chapter 5, "Shiryoku(visions)"

'With Friends Like These...'

note: I went a little OOC with this one, I think, but hey, with characters reverting to a younger age, a sorceress that concocts spells, and the usual standard of suspending disbelief that sometimes accompanies watching an episode of 'Detective Conan'... oh, well, I hope people enjoy this, I've always wondered about the 'mental' aspects Aoyama-san keeps tossing into this cool series, and without further ado...

#1 - Hakuba, the detective from the Magic Kaito series, is from England(ne? ^_^)

I woke up, but I seemed to be doing that a lot today more then anything else, I thought sourly with a curse, then looked around. I was in a room totally different then where Kaito had taken me before. It looked like a hotel room, somewhat familiar, but I had no time to dwell on that as someone cleared their throat. I knew I didn't look happy as I saw who was watching me with a smile. The Kaito Kid was back to wearing his usual outfit, and he had just turned off the television when he noticed me awake. "Well, time to rise and shine, sleepy-head." Then his smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. "We have to figure out what to do when the Mouri party arrives at the train station in," he looked at his watch, "twenty minutes."

The response I wanted to say stopped short as I remembered what I had done. Even if I had no idea what they had exactly done to me, I clenched my hands into fists as I recalled that Kaito had told me that I had revealed Kudo Shinichi to the Black Organization. At least they hadn't tried to kill or even shrink me yet, which was a plus. I took a deep breath and forced myself to speak calmly, going hysterical could be done later. "Well, I don't think I want to reveal that I've been brought back to Osaka yet, since they may lay low and grab him when he's back in Tokyo..." I thought for a second, then looked at Kaito, "Hey, maybe if I--" But Kaito frowned at me and waved his hand. "Won't work, I saw your disasterous plan to imitate Kudo Shinichi, and believe me, word gets around. I mean, you didn't change your dialect or ways of deduction. No wonder your girlfriend picked up on you, anyone could have really, since that was at Kudo's own school."

The Kaito Kid was at Kudo's high school?? I was too surprised to respond to the insults, for what he was talking about was when I had tried to cover for Kudo some months ago. Back then, I didn't feel I had a choice, especially when Ran was about to figure out Kudo's secret, and when Kazuha saw through my disguise, it wasn't like I could say, 'Ok, you got me, but I was only trying to cover for the little kid over there!' At least Haibara-san had filled me in on what she and Kudo had done, so I could explain somewhat of what I was doing there dressed like that.

"Well, then, do you have some other disguise that I could blend in with?" I said, frustrated, when I got over the shock. He nodded, and pulled out a small box of makeup and some clothes I didn't think my parents would have liked to see me in. "This, " he said, holding out the makeup, "is for your skin, and these clothes should disguise you at least from people that don't know you." He threw both at me, and told me to hurry, since it would take at least ten minutes to arrive at the station from where we were now. I opened it and quickly started to smear the lighter shade of cream on my face, recognizing it for the same kind I had used before. Within five minutes, I was an entirely new person, providing I didn't meet up with Kazuha(who knew me so well) or that it started to rain(which it wasn't supposed to for a few more days). We left the hotel without anyone giving us a second glance, and headed down to the subway station.

I cursed when I found out that the train had arrived five minutes earlier then it was supposed to have, meaning that the Mouris and Kudo were already gone with my father. Kaito, who had donned similar clothes and a baseball cap, calmed me down, saying that they most likely would have gone to my house or the Police Administration building where my father worked. So, seeing that we had to check out two places, we hailed a taxi and decided to try the Administrative building first, since it seemed logical that they would go there to find out any information. "I hope it dosn't make you nervous, I mean, you don't have to go in with me," I said quickly to him in a low voice, hoping I didn't sound condensending. "All I'm going to do is ask to see if they have driven there."

He shot me a dubious glance, which I waved off a little anxiously. "Chau, chau. I promised you, didn't I? As far as I am concerned, this case isn't done by a long shot. I'll just go in there, this time affecting a Tokyo accent, and ask directions. I'd ask you to go in there, but I don't want anyone to get suspicious and figure out who you are. Not everyone is as nuts over apprehending you as that Inspector Nakamori or the high school detective from England(#1), but you wouldn't believe how many have you on their list to stardom." I shrugged, and looked out the window, satisfied that his reflection nodded.

