File Eighty-Seven: Of Brothers and Promises
"S-Shinichi..."
When the boy slowly began to lean forward, the girl didn't try to push him back. Instead, she copied his actions and closed her eyes, ready for whatever that was about to happen.
Until his lips finally made contact. There, under the gentle silver glow of a starry night, none of them said anything. Only the moon was there to witness it ─ a tender, silent kiss that nobody would ever know about.
Except for the little boy that stood there, frozen in time, eyes open in full capacity in what seemed to be a private, romantic moment between two individuals. He… Conan covered his mouth, suppressing a gasp. He didn't…!
"You..." Her bewildered gaze fell on the magician, whose lips were still brushing against her cheek ─ a logical result of her turning her head, suddenly, when a thought struck. "You are not Shinichi."
He pulled away slowly, a broad grin plastered all over his face as he looked back at the shocked girl.
"KID!" The angry scream boomed all over the place, cutting through the peace and silence that reigned all around them. Looking over to that direction, they saw Conan promptly throw the phone he was carrying to a bemused Sonoko, who fumbled with the device before properly holding it.
It made KID grin wider. "Guess that proves, doesn't it?" He kneeled down and brushed his lips against her knuckles. "I am not a detective, but a thief. Stealing is what thieves do best..." He raised his head to look at her. "Even if it's a person's… heart..."
He trailed down when he really saw her. More specifically, when he saw the anger bristling from behind her furious gaze. He felt that too ─ her fingers digging on his wrist, keeping an iron grip on him.
"You're so dead!" He also heard Tantei-kun coming closer, at a rather high speed. "You hear me, KID?!"
Kaito wouldn't doubt it, not even for a second.
All the while, Sonoko could only watch, feeling incredibly lost as hell broke loose. "Conan!" She snapped out of it when he heard the voice of a certain detective coming from the phone the brat had brusquely passed her. "Conan, what's going on there?!"
Sonoko gave the phone a long look, and something mischievous passed by her eyes. "Oh?" she said, startling Shinichi badly. "So you want to know?"
"Sonoko!" he stressed out, obviously annoyed even if not even five seconds had passed since they established contact. "What did KID do?"
The girl paused long enough to glance at the scene, then cringed when KID-sama got knocked off his feet by Ran's punch. That had to leave a bruise, she observed, but she resisted her fangirl instincts for her mission.
"What you should have done a long time ago."
"Eh? What-?"
She didn't pay him any other second of his attention because a soccer ball suddenly crossed her visual field. It cut through the air at an insane speed and, for a moment, Sonoko worried it would be the end of her beloved KID-sama.
But he was saved by his grap-gun. Before they knew it, he was waving at them from the other side of the glass ceiling. He disappeared into the moonlight not long thereafter.
"KID-sama!" Sonoko couldn't help her dreamy sigh. "So cool~!"
Ran gave her a glare, which she wasn't sure was for her or not. "You say that even after he tried to do that to me..."
"So he did it?!" Conan exclaimed.
"No-!"
"Wait, Ran… Isn't that…?"
Ran glanced at her finger and blinked. "Ah, Lady Sky!" She held it high to confirm that, yes, it was the jewel. "KID returned it..."
"He did that, didn't he?!"
"Eh? Ah, no, no! He didn't. He absolutely didn't, Conan-kun!"
"But I saw-!"
"Wait, isn't the detective freak still on the line?!"
"AH! It's not what it sounds like, Shinichi!"
"Oh? Why are you explaining yourself, Ran?"
"I'm not! W-Why would I do that?! I'm just-"
Click.
Abruptly as it was, the call ended, leaving Shinichi to stand there, phone still firmly placed next to his head, struggling to come to a conclusion after what he had heard. Whatever had happened had sent everyone into a confusing mess, and Kuroba had definitely something to do with that. If there was something he was sure he heard, was 'KID', over and over.
And not in the oh-KID-sama! way his ears had grown used to. Besides Sonoko, everyone was beyond angry with him, even ─ especially ─ Conan. More than usual, at least.
He finally retired the phone away from his ear, intending to glare at the device. That stupid clown… The tip of his lip tugged upward as the detective internally boiled.
If he did something to Ran, I swear-
"Hey, Kudo..." Hattori sounded a little scared. "Is everything… alright…?"
"Just peachy."
Hattori seriously doubted it. He didn't dare to question it, though, just watched as the detective violently shoved his phone inside his pocket and approached his motorcycle. He was mumbling something under his breath, as he took his helmet between his hands, which gained Hattori's attention.
"You're leaving?" he asked, confused. "The airship is going to get here soon."
Shinichi stood there, awkwardly, for several minutes. This caused Hattori to raise an eyebrow.
"I assumed you came here to talk to Conan." The silence was the answer he needed. "Oh, don't tell me you chickened out?"
He scoffed in return. "Yeah, right."
But, even after saying that, Kudo had yet to move. Puzzled about it, Hattori took a tentative step forward then, when he noticed that his fellow detective was staring at nowhere in particular with a thoughtful expression, took another one, "Hey, Kudo..." and began, eyebrows knitted together. "About what I said before-"
"Eh? Ah, no. Don't worry about it." Kudo waved it off with a laugh. "It just surprised me but..." His smile dropped a bit, staring at the helmet absently. "After thinking about it I realized… You were right, Hattori."
Hattori stood silently on his spot. Kudo...
"All this time, I really thought I was protecting him… But I only made things worse, didn't I?" A humorless laugh escaped him. "Guess Mom and Dad were the same. I wonder if they realized it..."
"You were doing the best you could, Kudo," said Heiji. "All of you were-"
"So what? It doesn't really change anything, does it?"
"Well, no, but..." Hattori paused then, standing firm in front of him, continued. "It's not too late to make it change."
Kudo gave Hattori's smirk a perplexed gaze. "Despite everything, the kid still trusts you. Still believes in you." Once realizing what he meant, his gaze flickered away from his. "Believe in him. Be honest about what's happening, for a change-"
"... It's not like I don't believe in him..."
