File One Hundred and One: It's Finally Over
It was a relatively quiet night in which Nakamori Aoko strolled through the streets, enjoying the summer breeze that caressed her face as she, serenely but steadily, continued her way.
Today was Tanabata, she would remind herself, looking up at the sky. It was such a pity, though, that the clouds were hiding the beautiful stars away from her sight.
"Seems like it is going to rain tonight," Aoko turned to face Hakuba, who walked right beside her. "That's unfortunate."
"Yeah, it really is." she replied with a sad smile. "Orihime and Hikoboshi will have to wait another year to meet."
"The tears of Orihime and Hikoboshi ─ that's how the rain of this day is called, isn't it?"
Aoko didn't answer him. Orihime and Hikoboshi, huh? She merely brought her phone out and gazed down at the code displayed on it.
"High up, close to the sky, where the two brothers ─ one in red, the other in blue ─ stand away from each other, I shall extend my wings and make a bridge, to allow them to meet again.
─ Kaito KID."
"What is this?" her father had blinked at the text on the phone in his hand. "Where did you get this, Arthur-kun?"
"It's all over the internet as we speak," Hirai had replied, his face as stoic as it had been the entire way from Blue Parrot to where they stood. "I believed that bringing it to your attention was of utmost importance for KID's capture."
"Yeah, I get that… But what is this supposed to mean?"
Hirai said nothing in return, just watched silently as the man read the message repeatedly ─ which shouldn't be all that strange, considering that the boy usually stayed out of things like that. Aoko barely paid him any attention, focusing on the code on her own phone, frowning profusely.
He had been eyeing her for a while, too. Probably, he wasn't all that used to her being just as quiet as he was, especially when a certain magician she absolutely despised was involved.
"Tonight," she mumbled, a little shocked at her own realization. "Touto Tower."
Once again, Hirai gave her a silent glance, probably not expecting such a thing to escape her mouth.
"W-What?" her father stuttered, rather stupidly.
"It says it's supposed to be a high place ─ here, in the beginning," she said, glancing at her screen once more. "So it has to be a really tall building."
"But it could have been another one…"
The girl huffed lightly at the question, typing something rapidly on her phone, leaving the inspector to blink cluelessly. It didn't help that, when she shoved it to his face next, he found himself staring at an image search, and more importantly, at the pair of pink anthropomorphic… things that smiled at the camera, hugging each other.
"Aoko…" Nakamori said slowly. "What are those?"
"Touto Tower's mascots," the girl replied. "They are the Noppon brothers. See, one wears a blue overall and the other a red one!"
His eyes widened, finally understanding what she meant. "Ah, you're right!"
"Then there's the part of the bridge," she continued, putting her phone away. "No matter how you look at it, it's exactly like the tale of Orihime and Hikoboshi!"
"I have been wondering for a while, however…" Hakuba's voice dragged her away her own thoughts. "Why did you decide to come here, all on your own, instead of joining Inspector Nakamori?"
"What's wrong with that? I just wanted to do this myself," replied the girl, with a bit of a pout, averting her gaze. "You came here alone, too, Hakuba-kun."
"Certainly, but only because I saw the code just as I was arriving home." The lie slid from Hakuba's lips easily. "I headed straight to the station, hence why we met on the train earlier."
Rather than responding, Aoko merely lowered her gaze to the ground. "I must admit I'm quite surprised," continued Hakuba instead. "That Inspector Nakamori figured out the code so perfectly, without the help of a detective."
"I did," said she, latching her hands behind her back. "KID must have been in a hurry for him to make it this easy to solve…"
He paused. "I didn't realize it was easier," he admitted. "From my perspective, it seemed like his usual kind of code."
Aoko hummed in thought. "I wonder why you didn't say anything about it," she said after a while. "Maybe because… you're his accomplice this time?"
The detective didn't respond, just eyed her warily. "What are you implying?"
"Even though a code like this should have been easy for you to solve, all you did was show it to Dad. You said nothing else about it."
Beyond a doubt, her words had definitely taken him by surprise, yet Hakuba remained completely calm. He thought over it briefly, before his lips curved into an impressed smirk. "I assume you were aware I was posing as Hirai-kun the whole time." Her silence only confirmed it. "May I ask you how you knew?"
She needed a moment to answer. "Did you know that there was a time where I went out with Kaito at Tropical Land?" Hakuba didn't reply, but she grew flustered regardless. "But don't get the wrong idea! I just asked him out because I wanted to prove to my dad that he wasn't KID!"
"And did you prove it?"
"Well… He stayed the entire time with me, even if there was a heist somewhere else." Despite her words, the girl was frowning. "But there was one time, when we were watching a movie… We weren't talking a lot, but… Kaito was acting strange. His mannerisms, the way he expressed himself, everything was… different. As if he was another person altogether."
"So you believed someone was posing as Kaito instead?"
"It sounded crazy, but it happened more than once. Eventually, I realized that whenever that happened, Hirai-kun wasn't there," she continued. "So I began to observe him, and…"
She trailed down into silence, but Hakuba didn't interrupt her.
"I sit close to him in class, and I see things, you know?" she sighed. "Like right on his hairline, or a bit under his sleeve… At times, his skin would be lighter on those spots. It seemed as if he had been using make-up, but why would he do that?" Behind her back, her hands clenched together. "Hirai-kun's suspicious behavior doesn't help. I fear he might be dwelling into something dangerous… and that Kaito is involved, too, somehow."
Hakuba smiled at her. "You're incredibly observant, Aoko-san." More than he had given her credit for, it seemed. "But how did you know I was disguised as Hirai-kun?"
"Hirai-kun and you are different from each other." Aoko replied. "If you paid attention, you'd notice you two speak differently, too." It was followed by a smile. "He suddenly started to call me by my name instead of 'Nakamori-san', as usual. That's how I knew."
"I see…" He figured that had been a huge oversight of his part.
She gazed at him long enough for her smile to disappear into nothing. Suddenly, she stopped, allowing her gaze to drop back to the ground. "Then we went to London," she said in a soft whisper. "Hirai-kun and you stayed there for a little longer than us."
"I remember that."
"Surely, you remember, too, what you asked me to do…" Frowning, he turned back to him. "To 'make sure Kuroba-kun doesn't use his phone all day long', was it?"
