Mission Six: Encounter at the Dead of Night
Conan found it peculiar, if not disturbing in its own way, how this woman still found the will to keep messing with Yor. After witnessing a murder attempt for which she was nearly framed, at her own birthday party, to make things worse, the shrunken detective would have believed that she already had too much on her mind to, say, throw a tantrum out of jealousy over the handsome husband Yor claimed to have.
He was wrong. Proof of that was the nasty burn that now painted her nose, born from a freshly cooked gratin that she had wanted to throw all over Yor, only to end up backfiring because karma was truly a force to be reckoned with.
There was also the fact that Yor had caught the thing with her foot, but Shinichi had known Ran for simply too long to be fazed at it.
"Once again, I am terribly sorry that we have to leave so early," Loid apologized profusely, bowing his head while he waited for Conan to hurry to join him, and Yor, in the hallway outside the apartment. "And I apologize for any inconvenience this child may have caused you."
Camilla stared back in silence.
Loid's smile remained perfectly in place as he bent down to pat his son on the back, almost encouragingly ─ almost, because it was a little too rough to be deemed a comforting gesture.
"Thank you for having me, Camilla-san! I had a lot of fun!" Conan exclaimed, a huge, brilliant grin stretching from side to side in his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Loid's smile relax a bit.
Until, of course, he added, "Don't forget to call the police, okay?"
It froze in place, then dissolved into an odd grimace. "Police?"
Camilla decided against explaining and shut the door closed with no further ado. It left the spy staring blankly ahead, as if forcing his brain to work overtime to process what he had just heard. His eyes slid slowly away, and downwards, to meet that pair of innocent blue ones that blinked back at him.
His features hardened. The spy noticed the slightest of winces from the kid beside him, but otherwise, he hid pretty well.
"Come," he said curtly, and began to walk. Conan did not need to be told twice and followed obediently.
Yor remained rooted at her spot for a moment longer, however. Her gaze was drawn to the closed door, where it remained, fixed, as if she could see what lay behind it. Had that been possible, maybe she would be able to see that man again ─ no doubt shooting her with that one glare from before, fueled by sheer hatred and resentment she had no idea he possessed.
The human was but the greatest enigma to have even existed, and indeed, appearances were truly deceiving. For it would never have occurred to her that someone like him would willingly stain his hands with her own blood.
It was as if it had been yesterday, the day she had first learned of his existence, though in reality only a few weeks must have passed since then, maybe a month. It had been an ordinary morning at her day-job, and had walked in to see Camilla and the others crowding together, faint giggling and frantic whispering coloring the air as she passed by.
"Oh, would you look at that!"
"Seems someone has an admirer…"
"I'm so jealous~!"
Soon, she had been allowed to see an extra person among the women ─ a light blush dusting her cheeks, a delicate hand tucking a strand of chocolate hair behind her ear, and that warm, if timid, smile painting her lips; Yor would recognize Masami anywhere, and certainly, this had been no exception.
She remembered having sent a hasty peek towards the bouquet of deep red roses that Masami cradled to her chest, then setting off to prepare coffee as she had been asked to. Masami, always so perceptive, had met her glance, and offered an awkward laugh.
Despite herself, Yor's lips had curved into an amused smile of her own, too.
"Really…" she heard Masami sigh to herself. "They're lovely, but what am I going to do with this?"
"Maybe stack them with the ones you got last week?" Sharon suggested.
Masami simply shrugged and did not say much afterwards. With that smile permanently stuck to her lips, she turned around to leave. As soon as she was out of sight, the remaining women huddled together once more ─ whispers rose anew, conspiratorial glances shot at their retreating coworker as per the norm.
They did not even try to hide it, but Yor figured it wouldn't matter, even if they did. Knowing Masami, she was sure to have noticed it even if they were trying not to be that obvious, but she didn't seem to be bothered. Instead, she simply approached Yor and plopped down on a seat right next to the coffeemaker. She settled the bouquet on a nearby table, a sigh ready on her lips.
Yor eyed the gift and read 'Noah', neatly written on a tag attached to it. So that was the guy who had been sending her those for a while now, she realized.
"What are you going to do, Masami-san?" Yor asked, unable to take her gaze away from the roses left forgotten over the table ─ deep red as fresh blood, beautiful like none other. "Noah-san seems like a nice person."
"I'll have to turn him down. I actually do have a boyfriend, you know."
"You do?!"
Her sudden outburst had only dawned on her a moment too late, mostly due to the fierce blush that coated her friend's cheeks in response. Embarrassed, Yor brought her hands to her mouth, and repeated in a whisper, "You do?"
Masami nodded, her gaze sliding to the ground in a timid gesture. "He's so strong and dependable… It doesn't help that he's handsome, too." A giggle escaped her lips ─ odd to Yor's ears, but genuine. "He can be shy, even though his appearance might be misleading. He seems mean at first glance, but he means well."
Perhaps it had been that warmth of hers, that affection as she spoke about someone so dear to herself, what tugged at Yor's lips. But then something surged from within her, a realization that flickered into life so spontaneously, so abruptly, that she wouldn't have been able to stop it even if she wanted to.
"I wonder if I could get a partner, too…" left her lips, unannounced.
Confusion was now written all over Masami's face. "I didn't know you were interested in this kind of thing," she confessed.
At first, Yor stared at her friend blankly, until a sudden realization warmed her cheeks. "No, no!" Masami just blinked in stunned silence while Yor frantically shook her head from side to side. "It's not like that. It's just..."
Scarlet eyes drifted to the side, a movement Masami caught and immediately followed. Camilla was snickering, a teasing smile plastered on her face, while Millie, face flushed, squealed about something that Sharon decidedly did not like, judging by the embarrassed scowl that pinched her face.
"That's… what 'normal' is, right?"
Masami's breath slipped away, her own eyes growing a sliver wider ─ as if she could finally see after being blind for so long.
"I don't want my little brother to worry. But I wonder…" Yor's voice trailed down into a feeble whisper, her gaze cast down at the tip of her shoes ─ preventing her from seeing the frown that was slowly taking its place in her friend's features. "... if it's even possible for someone like me-"
Yor would never get the chance to finish her sentence, because her hands were suddenly seized, held by a grip so firm, yet so warm and comforting somehow. Masami's gaze was fierce from up close, burning with a fiery determination that Yor never knew she had ─ even though she suspected it.
