The Mystery of the Clasped Watchband (Chapter 5)
( ch. 1) ( ch. 2) ( ch. 3) ( ch. 4)
So I just finished the most depressing fic ever that makes this look like humorous fluff, so I had to start writing and get to what shall henceforth be known as The Most Heartwarming Part in This Entire Fic. Also known as Part Not-Appearing-In-This-Chapter. Sorry.
Title: The Mystery of the Clasped Watchband
Fandoms: Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Rating: T
Genre: Mystery/Hurt/Comfort
Characters: Nancy Drew, Kuroba Kaito, Hakuba Saguru, Edogawa Conan, Frank Hardy
Summary: She was assured that this case was a doozy, and it would've been even if it weren't personal. One Hardy missing, the other dead for no apparent reason, and Nancy Drew undercover at Ekoda High on seemingly a fool's errand could sum up the situation. But soon it seems like she can't even sneeze without the trail leading to Kaito Kid, and what about that strange boy with the glasses?
In This Chapter: Nancy investigates just what happened at the heist mostly unsuccessfully and has another inordinately long chitchat with Frank. Meanwhile, Kaito runs off and works towards his own, completely incomprehensible goals.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Inspector was surprised to see her. “I thought I told you not to come. You're not actually involved after all.”
“Kid made me involved,” Nancy replied curtly. “The paper was wonderfully vague, but I had an interesting conversation just a few minutes ago with a character of mutual acquaintance.”
“Kid?” Inspector Nakamori's eyes looked like they wanted to pop out of their sockets. “What did he tell you? Did he say anything? Anything important?”
Nancy folded her arms. “You don't have everything under control, do you?” she asked drily.
Inspector Nakamori motioned towards her. “Come on. I've got something to show you.”
Inspector Nakamori led Nancy through a few rooms to one where bagged evidence was laid out on a large table. Nakamori held up a large one, a bloodstained shirt. Nancy inhaled quickly when she recognized it as the one Aoko had been wearing. The Inspector wiggled it until a small hole on the left side became apparent. “What do you make of that?” Nancy could only stare. “From the position, it should've punctured a lung. And from the amount of blood on the shirt and at the scene, she probably should've died as well.”
“But you said it was just a graze, nothing serious!” Nancy demanded.
“It is.” Inspector Nakamori replied, sounding like he didn't believe his own words. He wiggled the shirt some more until a small rip on the side also became apparent. “This was the only mark on her.”
Nancy's mind felt like it was going into overload. “Everything makes sense, but nothing makes sense! This is insane!”
Inspector Nakamori immediately set down the shirt and put his hands on Nancy's shoulder. “Nancy, what are you talking about? What do you mean?”
“Kid, when he spoke to me. I noticed that he was moving a little stiffly, so I asked him if he had been injured. He said he had been, but not as bad as Aoko-san. But that doesn't make sense if she had only been grazed. But if she hadn't only been grazed, it made perfect sense! But she'd only been grazed! But she hadn't only been grazed!”
“Nancy-san, breathe!”
Nancy paused, and suddenly had an epiphany. An impossible epiphany, but an epiphany nonetheless. “Wow. Inspector, this is going to sound completely insane, but it almost makes sense, in the way that none of this makes sense,” she looked around to make sure no one was too close, then started whispering, “So we've already got a murder method that leaves no trace. People just die. And what's the opposite of death? Life. And we know Kid's involved in this perfect death thing. What if, and this is the really crazy part, Kid and these people are actively working against each other, and while the other guys have a perfect way to take life, Kid has a perfect way to give it?”
“Nancy-san, you're talking madness.”
Nancy rubbed at her forehead. “I know it's insane and that I sound like a raving loon, but this whole big case belongs at a funny farm. And yeah, there are huge holes, like if Kid could bring people back to life why didn't he bring Joe back to life, but honestly, do you have any better ideas?”
“No,” Inspector Nakamori admitted. “But Kid's a street magician, albeit an unconventional one, not a wizard. I'm sure there must be some sort of relatively plausible explanation for this, you'll see.”
Nancy nodded, downhearted. “Oh, right. Kid also told me to tell you something.”
“Oh?”
“He said to tell you that he might just be dead to the world now.”
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The corner of Nancy's mouth quirked up wryly. “I think it means he's seriously considering putting away the costume.”
“He'll be back,” Inspector Nakamori dismissed. “He always does. Even eight years can't keep him away. He'll be back, you'll see.”
Nancy wasn't so sure about that.
After the Inspector finally managed to shoo Nancy out of the station, she headed for the hospital that Aoko was at. She found Aoko dressed and about to leave, seeming very lively for someone who seemingly should be dead. “Wow, you seem ready to go,” Nancy greeted, alerting Aoko to her presence.
