Chapter 10
Images of Demons
"Ai-chan, are the video cameras positioned correctly?" Kobayashi-sensei waved her arms at the device hidden behind the thicket.
Haibara yawned for what was the tenth time that day, and Shinichi eyed her with disdain.
"I told you," he nagged. "Not to pull an all-nighter, didn't I?"
The girl rolled her eyes at his statement. Typing furiously into her laptop, she adjusted the camera's angles with some codes she had learned from the internet.
"Haibara-san!" Mitsuhiko's voice resonated through their badges. The boy was in Yamata Park, a few blocks away. When the camera focused on him, he smiled excitedly. "You might want to move that, Tsuburaya-kun," Haibara instructed. "A tad to the left, yeah, just a little bit more."
By the time he finished the adjustments, they had a clear view of the playground in Yamata Park. Children were playing in the sandpits behind him, toddlers brought by their parents. They were laughing, expressions untouched by the horror that lurked behind them.
"Genta, Ayumi, are you done?" Shinichi asked next.
Haibara clicked on a small icon, and Shinichi found himself staring at a black spot.
"What are you guys doing? If you don't install the cameras soon, we won't be able to catch the criminal!" he scolded.
"It's because Genta-kun wanted to eat something," Ayumi whined.
"Kojima-kun, you have three minutes," Haibara ordered, and the boy grew flustered.
Shinichi sniggered as the boy hurried to Heishu Park. There was a children's playground in the park. Compared to Minabashi, the park they were at, Heishu's playground was relatively smaller.
"Why is he so scared of you?" Shinichi watched the boy struggling to prop the camera up. Ayumi nagged him constantly over the detective badges.
"How should I know, Kudou-kun?" Haibara yawned again. It was infectious, Kobayashi-sensei doing it next and then him. "I swear, Haibara, no more all-nighters for you," he rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"I would...if somebody hadn't insisted on establishing a surveillance network, and," she regards him as if he was garbarge, "at the last minute."
"I told you we could have helped in the morning," Shinichi protested, flinching when she stabs a finger into his chest.
"Edogawa-kun, do you think systems magically work?" Haibara asked, and he winced when she poked him again. "Have you watched too many hacking movies? Do you think computer programs render themselves in a few minutes? Are you an idiot?"
"What. No. Haibara, I told you we could accomplish it in a few hours. There was no need for you to rush the process. Besides, it's nothing difficult. We are simply installing cameras," he countered. She sighed with disdain.
"What?" he asked when she turned back to her laptop, making it a point to ignore him.
"Haibara?"
"Do you mind, Edogawa-kun. I'm trying to work here."
"You can't just leave me hanging. Oi, you're making me feel—"
"Stupid, yes," she retorted, "Yes, you are."
"Need I remind you of the cases I've solved to date?"
"Ara, a great detective who can't even grasp the concept of cameras having a battery life. A genius indeed."
"Why you-"
"Stop fighting!" Ayumi ordered as they glared at each other.
"Why are you always at each other's throats?" Mitsuhiko interjected.
"Kaa-chan said to play nice," Genta appears in front of the camera, eating a hot dog stick he had bought from a nearby convenience store.
"Are you guys really children?" Kobayashi-sensei interrupts them. She was observing their little spat suspiciously.
"Programming languages? Hacking? Surveillance systems?"
"It's the internet, sensei. We got the information from the internet," Shinichi answers quickly.
"Ah, I see," she said. The simple woman readily accepted the explanation and returned to the playground, waving at the video camera again.
"Tell me if you need to move it again, Ai-chan," she commented. The teacher backed up too far and tripped, Shinichi calling out a warning. Nearly falling flat, the woman was caught. A man stood behind her. His curly black hair ruffled in the wind as he stared fondly into the teacher's eyes. The woman blushed in response to his affectionate gaze.
"Shiratori-san!" she exclaimed as he chuckled.
"In the flesh, Kobayashi-sensei," he greeted her warmly.
"Inspector Shiratori!" Shinichi called out, and the adults were brought back to reality.
"Ah, Conan-kun, I've got the files for your uncle. Speaking of Mouri-san. Where is he?"
