File One Hundred: When the Storm Strikes
The sun had settled down hours ago already, leaving its place for the stars to gradually crawl their way to the sky, shining beautifully upon the citizens of Tokyo amid the darkness. With them, the night of Tanabata approached, gradually but surely, making itself known by the unusually high traffic in an already busy city as that one was.
So, if a certain Harley zoomed past the several cars stuck in a traffic jam, nobody thought much about it. Maybe a shout then and a shake of head there, but beyond that, nothing impeded it from continuing its way.
Not that the driver paid much attention to it. It just continued moving forward, allowing her blonde locks to flow behind her in the air. On her lap lay an unsuspecting duffle bag ─ if anybody noticed her settling her hands on top of it, protectively, every time she had to take a stop, nobody seemed to think much about it either.
I was really going to let you go, she thought, eyes still focused on the road. To allow you to run to your friends and as far from us as humanly possible…
But I couldn't. She shook her head with a resigned sigh. I'm sorry, but there's so much at stake for me.
I can't get discovered ─ not yet. There's so much I still have to do.
You haven't seen Irish's face yet, and you have nothing to do with his own plans ─ once this is over, you'll be let go.
Then again… You won't be able to let this go so easily, will you? Since the most important thing for you is going to be snatched away from you, to never be returned again…
In her mind, she could feel the cold rain soaking her to the bone, and her legs hanging in the air, warning her of the painful death she was surely going to get in a matter of seconds. Predictably so, her grip had slipped, and she had almost closed her eyes to prepare for what was coming next.
Even now, she still could see the determination glimmering in those sharp eyes of him as he, alongside his childhood friend, kept an iron grip on her arm, unwilling to let her drop to her death.
But Vermouth was no angel.
Yeah, because by the end of this night… Unlike any of those two, she would have to let go. Another Silver Bullet will have to be sacrificed.
"For saving someone, a logical reason is not necessary."
Vermouth had to laugh to herself, even if the situation was far from funny. His smile, kind and strangely genuine for such a damned place like the one they were, was sure to remain, burned in her mind forever, reminding her of the life she had chosen not to save.
I wonder if there's a logical reason for not saving someone.
Especially someone like him.
But if there was something she was sure about was that the little boy inside her bag would not take this so lightly. He would definitely grow to completely despise them all, even more than he already did ─ and, as cruel as it would sound, that was okay to her.
You will continue to chase after us. She smiled sadly at the thought. No matter how long it takes, even if it takes another ten or twenty years...
You will make the shot that destroys us once and for all. And that's enough.
As long as there's still one Silver Bullet remaining, there's hope.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when saw something in the distance, driving on the opposite way she was heading. As she passed by it, she couldn't help but allow a smirk to crawl into her face, eyes momentarily making contact with another gaze, staring, unmoving by the horror that had taken over her, from inside a certain yellow beetle.
It lasted less than a second, but the girl still had the urge to lower herself into her seat, until she couldn't be seen anymore. At her side, the professor gave her a confused look, particularly worried by the sudden paleness her face had gained ─ it was as if she had just seen a ghost.
But it was probably worse ─ by the time the professor raised his gaze to check what had startled her so badly, it seemed it had completely disappeared amongst the busy streets of Tokyo.
Ai calmed down slowly, hand resting atop of her chest, as if an attempt to regain her breathing. Frowning, Agasa slowed down, eyes searching everywhere for a place to park and talk it over.
"Don't," but she barked, wiping the cold sweat that had collected itself on her forehead. "We need to reach Beika Forest before those guys run into trouble."
Hesitantly and obediently, Agasa nodded, gaze fixing back on the road.
"Those children, though…" the professor said with a sigh. "Even if it was a call for help, they should have just called the police."
"Most likely, they thought it was related to Conan-kun's abduction…" Her fingers were tapping something quickly on her phone. "And I don't think they were so far off."
Agasa's eyes widened in alarm. "Eh?"
"I just saw her ─ driving right past our car." Ai barely contained a shiver in favor of finishing her message. "Judging by the way she was coming from, I'd deduce she was coming from Beika Forest."
Her eyes narrowed, giving her screen another last look before sending it.
"She had a large, black sports bag with her." Frowning profusely, she put her phone back and turned her head to look outside. "There's no doubt she was taking him somewhere else… To meet with Shinichi-san."
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Agasa tensing up, undoubtedly grasping the entire situation without her needing to explain it any further. Wordlessly, he stole a glance in her direction, to which she didn't react at all, before he focused back on the road ahead, worry immediately taking over his every expression.
"Shinichi will definitely think of something."
Ai could only hope.
"What now?"
"Is that how you greet me? Look, I already have enough with-"
"What Kuroba-kun wants to say is…" Another voice joined in. "We're interested in knowing how everything is on your end."
Shinichi merely rested his back against a nearby wall, paying close attention to the sounds coming from the other side of the phone. Besides Kuroba's annoyed muttering, there was a certain mess of whispers and overall movement that could only be attributed to a public space.
"Where are you two?" Prompted by curiosity, he asked instead of answering the question.
"We're in a study session at Blue Parrot," replied Hakuba, calmly. "I convinced Aoko-san to hang out here instead of Kuroba-kun's home. The more people out there to confirm that Hirai-kun is in Ekoda, the better, I figured."
"And where is she?"
"She is currently in the restroom," he said. "That is why Kuroba-kun here thought it fitting to take the opportunity to contact you."
"I see…"
"Nevermind that." Suddenly, he could hear Kuroba's voice instead. "Did you figure out where Tan-" He halted, giving Hakuba a side look, before stuttering. "-C-Conan-kun is?"
Shinichi's head raised and his eyes narrowed, falling on the enormous tower he could see, even from so far away. Brightly as usual, the lights illuminated everything on sight, chasing the shadows away ─ a part of it wondered if it could free them from the darkness that roamed around them, tangling to their souls and pulling them down and down. Not a chance, he decided.
"Touto Tower," Shinichi said after a moment. "We, Irish and I, agreed to meet there."
"Does that mean you're going to face him alone?" When the detective didn't answer, the magician frowned deeply. "You're kidding."
"Ai-chan just told me she saw Vermouth. She was carrying a large sports bag away from Beika Forest and to the city."
Kuroba said nothing, so he continued.
"If Conan is going to be there, I'll have to go, too."
"Which is fair, but Kudo-!"
"You will accomplish nothing." Kaito's eyebrow was twitching ─ Hakuba had taken his phone, again. "All you're doing is sign your death sentence ─ not only yours, but your brother's as well." At the lack of reply, Hakuba continued, turning to give Kaito a quick look, before continuing. "If what I have been told about them is true, those people are ruthless. You can't guarantee they are going to give him back unharmed even if you took his place."
The way Kuroba frowned in silence let him know that he completely agreed with him ─ for a change. "Even so…" Shinichi groaned on the other side of the phone. "I can't leave him alone with-"
"Who said you were going to leave him alone?"
"Huh?" Both Kudo and Kuroba blinked at that.
"You're Kudo Shinichi, Great Detective of the East." Hakuba smirked. "Thinking about a plan to get out of the line of fire shouldn't be so hard for you."
Shinichi sighed. "You aren't the first one to say that, but…"
"In the event you're actually going to face him, do not forget you aren't on your own." Seeing that his fellow detective didn't instantly understand, Hakuba snorted. "I mean that resourceful, little assistant you will have there with you."