"Then, what's stopping you?" Silence replied to his question. "Hey!" Annoyed at his lack of reaction, the Osakan boy promptly reached and shook his shoulders. "Hey, Kudo-!"
"I can't, okay?!" Kudo finally lashed out, startling Hattori. "I can't just tell him I'm going to die, Hattori!"
"... You're... what?!"
Confused blinking was what followed, then his eyes widened, taking into Hattori's particularly pale, bewildered face. "I..." Kudo grimaced, finally realizing what had just come out of his mouth. "I really shouldn't have said that."
"But… Kudo!"
He really shouldn't have.
Had he not had a slight sense of self respect and dignity somewhere, Conan would have literally kissed the ground once he set his feet into firm ground. He didn't, but he did hurry to get out of that cursed airship. If Ran noticed him quickening his step, she had yet to say anything ─ truly, he was beyond glad for that.
It was late into night already, but the crossing where they had agreed to meet Hattori was bursting with people heading back home after a long day of panicking and running around like headless chickens. Privately Conan wondered if all of Osaka was like this right now and sighed tiredly.
Guess there's no okonomiyaki today… Conan thought, laughing dryly. It was noticeably later than what they had expected to arrive.
"Seriously," he heard Kogoro sigh, glaring at his watch. "Where did that Osaka brat go?"
"Maybe he can't see us with this many people..." commented Ran, head turning from side to side.
"That, or he actually forgot about us." Conan said, boredom lacing his voice. "Maybe we should just get going to the hotel. I'll call him later."
The kid didn't miss the way Agasa winced beside him. He gave him a long stare until an eyebrow rose. "Professor Agasa..." In turn, the professor looked away. "You made the reservations, like you were supposed to, right?"
An awkward laugh, combined with a hand scratching the back of his head, was enough for Conan to draw his own conclusions ─ he was not amused.
"Professor!" Mitsuhiko, Ayumi and Genta were the ones to chastise the adult, though.
"I remember Conan-kun telling you expressly not to forget it," said Mitsuhiko. "But you always forget the most important things!"
"Yeah!" Ayumi joined. "Like the time we were to go camping, and you forgot to bring a tent!"
"Or when we went shopping, and you forgot your wallet!"
"Or the time when you forgot we were let off school early!" Genta grinned widely. "Conan told us you had probably hid a hamburger in your room's drawer before Haibara-!"
"Genta-kun, don't be so loud!"
"Don't worry, I already know," said the girl in question, not looking away from her phone. "Hope you enjoyed your dinner at the airship, Professor."
The professor looked more than ready to cry ─ Conan actually felt a little bad about the old man.
"Nevermind that!" Kogoro waved his arms around. "Where are we going to stay?!"
"In a hotel, obviously." Sonoko placed her hands on her hip, raising an eyebrow at the older detective. "We can just go book one right now-"
"I don't think so." Everyone gave Ai a confused look, who in turn just scrolled further into her phone. "All hotels are closed right now. The personnel just fled in panic and they are not taking any customers right now." Shrugging, she put the device down. "We could have returned to Tokyo with Advisor Suzuki like he suggested and spend the night there..." Her lips curved into a teasing smirk, giving the boy beside him a look. "If it wasn't for someone rejecting the offer."
Instantly, annoyance took over Conan's every expression. "Forgive me for that."
His reaction obviously pleased her, judging by the snort she gave him, so he huffed and let his eyes wander to the sea of people. Occhan is right, though, thought the child, letting another sigh out of his system. What's Hattori doing?
… Come to think of it, that person was also in Osaka, right? Briefly, he wondered what could have brought him there. I wonder if he left already. He probably had, the child supposed. I wouldn't be surprised if that… was… the case...
All of a sudden, his mind had just stopped. Words had frozen, sat completely still in the back of his head as eyes grew suddenly big in alarm behind his glasses. A phone had fallen, clattering on the floor with a sickening sound that he couldn't pay attention to at the moment.
Ai's grip on her phone had slacked off, Conan slowly realized when a familiar clutching on his shoulder made him wake from his stupor. Ran had crouched down next to her, undoubtedly noticing that something was wrong. Ayumi and the others had crowded next to her, inquiring what the problem seemed to be.
He couldn't pay attention to any of that. Not when the face that belonged to Akai Shuichi disappeared among the crowd, like it had never been there to begin with.
As usual, Kogoro called after him when he bolted off. As usual, he didn't listen, just ventured in the multitude, disappearing from his sight. And exactly like the last time he had done something similar, he found himself all alone, yet surrounded by strangers. Where? He twirled around, gritting his teeth. Where did he go?
A hand fell on his shoulder, and he jumped. "Found ya." The familiar Kansai-accented tone made him stand quietly in place, mind struggling for several seconds to let the fact sink in. "Sorry for being late… Hey, what's with the pale face?"
"Eh? Ah, uh..."
Beyond doubt, whoever is using Akai-san's face is up to no good. They are checking for something… Reactions, perhaps?
He already checked for me… He wouldn't forget that, definitely. Ran-neechan and Occhan were there as well… Then...
His eyes snapped towards Hattori, whose head was tilted slightly in consternation. It became more prominent when the kid gasped, looking at him with such intensity that was almost scary. No… He let out a weak laugh, shaking his head from side to side. No way.
"Hey, Hattori!" Hattori turned around when he heard it. "What's with running away so suddenly?"
Like him, Conan also shifted his attention from the Osakan detective to the person who hurriedly moved closer to their current position, grumbling under his breath something about 'being left alone' suddenly, until he spotted the small figure staring at him so intently.
"May I ask you something? It has been bothering me for a while." The genuinely curious tone of that thief echoed inside his head. "How did you figure out I wasn't him?"
How wouldn't I? he would have asked back. It's evident.
