And we're back with the second chapter! The next chapter should finish up this introductory case, and then we'll touch a little bit on canon (a touch of the lover's code and some kamaitachi) before it's time for the kuchisake-onna case, take two! As always, thanks for reading!

(don't) believe what you know

chapter two

the pied piper comes at night

The situation was this- sometime during the night, multiple children had disappeared from their beds. There had been no sounds, no noises to wake their parents, who only discovered their children were missing when they went to wake them up in the morning. Nor were there any signs of intrusion into the homes, or anything that would indicate someone had broken in- the most that was out of place was that the front doors were unlocked, but there were no signs that anyone had picked the locks.

It was almost as if the children had just gotten up and walked away.

Which was obviously not possible. If it was just one, then there was a chance that they might have just run away, but the final toll of missing children was seven. Another had been reported missing while they were talking with Sumire Kondo, the mother of the missing twins. Like the others, they lived in the same general area.

Which left the question of how the culprit- or culprits, since this had to be the work of more than one person- had managed to abduct them without leaving any obvious traces.

Not to mention why.

There hadn't been any demands for ransom as of yet, and although the families of the missing children were financially stable, none of them were really what he'd consider the usual targets for kidnapping. There didn't seem to be a grudge of any kind involved, since as far as anyone could tell, other than living in the same general area, there was no real connection between the families. The Osaka police were still double checking to be sure, but...

"What do you think, Hattori?"

Silence.

Frowning, Conan glanced up at his friend. "Hattori?"

"Ah," startled out of his thoughts, Hattori offered him a sheepish expression, "-sorry, Kudo. What were ya sayin'?"

"I was asking what your thoughts on the case were." Conan said.

"My thoughts, huh..." Hattori trailed off with a frown. "That's a pretty tough question. Honestly, I'm not even sure where ta begin with this one."

"You too, huh?" Conan sighed. "If we could at least figure out the connection between the victims, then maybe..."

"Yeah," Hattori nodded, "-it feels like there should be somethin' there, but..."

He trailed off, still sounding a little distracted. He couldn't blame him- there were just too many questions about this case. With any luck, the police investigation would turn up something, but frankly, he was at a loss.

...well, almost.

"Hey," Conan abruptly began, "-do you remember last night?"

"Last night?" Hattori asked, tilting his head slightly. "What about it?"

"That weird pipe music." Conan replied. "Did you really not hear it?"

"No," Hattori shook his head, "-I really didn't hear anythin'. Ya think it has somethin' ta do with this case?"

Conan frowned. Honestly, he wasn't really sure about that himself. He'd picked his brain clean, and he didn't really see how the two could be related. Surely no one would play music while they were committing kidnappings, right? It didn't make any sense.

But for some reason, he couldn't get it out of his head.

"Ah, there you two are!"

Flinching at the sound of Ran's voice, he glanced up apologetically towards the girl. Given her expression, she must have gotten some details about the case from one of the officers that had been posted outside.

"Ran-neechan-"

"Don't you Ran-neechan me, Conan-kun." Ran said, quickly making her way over to him and thrusting out her hand. "Come on, we're going back to Hattori-kun's house. It's not safe out here with a bunch of kidnappers running around."

"But-"

"No buts!" Ran said, all but scooping him up. "You're a child too, Conan-kun. You can just leave this case to Hattori-kun and the police."

"No!" Conan protested, kicking his feet in his best impression of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum as much as it pained what little dignity he had left. "I want to stay with Heiji-niichan!"

Eyes darting desperately in Hattori's direction, Conan silently pleaded for help. It wasn't like he couldn't understand Ran's concerns, but he wasn't actually a child. He could handle a kidnapper or two!

"No," Hattori said, "-I think yer Neechan's right on this one."

Snapping his mouth shut, Conan looked at Hattori with an expression of obvious betrayal. Oi, oi, he didn't really think he'd go and get himself kidnapped? He of all people should know he was more capable of that.

At least he had the presence of mind to look properly apologetic about it, Conan sourly thought. He'd definitely be having some words with him later about this.

"There, see?" Ran said. "Even Hattori-kun thinks its a bad idea."

"...what do ya mean by even I think its a bad idea?" Hattori frowned. "Exactly what kind of impression do ya have of me?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Ran asked, shooting him a look that sent a shiver down his spine just as surely as it probably did Hattori's.

"...no, on second thought, nevermind." Hattori said, pointedly looking anywhere but at Ran's face. "Then, why don't ya take the kid an' you an' Kazuha can head back ta my place."

"What about ya, Heiji?" Kazuha asked- and abruptly, he remembered she was here too. She'd been strangely quiet, so he'd almost forgotten.

"Me?" Hattori asked. "I think I'll stick around with Otaki-han fer awhile longer. Sounds like they could use the help."

Kazuha frowned, clearly not liking that answer. "Ya have yer charm, right? This case seems kinda dangerous."

