File Sixty-Seven: A Dangerous Kind of Mentality
It had been embarrassing, but with the same approach ─ falling down, having them pick up his phone and mess around until he was basically getting himself chased out the room because he was being a nuisance ─ he had managed to deduce who out of the three was their member.
The old man, Shinki Chotaro, was eliminated from the list ─ he couldn't use a cell phone because of his pacemaker. So was Nishiya Chugo ─ he proved to genuinely have acute back pain when he refrained from sneezing through his mouth, after Conan had moved dust around from the curtain.
Therefore the one that had picked Conan's phone up, and had drained several cans of coffee despite being hospitalized for cervical spine sprain, had to be it.
Kusuda Rikumichi was the Black Organization spy, there was absolutely no doubt about it.
And it became evident when he was caught photographing the patient list at the nurse's lounge, then attempted to escape by threatening the FBI with some explosives that he was hiding under his cervical collar.
The FBI was so sure he would go to his room to erase all evidence of his involvement they didn't even think about the possibility of Rikumichi actually getting to his car by using the emergency exit.
Luckily, Akai had thought a step ahead and had given him the chase.
"We're counting on you, Akai-kun!" James said through the phone. "Apprehend him by whatever means necessary before he can contact the Organization!"
"Roger," he replied, calmly. "However, if he has his cell phone with him now, I won't be able to stop him."
"That would hardly be a problem."
Curious about the young voice suddenly sounding from the spot beside him, Akai's eyes darted towards the source, only to spot a little hand coming from under the seat. Soon, a head popped out and the child casually slid out. "For an Organization member, he was pretty careless to leave his phone in his room while he's out," plopping down on the passenger seat, the kid continued. "I was playing with it and accidentally dropped it into some water."
The amused look Akai gave the young boy was more than enough for him to realize that he hadn't done it by accident. "I thought you said you believed in us?" not even caring about when, or how, he got there, he let out a short snicker while ending the call he was having with his boss.
"I believed the FBI would do their best. Figured something like this would happen, though," he crossed his arms behind his head as he stated nonchalantly. "I might be risking my life, but I'm not stupidly throwing it away."
"You predicted this would happen, but still you didn't tell anyone?"
"Well, you predicted this as well and you didn't either, did you?"
Akai gave the child another look, before he smirked.
"You might want to take cover, kid."
"Eh? Why?"
Not bothering to grace the kid with a reply, the agent stepped on the gas. Realizing he was accelerating so that both vehicles were driving side to side, the child yelped and obliged, ducking just in time for Rikumichi to start shooting.
"Hey!" Conan shouted, raising his head, visually angry for some reason.
A hand on top of his head pushed him down, just in time for something to wheeze past him. The unmistakable sound of glass shattering behind him prompted him to get down once more, covering his head with his arms.
Far from fazed at the bullets, Akai simply slowed down until he was trailing behind the other car.
"Are you crazy?!" snapped Conan, slowly, and hesitating, attempted to go back to his original position. "Why would you do that?"
The man smirked slightly, not even bothering to answer that question. "Didn't you see it coming?" he asked instead. "That bullets were going to be involved."
"... Of course I knew," he huffed, irritated. That doesn't mean I like them.
"This is the FBI, kid," he glanced at him briefly, before looking back at the car he was chasing. "This is no place for a child to stick around."
Before anything could be said or done, the worst happened. Conan couldn't help but gasp as the car drove off the road, out the blue, down the hill ─ deliberately.
By the time they managed to stop, it was already too late ─ the sound of a loud bang made Conan's blood freeze. Not wasting a moment, the young boy bursted the door open and jumped out, running to the scene. Only when he took a glance at the obvious conclusion this chase had ─ the Organization member leaning against the door of a battered car, blood rushing out profusely from a hole in the head ─ did Conan stop.
Silently Akai got out the car, phone in hand, and studied the situation before calling Jodie and explaining everything to her. Throughout it all, the kid hadn't said a word, even as he stood right next to him.
Just stared at the body with a solemn look, standing quietly into his place.
"You're quite an unusual one, boy," he did look away, however, when Akai addressed him, having placed his phone back into his pocket not that long ago. "Any other kid your age would be terrified at a sight like this."
The kid let out a humorless laugh in reply. "That's because I've grown used to seeing it," he closed his eyes. "What's left after Death's cold grip takes someone away."
