File One Hundred and Twenty-Eight: An Aching Heart
He had thought he could do it.
"If that man with the burn scar was one of them… Then that means Shu… really is…"
He had believed he could gaze right into her eyes and do everything in his power to protect the scheme his older brother had worked so hard into. In order to respect the decision of that man, to keep silent as per his wishes ─ because he was in no place to interfere. Because it had nothing to do with him.
But Jodie's grip on his shoulders was far too tight, her watery gaze relentlessly rummaging through his soul in search of any clues that would keep that faint light of hope she harbored in her chest from dying out.
Fearing that she would succeed, his eyes slid to the side and away. Her hands did not leave, so he could easily feel them shaking alongside the rest of her figure. His best guess was that she was valiantly trying to keep her tears at bay, but since he couldn't bring himself to look, the boy couldn't tell.
But his chest constricted all the same.
Tiny fingers found themselves posing over her knuckles, head tilting slightly forward.
And in a soft mumble, he uttered, "I'm sorry."
While he doubted she could ever understand how genuine that had been, Jodie still appeared surprised.
"Oh, no, Conan-kun." She stepped back, putting on the most convincing smile she could muster. "It's not your fault."
Yet, she failed horribly. The way she closed a fist in front of her face, standing up so energetically, made the entire thing even more unnatural to the kid's eyes.
"Then, next time I see that man with the burn scar prancing around…" she declared. "I'll catch him, rip off his disguise and find out who he really is-"
"I… don't think you have to go that far."
Her eyes flickered over to the phone the boy held up for him, blinking at the platinum blonde guy displayed on the screen.
"Who is he?" she asked.
"Bourbon." Jodie's eyes widened dramatically at the response. "He calls himself Amuro Tooru and works part-time at Café Poirot under the Mouri Detective Agency."
"B-But why?!"
"That's what I want you to figure out!" At Jodie's confusion, Conan huffed exasperatedly. "Do you know how difficult it is to sleep at night worrying that he suddenly got a night-shift or something and is just downstairs plotting your and everyone's death?"
The way she stared at him told him that, no, she had no idea. But her factions hardened, nevertheless. "Do you believe he's trying to kill you?"
Conan carded a hand through his hair. "No, I don't think it's actually likely, but…" He groaned, frustrated. "But it's just that I can't figure it out! He should have achieved his objective, so why is he still at Poirot?"
"His objective?"
The boy halted, remembering he had skipped that part completely.
"Huh?!"
A third voice saved him from any explanations, followed by an unfamiliar man wearing a face mask, unable to take his eyes off Jodie, who merely stood back, seemingly not understanding the situation any better than the boy beside her.
"You're that foreign lady who was a hostage in that bank robbery just like me, right?" the man continued. "I was one row behind you to the side, and it was my wife who covered your eyes and mouth with tape, don't you remember?"
Jodie's eyes lit up in recognition, "Then was that man with a burn scar next to you your boyfriend?" then widened in horror as he continued, "I saw him two or three days ago…"
And it wasn't only the case for the woman, but for the boy as well ─ gasping just as soon as the man turned to leave. But the FBI agent couldn't let it go just like that, especially after what they had just heard, so she immediately reached forward, grasping this strange man's arm, ready to demand some answers.
Just by the confusion that crossed the man's face, Conan was extremely skeptical that they would get any answers that way. Specially since, before he could get a single word out, another scream broke through the air:
"Pickpocket!"
Running came a woman, yelling the same word repeatedly while she frantically looked around for whoever this thief might be. Her lack of focus had her toppling over Jodie, falling back onto her behind.
Of course, Jodie helped her back onto her feet, and the woman smiled gratefully. At least, until she spotted the man staring at her oddly beside Jodie. Her face had paled, and she had hurried to leave the place as soon as possible.
Conan, for his part, laded his head ever so slightly, unable to figure out, for the life of him, what had just happened.
Certainly, he didn't expect to see that woman again so soon ─ in such a state, that was. One moment, he had been cringing at the ear-shattering sound of Genta ringing a bell in front of the offering box ─ encouraged by a young lady who Conan was beginning to dislike just a little bit, claiming that the gods wouldn't hear them if they didn't 'ring it loud enough'. Or whatever.
The next, Agasa was telling him over the phone that he had witnessed a murder. Soon, he had found himself crouching in front of the aforementioned woman, checking on the wound in her head ─ dead beyond a doubt.
He didn't know why he was still getting surprised at that point.
"It hasn't been long since she was murdered," observed Jodie.
Conan nodded faintly, his attention grasped by something else at the scene. There were three black five yen coins, dropped right next to her.
"Kurobee," he mumbled. Jodie gave him an odd look. "You know, this dead lady over here. The same one who pickpocketed you earlier."
Jodie stared at him for an entire second, until she seemed to snap back to reality, frantically rummaging through her pockets to confirm that, indeed, her wallet was gone.
"Why didn't you say anything?" she sighed, dejectedly, glaring her newly found black coins sitting atop her palm.
