Yays! SG-chan is finally updating! X3 Hope you all like this chapter, though it's a little short, and nothing really gets resolved. Oh, points to those of you (I think it was just one person, tho x3;; ) who guessed/knew that 'Asa' is the Japanization of 'Arthur'. Cookies for you if I didn't already give them to you!
That said, enjoy Chapter 4!
Last time:
The four sat down, and Asa turned toward Shinichi, his gaze far too piercing for a child his age. "Have you ever heard of a group called The Black Organization?"
"No," Shinichi shook his head. "Why?"
"They're the ones who did this to me," Asa replied darkly, glaring at the floor. He looked up, amber eyes old. "Let me start over. My name is Saguru. Saguru Hakuba."
Chapter 4
"It was about a month ago," Asa -no, that's not his name, Shinichi reminded himself- started his story. "A couple of friends from the high school I was attending convinced me to go with them to the Tropical Land amusement park, as, and I quote Kuroba directly," the blonde added wryly, "I needed to 'shake loose the stick that was lodged in my British ass.'" Hattori snickered and Hakuba shot the Osakan a glare.
"Now I remember where I've heard your name before," Shinichi ascertained. "You're the son of Chief Superintendent Hakuba, aren't you?"
Said son nodded, then continued his tale.
"Anyways, we spent the day at the amusement park. Not that much of it was very amusing," he muttered the last part. "There was a murder on the Mystery Coaster which I stayed behind to help solve while Kuroba and Aoko-san went home. Afterwards, as I was leaving, I saw a man dressed all in black that I remembered acting slightly suspicious at the crime scene." The shrunken tantei's amber gaze was far off in recollection.
*Flashback*
Saguru crept quietly along behind the burly man in the sunglasses, taking care not to let his presence be known. Another man was waiting behind the building, anxiously glancing about. His appearance was somewhat familiar; the CEO of some big shot company.
"Hey there, Mr. President," the burly man greeted the smaller man.
"I've brought the money as you asked," blurted the cowering executive. "You brought the film, right?"
"Yup." The man in sunglasses withdrew a small canister from his pocket. "Now no one will know about your company's involvement in gun smuggling."
Saguru's eyes widened at this tidbit of information. He discreetly pulled out his cell phone, making sure the lens were pointed towards the men as he started to take pictures while the executive handed over the briefcase he held.
"That's it, kid; no more playing detective for you!"
The teen turned quickly, then fell as something blunt and made of metal struck him on the head. Over the pounding of blood in his ears, Saguru could faintly hear the sounds of the executive running away, and the person who'd hit him berating his companion for not taking precautions to make sure he wasn't being followed.
"Should we just wipe him out now?" the burly man inquired. There was the sound of metal sliding over cloth.
"No, too many cops around from earlier," Saguru's attacker negated. "I know." The British teen heard rustling as the man pulled out something, most likely from a pocket. "The Syndicate's new untraceable poison. It's still in the experimental stages, never been tested on humans, but no time like the present, eh?" He chuckled evilly.
"Got that right, aniki," the other man chortled.
Saguru's mind raced wildly as he mentally shouted at his body to move. He didn't want it to end here, not like this! However, his limbs steadfastly refused to obey him as the long-haired man bent down, his knees coming into Saguru's view.
He winced in pain as his hair was grabbed by the roots, and then a test tube of water was forced down his throat. 'Who the hell carries test tubes of water around with them?' Saguru vaguely wondered as he felt himself manhandled into swallowing both the water and a small plasticine object.
A burning sensation started in his chest that quickly grew to full-bodied agony, and if his wits had been about him, he'd have screamed. Then again, if his wits had been about him earlier, he wouldn't be in this situation.
"So long… detective." The long-haired man sneered the last word as he and his companion departed, hastily making their getaway as the sounds of people grew nearer, and everything Saguru knew except for the pain faded into darkness…
*End Flashback*
The three detectives sat in silence for a moment or two after Saguru finished his tale. "So these two men shrunk you with an experimental drug that was supposed to be an untraceable poison?" Shinichi summarized.
"Yeah," Heiji confirmed. "Lucky fer him, I was the one who found 'im at Tropical Land."
"What were you doing there?" Shinichi asked.
"My friend Kazuha dragged me there," Heiji confessed, blushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Kazuha is a girl's name, isn't it?" Shinichi teased, a smirk upon his face.
"It ain't what ya think!" the Osakan spluttered.
"It actually isn't," Ai deadpanned. She had been there the entire time, leaning against the doorframe as Saguru explained his situation. "How do I fit into the equation?" she said, cutting off what Shinichi was about to say.
"I'm the one who created the Apotoxin. However, after the Syndicate killed my sister, I refused to work with them. I took my own creation in order to escape them. I didn't expect a second chance at life." The young scientist's eyes held a sense of sadness, but acceptance.
"So that's how it is," the Detective of the East mused.
"You're surprisingly calm considering everything we've told you," Hakuba observed.
"Comes from having to endure my parents and their tortures," the blue-eyed teen explained with an air of gloom. "Also, the fact that my only very close friends are female." Heiji cackled at Shinichi's expense, either ignoring or not noticing the death glare sent his way. He noticed, however, when a small pillow was thrown at him. The Osakan just barely ducked in time, the pillow glancing the top of his head.
"Oh, it is on!" Hattori declared. Shinichi grinned devilishly, and a pillow fight started in the middle of the living room.
Saguru face-palmed. "Are you going to do anything about this?" he asked his fellow member of the vertically-challenged club.
"Why? It's amusing, plus it'll give us blackmail material." Ai smirked. Saguru followed suit before the two teens-turned-children sat out of the way of the boys, who were now trading blows with seat cushions.
Oh yes, blackmail material indeed, Saguru thought, amber eyes sparkling with laughter.
I hope everyone liked this chapter, though it's kinda short, and nothing really gets resolved ^^; Sorry for those of you who are looking forward to Kaito showing up; that'll be in a couple of chapters. Oh, and SG-chan actually has a sort of plot planned out for this story! \^o^/
Unfortunately, this will be the last I post for awhile, as I'm going on hiatus for at least the rest of the year. It's so I can sit back, look over my current stories, write some more for them and plan them out, and also look over my plunnies and see which ones I'm going to work on. There's also the fact finals are coming up, and I have to work on raising money for my trip to Russia this spring. Don't worry, though, I will never abandon my stories that are currently posted! Well, there are two I'm not working on anymore, but they're being adopted by other authors, so that works ^^
Happy Thanksgiving from SG-chan, and all her multiple personalities as well! ^-^