“Nancy-san!” Aoko exclaimed. “Oh, I'm so sorry. You must've been worried.”
“Yeah, rather. But you're fine, so everything'll be okay. But should you really be leaving already? You were shot.”
“It was just a graze, like you said I'm fine.” Aoko did seem to be favoring her side slightly, but Nancy had to agree that she otherwise seemed completely normal. Rather perfectly healthy. “More to the point, isn't school going on right now? What are you doing here?”
Nancy grinned. “I was worried, so I'm playing hooky.”
“Funny. If anyone, I would've guessed it would be Kaito skipping.” Aoko looked thoughtful, and perhaps a little whimsical. “Of course, maybe it's just because I'm thinking about him.”
“Oh?” Nancy queried in a mock scandalized voice. She wasn't blind, after all. “And what set this off, may I ask?”
“I have a vague memory of him being with me, but it's silly,” Aoko explained, sheepish. “He had work, after all. And it's so vague it was probably just a dream.”
“Yeah, probably just a dream,” Nancy agreed automatically. “So what happened?”
“Well, I was up on the roof,” Aoko started as they left the hospital room. “I had been in the crowd outside with everybody else, but then I had to go to the bathroom so I went into the building to find one. And then...” her voice trailed off.
“Then what?” Nancy asked, eager to hear what had happened. When Aoko didn't respond at first Nancy looked over and saw that she was frowning. “Aoko? What's wrong?”
Aoko shook her head, suddenly smiling. “Nothing's wrong! Well, other than the obvious of course. Anyway, after I went to the bathroom I somehow ended up on the roof, and there was some shooting going on. So I ran and hid but a stray bullet caught me. After a while the shooting stopped and I came out and it seemed like everything was over.”
Nancy couldn't help but notice the giant, gaping hole in Aoko's story. She looked over at her in worry, Aoko oblivious as she started talking about normal, random things. How did she end up on the roof? What had happened up there on the roof that Aoko wasn't saying? And was Aoko not saying anything by choice or because she truly didn't know? Nancy had come to know Aoko as unfailingly honest and loyal to her friends. Was the loyalty getting in the way of the honesty? But if it was then why would she mention a memory of Kaito at all? She also seemed far too cheerful for someone who had just discovered an ugly truth. To be fair, she was also entirely too cheerful for someone who had just been shot, but Nancy knew that that was just Aoko.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy saw Aoko home, but as much as she tried to argue Aoko insisted that she'd be fine without her and that Nancy go to school. Finally Nancy gave in and left the house, but as soon as she was out of sight she called Agasa Hiroshi's house. The older man picked up the phone as she expected. “Hello, Agasa residence, this is Professor Agasa speaking.”
“Hello Professor Agasa, this is Nancy Drew.”
“Oh, Nancy-san. How can I help you?”
“I was wondering if I could talk to Frank please?”
“Just a minute, I'll go find him.”
Nancy waited patiently. “Hey Nancy,” Frank's voice came on the other end.
“Hi Frank. Hey, what was with that stunt yesterday? I thought it wasn't even possible.”
“Not so impossible as you were led to believe. It's only a temporary cure though, 48 hours. Tomorrow morning the fairy scientist waves her magic test tube and I turn back into Cinderfrank.”
Nancy chuckled. “So you're still... you-sized?”
“Yep.”
Nancy bit her lip. “Then why are you hiding at Professor Agasa's?” she asked hesitantly.
“Because I'm still in danger. And when I'm big, they might actually recognize me.”
“Is Kudo following his own rules?”
“...No.”
“Then why are you? If you're still big, you should be spending time with your dad while you still can. You don't know when you'll be able to see him in person again.” Frank didn't respond. Realization dawned on Nancy. “Oohh. This is about him, isn't it?”
“You should've seen him Nancy, last night when I had to bow out. Kept demanding to know why, where I was staying, why I couldn't just stay with him and go back to Bayport, what I was still hiding.”
“He doesn't miss a trick, does he?” Nancy responded. “So? Why didn't you?”
“Why didn't I what?”
“Stay with him. You have until tomorrow morning after all.”
“Honestly Nan?”
“Honesty does seem to be in short supply 'round these parts.”
“I think if I had stayed any longer, I wouldn't have been able to leave when I had to, and would've ended up spilling everything to him.”
“Would that have been so bad?”
“You've only seen Kudo being polite. Trust me, he is not happy about how things have been going down lately. I think if my dad learned absolutely everything, that would knock that one last screw just loose enough for him to go completely apeshit over the entire thing. And I've been heartily assured that an apeshit Kudo is not a good thing.”