Definitely, he remembered that, too ─ he had hoped to catch Kudo red-handed to get him to spit out who he was, so it would be useless if Kuroba warned him first.
"You said that everything would make sense later on, but didn't say a word about it afterwards." She turned around fully, fists clenching at her sides as he glared dangerously at him. "Well, it still doesn't make sense."
"Aoko-san-"
"What's going on?" He remained impassibly serious, even as she took a step closer to him. "Hakuba-kun-!"
She cut herself short upon noticing his expression changing dramatically for no reason at all. It confused it greatly, until she noticed he wasn't looking at her, but rather, over her shoulder.
"… Smoke."
"Smoke?" Aoko repeated, spinning around to see for herself. "You're right…"
Hakuba frowned. "That's just a few blocks away, too…" he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. "Could it be a fire?"
"F-Fire?!" she shrieked. "You think someone is in trouble?!"
Thus, completely forgetting what they had been talking about moments ago, the girl made a heel turn and sprinted away, towards the source of the smoke. So sudden it was that Hakuba was left to stare, dazed for a moment, before he snapped out of him and followed suit.
"Hakuba-kun!" Aoko yelled just as she turned around the corner. "This is bad ─ it is a fire!"
Less than a second later, he had done the same. True to her words, just across the street, a car was parked, burning so fiercely that had a few onlookers standing a safe distance away, petrified by what they were witnessing. Hakuba, too, stood watching the flames dance as his brain ran, trying to deduce what he was supposed to do next.
It all stopped when he saw something moving from the corner of his eye. "Aoko-san!" he yelled after the girl that impulsively rushed out, crossing the street in a matter of seconds.
But she didn't stop, not even for a second ─ for a moment there, a certain hot-blooded, uncivilized western detective flashed in front of his eyes, only to be gone the next moment, replaced by a high school girl banging on the window. He immediately shook it off, in favor of hurrying to join her.
"There's somebody inside!" screamed the girl, panic pitching her voice a little higher than usual. She started knocking even louder. "Hey, sir! Hey!"
As she continued to, uselessly, trying to get the person to react, Hakuba peered inside to realize that she was right. There, lying on the backseat ─ unconscious, if the lack of response was something to go by ─ was someone that, upon a closer look, had the detective opening his eyes wide with shock.
"That's Mouri-san."
"What?!"
Followed by that, the boy placed a hand on her shoulder, gently guiding her away from harm. Only when she understood what he meant and obediently stood away did he try to break the window, hitting as hard as he could with his elbow. The glass resisted the blow, however, and the many others that followed.
Groaning at the prospect, Hakuba paused, eyes searching around for something that would help him on his task. There has to be a way… He took a long breath and readied himself to try again when he found nothing. Life always comes first.
The sight of three distinct faces ─ a certain western, eastern and a little kid ─ flashed in his mind, making him smirk. That's how a detective should be, isn't it?
"Hakuba-kun!" Aoko yelled before he could do anything, though.
He pivoted on his feet, surprised to see her panting, as if she had just ran as fast as she could. His eyes stared at her face for a second, before lowering to her hands, and was therefore astounded to see clutching a mop, of all things.
She must have stolen it from a nearby shop, he mused.
A serious glint took over her entire gaze. "Stand back, Hakuba-kun," she said, voice dangerously low, holding the object right in front of her, as if it was a sword.
Wisely, Hakuba stepped back.
A coin flipped in the air, turning around several times before it fell, right on top of his hand.
Oh, tails… thought the magician, crouched as he stood at the very tip of Touto Tower, bored out of his mind. I lost again.
With a sigh, he raised the coin over his eyes, holding against the moon as if it was any of the jewels he would steal. People are going nuts. He chuckled ─ he had checked the web just minutes earlier, and everyone was going bananas trying to figure out what in the world he was going to steal tonight. Kaito chuckled ─ everyone was excited, and that was good.
Gazing down, he fought a laugh to escape. Looks like my audience is here, he decided, watching the several cars that had parked surrounding Touto Tower completely. I'm sorry, Inspector Nakamori, but you will get none of the spotlight today…
Though, thinking about it, that's the usual thing, isn't it?
It should be about time ─ slowly, he stood up, just in time to see Nakamori stepping out, glaring hatefully up at him. Not that it particularly fazed him. The show should be about to begin soon.
Tonight, I'll take the most precious, important treasure there's out there. I'll steal it from those crows that had gotten their claws on it and return it right where it belongs.
Had anyone been able to see his face right now, they would have noticed that his signature grin was nowhere else to be seen.
Tonight, on the night of Tanabata, I shall extend my wings… Kaito bowed, allowing his cape to flutter behind him with the wind. And create a bridge.
To help a certain pair of star-crossed brothers to find each other again.
"I'll make it right…" the voice in his hairpiece said. "This time, definitely…"
Finally.
"Your time is up," another one replied. "Come with me."
Ladies and gentlemen…
It's showtime.
Conan dreamed about a crow.
It was flying ─ croaking as it soared through the sky so gracefully that the kid couldn't get his eyes away from it. Black, yet absolutely stunning just by staring at it, that it was almost mesmerizing…
Only that, in all that beauty, there was something that made the boy feel uneasy.
There's something else…
The wings fluttered once, twice, then began to change. Black feathers stretched out, morphing into something akin to fingers. Wings soon became hands, but never stopped moving, as if dancing across his eyes.
Something important…
Straining his ears, Conan was just beginning to hear something else, entirely different from the squeaking from before. A gambled, unrecognizable laugh started to make itself known instead, so loudly that it blocked all other sounds around.
And before he knew it, he wasn't looking at a crow, but a human face instead.
Not good…
Yet, it was hard to call it human, since he couldn't make out any expression. Conan squinted his eyes, trying his absolute hardest to make out the features of the person in front of him, but to no avail. The person remained completely faceless, no matter how much he tried.
I can't remember… He groaned, incredibly frustrated by the entire thing.
Even though… I'm so close-
Before he could even attempt anything else, a strange, pungent odor suddenly attacked his nostrils. If he had to describe what it was like, Conan would have said that it smelled like pain ─ sheer acrid pain burning the entire way from his nose up to his head. He felt his body taking a sharp breath in, purely out of instinct, and he would have probably shot up from his lying position, hadn't a hand on his shoulder firmly kept him down.