"I just realized it when I saw these coins. She leaves these regularly, or so I've heard," he pointed out. "You know, 'five', 'black', and 'three', is 'gokurosan' ─ or 'thank you', in English."
Conan did not wait to gauge her reaction, or even reacted as a police officer scolded them for messing with the scene. By the time Jodie had gotten him to leave by flashing her FBI identification to him, he had already taken the small purse the victim had with her only to find, as he had expected, dozens upon dozens of black five yen coins inside.
It was pretty self explanatory that she was Kurobee.
She must have been murdered by one of her victims. Conan could not find any other explanation, especially after discovering that GPS transmitter Kurobee had been carrying ─ probably without even knowing. But to resent a pickpocket to this degree… Sure, they're annoying, but…
What did she exactly take from them? Conan stood back up, his hand rising to cup his chin as he thought. Was it money… or something even more precious-?
Like struck by lightning, the young boy almost jumped out of his skin ─ his every thought overridden by a feeling so familiar and so equally chilling that had his eyes darting around frantically.
"Is something wrong, Conan-kun?"
It went without saying that he was startled badly by that, too. With something of a startled yelp, Conan found Ayumi's confused big eyes, alongside the weirded glances sent by all the others.
He took a moment to breathe, a hand resting over his chest.
"It's nothing," he said. "Just me being paranoid again."
Then he shook every other concern with a smile of his own, absolutely ignorant of the small silhouette that observed the entire thing among the crowd.
Like a devil, the figure smiled, disappearing again from where he had come from.
"In any case," began Ai, crossing her arms over her chest. "Have you figured it out? The truth behind this case."
"Not even close." He shook his head. "The Professor mentioned a thirty centimeter cane, but…"
"Isn't the police looking for it right now?" asked Mitsuhiko.
"But why?" Conan passed a hand through his hair. "I mean, a weapon like that is difficult to get rid of. Were you going to kill someone in broad daylight, would you really choose something like that?"
"Yeah, I guess I wouldn't…"
"This was premeditated murder." Conan's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "There's no chance the culprit has not thought about it beforehand."
"Do you think you know where it's hidden?" asked Ayumi. "We could go and search for it."
"That's the problem ─ I don't think we'll ever find it." From the corner of his eye, Conan noted his friends' shoulders dropping, a dejected sigh escaping their lips all the same. "But there is something…"
Everyone blinked, confusingly, at the small, apologetic smile he was offering them.
"Could you guys go look for something for me?"
It was curious how he had not learned after so long. Despite repetition upon repetition of that fact, it would seem his naivety refused to fade away, filling him whole with hope, only to be mercilessly crushed by reality every single time.
There was nothing like a simple case, nor a fool-proof way to catch criminals. Meaning, it should have seen it coming ─ all three suspects finding a trio of black coins stuffed inside their pockets.
Though his frustration must have been evident, noting by the corner of his eye the slightly frightened glances his friends were sending him. Not that he was exactly blaming any of them ─ even he had noticed his own frantic tapping of the new pen the Professor had given him earlier against the notepad he had written all clues in, as he struggled to make sense of everything ─ but it did not mean he was doing anything about it, either.
Well, at least I know who the suspects are. All thanks to his friends, who had searched the place for their discarded wallets. That's something, I suppose.
But it was a significant coincidence, thought the small detective, that they had already crossed paths with every one of the suspects before.
Danno Yoriko had been the easiest to recognize, mostly because there had been a photo of her and a young child popping up right at sight upon opening her wallet. A face he wouldn't exactly forget, since she had been the one who, much to his dismay, had incited Genta to ring the bell at the offering box like there was no tomorrow, addling to his ever-present, building migraine.
They had found a fortune slip in the second one, and Ayumi and the others had taken a wild guess that happened to be true ─ Conan still couldn't get his head around that, but whatever. Its owner, as it turned out to be, was none other than Sakamaki Shigemori, the old man who had scolded everyone for trying to tie up their good fortunes earlier today.
And the third one… Conan's eyes narrowed on their third suspect, Bezaki Tohei, struggling not to cough a lung out due to his undoubtedly terrible cold ─ and immediately cringed, feeling infinitely sorry for a fellow human being. The guy who saw that burned man roaming around.
Which was, to say the least, strange. Oniichan told me Bourbon said he was sure Akai-san was dead. So why would he disguise himself as Akai again? He definitely could not find any explanation for that, and did not think he would, provided all the time in the world to ponder about it, over and over.
"Inspect whatever you want. But my phone's all sticky since I've got greasy skin," somewhere in the background, he heard Yoriko say. "If you want to check it, you'll have to put up with that!"
