A Tragic Night From A Year Ago

The next day, at the Professor's house, 4:30 in the morning...

Kourin woke up early because she still needed to finish researching that could give some help for her project. But this wasn't just about her project.

She obtained the compiled information about the members of the Dark Rose Agency when it was sent to her thru e-mail by the family butler of the Shinomiya mansion. She called yesterday to her house and asked the butler to open the database of the Miyuzaki family for him to retrieve the required file.

Since the butler was also a member of the Miyuzaki clan, he had an access to the database.

She printed the file and handed it over to Conan. More than anyone, she trusted him as to how she trusted the Miyuzakis. She knew that Conan could solve the case.

She went down to the kitchen but she was surprised to see people in the living room. And she was even more surprised to see the guests talking to the professor.

"Oji-sama! Oba-sama! Why are you here in Japan?" Rina exclaimed when she saw Yuusaku and Yukiko, both smiling at her when she approached them.

"Surprised?" Yukiko said with a cheeky smile.

Kourin nodded. "When did you arrive?"

"Thirty minutes ago. We're here because Agasa-hakase gave us a call about your current case. We wanted to know what's going on right now," Yuusaku explained.

"I-is that so?" She spaced out for a while but she returned when she heard Conan enter the house which made the others glance at him and Conan was surprised when he saw the professor's guests.

"Kaa-san! Tou-san!"

"Shin-chan!" Yukiko approached her son and hugged him.

When his mother let him go, he stared at her. "What are you doing here? I thought you're doing some business in New York."

"If it wasn't for Agasa-hakase, we wouldn't know that your cousin is already facing a danger," his father said.

"And he even said that a middle school student is involved in it, as well. We want to know who he is and why are they chasing after him," Yukiko added.

Conan sighed and sat on the couch. "As much as I want to know the answer to that question myself, Echizen-kun couldn't provide anything for that. He doesn't have any idea why those men were chasing him."

"But you said that you found a coded message on a murder related to this case," Professor Agasa said.

Kourin frowned. "What coded message?"

He decided to forget what Doctor Yanai had said regarding his warning not to tell Kourin about the coded message. "There's a coded message left by the man who was found dead at an alley three blocks from here. It was written on two pieces of paper that he inserted one inside his mouth and he held on tight onto the other. It was written by someone codenamed "Ares". The message was quite complex, though. That's why I'll be having a hard time decoding it."

'Ares? The one who betrayed the Miyuzaki clan five years ago?' Yuusaku asked himself. 'Why was he found dead? I know that he's a martial arts expert just like Ryuuki and Shouko. But how did he end up dead?'

"Ares? The one whose symbol was found on the back—"

"The back of his right hand," Conan finished. "Yeah, it's him. Can you identify his true name?"

"Well, I guess it's on the folder I left to you yesterday," Kourin said.

And then he remembered something. "I left it to Echizen-kun when I went to the crime scene. I think he still has it."

The girl sighed. "Fine, I'll get it. But you have to show me that coded message later." Conan nodded and then she headed upstairs where Ryoma's room was located.

When the boy has assured them that she was gone, he faced his parents who were staring in the direction that Kourin went.

"But seriously, why are you here? You should've stayed in New York where it's safer."

Yukiko sighed and stared intently at Conan. "Shin-chan, I think it's about time for you to know the truth."

Conan frowned. "Huh? What are you trying to say, kaa-san?"

"Shinichi, it's about time for you to know the real reason why I brought your cousin here to Japan," Yuusaku said, making his son bewildered, but arousing his curiosity at the same time.

Conan began to listen to his father's story. After all, this wasn't just a simple story.

This could be the vital clue that he had been looking for ever since this case began.

But unknown to them, they were some people who were also listening to that story, as well.

One of them was Haibara, who was about to go out of her room when she heard Shinichi's father talking to his son. And the other one, Kourin.

The girl stopped walking toward Ryoma's room when she heard the question that Conan asked. Unknown to the people down the living room, she had placed a listening device that Professor Agasa created under the couch.

'Oji-sama, you should know the consequences once Shin-nii learns the truth about what happened to me. I don't want to have him involved in any more danger. He's already facing his predicament ever since he's been shrunk by the drug of the Black Organization. This is just supposed to be about me and my family.'

Kourin sighed and then she continued walking towards Ryoma's room, still listening to her uncle's story as she remembered the tragic night that changed his life forever...

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Flashback]

One year ago

Shinomiya mansion; Miami, Florida

The moon was in full shape. The mansion was filled with so many colorful lights since it was a grand celebration for the family that lived there.

The flowers planted in the garden were in full bloom. The trees were in their perfect green color as the leaves shone while the light of the moon bounced on them, creating a magical sparkle that everyone would have adored.

