Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ When Pandora's Box Is Opened ❯ Unfamiliarity ( Chapter 44 )

Chapter Forty-Four

Unfamiliarity

Quite a crowd had gathered at Cafe Poirot to see Conan-kun, Saguru mused. Akako seemed to have been sitting by the window in some form of meditation since that morning, which would explain her conspicuous absence from school that day. Mori-tantei was sitting at a larger table with an old man and four elementary school kids, probably Conan's friends. Four police officers were sitting near them, chatting to Mori-tantei, a fat middle-aged man and two younger men along with a woman whose hand was intertwined with one of the men, the other chatting to a bespectacled young woman who was alternating between talking to him and the children. A blonde teenage girl was talking rapidly into her phone, probably to her boyfriend judging by the addresses she was using. A large lady with glasses and black hair was sniffling into a handkerchief at a table by the window, staring out at the street. She was being comforted by a lady with short blonde hair and glasses, who was talking to her in English, and a young blond doctor who also had glasses and would presumably be giving Conan a check-up. He sat down across from Akako, who was staring at the dark-haired woman with knitted brows.

“Conan-kun's certainly popular,” he commented, looking around at the crowd and waving to Mori. A worried-looking waitress wandered over.

“I wonder when he's getting back...” she said absentmindedly. “Tea? Coffee?”

“Tea, please,” Saguru said politely. “Is everyone here waiting for Conan-kun?”

“Well, we've all been so worried about him,” the waitress said, noting down his order. “I know him pretty well, too. Takes the strongest coffee I've ever seen a kid drink when Ran-chan's not around to stop him. Is it true that he has amnesia? Oh, I need to get your tea!” She scurried off.

“I heard that he'd been found, but I didn't hear about amnesia,” Saguru said in surprise. Akako nodded testily.

“Complete amnesia, I understand,” she said. “I guess that's part of why so many people have showed up- they have to reintroduce themselves. But...” She resumed her confused watching of the dark-haired woman.

“So who is that that you're glaring at?” He asked, watching the woman dab at her eyes as the woman patted her hand and the doctor advised her to breathe.

“She says she's Edogawa Fumiyo,” Akako said, “Conan-kun's mother. But how...?” She descended back into evil-eyed silence.

“Here you go, sorry about that,” the waitress, setting down the cup.

“Thank you,” Saguru said politely, glancing out of the window. A red mini turned into the street, followed by a motorcycle with a rider and a passenger.

“There they are!” Mori said, getting to his feet, evidently recognizing the car. “What's that Hattori brat doing here?”

One of the little girls, the dark-haired one, gave a half-sob and tore out of the door, followed by the other three and the old man, beaten out only by Edogawa Fumiyo. Saguru stayed by the window for a moment, watching as Ran helped Conan out of the back seat of the car, only for his mother to dive on him with a sob. He looked frightened for a moment, until the woman pulled back, apparently explaining who she was. Saguru got up as the waitress rushed out of the door, hanging back with the blonde woman in glasses and Akako.

“Hajimemashite,” Conan was saying to the kids. “Gomen, I don't know who you are either...”

“We're your friends!” the dark-haired girl sniffed. “All right then, we'll just reintroduce ourselves! I'm Yoshida Ayumi!”

“I'm Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko,” the lanky boy with freckles said.

“I'm Kojima Genta!” The fat boy proclaimed.

“Haibara Ai,” the blonde girl said quietly. She was a little pale. Conan looked over them all.

“Nice to meet you all,” he said. Then he pointed at something on Genta's chest. “What's that badge?”

“It means I'm a member of the Shonen tantei-Dan!” Genta said proudly.

“We're all members too!” Ayumi said, tapping her own badge, as did Mitsuhiko and Ai.

“You're all detectives?” Conan said in some awe.

“So are you!” Ayumi said. “You're in the Shonen Tantei-Dan too!”

“I'm a detective?” Conan said, sounding surprised but happy.

“And a really good one,” The lady cop said with a friendly smile. “I'm a police officer, Sato Miwako. We've met a lot on cases. This is Megure-Keibu, Wataru Takagi, and Shiratori Ninzaburo- they're all police officers too.”

“Hajimemashite,” Conan said, nodding to each of the officers in turn.

“Are you keeping track of everyone?” Ran asked worriedly. “There's a lot of people here to greet you... Let us know if you feel overwhelmed, okay?”

“I'm okay, Ran-neechan!” Conan said, smiling probably only for her benefit since he still looked slightly apprehensive- not surprising, Saguru figured, since it was clear that the boy had full-on amnesia and was therefore being swooped upon by a large number of strangers...