"No, I took it an' threw it in the nearest pond." Hattori said, before producing his cellphone- charm attached and all. "Idiot, of course I still have it. Ya'd never let me hear the end of it if I lost it."

Kazuha made a slight face, but he could tell she was relieved all the same. "Okay, but ya still have ta call every once in awhile, okay? If I hear somethin' happened ta ya-"

"Nothin's gonna happen ta me." Hattori said, one eye slightly twitching. "Honestly, ya worry too much. What are ya, my mom?"

Puffing out her cheeks, Kazuha turned on her heel and took Ran by the wrist. "If that's how yer gonna act, I'm leavin'. Come on, Ran-chan!"

Ran hesitated for a brief moment, before offering Hattori an apologetic smile. "Then, we'll see you later, Hattori-kun."

Part of him hoped that he might be able to wriggle free of Ran's grip as Kazuha pulled her along, but no dice. She was holding onto him like she suspected he'd try and break free first chance he got.

...well, she was right.

"Yeah, later!" Hattori called back, lifting a hand. "Ya make sure that kid stays nice an' safe!"

Conan shot him a dirty look as they left. Hattori didn't meet his eyes, instead staring at a nearby bush like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Traitor.

Once Kudo was gone, Heiji heaved a sigh.

He didn't like doing that sort of thing, but it at least got him out of his hair for the time being. He had no illusions that he'd escape the first chance he got, but at least this way he had some time to maneuver a little more freely.

Or well... as freely as he could move with Otaki still around. It'd look too suspicious if he ditched him here- especially if his old man was involved in this case, which he almost definitely was. It was why cases like this happening under his jurisdiction were always such a pain. Was it too much to ask that the world made keeping a secret just a little easier?

Apparently, since Kudo had almost gotten kidnapped last night too. Guess that Apoptoxin stuff was stronger than he'd thought. He'd have to let that little Neechan know sometime.

(Not really. He wasn't that stupid.)

"Hei-chan!" Otaki called out. "I'm heading to the next place. Do you want to ride with me?"

"Yeah," breaking out of his thoughts, Heiji called back, "-I'll be right there!"

He might as well make good use of this Kudo-free time while he had it. Who knew how long it would last?

(He'd give it an hour.)

"I should have known yesterday was too good ta be true." Kazuha grumbled as they made their way back to Hattori's place. "An' of all things, kidnappings. Of children, ta boot."

"Yeah," Ran nodded in agreement, hugging him a little closer, "-it's pretty scary."

Conan stopped squirming, ducking his head so that nobody could see how red his cheeks were. Well, maybe not everything about this situation was bad...

"But it's lucky that nothin' happened ta Conan-kun." Kazuha said. "Maybe they didn't know he was stayin' over?"

"I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to try and kidnap someone from the house of Osaka's chief of police." Conan said, half hoping to lighten the mood somehow.

It was true though. Anyone stupid enough to try and abduct someone from Hattori Heizo's own home pretty much deserved what was coming to them- even if the actual scary one in this situation wasn't the chief of police himself, but rather his wife.

Kazuha's mood didn't look lightened in the least, though. She just hummed, her gaze darting downwards. He was almost certain he wasn't supposed to catch what she said next, given the fact that she'd muttered it underneath her breath.

"Well, not from his house at least."

And if that didn't catch his attention right away. Suddenly, her weird conversation with Hattori by the bridge made more sense than he wanted it to.

"What do you mean by that, Kazuha-chan?" Ran asked. When he glanced up at her, her brow was furrowed with worry. "Did something like this happen before?"

From the way Kazuha's head jerked up, she definitely hadn't meant for them to hear that. Eyes wide, she held up her hands. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that! Besides I'm pretty sure if Osaka had a case like this before, ya would have heard about it in the news."

"It's just..." Kazuha trailed off, before shaking her head. "No, nevermind. It's really nothin', Ran-chan."

Which was exactly what Hattori had said, only now he believed it even less. Had that guy maybe been...?

It was possible. It would certainly explain why neither of them wanted to talk about it. There was no way it was an easy subject to breech. It might also explain why Hattori had been so quick to ditch him, when he normally would have done whatever it took so that they could work on the case together.

...if that was the case, maybe he should cut him a little slack.

"Are you sure?" Ran asked, her mouth turned down into a frown. "It doesn't really sound like nothing."

Kazuha opened her mouth, likely to assure her that it really was- before slowly closing it. "...I'm just not sure it's somethin' Heiji would want me talkin' about."

"Could it be that Heiji-niichan was kidnapped once before?"

The look on Kazuha's face told him he'd hit the nail right on the head.

"Well, of course he has," Kazuha said hurriedly, "-both me an' him both. You an' Ran-chan were even around fer that, remember? Back before that red horse case-"

"No," Conan shook his head, "-I mean before that."

