Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ When Pandora's Box Is Opened ❯ Silence ( Chapter 53 )

Chapter Fifty-Three

Silence

“G-Gin?!” Saku said in surprise. “It's only three... you're early.”

“I know,” Gin said shortly, sweeping into the apartment. “So?”

“I know who it is,” Saku said. “The one that tracked down all of our moles in the police. The reason that we couldn't find him sooner is because he isn't police- not yet.”

“So who is it?” Gin said sharply.

“Chief's son, Hattori Heiji,” Saku replied promptly. Gin could almost smell his fear. “Eighteen. Dark-skinned. Been hanging around the police station since he was born, practically. That's how he did it- he has influence over cops, knows what cops he can trust, protected by his father's influence... he's been seen snooping around places that we neutralized after that Kid debacle...”

Gin held up a hand to silence the man as he answered a silently buzzing mobile phone. “Vodka. Well?”

“They knew. They're coming.”

Gin hung up, sweeping across the room. He strode over to Saku's phone, unplugging it.

“What?” Saku said. Gin woke up his computer, scanning through the files.

“Don't you codelock your Syndicate information?” he said quietly.

“Of course,” Saku said in surprise.

“They're not locked now,” Gin commented. “Someone's been through them. Possibly the same someone who bugged your phone. That is why the police are now coming for you. They were planning to catch me too, had we genuinely met at 4am.”

“That's why you came... w-wait!” he cried as he suddenly found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. “N-no... please... I have been so loyal...”

“It shall be a shame to lose you,” Gin said, grabbing Saku's hand and forcing it around the trigger, “But you are a liability.”

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{ }{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

“What?” Toyama said in shock.

“He's dead, sir,” Otaki said. “Handgun in his head, bullet through the chin and into the brain. Only his fingerprints on the gun and gunpowder residue on his sleeve. He knew we were coming and did himself in.”

“... and the superior officer that he was supposed to be meeting with?” Toyama sighed, already knowing the answer.

“No sign, sir. His computer was wiped, though. Only his fingerprints on it, so he must have done it before he died...”

“The chief already has his data,” Toyama said. “File this as a suicide investigation, but keep special watch out for anything unusual... you know?”

“I've got the gist from Hei-chan,” Otaki said darkly. “I'll see what I can do, but there won't be much to find, I fear...”

“You might at least find out if they know who precisely is onto them,” Toyama said quietly. “Kazuha's rather attached to that idiot, so let's be certain that he's not in danger, alright?”

“Onto it, sir,” Otaki said, turning back to the flat.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{ }{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Yuusaku paused. Even though it was early morning, he hadn't really slept. Ginzo had given him the few surviving tapes and CDs to go through, to find what was valuable to them. Most were music or movies, just normal things, but one or two had comprised of the Kaitou Kid's far more comprehensive records of Syndicate-related cases. But Yuusaku had stopped when he heard... something. The front door had opened... that was it.

He had locked the door hours ago. So either someone with a key was sneaking in... or someone had picked the lock. And since Toichi had once complained about how hard his locks were to pick, it would have to be a very skilled thief. Like... Kaito...?

He slipped into the front hallway as someone padded down it. Then he flicked on the light.

Whoever it was had his back to him, heading for the stairs, but when the lights went on he spun rapidly around, raising a gun- a real gun- moving at snakespeed. Yuusaku froze.

“I thought you and your wife had returned to America,” he said, his voice quiet, muffled. His face was covered by a black balaclava, only a pair of sharp golden eyes visible.

“That's what we wanted people to think,” Yuusaku said calmly. “But I had investigations to continue here... and someone to protect.” Both were quiet for a moment. “I don't know when his memory's coming back,” Yuusaku eventually said, “But if it comes back entirely, it probably won't be soon. So whatever you two were planning, perhaps you ought to share it with me... because you need two people, don't you?”

“How much do you know?” the masked figure said quietly.

“I know that the body was switched,” Yuusaku said quietly. “Unclaimed bodies stay in the police morgue for a year... so you knew that no-one would notice if it vanished, huh? Or if it was replaced later... Plus, some of Yukiko's disguises supplies are missing, as well as a head of black hair dye. Their hair's the same length, it wouldn't be hard to make the switch, since no-one would be looking too closely anyway... or notice if the drawer was empty for a while... But for it to work, did he tell you...?”

