Chapter 1: The Mansion Of Darkness

After stopping in multiple different prefectures, booking three different hotels for one night each, and stopping multiple times along the way, the eight of them had finally made it to Aichi Prefecture in the Chubu Region. Halfway between the Kanto and Kansai Regions, there lied a mystery, in which the group of friends was ecstatic to uncover. Well, three of them were anyway. The others merely came along so they could get outside some more.

A limousine drove down the road and into the forest. If it weren't for them having received directions earlier, they would have no doubt gotten lost. Inside the limo, the seats were occupied by the group of friends. In the back, two girls, one with a spike in her hair and one with bushy hair, sat next to each other, chatting and passing time.

In the next seat up, a dark-skinned teen sat next to a glasses-wearing boy no older than seven or eight. They were whispering something to each other in secret. They always seemed to do that when they thought no one was listening.

In the next seat, there were two other girls, one with long red hair, and one with her hair tied back into a ponytail. They were chatting idly as well, since their destination wasn't that far away.

And in the seat up front, their was a single teen with unruly brown hair, trying to make time fly, by literally making time fly as part of a magic trick. Well, the trick itself was still in development.

The one in the driver's seat was a teen with blondish hair, who kept his eyes focused precisely on the road. The group of eight decided it was a good idea for a road trip together, since it was summer vacation and they needed some time off. Finally, a mysterious castle-like building came into view and everyone was relieved that their long thee day journey was finally coming to a close.

The limo was parked in the front, and everyone eagerly pilled out, ready to finally take a proper rest. The girl with the spike in her hair stretched. "The trip took a while, didn't it? I'm just glad we can stop driving for a while."

The girl with the ponytail agreed. "Yeah, I'm tired. We've been on the road fer so long."

The next ones to step out where the teen and the boy. "Well, we fin'lly made it. Can't wait to crack this case wide op'n."

He knelt down to the boy's level and whispered. "How 'bout you, Kudou? Gettin' exited?"

The boy changed his expression from a happy normal kid, to a confident adult detective. "Yeah, Hattori. This one's been on my mind for a while now."

After everyone managed to once again touch solid ground, the ponytailed girl looked up at the European styled mansion before them. "Now that I'm seein' it up close, it looks kinda scary, don'tcha think?"

The spike-haired girl nodded. "Yeah, it looks a lot like vampires might live inside."

The ponytailed girl turned to the dark-skinned teen. "Heiji, are ya sure this place 's safe? It looks kinda' creepy, y'know."

"I know that, but th' story behind this mansion, as well as the myster'ous sightins', is what lead us here 'n the first place."

A smile appeared on the red-haired girl's features, and she held her finger up to her mouth, trying to hold back laughter. "Oh, would you be referring to the story that talks about the previous family? The one that the servants claimed to be full of vampires? Legend has it that the family had all kinds of strange members. The heads of the family were said to invite their enemies over for dinner, and then suck the life out of them in another room. Well, it makes sense since they were never seen again, and I personally find stories like these to be rather fascinating. Although, they're not for everyone."

She was clearly referring to the two girls, who were shaking and shivering next to each other. The fourth girl, who kept her composure, spoke. "It's alright, guys, if Akako-chan isn't afraid, then there's no reason for us to be."

They knew she had a point, but then again, Akako was a witch. A vampire probably would be enough to freak her out. "Vampires or not, I'm tired. Never mind dinner, I'm going to bed." Kaito remarked as a yawn escaped his lips.

The driver, Saguru, locked up the limo and held the keys to the house. "Since we're already here, let's grab our luggage and head inside."

They did exactly that, grabbing their suitcases out of the back truck. They approached the giant twin doors, where Saguru inserted the keys he received from the Aichi Real Estate. It wasn't like they were taking this case on without permission. Saguru pushed the doors inward, and a dark interior welcomed them.

"I-It's even creepier on the inside." Ran commented.

Conan smiled. "It's alright, Ran-neechan. At least there's a giant skylight on the ceiling, so we can see during the day."

"And b'sides, they redid the lightin' in here some time ago." Heiji flipped on a nearby light switch, and the room was instantly illuminated.

"Well, at least it doesn't look as creepy anymore." Aoko noticed.

Yawning, Kaito started walking up the stairs and onto the second story. "I'm going to sleep. Good night, I'll see you all tomorrow."

Heiji looked around at the huge living room. "It is gettin' pretty late. Maybe we should get some rest too."

"But, we haven't even had dinner yet." Ran countered.

"Well then, how about we make something quick and retire to our rooms for the night." Saguru suggested. "We can start on the case in the morning."

No one seemed to be opposed to that idea, as they whipped up something rather quickly. Everyone except Kaito had eaten, and the first night ended as everyone picked out their own rooms.

Heiji couldn't sleep that night and ended up in the main living room, gazing up at the moon through the skylight. He always found himself more of a night person, not a fan of waking up in the morning. He couldn't find it within him to fall asleep, because he was excited. Too excited for the events he knew were about to take place. Just thinking about it made his blood boil in anticipation. This was going to be an event to remember.

"I assume you can't sleep again, Hattori."

The Osakan took notice of the glasses-wearing boy who appeared next to him. "Of course not! I c'n tell you can't eith'r, seeing as how you're here now."

Conan closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I just can't stop thinking about it."

Heiji smiled. "You 'n me both, Kudou."

The moment of mutual friendship between the two was interrupted by a yawning noise. Kaito appeared, a little tired, but not as much as before. "Well, I feel better now. What did I miss?"

Conan shook his head. "Nothing. We were just talking."

It was then that a smirk formed on Kaito's lips. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about that, would you?"

Heiji nodded. "Yeah. Seems we all can't sleep 'cause of it."

"I can agree with that. I'm feeling what all of you are." Saguru decided to join their late night conversation. "Well in any case, staying up like this is going to become regular, whether we like it or not."

Conan sighed. "That's true. But for the time being, we have to try and calm our nerves. If even one of us messes up, it'll be over for all of us."

"Alright, alright, I understand. I'll try and keep myself at bay. But I can tell you, it won't be easy." Kaito claimed.

"That's why we have ta look out fer each other. If one of us starts doin' somethin' stupid, we 'ave ta stop 'em."

Saguru nodded, changing the subject. "What are we going to do about the case?"

Kaito shrugged. "The case will probably be solved in no time. You're all detective nerds, so it should work in your favor."

Saguru twitched. "At least I don't try and pull off flashy magic shows while trying to steal jewel in an obvious while suit."

Kaito shrugged in response. "You have your hobbies, I have mine."

The boys talked for some time, until they decided they should try and get some rest, heading back to their rooms. They couldn't wait, and to them, it seemed their blood didn't want to wait either. They would have no choice but to try and calm themselves, though. The rest of the night went on silently, as if nothing had happened.