"Eh?" Ran gasped, almost instinctively clutching him tighter. "Is that true, Kazuha-chan?"

"Ah..." Kazuha trailed off, almost looking as if she intended to deny it for a moment, before slowly nodding her head. "It happened a long time ago, before his dad was promoted ta Chief. But it's not really somethin' he likes talkin' about."

"I guess he wouldn't..." Ran trailed off, almost hesitating, "-but knowing Hattori-kun's father, the case was solved quickly, right?"

"No," Kazuha shook her head, "-he was missin' fer around three weeks."

"Three weeks?!" Conan blurted out without meaning to.

Kazuha winced, and immediately he felt bad.

"Sorry," he said hurriedly, "-I was just surprised."

It was only natural, really. Being kidnapped was one thing, but three weeks? That definitely wasn't nothing!

"I don't blame ya," Kazuha admitted, "-it was a really scary time fer all of us."

"And?" Ran asked. "What did the kidnappers want?"

"That's just it." Kazuha said. "They didn't want anythin'. That's why this case is givin' me the heebie jeebies."

Ran frowned. "You don't think its the same culprits?"

"No, no," Kazuha quickly said, shaking her head, "-in the first place, they only kidnapped Heiji an' one other girl, not a whole bunch of kids. Besides, the ringleader was already dead by the time Uncle Heizo found them. Apparently there was an accident, an' the ceiling collapsed on him. The place they were keepin' them was really old, ya see."

"Who was?" Conan asked, undeniably curious.

Kazuha chewed her lip, looking as if she was debating answering before she finally said, "-I don't really know many of the details, but it was apparently some weird cult or somethin'. I don't really know why they wanted Heiji in the first place- apparently Uncle Heizo asked the members a bunch of questions after they rescued him, but he never got a clear answer from them. Some of them didn't even know about the kidnappings."

"Of course, I was a kid at the time, so maybe he just lied," Kazuha added, almost as an afterthought.

"That's why you acted the way you did by the bridge." Ran said.

"Yeah," Kazuha nodded, "-Heiji doesn't really like reminders of that time."

Well, he couldn't blame him. Still he couldn't help but wish he'd learned this from him- he didn't like the idea of having leaned on Hattori for help in the past, only to not be able to give it in return. It didn't feel right.

"That's why please," Kazuha said, clapping her hands together in a pleading gesture, "-don't tell Heiji I told ya any of this. I'm pretty sure he'd get mad if he found out!"

"Don't worry," Ran assured her, "-we won't say anything. Right, Conan-kun?"

"Y-yeah," Conan nodded, "-it can be our secret."

That said, he really did want to bring it up with him. Honestly, even though he could understand a little better as to why Hattori had sent him away, it just made him want to stick by him more than before. He knew what it was like, working cases that hit a little too close to home. It wasn't anything someone should go through alone.

"Thanks," Kazuha said, visibly relieved, "-then let's hurry back. Maybe we can have a movie marathon or somethin' while we wait. It won't be the same as goin' ta USJ, but..."

"As long as its not horror movies..." Ran trailed off.

He only half-listened to the rest of their conversation after that. He'd already been planning to make a break for it the first chance he got, but this only cemented that desire. He felt bad for Ran, but...

...concerns or no concerns, there was no way he was sitting this case out.

But first things first.

Pulling out his cellphone, Conan glanced over his shoulder. Ran and Kazuha were both currently engrossed in their movie of choice- some kind of action romance movie. The former had noticed him leave, but judging from the way she hadn't stopped him, she must have believed he was actually going to the bathroom.

Or that he just had no way of catching up to Hattori.

(What she didn't know was that he'd packed his Turbo Engine Skateboard in his luggage. Never could be too prepared when coming to Osaka.)

But before he got to that...

It wasn't hard to find what he was looking for. He didn't know the exact dates, but going off what Kazuha had said, the incident probably took place sometime during elementary school. From there it wasn't hard to narrow things down- there weren't many cases of children being kidnapped by cults in Osaka.

In the end, he only needed to look back nine years. The rescue had made for a pretty sensational headline even back then. A little further scrolling revealed older articles from when the kidnapping had first been reported. There were even photos, though it didn't seem that any names had been published. Still, it wasn't exactly hard to recognize an eight year old Hattori- he hadn't changed much since then.

He didn't recognize the girl in the photo next to him, though. Her red eyes were striking enough that he was certain he wouldn't have forgotten her if they'd met. The article only stated that she was a Tokyo native, who had been visiting Osaka with her mother and family butler when the kidnapping had happened. It was either a case of bad luck-

-or perhaps she- they- had been targeted for some specific reason.

Scrolling through the article didn't reveal much in the way of information. Hattori had apparently gone out to visit a friend- probably Kazuha- but never actually showed up at their house. When night fell and there was still no sign of him, a search party was sent out. From the sound of it, his disappearance wasn't immediately connected to the disappearance of the girl- they were only linked later. Supposedly the same car had been seen in both locations- a car that was later found dumped in the Yodo River.