"Yor-chan. Please, you must promise me something…"
Her smile was so radiant that it was hard not to avert her eyes. Finally, she gave in to the urge and looked away, not knowing how much she would regret it. For this might have been the last time she would be able to appreciate such a fascinating sight.
Though she would get one more chance to see it, albeit from afar, holding a sharp blade close to her chest as she dived deeper into the shadows. The next time she smiled like that, she would not be the recipient of it, but rather, it would be that one boy.
A boy who Yor had seen plenty of times, one whose sharp gaze she had been ducking away from for so long. A young man who would stay at Masami's side until her body grew cold and useless; until the light in her eyes was extinguished and her smile withered away, leaving nothing but the ghost of something that could never be again.
Unlike her, however, the boy never let go of that hand.
"Yor-san?"
Yor blinked back to reality to see Loid scrunching his forehead in concern. "Are you feeling alright?" he added when she failed to respond, so she shook her head rapidly to reassure him.
But verbally answering took a little longer than that, with her struggling to find her voice. "Y-Yes, I'm fine," she finally managed to get out, though she hadn't been able to erase that nervous tint in her voice. "I just spaced out for a moment."
Loid did not look convinced, but allowed it regardless, thankfully. He turned his eyes away from her for a moment, which she took advantage of to scan her surroundings and realize that they were no longer in the apartment building, but out in the night on their own.
Not the two of them alone, Conan was there, too ─ who was, decidedly, much more interested in eyeing the bird that was resting its purely white wings on top of the van she had, apparently, been led to. Not that she had any idea of when she got there, exactly. Get a grip on yourself, Yor!
Once assured that it belonged to Loid, despite Conan's strangely bemused look, Yor climbed up into the passenger seat, and the boy settled beside her right afterwards. He was making it clear his intention to avoid eye-contact with his own father ─ a right Loid, in fact, fought for and claimed for himself, if only to glare at him sternly.
"You, young man, have a lot to explain," Loid stated, starting the vehicle. "What are you doing here, in the dead of night, while you were supposed to be asleep at home?"
As Yor watched the exchange between father and son, realization was slowly blinked into those vivid scarlet eyes of hers. Oh, so Loid-san didn't actually… That certainly made things easier to explain, however marginal that improvement might have been.
The idea of a loving father sending his child out in the middle of the night, even though it could have resulted in a painful death, had been truly inconceivable for her, so knowing that it hadn't been his intention to begin with was pretty comforting. Of course, a child sneaking from home wasn't any better, but at least this way she could actually understand ─ children were inherently naïve, unaware of the many dangers that hid in the shadows.
Conan shrugged. "I was bored."
Loid scowled, and looked as though he wanted to say more, so much more, before his gaze shifted from the boy to the woman sitting quietly by his side. It returned to the road right away, his frown missing, yet a little uncomfortable somehow.
"I'm sorry, Yor-san."
"Eh? What for?" It wasn't like Loid had actually stood her up as she had believed, so she couldn't understand what was there to forgive.
"Well, I accidentally introduced myself as your husband. Then, there's Conan. I know he can be a lot to handle…"
"Oh, not at all!" she exclaimed, her posture straightened. "I'm grateful to Conan-san, in fact. He-"
Her words cut off so suddenly that it earned looks from both father and son. Despite herself, she found a bead of cold sweat tracing down her forehead as she inwardly panicked, struggling to come up with something to say.
"He-" -saved my life? Wait, that's a lie. He saved me from drinking poison? No, that's not true either, even if it had been a sip too small to be noticed by anyone else. Uh, what to do?
Conan was arching an eyebrow and Loid was growing concerned by the second.
"He… saved me?" Yes, Yor, that's it! "He saved me." From being exposed.
Had she drunk the wine without noticing the poison in it, and had magically survived without the slightest discomfort from her part, they would have discovered she was an assassin. So, it was true ─ this boy had truly saved her by preventing her from drinking any further.
Loid's inquiries seemed far from assuaged. "Saved you from what?"
Yor hesitated, and to be honest, Conan could not bring himself to judge her at all. Certainly, he wouldn't be able to explain it either ─ how do you tell a man that you were the victim of a murder attempt and that his six-year-old son pointed out the culprit in a few minutes?
It fell on him that he should have shown some restraint, but come on. The case had been so easy it was almost insulting, and he was counting on Yor losing contact with Loid after him standing her up ─ which obviously wasn't going to happen at this point.
Conan crossed his arms over his chest, and though he kept the exhausted sigh within mental territory, the troubled frown that pinched his face was quite visible. Back when he had woken up at that amusement park struggling to untangle himself from oversized clothes, he had thought things couldn't get any worse. But now, as he sat between the spy who had adopted him and his potential mother ─ also a potential murderer ─ he began to doubt himself.
It didn't take a detective to know that it was only a matter of time ─ that these two would be married in no time, even if it was beyond what they had initially agreed upon. Especially since he had caught sight of a strange shape of an object in Loid's pocket, earlier when they were walking to the van ─ which he still had yet to figure out where it came from, for the record.
Small and circular ─ it was pretty obvious he was carrying a ring around. A ring, of all things; no matter how much he looked at the matter, it only spelled trouble for Conan. He seriously needed to stop this, but seriously, what could he do? It wasn't like he could magically change Loid's mind, nor could he prove Yor that was suspicious as hell without making himself suspicious as hell in turn.
Loid's attention was suddenly away from him, but he wasn't counting on the moment to be anything but brief. The spy stared at the distinct red and blue light that passed right next to the vehicle, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
Conan's eyes, on the other hand, flickered downward, being especially careful not to move any other muscle, so as not to alert the man, or the woman, he was sandwiched in between of. From inside that pocket, light was glinting back towards him ─ reminiscent of a jewel of some kind. The urge to stick his little fingers in there and do away with the damned thing was certainly strong, but Conan resisted.
Luckily, he did nothing. Loid's focus was on him, again.
"What exactly happened there?" he asked, his eyes narrowing back to the road.
"Nothing much," Conan chirped nonchalantly. "Just someone lacing Yor-san's glass with potassium cyanide."
The perplexity in Loid's face was laughable, but again, Conan held on bravely. Whether he was worrying about Yor, or questioning himself if six-year-olds were supposed to know what potassium cyanide meant, the boy surely could not tell.
Eventually, he settled on the former, "Are you okay?" which was probably the better one ─ for Loid and Conan's sanity, that was.
