Chapter 42
I Want To Fly
*Finally I present the long awaited Chapter 42! It's been over a week since the last update. Sorry guys... I had a MathCounts competition and a strict 'no computer' rule but I think it was for the best. I was first in my county for the competition, and I'm going to the state level. XD I'm so happy! Anyways, I finished the drawing of kid Viura, it's up on my deviantart account. My username is iluvshadowclaw, and I hope you like it! Please review the chapter, and check out some of my new stories, as there is a poll on my profile on which you would like me to work on as I do this one after MSK's finished. Kay? OK! Onto Chapter 42! (p.s. thank you lostinthedreams!) Please review!*
p.p.s. I will respond to anonymous reviews at the end of the chapter since I can't use a review reply button.
"Good night," whispered Viura as she snuck up behind Snake, fangs bared. He reached for his knife, but not fast enough. She bit him, tasting the rusty blood, savoring the moment as she heard him cry in pain, fear, surprise… and then fall, his low, shallow breaths breaking apart the silence of the room.
"Why?" he asked, the words hardly audible to even the ears of the hunter. It sent a thrill through her body to see this man desperate, seeing him dying. His words had an edge of loathing, something that didn't even affect her.
"The boss's decision, not mine." She pressed her finger to her pursed lips, winking at him. A pose she had copied from Vermouth. "Although if it was my decision, this would have happened a long, long, time ago."
He grabbed the leg of her pants, staring at her with as much hatred as he could muster, which wasn't much considering his face was filled with pain. This man had been born a killer; he would die as the victim in his sick little game of death. "You bastard," he wheezed out, his black eyes glittering for the last time. Then, he released his grip, and fell back towards the ground, destined to never rise again.
Viura laughed- these moments were always so pleasurable. Hearing people beg for mercy, wanting to know why she was killing them. There was no thinking about the kill, giving her the opportunity she needed to savor it, every action wired into her. Just like instinct. She was now replacing Snake as head of the search for Pandora section, though she sincerely wondered what the point of that was. The boss had clearly reached immortality, so why did he want it from a blood-red jewel?
His scientists had already healed all of his fatal wounds and given him the gift of eternal life. As far as she was concerned, the boss would never die. Vermouth was granted this too, but somehow she didn't see the woman on the same god-like level. Maybe it was because Viura's vision of her was clouded with hate, and the desire to be loved. Maybe it was because the boss loved Vermouth more than her and jealousy was hard to see past.
All her life, she had only wanted to be accepted by her two parents. Cognac had always seemed willing to forgive her for any mistakes, and always pushed her forwards, towards the future. Vermouth, on the other hand, was so unforgiving; no mistake went uncharted in her book. She would always try to convince Viura not to do something, not to tread down the path of evil she was strolling on now.
She swore she hated Vermouth above all others, wanted to kill her, wanted to hear her suffering wails. Then why was it that whenever Vermouth praised her, she felt like she was flying? That when Vermouth said 'I'm proud of you' did she feel like she was on top of the world?
Stop thinking about her, Viura. You have a mission to carry out now. Find Pandora, find the Kaitou Kid. She would definitely accomplish more than that lowly, inferior Snake. The ability to succeed was a part of her, and her instinct always led her where she needed to go.
You know what to do, Viura. Use your brain, and you will find the jewel. The boss's orders came back to her, and she let out a long laugh for nobody to hear but the corpse beside her. But first things first. I should find that boy, Miyazaki Ryuu. Then, I'll give him eternal slumber too.
Kaito was perched on the edge of his cot, alone with the exception of Haibara Ai, who was the only one who had been able to stay with him. Detective work and a call from the F.B.I. had forced everybody else to leave, everybody except the little girl.
He didn't mind her presence, but he didn't enjoy it either. Some part of him yelled to get away from her, that she was dangerous, and he could hear gunshots in his head. He could remember screaming in pain as the bullets pierced his skin, the crimson flowers that bloomed all around, and a final, frightening, "Say your prayers, boy." He did his best to dismiss these memories, the ones he didn't want to recall.
Ai looked up at Kaito, who was shaking his head clear of his terrifying thoughts, staring at him in a look that was half pity, and half envy. What would it be like it she lost her memory? Would it free her from her dark past and allow her to live the present in peace? Or would it be horrifying to not know who she was? To not know either Haibara Ai or Miyano Shiho?
She looked at his face, glazed over in confusion and depression. He hadn't said a word since Aoko left, and she was the only one who could really get him to talk. He almost acted like a puppy when she was around, jumpy, excited. If the situation wasn't so serious, she would probably laugh at the scene; a teenager behaving like such a child.
Kaito knew more about himself now, but virtually none of it had been recovered from his subconscious. It was all stories told by other people, things he didn't know were true or not, and he couldn't fathom what to do with his information.
It was quite clear to everybody around him that he may never be able to live a normal life again, and that his memory might be too hard to recover.
He still didn't get why he couldn't leave his room, couldn't see the outside world for just one precious moment. They said it was because he was a wanted criminal, an international fugitive, and he wasn't allowed to show his face or he would be put in prison. He listened, but it didn't keep him from desiring more, from wanting to jump off his bed and crack the door open just a peek, to have a second's worth of life, emotions, that were his and his alone.
Ai could tell what he was yearning for, and she wanted to help him out of here, knowing that even prison might allow him more freedom than this room. It made her think of her life in the Organization, knowing that she couldn't get out, and if she did, then she would die. Of course, his case wasn't about death, but you never knew. The man had been shooting to kill Kaito, and it couldn't take that long for another to replace him. The F.B.I. had asked her to see if she could recognize the mystery man's face, and she had been able to identify him.
"Calvados. He's part of the assassination unit. He usually works for Vermouth, but she isn't the one in charge of finding Kid." She looks up at the teenagers, who suddenly have an accusatory look in their eyes.
"You know about which part of the Organization was after Kaito?" asked Aoko, fire starting to light up in her eyes. "Then why didn't you tell us before?"
"I forgot. I don't really like remembering the Organization. I hate them. They killed my sister." She paused, and then continued with the question. "There's a part of the syndicate that was rumored to be dedicated to finding Pandora, and therefore, hunting down and killing the Kaitou Kid. My sister was part of it once, so that's how I know about it. Most people don't."
"So do you know anything else about them?" asked Heiji, bending down and looking at Ai, eye to eye. It was a method he used to interrogate people, as it made it easier to pry out the whole truth. His turquoise orbs pierced straight into the ice of her own, and she looked away.
"Akemi was only part of them for little more than a month. Then, she got relocated to where she was until- until, well, you know what." She wiped away a tear from her eye, thinking of Akemi, bright and cheerful, telling her about her next mission, because she knew her sister was anything but happy about what they had been making her do.
"I just got transferred to a new department, Shiho!" she crowed, hugging the tea-haired girl. Her chocolate hair draped over Shiho like a curtain, and the younger girl pushed her off.
"Let go of me!" She smiled at her sister after the outburst. "So, which department is it?"
"It's supposed to be a secret, but I'll tell you. I'm being transferred to the immortality department where I'll be searching for the legendary jewel, Pandora. Sounds exciting right? Kind of like a fairy tale!" With that she strolled happily down the hallways, humming joyful tunes as she walked.
"She only managed to tell me that the leader was a man named Snake, and his goal was to kill the Kaitou Kid, despite the actual plan to find Pandora. She was pretty disappointed; at that time she was relatively new to the Organization. Everything else I know about Pandora was from my own snooping around and even that isn't much. I don't know any more than Kuroba does." Ai zoned back into reality, going on with her tale. "I didn't think it was that important, is all."
Kaito was now off the bed, hand on the doorknob. He just wanted the one moment of freedom, and Ai ran, holding the leg of his pants. He looked down at her hesitantly, still not sure why he felt so afraid of the little girl. In that moment, so many emotions were running through both of them, that neither was sure what to do.
Ai knew what it was like to be trapped, to be unable to escape. She knew how much she had wanted to just fly away, flee from all of her troubles. How much she wanted to see the light of freedom, even if it was only for one precious moment.
Kaito started shivering, cold slithering down his spine. He had heard from the storytelling earlier that this girl was part of them, part of the ones that had hurt him. The only thing that he could truly remember was the hurt, the pain, the blood, the screaming. The only thing other than his feelings for Aoko that could make him really feel. The fear of this little girl had him freeze in place.
However, the only thing Ai did was let go of Kaito, and open the door, letting him see outside for just a minute. "It shouldn't be that dangerous. This part of the hospital is pretty quiet compared to the rest of it."
Kaito jumped out of the room with the enthusiasm of a kid on a snow day. His room didn't have a window; the only lighting were the bright fluorescent bulbs fixed to the ceiling, not nearly enough for him to feel the same kind of warmth he could remember in the back of his head, natural and perfect. The outside world amazed him; he could see the sun, hanging in the sky like a golden coin, and the clouds like fluffy cotton balls through the large windows nearly next to his room door, stretching several meters long in a wide arch around the corner.
It wasn't that he had completely forgotten about nature, it was that he'd been deprived of it. Just like any person yearns for food and drink, he craved the warmth of the sun, the feel of the wind on his skin, and the sight of green plants draped in a thin sheet of snow.
"It's beautiful," he breathed, his voice filled with awe. "I can't remember ever seeing this. It makes me so sad to know that I'm causing all the pain, but I can't even recall how, and I can't fix it. I want to see Aoko happy, but I just can't do it. It feels right, but it feels wrong at the same time." He was looking out the window as he said this, and Ai wasn't really sure if he was talking to her. It seemed he was conversing with somebody she couldn't see, somebody much more powerful than anyone on earth. "I wish there was a way that everybody could stop hurting, and a way that would make me less scared to get my memory back. Every time I try, all I can see is blood. I can't conjure up the happy things like I used to."
Ai felt so much pity for the boy; even in the short time she had known the real him, she could tell that he wasn't a weak person, that he was strong and confident. Now he was completely broken, a shell full of fear and confusion. She could see the wistfulness in his blue eyes, the color of an ocean at night, dark and unreadable. She smiled at the thought; at least the thief had kept part of his famous 'Poker Face'.
Footsteps came from down the hall, and Ai started pulling viciously on the boy's legs until she realized she recognized the approaching faces. She smiled sheepishly as they stopped in front of the door, trying to push Kaito inside the room.
"Why is he outside?" asked Aoko, expression full of anger. "You know that if somebody sees him he'll be arrested!" She looked fit to kill Ai, and even Ai was afraid, slowly backing up.
"I just felt so bad for him!" she pleaded, trying to get the older- no excuse me- younger girl to understand. "He's been staring at the door the entire time, and he hasn't even seen the stinking sun since he got stuck in here. It's just like a prison, but worse because at least in prison they'll let you out from time to time."