After that, the case went cold.

Going back to the first article he found, Conan scanned the contents. Like Kazuha said, it mentioned the fact that the leader of the cult had been found dead, the ceiling collapsed on him. Officers at the scene had apparently mentioned feeling a small earthquake, but a quick check indicated that no earthquakes had been reported that day.

That was weird. Maybe some kind of problem with the building itself? Kazuha had mentioned it was old.

There was also no clear motive listed, at least, not in that article. Scrolling through the news from the following days, Conan frowned- it was like reporting on the case had just ceased afterwards. That was a little weird too, but...

Shaking his head, he pocketed the phone. He might want to know more information, but doing too much digging felt wrong. This wasn't information he needed to solve a case- from the sound of it, even if no motive had been found, the matter had been resolved. All members who had been involved with the kidnapping had been arrested, and from the sound of it, most of them had probably gone to jail.

This case probably wasn't connected.

Probably, he thought. He was pretty certain it wasn't, but it nothing good came out of dismissing the possibility entirely. And come to think of it, a cult would have the manpower required to pull off a mass kidnapping...

Huffing, he put the thought in the back of his mind. What were the odds of having two cult-involved kidnapping cases occur in the same prefecture in the space of nine years?

"Conan-kun, have you finished using the-"

Snapping her mouth shut, Ran stared at the empty bathroom. Narrowing her eyes, she turned sharply on her heel, stomping down the hall towards Heiji's room.

Conan's luggage was unzipped.

Heaving a long sigh, Ran rubbed her forehead. She thought it was weird he was bringing such a big bag for just two days... he'd brought that skateboard, hadn't he?

When she got back to Tokyo, she was going to have a few words with Professor Agasa.

(Somewhere in Tokyo, Agasa Hiroshi shivered.)

"...ya ran away, huh?"

"Something like that."

Brightly smiling at Hattori, Conan scooted over so he could slide into the seat next to him. He just heaved a sigh, ducking into Inspector Otaki's car while the inspector himself just gave him a befuddled expression, apparently not having noticed him slip in.

"I hope ya at least let Neechan know where you were goin'." Hattori said, arching a brow at the skateboard he'd tucked underneath the front seat.

"Don't worry, I left her a message." Conan assured him.

"And," Hattori began, folding his arms in front of him, "-exactly how did ya find us?"

"I stuck a tracker to Otaki-keibu's car." Conan replied dutifully- keeping his tone low enough so that the Inspector in question couldn't hear his reply. "I figured you would be working with him on this case."

"I figured." Hattori said. "Just don't blame me when Neechan gets mad at ya later."

"I won't!" Conan promised, his voice full of faked cheer before dropping into something more serious. "So? Have you figured anything out yet?"

"Not a thing." Hattori admitted, leaning back in the seat. "Otaki-han an' I were about ta head ta headquarters ta see if there's anythin' we might have missed."

"Then, I'll come with you!" Conan beamed. "That won't be a problem, right?"

Judging from the way Hattori looked at him, it probably was. But at the same time, it was obvious that he couldn't refuse without coming up with some kind of excuse. He almost felt kind of bad about it, but...

...no, he was making the right decision here. It wasn't obvious, but Hattori's eyes looked more shadowed than usual. Part of his thoughts were definitely somewhere else.

He bit his lip, fighting back the overwhelming urge to ask here and now. But no- if he did that, he'd at least do it somewhere private. Since his name was never published, it was hard to say exactly who knew about the kidnapping and who didn't. No need to clue in people who didn't already know. Some people could keep themselves from just blurting out whatever, a tiny bitter part of him thought.

"No," Hattori clearly lied, "-it won't be a problem. Right, Otaki-han?"

"Yeah," Otaki slowly nodded, "-as long as he stays out of the way, it should be fine."

"Don't worry, I will!" Conan chirped.

Hattori just gave him a look. Yeah, yeah. They both knew he wasn't keeping that promise. No need to make it obvious.

"He ran off again, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Ran nodded as she entered the room, "-seems that way."

"I kinda had a feelin' he might." Kazuha sighed. "He's always runnin' after Heiji."

"That's true." Ran sighed, glancing in the direction of the front door.

"An'?" Kazuha asked, tilting her head back. "Do ya want ta try an' go after him?"

Thinking it over for a moment, Ran eventually shook her head. "No. I'm sure either Hattori-kun or Otaki-keibu will bring him back here soon enough. And I don't think the kidnappers will do anything during the day."

At least, she hoped not. But if they did...

...well, she'd definitely make them pay.

"Yer right." Kazuha said. "Even Heiji has enough sense ta not get a kid involved in a case like this- especially after what happened ta him."

