Sh/N: Ahhh! Guys, it's been sooooo long! I'm sorry for taking forever. But it's finally here! I hope you guys will like it. !

A/N: And we do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, no matter how much we want.

Chapter 3

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Hattori Heiji gave a snort of annoyance as Ran and Kazuha talked on about "stupid detectives." Which was a totally unreasonable thing to say! Detectives are not stupid; if they were, then there would be thousands of murder cases unsolved! He looked over at the other detective at the table who looked as annoyed as he felt as he tried to put a word in to defend himself.

Heiji shook his head at him, finding it funny. He was glad he could see his friend "all grown up." And that was in the literal sense. It was only a couple months ago that he just barely reached his waist! Conan was much cuter and easier to handle than the annoying teenager (though he would never admit to the cute part...).

Kazuha had wanted to see Ran again, and what perfect way to bring them all together again than a café in Osaka? Now, it's not like Heiji had anything against meeting up with his friends. It's just that there could never be any serious conversations (about the Black Organization and what not) with the girls around. Actually, sometimes they couldn't get a conversation started, period. And frankly, he was getting bored.

He yawned loudly –secretly enjoying Kazuha's scowl directed at him for his lack of manners- when he noticed it. A couple tables down, a few people were gathered. One of them was quietly reading the newspaper; and on the front page, were the words "PHANTOM LADY RETURNS" written boldly along with a picture. Not a recent picture, but Heiji had seen the Kid Heist Report on TV and had also seen Phantom Lady's appearance. They looked similar.

But they weren't. They couldn't be the same.

Any boredom or annoyance Heiji had felt had quickly dissipated. He stared off blankly into space, lost in thought.

'The Reappearance of Phantom Lady has certainly caused a commotion...' He thought, but soon shook his head. 'No, not reappearance... The Appearance of a New Phantom Lady...'

A small nudge on his arm broke him out of his thoughts. He looked over to his side to see Shinichi looking at him in confusion.

"Are you alright?" He kept his voice down to keep the girl's from hearing. Heiji opened his mouth to reply. The words, however, didn't come. Shinichi's eyes narrowed.

Heiji tried to keep his face void of emotion, but he knew Shinichi could see it. He was debating with himself. He wanted to tell Shinichi just what it was that bothered him, but... Heiji let out an irritated sigh that surprised both him and Shinichi and caught the attention of both Kazuha and Ran.

"What's wrong, Heiji?" Kazuha inquired worriedly.

"... Nothing that isn't your fault. I'm soooooooooo bored." He answered, looking at her boredly. He had gotten the reaction he expected. Kazuha glared at him, pouting slightly.

"Fine! Next time, I won't ask you to come, Ahou!" She returned to her conversation with Ran. Heiji let out a silent sigh of relief.

"That didn't seem like nothing." Shinichi mused quietly. Through the corner of his eye, he watched the Osakan Detective stiffen. "Hattori... what's wrong?"

Heiji leaned back in his chair, eyes wandering around the area. He hated being friends with Shinichi. Not only was he a great detective, he also had a strong sense of justice and a caring heart. Too caring, in his opinion.

There were just times he wanted nothing more than have Shinichi stop sticking his nose in his business... but then again, that's what detectives did. And that's what friends are for.

"I... The thing is... She..." Hattori's eyes glazed over for a moment, a certain memory flashing before him. A few shouts; A gunshot; Blood. He shivered. "I promised..."

"Promised?" Shinichi repeated, worry clearly evident on his face now. There was something Heiji wanted to say, but couldn't share. "What kind of promise?"

Heiji just shook his head, no longer wanting to speak more of the matter. Shinichi wouldn't stand for it.

"Hattori," He prompted. Heiji stared into his hands, clenching and unclenching them as if to grab onto something that wasn't there.

"Kudou, drop it." He clenched his fists tightly. "It doesn't concern you."

The warning behind his cold tone made Shinichi feel unsettled. Heiji never acted so defensive in such a manner before.

Before he could prod any further, the jingle of the bells on the door caught his attention.

"Come On, Aoko! I Said I Was Sorry!"

A few hours back, Kaito and Aoko stood outside the giant mansion. They both stared, eyes wide and mouth agape at the sheer size of it. Kaito let out a low whistle in amazement.

"I expected it to be big, but not this big..." He proceeded forward, hopping up the steps of the rickety porch. He took a good look around before his eyes settled on the blue door. It was one of those double doors from the mansions one would always see in movies; Kaito was only a tad bit disappointed to not see a Lion Door Handle. Gripping the two handles, Kaito pushed on it slowly. The door was unlocked.