All of a sudden, he wasn't staring up at the faceless mystery person from before, but blinking at his brother's severe gaze cast upon him ─ wearing glasses? Since when did he even need glasses, anyway?
What the-?
Conan took a moment to process what was going on, until he caught sight of the small capsule the older detective was retiring from under his nose, and placing inside his pockets.
Oh, ammonia. I see.
No wonder he had such a violent reaction. Conan lied there for a second, wondering why he had done such a thing, until slowly he realized where he was ─ stuffed inside a bag, at Touto Tower's observation deck, it seemed. Either way, Shinichi said nothing, merely held a finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet, and mouthed the word 'wristwatch'. He turned back around before he could even ask anything.
Or tell him that his limbs were still tied together ─ his brother hadn't noticed it, probably because the bag was still closed up his chin. Conan held back an annoyed grunt, sitting up rapidly, quickly noticing the gadgets that lied right across him ─ and was he seeing things or that one card stuck on the wall had freaking Kaito KID's logo on-?
His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp but subtle, puncturing pain in his leg that almost made him squeak in surprise. What the-? When he looked at what had caused it, well, it certainly didn't make things any clearer ─ why was his school compass, of all things, doing in that bag with him? ─ but it was useful, he guessed.
Pushing all questions to the back of his mind, the child hurried to pick it up, and fixed his gaze on the zip ties holding his ankles together first. A mechanism like this… He focused on the box at the top of it.
Still, this isn't something Oniichan would forget… The boy easily located the small locking bar, and immediately proceeded to slide the point end of the compass between it and the tape. Unless, he believed this has already been taken care of..
Who? ─ or rather, why hadn't this person done it? Conan had the distinct feeling he didn't want to know.
Despite that, he couldn't help the smirk that escaped him, seeing that his feet were free.
Focusing on his wrists next, the boy frowned. From what he had heard, he could easily make them snap if he brought his arms over his head, then brought them down quickly.
It's a bit thick… He concluded, upon a closer examination. If I don't get them to break, things will be much harder… Since he would have tightened them for it to work.
Not to say it would hurt like hell. Conan didn't think it was such a good idea anymore.
Either way, his legs were good to go. Therefore, still grabbing his compass and snatching the wristwatch like his brother told him to, he hopped off the table and slipped under it.
I'm supposed to wait here until Irish gets close. Then I'll snipe him while he is wondering where I went, the boy reasoned. That is your plan, isn't it?
Then, I have to get rid of these quickly. He attempted to do the same thing as before, but proved to be especially hard since, because he couldn't use his hands, he was holding the compass with his teeth.
Come on, come on…
If it was skill or pure dumb luck, Conan had no clue. But what he did know was that he was now grinning at his wrists, elated to see that he was officially free ─ until, suddenly, he wasn't anymore.
He had been too focused on unlocking his bindings that he hadn't noticed Irish getting closer ─ a terrible mistake on his part, cursed Conan in the privacy of his own mind as he was dragged away from his hiding spot and raised up in the air. It was too late for it now, he guessed, staring into Irish's malicious eyes.
The following events happened so quickly that Conan's brain barely got to process all of them, but was absolutely certain of one thing ─ he had seriously messed up. He had missed, and accidentally darted his own brother instead of Irish, leaving him all alone to deal with him.
Which didn't end well, of course ─ predictably so, since he was just a powerless little kid, trying to stand against a full-grown man, and a strong organization member at that. Had Ran not appeared by the time she had, Conan wasn't sure what would have happened to him.
She had put on a good fight ─ she really did ─ but Irish was cunning, and had suggested that her father had been subjected to a terrible ─ Conan still couldn't get his head around how it happened ─ demise. It had made her focus diminish long enough for the man to deliver a powerful blow. Seeing her on the floor had made Conan stand up shakily, and the sight of him approaching the girl, ever so slowly, started to run.
And a thought, just a single thought ─ not her, too! ─ forced him to conjure all the strength he didn't know he had to jump high enough to dig his nails into Irish's face.
In a blink of an eye, he had flung him back. Irish true face scowled right at him, bringing his gun out to finish this once and for all…
And then there was red.
His gaze was so soft, and the large hand on his cheek so warm that almost brought forward the tears. The boy held on bravely, clutching his brother's hand even closer to his face.
Until it inevitably slid from his grasp, flopping to the ground ─ reminding Conan of a puppet whose strings had been sliced off. Yet, the boy did not come forward to pick it up, or even shake him violently, screaming for him to wake up loud enough to hurt his throat… It did not even cross his mind.
Fingers still brushing against his own cheek, the boy just sat there, rooted on his spot beside where his brother was sprawled across the floor. His blank gaze remained in the hand in front of him, while his brain stuttered, failing to relay to him what had just occurred in a span of seconds.
Just like his brother, Conan remained completely motionless.
"Meitantei?" He felt his own fingers twitch almost imperceptibly. "Meitantei, don't scare me like that!"
Something flickered back to life in his eyes. Oniichan? He picked his head up in recognition. "Hey, Meitantei!" Yet, it all went away, leaving Conan's shoulders to slump. "What's going on there?!"
What's going…? His eyes drifted away from the fallen hand to the scarlet oozing from the wound on his back. The mere sight of it made him take a sharp breath in, eyes finally opening wide, taking into everything.
"Answer me, for goodness' sake!"
Conan completely ignored the voice drilling into his head, thanks to the glasses he was now wearing.
Instead, he slowly turned to glance over his shoulder. Irish's gaze remained impassive as ever ─ but there was something, something odd about it that didn't settle right with the young boy. He hadn't moved either, nor had tried to do away with him the entire time his back had been facing him. Conan didn't move a muscle either, but tensed up when the man sighed, almost dejectedly.
"I'm sorry it had to end like this…" he said, slowly raising his gun at him. "But I fear you saw too much, boy."
And just as he was about to shoot again, Conan felt himself gasping in shock, hoping back into his feet at smoke filling the room, blocking his sight as if a thick wall had raised right before his eyes.
Of course, the boy would not lose that chance. Blindly, he rushed to the table, seizing what he guessed was the belt and ran away, hand tapping the wall beside him, in an attempt to find somewhere to hide for the meanwhile.
"Kudo-!"
"KID!" Conan interrupted, adjusting the dial on his glasses to his correct eyesight, without stopping once. "Don't come in."