Ran's expression fell slightly at the reminder. Honestly, it had been on her mind ever since Kazuha had brought it up, but she'd seemed determined not to think about it so she'd decided to keep any further questions to herself. She was pretty certain she'd suggested a movie marathon as a distraction, but...

"I still can't believe something like that happened to Hattori-kun in the past." Ran cautiously said. "He doesn't act like it at all."

"I just think he doesn't want anyone feelin' sorry fer him." Kazuha observed. "He hardly talks about it at all, even with me an' his folks. I think the only one he talks about it to is that girl who got kidnapped with him."

"Girl?" Ran frowned, tilting her head slightly. "Come to think of it, you mentioned something like that before- that there was a girl involved."

"Yeah," Kazuha nodded, "-she was on vacation with her family from Tokyo or somethin'. If I recall, her name has somethin' ta do with the color red, but I only ever met her once or twice as a kid so I don't really remember. Heiji stays in contact with her though."

Ran hummed, curiously studying her friend. It looked like there was something else on her mind, more than just Heiji not talking to her. If she didn't know any better...

"Are you jealous?"

Jerking her head up, Kazuha's eyes went wide. "Of course not! Who would be jealous!? Just because that idiot has some pretty girl he visits every now an' again, that doesn't mean-!"

Kazuha snapped her mouth shut, her cheeks bright red. "...well, maybe just a little jealous."

In spite of herself, Ran chuckled, sitting on the couch next to Kazuha. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Besides, you're pretty too."

Kazuha's cheeks flushed a darker color. "Thanks..."

"But how do you know she's pretty?" Ran asked curiously. "I thought you said you'd only ever met her when you were kids."

"I saw a photo of her on Heiji's phone once." Kazuha replied. "She had the same red eyes, so I'm certain it was her."

Red eyes? That was pretty unusual, Ran absently thought. But she'd been told before that own eyes were pretty unique, so maybe she shouldn't talk.

"But honestly, I wish Heiji would talk ta me about it sometimes too..." Kazuha trailed off. "Ya know, he's an idiot, so if he just thinks about it on his own he'll only end up goin' in circles."

"Maybe he just doesn't want to worry you?" Ran suggested.

"That's probably it, but..." Kazuha frowned, "-we're supposed ta be childhood friends. We were even bonded by iron at one point, i-r-o-n! It doesn't feel like there should be any secrets between us."

Ah... that was a feeling she could understand all too well. She still had no idea what this big case that Shinichi was working on was about, even after all this time. She kept expecting him to mention something, but...

Her phone buzzed just then, briefly startling her. Pulling it out of her pocket, she half expected it to be Shinichi- but it was just a mail from Conan.

She was almost disappointed.

"Is that a mail from the kid?" Kazuha asked, peering at her phone.

"Yeah," Ran nodded, "-seems like he met up with Hattori-kun and Otaki-keibu, and they're heading to police headquarters right now."

"He'll probably be fine then." Kazuha said, reaching for the remote. "Now, where were we?"

Ran arched a brow, not missing the way she'd taken the chance to drop the subject. It seemed as if Heiji wasn't the only one who didn't want to talk about their feelings on the subject. Really, those two were so alike sometimes that it was a wonder they never seemed to put two and two together and realize their feelings for the other were the same.

...but well... she hadn't exactly realized that Shinichi was in love with her until London, and hadn't even realized that she'd needed to even respond until later, so she guessed she probably shouldn't talk.

Next time, she thought. Next time she saw him, she'd definitely tell him for sure.

Honestly, she was almost glad that Ran dropped the subject so easily. It probably sounded weird, since she was the one to bring it up, but nevertheless she was grateful.

It wasn't like she didn't appreciate having someone to finally talk to about it- outside of her family, that was. It was just... Ran was so easy to talk to, that she was afraid she might accidentally blurt out her real worries instead. It wasn't like any of the stuff she'd told Ran so far was a lie, it was just...

...she didn't want to mention the weird stuff.

The ride to headquarters didn't take long. As expected, this had already evolved into an all hands on deck situation. The place was in a state of controlled chaos, with one man at the center of it all.

Hattori Heizo.

He looked up as they approached, a tight frown on his otherwise usually guarded features. His gaze flickered down towards him, before lingering on Hattori for what felt like an uncomfortably long moment, before finally turning towards Otaki.

"Otaki," Heizo began, "-I see you brought my son and the boy from the Mouri's place."

"I want to help!" Conan said.

"He's worried about the other kids, ya see!" Hattori quickly said, reaching down to ruffle his hair. "I tried ta give him the slip, but he just found us again!"

For once, he didn't protest.

"I see," Heizo's gaze lingered briefly on him, before he turned back to Otaki, "-and? Did you learn anything from your canvassing?"

"Unfortunately, nothing." Otaki shook his head. "Hei-chan asked some questions around the neighborhood too, but..."

"Nothin' here either." Hattori heaved a long sigh. "It's like the kids just disappeared into thin air. Poof!"

