The common cold was by far her worst enemy, especially in this body with such a weaker immune system compared to her teenage body it was soul crushingly weaker. Even when she was younger she could not remember being this ill as the same age she physically was now. Her immune system was shot and much weaker than it should be regardless and was a medical mystery that needed to be solved and sadly neither she nor Agasa were the experts on this.
This was the cause of her being ill so often and so easily as well. Though it could be also due the cases that she works on and end working in the night. Which can results in freezing weather and other damaging circumstances that can sometimes can often happen due to the unfortunate circumstances of death.
The cold that she had for a couple of weeks had now become the flu but right now that did not better because she had to make her check in call to Ran so that she would be worried or getting suspicious. She did not want a worried Ran being scared and worried that she was lost and scared in the dark wandering around with no one to help her and that she needed help because she could not help herself.
So right now she was standing outside in a phone booth opposite of the Detective Agency in the freezing cold making a phone call to Ran using her voice -changing bow to mask as her own voice as Kudo Shinichi. She really wished that she had more trousers than skirts and shorts because her legs were cold and the rest of her was very warm. But what she was surprised at was the fact that there was still a phone book here in the first place then again there is a detective agency opposite of it and she is highly likely the only person not to make a phone call from here but there other would be anonymous.
" Achoo ! " she said again.
"Dang ! It's been forever since you last called and you have the nerve to do it again when you have the cold. Hurry up and come back already " said Ran complaining.
She had stupidly told Ran that she would come back after she had finished working on this big case that she was working on. Ran was worried about her and that she was not been properly taken care of even though she did not know that she was the one that was taking care of her in the first place. Guilt had taken the best of her and she told Ran what she wanted and needed to hear so that she would feel better and not do anything careless like go to the police.
"I can't yet. I am still involved in this case and I need to rest for a while "said Shinichi annoyed.
DING DONG
"Someone is at the door ? "said Ran focusing on the door.
"It sounds like a client, so I will call you later. That care of that cold "said Ran.
And Shinichi before she could say anything Ran quickly slammed down the phone.
" Oi Ran " said Shinichi.
BEEP
She was annoyed.
" Dang she worries when I do not call and she acts so cold with complaints just come flying out "" she said to herself.
And then she hung up the phone leaving the phone booth in a mood.
" I can never understand other women and their feelings " announced Shinichi.
She left the phone booth with every female eye on her and men awkwardly staring anyway with everyone looking confused.
She was just heading up the stairs to the detective agency when she heard someone very loud and they were yelling at someone sounding annoyed and demanding.
It was a teenager's voice and she could tell that they were not local by the accents and that they were likely from Osaka.
"Don't lie to me, girl "
" I know he is here somewhere "
She pushed the door open to hear what the guy wanted.
" Hurry up and bring out Kudo Shinichi"
She was sweating and surprised.
'Huh? Me?' she asked herself she had no idea what this guy wanted with her.
" Hurry up and get him " he demanded.
This guy was too loud.
" Achoo " she sneezed.
And it was a strong one because she pushed the door wide opened and fell forward towards Ran in a haze, making her the centre of attention and the conversation comes to a halt. And a worried Ran.
"Christie, you got a cold too ? " said Ran.
She just nodded.
"Don't move " said Ran.
Ran just wiped her nose with a tissue.
" Both you and Shinichi have a cold. I guess there is a bug going around "said Ran.
The stranger was listening in.
It was hard to see his face because of the hat wearing and the bag pack that he was wearing was disguising his body from the back.
"Kudo has a cold ?" said the stranger to himself.
She already annoyed by this guy.
"How do you know that, and yet not know where he is ?" said the stranger curiously.
Ran stood up and closed the door.
"She called me "said Ran.
"Shinichi called earlier with a stuffed voice" said Ran.
She could tell that Ran was annoyed and was rolling her eyes at what she thought was the idiocy of this guy. But the way he was questioning and the way he was put things told her a lot more than the average person because he was getting information and coming to a conclusion about her. And she did not like it and she did not like this guy his demeanour was way too impulsive and he was starting to sound judgemental.