"A-Ah! Kaito!" Aoko called out, getting her friend's attention in time. "Y-You know what, I think coming here was a bad idea! Let's come back another time!"

The magician raised a brow. "Aoko, we just got here. You did want to see your grandpa's house, so here we are!" He smirked suddenly. "That is unless... you're scared."

Aoko glared at him, her cheeks heating up. "I-I'm not scared!"

Forcing back the childish fear into the back of her mind, Aoko followed after Kaito. She made her way over to the door and opened it herself when Kaito got out of her way. The two doors opened with a loud creak.

The place was deserted, as expected. The room they first entered was empty with an old rug at the center. There was a stair case in front of them, that diverted into two, one to the left and another to the right. The walls were clearly decaying, and the few portraits on the walls were covered in dust. Aoko blinked.

"It's... actually not as terrifying as I was expecting." She admitted out loud when they both entered. Kaito snorted.

"What? Were you expecting to see skeletons and ghosts everywhere?" He looked around, clearly showing his enjoyment at the glare he was receiving. "So... where do we go first?"

Aoko took a breath and examined her surroundings again. Though she was grateful for her friend's company, having Kaito with her would only make inspecting the place difficult. She was after information, and if Kaito came across anything vital... though she doubted he would. He wasn't looking for anything in particular after all, unlike her. Besides, any info that could be useful was probably something one wouldn't find easily.

"Let's split up and explore." Aoko suggested finally. Kaito snapped his attention toward her, for some reason almost about to refuse when she continued. "We'll cover a lot more area if we do. I go right, you go left. We'll meet up back here when we're done. Sound good?"

The magician contemplated it for a moment or two before hesitantly agreeing. He glanced at her before heading toward the room on the left. "Fine... Call me if you need anything."

Aoko hummed in response.

She was expecting the mansion to be big, but not big-BIG! The room she entered was a giant parlor room. By just looking at it, you could see that at one point, it had been a great and beautiful room. Now though, the couches and sofas had dusty, white sheets over them, cobwebs littered the coffee table and other corners of the room. And was that an old record player?

The record player stood at the corner of the room by a big window, the only thing that wasn't covered with a white sheet.

Making her way over to the record player, she noticed a record was in place. Curiosity took over. Part of her wondered if the thing worked, the other part was in awe how much technology changed (she had an iPod with over 200 songs).

Lifting it up and out of the record player, Aoko took a breath and blew the dust away. The air was suddenly filled with the dust particles, and she was thrown into a coughing fit. After several minutes, Aoko brushed off any remaining dust; she examined the title more closely.

"'Kojo no... Tsuki?'" Aoko read aloud. The title was written in cerulean, faded away with age. If that wasn't strange enough, there was a faded question mark at the end of the title, written in pen. She furrowed her brows together in confusion.

Deciding to try her luck, Aoko placed the record back -after clearing off more of the dust- and began to crank the record player to get it to work. At first, nothing happened. About to give up on the old thing (it must have been at least 100 years old! There was no way it'd work!), a tiny sound crackled out of the horn. Soon the crackling became clear, and music began to play.

A banquet was held in the splendid castle,
In the season of the cherry blossom.
Where is the light now that shadowed the glasses
And flew through the old pines?

Aoko blinked, captivated by the music.

The encampment was covered with frost in the autumn.
Where is the light now
That shone on the swords like plants,
That were as numerous as the cackling wild geese that flew?

Now there is the moon over the desolate castle.
Whom is it shining for without change?
Only tendrils remain on the walls.
Only the storm sings between branches of the pines.

The shadow of the sky doesn't change.
But the moon is reflecting it as before,
Changing for better to worse?
Ah! The moon over the desolate castle!

The song gave Aoko shivers. Just the thought of the desolate castle, similar to the desolate mansion... She unconsciously took a step back. Her back landed against a warm body.

"What are you doing?"

"KYAAAAH!" SLAP!

Kaito hunched over, clutching his cheek in pain. "Ite-te! What the hell, Ahouko?"

Aoko covered her mouth in shock, replying, "K-Kaito! I-I'm so sorry! I thought you were-! The song was-! H-How the heck did you get here? You were supposed to go the other way!"

"There was a hallway that leads here," Kaito rubbed at his now red cheek. "It's pretty much a loop. Ow, though. I didn't know you could hit that hard."

