File One Hundred and Two: Yet Another Detective
Conan woke up to the stinging scent of antiseptic. So familiar it was, much more than it should be for a kid of his age, that he would recognize it anywhere. Hospital, came the conclusion, moments before he cracked his eyes open. Why am I at the hospital?
White met his vision, which only made his suspicions grow even stronger. Conan mulled over it, staring at the ceiling blankly, attempting to put together the last pieces his fuzzy brain was refusing to do in his place.
"Oh, Co-chan, you're awake." Conan's eyes instantly flickered to the side. "How are you feeling?"
Conan blinked lethargically at the gentle smile at his bedside. "Mom?" Her hand rose to his hair, gently stroking it as she gazed down at him. "What are you doing here?"
Her hand paused, and she gave him an odd look, which Conan had no idea where it came from. "Do you remember what happened?"
"What do you mean with-?"
His voice trailed down into silence, clearly noticing his mother tensing. He watched her taking a deep breath before continuing. "You were kidnapped," was all she said.
Kidnapped? Conan tried to sit up, but a sharp pain striking his head forced him to stay down. Hissing, he brought his hand to his forehead, only to realize that his fingertips were brushing against bandages.
"The adrenaline helped you to keep going, but you were pretty injured when Kogoro-kun brought you to the paramedics." She laughed lightly ─ even if Conan could sense the fatigue keeping it from reaching her eyes. "Though the same could be said about him, too."
His mother was looking somewhere ahead of her, away from his form, prompting him to turn his head to see for himself. Thus, he found himself staring in utter bewilderment at the scene in front of him ─ Kogoro, completely covered in bandages, lying on the bed right next to his, and Ran, resting her head on top of it, fast asleep.
"They placed you two in the same room." Taking a closer look, Conan noticed there were bandages everywhere he looked ─ arms, torso, neck, and probably extended all over his body under the covers that hid them from plain sight. It made him wonder what had got him in such a state. "So that Ran-chan could take care of you two until we arrived."
Even though her words were definitely heard, they remained unanswered. He just wasn't able to comprehend why the man was hurt like that, or why Ran seemed to be so pale and exhausted.
His gaze lowered, drifting to his bedside.
His glasses just lied there.
And, suddenly, the boy was reminded of a hand ─ trembling, weak ─ placing them on him, just to flop back to the ground ─ limp, pale, lifeless. Without his consent, his eyes grew large, as all those memories came flooding back to him ─ the smoke, Ran's back as he protected him, the gun, the blood…
"Oniichan…" he breathed out, head snapping back to his mother. "Is… Is Oniichan…?"
Yukiko's tense expression barely shifted. "Do you remember?"
The boy nodded slowly. "Unlike last time," he replied, eyes darting across the room. "Is Dad with him right now?"
"He is," she confirmed. "Nobody but a few people at the hospital know Shin-chan is here, so keep it quiet, okay?"
Just like that other, certain instance Conan dreaded to remember ─ only that it had been him instead.
"But, is… is he…" Conan swallowed, attempting to soothe his abruptly drying throat. "Is he alright?"
Her lips pressed together in a thin line, evidently having a hard time to answer it. "Mom?" Any other day, he would have patiently awaited a reply, but this time around, he couldn't bring himself to. Instead, he sat up, promptly forgotten that his wounds were supposed to hurt, and agitatedly pressed her, but to no avail.
Realization sent his heart dropping like a brick underwater. Is he-?!
"He is stable." Both mother and son turned their attention away from each other and to the doorway, where they had heard the voice come from. "For the time being."
The door opened gradually, allowing them to see a certain strawberry blonde head poking out. She unceremoniously stepped in and stood there, giving the boy one of her signature cold, dull gazes that Conan had grown more than accustomed to. That didn't mean he expected her to be there.
"Ai-san…" Conan swallowed. Even if knowing that his brother was still alive allowed him to breathe again, the fact that she had suggested he wasn't out of the woods yet prevented him from any further feeling of relief. Seeking an answer, he stared back at his mother. "Was it that bad?"
Even though Yukiko appeared she wished to deny it, she was ultimately rendered unable to. "He lost quite a bit of blood." Stealing a glance in Ran's direction, the woman couldn't help the small smile that escaped her. "Had Ran-chan not been there to slow the bleeding, or to give him blood when the hospital ran out of it, Shin-chan would have…"
She didn't finish that sentence. Not that Conan wanted her to.
"Ironically, it was the Apotoxin-4869 what saved him," Ai explained calmly, latching her hands together behind her back as she leaned against the wall. "Shinichi-san's blood pressure is much lower than normal. Had it not been for that, he would have bled out before Ran-san could even help him."
Conan looked surprised for a moment, gaze struck on her form for several seconds, until he allowed himself to plop back down. "I see," settling his eyes back to the ceiling above, he mumbled faintly, yet loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
Ai merely contemplated him, with a look he couldn't even hope to decipher, until she sighed. "Guys." She closed her eyes, head lowering ever so slightly. "You can come in ─ I promise Conan-kun won't bite."
Though he didn't understand it at first, everything soon made sense when the door opened just a sliver further, allowing two faces, peeking inside. Their hesitant gazes met with Conan's confused blinking, then stepped inside, looking around almost nervously, as if they didn't know what they were supposed to do.
