…
…
Conan-kun.
…
Shinichi felt cold at the mention of that name from another world, another time, another future. A name stuck on him as an accursed cover. A name that summarized his unusual situation that had led him into this madness. A name that had been left behind in that abandoned – no, erased – timeline and was never mentioned in the new. He had never once mentioned that name – not even to his closest allies. It should not exist in this world as far as he was concerned.
"Oh, Conan-kun. You look like to have seen a ghost." Her voice was nonchalant, conversational. He did not like that. He would have rather faced down a death threat than to handle this situation. "I am not some innocent folklore – I can assure that. You are not either."
He knew.
He was back-to-back with the third time traveller herself. He had not expected to run into the newest development this soon, but that saved him a lot of trouble. He could determine that she came from world zero too, thus remembered his fake name – and had stood close to him based on the "kun". He had not been called with an endearment a lot outside his immediate environment. He tried to remember the voice, which sounded so, so familiar from somewhere. He could not remember.
He felt that salvation arrived when the door opened to a corridor.
He exited the elevator.
"Conan-kun. I am sure we will meet in the future."
He heard the doors hiss close and in a flash decision, he turned around to face her. He had less than a moment before the doors hid the scene, but those old clothes that resembled a western taste combined with those white curls and the eeriness around her almost condensed into a name.
He touched the iron doors in exasperation. He wanted to rip them open and pull back the elevator – no matter how impossible that sounded. He would have wanted to call out the unsure name on his mind if that would not have been lost to the corridor and in a worse case, a curious ear around. He blank-stared at the doors, at his own hands that balled into a fist in his reflection on his own indecisiveness. He should have not allowed himself to be intimidated. He was better than that.
It did not matter.
He wanted to chase her for information. He would not even care that someone would notice him – that had been his reason to sneak around. He could so far avoid detection thanks to his stealth skills and luck. However, that would abandon him should he take the elevator back in this hesitant moment or rush down the stairs, not to mention that his intended person would vanish in the meanwhile. His stealth skills could not even hold a candle to hers should his idea be correct about who she was.
His phone buzzed.
…
…
It was a disaster – the explosion had not shattered the foundations, but the police could not tape off an area in the midtown with countless civilians to notice the commotion around and not create a moderate fuss in the meanwhile. A handful of blue-clad individuals were set near entrance to keep the curious observers outside – but some found means to sneak photos on inside. A crowd started to form and that drew in even more people even faster. It took minutes for the officers to feel remorse to have volunteered for their task as there were faces and cameras and questions and more faces in all directions – it was instantaneous catastrophe tourism.
Inside, the situation was both calmer and tenser.
Ran checked the situation – two officers put out the fire on the car and another two removed the burnt corpse from the seat. There stood an ambulance in the other direction, her father on the back treated for his wound. He hissed and complained each time someone touched his head – ah, he was well. Kansuke tried to take a look at the scene as much as possible from the sidelines. All three of them were at the scene when the explosion happened – fact was facts.
Her hand fast-dialled a known number on a flash decision. There was no one to watch her, and she had seen all – she could tell the unfortunate circumstances to him. Shinichi. He needed to know. He needed the information to direct the situation at his best. He needed her assistance.
Her phone buzzed, and – click.
"Ran? What is it?"
His voice sounded irritated, impatient – she could have bothered him in an important moment. He accepted the call nevertheless and this was important information too. Her back turned to the others to hide her conversation as she whispered into the phone.
"Shinichi – Michitaka died! We were about to enter the office block to ask the receptionist to lead us to him when we noticed him on the street. He came to work with a car and we tried to catch him for a word and then, then his car exploded! Yamato-keibu said that was murder – "
Her ramble was stopped with a simple question.
"Your status."
"You mean whether – no. I am fine."
A detective was about to come into could-overhear-the-conversation distance, so she hid behind a column not at attention. " – dad was the closest when the blast hit, he received a hit on the head and is treated in the ambulance as we speak. He complains a lot but seems to be fine otherwise."
