The next day, at the Echizen residence...
Ryoma, along with Conan, Kudo Yuusaku, and Yukiko, arrived at the Echizen residence as the freshman wanted to. With dangers lurking in every corner, and his desire to find out the truth from the person he somehow knew could provide it to them, here they were. Honestly, he was anticipating and eager to see his parents again after a week of not showing his face to them. But at the same time, he was a little bit afraid of what he might find out once he ask either his dad or his mom.
He wasn't sure what would he find out but he has to know. Somehow, he felt that he wasn't only doing this for himself. He was also doing this for the person that saved his life.
He was doing this to somehow help Kourin.
He was still hesitant to go inside. But when he felt the warm hand of Yukiko placed on his shoulder, and when he saw her smile assuring him that it was going to be okay, he finally opened the gate.
"Okaa-san... Oyaji... are you here?" Ryoma called out. And there wasn't an answer after a few moments of waiting. He then let Conan, Yukiko and Yuusaku enter, then closed the gate.
He knocked at the front door just to know if there was someone inside. Gladly, someone opened the door.
"Ryoma-san!" Nanako could only exclaim when she saw him standing there. Before he knew it, she was hugging him tightly.
'Well, I should've expected this since I was out for a week and they don't have any clue where I went,' he only thought to himself as Nanako was still hugging him.
She only stopped when they heard someone cough a little. They found out that it was Yuusaku.
"Forgive me for interfering with your reunion but we need to ask something important to Echizen-kun's parents. Is there any chance that they're inside?" Yuusaku inquired calmly.
She nodded. Then she let them all enter the house.
As all of the guests removed their shoes and changed them to slippers, Ryoma couldn't help but feel worried about what was going to happen.
He didn't know that Conan noticed it.
"You shouldn't be worried about anything. You're doing this to help yourself. In a way, you're also helping Rin. She deserves to live as normal kids do. And no matter what we'll find out from your parents, it might help both you and Rin to live peaceful lives again," Conan said, having a small reassuring smile plastered on his face.
Ryoma sighed. "You're right. I owe her my life, and to you, as well. Thanks."
"Thank me when this is over. But I think Rin deserves that even more."
That was the time when they heard someone running. Only to find out that it was Ryoma's mother Rinko who was coming down the stairs. She missed Ryoma so much.
"Ryoma, why did you only come home now? I was worried sick about you! What happened?" Rinko said while hugging him.
"I'm sorry, Okaa-san. I just don't want you to be involved in any danger that I'm facing now," was all he could say.
"But no matter how much you don't want them to be involved in danger, they will be facing it sooner or later because of your father, Echizen-kun."
He was surprised when he heard that. And when he looked upstairs where he heard the voice, he saw a woman about the same age as Nanako standing there.
"Shouko-san, what are you doing here?" Yukiko asked.
The woman named Shouko bowed politely to the couple. "I should be heading to Hokkaido yesterday to finish our research and to confirm something that Ares told me. But I never made it there due to some... interferences."
"So Themis went after you, huh?"
She nodded. Then she faced Ryoma. "Rin-chan seemed to have taken good care of you, Echizen-kun," she said with a smile.
He questioningly looked at her. 'How did she know that?'
"I know you're wondering how I found that out. By the way, I'm Miyuzaki Shouko. My older sister, Shouda, told me earlier about what happened to you a week ago. And the people that Rin-chan feared the most were the reason why you almost died. But it appeared that... there's more to it than just a simple chase. It's the real reason behind that motive is something that you want to find out, that's why you came back here. Am I right?"
He stared at Shouko for a while as soon as she finished talking. He then sighed as a sign of giving up. Looked like interrogation time was about to start.
"You're right," Ryoma mumbled before glancing at his mother. "Okaa-san, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"I know what you want to ask from me. But only your father can answer that. Only he can tell you the whole truth about what you want to know for the sake of that kid who saved you."
Ryoma, Conan, and his parents were puzzled. "What do you mean?"
But his mother only smiled-albeit sadly-and looked at him intently. "You better go to the tennis court. He's been staying there for at least an hour now."
'Probably reading his magazines again...' Ryoma could only think as he shook his head slightly. But admit it or not, he kind of missed his father during that dangerous week that had passed.
Then all of them went to the living room except Ryoma who decided to see his father at the tennis court alone. But Conan couldn't help but ask himself a question.
'Are we going to be able to find answers to the questions about what's going on with Echizen-kun?'
But he guessed that he would learn probably everything about it soon enough.