"Uncle Kogoro had to leave. He asked me to help him," Shinichi lied, and the inspector frowned.
"Well, if he says so. But it's kind of graphic for children."
"You're speaking with a kid who's been to almost every crime scene you've investigated," Haibara commented, and the inspector pondered for a moment.
"There is nothing more gruesome than a dead body," she argued.
"Good point," he hands the files to Shinichi, who silently thanked the girl.
"Let us see too!" The detective boys shouted.
Haibara pushed them away as he poured over the files.
"No fair!" they protested.
"Why does Conan-kun get to see it but not us?" Mitsuhiko commented.
"Yeah, oi, Conan, let us look at it too!"
"No," Haibara snapped.
"But why-"
"Because it's not for children's eyes," she answered, and they glared at her, arms folded.
"You're a child too, Haibara!" Genta protested, and Kobayashi-sensei had to control them. Shinichi sighs, pouring over the notes, trying to drown out the sound of the protesting detective boys. He should have sent them to the other parks too.
Fifteen incidents occurred, seven severe enough to require a written report. These incidents happened in the evening—two taking place in Minabashi Park, three in Heishu, and another two in Yamata. The parks were just a few blocks away from each other. Minabashi is the biggest but most open. Heishu is a small quaint area, mostly shaded by trees, and Yamata is the smallest, only holding a children's playground and the most secluded. It was in Heishu that Keiko Takako was molested, and the trees surrounding the area allowed the perpetrator to hide and escape quickly.
The investigations all came up empty. Someone had lured the children away from the playground. The man had supposedly promised them some sweets, and when they accepted, he pulled them into a secluded area and began to touch them. His first two crimes started small. He had simply flashed the children who had been traumatized. They both occurred in Minabashi and Yamata. They occurred within a month of each other. The 2nd division does a poor job of describing the first respondent's actions. The third incident was a serious one. The girl was touched, stripped of her clothes, and left in the trees naked and alone.
The victim was only found late at night when she failed to return home for dinner. The crime occurred in Heishu, again behind trees that protected the perpetrator. He could only grimace at the state in which the girl was found.
The first responder was again a lone traffic police officer who just happened to be in the area at the time. Shinichi turned his attention to the fourth and fifth incidents. Keiko was the fourth victim...and it happened again in Heishu. Upon reading the report, he learned that the girl he had seen the night before had been found in poor condition. A passing adult spotted the man in time to stop him before he could harm the girl. When the adult called the police, the first responder was...
Wait a minute. Shinichi paused when he looked at the fifth, the sixth, and the last. His lips curled into a smirk. The coincidence was too bizarre. It had taken the police only a few minutes to arrive at the scene.
"Inspector Shiratori," he called out to the man flirting with Kobayashi-sensei. He did not respond—the man was immersed in his world. Shinichi sighed as he tried to attract his attention. Haibara appeared beside him, her hair a mess, looking increasingly irritated at the scene.
'What happened?" Shinichi was amused by her messy appearance.
"The children happened," Haibara gestures to the detective boys scurrying across the playground. With their hands full of ice cream, they were now laughing gleefully. Haibara must have bribed them…with her own money.
"They're not mad anymore?"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't read the case files in front of them next time," she snapped. He chuckled and smoothed her hair.
Her eyes narrowed as she pinched his hand, and he yelled. "Are you finished?" she asked, and he smirked.
"I suppose. I just needed to confirm something," Shinichi turns to the inspector.
"Inspector Shiratori!" he called out again and was mostly ignored.
"Oh, for the love of god," Haibara stormed over to the teacher-police couple.
"I don't want to ruin your time together," she walks in between them. "But Edogawa-kun here has something important to tell you."
"It can wait, can't it," the inspector complained.
"Sure, if you want to delay your date with Kobayashi-sensei, go ahead," Haibara snapped, and the detective became flustered.
"It's not a date, Ai-chan," Kobyashi-sensei interrupted.
"You exhibit dilated pupils, your cheeks are red, and you are breathing faster than normal," Haibara elaborated, "Your body is releasing adrenaline controlled by your sympathetic nervous system. All signs point to—"
Kobayashi-sensei blushed, and Inspector Shiratori bowed his head in shame. "Proving my point."