“He told me,” the masked figure said quietly. “After my suspicions about her... it wasn't too hard to believe.”

“And Kir?” Yuusaku asked.

“If she's noticed anything, she's been smart enough not to say anything,” the masked figure replied. “It gave me time.”

“So what did you find?” Yuusaku said.

“I know where it is,” he replied. “And that there is only one person alive who might know how to destroy it...”

“Do you know where they are?” Yuusaku asked. The balaclava shook as the gun lowered.

“She has hidden herself even better than your son did,” he mused. “But I think I can track her down soon...”

“We have a lot to talk about...” Yuusaku said, striding down to the library. After a moment of deliberation, the dark figure followed.

“It's less hassle than killing you,” he said by way of explanation.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{ }{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

“Bocchama, you cannot imagine how relived I am to see you home safe,” Jii said tearfully and in not a little surprise as Kaito pulled the old man into a strong hug.

“I've been kinda lonely,” he admitted. “It's been all go. How's okaa-san?”

“Healing well, though still comatose,” Jii sighed. “Hakuba-san and Koizumi-san both seem to have been busy. A number of police officers have been communing regularly at the Hakuba mansion... I think Hakuba-san's father has been putting some influence behind it.”

“How's... Aoko?” Kaito asked tentatively.

“Doing as well as can be expected, I'm sure,” Jii sighed. “She regularly visits your mother in your stead. She seems very worried, though she tried not to show it... Are you going to go see her?”

“Too dangerous,” Kaito sighed unhappily. “Officially, I'm still AWOL, and explaining why I'm not brings up too many things that... I'm just not ready to explain.” He ran a hand through his hair, which was so messy that the motion actually made it marginally neater. “First things first: that pretty diamond that I was interested in... what was the verdict on it?”

“Not European was the verdict,” Jii replied, leading Kaito up to one of the guest rooms. “I believe it is returning around the 25th or 26th...”

“So perhaps I ought to plan a heist for the 27th,” Kaito said. “I've got a good feeling about that thing. Once I've got it, I'll have to talk to Kudo-san and find out what the hell is going on...” he frowned. “Come to that... what about tantei-kun?”

“I have heard nothing of his condition, although I understand that he still suffers from amnesia,” Jii commented. “I wonder how much of his memory is returning... when or even if it will return...”

“A mind as powerful as that kid's doesn't just go away,” Kaito said. He dumped his stuff on the futon, then headed for the window.

“Bocchama, you really ought to sleep...” Jii said worriedly.

“Just got something to check out, then I'll be back and asleep, I swear,” Kaito said, vaulting out of the window.

“I have doors, you know...” Jii called after him as he ran down the silent, moonlit roads.

His feet took him there by memory; to the huge tree growing by an apartment block, too big and old to be cut down, so it had been left, since the block was right next to a park anyway. The lower branches were shiny smooth and flat from being climbed by hundreds of little feet, but by the time most children got large enough to reach to upper branches they had grown up too much to climb trees any more.

Not Kaito. Aoko would say that it was because he'd never grown up, but she didn't know that he still climbed the tree. He didn't do it in daylight, anyway.

In the pitch black, he navigated the maze of branches by memory, until he reached the large, strong one on which he so often sat, on nights after heists when he was coming down from the adrenaline high and his mind was replaying the dark moments; how often he could have fallen to his death, crashed a bike or his hanglider, bullets whipping past his head...

When he needed comfort the most, he sat here. With his back against the thick old trunk of the tree, he could see into Aoko's bedroom window.

When they were little kids, and had sleepovers, Aoko always fell asleep first; she had the remarkable ability to simply conk out the second that her head hit the pillow. Kaito would watch her sleep; even as a child, it made him feel oddly peaceful, comforted, and that comfort was enough to lull him to sleep himself.

Even now, it made him relax a little, to sit there, to be able to see her curled up under her duvet, sleeping peacefully. All the nightmare of the past month- Snake at the museum and the cars and that bitch wearing his mother's face and kidnapping tantei-kun and that powerful mind buried under confusion and fear and amnesia and the constant watching for a sniper sight on his back...

