase. He could still make out the girl's figure between the boys' frames. She looked so.. fragile. So delicate and gentle and yet when it came to her friends...
"Oh, and Chris?"
"What?" She turned to him.
"Remember me to never get Rei angry."
"What?"
"Just make me remember that in case I forgot."
Chris looked puzzled but Matt just smiled at her.
Rei had got angry because her friend had been badmouthed: she cared for Shiho enough to fight against anyone and defend her. Little, silent Rei had slapped the man that had insulted her friend and had snapped at him.
Matt smiled to himself.
If she hadn't reacted to Kogoroh's words, he wouldn't have recognised her.. Deeply inside, he knew that she would have done something and wouldn't have stayed quiet in a corner.
He knew it because..
Matt glanced at the doors of Intensive Care and saw the brunette standing next to his brother.
...because, despite their characters, they...
Rei tilted her head and met Matt's stare. He nodded at her, a small smile on his face. She smiled slightly back.
They weren't so different after all.
-
"I never left Beika. I have always been here."
His words echoed throughout her head. All thoughts that were in her mind had been erased in a second by those two sentences.
Her face didn't show her inner turmoil. She was sitting next to her father, who was still clutching his cheek though the red was slowly fading away. Kazuha was by her side and was stealing small peeks to her friend. Heiji was at her side, deep in thought. Matt, Lucas, Christine and Kaito were in the corner seats while Megure was in the corridor, standing with Takagi and Satou.
Ran just couldn't believe it.
She had waited for him to return from his... ha! long case, he said. She had been worried for him. She had cried for him. And he instead..
His absence had been painful. She was used to see him every day and his disappearance made her feel as though something was missing.
As though a part of her was missing.
His calls at the beginning had been frequent. Once a week. Then, once a month. Then, again more frequently: nearly a call every ten days. And then, again more sporadic. Until they didn't come anymore. For months.
Until the day he called and asked to meet her because he had something to tell her. Just to tell her that he was coming back.. and that he loved Miyano.
If she had been alone, Ran would have cried. But she wasn't. And the last thing she wanted was to worry her father and friends. She had to wait.
Wait till the time of answers would come.
-
Heiji stood by the door frame, lost in his thoughts. His body might be tired for the lack of sleep and the nerves but his mind was, as usual, agile and clear.
So many things had happened and most were unclear. He had spent half of his few sleeping hours to read and re-read the report Matt had brought from America and had discovered quite a bit of the background of the story that had seemed so confusing to him at the beginning. But he wouldn't be the Great Western Detective if he hadn't noticed how much was still secret. He had found all the empty spaces in the full account and was itching to fill in the blank spaces.
Question number one: Miyano.
Who was she? What was her role in the plan? And most of all, since she was a member of the Organisation, why in God's name was Kudo working with her?
Number two: Ikeda and Kazama.
Both FBI agents but their records weren't clean. One had feigned a suicide, the other was labelled as a double-crosser. Were they really reliable?
Number three: Kid.
A thief. That was enough to question his presence in an FBI operation.
Number four: Kudo.
He wasn't himself. Something had happened in the last months and Heiji didn't know what it was. There was no likely explanation to the Eastern Detective's attitude. Last time they had met, at Kudo's house, the Kansai boy had noticed a slight difference in the other boy's behaviour but had shrugged it off at the moment. He was too curious to know what was going on But now..
Heiji mulled over these thoughts, trying to piece them together in a definite scheme. He wanted to know what was going on but he didn't enough clues.
"You know her, Hattori."
Kudo's words echoed in his head.
'I've never seen that Miyano girl.' he thought, 'Never. I'd surely remember if I had seen anywhere else before.. Then, why the hell did Kudo...?'
He looked up and caught a glance of the detective behind the glass panel: he was standing in front of Kazama and Ikeda, leaning on the wall and looking very thoughtful.
Suddenly, the young man's features wavered and Heiji nearly did a double take as he saw them being replaced with Conan Edogawa's younger traits. The black, thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, the red bow-tie and the little boy was there instead of the tall teen.
Heiji had known Kudo in that form not in his normal state. For him, the Great Detective of the East was the bespectacled boy that irked the hell out of him with his acting. Childish antics in front of everyone but then brilliant deductions when he was with him.
Honestly speaking, he didn't know much of the teen Kudo.
Heiji went on staring and Conan faded gradually.
Only then, when the faint image disappeared, something clicked in the Kansai detective's brain.
'Reddish blonde hair...'
The other Kudo during Ran-san's play.
'And light blue eyes..'
The one locked in the lab during the party.
Heiji's eyes widened as everything regarding the mysterious girl went together.
That girl -what was her name again? Oh, yes, Ai Haibara. She was Miyano Shiho.
She had been shrunk just like Kudo. She must have eaten that appletox-something.
'But she's a member of the Organisation!' he thought in bewilderment, 'What the damn was she doing with Kudo?'
He didn't know the answer but Heiji knew one thing for sure.