Maybe I should let him know about it. His free hand slid inside his pocket, fingers grazing against the metallic coldness ─ doing his best to soothe his expression back to indifference, despite the sheer irritation that sparked within him just by thinking about him. It was his plan, it's not my job to keep it from crumbling away-
But halted just as soon as he took his phone away. Slowly, he turned his head to his right, and his eyes connected with Jodie's. Her mouth was closed shut and soon he realized that her gaze, however unnerving it was, they lacked focus. As if she wasn't really looking at him, or his phone, but rather, contemplated distant memories stored in her mind, scrutinizing them to the tiniest detail.
Which wasn't good, like, at all. She had already muttered something about it while talking with Tohei earlier, about Akai often drinking canned coffee. There was something else about Akai losing his grip on the can and dropping it back when they had been expecting an attack at the hospital with Kir and everything…
Luckily, the man had understood too little ─ Conan, however, had understood it all too well.
He must have applied some coating to keep his fingerprints from getting in my phone. Conan frowned profusely. But it made his grip slippery at the same time.
But of course, he was saying none of that.
In any case, it was better to get Jodie to focus on the case ─ and only on the case.
"Jodie-sensei?" She blinked back to reality, just as the boy was putting the phone away. "Did you figure something out?"
She shook her head. "I was just thinking of the men in the video you took before."
Mentally, the boy cringed ─ wonderful move, he told himself.
"Remember, when we were trying to identify the spy they sent to infiltrate the hospital, you deliberately dropped a phone and had them pick it up, right?" Before he could even decide if it was better to pretend he didn't or go along with it, she continued, "The man who picked it up first had greasy skin, but in the end, the next man to pick it up was the spy… And the last one had a pacemaker…"
She finished in a faint whisper, "And that's the phone that Shu picked up…"
"Jodie-sensei?" Voice squeaky with fear, Conan called her back to reality. "T-That doesn't matter at all right now, does it?"
The relief that coursed right through his bloodstream the moment Jodie laughed nervously and apologized for getting sidetracked was incommensurable.
"I guess I'm just feeling the shock of finding out the man with the burn wasn't Shu," she said. "Gotta pull myself together!"
He ignored the twinge of guilt that abruptly struck at that.
"What is it?" But of course, Ai would realize there was something off. "You sounded worried all of a sudden."
"Eh? Worried? Me?" Conan's laugh sounded stiff even to his ears. "W-Why would I be?"
Her raised eyebrow spoke far better than any words would, a sharp teal gaze zeroing on his form, lingering long enough to scrutinize him to her heart's content.
"What sort of man was the Akai guy you were talking about?"
"Eh, Akai-san?" He wondered if he was doing a good job of keeping the shaking out of his tone. "Does that matter? He's already dead."
She hesitated for a moment. "I get the feeling he greatly resembles someone I know…"
"Ah, is that so?"
It was obvious the answer did not convince her in the slightest, but he decided to forcefully end the conversation right there, promptly walking away to approach the Professor, who in turn, was talking to the Inspector. Hopefully, he wouldn't have any questions he was uncomfortable answering.
I'm sorry, Ai. Stealthy, he sent a swift glance towards the strawberry blonde in question. But I kind of need Akai-san to survive.
Because he knew she would straight up murder the guy if she figured his true identity. It would be almost as bad as the Organization finding out…
He pressed a hand against his forehead. Why am I the one covering for everyone else? He complained in the privacy of his mind. Maybe actually telling Jodie-sensei about everything by phone would have been much safer… All things considered.
Next he patted his own cheeks ─ promptly ignoring those passersby that sent him odd looks.
Case. Yeah, case. Let's focus on that.
And so he did ─ decidedly pushing all ruminating thoughts to the back of his head.
"So, how about it, Professor?" Just like Jodie had decided, apparently ─ and much to his relief. "Are any of those three the killer you saw?"
Agasa was clearly troubled, humming with a prominent frown affixed to his face as he contemplated the three suspects one last time. From that alone, Conan could tell that the old man was not sure.
"Then, how about the way they walk?" Jodie pressed further. "You said they dragged their feet slightly, didn't you?"
But neither Yoriko-san nor Tohei-san seem to have any trouble walking. That much was sure, he did not need the old professor to clarify it. His attention went to the old man, crouched over with the policeman helping him regain his balance. Forget about dragging his feet, this one can't even walk without his cane!
On top of that, as predicted, no weapon was ever found ─ not even after such an incredibly exhaustive search all over the shrine's grounds. Nothing.
As if the weapon vanished into thin air. Conan crossed his arms over his chest, racking his mind for any other possibilities that might have escaped him. To make a thirty-centimeter bloody rod disappear… You'd have to be a magician or something.
Maybe that annoying thief might have been able to pull it off, with any of those dirty tricks of his-
His eyes snapped open, pupils shrinking as if in the presence of the light he had been blind to for so long.
"Professor!" The old man barely had time at all to react before tiny, but ridiculously strong, fingers latched onto his sleeve, dragging him away from the scene. "Come here for a second!"
And in no time, they disappeared from sight ─ leaving everyone else behind to exchange confused glances.