"Let them do their checks to be sure." His voice sounded relieved. "However, this does it in. You should retreat. I have encountered some trouble here too, we have to discuss what we found. I have no information about the other team as for now. Ran – "
Her focus multiplied at the expectant tone.
"You have to look around. You remember the members of the woodpecker mentioned before – Morofushi-keibu even showed us pictures of them in case we encountered them. You have to look around and watch the detectives – are there woodpeckers around? Anyone suspicious?"
Her hand held the phone with firmness as she peeked from her cover to examine the faces. His suspicion that their enemies could be hidden within the detective team called to the scene was obvious and not even a surprise. However, to consider that uncomfortable truth still in utter shock from the unfolded events took a toll on her. Her conscious demanded a break. Her mind wanted to melt into unconsciousness and shut out the world – and make her retreat into some nice corner and not come out soon. Her soul wanted someone to be there and tell her that it would be fine – his voice, while not meant as comfort, was more comfort than the world itself.
Her watchful gaze skimmed over the forensics team and settled at the detectives. Yamato-keibu was apparently let off the hook and went to check on her father – and allowed her to have a better look at his previous partners in conversation. Those looked clear too but then, another detective walked towards them, whose sour features could be recognised from a mile away. Kano-san – a woodpecker. Her breath hitched as she rambled the realisation to her – friend.
His bit curses did not fall on deaf ears.
…
…
Kano could not believe his luck.
He had had his hands full ever since that one-eyed idiot came back. He had been filled in about his attempted murder and the reason behind it: he encountered and refused them, and that blatant resistance made him a threat to their existence. He could never understand the reason behind that fear. He knew well that their association was hidden inside the institute that handled and delivered evidence to the court – no one would realise the truth and be able to take countermeasures.
He was forbidden to take him out at his lowest due to undisclosed reasons, which was another unreasonable decision that would remain as such forever. It would have been much easier then than now, when he had wakened from coma. However, he could not murder him tomorrow without a mean to have the case buried into the drawers. His bosses outside took out some trash, to call that such, in the recent times and another dubious incident could be troublesome to their cause. He would have to think about a clever method to make one-eye stand aside, and when needed, the unmissable chance arose. It looked like luck favoured him sometimes too.
He was at the crime scene to remove evidence – the instructions had come in an hour. He was on the routine: make the forensics collect evidence, ask the witnesses for a statement for appearance and then, edit out the clues that directed at whoever his bosses used to commit the crime. He wondered whether someone would be framed for the crime, as bombs were too vicious not to make a statement – the news will demand their word and not leave them alone until the common theories are either confirmed or the hole is filled with a reasonable excuse. He looked to the side in consideration and noticed one-eye at the scene.
It was time to show who was in control.
…
…
Kansuke was known to think with his instinct but was in no sense an idiot. He could realise the situation when he noticed a man, almost confirmed to be a member of the woodpecker, arrive to the scene sooner than normal. He sneered in the back as the forensics team took the scene into their unquestioned ownership and tried to fabricate an explanation to how their suspicious presence near a crime scene could be painted as not suspicious. He knew that mattered little – the bomber collaborated with the real boss behind the woodpecker, which was bad news for him no matter how believable his excuse was. He could be suspected to have sniffed around them.
He could not admit to be thankful. Komei – that bastard had done a lot to make him live and without intention, stand the blame for the so-called instructions that idiot had followed. However, he had lived because of that and he was not about to throw that life out the window.
He checked on the idiot detective and his kid – the former was at the ambulance and received treatment for that bruise-from-the-looks-of-it head wound, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. He found her a moment later, hidden behind a column on the phone with someone. He assumed that to be her future-husband-slash-may-or-may-not-the-prophet teen detective. He was relieved that the information would reach the ears of the mastermind behind the outfit.
It had been about ten minutes.