"She call every now and again " said Ran annoyed.
" Is that a problem ?" said Ran sounding even more annoyed.
The stranger hand under his chin rest it there and she did the same thing when she was thinking about something but mostly coming to a conclusion to the case/mystery that she was solving.
"I guess that rumour that you're Kudo's girl is true " said the stranger.
Both she and Ran were shocked and embarrassed by this.
"Who said that ?" both females said together.
"That friend of yours Suzuki "said the stranger.
And at that moment all she could imagine was the thought of Sonoko with a smug and victorious look on her face.
"She said that she hasn't turned up at school, so you're probably hiding her here" said the stranger.
Now they were mad.
"Sonoko! " they both quietly cursed her name.
" So….what did Kudo talk to you about ? " said the stranger.
Ran physically looked annoyed and bothered at the stranger almost like she was ready to fight at any moment.
"Nothing special….She talked about a mystery novel that she was reading and about J-league soccer. We also talked about how everyone is doing at school " said Ran.
Then he interrupted her.
" Did she ask about you ? " said the stranger.
This surprised Ran.
"Huh ? About me ? " asked Ran.
And Shinichi did not like this line of questioning.
And now Ran was physically sad because what he had said and was thinking that Shinichi did not care about her by the look on her face she could tell this and she hated this guy for this.
"Now that you mention it, Shinichi always talks about herself and never asks about me " said Ran sadly.
And upon hearing this stranger ran to the window and opened it looking out the window searching for something or someone.
"W-what's going?" said a confused Kogoro as he woke up from his drunken haze.
Ran went to the window.
"Hey! What do you think you are doing? "said Ran.
The stranger was leaning out the window.
"Don't you find it strange ?" said the stranger.
Now they were all silent.
"The fact that she calls you means that she like you at least a friend. Don't you think that most people would wanna know how their friends are doing ?" said the stranger.
Shinichi just stood with her back facing them with her hands in pockets, disapproving of this guy.
"There is only one reason she would not ask you Kudo is spying on your from somewhere! "Said the stranger.
She could not help but flinch and sweat at this moment.
"And probably somewhere close " said the stranger.
Well that part was true.
"Shinichi is spying on me ! " said Ran flushed and nervously.
She was shocked.
'Who is this guy?' she asked herself shocked.
A drunken Kogoro stood up ready to confront the stranger looking annoyed and dishevelled.
"By the way, who are you ?" said Kogoro.
And the stranger turned around facing then giving then a short laugh.
" That's right! I still haven't introduced myself " said the stranger.
And then took his hat off to show his face.
"My name is Hattori Heiji. I am a High School Detective like Kudo " said Hattori.
Kogoro and Ran were shocked.
" A High School…" said a shocked Ran.
And finishing off her sentence " Detective ! " said Kogoro.
But Shinichi was just unimpressed and relieved.
'Oh he's just some detective' she thought to herself.
And she then sneezed again.
"Hey, little kid, if you have a cold then I've got the perfect medicine " said Hattori.
He then took the bag off his back putting it on the table pushing all of the beer cans asides for the space that he needed so that he could rummage through his bag for the item that he was looking for that was somehow supposed to help with her cold.
"Now that you mention it, I've heard that name before, They say that there is a great Detective in Kansai "said Kogoro.
Hattori had taken a bottle of sorts of out of his back that was in a brown paper bag and began to pour it into a small glass cup that he had also taken out of his bag.
"Yup. They always say that Western Japan has Hattori and Eastern Japan has Kudo. I was always compare to her " said Hattori.
And he stopped pouring the drink "Here " said Hattori handing it to her.
"Thank You " she said and then began to drink it.
"Recently, there has been no word of Kudo" said Hattori.
"Her face has not been in the news and rumour is that she is missing" said Hattori.
That is why the Detective of the East is now me, Mouri Kogo…." Said Kogoro smugly pointing to himself before he was interrupted.
"So what is your business with Shinichi?" demanded Ran.
Hattori could not help but smile at this.
" I don't have business with him " said Hattori as he proceeded to walk.
" I just wanted to confirm with him " said Hattori.
