Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ When Pandora's Box Is Opened ❯ Myoclonus ( Chapter 67 )

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Myoclonus

Shinichi gasped in shock as half of the officers in the room opened fire on the other half. The gunfire flew at head-height- far over his head- but Hakuba pushed him down anyway as he hit the dirt half a second after Kuroba had. The real officers, taken by surprise, hadn't stood a chance. Shinichi closed his eyes for a second, willing himself not to watch the bodies fall.

The dead lying still, six of Them set to work using display plinths and priceless vases to block the door. The elevator lights were off- they had been deactivated an hour ago, as a defence against Kid, of course. Nakamori leapt to his feet, incandescent with rage, drawing his pistol, but four more surrounded him, Kaito and Aoko, raising far more substantial weaponry, forcing him to drop his gun. Two more came to Shinichi and Hakuba, using their guns to indicate that they should stand.

“We've got five, sir,” one of the men said as the five of them lined up by the diamond.

“That's plenty, we're going to need a hostage situation to get out of here,” a man with a handlebar moustache, evidently the leader, said coldly. Then, without warning, he raised his gun and shot Kaito in the chest. He pivoted on his heel, a brief expression of shock visible on his face before he fell face-down to the floor, thick red liquid beginning to pool around his body. Aoko screamed, and Nakamori put his arm around her shoulders, holding her back, staring at the body.

“What the hell was that for?!” Hakuba demanded angrily, his knuckles going white with rage.

“Well, we suspect that he's Kid, so we've just taken care of a major problem,” the man sneered, “but if he's really Kudo Shinichi and Kid is here somewhere, it doesn't matter. We needed him dead too.”

Shinichi was almost shaking with rage and disbelief. He couldn't believe that Kid could be killed so easily, so unceremoniously, but he'd seen that bullet hit him in the heart, he could see the blood pooling and congealing around his body...

He frowned. Wait a minute...

“But in any case, we only need one hostage, so we're not averse to killing anyone else who wants to make trouble,” he sneered. Aoko was crying quietly, staring at the body in horror. The men smashed in the glass cover of the diamond, picking it up.

“All right,” the man said. “You know the drill... four of us going, two hostages, the rest are just frightened and injured cops...”

“Yes, sir!” the men said smartly, eight bracing themselves before shooting themselves, glancing blows across their arms or shoulders, places that would bleed impressively but wouldn't actually slow them down when it came time to leg it. Shinichi narrowed his eyes.

“Two hostages?” Hakuba asked sharply.

“We'll take the girl and the little boy,” the man said, reaching for Shinichi. “The police won't risk them. You two, however...”

Then he screamed in pain as a flashbomb hit him in the eye.

Hakuba pulled Aoko down again as the men raised their guns, two firing shotguns at the source but only managing to shatter one of the windows and knock the diamond from its stand. Shinichi instantly flipped open his watch- Agasa-Hakase had spent some time the other day explaining how some of his things worked- and knocked one out, then kicking a football at another, also flooring him. Nakamori dove for a dropped pistol, shooting at the injured men as they started to fire, Hakuba similarly returning fire. The moustached man had staggered back, a hand over his eyes. Two men were already unconscious, and Kid rolled out from behind a plinth and hit another in the neck.

Shinichi pulled out his phone and speed-dialled Jodie. “Come up the elevator shaft, it's off but it's not blocked!” He cried, ducking behind a plinth as the six remaining men tried to return fire on Hakuba and Nakamori while also shooting at Kid, who was bouncing around the room like a pinball.

Nakamori hissed in pain as a bullet hit him in the arm, and Hakuba shot the gun out of the man's hand. Shinichi, short enough to hide behind a plinth without ducking, also grabbed a fallen gun and started shooting, drawing shocked looks from both of the Nakamori. It was surprisingly easy, though. He supposed that he must have had some shooting practice before.