He turned around, his cane tatted on the concrete under his feet at each step. He had not been questioned, which stood weird as one would consider those closest to the scene the most important witnesses, but that could have been due to the fact that he was police too – his statement could be taken later too. He wanted that to be the truth and not – no. He recoiled at the officers at the entrance, who listened to bit instructions between short looks in his direction.
He would not be suspected to have sniffed around. He would not be murdered, no.
He would be much, much worse.
"Seize him!"
He was at a loss despite all the experience behind his back. He could not be otherwise – to be raided like a bomber was a surreal situation no experience could prepare one for. He did not know whether to run or accept arrest. He doubted that would make a difference. He knew what was about to happen to him. He would be framed based on some fabricated fake evidence or whatever – and then, he was tackled. His face bruised upon collision with the concrete.
He looked up to see a crooked face with a confident expression on it.
…
"Yamato Kansuke-keibu. You are under arrest for murder."
…
…
Ran hid behind the column with a hand over her mouth. Her face mirrored a furious fear – to see someone she could confirm to be innocent tackled and arrested for a crime at the hands of those who were at fault was a new horror. It made her nauseous and thankful for the cover that concealed the reaction the truth invoked in her. No matter how much she wanted to run to the scene and shout that he was innocent – because he was innocent dammit! – an action like that would have landed her in immeasurable trouble too. Her hand clenched with so much force that the victimised phone threatened to break amidst faint creaks and cracks.
"Ran."
"Ran!"
"Shinichi! Yamato-keibu was arrested! An entire team tackled him and treated him like a mass murderer! What should we do now – " Her voice cracked. Her mind was a battlefield between an unfathomable dread that these men would find out and catch her and her father and him and a sudden wrath that demanded her to kick their faces in for the treatment her friend received undeserved. It was a mess in which she wanted him to make order in. "Shinichi, we need to do – "
"Ran. You have to run – escape somehow. You cannot do much in that situation." His voice sounded cold, detached. He blamed himself because the resolution was hundred percent his fault as the mastermind in his views, the realisation dawned on her. "I will find a solution. I will."
"You want me to turn back on our friend! I will never do that!"
"You will not turn back on him! I will find a solution! You have zero, zero chance to free him – so, take the old man and do not look back." It was the first time he raised his voice with her and it was fuelled with protective flames. He did not want to lose her and for a moment, that realisation made her silent. He blamed himself and was terrified that whatever mistake in his plans would cause her harm too. "I will never ask this more. Please."
In the end, she had to trust him once more.
…
…
Kansuke tried to move around, but the cuffs around his wrists and the chair restrained his attempts. He exhaled what could have been the thousandth time in realisation that there were no chances to break out from this situation on his own. He needed someone to aid him, but with even more enemies inside friends, that was impossible. Kudo and the others with him came to his mind, but not even them could orchestrate a rescue mission for him without tremendous risks.
Kudo was much like Komei. He was a tactician to make decisions on cold rationalism. His situation was unfavourable, that much was true, but not worthed so much to risk the rest: both allies and ideas those allies had on how to secure the best outcome. He did not want to be sacrificed, he did not want to be framed for a crime that he did not commit, but he could see that the risks and the benefits had to be considered when decisions were made.
He was in trouble. He smiled wryly.
"Yes. I see. You are free to question him."
He could hear someone talk outside the door. He braced himself for whatever would come under the excuse of "questions". He was not that naïve to think that these traitors would allow him to defend himself with his own words, or to follow the protocol in the first place. He snorted at the fact that was violated: officers were not supposed to cuff someone to a chair true mafia mode, no matter what crime was involved, if the individual did not show violent behaviour.
He saw a familiar form walk inside and close the door in quick succession.
"K – Komei!?"
He was shocked, but then remembered.
"Komei, let me – "
He was sent a stare that screamed "shut up".
Komei took a seat at the table and reached under the surface. He scratched off a small piece of electronics and showed him – a listening device. He was about to comment on the fact when it was turned off and placed on the table. He wanted to take a better look, but the cuffs held him in place.