The Great Detective of East owed a grand explanation to his Western counterpart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was all a déjà-vu.
Waiting in a hospital's corridor.
Rei leaned against the wall and sighed lightly. Saying that she was exhausted was an understatement. She was honestly surprised that she was still standing straight and had not crumpled to the ground already.
She painfully recalled her last visit to a hospital wing. That time Ryu was struggling in an operation theatre and she only had a flesh wound; this time Shiho was fighting against death while the three of them were injured.
'Why...?' she wondered, 'Why again? Why us?'
It seemed that faith was having fun playing with them as though they were pieces of a chess board..
She looked up. In front of her was another glass-paneled door. She could see Agase and Shinichi standing close to each other, eyes fixed on the glass window that separated them from the ICU room where Shiho's body had been transported after the operation.
Rei's eyes averted to the old man: Hakase's face was a mask of worry. It hurt her to see him in that state; it was so unlike his usual bubbly attitude.
Shinichi was by his side with a stony expression on his face. He hadn't spoken a word since his talk with Megure outside. When the doctors had said that only two, and no more, could be allowed in the inner room, he had followed Hakase straightforward without saying anything to her or Ryu. Not that they would have ever objected, mind you, but the fact that he was cooping his feeling wasn't good. Not at all.
He was so concerned for Shiho that nothing, nothing, else around him bothered him.
Rei sighed again. Lifting her hand and analysing her cast, she realised how lucky she had been. A couple of broken fingers and a few random bruises and burns were relatively little damage thinking back to what had happened to her. She recalled her face to face with Koizumi. Then the explosions, the fire and the flames. Her certitude that she was a step away from death. And then..
"Here."
Rei turned to her side with a jerk and found herself staring at a paper cup full of steaming, black liquid. She took the coffee and looked up at Ryu who leaned on the wall next to her and took a sip from his own cup.
"Any news?" he asked, peering through the panel at Agase and Shinichi.
"Nothing." she replied and brought the cup to her lips. And frowned.
Ryu's face cracked in a small smile.
"Honestly.." he remarked, "You didn't really expect it to taste somehow good, did you?"
She rolled her eyes. The coffee didn't just taste bad. It was awful. But, somehow, the hot liquid and its load of caffeine seemed to give her a bit of strength. Thing that she was lacking at the moment. "Couldn't have added a bit of sugar, could you?" she asked, bracing herself and downing another gulp of coffee.
"If I had, you'd be drinking sugar with coffee and not coffee with sugar." was the reply.
They looked at each other and a small smile made its way on their faces.
Rei's stare slowly followed the bandages that covered Ryu's face, neck and chest. He had been lucky to survive too, considering what he had gone through.
Just to save her. She couldn't describe the feeling inside her. It was a mingle emotions. She was angry that he had risked his life; worried for this reckless attitude he had shown; flattered for the fact that he cared for her so much.
They just stood there for a while in silence. It was already morning and the hospital's daily activities had started again. They could hear voices and the squeaking tires of the trolleys in the distance.
"What will we do now?"
Rei turned and looked at Ryu with puzzlement.
"Come again?" she asked.
He brushed a hand through his hair, looking thoughtful. Rei noticed only then that his hair had been roughly snipped here and there. Probably because the flames had burnt his hair; her hair hadn't been burnt thanks to Ryu's jacket. The new cut gave Ryu a look that was so unlike his usual self.
"What will we do from now on?" he asked her again. "Now that.. well.. it seems that everything is really.. over." He glanced at her. "The Organisation, Rei. It's really.."
"Not yet." she interjected, "Not until they're all in jail and.." She looked at the door in front of her and then at him. "Ryu, not until she's all right."
He looked at her and smiled slightly.
"I understand." he said, "We'll wait until we're all fine. And then, we'll see what to do."
She moved closer and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you." she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.
"You're welcome." he replied softly.
Rei realised that she didn't feel the usual heat of embarrassment attack her face as she was so close to him. In the first times, when they were still in college or when they were fresh recruits at FBI, she recalled how her heartbeats would double within seconds and how she fought the furious blushes that threatened to colour her face whenever Ryu would smile or just behave.. Ryu-like.
But now, she noticed, everything had changed. Besides the fact that they had revealed their feelings to each other, she realised that they had reached a level of understanding and mutual trust that characterised people with much more experience and common knowing each other.
But, maybe, working for nearly a year together in order to defeat the most dangerous criminal organisation, does compensate the lack of time. So much had happened and they had lived so many experiences together that it seemed as though years had passed since the beginning of their plan. And not just months.
'Who would think that only months have passed since the day I left New York?' she thought, 'Less than a year since we planned MYSTERY..'
A wave of memories flashed in her mind fast forward, images of what happened during her staying in Japan. She recalled the days she had spent working with the others, their adventures together..
A sigh escaped her lips.
Ryu looked down at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked, nudging her with his chin.
"Just thinking." she said absently.
"What about?"
