Chapter 7

Trapped

"Kudou-kun."

Somebody was calling out to him.

"Wake up!"

Shinichi gasped, wincing as he sat up. Dizziness struck him almost immediately, and he slumped to his back, leaning on a hard, woody surface.

What happened? Where was he?

"You're awake," the voice continued as he lifted his heavy lids and was greeted by a girl with strawberry blonde hair and crystal green eyes.

"Haibara?" he struggled to get up, but she pushed him down gently.

"You're hurt," Haibara said calmly, and he winced again as she prodded the bump on his forehead. "Stay still." She instructed.

Minutes later, Shinichi was propped up on the musky floor of a wooden cabin. A piece of cloth Haibara procured had been wrapped around his head. They were from dirty curtain drapes that she had painstakingly torn away.

Now, seated in the darkness of the cabin, he could better process what had happened.

His clothes were wet and soaked through. The girl fared no better. As the torchlight illuminated the darkness, Shinichi could see that water was dripping from her bangs. Haibara's sweater seemed heavy and saturated. Lips set in a grim line, she stared intently at the door which she had blocked with the few furnitures available in the cabin.

"They were chasing us," Shinichi concluded.

The girl couldn't help but scoff. "Why not? Anyone would be if caught burying a body in the middle of the woods."

Yes, Shinichi remembers it now. Hakase had taken them on another camping trip. Their hike through the forest had been relatively uneventful, and they enjoyed the fresh scent of morning dew as they admired the lush greenery. It was late Autumn, and the trees, once a vibrant shade of yellow, orange, and red, were turning brown. Leaf litter covered the green grassy ground, and the air was tinged with the frigid frost of the coming winter.

After setting up camp, they wandered off to gather firewood when the incident occurred. Shinichi shuddered at that memory. Three men were standing over the bloodied and bruised body of a woman. Half buried, her mouth was open with an expression of fear. The children, Haibara and him, had stood there in shock as the three men bore similar expressions.

When Shinichi was finally able to regain his senses, they were running. Haibara pulled out her phone to call the police. The three men were shouting. A fork in the road separated them as they hurtled through the forest. The children were going in the opposite direction. He cried for their attention to stop the men from going after them. And, he was running again, Haibara by his side as they stumbled through the thicket. Trees fanned out and thinned until a clearing was formed by a flowing river. This was bad. Having emerged from the forest, the men were furious, looking haggard. Their eyes locked for a moment, then they charged forward.

Shinichi prepared his watch as Haibara shouted a warning. Taking a shot, one of the men fell to the ground. Something solid struck him hard as he was about to do the same for the other two. He recoiled in shock, pain exploding from his temple. The sudden force left him disoriented.

"Haibara! Run!" he shouted through his daze. His vision was slowly fading. No good. He was going to faint.

"Speak for yourself!" She grabs his jacket, and before he knew it, they were hurtling down into the river beside them. Their pursuers screamed and stumbled after them, but the rapids were too fast. The current carried them away, rolling and tumbling. Haibara was still holding onto his jacket, but he couldn't see her. As tumultuous river waves crashed onto him, Shinichi struggled to break through the surface. "Haibara!" he cried as a new wave crashed over them.

He must have blacked out then because the next thing he knew—Shinichi had woken in this cabin with a nagging headache and miserable soaked clothes. The cabin was dark except for a white beam that illuminated part of the derelict place. Musky, like mold, this cabin smelt like it had not been used in a long time. There was a fireplace that was unused and dirty white curtains hanging from the windows. A few wood logs are arranged haphazardly by the side. While he moved, the rotten floorboards creaked a little, sending dust into the air. Haibara appeared before him.

"Did you carry me here?" he inquired, and she shrugged.

"If you consider dragging as carrying, then yes, princess," she mocked, "I carried you here."

He eyed her and was about to retort but held himself. It was pointless to argue with her now. After all, she was probably just as nervous as he was.

"The men chasing us?"

"I have no idea, probably still looking for us. I did not start a fire. They might have seen the smoke," she answered, and he was glad she had the sense that most would not have in situations such as these. Though, it would explain why it had been so cold.

Shinichi winced as his head throbbed, leaning back with a groan.

"If the children return, the professor will find us later," he said, "We'll probably have to wait for a while."

"About that," Haibara pulls the broken badges from her jacket. "It will probably take more than a few hours."