Conan let out a heavy sigh, his eyes falling again on the corpse as he contemplated what the aftermath had resulted in, feeling. but not paying attention to the analytical gaze that had been posed on him.
"As you can see, this is no place for a kid to be at," Akai stated, after a while. "You should ask Jodie to drive you back home when she arrives..."
"I can't do that."
The agent looked surprised for less than a second, before his neutral expression took over once more. That sharp-witted young boy, who had definitely seen far too much despite his age, was determined to stay ─ Akai could see it. Clearly, it was more than a childish desire to have a cool experience catching criminals.
There was something else. Something that moved him forward despite the danger.
Quite the unusual child, indeed.
He decided not to insist, just nodded and turned around, so as to stand next to the car to wait for Jodie and James to arrive. That was because he knew people like him. People that wouldn't stop, no matter how many times they would be chasen away. Over, and over again.
Conan didn't move, though.
It was a matter of time until the Organization made their move ─ it was evident, considering that their informant would suddenly stop calling after meeting his tragic end. Considering they couldn't just move Kir around while she was in a coma, Akai had decided that the best thing to do now was to ambush them.
"Since things have become like this, it's good that we stopped him when he was taking pictures at the nurse's station," Jodie frowned. "Even if we only stopped him from transmitting information about unrelated patients to them..."
"Well, we'd have been found out eventually," pointed out James. "Conan-kun has already made sure his cell phone was broken."
"No," Akai glanced at the child who merely stood there, listening attentively. "The reason the boy damaged the cell phone wasn't just to prevent him from contacting the Organization. It was to learn how to contact them."
The kid blinked then turned to stare at the older man, surprised.
"If he contacted them by cell phone when in the bathroom or in his hospital room, we wouldn't be able to find out how. With his phone broken, he would be forced to choose a different method."
Honestly, Conan didn't know how to react since he wasn't used to people deducing the real intentions behind their actions, so easily. Noticing this, Akai seemed to smirk, visually amused for some reason.
"I see," James realized. "If the method was something we could observe, like a payphone or a net cafe, we would know what sort of words and style they used for communication. Then we could pretend to be him and continue making contact after we've apprehended him."
"In other words, it wasn't this boy who made a mistake. It was us, the FBI, who did," Akai concluded. "We couldn't think of such a method, myself included."
Their eyes met again and this time Conan frowned slightly, not quite liking the attention he was receiving from this guy. He didn't seem to care, merely heading to the door, leaving the rest all alone.
Conan's eyes didn't leave the door, even after it closed behind the man. There was... something. Something about that guy that didn't quite fit in.
"What do you think about Shuu?" then Jodie asked her superior. "Having the Organization coming here in a situation like this... Somehow he seems happy about it."
"Any other feeling would be a lie. By being able to cross swords with them directly, he has an opportunity to take revenge for his girlfriend."
"Revenge?" asked Conan, curiously.
He had heard about Akai's lover before, and that she had died, but hadn't thought about it being something to be avenged.
"Shuu's girlfriend was murdered by them several months ago. It seems she was connected to the Organization," Jodie explained, with a solemn tone on her voice. "Shuu said she tried to escape the Organization, so they eliminated her."
"Why did Akai-san have a relationship with a woman like that?" he genuinely couldn't get his head around it. Unless he didn't know who she really was, but considering who Akai-san is, it seems unlikely...
"To infiltrate the Organization," she kneeled down right in front of him. "She wasn't very high in the Organization herself, but her little sister was a scientist for them."
Little sister? A scientist...?
"He was a member of the Organization under the name of 'Moroboshi Dai'," explained James. "He made it well in the Organization. At first he didn't try to stand out too much, but he gradually distinguished himself. The codename they gave him was 'Rye'."
Rye, if he used to be a member, many things made so much sense now.
"Eventually he was called up to work with one of the executive members, the man called 'Gin'," as always, the name didn't fail to cause a chill to run down Conan's spine. "We expected that if we could capture him, we could take the fight all the way to the boss, so we had our FBI agents stake out the meeting place for the mission ahead of time, but he never showed."
He got found out, Conan didn't need that fact explained to him. "Then, Akai-san's girlfriend was killed afterwards?"
"No," Jodie replied. "It seems her younger sister was a very important person to the Organization, so they couldn't lay a hand on her. Shuu realized this and stopped seeing her shortly thereafter."
