When Conan woke up he found himself back in Kogoro's room. He slowly sat up, took a huge yawn and stretched out his arms. Surprisingly, he felt perfectly fine. No dizziness, no cough, no fever, and no headache. He must've slept it off. But, then, he had to have been asleep for quite a bit; it usually took him a while to get over a fever.
Conan noticed a slightly crumpled newspaper left on Kogoro's bed. He walked over to it and.. yeah. He was out for at least three days. Conan sighed and sat back down on his futon.
He saw an article on the murder that Shinichi solved a few pages in. Although it never mentioned Shinichi once and accredited it to Hattori. He was glad that Ran had actually heard him that time. He was actually quite curious as to who the murderer really was and.. it was the wife? Conan never even considered that it wasn't even a locked room in the first place. He guessed his deductive skills still needed some work. (Well, he was actually a child so getting close is still quite an achievement. And Hattori had come to the same conclusion as him and he was a famous detective.)
Oh, and he's going to have to come up with some sort of excuse of how he "got his body back" to Agasa, too. He doesn't think he would hear about Shinichi showing up too soon, but he'd hear about eventually, and it'd be suspicious if Conan would wait to tell him such an important thing. Theoretically, if he actually was Shinichi and had shrunk because of a drug, that means he'd have to take something that would act as the antidote and turn him back. But was there anything he ingested before the case that wasn't something he's ever had before? Oh yeah, the Paikaru. It might be a bit of a stretch but it should work. And if Agasa wants him to try it again, he'll probably just conclude that he built an immunity to it.
Conan then heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and turned towards the door as it opened.
"Oh, you're awake Conan-kun!" Ran said as she bent down to him. "How do you feel?"
"I'm better now!" He said, exuding a childish sweetness to his voice. "I think I slept off the fever."
"That's great! Ah, well.. you should go get dressed."
"Huh?"
"Your friends are here." She pointed over to the hallway and Conan saw three faces poking through the doorway.
"Conan-kun!" His friends greeted. Conan didn't let the disappointment he felt show on his face lest he want to invoke the wrath of Ran. Dealing with these three was the last thing he wanted to do immediately after waking up from a three day, fever induced slumber. (Well, he was being a bit mean; he did feel perfectly fine.)
Conan gave them a wave and a proper greeting. Ran and the others soon left to let Conan get ready and he then met his friends outside. They started walking towards the library because they wanted to help him with a book report he missed while he was absent (well at least Ayumi did).
When they got there, while the three went off somewhere to goof off, he secretly brought out his phone to inform Yusaku of when he saw Shinichi (taking care to mention that he was out for a few days so he would get mad at him for not telling him immediately), which in turn caused him to start wondering what exactly he was doing with this information and why he needed it so soon. What could he do about a mafia centered in Japan while staying in America? And he must've gotten in contact with Shinichi through Ran at this point, so why did he still need Conan to tell him about where Shinichi was. He quickly asked if Yusaku had got Shinichi's number yet while his phone was out. He was told that Ran didn't actually have Shinichi's number and was being texted through some burner phone, and that Shinichi was always the one who called Ran. Conan sent back a quick affirmation and put away his phone to get back to his report.
After getting hunted down and almost murdered by the library owner, Conan made his way back to the detective agency, completely exhausted. When he walked in, he saw Ran sadly looking out the window, sitting on the office chair.
"Ran-neechan..?" Conan tentatively asked. He decided not to tell her of his last nighttime escapade just yet, not wanting to worry her.
Ran startled a bit and turned to meet him. "C-Conan-kun..."
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, it's nothing." She said with a fake smile. Conan walked up next to and gave her a worried look, as if prompting her to continue.
Ran sighed. "It's just.. Shinichi." She said. "He hasn't contacted me since we met a few days ago. I've texted him multiple times but he hasn't replied. And I know he said he's dealing with this big case and he doesn't know when he'll finish, but.. I just want to know if he's okay..."
Conan stayed silent, not knowing what to say. It pained him to see her this sad. He's grown quite attached to her over time as a sort of sister figure. But, he couldn't exactly blame Shinichi. It was probably the best idea to just cut contact with anyone you know when you're hiding from a huge criminal organization who thinks that you're dead. Conan sadly looked downward.
"I shouldn't be telling you this." Ran sighed. "You're just a child... Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed. "Me and Sonoko are going to karaoke this weekend. Wanna come?"
Conan had never been to karaoke, but if it'll make Ran happier...
"Sure!" He said with a smile.
Their conversation soon ended and they both went off to bed.