He didn't reply verbally, but Hakuba heard him gasping in realization. "Just like you, his kidnapper might forget he's another factor he should be wary of." Hakuba's eyes narrowed. "And the element of surprise might be the best weapon you have."
"Weren't you listening?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. "The girl said Conan-kun is being carried in a bag. With a stubborn little brat like him, I see that hard to happen unless they knock him out."
"I… think I know how to wake him up." Shinichi said, gathering both their attention, before sighing audibly. "There's no way I can do it with Irish watching, but if I find a way to make him look away, somehow..."
Hakuba hummed, deeply in thought. "A distraction, huh?"
His head raised up sharply, then he found himself staring, oddly, at the magician, who had just hopped from his seat. "If a distraction is what you need…" Hakuba couldn't be all that surprised upon noticing the phone he was pressing against his ear out of the blue, and the cheeky grin stretched from side to side all over his face. "A distraction you shall get."
He was in the middle of the bar when Shinichi finally got what he meant with it. "Hey, are you sure-?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't." Kaito snorted when the detective failed to respond. "See you in fifteen- no, ten minutes is enough. I'll get my things at home and go-"
"Go where?"
The female voice that had reached his ears was unmistakable. In a flash, and purely by reflex, Kaito had ended the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket before, ever so slowly, turning around, all the way preparing himself for what he would see.
It wasn't enough. Those fierce blue eyes were almost all it took to make his poker face crumble into pieces, but pulled through somehow. "Aoko-" He came to a halt, surprised by the sensation of thin fingers curling around his wrist.
All words suddenly abandoned him, leaving him to watch as a frown slowly, but surely, surfaced, adorning her entire face. "Where are you going?" she stressed out as her grip tightened enough to physically hurt.
"I'm just going home." He shrugged, doing his best to look as annoyed as humanly possible. "I don't care about a stupid test-"
"Kaito."
Kaito didn't respond, effectively shocked into silence. Stealing a glance behind the girl, he exchanged a look to Hakuba who, still dressed as Kudo's alter-ego, did nothing but observe the situation, with an expression he couldn't, for the life of him, decipher. He sighed, focusing back on his childhood friend momentarily before closing his eyes.
"I don't know what you and Hirai-kun are involved with, but…" Her other hand latched onto his arm, fingers digging faintly into his skin. "Don't go."
Kaito paused, taking a deep breath, before opening his eyes again. He gazed into Aoko's eyes, and she tensed up, a strange glint taking into her eyes, as if hoping for a positive answer. "I have to go." It all came crumbling down, like a sandcastle in front of him, when those words were spoken.
Turning his gaze away, and not daring to look back, he freed himself from her gasp. Barely getting to close the door behind him, he started to run.
I'm sorry, Aoko. But I have to do something.
A coin, little hands clapping and a sunny adorable smile ─ it all filled his mind, and prompted him to move all the faster.
"You're amazing, Kaito-niichan!"
I owe him that much.
Leaning over his desk, Mouri Kogoro sighed, completely exhausted after the entire ordeal.
They had been stuffed inside that conference room for hours now, yet they had barely made any progress on that one odd case. Night was settling already, and they would still be empty-handed, had it not been for that certain detective from Osaka calling to inform them about the fire two years ago that took the life of a girl named Honjou Nanako.
He had claimed that he had just happened to be researching it ─ Kogoro seriously doubted that was the case. Either way, the person posing as Matsumoto didn't do as much as twitch at it, so he figured it was okay. As long as the case was solved, it would seem that this member didn't exactly care about how the job was done.
Which meant he was certain, too, that they wouldn't find the little boy he was using as a hostage. It made sense, since they had left no clues behind to pinpoint his location ─ such a scary thought.
For some reason, the fake superintendent had declared a brief break and stepped out of the room, phone in hand. He must be contacting somebody else. His gaze narrowed, still fixed on the door he had just walked out of. But who?
His partner? Another member? Or maybe… He would have stood up and tried to eavesdrop on it, if it wasn't such incredibly suspicious behavior. Maybe the detective kid finally solved it.
If that was the case, then Kogoro couldn't, by any means, let his guard drop. If he plans to force him to hand over that memory card, he needs to use the brat as bait, he thought. For that, he needs to be brought from wherever he's being held to where the detective kid is going to be.
Unless, of course, he plans to leave that to his partner, but-
"Mouri-kun? Mouri-kun, I'm talking to you."
Blinking repeatedly, Kogoro finally tore his gaze away from the door to the front, where Megure's worried expression was displayed for him to see. "Are you alright?" he asked.
It took him a whole second to react. "Ah, yeah. Why do you ask?"
Megure's frown became more prominent as his eyes squinted, searching for something he surely couldn't see, but knew was there. After a second or so just observing him, his gaze flickered around, and returned to the private detective once he made sure everyone else was focused on their own business.
The inspector inched marginally closer. "Mouri-kun," he said. "You know you can trust me, right?"
Mouri hesitated, but nodded either way. "That's what I'm telling you, Inspector-"
"Does it have to be with those alcohol-themed members you were investigating before?" Kogoro froze at the question. "You ceased to investigate them so suddenly, too-"
More like he had stopped telling him about it. "A lot happened, okay?" he interrupted him, checking from side to side, sighing when he realized nobody had heard a thing. "I swear I'll tell you about it later, but-"
He stilled completely, eyes widening for a whole second as he took into something behind the clueless inspector, before he calmed down and turned his attention away, as if nothing had happened at all. Confused, Megure blinked, turning over his shoulder to see what had altered him so much.
There was nothing but Superintendent Matsumoto walking inside the room ─ that was weird.
By the time he had turned back to Mouri, he wasn't paying attention to him any longer, but rather his phone. Megure stared, completely puzzled by the entire ordeal.
All the while, Kogoro's eyes narrowed as he read through the text he had just been sent.
"The crime scenes represent Polaris and the Big Dipper.
Please, keep my involvement with this case a secret.
─ Kudo Shinichi."
'Keep my involvement a secret'? Mouri raised an eyebrow. What the hell is he talking about? Does he really think I'd-?
His thoughts skidded to a thought ─ perhaps he had worded it like that in case anyone around would read from over his shoulder. If he's involving me so forcefully, knowing that member, Irish, might find out about it…
So, if I were to pretend I solved the case, nobody would find it weird. Nobody would suspect a thing about the superintendent suddenly knowing everything…
I see… Irish must have told him to write this text.
He paused, however, noticing something he hadn't seen before. There was more if he scrolled down ─ could it be so it wouldn't be discovered at first sight?
"P.S: Just read this if you're alone.
I need you to do something for me."
Upon reading it all, Kogoro's eyes flew open.
"Mouri?" His head raised sharply, just to see the fake superintendent standing right in front of him. "Is something wrong?"
The man in front of him was smirking, as if amused by something Kogoro didn't know, but instigated the most savage, violent feelings from the darkest part of his heart. Instead, however, he just placed his phone back inside his pocket and stood up.
Detective and criminal exchanged gazes, silently all the while. That was, until Kogoro glanced around. "I finally figured it out," he said, severely. "The crimes represent Polaris and the Big Dipper."