Nancy laughed. “Well I suppose we'll have to try to avoid that. What about me? Am I off limits and in danger of tempting you home?”
“Ooh, I'll have to think on that one,” Frank joked. “What would I do without you?”
“Set up questionable meetings in alleyways and get poisoned?” Nancy suggested. “Hey, did you hear about the heist last night?”
“That there was one, yes. Beyond that, not much. Which is surprising because I haven't had much else to do other than absorb the news.”
“Well from what I hear it was a pretty exciting heist. In fact, so interesting that it might even be relevant to our case. Since it doesn't sound like you have anything better to do...”
Frank cut Nancy off. “You want to meet up and discuss it? Okay!”
“Cabin fever?” Nancy asked.
“Like you would not believe. Concurring with popular belief, Haibara Ai is a very creepy person. Also has a bit of a sadistic streak. How about the Café Poirot?”
“Cute,” Nancy commented on the name.
“Tell me about it. Perfect meeting place, considering the circumstances. Here, I'll tell you where it is.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy looked up at the windows a level above Café Poirot. She laughed sarcastically to herself before walking in. Frank waved at her from a corner table. “You did this on purpose, didn't you?” she asked snarkily as she sat down.
Frank gave her a 'who, me?' look and shrugged. “Hey, the name fits the mood. And if Kudo just happens to see us, then what can I say?”
“It seems rather like you want to give Kudo an aneurysm.”
“He's not my favorite person in the world right now, no. I mean yeah, I can appreciate where he's coming from, but he seems a bit 'utopia justifies the means' to me. To be fair it's actually 'life justifies the means', but he's still living while he's got his life. Me, not so much. Anyway, give me the lowdown. What precisely happened at the heist that's so interesting?”
Before Nancy could respond, the waitress walked up to take their orders. It being around lunchtime now, they both ordered sandwiches and coffee. As soon as she was gone, Nancy started talking. “The thing is I don't really know, and that's what's bothering me.”
“You mean that's what's tickling your interest,” Frank pointed out. “Admit it Nancy. You can't not figure out what's going on at any given moment.”
Nancy laughed. “I suppose so.”
“So you weren't at the heist yourself?”
“No. But as you know, I'm staying with the Nakamoris, so I got the whole lowdown before the heist.”
“Not so much after I take it?”
Nancy sighed. “Inspector Nakamori has no idea what happened, and it frightens him. He couldn't even to begin to explain what he did tell me, and it's got him running scared.”
Frank raised an eyebrow. “Inspector Nakamori never seemed like the kind of guy to scare easily to me.”
“Of normal things? No. Impossible things and Aoko-san? Definitely.”
“Aoko-san? I've met her a few times. She's a nice girl. A bit temperamental, but nice.”
“Temperamental but nice, and currently in the middle of a mess even less coherent than yours.”
“Hey, my mess isn't incoherent, just complicated. It's perfectly coherent once you understand everything. What's wrong with Aoko-san?”
“She's been shot for starters.” At Frank's alarmed look Nancy quickly explained. “It was just a graze, she's fine. They even let her out of the hospital, she's at home taking it easy right now. But yes, apparently there was shooting at the heist. Probably our friend whom Joe overheard.”
Frank frowned. “That's funny. We had seen that man of course, but there was never any shooting at the heists we were at. Why would they start now all of a sudden?”
Nancy shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, but that's not the part I'm hung up on.”
“Yeah, shooting people isn't impossible, and you mentioned impossible. Go on, tell me the impossible bit.”
At that precise moment they were interrupted by their food. Nancy could almost hear Frank cursing the waitress's ill timing in his head and smiled at the thought. As soon as the waitress was out of hearing range however Frank fixed Nancy with an expectant look to put a begging dog who fully expected to be indulged to shame. Nancy laughed. “All right, all right. You really have been bored, haven't you?”
“If Nancy Drew calls something impossible, then I am in. Excitement and mystery is sure to be just around the corner!”
Nancy made a noise. “Talk about mystery. Aoko's been shot once, and it was just a minor graze. So...” Nancy dragged off.
“So?”
Nancy fixed Frank with a look. “So what's her shirt doing with two bullet holes and covered in blood? And I don't just mean a few stray splatters, someone died on that shirt.”
Frank replied slowly, clearly just waiting for her to say 'but'. “The second hole was right on the edge and just missed her, and the blood was from someone else? Why are you pointing at your chest?”
“The extra hole was here.”
“But the only wound was...?”
Nancy pointed at her side. “Here.”
