File One Hundred and Twenty-Five: A Massive Wave of Déjà Vu
"The fourth house in the first district of Beika."
Pleased, Shinichi smirked, "Oh, aren't you an efficient worker?" and mumbled, one hand holding the phone, while the other closed the taxi's door after settling into the back of the vehicle. He put the device aside for a second, hushedly telling the driver where he wanted to go, before finally returning his attention back to the magician waiting on the other side of the line. "Do I want to know how you figured it out?"
There was a gasp. "Meitantei, you offend me." Purely out of instinct, Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Yes, I might be a thief but, above all, I'm a gentleman thief."
"A retired one, you mean."
"All I did was knock on each house to see if there was someone home…"
"And?"
"And check for unlocked doors."
A sigh escaped him. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Though hardly ethical and definitely illegal, the high school detective could clearly see the logic behind his actions. No matter how safe one's neighborhood would be ─ which it wasn't since it was Beika, the town where you could easily run into multiple crimes in a single trip to the nearest store ─ nobody in their right mind would leave the house without bothering to lock their doors.
Meaning, the only empty house with the unlocked door had the highest probability of being the victim's.
After committing murder, the criminal must have taken the body away, reasoned Shinichi. While in panic, locking the door might have been the least of their concerns.
At least, until they return to set up the crime scene at the end of their shift.
"I've already called the police," said Kuroba. "They should get here in any second."
"I'll send you the truck's license plate as soon as I see it," replied Shinichi. "Until I get to it, tell the police that the culprits are going to deliver a parcel at the second district, block 22 of Beika in a matter of minutes."
There was a brief period of silence. "And… how is this worried, unrelated neighbor I'm interpreting supposed to know such a thing?"
This time, Shinichi was the one keeping his mouth shut. Then, he said, "You'll figure something out."
And proceeded to hang up, not allowing Kuroba any room to express himself ─ not that he had time for that. Akai could be calling back anytime, so he couldn't keep the line busy for such trivial stuff.
If only this car could go any faster… As if to prove his point, a red light caused the taxi he rode to stop, provoking a sigh out of him. Cheek squished against the cold glass, Shinichi seriously considered hopping off and just run to his destination.
Well, I have already warned Akai-san. If his reasoning was correct, it would not be the Professor who wound up receiving the cake ─ though he had called him, too, just in case. After failing to get his message across by phone, he'll definitely think of something else to get external… help…
All thoughts were silenced by the flash of platinum blonde passing by his window, followed by that certain icy blue that, for less than a second, connected with his bewildered ones.
His next heartbeat resounded like thunder, electrifying its way through his nerves and branching out across every cell of his body, but in the other, the eye-contact was broken. Shaking with nervous energy, a hand raised to place over his own chest, drawing out a deep, lengthy breath ─ hoping that the realization that he was not Kudo Shinichi, but rather, Hirai Arthur right now would keep him from slipping into cardiac arrest.
Yeah, he wasn't counting on that, anyway.
Unlike him, Bourbon continued on his way as if nothing ever happened. Now that he was a little calmer, marginally as it might have been, he risked another glance towards him, watching as he crouched down to pick something up. A receipt ticket?
Whatever was in there, Shinichi would safely bet it was important ─ Bourbon's gaze sharpening while he closely surveyed it was proof enough of it.
Before anything else could be done, the car started up again, and the blonde man quickly disappeared from sight. Even then, Shinichi could not help himself from frowning.
He couldn't have… Could he?
Mitsuhiko was welcomed back to the waking world by warmth and a chaos of blurred smudges and faded voices. A groan broke through, which he hardly recognized as his own, setting those shapeless colors back in motion. Then, and only then, did his slow-witted brain finally interpret that it was his name, the one he kept on hearing.
"He woke up!" exclaimed Ayumi.
Blinking repeatedly, everything slowly came back to focus.
Conan's smile was the first thing he made out ─ closed eyes, repeatedly nodding after taking a good look at him.
"Well, it seems you're fine now!" Yet, there was something else entirely that had Mitsuhiko pausing to wonder what felt so off. Maybe it was the unnatural chariness lacing his friend's tone, or the overly bright grin dedicated to him, and only him, he wasn't sure. "Aren't you glad, Mitsuhiko?"
The contrast between that gelid gaze and literally everything else in his stance was more than a little disconcerting. "I… uh…" Any attempt to defend himself came out as an incoherent stutter ─ he wasn't sure of what, either way.
"I'm sorry." Ai's voice was coming directly behind him ─ with a violent jump, his head turned quickly enough to snap his neck and saw her from real close. "You ended up suffering to help me." In fact, they shared that same jacket he had lent her earlier today. "Just stay still. I'll warm you up."