Bloodstains popped up in plain sight as soon as Detective Takagi rolled up Yoriko's pants, tinting her shoelaces a brownish red and singling her out as the one they had been looking for.
The one who had manipulated Genta to cover up the sounds of her offering, insanely large but not for the holiest of reasons. Maybe hundreds of coins had been bound to make up the rod they had been looking for so intently, dirtied by the blood she had spilled today. That of the woman who had inadvertently murdered her beloved child.
Those three coins left next to the body had been the ones Yoriko found that fateful day her keys were stolen ─ leaving an innocent young boy suffering from asthma locked inside her car, robbing him of his life as well. That was the sole reason she had put a photo of him in her wallet, despite it making it easier for her to be found.
So that Kurobee would see the face of the boy she killed, moments before her death.
Which might not have happened at all, reasoned Conan, quietly watching the police taking their newly found murderer away. There's no way Kurobee would have seen that boy before.
All things considered, it was likely she just glazed over the photo to get her money and discard the evidence away…
However relieved the other two suspicious men would understandably be, neither of them seemed keen on showing off their joy. The story of a grieving mother had understandably sunk in their hearts, thus they wished nothing but to return to their homes and forget about such a terrible day. Megure was smiling, but it lacked the strength needed to appear genuine.
Behind them was Jodie, making not even the smallest sound.
When death is involved, nobody ever wins. All that remains is the stench of the spilled blood…
But her expression told him ─ she kept on staring up ahead, contemplating those memories she could not physically touch, no matter how hard she would yearn for it.
And an aching heart that grieves for what it has lost.
Violently, the boy shook his head, and sought to catch up with Tohei before he left.
As he stood up in front of him, hands latched behind his back and innocent eyes blinking up at him, Conan wondered why he had done that. The poor man wanted to leave already, and for a good reason, and there really was nothing else he could tell them about the scarred man he had crossed paths with. Nothing that he did not know, in any case.
Probably, he was desperate to get his attention away from the foreign woman standing beside him.
But now that he had stopped him, the kid figured he had to say something. He was already being stared at awkwardly, after all.
"Do you happen to have bad eyesight?" was all he could think of.
Tohei appeared genuinely confused. "Why do you ask?"
"When the pickpocket lady saw your face, she was surprised." And no wonder, mused Conan, since she had stolen this guy's wallet either. "It must've been your second time meeting her, but you said nothing."
"That's it!" The man laughed. "My eyesight is bad!"
"I see!" Ayumi exclaimed, happily. "You're just like Conan-kun!"
Hey.
Somewhere in the background, he heard Ai giggling under her hand. He ignored her.
"Then you should wear glasses!" Genta exclaimed. "Or you won't see the fireworks!"
"Actually, that isn't the reason I came here," explained the man. "I came to buy a good luck charm."
"Good luck charm?" all four parroted, Conan included.
He was about to respond when a voice interrupted, "It's for me, isn't it?"
With a hand over an enormous belly, a woman walked forward, a smile lighting up her features as she came to meet the guy, whose eyes were open in shock at what they were seeing.
"W-What are you two doing here?"
Conan was initially confused about the phrasing just now, at least, until he saw a smaller head poking up from behind the woman's legs, half-hiding from sight.
"We were worried because you wouldn't return," whispered the boy shyly.
Tohei gazed down at his son for a beat, then smiled. "You came because I told you, right?" he said. "To take care of your mom and your little brother in her belly." He got a faint nod in response. "Good job."
For Conan, everything else made perfect sense ─ getting an easy childbirth good luck charm was a typical thing to do. Though, considering what had just transpired with the murder and everything, it was left for the boy to wonder if it shouldn't have been nicer for Tohei to get a good luck charm for himself instead. Not that Conan himself was in any position to talk about either.
Thinking about it again… Maybe he doesn't really need one.
Tohei was fussing over his wife now, who smiled gently at him. The kid who had been hiding behind his mother stepped up, hesitantly at first, but then broke into a brilliant grin once he was allowed to place his hands on top of her belly. Both parents chuckled at the endearing sight.
Without his consent, a warm smile caressed Conan's lips. I wonder if there was a time where we looked like this, he thought. All four of us.
"Then." Jodie came forward. "Were you the person who taped me up at the bank robbery?"
The woman observed her for a moment until her hands went up to cover her mouth. "Oh, my. Were you the foreigner from back then?" she asked. "I'm so sorry. We were threatened, so I had no choice-"
Both hands clamped over her mouth, absolutely silencing her words. Conan watched her lose her balance, all but falling into Jodie's arms who, shocked as she was, could only grasp her by her shoulders until her husband could react and help her back up.
"I-I'm sorry!" He apologized on her behalf and turned to Megure. "My wife's condition isn't very good. Would it be okay if I left?"
"S-Sure."
"Well, then."
Like so, placing his free hand over his son's head, he began to lead his family away. Away they went, walking into the sunset with nothing but a quiet goodbye.
