[ Discontinued ] Crossroad 『Detective Conan』

Chapter 24 - Gaze

   As soon as Yoko was away from the police department she stopped, staring at the ground. She took the time to analyze what Sato had taught her.
   Jinpei... She didn't know him at all. She suspected that something had happened to him, or rather, that something  had happened to someone. But she could not have imagined that in addition to having lost his best friend, he had not been able to prevent the explosion of a bomb. How many deaths did it cause? Did he feel responsible?

   The girl shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that. She had to go home, think about the meal, and make it because the day before she hadn't cooked.
   After taking a breath, she almost started running. It wasn't the most unpleasant thing to take your mind off things, although it would only be temporary. She still had to stop at pedestrian crossings or when she had a doubt about the path to take.

   After several minutes of walking,she discovered that she had gotten lost. She looked around her.
   -Great... She sighed.
   Having no other choice, she took out her phone and sent a message to Jinpei, describing everything she saw around her in addition to her situation. He simply told her to wait a bit, having things to finish.
   -I hope he doesn't mind...
   She settled down on the floor and waited. Anyway, she had nothing else to do.

   After many minutes, a car pulled up across the street. It was not difficult to recognize it since the young girl was beginning to know her quite well.
   After getting up, she crossed the road at the nearest pedestrian crossing and opened the door of the vehicle.
   -Sorry for disturbing you...
   -You could be more careful where you're going next time. He sighed as he started to walk away.
   - Yes... I will try...
   She rolled her eyes briefly. She was responsible for not paying attention to the path on the way, but it wasn't her fault that she didn't know all the streets.
   -Thanks by the way... She told him with a smile.

   The path was calm. Yoko couldn't help but stare at Jinpei, who had certainly noticed her. She thought again about what Sato had told her.
   For his part, it annoyed the policeman to be fixed like this. He took advantage of a red light to ask her what was the matter, but as soon as he had looked at her she turned her head to look out the window, nonchalantly.
   -Why have you been staring at me for so long?
   -Eh ? I...I'm not staring at you...
   The girl let out a nervous little laugh before signaling that the light had turned green.
   -By the way... Genta-kun, Ayumi-chan, Mitsuhiko-kun and Conan-kun are aware of my situation... I had to explain everything... She explained as if to change the subject .
   It worked more or less well.

   As soon as they got home, the former high school girl immediately headed for the kitchen.
   -I'll make a simple omelette if that's okay with you! she announced.
   She didn't wait for an answer and took everything she needed to cook. And as usual, she had to climb on a chair to reach the work surface. Then, when she was done, she set the table.
   -It's ready ! she called.

   Jinpei got up from the sofa and took the place in front of the girl, who went back to staring at him, again lost in thought.
   -Is there something on my face? The policeman got annoyed again.
   -Eh ? N-no...
   -So why have you been staring at me for a while. Don't try to change the subject this time.
   Yoko found herself in an impasse. And she knew deep down that it was going to happen, since it wasn't the first time she was forced to tell him the truth.
   -I... I was just thinking about what Sato-keiji told me. She told me you were part of the demining team. So I found that reassuring, since... I don't like explosions...
   The girl preferred not to say that she knew more about him, about what had brought him to be part of the crime section. She didn't know how he could react.
   He didn't answer, continuing to eat. The little girl did not know what to say, having the impression that she should have kept quiet.

   The next day arrived. Yoko was running in the street, not far from the school. She had dragged on a bit before she left, and now she almost missed being late.
  As soon as she entered the class, the trio Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko went towards her.
   -Yoko-chan! Can you tell us where you lived before? Asked the girl in the headband.
   - Wh... Why?
   - We would like to investigate! If we manage to find clues, we could arrest the culprit! Explained the freckled boy.
   - But... The police have...
   -We will inevitably find clues! After all we are the Detective Boys! Cut off the biggest of the group.
   -Let me talk... Tried to say the girl with glasses under the excitement of the children.

   Conan said nothing, just listening to what was going on. He was also interested in carrying out his investigation, and had an idea of ​​the location of the explosion since the newspapers had mentioned one. He also saw very well that his comrade did not want to divulge anything. He was even intrigued by the fact that she said it didn't matter if the culprits were still at large.
   First, why had she used the plural? She must therefore have known that there were several of them, although she kept silent about it.
   Second, the fact that she didn't want it investigated was closer to some sort of fear than a disinterest in apprehending criminals. What was she afraid of?
   The young boy couldn't deny it. He was more and more intrigued by Yoko. She seemed to hide a lot of things.

   When the former high school student was finally able to sit down and breathe, having convinced her friends to leave her alone, she noticed the absence of one person from the group.
   -Where is Haibara-san? she asked.
   -She didn't feel well. She preferred to rest. Conan explained.
   - Is it because of the bus...?
   All she got was a nod, before Kobayashi entered the class.
    Between Ai who was not well and herself who had trouble sleeping, it was not going to be easy. Because, indeed, the girl with tied hair had a little trouble sleeping, but she took it upon herself. But as much as one had been frightened by the bombs and the two criminals, the other had come from something else, otherwise she wouldn't have stayed in the vehicle.
   Yoko hoped that her friend would get better soon.