A round of shocked whispering followed, but Kogoro didn't move, returning to glare at the superintendent, straight in the eye ─ who, in turn, remained completely unaffected by it. None of them moved, not even when Sato suddenly took into her own hands to confirm that Mizutani and Honjou's hobby was, in fact, star-gazing via call.
"Superintendent," Inspector Ogino called from behind her computer. "The final star from the Big Dipper matches the location of Shiba Park."
Matsumoto's eyes narrowed and, without tearing his face away from Mouri, replied, "Good work," before turning to the inspector. "Megure, secure an emergency warrant for Mizutani Kousuke and await further orders here."
Still confused, Megure nodded, if not a little hesitantly.
"The rest of you head over to Shiba Park. Hurry!"
So they did. Not even a second after, everyone was rising from their seats and heading for their cars. Of course, Mouri wasn't an exception and, calmer than the rest of them, walked around his desk and approached the door.
Megure's eyes didn't tear away from his form. Mouri certainly noticed, but ignored it completely.
"Ah, Mouri-san."
He turned around, curiously, when Takagi suddenly approached him, Sato following close behind while, the detective didn't fail to notice, she sent a suspicious look towards the superintendent. It made him wonder if she, too, had figured it out.
"You don't have a car, do you?" Takagi continued, oblivious to everything really happening around. "Do you want to come with us?"
Sato suddenly tensed up ─ that was how Kogoro noticed that the fake superintendent was coming closer. "I'm sorry," he said with a smile. "But I'll have to borrow Mouri here."
Mouri didn't reply. "I'd like you to come with me," Matsumoto said instead. "Since this is a dangerous operation, I'd feel safer if I had someone at my side."
Alarmed by the proposition, the female detective stepped up. "Superintendent, if you don't mind-"
"I understand." She stopped suddenly, head whipping back to Mouri. "I'll go with you."
Sato looked as if she wanted to say more, but something stopped her. As they both walked right past her, for the briefest second, she felt Mouri's gaze falling on her, nodding almost imperceptibly with such resolution in his eyes that she could do nothing but stand there, watching them leave.
She hoped Mouri knew what he was doing.
"Conan! Answer us, Conan!"
As Genta's calls grew more and more desperate, Ayumi felt her vision clouding. That, and the darkness surrounding her, rendered her unable to see her surroundings properly, thus making her trip to a nearby branch.
"Ayumi-chan!" Mitsuhiko was at her side right away. "Are you okay?"
No, she wasn't ─ along her fall, she had scraped her knees, and it did hurt quite a lot. "Conan-kun…" But she stood back up, stubbornly wiping her tears from her eyes and continued to move, not gracing the boy with an answer. "Conan-kun! Where are you?!"
Mitsuhiko merely stood there for several seconds before a sigh escaped his system.
He had thought it was a good plan. After finding out that sticking tape to the beetles was not an action of cruelty but a cry for help, and fuelled by the thought that it could somehow be related with Conan's kidnapping, the three detective boys had set off to the forest where they had set off looking for the oak tree where they had found the first one. Remembering that beetles usually flew towards trees with the same sap, he had released Orihime, and soon the three had been chasing after the insect.
They had found the oak tree easily, and sure enough, there was another beetle, with the same 'V' shaped tape on its wings. Thus, they had been so certain that was the place.
But they didn't get to inspect it any further. They had heard it ─ his voice, calling out to them. But when they had turned around, they were all alone ─ as if their friend had been swallowed whole by the unforgiving shadows.
"You were close."
He whirled around, alarmed, and would have probably bolted away, hadn't he recognized the cool gaze that met him then. "Haibara-san…" he breathed out, hand over his chest, willing his heart to calm down after such a fright. She barely reacted at all, even when his other two friends also turned around, and gasped when they saw her there, merely turned to look over her shoulder, where the professor was jogging their way.
"Professor, call the police."
"Eh?" He blinked. "Didn't you say-?"
"That woman might have gotten away with Conan-kun just now…" At those words, the three other children stared at her, until realization dawned on them, and they went to gaze down at the floor. "But their search wasn't completely fruitless."
After a second of clueless blinking, the three children, plus the professor, glanced towards the way the girl was gazing at. To their surprise, there was an abandoned hut there, right in front of their eyes.
Shinichi pushed the glasses closer to his eyes and raised his head, eyes narrowing as they fell upon the large tower in front of him. Standing there, skateboard tucked tightly under his arm, the teenager had to force himself to take a deep breath, and step forward.
The Tanabata Fair was underway, evidenced by the beautiful yukatas worn by the many visitors who, blissfully unaware of what might happen right there in a matter of hours, gathered together, laughing carelessly, simply enjoying their time together in just another harmless festival.
The detective made his way through them and reached the entrance easily enough. Predictably, the happy murmur of the crowd didn't cease, rather increased as he made himself inside the first observation floor. But it didn't bother him ─ in fact, it was almost comforting that outside their own little world, there could be people out there that didn't have to go through this.
Just like we once were. Shinichi paused in front of the window, allowing himself to take a moment to admire just how beautiful Tokyo was from above.
If his memory didn't fail him, he had been there with Ran. Even now, he still chuckled at the memory ─ she had looked so surprised when he pressed a cold drink against her cheek that even her complaints and glares didn't make him think it hadn't been worth it.
What am I doing? From his reflection on the glass, he saw himself smile, rueful as it was, even to his own eyes. Life flashing in front of my eyes already?
Shaking his head, Shinichi forced himself to focus once more. For a moment, he took a look towards the sky, not failing that, unlike the last time he had done that, the clouds were beginning to hide the stars from his sight.
A storm is coming.
"What?" Ran gasped, absolutely shocked. "Someone with Conan-kun's skateboard?"
"Yeah! Isn't that weird?" she heard Sonoko say over the phone. "I thought Professor Agasa made it specifically for the brat. Could it be that he's selling them or something?"
"Maybe…" she mumbled, weakly.
Without fully meaning to, her eyes wandered towards the table, lingering on the four plates she had set over it. Any other day, she would be beyond shocked over the fact that her father had even suggested allowing Shinichi to eat with them, but with everything that had happened, she hadn't even had the time to be surprised.
"It didn't look like it was a kid, though," Sonoko continued, regardless. "There was a hood pulled over their face… Really, to wear something like that in summer ─ that has to be a crime."
It was getting late, however, and she was still all alone at her home. A frown took over her face.
"Say, Sonoko," she said, finding her strength once more. "When and where did you see him?"
"He was entering the Touto Tower…" There was a bit of hesitation in her voice, as if she didn't expect that question, or that intensity ─ perhaps, the fact that she had called this person a 'he', as if she somehow knew who it was, puzzled her greatly. "At 8 PM, I think…"
Thus, she hung up. As she set her phone back down, the girl took a deep breath, eyes falling back on the table where her father, Conan-kun and she would always sit, sharing a meal together, but where now only she remained.
Ran promptly stood up.
Frankly, Kogoro had absolutely no idea of what might have made Takagi's car suddenly take another completely different route from the one they had been going through, but it didn't fail to make him worry, more than a little ─ for Sato, who had figured out who the true culprit was already, to leave so abruptly was definitely strange, to say the least. But if something else happened, well, it probably had to be important.
It would be okay. He was still there, so it wasn't like this Irish guy was left entirely unsupervised. He could do this.
Scratch that ─ he had to do this.