Because every time, without fail, his actions would be the same.
His eyes would settle on him and soften for a moment, far too short for anyone to notice if they hadn't really been looking for it. Lips would curve upwards, letting a soft smile decorate his face. And, if the situation allowed it a softly spoken "Conan," would reach his ears, followed by a hand falling on his head ─ an action that Conan would undoubtedly complain about, but secretly fail to mind all that much.
No matter what the problems going through the little boy's mind would be. For that short period of time, they would be pushed back to the back of his head, and he would replicate that expression.
That time, however, it went differently.
This time, Conan couldn't bring himself to smile, instead his heart would clench when he saw it. While there was no doubt in his mind that Shinichi's smile was, indeed, genuine, it wasn't all that bright anymore. The light of his eyes had dimmed, skin was pale white and, he wondered if he had noticed it, his whole body dropped forward.
Just like a flower slowly withering in front of him.
The smile vanished into thin air, Conan observed, and his eyes became dramatically wider. "Conan," he repeated, more urgently, dropping to his knees beside him, fingers brushing against the bandages in his head. "What..." Shinichi fussed all over him, noticing that they were everywhere. "What happened to you?"
Although it was perfectly understandable where the concern was coming from, Conan couldn't stop his next words, "Stop," which did nothing but make his brother pause, puzzled beyond belief by the boy's reaction. "Stop it."
"But-"
"Just drop it already!"
Rather than annoyed, Conan appeared infuriated more than anything. But even if Shinichi was about to ask about that sudden, weird reaction, the boy just lowered his head ─ a clear sign that meant he would not explain things any further.
"Hattori-kun!" Raising their heads, they all met with Ran, making her way to them. "Ah, so here you were, Conan-kun."
She stopped right next to them, hands in her waist, ready to scold the child for running off again, but it all died down when her gaze fell on the third person, smiling awkwardly back at her. "You..." she whispered, and he blanched, taking a step back for good measure. Her eyes twinkled in recognition.
"Do you remember him, Ran-neechan?" Conan smiled up at her. "From that case at Tsukikage Island."
Ran gave Shinichi an awfully long look. "Oh, right, I remember!" she said with a gentle smile. "Hirai Arthur-kun, wasn't it?"
"Y-Yeah..." Shinichi laughed, nervously. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"I met him in a case a long time ago," explained Hattori. "He's not from Osaka, so he's staying at my house for the night." He gave Conan, whose shock was more than clear on his face, a meaningful look. "Hope you guys don't mind..."
The child blinked. "Mind?"
"You can't stay in a hotel, right?" he pointed out. "Since they all are closed up."
"Eh? But Hattori-kun, there are a lot of us..."
"Don't worry, don't worry." He waved his hand. "It's not like my house is that small, anyway."
Conan and Shinichi raised an eyebrow in perfect synchrony. Show off, so was that thought, echoing in their minds at the same time. What was different, however, was Shinichi's gaze rising to meet Ran's, for a moment. He could swear that she was staring straight at him before she spun back to Hattori.
"I'll ask Kazuha-chan if I can stay with Sonoko at her home," she decided, an odd smile on her face.
"Why don't we talk it out with everyone else?" Hattori suggested, pointing to the way Conan had appeared from. "They should be over there, aren't there?"
Ran nodded.
"Hirai, you go ahead, alright? I'll meet you there."
"S-Sure."
She was fidgeting nervously, Shinichi noticed, yet failed to comprehend why, and didn't get to ponder about her strange antics for much. Out of the blue, he heard a surprised squeak and, just as he was about to ask Conan what was wrong, he felt something nudging against his torso. He scrambled forward, hurrying to properly hold the living, breathing child he had been handed like a mere toy ─ Conan vocally disagreed with that treatment.
"Take the kid along, will ya?" Hattori grinned, before focusing on the glowering boy. "You mentioned you twisted your ankle running around on the airship, didn't you?"
Conan's eyebrows raised. Definitely didn't.
"You must be in a lot of pain right now."
You are a pain, Hattori.
"Well, then, shall we go?" Hattori nodded at Ran, waving a hand over his head while he walked away. "See ya both in a few minutes."
Idiot, there's no way Ran-neechan would believe that… His surprise was enormous when Ran smiled at him, bowed slightly to his brother, and promptly hurried away. No way!
The last thing Shinichi saw before they vanished from the sight was Ran, glancing over her shoulder, her gaze meeting his for a second longer than it should, then she was gone. It left him there, to stand gaping at the air like a fish out of water ─ what did just happen, anyway?
"You could just let me off, you know." Shinichi violently flinched. "This position is starting to hurt."
He lowered his head, just to see Conan blankly staring back, still held up in the air from under his armpits, exactly like he had been deposited. "A-Ah, yeah." He immediately set him back on the ground. "Sorry."
"Seriously," sighed the child, shaking his head from side to side. "What's Hattori trying to pull off, anyway? I swear..."
Though he wouldn't really say it out loud, Shinichi had quite the good idea of what his intentions were. "Let's just get going," he said, moving while expecting the child to follow. "You know where Hattori's house is, right?"
"Yeah, I was there a couple of times."
"Ah, perfect then."
Conan said nothing and moved to walk behind him, yet he didn't even take two steps before stopping, turning to look over his shoulder. He gave the flow of people all around them a scrutinizing look, frowning ever so slightly. "Looks like he's gone for now," he heard his brother say, prompting him to blink in surprise. "You met him before, right?" Shinichi asked, his gaze drifting around as well. "That person with the hat and the scar."
"Say, that person using Akai-san's face..." Conan twirled around towards him. "Do you think that's Bourbon?"
Shinichi fell thoughtfully silent for a moment or so. "That's a possibility."
Seeing that the kid would not move anytime soon, and instead went to inspect his surroundings with his big sharp eyes, Shinichi sighed. "We shouldn't stay here."