“You little bastard...” one of the men yelped as Shinichi shot his gun out of his hand, dropping to his knees and grabbing his fallen comrade's shotgun, blowing a chunk out of the plinth. Shinichi yelped and dove for cover behind another as the vase that had been sitting on top of the plinth fell, and those few seconds that he spent out in the open would have gone very hard on him if a shot hadn't suddenly zipped through the window, hitting the man in the hand, causing him to drop the gun momentarily. More shots came from some unknown, outside source, causing the men to fall back just as Jodie and a dozen real officers climbed out of the elevator shaft, guns blazing.

“Damn you!” the handlebar moustache growled as Kid dropped on him, trying to knock him out, but only knocking a handgun out of his hand. “I killed you!”

“We've been over this, Snake,” Kid said, dodging a kick with an easy hop.

“Show your face, dammit!” Snake roared angrily, knocking the hat off. The face underneath, however, was not Kuroba Kaito.

“My name is Inigo Montoya,” The Latino face laughed. “You killed my father, prepare to have your ass kicked. Man, I've always wanted to say that.” He rolled to avoid a shotgun blast, grabbing his hat as he did so. Shinichi fired on the shotgun wielder, but all that achieved was to get the man to fire on him again, this time knocking down a statuette that sent Shinichi's world black.

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When the kid slumped, unconscious, Kaito instantly ditched Snake, running to move the kid out of the line of fire as the Syndicate and the FBI got into a deadly crossfire. In his moment of distraction, he didn't quite duck out of the line of fire himself. He jerked backwards with a hiss of pain as another round from the shotgun blasted into his chest. Damn vest stopped the bullets piercing him, but they didn't stop the force...

“Kill him, I'll get the jewel!” Snake cried, running for the diamond where it lay among the shattered glass from the window. Kaito rolled to dodge a couple more shots, raising his card gun and knocking the shotgun out of the goon's hands and then tackled the man. As they fell, Kaito saw movement, someone running towards the same jewel as Snake, from the opposite direction.

Aoko.

“No!” Kaito yelled as Snake raised his gun, aiming it at her through his good eye. Kaito shot it out of his hand, stumbling and ducking as another two shots hit his back and another whizzed through his hat. He flung a flashbomb backwards, blinding the Ravens while a few of the more experienced cops pulled on sunglasses and took them down.

Aoko determinedly grabbed the diamond, only to have her wrist grabbed by Snake as the bastard tried to wrestle the jewel from her grip.

“Give it to me, girl!” he snarled.

“No way!” she yelled angrily, trying to jerk away. He pulled back his fist. Kaito, his run slowed by the smashed ribs, shot a card at Snake to distract him from attacking Aoko. He jerked backwards to dodge it, his vision still unfortunately affected by the flashbomb in the eye, hand still locked firmly around Aoko's wrist...

... right out of the broken window.

“AOKO!!” Nakamori's bellow mingled with Snake's scream of rage and Aoko's scream of fear as they fell from the window. Kaito didn't even pause as he ran and leapt out of the window.

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Aoko screamed in fear as the man's weight and strength pulled her out of the window, the scream transmuting into one of pain as one of the broken shards ripped past her leg. The diamond was still clutched in her hands, one of the man's hands painfully tight around her wrist. She turned as they fell, time seeming to slow, and then she saw the white figure that launched itself out of the window after her, streamlining itself as it joined them in freefall.

Kid's face was hidden by the darkness and the hat, but somehow she could make out an odd, urgent glint in his eye. He reached out a hand as he neared her. She reached back to him, her other arm stretched out beneath her, still clutching the diamond, pulled by the man's weight. Kid closed his hand around her wrist, then his hanglider deployed.

Aoko gasped as the sudden air resistance caused a forceful jerk to run through her body, though the Kid didn't let go of her wrist. The man in black, however, having evidently also been taken by surprise, did.

Aoko was dangling from the hanglider by one hand for a moment, and she could see the street now only five stories below her, see the man in black's snarling face grow smaller as he fell away, triumphantly clutching the diamond...

“Shit,” Kid hissed, pulling her up and wrapping one arm around her shoulders, forcing her head into his chest so she could see the man no more. “Don't look.”

... “Don't look, Aoko!” Her father cried, pulling her head into his side so she couldn't see, but she could hear the noise, the horrible, horrible...