From the rear window, the detective saw as Inspector Yamato's car continued on the right track, ensuring that nobody else would get lost as the Yokomizo brothers. Glad upon that realization, he was about to turn back to the front when he froze completely.
There, on his spot in the passenger seat, the detective remained, unable to even move a muscle, eyes widening by their own accord until they appeared as if they would bulge out.
"Mouri," the driver said in a calm ─ but deadly in Kogoro's ears ─ tone. "Is something the matter?"
A bead of cold sweat came rolling down his forehead. His mouth opened, then closed, unable to gather a word.
All the while, the fake superintendent remained silent, gaze still settled on the road ahead ─ appearing so disturbingly calm despite being driving so fast. Kogoro forced himself to gulp, attempting to soothe his abruptly dry throat, but it didn't work.
"You were wondering…" Irish's lips curved in a rather menacing smile. "What am I doing with a sports bag on the backseat, weren't you?"
Kogoro's shoulders tensed, hand slipping inside his pockets and gripping Conan's compass in the event he had to defend himself from a sudden attack.
To his surprise, Irish let out a loud bark of laughter. "Relax, Mouri. It's only natural it's there," he said. "Since I came to the conference straight after leaving the gym."
But it didn't serve to calm his nerves. "Oh, that makes sense!" He hoped, however, that he could hide it with a broad grin. "Man, maybe I should start going to the gym, too," he added, patting his stomach a little.
"Ah, you think so?" Irish offered him a pleased smile. "It doesn't seem that way to me."
After a short laugh, both men let the conversation go, right then and there, and none did even try to resume it.
Neither did any of them, however, forget about what lied there, ominously still on the backseat.
As he should have expected, finding a nice place for parking wasn't as easy as any other day, all thanks to the Tanabata Fair that was taking place at Touto Tower, but they managed to pull through it. Eventually, the fake superintendent found a spot, not quite close, but not insanely away from their destination either, and soon all other police cars, except for Sato and Takagi's, found their place close to theirs.
So, taking yet another deep breath, Mouri stepped out of the car. If anyone noticed him stealing a glance towards the enigmatic sports bag as he walked past that window, nobody pointed it out.
"Alright," the fake superintendent said suddenly. "Mizutani should be hiding somewhere around here. Split up, and arrest him when you find him."
With a nod, they all did as told ─ a nod later, they had scrambled away, hoping to cover as much ground as humanly possible. As he got farther and farther away from the car, the detective risked a look over his shoulder and saw him.
In the midst of his other underlings, that who claimed to be Kiyonaga Matsumoto headed away, in the opposite direction he was heading.
Maybe, just maybe, he had a chance.
And he would be damned if he let it go to waste. Therefore, as soon as he could, he turned around the corner, and stood there, allowing the darkness to hide his pretense away from the rest of the eyes. He waited, then waited some more ─ until he made sure nobody was going to return soon, he wasn't risking it.
But when the criminal made no move, he decided to do it instead. Not even a second later, Mouri was back there, crouching next to the car in question. Alright, he thought, checking his surroundings one last time. I think I'm good to go.
Wasting not another second, he reached over to the passenger door and opened it effortlessly. Oh… He took a moment to stare incredulously at the 5-yen coin he had on his hand, which he had just now taken out from the handle, where he had slid it before. Who would have thought that trick would actually work!
Smirking to himself, he placed the coin back in his pocket and immediately ventured inside the car. Having seen it before, it took him no time to find the suspicious black bag that had caught his attention minutes prior, but he did pause to study it with a wary frown on his face.
As quickly as he could, the man slid to the backseat and positioned right next to the object in question. Could… He gulped. Could this be…?
Carefully, he pulled the zipper open.
And, for another split of a second, his mind had just, frozen, at the sight of what was there for his eyes to witness, but quickly enough, he hovered over it, unable to take his gaze away from the small pale face sticking out of the bag.
"C-Conan…" he breathed out, rushing to check him over.
The steady pulse he felt against his trembling fingers prevented him from assuming the worst, stealing a relieved sigh out of his system. "Hey…" After a moment of processing what he was seeing, he scowled, placing his other hand against the boy's cheek, patting it gently, "Hey, wake up," then, prompted by the urgency, a little harsher. "Hey!"
But the child remained completely unresponsive. Just like the detective kid said. Mouri groaned, eyes lowering to check that, just like the high schooler had predicted it, too, his hands and feet were restrained with zip ties.
Immediately, he shuffled through his pocket, looking for something that would aid him with his objective. He said I should just help him out of these… All he had was, however, the school compass he had picked up in a hurry before. These… are rather useless, aren't they? Mouri couldn't, for the life of him, figure out how he could use it.
"This might sound strange, but…" the detective kid had typed before. "You have to help him out of his bindings, but do not attempt to get him out."
Obviously, that had taken him off guard ─ of all people, for someone like him to say that was inconceivable at best. "Whatever opportunity you have with him will be very slim." He had probably expected such a reaction, though, considering he explained himself right afterwards. "Running away with a child in your arms is risky ─ he will notice. And he won't be lenient with you."
But, even if he could see his point… Kogoro's gaze rose from the child's hands, which he had been uselessly trying to free, to his sleeping face.
"I'll handle things from there."
Next thing he knew, Conan's head had fallen heavily against his shoulder as he pressed him protectively against his body. As if I'd do that! The detective opened the door and carefully glanced from side to side. I am the adult here, he reaffirmed in his head. I'd be damned if I let a bunch of kids solve this entirely on their own.
Once he ascertained that not a single soul was on sight, he nodded to himself and took a step ahead. He stopped suddenly, however, and spun around. That's right, he decided, leaning over to pick up the bag Conan had been in before. This could be useful. Best-case scenario, he could get the police to check for fingerprints to identify who this Irish guy actually was.
Smirking to himself, Mouri Kogoro stood back up.
Click ─ the sound made him freeze solid.
"Any sudden movements, and I'll make you regret it," he clearly heard Matusmoto's voice from close behind, but this time it sounded severe, and infinitely more dangerous than ever before. "Turn around."
So he did. Still gripping the child, Kogoro slowly turned until he was free to glare at the disgusting grin that met him. "It's so unfortunate, Mouri," he said, firmly placing the gun against the detective's forehead. "Hadt you kept yourself out of my business, we wouldn't have reached this point…"
Kogoro's eyes roamed around shortly to confirm, once again, to his displeasure this time, that nobody was there at that time of the night, especially with the Tanabata Fair being held several blocks away from the position. Only a few stores were opened, and even there, none of the workers or clients were paying attention to what was happening outside.
"Of course, I can't blame you, since you're such a famous detective," Irish continued, grin stretching even further. "Even if the reason for your success is that small kid you have there."
Kogoro felt himself grow tense the moment Irish's eyes fell on the little boy in question. "Is that the reason you want him back?" he uttered. "So that you can maintain all your fame and glory."
As Mouri gritted his teeth, Irish just stared back, expectantly. "Go to hell," Kogoro finally hissed out, almost venomously.
Far from affecting him in any form, the words made Irish smirk. "Drop the bag to the ground in front of you." Reluctantly, the detective did as he was told. "Put the kid right there. Now."
Slowly, Kogoro sank to his feet right next to the bag, glaring hatefully all the way down. Once there, he gazed at the young child for a beat, before sighing in defeat and setting him down.