"I see," Heizo said, turning to Otaki, "-in that case, continue the investigation. Even if it was late, someone had to have seen or heard something."

"I don't know about seeing anything," Conan began after a moment of hesitation, "-but I heard something weird last night when I got up to use the toilet."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn Hattori flinched. Based on the way Heizo glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes before directing his attention back towards him, he had too. Weird. What was that about?

"Heard something?" Heizo asked.

"Yeah," Conan nodded, focusing on the topic at hand for now, "-I don't know if its related to the case or not, but I heard some weird music. Almost like the sound of pipes!"

"Pipes, huh..." Otaki mused. "Strange. I didn't hear anything like that from anyone we spoke to."

"Come to think of it, Heiji-niichan didn't hear anything either." Conan remarked, glancing up at him. "Right?"

"Y-yeah," Hattori stammered, seeming strangely nervous, "-I didn't hear anythin' out of the ordinary."

Heizo gave his son a long look- one that Hattori noticeably didn't return. Conan frowned, glancing between the two of them. What was that about?

"But it could be unrelated." Conan said, if only to break the strange tension that had settled over the room. "I'm just a kid, after all!"

It really might be, other than the fact that he just couldn't get it out of his head. That was usually a sign that there was a connection, but he just couldn't figure out what. It still didn't make sense. Why do something as risky as play music?

And why had no one else been able to hear it?

It felt like there was something he was missing. This case was nothing but missing parts, if he was being honest. The fact that no one had seen anything was strange enough- Hattori's father was right- even if it was late, there should have been at least one person who'd noticed something relevant to the case.

Maybe they just hadn't found them yet.

"And?" Heizo asked. "What time was this?"

"Around three." Conan replied.

Heizo hummed in consideration, before glancing towards Otaki. "Be sure to include that in your questioning going forward. But first," his gaze dropped back towards him, and he could almost sense what was coming next, "-take Conan-kun back to our place. We can't have a child involved in this investigation."

Conan could only laugh nervously. He should have figured that would happen.

"And Heiji?" Heizo began, glancing towards his son. "I want to have a word with you."

Halfway out of the Osaka Police headquarters, Conan abruptly realized he'd never asked Hattori about his kidnapping.

Well, it could wait- maybe until after they wrapped this case up. More curious was what Hattori's father wanted to talk to him about. That expression on his face... it felt like there was something behind it- something more than just unpleasant reminders of the past.

Maybe he really should have stuck a transceiver on Hattori after all.

No, no. That was probably going too far.

Probably.

"What did ya want ta talk about, old man?"

Heiji frowned, keeping his gaze fixed on his dad- if not necessarily meeting his eyes. At least he'd waited until Otaki had taken Kudo away, since he was pretty sure this wasn't the sort of conversation he wanted him to overhear. It wasn't like his dad knew...

...but he'd have to be a complete idiot to assume he didn't suspect something.

"You were awake last night."

It sounded like a casual observation, but he got the feeling it was more than that, what with the sharp way his old man was looking at him.

"I just got up ta get a glass of water," Heiji lied, "-got a problem with that, old man?"

"No," Heizo said, "-assuming that's all you did."

Heiji's frown deepened, this time meeting his dad's gaze. "I wasn't sneakin' out, if that's what yer implyin'."

He'd had a bad feeling since their shrine visit yesterday afternoon, so he was just keeping watch on the house. After that he'd just been too worried about Kudo to leave. But well... it wasn't exactly a shock that his old man suspected of him of sneaking out. It wouldn't be the first time.

Usually they were most active after dark.

Heizo gave him a considering look, one that made him bristle. If he suspected something, he wished he'd just come right out and say it. Sure, he wouldn't fess up to anything, but it would be a lot better than being treated like some kind of culprit every time something weird like this happened.

...not that he actually believed his dad thought he had any connection to the case. But he wasn't the type to let weird behavior slip past his notice, and boy did he have plenty of that.

"I see," Heizo said finally, half turning away from him, "-be careful."

Heiji frowned, half expecting him to order him to stay out of the case. He wasn't an idiot- he'd seen it in Kazuha's eyes when she'd asked him if he had his charm. He knew it probably only reminded them of bad things.

But at the same time, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I'm always careful." Heiji said, blatantly ignoring the fact that he wasn't. "Is that all?"

"That's all." Heizo said.

Heiji narrowed his eyes, half expecting there to actually be something else. When it became clear that there wasn't, he heaved a sigh, turning on his heel to leave. That could have gone worse, he guessed- this whole situation could be worse.

Which was why he couldn't help but wait for the other shoe to drop.

Heizo watched his son leave with a deep frown on his face.

There was nothing he'd like better than to tell Heiji to stay out of this case, but he knew his son well enough to know that the second he said that, it would only double his determination to be involved. Nor was he an entirely defenseless child anymore, able to more or less take care of himself.