It was an odd mix between a crack, a thump and a splash, a disgusting combination that Aoko had only heard once before, a long time ago. She shuddered violently, squeezing her eyes shut and curling up against Kid's damp shirt. He had one arm around her shoulders and another around her waist, holding her close. She felt safe, secure, and while some part of her mind was raging that this was her father's- and hers- mortal enemy, she couldn't help the feeling of utter peace that came from being held by him- an odd sensation that she consciously chalked down to the fact that he had just saved her from joining the man in black on the pavement. The noise and lights of the museum were fading away. The gunfire seemed to have stopped.

“If you can bear my presence for a few more minutes, Ojousama,” Kid said in a slightly rougher voice than his usual smooth tones, “There's a place nearby where I can drop you off on solid ground and you can be on your way.” His breathing was ragged, and Aoko guessed at broken ribs.

“At least,” she thought worriedly. “How many bullets did he get hit by?” All thoughts of arresting the thief had taken a temporary leave of absence- she was simply deeply worried about his injuries. The strength of her worry surprised her.

“Here we go,” Kid said, taking one arm from around her waist as he reached up to grab something, the hanglider retracting as he swung through some window or opening. Aoko squeaked in surprise as her feet touched solid ground again, wincing as pain shot through her leg when she put her weight back on it. Kid steadied her as she swayed, though he seemed unsteady himself. Aoko blinked as her night vision asserted itself, looking around to see where they were.

“A parking lot?” she said in surprise.

“They still haven't replaced the security cameras after my last heist, so it was convenient,” Kid said, letting go of her and stepping back. The backlighting of the streetlights and his hat and monocle obscured his face. “Now, if you would be so good as to go home before poor Nakamori-keibu finally achieves that stress-induced aneurism... or go to the police, as I'm sure you will, although that still gives me plenty of time to be on my merry way...”

“Um... Arigato,” Aoko said awkwardly. “For saving me, I mean.”

“No need to thank me,” Kid said softly. “After all, could I have just let you fall?”

Something was odd about the phrase. “Could?” Aoko wondered. “Sounds a little personal...” Out loud, she said “It doesn't matter. You have to get those bullet wounds treated anyway, it'll be easy to identify you then.”

“Only if I go to a hospital,” Kid said lightly, leaning back against the wall.

“What?!” Aoko said in shock. “You can't be planning to treat those yourself! Those bullet wounds-”

“-are not as bad as they look,” Kid said, cutting her off with surprising harshness. “It's a bulletproof vest and stage blood, nothing much to worry about, I assure you.” He coughed slightly. “Damaged ribs at the worst, and I'm quite capable of treating those. Now go.”

Aoko was taken aback. Kid was acting strange, harsh, polite but cruel...

Suddenly, Aoko was furious at him; forgetting that he'd just saved her life, all the fury came back, for the man who'd stolen, who flaunted the law, who'd mocked her, who'd always occupied her father's mind more fully than her for all of her life, who was always out of her reach, just like him, who always, always hid the truth,...

The fury resolved itself in her outstretched arm as she swung it around in a powerful slap, snapping his head to the side, knocking off his hat and monocle. She dug her nails in, feeling the mask rip and tear, feeling her nails reach deep enough to score his real flesh...

She stared as he slowly turned his head back to face her, the clink of his monocle hitting the ground so loud in the otherwise empty parking lot...

Sweet but cold...

“K...” she gasped, stepping backwards, the rubber and latex in her hand softly flopping to the floor, suddenly trembling as she tried to think of some other explanation for what she saw. But there was nothing; she could see the pink scratches of her fingernails left on his cheek, his real face, a face she knew... “Kaito?”

His face was blank but his eyes were dark as he looked down, somehow unable to meet her gaze. “Aoko...”

“N-no,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Kaito... you can't be... no...”

“Aoko,” he said again, “I'm... I'm sorry. I...”

“No!”

Aoko couldn't stay, she couldn't bring herself to listen, she couldn't bring herself to do anything but get away...

With a sob, she spun on her heel and ran.

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Kaito didn't move as Aoko ran from him, even as he felt his heart shatter in his chest. He knew he should leave before the police came looking for him, but he couldn't bring himself to move. It was over. Aoko knew the truth. And she hated him for it.