Frank whistled lowly. “Wow. Impossible, huh? I bet that doesn't stop you from having a few theories.”
“Inspector Nakamori very nearly laughed me out of the station. Basically the gist of it is that Kid can bring people back to life. Even I think it's crazy, and I came up with it.”
Frank sipped at his coffee, not saying anything about Nancy's theory. “What does Aoko-san say happened?”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask that. She doesn't say anything.”
Frank frowned. “She's holding out? Doesn't seem like what I know of her.”
“I agree! In fact, if anything I'd say she doesn't remember what happened.”
“Oh?”
“When I questioned her, she said that she'd been outside in the crowd before she went into the building to find a bathroom. Then she was on the roof and there was shooting going on so she hid. A stray bullet caught her, she waited, and then after the shooting had died down she came out. She'd skipped over between the bathroom and the roof entirely.”
Frank adopted a thinking pose. “That is strange. Security cameras?”
“Kid disabled them all.”
“Great. Trust him to make a mess of things. Maybe Kid knows what happened. Even if he doesn't, we really need to find out about that sniper stalker of his and how he's connected to the Organization. You have a way to contact him, have you talked to him yet?”
Nancy shook her head. “No, I haven't had a chance. There was that meeting yesterday, and now this heist business, and before that I was having trouble getting him alone.”
Frank groaned. “Nancy, we need those answers from Kid. They could be vital. I don't care how you get them, just do.”
“I know Frank. This case means a lot to all of us, I know. I'll ask him, okay? Have faith.”
Frank started to look at his wrist, then stopped. “Damn. I keep forgetting that I lost my watch.”
Nancy smiled. “That watch sent me in so many circles. I can't believe I'd forgotten about it until you just mentioned it.”
“Yeah. Maybe I could stop by the police station some time today and get it back.”
“Probably not. Still evidence in an unsolved crime after all.”
“You're probably right. How did a watch send you in circles anyway?”
Nancy grinned. “Why the band of course!”
“The band?”
“It was clasped, so I thought it couldn't just have broken or fallen off. So I thought it was a message from you. And so I spent so much time trying to figure out what the nonexistent message was.”
“When in reality it really had just fallen off my wrist,” Frank finished with a grin. “It's just that my wrist was much smaller than it usually is. Poor Nancy, she just couldn't crack the case of the clasped watchband.”
“Frank! You wouldn't have been able to either! And I did solve the case, just not through the clasped watchband avenue.”
They continued to chat about nonsensical things for the rest of lunch. Nancy enjoyed being in Frank's company, something she had never really gotten quite enough of. The lingering shadows in Frank's eyes were a constant reminder that their time was limited, and that they would never be the sleuthing trio that they had sometimes been before again, but she was thankful for what she had and the chance to do something about what she didn't.
~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately because of whatever bit of insanity had happened at the heist, Kaito and Aoko were now far closer than Nancy had ever seen them before. Whatever dream or vague notion of Kaito that Aoko had had, she was now sticking to him like glue, but not in a temperamental best friend kind of way. Rather the vibe that Nancy was getting was that Aoko, consciously or not, considered Kaito a beloved protector. Kaito was definitely aiding the vibe, helping Aoko whenever she seemed to have the slightest trouble with anything, hovering worriedly, and otherwise acting as if she could shatter at any moment. The simple fact that he was point-blank unwilling to move five feet from her except under certain circumstances meant that Nancy simply could not question him on what happened at the heist.
She tried alternate routes of course. Hakuba Saguru however knew very little other than what Nancy knew. The heist had started out normal, and then Kid had gassed him and shoved him in a closet with a note stating that things would probably get ugly, and that he didn't want 'tantei-san' to get hurt, indicating that he guessed that his sniper stalkers would make a move that night. He had been let out after a passing officer heard his thumps, but by that time the majority of the action was over.
One thing they did discuss was Kaito's sudden friendship, for lack of a better word, with Koizumi Akako. This surprised the both of them. Kaito spent her entire first day back with Aoko, but the second day he detached himself for about fifteen minutes during lunch to go off somewhere with Akako. Two days later, another fifteen minutes during lunch. As the week passed Kaito and Akako spent more and more time together, confusing the entire class. After all, it was no secret that Kaito didn't trust Akako for some reason or another. Nancy had of course asked around about that, but no one seemed to know why.
And so Nancy was stuck in another dead end in another impossible case that may be connected to the first impossible case. But circumstances had conspired to help her out last time. Perhaps they would do the same this time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Next Chapter: The Most Heartwarming Part in This Entire Fic, and the heartwarming fallout from it. Oh, and plot happens, and Nancy and Frank stop having these long, boring conversations.