Having said that, he promptly reached forward and captured the kid's hand into his. Conan was startled at first, but quietly moved along.
Any other time, he would have complained, "Does Subaru-san know about this?" but rather than that, he questioned.
After giving him a long look, Shinichi couldn't help the satisfied smirk on his lips, quickly understanding what laid behind that harmless question. "He does," he answered. "In fact, he's the one who told me about it."
So he did, huh? His gaze dropped to the ground unconsciously, his free hand rising to let a finger pose under his chin. If Akai-san is aware of it, it should be okay… but...
So far, he has appeared in front of Jodie-sensei, Agent Camel… He paused, eyes narrowing further, if possible. Hattori, most likely. And me. What could possibly be their objective?
If it was only FBI agents, I would understand it as a tactic to determine if Akai-san is alive or not. Even me. If they had seen him around Akai several times before, it would also make sense. But Hattori?
Is it because they know we hang out together? To determine if he's involved as well? Did he also check for Ran-neechan and the others without me noticing?
… What's going on?
"Here. Put on this."
Conan hadn't even realized his brother had let go of his hand and was currently offering a helmet to him. "What? I don't want to get a fine because you decided not to put one on."
The kid raised an eyebrow, eyeing the bike in front of him warily. "You don't have a license." It wasn't a question.
"True."
"That's illegal." He tore the object he had been offered away from his hands. "Stealing a bike, too."
"It could be mine!"
"But it isn't," Conan remarked, unblinking. "You don't have that time. No matter how good your pay at Blue Parrot is, to save enough money for a bike, you would have to work a lot and… Oniichan?"
At the evident concern lacing his voice, Shinichi's eyes shot back to him, surprised for a slight moment until he realized he had spaced out. Time… Conan's frown was more prominent now and was increasing with every passing minute he said no word.
"Did I..." Only then did Shinichi realize that a reaction from his part was required. "... say something wrong?"
He shook his head instantly, probably too quickly for it to be deemed a natural action, but, while the child looked as if he wanted to inquire any further, he stayed quiet, watching his brother kneel in front of him. "No, you didn't do anything wrong," he spoke, without a room of doubt, gingerly taking the helmet from his hands and putting it on him. "You never did."
As he was plucked up from the ground and set back down on the vehicle, Conan wondered if they were talking about the bike any longer, "Say…" so he began, a little unsure.
But Shinichi didn't even acknowledge him, just sitting in front of him then, smiling at him from over his shoulder, said, "Hold on, okay?"
To which Conan complied without a word, gripping tightly around his older brother's waist as he started the bike, and stayed like that, quiet, for what seemed an awfully long time, "Say..." yet, in fact, they had probably driven a few blocks before the child tried again. When he got no answer, he felt himself growing just a little impatient. "Say!"
"Are you alright?"
It took Conan by surprise. "Huh?"
A long sigh was what followed. "Guess you're sick of it," Shinichi continued, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Annoyed of me worrying, panicking, fussing over every little thing..."
Desperately wishing I could shield you from danger, he continued inside his mind, unable to bring himself to say it out loud. From every single thing.
Those feelings were no good, Shinichi reminded himself. But it was incredible, in its own way, how a good intended action could become so damaging. Smothering. Suffocating. Even if the people surrounding the child had nothing but good intentions, the result was rather questionable right now.
Hattori had been blunt, but right. Painfully right.
"You never change, don't you?" He was startled at the answer he did not expect. "When it's about people, you're rather dumb."
Shinichi would have probably felt very offended, hadn't he been busy trying to figure out what his little brother meant. "... Eh?" and that didn't help his case, anyway.
"Look, you're riding a motorcycle in Osaka. I can't imagine you carrying it inside a plane, so you must have used it to come here. From Tokyo to Osaka on a bike… Seriously?"
The detective felt completely out of words to explain it.
"A passport is not required for domestic flights, so if you wanted to visit Osaka, taking a plane wouldn't be a problem. You weren't planning on it ─ you just wanted to meet me after we argued over the phone earlier."
Even if, because of his position, Shinichi could not see his face, he could almost picture the tight frown decorating Conan's features.
"Which means you were close by. Considering your overall state right now, I would say you have been traveling all over Japan for a week or more. If you really saved people all over the country, finding places to stay the night it's not a big deal."
As expected. His brother could have smirked at that. You're amazing, Conan.
The child awaited for an answer which never came. "I can't figure out why…" the boy confessed, so softly that he almost didn't catch it over the sounds of the streets. "What you're researching so desperately, I honestly haven't got a clue. Knowing you, I will never know, but…"
Conan's fists, curling tightly against his shirt, made Shinichi falter. Conan...
"... How?" The child's voice rose higher. "How is it you constantly worry about me, but fail miserably at taking care of yourself?!"
Of all kinds of outcomes, that hadn't been one Shinichi had expected to see but, after thinking about it for a second longer, he finally realized ─ it made sense.
"I wish…" Now he could see why his little brother was so mad at him. "I wish you could just stop worrying about me and worry about yourself." He could understand why Conan's forehead had come to rest on his back, "I… I don't know what's going on with you… But you're destroying yourself," and the long frustrated sigh he let out. "I don't know what's happening… but, you know? It honestly… scares me. It terrifies me, Oniichan."
Yet, even if he could understand, he still had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to act. So he chose to stay silent, gaze focused on the road ahead like nothing had transpired.
Even though Conan's hands were still latching on his shirt, holding on like dear life.
Even though Shinichi's hands were holding the bike's grip tight enough for his knuckles to go white.
"So what is it?" Conan obviously wasn't going to give up there. "Why are you acting like this?"
Shinichi's lips pursed.
"Did something happen?"
He took a deep breath.
"Did you find any other clue?"
And eventually opened his mouth.
"I…"
Conan was attentively waiting for him. He frowned even deeper, inhaling deeply, and opened his mouth.
"... Yeah." A small, albeit forced, smile crossed his face. "That's exactly it."