The gun was cold against his forehead, but didn't let that bother him. Instead, he calmly began to zip the bag up. Just as he was about to close it completely, however, a frown took over his every feature.
"What are you-?"
Irish never got to finish that sentence. Before he fully realized what was happening, air was being knocked from his lungs, gun skidding across the pavement and away from his reach. Over him hovered Mouri, deadly serious like never before, and still holding onto his wrist with an iron grip.
At the sight, Irish smirked. "Not bad."
Mouri hurriedly crouched down. His hand had barely brushed Irish's shoulder to turn him around and pin him down when he couldn't anymore. First came the pain ─ the overbearing pain travelling through his entire jaw, up to his temples ─ then, white flashing over his eyes. It faded quickly enough, allowing him to see the blurry sneer of his enemy swimming in front of his eyes, hand still curled into a fist.
"But not good enough."
Staggering backwards, Mouri struggled not to lose consciousness. But then a hand grasped his head, slamming it against the car, leaving him to fall back to the passenger seat. A loud sound had him raising his head to realize that, for whatever reason, that bastard had closed the door shut. He heard him going around, opening the trunk and taking something out.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way." Through the growing darkness taking over his vision, Mouri saw the front door opening. "Had you stayed out, I'd have just knocked you out like the rest."
There was a splashing sound, and a strong, nauseating smell assaulted his nostrils. Is that… He struggled to haul his body up. … gasoline?!
"But it's dangerous to keep you around." Kogoro got to see something bright ─ it took him a lot more than he would have liked to notice it was a lit match. "Goodbye, Mouri."
With his senses gradually fading into nothing, the detective could do nothing but to fall back, head bumping against the window behind him.
The last thing Mouri Kogoro saw was that bastard casually reaching down to pick the bag on the ground, just to calmly walk away with it, as if pleased with such splendid work, before darkness closed on him, despite the bright flames that had started to crawl up the front seats.
"After drinking that wine, you're planning to commit suicide, aren't you?"
Mizutani appeared to be rather stunned, immediately looking away from the cloudy sky he had been just gazing at to the teenager that stood right next to him. Unlike him, the boy didn't tear his eyes away from the glass in front of him, but they did narrow marginally as he continued to explain his reasoning.
"There were eight people I could not forgive. Now, only one remains."
"The one that still remains, Mizutani-san… It's you, am I wrong?"
But far from replying, Mizutani merely allowed his shoulders to drop, his eyes falling on the cup of wine idle in his hand. "The shock and anger you felt when you learned the details of Nanako-san… I think I understand." As the teen continued to speak, Mizutani felt as his reflection stared back at him, impassibly, until it frowned ─ disgusted, the young looked away. "That's why you went to that hotel in Kyoto and investigated those seven people."
A sad smile took over Mizutani's features. "On that fateful day, two years ago, if I hadn't gone to meet my friend, Nana wouldn't-"
"But you must not commit suicide." Shinichi interrupted him, turning his head to stare at him right at the eyes. "That would just mean murdering your-"
"I know that! I know, but… I can no longer bear to live in a world without Nana." He shrugged. "Not to mention, I'll get a death sentence, anyway."
Shinichi observed him for a while, leaning over the rails, humming all the way. "It won't be a death sentence," he finally said, startling the other greatly. "Since you didn't kill anyone."
As he explained everything to the clueless young man beside him, Shinichi could faintly hear ─ the sound of footsteps, slowly sneaking upon their position from behind the corner.
"You really have a kind heart, for you to accept to take the guilt on yourself and commit suicide, in exchange for them killing those seven people." He turned around to face him fully, hands sliding inside his pockets. "But what you didn't know is that the one that other person really despises and wishes to kill is actually you, Mizutani-san. You, the one who took his beloved sister away."
The person was getting closer, but rather than alarming him, it made Shinichi smirk. "Isn't that right…" His eyes shifted to where a face was coming into light as he walked closer and closer to them. "... Nanako-san's elder brother, Honjou Kazuki-san?"
Though, understandably, Mizutani was beyond shocked at finding that out, Kazuki had merely demanded an answer for how he had figured it out, which Shinichi gladly provided. First, he had thought it made little sense for Mizutani to choose the position of the Polaris and the Big Dipper as crime scenes, or it would mean defiling his beloved stars. So, it had to be someone hoping to pin it to him instead.
The way he had adapted the positions to Japan's map screamed 'perfectionist', no matter where he looked ─ a trait that, judging by the messy, slightly tilted sign on his door, that Mizutani did not possess. Seeing the neat handwriting on Kazuki's card and on the organizer had him concluding that, unlike him, Honjou Kazuki was, beyond a doubt, a perfectionist.
"Listen, Mizutani-san," Shinichi turned to Mizutani, after glaring for a moment at the other man in the room. "I don't know what he told you, but he must have missed the fact that, on the first anniversary of Nanako-san's death, everyone who had been on the sixth floor brought flowers. All of them."
Which meant that they wanted to express their gratitude for allowing them to board the elevator. Realization struck Mizutani immediately, forcing him to stumble back, hand raising to his head ─ Nanako hadn't been chased out, but rather, had voluntarily walked out herself.
"Yeah, Nanako was that kind of a girl…" Kazuki's eyes, glimmering with seething anger that he was experiencing, narrowed. "But even still! That doesn't change the fact that it was because of them boarding that elevator that she died!"
"Indeed, Nanako-san did die in place of those seven people." Shinichi interjected, calmly. "Yet, taking Honjou-san's place and killing yourself for his sins… There's a difference there." Raising his head to the sky, where the stars were still hidden by the clouds over them, he finished. "A difference as great as a star in the sky and a stone rolling on the ground."
With this recent bout of information, there was absolutely no way for him to commit suicide. Kazuki, unable to believe that something like that was truly happening, watched him, horrified, as the young man walked up to the table in the back, picked up his things, ready to leave.
"I'm sure that Nana in heaven wouldn't want me to commit suicide either."
Any other day, Shinichi would have been beyond elated to hear those words, but as it was now, he couldn't focus on anything but the small bag he had picked up, and was about to give back to the true criminal. Those might be the items he took from his victims, he thought, his frown returning once more. I see… He handed them to him and assured him that, if he died with these on him, he would be presumed the murderer.
… Really, how sick is that? He shook his head in disgust. More importantly, inside that bag, it must be…
Before Mizutani could do so, Shinichi extended his hand to him.
Inside must be the key for getting him back.
"Sorry, but," Shinichi said with a polite smile. "Would you mind giving that to me?"
Mizutani blinked, clearly showing that he hadn't expected such a question. Shinichi's smile twitched, but otherwise remained in place. "This is evidence, Mizutani-san." Even if the thought of just snatching it away from his grasp was tempting, Shinichi endured it. "So, I assume you can understand why I can't allow you to hand it over to the culprit."
Before he could react, Mizutani felt the item in question being whisked away from his grasp. "The police?" Kazuki snorted, giving it a long look, before turning to the detective. "Where is it, then?"
Shinichi didn't lower his hand. "Give it here."
"Or what?"
"Or I'll have to take it myself."
"Ah, yeah?!" As the man suddenly went to grab something inside his satchel bag, Shinichi took a step back. "I'd like to see you try!"