Yor smiled and nodded. "If Conan-san had not been there, I probably would have drunk the whole thing." Loid was absolutely speechless, which, although it didn't bode well for a certain faux-child in the car, he found pretty hilarious. "Ah, but don't worry! Conan-san figured out who the criminal was-"
Yeah, he probably should have stopped her before it got to that point. Now, he was finding himself trying not to wince when the man's head snapped in his direction, eyes wide beyond what Conan thought was normal capacity ─ normal capacity for someone like him, anyway.
He laughed weakly. "It was just a lucky guess…"
Not the best cover-up he had managed ─ which, admittedly, wouldn't have been much of an accomplishment ─ but it worked, regardless. Yet, rather than being an achievement of his own, a completely unrelated event prevented Loid from even processing the answer, let alone putting together a proper response.
The car swerved violently, robbing Conan of his balance and a startled yelp out of him. And his dignity as well, since he did end up sprawled across Loid's lap, his groans muffled by both cloth and surprise. Because it wasn't an everyday thing ─ he observed, once he had pulled his face out of his current predicament, obviously ─ to see two or three cars ramming into their van with the clear intent of taking it down ─ or, alternatively, making it stop.
Well, he wasn't complaining, as any other sane person would do. Then again, any other sane person might not have had this concrete plan in mind, and had the sudden opportunity and means to act on it.
If only that creepy pigeon would, just, stop ogling at him ─ seriously, there was this bird that Conan could have sworn to have seen minutes earlier, flying alongside their car, its tiny little head facing the window. Just how fast could pigeons fly, anyway?
Dove, he corrected himself, after a second look. That's a white dove. Watching me.
Now, that was strange. He wondered why Twilight had not noticed it yet. Ah, right. He was being chased by four enemy vehicles, had a child and a woman who was supposed to know nothing about his secret job on board ─ bleeding to the head, full of bruises and exhaustion that clung to his eyelids, as far as Conan could see.
He supposed it made sense.
Placing her hand over her chest, Yor leaned slightly forward. "Who are these people?"
Loid tapped on the steering wheel for a while ─ no doubt, effortlessly fabricating a lie to smooth out the situation.
"I-It appears some patients haven't recovered from their psychotic episodes."
Conan did not bother to hide his raised eyebrow. Smooth, he thought sarcastically.
To his ─ their ─ surprise, Yor nodded. "Being a doctor must be very taxing."
Time was far too brief to be wasted away, that was a notion Shinichi had long learned after years upon years of witnessing countless murder crimes ─ though it was ironic, coming from the one whose biological clock had literally tickled backwards. Still, it meant he wasn't about to waste time trying to classify that behavior as absolutely naïve or painfully clueless, and instead focused on getting as much information about the situation as he could.
Sending one look over his shoulder, Conan tried to see what exactly they were carrying at the back of this van. Wooden crates of all shapes and sizes had him wondering what they could possibly be carrying there.
Suddenly, it hit him. His hand slipped into his own pocket, and his eyes widened slightly at the feel of the fancy ring Loid had inexplicably acquired overnight. Jewels, he realized. He couldn't see Loid outright stealing these things ─ except for the ring, of course, but he supposed it was for the mission ─ so these people must have stolen them first. Jewel smugglers.
If they had found Twilight so quickly, then they must have planted a tracker somewhere. Inside these boxes… Or maybe…
Again, he met eyes with the dove. There was an odd little black thing on its leg. A camera lens, and behind it, Conan could have sworn he could see a mysterious individual grinning behind it.
Being aware that he was dealing with an experienced spy, Conan wasn't surprised to learn of his superb driving skills ─ though years of sitting in the passenger seat with his mother at the wheel might as well have robbed him of that ability. That didn't mean he wasn't grateful for them, as they allowed them to lose their pursuers in a matter of minutes.
They stopped their van at an abandoned factory, and without even saying a word, Loid had the boy and the woman understand what they were doing next ─ run, and hide, most likely. Yor nodded quietly, falling in step with him without as much as a protest, or even a simple question.
But for Conan, it took a little longer to comply ─ fairly more entranced by the dove preening its feathers, settled comfortably on top of the van, again. Puzzled by the sight, the boy blinked his eyes and tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Conan!" Loid hissed at him, a frown crawling on his features ─ if it was a product of the urgency or plain irritation, Conan could not tell.
The miniature detective complied in any case, shooting the strange bird one last, wary look, before he took off running too.
He reached the man as quickly as his shorter legs allowed ─ which wasn't a lot. As soon as he was within arm's reach, Loid had grabbed his shoulder and dragged him along before he could even express his dismay at the action.
His grip, firm as iron, pulled him to a darkened alley. The motion had been swift, and the hold disappeared right afterwards, leaving him reeling from the momentum. Thankfully Yor, who had noticed him stumbling towards her, had gently grabbed him by the shoulders, saving him from face-planting against the floor.
This time he was fully capable, and willing, of showing his discontent, so he spun around. He didn't find his eyes to glare at, though, as they were too busy with more important things than a six-year-old's tantrum ─ probably, but Conan didn't want to dwell on that thought for much longer.
Back pressed against the wall, Twilight peered around the corner. From the severity of that frown, and the crate he had gotten from God-knows-where firmly held in his hands, Conan had a good idea of what he was watching so intently.
Their pursuers were nearby, ready to strike as soon as they spotted them.
But despite everything, despite the tension that weighed on the air and was breathed into his lungs, his ears caught a sound he had not expected to hear. Surprised, he glanced over to where Yor was covering her mouth and whispering an apology for being so inappropriate.
Had that been a giggle? Conan stared in confusion and then noticed an extra weight on his head that he could not remember ever having been there. To be fair, he hadn't been expecting anything to begin with, but even then, he was shocked when he turned his head slightly to look up.
And saw a beak. A beak, a pair of little black eyes and white feathers.
It was that dove again, perched on his head as if he were just another branch in a tree. Such an unusual sight was the one Yor had found amusing enough to lose herself for less than a moment in the midst of danger ─ even if she was unaware of the true extent of it. Conan found it less as amusing, but a load more mystifying.
And terrifying ─ the notion hit him a second later than the rest. The camera, he remembered, panic slowly beginning to settle in. If this bird is watching us, then…
Yet, as the seconds passed, nothing extremely relevant occurred. Conan was at a loss for what to think, unable to explain why these people seemed to roam aimlessly, searching for them even though they had their exact location. Unless they don't have it.
Then, this dove, what was it…?