Aoko mumbled another apology, her face flushed scarlet. Kaito smirked, "So you were scared after all." He avoided another smack to the face this time. He was prepared for it. He continued, "I heard music playing and ended up here. There's not much ahead but guest rooms, a kitchen, dining room. All that stuff. Pretty boring."

Kaito had listed everything in such a casual tone, it made Aoko just stop for a moment. She didn't dwell on it. So long as Kaito didn't find anything out of the ordinary, everything was good. She hoped so anyway.

"If that's so," Aoko turned around, "then let's head upstairs and finish exploring the place." Kaito nodded, walking beside her as they made their way to the stair cases. Aoko was only a bit peeved she didn't get to explore the first floor more thoroughly, but she decided to save that for later. She didn't want Kaito to suspect anything was up.

Every step they took up the stairs creaked noisily. The grey portraits of unknown people seemed to be staring at them. Or maybe it was just Aoko being paranoid? Reaching the top step, they entered the first room of the second floor that stood above the first. Leaning on the railing, Aoko couldn't help but realize just how high it really was.

Several doors of differing shades of blue lined the walls on the left and right. Right across from where Aoko stood, there was a large window that gave a full view of the outside. It was magnificent, to say the least.

"Aoko," Kaito breathed almost inaudibly. The girl turned around, getting a view of Kaito's back with his hand at the center of a sapphire-colored double door, intricately designed that seemed to be the door for the room of a king. A gold crest was glued on the wall above the door frame; engraved on it was a single word in dark blue:

END.

"E-End?" Aoko gulped, reaching out and grabbing a fist full of Kaito's shirt. "W-Well, what are we waiting for? O-Open it, Kaito."

The magician nodded. His eyes held a dark shade in concentration. He pulled the handle on the door and opened it slowly.

They didn't know what to expect. Aoko was sure there would be skeletons littering the room; Kaito half-expected a torturing chamber.

Instead, a desolate study stood before them. At the center, there was a desk crowded with papers and books; a big, black chair was behind that desk with two other smaller chairs in front of it for guests. Bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling lined a portion behind the main chair of the desk.

Kaito clicked his tongue. "Hm, has a creepy feel to it." He walked over to the desk and examined it closely, sifting through the papers. "This is... just a whole bunch of letters. To friends of your grandfather, it seems... Kinda boring."

"H-hey! Don't go looking through my grandfather's letters!" Aoko snatched several pieces of paper from Kaito's hand. "That's disrespectful!"

Her best friend stared at her with half-moon eyes, turning his attention to the bookcase instead. He mumbled nonchalantly, "Well, it was boring. Seriously, the first words I read are something along the lines of the sky being –and I quote– 'oh so pretty and oh so blue, like my halcyon days.'"

Aoko blinked. Wow, that did sound boring. She looked down at the letter for several seconds. A tiny bell rang in the back of her head,but she didn't act upon it; now was not the time to look more closely. It was official: she needed to get back here one way or another. The mansion was practically begging for her to find out it's secret.

"Kaito," she began, looking over at her friend as he read the spines of the books silently to himself, "I think we should go. I'm getting kinda hungry. Let's go get some lunch and go home."

"Right now. Hey, did you know that your Grandfather has some interesting books? I'm really liking this," He grinned, tapping a finger to his chin as he evaluated the books. And then, his grin grew wider and his eyes sparkled. "Is that a Arsène Lupin book? It IS, isn't it!"

Aoko shifted, looking up at the book Kaito was pointing at. Sure enough, it was an Arsène Lupin book located on the highest shelf.

"It's too difficult to reach," she commented. But Kaito ignored her, and began to climb up the shelf, using the little space provided by each level as a step. "Kaito!"

The teenage magician chuckled, "Nothing –and I mean NOTHING– is going to stop me from getting that book. That looks like one of the original French ones!"

How could her best friend be that dorky? Did he even know how to read French? Aoko tapped her foot nervously. "Kaito, you're going to fall."

"Will not."

"Will to."

"Will not."

"Will to."

"Will not."

"... Are you really starting this with me?"

Kaito didn't answer as his finger brushed against the book. He let out a cheerful exclamation of "I got it!" and grabbed the book. His foot suddenly slipped, the old shelf unable to hold his weight.

"Uh, oh." Was all he managed to say, instantly blanching. "AAAH!"

Aoko let out her own scream as Kaito and dozens book came crashing down on top of her. Dust exploded around them, filling the room in a dirty fog. Kaito was sprawled over Aoko's stomach. They both groaned in pain.