Yes... it would have been a perfect place for a celebration. But not for a battlefield turned into a graveyard.

That night would have been another wonderful night for the eight-year-old princess of the clan named Shinomiya Kourin, the youngest child and the only daughter of the current clan leader, Shinomiya Ryuuki, and his lovely wife, Rina.

That celebration was a welcome party and a victory party for the eldest child of Ryuuki and Kourin's older brother, Hitoshi who had won in the US Open.

It would have been a night of fun and enjoyment for the whole family and the guests who attended the celebration. Even some of the Miyuzaki clan members who were assigned to protect and guard the family was there, too.

But that night was turned into a gruesome battle because of a secret well-hidden by the Shinomiya family for more than five centuries since the founding of the clan. A secret that their enemies desperately wanted to have no matter what it takes.

As the celebration was going on, everyone heard continuous gunshots outside the mansion, probably using a machine gun. Some even heard slashing and painful moaning, which became evident that the enemies were attacking in all corners, using every method possible. They knew that they chose to use both the ancient art of fighting (swords and martial arts) and the modern style of fighting (with the help of modern weaponry).

And then the door was busted open using a powerful bomb.

Kourin hid behind her mother. That was the time Yuusaku and Yukiko, who happened to be at the celebration as well, approached the frightened young girl.

"Rina, we'll take Rin-chan somewhere safe. I'm having a bad feeling about this," Yuusaku said to his sister.

"Okaa-sama..." Kourin could only say with fear in her eyes as she was looking at her mother.

"Don't worry, Okaa-sama. I'll go with her," her older brother Hitoshi offered and Rina nodded once at the sight of her son's determination to protect the princess.

"Make sure you do what it takes to protect her, Hitoshi. You know that she's our only hope if we..." But Rina couldn't continue her sentence. Hitoshi knew what it meant, however.

"I'll do what it takes to protect her. I'll risk my life on the line if I have to."

"You don't have to go that far."

By then, a girl with sea green bob-cut hair that was about Hitoshi's age approached the family. "I'll go with them as well, Rina-sama. I'll protect the princess for you."

"Be careful, Hotaru-chan. I know your abilities as a fighter but I don't want you to end up dead because of your duty. You must take care of yourself."

"I will, Rina-sama. I promise."

Rina nodded and kissed her daughter's head. Then she faced her son, Hotaru, her brother, and her sister-in-law. "Alright. You should hide in the basement using the hidden door. Onii-chan, Onee-chan, Hitoshi, Hotaru-chan, make sure my daughter's safe. If anything goes wrong, you must find a way to escape this place."

They all nodded and smiled. And then Yuusaku carried the little girl and headed to the hidden door Rina was talking about along with Yukiko.

But before they could make it to the hidden door, Kourin saw the faces of their attackers as they killed the members of both the Miyuzaki clan and the Shinomiya clan using katanas and guns.

" Okaa-sama! Otou-sama! Everyone!" she shouted out but it seemed that they didn't hear her as the aforementioned people were fighting the invaders.

That was the time Yuusaku opened the door and the three of them entered. The door automatically closed. The sound of the machine guns was still heard in that little basement.

The little girl whimpered because of what she had just seen.

Yukiko hugged the girl to calm her down. "Everything will be over soon, I promise."

Continuous firing of guns seemed to have been the signal that Hitoshi needed for him to know that it was already getting worse.

"Oba-sama, Oji-sama, we have to get out of here. This is getting a little out of hand and we need to protect Rin at all cost."

"But Hitoshi-san—" Hotaru's words were interrupted by a familiar voice that seemed to be letting out a groan of pain. The sea-green-haired girl clamped her mouth in shock. "It can't be... Papa! Papa!"

"We need to leave this place."

Seeing the fact that there was no other way, they left the basement using another door connected to the basement. Upon opening it, a strong gust of wind greeted them. The night scenery somehow calmed them for a bit but it wasn't enough. They had to get out of that place and take themselves somewhere to assure their safety.

But doing so seemed to have become a mistake to all of them, especially now that a member of the organization was trying to catch up with them and eventually managed to catch up with them. In the process, the man grabbed Hotaru by her wrist tight and aimed a katana at her neck.

"Hotaru!"

"Hotaru-san!"

Struggling to release herself from the enemy's grip, Hotaru opened her eyes even though she felt like the air was leaving her, making her unable to breathe properly. The man was strangling her, after all.

"I'll be fine... Just go ahead and leave this place. You must protect the princess!" She winced when the pain from being slowly sliced in the neck by that man had slowly taken over her.

