File One Hundred and Thirty: Toxic Friendships
Out in the dark, Shinichi felt the icy hand of fear squeezing his chest. Abruptly, for no apparent reason, but it made him tremble even though it was not cold. A burning sensation in the back of his neck, spreading all over his back as a chill caused his hair to stand on an end, and turn back around. His eyes carefully scanned his surroundings and saw nothing but shadows hiding everything away.
Yet, he had to push all of that to the back of his mind. I need to get to Conan, the thought propelled him forward, forcing his legs to move faster, his eyes to see better ─ overwhelmed by that certain feeling that he needed to find the young boy right now.
Whatever Detective Takagi told him shook him to the core, reflected Shinichi. Conan's expression had been one to remember, undoubtedly terrified like he had seen him only a couple of times in the past. He bolted off right afterwards.
An action that could likely be attributed to him trying to run away, or getting somewhere. Knowing Conan, it was definitely the latter.
For him to be so desperate… He must be thinking that someone is in danger, concluded Shinichi. Whether it's Ran, Ai-chan, his friends or anyone else close to him, the answer is the same…
He's trying to get to Beika as soon as possible.
Which meant, if he were to leave Ekoda to get there, the path he should have taken had to be the one he, Shinichi, was also following.
His suspicions were soon confirmed by the faint outline of a child in the distance, so he quickened his stride, hoping that his much longer legs would help him catch up. But Conan was like a bullet shooting through the air, driven by nothing but pure, sheer will and desperation, or so the older brother assumed.
Yet, they weren't exactly the same. A bullet could only travel in a straight line, but Conan had made a sharp turn, eyes fixed straight ahead, firm on his objective of moving forward.
And just as a single red shoe stepped onto the street, there was light. Bright, blinding ─ concentrated on two separate sources, approaching the unsuspecting little boy like a pair of blazing comets.
Shinichi's mind was torn between warning him of the impending danger, or his urge to yell his name at the top of his lungs. Ultimately, however, he managed to get none of them out of his throat. His fingers grasped onto the thin fabric of Conan's shirt before any words could meet the world.
The car zoomed past, offering nothing but a deafening honk. Clearly, its driver did not feel the need to check on what might have been his young victim, however accidental, sitting safely on the sidewalk, sporting a lost look on his features ─ a gaze so dull that it should have been motive enough for concern.
Something rested on his head ─ pointy, like a chin. Ragged breaths up from close. An arm that refused to move from its place around his chest, squeezing lightly.
"Finally..." If he still had any doubts, the voice confirmed that it was, indeed, his brother. "Got you."
As if waking up from a dream, Conan gasped, immediately trying to get back onto his feet. The hold, however, was firm.
"Let me go," he groaned. "I… I really don't have time for this."
"You were nearly run over by a car, literally seconds ago." His tone made it clear that he wasn't about to back down. "So, unless you calm down and tell me what's wrong, I'm not letting you go."
Conan's struggle waned, probably knowing a losing battle when he saw one. "Then, you're the only one entitled to the answers he wants." The snark hardly vanished, evidently.
"The married couple Detective Takagi mentioned…" Shinichi said. He thought he had heard enough to draw some conclusions. "You suspect they are Vermouth and Bourbon."
"I don't suspect it, I know it's them."
"He also mentioned Agent Jodie. You're worried they might have heard something they shouldn't have, aren't you?"
Conan lowered his head. The absence of words was no impediment, as the older brother understood perfectly without them ─ especially when the subsequent groan that erupted from the younger brother's throat, hands pressing against his face.
"Why didn't I notice that earlier?!" Conan all but cried. "I'm so stupid! Even after they made such a mistake-"
Conan halted and slowly removed his hands.
"Would they make such an obvious mistake?" Shinichi voiced his thoughts. "It sounds more like a trap to me."
"A trap…"
His panic sort of quelled, Conan quickly rummaged through his pocket until he plucked out a phone. Curious about what he thought to do about it, Shinichi observed as he dialed a number at light speeds, pressing the device against his ear. Just in case, however, the older detective did not release him yet.
"Ah, Ai. It's me," his little brother said after a while. "It's kinda late, yeah… What do I want? Just wanted to talk- At this hour. Yeah, I want to chat this late at night. Is there a problem?"
A weird mixture of a laugh and a sigh followed. "Alright," he conceded. "I was wondering if you, you know… have maybe sensed their presence lately?"
Smooth. It was surreal, thought Shinichi ─ was he the one tempted to smack his own face out of frustration at his brother's antics and not the other way around? Incredible.
"You… said you could smell their scent before. Yes, unlike a dog, I'm aware of that." There was a lengthy pause, probably occupied by her voice, which Shinichi couldn't hear. "So you weren't expecting them to show up, since they believe you're dead, huh… Is it like a switch or something? Like, you can turn it on and off at will or…?"
He fell silent and listened attentively to what the girl had to say before breaking into a sheepish grin. "Oh, I mean, it's great that you can do that," he said, laughing a little. "It's fine, then. If you are really sure you haven't-"
Her next words were yelled all over the receiver, forcing Conan to yank the phone from his ear. "What does that mean?!" Even from there, Shinichi could clearly hear her screaming. "Did they find out about me?!"
A violent wince was followed by a string of stuttered nonsense that had Shinichi struggling to keep a bark of laughter from escaping, and stricken by a sudden tinge of sympathy towards his younger brother ─ all at the same time. What resulted from all that was an amused smile tipping his lips upwards and fingers plucking the phone from his grasp.