"I will have to tell them that their tap so happened to malfunction, and therefore failed to record whatever was told inside this room. And to answer that almost said request, no, I cannot let you out. I do not have the key and even if did, we would both be cuffed to a chair once the others find out. I cannot aid in physical means either, until there is an exact plan on how to handle the consequences. I can tell and listen, and check on your condition."
He huffed.
"You are useless then."
"Yes, for now."
He could see a shrewd smirk form on his face.
"There is a number of deductions that can be drawn from this turn of events. The first and most obvious is that the woodpecker still harbours a malice towards you personally after that murder attempt failed. That was overseen in our plans, that much must be admitted. However, you would be kept alive to be still used for blackmail purposes to keep me at their side, because looks like whoever is behind that considers me worthy to maintain that status quo. And the fact that there have not been actions towards me confirms that the woodpecker does not know about our recent collaboration or the half-baked plan that connects me to the superintendent."
"If that was revealed, their number one task would be to dispose of you, and not to bother with me. You would be the one confined to his chair in that case – and the fact that you were let in means that those traitors still hundred-percent consider you as their semi-official member!"
Komei showed a text on his phone, which included the deductions made a moment before.
"You understand then. You have to be patient."
…
…
"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?"
Ran shut her father's mouth at the turned heads and pulled him behind a bookshelf. He took the news as well as expected, which translated to not well at all. His first question was what, and second question was what, and the third was how that happened in the minute he did not look.
"Shinichi said that he had sent a text to Morofushi-keibu. He is still unknown to the woodpeckers, he said, and could check what happened from the inside." Her back touched the shelf behind as her arms folded. "Akemi-san could steal about half of the computer data. Shinichi and her look into the files to see whether to frame someone was an explicit order or a convenient method to take the heat off themselves. Yui-san will arrive soon too."
"So, that is the reason we came to a library."
"Shinichi needed a computer, and we could not return to the police headquarters."
…
"Ran."
Her father looked at her with a sudden seriousness. He had never looked at her with that much seriousness ever in the almost two decades she lived. He had been hilarious, satiric, a world-class male tsundere with his loved ones but never, ever this. His face was marked with such sadness and determination that shook her to the core: there was an issue that had to be talked about and he knew that she would not like it but willed himself to do so nonetheless. It made her freeze.
"You want this? You want to continue down this road?"
Her mind could not take in the implication at first.
"I admit to have been overzealous about this whole save-the-world case. I wanted to be known and as childish it sounds, a hero. I have underestimated the situation and said that it was fine when it was not, until the hospital was attacked. I realised that what happened on that island was not an extreme case, but the norm. I was blind to the truth until then and allowed us to involve ourselves. I did not see that this case would not be salvation, but certain death instead."
He reached out for her shoulders. His touch was filled with fear, the same kind that coursed in her veins when she hid from the woodpeckers who arrested their friend for no reason other than to eliminate him. His fear resembled the one buried inside her for the sake of someone else.
"You have never been in the force. You cannot see this situation like me. I know what traitors on the inside mean and to elaborate, the worst scenario has happened. Yamato-keibu was taken out in a moment." He said in a quiet tone. "I did not want to believe that this is real for a reason. I did not believe that this is real, no, I did not want this to be real. You cannot comprehend the trouble we are in now. We were at the scene where the faux arrest was made. It can be a matter of time before we would be taken too and – whether the outcome would be a trial or murder is tied to their mood or interest. Yamato-keibu is our friend but still, this is suicide."
Her irises reflected the despair on his face.
"Kudo can talk all he wants. He is de-facto immortal, we are not."
Her breath hitched at the claim that sounded so distant and cold from her father. He never liked him and that sentiment would not turn into unconditional trust in weeks no matter what information was revealed. He found entertainment in the initial allure and thus, he decided to follow the one from the future. However, he himself did not turn into someone to handle the truth underneath from that decision alone. And the catch was, she could understand him.
He drove a fist into the bookshelf.