Over the next few days, Ran seemed to cheer up a bit and Conan begrudgingly had to tell Agasa the lie he made up for why Shinichi showed up.. which ended up with Conan getting drunk again. It was far worse than last time because he had much more than just a sip, although he didn't exactly remember it. But the hangover he had to deal with the next day was a nightmare. He could never understand how Kogoro enjoys this.
But, the weekend had eventually arrived and Conan was walking to the karaoke place with Sonoko and Ran. Sonoko was talking Ran's ear off as usual, but at least Ran seemed to be in much higher spirits. They were around halfway there when Conan suddenly realized he forgot an important detail.
How good is Shinichi at singing?
It wouldn't be too good if he was really good or something. Conan wasn't bad per say but he definitely wasn't good either. Well, he could just pretend as if he's intentionally singing worse as a layer to his disguise. But if Shinichi was really bad... It's not like he'd be able to change that.
Conan discretely brought out his phone and sent Yusaku a quick text.
How good at singing is Shinichi?
Completely tone-deaf. Why?
Conan quietly groaned, dreading the next few hours. He quickly sent back an answer.
We're going to karaoke and I just want to make sure I'm accurate.
Good luck.
Conan put his phone away and tried to ignore the foreboding message.
"We're here!" Sonoko suddenly said. Conan looked up at the building and gulped as they entered. They found a room and Ran and Sonoko started singing and having their fun. But soon, the feared moment had arrived.
"Do you want to sing, Conan-kun?" Ran asked, holding out the microphone.
"Ah, no!" Conan furiously shook his head. "I'm really bad."
"Come on. You can't be that bad." Ran said.
"No, really..." Conan tried to reason.
"Hey brat!" Sonoko yelled at him. Conan glared up at her. "Just get up there. I wanna see how bad you really are."
"Sonoko..." Ran sighed.
Well, if Sonoko really wanted to hear, then Conan will deliver.
"O-okay." Conan grabbed the microphone from Ran and walked up to the karaoke machine. Ran gave him a kind and encouraging smile, while Sonoko had a smirk on her face.
He picked a song and took a deep breath. What next came out of his mouth, he tried to make the most off tune and horrible singing he ever heard, and, based off the looks on the girls' faces, it seemed he succeeded. It was hard for Conan not to cringe and keep a straight face throughout the song, but he managed. (Well, perhaps Shinichi wasn't this bad, but the look of fear and regret on Sonoko's face was too satisfying.) Maybe this karaoke visit wouldn't be too bad.
When Conan had finally finished the song, the sheer relief shown on the girls' faces was almost startling.
Conan utilized his acting abilities to try and look sad and embarrassed. He hung his head and said with an ashamed tone, "See, I told you I was bad..."
"Yeah, you suck!" Sonoko yelled, not without a sharp elbow to her side from Ran.
"You weren't that bad, Conan-kun." Ran politely said. "You just need a bit more practice."
Oh, Ran. She is so nice.
"Really?" Conan sheepishly said.
"Yeah!" Ran assured, putting a hand over Sonoko's mouth to prevent her from discouraging the boy.
A smirk came upon Conan's face but he disguised it as a cheerful smile. "Then.. can I try another song?" He asked.
Ran's and Sonoko's eyes both widened in fear.
"S-sure..." Ran said with slight shakiness in her voice.
"Okay!" Conan went to picking another song and soon began the torture again. As he went on Sonoko started to look defeated and squeezed her hands over her ears, desperately trying to block out the noise, and Ran somehow sat through it all with just a strained smile.
Poor Ran. She really didn't deserve this.
As much as he was enjoying causing Sonoko pain, singing intentionally in such a way got exhausting after a few songs, and he started to feel bad for Ran.
"I'm tired..." He yawned.
"Really!?" Ran looked up at him hopefully. "We can go home if you want." She excitedly suggested.
"Yeah." Conan finally decided to end the girls' torture. They both sighed and looked at each other with immense relief.
They gladly left the karaoke place and talked about some concert they were going to next week, on their way back home.
A week later, Ran was just about to go meet up with Sonoko for their concert and Conan was going to have some precious free time to start a new Sherlock book, but the detective boys just had to come over and ruin it for him. He would've just lied to them or something but Ran was still there and she would not allow that.
So, Conan was currently playing hide-and-seek at some park. He would've preferred to play soccer so he could try to get better and at least do something productive. But alas, Conan was forced into seeking for his friends. And Genta had kicked the can into a large crowd of people which would take even longer. But, why was there a crowd anyway? He didn't remember any sort of event going on here.
