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Relative Truth
by Becky Tailweaver
File 20: First Steps
Bleary and unfocused, Kaito woke to the incessant jangle of his alarm clock and the urgent voice of his mother.
"Kaito, wake up!" she said, shaking him gently. "You're going to be late for school! Kaito! For heaven's sake, you were supposed to be up half an hour ago--"
"Huh?" A sudden wave of horror swept through him, bringing him bolt upright and abruptly awake--or at least conscious. Swiping at his clock, he shut it off and brought it close to his sleep-filled eyes in the same movement, just managing to focus enough to make out the time. "Oh crap!"
Shaking her head in scolding resignation, Fumiyo stepped aside to allow her son passage as he flew out of his bed, reaching the closet in a single bound. "I should have known" she sighed. "Letting you play with Shin-chan last night instead of making you finish your homework, while you were making a mess in Yukiko-chan's kitchen..."
"Mother..." he groaned, dragging his school uniform off its hanger and giving her a long-suffering glance. "Can I get dressed?"
She shook her finger at his weary, annoyed tone. "You'd better be out of this house in ten minutes, young man. And from now on your homework is finished before you fool around."
With that, she left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
"Aaargh...weren't you the one telling me to help out in the kitchen last night?" Kaito muttered crossly. He rolled his eyes, sleepy and irked and already getting the feeling that this was going to be a really long day. It just seemed to happen when things started out like this...
He was dressed within seconds; sometimes being a master of disguise really paid off on mornings when he was running late. It took a little longer to scoop up his papers from his desk and shove them into his binder, which was stuffed in his school bag along with his books. Bag in hand, he was dashing down the hall inside of three minutes after his mother had left, stopping at the bathroom only long enough to brush his teeth, wash his face, and make a halfhearted attempt to comb his disorderly mane. As usual, it made little difference if he brushed it or not; it seemed that his mother was the only person who could get his hair to cooperate.
With that out of the way, he had a grand total of five minutes in which to enjoy breakfast. He wolfed down everything in a hurry, leaving himself a bit of time to get to the door. With his toast jammed in his mouth, he paused at the entryway to pull his shoes on--doing an ungaingly little hop-dance as he fought each one onto a foot--then grabbed the lunchbox his mother held out to him accompanied by a cheerful, "Have a good day, Kaito!"
"Mmhmph!" he replied around the toast--even the greatest ventriloquist can only do so much with his mouth full--dashing out the door in a hurry and praying he hadn't forgotten anything essential. He was fully dressed, with his bookbag in one hand and his lunch in the other--check and double-check. Shifting his burdens so that he could finish devouring his toast, he pelted down the sidewalk at a rapid pace.
Obviously, Aoko Nakamori was very, very impatient by the time he caught up to her--well beyond their usual point of intersection, just a ways from the school gates. It wasn't like him to be running late, he knew, and she wasn't the kind of girl who enjoyed waiting.
"There you are!" she exploded as he pulled alongside her. "What on earth took you so long?"
"I overslept," he replied innocently, keeping a wary eye on the trajectory of her bookbag. "No big deal."
"I'll bet," Aoko snorted. "Were you slacking on your homework again?"
"Nothing of the sort," he responded loftily, looking away as they passed through the front gates. "I'll have you know I was washing dishes."
"That's funny," said a female voice from behind them. "I never pictured you as the domestic sort, Kuroba-kun."
Both of them glanced back, Aoko brightening, Kaito frowning. "Akako-chan!" Aoko gasped, a little startled at her sudden appearance as the taller girl picked up her pace to walk alongside them. "How are you this morning?"
"As well as can be expected, I suppose," Akako replied, casting a rather sly glance at Kaito. "With such weather as we're about to have, I should think it will get harder to fall asleep at night."
"What are you flapping your lips about this time?" Kaito inquired boredly, cocking one eyebrow with an air of disinterest. "If you have trouble falling asleep, maybe you should turn your crystal ball off at night."
"Very amusing," Akako purred in reply.
"Did you see a bad weather report on the news this morning?" Aoko asked, oblivious to the unspoken interplay between her two companions. "I just heard on the radio that it's supposed to rain through the weekend."
"Indeed," Akako replied, glancing at Kaito once again. "Though mere raindrops might not be the only things falling from the sky."
"You think it's going to snow?"
Kaito's eyes narrowed--only so long as Aoko wasn't looking at him--as Akako smiled catlike with her reply. "Perhaps, Nakamori. Perhaps..."
"It might rain cats and dogs, but it's the wrong time of year for snow," Kaito broke in, uncharacteristically abrupt. "Hey, Koizumi, would you mind not hanging around my elbow whenever I set foot in the schoolyard?"
Akako smiled again in that mysterious way of hers, ducking back and coming up again beside Aoko instead. "Why, certainly. I'm sure Nakamori-chan and I have so much more to talk about..."
Aoko brightened considerably at Akako's more familiar use of her name and began to talk to her about upcoming events of the school day. Kaito merely eyed the dark-haired girl suspiciously, wondering what she had up her sleeves this time--wondering what she knew and what she would do with that knowledge.
The bell began to ring as the trio walked up the steps and into the school building.
As usual, Kogoro Mouri's snoring helped to wake Conan up long before his alarm clock went off. Casting a sleepy, annoyed glare at the oblivious log on the bed across the room, the small boy yawned and sat up. Of course, rumbling snores weren't the only reason he was up this damnably early; certain needs made themselves known, insistently, so he rolled out of his futon and pulled on his glasses, muscles still sluggish from sleep. Scowling, he gained his feet and trotted out the door, guided less by sight and more by long habit.
He made a slightly staggering beeline for the bathroom, thinking unpleasant thoughts about how frequently little boys needed to use the toilet and the predictable level of urgency when they did. Still half-asleep and not all that alert just yet, he couldn't react in time to avoid colliding with Ran when she stepped out of her bedroom door, equally drowsy. He crashed into her legs, almost unbalancing her, while he tumbled to the floor from the impact.
