File One Hundred and Eleven: The Real Awesome Detective
"Good to see you haven't forgotten it… The face of an old friend, that is."
A hand instinctively reached back to his little brother's head, pressing his face further against his torso. It stilled completely, however, at the sight of that certain smile.
Radiant and polite, it could have been quite the pleasant one to see. Had it been from anyone else, Shinichi might have even copied it, effortlessly indulging in a comfortable conversation with this person. But it was, he really couldn't.
Because he knew Bourbon was a man of many faces. Therefore, all he could see in its place was a cold, deadly sneer.
Eyebrows drawing in together, the young detective did his absolute best not to lose eye contact with the dangerous individual in front of him, for he was aware of the nefarious consequences that lowering his guard could carry along.
Yet, while there was no doubt in his mind that Bourbon was such an unpredictable organization member, Shinichi truly found it hard to believe that the situation could get any worse. It would be dumb to think that the blanket he had covered Conan's face with had been of any help ─ he had been asleep until a few minutes, Bourbon had definitely seen him.
Akai had mentioned a while ago that it was likely that Bourbon knew about Conan's involvement with the FBI. But, if he were to make the connection with Shinichi himself…
If he hasn't already, anyway.
Shinichi wondered why they were alone in the first place ─ from what he had heard, his father used to stick by his bedside the entire time he had been unconscious. One look at the windows, however, made him realize it was morning, so it wasn't entirely inconceivable that, considering that he was significantly better now, he'd allowed himself to go get something for breakfast, leaving the nurse to watch over him for the time being.
Asami was trustworthy enough, so his father hadn't been wrong in his judgment. But for some reason, she had believed it would be fine to leave him and his little brother with this extremely dangerous person. Why?
It was no use pondering over it any longer ─ he needed help, right now. Yet Bourbon's eyes caught the slight movement of his hand. No good. He gritted his teeth. I can't reach for the emergency button with him looking.
His mouth felt parched, and gulping did not help, either. "H-How-?" Shinichi hated how weak it sounded in his ears. "How did you get in here?"
Perhaps, he reasoned, if he bought some time, somebody was bound to come.
Dad… Mom could be getting here soon, too.
"Your father is something out of this world. Truly, the genius mind that everyone has made him to be," said Bourbon, looking around in fake-amazement. "Look at what he's accomplished. You've been in here for so long, yet no word about it has been leaked to the outside."
Knowing Ran, she must still be around. Probably eating breakfast somewhere with her father.
A faint sense of hope gripped his frenziedly beating heart. They're bound to show at some point…
"Too bad that not even he can control every single variable around himself, and that not everyone has the same bright mind he has," continued Bourbon, grinning brightly at the glowering boy. "His doctor friend wasn't so smart. For starters, he never noticed me slipping a listening device in his coat's pocket when we crossed paths a few days ago."
Shinichi's eyes narrowed.
"His description skills could've used some work, too. Remember when Uchida-san said he told her who's allowed here and who isn't?"
It didn't seem to bother him that, rather than answering, Shinichi's glare intensified.
"He mentioned a certain fellow, with dark skin, a baseball hat and quite the strong kansai accent." He placed the hat back over his head and, smirk in place, he added, with that same thick kansai-ben, "Like so, yer favorite Detective of the West, Hattori Heiji's here to see ya."
Nobody was coming ─ Shinichi had to fight really hard not to let his mind drown in panic. It was difficult, however, when it kept asking questions as how he had not noticed him before, when he had snuck on him, how much he had learned from being there, and how he was going to keep himself and anyone else safe from-
"Now if you have no more questions…" Bourbon shrugged, marching back towards the door. "I shall take my leave."
His face had not recovered color yet, but his eyes still blinked stupidly.
A faint murmur escaped Shinichi's lips, "What?"
It made Bourbon laugh lightly. "I greatly enjoyed our conversation," he said. "But I'm afraid my shift starts in a few minutes."
Confusion gradually retracting, Shinichi schooled his expression to a severe, infinitely more serious one. "Why are you here?" he asked, tone dangerously low.
Not that it intimidated Bourbon. "I thought I had already stated it." Evidence was the brilliant grin that refused to leave. "I was merely checking on an old friend."
It was that innocuous, simple sentence that made Shinichi freeze, falling in a deep silence that not even Bourbon appeared particularly keen on breaking. They sank in slowly despite their immense weight, but when they reached bottom, Shinichi's eyes flashed angrily. The sickly white tone of his cheeks was suddenly coated by a deep scarlet rash as the detective made to get up.
"Easy there." Far from intimidated, Bourbon snorted. "You wouldn't want to wake Conan-kun up, would you?"
That stunned him for a fraction of a second, yet it was enough for the blonde individual to nod at him one last time and leave through the door, as if nothing had occurred.
Yet, Shinichi knew it had, his racing heart pounding against his ribcage and the frantic rate of his breathing being clear proof of it.
He stared at the closed door for a full minute, before he melted into his pillow with a lengthy sigh, absolutely drained, even if it was only early in the morning.
How… How am I still alive? Shinichi could not get his head around him ─ he had really thought he would not get out alive from this encounter. But as much as he felt incredibly lucky that he, and by addition Conan here, were still breathing, he dreaded to know what his actual intentions were.
He couldn't have come to say 'hi', could he? Absorbed in his own thoughts, Shinichi's eyes rested on the ceiling, narrowing. Besides, if he had known I was here for so long, how come he didn't eliminate me while I was defenseless?
All that thinking stole a groan out of him. Of course, the same old Bourbon. He pressed the bridge of his nose. Still a walking headache, that bastard-
Some stirring at his side had his attention away from the ceiling to the small, moving bump of sheets beside him.
"Hmm… What the-?" The soft, sleepy complaints that reached his ears stole a small smile out of him, despite the current situation. "What was the plan? Suffocating me?"