Aoko looked like she had just been struck by a bolt of lightning, but she quickly regained her feet. "It's not like he'll be in here forever!" she protested defensively. "As soon as he's ready to leave the hospital we'll get him back to Kudo's house."
"How are you going to get him out?" hissed Ai. "If you won't even let him take one step outside of that cell of a room, how the hell are you going to let him out? How can you call yourself his caretaker?" She was angry. She had been through a situation much like Kaito's, and she wanted the others to just understand. The boy backed away quietly into his room, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.
Even if people were trying to protect you by keeping you in the dark, sometimes it hurts more to be in the shadows of safety than out into the open, dangerous rays of a cruel sun. She had been the victim and the culprit of the vicious circle of trying to keep somebody out of harm's way, and only giving them more pain.
She had tried her absolute hardest to make sure that Akemi never got hurt, and protected her by keeping her out of the Organization, even if it had been only a few years. Akemi had despised this treatment, saying that since she was the 'nee-chan' that she was in charge, and could do whatever she pleased. Despite her pleading, her sister joined the Organization.
Then it was Akemi trying to defend her from the fierce attacks of Gin, Vermouth, and several other agents. It was Akemi that had kept Ai from stopping her on the road to death. Maybe it was for a good intent, but in the long run, it only made everything worse.
Why don't they get it? thought Ai as she stared at Aoko's furious face, waiting for her answer. It's best for him if you set him free, and let him fly on his own.
"I haven't figured out how yet, but how dare you say I'm not trying to help him. I'm trying harder than everyone else." Aoko used her height as the major intimidation, but her light blue eyes could never match the depth of Ai's, filled with painful experiences and glowing like fire, melting the ice inside.
"You are trying, but it's not the right way. He's in a fricking cage, can't you see? A bird, even if it's an eagle, can't learn how to fly unless you let it out. You think I don't know how to help him? I lived my whole life behind the bars of the Organization, trying to get out, trying to get my sister out. I tried to keep my sister from getting hurt, but she would always fight. When I let her go, she was happier, more content, and just so much better than before. I also know what it's like to be treated like I'm helpless. It's not enjoyable, and it's not something that he should have to go through. He's not weak; he's perfectly capable of handling himself if you just let him try." Ai screamed it all out with all her heart at the absolute top of her lungs.
Kaito shivered just inside the doorway, cowering from the loud angry voices emanating from the argument outside. In his mind, he supported Ai. He wanted freedom; he wanted to fly like she said he could. He wondered how it would feel to be free, he forgot how that felt. The life he knew know was boring, dull, and torturous. The only questions he ever got asked were 'Did you remember something?' or 'Can you remember this?'. Day by day, minute by minute, it always played out like this, guaranteed.
At first, he had wanted to please above everything else, but it was obvious that it was out of his reach. He couldn't remember anything they wanted him too, only the precious moments that he lost so quickly. Now as the urged him to search inside his muddled brain, the only images he could fish out were filled with blood, his blood, cruel laughter, and pain. Way too much of it.
He wanted to escape this pain, this suffering, some way, somehow. It wasn't that he didn't love the teenage girl standing outside the door, he felt much too controlled. He was a puppet, and everybody else was pulling the strings for him. When they left for their work, they laid him down and locked him in this box of a room. He didn't have a choice.
Ai seemed to want to give him the key to the chest, and let him go, even for just a couple of seconds. Let him see outside, taste rain on his tongue, feel the wind against his skin, hear the gentle chirping of serenading songbirds, smell something other than the sickly hospital scented cots. The old Kaito was still wired into him, maybe not his sense of humor, his playfulness- but his courage, the love of challenges, and a need to fly was still buried inside.
It ate away at him as the days rolled by, slowly ticking off the days until they said he could leave this dark hole. He might have been recovering, the bullet wounds healing, his fatigue lessening, but he was dying inside. The doctors couldn't pry inside him and see this; he wouldn't let them. Slowly, the others had severed the contact between them to a bare minimum, barely visiting Kaito more than once a day; even then it was just to check he was still in the room. It had become less and less for his benefit and more for their piece of mind.
The yelling outside stopped, and his door, his prison door, was opened to reveal a flustered Aoko, and no Ai. Heiji, Ran, Kazuha, and Hakuba entered the room slowly, following Aoko's lead. They were obviously quite hesitant; Aoko looked as if she were about to explode at any moment, her anger quite visible in her fiery sapphire irises.
She stared into Kaito's blue eyes, filled with desire and fear, and said, "Sorry, did I scare you?"
He didn't know how to reply, not sure if he wanted to. The way she said it made him feel weak, inferior, like a child. In the beginning, he hadn't minded this treatment; he'd needed it to get used to everything, to get used to all the changes in the life he hadn't known. But now, it made him feel like he was being looked down upon, like he was stupid, like he couldn't do anything.
"I wasn't scared," he started, pausing for a couple of moments. What if he upset her? Then who would he be able to talk to? I'm not weak, I'm strong, he tried to convince himself, building up his courage. He swallowed his fear and continued. "I agree with the little girl, Ai. I don't want to be trapped in here. Give me a good reason on why I have to stay."
Aoko looked skeptical, as if she couldn't believe Kaito would say such a thing. She had felt that sending Ai away had been the best for him, and that the protection that she was giving him would ascertain his safety. "Kaito." She stopped, trying to find the right words behind her conflicting mind. Part of her agreed that Ai had a good point, but her stubbornness refused to give in, fighting a worthless battle. "It's just not safe for you out there. Not yet, maybe not ever. I only want to keep you out of harm's way for as long as I can. Is that too hard to understand?"
"No, it isn't." He looked back at the floor, expression half filled with depression, half filled with defeat. The one thing he hadn't gained since he arrived was a victory. The chance to win at least part of an argument, to not have to be guided in every tiny, step he took. A win by himself hadn't been achieved yet. Just failure and it brought his already poor self-esteem even lower.
"There, there, Kaito." Aoko snuggled against him, hugging him from behind, her head on his shoulder. "Everything will be fine. You'll only be in here for another couple of days. Then we'll move you back into Kudo-kun's house and everything will be okay. I promise."
He didn't answer, stuck in his sea of disappointment.
Fire. Flames. A loud crackle. The sound of falling wood. People screaming. Sirens blaring through the heat-filled air. Feet running on the rough asphalt, loud and fast, trying to achieve a hopeless goal. Sparks of orange light attacking every part of his body. A cloth pressed over his mouth, taking him to dark place. So dark…
Ryuu sprang up, covered in sweat. Where was he? As far as he could tell, he was on a bed, soft and comfortable, but not familiar, somehow cold despite the blankets provided. There was nobody else in the dimly lit room, the only lighting being the lone fluorescent bulb hanging right above him, causing strange, green and red spots to appear in his vision.
Was his nightmare just a dream? Or had it been reality? He didn't remember coming here, but he recalled the vicious, burning air, devouring him like a pack of hungry wolves. He could see his house being reduced to ashes, his parents probably along with it. Could they have, by any chance, gone out to run an errand? That would be best; it would mean they weren't dead…
The door opened from a quiet, desolate corner, and Ryuu snapped his head up at the noise. It was a woman, with platinum blonde hair and mysterious eyes that pierced through his emerald orbs. She looked up at him, her expression unreadable, shrouded in darkness.
He shivered, and spoke, the sound of his voice echoing through the nearly empty room, his heart thudding loudly against his chest in fear and hesitation, "Who are you?"
*This is just random crap I wrote in English class relating to the chapter. It's supposedly a poem. Whaddaya think?
What's it like to be trapped, in room like a prison?
Where you feel you are in a cage, unable to escape?
Others may feed you words that it's to keep you safe, but your doubts swallowed you up.
You are an eagle, kept on the ground, barred from the sky,
You want to take flight, fly up higher than the moon and the stars,
Fly up towards light where you will be forever free.
Loo Shuenpei: I'm happy with your enthusiasm! I hope you'll continue reading all of the stories!
djfhkdjg: There was more Kaito in this chapter! Hopefully there'll be even more in the next! Thank you for reviewing!
Thank you to all reviewers, anonymous and signed! Please review if you haven't!*
Feb 21, 2011
Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Didn’t Mean It
*Okay,sorry for the long wait! I've been busy with all kinds of things so I haven't had time to post this online! (not to mention the internet crashed). I've been starting a bunch of other fics. (I know, slap me if you want.) You might have read them, but if you haven't, please do! I posted a new drawing of deviantart (hattori) and the link is iluvshadowclaw. deviantart. com. Thank you!
"Have you found anything about the boy, Viura?" asked Snake, eyes glittering with menace. His voice was deep and scratchy, as if he had a cold. His frightening aura and astounding array of weapons, three handguns and a couple of knives around his waist probably would have scared most people, but Viura found the sight funny. She laughed at him.
"No," she lied smoothly. Why should she pass all the credit to this idiot? It was she who found the Kaitou Kid, and it was going to stay a secret. She would choose the right time, so she could replace Vermouth at the boss's side, and she wasn't afraid to use anybody, even if it involved backstabbing. "I've found a bit of information, but I haven't found the boy. I surveyed the sight of Calvados's little 'accident', I ran a blood test and it's definitely not his blood, so it must be Kuroba Kaito's. The boy's either in a hospital recovering, dying, or he's already dead."
"He better not be dead. I'd like to save that part for myself. That brat better not have died before I have my go at him, but not even the Kaitou Kid can dodge a bullet. I discovered that out for myself a very, very, long time ago. " He lifted one of his pistols out of its holster and caressed the shining barrel gently. "Do you know what makes this gun unique?"
"No sir," Viura said with tempered patience. She didn't need to hear a story that was probably about how Snake killed the previous Kaitou Kid. However, you don't insult your current superior when you're trying to get ahead in the game, so she stood, uncaring, as she waited for his tale.
"This is my special gun; there's none like it in the entire world." The barrel was a little longer than a normal pistol, and it appeared to lack a safety. Snake didn't want to waste time with something like that. "Eight years ago, just a little before you were created, a certain Kuroba Toichi refused to steal Pandora for our Organization. Since he knew about us, he was a threat, and therefore had to be eliminated. Getting into his magic show with a weapon was easy. They didn't even have a security check set up; that man was arrogant to not be afraid for his safety when he knew our secrets. I had one of my comrades lace one of his props with an explosive, nothing dangerous enough to be mistaken for a terrorist act, but just enough for somebody to believe his death to be a stage accident."
Snake paused in his remembrance, eyes sparkling darkly with wicked thoughts as he recalled every foul act he had planned out. Viura felt herself indulgent in those same feelings. "I sat next to a small child; his name was Kuroba Kaito, the son of the magician who I was going to kill. I wanted to hear his tortured crying as he watched his dad die in front of his eyes. The little girl next to him, I knew, would be just as much fun- being a girl and being so young." Snake let out a rough laugh. "In all possibility, she might be that little girlfriend of his. I should have killed both of them, and spared us from our current troubles, but the thought didn't occur to me at the time." He smiled at Viura, a smile more sadistic than even she could muster because it was tinged with madness. She chuckled silently; this man thought he was so great, pulling off a simple murder. She could kill more expertly, more effectively, and was much more talented. She didn't even need a gun.
