File Fifty-Five: To Make a Miracle Happen
Conan-kun... Where are you, Conan-kun?!
He wasn't there. He wasn't anywhere.
Yet, Ran still continued to look for Conan, eyes frantically darting around, through the crowd of people, hoping to see him there, safe. But, apparently, fate was there to make her, and everyone close to her, suffer.
Because something fell right at her feet, causing her to jump back, startled. Her, and everyone's, eyes opened widely when they realized it was a skateboard, broken in pieces.
"That's Conan-kun's skateboard!" Agasa exclaimed.
"Wait!" Shiratori, who was just looking at the building with his binoculars, shouted, visually astonished. "Conan-kun just flew over the Sky Bridge!"
"The brat did what?!" Kogoro's eyes were wide, as he looked back at the burning tower. What is he doing?!
Before anything could be said or done, Megure's phone started ringing.
"Inspector," the inspector was stunned when he heard the young voice at the other side of the line. "We're heading back to the roof. Have the helicopter meet us there."
"Where are you all now?!"
He didn't get an answer, since the child simply hung up on him. After taking a moment to blink at his phone, Megure grumbled, dialing a number so he could call somebody else.
Without any further work, the police members went to work again, doing their best so they could save those innocent children that remained trapped inside that tower.
But as things were now, Ran could only stare. Stare at the flames and hope that the entire building didn't crumble under their destructive force.
Her eyes travelled to his skateboard and kneeled down in front of it. Conan-kun, she frowned, taking one of the broken pieces.
Her grasp tightened around it.
"It will be okay, Ran," shocked, Ran looked up to see her father. "He will make it out."
Ran couldn't think of anything to reply. Even his father had this deep, almost concerned, frown every single time he glanced at the Nishitamashi Twin Towers.
"Alright then," completely unaware of how many people he was worrying outside the building, Conan started to walk. "Let's get going. We still have fifteen floors to climb."
It took a few moments for everyone to process his words. "Eh?!" Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi groaned, in unison, earning a quiet, but sincere giggle from the young scientist, as she went to follow after the boy.
Who didn't even turn around to face them, just continued to climb up, hand gripping tightly into the flashlight. Haibara didn't comment on that, as she thought she could imagine what kind of thoughts were currently plaguing his mind.
Except she couldn't, and she wasn't even aware of that.
"You're our brave hero!" Mitsuhiko had exclaimed when he had seen him making his appearance. Little did he know that, to Conan, those words were far from a mere praise.
They were nothing but lies in his ears, and Conan couldn't shake them off.
You're wrong, Mitsuhiko. Terribly wrong.
A hero is strong and has a good heart. Is a person that puts other people's needs and wishes above their own. Is someone that would never, ever hurt somebody else.
A selfless individual.
And I'm far, far from being like that.
Turning around, he glanced at the group behind them, who were grinning brightly and chatting cheerfully despite the situation they were at, and he couldn't help but let out a timid smile of his own.
I'm selfish. Despite what everyone has done to keep me safe, I still throw it all away, just like that.
Nodding to himself, Conan looked back ahead again.
I'm no hero, there's no doubt about that. I'm too selfish for that.
... But if being selfish means I can stay in this word with them, even if it's just a tiny bit longer... Even if it's just a couple of minutes after this building collapses and we all meet our inevitable demise...
Then, I'm fine with it.
Eventually, they made it to floor 75th but, instead of going up to the rooftop, Conan paused, thought about it, before giving the flashlight to a puzzled Mitsuhiko. "You guys go ahead," he said to them. "I'll be right behind you."
"... Eh?" the freckled boy finally reacted. "Conan-kun, what about you?"
But it was too late, a door had already opened and his bespectacled friend was gone, just like Haibara, who had chosen to follow after him, without a word. As a result, all Mitsuhiko could do was to stare at the door, sigh, then turn around to do as he had been told.
"Hey!" Genta yelled at the door, in hopes that any of them could actually hear him. "Where are you two going?!"
"Genta-kun," the boy in question turned around at the mention of his name. "Conan-kun knows what he's doing."
Genta blinked twice, before he raised an eyebrow. "He just jumped back into A Tower on a skateboard."
