justonetruth | (no subject)

[He smelled... blood.]

[Not too far, just around the corner of the next hallway. He followed his nose and nearly winced when he found himself walking into the ear breaking scream.]

[Ow, his sensitive ears!]

[One gloved hand massaging his left ear and the other pulling down his hat, Kid approached slowly.]

Are you alright?

I just got killed by a psychotic witch trying to protect her servant because they thought they were in love with me and then the Mansion pulls me out of there after I revive or it revived me or...or...ARGH!

[Excuse him, he's kind of freaking out.] Send me back! There's gonna be problems, damn it!

[Kid stood there and calmly waited for the hysteria to run its course. There was no helping it when they were like that. At least this wasn't a new arrivee.]

Ah hm.

[He coughed into a gloved hand, hoping to bring the misleadingly young looking boy back to this reality.]

It's not your first time here, Tantei-kun. You should know I don't have that sort of power.

Or perhaps you don't know, for me specifically. I don't think we've met before.

I was yelling at whoever runs the Mansion! They have to be watching us.

You're a Kaitou Kid!

...oh no. [Suddenly, a look of horror on his face.] Would she do that...? She might...

I have no doubt the Fickle Lady always watches, yes.

[Kid tilted his head to one side, trying to figure out from the reaction just what type of relationship himself had with the little tantei in the other's world.]

I am.

Is something the matter with me being whom I am? Who may do what?

No, not that! I mean...

Bernkastel...she's...she's crazy and obsessive and I don't know how bad it is. Especially with me DEAD, I don't know what she'll do to the others from my world since her plan was ruined! [And the expression makes it clear that this is a Real Problem.]

[Kid makes a moue of concern, but not overly much.]

Do you usually return to your world with a time lapse from when you leave it?

[He tapped a finger to his chin, thinking briefly.]

If you return to the same moment you leave, as I believe a lot of the people here do, you do not have much to worry about.

[Still not too concerned, he held a white kerchief to the little tantei.]

You have blood all over your chin.

I do, but I don't know what TIME I was taken from.

I...she killed me. I don't know how long I've been out or what's happened!

[That freak out is kind of continuing, so not grabbing the handkerchief to clean away the blood.]

[Kid sighed and patiently waited for it to continue for a few minutes longer before he interjected again.]

Which means what happened would already have happened, and what hasn't still hasn't and won't until you return.

Unless you have someone else from your own world here you can ask, I suggest you calm down.

Spending your whole say here panicking will have a toll on your sanity.

[He offered the kerchief again. Besides general sanitary issues, Kid really didn't want to keep staring at someone who's face was half covered in blood. It was bad enough that the clothes, or remnants of them, were soaked in it. It might wake up something monstrous within him.]

We should find you some clothes too.

....

[He's right. And maybe if he could find that one...]

[Takes the handkerchief, wiping away the blood.] First, have you seen any red, blue, or gold butterflies. He might know what happened.

Butterflies?

[Which means, no, he has no idea what you are talking about.]

If you're going to start looking for a specific someone, you can begin by searching for them in their rooms. Or dressing rooms.

[Crossing his hands behind his head, Kid tipped his hat further forward to shadow his face, more out of casual habit than any need.]

You'd at least have spare clothes in yours.

Glowing butterflies.

I don't know his room. Might find his dressing room though.

[Pauses.]

If I was him...well, I am him, so he probably had a butterfly in my dressing room, at least.

[Head shake, and a look that would look clueless if not for the poker face and shadows that hid Kid's expression.]

Then you should go check the dressing rooms.

[He waved a hand in the direction of the stairs.]

I was on my way there myself.

[A lie, but he didn't mind going.]

[Taking a deep breathe and letting it out slowly. A goal. He had a goal, something to DO that would help. Yes, he could do this.]

... [Looking at Kid before heading that way.]

You know, for an expert liar, you're sometimes really horrible at it.

[The vampire grinned.]

Only when it doesn't count.