Speaking of 'headache'... Shinichi chuckled. "Morning, sunshine."
Blue flashed from under the covers, but the glare was barely effective. As a loud yawn broke out from the confines of his throat without his consent, the little boy crawled out and stretched.
"Ah, I slept so well!" he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes.
Maybe I should call somebody, thought Shinichi, absently watching Conan patting the side-table, almost blindly. If I can get in touch with Dad, he might find him before he leaves and…
Uttering no word, the teenager gracefully plucked the glasses off the table and offered them to the little boy, who stared dully back at them. Gradually, more awareness was blinked into his eyes, focusing on what was in front of him. "Thanks," he mumbled, finally accepting the item, then fumbling to put them back on.
A lazy smile was tilting his lips up, but Shinichi doubted the child even noticed it was there.
No. If I do it right now and Conan realizes Bourbon is here… Unlike the child in front of him, Shinichi found himself frowning. He's going to chase after him. There's no way I can stop him.
Unaware of his older brother's internal musings, Conan glanced around, and paused abruptly.
"Ran-neechan isn't here."
"Eh? Ah, no. She isn't."
"That's weird." Conan stroked his chin momentarily. "I thought I heard someone talking with you just now…"
Shinichi omitted any kind of answer. Conan shrugged it off easily enough, stifling another yawn with his hand.
"Well, if she isn't around…"
The older Kudo was surprised to see his eyes flashing mischievously behind his glasses, startled when the little kid promptly hopped off the bed, then downright horrified when he saw him leisurely approaching the door.
"Where are you going?" Shinichi blurted out.
He assumed his action appeared to be far too unnatural from his part, judging by the questioning look Conan gave him afterwards.
"Coffee," he answered, easily. "I think I saw a vending machine nearby, so I was thinking… Hey, Oniichan, are you okay?"
Shinichi supposed it had been a matter of time until the kid noticed his hair plastered by cold sweat, or the way his lips pressed against each other.
"What are you talking about?" His first instinct was to keep on fighting. "There's nothing-"
Conan was frowning now, all remains of sleep obliterated completely from his all-too-seeing gaze.
I can't. Shinichi sighed, knowing well when he was defeated. I don't want to lie to him.
He had promised it to himself, after all.
And besides, for the better or the worse, they had been talking for a while now, at least too long for Bourbon to remain inside the building ─ because, seriously, he couldn't see him loitering around when the possibility of someone like his father spotting him was high. Even if Conan took off running now, the chance of stumbling into him was close to none.
"You were right," Shinichi finally admitted. "There was someone in here before you woke up."
Conan visibly tensed, clearly sensing the gravity of the situation. "Who…" The child sounded almost fearful to ask. "Who was it?"
The high school detective met his gaze and frowned.
"Bourbon." He heard his younger brother's breath caught in his throat. "He paid me a visit."
For a lengthy second, the boy did nothing but stare back at him, eyes wide with shock ─ as if expecting him to say he was joking or something. Before long, he seemed to realize that Shinichi would never joke about something like that, and subsequently gasped.
Instead of sprinting off the room that he had expected, the miniature detective hurried the opposite way, back to him. Shinichi watched without uttering a word as the kid frantically scanned him all over.
Not even after inspecting everything was he content. Shinichi held back a flinch when the boy's head shot up, a crazed glint in his eyes as they observed every inch of his face.
"He didn't do anything to you, did he?!"
"No-"
"The IV drip!"
"What-"
"What if he put-"
"Conan, no-"
"-something in there?! Do you feel weird anyhow? Anything-"
Hands latched on each of the little boy's shoulders, giving him a gentle, yet firm shake.
"Conan, I'm fine." At least Conan's mouth clicked shut, even if the deep concern was evident as he stared at him. "There was a nurse with me until the moment I woke up, and I kept my eyes on him the entire time after that." Shinichi felt Conan's shoulders relaxing slightly under his palms. "Believe me. If he did something, I'd know."
He kept his eyes on his older brother for a little more, inquisitively, until he finally allowed his eyelids to slip shut. A long sigh escaped his lips while his head tipped slightly forward.
"Then why did he come here?" Conan wondered out loud. "I had assumed you'd be pretty much done for the second any of them found you."
"Yeah, I agree," Shinichi said, finally letting go of his brother to lie down again. "But all he really did was sprout some nonsense and leave…"
"Could it have been a warning?" suggested the kid. "Like a 'I know you're alive. Get in my way and you'll see' type of threat…"
Shinichi allowed his gaze to stray away from the child's face, settling themselves on the ceiling above with a long hum. "I've been thinking the same thing, but…" A sour smirk took hold of his face. His next words came out mumbled, like an afterthought, "That guy's always been weird like that. I can't figure out what he's thinking…"
Conan stared at him, unblinking. "You seem to know him pretty well," he remarked. There was no reaction on his brother's part. "A little too well for someone you've only seen 'a couple of times', like you said before."
A small frown was all he got to see before the teen turned his head away.
"I don't." Conan could not see what kind of face his brother was making right now. "I know nothing about him."
It was at times like this that the young boy would feel annoyance bubbling up on him, gripping him whole until a frown appeared. Times when he would scoff, or even yell at the teenager, unafraid of showing how much that kind of attitude irritated him. So that he would drill into his head how much he despised being lied to about such things…
Except that, in some strange way, Conan did not feel like his brother was lying.
Not that he was sure what that meant.
A sigh escaped him instead. "There you go," he settled with that answer, arms raising to cross behind his head. "The enigmas and mysteries are back at full force. Boy, did I miss them…"
Shinichi did not respond, nor did he turn to look at him. Conan remained silent, casting him a long look, before continuing.
"Well, I'd be a hypocrite if I called you out on it this time around," he commented, a tiny smile appearing on his face. "Since there is stuff I haven't told you yet."
That had Shinichi turning to peer at him curiously.
"Or anyone else, actually," he added.