"T-Tantei-kun?!" From his glasses, the small detective heard KID splutter in surprise. "Hey, are you two alright?"
Conan refused to answer. "Listen, that guy has a gun," he whispered instead, opening the door leading to what seemed to be a storage room, and closing it after he was inside. "You can't barge into the observation deck, or you will-"
"C-Conan…"
The boy shook his head furiously, hoping to wipe his brother's weak smile away from his head. KID made a long pause, which the boy assumed to be because of the confusion, but thankfully didn't inquire any further. Conan paid no attention to it, simply placed his wristwatch on top of a pile of boxes. Hopefully, this will hold him for a while, he thought, turning the light on, and opening the door just a sliver to check that Irish wasn't around.
"Head outside then," the magician said, just as Conan's little head snapped from side to side, to make sure he really wasn't hiding anywhere. "I'll pick you up there."
"Can't," he said, with a frown. "Ran-neechan is still here."
There was an exasperated sigh. "I know you're worried, but your brother said getting you out was our top priority. Besides…" Conan could hear him smirking. "Meitantei is there. He will not let him harm his girlfriend on his watch, is he?" Yet, the magician was met with plain silence ─ it made his grin drop almost instantly. "Tantei-kun?"
"Shut up. You're noisy."
That, and there was absolutely no way he could answer that. At least it had silenced the magician, Conan noted as he hid in a corner, just in time for a certain figure to make his way through the remains of the smoke that still lingered in the air. What am I going to do? He clenched the belt he was wearing now, eyes trained on the man who, upon realizing the light coming from the storage room, paused, raising his gun. Even if I managed to escape from him…
Irish shot the door repeatedly. There's no way I can defeat him.
Sure enough, Irish faltered, dumbfounded for a moment when he realized there was nobody there. Naturally, that was an opportunity that Conan seized without a question, kicking the ball his belt had produced with all the strength he had ─ which, given that he was a small kid without the aid of his power-enhancing shoes, wasn't a lot.
All he did was push Irish back, marginally. "Already out of ideas?" The teasing tone, and the bullet missing his feet just barely, was enough incentive for him to dart out of that place.
"Yeah, that's the way!"
He felt as if he had no other choice but to go exactly where Irish wanted, and he absolutely hated it. Especially since he didn't have any other choice ─ he couldn't turn around and attempt to go down or he would risk crossing paths with him.
KID said he would meet me outside. The thought made him run all the faster. That guy is incredibly resourceful… Even if the child would never admit it out loud.
That's probably my only chance at the moment.
A bullet missed his cheek by a mere inch, and Conan had to fight really hard not to cringe, especially when, with each shot that was made, his mind would drift again to that certain moment ─ he would see that hand again, falling limply right in front of his eyes.
Closing his eyes tightly, he pushed a door open and continued to run, not taking a second to close it behind him. Oniichan… The rain drops gently falling on top of his head welcomed inside, yet the boy barely paid it any attention. There was… There was so much blood…
He couldn't… He couldn't have-!
He bit his lip.
"I'm… sorry…"
… Could he?
"Let's end this game of cat-and-the-mouse, shall we?"
Conan rushed up the stairs, unable to focus on anything else but the sound of bullets landing so close to his feet that it was beyond terrifying.
Behind him, Irish calmly walked towards him. The boy risked a glance over his shoulder, but all he could focus on was on the gun he held in his hand ─ the same one he had used to-
The boy forced himself to take a deep breath, as quivering as it turned out ─ just by thinking about it, his throat would close on him. He… His fists clenched tightly enough to physically hurt. That guy-! Conan rushed up the stairs, quickly turning around the corner, and waited.
He… Oniichan… He-!
He waited for him to reach the stairs as well. Once he did, the child frowned and brazenly turned back, jumping right onto him. Irish had been too surprised that, before he fully processed what was happening, had been knocked to the floor.
The child immediately pulled away, eyes flickering around until he found what he had been looking for.
"Why would you end another life, no matter who it belongs to, is something I can't ever understand!" His own words from earlier today rang on his mind, loud and clear, as he dashed to pick it up. "So don't say I'm like you! Ever again!"
Against his fingers, the gun felt as cold as the last time.
"I wonder what you would do…" Yet this time around, the young boy gently picked it up, as if it weighed nothing. "... if I killed your precious brother in front of your eyes."
Not even Irish was prepared by the sight that met him upon raising his head again, but other than staying perfectly still in his place, he didn't let it show. He paused, contemplating the scene in front of him for several seconds, before he calmly rose back to his feet.
But stopped short when the frown deepened, little fingers still gripping the weapon tightly, aiming at his face.
"I thought you weren't anything like me." If anything, Irish appeared almost fascinated by the recent turn of events. "And here you are, giving that glare once again-"
"Shut up!" the boy snarled, completely interrupting the man in front of him. "Shut up, shut up!"
And certainly, that had silenced Irish, as strange as it would sound to the little boy, had he been in his right mind at the moment. Taking on the rage and raw hatred that clouded his young gaze, threatening to burn him alive if he even breathed the wrong way, Irish wisely held his hands up.
But, far from pleased by the cooperation he received, the kid remained firmly in place ─ even if his knuckles had gone white from gripping too tightly, or his hands were shaking, just barely.
"Okay… Time out, time out." Both of them, however, jumped, completely startled by the new voice joining in. "Can we all talk things over for a moment?"
A white figure had landed, silently but gracefully, on the rails, right next to them. "Tantei-kun, Tantei-kun.." he said, in a fake disapproving tone as he held his top hat closer to his face. "I'd have believed you'd known better than to play with such dangerous toys."
The surprise that his sudden appearance carried eventually vanished and the boy, and soon the frown, returned. He didn't say a word, merely fixed his gaze back to Irish.
"Meaning, Tantei-kun, kindly lower that weapon for me, if you please?" But not such a thing was done. "... Somebody can get hurt..."
The magician saw the boy's lip quivering ever so slightly. "Which, of course, is precisely why they made guns, you know, deadly..." Now, his whole body was trembling, but his hands never released the gun.
"Tantei-kun," so Kaito tried again, probably a little harsher than he had intended, judging by how violently he flinched, but supposed it had to be this way, this time around. "Lower that weapon." Still, no progress whatsoever. "Tantei-kun-"
"Can't," the child choked out ─ it was only then that the thief saw the tears collecting in his eyes.