The sight of something shiny and sharp was all it took for his hand to fly to his belt, ready for the strike. Gritting his teeth, he watched him lunge at him, and would have most likely done it, hadn't a loud bang echoed through the entire observatory, followed by Kazuaki's scream of pain, and the soft clattering of the knife as it fell to the floor.
"Did I make it in time?"
Shinichi's gaze flickered from the dropped weapon, and to the familiar face rushing towards them, and once more, it narrowed. "I'm Matsumoto, from the Police Headquarters," he introduced himself to a clueless Mizutani, flashing his identification to him ─ which he had, most likely, stolen from the real one.
Whatever he had said to the other young man in the room was completely lost to the high school detective, Where? as his eyes had darted back and forth across the room, seeking for a certain something. Where is-?
Sure enough, he felt his every muscle stiffen at the sight of something black, dropped carelessly in the corner of the room ─ a black sports bag, just like Ai had described it. Conan. The urge to take off running there certainly was strong, but the danger surrounding the both of them was far too huge for him to act irrationally.
Instead, he focused back on the fake superintendent, who was helping the criminal back to his feet.
Finally, he pressed the button and kicked with all his might.
He should have supposed that something of the like would have happened. Without breaking a sweat, the impostor had simply moved out of the way, leaving poor, unsuspecting Mizutani to receive the blow of his soccer ball straight to the face. Watching him collapse to the ground with a sickening sound, completely out cold, Shinichi couldn't help but grimace, feeling undoubtedly sorry for what he had done.
But it all went away when his original target turned around, and their eyes met.
Momentarily, of course, before Kazuki thought it the perfect opportunity to escape. "Like I'd be caught by the likes of you!" He had come prepared, mused Shinichi, watching him bring out a taser and lunging at the fake superintendent, who easily reduced him.
Like Mizutani before him, the murderer dropped to the ground and did not move again. Shinichi observed him for a while, hands sliding to his pockets, then raised his head to meet the other man once more.
"So, glasses and a hood, huh?" Shinichi barely moved, watching carefully as the man turned his back around ─ so incredibly unafraid of an attack from behind that it was unsettling ─ and moved to pick up the duffle bag Shinichi had been eyeing for a while now. "Not the kind of disguise I'd expect from the renowned traitor Singani."
Shinichi remained silent, yet kept his gaze trained on the bag Irish was carrying over to the table where Mizutani's things had once been. "Though, you had been better." Sneering, he set it on top of it. "Like the alter-ego you created… Hirai Arthur, was it?"
His eyes flickered back to his face, unable to hide the shock those words had caused. "The first time I saw you was in Osaka," he explained, walking over to the fallen Honjou, easily grabbing the small bag from him. "I was supposed to be paired with Vermouth, but she was suddenly off to another mission with Bourbon in Osaka. I found it suspicious so, naturally, I headed over there to figure out what was with them."
The teenager barely contained a gasp, finally remembering what he was talking about. Without a doubt, he must have been referring to that night right after the Red Siamese Cat's attack, where he had seen that Akai look-alike for the last time.
"I saw you there, talking with that kid and Hattori Heiji, the person who Bourbon seemed to have an eye on," Irish continued, walking back to him with the item in his hands. "Doing my research about that guy, it wasn't hard to find out that he, alongside a kid, a girl and you, had stopped some thieves from stealing the Buddha statue. Of course, I took upon myself to look into that place, too."
He dropped all the objects from the bag on the table and started studying each and every single of them. "Around three years ago, at that place, a young monk overheard something that he shouldn't have. Singani took care of him easily enough. To be frank, we still haven't found him, but I'm sure that, one day, we will."
The teen wouldn't doubt it, even if he, with all his heart, hoped they never did.
"As I was investigating the temple, I came across a scene that I would never forget. A kid loudly calling you a name different from the one that it was supposed to be yours ─ Kudo."
Shinichi's eyes grew widely. Does he mean Satoshi? He struggled to remain calm. Wait, wait! There was nobody there! He knew because he had checked in a panic when the boy had blurted out his name out of nowhere. Only the both of us were there, besides Kuroba and…
His face paled at the realization. The monk I talked to… wasn't truly he, was he?
"Since I was already looking into that certain fake death, I naturally associated it with your real name, Kudo Shinichi." After checking all the objects in front of him, Irish finally picked a purple amulet bag. "One thing led to another, and I found out that you had a little brother that not only died in a car accident, but that also attended the same daycare center as our member Sherry."
"So you investigated Conan next."
"The files on his death were vague, leaving me with more questions than answers, but one thing struck me. He had supposedly died the same day that Rum was caught. Around a week later, you joined the Organization so it couldn't be a coincidence."
Inside that bag, there was none other than the memory card the Organization had been so desperate to find. "I began at Beika Preschool. Imagine my surprise when I found young Edogawa Conan-kun, who had supposedly been raised in America, terrified to death at the mere sight of a billboard." He raised it in front of his eyes, smirked, and then set it back down. "I doubt he had been aware of it, judging by how distraught he appeared, but I heard him mumbling something under his breath…"
"... find me… Oniichan…"
Shinichi stiffened up and, before he could help it, he began to imagine how the scene would have looked like ─ and definitely, he did not like it. You had to go there, hadn't you? The teenager mentally sighed. Even if you knew it would bring so many ugly memories to you…
At that time, you trusted me to find you, right? And I did… But I wasn't fast enough.
And now...
"From what I had heard, the room hadn't been used for around four years ─ coincidentally, around the time when the incident with Rum happened. No kid had been allowed in there, but somehow, Edogawa Conan's fingerprints were all over one of the papers I retrieved." Pleased by the look of complete horror the teen beside him was sporting, the man reached for the empty glass Mizutani had brought and, as if he owned it, poured himself some wine. "It wouldn't have made sense… unless he had been a student in that preschool. But why would he hide that fact?" Calmly, he took a large sip from it. "If this 'oniichan' was his brother, and if you were that brother, well, everything would piece together."
His eyes were wide and shocked, but eventually, they returned to normal. "I see…" Forcing himself to calm down, the detective took a deep breath and gazed at the bag on top of the table. "I assume… I can't get him home just like that, right?" Irish did not reply, so Shinichi merely sighed. "I understand, I'll come with you."
Irish smirked to himself. "You're such a good brother."
"However," he said. "I want to check if he's okay first."
"As you wish." Despite the agreeable tone in his voice, Irish raised his gun to him. "But you know what will happen if you try something out." Thoroughly unfazed, Shinichi nodded. "That wristwatch and belt you have there will have to go, though. The skateboard, too."
He had no qualms in doing as he was told, settling them wordlessly right beside the large bag and raising his head to Irish, a solemn look spreading all over his face. After receiving a curt nod, the teen turned back to the bag and immediately pulled the zipper down.
Conan's colorless little face had him holding his breath.
He was pretty sure his heart had skipped a beat, too, but either way Shinichi attempted to compose himself again, marginally successful as it was. Gently, almost as if he would shatter into pieces if he was just a little rougher, he laid his hand against the boy's cheek ─ the warmth that met Shinichi's palm allowed him to breathe again.
I'm glad… Even if a little dizzy with relief, Shinichi couldn't help himself, smiling as he brushed back some of Conan's hair away from his forehead. Oh, I'm so glad.
Irish remained at his side, pointing at him with his gun in case he dared to do something, yet he couldn't bring himself to care. Instead, he leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against his younger brother's, and let his eyes slide shut.