"Please get on with it." Viura was now tapping her foot impatiently against the ground, red eyes glowing with frustration. She was supposed to meet with the boss, and she was already a couple of minutes late. The intensity of the fire in her gaze took Snake aback, but he continued, too caught up in his current bloodlust to care about someone else's.
"During his final magic trick, while the audience's attention was focused on him, I shot him, and set off the explosive simultaneously. There were a lot of 'oohs' and 'ahhs' until somebody realized that it wasn't just a trick. The little boy beside me screamed, and started running towards the flames. His friend chased after him, but they were both stopped by the security guards. It would have been futile anyways; I never miss, unlike that doofus Calvados. Never should have trusted him with that mission." He sounded like he was going to say more, but one glance at the angry Viura, and he decided to let her go.
"Thank you, Snake." Thanks for a waste of time, dumbass, she thought in her head. The boss truly did come up with a punishment for her. She had been forced to listen to such a stupid man tell such a stupid story. If the day ever came that she could sink her fangs into that man's neck, she would.
There were several people that she would have liked to kill, Vermouth being on top of that list. How dare that woman shove her aside, ignore her when she knew how much Viura missed her? Adored her? She didn't mean to kill Tequila, it was just an accident.
She fired the gun, aiming for a small target several yards away. She tried to adjust her stance, shift her hands a bit, but the bullet still flew awry, hitting the wall instead of the target. The force from the recoil made her stumble backwards into her mentor, falling onto his feet.
"You stinking little brat! How can you miss that badly?" Tequila's voice was loud and harsh, and he smashed his fist into the top of the little girl's head. She started crying, not knowing what else to do. He did not care about sparing her emotions, he continued to insult her. "Stop crying you weakling! Start practicing again!"
He hit her once more, and she just couldn't stand the harassment. She instinctively bit into his hand as it flew towards her face, and the man fell to the ground, struggling for air. Blood slowly seeped out of his wound as his life faded, his last struggles echoing through the empty room. The girl was frozen, still at the dead man's feet. There was a moment of silence before she realized what had happened.
"Tequila-ojisan? Tequila-ojisan? Please answer me, Tequila-ojisan! I didn't mean to bite you! Please just get up, Tequila-ojisan!" Her wails pierced the air, and in just minutes, Vermouth came to the girl's aid and found Tequila dead on the ground.
"What did you do, Viura?" Her voice was as cold as ice, and her face was set in anger. It scared the little girl, and she backed away.
"Mommy!" She hugged the woman's leg, weeping, the warm tears spilling from her eyes. "Why isn't Tequila-ojisan waking up?" There was guilt and innocence glowing from those fiery red eyes, so different from the woman's, filled with anger, hatred, and was that regret?
"You killed him, you little monster. Get out of my sight." She kicked off the little girl, leaving her alone when a scientist came to put her into a cell and into darkness. The girl cried for a long, long time. She didn't mean to kill Tequila, and she wanted her mother back.
"Mommy…"
Why was she getting so caught up in her past again? Concentrate Viura! You have more important things to do than just remember that woman! She thought, clearing her mind. Now, to continue with my other thoughts. Other people I want to kill, let's think…
In just thirty seconds, she had come up with a full list. Vermouth, Snake, and several other members of the organization were the included, though she had almost no chance of getting permission to kill her coworkers. Only one had no connection to the syndicate. The boy's name was Miyazaki Ryuu, the one who had caused her failure. She couldn't wait for the day she could get her revenge.
Ryuu couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had thought Ai was different, but he never even thought of the idea that she might not be a kid. "This girl here, Haibara Ai, is not what she seems. Her real name is Miyano Shiho, a twenty year old biochemist." It had taken his breath away. He was friends with a twenty year old?
"She was once part of the Black Organization. She created the poison that killed Kudo Shinichi; the name of the poison was APTX4869. She took it so she could commit suicide after her sister was murdered, but it ended up shrinking her. She knows a lot about those guys in the Organization, so she's a lot of help to us."
Ai was a bad guy. But she was a good guy now, right? He wanted to leave and pretend he had never heard anything; however, he couldn't pull himself away from the door. He learned about everything, Kaito's lost memory, Shinichi's existence in Ran's head, their ultimate goal. Destroy the Black Organization.
He heard them stop talking, and then footsteps slowly approaching the door. They were small and light. It had to be Ai. He had no time to get up before she had opened the door, and saw Ryuu beside it in the hallway. Her eyes widened in shock, then suspicion, and then just plain disbelief.
"What is it Haibara? Oy, answer me!" Heiji charged into Ai, not noticing Ryuu standing in front of her.
"How much did you hear, Ryuu-kun?" She sounded defeated; there was no point in hiding the truth. He had heard everything, she could tell from the shock in his emerald eyes that were a window to his emotions, completely mindblown.
Ryuu didn't know what to say, or how to look. 'I'm three years her senpai!' How far off could he be? He was silent for a moment, and then he said, "I heard everything, Shiho-neechan." If she was that much older than him, then she would count as an older sister, right?
"Don't call me that, please, Ryuu-kun. Shiho died when I became Haibara Ai. Just call me Ai-kun, if you still want to be my friend. If you don't, then you can just leave right now. I won't try to stop you." Her eyes burned with sorrow, as if she thought that Ryuu would leave. One of her only friends.
He didn't truly understand the gravity of the situation, all of the troubles behind it. He saw it from a kid's point of view even though he had some experience with the harsher side of reality. He had never really dealt with anything like this. His thoughts on what they were up against was the cartoonish envisioning of a bunch of stupid bad guys, and the smart good guys who could beat them up easily. It was how manga and TV shows went.
"I'm still your friend, Ai-kun, even if you are twenty years old. I'm just not your senpai anymore." She smiled, but she understood that Ryuu didn't comprehend what he was agreeing to. How serious this was.
"Ryuu-kun…" She didn't know how to respond to him. She wanted him to leave and never come back because she knew that he shouldn't be part of this. It was too dangerous for him to even know. As a kid, he might underestimate the Black Organization, or worse yet, tell his father, the head of the Japanese Police Force. Then he would be an even greater threat to them, as he had already escaped their grasp once. "Ryuu-kun, you don't understand. This is dangerous, life-threatening even. You're not part of this. Can you try to forget what you heard? Please?"
"I don't think it's possible to forget that. I'll keep it secret though, Ai-kun. But wouldn't it be a good idea to tell my dad? He could help you guys."
"No. We already have the F.B.I. on our side, and even they can't handle it. I'm not going to involve any more people if I can help it. Don't tell anybody." The teenagers stood around them silently, not sure how the conversation was turning out. Ai and Ryuu were whispering softly now, and it was hard to hear.
"If you don't think it'll help, then I'm not going to push it, Ai-kun." He didn't realize that when Ai said they were dangerous, that they could truly kill anybody they wanted and get away with it. He felt like she was talking about a street gang; he was ten, he didn't really know what the F.B.I. was. He just didn't get it.
"Make sure you keep your promise, Ryuu-kun." She turned around, and walked back into the room. "It's probably time for you to go, isn't it?"
He nodded, and started on the path towards the exit.
"Viura, where are you going?" Vermouth stopped the younger woman in the hallway, looking at her suspiciously. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to find the Kaitou Kid?" Her blue-green eyes flashed, matching Viura's in intensity and hatred.
"I couldn't locate him. I'm going to report that to the boss. Do you have a problem with that?" It was hard for her to fight back to urge to kill the woman in front of her, show her how much pain she had caused in her life. Did she even care about her at all? She must have known how much she hurt her.
Vermouth pinned Viura against the wall, ignoring the fact that Viura was much stronger. Passersby stared curiously at them, but looked away quickly once they saw the two that were starting the fight. Nobody in the Organization wanted to mess with Viura, much less Vermouth.
"I know you're lying. You can't fool me," Vermouth whispered, sounding exactly like Viura did. Seductive, deadly, powerful. "Nobody beats me at Poker Face, and nobody is better at detecting a lie than I am. Spit it out."
Viura felt a surge of hatred. She could easily murder Vermouth right now, but she knew better than to do it. The boss would probably end up killing her if she did. "Why should I tell you? What do you care?"
"You're plotting something against me. I can see it in your eyes. If you tell me, I'll let you off without a punishment."
What Viura didn't know was that Vermouth still cared for her in a way. Vermouth didn't want Viura to walk onto the path that the boss had planned, a path covered with death and betrayal. It was why she'd pushed her away as a child, fearing that she would become the weapon the boss was looking for. It had become all too true, so Vermouth wanted to find a way to try and prevent anything more from happening, protecting Viura from the boss's intentions. Viura could have had the ability to great, in an actual sense of the word, but it had been barred from her. Perhaps she still had a chance.
Viura looked away, Vermouth having beaten her in their private staring contest. "I'm going to kidnap the Kaitou Kid, and make him one of us. And then, I'm going to kill you. I promise you that." She spit at the ground, unwilling to look the other in the eye. Vermouth's mouth widened in a grin. It was what she had been expecting to hear; it was what she would have done.
"You truly are my daughter, Viura. I'm proud that you could come up with such a plan. Let's see if you can follow through with it." Vermouth let her go, leaving Viura shell-shocked. Vermouth was proud of her. Could it be she still actually cared?
No, Viura! Don't let yourself get distracted! She's trying to trick you, she thought. But the smaller part of her murmured, But she said she's proud of you! You know you're pleased, so why not just let things be? You don't have to take her down. You know what you really want is for her to accept you.
"Shut up!" she suddenly screamed, causing everybody to turn around and stare. A snake-like glare shifted their attention elsewhere, and she entered the boss's room.
His chair was facing towards the back wall as usual, hiding his face and figure from everybody. As far as Viura knew, he just about never left the room, but there were rumors that there were passages leading from this chamber to every location in the headquarters of the Organization.
"Viura, darling. How is your mission with Snake doing?" he asked, his voice as smooth as velvet. The boss was a very mysterious person; she hadn't seen him up close for several years, the last time was when she was a little girl. She could remember his dark black hair, and deep turquoise eyes. He was a tall, strong man with extremely high intelligence, worthy of being the head of such a large and powerful syndicate.
"It's going well. But I feel that Snake is a bumbling idiot." She knew the Boss usually wouldn't reprimand her for scolding agents; he knew that she was on a much higher level. "That man is hopeless, why is he ranked so high?"
