A/N: This is my first Meitantei Conan fanfiction, though the idea for this has been in my head for some time. It will be a multichapter, I'm not sure how long it will be in the end, since I'm still in the process of writing it. I will however finish this, simply because its one of my Golden Rules^^ English is my second language and therefore it is possible that some typo's escaped my notice, though I did do my utmost to find them all. If you find a typo or a misused word, notify me and I'll change it. And don't be put off by the way I write, its simply my style^^

Warning: This is a very dark fanfiction and deals with issues that are not for the weak-hearted! Issues like kidnapping and torture, including terrible deaths and psychological terror and the aftereffects of it will be depicted herein. It you do not feel up for this, do not read! I have put it under the rating of T, simply because I feel it does not yet warrant a M-rating (despite the issues discussed here). So if you chose to ignore the rating, consider yourself warned then. Read at your own risk!

Disclaimer: The characters of Meitantei Conan are not mine, I do not make profit from this and therefore you can't sue me. However, the killer is my own invention and may not be copied or used without my exclusive permission!

Summary: A dangerous killer is stalking Tokyo's children. Will out favourite detective be able to stop the murderer preying on children?

Reviews are appreciated, but keep in mind that English is my second language. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but try to be polite. Also, this fiction includes only CANON-PAIRINGS!

Now, enjoy!

EDIT: Erased a few typos and changed some details... Noticed them when I read through the entire thing again^^ Will check the other chappies, to make sure they're air-tight too^^

Friday, 20th August 2011

Location unknown

It had begun again. That now all too familiar pull had returned. He could feel it, like a small animal burrowing through his brain, snatching at synapses and gnawing away at him. Vainly he tried to suppress it. Tried to stop the animal from gnawing further. He hated it when it happened. He couldn't remember then.

And lately, the lapses in memory had lengthened. And the periods between his memory loss had shortened. He didn't know why it happened, simply knew that it did. But by now he had come to understand that the pull he felt, that imaginary animal gnawing in his brain, somehow preceded the event. That it was the first thing he felt before he lost recollection. Soon, the animal inside would continue on to the next stage, at which point he would not be able to stop it anymore.

Sitting in the darkening gloom of night, while the shadows lengthened and the light faded, he tried to reel whatever was inside him back in. He grasped the small bottle of white pills, his fingers shaking while the animal gnawed on, reaching a point he was also familiar with. It was maddening, to be aware of it, but unable to stop it.

Thats right... You cannot stop it... you never will be able to...

Oh no, that voice again. Shaking his head while frantically opening the bottle, he tried his best to ignore. If he could ignore it just a bit longer, he'd take the medicine and the voice would be gone, just like the doctor had promised him. It would help. The medicine would help. Grasping two of the pills with his fingers, he popped them into his mouth, immediately biting down on them. That way they'd work faster.

Slowly, there was a sound. A quiet tune, somewhere out of space. He knew that melody. He knew it, but he had taken the medicine, he should not be able to hear it now, the medicine was supposed to help him, it was supposed to shut everything down. Shaking in earnest now, he covered his ear with his hands, trying to block the sound out.

But it wouldn't stop, it continued on, while the world grew ever darker around him.

I told you you'd not be able to stop it...

Oh, how he wished it would stop. How he wished that voice to be gone forever. How he wished for the medicine to work finally and allow him his life again, without the pull and the voice and the melody.

Too late... I can't be stopped now...

And darkness engulfed him, the animal gnawed on and the melody played, hauntingly and eerie. His mouth curved upwards, bared teeth like a bloodthirsty creature itself.

"No one can stop the Sandman..."

Friday, 27th August 2011

Mouri Detective Agency

Damn it, another one?

That was his very first thought as he sat down to breakfast. Kudo Shinichi, famous high school detective, now trapped behind a pair of fake glasses and a fake name, in the body of a child. Edogawa Conan. The alias he had taken up since his life and everything he was had been shrunken down, quite literally. Since he had seen Vodka in a transaction with someone and Gin had drugged him, intending to kill him. Though unfortunately for them, it hadn't worked and his body had shrunk down to his seven-year-old self, giving him the perfect disguise. Yet, at the very least, he was still alive. Though he had unexpectedly been thrown back into a size he had hoped to leave behind forever, it allowed him to do his own investigation on the Black Organization.

But what had him riled up this specific morning, had nothing to do with the ones who shrunk him, it had to do with the headline of the newspaper Mouri Kogoro was reading. The old man was immersed in the sport articles, so it gave Conan time to read the article printed in bold lettering on the front page.

Another victim of the mysterious killer preying on Tokyo children! Fifth body found!