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that I might have seen the Black Organization's boss face-"
"You… WHAT?!"
The boy cringed, hurriedly covering his ears with a groan. "So loud," he mumbled, glaring at the teen that, rather than appearing apologetic, was looking at him more-or-less the same way Conan had earlier. "I said I might have seen it…"
Even though Shinichi clearly wanted to say more, he stopped himself just in time and, slowly, sat up, moving to leave his brother some space. The boy took the offer gratefully, sitting right beside him in silence, gaze stuck on his lap, as if rehearsing his next words inside his head, over and over.
"Ever since Irish kidnapped me…" he finally confessed. "I've been remembering snippets of what happened four years ago."
Involuntarily, Shinichi tensed ─ he had been fearing that this experience would bring back to the surface so many unpleasant memories.
"It seems that Vermouth tried to help me at the last second, hiding me inside a sports bag just as Rum and the boss were coming in." Probably sensing the horror displayed in his brother's face, even without seeing it, the boy looked up and clarified, "Ah, the boss didn't know I was there. Rum didn't say a word because 'it'd mean he has messed up again', or so Vermouth said then. She had told him I had escaped over the phone, so I guess that's what she meant."
Shinichi felt like he could breathe again. "You could've said that earlier…" Conan flashed him a sheepish grin. "Then, what happened?"
"Not much." Conan shrugged. "I was curious, so I thought it'd be okay if I took a little peek…"
The grin faded. A severe expression spread all over Shinichi's face.
"Conan," Shinichi began.
Little hands gripped his own pants.
"Did you see it?"
A timid nod. Shinichi stared back, unable to articulate a word.
"I can't remember it," added the boy in a soft whisper. "But I keep dreaming about it."
The little boy's eyes closed gently and took a deep breath. "All I see are hands. Hands moving." There was a violent shudder. "And all I hear… All I hear is…"
Whether or not it had been a conscious action was something Shinichi ignored ─ though he was more inclined to believe it was the latter ─ but the boy's hands still raised to cover his ears. "I keep hearing this laugh…" Another tremor shook his little body whole. "It's so garbled I can't tell if it's male or female. But… But…"
Hands firmly kept in place, his head shook from side to side.
"But I can't get it out of my head…" Eyes scrunched shut, the child curled into himself ─ unable to get rid of the sensation of freezing cold inside. "T-This feeling-"
A warm something on his shoulder had him gasping, finally looking up. Resting on it was a hand, and there was a concerned blue gaze staring at him from close. He took a shaky breath out, then managed a weak smile at his brother.
"Like I was saying, I can't see their face," he finished, voice so soft that it might have been the wind talking. "No matter how hard I try… I just can't."
Shinichi squeezed Conan's shoulder. "Try not to think about it," he said, finally releasing him. "We'll find their identity eventually, even if you don't remember it."
Besides, reasoned the high school detective, it would actually be beneficial if Conan never did. The poor boy was scared to such a degree just by recalling their laugh, he couldn't even imagine what would happen if he remembered the boss' face.
Conan was never part of the Organization. He can't feel their scent like Shiho-chan or me, yet he was beyond terrified just now. Shinichi pondered, a deep frown carved in his features. I guess that's proof of how strong their presence is…
Conan was looking at his hands right now, absorbed in his own little world as he moved them around, as if he could see anything else beyond what mortal eyes could perceive.
That immense feeling of danger… Conan must have sensed it four years ago.
And, to this day, he must be afraid of remembering it. Even if he isn't fully aware of it.
"Come to think of it, Vermouth was doing the same, too…"
Shinichi was sure he looked rather dumb right now. "Huh?"
"The thing with the hands!" he exclaimed, as if it was obvious ─ it was not. "I don't think she knew I was looking, but it went like…"
Conan's hands rose in the air.
"Mother crow…" And there, they froze. "Why do you squeak so?"
Like the hands, none of the brothers moved. They merely sat there, staring at each other with large, surprised eyes, before they slowly slid to the doorway. An arrogant smirk met their gazes which, still wide and confused, continued to stare ─ doing nothing but making the smile bigger.
"Yu-chan," their mother sighed, gently pushing the man off the way so that she could come in. "You'll give Co-chan even more nightmares…"
Yusaku did not appear ashamed at that.
"Dad!" Shinichi sounded irritated already, noted Conan ─ not that he couldn't empathize. "What's with you? Singing that disturbing song out of the blue..."
"Out of the blue, you say?" Yusaku's gaze was fixed on Conan. "But that's what Conan was about to say just now, wasn't it?"
Conan blinked. "What?"
Yukiko smiled at his puzzled boys before explaining, "I've caught Sharon doing that several times in the past, too." Though, the confusion did not dispel right away. "Apparently, that's a habit she has had ever since she was little. It helps when she's nervous."
Conan's eyebrow rose in disbelief. Vermouth was nervous?
"Yusaku once saw her doing that, and he did the same thing he did now." The woman grimaced at the memory. "She was strangely defensive after that."
"I suppose that confirms it's that song," Shinichi said, with a faint shiver. He turned to his father. "How did you know, anyway?"
"Sign language," he answered, easily.
The youngest's head tilted slightly. "Are you sure?" he said, after a moment of humming to himself. "I agree it resembles the American Sign Language, but it's not exactly the same-"
"No. Not ASL…" Startled, he raised his gaze just in time to spot the growing smirk on his father's features. "But rather, MVSL."
Conan stared dully back at him until the moment his brain finally connected the dots. Breath hitching, eyes widening dramatically, realization struck him in waves, head snapping towards his older brother who, judging by the similar expression he was now sporting, had likely understood what that meant as well.
MVSL… Short for 'Martha's Vineyard Sign Language'.
Shinichi's hand went to stroke his chin, deeply immersed in his own thoughts.