"He used to be one of our political assassins, but he was the one who volunteered to find the gem, Pandora. Since he was in charge of that assignment, I had to bump him up. Little did I know his jewel-hunting would turn into a thief-catching bonanza. He was more interested in killing the Kaitou Kid than finding the diamond. After eight years, he still hasn't been able to complete the mission. I think it's high time to replace him with somebody else, don't you?" Viura knew what he was hinting at.
"And what would you do with Snake?" She licked her lips, knowing that if the Boss followed his usual routine, it would involve an execution. She hoped that it would involve her.
"Kill him. He's an absolute failure. You know what your job is now, don't you?" She nodded, heading towards the door. This was going to be fun. "And also, you have more than just him to kill. I want you to kill that boy, Miyazaki Ryuu and the girl that was with him. From your report, they might become a threat to our Organization. Especially the boy, since his father may get involved."
"With pleasure."
Ryuu shivered as he walked down the street. Not only was it cold outside, he felt like somebody was watching him. His head was still full of the images that he had conjured up while listening. A shrinking girl, evil men in black, a Phantom Thief that lost his memory, these problems made so much easier to solve in his mind than in reality.
He looked up at the sky, which was growing darker by the minute. The weatherman had promised a snowstorm after all. He looked forward to the white fluff covering the ground, and the days after where he could play in the snow and have fun. Maybe Ai would be able to join him, along with the three kids that were with her. When he had met up with them at Ai's house, they had told him their group was called the 'Detective Boys'.
Mitsuhiko had explained that they had just been watching a detective movie at his house, and they wanted to be just like the hero, Sherlock Holmes. They were going to ask Ai to join them even though they knew she would say yes, and surprisingly even invited him to join.
He had accepted happily, glad to have more friends. In his grade, not many were interested in what he liked, the realm of police and crime. Most boys were entertained by the thoughts of war, robots, and guns, basically what you'd find in videogames. Therefore, his friends were few, and he didn't mind making some among his kohai.
He wondered if his mother had prepared dinner yet, if he would have to face her scolding him when he finally arrived home. It had taken him two hours to force an opening in the constant hugging, crying, and his mom repeating 'I was so worried about you! I'm so glad you made it back safe.'
It wasn't that he didn't like being hugged by his mom and dad; but had wanted to see Ai again. The girl thoroughly interested him, and he was actually able to carry a conversation with her. She was pretty, smart, and brave too. He had already developed a small crush on the twenty-year-old turned six-year-old woman.
He liked how her blue eyes twinkled, and how they had a certain icy quality with their fire. He liked the sound of her voice; it was like a song, beautiful and changing, switching from all different emotions. While it was more like puppy love on his part, he really did like her.
When he was turning the corner towards his house, he noticed the sound of an ambulance, fire trucks, and police cars. They rushed by him, blowing his black hair across his face, leaving him wide-eyed in surprise. The ringing bells didn't disappear as he went closer and he realized that something terrible was happening.
He ran back home, noticing the smoke spiraling into the air, and the hungry flames devouring the building, turning the wood to ash. The firefighters were starting to put out the blaze, but it was obvious that it was beyond their control.
"N-" he started to yell, but somebody had put a cloth over his mouth. The world started to mist black, and everything faded as he fell into unconsciousness.
*Please, please, please review! It makes me wanna write a lot faster! Note: I'm going to post a preview of the story I will be focusing on once MSK is over, for a hint, the title's 'Revenge'. While you're waiting for the next chapter, please read my new fic 'The Leap' (it's a finished two-shot) and 'The Magician's Daughter' (somebody's request for me to write their story for them. It's a pregnancy fic, and I don't know anything about that topic. However, I would appreciate help of any kind!) Review them too!*
Didn’t Mean It
*Okay,sorry for the long wait! I've been busy with all kinds of things so I haven't had time to post this online! (not to mention the internet crashed). I've been starting a bunch of other fics. (I know, slap me if you want.) You might have read them, but if you haven't, please do! I posted a new drawing of deviantart (hattori) and the link is iluvshadowclaw. deviantart. com. Thank you!
"Have you found anything about the boy, Viura?" asked Snake, eyes glittering with menace. His voice was deep and scratchy, as if he had a cold. His frightening aura and astounding array of weapons, three handguns and a couple of knives around his waist probably would have scared most people, but Viura found the sight funny. She laughed at him.
"No," she lied smoothly. Why should she pass all the credit to this idiot? It was she who found the Kaitou Kid, and it was going to stay a secret. She would choose the right time, so she could replace Vermouth at the boss's side, and she wasn't afraid to use anybody, even if it involved backstabbing. "I've found a bit of information, but I haven't found the boy. I surveyed the sight of Calvados's little 'accident', I ran a blood test and it's definitely not his blood, so it must be Kuroba Kaito's. The boy's either in a hospital recovering, dying, or he's already dead."
"He better not be dead. I'd like to save that part for myself. That brat better not have died before I have my go at him, but not even the Kaitou Kid can dodge a bullet. I discovered that out for myself a very, very, long time ago. " He lifted one of his pistols out of its holster and caressed the shining barrel gently. "Do you know what makes this gun unique?"
"No sir," Viura said with tempered patience. She didn't need to hear a story that was probably about how Snake killed the previous Kaitou Kid. However, you don't insult your current superior when you're trying to get ahead in the game, so she stood, uncaring, as she waited for his tale.
"This is my special gun; there's none like it in the entire world." The barrel was a little longer than a normal pistol, and it appeared to lack a safety. Snake didn't want to waste time with something like that. "Eight years ago, just a little before you were created, a certain Kuroba Toichi refused to steal Pandora for our Organization. Since he knew about us, he was a threat, and therefore had to be eliminated. Getting into his magic show with a weapon was easy. They didn't even have a security check set up; that man was arrogant to not be afraid for his safety when he knew our secrets. I had one of my comrades lace one of his props with an explosive, nothing dangerous enough to be mistaken for a terrorist act, but just enough for somebody to believe his death to be a stage accident."
Snake paused in his remembrance, eyes sparkling darkly with wicked thoughts as he recalled every foul act he had planned out. Viura felt herself indulgent in those same feelings. "I sat next to a small child; his name was Kuroba Kaito, the son of the magician who I was going to kill. I wanted to hear his tortured crying as he watched his dad die in front of his eyes. The little girl next to him, I knew, would be just as much fun- being a girl and being so young." Snake let out a rough laugh. "In all possibility, she might be that little girlfriend of his. I should have killed both of them, and spared us from our current troubles, but the thought didn't occur to me at the time." He smiled at Viura, a smile more sadistic than even she could muster because it was tinged with madness. She chuckled silently; this man thought he was so great, pulling off a simple murder. She could kill more expertly, more effectively, and was much more talented. She didn't even need a gun.
"Please get on with it." Viura was now tapping her foot impatiently against the ground, red eyes glowing with frustration. She was supposed to meet with the boss, and she was already a couple of minutes late. The intensity of the fire in her gaze took Snake aback, but he continued, too caught up in his current bloodlust to care about someone else's.
"During his final magic trick, while the audience's attention was focused on him, I shot him, and set off the explosive simultaneously. There were a lot of 'oohs' and 'ahhs' until somebody realized that it wasn't just a trick. The little boy beside me screamed, and started running towards the flames. His friend chased after him, but they were both stopped by the security guards. It would have been futile anyways; I never miss, unlike that doofus Calvados. Never should have trusted him with that mission." He sounded like he was going to say more, but one glance at the angry Viura, and he decided to let her go.
"Thank you, Snake." Thanks for a waste of time, dumbass, she thought in her head. The boss truly did come up with a punishment for her. She had been forced to listen to such a stupid man tell such a stupid story. If the day ever came that she could sink her fangs into that man's neck, she would.
There were several people that she would have liked to kill, Vermouth being on top of that list. How dare that woman shove her aside, ignore her when she knew how much Viura missed her? Adored her? She didn't mean to kill Tequila, it was just an accident.
She fired the gun, aiming for a small target several yards away. She tried to adjust her stance, shift her hands a bit, but the bullet still flew awry, hitting the wall instead of the target. The force from the recoil made her stumble backwards into her mentor, falling onto his feet.
"You stinking little brat! How can you miss that badly?" Tequila's voice was loud and harsh, and he smashed his fist into the top of the little girl's head. She started crying, not knowing what else to do. He did not care about sparing her emotions, he continued to insult her. "Stop crying you weakling! Start practicing again!"
He hit her once more, and she just couldn't stand the harassment. She instinctively bit into his hand as it flew towards her face, and the man fell to the ground, struggling for air. Blood slowly seeped out of his wound as his life faded, his last struggles echoing through the empty room. The girl was frozen, still at the dead man's feet. There was a moment of silence before she realized what had happened.
"Tequila-ojisan? Tequila-ojisan? Please answer me, Tequila-ojisan! I didn't mean to bite you! Please just get up, Tequila-ojisan!" Her wails pierced the air, and in just minutes, Vermouth came to the girl's aid and found Tequila dead on the ground.
"What did you do, Viura?" Her voice was as cold as ice, and her face was set in anger. It scared the little girl, and she backed away.
"Mommy!" She hugged the woman's leg, weeping, the warm tears spilling from her eyes. "Why isn't Tequila-ojisan waking up?" There was guilt and innocence glowing from those fiery red eyes, so different from the woman's, filled with anger, hatred, and was that regret?
"You killed him, you little monster. Get out of my sight." She kicked off the little girl, leaving her alone when a scientist came to put her into a cell and into darkness. The girl cried for a long, long time. She didn't mean to kill Tequila, and she wanted her mother back.
"Mommy…"
Why was she getting so caught up in her past again? Concentrate Viura! You have more important things to do than just remember that woman! She thought, clearing her mind. Now, to continue with my other thoughts. Other people I want to kill, let's think…
In just thirty seconds, she had come up with a full list. Vermouth, Snake, and several other members of the organization were the included, though she had almost no chance of getting permission to kill her coworkers. Only one had no connection to the syndicate. The boy's name was Miyazaki Ryuu, the one who had caused her failure. She couldn't wait for the day she could get her revenge.
Ryuu couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had thought Ai was different, but he never even thought of the idea that she might not be a kid. "This girl here, Haibara Ai, is not what she seems. Her real name is Miyano Shiho, a twenty year old biochemist." It had taken his breath away. He was friends with a twenty year old?
"She was once part of the Black Organization. She created the poison that killed Kudo Shinichi; the name of the poison was APTX4869. She took it so she could commit suicide after her sister was murdered, but it ended up shrinking her. She knows a lot about those guys in the Organization, so she's a lot of help to us."
Ai was a bad guy. But she was a good guy now, right? He wanted to leave and pretend he had never heard anything; however, he couldn't pull himself away from the door. He learned about everything, Kaito's lost memory, Shinichi's existence in Ran's head, their ultimate goal. Destroy the Black Organization.
