A/N:Um, is it okay if I say that I have barely any interest in Detective Conan anymore and that my thoughts are mostly on other fandoms, like Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, Pandora Hearts, and others? Please, please, don't attack meeeee over this, but the thing is, I have liked Conan since 2007, which is a long time, but gradually my interest in it has waned, namely because of how long it's gone on and barely anything has changed, and the character development...ah, don't get me started. It's why I read the fanfiction. So here we go. :D Time for teh next chapter!
Chapter 25 Plan goes into action
"What do you plan to have us do exactly, Kudou?" Heiji questioned, looking at his new rival in interest. To be honest, he hadn't expected to get entangled in Kudo's affairs with the Kaitou Kid. He didn't even know why he had gotten involved in this. It didn't make any sense to Heiji.
Why should he even bother helping a phantom thief? Thieves were breaking the law, and he didn't like the thought of transgressing over things he had been brought up to believe in all his life. It really bugged him. And also, what was with Kudo and KID's close connection, anyway? Why on earth would Kudo be so interested in helping a criminal?
Kudo seemed to be thinking hard, if the thoughtful look that had crossed his countenance was anything to go by. He had his hands on under his chin, a very famous gesture Heiji had often seen him make on television when he was about to announce the murderer who had killed someone.
Oh, sure, Kudo was very famous in Japan. Even on his side of Japan, people had started calling him a second Kudo Shinichi; but Heiji resented the idea of someone being better than he was at deducting cases. So he supposed he'd chosen to believe that when he met Kudo, Kudo would act a certain way, so to see him not...being like that was quite startling to the young Osakan.
"Why'd we have to drag 'Zuha into this? She ain't a detective," Heiji quipped, causing the brunette beside him to look irritated.
"Ahou Heiji, I'm not goin' anywhere as long as you guys keep on getting yourselves into stupid situations! Wherever you go, Heiji, I'll go!" Kazuha said loudly.
Kaito's phone suddenly lit up. He flipped it open and studied it, and his face paled excessively. "Oh no...they're coming now..."
"What? They're coming right now?" Shinichi said, who also looked decidedly ashen.
"Who's comin'? What has ya so scared, Kudo?" Heiji asked.
Both Kaito and Shinichi spoke at the same time: "Parents. Hide us."
"Parents ain't that bad!" Heiji said mockingly, "What could be so bad about your parents, Kudo-"
"OH MY GOSH, IT'S MY DARLING KAI-KUN! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN AGES! OH, AND THERE'S SHIN-CHAN AS WELL!"
Instantly, Shinichi and Kaito looked very, very, very afraid. They both started to tremble in fear.
"H-Hide me, please, Shinichi," Kaito whined, "I don't want to see fish. No way, no how..."
"...Y-Yeah, someone hide me," Shinichi said, "...I don't want to meet Okaasan...no way..."
"Shin-channnn!" A familiar female voice said, and suddenly Shinichi was attacked by a blur. "We've missed you so much, Shin-chan!"
"...Hello...Okaasan...please, let go of me..." Shinichi said in annoyance. He couldn't stand this. Being suffocated by a woman was not how he planned to die.
"...I missed you so much, Shin-chan!" Yukiko chirped, still pinning him down.
"...Yes, I missed you...as well..." Shinichi said in disbelief.
Her gaze locked onto Kaito, who looked absolutely terrified. "Kai-chan, look what your dear auntie brought you! I got it specially made!" She chirped, as she lifted up a small item out of a package. IT was a large salmon.
"AGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH, GET THAT...THAT THING AWAY FROM ME! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU, OBA-CHAN, THAT I...I...FLIPPING HATE FISH! GET IT AWAY!"
Kaito's girly screams could be heard all over the hallway, to the point where a nurse opened the door to the room and said, "Could you please stop screaming? Everyone in here is getting very worked up and upset because of his antics. What are you doing to him? He told us he has an allergic reaction to fish and you could kill him!"
Shinichi raised a skeptical eyebrow at a smirking Kaito. "He's not allergic, he just hates them. Mom, stop terrorizing him right now. This is getting pointless."
Yukiko Kudo sighed and put away the fish, looking at her son and nephew in hurt. "I can't believe they don't even want to have some fun with me! What's wrong with my boys?"
Chikage came in after her, her gaze turned evil as she took in her son. "What did you think you were doing this time, Kaito? You've nearly gotten yourself killed again!"
Heiji and Kazuha had paled considerably. "I didn't realize that they were so terrible." He muttered. "Kazuha, let's leave."
"Aha, might you be Hattori Hanzo-kun's son? He's told me about you." Yukiko chirped.
"Where's Otousan?" Shinichi asked, distracting her from obsessing over him.
"He's out at a book signing...he just called me recently and said it turned into a murder case, so he's busy and can't come see you and Kaito-kun. Kai-kun, you and I will have a lot to talk about. You two, do you mind leaving the room?" She said before shooting a sharp stare at Hattori and Kazuha.
"But-" Hattori said.
"We were just plannin' on leaving, right Heiji?" Kazuha growled, practically dragging the poor Osakan tantei out by his shirt.
"So, Kaito, Shinichi, what have you gotten yourselves into this time?" Yukiko said seriously.
"Nothing really, Oba-san, I was just showing Shinichi some really cool magic tricks and-"
"Don't lie to me. I knew what your father was doing at night. You think I'm stupid? I studied under him as a child with my friend, Sharon Vineyard. I haven't seen Sharon-chan around much lately."
Shinichi's face paled considerably. "I-I ran into her a little while ago, Okaasan...have you seen her recently?"
"No...I last spoke to her months ago. Her husband's death and her daughter's troubles in America have given her a lot to think about." She said. "What are you trying to say?"
"N-Nothing," Shinichi said, stuttering slightly. "Cut the crap, Mom. Why'd you and Dad come here?"
"To help you guys out with your heist and all. We realized you'd be requiring someone to fill in for Kaito-kun...so I figured Yusaku-kun would be the best person to do it."
"Otousan...?"
"Well, you're not very fond of thievery, so it's better that your father does it than you." Yukiko said. Her phone rang then, and she picked it up. "Hello? Yukiko-chan, here! No, I'm not interested in an interview right now! I'm conducting personal affairs here! What? What did you just say?"
Shinichi stared at his mother, who had just gone chalk-white.
"...T-That can't be right...all right...I suppose I'll go now...see you," She hung up and turned to Shinichi then. "That was a news agency...they just said that Sharon-chan...has been missing for months now. The same is true for her daughter...no one's seen them..." She said.
Shinichi's eyes widened. "...You don't think that whatever Sharon got entangled in could have dragged her daughter in as well?"
"I'm afraid so," She muttered.
'Wait a second...when I met her as a child, I don't even remember her having any children...wait a second, could it be? Can that really be possible? Can one person really...? That sounds too absurd to be true...'
"...Okaasan," He spoke up, "What if...Sharon-chan has no daughter to begin with? What if they're the same person?"
Kaito widened his eyes slightly. "I'm sure you've gotta be kidding."
"Think again. I just found some records on Sharon Vineyard and they say that she hasn't been married and has never had a child. If that's the case, then just who is she?"