"I was realising that we did a lot of things together. The four of us." She added the last bit with a hint of melancholy.
"I'm sure we'll live more moments like that." he stated reassuringly, "Shiho is strong, stronger than any of us. You said that yourself."
"I.. I just hope that I'm right." Rei ran a hand on her face. "I honestly trust Shiho. Really. I just hope that she trusts herself as much as I.. we trust her."
"She will." Ryu reassured her. His hand slid down and reached hers, squeezing her fingers gently.
Rei smiled slightly, squeezing his hand in reply.
As she waited next to him, Rei felt the lump that had threatened to come up her throat since Mouri's outburst, slowly vanish.
-
Ryu stood in silence with Rei at his side.
She hadn't talked for a while. Not since she had voiced her fears regarding Shiho's well-being.
Time had passed but still no news about the reddish-blond and he really didn't know what this could mean. A vague idea crept into his mind but he immediately chased it away.
'No.' he thought firmly, 'Don't let your trust in her waver.'
Breathing a sigh, he straightened slightly and felt his muscles and bones aching painfully.
The doctors had been quite vocal in saying that he, Rei and Shinichi had to rest and stay in bed but the three of them had nonchalantly ignored them. Even though they'd be really glad to lie down and relax for a bit.
He was thinking on these lines when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. A nurse came out of a nearby private ward, holding an empty plastic bag that had contained an unmistakable substance. Red, glutinous..
Blood.
A bag used for blood transfers.
As his gaze followed the nurse down the corridor. Before turning round the corner, she stopped to speak with another nurse in hushed voices.
'Again..' he mused, 'The nurses have quite a chat in here..'
Slowly, very slowly, the gears in his head moved and started to work.
They had been standing there the whole day, hadn't they?
Nobody had come in or out from Shiho's room. Except for the doctor that had told them about her critical conditions and that checked her every hour.
Then what was missing?
'What..?' he thought, 'What is missing? What is missing..?'
His mind immediately registered something that he had missed before. The doctor in charge dishevelled appearance, the nurses frequent silent conversations..
It clicked together. And he stiffened.
Rei looked up at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Shiho had an internal bleeding, didn't she?" he asked. His stare was fixed on the door.
"Yes." she said, eyes showing her puzzlement, "Ryu, what...?"
"Rei." Ryu looked down at her; he was extremely serious but his eyes... Rei felt a wave of panic course through her: Ryu's blue eyes were dimmed with fear.
"Rei, no one brought blood to Shiho." Ryu said in dead calm voice that barely hid his emotions, "No one mentioned that she needed a blood transfer even though she definitely must need one."
Rei looked at him. The colour drained away from her face as she understood what he was implying.
"The don't have her blood group." she whispered.
"And time must be running fast." Ryu muttered with a nod. He looked around and caught sight of Dr. Shimada and a couple of nurses.
"Because they're panicking."
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Shinichi sat in silence, blue eyes fixed on the figure lying on the bed in front of him.
She had taken the bullet in his place.
He should be on that bed instead of her.
He should be fighting for his life, not her.
These thoughts were running through his mind at full force. He couldn't get them out of his head no matter what he did.
The sight of Shiho being shot replayed before his eyes as a slow motion video. As the hours went by, he remembered more details. And it hurt him more.
Gin's malign smile as he fired a shot before falling down..
Shiho's face as she pulled him out of the way. The firmness in her eyes that hid a sparkle of fear..
The bullet..
Blood..
Red that soaked the white of her shirt and her pale skin...
Half-closed light blue eyes that, despite the pain, openly showed trust to him..
Shinichi shut his eyes.
He didn't deserve her trust.
Not after this. He had failed. He hadn't kept his promise.
'I will protect you..' he thought bitterly, 'You protected me. I didn't! I just watched.'
Guilt and grief were overwhelming him. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do. He desperately wanted to help Shiho but didn't know how.
She was lying on the bed, completely motionless. Tubes were attached to her arms, an I.V was dangling from it's support at her left and it's tube was connected to one of the many others that were pinned at her body, the slings and medical instruments beeped and hummed around her.
Shiho was extremely pale and her whiteness highlighted her peculiar reddish-blonde strands, giving her an angelic appearance that made his heart melt.
She looked so peaceful..
He had been allowed in her room just for a short, two-minute visit. Hakase had been there before him and Shinichi had been startled to see tears shining in his eyes. Old Hakase Agase was cheeriness itself but now, he was completely another person. He cared for Shiho so much that the only thought of possibly loosing her was unbearable.
As it was for Shinichi himself.
He stood up and approached the sleeping figure.
"Shiho.." he whispered softly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "Wake up. Please.. wake up. We're all waiting for you. Rei, Ryu, Hakase, me. We need you... I need you. Wake up.."
He bent down, ignoring a dull ache that rolled down his body, and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I love you." he murmured in her ear before straightening up and walk to the door.