"Kudo, Kudo, Kudo. He is from the future. His information should make the future better. And still, we are stranded in an unknown prefecture without a roof over our heads, without our families and friends besides each other at our sides, on the run from criminals and police and criminals inside the police! He handed out instructions over even more instructions for normal mortals like us, who would never be an actual asset in his mission. He uses us to make ends meet, and that is all."
"He cannot control the world." Her voice cut into his speech like a knife. "He has information, but that is all he has. He needs allies to use that information, because it is impossible to tackle this case on one's own. He would do so if that was an option. You saw him recount his deaths – that rueful determination, he considers himself responsible for the fate of the world. He is still a human, no matter how those abilities can turn and twist the flow of time. He needs allies. He needs us. I would rather hide in the mountains until this is over too, but that would be torture. I would see him fall into the hell of live, die, rewind, live, die, rewind. I cannot ever allow that."
"He can rewind. He can decide to die and rewind when the situation turns for the worst. He will return and with luck, succeed in another time – but what about us. I wonder whether we would follow him into the past or left behind with a cold corpse and no future at all. I would bet on the latter." He stared at her with accusation. "I will be honest. I am terrified. I am terrified that he would not treat this with seriousness because for him, this is another timeline destined to fail – "
Her hand clawed into her coat.
"He cannot control it."
"Ran."
"He cannot control his abilities. He does not know whether there would be a next time. He has to make the most out of each time because it could be the last." Her face darkened. "You never liked him. You do not want to know him, but – I do. I know him well. I know that he would rather die a thousand times than to see us die even once, and would do that even if we demanded otherwise. I know that he tries his best. I want him to have someone, someone that cares, to be at his side."
"Ran. This is not the real you. This is the love that curtains the end from you."
His words were serious, and her reaction was too. Her love was not an obscure, hidden attraction unlike a month or two before. Her love rooted in herself, in her existence, which was the reason the statement did not make sense. Her love was the same as her. Her will was the same as her love's.
"I still want to be at his side."
"You can die!"
"I know. I know, but – "
And the dams broke. Her arms embraced her father to allow her to bawl into his shoulders like in her childhood. He was not much better: he returned the embrace to seek comfort in her presence. It inquired to her that this whole conversation was initiated for him to find comfort somehow, and decided that it was. He could be defined as immeasurable concern towards her in the moment before she broke the contact. His concerns touched her heart, but he needed to know.
"He will take me on a date once more, once this case is over and the future is safe and secure. He promised." Her voice started to build up confidence. "He promised a better future, but not that the road there would be a walk in the park. It will be worse before it turns better, but will be better sooner or later. I want to believe in him. I do not think that it is a sin to believe in someone, in him. He will find a solution to this too. He will find a solution no matter what."
"You have the will, then. A will that someone like me would never understand."
…
…
Shinichi looked over the data files over and over, but a frown creeped to his face in the place of a smirk. He stared at the monitor with his full attention, like that could have written over the files to contain useful information. He reached for the mouse and clicked, clicked, clicked – wherever he looked, there was mundane data without connection to what he searched for. He could hear the rain mixed with snow patter on the window from the outside. It set the mood.
He had to find information. He had to advance the case somehow. He could not accept that an innocent would be tried for a crime– no, that reminded him too much about a world left behind. He had stood on the sidelines once. He remembered that time, that time that woman had been framed in a similar manner to be removed, and that she had sent that text before her arrest – it had read "do not help". He never knew that side of her until the moment unfairness crashed down on her and made her walk into the court as its fallen queen to stand whatever fate was called on her. He had heard the rain that time too. It had burnt on his soaked shoulders.
He could feel that all over within the tap, tap, tap –
"Is it that well-hidden?"
Akemi sat down next to him, a cup of cheap coffee in her hands. It was otherwise abandoned around them, the room was lined with bookshelves, thin corridors between them and a small corner that hosted the four blocks dubbed as computers. He had not realised that computers in this era were not that common as in his time. He appreciated the luck that allowed him to find one in both a public space and hidden from curious stares to be able to look at the data.