And in the background though he was being ignored "In the East, Mouri…." Said Kogoro.
"I wanted to see if she really is good enough to be compared to me! " said Hattori.
She then gulped and the drink just hit her at that moment.
She could not help but smile and dance about with her legs feeling so weak that she was not able to balance properly and she felt an overwhelming secession of happiness, making her smile even more and wanting to say what was on her mind.
"Christie! What's wrong" said a startled Ran and went to check on Christie.
Ran kneeled down to check on her.
"Ran-neechan "
"Ran-neechan"
She said while hiccupping and saying it again because it sounded so funny and she liked saying it.
"Christie !" said Ran worried shaking Christie.
"Christie !" said Ran worried shaking Christie.
This was fun.
"What did you give her" demanded Ran.
Hattori started to unravel the paper bag from the bottle to reveal that it contained a clear glass bottle that also happened to contain alcohol.
"A Chinese alcohol called paikaru " said Hattori
And then showed it to them to see the label and that it was either rare or an expensive bottle that he had brought with him.
"I'd figure that I cause trouble when I got here so I brought a gift for you " said Hattori.
Knock Knock
They all stared at the door to see a woman standing there knocking on the door and a look on her face that she looked rather applaud by them.
The woman was at least in her sixties and was attentive with annoyed expression of what could be seen on her face. She was wearing dark clothing including a brown coat covering her up and dark sunglasses, showing that she was hiding her face. This woman did not want to be recognised by anyone or anyone knows that she was going into a Detective Agency. She wanted a to hire a Detective and like most people not have anyone know that she was hiring one in the first place and was something was telling her she was not the usual type of person and customer that was like the usual sort.
This woman was elegant in her appearance, her posture and body mannerism was showing a lot of respect and was high privileged by the way she was by the mere fact that she was knocking and awaiting for assistance.
She was still learning the art of reading people and their expressions they were showing but also at the same time not showing. In her opinion his was something that she had picked up pretty quick, it was like riding a bike but wanted be better at it because others were better and she had to get better if she was going to use her new skills against them.
"How many times do you think I rang the doorbell?" said the Lady.
"This office does not know how to treat customers!" said the Lady.
The Lady took off her sunglasses to reveal her face and features as well. She was middle aged around the age of fifty years old was what she would be what she would estimate it to be. And the look she was giving was impatience and annoyance was written all over her face and in her tone. And right now she could not really blame her either.
"I'm in a rush, so can we hurry up ?" said the Lady.
Within seconds Ran was apologising for their rude behaviour and somehow managed Kogoro blame her calling her yet again "a freeloader". Though she was partly to blame since the other Detective came looking for Shinichi and her cold was getting worse by the second instead of the hour.
"You want me to do a check on your son's girlfriend ?" said Kimie Tsujimura.
A picture was shown of the girlfriend.
She seemed genuine enough by the photo alone; she would say that the Lady had nothing to worry about. Then again appearances can be deceiving (herself) and this was what this Lady was here for.
"That is a picture and a brief history of her" said Kimie Tsujimura.
It was quite the vivid and detailed and orientated file that was made a brief history of the girl that was and is currently being investigated by another Detective or by some kind of another source.
She was starting to wonder if she already had this information on the girl then why was she speaking to another Detective ?
"Kutsuragi Yukiko-san, twenty-four years old " said Kogoro.
"After graduating at the top of her class from Mistuba Junior High School and Mistuba High School, she entered Touto Medical School and is currently attending there. She is on her way of becoming a doctor. Do you have any complaints ? " said Kogoro.
Kogoro had finished reading the research and was confused to why this woman needed any help at all.
"No. It is just…." said Kimie Tsujimura hesitating.
Hattori Heiji was sitting on computer chair facing the window relaxed and enjoying the view just casually listening in on the conversation.
"You don't like her being too perfect ?" said Hattori.
"Human creatures are full of suspicion and jealously. When they see something perfect they look for flaws " said Hattori.
And then spun around on the chair facing them but directly pointed at the Lady.
"That's right isn't it, Old Lady " said Hattori confidentially.
