[ Old ] Crossroad 『Detective Conan』

Chapter 53 - Unexpected meeting

   Yoko's head turned and her eyes widened. No, it wasn't possible. This silhouette, these eyes, this hair... It was really him. Was he really alive? However, she had had proof to the contrary...
   Without realizing it, the girl had started to drift away from Jinpei. He noticed that
   -Oe! Where are you going ?! he called her
   But no response. He wanted to follow her but he quickly lost sight of her.
   -...
   He couldn't help worrying. He had a bad feeling. He had to find her and quickly.

   The former high school student would always run after this person.
   -Akihiko! she screamed.
   Yes, it was him. It was Akihiko. There was no doubt.
   Lots of questions raced through the girl's head. Why was he there? Why hadn't he given any news? Why wasn't he answering?

   -Akihiko! Wait !
   She grabbed the back of her top when he slowed down. He turned around, startled, and stared at her before stepping down to her level. She took off her glasses to make sure he recognized her.
   -...Ky...Kyoka? It's you ?
   A smile lit up her face. It was indeed his friend's voice. It was him.
   -Akihiko, you idiot! Why didn't you give any more news?! I... You know I was scared?! I was afraid that something had happened to you... I had even given up on the idea that you were still alive... So why... She started to cry.
   - I'm sorry... And you, what happened to you? You also disappeared...
   -It's... It takes a long time to explain...
   Akihiko sighed as he stood up, putting his hand on his friend's head. He had a soft look.
   -Come on, stop crying... I'll pay you something and we'll explain?
   Yoko nodded with a smile. It was like a dream... After all this time without him... And now he was here. He had recognized her, and only he could. She was with him, and that was the most important

   Akihiko led the way. His friend wasn't watching where he was going, lost in her thought. A lot of questions were coming to her, and she was going to have to tell them to the boy. But one of many took over and worked her.
   The further she went, the more she wondered what was wrong. Something was wrong. Deep down, she wanted to leave and find the policeman. But she didn't know why. She was with her best friend, so why the urge to run away? Why this desire when she felt so good towards him. She had found him though...

   -We arrived. Announced the high school student.
   -Eh ?
   Raising her head, she noticed that they were not towards a cafe, a restaurant or even a store. There wasn't even anyone around them. It was more like... an alley. A deserted alley.
   -A...Akihiko? What are we doing here?
When the brunette looked up at the dark haired boy, she cringed, her gaze horrified. A gun was pointed at her. And this desire to flee was extremely strong.
   -You... You're not Akihiko... Are you?
   - It took you a long time to figure it out. How do you expect a dead person to still be there?
   It wasn't Akihiko's voice anymore. It was that of a woman.
   -N... No... Who... Who are you?!
   The stranger put her hand to her face and tore something. She wore a mask. A mask representing the high school student.
   -You don't need to know that, Enoshiya Kyoka.

   Jinpei ran in search of Yoko. She was nowhere. She had disappeared.
-Damn... What the hell is she doing?!
   He hit the wall. She wasn't answering any calls, not even those on her phone. She had never acted like this before.
   The man regained his composure in order to reflect. He just needed to remember what might have happened. She had already left of her own free will, he had no doubt about that. Maybe she had seen someone she had wanted to catch up with... But who?
   No, her impression of having been watched and followed made her cautious, hardly daring to go out alone. She would have warned if she had someone to catch up with. What could have pushed her to leave like this? She saw someone she didn't expect to see? It was possible, as much as possible that it was a trap of the person who had followed her...
  
   Alleys ! Those were the most obvious places to take someone. He had to look there. And he had to hurry. If it really was a trap, and the little one had fallen into it, it wasn't going to end well.

   -These... Two men in black...
   Yoko was beginning to look more and more frightened. This blonde woman, had revealed to her that she was with the so-called Gin and Vodka, and that she was there to eliminate her. She should have been eliminated much sooner. This day when she had rejuvenated.
   How did this woman know all this? The girl did not know. She must have guessed it, as Conan had guessed it for her.

   -Why... Why did you use Akihiko's face... The young girl succeeded in articulating.
   -It was the easiest way to approach you. And you easily fell into my trap.
   - By what right... You used... You...
   She was confused. She couldn't think anymore. She had had this hope, this moment of happiness, and it had just been taken away from her.
   -If there's only one person to blame for your situation, it's you. You know, if your family is dead...
   - No... Don't say anything...
   -... It is...
   -Shut up...
   -... Your fault. If you hadn't gone down that alley, they'd still be alive. They must be mad at you.

   Something snapped inside the girl. A truth she didn't want to hear, especially from someone else, whom she had denied. But, she knew it. Akahara, Asahi and Yosuke, maybe even Akihiko, were dead because she had passed through that alley. If she had taken another path, even if it meant being sick, they would still have been there. No... If she had taken her umbrella, none of this would have happened. Yosuke and Akihiko would still be alive.
   At that thought, she felt like she was suffocating. She was responsible for the death of her brother and her best friend. She was the one and only culprit. That woman accompanying Gin and Vodka was right. And Yosuke and Akihiko must indeed be angry with her. She hadn't listened to her friend. She could have avoided all of this.

   - Sorry... Akihiko... Sorry... Yosuke... She repeated, still having this feeling of suffocation.
   -You will apologize to them, when you have joined them.
   -Eh ?
   The blonde-haired woman pointed her gun in Yoko's direction. The latter wanted to flee, but on the one hand, she could not. She wouldn't be able to. And if it was her destiny, she had to accept it. Maybe even that way, Akihiko and Yosuke wouldn't blame her anymore?

   Being on her knees, she got up and looked towards her executioner while crying, a forced smile on her face. The woman pulled the trigger without hesitation. A shot rang out that a sharp pain pierced the former high school girl. She staggered before collapsing.
   -You know, if the first time you had let yourself be killed, you would have been at peace.
   No answer. Yoko wasn't listening anymore, she just felt the pain that made her want to scream. She was panting, lying on the floor. Was that how Akihiko felt when he got killed? That same pain? Certainly. Because of her, he had suffered.

   She knew she was going to receive another bullet to be finished off, so that there would be no doubt of her death. Still, she didn't feel like that last shot was coming. She felt only the pain of the first bullet, as well as the blood flowing from the wound. She was in pain, she was scared.
   Seconds ticked by, feeling as long as hours. Maybe on the woman still spoke to her a little? Yoko didn't know anything about it. She heard nothing. Nothing, except another gunshot.