Warmth rose to Mitsuhiko's face. "That's very kind of you!"
It was hard, if not impossible, to ignore the intense gaze coming from his bespectacled friend ─ uninterested, yet perfectly capable of boring holes into his soul, all at the same time.
"Yeah, yeah, it sure is," he said, eyes narrowing further at the pair. "Too bad that now it's official. We can't run, even if we tried, with you two like… like that."
"No fair!" Genta huffed. "We should be eating a great cake at the Professor's by now!"
"All the way from a cake shop in Yokohama!" added Ayumi, nodding.
Suddenly, Mitsuhiko felt the glare being whisked away from himself. Conan was now staring up ahead, contemplating nothing in particular ─ except for, perhaps, whatever thought in his mind had smeared out any other.
"Yokohama?" he heard him mutter.
"Yeah, he specified for it to be delivered sometime before midday," came Ai's answer from behind him. "This only happened because you guys came by earlier."
The words sank slowly, gradually filtering through Conan's mind ─ as evidenced by the eyes that began to widen, bit a bit, until they couldn't grow any longer. Ayumi, having also witnessed it all, tried to approach her friend, but failed, feeling far too apprehensive to even get into proximity. That was, naturally, until the boy seemed to snap out of whatever he had immersed in, and made a beeline to the pile of boxes sitting in the middle of the truck compartment.
All that hesitation was gone in the face of fear.
"Conan-kun!" she rushed over to confirm, much to her horror, that he was rummaging through the packages. "If you disturb things too much, they'll find out we're here!"
Yet Conan, rather than discouraged, pulled a single box out. He checked it over for a while before a relieved smile surfaced. "Got it!" he exclaimed. "This is the cake being delivered to the Professor's house!"
"Oh!" Genta came forward. "Are we gonna eat it now?"
Conan turned to his friend, staring for a whole second, then a grin brightened his face. "Yeah, why not?" Genta lit up instantly, but the small detective added before he could say anything, "I figured that, since we're gonna die, might as well have a delicious last meal!"
In return, his face fell. Conan's facial expression smoothed out, focusing back on the package.
"Of course not, idiot," was all he said, simply proceeding to take off his pockets the items he needed for the next part of his plan ─ Mitsuhiko's pen and Ayumi's cotton bud.
Despite the panic surging through his friends when they heard the pen clicking open, he diligently continued his work. By writing this before the Professor's name, he thought, adding the words 'in care of Kudo'. It will be either my parents or Akai-san receiving it.
Whoever it was, they would definitely see through it. And find the message I'm leaving for them.
All it took was to remove the cotton from the cotton bud to write on the sales slip. Like that, he hoped, his voice would be finally heard.
By the right people, hopefully ─ as on cue, the sound of the engine ceased to be, and with it came the need to hurry to leave everything exactly as it had been, then hide. In a matter of seconds, the criminals ventured inside, fetching that certain package before stepping back out.
They had bitten the bait. Now, all there was left to do was wait.
"Say, Conan…" Genta approached him. "Why are you smiling like that?"
And of course, explain everything to his friends. Which he did, and naturally, rather than pleased just like him, they were alarmed.
"What?!" Mainly Mitsuhiko ─ it was remarkable, for Conan anyway, how little it bothered his friend to waste this much energy yelling after fainting from severe hypothermia minutes ago. "Then we might be discovered at any moment!"
He shook his head, holding out the cotton bud ─ or rather, what it used to be a cotton bud ─ for everyone to see. Yet, he was a little discouraged upon noting that, rather than the item on his hand he was so proud of, they were staring blankly at him.
"Carbon paper?" he tried. "Anyone?"
Ai was frowning profusely, especially when he turned to her, in a silent plea for help ─ she had to know! He kind of had the feeling, though, that she knew. Only that she was doubtful of the success rate of the trick he had pulled out.
But he was certain they wouldn't get discovered. It wouldn't fail.
Or so he had thought. He was soon forced to reconsider, at the notion of light breaking through the darkness ─ the door was opening again. It forced him to freeze, and be grateful to whatever deity out there that kept him, or his friends by addition, from leaving their hiding spots ─ though, then again, that hypothetical deity might as well be the culprit for shoving so many corpses into his daily life so there wasn't really anything to be thankful for.
Whatever was the case, Conan found it strange ─ he could have sworn that the delivery guys had stepped out of the truck seconds ago. Why were they coming back so soon?
Maybe nobody understood my message? He frowned profusely. No, there's no way they wouldn't…
It was quiet, too. Why was it quiet? Usually, as proved in each and every single one of the other instances this had happened, they would exchange a word or two. But now…
A bead of cold sweat slipped down Conan's forehead, traced all over his temple until it reached his cheek.