Twilight's gaze took on a much sharper edge. Conan watched with a bated breath as, suddenly, two men wearing black clothes walked past them, completely unaware of their presence. Once they were at the right spot, the spy struck, and had taken them both down with the same, now disintegrated crate he had noticed earlier.
"This way!" he shouted, then, with a newly acquired pipe in hand, began to run."Hurry!"
Conan obliged. The dove flapped its wings at the sudden movement and took flight. While he was kind of glad that it was gone, it still didn't explain a single thing on the long list of mysteries that had come up lately, so he wasn't sure what he would have preferred.
Survival should always come first, that was the lesson Ran had strived to drill into his thick skull, and after this whole ordeal of being poisoned and surviving by plain dumb luck, he thought he could finally understand what she was talking about ─ although there was a time in the past when he had firmly and foolishly believed that he already did. That meant, naturally, focusing on running and possibly surviving this.
"Um," Yor murmured, almost hesitantly, glancing from over his shoulder at the likely concussed gang members Loid had just taken down. "Are you sure it's alright for you to hit your patients like that?"
He could see the gears in Twilight's head turning. "The concussive recovery method is the latest in modern medical practices."
Conan stared back at him, blankly. This guy deserves an award for creativity. Seriously.
Naturally, they couldn't even take two steps without being spotted again ─ and truly, Conan hated it that, with that small body of his, was hardly capable of doing anything but to scramble away from harm as Loid took them head on.
He could do nothing but watch as the spy spun on his heels, flinging the pipe at the man who had tried to sneak up behind them ─ and ignore the realization that Conan's own strength would have failed to do what he had accomplished. Rather than an unconscious criminal, all he would have gotten would probably be a pissed off criminal. Been there, done that.
Jealousy would surely become his loyal friend in this new, weird phase of his life.
The flapping of wings let him know there was more to the 'loyal friend' category than he already thought. Picking up his head, he saw the bird again, perched above the stairs and staring down straight at him. Once it made sure it had seen him ─ Conan then considered that this situation might have messed with his head a little more than he had expected ─ it picked up flight again, yet into the sky like most birds did, no.
Conan watched as the white dove flew into a building, and realized that following it would not be the brightest idea of all ─ his mental Ran was shaking her head in disappointment at him, even if he had not even considered it, for real, he could swear. For he knew that engaging in such an action would mean never having learned from his inconvenience at Tropical Land. It would be making the same mistake, all over again.
Yes, humans were prone to making mistakes ─ and to making the same mistake twice.
So, when Loid looked back to check on the little boy who had accompanied them, and found nothing but empty space behind, he didn't think much of it ─ not for lack of trying, but rather, because his mind was paralyzed by the encounter of a situation he hadn't accounted for. He blinked slowly, allowing his brain to reboot and come to the realization that there was a child missing in the middle of a fight with jewel smugglers.
He snapped back to reality at the clank of the soles of his shoes on the metal stairs, and quickly spotted him ─ a focused expression, not unlike the one he usually wore when on a mission, strangely determined to reach his destination. Shock waned when he saw him disappear inside a building.
He gritted his teeth.
A rain of bullets had him scrambling for cover with Yor, but never did he stop swearing, even if it was in the privacy of his own mind.
The best he could do was to take his enemies down ─ he was their target, and they appeared too focused on him to even notice that the boy was gone. Which meant that Conan would be safe for the time being.
Or so he hoped.
The silvery glow of a full moon greeted him as he finally reached the rooftop, a chilly night breeze beckoning him back inside, where it was warmer, cozier ─ not unlike the smile of an enemy that passive-aggressively suggested he wanted him out of their sight. He rejected the offer, walking towards the edge of the building to take a deep breath in, savoring the stillness.
Although stillness did not necessarily equal solitude. A smirk quirked his lips upward.
"Did you know that white doves don't exist in the wild?" he asked into the silence. "That means you probably won't see one walking around town unless it was released by accident or at a ceremony, such as a wedding or funeral, and wasn't able to make it back afterwards."
The white dove stood in front of him, its head cocked. When Conan held out his hand, it had no qualms about flying over to sit on his fingers.
"Or if it's a trained one. They are smart birds." Running his finger under its neck, Conan smiled, watching as the bird nuzzled against him with a contented purr. "It wouldn't take that much of an effort to train one to keep an eye on a specific smuggling group you're interested in."
For a moment, it was as though there was not a soul that could reply, yet the boy hardly even moved from his spot. Aware that there was someone out there, someone that had certainly listened to every word of his, someone that was grinning from the shadows in pure amusement.
Company did not take long to take, announcing its arrival with nothing but footsteps ─ the sound muffled, completely inaudible to most people, but not to Shinichi's keen ears.
Behind him was the figure of what seemed to be a man ─ too old to be a child, too young to be a full-grown adult, if he were to judge by his complexion alone. Donning a pristine white suit, complete with a hat and a cape that fluttered with the wind ─ and a grin that strongly reminded him of sharks.
"I could be a member, you know." He was wearing a monocle, glinting as he lifted his head to study him further. "Watching over the jewels."
"Jewels?" Conan chirped. "Oh, you mean this thing?"
Followed by that, he plucked something from his pocket and held it up, almost teasingly. The diamond ring gleamed beautifully under the moonlight, but even though it was so obviously what this man was looking for, his expression remained unchanged ─ placid, he would say, hadn't it been for the smile that remained there, affixed to his lips.
"You're either the worst at teamwork, or you're in this alone," he clarified, closing his hand around the ring. "You've been keeping me watch on me since I picked this up, but your quote-unquote 'partners', were clueless to our whereabouts. They even lost us in a car chase."
His mysterious companion came closer, but Conan hardly moved away. He held eye contact for a few heartbeats, maybe even longer, before the man deflated with a snicker. "My, aren't you a brave little one? "
The little detective's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
At the question, this strange man seemed to brighten up, like he had been expecting to hear it for so long. A gloved hand rose and pressed against his chest before he bowed, not unlike that of a showman introducing himself to his audience.
"Internationally wanted, newly returned, Phantom Thief 1412," he said, a smirk on his features. "Kaito KID, at your service."
Conan stared, unblinking. "Who?"
The hand stayed where it was, even as the thief backed away with an offended gasp. "I beg your pardon?" he hissed, his eyes widening as if witnessing something beyond the comprehension of the human mind. "Have you been living under a rock for the last month?"
"That's a way of putting it."
