Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK
A Curse Marked Fate
30: A Trembling Web
Shinichi woke to find himself lying in his old bed, although it took him a moment to recognize it. It had been so long since he had last slept in this room that, for a moment, he thought he was dreaming. Then the events of the previous night surfaced in his mind, and he knew this was no dream, although he puzzled over the fact that he couldn't remember coming up to his room.
Covering a yawn, he rolled over and snuggled more comfortably into his cocoon of blankets and pillows. He was simply too warm and comfortable to get up just yet. He'd give it another ten minutes.
Even as his thoughts began to drift, however, a series of sharp raps came at the door, and he realized that it was that very sound that had woken him in the first place.
It had to be Kaito.
Remembering belatedly that one, the Sky Mage had offered to take him home, and two, he didn't know if Kaito had other plans for today and therefore might be in a hurry, Shinichi sat up.
"I'm up!" he called out, swinging his feet over the side of the bed and noting that he was still wearing his clothes from the day before sans jacket. Said jacket had been draped neatly over the back of his desk chair. He was still looking at it when his bedroom door opened, and Kaito poked his head inside.
"Your professor friend brought us scrambled egg sandwiches," the Sky Mage announced. "You should come eat them while they're still hot."
Shinichi's stomach rumbled in agreement, and he blushed. "All right. I'll be down in just a moment."
Diving into his closet for one of the spare sets of kiddy clothes he had stashed here for just such occasions, Shinichi dashed into the bathroom to brush and change. Once he'd completed his morning ablutions, he headed downstairs to find Kaito already munching on his second sandwich.
"The professor sure made a lot," Shinichi noted, eyeing the sizeable platter heaped with a dozen triangular sandwiches. His stomach growled again at the mouthwatering aroma wafting from the platter, urging him to snag a pair of sandwiches for himself as well.
"He's an awesome neighbor," Kaito replied with a broad grin. "He told me he's planning on frying up some doughnuts too. Said we should stop by before we head out so we can take a box with us. He brought you a thermos of coffee too."
The way Shinichi's big blue eyes lit up at the sight of the thermos totally made Kaito's day.
They talked very little over breakfast as they were both too focused on the delicious food their thoughtful friend had prepared for them. But as they were washing up the dishes, Shinichi remembered to ask Kaito how he'd gotten back to his room.
"I carried you there after you fell asleep in the library."
"You didn't have to, you know. I often sleep in there."
The Sky Mage shrugged. "Maybe, but a proper bed's still more comfortable. Besides, we never did find the spare blankets. So it just made more sense to put you in bed. I took the guest room next to yours. I cleaned up after myself and remade the bed, so you don't have to worry about that."
"I wasn't worried," Shinichi replied honestly. "But thanks."
"You're welcome. So, are you ready to go get our doughnuts and hit the road?"
Smiling at the Sky Mage's easy cheer, Shinichi followed him out of the house, pausing only to lock the door. Then they were back in Agasa's house, handing over the Kudo Manor's keys to the old man for safekeeping.
"And here's the fresh doughnuts," the old man said, handing them each a paper bag still warm with its contents.
"Don't eat them all at once," Haibara warned when she appeared in the kitchen to bid them farewell. "Too much sugar is bad for you."
Her pointed stare had sweat beading on the back of Agasa's neck.
Doughnuts in hand, the detective and the magician hopped onto Kaito's Sky Cycle. Shinichi immediately wrapped his arms around his much taller friend's middle, never noticing the pleased grin that flickered across said friend's face as it was turned away from him.
"Hang on tight!" Kaito sang out, and they were off.
Travel by Sky Cycle with Kaito was, Shinichi thought, definitely something he could get used to. Not only was the vehicle considerably quieter than anything else with an engine that he had ever heard, but it lived up to its name and virtually flew through the city, whisking around tight turns like they were straight roads with an easy grace that was marvelous to behold.
The distance between Professor Agasa's house and the Mouri Detective Agency wasn't long though, so the journey was over all too soon.
Kaito insisted on walking Shinichi all the way to the agency's front door. As they approached, they could both hear Mouri Kogoro's voice shouting from inside.
"Yo! Ko! Yo! Ko! Yo! Ko!"
Kaito spent another minute listening to the repeated cheers and finally had to crack a laugh. "Sounds like someone's having fun."
Shinichi sighed, though even he had to smile. "Uncle's a huge fan."
"I think I figured that out for myself already."
Shinichi fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door before turning back to Kaito. "Did you want to come in for a bit?"
The Sky Mage smiled but shook his head regretfully. "I would, but I have to take my Sky Cycle in for some tweaks."
Shinichi blinked. "Tweaks?"
"I did tell you my Sky Cycle is a beta version, right? Well, they've determined certain modifications that need to be made. They asked me to take mine in this afternoon."
Shinichi's brows furrowed. "Should you really be driving it then?"
"Oh, it's perfectly safe in terms of the driving," Kaito assured him. "From what I understand, the modifications are mostly little things. I'll find out more when I get it to the workshop. Anyway, I'll tell you more about it next time."
Disappointed despite himself, Shinichi bid Kaito farewell.