"Oh, Conan-kun...!" Startled, Ran knelt quickly to help him up, both of them blinking in sleepy surprise. "Are you okay?"
"Um...fine," Conan mumbled, rubbing his sore nose. "You're supposed to signal before merging into traffic..."
She managed a giggle, even as drowsy as she still was. "I know, I know. I'm sorry! Here, go ahead." She stepped aside, clearing a tempting path to the bathroom.
He almost went for it, but his gentlemanly nature got the better of him. "Ladies first!" he chirped, putting on a perfectly cheerful face. He had at least a little leeway before pinch became crisis. "I can wait."
"Why thank you," she replied with a gracious smile, stepping inside and closing the door.
"Just don't take too long!" he called after her. When he got no response from within, he drooped defeatedly and leaned against the wall near the door, looking somewhat miserable and trying not to fidget.
Once Ran was back in her room getting ready and certain highly important matters were seen to, Conan picked out his own clothes for the day and dressed quickly, anticipating the sounds that would let him know the kitchen was occupied and in full operation.
He wasn't disappointed. It didn't take Ran long to start making breakfast, clattering with pots and pans and preparing a delicious meal. Pulling on the last pieces of his wardrobe and scooping up his all-important bowtie, he picked up his backpack and was hurrying out the door before Kogoro even began to grumpily pull his eyes open.
"All ready to go?" Ran asked as he darted in the kitchen door, sounding for a moment almost like the gentle, chiding Ran-neechan of old. "Make sure you don't forget anything this time."
"I'm not a scatterbrained little kid," he reminded her wryly, trying to peer over the edge of the stove. "Hey Ran, what's for breakfast?"
"You'll just have to wait and see!" she replied with a secretive smile, putting a lid on the pot even as he bounced on tiptoe in his attempts to peek.
"Aww...no fair!" He crossed his arms with a sullen pout that was ninety percent good acting, ten percent resentment at the kitchen's height requirement.
"Why don't you go let Dad know it'll be done in a minute?" she suggested, fetching a stack of plates from the cupboard. "I'll be getting it on the table by the time you're back."
"Ack, you're sending me on a suicide mission?" The pout was replaced by wide, pitiful eyes that Ran merely shook her spoon at.
"Oh, come on," she chided. "If you stay out of arms' reach, you'll be fine."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks a lot..." he muttered, marching off to do his duty, looking like a man going to his execution.
As Ran smiled and stirred, keeping an ear open, she reflected that it really wasn't as bad as it could have been. There was some irate grumbling and the thwap! of a pillow hitting the wall; nonetheless, Conan came back in one piece--in a hurry to get within her protective proximity, of course, but still unharmed. Her father plunked down in the living room moments later, still in his pajamas and looking remarkably like a storybook oni. It would take a good hot breakfast and a couple of hours' worth of smoking before his morning scowl wore off.
Until her father did become human, there was no getting Conan out of her immediate vicinity; the danger of head-thwapping was obviously far too large a concern. He obligingly helped her carry things to the table, following her to and from the kitchen, skittering about in a merrily erratic sort of orbit around her. He was quite the morning person--once he got warmed up, that is--and looked every bit the bright, bouncing seven-year-old.
As she sat down to eat with them, watching his eager face and enthusiastic eating, she had to wonder if this was real. If he was truly this happy...or if he was just falling into Conan again, hiding his anger and sadness behind the familiar mask of innocent child. He'd done it so often in the past, she knew now; it wouldn't be hard for him to use an old habit to conceal his true feelings from her and the world.
Conan was still cheerful as she finished packing their lunches; he was still smiling as she bid goodbye to her father and gathered her bookbag to follow the small form bounding down the steps.
Once they were safely out of her father's range, she had to ask.
"Co--Shinichi, are you really this happy?"
"Eh?" A bit startled by her question, he looked up at her wide-eyed; his expression grew more serious when he saw the earnest concern on her face. "Why do you ask?"
Taking a deep breath, she stared at the sidewalk going by beneath her feet. "Yesterday, with your father leaving...and last night at dinner...it seemed like you were so upset. Like you were so sad you'd never be the same again..." She had to pause again, finding the right words to continue. "I don't mean to drag up a painful subject, but...it took me days to even start getting over my parents splitting up...and I can't imagine that you could just be..."
Conan's sad smile of reply had so much Shinichi in it that she caught her breath. "I was upset," he told her softly. "And I am still sad. And angry. And worried. But Kaito showed me something last night besides that silly flower trick..." He looked up at her again, his blue eyes brightening with inner strength. "It's not the end of the world because Dad left--and I know he'll come back. I still have Mom...and I know for sure that Kaito and Obasan will always be there too. And you're here...so...I'm not alone."
Swallowing hard, she watched the sparkle of emotions pass through his young/old eyes, marveling at the depth and brilliance of the faith and love shining forth from them.
"I'm okay, Ran," he said at length, smiling up at her again, this time without a trace of sadness. "I'll be fine."
Ran smiled as well, unable to help it. "I'm glad to hear that, Shinichi."
"Conan-kuuun!"
"Oops, here comes the Kiddie Patrol," Conan groaned, his expression turning wry as the three Young Detectives spotted them and began to sprint in their direction. "Ready for another day, Ran-neechan?"
"You bet I am, Conan-kun!"
Laughing, they hurried to meet the other children, the personas of little boy and big sister falling easily into place. But this time the masks were thin, almost unnecessary; the truth shone through for those who had the eyes to see it, who knew what they were looking for.
Another ordinary day began, accompanied by three eager Young Detectives and one silent blond-haired girl; their group was soon joined by Sonoko, adding to the cheer and chatter. They split up at last to head for their separate destinations, one to the elementary, the other to the high school.
The bells began to ring as the two groups walked up the steps and into their respective school buildings.
Yukiko sighed as she stared into her cup of coffee. She sat silently at the kitchen table, dressed in her soft robe, listening to the muffled noises of the vacant house around her and, dimly, the sounds of the neighborhood children heading off to school. She hadn't bothered to make breakfast; there seemed to be little point in cooking just for herself. It would be a waste of effort and dishes. So she had just put on a pot of coffee and stared out the kitchen window while it brewed, thinking of happier times. Drinking the coffee itself didn't help either; it soothed nothing, and only helped lift away the comforting fog of half-remembered dreams.