It all seemed to fade away as he sat there, watching her sleep.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{ }{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Aoko was falling. She couldn't see where she'd fallen from, and the ground was too far away to see as well. It almost felt a little peaceful, as if she were suspended in the air, the wind rushing through her hair.

“Yes, it is pleasant, isn't it?”

She glanced to the side in shock to see the Kaitou Kid falling next to her, arms crossed and looking supremely unperturbed.

“To fly, to be on top of the world...” he said. “But the higher you fly, the harder you hit the ground.”

“Then why do you do it?” Aoko asked.

“You know why,” he said quietly. “You'll know if only you realize...”

“What does that mean-?!” Aoko said, but suddenly Kid jerked up, flying above on his hanglider, and something was falling from the hanglider, falling past her-

Kaito fell towards her, then fell past her, reaching for her, and she could see the ground now and Kid was flying away but Kaito didn't have wings-

“It's okay,” Kaito said, suddenly placing a hand on her shoulder. “I promise. It'll all be okay...”

Aoko blinked, and suddenly she wasn't falling, Kaito was standing over her, hand on her shoulder, looking concerned. She squeezed her eyes closed, opened them again, and-

Nothing. The room was empty, her door and window closed. She was alone.

She breathed slowly, trying to slow her pounding heart. She must have dreamed that Kaito was here, trying to calm her down and pull her out of her nightmare. After all, he wasn't even in Tokyo, let alone sneaking into her room.

“Although he's pervy enough to do that...” she thought with a giggle.

She sat up, pressing her head into her knees as she tried to forget the images of falling, of Kaito hurtling towards the ground. She idly wished that he were here, just so that she could see that he was okay. He'd probably make some stupid joke about it, or flip her nightdress, and by the time the mop chase had ended she'd have forgotten all about the nightmare. Or he'd show her some new trick, and in no time she'd be laughing again...

“Yeah... he's sweet enough to do that, too...” she thought with a little smile. “He always tries to cheer me up... look at me, he's not even here and he's making me smile again... He always cheers me up, ever since that day...”

She combed her fingers through her hair, remembering the day that she'd met Kaito.

She was starting to sniffle. Okaa-san was sick again, so she was in the hospital. Aoko didn't know when she'd be back. Sometimes she was in for a long time before she got well enough to go home, and sometimes she didn't stay long at all. Aoko wished they'd make her completely better so that she didn't have to go in at all, but one of the nurses had explained to Aoko that her mother's illness was very, very hard to make go away, and they didn't have a way to make it completely better yet, but they would do all they could to keep her from getting worse.

It made Aoko lonely when Okaa-san was in the hospital. Otou-san worked a lot, so even though he took extra time off when Okaa-san was in hospital he still couldn't seem to be around as much as Okaa-san always was when she was well, and sometimes there was an emergency and he couldn't come at all. He was never around when there was a heist from the Kaitou Kid, although luckily there hadn't ever been one when Okaa-san was in hospital, so Aoko hadn't had to be all alone yet. Still, Otou-san travelled a lot and even when he was in Japan he wasn't around much. Like now. He'd promised to take Aoko to go see a magic show, but there must have been an emergency because she could see from the big clock tower that the show would start soon, and he wasn't here. So Aoko was alone, and wouldn't get to see the show. She stared at her feet sadly.

“Are you all alone?”

Aoko glanced up. A little boy, about her age, was peering at her curiously.

“Otou-san was going to come take me to see a magic show,” she said, “but I don't think that he's coming now because of work.”

PWING!

Aoko stared in surprise at the little red rose that had appeared out of nowhere. The little boy held it up, handing it to her.

“My name's Kuroba Kaito!” He said. “Hajimemashite!”

“Oh...” Aoko said, blushing a little as she took the rose. “Hajimemashite. I'm Nakamori Aoko.”

“You still want to see the show, Aoko-chan?” he said, grabbing her free hand to tug her along the street.

“Y-yeah, but Otou-san has the tickets...” she said nervously.