"What did I tell you? The first thing I said!" Aoko squirmed, attempting to push him off her. Kaito scrambled to get up, tossing aside several books on top of them. He inspected her; both of them were covered in dust.

Kaito helped her to her feet, "Are you alright?"

"Peachy. Now," Aoko smacked him behind the head, "BaKaito! You could have broken something! Now, I feel all gross!"

"Thanks for caring about me," Kaito rolled his eyes. Aoko glared at him.

"I meant you could have broken something! I didn't want to risk the chance of my best friend breaking his neck over a stupid book!"

The teenage magician blinked. He overlooked the fact she called a book about Lupin stupid. "You.. You were worried about me?" Why did that seem so weird? His best friend just scoffed, and walked away angrily, all the while trying to brush off some of the dust on her clothes.

"A-Aoko, wait up! I'm Sorry!"

And then it began. Kaito's endless begging for forgiveness. But she wouldn't listen to him. Aoko marched her way down the stairs, out the front door, and back on the road to head for the bus stop. Sure, the bus wasn't coming for about another hour or so, but she decided it was better to wait.

Kaito caught up quickly as Aoko took a seat on the bench of the bus stop. "Come on! You can't be that mad! It was just a little dust. It's not like you were hurt too badly, right?"

She pointedly ignored him, turning her head away from him. Kaito pouted, "You're acting childish."

"And you weren't?" She finally spoke, still not looking at him. "Getting so worked up over a book..."

"Hey, it's a good one!" He retorted, glancing down at the book still in his hands. He tried to apologize again, to no avail. So he sat on the opposite side of the bench, leaving a little gap in between them.

They remained that way for several minutes. Once and a while, Kaito would begin to apologize again, only to be shot down. The rest of the time, he was looking through the book. Aoko lazily watched as few cars passed them by. About half an hour later, a tiny blue car broke down right across the street, and a man stepped out, muttering words that were probably profanities.

Aoko's and even Kaito's attention were focused on this man, out of sheer boredom really, as he looked in the trunk for something. He wasn't Japanese, they could tell. His blond hair and blue eyes were the major qualities that let them know; As he talked out loud to himself, he spoke English, no accent attached.

"American?" Aoko asked curiously. Kaito nodded. The inspector's daughter watched the man some more with a tilt of her head. "Do you think he needs help?"

Kaito shot her look, instantly reading her mind. At the same time, both of them stood up and made their way across the street. They reached the man just in time as he slammed the trunk closed, a little upset.

"Excuse me, are you in need of assistance?" Kaito asked in his heavily-accented English. The man looked over at them in embarrassment.

"Oh, I can speak Japanese quite well, in contrast to my appearance," The man said fluently. "The car just ran out of gas... I knew I should have stopped at the last gas station. And I don't even have a gallon of gasoline in the trunk." He sighed.

"Let us help somehow," Aoko piped up. "My name is Nakamouri Aoko. This is my friend, Kuroba Kaito."

The man smiled, "My name is Jack Smith. Pleased to meet you."

"Now, now. Before we start acting all friendly and what not, I think we should move the car out of the way. You can't just leave your car here," Kaito pointed out. The other two nodded in agreement.

And so, it was decided that they would push the car out of the way. Aoko and Kaito were behind the car while Jack was by the open driver seat door. That gave him the ability to steer the car as well. They moved the car into the parking lot of the store that was on the same side of the street. It took several long minutes to actually park the car.

Aoko immediately collapsed, landing on the asphalt on her bottom. She leaned heavily on the car and sighed, "Ah, I'm tired. And hungry."

"We'll find a place soon. I'll pay for the both of us," Kaito suggested, hoping Aoko would take him up on his offer as his apology. The look she gave him immediately crushed those hopes. She would let him pay, but she didn't forgive him. He hung his head in despair.

Jack blinked, staring at the two teenagers before him. They weren't much younger than him. At least a 6 year difference didn't seem that big of a gap to him. He suddenly grinned, clearing his throat to get their attention.

"Well, how about I treat you both? I was going to meet up with a couple of friends of mine at this café back in town anyway. It's the least I can do as thanks for the help."

"Oh, no," Aoko shook her head. "We can't ask that of you. You don't need to thank us. We were glad to help."

Jack smiled, "I insist. The bus should be coming soon, if I remember the times for it."

Kaito and Aoko glanced at each other, before returning their attention to the American. And so, it was decided they would join him, considering they didn't really know where they should eat. The car would stay in its place until he called for a tow truck or he got a tank of gas. It was actually his friend's car so he thought it best to let him know first once they got to the café, he told them.