And by the time it finally fell to the ground, the silence had been broken. A single step sound had his breath hitching. Another made his blood run cold.
At the third, it had frozen solid in his veins. Closer and closer. It just didn't stop.
The pallid faces of his friends, staring at him with terror-stricken eyes, made him all too conscious of the current situation. Someone knew they were hiding there.
They were about to be murdered.
No, we won't. Conan's body shifted, reading itself to run if the situation required it. Not if I can do something about it.
There was a single set of steps, meaning that the other was probably watching from the outside, or not even there.
His hand moved over to his shoes, fingers brushing over the dial. If he activated them right now, the tiny spark of electricity would reach the culprit's ears, so naturally, he did not want to do it until there was no denying that they had been spotted.
If it's only one coming towards us, then it's okay. He could strike him by surprise, giving him enough time to deal with the other in case he was watching. I'll just shoot a soccer ball to his face…
Whimpers came out of their friends when a hand came into sight, resting atop the boxes over Genta's head. Conan swiftly got to his feet, ultimately activating his shoes. A figure came into sight, bringing forward the terrified screams from all three children.
Conan did not, but produced a soccer ball in record time. Gritting teeth, he readied himself to shoot it.
"Wait!" Ai was shouting at him, however, pale-faced but for different reasons. "That person is-!"
The boy realized what he meant a split second too late, eyes widened in horror at the feeling of his feet sending the ball flying. Panic crossed their newest guest's face, throwing himself aside for the projectile to wheeze past, narrowly avoiding his face, and falling somewhere outside the truck. Conan peered around the person to watch it go by, disappearing from sight ─ and mentally prayed he hadn't broken anything, or anyone, doing that.
Curling over himself, hand gripping his chest as he breathed heavily, was his almost-victim. At first, the kid worried about the possibility of chest pains, but when the teenager's head rose to settle him with a powerful glare, he knew that was not the case.
"You could easily murder someone with those," he said.
Though he wouldn't admit it, seeing that face made him breathe just a little easier, despite it not being his real one.
I knew you could do it, Oniichan.
And he wasn't the only one, seeing as each of his friends brightened up at his arrival.
"Tantei-niichan!" exclaimed Genta.
"You came to save us!" cheered Ayumi.
Conan had to fight to keep himself from smiling. "You're late," he said, sticking his hands inside his pockets. "And what's with you? Sneaking up to us creepily."
Shinichi gave him a look. "What's with you and your murdery gadgets?"
"Excuse me for that." His brother scoffed in return. "I thought we were going to die!"
Ah, that made sense, realized Shinichi. The fear of being just a second away from dying did not subside, but pushed it back for the time being. Crouching over, he met eyes with every children ─ lingering on Mitsuhiko and Ai for a moment more than needed, because, what in the world were those two doing? ─ focusing on his little brother last.
"Let's get out of here," he said.
Conan smiled. "Finally."
Yet, they barely even move when Ayumi's gaze shot up somewhere over the older detective's shoulder, and muffled yet another scream with both hands. Following it, Conan found they were right there ─ the two criminals, staring at them all with wide eyes from the outside.
Shinichi barely even moved.
"Who are you?!"
"Children! There were children inside! I told you I heard something!"
Conan gritted his teeth ─ it was a no-brainer that they would suspect something amiss when a ball came flying from the outside. Yet, there was no time at all to ponder over it, since they had to do something.
"You've done an incredible job, Conan." His brother's whispering had him blinking stupidly. Shinichi had a confident smile all over his face, winking at him before adding, "Leave the rest to your older brother."
Followed by that, the teenager finally stood up, leaving no room for any protest that the little boy could have. Conan watched him, in utter bewilderment, as Shinichi glimpsed over to the criminals from over his shoulder, and took notice of the way they both flinched at whatever sight they met.
At first, he was about to argue that it was insane to think he could handle both of them all alone, yet stopped, suddenly remembered by that other time he had been in danger a few days ago. There, cornered into an alleyway with no way out, it had been his older brother who had come to save him again.
Back then, he had single-handedly taken the thug out, making good use of the fighting skills Conan never knew he possessed.
By the time he had processed the whole situation, Shinichi had already gotten to the back of the truck, laying a hand on the door as he cast a rather dark look at the pair.
"You might want to quit while you can." His voice was low and dangerous, too, so different from what it had sounded like in Conan's ears only moments ago.
"Or what?" The nasty-faced one was the first to react. "Will you call the police?"
A sneer followed, sending chills down Conan's spine, even though it was clearly not directed at him. His interlocutor did not understand him, though, giving him a puzzled look.
At least, until his partner gasped, only just beginning to hyperventilate.