KID raised his eyebrows at him, but Conan stared back blankly, his eyes narrowing further on the absolutely offended phantom thief in front of him ─ which arguably was not his fault. He had been through a lot, with dodging death and studying for kid-level exams for whatever reason Loid might have had. He guessed he could be excused for missing ─ he eyed KID ─ whatever this was supposed to be.
Though it ended up being far from lethal, Conan was unsure whether to be glad or terribly disappointed. What is this guy wearing, anyway? And that name, Kaito KID? How did he come up with that, anyway?
Then again, Kaito KID… Where did I hear it? His eyes shot back open in realization. Ah, the girl named Ayumi! Right. She wanted this guy to show up on her balcony…
Is he… some sort of celebrity among children? He didn't even want to begin to imagine it. A whole new generation of kids idolizing a thief ─ what has the world come to?
"Normally," Conan jerked back to reality when the thief started talking again, "I would have put on an amazing, mind-blowing show for my audience. But since this jewel was smuggled into this country illegally, there wasn't much I could do."
He held the ring up to the moon, shaking his head and frowning as if not pleased with the result. Conan wondered what he had been expecting ─ then blinked at his empty hand and proceeded to experience a mini existential crisis over the fact that he couldn't remember, for the life of him, when and how that had happened.
After eyeing the object for a little longer, a dash of disappointment crossed the thief's face. It was gone the moment he glanced back at the boy, however.
He stared again, and Conan felt his eyebrow twitch.
Especially when he grinned.
"But you provided me with plenty of entertainment tonight, so I'm grateful for that." KID said. Conan watched him warily as he walked right past him, standing at the very edge of the building. "Come to one of my heists one day, okay?"
"What if I don't want to?" he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.
He turned around to look at him one last time. Back facing the abyss, he grinned at him one last time and uttered, "Give it a chance. I promise I'll deliver a performance that won't disappoint."
With that, he up and left ─ he tilted his body backwards and disappeared from sight. Alarmed, Conan immediately darted forward to peer down, fully expecting to see a shapeless mush of red and white stamped on the pavement.
He saw none of it; the spot on the ground directly beneath him was empty. Conan found his brain stuttering until a white blur zooming right next to him had him lifting his head.
The dove took flight, joining the figure that, shrinking as the distance increased, soared the sky in all his white majesty.
Realization sank slowly, but when it did, he felt himself groan. This guy had a freaking hang glider. He was that kind of person, Conan realized ─ a flashy, attention-seeking bastard with an insufferable smile; the kind he did not like ─ and no, that definitely was not because it sounded just like Shinichi himself, so shut up, Ran.
What now? Alone on the roof of an unknown factory building in the middle of the night, Conan stood awkwardly, uncertain of where to go next. Loid and Yor were still down there, so maybe he should try to join them? Of course, that would be counterproductive, as they were clearly more capable of defending themselves than he was, so maybe he shouldn't.
I could head back to the car and wait there… Or maybe… since I'm all alone, I could try to investigate around-
His train of thought was interrupted by a loud noise, and a slight tremor on the ground he stood at. In the distance, he saw the smoke and wondered just what was going on down there ─ or, alternatively, who was out there blowing things up.
On second thought, maybe I should just sit there and wait quietly for someone to come get me.
So, he plopped down onto the ground, and did not move again.
He did not have to wait long for his arrival, announced by the creaking of an old metallic door that led to the rooftop. Loid was looking even worse off than he had before; his hair was a mess, his face pale as though he had not slept in weeks ─ which was extremely likely, come to think of it. Now, in addition to the drying blood on his face, there was also the scent of gunpowder clinging to his clothes. And, of course, Yor, following right behind ─ impressively unaffected by the whole ordeal.
"Oh." Conan smiled from over his shoulder. "You're late."
Loid barely took a step forward before he froze on site, his face gradually losing color ─ was that even possible?
Conan tilted his head, unable to figure out the cause of his sudden distress until he realized it; he was the cause. He, the six-year-old sitting on the very edge of a four-story building, kicking his legs in the air.
It would be best not to give him a heart attack, he reasoned. Although he might have skipped a beat when the boy swung his legs over and landed on solid ground.
A plethora of emotions crossed Loid's usually composed facade, until he settled with a long, exhausted sigh ─ complete with fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
Conan pretended not to notice, gazing innocently up at the man that walked closer to glare sternly down at him ─ not for the first time that night, for the record. If, after all the trouble he had caused this man, Conan didn't wake up to find himself back in an orphanage, well, he supposed it would probably mean that this man wasn't very good at cost-benefit analysis and liked to make terrible decisions ─ which would speak poorly of his abilities as a spy.
Ah, I already took the entrance exam, he realized. That meant that Eden was already aware of his existence. I wonder how he'd explain my absence if he did that.
"Why did you do that?" Loid asked, suddenly ten years older than he should be.
Conan blinked once, twice, then unexpectedly buried his face in his hands.
Silence stretched beyond what should be reasonable, and Loid was not sure how to stop it, nor did he have any idea of what his reaction should be. A switch of demeanor that had been too sudden to be natural ─ who is going to believe that?
"Oh, Conan-san…" Yor stepped forward and crouched down beside the child who, with his hands still pressed to his eyes, had begun to tremble ─ twitching now and then in what Loid assumed to be an attempt to sob. "It's okay, you're safe now."
The boy nodded between hiccups, and Loid honestly wondered if this was what his life had come to be. Certainly not for the first time since the beginning of this mission in particular.
Yor's soothing tone had drawn the boy out from his protective cocoon, peering from over his hands with eyes so wide and innocent that would probably have fooled Twilight himself, had he not noticed there were no tears present.
The woman smiled sympathetically at the sight, stroking Conan's hair in a calming motion. At that moment, the spy knew he wouldn't be able to question him any further, not with Yor around in any case ─ what kind of father berated his child right after such a traumatizing experience? Especially since he would be calling him out on actions that were supposedly born from fear itself.
So, he settled with a sigh and approached the boy, patting him awkwardly on the head.
"Shall we go?"
Conan looked up at him and smiled. Loid could recognize a satisfied smirk when he saw one. That brat.
He had known he was smart, right from the very beginning. But this wasn't just it, he was cunning, and strangely manipulative for his age. And that was slightly terrifying, if Twilight was honest to himself.
Hopefully, it wouldn't prove to be a major drawback for Operation Strix.
"Huh?" Conan had not followed, and this time, had such a perplexed glint in his eyes that Loid identified as genuine. "Yor-san, that…"
He was pointing at her, or rather, at her hand. She was still wearing the grenade pin he had placed on her finger as a makeshift engagement ring, which she quickly covered with her other hand the moment she realized what he was referring to. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she turned to Loid, seeking for help.