-x-x-
Going to Seishun Gakuen...
Using her turbo roller skates (1), Kourin managed to go out of Beika District heading towards her destination: Seishun Gakuen. This was where the Seigaku regulars were studying and having their practices. Somehow, in about 40 minutes, she finally reached the said school.
'Finally, I made it!' She thought triumphantly as she looked at the school with amazement. But as of the moment, she could only feel little amazement at it.
Right now, she needed to find the people she has to talk to -- Fuji and Momoshiro. The same people who saved her a week ago from those punks who were bullying her back then.
Though there was doubt starting to take over her, she shoved it all away. She put her roller skates in her bag after removing her arm pads, kneepads, helmet, and elbow pads. After that, she became determined to enter the school and find what she has been looking for.
'I have to do this!' And at that moment, she remembered Ryoma. She couldn't help feeling sad and... guilty. 'I'm sorry for doing this, Ryoma-niichan...'
But then she realized, she didn't even know where to start looking. Still, she focused herself on thinking and managed to figure out that they might be practicing at the tennis courts. She remembered what she had read in a magazine called Monthly Pro Tennis that there was an upcoming tennis tournament in which the Seigaku Regulars were going to participate in. So there was no doubt that they were practicing for that tournament.
While running to look for the tennis courts, she never noticed that someone was running toward her. That person was carrying a large box so he couldn't see her. By the time she just realized that he already bumped at her, causing the contents of the box to scatter on the ground and they fell on their butts.
"Ouch! That hurts..." she whined as silently as she could while rubbing her butt. By then, she noticed that someone was standing in front of her, that's why she looked up.
She saw a redhead middle schooler worriedly looking at her, probably a senior. He has a white strip plastered on his lower right cheek.
"Nya, are you alright?" he asked. Kourin nodded and then he helped her stand up. "I'm sorry. I wasn't looking in the way." He began to pick up the scattered contents and put them back in the box at an incredible speed. Even still, she decided to help him.
While doing so, she noticed the clothes that the redhead was wearing. Ryoma was wearing the same tennis uniform when she found him floating on the river.
'He's also one of the Seigaku regulars,' she thought as both of them stood up.
"Thanks a lot, nya. And I'm sorry again for bumping on you. By the way, why are you here?"
"Umm... Well..." 'This might be a good time to ask him about it.' "I-I was looking for the tennis courts since... I need to talk to somebody."
"Nya? Need to speak to somebody?" He looked at her baffled. She nodded. "Who might that be, nya?"
"I was looking for... Fuji-san and... Momoshiro-san because I need to --" But she never managed to continue her sentence when she heard someone call the name of the person she was talking to.
"Eiji, you're late."
When she looked around, she found out that the voice came from another middle schooler who was also wearing a Seigaku regular's tennis uniform. The person named Eiji approached the person with a buzzcut who called him, still carrying the box.
"Nyaa, sorry, Oishi. I forgot something in the classroom so I came back to get it. But then I accidentally bumped on her." He paused and glanced at her. "She said she was looking for Fujiko and Momo for some reasons."
"Eh? Fuji and Momo?" Oishi questioningly looked at her for a few moments, causing her to feel nervous. But it was just for a little while since she was trying to fight it. It only faded when the guy decided to approach her and crouched down a little at her eye level, and then he smiled at her.
"Will it be okay if we accompany you to where Fuji and Momo are?"
Her eyes slightly widened in surprise but a smile replaced them soon after. "Really? You'll do that?"
Oishi nodded. Happily, though might have been done on impulse due to happiness, she hugged the guy.
As the three of them walked, Oishi asked her a question. "Why are you looking for Fuji and Momo, anyway?"
She stopped in her tracks. When they noticed that, Oishi and Eiji stopped as well and looked at her.
"Did I say something wrong?"
It took her a while before she shook her head as a response and faced them. "I just need to tell them something about... Ryoma-niichan since that's what I promised to them when they saved me back then."
"EH?!" Both of them exclaimed as soon as they heard her mention Ryoma's name. "You know where Echizen/Ochibi is?" The two boys asked in unison.
She reluctantly nodded since she was surprised by the sudden exclamation of two boys. Then the Golden Pair looked at each other and nodded.
"I guess it's really important for you to see Fuji and Momo. We need to hurry, then."
The three of them ran in a certain direction and when they reached the tennis courts, some people curiously eyed them, especially the little girl that the two regulars accompanied. But the others were still busy watching the practice matches of their other teammates. She easily scanned the tennis courts and then she finally found the two people she was looking for.
