Disclaimer: There's no way my fanfiction could ever replace Aoyama-sensei's original work.

A/N: First of all, I'd like to thank anonymous reviewrs animeseeker72pinay and Lurker for pointing out my overdescription in Chapter 2: Winds of Change. (Although I don't think there's any sense in thanking Lurker since he most probably stopped reading at Chapter 2.)

I'd also like to thank Mat49324 and Ivory Petals (formerly known as Himiko Azora) for reviewing.

Please don't be decieved by the chapter title. The chapter might not seem exciting, but something important is going to happen at the end.

I'm going to fix that horrible overdescription soon and edit the rest of the chapters--a style change prior to this chapter maybe.

Thanks for supporting my not-so-great work. Anyway, on to the story!

The Call of Death by Detective Conan Addict

Chapter 7: An Unexpected Surprise

…a tanned teenage male. He was wearing his usual Sax baseball cap, a pale blue shirt, a beige jacket, a pair of denim pants, and black rubber shoes. Together with the man was a female of the same age as him. She was a bit shorter and had a fairer complexion compared to her companion. Her hair was tied using a pink ribbon, which accentuated her outfit: a white sleeveless blouse with a huge horizontal pink stripe right below the chest, an ordinary pink miniskirt, a pair of plain ivory-colored socks, and a pair of white sneakers with a pink stripe running across diagonally.

"Hattori-kun! Kazuha-chan! What are you doing here?"

"We're visiting you of course!" was Kazuha's nonchalant reply.

"Told you we should have called first, ahou," Heiji bluntly told his companion, with a smirk on his face and his eyes piercingly staring at her face. Kazuha's eyebrows furrowed while her eyes narrowed.

"Who are you calling an ahou, ahou?!" Kazuha spat back loudly. "I thought it would have been more fun to surprise them!"

"It's fine, really!" Ran interjected, just in time to stop an ahou-calling contest between her two visitors. "Have you guys eaten breakfast already? We were just eating before you two came. I'm sure there's still some food left."

"Thanks, neechan," Heiji politely replied. "I am kind of hungry."

"What are you talking about?!" Kazuha shouted in her companion's ear. And in a lower tone of voice, she added, "We just ate on the train!"

"It's no problem, really," insisted Ran, who was fearful of another ahou-calling contest between her Osakan friends.

"Okay, if you say so." Kazuha coolly responded. "C'mon, Heiji, let's go to the kitchen."

Ran led the way to the kitchen, followed by Heiji and Kazuha, who managed not to squabble or call each other "ahou" in that short period of time. As soon as they reached their destination, Ran directed the two teenagers from the Kansai region to sit down while she prepared their food. The Kansai Detective was about take his seat beside Kazuha when he noticed a cabinet with glass panels. Inside the cabinet was a hoard of supplements—supplements which he believed were not there the last time he and Kazuha went to Tokyo.

"Neechan," Heiji asked, "what are all those supplements for?"

"Well, umm…those are…" Ran nervously replied. "Those are for my father….Well, you see, umm…last week…he's been…he's been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis."

"I see." Heiji calmly replied.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kazuha inquired.

"The doctor said that there's no hope for a cure." Ran quietly answered, ignorant of the fact that her father was still there. "He could only extend my father's lifespan. The doctor said that people who are afflicted with this disease generally live for five to nine years."

"Y'know," Heiji pointed out in his usual Osakan accent, "I remember reading in an article somewhere that a hot spring bath is good for the liver."

"Hey, that sounds like a good idea." Ran agreed.

The sound of Ran's voice agreeing to a hot spring bath made Conan want to cough his food out. 'A hot spring bath! What if Ran makes me take a bath with her again?!' His brain then began to flood with memories of Kogoro's reunion with his former classmates in judo. One of them was especially vivid: a naked Ran scrubbing Conan's tiny body before they entered the spring—an experience that made his nose bleed. This time was no different.

The scarlet-colored liquid that slowly trickled out of the not-so-innocent child's nostrils interrupted an ongoing discussion about a trip to the hot springs next week. The tanned Osakan was the first one to notice.

"Ku—Conan's nose is bleeding!"

Ran hurriedly ran out of the room to get the first aid kit in the bathroom's medicine cabinet. She was followed by Kazuha. Only Heiji, Conan, and Kogoro (who was starring at Conan's bloody face) remained.

Heiji sat near Conan and whispered something in the boy's ear. "You were thinking something perverted, weren't you?"

"Of course not!" Conan furiously rejected his friend's accusation. He stood up from his seat and marched out of the room, with an angry look in his eyes, a pout on his face, and the blood on his nose gradually dried up.

"Wait, Kudou, I didn't mean it like that!" Hattori yelled as he stood up and ran after the sulking kid, not noticing the fact that Ran's father heard him call Conan "Kudou."

'What's with those two?' Kogoro thought as decided to resume the task of eating his breakfast. 'I can't understand kids these days.'

The not-child was sitting down on the azure-colored sofa, still brooding. He was inwardly using all the curse words he knew back at Hattori. These series of curses were interrupted by a familiar Osakan accent.

"You didn't have to take it so badly, y'know." Hattori Heiji was right behind him.

"Oi!" Conan defended himself. "It wasn't like I wanted to take a bath with her!"

"So you're worried about that happening again? I'll tell neechan that I'll be the one to scrub you then," Hattori told Conan.

"I don't need you to scrub me! I can scrub myself!" Conan rejected.