"Ah, that…" He scratched the back of his neck as he laughed. "Yor-san and I are getting married."
The revelation hit Conan like a bucket of ice water, judging by the way he gasped, and his eyes widened in a horrified fashion. Loid was yet to wonder what had brought in such a violent reaction.
Surprisingly, getting married in this country was not difficult. All that was required, really, was to fill out a bunch of paperwork, and done; Loid Forger and Yor Briar were officially a happily married couple. All he had to do was contact Franky, and then he would have evidence to claim to have been married for a year. Eden would never suspect a thing, and then his mission would progress smoothly-
Loid grunted as he bumped shoulders with a stranger on the way out of the city hall. It wasn't relevant enough ─ the culprit was just an ordinary worker that apologized briefly before walking in, huffing over his breath about wanting his shift to be over already or something.
Well, he wouldn't blame him, since it was getting pretty late; if anything, it surprised him that no one had questioned their decision of getting married at this hour. Which was probably a good thing, since he couldn't really tell them that he wanted to commit to it as soon as possible lest Yor regret it in the morning.
"Loid-san?" she asked, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. Extremely polite as she was, she still maintained her distance ─ which couldn't be good in the long run. What kind of married couple acted like that even after a year of being together? That was something to work on, for sure.
He waved her off with a smile, deciding that he had enough problems to deal with for the night to add another to the list. That would be future Twilight's problem.
Present Twilight's problem for tonight was ─ thankfully ─ still sitting in the car. With his head resting on the glass window in the passenger seat and his eyes closed, the boy seemed oblivious to their arrival.
He had been like that since they pulled up at Berlint City Hall. Yor attributed it to the poor thing being too tired since it was obviously way past his bedtime ─ what bedtime? Loid privately wondered ─ while Loid doubted he had really been sleeping to begin with. Not out loud, of course.
All things considered, he could easily be faking it to avoid further confrontation.
In any case, the spy opted to open the driver's door and let the woman slide inside, so as not to disturb the boy in case he really was sleeping. She settled between the two of them, and he started up the vehicle.
They remained silent for most of the trip, only exchanging hushed whispers regarding Yor's address ─ he had promised to drive her home, after all. It had taken her three straight refusals before she finally agreed to it, though slightly red in embarrassment.
It wasn't until they were a few blocks away from her apartment that Yor gazed down at hands, folded neatly over her lap.
"Are you sure this is okay?"
Loid glanced at her in askance. She had been the one who had suggested their marriage by convenience, so why was she getting second thoughts about it? Granted, he had actually considered her regretting her actions at some point, but he expected her concerns to surface a little later than this. Way into the following morning, at the earliest.
Yor turned her head, casting a look down at the slumbering child at her right. "This boy…" she began. "I don't think he likes the idea of a new mother."
Ah, so that was it. He had known this would be an issue in the foreseeable future. From the way the boy had acted at the tailor shop where he had met her, or how he had sneaked away from home to, as Yor had told him, tell her he had been sent by him, Loid, to let her know he couldn't make it to the party as they had agreed to… It was obvious how it looked to Yor's eyes.
Even if he wasn't too sure of what it looked to his own.
He stilled, saying nothing at first. He glanced back at the front, driving for another block in silence until he finally broke it.
"They're too young, both of my children," he said, his voice heavy with what should sound like grief to her ears. "As you can imagine, it was hard for them to deal with my wife's passing. Even though they work so hard not to let me see it, I can tell they still miss her so much."
He realized that it didn't really matter if he couldn't ascertain the situation entirely. Even if this boy's feelings were a riddle he could not solve, all he had to do was to fabricate a scenario where they could take place. All that was needed was a different context that would make everything simpler, perfectly explainable to the woman sitting at his side.
"My daughter wants nothing but to feel that warmth one more time, for her family to be complete once again; she wishes nothing but to have someone to call a mother," he said, his grip on the steering wheel tightening with each word that left his mouth. "But for my son… Conan is different from her. He has never told me this, but he wants his mother back. I can tell the idea of me marrying another woman makes him extremely uncomfortable. To him, it must feel as though I'm replacing her."
Yor looked as though she wanted to contribute to the conversation, but did not come up with something to say. By that time, her apartment had come into view, and the van stopped on the sidewalk directly in front of it. Even then, none of them moved right away.
Loid stared back ahead, as if in contemplation, before shaking his head.
"But that's nothing you should concern yourself about, Yor-san," he said, dropping his head slightly forward. "I will talk to him in the morning. He… won't be able to move on if he keeps clinging to the past so tightly." A beat later, he was looking back up again, a pleasant, if apologetic, smile drawn onto his face. "I'm truly sorry for the way he's been treating you."
Yet, the woman did not immediately reply. She gazed down at her lap again, and her eyes narrowed the tiniest bit.
"It's okay, I understand. I know what it feels like," she whispered, a hint of sorrow in her voice. "Children losing a parent is a truly dreadful thing."
There was nothing he could say in response.
Thus, he stepped out of the car, holding out the door for her. She bowed slightly at him, uttering her gratitude for everything he had done for her that night, and turned about to leave. Just before she did, Loid stopped her, telling her that they should exchange their contact information ─ not that he didn't already have it, but it would be suspicious, not to say creepy, if he called her without even being officially given a number.
Giving yet another glance at the note where he had scribbled her phone number down, Loid slid back into the car. He watched as she walked up to her apartment, but even after she disappeared behind the doors of her own home, he did not move from the site.
Instead, he leaned back in his seat, rubbing his temples to stave off an oncoming headache ─ why, after all his years as a spy, this seemed to be one of the most taxing nights of his life? He could not figure it out.
But he suspected it had something to do with that strange boy he had picked from the orphanage one day, oblivious of how much trouble he was going to cause him in the long run ─ in a single night, how was that even possible?
He shot a sideways glance at the child in question. "I know you're awake," he said.
The lack of response made Loid glance over at the boy. Slumped against the car door, he was breathing softly in a perfectly steady pattern, an oddly serene expression on his face.
Maybe he was asleep after all, considered Loid. A glance at his watch confirmed that his mission, the subsequent escape from the smugglers and getting married, had dragged on until about three in the morning. Of course the boy was tired, he was a child, how could he forget?