He had barely closed the door behind him, he had hardly caught full sight of Dr. Shimada coming through the other door, when an unnatural beeping filled the air. He felt a shiver run down his spine.
It was fast. Very fast.
Dr. Shimada nearly knocked the detective down on the floor as he dashed into the girl's room. He reached for the small remote-like device near the bed and pressed a button furiously. He put a hand on the girl head and began to rummage with the I.V and the tubes.
Before he even realised what was actually happening, footsteps pounded in the hall, and two nurses and another doctor appeared. One of the women placed a hand on Shinichi's arm and gently but firmly pulled him from the room. He allowed himself to be dragged away, staring uncomprehendingly about at all the chaos that had suddenly filled the room. And then he realized it, with startling clarity.
"Shiho..."
Shinichi's hand slammed against the panel as he nearly pressed his face against the glass in an attempt to see what was going on in the room. Agase was by his side.
"What's going on?" Shinichi demanded, "Hakase?" He hoped that the old professor would be able to give him an answer. He always did.
"I.. I think that Shiho-kun's vital values have changed." he replied with a wavering voice, "Again.."
The two shared a glance, silently acknowledging all the implications and praying that the girl would be fine. They turned in unison to look through the panel and didn't notice that the other door, the one behind them, had opened and closed.
--
Matt was nervous.
He was pacing up and down the room, deliberately ignoring the dark looks the other people in the room were shooting him. He always did this when he was in this particular state of mind and it somehow eased his mind; but now and the fact that he was walking with crutches didn't bring the wanted result.
He felt his nervousness build step after step.
With a sigh, Matt was going to start his nth walk across the room. He absently glanced through the glass-paneled door through which Ryu, Rei and Shinichi had disappeared more than two hours ago.
He suddenly stopped dead on his tracks, earning a couple of looks from the others but he didn't bother at all.
'What the..?' he thought.
Lucas, who was the closest, approached him.
"What's wrong?" he asked wearily. Hours of waiting added to the lack of sleep and the extremely heavy day had demolished the young American's usually energetic way of being. His black hair was unruly, his grey eyes slightly dazed and huge bags were beneath them. "Matt, what the hell is wrong now?" Oh, and Luc's temper was high: his usually clean English was heavily accented with American and this happened when he wasn't calm.
"Luc." Matt's voice was oddly calm.
"What?"
"Ryu and Rei are gone."
"What?" Lucas swung around to look at the door. Sure enough, the two Japanese agents were not standing by the wall. They were no longer in sight.
"Why didn't you tell us anything! What exactly were you waiting for, her to die?"
Shinichi's outburst must have echoed throughout the hospital. The doctor stood in silence, waiting for the teen to vent all his hatred and grief.
"If it wasn't for Ryu and Rei's guess, we wouldn't even know that you wanted to do a blood transfer!" Shinichi felt anger flowing through his body. "What the heck are you doing?"
Dr. Hideo Matsuma was a freshly graduated doctor that had been appointed to Tokyo General less than six months ago. He was still learning his job and Dr. Shimada was his mentor. And while the man was still inside the room checking the patient, he had to give her colleagues a few updates.
And he honestly didn't know how to do it. With a deep sigh, Dr Matsuma looked at the young man in front of him.
"Mr Kudo, we have spent the past hours calling every hospital in the closeness. We contacted the closest blood banks to supply us with B negative but, unfortunately, the can't seem to reach us."
"What!" Shinichi asked in bewilderment.
The man looked at him and at the other teens. Agase was inside Shiho's room with Dr. Shimada.
"I take it as you don't what going on outside, isn't it?"
Ryu and Rei shared a glance. Shinichi had a blank look on his face.
"I don't know if it's related to your.. mission, as the police calls it, but the city's blocked. The whole northern and eastern area are off-limits to any vehicle."
At this point, it all clicked together. Shinichi, Rei and Ryu looked at each other.
North and East. The Headquarter, the Bay of Tokyo, and the mansion.
FBI and the local police must be still working and had blocked all traffic to those areas. And, unfortunately, the hospital was right in the middle of the eastern part.
"Can't they send a blood supply with an ambulance?" Ryu asked, "Or a police car? An helicopter?" His voice sounded more desperate at each suggestion.
The doctor shook his head.
"We asked already. Every vehicle of the police forces is already being used. Shimada-san talked with an Inspector. -what was his name again? Hattori, I think. Anyway, he said that as soon as he could find someone free, he'd send him here."
It was Rei that voiced the fears of all.
"How much time does she have?"
Dr Matsuma looked at the girl and felt the two boys' stares on him. He sincerely didn't appreciate all this pressure..
"Miss Miyano's values are unstable. This attack had been tackled in time but wee can't guarantee for her safety in case of other attacks. A blood transfer is the only way to make her reach the right vital values. She has lost too much blood to resist another attack. Her body is too weak."
"Why didn't anyone tell us that her conditions were so desperate?" Ryu asked with a glacial tone that was a mingle of anger and concern, "We have been waiting here since we've waken up and not a person informed us. Not one bloody person."