"I can't believe you took that seriously!" Hattori remarked. "As if I'll ever scrub you!"

"Good." Conan responded.

As the confrontation between the two detectives ended, Ran and Kazuha entered the room.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Ran said with a sign of relief on her face. She then started to treat Conan's nosebleed.

"Why'd you bring Conan-kun down here, you ahou?!" Kazuha yelled. "Do you know how much time it took us to find you two?!"

"It wasn't my fault! It was Ku—Conan's fault! I just followed him here!" Heiji yelled back with the same intensity.

"Why would Conan come down here in the first place, you lying ahou?!"

And so the argument between the Kansai couple continued until lunch. Their relentless yells at one another were heard throughout the agency. Their noise could even be heard in the coffee shop downstairs, scaring away potential customers. Even potential clients of the Mouri Detective Agency were unsure of ringing the doorbell.

Conan and Ran returned to the kitchen to finish their breakfast. The latter decided to save the food she was preparing for her guests' lunch later—it didn't seem like they were going to eat breakfast after all. After finishing their food, they planned to return to the office and watch the two bicker—they found the quarrels between the Osakan teenagers to be very entertaining.

Kogoro had already finished his food and wanted to watch Okino Yoko on the television set in his office but he found the Osakan youths' ruckus to be very disturbing in his quest to see the pop star perform. He decided to retire to his room and sleep.

It was the day of their trip to the hot springs. Kogoro had rented (because he couldn't afford one) a car for their use on their outing. He was driving, of course. He didn't want that Osakan kid (who had his own motorcycle) to damage the vehicle. The rent's expensive enough as it is without having to pay for damages.

The sky above the highway never looked bluer. Fluffy white cirrus clouds were slowly passing by and birds were fluttering through the azure heavens. The fields which surrounded them were very much verdant. A cow would be occasionally spotted here and there. The teenagers—and even Conan—were in such awe watching the picturesque view that they even forgot to gorge themselves with the tons of junk food they brought along with them. Kogoro, on the other hand, was concentrating on his driving.

They finally reached their destination. It was tiny secluded ryokan 1 near the mountains with various (yet refreshing) hot springs about. Almost everything was surrounded with trees. The surroundings were surprisingly not foggy. Everyone (even Kogoro) in the automobile got off and adored the marvelous view—a view even more marvelous than the ones they had seen on their way here. An invigorating mountain breeze filled their lungs, and all felt revitalized. The elder detective was most probably the one who benefited the most from this excursion to such an idyllic place like this. You could say it was paradise.

After partaking in the intoxicating view, the party of five entered the ryokan (1). The floor was wooden and the walls were made with paper. In front of them was a tall, mahogany-colored desk. Behind it was a youthful-looking woman, wearing a long-sleeved vermillion kimono with a maroon obi (2) around her waist.

"Welcome, everyone."

Ran was the first to approach the aquamarine-eyed woman. "We'd like to use the hot springs, please."

"Is this only for today, miss?" the ebony-haired woman enquired.

"Hai," replied Ran.

"Will lunch be included, miss?"

"Hai."

The kimono-clad woman thus continued to ask Ran questions regarding the use of the facilities. The karate champion only had one answer, "hai." After a series of questions, there was plenty of bowing between the two. The woman was about to give Ran their yukata (3) and furoshiki (4), when Kogoro attempted to flirt in his usual loud tone, his eyes enlarging to four times its original size as he spoke.

"Would you like to go out with me sometime?"

The attendant's jaw suddenly dropped in aghast. There was a startled look in her eyes.

"Zip it, Dad!" Ran butted in. She looked at her and bowed back. "Please excuse my father."

The attendant thus continued her job of handing Ran their yukata and furoshiki. She then directed them to the baths and other facilities of the ryokan. "Lunch will be at twelve o'clock sharp. Please enjoy your stay."

Ran then proceeded to distributing to everyone their yukata and furoshiki. As she gave Conan his articles of clothing, she asked him, "How about we take a bath together with Kazuha-chan?"

Conan gave the male Osakan an imploring please-save-me look. Ran was oblivious to that; Heiji was otherwise.

"Neechan," Heiji told her, "I'll give him a bath if'ya don't mind."

"Oh." Ran muttered. "Is that fine with you, Conan-kun?"

"Mm!" Conan responded. It was one of those very rare moments where he refused to tag along with his 'neechan.' 'That was close,' he thought.

The boys and the girls split up in the direction of their respective baths. They first scrubbed themselves of their impurities before going in their respective hot springs. The day idly passed by as they soaked their worries away—even for only that ephemeral moment.

After a scrumptious kaiseki-ryori (5) meal, everyone decided to play some ping-pong. At the moment, Ran was playing against her father. Conan and Heiji were intensely staring at the game; Kazuha was cheering for her friend Ran.

It was now Ran's turn to serve the ball. She hit the ball with a huge amount of force using her forehand. Kogoro wanted to hit the ball, but he couldn't. His vision of the ball was hazy; Ran's face was unrecognizable. The spectators of the game all seemed to blend into the background. The ball hit the paper wall behind Kogoro and at the same time the elder detective collapsed on the floor.

"DAD!!!"

And at that moment, time stood still.

Notes:

(1) Ryokan - a Japanese inn

(2) Obi - a sash worn around the waist area of the kimono

(3) Yukata - a cotton robe

(4) Furoshiki - a rectangular piece of cloth worn around the waist area of the yukata

(5) Kaiseki-ryori - a traditional Japanese set meal consisting of many courses.