Walking back across the street, Aoko conversed with Jack, staying as far away from Kaito to let him know she was angry. Kaito pouted, following behind them when he suddenly stopped. A clear splotch of liquid was on the spot the car had stopped when it ran out of gas. In fact, the liquid trailed even behind that where the car had been, and there was even a trail of it to the parking lot.

It almost looked like water. He bent down, pulling out a handkerchief out of nowhere, and dabbed it on the liquid. It didn't smell like water. Aoko noticed it too, and commented on it.

"Oh that? My friend said that it had a leaking problem. No biggie, just really messy stuff." He told them, and they dropped it. Kaito wrapped up the soiled handkerchief and tucked it away.

(Back in the Present)

"Still, I don't forgive you!" Aoko replied to her best friend's whining as they entered the café. Jack laughed lightly, as he followed in behind them. He timidly waved at his friends when he spotted them, ignoring the stares they were getting from the other occupants of the café.

The teenagers were messy in appearance, smudges of dirt on their clothes. Shinichi blinked as they walked over in their direction, noticing at the same time that a group of three people a couple tables down waited.

"Jeez, Jack. What took you so long?" A blonde woman spoke petulantly. "Meeting new friends?"

"Don't get mad at me, Rae! The car ran out of gas, and they helped me move it out of the street!" He explained.

"Eh? Out of gas?" A ebony haired man spoke, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure I filled the tank a couple weeks ago..."

Jack sighed, patting his friend's shoulder. "I've told you over and over again, Hikaru... You have horrible gas mileage in the car."

"Well, so long as you're OK," A timid woman spoke, folding her newspaper up. Jack blushed lightly, smiling at her. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh, right!" Jack straightened up in embarrassment. "Guys, this is Nakamouri Aoko and her friend Kuroba Kaito." The two bowed politely. "Nakamouri-san, Kuroba-san. This is my sister, Raven Smith." The blond woman nodded. "And here you have Hanada Hikaru." The man with the glasses smiled. "And, last but not least... Mihashi Shiroko."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Shiroko spoke meekly.

The group talked amiably. Aoko and Kaito took a seat at the table, the only teenagers there. They both ordered something from the menu when the waiter came by. Shinichi stared at them for a couple moments longer, trying to figure out why they looked like they had walked through a dust storm.

"Huh," Kazuha huffed as she stared at the group too. "Hey, Ran? That girl looks like you."

Shinichi blinked, 'So I'm not the only one?'

And of course, Ran denied it. "Whaaaat? No way! She looks nothing like me! If anything, that guy looks like Shinichi!" Kazuha whipped around again only to agree with her.

"If anything," Heiji began, looking up from his clenched hands on his lap, "They're like your long lost twins."

"What? That can't be it!" Kazuha and Ran said simultaneously, staring at the group. Shinichi, however, was focused on his darker-skinned friend. He seemed to return back to normal, at least. He narrowed his eyes. It wasn't like he could do anything now.

"Well," He stood up, gaining his friends attention, "how about we go meet them? I met Nakamouri-chan and her friend on the train today. It'd be nice to say hello again."

"Nakamouri... chan?" Ran blinked. She turned around and stared at the girl. Her eye twitched. "Sure, why not?" She stood up to.

Before Heiji and Kazuha could speak up again, they found themselves heading towards the crowded table. Shinichi smiled, as a couple people looked up at him approaching. "I didn't expect to find you here so soon, Nakamouri-chan."

Aoko turned around in surprise, the voice sounding familiar. Sure, it was so much like Kaito's, which she practically heard everyday, but his tone was still a bit different. She smiled back, "Ah, Kudou-kun. Wow, it must be destiny for us to meet again here."

'D-Destiny?' Unbeknownst to them, Kaito and Ran thought the same thing. They both twitched.

Jack looked them over. "Huh, are these your friends, Nakamouri-san? Kuroba-san?"

"Oh, well, we met on the train here." She admitted. "At least, I only met Kudou-kun..."

Ran stepped out from behind him, a menacing aura behind her. "My name is Mouri Ran, Kudou Shinichi's BEST friend." She stared down Aoko who seemed to shrink in her seat.

"N-Nice to meet you." Aoko squeaked.

The rest of the formalities were exchanged. Soon, Shinichi and his group had ended up joining the other group. They combined a table and grabbed more chairs to make room for them all.

"They have to be here, why?" Kaito whispered furiously to his friend. Aoko narrowed his eyes at him.