He is a child. And a child has to know boundaries, or so he had read in the parenting book he had bought many weeks earlier. And this one has not just overstepped them. He completely jumped over them and ran at full-speed two miles past.
Evidently, a grounding was in order. Starting tomorrow, he would…
He stopped himself when he realized he was drawing a blank. When parents grounded their children, they usually did it, for instance, by banning them from going outside. But this kid did not seem to have any particular interest in doing so ─ the normal way, that was. Sneaking out of home was a different problem altogether he would have to deal with soon.
Alternatively, a proper grounding could work if he restricted the access to things he enjoyed doing. He supposed he could ban him from watching that show he seemed to take an interest in, Detective Samonji, but he had the feeling that the boy wouldn't think of it as more than a minor inconvenience, and therefore, would fail horribly as a proper disciplinary technique.
Whatever he tried was bound to fail, for he was faced with one of the most complex puzzles he had ever encountered. Beyond this wall of unsettling maturity and impressive intelligence, Loid had the feeling that hid something deeper, far more complex than his brain could ever comprehend. A young boy whose past was a mystery in itself, with a family background that left much to be desired, and whose actual personality was probably hidden beneath that innocent facade.
A parent can discipline a child by knowing where their interests lie, by knowing what their likes and dislikes are.
But he wasn't his parent, never had been, and never would be. Operation Strix was the only reason he had forged this fake bond between the two of them, which would have to be inevitably severed when he completed his mission.
Twilight knew absolutely nothing about Conan, Conan knew absolutely nothing about Twilight. And that was more than fine with him ─ that was the way it always had been with all the other people he had gotten involved with at every single mission in his life. He didn't see why this should be any different for a child.
That being said, he couldn't explain why he couldn't seem to look away from the boy huddled against the car's door ─ why his mind wouldn't stop pondering about this peculiar child, worrying about what exactly he had brought upon himself the day he'd adopted him.
With a shake of his head, he stuffed the note with Yor's number back inside his pocket and halted. Slowly, he withdrew his hand to stare in utter confusion at the diamond ring he had plucked out from it.
Even though he blinked, the ring did not disappear ─ it was that one ring; the one he had been planning on using to ask Yor's hand in marriage, but had strangely gone missing. The realization did nothing but strengthen the feeling of bewilderment that bloomed within him.
"What's this doing here?"
Conan did not answer him.
The lack of proper confrontation had been a surprise for Conan. Not a pleasant one, but a surprise, nonetheless.
Not that he had been fearing one, per se, yet denying that he had been dreading the inevitability of an interrogation of this guy would be a blatant lie. He had been aware that the man had questions, too many to keep track of, out of which Conan would probably have an answer for one or two, maybe, if luck was on his side that day ─ which almost never happened, so he hadn't been counting on that.
He needed time. Time to craft a story out of practically nowhere, coherent and logical to explain his every action from that night ─ and maybe to try and sacrifice part of his soul to the devil so that Twilight actually bought it, because that was probably the only reasonable way that was going to happen.
Believe it or not, Yor hanging out with them had been beneficial to him, for he knew that Loid wouldn't be able to question him to his heart's content for as long as she was there. But fortunately and unfortunately, it had been clear that she would have to head back home eventually, and her absence would leave him defenseless to his scrutiny.
He had not been not ready for it, not yet ─ maybe if he pretended he was actually sleeping, and therefore unable to engage in a conversation, he could buy some time, he had supposed.
Though the late hour had not registered for him until he had closed his eyes. He had woken up just as they pulled up in front of their house, slightly disoriented and several times as exhausted as he remembered ─ maybe Loid, in a surge of unexpected compassion, had realized this and forgo bringing the matter up.
Not for the first time, Conan had found himself cursing this darn small body of his even as he dragged his feet up the stairs ─ it wasn't even four in the morning, what was wrong with him? At least, he had woken up before he had to be actually carried there, or he would have been forced to watch his teenage detective pride die a gruesome death, incinerated by the flames of embarrassment and shame.
After Loid unlocked the door, Conan had unceremoniously made his way inside ─ without so much as a glance at the babysitter, who seemed more than ready to have an existential crisis just by seeing him at the door. All he had done was head back to his room, plop onto his bed and drop back to sleep ─ all worries and concerns forgotten at the promise of some well-deserved rest.
They returned with a vengeance the moment he opened his eyes well into the next morning, the many memories of the night before crawling back to him. What do I do now? he wondered from where he lay, eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling.
Oh, this will be so fun, thought the boy, sarcastically, carding his fingers through his hair. With a weary sigh, he hopped back to the floor and lethargically made his way to the door.
He really, really, did not want to start the day. But it wasn't as though he could lock himself up in his room for the unforeseeable future ─ not that he actually could, he didn't even have ways to lock up his own door, but maybe he should work a way around it. He may need it in the future, he considered.
But for now… Conan took a deep breath in and finally opened the door. Time to face the music. Or Loid-san.
Therefore, his surprise shouldn't have been as great as it had been when he found Loid's face just as he opened the door. It shouldn't have been as strange, since his bedroom was situated right next to the man's, but his steps faltered either way.
For some reason, too, it had seemed like it was the same for Loid, who blinked owlishly from the doorway leading to his own room. He allowed the man to process the sight in front of him, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable when, out of the blue, he smiled.
"Oh, good morning, Conan," he greeted, and Conan found himself staring. "You're up pretty early."
Conan refused to respond, and instead, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Loid seemed either not to notice, or pretend not to notice, and calmly made his way down the hallway to the living room. "I'll go prepare breakfast," he told him. "After you wash your face, could you wake Anya up for me?"
He stalled for a moment. "So, you aren't…?"
From over his shoulder, Loid gave him the most clueless look he could muster. "Something wrong?"
"N-No."
But yes, everything was just too wrong that he didn't know where to begin. There was no way that Twilight, the outstanding spy that had been sent all the way from the west, had decided to ignore what he had seen and learned the other night. There was no way there were no questions, or even consequences, to what Conan had pulled out.
And to look this innocent, staring at him as if he had grown a second head ─ the nerve, this guy. He had to be faking it; he had to be laughing right now at the sight of him, Conan, gaping like a fish out of water from the other way of the corridor.
With a shrug, Loid disappeared from sight, so reluctantly, Conan decided to do the same. Biting back a sigh, he opened the door to the bathroom, took exactly two steps inside before he halted.
Lifting his head, his eyes grew a sliver wider ─ and so did that certain feeling that he had thought long appeased by now. That feeling welling up in his chest that foretold that this would be one hell of a day, or a week. Or a month.