"Genta, Mitsuhiko," Conan began. "What's-?"
But was startled when the door burst open. The two boys were roughly shoved out of the way, allowing another figure to dash past them and towards the bed. Conan barely got the time to pull himself back into a sitting position, "A-Ayumi-chan?" before the girl in question wrapped her arms around his neck.
With her head buried against his shoulder like that, it was hard not to notice the trembling her body was subjected to. He wanted to say something, but she tightened his embrace, forcing a low hiss of pain out of his system. "Ah!" Realizing her mistake, she immediately pulled back. "S-Sorry!"
Only then did the boy see the thick tears making their way down her cheeks, which, despite the girl's best efforts to wipe them away, kept coming and coming. He watched her in surprise, then focused on the other two who, despite their evident discomfort, hadn't stopped staring at him, as if they feared he would disappear if they as much blinked. Ai, too, continued to observe him in the distance, watching his every movement with a hawk's eye.
Conan's head dipped forward. "I'm sorry," he said, allowing a soft smile to caress his features. "For worrying you all."
But the silence and the wide-eyed looks he received made it vanish. The three were turning to look at each other. "What?" he snapped, noting with annoyance their obvious incredulity. What's with that reaction?
They turned back at him ─ Conan was practically fuming.
"Y-You don't have to apologize, Conan-kun," stuttered Mitsuhiko.
"Yeah! That's stupid!" added Genta, crossing his arms behind his head. "You didn't ask to be kidnapped, did you?"
"I'm just happy you're alright, Conan-kun!" Ayumi let out a watery giggle.
Oh. He let his shoulders drop. So that was it…
"Well…" said Conan next, slowly closing his eyes. "Now that's out of the way…"
"Huh?"
When they opened again, the three could not help but flinch back. "What in the world did you think you were doing?" he hissed out, eyes narrowing even further ─ which only frightened his friends even more. "Going after me, all on your own…"
Rather than saying anything, they kept their mouths shut, gazes falling to the ground, where they would remain, until their friend said everything he had to say. "You were lucky Vermouth was the only one there!" Not that it seemed that it would be soon. "Had Irish, or literally anyone else been there, you would have-!"
He hadn't consciously stopped the words ─ they had latched onto his throat, refusing to come out. Groaning, the boy shook his head, trying to push that certain memory to the back of his mind.
Even if his hands were still shaking ─ he hadn't noticed it until the moment he felt something placing itself on top of them. "It's okay, Co-chan." His mother's fingers gripped his tightly, yet not enough to hurt. "I'm sure they already were reprimanded for that."
"I can confirm it," came Ai's voice from her corner of the room. "Not only the Professor and Detective Sato, but also that girl sleeping over there," she said, motioning to the teenager still draped over her father's bed. "She told him they should have known better than to go on their own without telling an adult ─ especially Tsuburaya-kun. I agree."
"Eh?!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed in alarm. Then, he let his shoulders drop with a heavy sigh. "Even Haibara-san…"
"Of course she does!" Genta added, arms crossed behind his head. "You snitched on Conan before because he wasn't telling an adult and you did the same."
"But you came along, too!"
Watching the boys argue so lively, Conan couldn't help the faint, relieved chuckle that escaped him ─ they were just fine, and he was so glad. It didn't go unnoticed by Ayumi who, pleased to see Conan grinning so happily, couldn't help but exchange smiles with his mother briefly before focusing on the other two once more.
Unlike her, however, Yukiko fixed her gaze on the girl standing in the farthest corner of the room. Sure enough, there was a small smile on her face as she looked over at her friends.
But, somehow, something didn't exactly fit.
Fortunately for him, neither his nor Kogoro's wounds had been serious enough to require further medical treatment, meaning that Conan had been discharged from the hospital the following morning. Kogoro's case wasn't all that different as it took another couple of days, yet eventually he too was free to go back home.
Maybe a bruise or a burn remained, but they would heal eventually, and with that, everything that happened on the day of Tanabata would be left as a mere, harmless, ugly memory…
Only that Shinichi had yet to wake up.
Conan hadn't asked exactly why, but considering that Ai had told him and the ridiculous amount of blood he had witnessed, he had a pretty good idea. He knew, too, that his brother was somewhere in that hospital, alongside his father ─ whom the boy hadn't had the chance to see as for yet ─ watching over him. At least, that way he was sure that nothing out of the expected would happen to him overnight.
"Yusaku is there to keep anyone from entering," his mother had said, carefully peeling an apple for him. "But you can still visit once you're allowed to leave that bed."
The boy hadn't replied. All he had done was stare, blankly, at the dish with sliced apples Yukiko had settled on his lap.
Even now, he still hadn't seen him. Ran had been so confused at first when he told him she could go ahead to visit him, that he would patiently wait for her at the waiting lobby. Something must have clicked in her mind back then, because next thing he knew, that warm and understanding gaze of hers had made its way to her face as she kneeled in front of him. She had smiled, too, gently holding his hands and making him promise he would wait there. He was to wait for somebody who was to get there any moment now ─ whoever that was.