He had underestimated the severity of the situation. Broken badges would render the GPS tracker inoperable. Although the children knew the general area where they had separated from the culprits, it might take a few days to find them in this vast forest. What made it worse was that the men who chased them could still be out there...and two children would make easy prey. They had no means of overpowering them.

His brain went into overdrive, and he struggled to get up, but Haibara pushed him down. Wordlessly, Haibara placed a brown bag that he had not seen near his side. The contents spilled a couple of cans filled with beans, instant food, apples, and stale bread.

"I found these in the cabinets," she read his mind perfectly, "they should last us a few days, but we need to ration them." She then pointed to a rusting metal pail by her side. Haibara had lined the inside of the pail with plastic. It stood there collecting water from a drip from the wooden ceiling.

"So don't worry and rest. You probably have a concussion. You were out for at least two hours," she instructed, and Shinichi slowly relaxed, leaning against the rough walls of the wooden cabin, a slight grin emerging on his lips.

"I've taught you well," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't flatter yourself, Kudou," she retorted, "Did you forget who I was?"

Her words made him flinch. Haibara was probably exposed or trained for situations like this. She did say that the Organization brought them for 'excursions' sometimes. And for some reason, Shinichi found that although he knew Haibara Ai, he knew nothing about the woman named Miyano Shiho.

He was pulled back from his thoughts when Haibara placed a hand over his forehead. Despite the chill in her fingers, her touch was gentle. Haibara examined him carefully and tightened the bandage she had wrapped around his head. Her gesture touched him, and he could only smile slightly as she continued to care for him.

She held out her hands in front of him.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," he lied, and she frowned.

"Maybe I should have just left you to drown," she muttered as he chuckled.

"Four, Haibara, I do not have a concussion," Shinichi assured her, and she folded her arms around her chest, giving him a look that told him she didn't believe what he had said.

"Haibara, relax, look," he raised his hand and spun it enthusiastically, "I can still move my limbs. I'm responding to your questions, and I don't feel as lightheaded as before. I do not have a concussion."

"If you say so, idiot," she settled beside him, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping them with her arms. Shinichi could see her pale lips turning light blue in the torch's dim light.

Realization hit him, and he grabbed her, holding his hand against her forehead as she protested.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Shinichi demanded.

"Look, you're injured, so take care of yourself first," she sighed, clearly exhausted.

"You have a fever," he continued as she stood.

"Yes, but it's not serious, the professor will find us soon, and I'm dealing with it. Just take care of yourself. A head wound is more pressing than a light fever," Haibara chided and was...limping away from him.

"Where are you going," he nagged, spotting the sorry swollen state of her left ankle. Haibara was hiding it well. This bruise was a nasty purplish red that contrasted starkly with her pale skin.

"Getting a drink," she snapped. He stood up, ignoring his throbbing head. Shinichi grabs her and forces her into a seated position.

"You're hurt," he was furious with the girl. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Must I tell you everything," she glared at him defiantly.

"I told you I'm fine!" Haibara snapped when he bent down to inspect her ankle. Almost hitting him, she cried when he poked the swelling area.

"It's a sprain."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Why didn't you tell me," Shinichi persisted, and she sighed in frustration.

"In case you didn't notice, Kudou, we're stranded in the middle of nowhere. You're injured with a head wound, and there are men out there who want to kill us. I don't have time to deal with trivial matters like a sprained ankle," Haibara ranted, "so stop pressing and let me be!"

When she was done, she leaned against the wall. Her lips were paler—rasping slightly.

"Haibara?"

"Why do you care?'

This idiot.

"Are you serious?" Shinichi snapped. She scoffed, averting her gaze. Resigning himself to the stubborn girl, he strode towards the curtains. Shinichi began tearing out the bottom edges relatively quickly, pulling them apart. Squatting before her, he wraps the pieces of tattered cloth tightly around her swollen ankles.

Arguing with her now would be pointless. Shinichi knew how stubborn Haibara could be when she got into moods like this.

"We need to make a plan," he started, choosing not to dwell too much on her words, and she snorted.

"And what plan do you propose, great detective?"

"Well, if the professor does not find us within a couple of hours, we will have to venture out. I believe our camp is located a few hour's walk from here. If we stay near the river, we may be able to make it back." Shinichi concluded as she sighed.

"What about the men chasing us?"

"I assume the professor has already notified the police, and a search team is currently searching for us. If the culprits have any sense, they will not risk their identities by wandering about in the forest right now."

"Kudou, that's a great plan! Why didn't I think of it earlier..." the sarcasm oozed from her voice.

Haibara pointed to his injured head and then to her sprained ankles.