"... E-Eh..." Mitsuhiko seemed to be troubled. "... Let's just scout out the roof. He said he would come back."
All he could do was to hope that Conan knew what he was doing. Sighing loudly, Mitsuhiko hurried upstairs, flashlight in hand and his other two friends in tow.
Back in Floor 75th, Conan walked in the middle of darkness, only the light of his wristwatch illuminating his surroundings. It was quiet, neither he nor Haibara tried to disturb the silence. He didn't mind it, as it helped him focus into the case at hand better.
And Haibara took the moment to observe him better. She was rendered, however, unable to understand what was going through his mind.
She stopped in her tracks when she noticed something else, however. There, standing right next to the window that led to Mount Fuji, there was a person, faintly illuminated by the moonlight.
"It's the murderer of Oki-san and Mio-san," the boy replied even before she could ask a question. The figure heard him and slowly turned around. "The person that admired Mount Fuji the most, to the point of obsession. Which isn't healthy. You knew that already, didn't you, Kisaragi Hosui-san?"
Hosui frowned but, besides that, he barely reacted. "Who are you?" he asked, calm as he had always been.
"Edogawa Conan, detective," Conan's expression barely changed as well. "And, no. I'm not imitating a detective, like you pointed out before. When we went to your house," a small smirk appeared. "It was quite the nice one. Too bad the curtain in the art room covered a sight that would be breathtaking otherwise. The Mount Fuji."
The frown on Hosui's face deepened.
"Ah, yeah, you wouldn't see it either. Not when the Nishitamashi Twin Tower Buildings split the mount in half," his eyes narrowed. "But you knew that, already. That's why you killed them both."
The broken cup resembled the Mount Fuji split, and in Mio's case it wasn't broken because the message had been clear enough. Mio's body had already been doing the work.
At first, Haibara couldn't really understand how Mio's murder had been committed, until Conan explained it. Hosui had given her a pearl necklace and asked her to wear it. After that, all he had to do was to unfasten it, and replace it with another one that had been hooked with a piano wire, with the excuse of putting it back for her.
"Wait," Haibara spoke up. "Kisaragi-san had an alibi from when Hara-san was killed."
"No wonder he has one, since he didn't kill him. Just got lucky and placed the cup when he found the body later on."
Haibara blinked, completely taken away by that reveal, and watched Conan as he stared back at her, eyes conflicted for some reason, before turning back to the culprit.
"That's some impressive reasoning, little detective," despite everything the child had said, Hosui had yet to look bothered about all that. "Yet, your reasoning lacks-"
"Evidence? Yeah, got that covered. It's in your cane," for the first time, the old man flinched just a tiny little bit. "The first necklace Mio-san wore should be inside."
Hosui merely looked at him, for the longest time, before he lowered his head in defeat and revealed that, indeed, there was a pearl necklace hidden inside his cane.
"I'm interested in knowing how you discovered that."
Conan smirked, crossing his arms behind his head. "The sound," he pointed out. "It made different sounds before and after Mio-san's death."
The culprit couldn't help but let out a resigned chuckle. "Now I know you aren't an imitation," he said to him. "You can't fool the ears of a detective."
None of the children replied to that, just listening to him confess what Conan had pointed out just a few moments ago. For the last ten years he had been climbing the hill to do his paintings, but because his age was making it hard for his body, he had decided to devote his remaining years to painting Mount Fuji. So, he had purchased the hill and built a house.
"From that room, Mount Fuji was available in its entire beauty," he opened a bottle with ink and emptied its contents over a broom. "But that woman... DID THIS!"
In a fit of rage, the old man turned around, broom in hand, and drew a pitch black line across his latest painting.
For the longest moment, none of them did anything. The children merely stared at the man, who was panting heavily after ruining his painting.
Conan frowned, taking into the man that turned around to face him, before sighing, closing his eyes.
"You're not an artist, Kisaragi-san," he finally spoke. "You're not an imitator either. From the moment the thought of ending another life crossed your life, you became nothing but a murderer," Conan looked back at him, stare hardening and eyes narrowing. "All you strived for, all you lived for, the mere reason for your existence... You threw it all away. Now that they are dead, what will you do? All you managed was to splatter those paintings you cherished with their blood."