Although he knew they wouldn't reach the little boy's ears, the teenager still whispered, "Conan," so softly that, hadn't the room been so ominously silent, Irish wouldn't have been able to hear it either. "I'm so, so sorry for everything."
For failing to protect you. For taking so long to get here. For making you relieve all this…
For all that… I hope you can ever forgive me.
"I'll make it right," he declared, now firmer than before, as he stood back. "This time, definitely…"
"Your time is up," Irish said, still unmoving from his spot. "Come with me."
Shinichi's soft gaze hardened upon tearing away from his brother's face to Irish's cold smirk, but said nothing at all. Merely slid his hands inside his pockets, before taking a step forward, closer to him, yet, neither of them got to do anything else.
A loud crashing sound had both of them twirling around to the now partly shattered glass window, just in time to see a white blur passing right behind it, shooting something that they didn't get to see, zooming merely inches away from the back of Irish's head, stabbing into the wall right behind them.
When he saw what it was, not even Irish was able to keep himself from gasping. "What the-?" he breathed out, eyes wide open, stuck on the white card stuck on the wall, or rather, the iconic smiley face drawn on it.
Without thinking about it twice, Irish rushed ahead, gritting his teeth all the while. The blur appeared again, yet this time around, it took the form of a magician, wearing pristine white clothes and a shark-like grin all over his face as he soared through the sky in a hang glider.
Not even the sight of a gun pointed at him was enough for that teasing grin to disappear. Merely glided up before it could be fired.
A long, exhausted sigh beside him announced that the detective from before was standing right beside him. Turning back at him, Irish saw him smirk, as if pleased about something he had no idea about.
"Finally." Admittedly, it took him a while to realize he wasn't talking to him, and that Shinichi's hand was grasping, for some reason, the side of his glasses. "You're late, KID."
Then Shinichi focused on Irish, his smirk bigger than ever before.
"What's your plan?" Irish questioned, frowning profusely. "Having Kaito KID steal the boy?"
Shinichi snorted in return. "What boy?"
The realization of what those words meant sunk slowly, but soon enough, the man snapped out of it and dashed to the table, hand latching into the bag to check.
But as he had feared, it was empty. Where-? His gaze fell on the gadgets the detective had brought over, and realized that the wristwatch was nowhere to be seen, too.
"So the kid screwed your deal over?" Shinichi said, coming up from behind as he watched Irish rest his hands on top of the table, head dropping forward. "I know how you feel ─ he does that."
The man's shoulders were trembling, "Of all tricks you could have pulled out…" yet, something was wrong ─ Shinichi's smirk faltered at the sight. "It had to be such a cheap one." He was laughing, the detective realized in alarm. "I'm disappointed."
With no warning, Irish disappeared from his line of sight. Shinichi didn't even realize he had crouched down until a startled squeak reached his ears. "Conan!" he shouted in horror, watching as the organization member dragged the child from under the table and, keeping an iron grip on the collar of his shirt, he stood back up, raising him up to his eye level.
Blue fearful eyes met Irish's murderous ones. The sight seemed to amuse Irish to no end, prompting him to grin viciously.
It disappeared quickly when an arm latched around his neck, locking him and rendering him unable to escape easily. "Conan!" Shinichi pulled him backwards, trying with all his might to free the little boy, even if Irish was clearly stronger. "The watch! Quickly!"
Conan needed a second longer than normal to react, but when he did, he immediately focused his attention on the wristwatch in his hand, aiming at the criminal. He gritted his teeth, however, realizing that it wouldn't be such an easy feat, with both of them moving so much in their struggle.
Eventually, he pressed the button, and the needle was shot, as expected. Conan expected, too, to hear Irish's grunt, followed by the grip on him weakening, allowing him to finally escape.
Only that it didn't belong to Irish, "Argh!" but to his brother instead.
Oh, no. Conan's eyes widened when he saw Shinichi slapping a hand to his neck, grimacing. No, no, no!
Like so, completely horrified about his mistake, the child watched Irish taking advantage of it, elbowing the detective hard enough to force him to wheeze, freeing himself for once and for all. "Oniichan!" shouted Conan as Shinichi stumbled, kneeling down and slumping over the table. And didn't move again.
Slowly, Conan turned his gaze away from his brother to his captor.
"Nice try."
A malicious smirk blossoming in his face was the last Conan saw before he felt the pain shooting from his back and travelling all over his body as he was carelessly thrown aside. He might have screamed, he wasn't all that sure, but what he knew was that he was on the floor, watching as Irish, ever so slowly, marched towards his way.
"You still haven't given up?" he sneered, watching with something akin to mirth as the boy weakly stood up. "So you really are a stubborn little one."
This time, Conan was certain he had screamed when Irish, with the back of his gun, easily threw him a few meters back. Hissing, the boy pressed a hand against his cheek, where he had just been hit, and raised his head to glare at the man that, once more, was getting closer.
What should I do?! he screamed inside his mind, pulling himself back to his feet. Oniichan is out of commission…
Panic was settling it, together with the realization that he was pretty much screwed. Without his belt and shoes, all that was left was his close to non-existent child strength, against a full grown man that was definitely much stronger than average.
Unless… Conan risked a glance towards the table he had woken up on top of, where all the gadgets ─ which, he assumed, had been brought by his brother ─ had been placed, aside of the wristwatch, of course, which was beyond useless by now. If I somehow can get there, maybe-
The wave of pain that hit him knocked all thought away from his mind. His back collided with something hard, which he assumed to be a pillar, and for a moment, he just lingered there, slumped against it. It's no use… No matter how useless, the kid stretched a hand towards his objective, mentally cursing, in a way no child should, upon the realization ─ I can't reach it.
And right beside it all, he distinguished a certain form, completely motionless. Like him, Conan couldn't move as it was. Not good… His brother's figure was sliding in and out of focus.
I can't… Slowly, but steadily, Conan could feel his consciousness slipping away from his fingers ─ he shivered at the notion. If I pass out now… Oniichan… Oniichan will…
Darkness was closing in, hiding his brother away from his sight.
All because of me. Because I-
"Conan-kun!" It brought him back up. "Conan-kun!"
The soft, female voice he had longed to hear all day long forced his eyes to crack open, squinting in an attempt to make sense of the shapeless figures that invaded his vision. "Ran… neechan?" he rasped out, and the blot in front of him moved.
Her concerned gaze was the first thing he discerned, hovering over him. His eyes snapped open in alarm, hand latching into her shirt, making her frown deepen with surprise. "... Run..." As much as he had wanted to see her again, this was the worst time. "Run away before he-!"
"Are the two of you alright?"
Ran didn't miss the way the boy seemed to jump out of his skin, absolutely terrified. Whipping her head to glance over her shoulder, and seeing Matsumoto hurrying their way, the girl immediately connected the dots and faced him fully.
Her gaze took a dangerous glint as she slid into a fighting stance.
"Oh, I see…" Irish's lips curved into a smirk. He pulled out a gun and pointed straight at the girl, who remained completely impassive. "It seems like my secret has spread everywhere."
Ran's hands curled into fists. "Don't…" she heard Conan whisper from behind.
"It's alright," was all she said, not even casting the boy behind her a gaze.