"Martha's Vineyard ─ an island in the south of Massachusetts, United States…" As his brother's muttering filled the air, Conan crossed his arms over his chest, thinking about what it could imply. "Back in the early 18th century, the percentage of deaf islanders was unusually high, thus the language thrived… But it has gone mostly extinct by now."
"So that's why she chose 'Vineyard' as her last name, many years later," Conan theorized. "In honor of the place where she grew up, right?"
Yusaku nodded. "That's what your mother and I thought," he said.
Their mother took over. "It all came back to me after we found out that Sharon, Chris and Vermouth were all the same person," she explained. Her smile turned a little somber, noticed the little boy. "We've been 'on vacation' there ever since then."
"Ever since then?" Shinichi frowned. "That was in March…"
"It has been… a bit difficult."
The youngest Kudo could not get out of his astonishment. With August just around the corner, that had to mean that they had been investigating for almost five months even though his father, the most brilliant detective he had ever known, was there, for crying out loud!
Yusaku took a more calm approach, hands latching behind his back as he made his way to the window to contemplate the awakening city outside.
"As you might imagine, all we know about her are just aliases," he said. "Not knowing anything else about her identity doesn't give us much of a clue."
"You needed five months to realize there wasn't a lead?" Shinichi raised his eyebrow. "Such a waste of time…"
"Oh, but I wouldn't call it that." The teen perked up at that. "Since we got to hear about an interesting ghost story. Are you interested?"
Any other day, Conan would have just rolled his eyes, but seeing the smirk on his father's lips made him reconsider. "A… ghost story?" he repeated, eyebrows raised in confusion.
"Around eighty years ago, there was a young girl…"
As his father started to narrate, Yukiko walked to the chair that Conan had been occupying last night. It had gathered Conan's attention for a moment. Maybe it was her hands placed over her lap, or her gaze fixed on the floor, what struck him as strange, but it made him frown, nevertheless.
"A quirky, lively individual, just like any ordinary child of her age ─ six or seven, but not much older. She was said to retain her playful, joyful spirit, shedding light wherever she went… Even though not everything in her life was rose-colored." Conan forced himself to look away from his mother and to his father, who continued talking. "Her parents died little after she was born, leaving her all alone with her older brother. Having moved recently to the island, there was nobody else to take care of them, so he took over the job."
"There was a kind couple whose heart was moved by this pair of orphan siblings," their mother decided to finally join in. "They gracefully took them in as their own. Even after the husband passed away, the wife continued to dote on them ─ loving them as much as any of her other children."
"Evidently, this little girl could not be any happier. She had a home, a caring mother, a funny grandfather and five more siblings besides her beloved older brother." Despite what he was saying, Yusaku's eyebrows were brought together. "Everything she wanted, it had been granted, so she couldn't wish for more. She was truly, and irrevocably happy."
Conan could sort of tell what was coming next. "There's a but after that sentence, isn't there?"
Shinichi wasn't any different. "She died, didn't she?"
"Inexplicably, in her sleep," Yukiko confirmed with a firm nod. "One by one, the other children suffered the same destiny. A few met their end in some of the cruelest ways humanity has even known, the rest disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The grandfather was brutally murdered, as well."
"What about the mother?" asked Shinichi.
"She jumped off a cliff," Yusaku said. "Whether she had been driven by grief over losing her entire family, or guilt because of her crimes, was never known, leaving this as one of the biggest mysteries that would only remain alive as a story passed down from generation to generation."
Silence settled in after the story was finished, and it wasn't until a few minutes the brothers blinked, surprised that was it. "So?" Conan was the first to voice it out. "What does that have to do with Vermouth?"
"I said it was a ghost story, didn't I?" Yusaku turned around fully, the smile far from disappearing from his face.
"Some islanders have reported to have seen this woman, even years after her death," Yukiko stated. "Appearing not to have aged a day."
That had their two children turning to exchange looks, frowning at each other yet uttering no word at all.
"Every year, on the day of her death, she's said to return to that cliff where she took her own life." Yukiko finally raised her gaze, settling it back on her kids. "She would stay there, sitting on the edge to contemplate the sun disappearing behind the horizon… By the time it gets dark, she'll be all gone."
"Hey…" Shinichi broke into a cold sweat, just by thinking about the possibility. "Do you think that woman is…?"
Yusaku shook his head. "We don't know that yet."
"Is there anything else you found out?" Conan leaned forward. "Like her general appearance, or-"
"A beautiful woman with a slender build. Long, wavy platinum blonde hair and a gelid, if not nostalgic somehow, light blue gaze."
All other words he could possibly utter disappeared from his mind, leaving him to stare wide-eyed at his father.
"Since it happened so long ago, the information was scarce, but we recovered at least the first victim's name."
"Which is?" pressed Shinichi.
"Tsukiko Koizumi."
Koizumi? Shinichi blinked, definitely not having seen that coming. Such a strange coincidence…
"There was someone like that, wasn't there?" said Conan to his brother, then sighed at the clueless look he sent him. "You know! That time at Dartmoor."
A soft hum resounded in the room, as Shinichi tried to recall the events that, despite seeming like they had happened a lifetime ago, had occurred less than a month ago. Seeing that their trip to London had been ruined by a criminal ─ which they should have seen coming, really ─ Shinichi had tried to set it right by taking Conan to Dartmoor.
Conan got lost at Wistman's Wood, fell down and hit his head. He remembered finding him passed out beneath a tree, his wounds mysteriously treated. Right beside him was this plastic soldier, on top of a rock…
Ah, right, there was a name engraved on it!
"It said 'Koizumi'," he said, prompting the boy to nod empathically. "Though the name was different. It was 'Hinata', wasn't it?"
"There's also that girl at Ekoda…" Conan commented. He was confused when his brother flinched so violently, but ignored it in favor of making his point. "Say, why don't you try?"
"Try what?"
"What else?" Annoyance pinched his expression. "Asking her about her family lineage, obviously!"