The culprit didn't argue, or give any indication of feeling like his words made no sense. Just stared at the boy with his steadily widening eyes, before his entire face relaxed. And let out an amused smirk.
"Such wise words such for a young child. Wiser than most adults that I have ever met through my long, long life," his hand went to his pocket and pulled out a small vial that caused Conan to gasp. "Wiser than me, I can see that now."
He raised the vial to his lips, but before he could even touch it with his lips, a needle flew through the air. Not even a second later, the poison vial rolled on the floor, and Hosui fell at it's side with a loud thud.
And Conan let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Honestly," his hands fell limply at his sides. "I hate it when criminals do that."
Haibara seemed interested. "It sounds like you have been through situations like this before," she commented.
"A couple of times," he commented, walking closer to the old man and giving him a hard look, placing his hands inside his pockets. "If I, after cornering a culprit with my reasoning, allowed them to end their life in front of my eyes, would I be any different from a murderer?"
His fingers grasped the miniature phone, which he had silenced after arriving at that tower, was vibrating on his hand. "It took me a bit to understand it, but I eventually did," a smile, almost sad on Haibara's eyes, appeared on his face. "Thanks to that idiot detective I have as a brother."
"Aren't you going to answer?" Conan wasn't surprised that she could tell it was vibrating.
He seemed to hesitate, but eventually shook his head. "I will call once we get out of here," he replied, as he began to walk away, passing by her without any other word.
"If we get out of here," she stressed, causing Conan to pause. He didn't look at her, though. "There's someone out to get us, isn't it? The same one that killed Hara-san."
The fact that the boy wasn't able to deny it made Haibara all the more nervous.
"Who is it?" she turned around, a frown carved deeply onto her face. "You know who killed Hara-san, don't you?"
"And you do as well, right? Or at least, you have a feeling you know," his serious eyes finally met hers as he turned around. "Hara-san was holding a silver knife when he died. Silver written in romaji is 'gin'. If you speak of gin as an alcohol, the pronunciation changes. "
Gin, the lack of further reaction let Conan know she really did know. Or at least, she had the feeling that the Organization was related.
"It's likely that Hara-san was facing Gin at gunpoint so he grabbed the knife from the table. Gin probably believed he was drawing it in self-defense, therefore failed to realize his message. Hara-san's dying message."
Some conflict behind his eyes let Haibara know that the young sleuth in front of her wasn't sure if telling her all of this was the right thing, but he did end up telling her he suspected that Hara had probably been a member of the Organization, who accessed some secret data from their computers, and because of that, the data had to be erased from existence.
Because of that, the Tokiwa Corporation's main computer, which was likely used to access the data, had been destroyed.
Haibara crossed her arms, holding her chin as she thought about that for a moment. Something... the girl narrowed her eyes. Something about that doesn't... Doesn't make sense.
Oblivious of her internal conflict, Conan resumed his way out the room, when the light on his wrist watch suddenly faded. Groaning, the boy glared at his gadget, coming into the realization that the batteries had died, and that the same had happened to Haibara's shortly after the Sky Bridge had collapsed.
"I'll head up and get help for moving Kisaragi-san," he said to her, before running off. "Wait here, okay?"
The scientist watched the detective disappearing in darkness, before shrugging and sitting up in a stoll. With a sigh, she rested her elbows in the bar and patiently waited for her friends to return.
Her mind wouldn't stop going back to Hara. I don't remember ever hearing about him, she thought, her gaze absently wandering around, looking at the many, many alcohol bottles that stood in the cabinet. By the looks of it, Hara-san was probably an unnamed member.
... Then how did such an unimportant pawn of the Organization get access to information that was so important that made Gin decide to blow up a building just to get rid of it?
All thoughts went into an abrupt halt when she noticed something. Between the bottles, there was light shining through the darkness.
At the sight of the helicopter, Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko beamed, joy cursing through their veins and causing them to jump up and down, undoubtedly happy that they were finally going to get out of that scary place.
Too bad Gin and Vodka had other plans. Upon seeing the vehicle, the latter had smirked, before pressing a red button.