Conan had this clueless look as he stared at his empty hand, blinking for almost a full second, before he finally twisted his head to, even just barely, see where his phone had gone.
"It's just Conan's daily dose of paranoia, nothing to worry about, Ai-chan," he heard his brother say, wearing a calm expression as he held the phone to his ear. "You know how he is once an idea gets into his mind, especially when it's about you."
He could almost hear Ai's eyebrow raising. "What does that mean?" she asked. "That I should pack my things right now?"
"Gin doesn't believe in the supernatural ─ he isn't about to go ghost hunting around Beika."
She made no sound in reply.
"Hey, I just told you, didn't I? You're safe, Ai-chan."
The boy easily slipped out of his older brother's grip and got to his feet, probably because it had become obvious that he wasn't going anywhere anymore, turning around to see everything for himself, and stilled completely. His brother's gaze had softened dramatically since he had last seen him, a tender smile the kid doubted he had even noticed, as he continued to speak through his phone. It was strangely soothing, in a way, even if he wasn't the primary target for it.
Conan could no longer hear Ai's voice, which meant he had managed to calm her down enough not to yell into the phone. That was fast, he thought in surprise. It only took him a few seconds…
It was a sight he could not stop gawking at. Of course, only he would manage to do such a thing.
He shifted from foot to foot, his expression unchanged. Of course, he reminded himself, what had been expecting? He had already known the two of them were close like this.
Back when she was at the Organization, Oniichan was the only person Ai could trust, he remembered. No wonder he's… the only one who can calm her down in times like these.
There was a genuine grin on Shinichi's face. Conan stood there, awkwardly, suddenly overtaken by the feeling of intruding on something. They had a powerful bond, those two, strengthened by all they must have endured in that terrible place. Things Conan had no way of knowing about.
Like her, he must have been through a lot, too, the thought came forward all of a sudden. Things he hasn't dared to tell me about yet.
A memory of him sitting at a park, clutching his forearm, stoke suddenly.
"You were tortured," Conan had deduced back then. A claim Shinichi hadn't been able to refute, and now, as he watched him without saying a word, it was causing his heart to clench.
No matter how much he tried, Conan could not imagine what it would have felt like. There probably are things he doesn't want to talk about… Unlike the carefree face of his older brother in front of him, also standing up while talking with the small scientist back at Beika, Conan felt his own body quiver. Or even think about.
Before he realized it, Shinichi had finished the call and handed him the phone. Despite the eerie panorama that his mind was painting for him, he was grinning as if everything was fine.
Vaguely, Conan wondered how much it was hiding from plain sight, yet, unlike all other instances, he questioned himself if he really wanted to know.
Even as he knelt down in front of the boy who wouldn't stop staring at him, a look in his eyes that not even his brotherly instincts could interpret, the smile persisted firm on his lips. He went to place a hand on top of his hair, and didn't even need to ask for the kid's head to drop slightly, his expressions masked by the shadows of the night.
"I'm tired," came as in a whisper, barely even audible without straining his ears to hear. "Of being afraid, of having to figure out what I should be afraid of… or being afraid of what I might figure out if I dive in any deeper."
With that, it faltered, but he did his best to keep it from crumbling.
Shinichi didn't think twice as he leaned forward, enveloping his trembling tiny frame in a tight hug. This time Conan did not attempt to break free of his grip, but rather, buried his face on his shoulder ─ driven by nothing but pure instinct, Shinichi would have bet.
"I'm tired of trying to deduce if I should be mad at you." Conan's words, though muffled by fabric, reached his ears perfectly. "If I should reproach you for not telling me stuff…"
Her haunted look flashed behind his eyes, along with that forced smile, as she tried to reassure him she was okay. That all she needed was to pull herself together, thanking him for being concerned ─ thanking him, despite him refusing to utter those words that would ease her pain.
"... or if I should wish I knew nothing."
Nothing that Shinichi could say would be of any use, the thought made him frown, frustrated like never before. So he made not a single sound, easily lifting the young child, who did not even think of complaining. Like that, he started walking, silently making their way back to the bar as he had promised Kogoro. Even he would get worried if they didn't get back soon, as opposed to what anyone else would think.
Small hands balled into fists, clenching around his shirt.
None of them saw the figure of a certain blond young man in that alley they just walked past, retreating into the darkness after taking a good look at them.
They were nearing the end of their journey together when Shinichi moistened his lips, taking a moment, before he could even get out the words he had been meaning to say for a long while now.
"I'm… sorry. For making you think I don't trust you."
Conan had long fallen quiet against him, so Shinichi wasn't certain his words were reaching him.
That didn't stop him. "I want you to know that I do trust you, Conan." Unconsciously, he held him even closer, as if afraid of losing him if he didn't. "I trust you, more than anyone else in this world."
A lengthy sigh escaped his system, forehead scrunching up as if it physically pained him getting those few words out.
"I used to be friends with Bourbon," he finally confessed. "Until…"
"He betrayed you?"
Conan's brilliant blue eyes peeked up at him, piercing through his soul.
"He sold me out," Shinichi said, a grim smile etched onto his features. "I didn't figure it out until it was too late."
And gazing at the boy remained, uttering not a single sound that hinted what was going on his mind besides an intense scrutiny of what he had just said. Before long, however, he closed his eyes, sighed loudly, and let his head fall back, rather roughly, against his chest.
"Thank you."
His steps stopped, his eyes widened ever so slightly, bewildered beyond words.
"Thank you for telling me."