"Just had to ruin the mood with a science lecture, didn't you?" Shinichi chuckled, and Haibara shrugged.
"Are you really children?" Inspector Shiratori protested slightly, and Shinichi laughed nervously. "Look, Kogoro Oji-san wants you to check something out. It's about the cases."
The man sighed.
"Ok then, let's hear it."
"You don't have to walk me home, Kudou-kun," Shiho commented.
A snort escaped his lips.
"I'm not walking you home, Haibara. I'm staying over. There's a difference."
"Why? Did Ran Nee-chan ask you to bathe with her again?"
"How did you know about that?" he demanded as she smirked.
"I have my resources."
"I will kill that damn Hattori. What else did he say?" the boy protested. Shiho couldn't help but smirk. Shinichi can sometimes be somewhat childish, especially when his pride is wounded.
"Why not take a guess?" And he pulled out his phone to call the Osaka detective. Several expletives were exchanged before he closed the phone.
"Real mature, Kudou," Shiho teased, and he mumbled something about revenge and lost trust.
It didn't take long for them to reach the professor's house. The old man welcomed them with two cups of hot chocolate. Heat from the drink warmed them from the frigid spring winds.
"So, you're telling me that we may be dealing with a serial rapist?" the professor asked as they sat by the kitchen counter, discussing the case.
"Yes," the boy bearing a severe expression, "he's feeling things out, targeting children because—"
"They make easy targets," Shiho replied, and the shrunken detective nodded in agreement. They grew silent as the implications of the findings became more grave, and Shiho once again felt a strong desire to rip the perpetrator to shreds. She thought about Keiko Takako, the seven-year-old girl deeply traumatized by the incident. The man had destroyed her childhood. His actions were beyond repentance. Resentment flooded through, and she seethed, hands balling into fists.
"Ai-kun?" the professor started, and she waved their concerns away.
She made an excuse before heading toward the basement. Shiho needed to keep busy. The recent case was making her recollect memories she would rather forget.
They must never find out.
No.
She'd bury it in her grave if she had to.
"Sherry," he was solid as if he were made of stone. She could not move. It did not matter how hard she struggled. He would not budge. A crazed smile on his face was getting wider and wider. His eyes were filled with a madness she could not comprehend. Over and over, his lips whispered her name as he turned into a feverish nightmare.
"Sherry," he groaned. Grabbing her by the neck, he wrapped his fingers around her. Shiho willed herself not to feel anything as she endured the situation. It was impossible. The experience was completely different from anything he had done before. She was used to beatings, but not this. She fought back a few hours ago, but the bruises and the hurt he had done to her had left her in shambles. Shiho lay defeated, feeling his skin against hers. Among the sounds of his grunts were sharp, numbing pains felt between the thighs. Shiho wanted to scream. His skin was a slimy mess of sweat and lust. His lips moved, whispering her name over and over again.
I can't. Please. Just—end this.
Shiho was pinned down, reeling from the consequences of his actions. What was this? Why was this happening? The questions swirled in her mind, making her dizzy. For the first time in a long time, tears filled her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. The deep timbre of his voice made her blood run cold as he chuckled. It hurt to breathe as golden eyes pierced down at her. "You're mine."
Shiho jerked awake—soaked in a cold sweat. In the swirling darkness, she saw him. Shiho rasped, recoiling, fumbling in the dark, feeling for the switch. A blinding white light floods the basement. Wincing, she whirled around, inspecting the corners of the room. Fear lurked, overwhelming, heavy, and it haunted her.
It was only a dream. Shiho exhaled slightly, burying her face in her hands. Attempting to calm herself, she recited the mantra she had learned through years of training.
Holding back a sob, Shiho pressed her hands harder against her face.
Erase it. She willed herself. Don't go there.
"It's hard to talk about it. Sometimes you wish you could just forget everything."
The words she had told Keiko-chan came back to bite her.
Exhausted, Shiho leaned into the chair. A bitter smirk appeared on her lips as she placed her hand over her eyes. The heaviness was unsettling, and she was again at the mercy of the deep anguish brought on by the loss of her sister.
"Onee-chan." Her voice echoed through the empty room. There was no reply. Her family, Akemi—all gone, and all that was left was—
"Sherry, you're mine."