"Oh, Conan!" Conan perked up and looked toward the sound of his name. He saw Sonoko and Ran, who was holding a bouquet of flowers. "What are you doing here?" Ran asked.
"Nothing much. Why are you here?" He asked.
"It's that concert I told you about." She answered
"Ah, so that was here..." He thought aloud. "What are the flowers for?"
"Well, the show starts in six hours, but we might be able to give them to those two if we arrive early."
"Huh..? Those two?" He asked.
"Oh, you know. It could only be Two Mix."
"Two Mix..?" He brought a hand to his chin in thought.
"You don't know them!?" Ran gasped. "You're kidding."
"Takayama Minami and Nagano Shiina are only like the most popular pop duo right now." Sonoko said.
"Hmm..? Never heard of them."
"Of course you haven't." Sonoko scoffed. Conan gave her a glare.
Ran slightly grimaced as she remembered the karaoke a week ago. "Yeah... Conan doesn't seem too interested in music, like Shinichi."
Conan pretended not to understand the subtle insults they had thrown his way.
The conversation was stopped when Conan heard his friends call out to him.
"Hey Conan!" He heard Ayumi yell, as he turned around to see three angry faces.
"What are you doing?" Genta angrily asked.
"Please be more serious." Mitsuhiko grumbled.
"Ah, sorry..." Conan apologized. He rushed over to them and started to walk back. They all turned and waved goodbye to Ran and Sonoko.
"So what's with all these people?"
"Apparently there's a Two Mix concert today." Conan explained.
"Two Mix!?" They yelled in surprise. Them too? Of course. Conan just sighed and continued walking, as the detective boys started excitedly talking about the duo.
"They're so cool!"
"Didn't they sing the Kamen Yaiba theme song?"
"Maybe we can see the concert!"
Conan gave them a look. "Don't you guys know we'd need tickets?" He pointed out.
"We should find the entrance." They continued on, completely ignoring him.
Conan quietly groaned. At least with him there, they probably won't get caught. But they'll definitely be hard to deal with, especially if he's trying to quietly sneak them in.
Suddenly, someone ran into them and accidentally knocked them all to the ground.
"Ah! Sorry!" The person immediately apologized.
The detective boys all looked up at them, and Conan noticed his friends eyes widening with excitement.
Ayumi gasped and yelled, pointing an outstretched finger at the girl, "Takayama Mina-!"
She was interrupted when a hand shot over her mouth. The crowd around them quieted and murmurs could be heard from within. The pop idol panicked and glanced around nervously, unsure of what to do. Then, she laughed and started acting in a much more boyish manner, and offered the kids lunch.
His friends had ordered some of the most expensive items on the menu, so, out of consideration of the poor girl's wallet, Conan just got a soda.
Minami then started to talk about how she and her partner have been receiving threatening letters and suspicious photos. She was also trying to contact Shiina because he still hadn't shown up despite the show being soon. The detective boys, being the overactive children that they are, offered to help with her problems.
Conan thought she sounded strangely familiar, but he couldn't place why, before Mitsuhiko pointed out that they sounded very similar. Their voices were practically the same with only a difference in inflection. Conan quietly let out a dry chuckle. It was almost as if they could be related or something.
Minami made a joking suggestion that Conan could take over for her, but Ayumi plainly said that he was tone deaf (hearing it from Sonoko's dramatic recap of their karaoke visit). Geez, at times the kids could be even more ruthless than Sonoko with their brutal honesty.
Minami wanted to try and call Shiina, but she left her phone at the concert hall and the restaurant phone was currently occupied. Conan was about to offer her his earring cellphone, when a call came in for Minami, the man having just finished. He watched as she walked over to answer. He heard her address the person on the other end as Shiina, so that issue was finally solved. She then hung up the phone and looked out the window at the car by the street. She slowly walked out to it and looked in curiously.
Then, they watched as Minami was forcibly pushed into a car, which then sped off down the street. A famous pop idol really just got kidnapped in front of a semi crowded restaurant, in the middle of the street, and in broad daylight. And seemingly no one else noticed?
The kids rushed out to the street.
Conan sighed, for probably the millionth time that day, and called up Megure.
Conan and the rest of the detective boys walked out of the bathroom. With a slight blush, Conan tugged down the hood of Ayumi's outfit to try and conceal his features.