"Oh, that's why," she mocked.

"Do you have a better idea?" he snapped, and she shrugged.

"No."

"Then?"

Haibara smirked, and he sighed. His head was throbbing, and arguing with the girl would only worsen it. Leaning his head back on the walls, Shinichi slides to the floor beside her. He must be alert. They would be in trouble if the culprits found them in such a vulnerable state.

"So, corpse magnet," Haibara breaks the silence, "what are your thoughts on this case?"

"Haibara," he groaned.

"Why? The great detective hasn't solved it yet?"

"They were robbers," Shinichi recalls, remembering the faces of the men and the body of the woman. Three days earlier, their faces had been released on the national news. Shinichi had remembered the case and appearance of the suspects while watching the television in Kogoro's detective office.

"They probably had a falling out," he continued, "Their bank heist went wrong and what started with a somewhat peaceful robbery turned bad when one of their men accidentally murdered one of the bank's staff."

"So the woman, feeling guilty, wanted to confess to her crimes. But the three men who did not want to be caught silenced the victim by killing her?"

"Yes."

"I guess being a good guy does nothing for you," she snorted.

"And what would you have done?"

"Maybe wait a few days and not reveal my plans to potential murderers," Haibara suggested, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

Shinichi could only scoff at her statement before continuing with his deduction.

"They probably would have gotten away with it—"

"If it weren't for the corpse magnet stumbling right towards them," Haibara concluded.

"For the umpteen time, stop calling me that," he snapped, and she shrugged.

"Ara? Don't we always end up in some sort of situation?"

He made a face, about to retort, when he noticed the girl shivering more than usual. Haibara had been trying to hide it, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, her lips turning a deeper blue.

"Hey," he called her, alarmed at her deteriorating condition. He cursed. Why hasn't he noticed this before? Her fever must be worse than what she was letting on.

She did not respond, her eyes were closed now, and she was panting softly. He grabbed her, feeling her forehead, and panic took over.

"Just leave me be," Haibara was burning up.

"You idiot!" he laid her down on the ground, looking for something dry to cover her with. The only thing he could find was the brown sack she had stored food in, so he emptied it to cover her.

Her hands were deathly cold, and he clenched his fist. She was losing consciousness. Dammit!

"Haibara, don't worry," he whispered, "We'll get out of here, I promise."

Shiho always knew he had a hero complex. A deep-rooted responsibility to save everyone from the evils of the world. It was as if he were Superman but without the powers. So when she met him, she blamed him. Why couldn't he save her sister if he had been able to save others? The thought vanished as soon as she realized that Kudou Shinichi was far from perfect.

When needed, he exuded confidence and could be counted on. Sometimes, miracles happen because of him. Like the time he stopped the bomb from exploding in the collapsing soccer stadium with just a few seconds left. Or the time he had saved Ran from a mad gunman who was intent on taking her life. Having witnessed his exploits, Shiho knew that many people counted on him.

He carried a burden unlike anyone else. Shiho could only imagine the weight he must bear. Taking it upon himself to save others when no one else would do the same for him.

She had shouted at him earlier when he had confronted her about the sprained ankle. Was annoyed that he had nearly died because he chose to protect them by attracting the robbers to himself. Outraged that he showed no regard for himself but chose to help her instead. Furious that she had once again burdened him with the responsibility of protecting her.

She could no longer pay him back. Walking away was no longer an option.

The memories blended with nightmares of silver-haired monsters and dead sisters, of a boy who saved her from a bus explosion.

"Do not run away. Do not run away from your fate, Haibara."

His words gave her courage, and when she found out that he had gone to face Vermouth alone, Shiho could not stop herself.

Nothing mattered anymore. She could not live if he died. Taking the nearest taxi, she stopped by the docks to ensure he was safe. Shiho could not allow the Organization to discover his existence. She would not allow them to discard him as they did with her sister. She had caught sight of Vermouth at a distance and had to control the overwhelming panic. Steeling herself, she ran towards the woman who, along with Gin, made her life a living hell. Shinichi had asked her to run again, disregarding his safety. Again, trying to be a hero.

But there are some things you can't control, Kudou Shinichi.

Vermouth had put him to sleep with the tranquilizer dart. The situation was getting worse—with nowhere else to turn, Shiho faced the woman down. The blonde woman held a menacing presence, and the memory of blood and violence lingered in her mind. She wanted to bolt but could not.

Not when his life was at stake.