His voice was a haunting nightmare, and Shiho gritted her teeth. The phantom ache stretched and sank her into the veil as it snaked down her chest, back, and body. Tearing her apart.
I will not ruin them.
No.
Not like Akemi.
"Ai-kun is obsessed with this case, Shinichi," the professor remarked when Haibara entered the basement. He stopped him from following her, shaking his head.
"Why, though?" Shinichi asked, and the professor could only speculate. The theories that ran through their minds were frightening, and Shinichi did not wish to pursue them.
"There is no use worrying about it, Hakase," he told the old man, who could only frown in reply.
"You say that, Shinichi, but you are worried too," the professor lectured him. The old man was right, but Shinichi could not allow the professor to mull over the subject any longer. So he coaxed the man to sleep.
It was late, and Shinichi could not fall asleep despite his best efforts, and Haibara was still in the basement.
That girl, she was going to be the death of him. Why was she working so hard on the antidote?
And he cursed lightly as guilt gripped him. Shinichi recognized her motivations and knows that she mainly acted selflessly. The professor stated that she had often tried it on herself, often becoming ill. Before knowing the circumstances, he frequently complained about how little progress was made. Haibara had never once complained; instead remained silent while he ranted. As soon as he discovered the reasons behind her hard work, he told her to take her time with it. After all, she had become important to him, and for the most part—
I don't really care about being Shinichi anymore.
The thought baffled him, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Had he disclosed this information to Haibara, she would have laughed at him. She would never have believed him. Sighing, he rolled in the bed before forcing himself up, glancing at the basement again—that idiot.
Shinichi opened the door with his feet, carrying two cups of hot chamomile tea. Finding the girl fiddling with the spare video cameras.
She wasn't working on the antidote.
Her laptop was on, and he could see the surveillance system running in the background. The professor was right. Haibara was weirdly obsessed with the case.
"Don't you know that the culprit only operates in the evenings?" he interjected as she glanced at him. The girl had bags hidden underneath her eyes. They appeared swollen, and he paused.
"Were you cry—"
"What are you doing here, Kudou?" Her voice was hoarse, almost brittle.
"Bringing you some tea," he holds up the mug.
"Take a break," he advised her, "It's not good for children to be awake so late at night." The auburn-haired girl snorts before returning to the video camera she had been working on.
"I'm not a child."
"Physically, you are."
A yawn escaped her lips.
"I rest my case."
And before she had a chance to protest, he dragged her toward the pink sofa the professor bought a few months ago.
"Let go of me!" she snapped as he forced her to sit before placing a mug in her hands.
"Rest. Why are you working on this anyway?"
Haibara sighed after a lengthy pause. Slowly, raising the cup to her lips, she sips from it. A crooked smile appeared for a moment before it disappeared. "Haibara?" he asked, and she regarded him with a bored expression.
"I just wanted to see how handsome our pedophile is."
Haibara purposefully avoided the topic by tossing out another ridiculous statement.
"Sure," Shinichi drawled.
"I might have asked for his autograph if he had shown up," and Shinichi couldn't help but groan at the image she conjured.
"Are you satisfied with the answer?"
"That's disgusting, Haibara," he protested as the girl chuckled dryly, taking another sip from her cup. He studied her carefully. She seemed to possess a heaviness that Shinichi could not decipher. Choosing not to dwell on it, he took a sip from his mug and was greeted calming yet slightly bitter taste of chamomile tea.
"So, great detective," Haibara leans against the sofa, closing her eyes. "I'm assuming you've already identified the culprit."
"Well, a general idea."
A snort escaped her lips.
"What?"
"Figures you'll solve it," she muttered disdainfully.
"Do you have a problem with it?"
"No, Kudou-kun, hell would freeze over if you were wrong," Haibara mocked, and he sunk into the sofa, raising a disgruntled brow.
"It's probably the first responder," Shinichi recalls his deductions. "Although the reports of the crimes did not mention specific details, the same traffic police officer was always the first one on the scene. Statistically, that is highly improbable."
"It could have been a coincidence?"
"Maybe, but what are the chances that the same officer was patrolling through the neighborhood parks in all seven incidents?"