The culprits had wanted specifically the kids to deliver the bag (which Conan had readily agreed to, much to the dismay of the police), so that they would lose the police. Conan had realized this after a long cat and mouse game, all controlled by the criminals. He'd also realized they specifically wanted the tape, with them asking for Ayumi to deliver it being the final piece of evidence. And, when looking at the lyrics for the demo tape, he had figured out their motive too.
But, Conan wouldn't allow his friends to be in possible danger, so he concocted this plan to switch places with Ayumi. And it seemed it was working perfectly. Not a single police officer gave them an odd look or noticed the ponytail "Conan" had and his missing bowtie.
The detective boys rushed into the train, and Conan pretended to trip and be left behind. It seemed a couple of officers had gotten into the train after the others and Conan quietly slipped away as the rest of the police were distracted.
He ran to where the culprits had specified the next phone call would be. He answered it and discreetly spoke into the bowtie, so that if they were watching, they wouldn't notice.
Eventually, he was led to an abandoned area, just a bit far off from the train station. The criminal, through the phone, instructed him to go to the building behind him and deliver the tape. He walked up the stairs and, when the door opened, he tranquilized the guard with a smirk.
He vaguely wondered where the other criminal was, but saving the hostages was the top priority. And, besides, the police should be getting there soon.
He walked up to Minami and Shiina, reassured them, and helped them out of the ropes.
"You're the boy from... Why are you here?" Minami asked.
"I was ordered to deliver this tape." He answered, bringing the tape out of the dress's pocket.
"Oh, yeah. They kept asking us about it." Minami recalled.
"But, why would they want it?" Shiina wondered.
"Well, I'll tell you after we get out of here. We have to leave before the other guy comes back." Conan said while he finished untying the ropes. "The police should be on their way."
"The police?" Shiina asked.
"Yeah, with the tracking glasses," Conan said. "They'll get the signal from my badge." He took out his badge and showed them.
"Oh, are these the pairs?" A new voice suddenly said from behind Conan. He whipped around and saw a man, holding his friends hostage, who were all tied up. The man flicked the glasses onto the floor with a clatter.
"Huh?" Conan stared at his friends. The man kicked them to the ground. "W-why didn't you give them to the police!?" He yelled.
"B-because..." Ayumi fearfully said.
"Well, you can argue all you want. You'll have plenty of time..." The man began as he rustled around in his coat. "-In the afterlife that is!" He brought out a gun and, with a loud bang, shot the gas canister behind Conan. The sparks from the impact ignited a fire. "You can all burn together. Isn't that nice?" He opened the door, ready to walk out.
"Wait!" Minami yelled out to him, stopping him. "At least tell us why you kidnapped us!" She asked with an angry yell.
"Tch. Why don't you ask someone up in heaven?"
"The bell for the Count Down is ringing." Conan suddenly began, stepping in front of the flames. The man turned to look at him with confusion and brimming anger. "Telling you to start fresh and run out of there. See, it still rings. One, two, like out-of-season fireworks."
"Hey, brat!" The criminal shouted.
"Those are the lyrics to the new Two Mix song, and also the motive for your kidnapping." Conan continued. "Isn't that right, Miyahara Satoshi?" The man growled and gave Conan a furious glare.
Conan then began his deduction, as the flames raged on in the background.
The man had killed someone at the shrine shrine and framed it as self defense. He took the gun he used to shoot him and placed it in the victim's hand then fired a bullet into the ground, to make it look like it wasn't his gun. Then, he replaced the cartridge with an empty one to make it seem like only one shot was fired, so it would look like self defense. However, the two had heard both shots, and had based their lyrics on it. So, he decided to kidnap them and destroy the demo tape.
Miyahara then laughed and tore off his disguise, proving Conan correct. He told his motive for the murder, that the man had been blackmailing him for money, threatening to go to the police about a robbery they had committed a few years ago.
He backed away towards the door, keeping his gun pointed at them,and taunted them some more. As soon as he left and the door shut, Conan rushed to it but it was already locked. Shiina tried breaking it down and Conan even tried using his shoes, but to no avail.
Conan heard all his friends start to cough and he turned to them in worry.
"C-can't breathe..." Mistuhiko said with his hands on his knees.
"There's too much smoke..." Genta coughed out.
"Hey, you guys!" Conan yelled out. "Make sure you stay low to the ground-" But he was cut off as he started furiously coughing as well, inhaling too much smoke.
Minami put a hand to his back with worry. "Conan!"
Conan looked up at her as he got over his coughing fit. His eyes widened as he saw the cellphone earring on her ear, with an idea forming in his mind.
"The earring!" He shouted pointing at it. Minami's hand went up to her ear and she looked at it with confusion. "Give it to me." He said with an outstretched hand.