( ch. 6)
So I just finished the most depressing fic ever that makes this look like humorous fluff, so I had to start writing and get to what shall henceforth be known as The Most Heartwarming Part in This Entire Fic. Also known as Part Not-Appearing-In-This-Chapter. Sorry.
Title: The Mystery of the Clasped Watchband
Fandoms: Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Rating: T
Genre: Mystery/Hurt/Comfort
Characters: Nancy Drew, Kuroba Kaito, Hakuba Saguru, Edogawa Conan, Frank Hardy
Summary: She was assured that this case was a doozy, and it would've been even if it weren't personal. One Hardy missing, the other dead for no apparent reason, and Nancy Drew undercover at Ekoda High on seemingly a fool's errand could sum up the situation. But soon it seems like she can't even sneeze without the trail leading to Kaito Kid, and what about that strange boy with the glasses?
In This Chapter: Nancy investigates just what happened at the heist mostly unsuccessfully and has another inordinately long chitchat with Frank. Meanwhile, Kaito runs off and works towards his own, completely incomprehensible goals.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Inspector was surprised to see her. “I thought I told you not to come. You're not actually involved after all.”
“Kid made me involved,” Nancy replied curtly. “The paper was wonderfully vague, but I had an interesting conversation just a few minutes ago with a character of mutual acquaintance.”
“Kid?” Inspector Nakamori's eyes looked like they wanted to pop out of their sockets. “What did he tell you? Did he say anything? Anything important?”
Nancy folded her arms. “You don't have everything under control, do you?” she asked drily.
Inspector Nakamori motioned towards her. “Come on. I've got something to show you.”
Inspector Nakamori led Nancy through a few rooms to one where bagged evidence was laid out on a large table. Nakamori held up a large one, a bloodstained shirt. Nancy inhaled quickly when she recognized it as the one Aoko had been wearing. The Inspector wiggled it until a small hole on the left side became apparent. “What do you make of that?” Nancy could only stare. “From the position, it should've punctured a lung. And from the amount of blood on the shirt and at the scene, she probably should've died as well.”
“But you said it was just a graze, nothing serious!” Nancy demanded.
“It is.” Inspector Nakamori replied, sounding like he didn't believe his own words. He wiggled the shirt some more until a small rip on the side also became apparent. “This was the only mark on her.”
Nancy's mind felt like it was going into overload. “Everything makes sense, but nothing makes sense! This is insane!”
Inspector Nakamori immediately set down the shirt and put his hands on Nancy's shoulder. “Nancy, what are you talking about? What do you mean?”
“Kid, when he spoke to me. I noticed that he was moving a little stiffly, so I asked him if he had been injured. He said he had been, but not as bad as Aoko-san. But that doesn't make sense if she had only been grazed. But if she hadn't only been grazed, it made perfect sense! But she'd only been grazed! But she hadn't only been grazed!”
“Nancy-san, breathe!”
Nancy paused, and suddenly had an epiphany. An impossible epiphany, but an epiphany nonetheless. “Wow. Inspector, this is going to sound completely insane, but it almost makes sense, in the way that none of this makes sense,” she looked around to make sure no one was too close, then started whispering, “So we've already got a murder method that leaves no trace. People just die. And what's the opposite of death? Life. And we know Kid's involved in this perfect death thing. What if, and this is the really crazy part, Kid and these people are actively working against each other, and while the other guys have a perfect way to take life, Kid has a perfect way to give it?”
“Nancy-san, you're talking madness.”
Nancy rubbed at her forehead. “I know it's insane and that I sound like a raving loon, but this whole big case belongs at a funny farm. And yeah, there are huge holes, like if Kid could bring people back to life why didn't he bring Joe back to life, but honestly, do you have any better ideas?”
“No,” Inspector Nakamori admitted. “But Kid's a street magician, albeit an unconventional one, not a wizard. I'm sure there must be some sort of relatively plausible explanation for this, you'll see.”
Nancy nodded, downhearted. “Oh, right. Kid also told me to tell you something.”
“Oh?”
“He said to tell you that he might just be dead to the world now.”
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The corner of Nancy's mouth quirked up wryly. “I think it means he's seriously considering putting away the costume.”
“He'll be back,” Inspector Nakamori dismissed. “He always does. Even eight years can't keep him away. He'll be back, you'll see.”
Nancy wasn't so sure about that.
After the Inspector finally managed to shoo Nancy out of the station, she headed for the hospital that Aoko was at. She found Aoko dressed and about to leave, seeming very lively for someone who seemingly should be dead. “Wow, you seem ready to go,” Nancy greeted, alerting Aoko to her presence.