The house seemed so hollow and empty without her family in it. With no husband to banter with, no son to scoot out the door to school, her entire existence seemed almost frozen in time. There were no warm smells in the kitchen, no busy morning sounds or cheerful voices, no smiling familiar faces, no warm embraces...
Someone had left windows open; she could still hear the laughter of the youngsters on the street outside as they hurried along with their friends, playing and skipping and talking. She glanced toward the doorway, lonely memories reaching for a particular moment in time.
Her son--younger, perhaps thirteen or fourteen, just before they'd left him behind--coming into the kitchen dressed for school, setting his bookbag on the table with a wide grin and asking, "Hey Mom, what's for breakfast?"
Yukiko shook her head, shaking away the image. It hurt to remember the way things were--the way she wished things could still be. By the time she'd really grown up and become the mother she should have been, Shinichi was getting older and Yuusaku was getting impatient...but Shin-chan wouldn't leave Ran-chan behind, so when their son was finally old enough they let him choose...
As she looked down, another rmemory surfaced; again of her son, looking like he did now--seven or eight, with the same sweet, elfin face and dark blue eyes, but lacking that keen edge and unknowable depth that "Conan" posessed. The image of that cute little boy clung to the sleeve of her bathrobe, smiling up at her. "Good morning, Momma!"
Blinking back tears, Yukiko stood up abruptly, pacing back to the kitchen counter. Sometimes she couldn't believe what she'd ignored back then, how much she'd missed...things she was determined not to let pass her by this time around. When her son was born, she'd been so young--so self-centered and immature that she had not understood then what motherhood meant, nor how much she'd miss if she was so wrapped up in herself and her lost career. Even though she'd loved her baby boy to pieces, she had never realized what her selfish attitude would do to him.
With this child, perhaps she would do things right--and perhaps someday find the words to tell her firstborn everything she needed to say to him. He needed to know how much she loved him, how she didn't regret a moment of his life, how sorry she was that she'd been so ignorant for so long...
But everything was wrong. Things were going awry, and badly; Yuusaku had packed up an left, poor Shin-chan had been transformed by some poison drug, and every step they took toward healing the past they'd left behind only brought all of them closer to discovery and death.
If only that horrid Organization had never existed! Then her family would still be whole--Fumiyo-chan's husband would be alive, Yuusaku would still be with her, Shin-chan wouldn't have to live like that... She wiped her eyes on the back of her robe sleeve, trying to will her tears away but finding that the strength to do so just wouldn't come. She could pretend for an audience, like Ran-chan or Shin-chan--she was a true actress, after all--but by herself, with no one to fool...she was helpless. She was alone.
"Maybe I should go shopping," she said tearfully into the silence, just to hear a human voice. She would have to eat sometime, and Fumiyo-chan's leftovers wouldn't last forever. Though the tears just kept falling, she poured herself another cup of coffee and tried to think only of grocery lists.
In the distance, she could hear the school bells ringing.
Lunchtime at Teitan Elementary was, as usual, utter chaos. The post-meal recess was only more so, complicated by the thickening gray promise of bad weather. Add that to a general low-grade feeling of anxiety from the events of the last few days, and the result was a very tense, forlorn, distracted Conan Edogawa. No matter what he'd told Ran, he was still more affected than he wanted anyone to know.
Apparently, seven-year-olds had no respect for one's privacy nor introspection. The only reason Conan had acceded to the Young Detectives' wheedling and gone outside to play was to get away from the icy presence of one Ai Haibara, currently pissed-off little girl. She had a scary cold shoulder when she was mad at someone.
Still, running about like a half-cocked chicken playing soccer with two dozen little squirts--no matter that it was his favorite game--was really grating when he just wanted to sit in a corner and brood. Every time he wanted to duck out of the game, Ayumi would get that look and start to tear up, Mitsuhiko would begin to scold him, and Genta would stomp over to glare at him threateningly for making Ayumi-chan cry.
Honestly, he wanted to strangle them. If this was their idea of cheering Conan-kun up...
And energetic gradeschoolers didn't really play soccer, anyway. It was instead a crowded, unpredictable free-for-all that consisted of chasing the ball in every direction across the field--rarely toward a goal--with little attention to such things as out-of-bounds, player positions, or whose goal was whose. Even the goalies had long since abandoned their posts; the sole purpose of the madcap chase seemed to be getting one's foot on the ball, hopefully in the form of a kick. Just getting the ball once made a kid's face light up for the entirety of recess, even if they didn't even kick it in the right direction.
Conan seemed to be the only one on the field with even a basic concept of which direction was the right one. Not that anyone else cared to listen to him. And, being smaller than most of the recently-fed, overly-enthusiastic cannonballs on two legs, he was hesitant to wade into the morass and show them. So he just tagged along with the crowd of ball-chasers, watching Ayumi keep close tabs on him.
Whatever the Young Detectives had planned that morning to get Conan out from under the obvious dark cloud, it wasn't going to work. Not if he had anything to say about it.
But, as luck would have it, the ball--and thus the crowd--was coming his way. By some chance, several well-meaning young players--some of the many who had completely forgotten even whose side they were on--made a mass move on the rolling ball that served to send it popping out of the middle of the group like a bar of soap. Conan almost tripped over the conveniently-placed soccer ball that rolled into his feet--then wondered if Genta, one of those currently dogpiled under a domino-fall of small bodies, had something to do with this impromptu pass.
Glancing at the still-confused crowd, then at the goal, he felt a smile spreading across his face. With quick steps, he dribbled the ball around the few remaining attentive players, zipping between them like they weren't even moving. Three youngsters, apparently thinking they were goalies, placed themselves in front of the goal with determined expressions--as well as some trepidation.
Edogawa-kun had quite the reputation as a soccer player.