Those words were everything he needed ─ pent-up tension seeped from his shoulders and breathing suddenly became just a bit easier. And he liked to think it was the same for the young boy cuddled in his arms, yet his position made it hard to get a confirmation, thus, he contented himself with placing a comforting hand on the back of his head.
None of that lasted longer than another block, however. Blue Parrot's fancy neon sign had barely come into sight, and the child he half expected to have dozed off proved him otherwise by sitting up and asking to be let down.
He skipped right ahead, not even risking a glance towards his older brother, trailing down behind. Naturally, he bursted onto the bar first, only for a stern glare to be settled onto him the moment he stepped inside.
Shinichi entered shortly after. The police and the other two suspects had left by now, he realized, making the once busy bar feel a little empty now. Kogoro, who had been talking to Yuzuki up until their arrival, in an unexpected turn of events, focused his attention away from the bartender, his newfound glare zeroing in on the young boy.
Conan's bored expression barely shifted even as the older man approached him at scary speeds, muttering under his breath things like, "Where have you been?" or something about what Ran would say if he lost sight of him, or whatever. Shinichi wasn't so sure, nor did he think it was so essential to know.
Because, all in all, he could infer that, deep down, Kogoro was a little glad to see him in one piece, as much as he would never say it out loud. More to the reason, Shinichi wasn't about to tell him ─ or Ran, by extension ─ that the boy had narrowly avoided being run over by a car minutes prior.
With his arms crossed over his chest and his back against the counter, he decided to remain silent. Yuzuki was grinning at him from the other side, stopping right beside him, but he made it a point to ignore that unpleasant presence.
At some point Kogoro seemed to be satisfied with his lecture, or rant, and finally decided to step out, heaving an exhausted sigh as he did so. Conan did not even bat an eye at that.
"Well, we're heading out, then." Kogoro's expression changed drastically as he fixed his gaze on Yuzuki. Brighter than ever before, he turned to her, "So, Yuzuki-chan…"
Yuzuki waved with a broad smile. "Please, come back again~"
Shinichi saw Kogoro grasping Conan's hand, and for the first time, noticed a twitching eyebrow breaking through the bored indifference. The older man was not about to let this erratic child wander off again, clearly, and Shinichi was infinitely grateful for it. He brushed aside his grumbles and complaints, flung over the door and dragged the boy with him.
Just before leaving, Conan glanced over his shoulder, towards him. A timid smile decorated his young face, reinforcing that same old impression from before ─ that he, too, felt just a little lighter somehow.
The door closed with a soft click, and a deep silence emerged. Together, the two bartenders let out a long, exhausted sigh, and Shinichi noted from the corner of his eye the female figure next to him all but collapsing over the counter, face buried in his arms. He didn't even look at him.
"Maybe you should think twice about dressing up as a beautiful woman in front of this guy," Shinichi commented casually. A groan was all the response he got, and he raised a single eyebrow. "You didn't need to go to such lengths to make us talk, Kuroba."
"Yeah, yeah." He didn't even flinch at the smooth, male voice coming out of Yuzuki's lips. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Meitantei."
Kuroba made a grimace that Shinichi supposed it was meant to be a grin, yet failed horribly. The thief had really worn himself out this time, he thought, wondering why.
"Don't look so smug. It was just a stroke of luck." Shinichi shrugged. "Or are you going to claim that you somehow accessed Ran's mind to know that she would ask Conan to keep an eye on Detective Mouri?"
"What can I say? Even the greatest of magic tricks require accomplices to make them work."
"Just like a crime?"
"Just like a crime."
Ran had nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone rang, breaking through the silence that had settled in that almost empty house. Her gaze immediately tore apart from the mostly cold plate of curry sitting in front of her spot, smiling lightly at the name on display.
"Kaito just called," said the female voice as soon as she picked up. "It was a success!"
Hand pressing against her chest, Ran sighed in relief. "I'm so glad…" she breathed out.
"Thanks for your help."
"No, no! No need to thank me, Aoko-san!"
It had come as a shock to her when she had first received a call from Nakamori Aoko, a girl she had seen a couple of times around, who had once saved her father's life ─ Shinichi's current classmate, if she wasn't mistaken. She wasn't going to lie, the idea that someone else had her phone number had made her feel a little uneasy, and certainly, she had demanded to know how it had happened. A bout of laughter and the mention of a particularly talented friend was all she had gotten in response.
She had been a second away from dialing Detective Takagi's number she had long memorized when the girl on the other side explained she needed her assistance. Shinichi had apparently been feeling a bit down after an argument with Conan, and needed some help to get him to talk it over with the kid. Ran did not doubt her words, not even for a second ─ in fact, it had given her some insight into the little boy's grumpy demeanor as of late.
So, she had told him to go check on her father all the way to a bar in Ekoda.
He must have been distraught, thought the girl. Since he had been oblivious to her presence, hiding away from his sight at the back of the bus he had boarded ─ she had been worried about the boy's predisposition to encounter trouble wherever he went. Maybe it sounded a little stalkerish, Ran was aware, but at least she got to know he got to Blue Parrot safely before she had to turn back.
"Say," Aoko began. "I've been wondering for a while…"
"Huh?"
"Could you perhaps be Kudo-kun's girlfriend?"
Blood rushed up to her face, and from her mouth spurted a series of incoherent nonsense that made the girl on the other end giggle lightly.
"I knew it!" Aoko exclaimed, a little too excited for Ran's liking. "I was kind of curious about what you'd look like… But after meeting you, I was sure you had to be her."
She paused, blinking confusedly. "Has Shinichi… ever talked about me?"
