Update... After a long, long time. *meh*
Chapter 2
I'll have to leave Hattori-kun in Edogawa-kun's care it seems...thought Vermouth, watching Heiji running in front of a large mirror, trying to figure out which one of his new outfits he liked best. She smiled; it wasn't often that her actions actually brought joy. If it weren't for the fact that it would be much too dangerous, she would have actually considered keeping him with her.
"Ellery-kun," she called, motioning him over with her long pointer finger. "I've managed to enroll you into school; but I have instructions for you that need to be followed."
"What are they, Vermouth-neesan?" asked Heiji innocently, deciding the light green sweatshirt he had on was the best.
"I'll drop you off at school, but you won't see me again later, Ellery-kun," she started casually, hoping the boy would take this in the same, easy manner as with everything else.
"Why? Being with Vermouth-neesan is fun! And I don't really know anyone else," he whined, taking a baseball cap from a pile of clothes and sticking it on his head. "Why can't I come back?"
I wonder how many years he really lost... 10 years is probably a good estimate, but it could differ depending on the person. Perhaps right now he's only four or five? That might explain why it's been so simple to manipulate him. All I had to do was call him by a random name and he basically flew with it.
She snickered as she remembered how she'd created the name- if Edogawa Conan was the pairing of mystery writers, then perhaps Heiji could follow the same style. She decided on the name 'Ellery' from 'Ellery Queen', something just as queer as 'Conan'. For his surname she selected a Japanese writer, Matsumoto /fill in the blank/. This way, Conan would have absolutely no doubts about Heiji's identity when she would drop him off at Teitan Elementary.
"Ellery-kun," she crooned, bending down and placing her hands on his small shoulders, staring into his bright jade eyes. "Just be a good boy and do what I say. I promise that the person who takes you home will be just as fun as me." She took a notepad from the table behind her and scribbled something on the top page, using English to ensure that it only Conan and Ai could understand. As long as Heiji- no Ellery- didn't hand it to the teacher, the secrets would stay safe. "When you go to class, give this to a boy named Edogawa Conan-kun when there's as few people around as possible. But make sure you give it to him."
Ellery took the note, scrutinizingly analyzing it before declaring, "I can't read this."
"But Edogawa-kun can. Ask him to tell you what it means when you meet him." She glanced at the clock- 9:00 AM. They would be late, but he could still attend school today.
"Okay," he replied, drawing the word out so it almost sounded like a question.
"Have you packed up your things, Ellery-kun?" Vermouth motioned to the various articles of clothing strewn all over the brown leather sofa. "You might want to keep these things- I'll put them at the bottom of your bag for you."
"Thanks, Vermouth-neesan. Ne, why are you doing all these nice things for me even though I just met you today?"
So he at least noticed that much... I wonder why he hasn't asked about the past yet. "Because I care, that's why," she answered, giving him a warm smile. "We should be getting to school now, Ellery-kun."
She grabbed a pair of sunglasses on the way out of her apartment as well as putting her hair up in a ponytail. It would be hard to recognize her at just a passing glance, and it would help keeping Ellery from being discovered by the Organization if some member happened to see her on the street.
Driving her Porsche to the school was way too noticeable- someone would wonder why such a fancy car was in front of a public school. A taxi would also be strange- hardly anyone took a taxi to school. Vermouth decided on walking, holding Ellery's hand tightly. While it might just have been her paranoia, one couldn't be too careful about the syndicate- its members were everywhere.
The school was a ten minutes from the apartment, and Vermouth had Ellery repeat over and over what he was supposed to do once he entered the classroom. He answered perfectly the very first time, word for word as Vermouth herself said it, causing her to give a tiny jolt of surprise. The boy had a perfect memory of what had been told to him- at least a perfect memory of what he understood. She wondered for a moment if she should tell him his true identity, but figured it'd just confuse him and maybe bring unprecedented trouble if he revealed it in public.
"Here we are, Ellery-kun," she said, letting go of his hand, the tiny caramel fingers sliding out of her grasp. "Have a good day at school, okay?"
Ellery frowned, a sad expression falling over his face before a weak smile replaced it. "Bye bye, Vermouth-neesan!"