His grin growing ever wider, Conan hauled back and kicked, launching the ball forward with astonishing force for one so small. He wouldn't stoop to using his kick shoes against a group of gradeschoolers--and besides, there was really no need to do something so drastic. It was this same skill, used ten years ago, that had made Shinichi Kudo famous in the Elementary Soccer League. Conan Edogawa--shooting with the precise aim and timing of an adult plus the wiry muscles of a little boy who exercised very differently from his peers--surpassed even that.
The ball whipped past the three would-be goalies before they had time to respond. It smashed into the net and was pulled to a reluctant stop amidst resounding cheers; about three-quarters of the kids on the field were jumping up and down--obviously there were a few who had lost track of which goal was theirs.
Conan caught himself grinning crazily--caught himself feeling good, feeling exhilarated at the swift play. He turned wry eyes toward the Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi, who were currently patting themselves on the back as they ran toward him. He saw the sly, pleased looks on their giggling faces and couldn't help but chuckle.
Blast them, they'd gotten away with cheering him up. He'd have to get them for that.
One of the three "goalies" fetched the soccer ball out of the net and tossed it back into play--which elicited about the same response as throwing a piece of bread into a pond full of ducks. The gradeschoolers went after the ball like a school of fish, and Conan went with them--yelling at the Young Detectives to hurry it up or they'd miss out. With squeals of delight from Ayumi--"Conan-kun's back to normal!"--and excited exclamations from the two boys, they followed his lead.
This time, the feared Edogawa didn't wait for the ball to come to him. He darted through the milling gradeschoolers like quicksilver, taking control of the ball time and time again, making the crowd of eager children work before he relinquished it to them--forcing them to think faster, run harder, and play smarter. For one period of recess he lost himself in the game, pushing his limits and theirs; playing, teasing, teaching, testing--and winning.
Winning one more step upward in the battle against grief and despair--one step closer to healing.
This had been, Kaito reflected, one of the calmest days of school he'd had in a very long time. Aoko had been in a surprisingly quiet mood all day for some reason, especially considering his lateness that morning; it would usually have made her peeved at him at least until lunchtime.
It may have had something to do with his own quietness, he had to admit. He hadn't teased her during math--not enough to get a mop-battle out of her, anyway--and didn't flip her skirt, not even once. Nor had he brought up the subject of Kaitou Kid, usually a sure-fire way to get a response out of Inspector Nakamori's righteous, law-abiding daughter.
Then again, he'd sort of forgotten to.
Kaito honestly hadn't expected the last few days' events to affect him like they had. No one around him would notice a difference--well, except perhaps his mother and that weirdo Akako Koizumi--but he'd been just this side of preoccupied ever since he'd really met up with his cousin. It had only gotten worse when his uncle had shown up, torn his family's emotions to shreds, and then just left...
Yeah, that was part of it--part of the quiet, insistent distraction that had nagged inside him for days now. Part of why he was trudging silently along beside two young women who were chatting as amiably as he normally should have been. Aoko was as pleasant as she ever was, and Akako was talking to her in as friendly a tone as she ever would.
It always surprised him that Koizumi was so nice to Aoko, considering her stated intentions and rather one-sided rivalry. The young witch had made it abundantly clear that she intended to snare the heart of the Kid, and though she had somehow gotten it in her head that Aoko was in the way, so far she'd done nothing to harm his best friend. She confined her various attempts to his person alone, which was fine with him--no sense in getting other people involved in a personal...disagreement. Though today he'd gotten rather tired of peeling her off his desk and sending her on her way...
He cast a side-eyed look at the girls beside him as they headed away from the shoe lockers and toward the front doors. Even as absent-minded as he'd been today, he never let Akako's serruptitious glances slip by him. He could never quite read her as well as he would've liked, so he made it a habit to keep half an eye on her no matter what they were doing. Her knowledge of him, as well as her rather capricious outward nature, made her a definite security risk; even though he'd never admitted a thing to her and he was fairly safe in having proven himself "innocent" several times, she still knew the truth--and she could still bring him down that way if she chose.
Deflecting Akako's flirtations had been enough of a bother today. If Saguru Hakuba had been in town to annoy him, he probably would've done something drastic. Like, say, make all their pens and pencils disappear, just so the two of them would have to take a trip to the school supply room and therefore out of his hair for a while.
Heaving a sigh, he folded his hands behind his head as he walked, carrying his bookbag, absently listening to Aoko's bright voice bantering back and forth with Akako's smoother, more sultry tones. In just a little while, Akako's path would divert from theirs, and he wouldn't have to be on-guard any more--in a little while, he could talk to Aoko without the witch's sly gaze and casual innuendo. Most of the time he was ready to play the game, but today it was just troublesome. He had more important things to dwell on. Not that he should have been this moody about anything--Aoko would start to notice if he kept being so uncharacteristically glum.
But even when Akako left, saying her goodbyes and heading down her own street, that didn't make the feeling go away. Even though he was talking just to Aoko now, just as jovial as he always was, there was still that between them. That one little fact that Akako had to hold over his head--that one thing that Aoko just couldn't know. If she did, his whole world would come crashing down like a house of cards. It was a scenario so awful that not even his worst nightmares had been able to present it to him.
Kaitou Kid still formed a laughing white wall between himself and Aoko. As long as she didn't know the truth, she couldn't know everything--she couldn't get close to him, couldn't understand him completely. She called him a mystery, saying that he was becoming such a magician that she didn't know him any more--she had once even accused him of being utterly cold to her. Cold and sweet, like ice cream--like a friendly stranger who treated her well yet she knew nothing about.
He was being cruel to be kind. If she knew the truth about him, about his father, about what he really was...she would be hurt. It would wound her to know that he had lied to her, that her best friend and worst enemy were the same person. Her heart would shatter--and if he broke hers, he would destroy his own. He couldn't hurt her like that--so he kept his betrayal of their friendship a secret, hiding behind his goofy cordiality, sometimes wondering which mask was the real one...
She was good and just and fair, always taking the side of right; he couldn't ask her to betray her father and everything she believed in. Not for his sake. And if she knew, he would force her into a choice she should never have to make. To have her hold his life in her hands and have to choose...it was a burden that was utterly wrong to lay upon her.