Moving a little closer to see, Conan could not believe it. The man was shaking, frozen as if he would die from breathing the wrong way, eyes refusing to look away from the angry red laser point right on his chest.
"You'd wish it was only the police," pronounced Shinichi, an ominous smile twitching his lips forward.
Which Conan could not help but stare at, baffled beyond words.
That was, of course, until his ears caught that certain sound, of something not unlike that of a car engine, moving closer to their current position. One look confirmed the fact, yet, instead of feeling at ease that, at least, there were potential witnesses passing by, had his entire body stiffening up.
The laser point died out from existence.
Conan hurried over to his older brother, fingers digging into his skin as they grabbed, tightly enough to hurt, onto his wrist. Shinichi stumbled backwards, just as white Mazda had stopped inches away from the delivery guys ─ receding back into the shadows by the time a certain young, platinum blonde man stepped out, a friendly smile hung on his lips.
"Excuse me!" he called. "This road's rather narrow, so could you please give way?" Conan could swear that Amuro's smile turned into something much more sinister. "I wouldn't want to damage anything."
Of course, none of that was stopping Ayumi and Genta from running right past Conan to the front of the truck.
"Help!" screamed the girl at the top of her lungs.
Amuro blinked innocently. "What's this?" His head tilted slightly. "What are you lot doing here?"
Upon finally realizing there was no laser pointing at him anymore, the bigger guy snapped out of it, rushing forward to close the doors and fruitlessly keep them hidden away from sight. Genta held onto them, doing his absolute best not to get locked in again.
Seeing there was no masking the obvious, the nasty-faced one turned to Amuro.
"So you're a friend of the kids, huh?" he asked. Amuro nodded. "If you have seen them, then there's no choice."
Once making sure his brother was staying back, maybe urged by curiosity, Conan found himself moving back to the front, now capable of seeing how the nasty-faced one sneered. Slowly, with a fearless sneer plastered all over his face, his hand reached for his shoulders ─ evidently bearing no good intentions, whatsoever.
From that same spot, the little boy was witness to how his affable facade receded, factions hardening.
"If you wanna stop them from getting killed, you better get in the van right now!"
A foot moved slightly ahead. His hands curled into fists, raising a little above eye level.
And a massive wave of déjà vu struck like a violent tsunami, receding back into the tranquil sea of dull confusion as the man fell into a heap, wheezing while he curved onto himself.
"Didn't I tell you?" Amuro whispered, with that a dangerously calm tone. "To give way because I didn't want to damage anything."
No response. The man simply collapsed onto the ground, finally giving Amuro space to walk over to his partner, who naturally shook like a leaf at the cheerful smile that met him.
"Would you like to have a go as well?" For good measure, he punched the air, stopping only inches away from his face.
Nobody in their right mind would accept such an offer, so it didn't come out as much of a surprise when the man shuddered, shaking his head from side to side, vigorously enough to snap his neck in half. Soon, the cheering of his friends filled the air, helping to cement the notion of newfound safety into their heads.
Though, that severe glint that his older brother's gaze bore made it hard for Conan to believe it.
"Okay, then Conan-kun…" It was hard not to flinch. The easy-going smile made an absurd contrast with his actions ─ the man had pulled out an adhesive tape, and Conan was definitely not asking whether he carried that wherever he went. "Could you call the police?"
Conan stammered, unsure how to proceed. In fact, he had planned to call before with the phone that Akai was to surely send back to him, but he had never gotten one ─ had his brother predicted it all and told him not to?
Which begged the question, what did he want him to do instead? Shoot the criminal in the middle of the street? And Akai-san somehow agreed with it all?!
Maybe figuring out what was inside Kudo Shinichi's head was the hardest puzzle of it all.
Noting a lack of response, Amuro took a break from restraining the criminal up to bring out his phone. Ah, right, thought Conan. His phone. Not mine. Of course.
He was a second away from hopping off the truck to receive it when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"There's no need for that." It was Shinichi.
And parked right behind Amuro's car was a police car, its only occupant stepping out the next instant, ready to do his job. Whatever ounce of determination he was to possess was dispelled, confusion reigning over at the friendly wave of Amuro's hand, or more precisely, the delivery guys sitting in front of him, restrained by loads and loads of tape.
He hesitated for a second, losing his chance to ask what in the world was going on. Someone was speaking over to the intercom, completely incomprehensible from where Conan stood, but it sure had the policeman gasping in disbelief.
What he did hear was, "What do you mean you can't find the witness?!"
From afar, Shinichi spotted the tips of an unruly nest of brown hair peeking out from around the corner, and smirked in return.