"Eh?" His brother sounded genuinely interested now. "Say, say, what did you find?"
"Remember that code?" Conan blinked confusedly at that. "The one Ai-chan left behind all those years ago."
Of course he remembered, Conan almost exclaimed ─ that was something he doubted he could ever forget… Even now, her words were, after all this time, stuck inside his head.
"Today is White Day. Yet, on a day like this, I...
I don't know, it's messed up, isn't it?
Please, don't hate me for this.
There are lots of things I still want to tell you, but I guess I'm far too shy to tell you about them. I need to take my time, be patient with myself until I can say them.
Please, don't forget me.
I love you so much and I hope that you feel the same for this girl that, even though she seems to think so highly about herself, will always remain loyal to you.
So thank you for being generous enough to give me a place in your heart. I will always treasure this strong friendship the two of us share.
─ Hana."
That part he had never figured out would probably stay ingrained in his head forever until the day he understood what it meant. But it had been a long time since he had last tried to decipher it, and he still had no clue, so the boy had been forced to give up.
"It has been four years, Conan-kun." When he had run out of options, obviously he had tried to ask the source of such a mystery directly. "You don't expect me to remember what I wrote, do you?"
As a matter of fact, yes ─ he did expect her to remember, and was certain she did. Yet he knew better than to keep pushing her buttons, so he had to let it slide. Until now.
"You deciphered it?!" he couldn't help but shout, eyes flying open.
"No." Conan tilted his head, puzzled. "You did."
"I… What?"
Shinichi couldn't help the amused laugh that escaped him ─ he could clearly picture what kind of reaction the confused little detective behind him was currently having.
"Say, Conan," he began. "Do you know what a radian is?"
"Obviously," Conan replied instantly, rolling his eyes. "That's a way to measure an angle."
In reality, it was Shinichi who wanted to roll his eyes. 'Obviously,' says the third grade elementary school student… Privately, the detective wondered what exactly he had been learning at his age ─ he didn't remember exactly, but knew for a fact that it was definitely not that.
"So what?" The child was growing impatient with each passing second. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Take in count every single line. Is there something you can't figure out why she put it there?"
If that was the case, there was a single thing he could think of. "... White Day," he mumbled, lost in thought. March 14th… 3.14…
Wait, 3.14?!
"AH!"
"You get it… now...? Conan, what are you doing?!"
He had retired his hands from his waist and looking over his shoulder, realized he was searching, hastily, for something. "Conan, you will fall if you-!"
"And we will crash if you don't look at the road. There, watch out for that."
Instantly, his head snapped back forward, and bit back a cry when he saw a car he hadn't seen crossing the road. Luckily, he avoided the danger, sighing after everything had passed.
The kid, less than perturbed, was flipping through the pages of his small notebook. Pi ─ a mathematical constant that is approximately equal to 3.14. He frowned, focused on the string of letters that covered the entire page. That by itself means nothing… but...
"aJaHSiwnJ"
If it's about radians… Pi radians equals 180 degrees. Which means...
Just turn it around. He got the shock of his life when he did it ─ there were actual words written there for him to read:
"rumisHere"
'Rum is here'.
Conan looked up sharply from the notebook he was holding to his brother, who had fallen silent after realizing he had finally got it. "Rum?" He didn't miss the way Shinichi's shoulders dropped slightly. "Is that a member?"
"More like, the Boss' right hand."
"The… what?!" The child didn't quite expect that ─ his eyes found themselves falling back into the notebook his hands were now clutching so tightly. "Wait, wait, wait. If Ai-san was warning her sister about this… Doesn't that mean…?"
"That the one who took her..." He confirmed his suspicions with a nod. "... the one who shot you and the one Vermouth killed four years ago… was Rum."
Conan couldn't believe his ears, and certainly couldn't deny that possibility either. With a shaky breath, the kid slowly closed the notebook and put it back in place, uttering no word in the process.
"The culprit is you!"
Without meaning to, his mind went back to that time four years ago ─ he could see his much smaller finger pointing to the teacher, who slowly turned around to give him a shocked look, hidden under a mane of long, untamable hair. In his chest, he had a Sakura shaped badge, he could clearly remember.
That was the Sakura Class Teacher. Ai-san's teacher.
The Sakura Class' and Tulip Class' teachers had been working together. Rum and Vermouth. No wonder things hadn't gone so well.
"... Hey." Conan's eyes grew wider. "Hey, hey, hey. Rum was the boss' right hand… and Vermouth killed him?!"
He watched Shinichi nod slowly. "That's the terrifying part," he said. "To my understanding, Rum was second in command… But she eliminated him just like that. There was no retaliation. No consequences. Nothing. As if nothing had happened in the first place."
Shinichi had no need to explain his point any further ─ it was clear as it was.
Just how much influence does she have inside the Organization?
For the rest of the trip, the kid remained quiet, just bothering to actually talk to tell his brother where Hattori's house was in order not to get lost. Other than that, nothing. Just a single thought occupied the entirety of his mind, rendering him unable to think about anything else.
Vermouth… What is her goal?
Paper ─ he should have chosen paper. He should have known better ─ had he just kept his fingers stretched, he wouldn't have been in a position like that.
As big as Hattori house was, the amount of futons wasn't as much. Even with Ran and Sonoko off to Kazuha's, there were still two adults, a teenager and five children there to stay the night. Seven extra futons was something, Conan supposed, that not even Hattori's family would have.
It had been solved easily enough. Shinichi had set a futon in Hattori's room, an action that, Conan presumed, was so that he wouldn't have to worry about keeping up with his disguise at night. On the other hand, Kogoro had gone to sleep on the couch in the living room, leaving Agasa and the kids in the guest room and, while that sounded like an excellent idea, there was a tiny little problem with that ─ if you were to put a futon sideways, five children would fit.
But it wasn't the largest futon there was. It would be a bit uncomfortable, especially for the poor soul that winded up in the middle.