The Kimie Tsujimura then faced Kogoro "Who is this child ?" she said.
"Um..Er …..He's one of my daughter's friends" said Kogoro nervously.
And then she stood up.
"Anyway. I'll go into more detail after we get to my home and talk to my husband" said Kimie had his face on the table and he was looking up.
"Um…..we're going now ?" said Kogoro.
And then he sat up again.
"If that's the case, you should've come here with your husband in the first place" said Kogoro.
"Like I said before my husband is a diplomat. If people found out that I came to this place…" said the Lady.
Hattori was no longer slouching in his seat "It'd be a scandal" said Hattori. Then he put his fist on the table excitedly and stood up saying "Alright. I'll join you guys"
"What ?" said a shocked Kogoro.
And he walked forward to both adults.
"Instead of that old man standing there, wouldn't it be less suspicious if he brings his 'family' with him" said Kogoro.
The Lady the put her sunglasses back on.
You're right. Then, please help me " said Kimie Tsujimura.
And she then started to leaving go straight for the door.
"What?" said Kogoro.
Hattori the turned around facing Ran "Why don't you come along as well" said Hattori.
Shinichi really did not like this guy.
"Why me ?" said Ran.
"More the merrier, right" said Hattori.
She really did not like this guy because even a blind person could see what this guy was doing. He was trying (and succeeding) in goading her/Shinichi to turn up and get more information on her.
"And there's a chance that Kudo will show" said Hattori tempting.
And now he would have Ran eating out of the pan of his hand with that one line he had won.
Bastard
She could see that Ran was thinking of a vivid image of her as she started to zone out of reality and just thinking of Shinichi.
"Ran"
"Ran"
"Ran"
"Ran"
She had to say several times and the loudest that she possibly could to snap Ran back into reality and pay attention to her.
"I want to go, too" said Christie.
Ran slouched down so that she was talking to Christie face to face "But you have a cold " said Ran worried.
"It's OK. Thanks to the medicine, I'm better now" said Christie.
She said childishly and reassuringly.
"You see" said Hattori.
She was annoyed by this fool.
'Baka! It's actually gotten worse' she thought to herself.
She was sweating in the outside and inside feeling like she was on fire and this was a feeling that she did not like. The feeling of being overheated was uncomfortable and was a feeling that felt all too familiar and was something that she did not like because this was something that was either in her subconscious or unconscious mind.
'I don't wanna go but there no telling what this guy will say if he goes alone with Ran' she was telling herself.
She was annoyed.
And so the 'family' all went together to investigate the case that just happened to land on their laps miraculously.
"Welcome home, Madam "
They were greeted as soon as they came in the door.
" Where is my husband? " said Kimie Tsujimura.
She was obviously wanted to get straight to the point.
" He is currently in the study Madam "
" Mother it is nice to see you " said the Yukiko Katsuragi.
She was the girl that was currently under investigation.
A door was opened and a happy couple then entered together. The female being the current one that was being investigated.
" What are you doing here? And I don't remember giving you the right to call me 'mother' " said Kimie Tsujimura angrily.
"I'm sorry" said the Yukiko Katsuragi.
Christie could see many mixed facial expressions on Kimie Tsujimura's face. One emotion everyone could see was sheer anger and annoyance at the girl. Christie was still getting used to reading people physical and she was sure that for a moment that she had seen the emotion of disgust as well but it was directed at the girl. Or there was another emotion there but she was not sure what it but she would find out later on when she would read her better. If she was feeling better and had not her eyes closed because of sneezing and coughing she would have been able to figure it out.
" I invited her here to meet with father " said Takayoshi Tsujimura.
The devoted son was looking for his father's approval and reassurance but most of all he was looking acceptance and respect of his fiancée. He needed it desperately because he as in love with his fiancée and was devoted to her completely and did not want to lose her. This was something that she could see that the Father was capable of because of his power position and his wealth.
They then proceeded to follow her upstairs to where the study was. Then halfway up the stairs they were stopped by the appearance of an elder man.
" Father, what are you doing here today? " said Kimie Tsujimura.
Shinichi could see he was the father in law.