And, secretly, there was the fearful certainty that she would stand by her beliefs and choose the side of justice, handing him over to her father and the forces of law. Her vehement dislike of Kid made that clear enough. She would be angry as well as hurt.
So he could never let her know.
It was times like this that he really envied his diminutive cousin. Perhaps it had been a bit risky for Shinichi to let Ran know the truth, but in the end they were both better off for it. They were really together now, with no secrets and lies between them. But it helped that Ran hadn't hated Conan to begin with...
His introspections kept turning as he chattered with Aoko, never missing a beat; his various Poker Faces were as deceptive as ever, masking his unease behind cheer and silliness and the usual Kaito that his friend had come to expect. He continued to walk Aoko home, betraying nothing of what lay hidden within. He would see her safely to her doorstep, wish her good day, and leave her smiling there none the wiser. He'd been doing it for months now. He could do it again.
And he would do it again and again, as long as it took, as long as she never knew.
By the time Ran and Conan met at the corner after school, they were casting worried glances skyward at the dismal gray clouds that hung threateningly over the city. The weather report on TV that Mouri had been grumbling about after breakfast was probably quite an accurate forecast; rain looked likely despite the generally pleasant morning it had been. And due to that only-slightly-cloudy sky, neither Ran nor Conan had an umbrella handy--nor were they dressed for inclement weather.
Sonoko and the Young Detectives also departed for home at a good pace, upon unspoken agreement that playing around outside today was not the best of ideas. They all parted ways with cheerful waves and promises for tomorrow, Sonoko toward her house and the three youngsters in the direction of the corner where they would split up to head home. Ran and Conan hoofed it for the Mouri Detective Agency as the breeze grew chilly.
Despite the cool air, or perhaps because of it, they were almost laughing as they ran toward the inviting doorway, racing up the stairs--with Conan calling "No fair!" as Ran took them two at a time--not even pausing when they heard Kogoro's voice from the office grumping loudly about something with their names attached to it. They were headed for the warm upstairs living area where a kitchen, a pot of hot water, and a box of tea waited for them.
It didn't take them long to be settled down with hot tea and homework in Ran's room, she at her desk and Conan on the bed, both with their books before them. As the work commenced, they chatted quietly about their days at school, Ran giggling about Conan's adventures in soccer, Conan inquiring about his former classmates and teachers at the high school. They shared their thoughts good-naturedly, laughing, teasing, and talking much like they had in the seemingly-distant past--a wistfulness that neither of them chose to give voice to.
Conan's kiddy homework was done in a flash, as usual, accompanied by sarcastic comments about its difficulty. Ran scolded him teasingly about his homework record when they'd been at Teitan Elementary together, the first time around. Conan snorted about this with a reply that it had been boring then too, but he'd not had the discipline to stick it through like he did now. Ran didn't look all that convinced, but only laughed with him as Conan perched on the edge of her desk--much like he'd sat near Kaito the night before--and participated in completing her science assignment.
He was dismayed to find out how much he'd fallen behind in his absence, how much Ran and the other members of his class were learning while he was stuck in a re-education course. He was highly intelligent and an eager learner--by no means ignorant--but he'd been gone so long that he felt keenly the lack of the books and lessons and information that made up the gap. There were questions in Ran's homework assignment that he didn't know the answers to--some he couldn't even begin to guess--and it was almost grating to know that she and the others had passed him up.
Seeing his discouragement, Ran promised him earnestly that from now on, she'd invite him to help with her homework and even--avoiding words like "tutor" or "teach" for the sake of his pride--show him lessons of months past so that he would be once again on the same page as the rest of his former classmates. His disheartened look faded to be replaced by gratitude, and he willingly dove into Ran's present assignment, listening carefully as she repeated her teacher's lesson on the subject, asking very apt questions despite his lack of direct knowledge.
In Ran's opinion, it wouldn't take him long at all to be once again three steps ahead of everyone else his age. Well, his real age...
The homework session continued until the phone rang, and Ran excused herself to go answer it, leaving Conan with her history book. A moment later, her voice called him out of its pages.
"Conan-kun! Ayumi-chan's on the phone!"
"Coming!" he replied, leaving the book open on the desk and hopping down to trot into the living room. "Sheesh, what's she want to do?" he mutterd. "It's gonna rain anyway, so we can't go the park..."
"It's not her fault she's got a crush on you," Ran scolded, trying to hide her smile as she covered the receiver. "Any girl would, you know. So you be nice to her."
Conan gave her a very distinct look. "Yes, Mommy, now may I have the phone please?"
"Okay. Behave yourself," Ran giggled lightly, heading back to her room. "I'll be waiting!"
His look followed her until she disappeared through her door. Then, Conan rolled his eyes and put his little-boy voice on. "Hi, Ayumi-chan! What's--"
"Hey Conan-kun!" came a loud bellow from the phone, one that made him flinch back from the handset.
"Genta!" he exclaimed, startled. "What are you doing? Give Ayumi back the phone!"
"No can do," said Mitsuhiko. "'Cause she's not here."
"And neither is Genta-kun," said Ayumi.
"Huh...?" For a moment, Conan blinked at the phone. Then it clicked, and a frown replaced his confusion, draining the cuteness from his voice. "Oh, it's you. What are you up to now?"
The laughter from the other end suddenly resembled neither a youngster nor a female of any age. "Sorry 'bout that--I just couldn't resist," Kaito chuckled, not sounding too apologetic.
"You think that's funny, huh? If I had my bowtie..." Conan took a breath and rolled his eyes. "What are you calling for, anyway?"
"I wanted to see if you had any free time," Kaito replied, the last traces of mirth fading from his voice. "About that thing I mentioned last night."
"Oh, your...plans?" Conan glanced at the clock. "I guess; my homework's done, of course. The weather's getting bad though."
"Don't worry, it won't be too far. It's not much of a walk to the bus station from here."