"What's with you! Do you have to be mean? As if I'm forgiving you now!" She looked away from him. Kaito winced.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He apologized, clutching the book closer to himself. "It's just that... Detectives like 'Kudou-kun' aren't my favorite. Like Hakuba, always glaring at me..."

The last part he had whispered more to himself, but Aoko had caught it. Shinichi had been staring at Kaito intensely when he introduced himself to the detective. She looked up only to find Shinichi was still staring there way. She caught his eye, and he smiled at her. And suddenly, Ran was pulling at his ear.

Aoko had to giggle at this. They seemed so much like Kaito and her.

But she had to admit, she did feel on edge with two detectives at the table. Though Heiji zoned out and thinking about other things. She wondered if Kid –whoever he may be— ever felt nervous with police and his father around when he was in disguise or simply walking around as himself.

Thinking about Kid, made her grimace. She hated to admit the fact that she was in the same boat as Kid.

"Ah, it's nice for us to get together again like this, guys," Raven mentioned to her friends and brother. "We haven't done things like this since Chihiro died." The three seemed to deflate at her comment.

"Chihiro?" Kazuha commented, having gotten familiar with Raven. But Shiroko was the one who responded.

"My little sister. She took her life about three years ago." She fidgeted with her purse on her lap.

"I'm so sorry," Ran looked at her sadly. Shiroko simply shook her head, a sign for her that Ran didn't need to apologize.

"Chihiro-chan, huh?" Jack stared into his drink, lost in thought. "She was cute, always following me around."

"That was cute of her, wasn't it? Her love for you," Shiroko giggled, a hand over her mouth.

Hikaru looked up as he recalled it. "She was sweet. I never expected it of her..."

"Neither did I," Jack agreed. He sighed. "I felt like I lost a sister that day..."

Raven wrapped an arm around him, "I'm still here for you, Jack!"

"Pfff, it's not the same with you."

And the good humour was back as the table's occupants laughed. Shinichi glanced over to Heiji, the only person who didn't even blink. He nudged his arm with his elbow, "Oi. Laugh, will you? I don't like seeing you all down."

Heiji looked over at him, managing a small grin. "No good will come of it either, I guess."

And things continued normally. They ate and drank to their hearts content. Jack simply wanted to treat Aoko and Kaito to how much they wanted. Heiji and Shinichi were practically forced to pay for their (girl)friends as they ordered some dessert.

Aoko's mind wandered. She wanted to get away for a while. An hour had passed at the café. Everyone was getting along well. They had all at least left their seat once to go to the restroom. She supposed she would go for a bit too. She stood up and excused herself.

"Hey, you think you can call Jack when you pass by the Men's Restroom. He's taking forever~" Raven grinned. Aoko nodded and headed toward the back of the café.

It was when she finally was out of sight and earshot that she allowed herself to sigh. The day was starting to wear her out. She had started off to look for clues of Phantom Lady, but Kaito had to tag along. It wasn't as if she could really look with him their. She couldn't even get the mansion out of her mind.

Well, at least she had met really nice people today. And it was nice to see Shinichi again, minus the fact that he and Kaito had this weird sort of hatred towards each other or something. And then there was Ran who... seemed to hate her guts or something. Aoko shivered. Several moments later, she was exiting the restroom after drying off her hands.

And a tiny glint caught her eye coming from behind a potted plant..

She paused. Looking around her first, curiosity took over and she bent down to retrieve the object. It was colored strangely, the tip of it a dark brown. The knife was soiled with dried blood.

"What the...?" Aoko could feel her insides grip. She shifted, turning a whole 180. The knife seemed to have been thrown, and she guessed it came from the opposite side... in the employees only closet.

Her heart pulsed. A part of her wanted to report it. Another part of her –her instincts— told her the closet is where she would find her answer. She needed an answer.

Jack hadn't returned to the table yet. And she hadn't seen him. He had been gone a long time.

The chattering from the café faded away. She could only hear her heart and each step she took. Finally, she placed her free hand on the knob, and turned it. The door creaked. Light seeped into the closet. She couldn't help it.

Aoko screamed.

Sh/N: And that's the end for this Chapter~! Sorry again for taking so long, guys! I've just been busy and in a big slump Dx But its gone now... hopefully.
And you guys know what comes next in something like this. A knife with blood, a scream... ;D

A/N: I just wanted to admit, that the whole chapter was made by Shadow-chan, she will also make the next one, since there is still a bit to write about screaming Aoko. W both hope you like this one :)