"The Organization thought that since she'd been influenced by the FBI they couldn't let her go free, considering she could be contacted in the future," the boss explained. "They became restless and presented her with a proposition. If she could complete an assignment they would let both her sister and her leave the Organization. Of course the stipulation was that neither she nor her sister would live should she fail."
Hey, hey, could she be...?
"But she succeeded in her assignment, which was to procure one billion yen in a robbery."
He genuinely hoped that nobody noticed the way his face had surely gone pale, or the way his eyes widened in horror, upon hearing those words just now.
His shaking hands slipped inside his pockets, in a desperate attempt to refrain himself from looking ─ because he knew well enough what he would see if he did so.
"They ended up killing her anyway."
It came back to him suddenly. The feeling of blood rushing from under his palms, her kind smile that remained in place, even when he could see her life, ever so slowly, fading away from her eyes.
"I'll leave the rest to you... little detective..."
"What..." despite being so certain, he asked just in case. "What was her name?"
"Her real name was Miyano Akemi. Her alias was Hirota Masami. I will never forget it."
He didn't offer them any kind of answer. I knew it, he thought, in shock. Then there's no doubt about it.
With that, Conan simply excused himself and quietly left the room. That scientist is definitely Ai-san, he concluded, making his way through the hospital halls, gaze casted on the floor as he continued to think about that whole situation. To think that her sister and Akai-san were in a relationship... Though Akai-san basically used her...
If Ai-san ever saw him again, she would definitely be mad.
He found the person he was looking for in record time. Silently peeking from a door that led to the roof, Conan saw Akai leaning against a wall, gazing at the screen of his phone.
I wonder how she would react, though, if she saw him like this...
There was something, very subtle, in the way he looked at whatever was in the phone. Something he wouldn't be able to describe, but it was there ─ it was so much different from the dangerous glint in his eyes that was so like him.
Conan didn't need to be a genius to realize what had caused this dramatical change of attitude in the FBI agent. So he decided to let his presence be known and step out into the cold night.
Flipping his phone close, Akai gave Conan a curious look, which he returned with a rather unreadable one of his own.
"Can we talk?" he finally said after a while.
"If it's about how we plan to attack them, I'm still thinking over it."
"But you know, I was wondering..." a smirk crossed his features. "Maybe you're thinking exactly as I am."
That seemed to pick Akai's attention. "Oh?" he sounded interested. "So what is your plan, boy?"
"To have Mizunashi Rena share information with us, from the inside. As you might have noticed, she's a NOC."
Akai was mildly surprised that the little boy had figured such a thing out, all on his own.
Contrary to Conan's first assumption, it was surprisingly easy to talk with Akai Shuichi. For once, he didn't chase him away or brush him off because of his age ─ in fact, the agent seemed to talk with him as an equal, a fact that the child was incredibly grateful for.
For hours to an end, they discussed it, exchanged several ideas until, several hours late into the night, they decided to head out, having planned everything out.
Akai would contact a certain agent ─ Camel was his name ─ that was going to be a very important part of his plan. So, all that was left was to convince her ─ CIA agent and Black Organization member, Kir, aka Mizunashi Rena.
That led to the current situation ─ Conan and Akai quietly walking through the darkened halls of that hospital, steps echoing and filling the silence that none had tried to break for a long time already.
"You never fail to amaze me, kid," it was Akai, however, the first to break it.
"I'm just glad you're an ally, Akai-san," the boy smiled at the adult.
"Same to you," the agent did the same.
Conan didn't reply, just watched Akai opening the door to Mizunashi Rena's room and telling the person on the lookout that he would change places with him. Only when he walked out did the child step inside, Akai following suit.
"Well then," the kid didn't take his eyes out of the woman lying in bed. "If we're actually following this plan... The first step is to have the prince come and wake the sleeping beauty."
To say that Akai was curious as to how he was planning to do that was more than an understanding, so he watched the kid, as he proceeded to place his bowtie in front of his mouth and lightly knock on the door.
"Akai-san," then, an undescript voice filled their ears. "There's an emergency meeting."
Now, Akai truly didn't expect the child to have a voice-changer with him ─ hence the surprise showing in his face when he realized it ─ but instantly played along, opening the door.
"A strategy session, huh?" he said to no-one. "If the plan is worthwhile, I don't mind."