Thus, Conan found himself letting out a dry, humorless chuckle while raising two fingers in front of his eyes. Really, he was unlucky in every aspect of his life ─ he should have expected that a simple game or rock-paper-scissors wouldn't be an exception. Why did I even suggest it? His hand dropped back to his belly, sighing tiredly.
Genta's and Agasa's snoring filled what would be, otherwise, a calm, silent atmosphere, and Conan would have probably covered his ears hadn't Ayumi latched onto his arm in her sleep. I can't even move, he complained inside his mind, gaze fixed on the ceiling above. How am I supposed to sleep like this?
Adding to his dismay, he felt a slight shifting from his other side, and the soft tickling against his arm followed right away. Slightly confused about that, he turned his head to his right and saw Ai up from close.
Much closer than she would ever let anyone ever be without earning a concussion or something of the like.
Yup. Head slowly turning back to its initial position, he could feel an unnatural warmth spreading all over his face while he attempted to put a little more distance between himself and her ─ Ayumi wouldn't budge, however. I'm definitely not getting any sleep tonight.
At least Mitsuhiko isn't doing… In a quick movement the blanket slid towards the left, leaving half of his body exposed to the cold. … anything.
For the sake of the quickly vanishing night quietness, Conan held back a groan and tried to retrieve it, in vain obviously. Giving up completely, the kid just laid there, in complete silence, glaring at the ceiling as if it was the cause of everything.
Just as he was considering getting up to sleep under a tree outside or something, his ear caught into the sound of the door opening, then footsteps ─ quiet, as if they were being mindful of the late hour. Confused, Conan closed his eyes, just as they stopped right beside their futon, and felt the blanket being thrown over him again.
So he peeled one eye open. He wasn't all that surprised when he saw the darkened figure fixing the blankets tightly around the group before standing up. Unmoving from his spot, he watched him leave as quickly as he had arrived, leaving them alone all over again.
For a moment, he was about to close his eyes again and try to get some sleep, but instead, he carefully freed himself from Ayumi's tight grip.
He gently slid the door open yet, rather than stepping outside, merely lingered there, observing the figure that sat in the engawa, gaze lost in the green scenery in front of him. I wonder what he is thinking about… Still, he did not move from his spot. Could it be about this member called Rum? Maybe… Bourbon?
Yet there was a little something. Something about the way he held himself, or the way he sighed that made his hands, that remained posed on the door, to grip tightly. Something… He had the distinct feeling that this wasn't about a mystery he couldn't solve. Something wrong.
No matter how badly he tried, how much he wanted to figure this mystery out ─ he just couldn't do it.
"Can't sleep?"
Conan twitched in response, then took a step closer to the figure, who hadn't even turned around to look at him. "It's not that easy." He shrugged, plopping down next to him. "A lot happened today, after all…"
"Sure that's it?"
For the first time, he turned to see him, or rather the teasing smile that spread all over his face. His blue eyes twinkled mischievously at the sight, Conan assumed, of the faint blush that was surely there for him to see, and the child couldn't help but elbow him hard.
Shinichi doubled over, suddenly out of air, yet never ceased laughing ─ Conan seriously considered elbowing him again, this time on the head.
"What do you think you're doing, anyway?" Instead, he questioned in a rather dull tone. "Roaming around like that."
It was clear to him that his little brother meant he wasn't using his disguise. "What's the matter? I just wanted to."
"Idiot. What are you going to say if somebody sees Kudo Shinichi walking around?" he admonished lightly. "Especially Hattori's parents. Imagine what would happen if they saw a stranger in their house."
Shinichi paused at that.
"Osaka Prefecture Police Headquarters Chief Hattori Heizo ─ heard he has some impressive kendo skills..."
"W-Well..."
"Hattori Shizuka. Calm, elegant and absolutely terrifying. Knows kendo as well ─ I have heard she can stop swords just by flicking her fan."
"... You're trying to scare me, aren't you?"
"And I'm pretty much succeeding."
There was no way he could deny it, so Shinichi merely looked away, leaving his brother to smile in triumph. "So?" he inquired, showing that he would not let that go. "Why did you do it regardless of the risk of being spotted?"
"Don't have a clear reason, but..." Shinichi shrugged, turning to glance back ahead. "Maybe I was just tired."
"Tired?"
"Of being another person, I mean."
Actually, that made a whole lot of sense. For more than a year and a half, Shinichi had been forced to become another person to escape that dreadful organization, so Conan thought that he could relate to that. That lasted little, however, when he came into the realization that his situation was widely different.
While Edogawa Conan did not exist, Conan did. Everything that made him Shinichi had to be left behind ─ his home, friends, family and his own self.
"Did you know?" Conan found himself copying his brother's actions. "For a long time, I have wondered something..." Shinichi looked at him, showing that he had his attention. "Why would you go by all the trouble of staying in school? High school is not compulsory education, but makes the risk of someone finding out you're not the one you claim to be easier. It makes no sense for you to go there… But then, I figured that out."
The teenage detective watched Conan turn to him, "You just…" then give him that smirk ─ the one he would put on when he was certain he had deduced something. "... want to graduate with Ran-neechan when you return, don't you?"
Shinichi's mouth went weak, hanging open for a couple of seconds as he processed that. "I-Idiot, it's not that!" he shouted in a way that only convinced Conan that, yes, it was that. "If I want to become a detective, I need to-"
"Please. You're Kudo Shinichi, Beika's greatest high school detective and Great Detective of the East ─ you don't need high school." Conan raised an eyebrow. "For the record, blushing like that only proves me right."
"Let's suppose you're right." Shinichi rolled his eyes, Conan snorted. "What does that prove?"
"That you have intentions to return to your old life," he stated. "Or you planned to, at least."
"Planned?"
"You've been skipping school. A week at least but, looking at you, I can estimate it was much more than that." The child's expression went serious all of a sudden. "There must be a reason you're throwing away everything you have been fighting for. And that's not Rum."