Kaito sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I don't think your brother would-"
"Who cares?" The soft murmur actually made Kaito freeze mid-sentence. "He… He's already…"
The stray tears that escaped from the boy's face made his stomach twist ─ he had a terrible feeling about this.
Conan took a shaky breath in. "He's dead," he finally hissed out. "Oniichan… And Occhan, too."
Kaito's eyes widened in horror. Kudo is… No way. His face paled, as realization sunk in ─ it couldn't be possible, yet, at the same time, everything made sense now. The shooting sound he had heard before through his earpiece, the weak ominous words of the detective from before, and the actions of that small boy in front of him.
He hadn't wanted to believe it. But proof was staring right back at him.
"They are dead, you hear me?!" The small detective woke up from his stupor. "They are dead and he killed them!"
"Snap out of it!" Panic was settling in. "This has gone too far!"
"Why do you care so much, anyway?" Conan snapped at him. "Because of your heist policy?"
"No." The boy didn't expect that. "It's because I can't let you get your hands dirty, Tantei-kun."
The boy let out a pained, humorless chuckle. "It's too late for that…" he mumbled. "They already are."
If he said he had expected such words to come out of his lips, well, Kaito would have been blatantly lying, but concealed it by a neutral expression, not failing to notice the boy's eyes flickering to his own hands. "There's already a lot of it…" They were shaking, the thief noticed. "Everyone's blood…"
Because I'm the direct cause of everything, went unsaid. Because I murdered everyone's future.
"You are no murderer." Conan's gaze tore apart from his hands to the magician in white. He looked serious ─ much more serious than he had ever seen him. "You are a detective and, above all, a painfully curious, annoyingly clever, kind-hearted little boy who wants nothing but to help others. Am I wrong?"
Their gazes met for a moment more than strictly necessary until the severe expression softened. A smile ─ a genuine, kind smile, unlike his signature mischievous grin ─ drew itself onto the thief's features, and a gloved hand stretched forward.
"So, pass me that gun, okay?" His gaze was warm ─ and so like him that forced a tear rolling down his cheek. "Let's just let Lady Justice do her thing."
Conan took a step back ─ Kaito took it as a sign to push a little further.
"Conan-kun, give me the gun." The magician was beyond pleased when he slowly lowered the weapon. "We'll figure things out, I promise."
The gun felt heavy, making the hand stretched out to him even more inviting. With a heavy sigh, he turned fully. "You're doing a good job, Conan-kun." Encouraged by it, he raised his hand with the gun, intending to give it to him.
But he didn't get to. Abruptly, all the lights went out, causing both the thief and detective to pause, looking around in confusion for a beat.
They heard Irish snort. "They're here, huh?" he said, mostly to himself, as he smirked.
The meaning of those words sunk in Kaito's mind a fraction of a second longer than Conan's, but by then, the look of horror had taken over his features.
"Hide!"
His scream crossed his ears and the hand that was so inviting, it seemed at first, sent him stumbling backwards. Conan covered his eyes at the strong light that almost blinded him, but got to see the magician jumping off, with a tight frown on his face.
All Conan got to see was a red stain staining his clothes before a helicopter made itself known. He barely refrained from shouting, both in fright and worry, when the thief grimaced, hand falling to his side, before disappearing from sight.
K-KID-!
And then, all his thoughts were silenced when he felt himself being knocked to the ground, and the gun in his hands taken away from his grasp.
He saw Irish's face up from close, and the cold muffle of the gun pressed against his forehead. Naturally, the boy thought it would be his end.
But the man simply stepped away, raising his phone to his ear. Conan watched him talk, unmoving from his spot, fearing that he would be seen by some unwanted people.
He saw Irish pulling out the memory card, then grunting and raising him higher. What is he-? Conan's eyes widened at what he witnessed next ─ a bullet had gone through the object, and Irish's chest, leaving him to collapse into the ground, right at the boy's feet.
Conan didn't even stop to think. He simply crouched right next to him. What should I do? he thought, checking him over. "I-It's alright," he tried to sound as comforting as possible, but even he knew he wasn't doing a good job. "They didn't hit your vital points." With a grunt, the boy managed to lift him up, passing an arm over his shoulders. "Once we take care of them, I'll hurry and get you medical treatment, so…"
Conan trailed down when he felt the man, who he was trying to drag away from harm, as minimal as it was, was shaking. "I see now…" Only then did Conan realize he was just laughing. "No wonder Vermouth thought so highly of you…"
"Don't talk," said Conan with a frown. "After you've recovered, I'll make you talk, so you better be prepared."
His head turned, however, when he noticed that the sounds of the helicopter were coming from behind, eyes squinting at the strong light that momentarily blinded him and mind running, trying to piece together a plan that would get him away from his inevitable death.
No such luck ─ he really was done for, this time around.
A shot was made, and a hand on his head pushed him down. Irish's scream of pain had him gasping. Did he just-?!
Slowly, he turned his head to meet his eyes.
"Kudo Conan…" the man uttered. "Keep coming… after us…"
Followed by that, the blonde man slumped all over him to not move again. Conan slid from under him, giving him a long, surprised stare before he frowned.
Cursing in a way no child should, he started to run.
"-nichi… Shi… wake… please…"
Somebody was calling ─ that was the first thought that successfully filtered through the darkness reigning all over his mind. But who was it? Shinichi had absolutely no idea. It sounded too far away… away…
Away it went… drifting and drifting…
No ─ he had the feeling he couldn't let that happen. That he was forgetting something important…
And the voice sounded so warm, and he felt so strangely cold ─ Shinichi struggled, mentally pulling it closer, and closer.
"Shinichi!" As if he had pulled his head from underwater, the desperate call was now dramatically clearer. "Come on, don't do this, you deduction freak!"
… Ran?
Ran! He felt his senses quickly returning to him ─ along with it came the sharp, stabbing pain on his backside. Shinichi had probably grunted in pain, because he heard a startled gasp, but the pressure didn't cease.
"Shinichi!" Ran sounded almost hopeful. "Can you hear me?"