The feeling of happiness the children felt vanished into nothing as soon as they began to hear explosions. Horrified, they couldn't help but stare at the vicious flames that were dancing in front of their eyes, preventing the helicopter from reaching them.
"What do you think you are doing?!" Conan's voice reached their ears. "Come here, quick!"
They didn't waste a second longer, dashing towards him and down the stairs. Once safe inside the 75th floor, the three children collapsed on the floor, gasping for air, wondering what was wrong with that building.
Conan could only shrug.
"It seems like we'll have to wait for the flames to burn out," he pointed out.
"Doesn't look like we have that much time."
Not quite understanding what was happening, the four of them looked to Haibara, who was looking under a random tablecloth. Conan was the first one to react, rushing forward so he could see what she meant.
He immediately noticed it.
"... A bomb?!" he gasped.
The other three mirrored his reaction, yet Haibara's expression didn't change much. "Every table has one," she simply pointed out. "The timer..."
They turned to see another bomb. The shining numbers were clear in the middle of the darkness, and it read '00:06:09'.
As the children ─ minus Haibara ─ promptly panicked, Conan gritted his teeth, eyes instantly roaming around the room, looking for something, anything, to avoid their inevitable fate.
"But why?!" cold sweat rolled down Genta's forehead. "Why would someone do this?"
"Does it have to do with that scary car Conan-kun saw the other time?" Ayumi spoke, in a low voice.
"Could those dangerous men be targeting someone?" Mitsuhiko's eyes widened. "Who?"
"... Isn't that obvious?" Haibara's eyes narrowed, as all three of them turned around. "The target is none other than Sherry."
She noticed the way Conan flinched a bit, avoiding her gaze with a frown. Haibara didn't receive, and focused her eyes on him. "Don't bother trying to cover up, Kudo-kun, I noticed it already. Without Hara-san here, there's no reason for them to blow up a building."
The boy released a long sigh, but didn't add anything to that.
"B-But Haibara-san, isn't Sherry...?" Mitsuhiko trailed off.
"Yeah, it's me," her voice was emotionless as she continued. "The traitor that not only betrayed the Organization, but also put every and each of the people that trusted in her in terrible danger..." but, despite how dull it sounded, even they could hear the pain. "... and to their death," she let out an humorless chuckle, turning around so she could face the window. The next she said could barely be heard. "I apologize, everyone. Up until the end, I..."
"Don't say that!" through the quietness of the night, the shout broke through. They all faced Ayumi, and they noticed that there were tears on her eyes. "Ai-chan... You didn't do anything wrong! Or at least, you didn't want to... Please, don't say that you..."
Haibara was quite shocked, and it showed on her face. Her mouth opened to talk, but she didn't find the right words.
"Ayumi-chan is right," Mitsuhiko nodded. "Besides, there has to be a way out of here!" he turned to Conan, hope glimmering on his eyes. "Right, Conan-kun?!"
All hope diluted when Conan lowered his head and closed his eyes. "We're on the 75th floor, Mitsuhiko," frustration could be heard on his voice. "To think that we can escape in less than five minutes is a bit-"
His eyes flew open when he felt a pair of hands grasping his arms, tightly. "What has gotten into you?!" to say that he was a bit surprised when Genta shook him a bit, a serious frown on his face, was an understatement. "You... You always manage to think of something! No matter how tight the situation is, you always come up with a solution, don't you, Conan?!"
Conan scowled, suddenly annoyed at this friend in front of him. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I am a wizard, Genta!" he snapped. "What do you want me to do?! This is the 75th floor, there's fire above and beneath us, don't you see?!"
"You just flew across the Sky Bridge! You're telling me there is actually no way you can make anything... any kind of miracle happen?! Hey, Co-!"
Genta suddenly came into a stop when he saw his friend's eyes suddenly widening from no apparent reason, the irritated glint on his gaze gone and replaced with sheer astonishment. He didn't react, even when Genta slowly released him.
... Fly across...
His friends exchanged confused looks, when lights abruptly illuminated everything around them. Only then did Conan snap from his haze to run towards the window, followed by the others, just to realize that everyone was on the roof of B Tower.