“I'm your elementary school teacher,” the lady with the short dark hair and glasses said kindly, leaning down a little to the children's level. “Call me Kobayashi-sensei. School's gone back already, but you don't have to come back until you feel ready and comfortable, okay? I'll make you some notes of what we learn in the meantime so that you don't get left behind, all right?”

“Arigato, sensei,” Conan said politely.

“How about we go back inside?” Mori grumbled, shoving his hands into his coats pockets. Everyone started drifting back into the cafe. The blonde girl was chattering to Ran and the girl who had been riding on the back of the motorbike. Conan stared up at Mori with interest and a little apprehension.

“Who are you, ojisan?” he asked curiously.

“This is my Otou-san, Mori Kogoro,” Ran said as Fumiyo took her son's hand and towed him into the warm. “Remember? I told you about him?”

“Oh, you're a Meitantei, Ran-neechan said!” Conan said happily. Then he frowned. “But Obasan said that you're just a clever baka...”

“Baka?” Kogoro growled at the woman who had been driving the red mini, who stalked past with her nose in the air. Ran looked from one to the other with a longsuffering sigh. “Clever?” he muttered to himself once they were out of earshot.

“I'll get you an iced coffee, Conan-kun,” the waitress said with a smile. “That's your favourite.”

“Okay!” Conan said with a nod. Hattori and his girlfriend sat down at the only seats available in the now heavily crowded cafe, which were unfortunately at the table where Saguru sat across from Akako. The woman with short blonde hair was introducing herself as Jodie-sensei, Ran's English teacher who'd become good friends with Ran and Conan.

“Ya here ta see the kid?” Hattori asked, pulling off his motorcycle helmet and rubbing his head. His girlfriend was also stretching uncomfortably. “Damn, that was a long bike ride...”

“I wanted confirmation that he was alive, and of course to reintroduce myself- come to that, why have you been here all day, Koizumi-san?” he asked. “He barely knew you, and frankly I think he found you somewhat frightening...”

“Blank,” she muttered, barely listening to him. “What is the key...?” Then she seemed to jerk back to a normal person's reality and gave a beautiful smile to the two Osakans.

“My apologies, I haven't yet introduced myself, how rude,” she said as Hattori just looked nonplussed and the girl surreptitiously watched him for a reaction to Akako. “My name is Koizumi Akako. I'm a classmate of Hakuba-kun's. Who are you?”

“I'm Toyama Kazuha,” the girl said. “Hajimemashite.”

“Hattori Heiji,” Hattori said. “So are ya in the same class as Kuroba an' the Nakamori girl too?”

“Oh, I know Kuroba-kun and Aoko-chan very well,” Akako purred. “I have to admit that I have only met Conan-kun twice, but I was so worried about the poor thing.” The doctor was now talking to Conan, and sometimes talking over his head to his mother, presumably discussing hospital visits. Ran was smiling at Conan but she was very pale still, and Kazuha got up and went over to her.

Hattori watched her go, then lowered his voice and muttered, “I gotta talk to ya about a few things.” He stood up, jerking his head to indicate that Saguru should follow. He did so, presuming that it was about Kuroba- after all, Kid had supposedly appeared to Hattori to inform him that Conan-kun was in the prefecture.

“Is this about Kuroba?” he asked neutrally once they were out in the street, which due to the freezing cold and the iced-over pavements was completely deserted.

“Sorta,” Hattori said. “It's pretty much confirmed that he ain't the kidnapper, by the way. I kinda know who it is, too.”

“Vermouth, right?”

Saguru started as Jodie-sensei stepped out of the cafe and into the conversation.

“Cool it, Hakuba,” Hattori said as Saguru narrowed his eyes. “Meet Jodie Starling, FBI. She's investigatin' the people who're set on Kid's life, which I hear yer investigatin' too... an' they're the people who kidnapped the kiddo.”

“I see,” Saguru said, calming down. “So it was one of their operatives who kidnapped Conan-kun? Makes sense,” he added thoughtfully. “I overheard a conversation between Kudo-sensei and Conan-kun the night before he vanished. It sounded like he was involved in something dangerous... the same something that threatens Kuroba.”

“Figgers,” Heiji sighed. “There anybody these guys ain't screwed over?”

“Unlikely,” Jodie snorted. “They've been around since before I was born and they have operatives in a number of countries- we don't know how many yet. We're only focusing our operations in Japan because we have indications that they're planning something big here. I don't know how it's connected to Kid, though... or Cool Kid. But I think he was on to something big.”

“Ya could say that,” Heiji muttered cryptically.

“You know what it was?” Saguru said sharply. “What could have happened to Conan-kun?”