He clicked, and tapped the table as the window loaded.
"I wanted to talk with you since you have picked me up, but there has never been a time like this." Akemi started, then brewed her drink to distort her clear reflection. "You were always preoccupied. You are still preoccupied, but this is time to have this talk. Kudo Shinichi, no – "
"I am."
"What,"
"I am the prophet, if that is the question." He did not look at her and was not in the mood for heartfelt discussions, but felt that certain loose ends needed to be cleared. "I bet that is it. You seemed bothered since we arrive here. You know the secret but cannot not make much from it."
"You are like the embodiment of a confidence that can convince the most cautious to follow you with reckless abandon." His mind braked at the accusation but realised that it was correct. He promised his allies to win, and this looked like to be the furthest from that. He did not even think about that. For him, this situation was so normal that it never occurred to him that his friends could be distressed. "Yamato-keibu has fallen into their hands."
"Not if I can have a say in it."
"That is what I wanted to talk about." Akemi raised her voice a bit to catch his attention. "You said that you would save me, and my sister. I do not think that you would abandon those words at all, but you seem – chaotic. You want to save everyone in your reach, but are distracted once another person needs your help. I do not say that it is a flaw, but will not help later down the road. You have to establish priorities: is the most important a prefectural inspector or me, acquaintances at best, or those two who hear this conversation from behind that bookshelf over there. You have to make a decision soon, or you will lose all of them – all of us."
He looked from behind the monitor and saw the colours of her coat between two booklets. His hands balled into fists, then loosened. It was madness to consider that dilemma, but the one who came forward with it operated on one timeline. He exhaled: it was about time.
"Akemi-san, what would you do with a second chance?"
His question surprised her.
"A second chance, at what? A life?"
"You can call it like that." He responded with ease. "You would live an outcome that needs to be avoided at all costs that includes the death of countless innocent, and in a sudden, that outcome would come undone and the dead would come to life. You would also do all that can be done to turn the world into a better place with all the information and wisdom from the accumulated failures from an erased time. You would also want to save all that can be saved. I am sure, because – "
"I understand now. I had suspicions, but to confirm this is a whole other matter." Her voice sounded like a smile. "You are a time traveller. You know all those valuable information from battles with them that have been erased. You know others from cases that have never happened. You know me from the future too – you said that you knew me, despite the fact that neither of us have seen each other here – in this present. You must have known me well in the future."
"From second-hand tales and reminiscent stories."
He watched her fall silent.
"I see."
"I could do little to better the situation and that became worse and worse as time processed. I was told to hide, because there were too many people who expected too much from me and left their unfulfilled wishes with me. I could handle the pressure, no, that was not the problem. It was that the situation was not hard, it was impossible." He looked at her. "I do not want to lose them like that time. I do not want another innocent to be sacrificed in this cursed scheme for world domination. Yamato-keibu is a distant friend at best, but to allow him to be tried would be submission. I do not want to hide and "think about the future" and allow it down an even worse path."
"It is about redemption. You want to prove to be able protect others unlike in the future." He flinched at the selfishness underneath his noble intentions. "It is called survivors' guilt. The point still stands. You have to see past it, and think about what is the most important event to prevent. You have to decide what needs to be prevented at all cost and what is an optional bonus if the time allows it. Your second chance can fall to perfectionism the same as enemies."
"But. What if there were many, many second chances?"
Akemi blinked in confusion.
"What,"
"I can redo each scenario, each conversation, each action over and over. I can redo it all over until madness consumes me." His hair fell into his face. "Akemi-san, this is more than time travel. More than a second chance. I can die, over and over, and return in time with each death. I have died five times as for now. I have no idea how it works or due to what reason, but it allows be to aim further. I can save those who need to be saved. I can, I will not fail this time – "
"I doubt that would be a solution."
He started to be irritated – like there was a better solution!
"And why so?"