"Ah, you're right…"
"What kind of detective are you?" Conan grumbled as the teenager reached for his phone, casting him a diluted glare before pressing the device against his ear. "How come you didn't think of it before I asked?"
Shinichi refused to answer, deliberately looking away from him, his eyebrow twitching out of irritation. It didn't help that both his parents were still there, watching him as if they were trying to piece together a mystery.
It all went away with a soft, "Huh?"
"What's wrong?" questioned Yusaku.
"Her phone's turned off."
He would have remarked it was weird, but, really, what did he know? It wasn't like he had ever called. His eyebrow raised, giving the screen a last puzzled glance, then started typing again.
"What are you doing?" asked Yukiko, curious.
"That guy might know something…"
Not that he was too hopeful, but he figured he could try.
"Why do I have to do this?" The teenager sighed dramatically, resting his forehead over his notes, spread all over the bar's counter. "My precious summer vacation-"
His complaint was interrupted by a book hurled right at his head.
"What's with that, you crazy witch?" Despite his grumbling, the girl did not seem affected enough to grace him with anything more than a glare. "I'm still recovering, if you didn't notice."
Far from feeling guilty, she slammed a hand over the counter.
"You should've thought about it before, Bakaito!" Kaito avoided her gaze, but she moved again, back into his field of vision. "If you choose the ways of a criminal, fine. But I won't let you abandon your studies, you hear me?"
"Geez, what are you, my mom?"
"Quit complaining and solve that."
Kaito took a swift glance at his notebook. "Three halves of a pi," he replied, cheek resting against his fist.
"Woah, impressive. You do have a brain there," she said, then added as an afterthought. "If only you knew how to use it…"
The boy gave her a long, scrutinizing look. "I thought you said you weren't mad…"
"Really? I don't remember that." She grinned brightly, hugging the book she had used to hit him before against her chest ─ Kaito felt himself sweating profusely at the sight. "I'm just holding it all in until things are less hectic!"
"You're holding in?" Her gaze darkened considerably, forcing the magician to look back at his notes instead. "Let's see… The area under the curve…"
Pleased by his obedience, the girl smiled once more.
Hakuba, who had been sitting beside them for a while now, shivered. "Aoko-san is such a strict teacher," he whispered, mostly to himself than anyone else. Fortunately, the girl in question was too busy pointing at Kaito's notebook to notice him talking.
Or torturer, he kept the last part to himself, watching in silence as she dropped the book she had been carrying to pick another and smack him over the boy's head.
"Wha-? Are you insane? That's at least a few hundred pages long!"
"Excuse me, I just thought that the other one wasn't effective enough to get through that thick skull of yours!"
Hakuba involuntarily cringed, never expecting to feel bad for the thief he had been chasing ─ pestering, as Kaito would have put it ─ for the better part of these two or three years. Wisely, he turned his head away, deciding he wouldn't intervene unless their bickering turned into a full-blown homicide.
Though the possibility of Aoko actually being prosecuted for murder was becoming drastically higher with each passing second.
"Aoko-san must be infinitely relieved to see Kaito-bocchama," Jii said, approaching him with a smile posed on his lips.
Hakuba looked at the old bartender, then at the couple, and back at him again. "She is on the verge of murdering him."
Jii's smile turned stiff. "Tough love, eh?"
Not that the British had a clue of how to reply, so, giving them a last doubt glance, he decided it wasn't his business, and turned back to the half-emptied cup of black coffee he had been enjoying before the arguing started. Casually, he flipped a page over and wrote another answer, going back to contemplating his late breakfast once more.
Both Kuroba-kun and I completely missed our midterms, he mused. None of us were poor students to begin with, so I suppose we're lucky our school is willing to look the other way…
That goes to Kudo-kun, too. Though his situation was far more complicated, even if none of the school faculty knew a thing.
Either way, Aoko, claiming that there wouldn't be any second chances, had put her foot down and had them study. "If this keeps on, only Akako-chan and I will graduate high school," she had declared. "And I'm surely not letting you put our detective club in shame!"
Privately, Hakuba wondered if the girl realized that, with KID publicly dead, there was nothing left for this 'detective club' to catch.
"Having you two studying here is only an excuse, I believe," Jii said, as if reading his thoughts. "She was worried to death about Kaito-bocchama and Kudo-san. Knowing they're both alive must have been quite the relief."
The old man's expression told the detective it wasn't only her the one flooded with relief, but did not comment on it.
"She probably missed hanging out with everyone, too. Even if the team is far from complete."
And he knew he didn't only mean Kudo. Just a look around confirmed that, besides himself and Jii beside him, only the bickering couple were there.
It had been the day after Kuroba's return that Akako had just vanished. Obviously, Aoko had been remarkably concerned, especially when her other two friends' disappearance was still so fresh in her mind. At least, this time it had been short-lived ─ the red-eyed young woman had answered at her eleventh call. Hadn't elaborated much, though, but reassured her fellow girl that she was just aboard on a trip. Most likely, Akako had said then, she wouldn't be back until after classes rolled over again.
So relieved she was that Aoko had not asked for more details.
"Oh?" Kuroba said suddenly, putting their argument to a halt. "Ah, I think I'm getting a call."
"Ignore it," said Aoko, with a wave of her hand. "You can't afford any distractions right now."
Rolling his eyes, Kaito plucked his phone off his pocket. "You've been hitting me all morning. If anything, you're the biggest-"
Then froze, blinking confusedly at what was on display. Aoko and Hakuba exchanged questioning looks, but all doubts were answered when the magician turned the phone with a rather blank expression, showing them what had shocked him to such a degree.
"Kudo Shinichi"
"Kudo-kun?!" Aoko all but fell off her stool. "What are you doing, Bakaito?!"
"Eh?"
"Don't just stand there! Answer it!"
"Didn't you just-?"