Shinichi turned his head to see her teary face staring at him from above, and tried to say something, but came out as raspy nonsense that had Ran panicking again. "Don't talk," she said, gulping back her tears and focusing her attention on whatever she had been doing. "You'll be fine, so…"
He was lacking his hoodie now. That, and the unshielding pressure on his backside, told him she was probably using it to stop him from bleeding out. Right… He dropped his head back on the cold floor, lacking the energy to keep it up any longer ─ now that the sudden rush of adrenaline upon waking up was gone, he felt utterly drained. I got shot.
That would explain the hazy feeling he felt all over, along with the unsettling coldness that made itself known, despite it being June… Or was it July? July, he reminded himself. It's Tanabata today…
Just his luck ─ Shinichi would have laughed, hadn't it meant sending a world of pain throughout his entire body. Who gets shot… in Tanabata, anyway?
His eyelids drooped, lulled by the warmth that Ran's hands provided. Shinichi wondered how mentally deranged he was, not caring about the pain anymore. He was tired, too… Maybe if he just… took a little nap, Ran wouldn't be that mad-
Wait a minute. He forced his eyelids back up. Why did I even get shot in the first place?
A pair of shocked, yet absolutely terrified, blue eyes flashed in his mind, obliterating all sense of drowsiness away from his system. "Shinichi!" Ran shrieked in surprise, forcing him to stay lying down. "What has gotten into you-?!"
"Conan…" was all he rasped out, as if it explained everything ─ which, curiously enough, it actually did. "Don't mind me, just-"
He was interrupted by a cry of pain, leaving him to gasp in his place on the ground.
"I wish I could." The words caught him off guard. Confused, he glanced back towards Ran's direction, noticing she was, in turn, glancing at her own feet ─ it was swollen, Shinichi noted right away. "Even if I went after him, I wouldn't be any good," she whispered, hands clenching against the shirt she was pressing against Shinichi's wound. "He'd probably end up protecting me instead… Again."
Ran…
"He's going to be fine." He had to, went completely unsaid. "KID is with him, too, isn't he?"
That was right ─ Shinichi felt a little more at ease at that. Kuroba was there, too ─ with those two teaming up, anything would happen. Maybe that way… they had a chance…
Taking comfort in that thought, Shinichi let out a long, exhausted sigh, finally allowing his eyes to close. Soon, darkness claimed him ─ falling unconscious instantly, despite his childhood friend's screaming, pleading with him to wake up again…
Or the white figure that could be seen from the glass window behind the distressed girl's back, plummeting down to the ground. It went up again, as shaky as it was, as if attempting to regain control once more, only to inevitably fall again, many kilometers away from their location.
Honestly, Mouri Kogoro had no idea how he was still alive.
No, really, he had no clue. The flames that he had seen coming closer to him before losing consciousness had convinced he would be seeing hell ─ or maybe heaven, alternatively, if he got lucky enough ─ next time he opened his eyes. So when instead of that he saw two pairs of eyes settled on his form, he was incredibly confused. Especially when he recognized them as that snobby high school detective from London and Inspector Nakamori's daughter ─ weren't they from Ekoda? Where was he?
Raising his head just a little, he could see a car burning fiercely ─ he hadn't magically teleported somewhere else yet, so good so far.
"Please lie down for a while," said the younger detective. "At least until the ambulance arrives."
Kogoro just stared back, cluelessly.
"You should be grateful to them," a smiling lady said, crouching right beside them. "They saved your life."
"Eh?" He blinked, turning to look at the two high schoolers. Aoko smiled awkwardly, and Hakuba remained impassive as always.
"I was surprised when that young lady ran into my store and tore my mop from my hands," she continued. "But I was even more impressed when I saw her breaking the glass of your car with it."
Kogoro stared at her, almost waiting for a laugh ─ it had to be a joke. But when the lady stood up to go back to her work, not saying another word, the man found himself blinking owlishly and slowly turned around.
That girl ─ the one staring back at him with confused, innocent eyes ─ had shattered the glass with a freaking mop ─ how was it even possible?! He supposed that, at this point, considering the karate master of a daughter he had he should be used to it, but was this girl-?
"Aoko-san…" Hand on her shoulder, Hakuba tried to gather the girl's attention before Kogoro could finish his line of thought. "You might have… to see this…"
More like the boy had, color had drained from the girl's face after seeing whatever he had been trying to show her. She rose slowly, eyes fixated on whatever had her so visually horrified, then rushed right to the front of the crowd that couldn't stop staring, either. Hakuba did the same.
With a groan, Kogoro sat back up, and then she noticed that her trembling hands were on top of her mouth, as if she was doing her absolute best to keep herself from screaming.
"Kaito KID…" He heard someone commenting to another. "Kaito KID is falling!"
"What is going on?! Was he shot?!"
"Don't be stupid! The police have never done such a thing before. Why would they now?!"
"How am I supposed to know?!"
He turned his attention to Touto Tower that, strangely enough, wasn't chasing the shadows of Tokyo as it used to last time he glanced at it ─ the lights were out, and Kogoro had the feeling it wasn't an ordinary, harmless case of power outage. What… Sweating profusely, he squinted his eyes until he saw something distinctively white, momentarily soaring through the sky ─ but rather than gracefully as it was usual, it looked clumsy. As if he was struggling to keep himself up, until he couldn't anymore, and disappeared behind the many buildings around them. What the-?
Kogoro's attention went back to the tower and was sure his eyes bulged out when he saw a huge military helicopter circling around the building.
What in the actual hell?!
This isn't happening.
Beyond a doubt, there was absolutely no way something like this was happening ─ just, no. He must be having a horrible nightmare he was going to wake up from really soon...
Because otherwise, it would mean that Occhan had been burned alive. That KID had been shot in front of his eyes ─ he wasn't getting a response from him through his glasses, which was, by itself, worrying enough.
It would mean that… his brother was actually-
The sound of shattering glass had him holding his head, curling further in his spot behind the pillar he had all but collapsed before, in a vague attempt to protect himself.
A sharp pain pierced through his shoulder, so he bit back a cry. It is real, he thought, gazing at the blood seeping through the newly acquired wound on his shoulder. It's so freaking real.
Though hissing at the contact, Conan placed a hand on top of it. He did the same with the other, hugging himself tightly.
His body trembled with a sob he couldn't hold in any longer. It's over… Everything is over…
Gazing down, he took note of the blood that covered his entire side. Irish. He realized it was his, from when the child had tried to save him, only to be saved in turn.