He heard them stop talking, and then footsteps slowly approaching the door. They were small and light. It had to be Ai. He had no time to get up before she had opened the door, and saw Ryuu beside it in the hallway. Her eyes widened in shock, then suspicion, and then just plain disbelief.
"What is it Haibara? Oy, answer me!" Heiji charged into Ai, not noticing Ryuu standing in front of her.
"How much did you hear, Ryuu-kun?" She sounded defeated; there was no point in hiding the truth. He had heard everything, she could tell from the shock in his emerald eyes that were a window to his emotions, completely mindblown.
Ryuu didn't know what to say, or how to look. 'I'm three years her senpai!' How far off could he be? He was silent for a moment, and then he said, "I heard everything, Shiho-neechan." If she was that much older than him, then she would count as an older sister, right?
"Don't call me that, please, Ryuu-kun. Shiho died when I became Haibara Ai. Just call me Ai-kun, if you still want to be my friend. If you don't, then you can just leave right now. I won't try to stop you." Her eyes burned with sorrow, as if she thought that Ryuu would leave. One of her only friends.
He didn't truly understand the gravity of the situation, all of the troubles behind it. He saw it from a kid's point of view even though he had some experience with the harsher side of reality. He had never really dealt with anything like this. His thoughts on what they were up against was the cartoonish envisioning of a bunch of stupid bad guys, and the smart good guys who could beat them up easily. It was how manga and TV shows went.
"I'm still your friend, Ai-kun, even if you are twenty years old. I'm just not your senpai anymore." She smiled, but she understood that Ryuu didn't comprehend what he was agreeing to. How serious this was.
"Ryuu-kun…" She didn't know how to respond to him. She wanted him to leave and never come back because she knew that he shouldn't be part of this. It was too dangerous for him to even know. As a kid, he might underestimate the Black Organization, or worse yet, tell his father, the head of the Japanese Police Force. Then he would be an even greater threat to them, as he had already escaped their grasp once. "Ryuu-kun, you don't understand. This is dangerous, life-threatening even. You're not part of this. Can you try to forget what you heard? Please?"
"I don't think it's possible to forget that. I'll keep it secret though, Ai-kun. But wouldn't it be a good idea to tell my dad? He could help you guys."
"No. We already have the F.B.I. on our side, and even they can't handle it. I'm not going to involve any more people if I can help it. Don't tell anybody." The teenagers stood around them silently, not sure how the conversation was turning out. Ai and Ryuu were whispering softly now, and it was hard to hear.
"If you don't think it'll help, then I'm not going to push it, Ai-kun." He didn't realize that when Ai said they were dangerous, that they could truly kill anybody they wanted and get away with it. He felt like she was talking about a street gang; he was ten, he didn't really know what the F.B.I. was. He just didn't get it.
"Make sure you keep your promise, Ryuu-kun." She turned around, and walked back into the room. "It's probably time for you to go, isn't it?"
He nodded, and started on the path towards the exit.
"Viura, where are you going?" Vermouth stopped the younger woman in the hallway, looking at her suspiciously. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to find the Kaitou Kid?" Her blue-green eyes flashed, matching Viura's in intensity and hatred.
"I couldn't locate him. I'm going to report that to the boss. Do you have a problem with that?" It was hard for her to fight back to urge to kill the woman in front of her, show her how much pain she had caused in her life. Did she even care about her at all? She must have known how much she hurt her.
Vermouth pinned Viura against the wall, ignoring the fact that Viura was much stronger. Passersby stared curiously at them, but looked away quickly once they saw the two that were starting the fight. Nobody in the Organization wanted to mess with Viura, much less Vermouth.
"I know you're lying. You can't fool me," Vermouth whispered, sounding exactly like Viura did. Seductive, deadly, powerful. "Nobody beats me at Poker Face, and nobody is better at detecting a lie than I am. Spit it out."
Viura felt a surge of hatred. She could easily murder Vermouth right now, but she knew better than to do it. The boss would probably end up killing her if she did. "Why should I tell you? What do you care?"
"You're plotting something against me. I can see it in your eyes. If you tell me, I'll let you off without a punishment."
What Viura didn't know was that Vermouth still cared for her in a way. Vermouth didn't want Viura to walk onto the path that the boss had planned, a path covered with death and betrayal. It was why she'd pushed her away as a child, fearing that she would become the weapon the boss was looking for. It had become all too true, so Vermouth wanted to find a way to try and prevent anything more from happening, protecting Viura from the boss's intentions. Viura could have had the ability to great, in an actual sense of the word, but it had been barred from her. Perhaps she still had a chance.
Viura looked away, Vermouth having beaten her in their private staring contest. "I'm going to kidnap the Kaitou Kid, and make him one of us. And then, I'm going to kill you. I promise you that." She spit at the ground, unwilling to look the other in the eye. Vermouth's mouth widened in a grin. It was what she had been expecting to hear; it was what she would have done.
"You truly are my daughter, Viura. I'm proud that you could come up with such a plan. Let's see if you can follow through with it." Vermouth let her go, leaving Viura shell-shocked. Vermouth was proud of her. Could it be she still actually cared?
No, Viura! Don't let yourself get distracted! She's trying to trick you, she thought. But the smaller part of her murmured, But she said she's proud of you! You know you're pleased, so why not just let things be? You don't have to take her down. You know what you really want is for her to accept you.
"Shut up!" she suddenly screamed, causing everybody to turn around and stare. A snake-like glare shifted their attention elsewhere, and she entered the boss's room.
His chair was facing towards the back wall as usual, hiding his face and figure from everybody. As far as Viura knew, he just about never left the room, but there were rumors that there were passages leading from this chamber to every location in the headquarters of the Organization.
"Viura, darling. How is your mission with Snake doing?" he asked, his voice as smooth as velvet. The boss was a very mysterious person; she hadn't seen him up close for several years, the last time was when she was a little girl. She could remember his dark black hair, and deep turquoise eyes. He was a tall, strong man with extremely high intelligence, worthy of being the head of such a large and powerful syndicate.
"It's going well. But I feel that Snake is a bumbling idiot." She knew the Boss usually wouldn't reprimand her for scolding agents; he knew that she was on a much higher level. "That man is hopeless, why is he ranked so high?"
"He used to be one of our political assassins, but he was the one who volunteered to find the gem, Pandora. Since he was in charge of that assignment, I had to bump him up. Little did I know his jewel-hunting would turn into a thief-catching bonanza. He was more interested in killing the Kaitou Kid than finding the diamond. After eight years, he still hasn't been able to complete the mission. I think it's high time to replace him with somebody else, don't you?" Viura knew what he was hinting at.
"And what would you do with Snake?" She licked her lips, knowing that if the Boss followed his usual routine, it would involve an execution. She hoped that it would involve her.
"Kill him. He's an absolute failure. You know what your job is now, don't you?" She nodded, heading towards the door. This was going to be fun. "And also, you have more than just him to kill. I want you to kill that boy, Miyazaki Ryuu and the girl that was with him. From your report, they might become a threat to our Organization. Especially the boy, since his father may get involved."
"With pleasure."
Ryuu shivered as he walked down the street. Not only was it cold outside, he felt like somebody was watching him. His head was still full of the images that he had conjured up while listening. A shrinking girl, evil men in black, a Phantom Thief that lost his memory, these problems made so much easier to solve in his mind than in reality.
He looked up at the sky, which was growing darker by the minute. The weatherman had promised a snowstorm after all. He looked forward to the white fluff covering the ground, and the days after where he could play in the snow and have fun. Maybe Ai would be able to join him, along with the three kids that were with her. When he had met up with them at Ai's house, they had told him their group was called the 'Detective Boys'.
Mitsuhiko had explained that they had just been watching a detective movie at his house, and they wanted to be just like the hero, Sherlock Holmes. They were going to ask Ai to join them even though they knew she would say yes, and surprisingly even invited him to join.
He had accepted happily, glad to have more friends. In his grade, not many were interested in what he liked, the realm of police and crime. Most boys were entertained by the thoughts of war, robots, and guns, basically what you'd find in videogames. Therefore, his friends were few, and he didn't mind making some among his kohai.
He wondered if his mother had prepared dinner yet, if he would have to face her scolding him when he finally arrived home. It had taken him two hours to force an opening in the constant hugging, crying, and his mom repeating 'I was so worried about you! I'm so glad you made it back safe.'
It wasn't that he didn't like being hugged by his mom and dad; but had wanted to see Ai again. The girl thoroughly interested him, and he was actually able to carry a conversation with her. She was pretty, smart, and brave too. He had already developed a small crush on the twenty-year-old turned six-year-old woman.
He liked how her blue eyes twinkled, and how they had a certain icy quality with their fire. He liked the sound of her voice; it was like a song, beautiful and changing, switching from all different emotions. While it was more like puppy love on his part, he really did like her.
When he was turning the corner towards his house, he noticed the sound of an ambulance, fire trucks, and police cars. They rushed by him, blowing his black hair across his face, leaving him wide-eyed in surprise. The ringing bells didn't disappear as he went closer and he realized that something terrible was happening.
He ran back home, noticing the smoke spiraling into the air, and the hungry flames devouring the building, turning the wood to ash. The firefighters were starting to put out the blaze, but it was obvious that it was beyond their control.
"N-" he started to yell, but somebody had put a cloth over his mouth. The world started to mist black, and everything faded as he fell into unconsciousness.
*Please, please, please review! It makes me wanna write a lot faster! Note: I'm going to post a preview of the story I will be focusing on once MSK is over, for a hint, the title's 'Revenge'. While you're waiting for the next chapter, please read my new fic 'The Leap' (it's a finished two-shot) and 'The Magician's Daughter' (somebody's request for me to write their story for them. It's a pregnancy fic, and I don't know anything about that topic. However, I would appreciate help of any kind!) Review them too!*
Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Why Didn’t You Stay?
*After a long wait, here it is! Chapter 40! *drumroll please!* I had a hard time with the detail here, so my beta-reader had to step in and add some paragraphs. (thank you lostinthedreams!) As always, read and review! Anybody curious on what word I spelled wrong at the school spelling bee? it was 'tariff'. Sad, isn't it? I spelled it t-a-r-i-f. Fail on my part. Anyways, onwards with Chapter 40*
"Shuu, have you been able to find anything out? Shuu?" Jodie spoke urgently into the transceiver, keeping her voice at a whisper. "Shuu, can you hear me?" The other end was dead silent, and she feared the worst. She should never have let him go off and investigate on his own.
"Shut up you pesky woman!" he all but hissed into the phone. "I'm trying to concentrate here!"
She recoiled, but gave back as good as she got. "You idiot! I thought you were dead for a couple of seconds there! You have to reply to me!" There went the secrecy of calling during study hall. All of her students turned around to face her, and she chuckled weakly. "Nothing, just get back to whatever you were doing, please."