After nodding for what had seemed to be an eternity, he watched the girl disappear through the hallways. Secretly, he wondered if this time she really understood what was going on in his head ─ honestly, he doubted it. Conan hardly knew it himself.
Thus, he had sat there, completely alone with his own thoughts, that wouldn't give him a break, not even for a single second. No matter how hard he tried, the memories of what had happened days ago continued to roam free to wreak havoc in his mind.
Making it stop had proved impossible, especially with that old TV hanging from the ceiling, along with the newscaster that continued to speak in the background, only to be ignored by everyone in the room, sans him.
With those big red letters on the bottom of the screen, there was no way he could focus on anything else.
"KAITO KID SHOT DOWN?!
Heist goes wrong at Touto Tower!"
"Huh?" The woman blinked in surprise at the child in front of her, or rather, the bright blue eyes that poked from over the counter. "You want to know if your friend is here?"
Conan nodded emphatically, standing on the tip of his feet in an attempt to have a better view of the receptionist he was talking to. He wasn't successful.
"I've been calling for a while, but he's not answering." He added a pout, for good measure. "He's a bit of a prankster and his tricks go wrong all the time, so he usually ends up in the hospital… That's why I thought that maybe… "
She pondered over it for a whole second, until she shrugged, probably figuring that there was no harm done taking a look. "What's your friend's name?"
"Kuroba Kaito."
After that, she began typing something on her computer, then hummed for a second, eyes travelling around the screen ─ Conan watched it all with a careful gaze. "I don't think he's here," she finally said, smiling apologetically at the young boy that had, without meaning to, sighed dejectedly. "Perhaps he's in another hospital?"
"I hope so…" he muttered, much lower than he had intended. Noticing his mistake, he raised his head again, slapping a childish grin on his face again. "Thank you for your time, miss!"
If she found his mood switch any suspicious, Conan didn't leave her a chance to point it out. The next moment, he had spun on his feet, jogging away from the reception desk and back to where he had been sitting moments prior.
He plopped down with a heavy sigh, not minding that the person who was on the seat adjacent to him heard it all. Maybe he just returned to Ekoda, he thought, rubbing his temples, tiredly. But wouldn't he at least try to contact Oniichan?
Conan was well aware that, at times, his brother and the magician couldn't stand each other. But he knew, too, that, to some degree, they actually cared for each other ─ like a close friend would. He knew he was shot, too. Why didn't he try to check on him yet?
It was far-fetched, unless the phantom thief was physically unable to.
"Your next heist will be your last ─ be prepared for it."
I really said that, didn't I? Back in London… But it was wrong ─ so, so wrong. That was definitely not what he had meant. Without being fully aware of his actions, his hands, that laid on top of his lap, gripped his trousers. How can you let this happen?
You're actually letting this be your last heist, KID?
"Still breathing?"
Conan almost jumped out of his skin, head snapping towards the source of the sound that had startled him so badly. His eyes made contact with the person who sat beside him, and only then did he realize he could recognize that amused grin.
"H-Hattori?!" The boy's reaction caused the teenager to snort. "What are you doing here?"
Heiji's eyebrow rose. "Do I look like such a cold-hearted guy?" he scoffed, with fake indignation. "After that mess you all got in, you expect me to lean back in Osaka?"
Conan's eyes went wide, absolutely horrified. "You knew…" he breathed out, and sure enough, his face rapidly lost color. Did the word get around? All the way to Osaka…
This is bad. If the Organization finds out we were involved-
"Hey, easy there," Heiji said, obviously noticing the boy slowly descending to panic. "Remember that dying message, 'Tanabata Kyoto'?" As a matter of fact, he hadn't, until now. "Kudo couldn't go there and check, so I had to do it."
It took a second, but eventually, the words filtered through Conan's already running mind. "Oh," he mumbled, faintly enough to be lost in the quietness of the room, and sank back to his seat, closing his eyes momentarily.
And remained there, silently still, where he was slumped against the chair. Hattori watched him for a beat, before allowing his eyes to drift to a random spot on the wall ─ plain, white and absolutely boring, but Heiji didn't tear them away from it.
"Heard from Ran-chan he isn't in the best shape." Conan did not react to his words. "A gunshot right on his backside, from what I heard."
Conan's eyes opened half-way, but didn't make any intention to look back at the detective. "With a wound like that, you can deduce what happened, can't you?"
"He must have been trying to protect you."
"Bingo."
"And it looks like he got what he wanted," continued Heiji. "Kudo will be elated when he finds that out."
Deciding against gracing him with an answer, the boy crossed his arms and turned over, so that his back was facing him. "I guess," he muttered, letting his eyes slide close again.
"Is it guilt?"
Conan glanced over at him from over his shoulder. "What was that?"
"Nothing, I was just wondering," Heiji began. "For you, who would go to the ends of the world just to meet your brother, to sit here so patiently, there has to be a good reason." Again, the kid averted his gaze. "Is it that you feel responsible, or is there something more?"
Yet, no matter how hard he tried, the older detective could not get another word out from those tightly closed lips ─ they were sealed and, Heiji knew, there was nothing in this world that would make it change.
Knowing when he was defeated, Heiji sighed and leaned back, emitting no further word.
Hours seemed to pass by, even if it had probably been minutes, until Hattori caught sight of a familiar face. Ran was entering the room, so he waved at her, gathering her attention.