By the time that her exasperated sigh reached his brain, she had already whisked the phone from his grasp. Now, that had him blinking dumbly, confused about how it had happened ─ he was supposed to be the thief there, he should be ashamed of himself…
Oblivious to her childhood friend's internal dilemma, the girl placed his phone against her ear.
"Took you long enough, Kuroba." She let out a muted gasp when, indeed, it was Shinichi's voice on the other side of the phone. "I thought you weren't-"
"You're awake, Kudo-kun?!"
Back at the hospital, Shinichi paused, a stare lost on the wall in front of him. Before long, he blinked, realizing that it still didn't make any sense even after an entire minute of deep thinking.
He pulled his phone away from his ear to observe the screen for another half a minute or so.
"Hello?" he heard a female voice say. "Kudo-kun, are you there?"
Hurriedly, he put it back in place. "Y-Yeah, sorry. I didn't expect a girl's voice, so I was surprised," he stuttered out. "Could you be Kuroba's girlfriend, by any chance?"
There was an offended scoff. "I'd rather eat glass. And you know that."
"I… know?"
His eyes slid to the innocently blinking child sitting at his side, who shrugged. Shinichi had the feeling that this kid right there had a pretty good idea of what was going on but did not feel any inclined to share. With a twitch of his eyebrow, he mouthed the word 'brat', yet Conan pretended not to notice.
"I'm glad you're alright," the girl said next, startling him. "Hirai-kun."
Shinichi stayed silent for a second, then muttered, "Eh?!"
"Just like you heard, Meitantei." By the time that Kuroba's smooth voice crossed his ears, Shinichi already felt as if he was losing his head. "We were found out."
"We?"
"Yeah. 'We'."
"So… How the hell are you alive?"
"I'm not." The high school detective gave the phone a confused glance. "Do me a favor and check the news later. Just because you were snoozing for so long doesn't mean the world has stopped moving."
One glance at Conan, who had decisively dodged it, told him that there was probably a lot he had missed, but supposed it wasn't something he could not easily fix, since it didn't seem like the was leaving this hospital in the foreseen future ─ he would have a load of free time on his own hands.
"Anyway, is Koizumi there?" he asked next. "I've been trying to contact her, but her phone is off."
Kuroba paused, as if surprised to hear that question. "No, she's overseas," he said, glancing back to Aoko, who stared back, confused. "Heard she's not returning until summer vacation is over."
"Ah, I see."
The lack of further answer made the magician's eyebrow raise. "That's the only reason you called?"
"Yeah"?"
"And it didn't occur to you that we might have been interested in knowing that, I don't know, you hadn't kicked the bucket yet?"
There was a lengthy pause. "You were worried?"
"Evidently!"
"It was completely unfounded."
"You were comatose!" There was no reply. "Kudo-!"
But rather than an answer, the detective had abruptly finished the call. Kaito retired his phone from his ear, so that he could now be free to glare at it.
"That jerk…"
Two weeks passed by uneventfully.
Well, for Shinichi, at the very least. Granted, recovery was a tedious process, he would not deny it, but compared to Conan, who seemed to run into a murder daily ─ sometimes multiple at the time ─ the teenager supposed he had gotten off lightly.
It was rather unusual, he guessed, what the absurd amount of luck he seemed to be having lately ─ though a part of him was quick to remind him that being shot then comatose was not being lucky at all in the first place. But to be there, breathing, strolling through Beika, was something that he hadn't believed he would be infinitely glad about.
He had been fortunate, too, that they had discharged him with little to no trouble. Asami had said he would be fine, as long as he didn't overdo it ─ he could try, he supposed.
Nobody but his parts knew about it, so he had figured it wouldn't be such a bad idea to save his brother and Ran the trip to the hospital. It wasn't so far from the agency, so he supposed that was the main reason his mother had agreed so easily to let him go ─ besides, it wasn't like he could ignore her gaze from across the street.
It had been like that the entire way, and it was understandably getting on his nerves. I'm not a kid anymore. He huffed. Why is she watching me like I'm gonna run away as soon as she gets her eyes off me?
… Ah, right. That's why.
At least, she hadn't followed inside the building. Likely reassured that he had arrived safely at his destination, the woman had left, leaving the teenager to sigh in relief ─ that had been awkward…
With a grin on his features, Shinichi slowly started his way up the stairs. I wonder how they'll react, he thought, knocking lightly at the door to Kogoro's office as soon as he made it there. Maybe they'll be surprised?
"Come in."
He was especially curious to see what kind of expression his younger brother would make upon seeing him there. Just by imagining the obvious surprise his face would be subjected to it made it all worth it ─ and maybe he would be happy as well? He had suffered for so long because of him and all…
"I said come in!"
Provided he didn't straight up murder him under the illusion that he had escaped the hospital again.
Shinichi froze solidly in place. He hadn't considered that situation until now.
"What a pain… Brat, you go."
All of a sudden, this doesn't sound like such a good idea anymore…
He took a step back.
"Geez, what's with you, Hattori?" But halted with a violent wince, watching the door opening on its own. "For all you love to burst inside every single time you visit, one would think you'd have learned to open a door by now-"
A pair of big blue eyes blinked at him behind oversized glasses, prompting Shinichi to just wave with a stiff laugh. The boy did not move, but studied him with his eyes to his heart's content, until the curious gaze dramatically darkened.
Shinichi seriously did not want to return to the hospital barely an hour after getting out of it.
"I did not." He held his hands up. "Honest."
His arms crossed in front of his chest, eyebrow raising. Shinichi could not get over the impression that he gave such a 'mom' vibe right now ─ much stronger than what his actual mother could possibly achieve in her mortal lifespan. The thought amused him a little, and he was sure that it had shown in his face, judging by the slight narrowing of Conan's eyes.
He decided to ignore it, moving around the child so that he could enter.
"Hey, brat." Kogoro's irritated face met his eyes as soon as he made it inside. "Who's that with you?"