A group of firefighters rushed to the edge of the roof, fire hoses on hand. Yet, the water did not reach.
Conan's hand gently pressed against the glass. Ran-neechan, he didn't have to see her face to know she was looking at the burning building with concern, and fear, glimmering on her eyes. And, some way or another, he was glad he couldn't see her, since he didn't like seeing her sad.
His phone was still vibrating on his pocket, a feeling he had grown used to since he had rode his skateboard to this place.
He couldn't do this to her. He couldn't do this to his brother. And, most definitely, he couldn't do this to his friends, who were also beside him, eager to see the light again ─ that also included Haibara. She might have been acting strong and nonchalant until now, but her hands were shaking. Not that much, but enough for his detective eyes to notice.
... But what could he do?
Then, he took notice of something and let out a gasp. "The roof," everyone turned to him, mostly perplexed.
Their confusion grew more evident when he took off running, only to pause in front of the Mustang that Kogoro had won a few moments before this disaster. Yes, the keys are here!
"I see!" Mitsuhiko was the first one to realize. "We'll use the car to fly to the other building!"
"Impossible," Haibara stated. "If you want to make it to..."
"You will need 108 km/h," Conan spoke, quickly, before Haibara would begin to explain physics to their friends, which they most likely wouldn't be able to understand. "From the length of this room, the most we'll get is 50 or 60 km/h. At those speeds, we'll hit the ground before reaching the tower..." but then, he opened the trunk. "But how about this?"
Haibara was surprised. "Are you..." more than surprised, actually. "... going to use the explosion as an accelerator?!"
"... What?" Genta was clueless as always.
"Conan-kun wants to use the shockwave from the explosion to get us to the other side!" explained Mitsuhiko.
"What?!"
Conan smirked, despite the situation. "Only death will meet us here," he stated, and Genta quietened down. "This is crazy, I know. Most likely insane... But we need to make this miracle happen."
Frowning, Genta nodded, determined to do his work the best he could. The other two instantly adopted the same resolve, paying close attention as the boy explained his plan to them. Since Conan's watch's batteries had died, Ayumi was to count from 30 to 0, since she was so good at it.
"I'm not really sure I can do it, but..." she confessed. "But if I'm with Conan-kun... If Conan-kun is beside me, I can do it."
None of the boys in question understood what she meant with it, just blinked cluelessly at her.
"Then, let me sit by the timer and count us down to 30," Haibara proposed, calmly. "After that I'll get in the car."
"There's no time to deliberate. Let's do it," Conan nodded. "Is there any other question?"
"Uh, yeah," Mitsuhiko raised his hand, almost hesitantly. "Do you know how to drive a car, Conan-kun?"
"... Well, no really," he put on an awkward smile, making everyone blink at him. "But I know someone who does."
Not that they understood what he meant with that, but they decided to trust him anyway. Mitsuhiko and Genta were soon gone to fetch Hosui, as Conan had requested, and Haibara went to sit by the bomb, so she could count. Ayumi anxiously paced around, doing her best to remain calm until it was time.
And Conan, standing next to the window, pulled the phone out and called Megure. "Conan-kun?!" the inspector shouted once he picked up. "Are you all okay?!"
"Yeah, for now," he explained, briefly. "This room is full of bombs."
"What?! What do you mean with-?!"
"Open the roof on the dome," he interrupted, not having the time to deal with his shock. "Don't ask, just do it!"
Taking on the serious tone of the child's voice, he turned to Kazama and relayed the message. Once he had gotten his word across, the young boy was about to hang up, when Ran suddenly snatched the phone away from him.
"What are you going to do, Conan-kun?" she asked, fear present on her words.
"Ran-neechan," Conan merely smiled. "I'm coming back home."
"Eh?"
He didn't even grace her with a reply, finishing the call in an instant.
Yeah, that's right, turning around, he walked towards the car, where his friends were already getting ready. Hosui had already been carried to the backseat, which he shared with Mitsuhiko. On the passenger seat sat Genta and fidgeting in the driver seat was Ayumi.
We're going to make it.
Haibara's voice filled his ears as she counted down. They had little over a minute.
We all are coming back home tonight.