"Not exactly. Hirai-kun… Kudo-kun, I mean, doesn't talk much about himself."
Her shoulders sagged. She had kind of anticipated such a response.
"But it's as if he has," added Aoko. "I've seen him. Moving to a corner away from everyone… Holding a phone to his ear…"
Ran blinked, unable to figure out what she would say next.
"And, let me tell you, the face he makes every single time says everything. About how important you are to him."
To that, there was absolutely nothing the girl could say. The blush that had tinted her face had definitely worsened, promptly transforming her into the most realistic portrayal of a tomato. A hand rose to rest atop of her chest, feeling her heart thumping against her fingers, and internally was glad it was only a phone talk, that nobody was actively watching her.
No one was there to see the soft, beautiful smile that kissed her lips afterwards.
"W-Well, anyway, thank you," Ran began, trying to keep the embarrassment out of her voice. "I'm glad that Shinichi has such good friends watching his back. I'm aware he can be a lot to deal with…"
"What can I say? I'm used to dealing with much worse."
"Worse than Shinichi? No way!"
Surely, Ran was tempted to learn more about that, but some noises outside her door kept her from doing that. Straining her ears, she heard her father's voice grumbling about something ─ or someone, most likely Conan. They seemed to be walking up the stairs, slowly but surely, finally arriving home after hours of her waiting.
"I gotta go," she announced. "Looks like Dad and Conan-kun are about to get here."
"Wait, before you leave…" Aoko interrupted before she could hang up. "There was something else I wanted to ask you…"
"Yeah?"
"After Hirai-kun finishes with whatever stuff he's dealing with, he's going back to Beika, right?"
"I… think so."
"Then, after that, you both should drop by Ekoda and visit! With Conan-kun, of course!" she exclaimed, oddly determined. A grin was audible through her words alone. "I feel like we two could be good friends, too!"
Ran's smile grew, nodding even though she couldn't be seen.
"You can count on it, Aoko-chan."
"He sold me out. I didn't figure it out until it was too late."
Conan rolled over, eyes scrunched shut in yet another futile attempt to seize the sleep that eluded him. Fragments of their far too brief conversation continued to slip past his thoughts, spreading throughout his mind like a plague he could not get rid of.
Of course, there was also that pretend family they had crossed paths back when they went to see the fireworks, as well as that disturbing truth he had stumbled upon by chance.
The mother, Vermouth, the woman of a thousand faces and a mystery by herself. The father, Bourbon, his brother's old friend who had once betrayed him in the past…
And the child. Conan's eyes slid back open. There had been one there, remembered Conan ─ a strange kid about their age that wouldn't stop gawking at them with a gaze that hadn't bothered him as much as it did now, inside his memories. Who was he?
Could it be a child they kidnapped from the get-go to pretend they were a family? While his timid behavior could easily be explained if interpreted as fear, the theory crumbled apart at the lack of a motive. Besides being risky, he couldn't see a single reason to do that ─ it would have worked just as fine if they pretended to be a couple awaiting the birth of their first child. No, he must have to be related to the Black Organization to some degree…
Perhaps he's the son of one of their members? Or maybe…
Kogoro's snores filled the room, blissfully unaware of the narrowing of the child's gaze.
He didn't hear his frustrated groan either, or see him pressing a hand against his eyes. It's no use wondering about it now. I should ask Oniichan about it tomorrow…
Not that it was easy to stop his ever racing thoughts. That icy cold gaze that had once unsettled him so badly came to his mind.
"Sherry. That's my codename."
Oh, speaking of her… His eyes went wide, suddenly struck by the thought that followed. Her birthday is less than a week away.
With everything transpiring in his life, it had simply slipped his mind. Now, as he lay down in bed God knows what hours into the night, it occurred to him that he had not checked his phone since the last time he had seen his friends. If he were to open it, he would surely see loads upon loads of text messages from his detective club exchanging ideas amongst each other. But he wouldn't ─ he knew, were he actually snuck a glance at the time and realized how late it was, he would be rendered unable to close his eyes again. That was how it usually worked.
A rather faint chuckle escaped at the thought, however. He could only imagine what kind of fancy, crazy ideas could have been put over the table for discussion's sake. To be fair, she didn't make it easy for us.
He flopped to his back, free to glare at the ceiling above as if it was the sole cause of his constant suffering. Saying she wanted sharks for her birthday, what are we supposed to do?! he cried. Sharks… and not dolphins, huh?
Right, I have to get her a present. Before he realized it, his gaze had softened. But what?
Again, his eyes closed, gently this time, his mind racing in search of something that he could get, and that wouldn't end in a painful death at her hands. Analyzing each idea, rejecting it the next moment because it wasn't right, and moving on to the next…
He fell asleep without noticing it.
Next thing he was aware of was a constant shaking of his body, along with a voice calling out to him, urgently so. Despite it all, he burrowed deeper into the sheets, hoping to retain the sleep that felt so terribly insufficient right now.
"Come on. Conan-kun, please." It was Ran. Her hand was on his shoulder, shaking even more frantically. "I need you to wake up. It's important."
He cracked his eyes open, and blearily, he saw her pale complexion and pursed lips. The sight woke him up completely.
Once she made sure he was awake, the girl promptly disappeared from sight ─ from the room, Conan realized upon sitting up.
"Mom wasn't feeling well and is being taken to the hospital right now." Only the tips of her hair were visible from the doorway as she moved back and forth. He caught the briefest of sights of a phone against her ear. "And I can't get a hold of Dad!"