It was impressive, and a little ironic as well, Shinichi noticed. He, the greatest teenage detective in Beika, who had always, no matter how hard a case would be, cornered the most tight-lipped criminals to confess their misdeeds, was there. There, back against the wall, unable to hide from those young eyes that seemed to, just, see.
There was no way to escape it, was it?
Guess I'll just have to be honest and confess… Isn't that right, Hattori?
Despite that, Shinichi couldn't help but smile. Conan did not get what was so funny.
"You have really grown a lot. Then again, you have always been like that." He didn't understand that either. "That skill you have to see through the hearts of people..." Shinichi snorted. "If you think about it that way, we aren't all that similar like everyone believes, huh?"
Unlike him, the child remained silently still. His big, confused eyes hadn't left him ─ they remained in his form, strangely attentive to his every word and every movement. "I'm terrible when it comes to people and feelings." That was probably the understatement of the century. "Really, it took a scolding from your detective club to see that you weren't taking my absence as lightly as I had thought."
"Wait, when did that happen?"
"Around a year ago, I think."
Those guys… That actually stole a snort from the kid. Sticking their noses in others' problems, of course.
"Time does fly, doesn't it?" Though his smile didn't waver, something distant passed by his eyes. "It would seem like it was yesterday that all this took a turn for the worse..."
"You think so? It feels all that long ago to me..." Conan shrugged, eyes closing momentarily as he conjured those memories from what seemed to be an eternity ago. No matter what, I don't think I will forget any of that again, he thought. Inside his mind, he had the phone on his hand, frozen in time in the middle of a big, empty room as Ran told him that his brother wasn't with her. Ever.
"It must have been tough on you," Shinichi observed.
"For both of us." Well, he was right. "But we both pushed forward in our own ways, didn't we?"
The innocent remark left Shinichi completely out of words, prompting him to fall into a silence that Conan found rather unusual. That's right, the teen thought.
Even that night that I woke up in the dumpster after being poisoned…
He clearly remembered what it had felt like that fateful December. Soaked to the bone, he had wandered through the deserted streets, dragging his feet against the collecting snow, enduring the exhaustion that pulled him down, or the dull pain that still expanded all over his chest.
For as long as he could remember, Kudo Shinichi had always been surrounded by people, but that had been the first time he truly felt alone, lost in a world that was too big for him.
Yet, a single thought had pushed him forward ─ by some sort of miracle, he was still alive. And there were people waiting for him back home. At that time, he had found comfort in that thought, filling him with the determination needed to take another step forward.
But, now...
"I guess…" he began in a weak whisper. "... I'm a little scared."
"You are scared?" Conan frowned in disbelief. "No way."
"I'm not as strong as you think I am, Conan. Of course I'm scared," Shinichi admitted, looking away from the pair of surprised blue eyes fixed on him. "I'm scared… Because I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow ─ if there is a tomorrow."
He didn't even know what he was saying anymore, and it was more than terrifying ─ feeling out of control even if it was about his words.
"I..." His fists clenched tightly enough to draw blood. "I..." The words wouldn't just come out ─ closing his eyes tightly, Shinichi shook his head. "I'm not all that sure that I'll ever return home."
"You will."
If it was because of the calm voice, or the gentle, little hands that found their way on top of his clenched one, Shinichi had absolutely no clue. Yet, he was startled into opening his eyes, which instantly flickered back to his companion. His jaw lost strength, rendering his mouth unable to keep closed after what he witnessed.
Without him none the wiser, Conan's hands had made his uncurl. "There's no way you wouldn't." And his small finger had wrapped against his own, raising them as if to prove a point. "Since you promised it."
Then Conan flashed him a blinding grin. "And you have never broken a promise before, have you?"
Shock had rendered him unable to put a reasonable answer to such a proposition, yet Conan didn't seem to mind. He just remained there, eyes glimmering under the moonlight while they pierced through his soul, as they have always been able to, and Shinichi couldn't help that there was something innocent in all that scene developing in front of him.
A look of trust, that Shinichi had only seen in children, had taken all over his face. It was relieving, in some sort of way, that Conan had, after everything, retained his youthful essence.
Yet, secretly, Shinichi couldn't bring himself to agree with him.
So immersed in themselves they were that none of them ever realized the door opening further, just a bit, or the pile of children that, wide-eyed, observed the events that took place in front of their eyes.
"I knew it!" Mitsuhiko whispered. "That person was acting a bit too friendly with Conan-kun to be a mere acquaintance."
"So he really was Conan-kun's brother..." Ayumi was beyond amazed. "You're impressive, Mitsuhiko-kun!"
"Uh… Well..." He scratched the back of his head as he laughed, blushing at the compliment. "It was nothing…"
Genta was far from amused, however. "To think that Conan knew all along…" He puffed out his cheeks, leaning forward so he could see better. "He didn't say anything."
"How could he?" Haibara shrugged, watching them with a dull look from her spot in the futon still. "Secrets identities are meant to be secret."
"Ah, guess you're right."
Satisfied with her brief explanation, Genta stepped away so that Ayumi could take his place. She kept quiet, head timidly poking out to see.
Conan, far from realizing her presence, was laughing carefreely about something. His brother had poked him harshly on the forehead before he couldn't help it anymore and joined him.
"At least…" Ayumi said with a contained giggle. "Conan-kun looks happy."
"Then we should just go to sleep," said Haibara, sniffling a yawn. "Let's let Conan-kun enjoy some quality time with his brother, alright?"
"Yeah!"
To Ai, it was a wonder how come none of those brothers heard that, but didn't really care much about it. Just smirked slightly, laying back down as her friends hushedly went to join her.
"Eh?" Conan nodded at his brother, who looked completely surprised right now. "A former craftsman?"