"I can understand how you feel." Matsuma said in what should have been a calm voice. Why were they asking all these questions? He didn't know everything! After a quick thought, he opted for the standard answer. "This sort of information is to be revealed only to relatives and family members."
There was a momentarily silence.
Have you ever regretted to have said something, wished that your words would just disappear as soon as they left your mouth? Matsuma was thinking on these lines when he saw that the intensity of Shinichi, Ryu and Rei's eyes went up a few notches, reaching a dangerous degree of coldness.
Hadn't it been for Shimada's timely arrival, Matsuma would have had to worry seriously for his well being. After a curt nod to his mentor, the young man ran to a safe place.. ehm.. to another ward.
"So.." Dr. Shimada remarked, looking at the teens, oblivious to the tensed atmosphere, "Miss Miyano's conditions are stable at the moment. I had to sedate her to calm her down and the effect will last a few hours time."
"Why didn't you tell us that she needs an urgent blood transfer?" Rei asked quietly. And when the man looked at her, she silently prayed that he wouldn't repeat the other doctor's words. Matsuma had just said the truth but... it had been so painful to hear.
The four of them might not be a family in the common sense of the term but they did share a bond. And it was something that went beyond simple friendship or companionship. It was really close to.. family.
And before, the cold hard truth had hit all of them square in the face. That's why they were so ready to get angry and pounce on the young doctor.
Dr. Shimada looked at the girl with a curious stare.
"Honestly speaking, Miss Ikeda, I was waiting for the right moment." he replied, "The city's traffic block has slowed down our movements. I'm waiting for a few phone calls and sincerely hope that someone can provide us a blood supply before midday."
"Is that the time limit?" Shinichi asked, his detective's sharp ears capturing the information, "Shiho needs the transfer before noon?"
The man nodded.
"What if she doesn't receive the blood by then?"
Shimada didn't reply. Shinichi turned to Rei and her face mirrored his fearful expression.
Ryu hadn't said a word for a while but had simply taken in the information. He turned to look through the panel that divided them from Shiho.
For the second time during that long day, Ryu felt as though he had gone back in time. He found himself thinking of Françoise.
He remembered her lying on a hospital bed, covered in bandages and motionless. Doctors hovering over her trying to make her wake up. He remembered a nurse pulling him away when a loud steady beeping echoed throughout the hall. Twelve year old Ryu had asked what was wrong but the nurse just repeated in a soothing tone that it was all well.
All well, all well...
Ryu recalled the doctors faces. He could still feel their desperation: the death of a child was not something that you can easily accept.
As his stare was fixed on Shiho, Ryu found himself wondering again.
'Will I let it happen again? Will I loose a sister again without doing anything?'
And the answer, as it had been earlier when he faced the fire, was obviously one.
Without hesitations, Ryu turned to Dr. Shimada. He caught a glimpse of Rei out of the corner of his eye and knew that she knew what he wanted to do.
Because it was what she was going to do herself. And the same went for Shinichi, he was sure.
Three clear voices were heard in unison.
"Give her my blood."
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He looked around.
The room was bare with only the rickety chair where he was seated, a bed with an old mattress pushed against a corner and a small window high above his head. The iron bars couldn't allow him to see the sky clearly.
It had to be late afternoon by now. He had lost track of time in that dark hole...
He laid a hand on his knee. His crisp black suit, grey shirt and black striped tie couldn't be more out of place as now. He looked like a high placed officer waiting for a prisoner to interrogate rather than a prisoner himself.
And yet, he was the prisoner.
Not too long ago, he was close to fulfill the dream of his life. It was a hand away from his reach, he could see it, almost savour the moment when he could finally achieve it.
But a group of teenagers had destroyed more than twenty years of work and plans. All had vanished hours ago when he had left the mansion. He had hardly reached the main road that was going to lead him to the airport when his car was surrounded by several cars.
Police cars.
Only when he got out and found himself face to face with a number of men with guns pointed at him, he realised.
He had lost against them.
Koji Koizumi, chief Inspector, President of the Organisation, had lost against the rising stars cooperating with FBI. The ones that fought for justice, the same justice that he had once believed and had long left behind.
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Agase heaved a sigh of relief and sat down on the wall bench.
Dr. Shimada had just left the ward and, for the first time since he had seen him, there had been a smile on the doctor's face. And then, he said what Hakase had been so keen to here.
"She's out of danger."
Shiho-kun, his dear Ai-kun, was out of danger. She was not going to die. Agase felt as though he could finally breathe freely again.
From the moment he had received the call from Shinichi-kun, he had felt as though something heavy was painfully constricting his chest. The weight that had materialised on top of his heart from the moment he caught sight of the girl lying on the bed, had slowly vanished.
Dr. Shimada had been very, very unsure whether letting Ryu, Rei and Shinichi give their blood for Shiho. The three had endured as much as the reddish-blonde that day and a blood transfer would have weakened their already tired bodies.