"Hm? You…" He was snapped back to the present moment when Amuro, of all people, suddenly approached him ─ head tilted and innocent blinking eyes forced him to contain a shiver. "Do we know each other? You look familiar…"
Shinichi did his absolute best not to wince. "You think so, too?" he said with a good-hearted chuckle. "I must have quite a generic-looking face, because I hear that all the time."
"Is that so?"
As they both laughed together, seemingly free of care of the world ─ regardless of the darkest secrets they concealed deeply inside ─ Conan could only watch quietly, unable to get over the impression that, right now, their mannerisms were ridiculously similar.
Though extremely hard, he eventually snapped out of it, at least enough to climb down the truck without breaking his neck in the process. Never in his life did he think he would feel this way, but the scorching heat of summer filled him with comfort somehow ─ it was so nice to get out of there, finally.
Ai hardly minded any of it, more than eager to keep Mitsuhiko's jacket on and pull the hood over her head. He could understand where she was coming from so he did not question her choices, or her actions, either ─ her fingers were clutching his shirt while she tried to hide behind him, as if he was nothing but her meat shield. It made Conan wonder, actually, when exactly had this become the norm, to the point of him not minding any of it.
Oblivious to any of that, the rest of his group continued singing praises of all kinds to the secretly dangerous organization operative, impressed beyond doubt about his detective skills, and relieved that he had understood the code Conan prepared for him.
"Receipt?" Amuro repeated, to everyone's surprise. "Oh, that weird receipt in the cat's collar?" When they nodded, he explained, "It got blown away by the wind and I couldn't find it."
Shinichi observed Amuro through Hirai's clueless eyes. "I just happened to be passing by," he heard, and they narrowed slightly.
That just now was a blatant lie. He had seen it with his own eyes earlier, after all.
"Then, how about you come and eat cake with us in the Professor's house?"
Ayumi's innocent proposal made both brothers freeze in perfect synchrony, equally horrified when the man turned to the house in question, humming as he seemed to take in every single inch of the property. Fortunately, he declined just before the nervously fumbling Conan could suffer from an anxiety attack, thus leaving Shinichi alone to figure a way to chase Amuro out.
"Then, give my regards to Professor Agasa."
No words would be enough to express the immense relief that overwhelmed them both when the white Mazda drove away from good. But for Shinichi, it was unnecessary ─ a lengthy sigh, hand resting over his chest, were more than enough.
Though he doubted the rush of adrenaline would dilute back into his bloodstream soon enough.
"Are all of you insane?!" Leave it to Conan, thought Shinichi, to chastise his friends, fiercely enough to rival that of Ran's ─ or maybe he had just been trying to expel that bit of residual nervous energy from the prior situation. "You almost happily invited Bourbon to have some cake?!"
Three pairs of clueless gazes lingered on his form for a beat until realization hit them like a bucket of icy water.
"He is…" Genta trailed down into silence. Conan nodded. "The guy working part-time at Poirot?! Seriously?!"
"Yeah. Organized crime doesn't pay up the bills nowadays."
"Eh? Really?"
Conan refused to answer that one.
A sigh escaped Shinichi's lips, shaking his head ever so lightly before it tilted back, his gaze rising to that certain window on the large residence he used to live at, but saw nothing at all. However, he knew of the pair of sharp green eyes that must be looking down at them right now, tucking the laser point pen he had brought to him in a hurry for his makeshift plan.
Satisfied, he smirked, just in case ─ that did not mean he was beginning to like the man, Shinichi assured himself.
"So, uh, Shinichi-oniisan…" Ayumi's timid voice gathered back his attention, where Conan's three friends stood in front of him, all smiling. "Would you want to have some cake with us?"
His eyebrows shot up. "Why does it sound like I'm your second option?"
"Because you are," replied Ai, tone bland. "Why doesn't your friend just tag along? He's been watching for a while, and I'm getting uncomfortable."
It went without saying that Kuroba had yet to leave the place, observing the group from afar with that grin that told him he wasn't even trying to hide.
One look from Conan had him groaning. "No way," he grumbled, massaging his temples, as if suffering from an abrupt, brutal migraine.
Panic crossed Mitsuhiko's face. "Don't tell me, Conan-kun…" he breathed out. "Is he also dangerous?"
"Yeah," replied Conan. "For my mental health."
It would seem he would live to see another day.
All thanks, and surprising for virtually no one, to his older brother who, sporting a warm smile on his face, had approached the blinking little scientist, and offered something to her ─ upon further inspection, Conan confirmed it was that certain, ginkgo-patterned fancy jacket he had almost been murdered for. Well, even if his observations had not been enough, then there was enough proof by the expression she made.
She brightened like never before, all but snatching the piece of clothing from his hands. To that, Shinichi chuckled, amused.