"Ah, Hattori-kun," she said with a soft ─ if tired, and somewhat sad ─ smile taking over her features. "Thank you for coming."
"No need. I was going to fly back here, anyway." He reached over to Conan, ruffling his hair playfully. "Needed to check if this runt over here made it in one piece."
Conan didn't even bother to express his displeasure at the treatment which was, by itself, concerning at least.
"We're heading back home right now," continued the girl, regardless of what had transpired. "Would you want to come with us?"
"Sorry, I can't," he answered. "I want to check on Kudo first."
"Ah, that's fine! Remember, you can drop by if you need a place to spend the night."
"I'll probably take on that offer."
"I'll see you later then, Hattori-kun." Ran smiled again, then turned to the little boy, who now stood right beside her. "Let's go, Conan-kun."
But the boy didn't raise his head ─ not even once, until he disappeared behind the glass hospital doors.
"We're home!"
"Welcome back!"
At the doorway Ran stood for a moment, confused ─ she could have sworn that the voice that greeted her was female. Raising her head provided her with an answer.
Besides her father, buried behind a newspaper at his desk, there was someone else, sitting on the couch. "Sonoko?!" Ran exclaimed in shock. "Weren't you supposed to be at school?"
"I left early," she said with a grin.
"Eh?! Is that alright?"
"It's okay, it's okay!" She waved her off. "It's boring without you, anyway."
Ran seemed to want to respond, but simply let it slide with nothing more than an exhausted sigh ─ definitely lacking the energy to continue this conversation ─ crossing the room to reach the kitchen, to prepare a snack, Sonoko assumed. After she walked in, Sonoko got to see Conan trailing behind after her who, strange as it was, he didn't even grimace after seeing her there, but rather, quietly closed the door behind him and approached the couch right in front of her, just to sit down, silently all the while.
She gave him a long look, yet he didn't even react to it. Finally, she sighed audibly, stretching herself.
"You know what, Ran? Let's go somewhere else," she suddenly said, gathering her friend's attention, whose head poked out from the kitchen. "I'm so craving cake right now…"
"What? Are you sure?"
Sonoko's eyebrows rose. "Okay, don't come if you don't want to. I'm still getting cake," she affirmed, flashing the boy a smirk. "I'd even be willing to put up with the kid if I had to."
Conan's head rose sharply, clearly not expecting that. Ran was perplexed at first, but something finally clicked in her mind, bringing forward a smile. "I think I know of a place," Ran said with a smile, following her friend's lead. "There's cheesecake, too…"
His reaction was far from what they had expected. A frown had taken over his face, and a shadow of something had passed by his gaze at the mention of it.
Both girls exchanged a look when the kid hopped off his seat, "I'll pass," and said, approaching the door.
Conan's fingers brushed against the knob. "If that's the place I'm thinking about…" But paused when Sonoko pondered out loud. "I heard the chocolate pudding is super good, too."
Ran smiled again. "What do you think, Conan-kun?"
His hand dropped back to his side. "Pudding sounds good…" he muttered, so faintly that the girls had a hard time hearing.
But they did, and grinned at each other in silent victory.
It all vanished into thin air when the door suddenly creaked open, yet this time around, it wasn't the boy who did it. Instead, all he did was stand in front of it, blinking cluelessly at the face that timidly had peeked out from behind.
"Excuse me…" said the new person, clearly faltering. "Am I interrupting something?"
Conan's head tilted, eyes twinkling in recognition of the high school girl in front of him. "Aoko-neechan?" he said. "What are you doing here?"
Aoko smiled nervously. "There's a little something I need help with."
"Huh?"
Soon thereafter, the girl had been guided to the sofa, where she remained, eyes stuck on the floor and fists tightly clenched on top of her lap.
"I see…" Kogoro, who sat in front of her with his arms crossed in front of his chest, muttered, right after listening to all she had to say. "Your friends went missing suddenly."
She nodded slowly. "Hirai-kun often does this ─ disappearing for days, only to show back in school pretending he only had a cold…" The girl frowned profusely. "But Kaito…" It was followed by a long exhale. "I'm worried that something happened to him."
Ran definitely did not miss the way the little boy looked away from her form, as if in shame, and to the window. Is it because he knows that Shinichi...? She kept her thoughts to herself, however.
"I don't have much money, but you were the only person I could rely on for this." Aoko leaned slightly forward. "So please, I beg you, Mouri-san… I don't know what to do anymore."
And ceased speaking, her gaze still fixated on her feet as she patiently awaited his reply. Kogoro, on the other hand, considered her words with a severe expression, until he finally gave her his answer.
"I can't promise I will be successful, but I'll try my hardest to find your friend." Her head snapped up after hearing it. "Free of charge, of course!"
"Eh?! Really?!"
"It's a one time only thing, so you better appreciate it!"
Considering that it was her, alongside Hakuba, the ones who basically saved his life, Conan didn't find his actions all that implausible ─ in fact, it would have been incredibly rude of his part if he dared to charge her, yet then again, with Kogoro everything was probable.
It would be a scam, too, thought the boy, somberly. Since there's no way Occhan could find them.