"You bet all on an uncontrollable phenomenon! You believe to be able to take on all alternate timelines to find the best one, but that is conceited." Akemi exhaled in exasperation. "Listen. I have no idea about the future, but no one can take an endless amount of mental trauma and be fine. You are not a machine. You said that the limit is madness, and that nears with each death. Your time travel is a chance to achieve heaven on earth. So, do me a favour and do not turn it into hell."
He could hear the tap, tap, tap outside.
"I can promise this one: I will take a stand each time to my best abilities. I will treat each timeline like there is no other, take each chance and each move and in case the heavens crash under and we fail, I will reset the timeline to earn another chance to do it over. However." His confidence returned with a solemn shade. "I will never allow a timeline to exist in which the others beside me are dead. I will reset the timeline then – and allow the one where we win, exist."
Akemi realised that there would not be a better answer.
"Let us stand into the case then, detective."
…
…
Later.
…
Chikamatsu was a motel somewhat below the common standards the local hotels stood for. It did not attract tourists. It could be mistaken as a decoration at the borderline between the town and nature and thus, was not a location someone would check out to find another – the ideal environment for someone in need for both an accommodation and a base to house their hidden activities for the time. He realised that to word the convenient circumstances like that made his choice in hideout sound, well, dubious at best. He would never admit to have a checklist for the ideal hideout in his mind – detectives and hideouts as an iconic duo were weird at the least.
He snorted at that.
He looked at the room that would be his home in the next weeks. He still could not create a fair method to divide the toehold-sized room between to-be inhabitants that were, like, five times more than allowed. He had to blame himself for that. He wanted a normal room because to have someone alone add their name to the rental administration for an entire suite was bound to attract attention. And there was one such someone at hand whose name could be thrown at documents without serious consequences, and that someone would come to their aid in a blatant dismissal towards the utter frustration that had defined them since the tables turned.
Yui was restless. Her bun had loosened and borrowed her form a more desperate, more serious look. Her face was contorted into a scowl and laced with immense concern towards another far from her reach and in a trouble in the moment that crossed her mind. Kansuke.
Her attraction to her childhood friend had been subtle at best. Her true romantic side was as clueless as his was dense. He had known them as a couple that realised their love for one another once that so-far denied love was threatened. He had known them as a couple that prevailed in times of need, unlike others that worked well in a domestic environment and shattered once that was disturbed with unforeseen misfortune. His own love worked with a similar methodism and in that sense, he could understand the scowl and the concern on her face. He would be so, so much worse in the situation that loomed over him. He was thankful that that was not the case.
However, his condolences alone would not reunite them. He had to initiate his newest idea once the other three individuals in the room could somewhat come to terms with the fact that their next weeks would be locked into this small room in a borderline inhumane manner.
He cleared his throat to have the undivided attention in the room.
"Yamato-keibu was arrested on the scene of the murder committed with bombs this afternoon. From the stolen files, we can conclude that their involvement at the scene was done on order but there was no direct one to frame someone for the crime, thus the arrest must have been an on-the-spot improvisation to remove the inspector, someone the association considers a threat due to a dubious reason at best, from the picture. Ran heard that the arrest was made for murder."
He treaded across the room, between his audience.
"Michitaka died in the incident, no, he was murdered. Brandish had his men install bombs into the car and then, instructed the woodpecker to deal with the mess. I think the motive matches the one for the murder on the train. Michitaka must have trodden onto an undesirable field and had no intention to turn back – and landed on the hitlist hand in hand with those who aided him. It had to be a severe issue to warrant an assassination. I am curious." He left that thread there. "In that situation, their aim would be to avert the attention. And thus, it would be unbeneficial for them to have the arrested die under dubious circumstances."
"You mean to tell that he would be left alive."
Yui received a nod from him.
"Yamato-keibu will be used as an excuse and have his name slandered, but indeed, he will live. I think that their move will be to make him out to be the villain. He would be framed for other crimes and meddles too and used as a convenient answer to deflect the media. His unfortunate situation will be milked without a doubt and the real him will be discarded. He is valuable to them at least until the case reaches the court, which is needed to close the act and the case as well."