By that time, the boy had already sprung to his feet, fumbling with a shirt as he attempted to change out of his pajamas in record time.
"I'll try to contact him," the boy said, trotting outside their shared room with a phone already in his hands. "Call a taxi, Ran-neechan."
She barely even nodded, scribbling on a random scrap of paper a note for her father, in case he returned, Conan guessed. "Thank you, Conan-kun!" she said, moving away from it for the boy to confirm that, indeed, he had been right.
He wasn't the only one, and soon, he would find out that Ran had also been right. Contacting the old man seemed to be an impossible task, a fact proved true by the non-stopping beats coming from his phone, instead of the grumbled greeting he had expected.
What could he be doing in a time like this? the boy thought, rushing down the stairs behind the older girl. He got up earlier than me. Which didn't precisely equate to 'early', since the kid himself had not the slightest idea of what time it was supposed to be.
Normally, he would go to Poirot. His eyes widened slightly. Bourbon's smirk in his mind sent a chill down his spine. He… did nothing to him while they were alone, right?
As soon as he stepped onto the sidewalk outside the agency, he stopped. His gaze wandered over to the innocent-looking café.
From the inside, Azusa spotted him and waved. Awkwardly, he raised a hand as well.
There was no sign of Amuro. Neither of Kogoro.
"Conan-kun, what are you doing? Our taxi is here!"
"Ah, I'm coming, Ran-neechan!"
Thus, pushing all other negative thoughts to the back of his head, he hopped in the car right after the older girl and, together, they finally left.
Everything had happened so quickly that he forgot to ask which hospital had Ran's mother been rushed to. It hadn't even occurred to him, nor had he looked out the window to see where they were going, far too preoccupied with the phone pressed against his ear for anything else. Over thirty missed calls in and about sixteen messages sent, but no response from the older man, were not making it any easier for Conan's mind not to derail with nefarious thoughts.
Why is his phone turned off?
So, when they finally stepped out of their car, Conan could not help but pause momentarily to stare at the building up ahead, unable to get over the fact that, of all places, it had to be this one.
Haido Central Hospital had barely changed since he had last been there, running about with the FBI and keeping innocent-looking Hondou Eisuke from stabbing his older sister with a pair of scissors. Of course it hadn't, the thought came a little later, since only four months had passed, even though it felt like an eternity ago.
Fortunately, it turned out to be an ordinary case of appendicitis, and after about an hour of surgery, Eri had woken up feeling much better. Ran had barely kept herself from sighing out of relief, sitting next to her mother, infinitely glad that it had been nothing but a scare.
The sight had stolen a smile from Conan.
"I'll buy something real quick," said the boy, approaching the door. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you, Ran-neechan?"
"Oh, right," said Eri, only having realized it now. "I'm sorry, Ran, for all of this…" Just as her daughter was about to shake her head, the woman's attention shifted to the small form at her doorway, and smiled apologetically. "You too, Conan-kun. You must be hungry…"
"No problem. I'll get something for myself too-"
"You better not be thinking about getting coffee behind my back," interrupted Ran.
Conan winced. "I would never." She gave him a pointed look, long enough for the boy to roll his eyes and grumble a long, "Fine…"
She smiled, pleased. "Oh, could you please text Dad while you are at it?" she asked. "And tell him that Mom is alright now?"
Eri's features changed with clear disdain. "I don't think Eri-obasan would appreciate it," said the boy. "And I think I prefer living."
Ran eyed her mother, taking a good look at her expressions before huffing, "Mom!"
Eri crossed her arms over her chest. "No need to waste energy or time on an idiot who can't keep track of his phone while his wife is having an emergency," she said, turning her head away. "If he's really interested, then he can find out on his own-"
"ERI!"
It seemed to be coming from outside, booming all over the corridors so loudly that it had the boy flinching away. Guided by nothing but his instincts, Conan stepped away from the door, just in time for it to slam open and a figure to burst inside, wild-eyed, scanning his surroundings until they found the woman in bed staring back, raising her eyebrows as if he had grown a second head.
Confusion settled on Mouri Kogoro's face.
Nobody was paying attention to anyone else but those two, so they did not notice the young child's shoulders dropping slightly, a relieved sigh escaping his lips. Kogoro was energetic enough ─ he was fine, he thought.
"It was… just your appendix?" he mumbled, once soaked in the news.
"It wasn't 'just' her appendix!" Ran cried, indignant. "What were you doing with your phone off?!"
"I'm sure it was horses, mahjong or pachinko."
Kogoro had only gotten to open his mouth to defend himself from his wife's accusation.
"Woah! You're amazing, Eri-obasan!" exclaimed Conan, purposely high-pitched. "You know him so well!"
"Idiot! I was-"
"Playing pachinko?"
The man hesitated for a beat, then scoffed. "What proof do you have?"
"You mean besides the pachinko ball latched between your shoelaces?"
Slowly, he lowered his gaze, visibly grimacing at the confirmation that there was such a thing in there. He immediately crouched, fumbling to hide the evidence even though it was obvious that everyone had seen so, too. Both females' expressions dulled, judgmental stares falling on himself.
"There's also a weird wrinkle-"
"Shut up, brat. You don't have to look so smug about it."
As if intensified by the dark glare he was sent, Conan's sheepish grin brightened.
"I see…" Again, Kogoro flinched, his neck snapping towards where his wife was muttering, her eyebrow twitching. "You were captivated by pachinko while I was having an emergency."