Placing the homing glasses in her pockets, Shiho swallowed her fear to face her fate with a determination she never thought she possessed.

"You won't hurt anyone else. You'll kill me and leave them alone," she demanded, and the woman smirked, her fingers circling the trigger.

She should have died that night. But fate was cruel, and now here she was, alive—a burden once more to those who have taken her in.

She winced, stirring slightly before gasping. Eyes opening, Shiho found herself staring into the sympathetic gaze of azure blue eyes— lying on his lap. She had to control the blush that was starting to form on her cheeks. The fever was taking a toll, and she realized it was warm. It smelled like burning wood and smoke. He couldn't have…that idiot…

"You lit a fire?"

"You were cold."

"If they find us?"

"Then I'll deal with it," he gestured to the door obstructed by the furniture. "Don't worry," he smiled, "I'll protect you."

She grimaced at Shinichi's words. Guilt welling up inside. Shiho could feel the tears starting. Cursing, she turned away. The fever was making her vulnerable, and her emotions were a mess.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

As usual, that perceptive idiot would not leave her alone.

"It's nothing," she forced out, "I'm just tired."

"Hmm…" Shinichi placed a hand over her eyes, closing them gently.

"Then sleep. I will keep watch," his voice calming. Her eyelids grew heavy, and soon she fell into a deep sleep. Memories of a shrunken detective lingered at the edges of her mind.

Haibara Ai was by no means an honest individual. So, when she started talking in her sleep, Shinichi had to brace himself for the words coming from her lips.

He knew she was dreaming. Hallucinating on events that sometimes involve him and sometimes the Organization. When tears slowly trickled down her closed eyelids, his hands clenched into fists. Feverishly, her lips whispered the name of the Silver Haired beast.

"Stop," she pleaded softly, "Stop, Gin, don't."

Shinichi held her, whispering gently, trying to calm her down. For a brief moment, Shinichi had wanted to wake her. Wanted to interrogate her about her relationship with the man who had ruined his life, but he held himself back. Something terrible must have happened, and not knowing how to help her was difficult. Perhaps it was due to the head wound, but he felt vulnerable. Helpless.

"It'll be ok, Haibara," he stroked her forehead gently, and she seemed to lean into his touch.

"I'm sorry," her lips spilling her secrets unwittingly.

He pulled back slightly, looking at the girl before him. What was she apologizing for?

"I'm sorry, Onee-chan," she continued. There was no mistaking the sorrow in her voice. He swallowed his shame. The words stung, and his heart broke for her.

"How do you expect me to understand someone who was developing a drug to kill other human beings!" Shinichi had shouted at her when she revealed her origins. Her cool, collected nature, coupled with her indifference to what she had done, made him lose it. Haibara embodied everything he hated. He thought her a woman so vile, so wicked that she could not even muster the shame or empathy for the victims affected by her creation.

It was not as if he did not notice the faint look of hurt on her face. Shinichi chose to ignore it. At that moment, he needed someone to vent on; she was an ideal target. Somebody who he could scream his frustrations at, and he used her for it. Rather than deny him, Haibara had accepted the accusations he had made against her. He had thought his anger to be righteous, that she deserved it—but that stopped when he realized who her dead sister was.

"Haibara, I've never apologized, didn't I," he whispered. "I couldn't save her," the guilt eating away at him. He blamed her without knowing anything, and she had never once complained.

"If I had been a little faster, if I had figured out what she was up to, I could have stopped them." Shinichi cursed his abilities. Despite his best efforts, he could never bring back the dead.

He had been too late, and now, Miyano Shiho was—alone. Shinichi wasn't sure how he could make up for his mistake.

"You're an idiot," Her voice cuts through his despair, and he was surprised to see her half-awake. Did she hear him?

"You can't save everyone," Haibara whispered, "Akemi wanted me to leave the Organization. I was the one who forced her to make that choice."

"Haibara?"

"Shinichi," she whispered, leaving him dumbfounded, "I can never repay you."

"Haibara?"

"It wasn't your fault," she told him weakly, "You've tried your best. Please—don't die."

Shinichi was rendered speechless and could not comprehend what Haibara had just said to him. As he felt the heat growing in his chest, tears threatened to fall, but he held them back. His grip tightened around hers.

"Stupid short idiot with a hero complex," she muttered, and Shinichi couldn't help but chuckle. Haibara would not have told him this if she were conscious. She would have dismissed his thoughts and would have called him stupid, but here, laying in the darkness of the damp wooden cabin, the truth was revealed to him. How was it— he wondered, his smile wavering—was she able to anchor and comfort him—with just a few words?