“Nancy-san!” Aoko exclaimed. “Oh, I'm so sorry. You must've been worried.”
“Yeah, rather. But you're fine, so everything'll be okay. But should you really be leaving already? You were shot.”
“It was just a graze, like you said I'm fine.” Aoko did seem to be favoring her side slightly, but Nancy had to agree that she otherwise seemed completely normal. Rather perfectly healthy. “More to the point, isn't school going on right now? What are you doing here?”
Nancy grinned. “I was worried, so I'm playing hooky.”
“Funny. If anyone, I would've guessed it would be Kaito skipping.” Aoko looked thoughtful, and perhaps a little whimsical. “Of course, maybe it's just because I'm thinking about him.”
“Oh?” Nancy queried in a mock scandalized voice. She wasn't blind, after all. “And what set this off, may I ask?”
“I have a vague memory of him being with me, but it's silly,” Aoko explained, sheepish. “He had work, after all. And it's so vague it was probably just a dream.”
“Yeah, probably just a dream,” Nancy agreed automatically. “So what happened?”
“Well, I was up on the roof,” Aoko started as they left the hospital room. “I had been in the crowd outside with everybody else, but then I had to go to the bathroom so I went into the building to find one. And then...” her voice trailed off.
“Then what?” Nancy asked, eager to hear what had happened. When Aoko didn't respond at first Nancy looked over and saw that she was frowning. “Aoko? What's wrong?”
Aoko shook her head, suddenly smiling. “Nothing's wrong! Well, other than the obvious of course. Anyway, after I went to the bathroom I somehow ended up on the roof, and there was some shooting going on. So I ran and hid but a stray bullet caught me. After a while the shooting stopped and I came out and it seemed like everything was over.”
Nancy couldn't help but notice the giant, gaping hole in Aoko's story. She looked over at her in worry, Aoko oblivious as she started talking about normal, random things. How did she end up on the roof? What had happened up there on the roof that Aoko wasn't saying? And was Aoko not saying anything by choice or because she truly didn't know? Nancy had come to know Aoko as unfailingly honest and loyal to her friends. Was the loyalty getting in the way of the honesty? But if it was then why would she mention a memory of Kaito at all? She also seemed far too cheerful for someone who had just discovered an ugly truth. To be fair, she was also entirely too cheerful for someone who had just been shot, but Nancy knew that that was just Aoko.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy saw Aoko home, but as much as she tried to argue Aoko insisted that she'd be fine without her and that Nancy go to school. Finally Nancy gave in and left the house, but as soon as she was out of sight she called Agasa Hiroshi's house. The older man picked up the phone as she expected. “Hello, Agasa residence, this is Professor Agasa speaking.”
“Hello Professor Agasa, this is Nancy Drew.”
“Oh, Nancy-san. How can I help you?”
“I was wondering if I could talk to Frank please?”
“Just a minute, I'll go find him.”
Nancy waited patiently. “Hey Nancy,” Frank's voice came on the other end.
“Hi Frank. Hey, what was with that stunt yesterday? I thought it wasn't even possible.”
“Not so impossible as you were led to believe. It's only a temporary cure though, 48 hours. Tomorrow morning the fairy scientist waves her magic test tube and I turn back into Cinderfrank.”
Nancy chuckled. “So you're still... you-sized?”
“Yep.”
Nancy bit her lip. “Then why are you hiding at Professor Agasa's?” she asked hesitantly.
“Because I'm still in danger. And when I'm big, they might actually recognize me.”
“Is Kudo following his own rules?”
“...No.”
“Then why are you? If you're still big, you should be spending time with your dad while you still can. You don't know when you'll be able to see him in person again.” Frank didn't respond. Realization dawned on Nancy. “Oohh. This is about him, isn't it?”
“You should've seen him Nancy, last night when I had to bow out. Kept demanding to know why, where I was staying, why I couldn't just stay with him and go back to Bayport, what I was still hiding.”
“He doesn't miss a trick, does he?” Nancy responded. “So? Why didn't you?”
“Why didn't I what?”
“Stay with him. You have until tomorrow morning after all.”
“Honestly Nan?”
“Honesty does seem to be in short supply 'round these parts.”
“I think if I had stayed any longer, I wouldn't have been able to leave when I had to, and would've ended up spilling everything to him.”
“Would that have been so bad?”
“You've only seen Kudo being polite. Trust me, he is not happy about how things have been going down lately. I think if my dad learned absolutely everything, that would knock that one last screw just loose enough for him to go completely apeshit over the entire thing. And I've been heartily assured that an apeshit Kudo is not a good thing.”
