CHAPTER 5

"Please, do something about this. That demon almost killed us," Bella complained to Detective Conan.

The trio had headed to their place to hide from Dark Tale, with their body guards shielding them.

Conan came over after carrying out some search at the scene, just to make sure they were safe.

"You should have seen her in action. She summoned a ball of fire to kill Bella! That demon has to be stopped," Jessica narrated, showing her fear.

"Help us, Detective," Faith pleaded.

Listening to them, Conan said, "I can understand how you girls feel. You must have been terrified. Don't worry, my team and I are working on something."

"That's good." The trio sighed in relief at what Conan had said.

"But this can only be possible if I can get some tips about this Dark Tale demon lady, " Conan said, showing his true reason for coming over to see the girls.

"Tell me, what do you know about Dark Tale?"

"Well we know she's a demon out to harm people, especially writers," Jessica stated.

"Yeah, just like the villains in the stories. She's just like that. She hates to see other people happy," Faith added.

Conan hummed at their words, asking the girls, "You said she attacks writers? Do you have any idea why she does that?"

"Why are you asking us?" Bella questioned, glaring at the detective.

"How are we supposed to know why she's attacking writers? Haven't you been seeing the news all this time?" Faith questioned Conan.

The detective doesn't reply but watched the three girls talk about Dark Tale, calling her different cruel names.

"We've told you what we know about that demon. We know you're new to this place, so we suggest you make your findings on past incidents that occurred with her. Maybe you'd get some clue from there," Jessica pointed out to the detective, with the other two supporting her.

"Alright then. I'll take my leave. Do take care of yourselves," He said, exiting their home.

Conan already had the idea of going through past incidents concerning Dark Tale. He had already gotten his team to provide him all the records before heading over to see Bella, Jessica, and Faith.

"Nothing new from them. It's still the same result like the others. I'll head back to the quarters to investigate more on this demon, " He decided, leaving in his car.

.

The next day, after the incident with Dark Tale, Matthew have been unable to focus well.

To leave the apartment became a problem for him.

"Quit your nonsense and get out!" Chi-Chi had sparked at her cousin when he refused to leave his room.

"It's not a must!" Matthew yelled, trying to push her out.

"You have an interview today at Nano World. Go and get yourself a job, you big head!"

"No!"

They both struggled with each other, trying to get the other to quit.

Seeing that her cousin was trying to act all tough with her, Chi-Chi pulls off her secret move.

She tickled Matthew's ribs, causing him to laugh out hard, loosing his grip on her.

That gave Chi-Chi the upper hand to knock Matthew on the head, dragging him through the door.

"I said I'm not going. Why won't you listen?" Matt groaned at his cousin, holding his head.

"I know why you're doing this Matt, and I won't allow you to trick me. There is no Dark Tale here and you didn't see her last night! Get your ass out of here and get a job!"

She pushed Matthew into the bathroom, slamming the door at him.

"And you better not waste time in there because I'm waiting for you out here, " Chi-Chi notified Matthew, grabbing her sandal.

Matthew, knowing how violent his cousin can get over an argument, decided to get himself ready for the interview.

"I'm only sparing her because it's her place, otherwise I'd have locked her up."

"What did you say?!" Chi-Chi questioned loudly from outside the door.

Matthew freaked out on hearing her voice, thinking she's coming into the bathroom to attack him.

"Nothing!" He yelled back, locking the door to prevent Chi-Chi from getting to him.

He had no other choice but to get ready for the interview.

Once he was set, Chi-Chi kicked him out of the apartment, telling him to be home on time to cook.

Matt leaves with a frown, but he replaced it with fear when he arrived at the garage.

He walked through the park, feeling he was being watched by Dark Tale. But he couldn't be sure of it since he was still reminiscing the fear he was in from last night.

"Pull yourself together, Matt. She must have gone," He said, leaving the building.

He decided to put Dark Tale aside and try his luck on the job interview.

After so long of trying, he finally got invited to an interview, hoping he gets in.

But just like every other jobs, Matthew wasn't selected.

This broke the young man down. He felt so sad that he didn't feel like heading back home yet.

He sat at the city's park, staring at the sky with sadness.

"It would have been better if they hadn't texted me over, " He said, still looking at the clouds.

A nest above the tree he sat under at the pack, got his attention.

Matt noticed a baby bird struggling at the edge of the nest to fly with its mother.

He watched and saw how the bird almost fell but got supported by its mother. It tried over and over, until it succeeded.

This brightened up Matt's mood at once.

He smiled at the beautiful scenario, letting out a chuckle.

"You can't give up just yet, Matt. It ain't the end of the world."

"Well, I better head back home to that lioness called Chi-Chi and give her the news. I'm sure she'd want to pounce on me, but I'll calm her down with my special cooking tonight," He chuckled, leaving the park.

But a lazy Matthew headed over to an eatery that same evening and bought Chinese takeout instead.

"I don't have strength to step into that kitchen. I will make it up to her tomorrow," He promised, approaching the building.

He got into the lift, humming out while waiting for his stop. When the lift came to his destination, Matt stepped out making his way to his apartment.

"Chinese takeout always eases the mood. Maybe it will even help me get Chi-Chi to resume with cooking," He groaned, getting to the door.

When he held the knob to open up, Matt realized it was locked.

"Did she head out today?" He wondered, knowing well that Chi-Chi wasn't heading to school nor did she have any plans for that day.

"Maybe she got bored and stepped out, " He smiled, reaching for the key in his pocket.

That's when he heard something faint coming from inside the apartment.

He stopped and placed his ears closer, hearing the sound clearly.

It sounded like someone was choking inside the house.

"Chi-Chi?" Matthew called, getting worried.

He heard the sound getting louder, followed by Chi-Chi's scream.

"Matthew!"

"CHI-CHI!"

Quickly, Matt opened the door and was left shocked by what he saw.

There in the house stood Dark Tale, holding Chi-Chi by the neck, lifting her in the air.

"Help me!" Chi-Chi choked out as Dark tightened her grip around her neck, sending fear into Matthew's heart.

"No!" Matt yelled, getting Dark's eyes to fall on him.