Again, there was the quiet fury brimming in green eyes. "The motorcycle helmet Keiko-chan mentioned," Haibara's fingers tightened around the mug—the anger barely simmering beneath.
Ignoring it, he suppressed the burning questions about the girl's strange behavior. "We will get him," Shinichi assured her, "he will not harm anyone—anymore."
"Of course, we'll catch him," her voice controlled again.
"You're the great hound dog, after all," she mocked, and he gawked at her.
"A hound dog? Is that the best insult you can come up with?"
"Would you rather something else?"
"Like?"
"The Black Shuck," she suggested.
"I am not the black dog of death," Shinichi snapped, a sly smirk appearing on her lips.
"Ara, is that so? Corpse Magnet-kun," she teased as he brushed her off.
"Get some sleep, Haibara."
The girl pointedly ignored him. Placing the mug on the table, she proceeded to work on video cameras again.
"Are you serious?" he chastised.
Haibara reached for the screwdriver, removing the covers.
Shinichi joins her, intrigued by the various tiny black rectangular cards on the table. He watched as she slotted the pieces into the back of the device. He hadn't the faintest clue as to what she was doing. Shinichi not as proficient with technology as Haibara. For him, gathering data from books was a much more valuable method than gathering information online. After all, the shelves of books in his father's collection back home still held a special place in his heart. The afternoons spent in the old library, surrounded by the musky yet comforting smell of old paper, were nostalgic.
Haibara knew of his habits and called him an old man "Living like Sherlock Holmes." Although she ridiculed him, the shrunken scientist often sat with him in the professor's living room, poring over the many books the old man had gathered. There was a sense of warmth and calm in the silence they shared on those afternoons. He smiled at the memory before turning to the scientist at hand.
The stubborn idiot still tinkering with the appliances.
Shinichi sighed, deciding to help. But when Haibara attempted to get a black card from the table, she tripped. Shinichi caught her before she could hit the floor.
"Haibara," he admonished, "This isn't good for you."
She waved him away as he continued.
"You're exhausted."
"Kudou," she groaned.
"Besides, the detective boys and I can always help. You can do this tomorrow. So, why do you insist on working through the night?"
"Do you mind?" Haibara pushed him aside, reaching for the next camera. Shinichi frowned before looking at the device she held.
"I presume you're changing the batteries."
"Kudou, do you replace your batteries when you charge your phone?" she sneered.
"No, that'll be stupid."
"My point exactly," Haibara retorted, and he grumbled. She lacked her usual sharpness. Her biting tone was reduced to a soft irritated whisper. It was evident that she was pushing herself. Even though Shinichi was determined to stop her, he knew his efforts would be in vain. Trying to force the shrunken scientist to do something she was not inclined to do would only aggravate the situation.
Instead, he moved closer, causing Haibara to raise a questioning brow.
"Have you heard of personal space?" she snapped as he shrugged.
"Kudou-kun."
She was about to push him away when he grabbed ahold of her hand.
"Let me go," Haibara protested.
"No," he said. Tightening his on her frozen digits.
"Kudou-kun! " she struggled, meeting her gaze. Shinichi smirked.
"I'm not releasing you until you get some sleep."
"I'm not in the mood for your games!"
"So what are you doing?" he deliberately changed the subject. Haibara gave an exasperated groan as he sniggered at her plight.
"It'll take years to explain it to you," she grumbled. The screwdriver was in her hands again.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'll let you figure that out yourself, you Luddite." She admonished, and Shinichi reacted slightly offended. "I do not fear technology, Haibara. I simply dislike it. There is a fundamental difference."
"This difference you speak of is not apparent," she muttered.
"Besides, you can always explain it," he argued. The girl shot him a look of annoyance.
"Look, if you must know, I'm planning to expand the memory of the cameras, so please, let me—" Haibara ended her sentence without finishing it. While attempting to remove the camera cover with one hand, a curse escaped her lips. Shinichi observed, amused.
"Need help?" he teased, and she shoved the screwdriver into his free hand.
"Why are you doing this?"
Haibara tried to shake his hand off, but he would not let go, his smirk widening as her irritation reached new heights.