"Here? Where's here?" Conan could hear a slight resonance to Kaito's voice that seemed to suggest he was speaking in an enclosed area. "Let me guess--phone booth, by the sound of it."
"Bingo!" Kaito chuckled briefly. "You're good. I'm just a quick walk down the street from you, within sight of the Agency."
"I know where you are," Conan sighed, remembering that particular phone booth as one he used quite frequently, placing calls to Ran as Shinichi Kudo. "You came all this way just to ask if I'm coming? You must be pretty sure of yourself."
"I just figured you'd probably want to come."
Conan could almost hear the indifferent shrug in Kaito's voice--an insincere indifference, a mask only. "I suppose I could...just to look. If you give me a minute, I'll meet you on the sidewalk."
"Okay. See you then!"
"Yeah..."
With that, he hung up the phone, wondering what he was going to tell Ran about this. Here he thinking of running off with his cousin to help him prepare to steal something. How would that sound?
"Hey Ran, just going to Kaito's for a while--gotta help the Kid plan another heist. See you for dinner!"
"That'll go over real well," he muttered, turning to head for Ran's room--and freezing in startled surprise when he saw her standing in her doorway, expression serious.
"I heard you talking and...I kind of got the feeling that it wasn't really Ayumi-chan on the phone," she said quietly. "You don't sound like you when you talk to the little kids."
"Ran, I...uh..."
"It's him, isn't it?" she continued, more statement than question. "Your cousin."
"Yeah," he replied, tossing aside any attempt at deception. "He wants me to come over and look at some things, and help him out with some plans..."
Ran's lips drew into a thin line. "He's planning to steal something again, isn't he?"
Silent, Conan nodded.
For a while, Ran didn't say anything. He watched her, head lowered, through his unruly bangs, hoping that she would somehow understand--though he wasn't sure how she could when he could hardly understand it himself...
"I...I trust you, Shinichi," she spoke softly, frowning earnestly. "I have to believe you know what you're doing, and that you'll know when you're going too far."
So do I--I hope. "Ran...I'm not denying that what he's doing isn't exactly lawful, but...both of us alone haven't been able to do anything, so we've got to try something together. Otherwise..."
"I know," she said, shaking her head. "I know."
"I won't let things get too far--that I promise you." He met her eyes, honest and open. "Kaito and I are after the same thing--we have to bring those bastards down before they hurt anyone else--and if this is the only way--"
"--then you'll do it." Ran's face shifted to a wan smile, hiding the sadness beneath.
"Listen, it's not too serious right now," he tried to reassure her. "I'm just going to his house to look at some blueprints, just to see his plan of action and offer what help I can--you know, just strategy and that kind of thing--"
"Shinichi, you probably shouldn't tell me any more than you absolutely have to," she interrupted, looking down. "I know you trust me, and I know you promised not to hide things from me, but...I probably shouldn't know too much. I don't want to...compromise your secret without meaning to--yours or Kuroba-kun's."
"Ran..."
"Just go." She looked up sharply again, her dark eyes pinning his own. "And come back soon."
With a hard swallow, he nodded. "Thanks, Ran."
She just watched him silently as he hurried to pull on his shoes and coat, not saying a word as he glanced back at her before hustling out the door.
Kaito was, as promised, waiting on the sidewalk two doors down from the Mouri Detective Agency. He was dressed casually as usual, with a hooded jacket as protection from the potential threat of rain, standing nonchalontly against the building wall with his hands in his pockets and a perfectly bored expression on his face.
"'Bout time," he commented as Conan came abreast of him, the boredom vanishing as if it never was--replaced by concern the moment he saw the seriousness of the small boy's face. "Ran take it okay?"
"Well enough," Conan replied shortly with a jerk of a shrug. "She's not happy about it--but then again, this whole thing still doesn't sit all that well with me, either."
At Conan's rather pointed glance, Kaito had the decency to look slightly abashed. "Yeah...well...it does take some getting used to. Even for me." When his small cousin's face lightened a bare fraction, Kaito offered a brief grin and stood up from his spot agains the wall. "Shall we?"
"Lead the way."
The two set off down the sidewalk side-by-side, just at the pace of a child's brisk walk. It was a slow stroll for someone of Kaito's stride, but he knew his cousin would appreciate not having to jog the whole way.
"How much of a walk is it to your house once we get off the bus?" Conan asked, just out of curiosity, mimicking Kaito's thoughts.
"Oh, not too far," the youth replied, glancing down at his small companion. "Five minutes or so. Um, maybe more if you're...walking slower."
Conan cocked an eyebrow at him. "Nice save."
Kaito gave a short laugh with a flash of grin. "It's a talent. A phantom thief has to be good at talking his way out of corners sometimes."
The boy's mouth quirked. "Yeah, those tricks you pulled over the radio at the clock tower showed me you're pretty much all talk."
"Hey!" Kaito adopted a huffy air. "I didn't see you down there busting your butt to catch me all through those back hallways and air vents."
"Be glad I didn't." Conan was grinning full-force now, enjoying their verbal sparring.
"Yeah, right," Kaito snorted. Damn straight, he thought ruefully.
They continued on, laughing and bantering, each wishing to leave the darker subjects for later. The weather held despite the threatening glower of the clouds above, so the shelter of the bus stop's awning was unneccessary. Kaito's knack for timing proved itself once again when the bus rolled noisily into view not two minutes after they arrived. When the long vehicle rumbled to a stop and the doors slid open, Conan was the first to hop forward, grabbing what handholds he could and hauling himself up the high steps. "Good afternoon, Nishimura-san," he chirped to the driver, much more cheerfully than Kaito would have thought possible.
"Well, hello, Edogawa-kun," the driver replied, smiling down at his young passenger.
When he spotted his cousin fishing in his pocket, Kaito reached out with a handful of coins. "Don't worry, I've got it covered," he said helpfully--but ended up drawing back when Conan produced the required amount and handed it over.
"I can pay my own fare," the small boy said almost primly, heading down the aisle to find a seat.