[Falling in beside the little detective, strides shortening naturally to match the other's small steps.]

You want to talk about what's going on?

[Casual, slightly curious, but not enough to offend.]

....

[Well, he's telling his own Kaito anyway because, ha ha, he needs more allies, damn it.]

I got killed because people were being forced to fall in love with people and I got a psychotic witch to fall in love with me.

...one who'd make Koizumi look like little miss selfless with how possessive she is.

Ah.

[Amazing how expressive one sound can be.]

[Silence.]

That would do it. You never fail to get yourself into trouble, tantei-kun.

It sounds like you come from a complicated world.

I kind of expected the possibility, but I thought it was more I tipped my hand too much instead of her thinking she's in love with me...

It's totally insane.

Wish I could help.

[He almost sounded sincere there... if he didn't have his arms still tucked behind his head and that wistful tone lingering in his voice.]

While admirers are great to have, it's always hard to break reality to them without hurting their feelings.

I didn't have to break reality. She knew I wouldn't love her, so decided to just chain me up and torture me.

And her SERVANT was also in love with me and fought back.

And then there was a fight and Erika was really outclassed and Bernkastel doesn't hold back at all... [Yeah, you can see where this is going.]

[Slight turn of his head towards Conan, but not enough to be noticeable much.]

Never knew you were such a lady's man, chibi.

But you need to watch the right ones to charm to avoid situations like that in the future.

[Twitches.] The ones behind the Island have a sick, twisted sense of humor.

[Wide grin. They approached the stairs.]

Sounds like it. Better luck avoiding them next time, or Mouri-san won't be happy with you.

There is a Mouri-san in your world?

.... [Oh, there is a look of dread here.] Yeah. She arrived on the Island a while ago.

Can't even hide this like the Angel incident.

[Kid laughed, followed by a cheeky grin.]

Then really good luck, tantei-kun.

She will give your ardent fans a good fight.

I don't want her anywhere near the witches! [This is a look of horror. Real horror.]

[Sideways glance.]

That bad?

...let me put it this way.

The woman who I believe was mostly likely to have figured out who Toichi was, a woman who I know for a fact knows who I am, who HAS outwitted me even while I was on top of my game... [Which is just terrifying.]

They're on that level of dangerous. Maybe more so because they have very little reason to keep people alive for manipulation purposes.

Tou-- Toichi?!

[Step falters, then it regains as he descends the stairs. Thankfully he didn't roll down them when he tripped.]

... I thought you didn't have Black Organization where you were.

They're not on the Island.

But the Island is like this place. A dimensional nexus. My home has them. That's why I'm three foot tall.

I met Kaito on the Island. The Kid thing came out. Later I started connecting the dots of certain events that were too much to be coincidence. And the woman at the center of all those points is incredibly dangerous. Probably one of the few people who I can say actually terrify me.

And the witches are definitely her level.

[It isn't often that Ran's away from the ghost's study these days, but she does need to do the occasional human things like eat and go to the washroom, and Ran-kun has been ~~babysitting~~ keeping Shinichi company while she gets some food in her. Heading back to the study from the dining room requires crossing the lobby, of course, but she hears Conan before she sees him -- and if the frantic yelling hadn't piqued her worry enough, the wet coughing definitely seals the deal.

She's at his side in an instant, faster than even she knew she could move, and her normally-pale face drains to white as she takes stock of the blood and his shredded shirt. For just a moment it's his older brother that she's seeing: dressed in the last clothes she'd ever seen him in, and pale as parchment except for the rusty crimson stain in the center of his forehead.

Her stomach lurches. He might not be the Conan she knows, but her brain isn't particularly concerned with that detail right now. The only reassurance is that he's still breathing, still moving, still looking at her, and she's already gathering him up to try and keep him still while she checks his wounds.

She will not lose both of them.]

Conan-kun! Conan-kun, stay still and tell me what happened.

[her free hand (gently!) pulls at the edges of his torn shirt, and she suddenly pauses as she notices the smooth skin underneath. But...]