"O-okay." She complied, unclipping it and handing it over.
"Everyone, go over there, beside the door!" He instructed.
Once everyone was gathered, he explained his plan. They all gave him a firm nod. Conan then took out the earring and plugged in the number he remembered from the police. He put it up to his ear as it rang. Once it was picked up, he immediately turned around and gave them a nod.
Then, a cacophony of exclamations of joy erupted from them. "We've all escaped and are already with the police!" They all joyfully yelled into the earring.
A very surprised, "Huh!?" Came from the other side.
"Why don't you go and see!" Conan taunted.
He heard a shuffling sound, presumably the man putting his phone down and rushing to see, and a muffled, "No way!"
Conan gave everyone a thumbs up as a sign the plan was working. Minami and Shiina gripped their pipes, bracing themselves.
The door slammed open and they all silently watched as the man looked around. The two brought up their pipes and slammed them down on him, knocking him to the ground. Conan bent down, turned the dial on his shoes, and kicked him straight in the face, just to make sure. (He would've preferred to kick something at him instead of just kicking him directly, but he wasn't that confident in his aim yet.)
Conan and his friends then walked out to finally get some fresh air, as the other two dragged their kidnapper outside. Conan brought out the earring again and called up the police. They soon arrived and rushed them to the concert hall, with Miyahara being taken to the station in a separate car.
When they arrived, they could already hear the furious shouts of the fans, and they weren't even in the building yet. Conan sighed as they were led in. Despite promising that they'd get them back before the show started, they were already 30 minutes late.
As they were walking through some hallway, Minami turned to them and said, "Why don't you guys head over to backstage. We'll both go and get ready." The other detective boys looked at each other excitedly.
"Backstage?" Conan asked.
"Yeah, I want to introduce you to everyone." She answered with a wink.
Everyone?
Conan felt his stomach drop. He really hoped she didn't mean the whole crowd of people, angrily awaiting the two's arrival.
"Come on, Conan-kun!" Ayumi yelled back at him, while the other two ran off down the hallway. Looking at the girl, Conan suddenly realized that they were both still wearing each other's clothes. With a blush, he wondered how he could just completely forget that he was wearing such a cutesy dress.
"Ah, wait Ayumi!" He called after her. "Shouldn't we change first?" He gestured at their outfits.
"Oh yeah." She realized.
They found a nearby bathroom, quickly switched outfits, and soon found Mitsuhiko and Genta waiting for them by the door to the backstage.
They were, quite immediately, yelled at by the staff when they entered, but their anger soon turned to relief when Conan told them that Minami said to come here. Conan took a look around and, unsurprisingly, saw his friends messing around with all the technology. He just sighed and shook his head at his friend's antics.
Ayumi and Mitsuhiko knew well enough not to actually touch anything, but Genta had to be restrained by one of the staff when he pushed one of the buttons and accidentally started the music.
The crowd erupted with joy while the crew broke into a nervous frenzy. Out of the corner of his eye, Conan noticed a lone microphone just sitting on a table and he recalled what Mitsuhiko had said back at the restaurant.
Conan furiously shook his head and facepalmed for even considering the idea.
First of all, if he wanted to keep up this charade of being Shinichi he'd have to subject a whole crowd of people to the abhorrent singing, which would obviously anger them. And even if he sang with his actual voice, it wouldn't be nearly good enough to pass as a professional pop star's.
The audience would just have to wait a bit.
Minami and her partner soon arrived, much to the relief of the staff, and, although the fans were confused as to why the music restarted, they were more excited when all the lights and special effects came on too.
Conan sighed in relief, but was startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Minami handing out a microphone to him. He quickly shook his head as a sign that he did not want to go on stage. But, Minami insisted, moving it closer to him with a reassuring smile.
He hesitated and stared at the microphone.
Well, a small part of him did want to sing live on stage. Who would he be if he just gave up this opportunity?
He reached his hand up and grabbed it. Minami gave him a smile, grabbed his hand and led him on stage.
At the sight of the sheer amount of people along with the spotlight right on him, Conan's heart rate shot up and he began to shrink away, regretting his decision. But with an assuring squeeze from Minami combined with seeing his friends all happily sing next to them, his fear began to ebb.
As the song went on, Conan started to actually have some fun, although he only had enough courage to lip-sync instead of actually sing. And, the audience seemed to love it.
After the song, the detective boys all went back to backstage (Conan gladly but the others sadly) and Conan was finally able to let his nerves calm down after the long and eventful day.