It was true, lately there had been an increasing number of children going missing, only to turn up dead a few days later. Two days ago, Megure-keibu had visited Kogoro to talk to him about the case and Conan had listened in. Apparently what the paper stated was true, it was the fifth victim in one row. Normally one each month, but this month it had been the second one already. It was enough to drive parents and guardians all over Tokyo into a frenzy of concern, because there could never be a suspect located.

Reading the article while eating, Conan gathered all the facts he could, while ignoring the facts obviously thrown in by the paper to make this gruesome thing even more popular. Though "popular" was not a word that he'd normally associate with "child murderer", sometimes the papers added false facts to make their sales even bigger.

In this case the body discovered was one Higuya Hakano, age 7, living in Shibuya, Toyko. Her body had been discovered by someone walking their dog near a park, stuffed into a plastic bag and dumped into some shrubs. She was still bound and blindfolded, her small body severely beaten. Death by asphyxiation the police said, since there were choking marks on her throat. All in all, it sounded just like the others before young Higuya Hanako.

And though the paper stated it as five victims, in reality it was more like eight victims in total. Only the papers didn't knew that, they hadn't yet connected the first three victims to the rest of the kids being found dead. After all, the police had tried to withhold any form of connection for as long as possible from the press. And the first three were not entirely the same, some small details were slightly different, as if the killer had taken time to perfect his method. But still, it was the same MO, bound, blindfolded, beaten and strangled. All killed within the last seven months.

Conan suspected that before the day was over, Megure-keibu would call and get Kogoro's expertise. Which meant that he'd be able to glean a little more detail, perhaps then he'd even be permitted to say something. But at the very least he'd get some more facts. Without it, he couldn't really do much.

Looking up he saw that Kogoro's face was set in a stern frown, something so intense he rarely got to see it so plainly. The old man had a terrible habit to appear as dense as possible, and often-times he'd not show emotion so plainly, but now it was there. Plain anger. And it was obviously not directed at something he read among the sports column, since he hadn't turned the page for about twenty minutes. His eyes were looking at the newspaper, but they weren't moving, in their intensity nearly singing a hole into the paper. It was obvious that he was thinking about something else. And that something had him pissed. Severely at that.

"Ne, Oji-san? What's wrong?" he dared to ask, amping up the kiddie-voice and succeeded in drawing Ran's father out of his stare. For a moment the old man's eyes fixed themselves upon him and there was something else that flashed through his gaze. It was carefully hidden, but for that one heartbeat, Conan could see it anyway. It was concern. Directed at him, before it was hidden again.

Nonsense, the old man never was concerned about him. Why would he? All the old man ever did was bark at him and give him noogies, sometimes even removing him quite forcefully from a crime scene. There was no way Mouri Kogoro would be concerned about him.

"Nothing, brat! Eat your breakfast and get to school already!" the older man barked right back at him, as was expected. At least he hadn't received a noggie so far.

Not that I have any intention of getting one...

Choosing to accept that whatever bothered Kogoro, he wouldn't tell him anyway, he finished the rest of his breakfast and got his backpack together. Ran was already in her room, picking up her things and she had insisted (really forcefully) that she'd walk him to the spot where he normally met up with the rest of the Shounen Tantei, to make sure he wouldn't be alone on the way.

Safety precaution, I guess...

But then again, with the fact that there was a child killer on the loose, always aiming for kids his age, that safety precaution was not that far fetched after all. And, as the young woman had told him (also quite forcefully), he had a habit of crossing paths with bad guys. Which was true, he stumbled upon murder victims on an average basis of one murder per week and it had been suspiciously quiet before this whole mess started. Chances were that they'd become entangled in the case and Ran worried he might be in trouble in that case. He did have a penchant for attracting crooks.

Still thinking about that, he followed Ran's shout to the door, again amping up the kiddie-act (and hating every minute of it) and was in the process of putting on his sneakers when Kogoro's voice stopped him. Turning around he saw the old man standing in the hallway not five feet away, his arms folded across his chest and his expression amazingly well guarded. But that spark of concern was there again, and it was again directed at Conan.

"Listen, brat! I want you to make sure your friends go nowhere alone. Stick together, there's a child-killer on the loose and I want you all to be careful! You got that?" he growled, narrowing his eyes for a moment at the shrunken detective to get his message across.

"O-okay." Conan managed to answer, before Ran pulled him out of the door.

But while he was walking down the steps, Conan could feel Kogoro's eyes on his back. The old man was actually concerned.

Slowly this is getting weird, he's never concerned about me...

Like, don't like, hate completely? Feel free to leave a review on the first chapter to let me know what you think of this. Second chapter will be online sometime during the next week, I have to look it over first^^

So stay tuned!