As he paid his share, Kaito shook his head with an amused smile, faintly exasperated. Nishimura-san caught his look and smiled understandingly. "That's Edogawa-kun for you. Independent little cuss."
Man, you don't know the half of it. Aloud, Kaito only laughed and nodded, following Conan toward the rear of the bus. He plunked down beside his small cousin without hesitation, promptly going into Sprawl Mode as he relaxed into his seat. "So how do you know the driver, 'Edogawa-kun?' Or should I even ask?"
"I know a lot of drivers," Conan replied absently, staring out the window as the bus ground into motion again. "I take the bus a lot more than I used to now. Most adults think I'm a smart, well-mannered little boy, and that includes bus drivers--I've taken this route before, and Nishimura also runs the one of the Shibuya morning and evening routes on weekends. He has a wife named Shuriko and two kids our age--never caught their names, but they're girls--and he likes playing Go with his neighbor on Friday nights--"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kaito put up his hands, eyebrows high. "I just asked how you knew him, not his life story! Sheesh, how do you remember all that stuff about him anyway?"
This time, Conan turned about to regard him. "I know something about most of the drivers on the Beika routes. Some things I ask, others I overhear, and some I deduce."
"You must not get bored easy," Kaito muttered. "So you just pick up information on bus drivers as a hobby?"
"Mm. Cab drivers too sometimes, but they range around quite a bit." His gaze turned inward, contemplative. "I know a lot about the Beika station subway operators. Huh, and most of the bank tellers, shop owners, grocery cashiers, servers in restaruaunts...and I've had a long time to learn things about most of the people living in the Beika area..." He caught Kaito's boggled look. "What's the matter with you? Aren't you the one who memorizes everything about the people you impersonate?"
Kaito blinked. "Well, yeah. It just...slipped my mind that you can do the same thing." He stared at his cousin a few moments longer, then shook his head and looked away. "We never forget a face, do we...?"
The rest of the ride continued in relative silence, both wanting to get on with certain topics of conversation but neither of them feeling safe to do so aboard a not-quite-crowded public bus. Their initial little chat had barely skated the edges of imprudent, and anything further would be both too revealing and too out-of-character for a seven-year-old. So Kaito continued to sprawl in the isle-side seat, idly not-watching his small companion, while Conan set his chin in his hand and stared out the window, half-dozing, keeping an ear on his cousin and ignoring Kaito's thoughtful look.
The bus stopped and started periodically, passengers boarding or disembarking. Conan didn't stir until Kaito poked him lightly in the shoulder as the bus began to slow once more. "Our stop," the youth said simply.
Conan sat up with a brief stretch, any traces of sleepiness vanishing. Without a word except for a goodbye to Nishimura-san, he followed Kaito out of the bus and onto the sidewalk.
This part of town reminded him a little of where the Kudo house stood in Beika--much more suburban than Ran's location, with family homes and yards and walls--but this place was by far less wealthy-looking. There were fewer people visible, and houses and lots were smaller, the walls and streets closer and less maintained; garbage collection came perhaps twice a week at most, judging by the cans and bags curbside here. Most of the small homes were limited to one story, and a few squat apartment complexes rose looming over the walls several streets down. It was very much a lower-income area of town, many houses looking tired or even run-down.
Conan finished his initial observations just in time to spot Kaito heading down the sidewalk. Realizing with some chagrin that he'd been gaping around like a tourist, he scrambled after his cousin with a cry of, "Hey, wait up!"
Kaito seemed more cheerful here, more eager. "Hurry up! We've got things to do, you know. It'll be time for you to go home before we finish if we're not quick about it."
"What is it exactly that you're after this time?" Conan asked, slightly breathless, as he drew alongside. "Another big jewel--in a bank, or a museum?"
"Neither," Kaito replied after glancing cautiously about. "It's being kept in a private safe-storage facility all the way across Tokyo's downtown area. Not as flashy, but some of what I read sounds real tempting."
"Emerald or amethyst?"
Kaito cocked an eyebrow at him. "Uh, amethyst, actually. How did you...?"
"Your record tells me you like big gems, the more opaque the better, though you don't seem to go for the completely solid stones," Conan responded with a faint shrug. "It was just a guess."
"Damn good one," Kaito snorted.
"Where's your house from here?" the boy asked after a beat, peering up the street.
"Two more blocks down, hang a left, and go straight 'til we get to my gate," Kaito replied brightly. "Past those bigger buildings there--the turn's just by where they're putting in a new apartment."
"Great. So there's going to be construction noise while I'm trying to think."
"Naw...my place is far enough away from it. We don't really notice." Kaito glanced at the sky, frowned when he couldn't see the sun, and shrugged. "Besides, I think it's almost five-thirty. The workers should be wrapping up for the night."
Conan took the opportunity to look at his own watch. "Five twenty-seven, to be exact. And I have to be home by nine, or Ran will worry and 'Conan' will get in trouble."
"Yeah, can't forget your bedtime, can we?" Kaito grinned unashamedly. "Guess I can't ask for your help on any actual heists. Most of my jobs don't start 'till after dark; this time of year it's not 'til well after you're in beddy-bye."
The boy shot him a disgusted look. "I snuck out to meet you at the Haido City Hotel roof, didn't I?"
"Point," Kaito acknowledged. "But I bet you were in it deep when Inspector Nakamori had you driven back home in a squadcar. I'm sure Ran and Mouri-san just loved that."
Conan grumbled something highly annoyed and quite uncomplimentary, mostly regarding how that was all Kid's fault anyway for bringing the cops there in the first place. Kaito merely grinned at him and tucked his hands into his jeans pockets, looking perfectly blameless.
The work site was actually pretty quiet; the whirr of machinery seemed largely confined to a few pieces of equipent in one area of the yard--impossible to tell exactly by the tall wooden fence--and there were the tired voices of men shouting back and forth to each other about shutting things down, clocking out for the day, and the promise of home and warm suppers. There were even a few men wearing yellow hardhats and carrying black lunchboxes--laughably classic construction workers just through with their long day--walking down the sidewalk. Kaito and Conan continued along the fence, turning the corner past the site and heading down that street.