Hitoshi was enraged at the sight. His grip on his katana was starting to get tight and without words, he charged toward the man who was holding Hotaru. The blood on her neck was starting to flow at a steady rate, indicating that the wound was slowly turning deep. Kourin was horrified at the sight of Hotaru getting hurt like that just to protect them...

...to protect her.

A swordfight ensued between Hitoshi and Hotaru's captor. The sea green-haired girl was already wounded but she managed to get up and proceeded in Kourin's direction.

"Are you okay, Hotaru-san?" Kourin asked worriedly, still feeling scared at the sight of blood from Hotaru's wound on her neck. The girl answered with a nod.

The princess then turned to see her brother's condition, only to feel surprised when a katana was already on the verge of hurting her from above. All she did was close her eyes tight, followed by feeling her hand somehow being sliced deeply and fast which made her shout. But it was then muffled with an even louder scream of pain resonating around the area. That scream, however, belonged to Hitoshi. When she opened her eyes, she was horrified at the sight of Hitoshi covering his wound with his hand as he tried to look up to face her. He smiled despite the excruciating pain from the wound he received from their perpetrator.

"A-are you alright, Rin?" Hitoshi asked.

But Kourin was astounded at the sight of her brother now hurt and bleeding profusely. She didn't know what to think or do. She just couldn't move. Besides that, she also couldn't feel the pain from her wounded right hand. She felt numb from all of this.

"H-Hotaru... take them... out of here. Protect her... in my place... protect all of them... whatever it takes... Protect my best friend... as well..."

"B-but... Hitoshi-san..."

"I'll let you... do my duty... for my sister... Don't fail me, Hotaru... please..." Hitoshi said while trying his best not to scream out because of too much pain he was feeling. His breathing started to become uneven and ragged, indicating that he might not last much longer. No matter how much he hated it, he knew he won't be able to protect his little sister now.

A determined look was etched on Hotaru's face, knowing full well the weight of the duty imposed on her at that point. And she also knew full well what was going to happen now. "I promise... I'll protect her for you, Hitoshi-sama."

"Thank you... and I... love you... Hotaru... " Then he faced Kourin. "Be careful... Chibihime (little princess)... Don't let them... get you... Protect your... destiny... as the leader... and as his bride, too... Promise me that... Okay? I'm sorry... if I will... leave you... now... I love you... Don't forget that..." With his last breath, he said those words that only made Hotaru sob and Kourin rushed to her brother's side.

"Onii-sama! Onii-sama! Don't leave me, Onii-sama! I can't do it! I can't do what you're telling me! I can't fight like that. I can't fight like you... Onii-sama..." But no words came out of Hitoshi's lips even after that outburst from the princess. She just continued to cry hard and not being able to hold it any longer, she screamed in horror as she called out Hitoshi repeatedly.

"Let's go, Ojou-sama," Hotaru said as she carefully carried the princess who was still crying and shaking her head in denial. Kourin was just too weak at that moment to even protest to leave her brother's side.

They went to a safe house near the mansion. It was Hotaru's suggestion since she had been guarding that place along with her father for a long time. She knew the nooks and crannies of the entire Shinomiya state. Everything was silent outside. Dead silent, to be more precise.

But they stayed there for half an hour more just to make sure, even though Kourin insisted that they should get help. With Hotaru making sure that it was okay to head back to the mansion, they used the tunnel in that safehouse linking to the mansion's basement. As careful as they could, they opened the entrance of that tunnel leading to the basement.

When Yuusaku opened that hidden door, all of them couldn't believe what was laid in front of their eyes.

The main hall where the celebration was held turned into a mass graveyard. Bodies... Dead bodies could be seen everywhere. At the stairs, at the dining tables, near the entrance... it was everywhere.

Pools of blood covered almost all parts of the shiny floor. Sprays destroyed the beauty of the walls and the curtains of that hall.

And all of these were done in a single night.

"Okaa-sama? Otou-sama?" Kourin could only say as she was too shocked because of this. She has to look for her parents to make sure they didn't suffer the same fate as her brother.

Yuusaku immediately found the ones he was looking for and he approached them... FAST!

Ryuuki and Rina's bodies were laid near the stairs, just beneath the small fountain inside that house. Both of them have gunshots on their stomach and slashes on the other parts of their bodies.

Yuusaku, Yukiko, Hotaru, and Kourin approached the said bodies of the young girl's family.

"Okaa-sama? Okaa-sama! Wake up! Don't leave me!" Kourin said firmly as she began to cry over the bodies of her family, not minding the chemical on her mother's dress that slowly burned her hand.

Rina slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her daughter.

"Rin... I-I'm glad... you're safe..." she said slowly to her daughter as she moved her bloody hand to touch the girl's face.

"Okaa-sama... Don't leave me..."