Shinichi stopped right in his tracks, blinking rather dumbly at the older man.
"Dad, don't you remember?" Ran's head popped up from the kitchen. "This is Hirai Arthur-kun. We've met before."
Conan walked right past him, not gracing him with a single gaze. It took Shinichi a little longer to process those words. I'm dressing up as Hirai Arthur now, he finally realized. That's right. Neither Detective Mouri nor Ran know it's me.
Hence, the bland look the little boy was sending him ─ as if mentally wondering if he was stupid or something. The worst thing was he couldn't really deny it, since he had not really considered that before ─ was he getting more careless lately?
He didn't dare to look over to his brother's direction again, fearing that he would get an answer for his unspoken question.
Instead, he put on the most polite smile he could gather. "Good afternoon," he said. "I was just passing by to say 'hi', since I was nearby."
Something akin to recognition lit Kogoro's gaze, worrying Shinichi that he had figured him out.
"Ah! You're that kid…" Shinichi held back a sigh when that left the man's mouth. "Wait, weren't you supposed to be missing?"
Shinichi's mouth opened to speak.
"You were missing?"
Startled, his gaze fell on whoever had uttered that question, only now realizing there was yet another face, one that he wasn't entirely familiar with. That being said, those sharp, green eyes triggered a faint sense of déjà vu. It didn't help that they wouldn't leave, and remained there, rooted on his face as if their owner could see Shinichi's very soul.
Two little hands latched on his sleeve, dragging him along.
"Aoko-neechan came by last month," said Conan, all but forcing him to sit on the sofa ─ such a mother-hen, remarked Shinichi internally, but didn't dare to make it known. "She said you had disappeared."
Once settled down, Conan sent him that childish smile, that could only mean that he was demanding him to say anything on his own, for that he had absolutely no clue how to get him out of this.
"Yeah, I was just visiting my family overseas." He could swear he noted, by the corner of his eye, his younger brother sigh in relief when he let that lie out. Such anxiety was not something he could attribute to either member of the Mouri family ─ this person must be a rather perceptive one, judging by Conan's actions. "But I kind of forgot to tell anyone. My phone was turned off the entire flight, so…"
Could've been better, Conan remarked internally. But it could've been worse, too.
"You're from overseas?" the person insisted, probably prompted by curiosity. "Your last name sounds Japanese."
"My parents are, but I was born in London."
He sat there, quietly, hoping that he didn't appear to sweat as badly as he thought he was, with that gaze still on his form, narrowing ever so marginally.
Before long, the person was content to look away, grinning back at Ran. "So, like I was saying…" the person said. "This guy is the son of the Osaka Police Chief, huh?"
They seemed to be talking about Hattori ─ and boy, was he beyond glad about that. Still not believing he had been let off the hook so easily, the disguised detective leaned back with a sigh.
That guy… He's way too sharp.
Or maybe it was only that gaze ─ that vibrant green that contrasted against the dark bags under those eyes… He swore he had seen it before.
His hand slid to his chin. It was weird, he decided, that the more he looked at that person, the more familiar they were to him.
He took note of the little fang that peeked out her lips as she grinned, giving it a somewhat devilish tone to their entire expression.
Now he was sure he had seen that person before. But where?
"That isn't very nice of you." Puzzled, the detective turned over to where his brother sat, only to discover he was casting him a rather unamused gaze. The one he gave him in turn must not have been the brightest one ever, because Conan leaned forward and hissed, "You confessed to Ran-neechan not long ago, and you dare to gawk at other girls while she's still here?"
Again, Shinichi's blinking must have appeared rather dumb in the child's eyes. "What are you talking about?" he whispered back at him.
"That's Sera Masumi-san, you idiot!" It could've been a shout, but it was whispered, so Shinichi supposed it didn't count as one. "You know, the female detective I told you about the other day!"
"Female? That detective you mentioned was a girl?" Shinichi looked at her, then back at the boy. "Is she a girl?"
"Of course, you blockhead! Do you ever listen to what I'm saying?"
Shinichi was getting the feeling that the amount of verbal abuse he was receiving from grade schoolers lately was reaching ridiculous levels.
"Then, tell me straight up!" Sera's exclamation kept the brothers from saying anything else. "Which is the greater detective between East and West?"
The little boy gave his brother a pointed look, doing his best to convey without words how stupid it would be to say anything right now. Obviously, Shinichi missed it altogether ─ his head had perked up, his attention grasped away by the conversation the others were having.
"Well, that's easy to answer!" Shinichi said, a huge smirk hung on his lips. "If I had to pick one, the best one would be…"
Conan pressed the heel of his hand between his eyes.
"The East!" "The West!"
Two different answers erupted, colliding in the air just as a loud banging sound had everyone looking at the entrance. Body twitching with contained anger, stood none other than Hattori Heiji, a hand still stretched towards the door he had burst open.
He marched towards his fellow teenage detective uninvited.
"This high school detective of the West, Hattori Heiji, is the one by a billion times, ya moron!" he screamed in his face. Shinichi's surprised gaze dulled. "I kept quiet for one second and yet ya went ahead spewin' out nonsense!"
"You know it's bad manners to eavesdrop, don't you, Hattori-kun?"
He was hoping that the friendly reminder that he was using the suffix would keep him from sprouting out his real name in a moment of thoughtless fury. It had been effective, it appeared, because Hattori blinked owlishly up from close, before stepping away.
"Anyhow, where is she?" said Hattori, lips twitching awkwardly ─ which kind of confirmed he had been just about to do what Shinichi had feared. "The female detective that came out of nowhere that Conan was talking about…"
Conan said nothing. Just raised his hand and pointed somewhere behind the Osakan detective with a dull expression all over his face. Confused, Hattori spun around, just to the same green-eyed, smiling teenager he had sort of ignored before.