But arguing was useless. The man's words seemed to bounce against the teens as though they were a ball bouncing against a wall: they didn't even bother to hear him. After various fruitless attempts, Shimada had to give up and allowed the teens to do the transfer. He took an equal amount of blood from Ryu and Rei but a little less from Shinichi because he had suffered blood loss too.
Agase rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the tiredness. It was the first time since his arrival to the hospital that he was sitting down. He put his hand and was surprised to see it moist.
His eyes were filled up with unshed tears but now that he was alone, without Shinichi-kun around, he could finally allow his emotions to have free reign.
Shiho-kun was safe.
Shinichi-kun was safe.
Rei-kun was safe.
Ryu-kun was safe.
The four teens he had tried to protect during these long months, for whom he had been anxious and worried even too much for his own sake and that he had learned to know better day by day, were all safe.
All alive.
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It burned, for an instant, and then it was all blurry.
His face swam in front of her. She tried to focus and get to see him well but it seemed that only keeping her eyes open required a great deal of energy. He was saying something but she couldn't hear well. It seemed that he was speaking from afar and choking on his own words.
Before everything turned black, she managed to get a good look of his face. He was bleeding from his head, worry etched on his features and... were those tears coming from his eyes?
She had never seen him cry. Not once.
'Are you crying for me?' she wondered.
That was Shiho's last thought before passing out.
-
It was already night again.
The first of her five senses to awaken was smell: a light scent of what seemed like antiseptics and medicines. It was a very.. clean smell.
Then, her hearing. A rhythmically steady beeping coming from her side. But also, distantly, the sound of footsteps and vehicles.
Blue eyes opened slowly and immediately puzzlement danced in them as she found herself staring at an unknown ceiling. The room where she was lying in was lit dimly by a lamp but she didn't know exactly where she was, though she did have a vague idea.
She tired to move but her body seemed to be made of lead: it was incredibly heavy. She turned her head to her sides and found herself staring at a hospital room and surrounded by medical instruments, an I.V bottle and a large plastic bag full with what seemed like blood. Tubes attached to the last two objects lead down to her wrists.
As she slowly took in her surroundings, Shiho recalled her last memories. She didn't have a clue of how much time had passed and didn't know what had happened to the others.
'Shinichi..' she wondered, 'Rei.. Ryu..'
Were they fine?
She moved her head to her left and saw Rei sitting on a chair and leaning on her bed, seemingly asleep. She was the only one in the room. Ignoring a light pang of disappointment, Shiho moved a hand in an attempt to reach down to her but couldn't. Her movement, however, seemed to alert the other girl who moved.
Rei stirred and sat up straight, stretching her neck while she opened her eyes to check on Shiho. The two girls made eye contact and stayed silent just staring at each other.
"Shiho..?" Rei whispered incredulously, eyes widening.
"Rei..." the reddish blonde whispered, with a small, strained smile. Shiho felt her voice a bit hoarse as though she hadn't used it for a long time.
"Shiho.. oh, God! You're awake!" Rei leapt up from her chair, barely wincing as her injured hand bumped against the bed. But the happiness in her was just too much to notice. "You slept for nearly 24 hours; we were all wondering when you'd come around again!"
Rei paused and simply beamed at the other girl, feeling all sort of feelings course through her. Happiness and relief at most.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting down again and taking Shiho's tube-free hand with her good hand. "You scared the hell out of us.."
Another weak smile made it's way across Shiho's face.
"I'm alive." she whispered, "I think I should be grateful of that." She looked at Rei, getting a good look of her . "What about you? The last thing I heard was that you were in the Organisation's hands and were going to be killed. You look very..-er.. patched up, to put it nicely."
Rei stared at her.
"This coming from the girl who was nearly in a comatose state.." she remarked teasingly. All the tension she had built in the past hours had just melted away. Rei felt extremely light-hearted.
"Rei.." Shiho looked at her in concern, "What happened? How is Shinichi? And Ryu?"
The girl squeezed her hand in reassurance.
"Don't worry." she said, "We're all fine. We've been dead worried for you." Suddenly, Rei jerked her head up as though a thought had just struck her and looked at the closed door behind her. "Oh, dammit..." She stood up.
"What?"
"Shinichi... Oh, Lord.. He'll murder me!"
"Why? What about him?"
Something in Shiho's tone made Rei turn and look down at her. Did she just hear a hint of...?
Rei sat down again and took Shiho's hand.
"Shinichi never left your side." she said with a smile, "He has been here on this very chair from the moment the doctor said that we could stay with you. He barely slept despite mine, Ryu's and Agase's words. At the end, we managed to convince him to go and have something to eat and drink at the hospital's cafeteria. Ryu's with him too." Rei got up and turned to the door.
"I think that the others will be eager to see you too." she stated looking at Shiho and the girl nodded slightly, her heartbeats raising in rate.