“Kudo knows,” Hattori said unhelpfully. “An' it's why he had to disappear.”

“Okay, I really think I have to talk to this guy now,” Jodie fumed. “And we need to protect Conan-kun, if she comes back for him-”

“She will not. She has completed her objective.”

Hattori and Jodie jumped a mile. Saguru, who was used to it, glared at Akako and said, “Koizumi-san, please try not to be a walking heart attack generator. In any case-”

“What am I babbling about, I know,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “I am saying that his memory loss was not an unfortunate by-product of whatever she did to him. It was the intention.”

“You're saying V- the kidnapper deliberately wiped his memory?” Jodie said. She sounded livid.

“How th' hell do ya do that?” Hattori said in surprise.

“I cannot say,” Akako said, looking suddenly annoyed. “When I reintroduced myself, I tried to remove the block on his mind. But I could not. It is not a block projected by his own mind, but nor in there any apparent physical cause...”

“Come again?” Jodie said in confusion. “Who are you, anyway?”

“She's with him,” Hattori said, jerking his thumb at Saguru, and still looking rather shaken by Akako.

“She's in my class,” Saguru said. “And, as it happens, Kuroba's.”

“I am saying that the doctor is correct to say that the reason for his amnesia is not physical,” Akako continued, “but he is wrong to surmise that it is psychological. I feel that there is something vital in his memories...” she frowned. “But then, why not simply kill him? It would be so much simpler...”

“Good question,” Jodie grumbled. “She's not one to spare children...”

“Wait, so you know precisely who the kidnapper is?” Saguru interjected.

“I thought the police all thought it was Kid,” Jodie said.

“Some do, some are sceptical, and that's not an answer,” Saguru replied. “You mentioned “Vermouth”, and I'm presuming that you weren't trying to mix a cocktail when you did...”

“We do,” Hattori said. “Listen, is it true yer investigatin' the Org `cause a' their involvement with Kid- an' more importantly, tryin' ta find rats in the Tokyo Met?”

“Indeed,” Saguru said. “Kudo-sensei informed me that you were doing the same in Osaka. Knowing what to look for would be useful.”

“Ah, you're the kid James mentioned who was looking for what we knew on the Organization's involvement in the police?” Jodie said, snapping her fingers and pointing at Saguru.

“It seems rather a number of lonely travellers have looked up from the road to find themselves in the crowd,” Akako said shrewdly. “So perhaps it would be better to travel together and share provisions than to crawl on alone.”

“Yeah... I think we need to talk,” Jodie said, glancing over the three teens. “I wish I could talk to Kudo-kun and his father as well...”

“Kudo , ya ain't gonna get yer hands on,” Hattori said, pulling out his mobile, “but I do know someone I need ta talk ta...”

“I don't think Kudo-sensei's here, though,” Akako commented. “I believe I heard Mori-tantei saying that he and his wife had already returned to America...”

“Huh?” Hattori said, then glanced into the cafe. After a moment, some sort of comprehension seemed to dawn. “Oh, yeah... guess they woulda been here ta see the kid if they were here... Kudo's ofukuro's pretty attached to the kid...” However, Saguru got the impression that there was something more to Hattori's thoughts. He resolved to find out just what Hattori was hiding one day, but for now, he had other priorities.

“Oi, Kazuha,” Hattori called into the shop, “I gotta talk ta Hakuba about somethin'.”

“Don't take long, I didn't bring an overnight bag!” Kazuha called back.

“Oh, I'll lend you what you need,” Ran replied as Hattori shut the door again.

“Are you going to follow us again?” Saguru asked Akako. She looked thoughtful.

“I think I shall,” she said. “No matter how much you detectives like to speak in doublespeak, you're still clearer than Lucifer.”

“Do not ask,” Saguru said to Hattori and Jodie.

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“I'm coming, i'm coming...” Aoko muttered as she ran through the apartment, trying to find where her father had left the handset. Really, though, she was relieved to escape from her homework. Her schoolwork was suffering through her worry for Kaito. She wondered if he knew about his house burning down, if he was doing all right...

“Moshi moshi?” she said, finally finding it down a sofa cushion.

“Aoko! What's up?”

“K-Kaito?” she said in surprise, almost dropping the phone.

“No, it's Kamen Yaiba! Of course it's me. How're you doing?”

“A-all right,” Aoko stammered in surprise. “How are you doing?”

“Better, I guess... magic 24 hours a day, what could be better?” he still sounded awfully tired, though. “Worried about Kaa-san, of course. By the way, I heard on the news that a house in my neighbourhood burned down. Do you know what happened?”