Seeing it all, Conan felt his eyebrows raising.
"What's with her?" asked Conan, to nobody in particular.
Fortunately, both his brother and the girl were too far from his position to hear.
Agasa, however, did. "It's a limited edition."
"Still a jacket."
In response, the older man chuckled. "I think it's more than a jacket," said Agasa. Confused, the boy turned about to question further, but did not have to even open his mouth. "I got it for her birthday, after all."
Blinking, the kid stared, long enough for the professor to wonder if there was anything even going on inside that usually bright mind of his. At least, until he uttered, "She has a birthday?"
Now it was the professor's turn to stare.
"What do you mean, Conan-kun?" Ayumi's protests did not take long to reach his ears, alongside the realization that all three of his friends had listened to every word. "Everyone has a birthday!"
Of course, he knew that ─ he was just about to state the fact, yet ultimately stopped himself upon realizing the dumb question that had escaped him, in the first place.
Mitsuhiko faced the professor instead and asked, "When is her birthday, Professor?"
That had been a smart question. Conan chastised himself for not realizing that was the right one to ask ─ as hopeless as that might have been, however, seeing that the Professor merely shook his head. Now, that was puzzling ─ hadn't he just-?
"She asked for it for her birthday," the Professor replied, knowing all about the unasked question roaming in their minds just by looking at their perplexed faces. "But when I suggested to organize a party, she told me not to bother, since it had happened a long time already and just wanted a late birthday gift."
Genta's gaze dulled. "So she was just manipulating you."
"That's one way to say it…"
So, the conversation was left at that, working through the unsatisfied curiosity gnawing at their minds ─ hopeless to do something about it but complain to Agasa for not asking the right questions. Thus, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were, like that, forced to give up for the time being, all but forgetting about the issue at the mention of the cake ─ and doughnuts, apparently. Conan seriously hoped his plea of help had not fallen into deaf ears because he had been preparing them.
In any case, the trio rushed back to the living room area, plopping down onto the couch in between excited laughter, causing Kaito to flinch back, startled ─ because, yeah, that guy somehow ended up there, sitting awkwardly in silence. Conan surely was excited for his presence, feelings expressed by a gaze narrowing in the magician's form.
For the first time today, the thief let out a genuine grin ─ did he seriously enjoy messing with him so badly? Even if he wanted to, Conan would not have the opportunity to voice it, as his brother had come right away, sitting in between the two of them.
The doughnuts the Professor had prepared were pleasantly crunchy and delicious, yet never did Conan comment on it. Quietly, he tasted his, pointedly looking at the front and anywhere but in the thief's general direction. By pure chance, they fixated on the small cat, frantically rubbing against Ai's leg ─ even after changing clothes, the girl had been unable to get rid of Taii's scent onto her. Which was understandable, since she had been clutching onto him for who-knows how long.
Absent-mindedly, Conan brought the half-eaten doughnut to his mouth, his gaze raising to the aforementioned child prodigy, and something akin to curiosity kept him from looking away.
Her birthday, huh…
"I see," Agasa said. Only then did the bespectacled little boy realize they had finished telling everything they had been forced to go through. "You must've had quite a rough time."
"It was so cold I thought I'd freeze into an icicle!" exclaimed Genta. "Mitsuhiko even passed out!"
Visually shocked, Agasa gawked at the kid in question, who merely scratched the back of his neck, flushing red out of embarrassment.
"But Ai-chan warmed him up, so he felt better right away!" clarified Ayumi.
In the background, a certain bespectacled young boy munched on his doughnut, a faint scowl decorating his entire face. The old professor did not let that detail escape him, chuckling faintly at the sight, yet keeping any thoughts to himself.
Though, he surely had not been the only one to notice such a reaction. Unbeknownst to his younger brother, Shinichi was gazing down at him ─ the usual amused grin missing from his face, replaced by a faint frown. That made Agasa pause, his smile dimming against the concern.
Shinichi had been unusually quiet today, and he did not know why yet.
"So," he began, hoping that a change of topic would lighten up things a bit. "You caught the killers?"
It had the exact opposite effect. The usually lively trio winced, as if physically stung by his words ─ and Ai, by addition, freezing in her spot at whatever memory had been conjured because of him.
And, if anything, Shinichi's already stiff facade hardened further, a dark shadow passing by his eyes.
"Yeah…" Ayumi said, gaze dropping. "Shinichi-oniisan came to help us, but someone else got there, too…"
After seeing plenty of their reactions, Agasa was rather afraid to ask, "Who?"
Inches apart from his mouth, Conan stopped ─ jaw closing gently, a hand holding onto a doughnut awkwardly lingering in the air at the deep voice that met his ears:
"Bourbon," said Shinichi.