“I'd hoped... I'd prayed... that she could forgive me... even listen... but...”

How could she? She hated the Kaitou Kid more than anything- more than she cared about him. His worst fears were confirmed: she didn't love him. She'd only ever seen him as a friend, and probably not even that any more. If she came back at all, it would be with the police, and he'd get that million-year prison sentence that Nakamori-keibu had so often sworn was reserved just for him.

He didn't care. He was already in the worst kind of hell. Maybe a few years with no chance of running into Aoko or anyone else he used to know would be nice.

He sat back into the shadows, waiting for Aoko to decide his fate.

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Just to clarify, the chapter title refers to a common condition that results from “falling” dreams. We've all had dreams where we're falling, right? And then when you wake, you sometimes feel a jerk, as if you really did just land, and often feel out of breath? These muscular spasms are called Myoclonic Jerks, and I just thought that feeling had to be all to appropriate to what Aoko must be feeling right about now.

Inigo Montoya is the creation of William Goldman, whose comic genius I could never hope to emulate. (The original line, from The Princess Bride, is “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”)

I thought something like that originally,Mel72000, but now I really don't know… all I'm certain of it, wherever Shuu is, he's not dead… after all, he was shot at Reiha (Reichenbach) Falls… XDXD

I'm not sure if Hakuba would be quite that cheeky, International DCFanficNut 1207… XDXD

Definitely not a fun heist, FHP2208… I dunno, you always leave nice reviews ^_^

Bet Heiji's rather glad that he's not there now, FaithlessGirl…

The Organization have nothing to lose at this point, KageNoNeko, so they are very literally going in all guns blazing…

It's a line from the “Seven Roads of Kyoto” song that Kazuha sings in the seventh movie, Silver Shadowbreeze ^_-

Take your seizure pills, Pretztailfan95 XD How dare anybody do ANYTHING on your watch? XDXD Clairvoyance means being able to see the future ^_-

It's Okiya Subaru, Desperatembrace. And I know, Akai and Kir seem kinda screwed… what's gonna happen? *excited* Epicness happening in all quarters! XD

I think Heiji's fine with missing this heist, Marie Ravenclaw XD He does it twice in the movies, I think… the M8s will always turn up for a Kid heist! We luffs him so XD

XD though he probably doesn't feel like cracking jokes right now, HaibaraDaiFan… I don't know who Shuu/Okiya are or what they're up to…. But I don't believe Shuu is dead, that's all I'm certain of. I always thought Shinichi was planning something with whoever Okiya is… yes, you did write that loveliness XD

That's a new one, TwilTye… we shall see… Shinichi is getting back on the ball, but he doesn't have everything quite yet…

Nahh, Sharishima, I like Heizo too much and anyway the importance of that was how it altered the relationship between Kaito and Saguru… yeah, the Gosho Boys are PISSED, which does not bode well for the Syndicate… you had friends down? That sounds nice, hope they had fun! ^_- XD I tend to guess what's happening throughout movies too… and I tend to be right…^_^; People hate me for it. XD Actually, only my cousin hates me for ruining a movie for her, but that was different- that was The Half-Blood Prince! Who HASN'T read the Harry Potter books? XD Takagi and Sato are too cool to kill XD It's a brain-strainer for everyone involved… Everyone's slowly migrating to being on the same page… having multiple detectives together is ALWAYS a recipe for trouble XD I think Shinichi and Yuusaku must have had a very fun Hawaiian holiday in the past XD Who knows, when it comes to Vermouth?

The true nature of the connection between Eta and Vermouth will soon be clear, StargateNerd…

XD They're coming for YOU, JapaneseAnimeFreak16! XD I want a chibi-Kaito to huggle… T_T

I could never get the hang of any form of music, PlayingThePiano. I sing like Shinichi XD but I love music, so I think people who CAN play are skill ^_- hmm, Vermouth, eh…? CHIBI OVERLOAD! :D *squees* XD Yeah, Shinichi's shinigami curse seems to have focused on the Syndicate these days, eh…?

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 30 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).