“Umm, actually...” Aoko said nervously. “It was your house...”

“What? Are you kiddin' me?”

“I'm sorry,” Aoko said. “I was wondering if you knew.... there's not much left.”

“Shit... guess it's lucky I decided to join this tour... otherwise I coulda been fried! But seriously, nothing?”

“The house collapsed,” Aoko said, sniffling as he talked so cheerfully. “There's a few cassettes, bits of books, things like that... Otou-san's got it all stored at the fire station...”

“Aw, cheer up, Aoko. That really, really sucks, but... hey, at least nobody got hurt, right? Again. It's just stuff. I can always bunk down at the Blue Parrot or something when I get back...”

“Kaito, are you all right?” Aoko asked. “I've just been... I mean, a lot's happened to you lately. Are you really all right?”

“Aoko... I'm... I'm fine,” he insisted, though she got the impression that he was trying to convince himself as much as her. “I mean, it could've been so much worse, right? Kaa-san or I could've been killed by the cars or in the fire... It could've been worse. When I remember that, what happened doesn't seem so bad.”

“Yeah...” Aoko sniffed, “But... It should be so much better,” she said vehemently. “I want it to be better... I mean...” she blushed slightly, though he wasn't there to see.

“Th... thanks,” he said, a little quietly. “Well... I just wanted to check in, but we've gotta leave soon for the show...”

“Hey...” Aoko said. “Can you call... a little more often? I was really worried about you, I was starting to think something had happened, and...” “... I miss you.”

“... Sure. But don't worry. What's the worst that can happen now? I'm sure I'm due some good karma now, right?”

Aoko laughed. “Okay. Be careful.”

“Sure. I'm not away for long anyway- I'll be back before you know it. Later.”

Then he hung up with a click, and Aoko was left alone and waiting.

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I try to answer all my reviews, but did I miss yours, Girl Wonder 2005? GOMEEEEEN! *grovels* I'm sorry! Either I didn't get it or Norton Antispam deleted the alert email, it does that from time to time, dammit... GOMEEEEEEEN! Awww, I'm sorry you feel down... not my fault, is it? *resumes grovelling* There'll be a bit more TakagixSato, don't worry. I wanted to put a little in there, but the mood wasn't right... but I do like them. I had a major squealy fit when they kissed. ^_^ I've not heard of it, but whatever. Hey, so long as ya liked it ^_- Yuusaku's motives might become a little clearer later, but I tend to think of them as “like father like son” when it comes to secrets- just where did you think Shinichi got it from? And he has a very compelling motive, too... Superhuman?

Yeah, I remember the line that Ai was thinking, Mel72000... Yeah, I figure they are too. You're welcome! Here's another update!

No worries, AngelRoy! ^_- Yeah, that mutated into an involved daydream where the Black Org were all hyenas... XD A shameless plug is where a fic author or AMV maker or fanartist or whatever unsubtly goes “hey, read this fic/watch this video/look at this art, it's awesome”! So I plugged ya! ^_-

Epic is the word, JapaneseAnimeFreak16... XD Yep, Conan's going to be getting some odd flashbacks before long...

Thanks, Silver Shadowbreeze! ^_^ I love Toichi, so of course he'll be important... so are flashbacks. Maybe it's a side-effect of being a rabid Furuba fan, but I'm very taken with flashbacks and the present being linked to events of the past. And since I'm answering this directly after a 24-hour movie marathon with pals (Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Blazing Saddles, The Blair Witch Project- at 3am, of all times- Gladiator, Airplane, Bambi, Family Guy Blue Harvest, Twilight, Casablanca, Monty Python's Meaning Of Life, The Lion King, and Mononoke Hime, along with all the J20 and Irn Bru we could drink and all the crisps and Dairy Milk kingsize bars we could eat), a bucket of cold water might be useful for keeping me awake...

Who is she, Pretztailfan95? XD Yuusaku and Toichi's secret will become apparent not long after It, never fear. Woot! I will not give up! I am loved! *sings and is shot for it* I had finished writing that scene before I realized... I figured Ryuu would only roam the streets at night, so I just turned it into another opportunity for Ryuu to break the Fourth Wall, as he so loves to XD How pissed Heiji is is entirely up to you, oh author of chapter 6... XD

Shuu is awesome, FaithlessGirl...I can't wait for the next chapter! Shuu is BACK, baby! XD It's only natural for him to still be sharp... his intelligence hasn't been harmed, after all, just his memories, though the fact that he thinks he's just a frightened kid may also end up affecting him...

Like I said, KageNoNeko... I love linking the present to events in the past. After all, the past does lead to and affect the present, all the time...