And a brief glance over his shoulder, coming from the youngest one in sight. Maybe he was curious, thought Conan, allowing him to observe his group of friends to his heart's content, just before disappearing from sight.
Ai walked up to him. "Morning sickness is a condition that you have in the first stages of pregnancy, right?" she said.
Conan pondered about it a little. "That's true," he said, tilting his head slightly. "But, now that you mention, it's weird…"
His eyes narrowed slightly. "No matter how you look at her, she should be in her sixth month already."
"Maybe she ate too much eel rice?" Genta wondered out loud.
Mitsuhiko eyed him. "That was oddly specific, Genta-kun."
Conan barely paid attention to their exchange, mulling over the matter for further, before ultimately shrugging it off ─ because, apart from the eel part, it kind of made sense. Nausea could be caused by anything else, and it did not have to be related to her pregnancy.
"Yes, that's right, Camel. It seems the guy with the burn wasn't Shu."
A single glance over her shoulder let Conan know Jodie was on the phone back now, and quite honestly, he wished he had not looked. That same haunted glint, the slight frown affixed to her face, made the child bite his lip.
As in a sad attempt to keep the truth from slipping through.
"Jodie-sensei..."
He barely caught it, only her name escaping. Her attention was on him suddenly, so he stepped back, completely out of instinct, and said nothing else. Jodie had definitely seen his awkward movements, muttering something back at the phone and hanging up moments later. Once then, she crouched down close to him, attentively waiting for him to speak.
A deep breath in, a shaky smile out ─ Conan's hands latched behind his back.
"Would you want to come see the fireworks with us?" he asked instead.
Her surprise was immense, but she managed a chuckle.
"You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine," Jodie replied. "But thank you for the concern."
Conan tried to ignore the pang of pain that stuck at those two, simple words ─ thank you, she had said. How ironic.
"Go have fun with your friends," she added, winking at him. "If anything happens, you know how to contact me, Cool Kid."
He nodded timidly, which served as a cue for her to stand back up, and skipped ahead, towards where his friends were waiting for him. Just before he reached them, he spun on his heels.
Jodie stopped, his troubled expression right in plain sight. He stood there, awkwardly, as if debating to himself what to say next.
And then, after what seemed forever, he blurted out, "Don't lose hope, Agent Jodie!"
Before she had the chance to ask for further explanation, the kid spun back around, ultimately joining his group of friends. Together they smiled, and after a general wave of small hands for her, they, too, started up on their way away from the crime scene.
But Jodie could not even move her hand to replicate their gesture, far too puzzled by what the little detective had just uttered.
"Um, Jodie-sensei." She jumped violently. Takagi was holding up her wallet for her. "I think the money's gone, but if you could check the contents of your wallet…"
Her wallet. Yes, of course.
She took the object from his hands right away and, while she was a little frustrated that, indeed, there was no money left, at least she found a sliver of relief to see that her cards were still there.
And so was that certain thing ─ Jodie pulled out an object she certainly had forgotten she had been carrying. A slightly bent coaster made her eyes widen, memories of that bomb threat at the department store clouding her mind.
"Run! This area is dangerous!"
Along with those words came the unavoidable question. If the guy with the scar was not Shuichi, then…
Then, who wrote this?
"Oh, look at you! I don't think I've seen you working for years."
"Kaito, please. Leave him alone, just this once."
"What's with you, Aoko? You're always taking his side…"
"Of course I am. Your side is always the wrong one."
A lengthy sigh escaped Shinichi's lips, placing onto their table the two glasses filled with ginger ale before turning around, trying with all his might to block out the sounds of their usual argument that was pretty much audible despite it being quite a busy day at work.
"I'm just pointing out the obvious," he heard Kuroba. "It's a miracle that Jii-chan hasn't fired him yet."
"You're insufferable," huffed Aoko. "He already has a lot on his plate, you don't need to make things even more complicated."
Thanks for reminding me, thought the teenage detective, mentally shaking his head ─ wondering if the girl had any idea that he still could hear every single of her words. That he could easily know about the concern lacing her voice, or the pitying looks she kept sending when she thought he wasn't looking. Nakamori is a kind person, that much was true, no doubts about it. But I'd be most grateful if she quit doing that.
Decidedly, he moved away from her sight, pulling his phone out for the first time in maybe hours. He hasn't called back, he realized. It's been a couple of days, but he's still pissed off at me…
Not that he was blaming him ─ his reaction was one to be expected. Perhaps I should call him instead. Even though he knew he'd probably just be yelled at. He was the older one, however, he could handle it. To apologize… for everything.
And maybe I should tell him about Bourbon… A severe frown crawled up to his face and settled itself onto his hardening features. About Furuya-san.
"It was you, wasn't it?! Hey, Bourbon!"
Yet, his fingers hardly moved.
Neither did Kuroba's eyes, fixated on the troubled figure of a certain detective he knew. He watched him sigh dejectedly, after an entire minute of him staring at his reflection on the screen, before putting the phone down, having not used it at all. A strange shadow passed by his unreadable gaze, that squinted, prompted by whichever memory his mind had decided to show him, once more.