But he was also no fool- there was something his son knew about this case that he wasn't sharing with anyone, even the Edogawa boy he seemed so close to. It was obvious that he hadn't wanted him to mention the pipe music, which meant that no matter how odd the detail seemed, it was definitely relevant to the case.

As for why his son was trying to hide that from him... he had a few ideas.

"Conan-kun."

...or maybe instead of worrying about Hattori, or even the missing kids, he should worry about himself first. He'd known Ran would be mad at him for sneaking out...

...but he'd definitely underestimated how mad.

Crap.

"So? Just how mad was Neechan?"

"...I don't want to talk about it."

After Otaki had brought him back to Hattori's place, Ran had made sure that he didn't have another chance to slip out, even accompanying him to the bathroom. Just as he was about to go crazy, Hattori had returned, and he'd all but immediately latched onto him. After grabbing a quick dinner, they'd retreated to his room- to finally talk about the case, Conan had hoped.

To be fair, he should have expected the teasing too.

"That's what ya get fer not listenin' ta her." Hattori grinned- and for a brief second, Conan couldn't help but wonder why he was even worried about this jerk.

"And?" Conan asked, looking at him expectantly. "What happened with the case after that?"

"Unfortunately, not much." Hattori said, folding his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. "No one's seen hide or hair of the kids, an' there's still been no calls from the kidnappers. That old man is havin' the police step up patrols tonight, but..."

"...they might strike again." Conan finished.

"Yeah," Hattori nodded, his expression grave, "-most likely."

"Any links between the victims?" Conan asked.

"Still nothin'." Hattori shook his head. "Right now it looks like the only connection they have is that they all live in the same area, but that's not much of one. They're also considerin' the possibility that there was only one real target, an' the other kids were kidnapped as camouflage, but that seems a bit much."

"That's true." Conan admitted. "There must be something we missed..."

Or less we, he'd bitterly thought, since he'd basically been sidelined this entire time.

"Well, it's not somethin' fer ya ta worry about." Hattori said. "Yer goin' back ta Tokyo with Neechan tomorrow, right? You can just leave Osaka matters ta me."

That was true... but it didn't feel right to leave this unfinished either. At the same time, there was no way he could convince Ran to stay longer- they had school the day after tomorrow, after all. She wasn't about to let him miss it for a case she didn't want him mixed up in.

"Don't worry," Hattori assured him, "-this isn't anythin' I can't solve."

"I know that, but..." Conan trailed off, heaving a long sigh.

"It just doesn't feel right?" Hattori finished, leaning his chin into his hand. "Well, it's not like I can't understand how ya feel, Kudo. I'd be pretty frustrated in yer shoes too."

"In that case, take me with you." Conan demanded. "I know you're going out tonight."

"No can do." Hattori said firmly. "If Neechan finds out, she'll kill me."

"I'll go to your funeral." Conan said dryly.

"Well, thanks." Hattori huffed. "But I'm not budging on this, even fer you, Kudo."

Clicking his tongue, Conan glared at the floor. Usually this wouldn't be a problem. As he thought, it must really be because of that.

"I heard about it, you know," Conan briefly hesitated, before just deciding to go through with it, "-about how you got kidnapped in the past."

That earned him a reaction. Hattori's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open. "How did ya-," he began, before snapping his mouth shut, glaring towards the door, "-it was Kazuha, wasn't it? I told her not ta say anythin'!"

"Can you blame her?" Conan asked. "She's worried about you."

Heaving a sigh, Hattori scratched his head. "Well, that explains the weird look Neechan gave me durin' dinner at least."

"Were you ever planning on telling me?" Conan asked.

"It's not like it matters." Hattori said, purposefully averting his gaze. "It's ancient history."

"You were kidnapped for three weeks, Hattori." Conan retorted. "And by a cult at that. I think that matters a little."

"It really doesn't." Hattori said, standing up. "An' frankly, I'd rather not continue this conversation."

"Oi, Hattori-!"

He didn't even get to finish before Hattori left, almost slamming the door shut behind him. He just stood there for a moment, stunned- he hadn't exactly expected him to open up about it, but he hadn't expected him to get this mad either. Had he said something wrong?

Whatever the case, he needed to go after him. He couldn't have gotten far.

Except when he stepped out into the hall, it was empty. Where...?

"Is something wrong, Conan-kun?" Ran called out, peeking out from down the hall. "I thought I heard a door slam."

"You haven't seen Heiji-niichan, have you?" Conan asked.

"No," Ran shook her head, "-did you two get into a fight? You looked like you were getting along so well earlier."

"Something like that." Conan said. "I think I must have made him mad, because he left all of a sudden."

"What, did Heiji go somewhere?" Kazuha asked, coming up from behind him.

"Apparently." Ran said. "You didn't run into him, Kazuha-chan?"