"Good bye, Ellery-kun." Good luck, Hattori Heiji-kun...
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Class was boring. Just like usual. How many times did you need to teach a single character of kanji for kids to get it? Edogawa Conan sat at his desk, leaning against the back of his chair, watching everyone else doing the assignment he'd already completed.
It was definitely one of his bad days. His eyes were red and he had barely gotten any sleep the night before. After he realized Heiji was gone, he'd cried for hours on end-something he'd never admit doing even under the threat of death- going to sleep and waking up right before he'd be late to school. Despite the fact Ai said it wasn't necessary to go, he knew that it'd be better than lying in a bed all day.
Even if time seemed to move slower than a slug during school, at least it could distract his mind the tiniest bit. He'd have to do work and he'd have to keep a facade of crankiness, not the full-blown depression he was sinking into. The full-blown depression he wanted to sink into. Anything would be better than pretending to just be bored, when inside he was suffering the pain of having sent his best friend to his death.
Heiji was dead; he was certainly, most definitely dead. Unless he was being held as a hostage or something. But he would still die anyways. And it would be his fault. He had invited Heiji over to help him investigate, didn't search when for his friend, didn't realize Heiji was missing until he came home and saw that Heiji wasn't in his futon where he wasn't supposed to be. What kind of friendship was that?
He felt his pencil crack under his stiffening fingers, but didn't care. It was just a pencil, nothing more. Ai cast him a sympathetic glance, while a few of his younger classmates stared at him with curiosity. That was what caused Conan to give a small 'heh heh', putting up his Poker Face once more. Ai nudged him on the shoulder.
"Kudo-kun, you just have to survive today. Don't show that anything's wrong, you have to try at least," she whispered, not looking up from her completed paper. On most days, Kobayashi-sensei would have collected them, but she currently wasn't in the classroom.
That reminded Conan- where was the teacher anyways? He swiveled his around to the left, then to the right, and then vaguely remembered Kobayashi-sensei announcing something before heading to the office. "Haibara, what did Kobayashi-sensei say when she left?" he asked, voice vapid.
"She said there was a new student and she was going to pick him up from the office," sighed Ai, leaning back in her chair and stretching. "She didn't give his name before you ask."
Conan nodded numbly, before copying Ai's movements and struggling to relax a little bit. "A new student. If only-" He bit his lip, tasting the salty, metallic tang of blood in his mouth.
"Kudo-kun, don't get your hopes up," said Ai sadly, giving a small shake of her head. "Just because the last two new students in this class happened to be poisoned teenager doesn't mean the third will. You'll have to learn to let it go, please. It makes everything easier. I promise." But it doesn't erase the guilt in the end… Ai recalled the memory of learning of her sister's death, and the reason behind it. She'd been crushed, and she still wasn't fully healed. However, she was happy, and her sister's memory was no longer the greatest thing in her life.
"I know it will. But he just left yesterday, Haibara. Nobody else knows where he is, we can't tell anybody, and he'll just have disappeared off the face of the earth as far as anybody's concerned. At least I could convince everybody I left to go solve some inexistent murder, but Hattori- he won't be to tell anybody anything. Because of me." The raw grief was apparent at the edge of his voice, and he had to swallow down the choking grip in his throat. "And I have to pretend nothing happened. I have to pretend that I don't know that he's dead, that he's not coming back, that I'm just as clueless as the next person to where he is. If I could just change last night-" He closed his eyes, fighting back tears. If he could change last night, he'd do it at all costs…
At that moment, he heard a pair of footsteps from outside the door, and it registered that Kobayashi-sensei had probably returned with the new student. He wished it would be Heiji, but knew the chances of that was so slim, it wasn't even worth counting. Better not to even hope. To dream. To even imagine the possibility.
The door creaked as it opened, and Kobayashi-sensei walked in with a small boy who shyly clutched her hand. He held a pale yellow hat in his fingers, SAX logo written on the front, his skin the color of cinnamon. His huge emerald eyes stared anxiously at the class, filled with uncertainty. Conan's mouth gaped open with shock, as Ai gasped beside him.
The boy was none other than the 'dead' Hattori Heiji.