Until he was snapped out of it, a loud popping sound sent him looking around, back and forth, in a nervous frenzy, before finally calming down. It was probably a champagne bottle or something, Shinichi assured himself, pinching the bridge of his nose as if to stave off an oncoming headache.
"That sound again, huh?" commented Aoko, a slight frown on her features. "I can't believe I keep being spooked out about it…"
But, as Kudo was called by a random man in the other corner of the bar, Kuroba felt his every muscle freeze. Eyes widening in full capacity, or large enough for, at least, Aoko to be weirded out about.
"Yes, what'd you want to drink?" asked Kudo, smiling politely back at the man.
"The usual, please."
Kudo paused, staring at the man in front of him ─ he was absolutely sure he had never seen him in his life before.
In a swift movement, Kuroba plucked the mostly melted ice from his glass.
Instantly, the teen whirled around to glare at him and ask, with no regard to manners or volume whatsoever, what the hell was wrong with him and why he had flung an ice to his head, yet never got that opportunity.
"Manhattan, right?" Shinichi felt himself blinking stupidly, his annoyance melting at the confusion of his voice resounding in the air, without his lips moving. "Coming right up!"
And it took him even longer to realize that it was actually Kuroba ─ him and the ventriloquism skills Shinichi did not know he possessed, but that they didn't surprise him either. But the way the client did not seem alarmed either, nodding alongside those words, was telltale enough that the magician had, somehow, hit the nail on the head.
But… how?
Slowly, he retreated to do as he was told ─ by Kuroba, the client or himself? He wasn't sure. But what he was certain of, for what it was worth, was the amused smile that greeted him as soon as Jii came into sight.
"Kaito-bocchama worked hard, you see. Even days after he recovered from that bullet." Shinichi eyed him, unable to comprehend what in the world he was talking about. "'It'd be dangerous if someone figured out why that guy has been absent for this long', he said."
The older man easily took the empty glass in his hands, "Could you please dry those glasses for me?" and walked away to do the rest himself. Shinichi did not react right away, staring at space for a moment, before his eyes slid, one last time, to the pair of teenagers sitting a few meters away.
Hirai Arthur did not miss a single day of work. Realization struck him suddenly. Because Kuroba disguised as me and did everything by himself?
A smirk propped his lips upwards. Looks like I owe that guy one, he thought, finally turning to enter the kitchen. What a pain.
"Ah, it was a shame. We really had to run into another case…"
Coming from Genta, that was a big statement to make ─ but it was true. Getting caught in murder investigations was slowly, but steadily, becoming a daily thing and Conan wasn't really sure how to feel about it. Even his friends, who had once been so excited to solve mysteries, were apparently slightly annoyed by it, and truly, he could not blame them. They couldn't catch a break, either.
"But it's fine, right?" said Ayumi, radiant as always. "Since Conan-kun solved it!"
Of course, he wasn't even surprised that they knew it had been him, and not the Professor, as he had gotten the police to believe. Though, thinking about it again, it was even more shocking that Megure had not realized it ─ he had not been exactly subtle today, dragging Agasa away to explain the entire thing to him, so that he could make all of the deduction show or whatever they wanted to call it.
It doesn't really matter, thought Conan, shrugging. Even if everyone there knew it was me, it'd still be fine.
He had been collaborating with Jodie for a long time now; it was given that she knew about his deducting abilities already. Megure was aware of his true identity, knew that both his father and brother were proficient in the art of deduction, so it wouldn't be surprising if he, too, could figure out a murder or two.
There's Detective Takagi, too, realized Conan ─ he had entirely forgotten he was there, the poor guy. Ah, whatever! It's fine.
Detective Takagi is not the brightest bulb in the box… Is he?
"That's true, but thanks to that, we lost our places," commented Ai. "And now…"
She stopped in her tracks, her gaze rising to meet what was up ahead. Conan cringed lightly ─ there was a crowd right on sight, extending all over the Edo River's shore and made Conan shift uncomfortably, just by looking at it.
Just get over it! Conan wasn't even conscious that he was biting his lower lip. You can't be like this your entire life.
But his feet wouldn't move.
Neither would the girl's, standing quietly still next to him. Her expression, naturally, was a blank canvas, nothing could be read about it ─ but a part of Conan wondered if, behind all that cold facade, she was just a little scared, too. Of being caught by those men and losing everything again…
Or maybe he was reading too much into it.
"It'll be okay!" He couldn't help but squeak, surprised by the feel of his hand being grasped out of the blue. Blinking, he found Ayumi's brilliant grin and Ai's bewildered face, and discovered that her other hand was latched onto the small scientist's as well. "If we stick together, it's not scary, right?"
"R-Right…" mumbled Ai.