Fuji was watching the match while Momoshiro was having a tennis match with a tennis club member since she easily recognized the people who saved her once.
But before she could approach them, she saw another Seigaku regular with a stoic expression, auburn hair, and wearing glasses who looked more like a middle-aged man than a middle schooler. Please forgive her for noticing that, but it was the truth. He was talking to Oishi and Eiji. From the looks of it, he was probably asking them about her. She then noticed the man's slightly startled expression before casting a glance at her. Weird, but she did feel a bit scared when that man did that.
That was the time when Momoshiro's match ended with a score of 6-0, and he was the winner. The others had finally noticed her presence there; among them were Fuji and Momoshiro. The two regulars smiled when they saw her and she hesitantly waved her hand to say hi. Then they immediately approached her.
"It's a surprise you came here," Fuji said with his trademark smile.
"I'm sorry. Did I bother you?"
Fuji shook his head. When she looked at Momoshiro, he was smiling at her which made her feel calm somehow.
"I'm sorry if I came here without prior notice. It's just that... I'd like to say something to both of you personally. It's kind of important and I can't say it through the phone."
The two regulars stared at each other confusingly then at her.
"What do you mean by that?" Momoshiro asked.
"Is it about Echizen?"
She nodded. But for some reason, she couldn't look at them in the eyes. Though she could feel a warm aura from Fuji, it still wasn't enough for her to gather her courage to tell them that.
"Then what about Echizen? Do you know where he is?"
"I lied," she blurted out all of a sudden, making them quite surprised and baffled. "I lied... when I told you before that... I haven't seen him that time."
All of them fell silent. After she said that, she looked down, so her hair was covering her eyes and no one could guess what she was thinking at that moment. In reality, she was guilty of two reasons.
One, she was guilty because she couldn't keep her promise to Ryoma that she wouldn't tell Fuji and Momoshiro about the current situation, especially the danger that he was involved in. The freshman regular didn't want them to get involved in any danger he was currently facing and she thought of the same thing. But she didn't have any choice.
Two, she was guilty because of a lie that she told to Fuji and Momoshiro a week ago. Those two saved her once but then she couldn't tell them the truth about Ryoma's whereabouts even though it was obvious that they needed to learn it at that time.
She didn't notice the tears coming flowing down her face. Still, she knew she would never be forgiven for what she did.
"Why did you have to tell this now? Why now? We saved you that time... That time when we're desperate to look for Echizen! Why did you have to lie to us?!" Momoshiro inquired in an angry and almost loud voice. Eiji was trying to calm him down along with Oishi and Kaidoh, despite the hissing man's protest. For one, he doesn't like the fact that Momoshiro was shouting (well, almost) at a crying little girl, even though he knew what his rival was feeling because of what they had just learned.
Kourin couldn't stop her tears from flowing. She guessed that those tears came flowing because of the guilt, desperation, and helplessness that she was feeling at the moment.
"She doesn't have any choice, you know? And besides, you're not the only one who's desperate," the voice of a familiar young girl (familiar to Kourin, that is) was heard from behind her. When she turned around, her eyes widened in surprise because of what she saw.
"Ai-chan! How did you...?"
"Edogawa-kun had a feeling that you might do something against someone's will, that's why he had me stalked you." Then Haibara showed a faint smile. "Turned out he was right."
Kourin sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess I caused much more trouble than I ever thought," she said apologetically. Her eyes even showed that. She faced Fuji and gave a polite bow. "I'm sorry for lying to you."
Fuji smiled an understanding smile. "There must be a personal reason for you to say that lie to us. If it's okay with you, can you tell us the reason for you to do that?"
She turned and then she saw Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko walking toward Haibara. They were smiling at her, like saying that she could do it. She faced Fuji and Momoshiro who had calmed down already, thanks to Tezuka and Oishi. Kaidoh was just hissing behind his rival.
She sighed before talking. 'There's no other way. I have to do this, I guess. I'm sorry, Ryoma-niichan...' "Ryoma-niichan's life is in danger," she answered soberly.
It was said simply, her words were simple to understand, as well. But the impact it caused on the people (especially the regulars) who were listening to her intently was too much. Everyone was surprised when they heard that. Without much delay-technically after she let them recover from the shock of hearing what she said-she began explaining everything to them. Starting from the time she saved Ryoma until the truths and events that they had learned so far. After that, by the looks of it, everyone was in a state of disbelief.