With that Akai closed the door behind him and Conan proceeded to hide in the darkest corner of that room. He didn't have to wait long for the door to open, quietly, once more.
And in came Hondou Eisuke, a scary expression plastered all over his face as he glared at the woman ─ who he believed to be impressionating as his dear sister ─ lying in the bed.
The undeniable hate glimmering behind round glasses prompted Conan to freeze, momentarily, watching for a second or so as the teenager slowly, and dangerously, moved closer to the bed, demanding the newscaster to wake up.
Conan flipped the lid of his watch open and pointed at the back of Eisuke's neck, just to be safe.
Hopefully, sweat dropped down his forehead. This won't get ugly...
The teenager was screaming now, desperately shaking her motionless body and pleading, with tears brimming despite the fierceness of his eyes. He was pleading for her to wake up, so that he could ask where his sister Hidemi was.
His lips pressed, struggling to keep himself in his place. It was hard, however, as his mind bugged him with the same question, repeating itself over and over again...
What would he do if instead of Hidemi and Eisuke, all this was about Shinichi and Conan?
Yeah... I would definitely...
"Hey! Open your eyes!"
... Well, he wasn't so sure about the part of pulling a pair of scissors out and attempting to stab her with them.
A split of second before Conan could press the button and stop this from becoming bloody murder, a hand wrapped around Eisuke's wrist, sucessfully stopping him from commiting the deal.
"Don't, Ei-chan," Mizunashi Rena's gentle voice resounded in the room as her eyes, undeniably open now, gazed at the teenager. "Haven't I told you? Not to become a man that would hurt other people."
"... Neesan?"
"Yeah, now, Ei-chan... That's reason enough for you to get out of this dangerous place without asking me anything else. Please!"
"You're lying! You have type AB blood, don't you?! If you were my sister who gave me blood in the past... You should have type O blood!"
"... Or you should have type AB blood."
At the young voice, Eisuke spun around, shocked to see the child, who seemed to come from nowhere, moving closer to them. "So that must have been it, right?"
"What are you talking about?" the teen pointed at himself, frowning as he did so. "You saw it in my child health records, right?! I'm type O!"
"You were," he corrected, causing Eisuke to blink, confused. "But your blood became type AB due to bone marrow transplant done to cure your leukemia."
The older boy seemed to be shocked beyond words. "But... But...!" he turned to his sister, who stared back at him with an unreadable expression. "Why? Why didn't you tell me about that? Why'd you change your name and become an announcer?!"
"Ei-chan..."
"Neesan!" he was exasperated.
"She had no choice," Conan shrugged. "That's what comes with being an agent with the CIA."
Now it was the turn for Hidemi to be shocked. Her eyes darted towards his direction, prompting him to smile, childishly. "And it wasn't just you, right?" he added. "Your father as well."
"My father?!" Eisuke's eyes were wider than even before.
"Yeah," he turned to the teen. "She was trying to get information by infiltrating a certain Organization and ended up becoming an announcer to suit their plans. She expected you to see her on TV and try to come and meet her," he glanced back at the woman. "But it kind of backfired, didn't it? Since he came by at the worst moment possible."
Hidemi didn't answer.
"Hold on a second! What do you mean? What is this 'certain Organization'?!"
Conan's smile dimmed as he turned to face the desperate boy and bit his tongue. "I'm sorry," his whispered apology sounded strangely genuine.
Just when Eisuke was about to press the kid further, the door opened to reveal Akai. "That's all you're permitted to know," he said, then moved to let the agent behind him walk in. "Camel, take care of him."
Of course, Eisuke protested loudly, as the bigger man grabbed him and started dragging him out. His struggle only grew more prominent when Akai told his partner to take him away and lock him inside an empty room.
Before he closed the door, Conan saw it. The moment when Eisuke's distressed gaze met with Hidemi's resigned one.
His screams suddenly faded away in the distance, letting the other three to look at each other, quietly still. Conan's eyes didn't stray away from the door that had separated both siblings, even when Akai walked closer and started talking.
He did look away, however, when she asked how he knew she was an agent.
"The technique you used to see if I was lying is often used by the CIA," he explained, easily. "Besides you knew I was lying and thanked me profusely. That was because you were able to get through without anybody dying," the kid then shrugged. "Well, it seemed like Vermouth became vaguely suspicious, right?"