"I-I just meant to go for a little while, but I was having such unusually good luck…"
Needless to say, their encounter was finished by a pillow swung at his head. Before he knew it, the renowned detective found himself stumbling out into the hallway he had just been running through, where now the sound of a door shutting violently behind his back was a substitute for his fearful screams. Everything was gone the next second, a deep silence settling in right afterwards.
"That went well."
A sarcastic comment uttered by a young voice ─ really, it did not take a detective to figure out where that had come from. But he peered down anyway, and that not-innocent little smile met his eyes right away.
"What?" Conan shrugged. "I didn't know the hallway was age-restricted."
Kogoro arched his brows. "Why are you following me?"
"I've got stuff to do," he said, spinning on his heels. "I was going to do so before you bursted in, howling like-"
"Huh? Is that you, Mouri-sensei?"
Just like that, he stopped. Completely ─ his legs stopped responding to his commands, air froze in his lungs, and his eyes, large and no doubt horrified, stayed there, fixed in a random spot of the marble floor he stepped on. Fearing what he would see if he turned around, Conan did not move.
But eventually, he had to face his fears. Indeed, he met Bourbon's business smile, and it wasn't long before that familiar shiver traveled down his spine.
"What are you doing here?" Feigning concern, Amuro frowned. "Are you not feeling well?"
"No," replied Kogoro, calmly. "It's my wife."
As if rebooted, his mind started to race. Because there was a member ─ a member of the freaking Black Organization wandering around Haido Central Hospital, of all places.
"I heard one of my friends was hospitalized and came to see him," Amuro said. "But he apparently disappeared."
Conan was strongly disinterested in knowing who his friend was. But of course, Amuro turned to him, crouched down in front of him, and smiled. At him.
He did not like where this was going.
"The nurses told me you'd been here before, so maybe you know."
I hope you all get fired soon.
"A man named Kusuda Rikumichi."
Inwardly, he grimaced. Outwardly, he hoped not too much.
"Who is that?" Tilting his head slightly to the right, he attempted to appear as cute and inoffensive as humanly possible. "I don't know him."
"I was hoping he'd return the money I lent him… Are you sure you don't know him?"
"Like I said, I don't know him," emphasized the boy, probably more than he should have for a normal response.
He hoped, however, that the young man would get the point across that way, and would return to whatever shady business he was dealing with and not himself. But then, Amuro's lips curved in a way he told him he hadn't been successful. Like, at all.
"You're amazing."
"Thanks?"
Amuro simply raised his head, and following his gaze Conan found a pair of older ladies, chatting among themselves while they walked down the same hallway they hung out at, just a moment away from walking right past them.
"Excuse me," but Amuro did not let them. That disgusting smile had been slapped onto his features as he approached them. "Do you know a patient named Kusuda Rikumichi?"
They exchanged dubious glances.
"Kusuda Rikumichi-san? I'm not sure. Who is he? How old is he?"
"Do you have a photo of him?"
By the time he dismissed them, polite to the point of being absolutely disconcerting, Conan had already realized he had made a terrible mistake. The boy watched them walk away, hesitant at first, but then seemingly shrugging it off and disappearing inside another room down the hall. Amuro's gaze fell on the back of his head, burning intensely enough for him to decide it was worth it. That he should not, under any circumstances, turn back around.
Or he would be witness to how the blood drained from his face, dread filling him whole.
"Most people don't have total confidence in their own memory." He heard footsteps ─ his breath hitched at the realization they were growing closer and closer as he talked. "That's why, before answering no, they ask for information about the person besides their name."
They had stopped right beside him, a hand had fallen atop his shoulder.
"That's why you're amazing, Conan-kun." He's crouching right next to me. Smiling at me from close. "You knew he was a stranger based only on his name."
Not a single sound escaped from his lips. For the first time in a rather long time, Conan wasn't sure what to respond.
Only when Kogoro's scowl reached his ears did Conan remember they had never been alone to begin with.
"You shouldn't take children so seriously," he said. "Especially this brat. He's a smug little runt ─ of course he'd possess an inflated overconfidence in his memory, even if it's regular at best."
Despite his rude comments towards his person, Conan did not find it in himself to even roll his eyes at it. Because it had gotten Amuro to stand up away from him, turning to the famous detective and away from him, allowing him to breathe easily once again.
As he finally turned around to face them, the boy could have sworn Kogoro was locking eyes with him for less than a second. In the background, the excited cries of a kid merged in their conversation, but Conan did his best to filter them out to concentrate on what was really important.
"Three…"
"Plenty of people will say they don't recognize someone by name even when they've met…"
"Two… One…"
"Some people only know others by a nickname."
"Zero!"
Amuro's eyes snapped open, so uncharacteristically violent that it had successfully gathered Conan's attention. Surprised, he observed his every action, from how his eyes drifted to the random child who, unaware of anything else, skipped inside the elevator that had just arrived with his mother in tow, to how his shoulders dropped, deflating after releasing the air he had unconsciously been holding in.
Even Kogoro seemed to notice something was amiss with that reaction. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
He snapped back to reality. "No, it's nothing," he said, laughing lightly. "My nickname is 'Zero', so I thought someone was calling me."
"Why Zero? Isn't your name Tooru?"
"Being transparent means there's nothing there, hence Zero. That's how children come up with nicknames."