[It was like a splash of cold water, seeing Ran. Ran was...well, honestly, the LAST person he wanted to see right now. What he'd done under the influence of stupid crazy berries and moe note, what was happening with the witches, seeing her...]

[Guilt and concern, but in a far more bitter, dragging down way than he'd been feeling.]

R-Ran...it's fine...I'm fine! [Trying to grab her hands, but she's already pulled off the shirt and though his skin is stained red from the blood, there's no actual injury. Anymore, anyway.]

You aren't fine, you're bleeding!! [even with the toll Shinichi's death has taken on her, she can sound very much like her old self on occasion, and this is one of those times. Lack of visible injuries aside, she's already standing with him to bring him to the infirmary] What happened? Were you hit by something? [that could explain why he was coughing up blood...]

I...you see...

[You know....he honestly can't think of a lie that wouldn't make her just as worried, so...]

[Sighs and looks away.] I was dead.

But...but I was revived. By the Island, or Beato, I don't...I don't know...the blood is from then and...there was just blood still in my lungs, I guess.

[Her breath freezes in her lungs. She's already so pale that this new dread makes her worry, for a fraction of a section, that she'll faint -- but she's quick to rally again. Now would be the worst time to give into something like that. Conan needs help]

The... the Island?

[It's an effort to get her voice working again; even more of one to move her feet. But at the very absolute least she now has confirmation that this is not her Conan, and it helps just a little bit. She falteringly continues her treck to the infirmary]

Beato? Revived?

[The last question is just a little sharp. If there's a way on his world to raise the dead...]

It's...it's really complicated.

The Island is like this place, but less...picky. And apparently when people die on it, they always revive in a week. Beato, ah, Beatrice can do the same thing, but she's quicker.

I...I don't know how. For either of them. It's not something I can understand yet.

But I'm fine! Really. No pain or anything. And breathing was pretty essential, thus the coughing, so I can't be...undead or something like that.

...You should still be checked out.

[She forces her breathing to return to normal, fights back the sick dizziness that had been threatening to grab a hold of her, but that's as much control as she's able to get for now. Her grip is like gentle steel -- careful not to hurt him, but rigid enough to proclaim that nothing's getting to the younger boy without going through her first.

The infirmary door is already slightly ajar, so it's a simple matter of leaning on it to make their way inside, where Ran sets Conan down on the clean white bed and start methodically checking all of the blood stains.

It doesn't look like the colour's going to return to her cheeks for a while]

...okay. [He didn't fight it. He couldn't deny Ran a way to sate her worry. It was a rather horrifying sight, to see a little kid covered in blood. She wasn't panicking, that was the important part.]

[But true to his word, he was perfectly fine. His clothes were done for, but he was physically fine.] See? Everything checks out, right? [A quiet voice, looking at her with concern. He'd had plenty of time to watch her as she checked over him and she seems a bit..off. In a way that made him worry, though he wasn't precisely sure why.]

I think so...

[Her voice is quiet and unsure as her hands continue to flutter over his body, anxiously checking for injury. She's no doctor, and doesn't particularly trust her own diagnosis. There aren't any obvious wounds or bruising, but she still uneasily finds herself wishing - not for the first time - that Araide-sensei was in the Mansion. Or somebody, anybody who knows more about this than she does.

She needs to think. If what Conan has told her is true, what's the most likely to be the most immediate danger? The wounds are healed and he'd said he'd been revived, but she doesn't know how this 'Island' works. Can it have fixed everything?

In the end, all she can think of to do is to rummage through the supply cabinets for a stethoscope. He had been coughing up blood, and if there's still some in his lungs... well, she isn't sure what to do next, but there are plenty of medical books in here. She'll find something.

Ran's had enough checkups of her own to know where to place the stethoscope to listen to the lungs. She puts the earbuds in, brushes the edges of his tattered shirt aside, and presses the cold metal disc to Conan's chest to listen to strangely cavernous sound of his breathing.

Her hands are shaking.]