By the look she gave him, it was obvious she didn't understand. "When you came to Occhan for the case with the bell-ringer I put a transmitter and listening device on your door. It accidentally ended up in one of your shoes."
She proceeded to ask about her father, and Akai commented on what they had found. He also stated that she hadn't killed him, but that was what Ethan had wanted to look like ─ he had been protecting her. She was supposed to introduce a secret agent to work as a contact for her father and, well, things had gotten a turn for the worse.
"Then the reason you requested Kogoro-ojisan for the doorbell ringing case was because you needed a new contact?"
Conan didn't expect her to shake her head. "I used that case to get that famous detective's address. I wanted him to protect Eisuke," she stated, before chuckling a bit. "But it looks like the one I should have confided in was you."
The child blinked, then slowly pointed at himself, as if not understanding. That caused the woman to laugh a bit more. "You noticed I had regained consciousness, didn't you?" she continued, and he nodded. "How?"
"When I said I had forgotten something and came back inside the room I noticed that the wrinkles on the sheet around your neck had moved slightly," at that explanation, she looked as if she wanted to be surprised by his observations skills, but couldn't really. "And I knew Eisuke-niichan was here when I asked one of his classmates if he had seen him. Even if he has seen his friend recently, Aizawa Eisuke, he first thought about Hondou Eisuke," he smiled brightly. "That's how I knew he was hiding him in his room."
Hidemi smiled. "You really are amazing."
"Yeah," Akai did the same. "To the point that we FBI are speechless."
The kid in question genuinely didn't know how to answer that, so he simply nodded, placing his hands inside his pockets and looking at Akai, prompting him to finally propose what they had meaning to all along.
Once Akai made his proposal, Hidemi went thoughtful and silent, turning her head to stare at the ceiling as she debated what to do. The other two simply watched her frown slightly before turning to look back at them. "I have a condition of my own," she stated, focusing back on the FBI agent. "I want you to put Eisuke in the Witness Protection Program."
Akai nodded, agreeing with her terms.
Well, Conan thought with a shrug. Only if that guy accepts, though.
Absent-mindedly, the young boy turned to the door again, and gave it a long look. He must be desperate at this moment, he frowned, unable to wipe out of this mind that look. That last look he gave his dear sister before he was taken away. Angry, frustrated... Doing his absolute best to get out of that room so he could see her again...
Maybe he was projecting again, he didn't know ─ Conan sighed heavily.
"Say, Akai-san," now that everything was wrapped up for the time being, he gathered the adult's attention. "There's still time before the strategy meeting begins, right?"
"Yeah," he nodded, not quite understanding where all of this was coming from. "What for?"
"I'm going to check on Eisuke-niichan a little bit," he informed, before a yawn teared apart from inside him, without any kind of warning. "And maybe take a quick nap," he added, as an afterthought ─ what time was it, anyway? ─ while one hand reached for the knob and the other rubbed his eye, tiredly. "Let me know when it's time for the meeting, alright?"
Akai simply nodded.
With a nod of his own and a little smile, the kid opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Just as he was closing it, he felt something made him halt and glance around, nervously.
There was nothing, nobody but him in that empty hallway. I must be imagining things, he decided, letting his shoulders drop with a sigh. Definitely need some sleep.
Shaking his head, he took off running towards his destination ─ perhaps asking Camel where he had locked him would be a better idea than trying to deduce it himself, he decided.
"You should know, however," once the child was gone, Hidemi decided to speak up. "No matter the circumstances... My father's mission for the CIA takes priority," she frowned. "Even if I become inconvenient for the FBI, don't think badly of me."
"I was about to say just that," he smirked, before his eyes darted to the door. "Do you agree?"
"Who are you talking to?" Hidemi didn't understand.
"I'm talking to that impolite detective that's listening through the door," there was a gasp from the woman's side, eyes focusing at the doorway as well. "You should know it's rude to do that, high school detective Kudo Shinichi-kun."
Hidemi was disconcerted, but her bewilderment only grew stronger when the door finally opened to reveal a teenager. His hand went to his hat and plucked it out, letting them both see his face.
Kudo Shinichi stood there, glaring at Akai for a moment ─ she didn't know exactly why, but the detective seemed to be mad at him for some unknown reason.
"You're alive," Hidemi had never seen him in person, but he had definitely heard about Singani ─ that young detective that had risen through the ranks so quickly, only to be discovered that it was all a farce and getting himself killed. It had served as an example of what would happen to her if they found out she was a secret agent.