"No," Kazuha shook her head, a cross expression on her face, "-ya don't think he left ta work some more on that case again? He could have at least told me!"

No, Conan thought, glancing down the hall the way Kazuha had come. If that were the case, he would have passed her at some point. And since Ran hadn't seen him either, that meant...

...what, exactly? There wasn't time for him to leave without someone running into him. Even if Ran missed him, he should have still seen him in the hallway himself. It was like he'd just-

A shiver ran down the length of his spine. No, that couldn't be. People didn't just disappear.

Right?

Hattori didn't return that night.

He did, however, send Kazuha a text saying that he was investigating the case a bit more, and to not wait up for him. Naturally, she'd complained about it- especially since he didn't return any of the texts she sent after that. Still, eventually both she and Ran had gone to bed- though not before moving his futon from Hattori's room to theirs, presumably so he couldn't slip out in the night and try to follow him again.

...or get kidnapped himself, he thought.

For all that, it wasn't hard to slip out. He paused just long enough to write Ran a note just in case either of them woke up and noticed him missing. She'd probably get mad at him, but this was their last night in Osaka- he wasn't going to spend it doing nothing when there was the chance that more children could be kidnapped.

He paused to check Hattori's room before leaving. As expected, he wasn't back yet. Nor was he responding to any of his messages either. Was he really that mad at him? Sure, it probably wasn't something he enjoyed talking about, but all he had to do was tell him that. He wasn't planning on pushing him into it. That would just be self-satisfaction.

Quietly slipping out the front door, he glanced around. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure where to start. Without any kind of link between the victims...

...well, he might as well look around the houses that had children taken from them to start. He might even pick up on something that he'd missed before- or just hadn't gotten to see. Who knows? He might even run into Hattori.

Using his watch's flashlight, he made his way to the Kondo's house, since it was the easiest for him to find. There was something almost creepy about the darkened streets of Osaka- it was a little before three, so the streets were practically empty, even more so because of the abduction cases. There was a patrol car parked outside of the Kondo's home, but otherwise-

He froze, the sound of a familiar melody reaching his ears. It was fainter than before, but there was no mistaking it.

It was the same pipe music from last night.

Narrowing his eyes, he turned to look at the police officer standing just outside the patrol car, but they didn't seem to even react. It was like they didn't hear it at all- which was weird. True, it was fainter than last night, but it should have still been audible, especially to an officer who was probably already on high alert. But the fact that they hadn't reacted at all...

Turning on his heel, Conan tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. To the east?

Instinctively running in that direction, Conan frowned. Once was a coincidence, but twice? As he thought, this music definitely had something to do with this case. But what?

And why was he the only one who noticed? Could it be some kind of mosquito noise?

No, that didn't seem right. Even if it was, what purpose would it serve? Some kind of signal? That didn't make any sense either! They were better ways to communicate, ones that didn't risk being picked up on by other people.

Come to think of it, wasn't there an old tale like this? If he recalled...

Wait. Abruptly coming to a stop, Conan glanced at his surroundings. Where was he? He didn't think he'd gone that far, but he just as abruptly noticed that he was out of breath- not to mention sweating. Wiping his brow, he tried to sort out his thoughts, but it was like the only thing he could hear was that damned pipe music- which was louder than ever.

He also wasn't alone.

He saw the first child out of the corner of his eye- a girl in a white nightgown and bare feet, walking along as if she were in a trance. He tried calling out to her, but she didn't respond. Just as he was about to go after her, someone brushed against his side- a boy a little older than the Detective Boys, also dressed in pajamas. Like the girl, he also seemed to be in some kind of trance, not responding to any outside stimuli.

It was almost like they were being led along by the music.

Just the like Pied Piper of Hamelin.

In spite of the warm night air, his blood ran cold. Something like that wasn't possible. There had to be a logical-

"Ya shouldn't be here."

The words were like a burst of static in his brain. Pivoting on his heel, Conan stared with wide eyes at the figure looming behind him. It was almost as if they had appeared out of nowhere. What's more, even though they were standing right in front of him, for some reason he couldn't concentrate on any of their features. It was almost as if something was interfering with them.

The only thing he could make out was a strange half-mask, gold set against a deep crimson, and a hood pulled low over their head.

Snapping out of his stupor, Conan instinctively went for his watch. Whoever this was, they were beyond suspicious- given the timing, the odds that they were with the kidnappers was extremely high. At this range, his tranquilizer dart would be more than enough to handle them.

...but what did they mean, he wasn't supposed to be here? And that voice...

Eh? What did he feel so sleepy all of a sudden? The world almost seemed to spin, his hand dropping listlessly away from his watch. No, this was bad. He needed to- he needed to stay awake, to figure out what was going on...

"Sorry," he thought he heard the figure say just before he lost consciousness, "-I can't have ya findin' out about this kind of thing just yet-"

"-Kudo."