Agase, who was sitting ,or better dozing, on the wall bench, got up with a start when he saw the door room open. A look of fear was plastered on his face but it immediately eased once he saw the smile on Rei's face.
The girl looked at the man and nodded towards the door behind her.
"She's waiting for visits."
She didn't have to say this twice. Hakase bustled into the room and Rei lit the light on and discretely closed the door as soon as she heard him joyfully call Shiho "-Ai-kun!".
Rei leaned on the door and brought a hand to her face. Silent tears of relief lined her cheeks.
Shiho was awake.
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"Let's go."
"Finish to eat at least.."
"Let's go."
"All right, all right..."
Ryu and Shinichi left the cafeteria, leaving Kaito, who had gone along with them, finish his meal, and headed upstairs. The detective was in a rush and the engineer was trying his best to keep up with his pace but was slower because of his injuries.
They had barely reached the corridor leading to Shiho's room that Shinichi skidded to a halt, causing Ryu to nearly collide with him.
"What the hell..?" he started, looking at his friend. But the detective was just staring in front of him. Following his gaze, Ryu turned to look and saw Rei standing by the door with Kaito. They were the only ones in the waiting room; it seemed that the others had either gone home or back to the police stations. A feeling of dread coursed through his body.
Why was Rei out of the room? Hadn't they agreed that she would stay while he would have dragged Shinichi downstairs to eat something?
Unless..
Shinichi dashed forward, followed suite by Ryu. Their arrival was noticed by the others because they turned towards them. Ryu noticed that Rei's eyes were oddly bright as though she had been crying recently. The dread doubled within seconds.
"Rei!" Shinichi exclaimed, getting close to the girl, white in face, "What are you doing? What happened..?" He faced her with a terrified expression. "Shiho..?"
Ryu was looking at her with an equally worried face.
Rei turned at both and shook her head. And she smiled. A smile that melted all doubts from the two boys' faces and that made their hopes soar high.
"She woke up.." Ryu said incredulously and Rei nodded. A smile cracked the boy's features and a wave of relief washed through him. He turned to Shinichi who seemed to be stunned on the spot.
"Shiho's awake?" he whispered, his eyes lighting up immediately. Without other words, he sped forward, walked through the doors and straight to the girl's room.
Rei approached Ryu and gently rested her head against his chest; the boy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, his lips brushing against her hair.
"She's alive." Rei's voice was muffled but he heard her nevertheless.
"Yes." he replied, "Thanks God.."
She nodded.
"Hey, lovebirds.."
The two immediately broke apart, a blush colouring their faces for they had immediately recognised the voice that was teasing them.
Matt was standing in front of them, leaning on his crutches and smirking mischievously.
"Didn't mean to interrupt anything.." he said as an excuse.
"You didn't." Rei replied, "Nothing was happening, right?" She turned to Ryu.
"Right." he confirmed and turned to the lawyer, "By the way, where were you?"
"Dad called." Matt remarked airily, earning the other two's full attention. "He told me a couple of things: it seems that he has talked with our chiefs but the situation is still a bit complicated.. But, don't worry." He looked at Ryu and Rei. "Whatever will happen, you guys won't have any problems. You've got most of the FBI's men at your side. Plus a lawyer." He pointed to himself.
"Thanks." Rei said, smiling.
"Yes, bro." Ryu stated, "Thanks."
Matt waved a hand, shooing away their gratitude and grinned.
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Relief?
No, more.
Happiness?
Even more than that.
Shinichi couldn't explain the feelings that were storming in him as he opened the door. Hakase had just got out of the room and had confirmed him the wonderful news.
Shiho was awake and. Alive.
He put his hand on the door knob and pushed, getting into the room. He gently closed the door behind him and approached her.
She was in the same position he had seen her last time, apparently asleep. But he was hardly a step away from the bed when her eyes opened and he found himself staring at the two sapphire orbs that could pierce through his soul and read him in and out despite their calm appearance.
"Shiho.." he said, taking her hand.
The girl looked at him. Emotions were bubbling in her body, mingling together in one single feeling that she couldn't make out.
She simply stared at him. He was injured and had been treated, judging by the bandages. He looked exhausted, black circles were ringing his eyes. His eyes were strangely bright..
"Shinichi.." she said softly, smiling slightly. With effort, she tried to sit up but he stopped her.
"Don't." he said, sitting on her bed and gently pushing her down. "You're still weak. Don't force yourself already."
"I'm fine." she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and slowly putting herself in a sitting position, or something close to it. "She looked at him. "What happened to you?"
Shinichi instinctively closed his eyes for a second as he felt her fingers brush gently against his bandages and his forehead. Her warm hand against his skin had a soothing effect that he savoured pleasurably.
When Shiho lowered her hand and looked at him, she was startled by his gaze. As she met his dark blue eyes, she saw something that hadn't been there before, an emotion that was rarely present.
Guilt.
"Shinichi.." she said, concern lacing her tone, "What...?"