"I had no choice but to keep the truth from you because of what had happened to him. I might have not known it at that time but I guess I did it out of desperation so I could somehow spare him from letting him feel the same pain and sufferings I've felt before," she said truthfully.
The other members could only comment through whispering and murmurs but the Seigaku regulars remained silent.
"It must have been hard for you," Momoshiro commented, breaking the tensed silence in the process. He said it softly. "I'm sorry I raised my voice on you. I never had any idea that you've gone that far to protect him..." He shook his head when he realized something. "No... You've done that to protect all of us. You and Echizen did all that..."
Fuji nodded, agreeing on the matter. "That's true. So I guess there's no reason for you to apologize for keeping the truth from us. For now, that's the only thing you can do to protect him, or so it seems."
Somehow, she managed to smile. But that smile immediately faded when someone spoke a few meters behind her. That voice was so familiar to her that made her freeze in fear and shock.
"You can't protect your new friends here now..."
And then she heard a soft yet maniacal and evil laugh.
"Isn't that right? Little princess of the Shinomiya family ...or should I say... Shinomiya Kourin, known as the only successor left among the members of the Shinomiya clan."
Several reactions erupted upon mentioning the real identity of the little girl.
"Shinomiya?! You mean the family that had been eradicated brutally a year ago?"
"It can't be, right? No one could have survived that kind of attack!"
"Aren't they all died a year ago? That's what the news had stated when they featured the massacre that happened in the Shinomiya mansion in Florida!"
"So someone still survived that gruesome massacre? And to think it was a girl, too..."
"You mean the family that's classified as one of the most distinguished families of Japan and protected by three other distinguished families? That Shinomiya?"
"That little girl belonged to the Shinomiya family?"
"Come to think of it, she looked a lot like the wife of the head of the Shinomiya family. What was her name again?"
Several more reactions mixed in with the shocked atmosphere hovering around the place. But Kourin wasn't paying attention to that. Or maybe her mind was thinking of something else.
'It can't be!' Those words were the only ones that her mind could scream in disbelief as she recognized the voice that called out her name and her title. Of course, the way it was said made her shudder in fear. She slowly turned around and at that moment when she laid her eyes on those people behind her, she couldn't stop her mind from replaying the gruesome past that she wanted to escape all this time.
She saw the auburn-haired woman dressed in black smirked when she finally faced her. As she looked at the surroundings, she noticed that there were other people dressed in black, just like that woman. All of those black-clad people were too familiar to her.
"Dark... Rose...?" She could only whisper those words as fear seemed to have consumed half of her mind.
"It seems like you still remember us, Kourin-ojousama. Even if you've barely seen us that night we eradicated your disgusting family a year ago..."
Kourin's eyes widened because of that and made her gasp in surprise at the same time. 'So they still saw me escape that night?'
"Nyaa! What did you say? You killed her family a year ago?" Kikumaru could only exclaim as the others were shocked by that revelation.
"Eiji-senpai, aren't you watching the world news? It was featured all over the country! The news raged on like wildfire for more than a month. But then it eventually died since the police couldn't find a lead about the murderer," Momoshiro said in disbelief.
"I should've known the reason why that girl was familiar when I first saw her. And the name, too... She did mention her name to us, didn't she?" Fuji inquired as he faced Momoshiro who was the only one who knew what he was talking about. The dunk smash specialist nodded when he remembered the events.
"Now that I think about it, one article stated that the Miami police couldn't find the youngest child's body even though her blood was spilled beside the main family's bodies."
"So I guess it's true, then..." Oishi commented. "This little girl... could be one of the last surviving members of that murdered family..."
Haibara could only glare sharply at the person who reminded Kourin of her past. At the same time, she gave a signal to Ayumi. "Yoshida-san, did you bring your detective badge?" Ayumi nodded. "Then hide somewhere where you won't be caught by them, and tell Edogawa-kun about our situation here right now. I don't think Shinomiya-san would handle this easily and alone."
With that, Ayumi slowly stepped backward and found herself a time to run without the enemy noticing. It was a good thing, or maybe the enemies chose to ignore it for some reason but somehow, she succeeded.
Meanwhile, Kourin faced the woman with a blank expression on her face. 'I never thought I'll be dealing with the Drak Rose sooner than I had expected. I already know that I have little to no chance of winning against them, especially if I'm reminded of that event that made me think it's already hopeless. But... I couldn't let the students here pay for something they're not supposed to be involved in.'
"Why such a cold face, Princess? Aren't you grateful that you don't have to look for us anymore?"