"She's right here," explained Ran, smiling. "This is Sera Masumi-chan."
Hattori jumped back out of shock. "Yer actually a girl?!" He calmed down slowly, eyes squinting briefly before adding. "Aren't yer boobs a little bit lakin'?"
The little boy raised an eyebrow.
"Well, they're due to pop out any day now!" Masumi yelled, tickled off by the looks of it. "Besides, my mama's also skinny but she still has large breasts, so I'm not worried at all! Right, Ran-chan?"
Conan blinked at the comment, his gaze drifting from Hattori and sliding back to Ran's face. Has Ran-neechan ever met her mother? He tilted his head, curiously, observing that the aforementioned girl's smile had taken a more nervous turn. Doesn't seem so…
That detective… Her senses were sharp, he noted, when her eyes shifted to him the moment he turned to her. He hurriedly averted his gaze, but the grin blossoming in her lips told him it had been too late, and that she had caught him staring.
Yup. Still weird.
A snort beside him had gathered her attention away from the child. Still not getting what was so funny, Conan watched his brother cross his arms over his chest, eyes slid closed.
"Of course she is." Seeing that cocky smirk stole an exhausted sigh out of the child, mostly out of habit than anything else. "With such poor observation skills, you still claim that the West is the better one?"
Conan stared. You didn't notice it either.
Hattori's eyebrow twitched, looking over his shoulder to glare at where Shinichi sat. "What did ya say?!" he turned fully, walked closer again, but the other teenager detective did not seem affected. "What would ya know? Yer just an amateur."
This time, Conan stared at Hattori instead. You know he's not.
"Maybe I don't, but I'm sure that if Kudo Shinichi was here…" Shinichi's smirk widened. "We'd teach you a thing or two."
Sighing heavily once more, Conan passed a hand through his hair. Why am I stuck with these two idiots? He lamented mentally, turning his attention away from the bickering due and to, hopefully, something worth wasting his summer vacation on, as marginally better as that would be. But then, he caught Masumi staring oddly at the pair, and he flinched.
"Just ignore them," he said with a childish smile. "Arthur-niichan is Kudo Shinichi's biggest fanboy, that's why."
Shinichi stopped just enough to give Conan a side glance. Well, at least it's better than being Kuroba's fan… He glared lightly at Hattori, who definitely did not understand. Like this guy made me to be before.
All that confusion was pushed away, however, when the Detective of the West heard his phone ringing. It turned into slight curiosity when he pulled it out and saw who the person calling was.
"It's from Kazuha," he explained briefly before picking it up. "What's up, Kazuha? Did ya buy the curry yet?"
What came next made him forget all of it.
"Help me, Heiji!"
The panic that showed in Hattori's face prompted the brothers to exchange brief, concerned looks.
"What happened?" Hattori recovered right away, and a focused frown had taken over once again. "Aren't ya at the family restaurant?" There was a brief pause, followed by the already familiar cry of, "Ya said someone died?!"
Conan blinked twice, then turned his attention back to where Hattori stood.
Oh, no, he thought with yet another sigh.
"A murder?!"
Oh, yes, apparently ─ Conan felt absolutely exhausted, even if he had yet to reach the scene of the crime. You'd think that with three murder magnets in a single room, it would have taken place here. The boy was a little concerned now. Was Kazuha-neechan infected by Hattori?
He wouldn't really be surprised, that being the case.
"Got it. I'll be right there, so just hold on!" He hung up and faced the rest of the group. "Ya heard what happened, so I'll be right back."
Sera stopped before he could move. The smile on her lips did not bode any well for the little boy.
"How about we do this?" she spoke. "Which is better between the West and the East… Shall we find out once and for all with this case?"
Both Hattori and Shinichi blinked, not expecting that at all.
"Hattori-kun will, of course, represent himself," continued Sera, then faced Conan again ─ whose efforts to go unnoticed for the next couple of hours were mercilessly slaughtered. "For Kudo-kun, if we have Conan-kun explain the situation over the phone, it'll be a fair battle, right?"
Not fair to me!
For a moment there, Conan was actually going to open his mouth to suggest that 'Arthur-niichan' could do that job perfectly, but stopped himself just in time at the realization that he, Conan, was the one who was on good terms with Shinichi, as far as Sera knew. Having her think that Hirai Arthur and Kudo Shinichi were on talking terms would be dangerous.
The safest practice was to keep as little contact between his brother's identities as possible.
What a pain…
"Well, if you and Kudo-kun are such good buddies that you don't want to compete with each other, I won't force you."
Conan seriously wished Hattori would decline the challenge. Knowing how the western detective was, however… His future did not look all bright.
"What are ya talkin' about?" As proof of that, Hattori was smirking. "It's the perfect opportunity."
And then, he looked over at Kudo, and lit up like a freaking Christmas tree.
"Between me and Kudo, which is the real awesome detective?"
Worst of all, Shinichi was not far off. Even if it was more subtle, Conan could see the corner of his lips tugging upwards, silently accepting the challenge.
"Let's make it clear once and for all!"
Conan genuinely wanted to cry.
A/N:
CherryGirl 21-6: Yeah, in my country the school year starts in March, and ends around December. I read your review from the other chapter again and I realized I read it wrong. I thought you meant they would be in fourth grade at the end of the story, instead at the end of summer… So yeah, they'll still be in third grade at the end of summer vacation. Sorry about that xD
By the way, don't ever apologize for leaving a review! I'm glad you liked it :) About Conan's offer, it's true he hasn't gotten a reply yet. There has been a lot happening ever since then, so it's difficult to find a proper time to talk about it… But I'll see.
F. C. Meyer: I had to check again just in case, but, to my understanding, "royally" can be used for emphasis here, like the word "utterly". I fixed the rest, though. Thanks for letting me know! And yeah, I saw the chapter now and I'm a little conflicted… I've got the feeling Gosho's messing up with us again xD