Nancy laughed. “Well I suppose we'll have to try to avoid that. What about me? Am I off limits and in danger of tempting you home?”
“Ooh, I'll have to think on that one,” Frank joked. “What would I do without you?”
“Set up questionable meetings in alleyways and get poisoned?” Nancy suggested. “Hey, did you hear about the heist last night?”
“That there was one, yes. Beyond that, not much. Which is surprising because I haven't had much else to do other than absorb the news.”
“Well from what I hear it was a pretty exciting heist. In fact, so interesting that it might even be relevant to our case. Since it doesn't sound like you have anything better to do...”
Frank cut Nancy off. “You want to meet up and discuss it? Okay!”
“Cabin fever?” Nancy asked.
“Like you would not believe. Concurring with popular belief, Haibara Ai is a very creepy person. Also has a bit of a sadistic streak. How about the Café Poirot?”
“Cute,” Nancy commented on the name.
“Tell me about it. Perfect meeting place, considering the circumstances. Here, I'll tell you where it is.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy looked up at the windows a level above Café Poirot. She laughed sarcastically to herself before walking in. Frank waved at her from a corner table. “You did this on purpose, didn't you?” she asked snarkily as she sat down.
Frank gave her a 'who, me?' look and shrugged. “Hey, the name fits the mood. And if Kudo just happens to see us, then what can I say?”
“It seems rather like you want to give Kudo an aneurysm.”
“He's not my favorite person in the world right now, no. I mean yeah, I can appreciate where he's coming from, but he seems a bit 'utopia justifies the means' to me. To be fair it's actually 'life justifies the means', but he's still living while he's got his life. Me, not so much. Anyway, give me the lowdown. What precisely happened at the heist that's so interesting?”
Before Nancy could respond, the waitress walked up to take their orders. It being around lunchtime now, they both ordered sandwiches and coffee. As soon as she was gone, Nancy started talking. “The thing is I don't really know, and that's what's bothering me.”
“You mean that's what's tickling your interest,” Frank pointed out. “Admit it Nancy. You can't not figure out what's going on at any given moment.”
Nancy laughed. “I suppose so.”
“So you weren't at the heist yourself?”
“No. But as you know, I'm staying with the Nakamoris, so I got the whole lowdown before the heist.”
“Not so much after I take it?”
Nancy sighed. “Inspector Nakamori has no idea what happened, and it frightens him. He couldn't even to begin to explain what he did tell me, and it's got him running scared.”
Frank raised an eyebrow. “Inspector Nakamori never seemed like the kind of guy to scare easily to me.”
“Of normal things? No. Impossible things and Aoko-san? Definitely.”
“Aoko-san? I've met her a few times. She's a nice girl. A bit temperamental, but nice.”
“Temperamental but nice, and currently in the middle of a mess even less coherent than yours.”
“Hey, my mess isn't incoherent, just complicated. It's perfectly coherent once you understand everything. What's wrong with Aoko-san?”
“She's been shot for starters.” At Frank's alarmed look Nancy quickly explained. “It was just a graze, she's fine. They even let her out of the hospital, she's at home taking it easy right now. But yes, apparently there was shooting at the heist. Probably our friend whom Joe overheard.”
Frank frowned. “That's funny. We had seen that man of course, but there was never any shooting at the heists we were at. Why would they start now all of a sudden?”
Nancy shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, but that's not the part I'm hung up on.”
“Yeah, shooting people isn't impossible, and you mentioned impossible. Go on, tell me the impossible bit.”
At that precise moment they were interrupted by their food. Nancy could almost hear Frank cursing the waitress's ill timing in his head and smiled at the thought. As soon as the waitress was out of hearing range however Frank fixed Nancy with an expectant look to put a begging dog who fully expected to be indulged to shame. Nancy laughed. “All right, all right. You really have been bored, haven't you?”
“If Nancy Drew calls something impossible, then I am in. Excitement and mystery is sure to be just around the corner!”
Nancy made a noise. “Talk about mystery. Aoko's been shot once, and it was just a minor graze. So...” Nancy dragged off.
“So?”
Nancy fixed Frank with a look. “So what's her shirt doing with two bullet holes and covered in blood? And I don't just mean a few stray splatters, someone died on that shirt.”
Frank replied slowly, clearly just waiting for her to say 'but'. “The second hole was right on the edge and just missed her, and the blood was from someone else? Why are you pointing at your chest?”
“The extra hole was here.”
“But the only wound was...?”
Nancy pointed at her side. “Here.”
Frank whistled lowly. “Wow. Impossible, huh? I bet that doesn't stop you from having a few theories.”