Instead, she settled it on the figure slumped against the table. Shinichi. Any other day, she would have smiled, amused at the realization that he was trembling, ever so slightly, showing that he was fighting with all his might to get his body to move, relying on his own stubbornness rather than actual energy to keep himself conscious ─ that was so like him…
"Say, Ran, did you know?" His words from a long time ago echoed in her head. "The speed of a rifle bullet is about 1000 meters per second." His bright smile as they both strolled across Tropical Land was stuck in her mind, too. "Compared to that, the speed of a pistol's bullet is only a third of that, which puts them roughly at 350 meters a second."
The tips of her lips quirked upward.
"What's so funny?" questioned Irish. "Don't tell me you think you can dodge a bullet?"
Of course she doesn't, Conan remarked in his mind, though he had to admit that the girl's actions were odd, to put it nicely. No matter how terrifyingly good she is, she can't be possibly be thinking-
"That's exactly it."
What.
Conan couldn't believe his ears. She said what?! he cried hysterically inside his head, eyes open in full capacity as they stared at the girl and confirmed that, somehow, she wasn't joking, or bluffing either. Ran actually believed she could dodge a bullet.
Irish smirked, finding this incredibly interesting. Contrarily, Conan felt this was utterly and irrevocably insane ─ even for his standards ─ and that it had to be stopped right now-
A loud bang announced that the shot had been made. Before Conan's mind could fully comprehend what was going on, he had found himself blinking at the hole left on the pillar he was leaning against ─ that definitely hadn't been there before ─ then to the man, lying on the floor after she had struck him by surprise.
"... A-Amazing," was all Conan could get out at the moment.
But went serious once more when, chuckling to himself, Irish got up so easily that it was almost disconcerting. "I have to hand it to you, young lady," he sneered. Ran readied herself for what was to come. "I had forgotten you're a karate expert."
With that, he lunged at her, and she blocked the hit. Conan sat there, still as a statue, too fascinated by the speed, the fluidity of their movements ─ a well-placed punch there, blocked by the other, followed by a powerful kick, and like so they continued on and on, as if dancing. A dance of death, that is.
Conan could have sworn that his heart had skipped a beat when Ran fell to the ground, but recovered his breath right thereafter upon the sight of her leg-sweeping him, knocking him down before hopping back to her feet.
I… I have to do something. Biting back a cry of pain coming from his newfound injuries, the little boy hauled himself back and, making as little sound as possible, stumbled his way to the glass. I need to get the belt, at least. Supporting his body with the rails, he resumed what he had tried to do before. I'm not strong enough without my shoes, but maybe… I could distract him and-
"You're such a strong one…" his thoughts were interrupted by Irish's voice, bringing his attention back to the fight. "Just like your father was."
The gelid smirk that ensued didn't fail to send a chill down Conan's back.
He… 'was'?
"What…" Ran drew a shaky breath in. "What do you-?"
"No matter what I did, I couldn't stop the flame in his heart from burning so fiercely." The chill transformed into a full-fledged icicle. "So, I simply allowed it to burn out."
Conan didn't comprehend what those words mean, but had the distinct feeling that he didn't want to know. Before long, however, fuelled by an instinct he did not know where it came from, his gaze slowly drifted towards the glass window beside him ─ and froze completely where he stood.
Among the busy city of Tokyo, the boy got to see a thick trail of black smoke making its way towards the sky. He gazed at it, blankly at first, until realization began to sink in ─ along to his heart, dropping somewhere around his stomach and knees.
Both his hands pressed against the glass as he stared at it, absolutely horrified.
"Conan-kun, what's-?!"
Her scream of pain forced him to look away, just in time to witness as he punched her, over and over again. Finishing with a kick, she fell back, unable to stand up again.
Still smirking, Irish approached her. But was stopped when something jumped on him from behind, little hands suddenly latching onto his face and nails digging into his skin.
"You brat!" he grunted, immediately twisting his arm to grab him and get him off, yet only got to grab his hair. The boy didn't let go.
So, Irish pulled again, but this time a sharp pain in his arm ─ the brat had the nerve to bite him! ─ had him cursing loudly. Infuriated, he threw the kid aside and turned fully.
Even as he backed off, Conan didn't cease glaring at him from his spot on the floor. It soon morphed into shock, realizing that the mask that imitated Matsumoto's face was torn apart ─ which was, most definitely, his doing.
"You annoying little-!" Conan watched as Irish, frustrated by the whole thing, violently retired it from his face, allowing a blonde man to appear behind and glare down hatefully at him.
He took out his gun and pointed directly at him. Conan's eyes widened, but other than that, he didn't move.
"You asked for it!"
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to move in time even if he tried, Conan scrunched his eyes shut, waiting for the burning pain, which he was no stranger to, to come.
A bang ensued, so he knew the shot had been made. But the pain was different ─ it was dull, spreading all over his back and knocking out the air out of his lungs. Although he hadn't opened his eyes yet, he felt something heavy, keeping him on the ground, impeding him from sitting up again. And then, there was this grunt, absolutely different from his own.
But that sounded like someone he knew.
Conan's eyes flew open with a gasp and lingered there, staring up at the ceiling he was suddenly staring at. Unconsciously, his fingers brushed against the large hand that had, ever so gently, came to place itself against his cheek.
Gathering enough courage, he slowly turned his head until he saw it ─ his dear brother's weak, yet warm, gaze.
Conan's mouth opened, but no word came out.
With a pained groan, Shinichi pushed himself up just barely enough for the child to slide from under him, but the hand never left his cheek, as the boy was still holding it in place, unwilling to let it go.
"W-What did you-?"
Conan drew in a quivering breath, silenced by the sight in front of him ─ there was so much blood that he couldn't even-
"C-Conan…"
Desperate to hear what the feeble voice was saying, the boy immediately lowered, as close to his brother's head as possible. What he didn't expect was to see Shinichi's free hand shakily placing on him the glasses he had been using moments prior before letting go.
"I'm… sorry…"
Through his slightly crooked glasses, Conan focused on his brother's pallid face, observing how his lips curved into a rather tender smile. Both his little hands clutched the one in his cheek, eyes stinging with unshed tears that, ever so slowly, were clouding his sight.
And just like that, it slid away from his fingers.
A/N:
… Sorry?
Anyway, never before I'd have thought I'd write a 100+ chapter fic… If you somehow got to this point, thank you xD
Seriously, thank you! You're amazing :)
By the way, there's a little something I've been working on for a while and I thought now it'd be a good time to share it. Don't expect something too big, though…
I'll publish it next week so, if you have the time, please pass by and check it out ;)
CherryGirl 21-6: Sorry, I'm not entirely comfortable stating publicly where I live, but that's not even close xD English is not even my first language, anyway.
And yeah, that's about everything that happened. It was probably a little confusing. Sorry about that, too.
F.C. Meyer: Being honest with you, I haven't really given it much thought. Since Ai was basically born in the Organization, and was such an important 'asset' for them, I thought she should be taught about this. Shinichi merely joined and got a name on his own, so I believed it was a different case.
By the way, thank you for letting me know about that typo. I'm in the middle of editing that chapter, so I'll take care of it then.
SapphireRuby24: Sorry, I completely forgot to explain it. I wrote something about it, so I hope it makes sense now.
Mr Darklord: I've fixed that mistake. Thank you for telling me!
Rene: Well, about that, all I can say is that, yeah, Akemi and Shinichi knew each other.