Inside the agency, he found Kogoro pumping his fists into the air as he cheered for his favorite idol. The "I love Yoko" bandana tied around his head flapped with his movements, highlighting his enthusiasm. The entire picture was frankly ridiculous, but it was also kind of assuring in its own weird way. This was one of those scenes Shinichi had come to expect from his home with the Mouris, and it was nice to know that these moments would continue to grace their lives even should the rest of the world start to come apart at odd seams.
That thought drew him to the agency's large windows. Through them, he found himself looking down, searching the street below until he spotted a familiar head of wild hair disappearing under a blue and white helmet. Then Kaito was revving up his Sky Cycle, waving to several curious passersby as he maneuvered it out of its parking space.
Then, for a brief instant, Kaito looked up, and indigo eyes met blue through the visor of his helmet. Shinichi's heart skipped a beat. Then Kaito smiled, winked, and turned away again. In the next moment, he was sailing away once more, a rapidly shrinking white and silver speck that rounded a distant corner and disappeared.
When he lost sight of Kaito, Shinichi felt strangely like he had lost sight of a piece of himself. But that was ridiculous.
Sighing, he skirted around the still cheering Kogoro and made his way into the kitchen where he found Ran in the middle of making breakfast.
"I brought fresh doughnuts from Professor Agasa," he announced, setting said doughnuts on the middle of the dining table. "Should I get everyone a plate?"
"That would be great," Ran said from where she was still working over the stove. "But wait on the doughnuts. Breakfast is almost ready."
Shinichi scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed. "Actually, I kind of ate already."
Ran shot him a mildly suspicious look over her shoulder. "You're not talking about a cup of coffee and a slice of toast, are you?"
Shinichi flushed at the accusing note in the girl's voice. "The professor made us scrambled egg sandwiches."
"Oh. All right then. In that case, you can go ahead and eat your doughnut." Satisfied, Ran turned back to the omelet she was making. "Did the professor drop you off? You should have invited him in."
"No, Kaito did. But he said he couldn't stay."
Ran's eyebrows shot up. "Kaito-kun drove all the way to Beika just to bring you home?"
Shinichi let out a snort of laughter. "No, of course not. It was just that he was visiting the professor too. So we both slept over at my parents' house, and he dropped me off on his way back to Ekoda."
"Oh. I…see," Ran said slowly in a peculiar tone that had Shinichi frowning.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing, it's nothing," the girl said hastily then plastered on a smile that only made Shinichi feel more disturbed. "Anyway, Dad's agreed to take Sonoko and me to the mall later. There are some great sales going on today. Did you want to tag along?"
It was a rhetorical question because Shinichi had to go if Kogoro was going, but the detective chose not to point that out. Instead, he shrugged and said he would. The shopping trip would also give him the opportunity to talk to Sonoko and find out what she knew about the actress who was currently ruining the life of her mother's violinist friend.
When it came to celebrities, whether it was news, history or gossip, Shinichi knew of few better sources than one Suzuki Sonoko.
X
One good thing about being six again, Shinichi thought, was that even Sonoko wouldn't make him carry her shopping bags. Kogoro was not so lucky. The older detective cursed under his breath as he tried to juggle the numerous bags and boxes that had been foisted on him by his daughter and her friend.
Taking pity on him, Shinichi pointed out one of the mall's cafés as they passed it. There was a huge, colorful poster in the window advertising a limited-time deal available to parties of four for their specialty tropical fruit cake. Sonoko's eyes lit up at the bejeweled fruits and luxuriant swirls of whipped cream depicted on the poster. The four of them were seated in the café within ten minutes.
"Wow, this is divine," Sonoko declared after sampling the first bite of her cake. The moist, spongy texture of the cake paired well with the light layers of cream and the tart fruit arranged upon it. It was truly a masterful dessert. "I guess you can find useful thins too after all."
Shinichi frowned slightly at what he suspected was an insult then decided to let it pass. Sonoko was always saying things like that. No point letting it get to him. Besides, he still wanted to pick her brain about a certain actress.
He found his chance when Kogoro got up to go to the restroom and Ran went to check out the café's other offerings where they were on display behind glass counters, thus leaving Shinichi alone with Sonoko and the remnants of their cake.
"Can you tell me what you know about Kurata Sumiko?" he asked.
Sonoko looked at him blankly. "Who?"
"The actress," he clarified. "You know, the one your mom's friend asked Uncle to look into."
"Oh, you mean the husband-stealer. What, are you in on the investigation too? I didn't think it was your kind of case. You know, since no one's dead and all."
Shinichi resisted the urge to sigh. "Do you know anything about her or not?"
Sonoko sniffed. "Of course I do. She's quite a big name in the live performance circles. She's performed in every major theater in Japan. Won several awards too. She's almost just as famous for being difficult, but, since every production she's ever played a leading role in has been a major success, everyone puts up with it."
"Difficult how exactly?" he asked.
"A lot of ways, from what I've heard. Like, she has specific brands she wants for everything from bottled water on up. She also likes to criticize her costars in public, especially if they're female and younger than her. Typical primadona personality, I guess. But like I said, she's good at what she does. It makes you wonder, doesn't it?"
