Pandora's Blood

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Eyes fluttered open to a sunray blinding him.

God why is it so cold in here...?!

The young detective tried to lift his hand to shield his eyes, shifting on the uncomfortable ground as a familiar noise of rustling allowed his brain to pause for a moment.

Leaves? Mud? As in... dirt? Why am I laying inside a puddle of-

Conan froze, cutting his thought short as he felt resistance around his hand, barely allowing any movement. What was that? Squinting his eyes, he peeled himself under highest effort off of the ground. That wasn't mud, that was... sticky slime?
A grimace on his face, Conan scratched the gross substance from his own face and tried to brush it off of his clothes, then allowed himself a quick glance back, only to pale in shock.

Blood?! Dried blood?! I spent an entire night covered in masses of dried blood?!

The detective gagged for a moment, having to close his eyes to focus onto something different. This was too much.

Breathe, Shinichi! You saw blood often enough!

Having calmed his churning stomach for at least this very moment, Conan looked up at his statue. The gem was still inside the cracked heart yet lifeless, gone were all those flashy sparkles and intoxicating noises this stone made for him. Gurgling noises, spilling masses of blood, covering him- Conan gagged once more and finally raised himself onto shaking legs, dusting the rest of his clothes off as good as he could.

KID.

As soon as this name crossed his thoughts again, Conan whirled back around towards the statue and snatched the gem out of it. Free of any gross substance, clear and undeniable, the diamond "Soul" KID had stolen years ago.
Well... a half of it.

Are you carrying the other half? Do you want me give you the second one? Keep it?

Excitement began to bubble up inside his stomach as he examined it for any kind of clue towards KID. There had to be something.
Conan flew back into his house, there was no time to shower, he had a gem to study.

I will find you, KID.

Conan rushed past the kitchen, doing a full stop a meter further and backtracking his steps slowly, unsure eyes flashing back and forth between the stairs to his father's study and the kitchen.

...but first a coffee.

Impatient as ever, Conan stood in front of the coffee machine, fumbling around with the gem in his hands. What was the thing that had been glowing inside the gem? Nothing he could see now, at least. Had it been a dream? Some crazy hallucination? But the gem was there, inside his hands-

Coffee.

"Coffee", Conan spoke out loud to himself, cutting his own trail of thoughts off. Coffee now, investigations later. With the smell of his favorite black essence of life filling the kitchen, a mind already drifting off towards the latest incident and nothing planned for today, Conan grabbed his mug and settled down at the table. This was about to be a good day.

Maybe I should shower first. It's only fluid of a stone but it does look like blood and it's pretty gross.

Conan threw a longing glance onto his mug before he raised himself with a grunt of displeasure from his comfortable seat and took the steps upwards into the bathroom to rid himself off of his clothes and step into a relaxing and awaited shower.
The crust all over his skin went off, however...

Conan stared at his hands and arms, blood red. Some kind of allergic reaction? But how could someone be allergic to a stone? He didn't feel different at all. Only skin irritation?
The detective had to admit to himself, he did feel kinda bouncy, something entirely different to the usual lack of energy due to his lack of sleep and coffee overuse. He had blamed KID's riddle for it but was it a side effect?
Two fingers found their way towards his neck and Conan relaxed, concentrating onto his pulse. Strong and clear, without any kind of disturbing hint.

I hope it'll wear off.

Conan wasn't too found to see himself every day as red as a tomato on every part of his body. For the time being, he would have to hide himself... nothing the detective wasn't used to.
Sighing deeply, Conan stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with a towel, freezing in the same second.

Red.. Red... Is really all of my skin red...?!

Stumbling over to the nearest mirror, Conan took a look at himself and nearly screamed, eyes wide in horror. His entire face was also red, his fluffy brown hair the only thing on him which was a different colour, together with his bright sapphire eyes.

Calm down Shinichi, it's going to be fine, it's totally going to be fine. It's a prank. It's just a prank. KID just spilled some kinda dye over you. Calm down and move on. You can kick his ass when you find him.

Nodding to himself, Conan clenched his teeth and forced his gaze away from the mirror. The gem. Now.

Minutes later inside the kitchen, the already desperate detective faced another shock of his life. Only one small sip of his coffee he had been planning to enjoy left his mouth faster than it entered it, with a look of utter disgust, Conan spew it all over the table out again. Eyes flashing back and forth between his mug of coffee and the puddle he caused on the table, Conan had to sit for a moment and digest that.

This was the most awful thing he had ever had inside his mouth.

Is there anything wrong with the coffee machine...?

Conan got up and unscrewed the machine to take a proper look inside. By best means, he wasn't a technician, yet he knew his godsent coffee maker in and out.
"There's nothing wrong at all..."
Sighing, Conan decided to go out and buy himself a coffee to go. He knew his brain wouldn't function properly without some black life essence... but he felt so energetic, maybe it wasn't necessary? Usually Conan knew he needed at least two cups of coffee to put his braincells to use but now?

"Hm..."

Just what was going on with him?

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