How ironic. Transparent, he thought, was the least compatible feature the young detective could think of. To prove it, the same old friendly smile had come back up, obliterating completely whatever bit of his honest feeling Conan had only gotten a glimpse of. A fake mask he was so obviously used to, applicable with astounding ease and speed…
Concealing a hideous monster beneath, one that would stab a friend behind the back without a trace of hesitance…
Amuro Tooru was nothing but danger materialized in a single person, someone that should be kept as far as humanly possible. An obscure canvas, layers upon layers of raven black covering everything else ─ Liar. Criminal. Backstabber ─ stroke by stroke, the more he delved into the mysteries of his person.
Zero.
A childish nickname, splattering onto the canvas as if by accident, changed the picture completely. Blending with black, shades of gray would appear, leaving the young detective to stare wordlessly, feeling lost as to how everything meshed together.
"Hey, brat." Conan blinked repeatedly at Kogoro, slightly dumbfounded after being jerked back to reality so forcefully. "Stop following us and go back to Ran and Eri already."
It took him a whole second to react, then another to raise his eyebrow. "I'm hungry," he stated, dully, crossing his arms over his chest ─ as if stating something along the lines of 'what are you going to do with that?'
"I'll get you something, okay?" he grumbled. "Just go. I'm having a headache already."
"First time?"
"Conan."
That actually got him to stop. There was an unusual, serious glint in his eyes ─ so foreign in his normally carefree face that had silenced him completely, staring back in shock. At least, until a sigh left his system, and with a long, drawn-out "Fine," he spun on his heels, arms folded behind his neck.
As the distance between the boy and the group increased, Amuro's voice started to fade away. For a moment, he hesitated, his instincts telling him to hide away in the corner, then stalk them secretly. They screamed at him that he was making a mistake, that Kogoro should not be left alone with that guy, under any circumstances.
But that stern posture, that determined gaze. Occhan is serious. His fingers latched onto the doorknob leading to Eri's room. He's really not going to let me get any closer to Bourbon…
What could he do?
He didn't even get to turn it over when an ear-shattering scream resounded all over the hospital. It wasn't until his next heartbeat that he reacted, gaze wandering over to the end of the hallway to see Kogoro exchanging bewildered looks with Amuro before taking off running.
Conan did not stop to think about it. His legs moved on their own, following after them. Inside the hospital room they had stumbled into, he found a woman lying on the floor, next to a phone and a teacup shattered into tiny pieces right beside her ─ but he still could notice the bit of lipstick, at the right side of the handle.
Pale as ghosts as they crowded around the victim, were who Conan assumed to be their suspects ─ a woman dressing as yet another patient and, coincidentally, the two ladies that had been interrogated about Kusuda Rikumichi moments prior. Surprisingly, he did not find it all that strange.
Because he was prone to encounter the most bizarre coincidences, to the point of growing thoroughly apathetic towards them. For that reason, he didn't even bat an eye as he slipped past the two adult men, crouching beside the traumatized ladies to press a finger to the victim's neck.
"She's dead," he stated.
Slowly, the three women's gazes slid from their fallen friend to eye the boy. Conan felt he ought to feel a little intimidated by it, but honestly? After running into a situation like this almost routinely, he was too tired to care anymore.
In the background, he heard Kogoro sighing. Maybe he wasn't the only one tired in the room, even if murders weren't the prime reason in the old man's case.
"Call the police," he instructed Amuro, and went to kneel next to Conan.
As he did that, he gave the kid a pointed look. Which went ignored.
Today's most unwelcome mystery turned out to revolve around brightly colored tea and toxic friendships. Not nearly as toxic as the cyanide in that reddish hibiscus tea that had consumed Suto Reina's life, naturally, but it was still high on the list.
Happo Tokie, who had gotten a brownish peppermint tea, had her boyfriend stolen by her and became her husband many years later.
Beppu Katsuki, who had tried a yellow herb tea named Chamomile, was now drowning in debt thanks to a stock she recommended, then making a killing selling off before it dropped without warning her friend about it.
Kosaka Juri, the one with the bright blue butterfly pea tea, had suffered to some extent, too. Suto's son had come to study with hers, paying no regard to the flu that afflicted him. It all resulted in the latter failing the entrance exam.
And somehow, they all put up with it because 'that was how Reina was'...
Clearly, his older brother wasn't the only one around who should reevaluate his friendships. As proof of that, every bit of bad blood those women might have had with the victim was not shared with the police ─ and Conan, by extent ─ through their own mouths, but because of the rest of the suspects swiftly shifting the blame to one another.
Being fair, it isn't nearly as bad as sentencing your alleged friend to death, but I guess he's setting the bar too low.
All of a sudden, Conan was forced to scramble back, his lips sealed shut to contain a startled yelp. He hid further, covering his presence with the bed curtain closest to his position.
Speaking of the devil… Just barely peeking around the screen, he could see him. Probably the most dangerous guy in this room ─ an impressive feat, given that a murder suspect was being interrogated just a few feet away. Listening attentively to the woman's account of the events, undoubtedly piecing everything together inside his mind, but forgetting to share the results. To test Occhan. Probably.
Of course, that did not mean he had been silent the entire time. Back at the scene of the crime, right after Conan had swiftly pointed out a photo in the phone they found where all four women were happily eating ramen during their high school days ─ the reason they had concluded that the victim was right-handed, despite the lipstick mark in the teacup showing otherwise ─ he had smirked, confidently so.
"It's because she had something in her right hand," he had said then. "For example, she may have been looking at the pictures on her phone."
Distracted as she had been, he had explained, Suto had not noticed the culprit switching their own poisoned cup with hers. It was safer that way, and since they hadn't been using saucers, it would be easy enough to adjust the positions of the cup.