She walked out of the classroom where the teenagers' gazes continued to follow her, and leaned against the hard cement wall. A bright streak of sunlight streamed in through the wide open window, making her think of the shooting incident at Ekoda High School just one day before.
"You worry too much for your own good, Jodie." She heard his laughter, and knew he probably wasn't in any kind of dangerous place if he was laughing that hard. She could imagine his cat-eyes twinkling, and his cold, devious smile that held warmth only the people close to him could find. The smile that that had broken her heart so long ago.
"Where are you, Shuu?" she asked, knowing that he probably wasn't investigating the shooting that he was told to. "Nobody's heard from you since yesterday afternoon."
"I'm investigating a murder, one I feel is related." It was almost like she could feel his anger through the phone, feel his need for vengeance. It was obvious which murder he was trying to solve.
"You're at the parking garage where Miyano Akemi was killed, aren't you?" she pried gently, not wanting to infuriate him. A couple of weeks ago when she first mentioned her death, he had thrown an absolute fit and refused to see anybody for the next couple of days, leading his own investigation. He was better now, but it didn't change the way he had felt about Akemi.
"I think I know the man who killed her." His voice was strained as if he were trying hard to maintain his self-control. "I worked under him when I was undercover. His codename is Gin; I never learned his real name, but I would bet ten to one that he doesn't actually use it. He was probably born into the Organization like many others." Jodie remembered the times when Shuuichi had joined the syndicate to help get information to the F.B.I. under the codename 'Rye'. It was then that he fell in love with Akemi, and when her own dreams of being with him were smashed.
"I think I remember Hattori-kun mentioning that name to me. He told me that Gin was the one who fed the famous high school detective, Kudo Shinichi, poison, but how he knows that is beyond me." She remembered how Heiji had confronted her while she was talking with Shuuichi on the phone about Akemi's murder, and the boy knew there was something wrong. He had made her confess everything, with the promise that he would keep it secret. In exchange, he had told her some very useful things about the Organization, including his unusually large knowledge of their members, especially Gin. There were a few that had never completely trusted Shuu, Gin being one of them, so his knowledge was valuable.
"I thought that boy was killed by them. The crime was too clean," he snickered, his voice level again. "They've taken too many lives for my liking. I would go and attack them now, but HQ says to wait."
"It would be a stupid move, Shuu," said Jodie defensively, nearly screaming into the phone. "We hardly have an army of more than twenty people and you want to take on a huge, wealthy syndicate with trained snipers and murderers? It would be suicide!"
"What would be suicide, Jodie-sensei?" Sonoko poked her head out of the door, looking nervous as she saw Jodie's stern, cold expression.
"Nothing, Suzuki-san." She ended the call, hearing a small protest from Shuuichi before she closed her cell phone. "Is study hall over already?"
"Yeah, you're supposed to be starting English right now." Sonoko stared warily at Jodie, who still looked like she was going explode at any moment.
"I'm coming."
Hakuba walked in, dressed in a thin leather jacket despite the biting cold. He had come in a taxi, and for some reason, he had felt somebody had followed him, but he shook it off. Who would possibly do that?
"Hakuba-kun!" cried Aoko, as she intercepted him at the entrance of the hospital. Aoko 's voice sounded with excitable energy. Hakuba recognized it as desperation brought to an unbearable level. "Hakuba-kun, you're here!"
He didn't know how to respond to her greeting; the last time she had talked to him in person she was just about spitting poison at him. It made him feel so guilty to have caused all of this pain; how should he look? He settled on an embarrassed frown, a blush spreading through his cheeks even though he shunned those emotions. "Hello, Aoko-kun."
She grabbed his arm without responding and started pulling him through the hallways, causing him to fight and protest. "Kaito's over here. Run faster you baka!" He looked into her angry, blue orbs, and decided not to rebel, in case she found a mop. She had never taken one to him before, but Hakuba was sure that he'd made her angry enough that it wouldn't be unusual for her to try.
They didn't notice the tall, skinny, almost model-like young woman leaning against the wall, smiling as her eyes flickered a deep, crimson red. As red as blood.
This mission had been too easy for her. Snake treated it like it was so difficult, saying that even he, the 'legendary' tracker, couldn't even do it. While in truth, locating Kuroba Kaito hadn't even taken half a day. After being lightly scolded by the boss, she was given a mission by Snake to find Kaitou Kid after Calvados's failure. It was a simple job; all she had needed was information, found using her amazing intellect and basic interrogation skills.
Taking a computer, she had searched up all the news about Kuroba Kaito, zooming through them and picking out the details she was looking for. Childhood friends, school, records, anything that might be important. She had an incredible memory, and she didn't forget a single thing.
She had gone to the Nakamori household disguised as a classmate of Nakamori Aoko, who she had discovered was Kaito's closest friend. Inspector Nakamori had told her that Aoko was with her friends, but from the reportsViura had found, there was proof that the Kaitou Kid had been shot several times by Calvados, which meant the girl was probably visiting him at the hospital.
Finding the hospital seemed much too difficult, as there were several scattered in just the local area. Even she couldn't hack through their systems, not to mention his name might not even be in their databases. Instead, she tracked down his rival, Hakuba Saguru and waited until he decided to make a move. A rival of Kid, he might be, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a good chance he would be notified that the other boy was in the hospital and told of Kaito's location.
She was correct, and she had followed the taxi, running to keep perfect pace with the vehicle. Even the swift pace of the car didn't tire her out. How were jobs like this hard at all? Snake was either a complete idiot, or he just wasn't trying hard enough, or both. This was child's play.
Getting back on the boss's good side was easy as well. Her punishment for failing to get rid of Miyazaki Ryuu was to work under Snake and fulfill his orders until he commanded otherwise. Snake's orders were to find the Kaitou Kid, and bring him back to him so he could kill the teen that had eluded him for so long. Viura had a different plan in mind, however. All thoughts were forced into standstill as she remembered her own childhood.
Why don't I keep this little thing hidden for a bit? After all, it's not like it's urgent, she thought. She recalled Vermouth's famous words, the one that had she had shared with her when she was a little girl, "A secret makes a woman woman! Remember that Viura."
It was a long time ago that Vermouth actually treated her with kindness rather than forced respect. It was that time when she was considered almost a daughter to the famous actress. The third one, but she got all the attention because the other two weren't even aware of Vermouth being their mother. That was until she had accidently killed somebody when she bit a member when she got mad. It wasn't her fault that Tequila had hit her after she missed the bull's-eye with her gun! Everything had happened so quickly after that.
She lost her mother figure, and she was locked up for the majority of her childhood. She could hear the talk outside her cell, 'Monster', 'Dangerous', 'Nightmare'. The words made her shiver with fright. Her only comfort was the Boss, who referred to himself as 'Cognac'. He would take her out occasionally and play with her, talk to her, train with her. He was like her father, but even then she had still missed Vermouth.
"Daddy, why won't Mommy come and see me? Why Daddy? Why?" cried the little girl, tears streaming down her face. "I'm trying to be a good girl, so why won't she come?"
"Mommy is busy, my sweet Viura. I'll try to convince her to come, but I can't make promises." He hugged her gently, and wiped away her tears. "But Daddy's here for you. Try to smile for me."
She sniffled and smiled; but nothing could prevent her from thinking about Vermouth. Mommy…
What was she getting so caught up in her past for? There was nothing worth mentioning there. All that mattered was the present and the future, where she had been promised great things. She shook off the thoughts of her wretched childhood, not wanting to remember. She had been so stupid when she was a little girl, but she had grown up and matured quickly too. It only took eight years for her to develop into an adult. When she was one year old, she had been the size of a first grader. In the same year, she killed Tequila. She had murdered so many people since then. Recalling the screams of pain and desperate pleading, she laughed, being raised on the pleasure of being a hunter.
Chuckling, she treaded silently towards the exit, a huge smile on her face. Most people would probably think she was overjoyed after hearing good news about whatever family member or friend that had been hospitalized, but they didn't see what was under that human mask. A monster. A nightmare. She had become just what the Organization had called her all those years ago.
She would wait until the time was right to turn in the Kaitou Kid. Until then, Snake would just have to deal with his impatience.
"Kuroba-kun, what happened to you?" Hakuba had known that Kaito had been injured badly, but the sight of so many bandages, red or not, still surprised him. He stared into those blank blue eyes, and was even more frightened of them than the wounds.
"They said I was shot." He pointed to Aoko, waving a hand across the room at Heiji, Kazuha, Ai, and Ran who were huddled into one corner so they could give the two past rivals some space. "I don't remember really. All I recall is red, and loud bangs. And pain. Pain most of all."
Hakuba cringed at the nothingness in Kaito's tone. There was always something in that voice! Arrogance, playfulness, happiness, anger, mischief, jealousy, something, anything! Not this emptiness; not this emotionless, monotone voice and still, blue eyes. Just another thing he had only himself to blame for.
This is your fault, Saguru. It's all your fault. If you didn't turn him in, none of this would have happened. We'd all be doing homework or hanging out or just leading regular teenage lives. Dammit, dammit, dammit! His face changed to fury as his silent loathing of himself took over, causing a look of concern to come over Kaito.
"Are you okay?" He didn't notice Kaito hop off the cot and lay a hand on his shoulder, his other arm unable to move, and those blue eyes actually showing some form of emotion. "Are you mad at me?" That innocence, it was just not Kaito! That childish look, the sound of fear in his voice as he asked his question just made Hakuba even angrier.
"I'm not angry at you, Kuroba-kun. I'm just mad at myself, that's all. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be you, and everything would be better." He brushed off Kaito's tight grip and headed for the door. "Give me a little bit of alone time to process this. It's quite a shock."
"Hakuba-kun…" Aoko's tone sounded reprimanding, except instead of anger, there was regret on her face. She probably shouldn't have accused him so much. He was a wreck, kept together by hardly anything more than grief and a need to redeem himself.
He slammed the door behind him, leaving the confused and startled Kaito to Aoko. "What did I do?" asked Kaito, looking in the direction of Hakuba.
"Nothing, he's just upset with himself. He thinks it's his fault you lost your memory, but that's not true."
Kaito let Aoko hug him. He was still confused as to what it was that went so wrong that the boy he'd only just met had to storm out of the room. Kaito was aware that, as he was introduced to new people, and their stories, that it distracted him from what he'd been thinking about earlier. Faster than any previous occurrences though, Kaito was surprised at how wonderfully distracting this girl's hold on him was. The warmth and strength of her embrace made him feel something he couldn't explain in words, as unfamiliar as old sensations were to him. It brought a spark with it.
He remembered feeling these same arms around him, the same warm arms that made him feel so protected. He could remember her blue eye, the shade of a clear midnight sky, shining in the light of a full moon. Her quiet breathing, traces of tears in her eyes. A need to kiss her, to make her his…
For a heartbreaking moment, Kaito felt as if his memories were unimportant. There was a world of things out there that he couldn't remember, but in that instant, it wasn't necessary. This girl was here, this sweet girl that reminded him of quiet laughter and sunshine coexisting in a world of fear and moonlight.