Conan finally lowered his snack ─ a safe haven for his gaze to rest on.
"You sent him a code." It lacked that unspoken kindness that usually was there, hidden behind his words ─ instead of that, all he perceived was the accusatory pitch he would use when cornering a criminal. Conan nodded lightly, refusing to grant him some eye-contact. "Knowing he was one of the men in black."
"That's precisely why I thought he could help."
His answer had definitely not settled well with Shinichi. That piercing stare was onto him in the next instant.
He heard him taking a deep breath, "Conan," yet evidently amounted to virtually nothing, since he couldn't keep the venom from dripping through ─ if it was to him, or something completely unrelated to himself, Conan had no way of knowing. "Do you have any idea of how dangerous he is?"
"Do you?" Certainly, Conan did not put an effort into concealing his own. "Even when it's Vermouth, you hardly have this kind of reaction."
Shinichi failed to provide an answer.
"When I got a concussion, he performed first-aid on me. Because of him, nothing serious happened." Both hands were holding onto the doughnut now, fingers clenching lightly. "Even the last time I was kidnapped, he helped Ran-neechan and Occhan rescue me."
"It was all manipulation ─ nothing but an act to get you to trust him." Even though he wasn't looking, he knew his brother had narrowed his eyes on him. "And I can see it's working."
The doughnut snapped into half, yet nobody was there to grieve for its loss.
"I see. You know everything. As expected." Conan's words came out softly, almost inaudibly. "Even though you said you know nothing about him."
Finally, his head snapped towards him, yet again, their gazes did not connect. The lack of contact fueled the fire. Flames of long-contained fury within himself climbed higher and higher.
"Lies upon lies. Contradictions, one after another… You do love all of it, don't you?" he said, slowly ─ carefully bitting word by word. "If only you could just break free of your habit of being so freaking secretive all the time!"
Shinichi's lips remained sealed shut.
"What's going on with you and Bourbon?" No answer. "Oniichan!"
But even without words, he made it crystal clear ─ he would not get an answer out of him today, not as long as he clammed up like that, pretending he wasn't hearing a single word. Conan stood back, observing it all, not bothering to hide from his gaze how much this indifference stung.
A fierce expression took hold of his every feature, little fingers digging into his brother's arm, mouth opening to pursue the matter.
"Umm, I'm sorry to interrupt…" It was, surprisingly, Kaito's voice which he heard, whose presence he had disregarded for so long, until now. "But those kids said there was cake…"
The Professor did not need to be told twice and swiftly raised from his seat. "Oh, right!" It was impossible to cover up the nervous trembling of his tone. "I almost forgot the most important thing!"
With a huff, Conan plopped back down ─ arms crossed over his chest, pointedly looking away, as well.
Instantly after saying that, the old man had disappeared into the kitchen, leaving behind nothing but a heavy tension lingering in the air, so thick that it might as well be cut through with a knife if needed. No cheering as the long-expected cake was put onto the table, or anything besides a half-hearted complaint over the sorry state it had been left at ─ ruined beyond repair.
Only Kaito was brave enough to risk a single glance towards the quietest pair.
None of the brothers uttered a single word for the rest of their stay.
By the time he headed back home, the sun was already beginning to set ─ just barely peeking out from behind the few buildings scattered all over Beika, and with it went the blistering warmth he had not been dealing for long because of circumstances, giving way to a comfortable nocturnal breeze to caress his cheeks.
Yet, the boy was everything but satisfied at the time being. Even in a peacefully quiet evening like the ones he loved, its deep silence only interrupted by the skittering by a poor, inoffensive pebble he had been kicking for about a block, and the chaotic turmoil of a brain that could not rest.
"There isn't much I could tell you about him. Throughout my time in the Organization, I have never seen Bourbon." He hadn't even needed to ask Ai for further insight right after his brother ─ and in addition, KID ─ finally left for Ekoda. She had approached him on her own, much to his surprise. "But I've heard about him from Shinichi-san."
Her overly serious gaze, the frown carved onto her face ─ everything was still fresh on his mind.
"This is nothing but a thought, and I might be wrong…" she had told him then. "But from the way he talked about him, I've always assumed they got along well."
The pebble skipped once, clattering back onto the ground several meters ahead of him.
"As if they were good friends."
With no apparent reason to, his feet stopped moving, all on their own.
But for his mind, it was an entirely different story ─ as if it were his own thoughts, keeping busy enough not to notice he was just standing there, eyes stuck at the tip of his red shoes.
Wasn't it that he knew nothing about him?