"Keep coming… after us…"
They keep coming after me. Had been chased to the observation deck, too ─ not that he had another choice, unless he wanted to wind up with more holes than Swiss cheese. And I don't know if I can keep running…
I'm sorry, Oniichan. You did your best to protect me, up to the very end, but…
It's all over now… Everyone-
A sudden realization made his head snap up.
Ran-neechan. He gasped. Ran-neechan is still downstairs.
He scrubbed at his face to wipe out the remains of tears, and sure enough, a determined frown coated his features ─ he had to save her, at the very least.
It was brief, however, as smoke suddenly blocked his vision. Tear gas, he quickly realized, between vicious coughs, seeing no other choice but to run out and continue to go up ─ followed by the string of bullets threatening to hit his heels.
Predictably, he got to the top, eventually. Conan could only slide to his knees, seeking refuge at the walls as the bullets passed right over his head. Something fell right beside him, causing him to yelp, startled ─ just a lightbulb the shooting had knocked off, Conan realized upon further inspection, and sighed heavily.
He raised his head, staring right at the black rain clouds covering the entire sky, and frowned. If this goes on, I'll be a sitting duck! He had to think of something, quickly ─ preferably right now. Desperation took the best of him, and he tried to stand up, hoping that something would occur to him, when the gash in his shoulder decided to make its presence known, sending a sharp bolt of pain that had him wincing.
When he looked at it, however, he noticed something else. My suspenders… He immediately grasped it. But my belt is no good… I think Oniichan used it before, and I don't have any ammunition- His eyes drifted somewhere else.
When he saw the lightbulb from before sitting right at his feet, Conan let out a choked laugh ─ as if he couldn't believe the idea that had just crossed his mind.
Okay, okay. Just need to think of something else. Surely, an idea is going to come if I-
His ears picked at the sound of the helicopter moving, circling the tower. Maybe now. Immediately, his hands moved to prepare his plan. I drove a car from one skyscraper to another before ─ this isn't that much of a… His little head peeked out and looked down. Okay, this isn't scary…
It was ─ his fingers gripped the lightbulb tightly. Here goes nothing… I guess.
With that, the little boy jumped. As he dived down, Conan fought against the urge to close his eyes, against the air slapping across his face strong enough to hurt. When he saw the next platform coming closer, he turned around and squinted his eyes at the helicopter hovering over his head.
GO!
He let go, letting the suspenders slingshot the lightbulb back. An explosion of sound told him he had hit ─ that, and the sight of the helicopter quickly retreating into the distance.
Zooming with his glasses, Conan saw them plummeting down, disappearing from sight with another explosion, bigger this time. This is it? He waited there, breathing heavily, unconsciously expecting for something else to leap at him ─ nothing of the sort ever happened.
"Is this over?" Only the rain, gently splattering all over, answered him. "Everything…"
Completely exhausted about the entire ordeal, Conan allowed himself to fall backwards. Limbs stretched at his sides carelessly, he cast an empty gaze at the sky, and remained there, motionlessly still.
It's finally over.
Yet, the rain didn't stop.
Vermouth raised the cup to her lips to hide the smirk that was crawling into her face. No matter how much of a talented actress she was, there was no way she could keep her expression straight, especially with that scene displayed in front of her eyes to see behind the window.
As expected of the Silver Bullet, she thought, gazing at the black smoke that made its way to the sky. He has his ways.
"False alarm." She turned her attention back to her companion. "Gin and the others escaped before it could explode."
"What about the memory card?"
"Oh, it's gone," the person said. "Gin destroyed it. Shot Irish too ─ with that stunt that magician pulled out, the place was surrounded by the police. Such a pain..."
"Indeed," agreed Vermouth.
"Well, with you here the entire time, now I'm sure you didn't kill him this time!" By the corner of her eye, Vermouth saw a bright, wide grin. "Isn't that great?"
"My, I'm hurt," the blonde woman teased. "Did you really think I'd do something like that?"
"That's why you're my favorite." Despite the cheery tone, Vermouth found herself frowning. But the person wasn't looking at her, just gazed outside with a pleased smile. "Sometimes I even worry about giving you too much freedom…"
Vermouth, rather than replying, settled her gaze on her coffee ─ black, she almost smiled at the irony. Closing her eyes, she could see a small raven flapping its wings vigorously, hopping from one branch to another.
But, no matter how big the cage was ─ the little raven could not fly.
"Do not forget, however…" Looking back at her companion, the woman could see the smile was completely gone. There was a strange, almost dangerous glint in that person's gaze. "Just like poor, young Icarus, your wings are made of wax ─ fly too close to the sun, and you know what will happen."
Then, the person straightened up again, grinning in joy at the other cup of coffee on the table they were sharing. "That reminds me, what was that song like? You know, the one that goes like…" A finger moved to the beat of a melody that was being hummed. "Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun…"
"One got frizzled up…" Vermouth continued, quietly.
"And then there was one~!" There was a laugh, after all that. "In other words, stay away from the sun. Too much of it is not good for your skin, anyway."
"Well, last time I checked, I wasn't a boy."
"Come on, Arty-chan! Go along with me, just this once, please~!"
"Alright, alright…"
If KID's unexpected take down by what seemed to be a military helicopter hadn't been shocking enough, well, the sight of it destroying Touto Tower definitely was. All gazes had fallen on that place, stuck with both amazement and horror, as the muttered theories of what that might be filled the air.
So, if the injured man that had been rescued from the burning car just slipped into the crowd and disappeared from sight, nobody noticed it.
Mouri Kogoro knew for a fact seeking medical treatment was the sensible thing, but this time around, couldn't give a damn about it.
That's where they are. It was probably the adrenaline, he would conclude much later, that made him forget about his many cuts and burns covering his skin. The detective and the brat are still there, aren't they?!
But of course, everything had happened in a matter of minutes. When Kogoro finally got there, gasping and wheezing in a sad attempt to recover the air he was suddenly missing, the helicopter had been chased away already. He made his way through the crowd, eyes darting from side to side, trying to discern through the anxious whispering around what had happened.
Finally, his gaze met with a familiar face, but it didn't bring him any comfort. Pale like death and gasping heavily through his mouth ─ which, strangely enough, was actually reassuring, since he was, well, breathing ─ lied a teenager, prone on the stretcher as the paramedics spirited him away to the ambulance.
