File Ten: A Kudou's Carol

"Scrumptious eggnog, Ran! Perfect after a long day," chirped Suzuki Sonoko, taking another eager sip of the thick, golden liquid from her glass. Though the evening was frigid and snow blanketed all of Beika, Sonoko came for her promised visit, knowing that this night promised to be a busy one for the police and their unofficial savior. "Too bad Chibi-chan can't try some. Is he still outside, making that snowman?"

"Sonoko! His name is Conan, not Chibi-chan!" Ran loved her friend, but did not necessarily love her choice of nicknames—especially when they confused Kudou Conan with Edogawa Conan. Of course, Shin'ichi had never liked the nickname, either. "And I'm not giving him any rum."

"Oh, that's right . . . his grandpa drank enough for everyone at your party last night, huh? Enough to sing all the way home?" quipped Sonoko, waving a hand in the air and leaning on the chestnut dining room table with a smirk.

Ran rose from the table and removed the pewter snack tray between them with staid satisfaction. "Yes, and now he's nursing a hangover and getting yelled at by Mom, which is exactly what he deser—"

"Mommy!" cried a thin voice from the foyer, muffled by the walls. "Quick, come outside! They sound so beautiful!"

"Huh? Who's he talking about?" Sonoko blinked as she slid from her chair and followed Ran to the front door.

Ran winked and put a finger to her lips. When they reached the door, they searched past the falling crystals of white and saw a group of six teenagers huddled in puffy coats and scarves. From their fogged mouths, blending in simple, sweet harmonies from the gate of the Kudou residence, rose a Christmas carol.

"Oh! Wonderful!" gasped Sonoko, gripping the doorjamb and wedging her head beneath Ran's. "Do they do this every year?"

Conan nodded with an enormous smile on his round, rosy face. "Yeah! The middle school chorus goes around in groups to sing carols at everyone's house. It looks like a lot of fun!" Conan paused and touched a finger to his chin in thought. "Hey, Mommy, do you think I can do that when I'm bigger?"

Suddenly, Ran averted her gaze and blushed—which failed to escape Sonoko's notice in the least.

"What's the problem?" Sonoko asked, wrapping the sleeves of her angora sweater around herself for warmth. "It's no big deal to sing in the chorus. Chibi-chan'll do fine, as long as he doesn't take after—"

Bursting with eagerness, Conan joined in the refrain of Angels We Have Heard On High . . .

"Glooooooooooooooooria!"

In fifteen different keys, ten of which possessed no former existence in the musical world.

Sonoko twitched. "—his father."

"Um, g-good job honey!" Ran exclaimed, hugging Conan tightly and trying her darnedest not to shudder.

But Sonoko clicked her tongue; after Ran disengaged her son, she took Ran by the elbow and whispered in her ear. "You know what you'll get if you encourage him?"

Ran, oblivious, shook her head.

" . . . another William Hung."

Frozen amid frost, snow, and fear, the two women gaped at Conan—who proceeded to sing his off-key heart out. And as the middle schoolers began another chorus of Joy to the World, accompanied by the wavering pitch of the youngest Kudou, Ran grabbed Sonoko's arm like a lifeline. If there was no way to repair the tone-deafness Conan inherited, Ran could only hope that her son would soon cease to 'repeat, repeat the sounding joy'.