Shinichi looked puzzled. "Wonder what?"
"Why it took her so long to snare Lita-san's husband, duh."
"You just described someone only a crazy person would want to live with," Shinichi pointed out.
Sonoko rolled her eyes. "Hello, award-winning actress here. And Kurata's known the guy since they were in college. She's literally had, like, decades to see what kind of women he went for. If she wanted him that badly, she totally had the skills to get him years ago."
"If you put it that way, he's also had years to learn that she's not his type," Shinichi pointed out.
"Except obviously that's not the case since he's changed his mind," Sonoko shot back.
Since Sonoko was one of the last people who Shinichi wanted to discuss the potential existence of love spells with, he decided to try a different angle.
"Have you met her in person before?"
"Sure. She came to dinner with Matsuhara-san just the other night. I told Ran about it. Didn't she tell you?"
"I wouldn't be asking if she had," Shinichi said dryly. "So what was your impression of them? Did it seem like they were really together?"
Sonoko snorted. "Did they ever!"
She went on to describe with evil relish exactly just how revoltingly lovey-dovey the couple had been at the dinner. She concluded her narrative by reiterating how all this over-the-top sappiness had been flaunted in Matsuhara Lita's face.
"Did they seem sincere?" asked Shinichi.
That made Sonoko pause. "It…looked pretty real to me. Besides, they were still at it when they came over yesterday. Dad asked them to stay for lunch after he and Matsuhara-san finished going over business. Mom took Lita-san out to lunch, so it wasn't like there was anyone around they might want to put on a show for."
"So it's definitely not blackmail then," Shinichi murmured more to himself than to Sonoko. She must have heard him though because she shook her head, expression taking an abrupt turn into the somber.
"No. We were all watching for signs that it might be something like that. Even Dad. He's known the Matsuharas for a long time, and even he's having a hard time believing any of this is happening."
So said everyone who knew the Matsuharas, Shinichi mused. It was the same story over and over again. None of them could believe that the once happy couple were getting divorced, yet none of them disputed that the change seemed genuine. Was it proof of magical intervention? No. But still… It was something.
"So~," Sonoko drawled, forking a last piece of fruit into her mouth. "Anything else you wanted to know?"
"Would you say Kurata-san has a lot of connections?"
"Do you even have to ask? Celebrity, award-winning actress, remember? Besides, if she didn't have connections before, she'd be loaded down with them now that she's got her claws into the head of the Matsuhara Corporation."
Okay, yeah. Shinichi could admit that that had been a pretty redundant question.
"Then do you know whether she supports any particular causes or organizations?"
This time, Shinichi could see that he had caught the petit girl off guard. She stared at him then leveled her fork at him.
"How the hell did you know that?" she demanded.
Shinichi leaned away from the fork's cream-coated prongs. "Know what? And can you put that down? You're going to poke someone's eyes out."
Sonoko rolled her eyes but propped her fork on the edge of her plate. "I was talking about her pet project."
"I don't know anything about her pet project," Shinichi said patiently. "I'm just trying to learn more about her. So what is this project?"
"It's a fundraiser. You remember how I said Matsuhara-san came over yesterday for business? Well, over lunch, he and Kurata-san told Dad that they're going to be participating in a fundraiser for some organization that helps children dealing with difficult magical issues. The fundraiser is being hosted at the Seven Star Theater, where they'll be holding several performances. Half the profits generated by the shows are going to go to this organization while the theater keeps the rest. They're also planning a raffle and other fundraiser-type events to go along with the performances. They asked Dad if he'd be willing to show the event some support."
Shinichi could feel his heart rate picking up. Was this what it sounded like? If so then they just might have found not only the connections they needed but the opportunity to get closer to their adversaries.
"Do you remember what the organization they're holding the fundraiser for is called?" he pressed, leaning forward. The bright intensity in his eyes gave the girl a moment's pause, but she brushed it off as his usual detective keenness for weird and pointless things.
"I think they said it was a foundation. Let me see, yeah, Choice. That was it. It's called the Choice Foundation. Do you know it?"
Shinichi let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was a breath of relief but also of triumph. The links were closing—not fast, but they were closing. He could all but hear the clinks. One by one, gentle but sure.
"I've heard of it," he said carefully. "Did your dad agree to support them?"
The girl shrugged. "They haven't hashed out the details, but Dad did agree to sponsoring part of the event."
"Do you think we could get tickets?"
"Of course. Who do you think you're talking to? Anyway, I already put you, Ran and Mouri-san on the guest list."
"Could I get one extra ticket?"
Sonoko looked sly (never a good thing in Shinichi's books). "For Kuroba-kun, right?"
Shinichi blinked then stared at her, astonished. How in the world had she known?
Seeing the amazement in his eyes, the girl cackled. "Seriously, can you be any more oblivious?"
Shinichi scowled. "What are you talking about now?"
"I'll explain if you say please, Sonoko-sama, share with me your infinite wisdom."
"…Never mind. I doubt it's anything important anyway."
Honestly, Shinichi huffed to himself. He would never understand Sonoko. On the other hand, he was probably better off for the lack.
TBC