Without warning, he leaned forward until she lifted her head to meet his eyes. He felt his body moving to motions his mind couldn't comprehend, quickly sealing his lips to hers, causing Aoko to back away and gasp in shock. When Aoko stared wide-eyed at him, Kaito looked almost as confused as she felt, and she instantly regretted backing up so quickly. The onlookers said nothing, but it was obvious they were surprised.
For a second, Aoko could see the old Kaito, the same arrogant smile, the same knowing, cool blue eyes, and just his aura made him seem- seem like Kaito. Her Kaito. His lips had been soft, and she wanted to feel them again, stare into the depths of those eyes, and be satisfied with having at least this part of him love her the way she wasn't able to return without fearing he'd withdraw from her.
"K-Kaito," she stuttered, face and ears entirely crimson. "D-did you remember something?" His eyes said yes, and he smiled.
"Not really. I just remembered hugging you, and you standing in the moonlight. I remembered wanting to kiss you, so, my body just moved on its own." He sounded so proud, that Aoko had to smile. "Other than that, I can't recall anything. Do you know when that was?" He sounded like he had nearly forgotten that he had just kissed her in favor of his curiosity, but she had to forgive him. He was just trying to regain his memory. The magical moment was gone almost as swiftly as it had come, leaving her a little brother figure instead of a –Aoko didn't even want to think the word, blush returning. Boyfriend.
"It was yesterday night, when I snuck out to try to meet you at your heist. You said you were stealing a gem called Pandora because your dad hid it in his room. And, the thing you remember..." She stopped, as if she did not want to continue. "The thing you remember is when you promised that you'd try to be there for me no matter what, and I swore that I would be at every Kid heist to see you."
Kaito was lost again. He couldn't remember any words; it was like he was watching a silent movie in his head, two people trying to convey their deepest feelings. In a way, he had hit his first major milestone in remembering something so important. On the other hand, the kiss made Aoko miss her old idiot magician, Kaito, more than ever. She watched as he turned crestfallen, as he'd done for what felt like the one hundredth time. It hurt so much.
"Aoko-chan, are you alright?" Ran laid a hand on her shoulder, and Aoko remembered that there were other people in the room. The doctor only checked up on Kaito twice a day, not wanting to intrude on such a private matter. She felt hot tears running down her face, and she wiped them away.
"I'm fine, Ran-chan." As the fog faded, she noticed a new face she had not seen before. "Who's that little girl?"
Haibara Ai straightened herself, and answered Aoko's question. "My name is Haibara Ai. Nice to meet you, Nakamori Aoko-neesan."
"You can call me nee-chan if you want, you know." Then it struck her that nobody was supposed to know about Kaito's memory loss, and a little kid might let it out by accident. "Ran-chan! Why is this girl here?"
"She's in on this as well, Aoko-chan. I think it's time you know the truth too. Is that fine with you, Ai-chan?"
Ai stared coldly for a moment, and then nodded her head. "You should call in that British teenager; it'd be a pain to recite it twice."
"You want to tell Hakuba-kun? Do you trust him that much already?" asked Heiji, startled. Ai was the most secretive of them all; she never wanted to spill anything except in the most dire circumstances or when they forced her.
"I think we've already included him. Just get him already, please!" she hissed at Heiji, causing him to recoil. Kazuha laughed at Heiji's expression, a mix of fear and surprise.
Heiji opened the door and found Hakuba looking out the hospital window, eyes blank and a tear running down his face. He knew that the boy probably wouldn't want him mentioning it, so he just pulled on his arm and started dragging him to the room.
"W-what are you doing?" protested Hakuba as he tried to free himself from Heiji's harsh grip.
"We decided it was time you hear the truth too. Haibara's idea." He pushed Hakuba into the room and closed the door, not noticing Ryuu hiding against the wall in the hallway.
Ryuu had stayed behind when the other kids had left, his instinct telling him that he might learn something special about Ai. He had been standing beside the door the entire time, eavesdropping on every word that was passed. When Hakuba had left the room, he'd been scared of being caught, but the teen didn't detect him, and neither did Heiji. Heiji had mentioned something about 'truth' and 'Haibara's idea'. Ryuu was determined to find out what it was.
He pressed his ear to the door and started listening.
*If you want something to read while you're waiting, I started a two shot called 'The Leap' (I know, bad Aeyra for starting yet another story while I'm in the middle of writing this one! I couldn't help it! It was eating my brain!) Please read and review, because otherwise I might not post part two of that. I also started a new story as a favor to AkemiXchan who asked if I could write her story for her, and so I did. (you can hit me, i know i shouldn't be starting all these new stories.) I'm kind of shaky on the topic though, so I'd appreciate help on that one. Please review as always, and chapter 41 will come much, much quicker. Thank you!*
Why Didn’t You Stay?
*After a long wait, here it is! Chapter 40! *drumroll please!* I had a hard time with the detail here, so my beta-reader had to step in and add some paragraphs. (thank you lostinthedreams!) As always, read and review! Anybody curious on what word I spelled wrong at the school spelling bee? it was 'tariff'. Sad, isn't it? I spelled it t-a-r-i-f. Fail on my part. Anyways, onwards with Chapter 40*
"Shuu, have you been able to find anything out? Shuu?" Jodie spoke urgently into the transceiver, keeping her voice at a whisper. "Shuu, can you hear me?" The other end was dead silent, and she feared the worst. She should never have let him go off and investigate on his own.
"Shut up you pesky woman!" he all but hissed into the phone. "I'm trying to concentrate here!"
She recoiled, but gave back as good as she got. "You idiot! I thought you were dead for a couple of seconds there! You have to reply to me!" There went the secrecy of calling during study hall. All of her students turned around to face her, and she chuckled weakly. "Nothing, just get back to whatever you were doing, please."
She walked out of the classroom where the teenagers' gazes continued to follow her, and leaned against the hard cement wall. A bright streak of sunlight streamed in through the wide open window, making her think of the shooting incident at Ekoda High School just one day before.
"You worry too much for your own good, Jodie." She heard his laughter, and knew he probably wasn't in any kind of dangerous place if he was laughing that hard. She could imagine his cat-eyes twinkling, and his cold, devious smile that held warmth only the people close to him could find. The smile that that had broken her heart so long ago.
"Where are you, Shuu?" she asked, knowing that he probably wasn't investigating the shooting that he was told to. "Nobody's heard from you since yesterday afternoon."
"I'm investigating a murder, one I feel is related." It was almost like she could feel his anger through the phone, feel his need for vengeance. It was obvious which murder he was trying to solve.
"You're at the parking garage where Miyano Akemi was killed, aren't you?" she pried gently, not wanting to infuriate him. A couple of weeks ago when she first mentioned her death, he had thrown an absolute fit and refused to see anybody for the next couple of days, leading his own investigation. He was better now, but it didn't change the way he had felt about Akemi.
"I think I know the man who killed her." His voice was strained as if he were trying hard to maintain his self-control. "I worked under him when I was undercover. His codename is Gin; I never learned his real name, but I would bet ten to one that he doesn't actually use it. He was probably born into the Organization like many others." Jodie remembered the times when Shuuichi had joined the syndicate to help get information to the F.B.I. under the codename 'Rye'. It was then that he fell in love with Akemi, and when her own dreams of being with him were smashed.
"I think I remember Hattori-kun mentioning that name to me. He told me that Gin was the one who fed the famous high school detective, Kudo Shinichi, poison, but how he knows that is beyond me." She remembered how Heiji had confronted her while she was talking with Shuuichi on the phone about Akemi's murder, and the boy knew there was something wrong. He had made her confess everything, with the promise that he would keep it secret. In exchange, he had told her some very useful things about the Organization, including his unusually large knowledge of their members, especially Gin. There were a few that had never completely trusted Shuu, Gin being one of them, so his knowledge was valuable.
"I thought that boy was killed by them. The crime was too clean," he snickered, his voice level again. "They've taken too many lives for my liking. I would go and attack them now, but HQ says to wait."
"It would be a stupid move, Shuu," said Jodie defensively, nearly screaming into the phone. "We hardly have an army of more than twenty people and you want to take on a huge, wealthy syndicate with trained snipers and murderers? It would be suicide!"
"What would be suicide, Jodie-sensei?" Sonoko poked her head out of the door, looking nervous as she saw Jodie's stern, cold expression.
"Nothing, Suzuki-san." She ended the call, hearing a small protest from Shuuichi before she closed her cell phone. "Is study hall over already?"
"Yeah, you're supposed to be starting English right now." Sonoko stared warily at Jodie, who still looked like she was going explode at any moment.
"I'm coming."
Hakuba walked in, dressed in a thin leather jacket despite the biting cold. He had come in a taxi, and for some reason, he had felt somebody had followed him, but he shook it off. Who would possibly do that?
"Hakuba-kun!" cried Aoko, as she intercepted him at the entrance of the hospital. Aoko 's voice sounded with excitable energy. Hakuba recognized it as desperation brought to an unbearable level. "Hakuba-kun, you're here!"
He didn't know how to respond to her greeting; the last time she had talked to him in person she was just about spitting poison at him. It made him feel so guilty to have caused all of this pain; how should he look? He settled on an embarrassed frown, a blush spreading through his cheeks even though he shunned those emotions. "Hello, Aoko-kun."
She grabbed his arm without responding and started pulling him through the hallways, causing him to fight and protest. "Kaito's over here. Run faster you baka!" He looked into her angry, blue orbs, and decided not to rebel, in case she found a mop. She had never taken one to him before, but Hakuba was sure that he'd made her angry enough that it wouldn't be unusual for her to try.
They didn't notice the tall, skinny, almost model-like young woman leaning against the wall, smiling as her eyes flickered a deep, crimson red. As red as blood.
This mission had been too easy for her. Snake treated it like it was so difficult, saying that even he, the 'legendary' tracker, couldn't even do it. While in truth, locating Kuroba Kaito hadn't even taken half a day. After being lightly scolded by the boss, she was given a mission by Snake to find Kaitou Kid after Calvados's failure. It was a simple job; all she had needed was information, found using her amazing intellect and basic interrogation skills.
Taking a computer, she had searched up all the news about Kuroba Kaito, zooming through them and picking out the details she was looking for. Childhood friends, school, records, anything that might be important. She had an incredible memory, and she didn't forget a single thing.
She had gone to the Nakamori household disguised as a classmate of Nakamori Aoko, who she had discovered was Kaito's closest friend. Inspector Nakamori had told her that Aoko was with her friends, but from the reportsViura had found, there was proof that the Kaitou Kid had been shot several times by Calvados, which meant the girl was probably visiting him at the hospital.