He observed the horrified reactions. He was a little too realistic with the descriptions.
"However, this is a curious situation." He exhaled and folded his arms. "You see, it is much easier to rescue individuals who have actual value for the enemies in some form, because there is a chance that the individual would not be killed even when the aim to secure them becomes obvious – otherwise the individual would be killed to dissolve morale. However, it is much harder to do so at the same time, because the enemies would hold onto the individual tooth and nail due to their value to them. It is the circumstances that decide which side is dominant in a situation, and those circumstances can be complicated whenever the court is involved."
"Your words are as difficult to understand as ever, but the point is, that the case will be taken to the court." He looked at the old man, who held his chin in an intricate manner to indicate how little he understood. "In that case, we must find a lawyer and involve them to some extent."
"That is based on the assumption that trial would be a fair field. Need not to mention how unrealistic that scenario is." He almost snorted at that. He did not mention that this was still fair compared to – nevermind. "However, there is merit in the idea. Yamato-keibu is valuable to them on a double scale. He is used to take the fall for their crimes and is still the blackmail material to be held over a certain someone. He would be tried and convicted at worst, but indeed, we need a lawyer."
Yui walked up to him.
"A state-appointed lawyer would be useless. This case needs special dedication to win and would be difficult even with that. It would be hard to find someone who would take the case, but we have to try. There is no other choice if we want to hold a candle to the prosecution in the court."
"You have an excellent mind." He flattered her but returned to his seriousness a moment later. "However, "difficult" would be a lenient word for the endeavour. I think "impossible" is much closer. There will be countless obstacles from each side on the road. There will be all the evidence for one – the woodpecker can create whatever evidence fits their version the best and show that to the court, and the court considers evidence first. It would be useless to walk into the courtroom and accuse that the law enforcement faked the evidence like that. And we do not have control over what the prosecution would hand over to the court either."
"You are correct." He saw the old man wince. "No one would defend a case with those odds."
"Then, what should we do?"
Yui shouted into the thick air in the room.
"Yui-san, unlike your expectations, we will not find evidence to prove his innocence. There would be no point." He heard her breath hitch, a sound that shook with doubt. He would turn that doubt into determination with his next sentence. "We will find evidence that the police made up their evidence."
…
…
Somewhere in town.
…
A woman hopped into a car that had pulled over besides the sidewalk to allow her to. Her hand closed the door and the vehicle was on the road a moment later. Her white locks were freed from under the hat as she made herself comfortable in the seat, but her tenseness remained nonetheless. Her attention observed the town that flashed besides her and turned to a darker and darker hue with each minute. Another day came to an end and not how that was expected.
"Michitaka died."
Her chauffeur commented on the most important event. Her face had a troubled expression at the mention. Her information was little in amount, which tended to make her nervous around a new situation. For all the wisdom her abilities enhanced her with, she was clueless.
"You think that the whole situation has been revealed to them?"
"It is hard to tell at this point. He did a lot on his own, that alone could have been a reason."
"Indeed. However, that does not make the situation less bothersome." Her chauffeur admitted the inconvenient circumstances. "There is one less friend on our side and our enemies have the initiative in their hands. I heard that someone has been arrested and will be tried for the murder, without a doubt a conduction of their evil. I feel bad for them, but doubt that even we can do much without considerable risks on our side. I know. You should decide in the matter."
"You are attached, then. You act uncharacteristic sometimes."
Her chauffeur looked into the darkness ahead into which their car headed to.
"You know me better, dear."
…
Published: 17/11/2023
Yes, I like to write cliffhangers. I will not even pretend that I do not.
I was a little carried away with this chapter. I did not plan to include those conversations between Kogoro and Ran, and Shinichi and Akemi, but it kinda wrote itself. I hope it was not too sentimental – but there is no use to be worried about that when this does not even resemble canon at all.
Thanks for the reviews: Gamelover41592, KudoLaetitia, arsyousaf112