Encouraged by her friend's words, Ayumi proceeded to run into the crowd ─ Agasa's callings echoing in the background, muffled by the girl's excited giggling. As he was dragged along, however, he felt his shoulders relaxing, and found that the air wasn't as stuffy and constricted as it had been before.
Little scientist and detective exchanged glances, equally timid smiles surfacing into reality.
Ayumi had been right. It wasn't scary.
"Here. Just drop me off here."
As per the elementary school student's request, the car slowly came to a stop. Once then, Tohei glimpsed over to the crowd of people that advanced along the shore, and turned to look at him from over his shoulder. "I didn't take you as the kind that would like these things," he admitted.
But the kid had already swung the door open. "I just wanna check something out," he said. "It won't take long, but you two can go ahead without me."
The pregnant woman sitting beside the man appeared thoroughly uninterested, her cheek pressed against her knuckles. "It's fine, but behave this time," she warned him. "You don't want to get on the boss' bad side."
"I know, I know," he huffed, annoyed. "No need to remind me."
The raven haired little boy added nothing else, neither did he wait for any kind of response, and merely closed the door shut behind him. As he trotted away from sight, the older man watched him with mild interest, then shrugged.
He started up the car again, continuing on their way with no further issue.
The face of the woman at his side, however, broke into a slight smirk. "Should we believe him?" she asked, even though she obviously did not need any answers.
"He can't help it, it's in his nature," he said. "Children are inherently mischievous creatures, after all."
Even though some are vastly more dangerous than others, he did not say. She did not ask further, merely humming in thought, her long fingers playing with that certain bug he had slipped into the FBI's agent earlier today, and that she had safely recovered afterwards.
"Well?" she asked, her smirk turned into something far more dangerous, all of a sudden. Her hand rose to her face, ripping off the mask she had been using for an entire day now, allowing her platinum blonde hair free to whip around. "Did you get anything interesting from that kitten?"
"Yeah. It was quite the harvest." Likewise, the man did the same. Bourbon's blue eye closed in an almost playful wink. "I got to hear a surprising inside story."
Vermouth smiled, pleased to hear it. "You'll let me hear the outcome of that story, won't you?"
"Of course, as soon as I've obtained positive proof of it," he assured her. "But I can already say this much…"
Together, the two organization members drove into the night.
"He's a terrifying one. That boy."
Despite his initial reluctance, Conan's eyes widened to take in the scenery in front of him. Fireworks shot up straight to the sky, shattering in several thousands of sparks, painting everything as far as his eyes could see with color and light.
Mesmerized by it all, he had barely noticed his mouth opening, just a tiny bit. Agasa did, however, and smiled at the sight before returning his attention to the firework show once more.
"There aren't many symbols of summer around anymore," he continued from where he had stopped talking, though it was obvious that the bespectacled little kid right next to him was listening to none of that. "Fireworks and radio exercising are some of the few symbols that haven't disappeared over the years."
"And going out to see the fireflies," added Ai. "Though it's impossible to see them in such a densely populated city like this one."
"Oh!" exclaimed Ayumi, a grin stretching from side to side. "I'd love to see the fireflies just once!"
A small smile blossomed on Ai's face. "I think I'd like that, too."
"Say, say!" Ayumi jumped back and down. "Why don't we go watch them on your birthday, Ai-chan!"
Even Conan snapped out from his little trance to stare at the girls, shocked about what had just reached his ears. Before long, and taking into Ai's indifferent, unamused expression, Conan found his surprise dimming, a dry chuckle escaping him without permission.
Real smooth, Ayumi-chan, he thought, sarcastically. Real smooth.
"I know what you're trying to do," said Ai, looking back to the front ─ her tone cold and detached. "It's fine. You shouldn't worry about it."
"Of course we should!" Ayumi argued. At both her sides, Genta and Mitsuhiko nodded alongside her. "We've known each other for over a year! Which means we must have missed the previous one!"
"Oh, but we did, in fact, celebrate it together." Confused blinking ─ even from the Professor's end ─ was all she received. "Even though you did not know, I enjoyed my last birthday quite a bit, hanging out with everyone." She sent Conan a side look, stealing a flinch out of him. "Of course, we were all wrapped up in a case thanks to someone I know, but…"
Before his bewildered eyes, Conan saw her lips curving into a soft, genuine smile.
"I learned a lot, too."
"Learned a lot?" Genta's head tilted to the side. "At school?"
"Her birthday was in summer vacation, Genta-kun," objected Mitsuhiko. "She couldn't have been at school."
"Then what was it?" asked Ayumi, her voice laced with curiosity.
"A couple of things about courage." Her eyelids shut close ─ her murmurs only barely audible against the sound of the crowd and the fireworks. "And about doing what's right."
He felt his breath pick up, memories of waves washing up the shore at night attacking his mind. A body, found on the ocean, tangled up in a fisherman's net, and Ran's quiet, yet fierce gaze piercing through that killer's soul.
"Courage is a word that gives you the strength to do what's right."
Him, sitting under the shade of an umbrella, back resting against a folding chair. A fragile smile that barely peeked out of an arm thrown over her eyes.