For he could not see the window he had escaped from the other day, sealing the view from the outside world through planks upon planks affixed to it.
"You shouldn't have left the window open," a voice from behind said.
Conan suppressed a shiver, and turned, ever so slowly, until he saw Loid's bright ─ almost too bright ─ smile. He felt himself frown profusely at the sight. Fighting fire with fire, I see.
"Oh, because I could catch a cold, right?" he chirped, mirroring his expression to the utmost perfection. "Did you seal the window because of the wind, too?"
"That, and we're on the second floor," Loid replied. His figure was cut out of view by a door frame as he walked away, heading to the kitchen, Conan assumed. "That's basically a safety hazard. Don't even try it."
Again, was left unsaid, but for the boy, it was as though he had explicitly stated it. Of course, he knew better than to comment on it. Instead, he walked over to the sink, scowling to himself as he dragged a stool to climb over ─ even with the extra height, his reflection on the mirror only reached up to his nose which, while still degrading, it was a kind of degrading he had unfortunately gotten used to.
"Oh, but I thought concussive therapy was a thing?" Conan remarked, just before splashing water onto his face.
Loid's response took a greater time to be formulated than usual. "It's 'concussive recovery method'."
The boy had to cover his mouth to restrain a burst of laughter ─ though, from the heavy silence that fell over him, he had the impression that Loid was glaring at empty space, as a substitute of his face, which was currently out of sight.
"Yeah, whatever." A hand reached for the toothbrush, the other to the toothpaste tube, a snicker slipping past his lips. "Sure you don't want to try it on me? There's a few that would kill to get that chance."
"For example, the criminal you stopped last other night, I presume." Conan paused for a beat, his every movement halting at the remark that had come from practically nowhere. "Anyone else who we should keep an eye out for?"
The faux child hummed, as if deep in thought, then shrugging, stuck the toothbrush inside his mouth. Good try, he thought, and with that, he let the matter go.
Loid didn't seem to want to add anything else, something that Conan was infinitely grateful about. Relieved that this issue had mostly been resolved with much fewer casualties than he had been expecting, he bent down over the sink to rinse his mouth.
"Oh, and you're grounded, by the way."
Conan made a choking noise.
Anya was woken up by a sharp knocking, alongside some words that, muffled by both the door and the haze of sleep, she had not been capable of decoding. She might have mumbled out a response, though she wasn't too sure, and rolled over in her bed.
Closing her eyes again, she mentally apologized to Bondman for interrupting the mission and set off to save the princess, as she had promised. But she only got so far ─ Bondman had put on an admirable fight, but Mr. Chimera had been too strong for him. Extending his arms at both his sides, he smiled back at her ─ find Holmes, he told her, closing his eyes as a massive ball of fire was shot his way. Find Holmes, and save the princess.
Anya jolted out of bed, head snapping from side to side in search of danger, but eventually, she found nothing at all. Realization soon fell on her that she was not off on an exciting adventure with Bondman, but alone in her room ─ her shoulders dropped, and a pout took hold of her every feature.
Now wide awake with disappointment, she headed straight to the bathroom to reluctantly get ready for the day ─ as her dad always reminded her to do. Once done, and sensing movement around, she walked up to the living room and stopped.
Color drained from her face, her blood going cold at the horrifying scene that awaited her, for her eyes, that grew bigger and bigger with each passing second, to stare at.
Books, countless of them, arranged in a neat pile that was probably a few meters high ─ not that Anya knew how high that was, but she estimated it was large. And behind them, in danger of being buried by them all, was Conan ─ a bored glint taking over his gaze as they moved across the lines, scribbling something in a notebook.
Unconsciously, Anya took a step backwards.
"You're awake, Anya." Anya winced violently, twirling about to see her father cleaning some dishes in the kitchen. "Come get breakfast. I'm sure it's gone cold- Conan, back to your notes."
Conan grumbled, rolling his eyes, and went back to do what he had been doing. Or so Anya supposed ─ she was too scared to even glance that way to tell for sure.
"Your show is about to begin, right?" asked Loid. "We're going to study after it's over."
Anya did nothing but stand there, blinking ─ feeling more lost than she had ever felt before.
Multiplication tables, again?! he heard Conan crying in his mind. Though he remained silent, she saw him pressing a hand to his forehead, massaging it lightly. It doesn't even matter if I finish it quickly or not, he's going to just put more work on my table.
The blinking did not stop, but now it was directed mostly at her older brother rather than at her father. Dimly, she recognized Loid calling her name once, then again in a more irritated way, telling her to go sit down and have breakfast. But she couldn't bring herself to do so.
Did I seriously get grounded by this guy? When was the last time I was grounded by my actual parents, anyway?
Then again, I think I got off quite lightly. Considering I snuck away from home last night.
Anya's eyes went wide with shock.
And that I showed up at Yor-san's party… And that I might have pointed out the one responsible for the murder attempt on her…
Loid arched an eyebrow, unable to explain for the life of him why the girl seemed to be shaking in her spot, hands balled into little fists as she stared at her brother ─ was it her aversion to studying? When did it turn into fear?
Then suddenly, Anya flinched, spun on her heels and hurried to sit at the table. Her father thought little of it, moving back to the kitchen to arrange breakfast for his late-riser of a daughter.
Conan's thoughts had yet to fade away into the background, however. They echoed, loud and clear, within her mind.
That, not even considering when I ran away from him while we were chased by the members of that jewel smuggling ring Loid-san had failed to take. Of course, I'm not telling him that I encountered Kaito KID on that roof. That would really be… pushing it…
Why is she looking at me like that?
Her gaze tore away from her right away, and her figure went a little too still for it to be natural. But Conan thought nothing about it, burying his nose back in his book before Loid came back and doubled up the work he was supposed to be doing.
Her attention was soon drawn by breakfast, and later on was captivated by the anime show she put on the television, leaving Conan alone to suffer in peace ─ for the most part, that was.
From time to time, he would be jolted back to reality with the sharp stabbing of a stare. And for the next several minutes afterwards, he would find himself wondering what was the notice of all the glaring and pouting that Anya regularly kept on sending her way.
But it would be all in vain ─ not even the greatest detective of his age could figure out a mystery of such magnitude.
Weird kid, he thought, certainly not for the first time in his life.
A/N
Mr0cznyKisiel: Yeah, it's been a while. I don't have a fixed schedule for this fic, so sorry about that