“It's all right! I don't need tickets!” Kaito laughed. “I'll show you the super-special secret way in!”

Curious, Aoko gripped his hand and ran along after him, giggling a little at her strange new friend.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{ }{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{ }{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Extra chapter today because Kayla Edogawa asked for it as a birthday present and I thought, why not? I've got chapters to spare XD

You're so modest, Mel72000! XD The next victim, eh...?

Hajimemashite, MimzSilver! Glad you love it ^_-

Sad, isn't it,FaithlessGirl? Poor Harry... Poor Conan...

Yeah, but he doesn't know that, does he, HikariPachi? ^_- Gin would never let himself get caught. He'd never risk betraying the Organization. As for the picture... hmmm...

We watched all sorts, Kayla Edogawa... Goldmember, The Blair Witch Project, The Italian Job (the 1969 version), Monty Python's Meaning Of Life, Step Up 2, Iron Man, Cinderella (retro yo XD), Mamma Mia, Twilight, Star Wars Episode III, Howl's Moving Castle and a Frankie Boyle standup DVD. I slept thirteen hours last night to catch up XD Happy Birthday! You don't have to learn French to read the Arsene Lupin books, Amazon has them in English, thank heavens. I couldnt' do it if they were only in French. I failed my French Standard Grade so badly ^_^; Thank goodness Gin doesn't know the truth, eh?

The BO's power is cracking, KageNoNeko, but that doesn't make them any less deadly...

Bingo, Yuki Taiki, but then again that depends on someone we know and they don't...

Copycat, Pretztailfan95? Oh yeah! I remember, I wrote that chapter MONTHS ago, and then I read CM and thought.... NOOOOOOOO! I decided to leave it in anyway because it's a bit different, but... well, great minds think alike, I guess ^_- Then I'll send ABADDON! *giant son of Satan pops out of the Rift*

:P I worried that the riddle was too simple, Kairi922, but then again it's more complex for those who don't know who Eta is... It should be out on Wednesday or Thursday, I think... I ordered it on Amazon. It's really good! I love how he messes with the prosecutor while he's in jail. “These questions are pointless because I have decided not to attend my trial, and now I have decided nothing shall change my mind!” XD Your friend is awesome- they're great stories.

Sato and Takagi aren't going down easily, Topaz-tantei! Shiratori and Kobayashi are so cute... ^_^ Well, Conan will hardly remember what it means, will he? A Study In Scarlet is the first Sherlock Holmes story. It's good to read them, you see so many references... Arsene Lupin too, in the Kaitou Kid arcs.*sniffs e-roses*

I don't really know, BobbyNeko... I just sort of started writing and decided to see what happened. Mostly, the characters tell me what to do rather than the other way around. Like, there's a very important piece of information that I couldn't figure out how to get revealed, and then I thought perhaps Conan could know it but the teller thought it would be all right to tell him because he wouldn't remember. Taking Conan's memory was something that I thought Vermouth would do, given the background I've given her. I know amnesia's been done, but I wanted to make it a little different. I worried that it would look like an overdone fic idea that's been shoehorned into something bigger, but it fits and was necessary. There's a few points in the fic which I think have been done before, but I want to do them differently, originally, in a way that makes them necessary points to the story rather than window dressing. I wasn't intending for it to be this long, but it needed to be. Most of all, I wanted it to be believable, like you said, to the plot and characters of the manga. My fanfic is a tribute to the manga, which means it would be no good if I completely rewrite the characters. I'll just write an original story if I want to do that. And yeah, Conan and Heiji are really like brothers- it's quite sweet ^_^

Korn didn't do his research, did he, JapaneseAnimeFreak16? ^_- It's gone cold again, now... it's raining so much that I'm starting to suspect that the sea intends to reclaim Scotland by airdrop. Just when I'm planning to be out in Edinburgh all week. Fabulous. -_-

We all hope, Marie Ravenclaw... Vermouth has everyone confuzzled XD

Glad you think so, Peppymint! ^_-

Yes, you do, A Midsummer Night's Dream XD

Yep, it's got pretty much everyone, MyMelo, which is probably why it's so hellaciously long... XD

Not that far, Silver Shadowbreeze...

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).