Conan didn't entirely disagree with that theory, not nearly as strongly as the suspects, in any case. The lemon present exclusively in Suto's cup, and the widely different colors of each tea, would make the switch impossible… And they weren't entirely wrong, to the little detective, in any case.
Kosaka had been the one who suggested comparing the teas, then brewed them all. Everyone had seen her pour the water, however, and Suto had drunk nearly half before collapsing. Furthermore, it also happened that Suto had arrived much earlier than any of the other two.
I'm going to get kicked out after this, but standing right there, listening to Beppu ranting about her deceased 'friend', Conan did not feel he would get the answers he wanted.
Sucking in a deep breath, his head poked out from behind the screen.
"Say, say." All eyes turned to him at once. After this, he didn't think he would have much time. "Did anyone leave the room once you started drinking tea?"
Although surprised by his unexpected appearance, Beppu nodded. "Tokie and I each left once separately," she said. "I went to the restroom. Tokie went to buy snacks for the tea. I believe Juri and Reina were in the room the whole time. Reina went to get hot water, but that was before Tokie and I arrived."
Conan hummed, deeply in thought, at least until he felt his feet leaving the ground. While lifting him off the ground by the hood of his shirt, Kogoro settled him with a rather stern glare, up from close, to which he laughed, sheepishly.
"I'll be back in a second," grumbled the older man.
To that, the inspector nodded, though a little hesitant ─ feeling as if he had missed something. Having said this, he secured the child in his arms and began to walk away. He supposed he shouldn't have expected him to quietly resign himself to his destiny, and instead, rapidly shifted his position so that he was peeking out from over his shoulder.
"Do those cups belong to the hospital?!" he cried, his voice tinged with urgency.
"Those… are Juri's cups," Beppu responded, though a little weirded out by the scene. "She keeps them sparkling clean with baking soda."
Suddenly, the sight of her face was brisked away from him, blocked by a door closing shut inches away from his face. Conan slumped against Kogoro with a dashed expression, allowing himself to be settled back onto the ground.
Bored blue clashed with unyielding black.
His hands stuffed inside his pockets, Conan muttered, "What's with you?"
"What's with me?" Indignant, the famous detective raised his voice. "I've been telling you all day long to stay out of this case and you don't listen."
It was as if seeing Ran channeled through her father. Creepy.
"Please." Conan rolled his eyes. "It's not nearly the first time I've been to a crime scene."
Kogoro did not seem inclined to yield, however. "You're staying with Ran, and that's final," he said and, leaving no room for any protest he would surely receive otherwise, turned back around, expecting him to follow. Yet the kid did not take a single step, neither to follow him nor to slip back into their make-shift interrogation room. Just stood there, silent.
"I can't," eventually, Conan said. "I can't leave you alone with him."
There was no response from Kogoro but a glance over his shoulder.
"You can't take it lightly after everything he did to get close to you." A frown etched across his features, Conan looked up at him. "He's after you, Occhan."
Even though he didn't know what reaction to expect from the older man, indifference was surely none of them. For a heartbeat, maybe a couple of them, not a single word escaped Kogoro's lips. Feet firm on the ground, quietly still to the point of being disturbing, he kept his eyes trained on the young boy who, in a clear display of determination, maintained his gaze without wavering.
A sigh left his system.
"I didn't know you disliked raisins."
That determination evaporated, leaving nothing but sheer confusion behind.
"Ran told me she found out by chance, mostly because you once turned your nose up at cheesecake, of all things." As Kogoro elaborated, Conan's head tilted slightly to the side, blinking repeatedly. "The detective kid told her you had probably spotted raisins in it. If it wasn't for that, she would have never known."
"So?"
"You aren't open with it, yet he found out anyway."
Conan's eyes went wide, surprised. "You noticed," he muttered.
Yet Kogoro disregarded it completely, in favor of continuing, "You have been in this hospital. He knew about that, too."
"Because a nurse told him."
"But why? They couldn't have known you were acquainted. He was asking specifically for you," he said, turning his head back to the front. "All other times, too. No matter what crime scene we find ourselves in, his eyes are always on you. Watching your every move."
Conan felt his mouth drying out with each of his words. Licking his lips, he managed, "What are you trying to get at?"
Had he been asked why, out of all words available, swirling inside his mind in a chaotic dance, those were the ones he had chosen, the boy would have probably been unable to answer. Why, with all his unsettlingly broad intelligence, could not deduce what the older man was trying to say, he wasn't sure.
Maybe a part of him already knew what he was going to say. The reason behind the way Kogoro's shoulders tensed as he spun on his heels to face him, or how his factions had hardened as they fell upon him.
However, just as his mouth opened, just before any sound could roll from his tongue, the young detective realized it. It was the fear stopping it from admitting it, pushing that question, hoping desperately that there was any other explanation. That the current scenario was just a little less grim than it appeared.
Yet Conan already knew. Holding onto hope was pointless.
"It's possible I'm not the one he has his eye on… but you."
It was always the same with him, anyway.
A/N:
CherryGirl 21-6
Yeah, I'm super excited, too! I noticed her saying that at the end of the trailer as well, I can't wait to see how it turns out to be. And as for Kogoro, I'll do my best ;) If I live long to write it, that's it xD
F.C. Meyer
Apparently, you can be allergic to raisins, but it's not common. Or so I've heard. Conan just dislikes them with a passion, but there's that.
Thanks for letting me know about my mistake, by the way! I've fixed it, I think.
And, no, I totally didn't know about it! It's so weird to see it there xD Not in a bad way, of course.