“Inspector Nakamori very nearly laughed me out of the station. Basically the gist of it is that Kid can bring people back to life. Even I think it's crazy, and I came up with it.”
Frank sipped at his coffee, not saying anything about Nancy's theory. “What does Aoko-san say happened?”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask that. She doesn't say anything.”
Frank frowned. “She's holding out? Doesn't seem like what I know of her.”
“I agree! In fact, if anything I'd say she doesn't remember what happened.”
“Oh?”
“When I questioned her, she said that she'd been outside in the crowd before she went into the building to find a bathroom. Then she was on the roof and there was shooting going on so she hid. A stray bullet caught her, she waited, and then after the shooting had died down she came out. She'd skipped over between the bathroom and the roof entirely.”
Frank adopted a thinking pose. “That is strange. Security cameras?”
“Kid disabled them all.”
“Great. Trust him to make a mess of things. Maybe Kid knows what happened. Even if he doesn't, we really need to find out about that sniper stalker of his and how he's connected to the Organization. You have a way to contact him, have you talked to him yet?”
Nancy shook her head. “No, I haven't had a chance. There was that meeting yesterday, and now this heist business, and before that I was having trouble getting him alone.”
Frank groaned. “Nancy, we need those answers from Kid. They could be vital. I don't care how you get them, just do.”
“I know Frank. This case means a lot to all of us, I know. I'll ask him, okay? Have faith.”
Frank started to look at his wrist, then stopped. “Damn. I keep forgetting that I lost my watch.”
Nancy smiled. “That watch sent me in so many circles. I can't believe I'd forgotten about it until you just mentioned it.”
“Yeah. Maybe I could stop by the police station some time today and get it back.”
“Probably not. Still evidence in an unsolved crime after all.”
“You're probably right. How did a watch send you in circles anyway?”
Nancy grinned. “Why the band of course!”
“The band?”
“It was clasped, so I thought it couldn't just have broken or fallen off. So I thought it was a message from you. And so I spent so much time trying to figure out what the nonexistent message was.”
“When in reality it really had just fallen off my wrist,” Frank finished with a grin. “It's just that my wrist was much smaller than it usually is. Poor Nancy, she just couldn't crack the case of the clasped watchband.”
“Frank! You wouldn't have been able to either! And I did solve the case, just not through the clasped watchband avenue.”
They continued to chat about nonsensical things for the rest of lunch. Nancy enjoyed being in Frank's company, something she had never really gotten quite enough of. The lingering shadows in Frank's eyes were a constant reminder that their time was limited, and that they would never be the sleuthing trio that they had sometimes been before again, but she was thankful for what she had and the chance to do something about what she didn't.
~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately because of whatever bit of insanity had happened at the heist, Kaito and Aoko were now far closer than Nancy had ever seen them before. Whatever dream or vague notion of Kaito that Aoko had had, she was now sticking to him like glue, but not in a temperamental best friend kind of way. Rather the vibe that Nancy was getting was that Aoko, consciously or not, considered Kaito a beloved protector. Kaito was definitely aiding the vibe, helping Aoko whenever she seemed to have the slightest trouble with anything, hovering worriedly, and otherwise acting as if she could shatter at any moment. The simple fact that he was point-blank unwilling to move five feet from her except under certain circumstances meant that Nancy simply could not question him on what happened at the heist.
She tried alternate routes of course. Hakuba Saguru however knew very little other than what Nancy knew. The heist had started out normal, and then Kid had gassed him and shoved him in a closet with a note stating that things would probably get ugly, and that he didn't want 'tantei-san' to get hurt, indicating that he guessed that his sniper stalkers would make a move that night. He had been let out after a passing officer heard his thumps, but by that time the majority of the action was over.
One thing they did discuss was Kaito's sudden friendship, for lack of a better word, with Koizumi Akako. This surprised the both of them. Kaito spent her entire first day back with Aoko, but the second day he detached himself for about fifteen minutes during lunch to go off somewhere with Akako. Two days later, another fifteen minutes during lunch. As the week passed Kaito and Akako spent more and more time together, confusing the entire class. After all, it was no secret that Kaito didn't trust Akako for some reason or another. Nancy had of course asked around about that, but no one seemed to know why.
And so Nancy was stuck in another dead end in another impossible case that may be connected to the first impossible case. But circumstances had conspired to help her out last time. Perhaps they would do the same this time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Next Chapter: The Most Heartwarming Part in This Entire Fic, and the heartwarming fallout from it. Oh, and plot happens, and Nancy and Frank stop having these long, boring conversations.
( ch. 6)