And that was a fact. Shinichi was still in the hospital, and her presence had more or less confirmed that KID hadn't headed back home either. As much as I wish it was a misunderstanding…
Conan's fists clenched. Even now, he could still see his gloved hand reaching out for him.
Hadn't you been there, I'd probably done something really stupid…
Yet, at the same time, hadn't you been there, you wouldn't-
The loud bang of the gun that echoed in his mind almost made him flinch back and cover his ears, but he fought against that urge. Because he knew it wasn't real ─ even if it had been.
And seeing that one girl there, pressing together her lips as she valiantly fought to put a smile on her face, didn't make things any better for him.
"Well, please contact me if you have any news." Despite her energetic tone, Conan could clearly hear the tint of exhaustion in her voice, or the unnatural paleness in her face. "I'll see you later."
She was worried ─ worried to death. Even if she was trying her absolute hardest not to let it show.
"Wait." Ran interrupted her. "Aoko-san, right?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
Ran took a second longer to reply, and Conan secretly worried that something was wrong. "I heard you saved Dad." Aoko jumped, startled, when the girl in front of her bowed out of the blue. "Thank you so much!"
"A-Ah, no! It was nothing." Aoko laughed nervously, waving her hands in front of her face. "Anyone would have done the same…"
"But still! There has to be a way I can repay you."
"Even if you say so…"
"Oh, I know!" Ran smiled suddenly. "We were just on our way to a cake buffet. Would you like to come along?"
Again, Conan and Sonoko blinked. Slowly, they exchanged a confused gaze before settling it back on the girl in question.
Eh?
Before long, Conan came to understand that there probably was a reason behind Ran's actions. It had occurred to him as soon as he stepped inside the bus, on the way to the hotel Sonoko had recommended, that maybe Ran, being the perceptive young lady she was, had also noticed how obviously distraught the other girl was.
Not surprising, thought Conan, considering that Ran knew what having a close friend going missing overnight felt like. Either way, Ran most likely could not, in good conscience, allow her to go back home all on her own, in such a state. Now that he got the whole picture, Conan could not agree more.
That being said…
"Listen here, KID-sama-!"
"-is a punny thief. And thieves should be put behind bars!"
"Ah! You didn't just call KID-sama-!"
"Yeah, and what about it?!"
Probably, putting together someone that absolutely despised KID with a die-hard fan of his hadn't been the best idea around. One look in Ran's direction confirmed that she, too, was deeply regretting her life decisions. Keeping her face away from the duo, hoping that she could somehow pretend she didn't know those two, she met eyes with Conan.
As the muttering around them began to fill their ears, girl and child both sighed heavily. None of them could wait until they finally reached their destination.
"I just hope he's alright…" Eventually, Sonoko commented, in a slightly lower volume, glancing down at her phone. "They said KID-sama was shot the other night…"
"That's right." It was clear, however, that no matter how much she disliked the guy, she wanted him imprisoned, not dead. "Everything is so sketchy…" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Who made that shot?"
Conan tried his best to conceal his violent flinch.
"That helicopter… Dad had no idea where it came from…" she continued, mostly to herself than anyone else. "What in the word-?"
Out of the blue, Aoko jumped out of her skin, face going red in record time.
"KAITO!" she screamed, hands quickly covering her rear and immediately spun around, looking more than ready to murder whoever was on the receiving end of her fury. "Cut it off already-!"
Her words died down when she realized what she had said. She stood, blinking in surprise at the guy that stood right behind her.
"Pervert!" Sonoko was beyond angry, holding his wrist in a death grip. "This guy's a groper!"
"E-Eh?" the person in question stammered. "No, I'm not-"
"Don't act all innocent!" Sonoko continued. "You tried to touch her butt just now!"
Conan opened his mouth to speak, but Ran quickly stepped ahead, completely hiding him from immediate sight.
"Ran, it's payback time!"
"Ah, wai-!"
The poor guy hadn't gotten a chance to defend himself and had to stop a kick directly aimed at his face ─ he had done with such a stunning ease that had Conan blinking, wondering what he had just seen. As if to prove to him it was real, the guy tried to strike again ─ directly at her eyes, noted the little boy ─ prompting Ran to dodge it quickly, then jump back to avoid being struck by a powerful kick.
"As expected of Kanto's champ." The guy smirked. "Great moves."
Sonoko shuffled closer to her friend. "R-Ran…"
"Sonoko, stay back." Ran's eyes narrowed, dangerously. "This pervert is strong."
Even under the hat that shadowed most of his face, Conan could see the red suddenly tinting his cheeks. "Ah! If you would let me explain!" He was clearly flustered. "I'm absolutely-"
"-not the pervert." Everyone turned around to face the kid who, hands still stuck inside his pockets, gazed at the guy with a blank look, as if bored. "I saw it all." Specifically, the hand that, in the way to grope Aoko, had brushed against her skirt. The movement had made her shout, thus alerting both Sonoko and this guy. "I saw how that person seized the hand responsible for trying to touch Aoko-neechan's butt, and then that's how Sonoko-neechan mistook that person's hand."
"For this," said the person, raising another man's hand that he was still somehow holding.
Evidently, the pervert grew really nervous at the accusation. "N-No…"
"So the pervert…" Sonoko's dark glare did not help. "... was you?!"