Her statement was interrupted. He slowly reached forward and hugged her, giving her no time to react. A furious blush coloured her pale face as she felt his hot breath tickle her neck; Shiho hugged him back with one arm since the other was still connected to the IV tubes and the blood bag.
Shinichi didn't speak. He moved a hand up her spine, feeling the bandages beneath the hospital garment she was wearing. He stopped when he reached her hair and gently stroked her soft reddish-blonde strands.
They stayed in silence, only the rhythmical beeping of the machines echoing in the room.
"I'm sorry." Shinichi whispered against her neck, after a while, "I failed to protect you."
"What?" Shiho asked in bewilderment, pulling away and wincing as a sharp pain came from her waist. She looked Shinichi straight in the eyes. "What are you saying?"
"You risked to die. That bullet was meant to me, not you."
"How can you be so sure?" Shiho's tone was firm despite the calmness in her eyes, "It was Gin that firing. Gin. Remember who we're speaking of."
"That isn't the point." Shinichi retorted, his tone sounded defeated, "I should have done something! Anything! Not let you.."
He was silenced this time. By Shiho's fingertips on his lips. His gaze fell on her eyes and he found himself, once again, mesmerized by those ice blue pools.
"Shinichi, I'm fine." she whispered, smiling slightly, "You couldn't have done anything. I saw Gin point the gun at you. I saw his eyes: it was stare that I had seen so many times before. He wanted to kill. It could have been me or you: it didn't matter. One or both had to die."
She raised her hand and gently stroked his cheek.
"I.. I couldn't let him kill you." she said, her eyes softening, "I already lost my sister.. I couldn't have bared to loose you too."
Shinichi was at loss of words: it wasn't like her to express her weakness loudly. He slowly took her hand and kissed the back of it, never breaking eye contact. He smiled weakly and a trace of his usual trademark smile was visible. He still felt the weight of his guilt but seeing Shiho in front of him, smiling, awake... He couldn't bring himself to hurt her. Not again.
Not for him.
He leaned forward and kissed her.
Shiho closed her eyes, feeling the touch of his lips on hers. His soft kiss sent a thousand shivers down her spine. She kissed him back, their breaths mingling together as one.
When they broke apart, Shinichi moved forward till his forehead touched hers.
"I love you." he whispered softly, his eyes fixed on hers.
"I love you." she replied just as softly, a smile crossing her face and reaching her eyes as well.
A knock at the door a few minutes later, made them both come back to reality.
"Come in." Shinichi said while Shiho leaned against her bed stand.
The door opened and Rei, followed by Ryu, Matt and Kaito, came in. The four were all smiling. Ryu approached Shiho.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, brushing a kiss on her cheek in a brotherly fashion, "You scared the hell out of us.."
"I heard." she replied with a smile, slanting a glance at Rei who smirked. "But what about you? You look..-er..patched up just like Rei." She paused. "Maybe even worse."
"Very amusing.." Ryu remarked. "Believe me it's a long story.."
"I have time."
"All right, all right.." Matt said, walking to the foot of Shiho's bed and getting in everyone's view. "Before we start all the reminiscences, I have news to deliver." He shot a glance at Shiho. "I was waiting till you were among us to do so."
The room went quiet and the lawyer got everyone's attention.
"There's good news and bad news." he said, "I'll start with the bad ones." He paused dramatically. "I'm sorry to announce that the MYSTERY team doesn't have any reason to exist any longer. It can officially cease to exist."
Kaito stared at Matt. Rei and Ryu exchanged a confused glance as did Shiho and Shinichi. Matt went on nevertheless.
"And this because..." He paused again and looked at the other, his green eyes glittering. "The Black Organisation doesn't exist anymore."
Silence.
"Everyone got caught?" Shiho said in a incredule tone.
"Everyone." Matt confirmed and grinned, "No one was left out. We did it!"
His words lingered in air for a bit before soaking in completely.
After all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, they had somehow forgotten what had brought them to the hospital in first place.
The Organisation.
Their long work, their many sufferings had finally come to an end. They had beaten them.
The group exchanged glances and a smile appeared on their faces. A smile that broke the long hours of tension and finally showing their true emotions.
They had vanquished the Black Organisation.
They did it.
Finally.
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Ehm... Hello... -peeks around from her hideout-
I know that a long time has passed since the last update. I suppose that a -Sorry, guys!- wouldn't be enough. Anyway, this chapter has finally come to an end. It took me more than six months to write it down. Jeez, it took me forever.. I hope that I won't have another writing block like this again.
The next chapters should come at a faster speed, I hope. As for the other fictions.. who knows? I'll try to update them soon as well.
I'll keep my focus on 4Points at the moment.
I thank all the readers and reviewers. Really, you guys kept me wanting to write rather than abandoning. Thanks for the reviews.
As for the chapter, I think I'll re-write sooner or later... Later most probably. I think you will all notice that it's sort of jumps from a section to another. I hope that it's comprehensible though.
I'll be waiting for your opinions. Flames included..
REVIEW!
Bye!