There was a case like that, remembered Conan. Where she had been trying to avoid Ran-neechan all day… More than what it was usual, I mean…
"It has come to my attention lately," his brother had once said. "That Ran resembles Akemi-san by a whole lot."
If his suspicions were to be confirmed as correct, everything would make so much sense, as much as he wished otherwise.
His hand rose to stroke his chin. That was in August, come to think of it, he remembered. If I'm not mistaken, it must have happened after the second half of the month…
"Conan-kun what are you doing-?"
"Please, just let me think."
He blocked out any sound, scrolling up across the screen of the phone he had just plucked out. Because they had to have mentioned a beach trip in their group chat at some point, right? Something, anything at all, must be of use, with no doubt.
Conan halted upon remembering he had changed phones, and had decidedly not thought of backing the messages up ─ because, at that time, he had been unable to think of a situation they would be needed. As it was now, he wanted to smack himself in the head.
Being honest, he was tempted to ask his friends to check for him.
Just before he could do anything else, however, his finger moved, and with it, a random innocent text from Ayumi came into sight. Oh, so they told Ai about our outing today by text. It was impressive, in a way, how he had managed not to know about it until they were halfway through their trip there – even though he had also been told about it in person.
The Edogawa Fireworks Festival, huh?
They surely had been looking forward to this… Ayumi, at least, had not been able to conceal her excitement. Not that he thought she had been actively trying.
"Besides, it's 'Edogawa', just like you! We totally have to go there!"
He froze in his spot. Just like me… Sounds like my name…
Wait, wait. Didn't Oniichan say…
"Oh, thinking about it. The date… it has a nice ring to it. It fits Ai-chan perfectly."
Perhaps… Perhaps he was trying to say that it sounded like her. It's in August. That had pretty much been confirmed at this point. The eighth month, 'hachi' in Japanese… 'Ha'.
Hey, hey, if the following number was to be 'one', it'd look like an 'I'... Gradually, his eyes began to widen, until they were open at full capacity. Another eight is 'ha', which sounds like 'ba'...
"August 18th."
'Haibara'.
A smirk crept up onto his face, raising his gaze to meet hers ─ that certain bewildered glint that had taken over cool teal was all the confirmation he needed.
"That's your birthday," he said. "Isn't it?"
It'd seem the small scientist was not the only one getting the surprise of their day today. "What?!" The others made it known, in an incredibly loud harmony that was becoming the norm lately.
"How do you know, Conan?" Genta asked.
Yet Conan did not answer.
Eventually, the shock came to pass, and her expression mirrored his.
"Correct," she said, shrugging as she turned back to the fireworks. "Good job, Detective-san."
He quirked an eyebrow up. "You seem to be a little too fine with this."
"It's alright," she said. "But I don't want fireflies."
This time, he did join his friends, uttering a small, "Eh?"
"I want sharks."
"Eh?!"
Looks like it's closed…
For good measure, Conan stood on the tip of his feet, hoping to confirm that there was, indeed, not a soul inside that café, but of course, the curtains had been drawn out, keeping from getting the confirmation he needed. There was no other choice, he mused with a long sigh, but to pray to any god willing to listen. For all that it was worth, obviously.
Hopping off the poor potted plants he once more had used as a stool, Conan pressed his hands to his face, stuffing out a groan ─ he still could not believe he was about to do this. Ran, and Kogoro, by extension, would be beyond mad if they ever found out about it, so much that the scold he would get in a matter of minutes for arriving home this late would pale in comparison.
Any other day, he would have probably agreed that accepting the Professor's proposal to stay the night at his house was the wisest thing. But, had he done that, he'd have lost his chance.
The perfect opportunity ─ him, the moon shining down at him as his only companion, and the fancy multi pen Professor Agasa had given him earlier today, secured in between tiny fingers. It's a good thing I've read about how to use this thing a while back, thought the boy. His gaze rose to the locked door leading to the Poirot Café and shuddered. But messing up means everyone finding out… It wouldn't be good.
He only had this chance. Conan's lungs expanded with yet another deep breath, eyes sharpening as soon as the air rushed back out into the night. He raised the pen over his eyes.
With a faint click, the tip rose back to life ─ long, sharp, slightly bent towards the end, not unlike a small hook. Just like a lock-pick.
Nodding to himself, he moved even closer.
Here goes nothing, I guess.
A/N:
CherryGirl 21-6
Yeah, I have finally watched it! Totally worth the wait, since I liked it quite a bit. Now, I'll probably have to wait another year for the next one… Maybe I shouldn't get too excited beforehand, but I mean, we're finally getting a Haibara-centered movie! And yeah, the teaser and everything else that has been recently released do not help xD
And about the question about glasses… Being honest, I haven't thought about it, but it'd make sense if he was farsighted. Since he was shown not to be able to read well without his glasses, but has managed to shoot a dart correctly once, or maybe twice... I think xD