"Themis..." she suddenly called out, facing the auburn-haired woman unwaveringly. "Or should I say... Yamaguchi Kazuko? My dead father's second cousin, right? Or you could correct me if I'm mistaken."
The woman called Themis gave her a stunned glare. "H-how did you...?"
"How did I find that out?" Kourin smirked. "Who do you take me for? After all, I'm the princess of the Shinomiya family, right? Just because you eradicated my family doesn't mean their battles will go down along with them in their graves. That night when you and the other Dark Rose members killed them, everything was entrusted to me. My father, my mother, my older brother-they've entrusted the fate of the four families in my hands. As long as I'm alive, I won't let you have your way. I'll do everything I can to protect what I have to protect, the same way my family and the other members of the three families had protected everything important to them."
"I guess you're not such a brat anymore, princess. I must admire you for that."
"Rin-san is not a brat!" Genta blurted out in anger.
"But what do you think a nine-year-old girl can do against the people who achieved the feat of eradicating the entirety of the Shinomiya family in just one night?" another woman taunted while facing the blank-faced young girl.
No words came out of Kourin's mouth after that. In a way, it was true. What could she do in her state right now?
"Rin-san... don't be so confident about this," Mitsuhiko said as he shivered in fear.
"Rin-san..." Haibara called out. Kourin faced her. "What are you going to do now?"
She didn't speak to answer that. Then she looked at the students behind her, most were members of the Seigaku Tennis Club. 'I couldn't let them get involved in this. They have nothing to do with my predicament. But... what exactly am I supposed to do now?'
She couldn't think properly. But she has to do something to stop whatever the Drak Rose was planning to do.
Even if it means putting herself in danger...
-x-x-
Beika Police Station, Beika District...
"What's this?" Inspector Megure took the folder that Doctor Yanai handed to him. The doctor decided that they needed the police's cooperation with the Dark Rose case.
The doctor gave a small bow. "I'm sorry. I know that you're still investigating Echizen-kun's case but-"
"It's alright, Yanai-sensei." And then the inspector browsed the content of that folder, only to be shocked by what he had read.
LIST OF THE DARK ROSE AGENCY MEMBERS... That was the title of that particular file. Everything was listed there, from the names of the members and their equivalent codenames, positions in the organization, age (even age of death to some of the members who already died before their case), and even nationality. It was listed in complete detail.
"Where did you get this? How did you manage to acquire this much information, Yanai-sensei?" Inspector Megure could only ask.
But before the doctor could answer, there was a call coming from the inspector's phone.
"Hello? This is Megure."
"Megure-keibu (2), there's big trouble! Nine members of the Dark Rose have appeared at Seishun Gakuen. It seems that they had taken hostage the students here."
"What?!" Inspector Megure exclaimed. Then he faced Doctor Yanai who was listening to the conversation because the call was purposely turned on to speaker mode. "Alright! We'll send back-up right away. But make sure you won't chase the targets away. They are essential for us to close our current case. Understand?"
"Roger that!" And then the call ended.
"If that's the case, then we'll send our special forces, as well."
The inspector agreed and everyone in the first division of the police department was in a frantic mode to save the hostage students who were held captive by the Dark Rose.
'This is where the real battle begins...' Doctor Yanai thought gravely.
-x-x-
Note:
1... The custom-made turbo roller skates are one of Kourin's pride as a young inventor, a skill and trait she most likely inherited from her mother and grandmother. She invented it in collaboration with Professor Agasa and Haibara as a part of her project. The construction of this was loosely based on Conan's solar-powered skateboard. The only difference is that her roller skates were not solar-powered, but battery-powered, that's why it's pretty convenient for her since she always brings batteries as a spare because her turbo roller skates consume less energy.
2... "Keibu" is the Japanese equivalent of "Inspector". "Keiji" is for the officers under the inspector, like Detective Takagi. More often, I noticed that the English equivalent for "keiji" is either officer or detective, based on the translations provided in the series. But for private detectives, like Mouri Kogorou and Kudo Shinichi, were referred to as "mentantei" or simply "Tantei".
-x-x-
Okay, about Kourin being a smart girl... Well, I noticed that some of the characters that had appeared in the Detective Conan series and movies (though they were only a few) were child prodigies. With one being an MIT graduate at the age of nine! NINE, PEOPLE! Talk about being too smart. So I guess I warned you about that part, huh? So basically, I created Kourin with a mind almost like that. Her family lineage is one factor why she has such an advanced mind for a nine-year-old kid. Okay?