"You're the one who has the hero complex," he grumbled.

Shinichi was reminded of the time they had encountered the Black Organization for the first time. Captured and confined to the wine cellar, she had explicitly told him the composition of the drug he could barely remember.

"Just shut up and listen," she snapped at him when he protested, "I can't. I can no longer exchange words with you ever again."

Haibara was the only one. The only one who had thought of him even when she was in danger. The only one willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and stood by him through everything. The only one who knew how it felt to shrink, to live under the Organization's guise, and to be a child again.

"Shiho," her true name foreign on his lips. "Shiho," finding that he quite liked the sound of it.

A fleeting smile spread across his face.

She was the only one who reminded him that he was still human, with fears and burdens like everyone else. Haibara had no expectations of him. He was not her hero, the smart one, the soccer genius, a rival...no. Haibara Ai was the only one who allowed him to be himself, no matter his flaws. She was his partner, his confidante—and perhaps something more.

Softly, he presses his lips against her forehead tentatively. They were all that existed beside a crackling fire, huddled close to each other for a moment. The warmth enveloped him completely.

As the doors to their cabin burst open, their moment of tranquility ended. When the furniture flew, it struck the back of the wooden cabin. Shinichi was about to react when he saw Inspector Satou and Takagi staring at him in surprise. The professor was standing behind them.

He was in a compromising position.

"Wah!" he exclaimed, and the three adults who had found them were grinning from ear to ear.

"Always knew it'll happen," Inspector Satou laughs excitedly.

"No! That's not—"

"There's no need to be shy," Inspector Takagi continued, "You two make a good team."

"Conan-kun," the professor nodded approvingly.

"Wait. No. Ah, dammit!"

"So they caught the robbers?" Shiho asked.

She was propped on a stretcher, the makeshift curtain bandage replaced with clean new ones. Given a fever patch and an IV bag, a needle pierced her wrist. They were seated in an ambulance, Shinichi was having his head re-bandaged, and he glanced at her wearily.

"Well yeah, Inspector Satou and Takagi caught them with the children's help," Shinichi glanced at the police cars containing the three suspects, each glaring at the children spinning around the professor and inspectors.

"At least it's over now," she laid back on the stretcher, only to be met with the perplexed look of the boy next to her.

"What?"

And he frowned, slightly red.

"What is it?"

"Did you…" Shinichi shook his head.

A little irritated, she glared at him.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!" he responded too quickly, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Kudou?"

"It's nothing major, so drop it," he replied.

"Ai-chan, how are you doing?" Inspector Satou appeared beside them, and Shiho watched, confused when Shinichi panicked. With raised eyebrows, the inspector turned to the boy with a smirk on her face.

"What did you do?"

"Yes, what did you do?" the inspector eyed the boy growing paler by the minute.

"I need to discuss the case with you, Inspector Satou!" Shinichi shouted, and before anyone could stop him, was pulling the woman towards the children and Inspector Takagi. Haibara frowned at the weird behavior.

"How are you, Ai-kun?' the professor placed a hand over her forehead in concern. "You had a fever?" he inquired, and she nodded.

"It's getting better," she assured him, and he sighed in relief.

"You guys were lucky the inspectors were in the area," the professor scolded, "I think I should make the badges more durable, possibly waterproof."

"All you need to do, Hakase," Shiho mumbled sardonically, "Is to lock Kudou-kun in a box so that he doesn't attract any more corpses in the near future."

At the mention of the boy's name, the professor beamed. "You don't remember anything, do you?"

She folded her arms.

"I would have told you if I could."

"Sah, Ai-kun, with you, we can't tell if you would reveal the truth," the professor intoned. She was taken aback by his honesty.

Having fallen silent, he examined her carefully. The old man who had found her and given her a second chance had understood her completely.

Shiho turned away, not wanting to reveal more than she already had.

"Poor Shinichi," he sighed cryptically before patting her lightly on the head and walking towards the inspectors, who were now questioning the children about the case.

Shiho watched him leave, hands reaching to her forehead.

What did he do?

Her memories of the time in the cabin were hazy. All she remembered was the persistent ache of the fever and the throbbing sensation of her injured ankle. Other than that, she could faintly recall—she paused—wait.

A bitter smile flirted on her lips as her hands reached to her forehead.

No, she must be imagining it.

It couldn't be. There was just no way.

Episodes used as reference:

Episode: 231

Episode: 345

Episode: 177