Seconds forward, the pervert had to run for his life, dashing away the bus through the door that had miraculously opened at the right time. Conan got to see how he ran into a bus stop, but he figured that the fear beat the pain, as he still continued escaping, running as far as he could and not looking back. All the while, Sonoko hadn't stopped running.
Conan could not bring himself to feel bad for him, all things considered.
"I'm so sorry!" In the meantime, Ran was apologizing profusely at the guy she had fought before. "I almost kicked you without even making sure…"
"No problem, no problem! I'm just glad we've cleared up our misunderstanding."
He raised his head, allowing them to see his face ─ Conan blinked, feeling as if he had seen that person before. Which was strange, because he knew he hadn't even met the guy in his life. Maybe it was something about his green eyes, about those strangely large bags under his eyes, it was so familiar. Conan pondered over it, but eventually gave up, unable to remember where he had seen them.
"Besides…" Conan was brought out of his thoughts when the guy leaned forward, smirking at Ran up from close. "Since you're my type, I'll forgive you."
Ran blushed dramatically. Aoko's eyes widened slightly, surprised at the words she did not expect, while Sonoko looked a little peeved that he was giving her friend so much attention ─ probably the girl found him attractive somehow, Conan reasoned. The boy, on the other hand, just stared, baffled, at the entire ordeal.
Even more when the guy seemed to give him a pointed look, as if expecting him to have any kind of reaction. Conan did not understand.
"Just joking!" The guy laughed it off. "Where are you headed?"
"T-To Haido Hotel…" By the looks of it, Ran hadn't entirely recovered yet.
"What a coincidence! I'm headed to that hotel, too!"
"Are you really?!"
Conan let out a dry laugh. Somehow, I doubt it.
But stopped when the guy turned to face him, again.
"Thank you for earlier, little boy," he said, grinning widely.
"Uh… Sure."
Later, he realized that the mysterious guy was probably not lying. He came to the conclusion right away, seeing him argue with the receptionist that he had booked a room there, leaving it to the worker to apologize. From what Conan could hear from his spot, there had been a problem, and now there were no vacancies left. Since they were renovating their hotel annex, there were fewer rooms available, meaning that the guy had no place to stay.
Conan decided he did not want to get involved with this. Without uttering a word, he started to walk.
"Ah, Conan-kun, wait!" Ran called, suddenly noticing that the boy was leaving.
"I suppose someone is hungry," commented Aoko with a giggle.
"I'd have used the word 'rude'," huffed Sonoko as the three followed the kid. The boy in question had heard the girl could tell, even if he didn't seem to care. "That guy was so cool, too…" She let out a dreamy sigh. "And as strong as you, Ran!"
"Yeah." Ran nodded, smiling.
"If he fought with Makoto-san, I wonder whose karate would be stronger..."
Aoko blinked, feeling lost all of a sudden.
"Makoto-san is Sonoko-neechan's boyfriend," explained the boy to her, in a plain, bored tone. "As unbelievable as it sounds, yeah, there is somebody out there who's willing to date her."
Sonoko gasped, offended. "I'm still here, brat!"
"I know." Conan barely blinked an eye. "Ah, and for the record, that wasn't karate." He glanced at Ran, who looked more than eager to remain outside of their arguing. "Right, Ran-neechan?"
"Right," she replied, however, hoping that it would stir the conversation to more comfortable waters. "It's actually Jeet Kune Do."
"Jeet Kune… what?"
"Jeet Kune Do. Movie star Bruce Lee took the art of Kung Eu he had been practicing as a child and combined it with boxing, judo, aikido and so many other forms of fighting to develop this martial art. It's pretty fierce, though, considering it has a number of attacks that target vital points such as the eyes and throat."
Aoko awed. "You know a lot, Conan-kun!"
Sonoko snorted. "Pretty decent for a walking encyclopedia."
"Nevermind that…" Ran stepped in before the kid could even think of replying. "Where are they having the cake buffet?"
Conan looked around and noticed that there was virtually nobody around.
"On the net it says it's at the café on the second floor," said Sonoko, after checking her phone.
"Shouldn't you have said that earlier?" Conan sighed, making his way to the elevator.
"You didn't ask ─ just took walking off in the opposite direction."
"And you said nothing ─ are you blind or what?"
"Why you-"
"Sonoko." Ran laid a hand over her shoulder. "Drop it, please."
"Huh?! Why me? He-"
"Because you're the oldest. By ten years."
She didn't miss the smug smirk he sent her way, nor did her irritated glare slip under his radar, yet he left her alone when he noticed that the doors of the elevator he was standing in front of were opening.
A woman walked out, and once her eyes met with the kid's, she smiled. "Oh, where are you going, little boy?" she asked.
"To the cake buffet on the second floor."
"Then you can't get there using this elevator. This goes to the annex."
Conan raised an eyebrow in utter confusion. But said nothing otherwise.
Ran and the others quickly joined them. "Sorry for troubling you," the girl apologized on the boy's behalf.
"Not at all! We should help each other when in need."
Despite her words and friendly disposition, the boy barely paid her any attention. He just observed that, after closing right behind her, the elevator continued to go up, as evidenced by the number two lighting on the display on top of it. Are people still running around the annex even if it's under renovation?