I grin whenever I get reviews like yours, A Midsummer Night's Dream! :D Updates all weekend!

Poor Conan's even more confused than you, Kairi922... And Yuusaku's meant to be confusing. I've always seen him as something of an enigmatic character... yes, I shall be irritating, especially when I say for the millionth time- Patience, Padawan! *Jedi mind-trick* you will wait and see.... XD The old Doctor Who series from the sixties to the eighties is over, but the new Doctor Who isn't done yet... David Tennant still has three more special episodes left, and then he's regenerating into... Matt Smith. -_- No, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until I've seen him act... anyway, it's unknown how many more series they're planning to do, but it's so damn well-written, who cares if they never stop? XD The Kaitou Kid shall meet his end at the red tower, it is his unalterable fate... though the definition of “end” is still open to interpretation... damn enigmatic demons... XD

I know what you mean, TwilTye- it might be enough to yank him back to himself, but if it doesn't, that's gonna be a hell of a lot of extra fear and confusion... And I luvs me evil cliffies XD Love the suspense!

Ahh, should've hogged all the credit, shouldn't I, Fireline? But my mates would've called me out on it in no time... ^_^; Wow, that is an EPIC discourse on grammar... but I get what you mean. In Japanese, they probably do have a unisexual singular that doesn't have the inanimate connotations of “it”, just like they have Anokata to refer to a person without any inflections of age or gender (it generally gets translated as “that person”, which is just so cumbersome in English -_-) so “they” is generally substituted. I didn't actually have any college-level research backing me up, just the fact that I read more or less everything and had therefore absorbed that “their” could be used in a singular and is colloquially accepted. The extent of my knowledge of the evolution of the grammar of the English language extends to one books by Bill Bryson ^_^; I wasn't entirely comfortable with the “their”, I'll admit, but it was all that seemed to work. It's interesting, though, isn't it, how a language as complex as English evolved? A Japanese boy who used to be in my English class regularly proclaimed English to be a demented language ^_^; I love it, though- although I'm interested in your opinions too ^_- Lucifer's dangling something over Akako, and she won't entirely escape repercussions... not on her own, anyway. I'm still not certain how much power to give Lucifer in this, to be honest- whether to make him an almost joke of a demon in the finest traditions of Terry Pratchett, or just to make him all-powerful evil a la Doctor Who. *shrugs* At the moment, given that they still don't know what caused Shinichi's memory loss, I think his parents are inclined to play it safe, figuring that he's bound to twig that something's up before long on his own anyway. Yuusaku wants to give the tape to Kaito, but there's just that sticky matter of FINDING Kaito... XD Aoko and Kaito's relationship does parallel Ginzo and Toichi's on some levels, but there's also the romantic tension element that I kinda doubt was present between Ginzo and Toichi, thus rendering any perceived betrayal far more painful... From what I've seen of Kaito and Ginzo's interactions in MK, they actually have something bordering on the relationship between a boy and a favourite uncle or even something of a fatherly figure; I have little doubt that Ginzo is concerned for Kaito's welfare and would want to protect him, both for the sake of his daughter and his late friend. Ginzo perceives himself as a force of law, after all, and I think he'd be terrified to think that even with the power of the law behind him, he couldn't protect his friends. Ahh, I know what you mean about the new Doctor... I'm going to be kind and give him the benefit of the doubt until I've seen him act, but there's no question that David Tennant will leave some mighty Converses to fill... XD epic response again! RUN! *steals cookies*

Fine by me, Marie Ravenclaw- I just wants my Kaitou-sama. And my SexxhoMaru-sama and Jacob-sama... *drools over New Moon trailer* I know what you mean, but it's also good that it's fitting... I mean, I just don't know what kind of effect the Organization could hope to have if it named all of its agents after Beatrix Potter characters XD I love Akako and do agree that she ought to show up in DC sometime... come on, Hakuba's in it, and Akako's and older character than he is!

It would be cool, Yuki Taiki, although the newest arc seems set to kill off one of the fic's plot points... ah well! WRITING! XD

I do not claim to own any of the characters in Meitantei Conan. They are the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho. All characters, couples and locations, if Canon, will be faithful to the manga, so if you're into fics with weird pairings like Shinichi and Heiji, the back button is at the top there. The fic may not make sense if you have not read up to chapter 698, which you can do at a site called (read between the lines) O/n/e/ma/n/g/a, but I advise you to buy the official Tankoban novels (up to volume 29 are out in English at the time of writing) so that Aoyama-sensei can afford to continue gracing us with his imagination. Now, I hope you enjoy the fic! (If you don't, please see my previous comments re the back button).