" I am here to talk about my fishing stories of course, you know pass on the stories to the next generation soon to come " he said hopeful holding a diagram of a fish print.
" I will be with you soon, we just need a chat with my husband and then we shall talk " said Kimie Tsujimura.
Then old man walked down the walked down the stairs happily.
And they then proceeded to the study.
Knock Knock
" Dear I am some visitors here to see you " said Kimie Tsujimura.
She knocked again and there was no answer.
There was no response there was just music playing loudly making it hard to hear anything that was coming from the room or be heard from the other end. But still there was no response and she could see that Kimie Tsujimura was concerned about this. Kimie Tsujimura moved the handle but it was locked and she took out her keys with by the looks of it a special type of keychain attached to it and then opened the door. Widely so that they could all see as they were standing in the doorframe seeing what was on the other end of the door.
The husband was sitting behind the table asleep and hiding behind a large pile of books. His chin was in his hand and it appeared that he had fallen asleep listening to the music.
"You're here after all" said Kimie Tsujimura.
" Really ! Leaving the stereo on so loud and how can you sleep with the music so loud? " said Kimie Tsujimura.
Kimie Tsujimura walked over to wake her husband up, while the rest of them went straight to the stereo listening to the music.
"It's opera" said Hattori.
" Dear please wake up " said Kimie Tsujimura.
She began to shake her husband
The music continued to play and with it the music and the emotion in the room had changed with tension. With each note of music the feeling that she was getting was worse than the last one and this was a dreaded feeling that she had felt before. Something bad had or was happening at that very moment.
"Please wake up dear " said Kimie Tsujimura.
She began to shake him and she was starting to sound scared by each word she had said as each word was getting louder as well.
"Dea….." she gasped in shocked.
THUD
She did not see it happen only the wife did.
They were all shocked as they turned around to see the husband lying on the floor still unmoving as the wife pleaded with him as she shook him. They all knew at the moment that the man was deceased and that he was murdered with the experience that they all had shared.
Ran turned the music off.
"It's no use. He is already dead" said Hattori as he leaned over the deceased.
Ran then went to call the police.
Christie also knelt down inspecting the body aside Hattori.
The body is still warm.
And the lips have started to turn purple.
She was thinking as she assessed the body up and down. Then something had caught her eye at the very last moment as it was something that looked hidden and was barely seen. Something that she would have likely remained unseen and might not have able to known when she was Shinichi in this moment because she would not have been able to see it and someone else might not have noticed it.
There's a small red dot at the end of his hair !
It was just behind the ear.
Could it be….?
She looked around the room for what could have caused this. And it caught the corner of her eye; it was a pin that was lying underneath the table that the deceased was sitting at before he had hit the floor.
Christie went to grab not knowing that Hattori had also seen it at the same time and was going for it as well.
"Ouch! Ouch!",
"Ow, ow , ow!"
They both clutched their heads in pain as they had collided and were in pain.
Hattori stood up angered.
"This brat keeps wondering around" Hattori said angered pulling Christie up in the air by her hood.
"Christie " said Ran concerned and worried.
"This happened because you aren't keeping an eye on her" Hattori annoyed and tossed Christie into Ran's arms.
"Besides, you shouldn't let little kids see dead bodies" said Hattori.
Ran just nodded in agreement and gulped as she did it.
If she was Shinichi right now she would not be treated this way and this annoyed the hell out of her. She was stuck in the child if a body and because of that this was how they saw her as a mere child and nothing more. After everything that she had already gone through as Shinichi to earn their respect and trust to show that she was physically capable of doing and being a Detective, she was now right back at the beginning.
She thought there would be some change in the way that people would treat her because she was no longer the blind girl that they thought that needed constant help. But No they as she was a pest that got in the way or she too stupid to understand what was going on and that she was nothing but a child.
Ran on the other hand was practically like a mother hen to her making her dinner and keeping an eye on her as if she was her daughter that she was raising. Ran had less worry about her and treated her like she needed less help and just needed to be taught a few things instead.
She was still getting used to people treating her this way but at the end of the day she was rather used to people treating her like she was different and needed constant help.