His head tilted ─ he couldn't understand what was going on.
"Hirukawa-san!"
The woman ─ Hirukawa, by the looks of it ─ turned around after being called. A man, presumably the one who had done it, walked closer to her, alongside another woman, bringing Conan out of his thoughts for now. "How'd it go with him?" the man had asked, and Hirukawa had told him he, whoever this he was, was drunk and had started shouting initially, but had broken into tears when she scolded him severely.
This 'he' had said he would apologize to everyone and admit his sins, so he wanted those other three to go to his room. Worried that he might have a change of heart later on, Hirukawa had suggested recording it all so that other 'victims' would hear it as well.
Victims? As in plural? Conan thought. What did this guy do?
"Conan-kun?" he heard Ran calling for him. "What are you doing?"
"We'll leave you behind, brat!" yelled Sonoko after him.
Thus, unable to gather anything else, the boy was forced to jog after the group, leaving the three people alone.
"It's not okay to listen to others' conversations," lectured Ran once he finally joined them. "And you know that."
"Sorry…" mumbled the boy, even if he still was glancing, by the corner of his eye, at the strange group he had stumbled upon before.
Aoko giggled at the sight. "He's just like Hirai-kun," she commented. If he noticed the boy wincing at the comparison, she said nothing about it. "Well, his habit often becomes useful to solve cases, most of the time."
"You keep running into cases, too?" Ran asked, surprised.
"More than I'd like to."
What did you expect? Conan kept his mouth wisely shut. You befriended a murder magnet.
Even though he, too, had adopted that quality over the last two years or so.
"This Hirai-kun is your friend that went missing, isn't he?" began Sonoko. Aoko nodded. "Is that why you're worried he might have run into trouble?"
"Mostly, yeah."
"Your other friend, you said his name was 'Kaito'..." Sonoko's eyes widened. "Hey, earlier today on that bus you shouted…"
Aoko laughed awkwardly. "I felt as if my skirt was going to be flipped and…"
Sonoko made a face. "What kind of friend do you have?"
Her annoyance was clear on her face. "An idiot friend."
Conan laughed dryly. Won't argue with you there.
"But…" He stopped when the girl continued talking, but at a softer volume. "He is my friend. Even if he's still a jerk."
An unsettling silence followed, resulting from none of those surrounding her having any idea of what to say next. Especially Conan, whose gaze had left her form, and fixated up ahead, frowning profusely as he did so ─ Ran noticed it, and privately wondered what was that about.
He halted. "Seems we aren't getting any cake today."
"What?"
"Here."
All three girls were confused at first, but it all went away when they directed their attention to the sign Conan was referring to:
Cake Buffet
All-you-can-eat and unlimited soft drinks for 90 minutes!
─ NOW CLOSED ─
Sonoko was outraged by the course of events. Before anyone could say or do anything, she had stormed off towards the poor worker that was just there, checking over the long line ─ that extended all over his eyes and up the stairs, Conan noted ─ and peacefully doing his job.
"You're cutting off the line for the cake buffet?!" they got to hear as soon as they reached her.
The worker was growing anxious, which was kind of understandable. The poor guy surely doesn't get paid enough for this. Conan was certain.
"Yes…" the man got out. "More customers than we'd have expected came, so there weren't enough cakes…"
"If you're going to hold a cake buffet…" Sonoko sounded beyond annoyed right now. "If you're going to hold a cake buffet, you should prepare a whole lot and go out with a bang-!"
And sure enough, a bang sound boomed through the entire room. It came from the parking lot? wondered the boy as he, just like everyone in sight, continued to look around, hoping to deduce what in the world had caused such an unpleasant noise.
Just as he was considering going out to check, a horrified scream broke through the shocked silence. You have got to be kidding me… he thought with a dejected sigh, before he took off running ─ pointedly ignoring Ran, who, as usual, called after him, telling him not to run off again.
He got to the parking lot just in time to see the three people from before, each and everyone sickly pale as they crowded around something ─ fretting, panicking, telling each other they should call an ambulance, but none actively doing anything to summon one there.
Expectedly, there was a man, lying right on the pavement ─ he was definitely dead, there was no use checking it out. Only when he asked them what had happened did they notice him standing with them. Once the shock subsided, but still hesitant, Hirukawa told him they were just backing up their car when the victim had fallen from before.
Later on, they recognized him as 'Uesumi' ─ the man they had been talking about before, Conan assumed. They said he had done a lot of bad to these people, right? His eyes narrowed, taking another long look at the body lying in front of him, before turning around to see that Ran and the others, alongside a security guard, ran their way.
Could it be that one of them actually murdered him?
"Hold on, who's that over there?!" Even if Hirukawa was pointing at something, on the higher floors of the hotel, Conan could see nothing. "Someone suspicious was on the roof right now?"
Whoever that was, it was gone now ─ he couldn't let whoever that was get away. "Ran-neechan, please call the police and keep watch over this place with the security guard!" He turned to the three witnesses. "I'm going with these people to the roof!"
They were obviously surprised by his initiative, but emitted no comment. One of them has to be the murderer. If his hunch was to be trusted, anyway. I can't leave them out of my sight anyhow!