Rina smiled as she ignored her child's cries. "I'm sorry... Just this once... I have to break my promise..." And then she faced her brother who was still in shock. "Onii-chan... please," she caught her breath. "...please take my daughter away from here. Take her to Japan... to where it's safer..." Rina began to cry. "Protect my daughter... in my family's place..."

"Okaa-sama..." The girl cried even harder, ignoring the blood that has stained her white dress because of her mother's blood.

Yuusaku held his sister's bloody hand. "Don't worry. I'll protect her... no matter what!"

Rina smiled as she cried and eyed her beloved daughter for the last time. "Rin... take care of yourself... okay? Be safe... and survive this... I love you, Rin... I'll always be with you... I promise." And with that, Rina closed her eyes.

"Okaa-sama! You can't leave me! Not you, too! Onii-sama already left me... not you and Otou-sama, too. Please, Okaa-sama..." Kourin cried as she shouted and shook her mother's body. "You can't leave me like this!"

At that time, Shouko arrived along with her sister, Doctor Miyuzaki, and Doctor Yanai. They were shocked when they saw the dead bodies of the people there.

"We're too late..." Shouko could only say as she covered her mouth.

Despite the shock, Doctor Miyuzaki managed to approach the couple who was still staring at the dead bodies of Kourin's family.

"Yuusaku-sama, you should get out of here fast. You need to get out of this place as soon as you can before the enemies will come and kill you." And then she faced her sister. "Shouko, you lead them out. You can use my car."

Shouko nodded and then carried the little girl who was now in a state of shock. Yuusaku and Yukiko and even the wounded Hotaru followed.

Kourin could only watch as she was being carried away from that house. She didn't know why but she felt numb; she couldn't move her body.

That was the last time she ever got a glimpse of that house...

A house that has now become a graveyard...

xxxxx

"So the massacre that Miyuzaki-sensei mentioned to Echizen-kun yesterday... was about that night?" Conan asked, still in a state of disbelief.

Yuusaku nodded. And then the boy looked at Professor Agasa. "Hakase, you knew about this all along?"

"Forgive me, Shinichi. But it was your father's orders that I should keep it a secret from you until he could tell you the truth about Rin-kun."

Conan sighed. "Now I know why she became scared when Shouko-san mentioned the Dark Rose."

"Shin-chan, are you okay?" Yukiko became worried at the sight of Conan's distraught face.

The boy nodded. "I'm just worried about Rin."

That was the time Kourin came running down the stairs with the folder in her hand. She handed it to Conan.

He browsed through it and he saw a file about the man codenamed 'Ares'.

"Ares, an alias of Daryll Corazza, 27 years old, American citizen," Conan read out loud about what was written on the file. And then he read the other parts silently but then he was surprised upon reading a certain part of the profile that he was reading. "He betrayed the Miyuzaki clan five years ago?" he exclaimed in surprise. He continued reading the profile.

'This can't be the reason why someone killed him. A member of the Miyuzaki clan can't do this. The location of the Dark Rose Agency is still unknown to them and Shouko-san has to confirm it first.'

"Shin-nii, can I see the coded message now?" Kourin asked innocently.

Conan smiled and handed the notebook where he wrote the coded message to Kourin. The girl thoroughly analyzed it once she saw it. Then she sighed.

"It sure is one complex message. To think he wrote it in a code." And she handed the notebook back to Conan. "All I can say is the arrow that was placed there probably indicated that the code had to be read backward. That's what the RB should mean, I think."

'RB? Read backward... left arrow... So this was written in English. And the dots indicate the periods placed at the end of each sentence.' Conan looked at the coded message. But how should I decode it? He sighed soon after when he couldn't find an answer and he closed the notebook.

"Otou-san, Okaa-san, do you want to meet Echizen-kun?" Conan asked suddenly.

"Shin-nii..."

"I think it's alright since we managed to finish the antidote for Echizen-kun. Though it would only take effect after 16 hours."

The others glanced at the one who spoke.

"Ai-chan!"

Conan frowned. "But I thought it would take 2 days to make the antidote."

"Miyuzaki-sensei and Yanai-sensei have gathered enough information for us to make it the shortest possible time. Besides, they've stayed here and completed it until past 3 in the morning."

Kourin smiled. "Then Ryoma-niichan can walk again?" Haibara nodded as she handed the tablet to her.

"Thank you, Ai-chan!"

Haibara smiled faintly. "You don't have to thank me. I've decided to help you with your project ever since you arrived here. And you saved me a lot of times, too. This is the least I could do for you."

Kourin looked at her wristwatch. "Five-forty. I think he's already awake. I could already hear Karupin."

So they went to Ryoma's room.