"Figure it out, Haibara."
The scientist doing the opposite, using her free hand, pushed him back. Losing his balance, Shinichi fell back, pulling her along. He winced when he struck the ground, crying out when foreheads collided.
They were in a compromising position, he realized. The girl on top of him—dangerously close. Shinichi cleared his throat nervously, trying to control the blush forming on his cheeks. Their gaze met, and for a second, he catches it—the waning sadness.
"Let me go," Haibara tried to stand, but he held on.
"Enough is enough!"
"Haibara," he pressed on. "The detective boys, the professor. We will always be here for you."
"So? What of it?"
With his free hand, he cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him.
"What do you want?"
A sly smirk appeared on his lips as he pulled. Haibara made a soft squeak as she landed on his chest, and Shinichi chuckled when she eyed him pointedly.
"I won't let you go until you sleep," he concluded.
And she sighed before rolling off. Staring at the empty ceiling, she lay beside him.
"You're such a pain."
"No," he protested, "I'm just worried."
"I'm fine. I don't need your-"
"Haibara, that's what friends do," he interrupted, and she turns away.
"I do not understand," she was barely audible. "Why..." Haibara trailed off as his hand tightened involuntarily over hers. In the dimness of the basement and from the thin flickering light of the laptop, a faint blush was forming on her ears. Feeling somewhat flustered, Shinichi swallowed.
What am I doing?
"I'm just," he began, "trying to...be a good friend."
His admission echoed through the cool night air. Shinichi anticipated a reaction, a cynical, bitter laugh, but was greeted by nothing.
"Haibara?" he nudged her gently. He turned towards her, gasping when he realized how close her face was to his. Auburn bangs covered her closed eyes. Short and peaceful breaths emanated slowly from her lips.
Regaining his composure, Shinichi regarded her. He sighed, disappointed that she hadn't heard him. It must have been a long day for her, the all-nighter she had pulled the night before finally catching up.
Tracing a finger down her cheek, Shinichi was struck by the lone tear rolling down her closed eyes. An ache forms in his chest. She was enduring—silently. The girl would not reveal anything to him.
Pulling her close to him, Shinichi traps her in his arms. She would not have allowed this if she had been awake—the girl— too stubborn, too awkward for her own good.
"Haibara," he closed his eyes as his own tiredness took over. "You idiot."
It was warm, nestled in this place. Shiho's hands grasped at the warmth surrounding her. She hadn't had this sense of peace, of comfort ever since—Akemi. A shrunken detective sported a sheepish smirk as soon as her eyes snapped open. Azure blue eyes greeted her as she shoved him away.
"What-"
"How was your sleep, Haibara?" Shinichi was lying next to her. She couldn't remember what had happened—although she was recalling it slowly.
That meddling detective.
"You've got some drool. Here let me," he reached out, wiping her lips with his sleeves. Shinichi was gentle, and the smile on his lips was enough. Flustered, she stumbled out of his grasp.
How the hell did this happen? When did she fall asleep?
I felt safe.
The answer was obvious, but confronting it would raise unnecessary questions. She could not comprehend his actions.
His hold had taken away the festering fear which had kept her awake. His blue eyes withheld a warmth she craved and could never stay away from. And again, these feelings overwhelmed her, and she wanted very much to flee. Shutting her eyes, she tried to control the pounding of her beating heart.
"Sleeping on the ground does not constitute a good night's rest, Kudou," she chided, masking her embarrassment with biting remarks.
"What could I do? You were leaning on me, and I couldn't move," Shinichi teased, and she scowled. He was smirking, and she wanted very much to wipe it off.
"I wasn't leaning," she snapped, "I was forced. There's a difference."
"Oi, it was an accident. Stop making me sound like a pervert."
"Ara, you aren't?"
"Haibara," Shinichi whined.
They commenced their usual banter as soon as they emerged from the basement. The professor was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Together they ate. Shiho was still mortified by the experience.
The comfort, his words, and his kindness were all too much. Shiho paused, the professor and Shinichi noticing her silence.
"Are you ok?"
She was unable to respond. So she reverted to her old ways, a bitter smile forming on her lips.
"Yeah," she answered, reassuring them, "I'm fine."