And the phone on his hand got a call. This time around, he answered it.
"Hey, are you-?!"
"How do you drive a car?"
"Huh?!"
"I don't have much time to explain," Conan sighed, as he jumped inside the car, settling between Ayumi and Genta. "Are you watching TV right now?"
Swallowing his pride, Conan decided that practicity was better than conserving what little dignity he had left. So, he clipped the phone on his ear.
He didn't need a mirror to know he looked ridiculous.
"Of course I am."
"Keep watching," a smirk crossed his face. "A wonderful miracle, worthy of making the one and only Kaito KID jealous, might happen."
Shinichi let out a long sigh, probably wondering what he was doing with his life. He was, after all, about to coach an eight year-old child to drive ─ that, without taking into account what the real plan was.
"Alright, Conan, is not that hard. First, you have to..."
Listening to his brother, he took the key and started the engine.
Haibara's count was somewhere to forty, which meant that Ayumi was about to take over. So, he looked at the girl in question, who was nervously looking around, and wrapped his hand against hers, giving her a comforting squeeze.
She looked at him, and he smiled. It will be okay, he didn't need words to express his thoughts. Ayumi blushed a bit, returning the smile.
"Conan?"
The boy in question focused momentarily on his brother, taken aback by the crystal clear concern in his voice. "You have..." Shinichi took a deep breath. "You have to make it out alive, you understand?"
Despite the situation at hand, Conan let out a smile. "Perfectly."
"... 34, 33," Haibara continued counting. "32, 31..."
"30," closing her eyes, Ayumi took over. "29..."
"28..."
"Haibara-san!"
The panic in Mitsuhiko's voice worried him, but when he explained that Haibara was still counting down, Conan felt his stomach sinking somewhere on his knees.
"Haibara, what are you doing?!" Genta yelled at her. "Hurry over here!"
"Don't be stupid. Isn't this more accurate?"
She can't be actually planning to stay behind, can she?!
"You're the idiot!" yelled Conan over his shoulder. "Haibara-san, you better-!"
"Focus, Conan," the boy actually paused when Shinichi spoke up. "You said timing is important."
The child in question hesitated, glancing at the girl once more, before turning to the phone.
"As much as you hate it, you need to stay where you are," the older sibling continued, trying to sound as calm as he could. "If you don't do what you have to do, this miracle won't happen, will it?"
"I know that much! But..."
"Besides, you aren't doing this alone, are you?"
"Eh?"
On the other hand, Haibara never stopped counting down. She didn't stop, nor did she slow down, upon the sound of her friends' voices, calling her name, desperate to get her to come along.
"27, 26, 25..."
This is the right way, after all. The only reason they are in this situation is because of my weakness.
Yes, because I was soft. Because I longed to hear Oneechan's voice one more time.
"24, 23, 23..."
As long as I am around, people are bound to suffer. To die, even if they had done nothing to deserve it. All because of my mistakes.
They don't deserve to succumb to this cruel fate. As long as they get out...
"22, 21..."
That's why this is the right way.
Before she could continue with her self-imposed work, Haibara heard someone coming their way. Her eyes instantly shifted away from the bomb and to the source, just to see Genta running straight to her, who grabbed her and carried her to the car before she had the chance to say anything.
"My mom said that if you even leave a bit of rice behind, the gods will punish you!"
Quite honestly, Haibara didn't know what to think about that unusual analogy.
Not that she had time to ponder about it any longer, because she was then thrown inside the car, only for Mitsuhiko to catch her. "We're leaving!" informed Conan, as Genta jumped in.
The car started to move, breaking through the glass as soon as the explosion took place. As expected, the car was propelled forward because of the shock wave.
"WHAT THE-?!" had he been in any other situation, Conan would have actually laughed at the surprise Shinichi displayed upon seeing a car flying in the air from his TV screen.
Because she hadn't even had the time to put her safety belt on, the sudden motion caused Haibara to slip and fall out of the car. Mitsuhiko's fast reflexes, however, let him grasp her hand. "I'll never let go!" the boy screamed, keeping an iron grip on her friend.