"His nails were all black," he explained, then watched as the older boy gasped, as if finally realizing where all that was going. "That's how I figured out everything must have been a splendidly elaborated farce."
"You are good." Shinichi grinned at the child. "To think that even in that situation you would pick up such an insignificant detail..."
Conan closed his eyes and, raising his index finger, said, "You know my method," with a little smile decorating his face. "It is founded upon the observation of trifles."
"Quoting Conan Doyle, I see… Wait." Shinichi's eyebrow twitched. "That doesn't make me Watson, does it?"
"Nah, like you could be him." The grin he gave him told Shinichi his answer wouldn't be satisfying enough. "Because I can't imagine you having 'a grand gift for silence', can you?" Ignoring the way his brother raised an eyebrow at him in indignation, Conan's finger raised to his chin, pondering hard about something. "Wonder if you would fit as 'that imbecile Lestrade', though..."
It all went away when he felt knuckles forcefully rubbing against the top of his head. "Who are you calling an imbecile?" Shinichi tried to sound angry, yet failed badly. "Should I put you in jail, then? Huh? Huh?!"
"Ow, ow, okay... I give up, I give up! You can be Watson."
"Seriously, Watson?"
"Or Irene, if you think it fits."
Seemingly giving up, Shinichi released his brother, allowing him to sit back. The laugh that escaped his lips right after that caused him to unconsciously smile fondly back at him.
"Anyhow, it is late." He struggled not to chuckle when Conan, without entirely realizing, let out a very age-appropriate whine at that. "Don't give me that. You should have been sleeping hours ago."
Crossing his arms, Conan's lips pursed in an expression that the older detective could only interpret as pouting. "I'm not tired."
"Ran might be with Kazuha right now, but I guess I could wake Occhan up..."
"Geez, you win." Shinichi was pleasantly surprised to see him standing back on his feet. "If he tells Ran-neechan about this… It won't be good."
He would be lying if he said he couldn't relate, so he said nothing. Instead, he simply reached out and rested his hand on top of Conan's head, whose eyes widened slightly and flickered to his face.
"Get some rest." His usual warm smile didn't take long to appear. "You did a pretty good job today, Holmes' Apprentice."
Conan gave him an odd look at that, which only amused him.
"What? I did say I was going to find you a suitable nickname."
"Which is pointless, of course. Annoying, too."
Though this time around, it didn't show all that much in his face. Oh? thought Shinichi, smiling wider, if possible. Was it a hit?
"Wait a moment." Conan had that accusing look on his face, making Shinichi wonder what was wrong this time. "That doesn't make you Holmes, does it?"
He wondered if the kid had been fully conscious of what that would imply ─ nonetheless, it made Shinichi happy, just a little, to hear it. "No, I wouldn't dream of it." Since he liked his face the way it was, a lot, he decided not to entertain that thought any further. "That makes me your senpai, actually."
"How come I'm not the senpai here?"
"I don't know… Maybe because you're eight?"
"Eight times better than you, you mean."
"... Alright, I'll think of another one."
"Please, don't."
Having said that, the kid promptly turned around and, just as he was about to reach the door, paused. "Oniichan?"
"Yeah?"
"Wait until morning to leave, okay?" When he saw him nod, he visually relaxed somewhat. "Take care."
"You too, Conan. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
"Leaving already?"
Startled, Shinichi ─ now as Hirai Arthur ─ looked up from the small bag he was zipping back up, then relaxed when he saw it was just Hattori. "Couldn't you wait until, I don't know, seven?" He yawned emphatically, as if to make his point across.
"Sorry, I didn't intend to wake you," he apologized briefly, standing up from his crouched position. "But yeah. I figured that, since I still have a long way ahead, I should just leave early."
Hattori hummed in response, watching as Kudo slung his bag over his shoulder, and blinked repeatedly. There was something significantly different about the boy today, that definitely wasn't there last night, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"So?" he said, instead of pondering over it any longer. "You're finally going back to Ekoda?"
He nodded in response. "There wasn't that much of a lead, anyway." In fact, he had been blindly looking for a lead somewhere, visiting the witnesses he had protected, hoping that they had seen something. "I didn't have that much of a plan to begin with."
Hattori was now frowning ─ Kudo was smiling. It only made him more curious about what could have happened while he was sleeping. "I see..." he mumbled, even if he obviously didn't. "Suppose you aren't going to say bye to the kid, are you?"
"I wanted to, but he's sound asleep. Couldn't bring myself to wake him up." He almost chuckled at the memory of last night ─ despite him arguing that he wasn't tired, the boy had promptly passed out the moment his head touched the pillow. A kid will always be a kid, apparently. "Well, we kind of did that last night, so that shouldn't be a problem."
Ah. The detective of the West didn't fight the smirk that tipped his lips upwards. So that was what happened.
"Either way..." Adjusting his bag, he moved to the doorway. "I heard your mother is up and around, so I should ask her to open the door for me..."
"Kudo, wait."
So Shinichi paused and, looking thoroughly confused, turned around. "I was wondering for a while..." The deadly serious glint on his fellow detective momentarily disconcerted him, "If it's true that Conan is my brother, then..." until his smirk returned ─ stronger, and significantly larger than ever before. "Does that make us brothers, too?"
At the completely unexpected question, Shinichi couldn't do anything but stare back, eyes widening with every second they did not say a word. It was the awkward silence that encouraged Hattori to chuckle, completely unaffected by the lack of a reply.
As he struggled with what to say next, the detective gazed into his eyes and barely contained a gasp when he realized everything was just… so incredibly genuine.
"... Idiot."
Thus he turned around, not letting Hattori see his expressions were identical at that very moment.
"It's pointless to ask things you already know the answer for."
A/N:
CherryGirl 21-6: Sorry, as much as I don't like it, it really looks like that it will be like that for a long time:( And about Ai… I will see what to do ;)
Captainswan 2427: Unfortunately, that's most likely not going to happen… Sorry about that.