Kogoro simply observed him, standing quietly in his place. Until a gasp woke him up from his stupor. "Dad!" Before he knew it, a pair of arms were wrapped around his neck, clinging to him. "You're okay! I'm so glad…"
The detective blinked owlishly until his gaze finally dropped to see the flowing tears of his daughter. "Ran?!" To say he was beyond shocked to see her there was an understatement. Next, he noticed the scratches on her face, and he frowned profusely. "Are you okay?"
Ran stepped away, just for the paramedic beside her to help her regain her balance. "I'm fine ─ I just twisted my ankle." Her smile faded as she turned to glance over her shoulder, where the teen was being settled into the ambulance. "Shinichi, however…" She frowned profusely. "He took a shot to protect Conan-kun."
Kogoro stiffened after hearing that, but it didn't take him by surprise. "Where is the kid?" he asked, much calmer. He tensed up when Ran bit her lip. "Is he-?"
"I… haven't seen him…" she whispered. "Knowing him, he must have thought of something ─ the helicopter isn't here anymore. But…"
Taking a deep sigh, Kogoro settled his hands on her shoulders. "I'll wait for him," he said, giving the ambulance another glance. "You go with the detective kid. We'll meet you at the hospital."
The girl seemed to hesitate, but eventually she nodded firmly and turned to the paramedic. He helped her inside the ambulance, and soon enough, the doors were closed. The man watched the ambulance speeding away, until it disappeared into the distance, before taking a deep breath.
"Sir, you can't come in!" Seconds later, Mouri found himself struggling against a random police officer, keeping a tight hold on his shoulders. "There's a police investigation and-"
"I came with the police." Kogoro's eyebrow was twitching now. "Just let me through!"
"I'm deeply sorry, but-"
"Like I said-!"
The doors leading to the tower opened, leaving Kogoro's attention to drift from the officer holding him back to Detective Chiba, walking outside. Just as he was considering waving him to gather his attention, so that he could convince this officer to let him be, the police detective paused, then stepped aside. Kogoro's eyes widened when he saw him kneeling down, with a kind smile on his face, next to a little boy.
Chiba seemed to be talking to him, but Conan wasn't even looking at him. He stared blankly ahead, looking so disturbingly lost in his own world that made Kogoro frown, then proceeded to push the nosy officer away from his way so that he could hurry their way.
He approached them quickly. "Ah!" Chiba exclaimed in surprise. "There you are!" But the boy didn't even look away from the random spot on the floor. "I was wondering when you'd appear!"
But then a hand fell on top of his hair. "I'm sorry, but could you leave us alone for a moment?" This time, Conan raised his head, leaving his eyes to widen dramatically upon seeing Kogoro standing right next to him, ruffling his hair lightly. "I want to get a word with the brat."
Any other time, Kogoro would have smirked at the dumbfounded stare the young kid was sporting. "Sure but…" Chiba hesitated. "Conan-kun needs to be checked by a paramedic- Wait, Mouri-san, you're hurt too!"
"Just a minute ─ I won't run anywhere."
The detective gave him a last, doubtful look before a tired sigh escaped his system. "So stubborn…" he heard him mutter as he walked away.
Kogoro observed him go for a moment, then lowered his gaze to the child who still was staring at him, as if his mind couldn't grasp what his eyes were seeing. "What's with that look, brat?" the man grumbled irritably, as he crouched down to glare at the boy's eye-level. "You look like you saw a ghost-" He stopped when little hands reached forward, tapping his shoulders, as if verifying that he was solid, or something. "Hey, what are you-?!"
"You're…" Conan blinked, as if waking up from a long dream. "Occhan, you're alive."
"Of course I'm alive!" Kogoro huffed, almost offended. "A small fire is no rival for the Great Mouri Kogoro-!"
The boy stared for some more until a very plain expression took over his entire face. "Somebody got you out, right?" he said, quirking an eyebrow.
Kogoro flinched visibly. "That's… not important."
The boy looked as if he wanted to argue any further, but lacked energy for that. Instead, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, eyes roaming around the place, searching for someone. "Where's Ran-neechan?" He frowned profusely. "Is she alright?"
"Yeah. She was a little injured, she'll be okay," Kogoro replied, suddenly becoming somber, for some reason. "She got into the ambulance with your brother."
Conan didn't even move, keeping his gaze deliberately away from the older man. "So…" He moistened his lips. "Was he…?"
"Last time I saw him, he was still breathing." The boy didn't seem to react to that. "But I'm not gonna lie, he wasn't in the best shape."
He continued standing like that for a couple of beats until his head dropped. "I… really thought he was dead," he said in an almost audible whisper. "There was so much blood, that I…"
His hands, which still rested on Kogoro's shoulders, clutched the fabric. The detective stared at them for several seconds, frowning all the while.
"I… I almost shot Irish."
That had Kogoro looking up sharply. Even if he couldn't see the eyes hidden by the light hitting his glasses, the man had quite a good idea of what they looked like. Eventually, Kogoro's gaze softened.
For a second, rather than the overly serious boy he was used to seeing, he saw a certain heart-faced little girl scrubbing at her face, unable to hold in the tears that flowed freely from her eyes.
So, Kogoro leaned forward. "It's okay," he said, with an amount of gentleness that had Conan staring, wide-eyed.
Eventually, though, the boy relaxed, and silently rested his head against the older man's shoulder.
And, just like he used to do with a younger Ran, Kogoro raised him up, holding the boy close to him, not to let go ever again.
A/N:
Mr Darklord: I decided to cover just a few of the movies, mostly the ones that have the BO in it or that I thought would be interesting for this plot in particular, because I feared it would stretch this fic even longer than it already is… I'm kind of tempted to do them separately sometime in the future, but I will see about it later.
By the way, thank you for letting me know about that mistake. And, from what I understand, "no rhyme or reason" is actually an idiom, meaning that there's not any obvious reasonable explanation.
And about the 'telepathy' thing… I guess so? I mean, you know those moments in canon where Ran goes 'Shinichi' in her mind and he turns around? I tried to write something like that, like a really, really strong connection between the both of them… I'll leave you to make your own interpretation in that one ;)
Except for the part where Conan was drowning. He was just remembering things xD