Finding the hospital seemed much too difficult, as there were several scattered in just the local area. Even she couldn't hack through their systems, not to mention his name might not even be in their databases. Instead, she tracked down his rival, Hakuba Saguru and waited until he decided to make a move. A rival of Kid, he might be, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a good chance he would be notified that the other boy was in the hospital and told of Kaito's location.
She was correct, and she had followed the taxi, running to keep perfect pace with the vehicle. Even the swift pace of the car didn't tire her out. How were jobs like this hard at all? Snake was either a complete idiot, or he just wasn't trying hard enough, or both. This was child's play.
Getting back on the boss's good side was easy as well. Her punishment for failing to get rid of Miyazaki Ryuu was to work under Snake and fulfill his orders until he commanded otherwise. Snake's orders were to find the Kaitou Kid, and bring him back to him so he could kill the teen that had eluded him for so long. Viura had a different plan in mind, however. All thoughts were forced into standstill as she remembered her own childhood.
Why don't I keep this little thing hidden for a bit? After all, it's not like it's urgent, she thought. She recalled Vermouth's famous words, the one that had she had shared with her when she was a little girl, "A secret makes a woman woman! Remember that Viura."
It was a long time ago that Vermouth actually treated her with kindness rather than forced respect. It was that time when she was considered almost a daughter to the famous actress. The third one, but she got all the attention because the other two weren't even aware of Vermouth being their mother. That was until she had accidently killed somebody when she bit a member when she got mad. It wasn't her fault that Tequila had hit her after she missed the bull's-eye with her gun! Everything had happened so quickly after that.
She lost her mother figure, and she was locked up for the majority of her childhood. She could hear the talk outside her cell, 'Monster', 'Dangerous', 'Nightmare'. The words made her shiver with fright. Her only comfort was the Boss, who referred to himself as 'Cognac'. He would take her out occasionally and play with her, talk to her, train with her. He was like her father, but even then she had still missed Vermouth.
"Daddy, why won't Mommy come and see me? Why Daddy? Why?" cried the little girl, tears streaming down her face. "I'm trying to be a good girl, so why won't she come?"
"Mommy is busy, my sweet Viura. I'll try to convince her to come, but I can't make promises." He hugged her gently, and wiped away her tears. "But Daddy's here for you. Try to smile for me."
She sniffled and smiled; but nothing could prevent her from thinking about Vermouth. Mommy…
What was she getting so caught up in her past for? There was nothing worth mentioning there. All that mattered was the present and the future, where she had been promised great things. She shook off the thoughts of her wretched childhood, not wanting to remember. She had been so stupid when she was a little girl, but she had grown up and matured quickly too. It only took eight years for her to develop into an adult. When she was one year old, she had been the size of a first grader. In the same year, she killed Tequila. She had murdered so many people since then. Recalling the screams of pain and desperate pleading, she laughed, being raised on the pleasure of being a hunter.
Chuckling, she treaded silently towards the exit, a huge smile on her face. Most people would probably think she was overjoyed after hearing good news about whatever family member or friend that had been hospitalized, but they didn't see what was under that human mask. A monster. A nightmare. She had become just what the Organization had called her all those years ago.
She would wait until the time was right to turn in the Kaitou Kid. Until then, Snake would just have to deal with his impatience.
"Kuroba-kun, what happened to you?" Hakuba had known that Kaito had been injured badly, but the sight of so many bandages, red or not, still surprised him. He stared into those blank blue eyes, and was even more frightened of them than the wounds.
"They said I was shot." He pointed to Aoko, waving a hand across the room at Heiji, Kazuha, Ai, and Ran who were huddled into one corner so they could give the two past rivals some space. "I don't remember really. All I recall is red, and loud bangs. And pain. Pain most of all."
Hakuba cringed at the nothingness in Kaito's tone. There was always something in that voice! Arrogance, playfulness, happiness, anger, mischief, jealousy, something, anything! Not this emptiness; not this emotionless, monotone voice and still, blue eyes. Just another thing he had only himself to blame for.
This is your fault, Saguru. It's all your fault. If you didn't turn him in, none of this would have happened. We'd all be doing homework or hanging out or just leading regular teenage lives. Dammit, dammit, dammit! His face changed to fury as his silent loathing of himself took over, causing a look of concern to come over Kaito.
"Are you okay?" He didn't notice Kaito hop off the cot and lay a hand on his shoulder, his other arm unable to move, and those blue eyes actually showing some form of emotion. "Are you mad at me?" That innocence, it was just not Kaito! That childish look, the sound of fear in his voice as he asked his question just made Hakuba even angrier.
"I'm not angry at you, Kuroba-kun. I'm just mad at myself, that's all. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be you, and everything would be better." He brushed off Kaito's tight grip and headed for the door. "Give me a little bit of alone time to process this. It's quite a shock."
"Hakuba-kun…" Aoko's tone sounded reprimanding, except instead of anger, there was regret on her face. She probably shouldn't have accused him so much. He was a wreck, kept together by hardly anything more than grief and a need to redeem himself.
He slammed the door behind him, leaving the confused and startled Kaito to Aoko. "What did I do?" asked Kaito, looking in the direction of Hakuba.
"Nothing, he's just upset with himself. He thinks it's his fault you lost your memory, but that's not true."
Kaito let Aoko hug him. He was still confused as to what it was that went so wrong that the boy he'd only just met had to storm out of the room. Kaito was aware that, as he was introduced to new people, and their stories, that it distracted him from what he'd been thinking about earlier. Faster than any previous occurrences though, Kaito was surprised at how wonderfully distracting this girl's hold on him was. The warmth and strength of her embrace made him feel something he couldn't explain in words, as unfamiliar as old sensations were to him. It brought a spark with it.
He remembered feeling these same arms around him, the same warm arms that made him feel so protected. He could remember her blue eye, the shade of a clear midnight sky, shining in the light of a full moon. Her quiet breathing, traces of tears in her eyes. A need to kiss her, to make her his…
For a heartbreaking moment, Kaito felt as if his memories were unimportant. There was a world of things out there that he couldn't remember, but in that instant, it wasn't necessary. This girl was here, this sweet girl that reminded him of quiet laughter and sunshine coexisting in a world of fear and moonlight.
Without warning, he leaned forward until she lifted her head to meet his eyes. He felt his body moving to motions his mind couldn't comprehend, quickly sealing his lips to hers, causing Aoko to back away and gasp in shock. When Aoko stared wide-eyed at him, Kaito looked almost as confused as she felt, and she instantly regretted backing up so quickly. The onlookers said nothing, but it was obvious they were surprised.
For a second, Aoko could see the old Kaito, the same arrogant smile, the same knowing, cool blue eyes, and just his aura made him seem- seem like Kaito. Her Kaito. His lips had been soft, and she wanted to feel them again, stare into the depths of those eyes, and be satisfied with having at least this part of him love her the way she wasn't able to return without fearing he'd withdraw from her.
"K-Kaito," she stuttered, face and ears entirely crimson. "D-did you remember something?" His eyes said yes, and he smiled.
"Not really. I just remembered hugging you, and you standing in the moonlight. I remembered wanting to kiss you, so, my body just moved on its own." He sounded so proud, that Aoko had to smile. "Other than that, I can't recall anything. Do you know when that was?" He sounded like he had nearly forgotten that he had just kissed her in favor of his curiosity, but she had to forgive him. He was just trying to regain his memory. The magical moment was gone almost as swiftly as it had come, leaving her a little brother figure instead of a –Aoko didn't even want to think the word, blush returning. Boyfriend.
"It was yesterday night, when I snuck out to try to meet you at your heist. You said you were stealing a gem called Pandora because your dad hid it in his room. And, the thing you remember..." She stopped, as if she did not want to continue. "The thing you remember is when you promised that you'd try to be there for me no matter what, and I swore that I would be at every Kid heist to see you."
Kaito was lost again. He couldn't remember any words; it was like he was watching a silent movie in his head, two people trying to convey their deepest feelings. In a way, he had hit his first major milestone in remembering something so important. On the other hand, the kiss made Aoko miss her old idiot magician, Kaito, more than ever. She watched as he turned crestfallen, as he'd done for what felt like the one hundredth time. It hurt so much.
"Aoko-chan, are you alright?" Ran laid a hand on her shoulder, and Aoko remembered that there were other people in the room. The doctor only checked up on Kaito twice a day, not wanting to intrude on such a private matter. She felt hot tears running down her face, and she wiped them away.
"I'm fine, Ran-chan." As the fog faded, she noticed a new face she had not seen before. "Who's that little girl?"
Haibara Ai straightened herself, and answered Aoko's question. "My name is Haibara Ai. Nice to meet you, Nakamori Aoko-neesan."
"You can call me nee-chan if you want, you know." Then it struck her that nobody was supposed to know about Kaito's memory loss, and a little kid might let it out by accident. "Ran-chan! Why is this girl here?"
"She's in on this as well, Aoko-chan. I think it's time you know the truth too. Is that fine with you, Ai-chan?"
Ai stared coldly for a moment, and then nodded her head. "You should call in that British teenager; it'd be a pain to recite it twice."
"You want to tell Hakuba-kun? Do you trust him that much already?" asked Heiji, startled. Ai was the most secretive of them all; she never wanted to spill anything except in the most dire circumstances or when they forced her.
"I think we've already included him. Just get him already, please!" she hissed at Heiji, causing him to recoil. Kazuha laughed at Heiji's expression, a mix of fear and surprise.
Heiji opened the door and found Hakuba looking out the hospital window, eyes blank and a tear running down his face. He knew that the boy probably wouldn't want him mentioning it, so he just pulled on his arm and started dragging him to the room.
"W-what are you doing?" protested Hakuba as he tried to free himself from Heiji's harsh grip.
"We decided it was time you hear the truth too. Haibara's idea." He pushed Hakuba into the room and closed the door, not noticing Ryuu hiding against the wall in the hallway.
Ryuu had stayed behind when the other kids had left, his instinct telling him that he might learn something special about Ai. He had been standing beside the door the entire time, eavesdropping on every word that was passed. When Hakuba had left the room, he'd been scared of being caught, but the teen didn't detect him, and neither did Heiji. Heiji had mentioned something about 'truth' and 'Haibara's idea'. Ryuu was determined to find out what it was.
He pressed his ear to the door and started listening.
*If you want something to read while you're waiting, I started a two shot called 'The Leap' (I know, bad Aeyra for starting yet another story while I'm in the middle of writing this one! I couldn't help it! It was eating my brain!) Please read and review, because otherwise I might not post part two of that. I also started a new story as a favor to AkemiXchan who asked if I could write her story for her, and so I did. (you can hit me, i know i shouldn't be starting all these new stories.) I'm kind of shaky on the topic though, so I'd appreciate help on that one. Please review as always, and chapter 41 will come much, much quicker. Thank you!*
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