We got to the Administrative Building shortly after that, and I was just about to open the car door, when the world fell around me. At least that's the impression I got as I blinked several times, and focused my eyes on Kaito, who was staring down at me. "Wha-what?" I barely managed to choke out. "Are you all right, bochama?" the taxi driver was also staring at me in the rear-view mirror as well, and I smiled, at least as much as I could. "No, I'm all right, just... just feeling a little bit of a cold." I turned to Kaito as the driver faced front. "What happened??"

"You fell back in the seat, and your pupils dilated. You seemed to be out of it for about a minute. If I didn't know better, I would think that maybe they gave you something else besides the truth serum--Hattori, Hattori?" For I had fallen back on my seat, not with what had apparently hit me before, but with shock. Just what had they done to me?? Was I going to turn small as well? Or was it some other kind of poison?? With a deep breath, I derailed the train of thoughts threatening to turn me into a quivering mass of jelly. "Ok, I'm going in there. Keep watch out here, ok?" I took hold of the door handle, but this time nothing happened, so I continued out towards the building. I took a look back to check on the taxi as I walked, and saw Kaito talking on his cell phone. Making a mental note to ask him when I got back, I narrowly missed bumping into a policeman exiting the building with an evidence bag. His swift look of anger quickly subsided into a look of concern. "Are you all right, young man?"

I smiled and nodded, taking a quick look at his name badge, for something about this police officer didn't look right, for one thing, I didn't recognize him. He also smiled, though the expression didn't reach his eyes, and continued out towards a black and white car emblazoned with Otsuma markings. I turned back to go into the building, the guy still on my mind. Then I bumped into someone else, but this time it was not my fault, as she had her head turned and was calling out--

"Ran-san!" I exclaimed, forgeting that I wasn't supposed to let anyone know I was not necessarily in danger anymore. Apperently she knew me, for she gasped. "Hatto--" I hurriedly put a finger on her lips and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. I didn't want my presence known yet, so I shook my head. "Sorry, but don't let on that you know me. I'm trying to find out what is going on, and it's to the point where I can't even let my family know I'm all right yet." She nodded, and I looked around. "So where is Ku-er-Conan-kun, huh?" I was trying to be nonchalant about the question, for I was starting to have a bad feeling.

Ran shook her head, "I have no idea, I was looking around for him when I bumped into you. Did you see him?" My bad feeling became reality, as I realized something very unpleasent, something I hadn't noticed til now. I cursed, and pulled on Ran's hand, pulling her out of the building. She was too taken up in surprise until we arrived at the taxi. "Now, hold up, Hattori-kun, what is going on??"

Hearing her tone of voice and quickly remembering that she was a master black belt in karate, I quickly let go of her hand, and turned to face her, a sort of sheepish look on my face as I tried to think of what to say. "I think something bad has happened..." I was interrupted by the door opening behind me, and a "Hisashiburi desu, Ran." I turned around, and was greeted by Kudo Shinichi. I stared, not at the fact that "Kudo" was in the taxi, but that Kaito had made himself up like Kudo. Heh, if someone slightly pushed on my shoulder, I probley would have fallen over completely. "Shi-Shinichi?" I saw Kaito nod and then Ran was standing next to him, hand punching into the side of the taxi by his head. I was half surprised that she had moved so fast, and half feeling sorry for Kaito that he was getting the wrath of Ran. "And just where have you been?" she asked a little angrily. Then something occured to her apparently, I saw her eyes narrow. "Wait, are you really Shinichi?"

I could swear I saw Kaito wince, and said quickly, "Of course, Ran, I'm sorry if--" She held up a hand, and said "Prove it, sing!" I went cold all over, as Kaito stammered, "Which song? I don't know--" She was really getting on him, she interrupted him again. "It dosn't matter, just anything." Under threat of her clenched fist, he nodded and began to sing.

It occurred to me then, as the first couple notes of whatever he was singing came out, that the Kaito Kid could sing, quite well in fact. But now I had an idea of what Ran was doing. Behind her back so she couldn't see, I grabbed my throat and hurriedly started pointing at it, shaking my head. He apparently got the idea quickly, as the next several notes went way off-key, as did the next set of the lyric. I winced, as did Ran, who clapped her hands to her head, and said that she believed him. Before she could do any more questioning, my apprehension gave way to the picture of the policeman I had nearly bumped into, complete with evidence bag which now seemed a little too strange to be commonplace. "Enough of this, let's go!" I pushed Ran into the taxi, and told the taxi to follow the Otsuma police car which I had seen drive by as Ran was questioning 'Shinichi'. She turned to me angrily, "Just what is going on?? We heard you got kidnapped, so we came here to help your family, now you and Shinichi are taking me off to follow a police car? We need to find Conan-kun..."