"I can't believe how many times I got in trouble because of you," Conan huffed, having quite enough of Kaito's innocent whistling. "When I was chasing you through Osaka on my skateboard and you got yourself shot out of the sky, I had to explain to Ran what I was doing racing through the streets and almost getting run over on a motorcycle with Hattori. Again, your fault."
Kaito cocked an eyebrow slyly. "And who wouldn't have gotten in a wreck if he hadn't been following me? It's not like I was gonna sell the Memories Egg or nothing--just give it back to its rightful owner. I'd'a thought a smart guy like you would've figured it out sooner that I--"
There was a heavy crash in the construction yard that made Conan jump visibly and Kaito startle to a halt, both glancing at the fence as if they could peer through it. With a mutual shrug, they continued on.
"Anyway, how was I supposed to know that?" Conan retorted at length. "I was trying to catch you, idiot. Besides, why do you get to decide who owns that egg? Suzuki-san bought it, fair and square."
Kaito hunched his shoulders in an odd shrug that stuck. "Just thought Natsumi-san should have her pictures, that's all..."
"Oh my God! Somebody fell off the scaffold!"
His voice faded out when the shouting began. Men's voices--angry, frightened, shocked--rose loud and clear over the fence. The workers on the sidewalk turned at the sounds and ran back to the gate they had just so recently left, filling the air with questions and concern as they gathered.
"Who is it?"
"What the hell happened up there?"
"Did anyone see it?"
"Who fell? Was it Shimizu?"
The cacopnony of shouts made everything clear: A man had fallen from the building in the site. By the sound of things, it was bad.
Conan's sharp-eyed frown was not missed by his taller companion; Kaito saw the sudden alertness in his diminutive cousin's gaze and gulped, realizing what it could mean. Two pairs of dark blue eyes met suddenly, one filled with questions and the other with significance. As one, without a word, they both ran for the gate.
No one had opened the chain-link portal into the wood-fenced enclosure of the yard, so the crowded workers had all pressed themselves against it trying to see within. Kaito could barely see past the yellow-capped heads and the structures within--but he could make out the figures of running men, could hear too well the cries of despair from those who were approaching the place where the unnamed person had fallen.
"What happened?" he asked of no one in particular, hardly expecting an answer; everyone else was too preoccupied. Unsure, he glanced down for his small cousin--and spotted him jockeying for position in the milling group, trying to peek between the legs of the workers without getting stepped on.
"What's going on in there?" Conan finally demanded, glaring up at Kaito. It wasn't anger at his cousin that heated his voice, but frustration that he couldn't see what was taking place.
"They're all heading for him--the guy that fell," Kaito reported, standing on tiptoe. "I dunno how far he fell or even if he made it."
As Kaito watched, Conan's gritted teeth gave silent voice to his annoyance with the crowd as he stared at the backs of jean-clad legs as if he could somehow gaze through them. "Dammit..." the boy spat.
Kaito gulped once again, realizing that what he was suddenly considering might get him serious reparitions. But he ignored the warnings his brain was sending and went with his gut instinct--the one that said Shinichi needed to see this. "Here, just...hang on..."
With only a moment's hesitation, he gripped Conan awkwardly beneath the arms and hoisted him into the air--wincing apologetically at the boy's startled, indignant squawk--setting him on his own shoulders to give him the altitude he needed to peer over the heads of the men.
For a brief flash, the fallen man was the last thing on their minds. Conan teetered for a second, too surprised to find his balance, throwing his arms around Kaito's head for a panicky moment of vertigo at the sudden change in height. Kaito held on to him to be sure he wouldn't fall off and brain himself on the sidewalk, trying to adjust his own equilibrium to Conan's unfamiliar weight and hoping he didn't get a shoe in the face. Once the initial scramble was out of the way and their composures somewhat restored, the boy's small body went tense with ire, hands tightening in Kaito's hair.
"Baka--what are you doing?" Conan hissed, his volume only checked by the presence of the crowd.. "Put me down! I told you--!"
"You want to see, right?" Kaito shot back sharply, equally exasperated--especially with his cousin's grip on his hair. "So shut up and look. You can kick me later."
Conan scowled, but relaxed slightly and straightened up to scan what he could see of the construction yard from his new vantage point. Through the joists and beams of the incomplete structure, he could just make out the arm of a man poking out of what might have been a pile of broken crates--it looked as though he had not had a clean fall, landing on piles of debris or equipment. There were many people gathered around the fallen form, moving in and out of visibility behind portions of the building--but it didn't look like the man was moving. If he was dead...
In an instant, his mind processed what he saw and began to spin out results--and most especially, a certain relevant fact. "Construction employees working on higher levels are required to wear safety gear," he whispered; blue eyes narrowed sharply behind glass lenses, becoming suspicious.
"What?"
Kaito's voice abruptly reminded him of his companion--and current stepstool--below. Frowning still, Conan spoke to the older boy but never took his eyes off the scene. "Anybody working on the upper levels of a site is supposed to wear a harness to prevent this sort of thing. Either this guy was careless, or..."
"You think somebody pushed him?" Kaito asked, incredulous, his voice taking on a weakening scolding tone that sorely lacked conviction. "C'mon, not everything's a murder--don't be so paranoid..."
"I think it's worse than that," the boy continued, little more than a whisper--one that Kaito could still hear clearly even through the din of voices. "Did you hear a scream?"
"Huh?"
"When he hit the ground--that crash we heard--did you hear any scream?"
Kaito paused, thinking for a moment. "No...I didn't. It was quiet."
"Exactly." Conan's expression was hard and set, yet almost eager, as the piercing mind behind behind the face of a child began to work in earnest. "Corpses don't scream as they fall."
"He was...already...?" Kaito swallowed hard yet again.
"Perhaps." Conan spoke softly, betraying little emotion. "Either way, we'd still have to call the police. That man is dead."
To be continued...
AN: Well, here it goes! The mystery has begun. The only downside to this is that the next chapter is going to come slow and careful as I work this whole thing out properly. Thanks everyone for your great patience!