Conan glanced at them, before looking back front and gasped, upon the realization that one of the glass formations that decorated the pool was going to hit the girl. Without wasting time, he activated his shoes.
A soccer ball was shot forward from his belt, before he kicked with all his strength, successfully managing to break it so that it would pass inches away from her face.
After everything that happened in those five minutes, the car finally landed on the pool, splashing water everywhere.
When all adults that were watching from the roof a few moments ago arrived, they were met with the sight of all five children, soaking wet, standing on top of the very expensive car, waving at them with big smiles on their faces.
"Ran-neechan, we're fine!" Conan reassured the girl.
Ran sighed in relief. And she wasn't the only one.
"Ah, right," said the kid, once he remembered about the detective still on the phone. "Thank you for your services."
It took a moment for Shinichi to reply. "... You're crazy."
"You've said that before," Conan shrugged.
"Unconditionally and irrevocably insane."
"Learned from the best."
Shinichi looked as if he was about to reprimand him, but ultimately settled with a tired snicker, sounding glad, yet drained. Conan could, sort of, understand why he could have felt that way.
"Say, Oniichan."
"Huh?"
"When this is over... All of this... The Organization and everything... You have to promise me something."
To say that the highschool detective was confused, and equally curious, was more than an understatement.
"You, Mom and Dad definitely need to take me to Hawaii."
The way Shinichi burst out in laughter made his little brother crack a smile. Any other day, he would probably have felt overly annoyed, but this time around, he was overjoyed.
Because, things could have ended very differently today. They wouldn't have been able to share such a moment together, which he decided to enjoy for the time being.
"By the way, Conan-kun," Mitsuhiko turned to him, and Conan blinked. "Why are you wearing an earring?"
"You look so silly!" exclaimed Genta, while Ayumi giggled, clearly agreeing with him.
The bespectacled boy in question flinched at that and quickly took it off, embarrassment colouring his cheeks red as he fumbled with the gadget. Upon hearing their conversation, Conan heard his brother's laugh becoming even louder and, this time around, it did bother him.
Conan hung up without saying another word to the older detective.
Even Haibara giggled. "Pay closer attention," she said. "That's the Earring Cellphone the Professor made for him."
"But why would he make an earring for Conan-kun?" asked Ayumi, innocently.
"Who knows. Maybe there's a thing or two we don't know about Kudo-kun..."
"Hey, hey..."
The other three children kept on laughing, even as they began to get out of the pool, while Conan simply scowled, looking away just like a petulant child while Haibara, even more amused, giggled at the sight.
Hosui was taken away shortly after he woke up. He gave Conan a brief smile before he walked out, accompanied by the police.
None of them said anything, but Haibara, Conan and Agasa hoped the same thing. That the explosions and the murder of Hara would never be investigated. For the good of everyone who could be implicated.
Conan wondered if it was a bit too much to ask.
Haibara, meanwhile, smiled as she turned to their other friends. Genuinely, she thanked Mitsuhiko for saving her, and confronted Genta, teasingly, while asking if to him she was only rice.
Both of them were embarrassed, for different reasons.
"That's right, Ayumi," Genta turned to their other friend. "How did you count to 30 this time?"
"It was by chance," she replied, with a grin, before rushing to Conan. "Actually, it's because of Conan-kun."
Conan blinked in return, failing to know what he had done for her.
"When I'm next to Conan-kun, I get nervous so I can count with my heartbeat."
The boy stared cluelessly for a few moments, when she smiled and turned to Mitsuhiko and Genta, praising them for their courage back then. That... That explains a lot, actually.
"Hey, what's this?" Agasa suddenly bumped him with his elbow. "You're quite the lady-killer already."
"W-What do you mean with that?" the Professor's smile grew even bigger when the shy little boy stuttered, clearly uncomfortable.
"If you break Ayumi-chan's heart," Haibara smirked. "I'll never forgive you."
"Hey, hey..."
A/N:
ajjr12: I honestly wanted Kogoro to keep the car, but I have written a few other chapters and ended up completely forgetting about it, so I don't think I will able to add it, sorry XD As for the movies, I suppose I will figure things out as I go. I intend to do another one, but I'm not completely sure I'll be able to since I also want to focus on the main storyline.