Shinichi didn't bother to answer her, just frowned deeper at Akai's general direction.
"So?" the man in question only smirked, as if amused. "What do you think?"
"That you will die," he stated, matter-of-factly. "We both know how they operate," then he turned back to look at Hidemi. "Once she's back, they will question her loyalty. They will make her contact you, then shoot you. It doesn't help that they want you dead already."
"Well, that's about it."
At some point he wanted to say something, but he simply raised an eyebrow, not bothering to add anything else.
"But I'm not going to die," Akai added, after a brief pause. "Because we have Singani here, the one that had fooled the Organization into thinking he was an excellent cleaner without ever getting blood on his hands."
"What makes you think that I will help you?"
Akai only smirked wider. "The fact that you despise letting people die, no matter who they are."
Shinichi seemed as if he wanted to protest, only to sigh, tiredly, and cross over the room to take a chair and sit on it. "Go get some glue for your fingerprints," he stated, sounding almost annoyed at the prospect. "We'll plan the rest out after your strategy meeting."
It seemed like he wouldn't need Camel's help after all, considering that he could hear the screaming from so far away. Sighing tiredly, the child moved closer and stood in front of the door, which stayed closed despite the furious banging coming from the other side.
"We're in a hospital and it's two in the morning," the kid stressed out, loud enough to be heard over the teen's voice. "And I can assure you that if you end up breaking something, the staff isn't going to let you get away with it so easily..."
"... Conan-kun?" he seemed to pause, surprised. "Let me out, please, Conan-kun!"
"How would I do that? It's not like I have the keys," he raised his eyebrow, even if he couldn't be seen. "Well, they should let you out in no time... If you stop banging on that poor door, that is."
"Even if you say so-!"
"If you break out the room in that state, you might see your sister once more," Conan stated, calmly. "But it could be the last time you do."
Eisuke fell quiet with shock at those words, and Conan didn't even try to break that silence, conforming himself to just sit on the cold floor, staring intently at the door, waiting for the person on the other side to say something in return.
"What..." eventually, he did. "What do you mean with that?"
"Even if you see her again, you won't be satisfied. You will keep trying and trying," the child scooted so he could rest his back against the door and cross his arms behind his head. "Eventually, they will spot you, investigate you. Best case scenario, you will be killed on the spot and that will be the end of it. But what if they make the connection with your sister?"
It didn't seem like the teen wanted the child to finish that thought, but Conan figured he understood it perfectly without needing it.
"That's why the best might be to lay low for the moment," he completed, then paused, blinking, thinking over his words before grimacing. God, I'm sounding like Ai-san right now, he realized with a huff, forcing the thought out of his head so he could finish his sentence. "Before you get involved... There will be no way back once you do."
"Why do you make it sound like you're involved?"
Conan didn't see it fitting to grace him with an answer, so he merely hugged his knees.
"I understand how you feel," he really did, actually. "You're desperate, lost. Afraid that you will never see her again," his fingers wrapped against both his forearms unconsciously, gripping tightly. "... But you need to endure, Eisuke-niichan. Just a tiny bit longer."
Faintly, so faintly that it was almost impossible to see it, the tips of his lips tugged upwards.
"Everything will go back to normal again, I promise."
Eisuke was at a loss of words, staring wide-eyed at the door in front of him, hands still resting on the wooden surface. Gradually, however, his shock vanished, and he slowly let go.
"Alright, then, Conan-kun," he conceded, with a bit of a smile. "I will trust you."
If Eisuke was told to, he wouldn't be able to discern it, but he could tell there was something. Something in that young voice that made him believe, no matter how unlikely, how naive.
Those innocent words that could only come from the mouth of a child that dreamed big, that still believed that the impossible was at the grasp of his hands... Eisuke trusted them.
Everything would turn out to be alright.
Pleased with his reaction, Conan allowed his head to rest on top of his knees. The small tug on his lips had transformed into a tender smile with him being none the wiser, encouraged by a certain bright grin flashing in his mind.
Letting his eyes drift closed, he allowed his imagination to roam free ─ to show him the future he had always wanted. His brother there at his side, alive, laughing carefree.
I can't wait for that day to come... Somehow, he was now walking to school with him, like any ordinary day before that happened. ... Oniichan.