I shook my head, and thought quickly of something close to the truth, "That's what we are doing, Ran-san. What happened was that I really was kidnapped, these men who are trying to track Kudo had some idea that I knew where he was, so while I was investigating a case yesterday, I was taken prisoner. I don't know how he did it, but," I gestured to Kaito. "He managed to save me. Now, while we're guessing that they can't let on that I escaped, they set their sights on someone else in order to draw Kudo out." I let her think on that a moment, then nodded as her eyes grew wide. "Yes, they captured Edogawa Conan."

"Then why didn't we let your father and my father know!" she demanded. "Why are we chasing them by ourselves?" She did have a point there, but thankfully I was saved, not only by Kaito telling her that we were just going to follow them and then call. The other thing that kept her from being too angry was that I fell back in the seat again and fainted.

*******

Everything was black, as I turned in every direction. What was happening to me??, I thought, starting to be a bit scared. I tried calling out, but no sound emerged. I realized after trying to move and not being able to, I was not doing anything to get myself out of whatever this 'place' was. In the midst of my rushing into panicking, I remembered something my father once told me in my first year of elementary school, when I first fought back against a bully and lost. 'Why do you try so hard when first up aginst an enemy? Be patient, and the obscure will become clear.' Then the old man enrolled me right away in kendo. So I figured that I may as well relax myself using the techniques I had learned during kendo. Yes, I'm not the hot-headed detective all the time, just when things get a little hectic. I closed my eyes, remembering when my sensei drilled me in meditation, and began to breathe deeply in a distinct pattern.

I was in the middle of my breathing sets, when I distinctly began to feel a bit of a pulling. It felt strange, suddenly I sensed I was surrounded by a wall, and everytime I pressed against that wall with my hands, I felt... things. Not tangible things, but emotions, fear, happiness, love, that sort of thing. Never opening my eyes, I concentrated, and without really knowing how I did it, I felt myself focusing on a certain set of emotions, so close to my own that I knew instinctively who it was. I didn't even have to probe the thoughts, which I now realized I could do easily. But I didn't, just because there are some things a person keeps private, and I'm not a prying person. Then my hands pushed through whatever it was, and I stumbled as the wall disappeared.

As I recovered my balance and opened my eyes, I saw that I was standing in a field, which I felt strangely at peace, a blue sky with the sun softly shining down over me. I felt ... well, it was hard to describe, like two worlds meshed into one, two cultures thoroughly mixed. It was on a mental level I didn't know I could understand normally, even transcending beyond love. No, not the silly sap that Kazuha and her friends like to read about bishounen who fall in love. I mean, the closest would be to compare it to twin siblings who somehow know something is happening to the other. I heard a gasp right behind me, whirled around, and standing just a few feet away was Kudo Shinichi.

He looked as much as he did the last time I had seen his true form, grown up and wearing the clothes I assume is his school uniform. He was also staring at me, a very confused and almost fearful expression on his face. "Ha-Hattori?" I imagined I looked the same way, but I nodded anyway. "Where are we?" was the next blurted question.

"I'm not sure, I-we're trying to track you down--" I was interrupted by him gasping, "The fake policeman, he grabbed me, got me to inhale some chemicals...." He trailed off as I nodded once more. "That's what I figured out, almost too late. Look, I was kidnapped by some members of the Black Organization, and the short of it is, I was forced to let them know who you are." I stopped for a moment, as guilt threatened to rear its ugly head, but I pushed it down and went on. "Right now we're following you, so don't worry..."

His expression, which was locked in a glance of frozen shock, turned to dull anger, "Who's 'we'? Surely you arn't--" I had another one of those strange twinges, about the same as when I was tossed into the blackness of before, and gasped. I managed to choke out, "Kaito Kid, and Ran..."

Kudo took a step towards me, he seemed to be torn between asking me why those two people in particular were helping me, and asking what was wrong with me. In fact, I 'felt' those two emotions thrown against me, which didn't help much because they felt like hammer blows. I think the latter won, because now he was asking me what had happened, why was I like this. I think I managed to whisper, "I was given strange... drugs, maybe like what you were given, I ... don't know..." I could feel myself starting to fade, my hands were going translucent as I held them out, sort of like a ghost becoming translucent in the movies. Barely I saw Kudo reaching for me, his fingertips brushed against mine as a welter of his emotions buffeted against me like a downpour of rain, a look of panic on his face as he also started to disappear... before the scene that we had been standing in shattered and I was thrown 'back' into my body with the force of being pushed against a wall by a dump truck.

to be continued... ^_^