"Wait, Conan-kun!" Ran yelled, then sighed when she realized he was gone already. "Geez, he ran off again…"
"Don't worry." She was surprised, however, when Aoko stepped ahead with a smile. "I'll keep an eye on him."
"Eh? Are you sure?"
"It's okay, besides…" Her smile faltered, but otherwise, remained perfectly in place. "I'm used to hanging out with someone worse than a child."
And her words were left hanging in the air. There they remained, as the girl turned around and joined the other three who, slower than the kid, made their way back to the building, leaving Sonoko and Ran to exchange silent looks, before deciding that it would be okay to let her handle it.
"Ah, watch out!"
At first, he had been a little tickled off when he realized Aoko had come along just to watch over him, which in his understanding was the equivalent to babysitting ─ really, what was the worst that would happen? The culprit pushing him off the roof?
Thinking about it twice, that actually sounded like a disturbingly likely scenario, Conan realized, but would never admit out loud.
But he later had to admit that he was glad she had come. Had it not been for her quick reflexes, he would have fallen right on his butt when they reached their destination ─ which would have been mortifying. So this elevator has both front and rear doors? As he thanked the girl and she removed her hands from his shoulders, he made a mental note.
He walked out first, and the rest followed his lead. Except for Hirukawa, who stood inside, claiming that she was scared. After a bit of pressing, though, she finally sighed and joined them outside.
A pair of shoes neatly placed on top of a jacket met Conan's vision as soon as he stepped onto the roof. Oh, no… His eyes widened a little. Just as I feared…
Just as he pondered over the implications, the rest were drawing their own conclusions.
"Suicide?!"
"Then, what was the person's shadow that Hirukawa-san saw?"
"The wind making this jacket flutter… maybe that's what I saw." Hirukawa's head dropped. "It's all my fault. I pushed him too hard with my words…"
Finally, Conan was brought back to reality. "Ah, no!" he exclaimed. "This was most likely-"
"-a murder." Conan's mouth clicked shut, and slowly turned his head to look at the figure in the doorway, who had just finished his sentence. "Isn't that right, Conan-kun?"
The boy blinked owlishly ─ it was the same guy with the fedora hat from before.
"Murder, you say?" The woman could not believe it. "Are you saying you saw someone push him off here?"
"No. I just happened to overhear your conversation stating that the man who fell to his death was quite drunk," he said with a cocky smirk. "Due to my line of work, my ears are quite good."
If it hadn't before, that had definitely caught his attention. Your… line of work? He frowned in utter puzzlement, listening attentively as he laid out all the evidence backing up his deduction. Indeed, there was a preconception that made people believe that suicide victims would take their shoes before taking a jump, but hardly any body in real life wind up shoeless.
The fact that the guy claimed to have seen innumerable jumper suicide scenes only made Conan the more wary.
Either way, considering that this victim had been irremediably drunk, the thought of him taking off his shoes and placing them this neatly was inconceivable. And the case that it was a random outsider doing so as a prank could be discarded, too, since the shoes were directly above where Uesumi had fallen.
"No other conclusion than to disguise it as a jumper suicide, the culprit deliberately lined the shoes up here, see?" Having finished with his deduction, the guy threw his hands to his side and gave Conan a pointed look. "Right, little boy?"
Conan tensed, and unconsciously took a step back. If you would stop doing that, just for a second…
"Then…" Hirukawa sounded worried. "Where is the culprit?!"
"I bet they'll be arrested real soon now," explained the weird guy. "Since, before I came up here to the roof, I asked the guard to keep watch over the elevator and stairs."
The other two didn't seem entirely pleased by his answer.
"What's all this?"
"Who in the world are you?"
"My name is Sera." Once more, he glanced at the little boy, narrowing his eyes at him. "Like this little boy here…" But was entirely unaffected by it ─ he never broke his gaze away, smirking as he did so. "I'm a detective."
His mind stuttered, eyes fixed on the smirking guy in front of him. A detective?! He mentally screamed even if he, on the outside, remained completely calm and composed ─ as much as it was humanly possible with such a revelation, anyway. Of all professions out there to be chosen, why is that every sketchy guy I meet turns out to be a detective?
Conan was seriously considering that his murder magnetism had somehow extended to detectives as well.
"Amazing…" mumbled Aoko, awestruck at the deduction that had been presented in front of her eyes. "You're a detective too, Conan-kun?"
"No!" He reacted violently at that. "I-I mean…" then added, a little calmer, as he nonchalantly crossed his arms behind his head. "How can I be a detective? I'm, like, eight."
"Ah, right…"
"Though it doesn't sound all that bad…" He added a cute, sunny smile, for good measure, as he headed to the door. "Detectives are so cool~! I want to be one!"
Aoko grinned. "I'm sure you'll be a great one when you grow up."
"Yeah!"
Stepping into the elevator to leave, however, Conan caught sight of Sera again. He was grinning, amused ─ almost as if he was trying to hold his laugh, for some reason.
Now, what did he find that funny? The kid could not, for the life of him, explain it.
A/N:
F.C. Meyer: Oops! Thanks for telling me!
Lemon1412: You know I can't answer that, don't you? xD
Mr Darklord: Fixed it. Thank you!