Like so, he allowed himself to indulge in a fantasy that his own brain had created and walked to school with him.
"It's surprising to see you around," commented Akai, as he walked besides Shinichi through the dark halls of the hospital, having left Hidemi's room not that long ago. "When I heard you had disappeared, I suspected they had found you out. But to live to tell the tale it is beyond impressive."
"Don't have to pretend, you knew already," said Shinichi, huffing irritably. "You didn't sound surprised when you called me out earlier."
With a smirk, the agent shrugged. "I didn't think you would let yourself be killed so easily," he stated. "I investigated, and found out you have actually been trying to warn those that you once hid."
He most likely pressured someone into talking, he wouldn't be surprised. And certainly, he couldn't really blame whoever hadn't been able to keep their mouth shut, even if he wanted to ─ having Akai Shuichi to glare at you with that terrifying gaze until you spilled the beans must be nightmare-inducing.
"It would have been easier if you just entered the Witness Protection Program. We would have protected those people as well."
The detective frowned. "I wouldn't accept it," he stated, with a serious tone in his voice. "Even if you offered it, over and over again. I..."
"... You have a reason to keep living as Kudo Shinichi," Akai continued, as if he had all the answers for him. "And that reason is right there."
At first, Shinichi was confused. His puzzlement was short-lived, however, and vanished when he spotted a small something hidden by the darkness, curled in front of a door. Squinting a bit, the detective could make out a child, and there was no doubt in his mind that that kid over there was none other than his little brother.
"The resemblance is quite striking," commented Akai, as they got closer. "Even if you're only distant relatives."
"Ah, yeah," he did his best not to let his nervousness show at that. "Genetics from my father's side are incredibly strong..."
"I see."
Shinichi ignored the way the agent smirked in favor of moving closer to the young boy and crouching down right next to him. The way he hadn't noticed him despite always being careful of his surroundings, or the rhythmic pattern of his breathing, was more than enough for him to realize that he had fallen asleep sitting like that.
"Seriously, this kid," he could only sigh at the sight.
Shuichi recognized the fondness in the detective's voice, but kept quiet about it.
"I didn't mean physically-wise."
"Eh?"
"Do you remember when I confronted you after I realized what you were truly doing?"
Despite the lack of reply, he did remember. The agent had confronted him, informing him that it was dangerous if he kept playing that game. That he couldn't save everyone.
"I'm not like you, or any of your FBI friends, Rye," he had been angry, too. "A life is a life, I can't just...!"
Shinichi frowned. "What does it have to do with anything?"
"When I was talking with that boy, I suggested that Mizunashi Rena's brother wouldn't survive and that he should probably forget about him," Akai chuckled at the memory. "He was mad."
He remembered it well, both had the same eyes, the same fiery gaze that spoke of their determination to not let anyone die, ever.
Shinichi's cold eyes darted away from Akai's form, and instantly softened upon connecting with the child. Ever so carefully, he scooped him up into his arms. "Go ahead," he told the man, stepping away from the door that Conan had just been blocking.
The teen made sure that his hat was in place when Akai unlocked the door and peeked inside. Under the agent's intense stare, Eisuke couldn't help but shift uncomfortably.
"Don't worry," despite it, he managed to say, albeit nervously. "I won't cause any more trouble."
"Oh?" Akai stepped back, placing his hands back inside his pockets. "That's quite a big change from before."
Eisuke hesitantly walked out the room, eyes traveling around until they fell on the child in Shinichi's arms. "Conan-kun convinced me," he stated, with a small smile.
"The kid?"
"Y-Yeah," he laughed, probably being aware of how stupid that sounded. "There was something... I don't know, it made me trust him."
Following that statement, Eisuke bowed slightly and continued his way. Of course, however, it wouldn't go so smoothly for him ─ he bumped into the other teen as he passed by.
"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Eisuke, stumbling backwards.
"N-No... It's not-" Shinichi tried not to wince when he saw the boy hit his back, painfully, against the wall. "... a big deal..."
Apologizing once more, profusely, he walked away and finally disappeared from sight. Only then, Shinichi huffed. Ran was wrong, he raised an eyebrow. He's not just clumsy, he's a safety hazard.
... Just like someone else said he was...