Or that was what he had been told, that morning at the hospital after the organization member in question had showed up to give his brother a scare. Back then, Shinichi had assured him that Bourbon was as much of a mystery as it was to him, and despite what prior experience should have taught him, Conan had believed him.
Mostly because of the quiet tone his older brother had used. To his ears, he sounded genuine, somehow ─ clearly, he had been wrong.
Did he seriously think I wouldn't eventually find out that they were friends? Close ones, at that…
At his sides, hands curled into little fists.
Despite that… Despite everything… Why didn't he tell me any of it?
A scoff left his system unprompted. "Okay, whatever," he murmured, annoyance lacing his voice, even though there was nobody out there to hear it. "I don't need him to tell me."
In the distance, he spotted the same innocent tiny pebble he had been abusing for a while, quickly becoming the target for the scowl that now reigned over his every feature.
Once more, his feet moved, taking him forward in a little sprint. I can figure it out on my own, he thought, nodding to himself to ascertain his decision. It's not so different from what I've been doing all along… Channeling out all that anger, one last time, he sent the pebble flying. Thanks to that useless detective freak!
Eventually, the projectile came to a stop, tumbling back onto the pavement and finally landing next to a pair of feet, different from his own, that backed off, startled without a doubt. Instantly, his gaze rose back up ─ all that anger forgotten at the realization that he hadn't really been alone, after all.
"Azusa-san!" he shouted, rushing towards her. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you."
The woman waved it off with a smile. "Don't worry," she said. "It didn't even graze me."
Conan nodded at her, apologizing once more for good measure, ready to walk right past her to reach the stairs leading to the agency. She went back to her business with no trouble at all, flipping the sign on the door to the café to indicate it was closed ─ which shouldn't have taken him off guard. Azusa had changed out of her apron and had a bag secured onto her shoulder, making it clear she was heading back home after a long day of work.
So, he paused just before he could leave her sight. "Say," he began. "Did Amuro-san already leave for home?"
Azusa was surprised at first, clearly not expecting that question. "No," she said, shaking her head. "He left early today."
That had caught his attention. "Early?"
"I found a receipt in Taii's collar earlier. There were a few letters rubbed off, so I guessed it could be a code," she explained. "But it flew off before I could show it to him. He left to go look for it…" Then, a finger pressed against her cheek, she continued, as if an afterthought. "I wonder if he found it…"
For a fraction of a second, Conan's eyes narrowed. He must have found it, he realized. Then pretended not to. He made it disappear, replacing it with a childish pout.
"That's too bad then," he said, slightly lowering his head.
"You wanted to see Amuro-san?" asked Azusa, notably curious.
Conan nodded vehemently. "My friends and I ran into some trouble earlier today with some bad guys, but Amuro-san, who was passing by, helped us out."
"You'll have to wait until tomorrow," she said. "But make sure to thank him then!"
"Yes, but, uh…" Shifting onto his feet, the boy tried to make himself as small as possible. "Do you happen to know when his shift starts?" Azusa was confused, so he clarified, "I was hoping I wouldn't, uh… catch him with so many people around…"
She smiled, endeared by what it might as well be an extremely shy boy seeking some privacy.
"Our work schedule starts at around eight in the morning, but by the time I get here, about half an hour earlier, he's already here, making sure everything is in order," she said. "I don't think you'll have much trouble finding him if you get up early enough."
Conan paused long enough to process her words, finishing with a nod. "Okay!" he said, a sunny grin rising up to his lips while he turned about to leave. "Thank you, Azusa-san!"
It wasn't until her friendly smile disappeared from sight that he allowed his to fade away ─ a sharp glint taking over the childish innocence from before.
Even if he did hide most of the details from me, he couldn't conceal everything, he thought, slowly making his way up the stairs. That look of fear whenever he's close, or even mentioned, is real.
Hard to believe they were friends…
Maybe Ai had misjudged their relationship? Or had something else happened? Conan did not know yet ─ but he would, no doubts about it.
Amuro Tooru… Bourbon…
Who in the world are you?
A/N:
CherryGirl 21-6
No, I'm definitely not planning to. I just felt like stating it, in case I don't have a chapter ready in two weeks.
As you might have seen, I still remember it ;) I didn't intend to push it back so badly, like that, but I needed to get back to August in this fic, since I felt like it was the date it fit there the most. Besides, I wanted to get Ai's character to develop a little before then…
It might take a little bit longer, but it's almost there! Sorry for taking so long…
BT
Yeah, I think I said something like that before, because I couldn't figure out how to adapt the chapter in the middle of summer, but, well, I changed my mind…
And about Vermouth, I think I forgot to write it, but yeah, I was imagining her dressing the same way she was at the end of the Mystery Train arc in the anime. Sorry about that xD