Looking down at his younger brother, Shinichi couldn't fight the amused chuckle that escaped him upon seeing that the child hadn't been roused despite what had just happened. A child will always be a child, huh? he sighed again, before turning to Akai. "I guess we should talk the rest over with Conan in the morning," the teen stated. "We will need his help to-"
"No," Shinichi's words came to a stop when the man shook his head, a severe expression plastered all over his face. "We can't let anyone know."
"You're telling me... to leave Conan in the dark?"
"You were the one that said that we need to make it real," he turned to give a brief glance to the kid in question before continuing. "Absolutely nobody can know about this, not even this boy."
"But... I can't..." the teen hesitated. "If he finds out you died..."
Shinichi didn't finish that sentence, not that he needed it to make his point across. I don't want to lie to him, it was evident by the way he, unconsciously, tightened his hold on the young boy he was carrying. I don't want to hurt him again.
The silence of the night was almost deafening, but still the high school student remained there, standing quietly still, while staring at the agent in front of him. As if debating with himself what to do.
"For the longest time," so Akai continued, calmly. "I had wondered why a kid like you would be willing to go through all of that... Risking so much for the name of justice," the teen frowned a bit. "I heard you had a brother that passed away."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Shinichi was oddly defensive, the agent noted.
"Is Edogawa Conan really just a distant relative or, in fact, your deceased brother, Kudo Conan?"
He decided not to grace him with an answer, but Akai took it as a cue to continue.
"Whatever happened with that boy pushed you to involve yourself into this shady business. If they find out I'm not dead, and that he knew all along... It won't end well for him. Given all you risked for him, are you willing to let that happen?"
Biting his lip, Shinichi closed his eyes, deep in thought as he actually considered it. He might have been unwilling to admit it outloud to the man, but it was obvious ─ the reason he did this, all this, was there. In his arms, warm, safe and breathing.
For a moment, he imagined it. Himself, holding a cold, motionless body instead ─ the thought made him shiver, violently.
"True, he will be upset about this," Akai added, as he started to walk away. "It's admirable that, after everything he has gone through, he still believes that every single life needs to be saved," he passed by the detective, who didn't move from his spot, not even turning to look at the person talking to him. "But if it doesn't change, that mentality of his will turn into something extremely dangerous..."
It was then that Shinichi glanced at him from over his shoulder, just to see the agent doing the same. Akai's eyes narrowed, but the detective remained impassive.
"... And it will become that boy's downfall."
After saying all that the agent disappeared, but Shinichi didn't look away from the spot where Akai just just stood at. For the longest time, he just stood there, letting those words replay in his mind repeatedly.
Some movement in his arms woke Shinichi from his daze and looked in the direction, just to smile at the sight of Conan nuzzling his head in the crook of his neck. It was at times like this that he was reminded of how young he actually was ─ the little boy would never act like that if he was awake, so it was a rare moment Shinichi was willing to enjoy.
"It will be alright," he whispered, mostly to himself. "I won't let it happen."
Whenever he thought that Conan couldn't surprise him anymore, the child went and did it. That kid had gone through a lot, seen the darkest side of humanity so many times ─ he had been betrayed, hurt and so many other things that made Shinichi's skin crawl ─ yet, he still could see it. That every single life was extremely important, that it wasn't right to give up on someone, no matter the circumstances.
Shinichi was a man of logic. He didn't believe in miracles.
... But if they didn't exist, that rendered him unable to explain how this little boy here could still think that way.
And that doesn't need to change, his smile dimmed and a frown took place. Conan doesn't need to change. He is fine the way he is.
He will be fine.
"I don't know... I seriously don't know what's really happening but Conan-kun was acting... strange," Ran had sounded desperate over the phone, even after she had told him over the phone every single thing that had happened regarding Hondou Eisuke, minutes prior to him leaving straight for Haido City. "So... If you know something, Shinichi, please. Please make sure that Conan-kun gets back home safely. I... I don't know what to do anymore."
A tiny hand grasped into the fabric of his shirt and unconsciously pulled closer with a contented sigh. Conan seemed to be dreaming right now, about something that Shinichi had absolutely no way to know about. Yet Shinichi decided it safe to assume it was a pleasant one ─ the way the young boy was smiling in his sleep was all proof he needed.
He was curious, though. What would his little brother be dreaming about right now?
Everything will be okay, the detective convinced himself, hugging Conan even closer ─ as if afraid that he would vanish forever if he didn't hold onto him tightly enough. Because I will protect you.
Oniichan will always protect you, Conan.