A Shinichian Conan
Chapter 4: The Ball
A Detective Conan Fanfic

"A ball? Tonight?" Ran continued in a softer tone now, realising how high her pitch had just went.

"Yeah! And there would be lots of... You Know What."

"... aren't you supposed to be going steady with Makoto?"

"Hey! What am I supposed to do? Have to keep myself occupied while he's away, right? Anyway, how can a pretty girl like me be restricted to a blockhead like him?"

"Ha ha ha... you and your excuses..."

"By the way," Sonoko interrupted, "How's that detective boyfriend of yours? Has he called you?"

Ran blushed. "Well..."

"Well what? Have you told him how you feel towards him? Some guys can be a real blockhead you know? I bet that boyfriend of yours doesn't even know how you feel! Trust me Ran, take the initiative!" advised Sonoko. "Anyway," she continued, "meet you at the ballroom in half an hours' time! Bye!"

"... SHINICHI..." sobbed Ran silently, an irreplaceable vacant in her heart.

**********

A little boy stirred in the darkness.

"Oaf... Hmp..." groaned Conan as he sat up.

'Real smooth, Kudo. Seems like you are busted... BIG time. Well, better be on my way to report to the King of Hades in this... Wait a second! If I'm really dead, then shouldn't I be back in my real form?' He touched his face and stared at the shape of his little arms and legs in the darkness. For one thing, he IS still in the little Shinichi form.

Just as he was having second doubts about what state he was in, something hit him on the head right out of the darkness.

"Ouch! Hey that hurts!... it hurts?! Does that mean that I'm not...?" stretched Conan as he stood up rubbing his head.

He stood squinting in the darkness for a moment while his eyes slowly adjusted to the pitch blackness. He stared at the path ahead of him which was divided into two separate tunnels, one on the right and the other on the left.

Conan flicked on his mini wrist torch which shone brightly and it irritated his eyes for a few seconds. He tried to contact the Professor through his Detective Boys badge receiver but his efforts were futile. He was simply too deep underground. There was definitely no way the transmission could get through at such deepness.

Upon further scrutinizing, Conan realised that both tunnels have one distinct feature which pulls them apart:

The tunnel on the right was lighted. Not very well lighted as it would make it stand out quite prominently, but dimly lighted so that it could only be spotted upon closer inspection.

However the tunnel on the left was filled with total darkness, with absolutely no trace of light.

The light shone fiercely, sweeping around the area searching for any vital clues. His efforts were proved to be a payoff as he spotted a bag lying a few foot away from him. Conan rummaged through the bag and found to his surprise that it was full of food and drink supplies.

'What is the Black Organisation up to this time? Why go through such fuss if they really want me dead? This is so unlike their style... something fishy is going on here. Just hope that Ran... and Ai... and the rest of them are safe.'

In a corner of the bag, Conan discovered a neat little note. Without hesitation, he took it up, and with the help of his mini wrist torch, read out the following:

______________________________

To: Shinichi Kudo #1

Left or right which will you take?
For both of them your heart will break
One is cruel, one is fair
One's a passage, one's a snare
Choose the one that hides the light,
and then you'll know your path is right

End of clue

______________________________

Folding the note in half, Conan slowly slotted it into the bag. With the bag on his back, he advanced towards the tunnel of his choice, smiling radiantly.

**********

Inside the Teitan Hotel's ballroom, ladies and gentlemen regardless, all of whom were dressed elegantly attached with a mask.

"Hey, Ran! Look at those hunks out there!" chirped Sonoko excitedly.

"But how would you know if they are hunks? All of them are wearing a mask," Ran rebuked.

"Come on, work with me here. Use your instincts."

"Yeah, sure." replied Ran sarcastically.

"Hey! I see some guys waving to us! Come on Ran!" urged Sonoko as she dragged Ran towards two tall guys dressed in black tuxedos.

"Good evening ladies, may we have the pleasure of buying you a drink?" invited the two gentlemen.

"Sure," Sonoko replied.

"Well...," hesitated Ran, "I... I can't drink."

"Come on Ran, stop being such a wet blanket. A glass won't kill," scolded Sonoko.

Out of nowhere, another gentleman in a white tuxedo appeared in front of them and said to Ran, "May I have the honour of inviting you to a dance?"

"Well...," Ran hesitated again.

"Go on Ran! We are here to have fun, remember? Unless... you are still thinking about that boyfriend of yours," teased Sonoko.

"No way! Fine, I'll dance!" Ran exclaimed and stepped into the dance floor with the gentleman in white.

"You go girl!" encouraged Sonoko as she headed towards the bar with the two gentlemen in black.

They ordered a drink and were soon settled down. Drinking and chatting away, they laughed at the wonders of the world and opened up to each other with each coming glass of drink. Unknown to Sonoko, she's about to have a major roller coaster ride...

"You... hiccup*! How many... hiccup*! Of you are there? Hiccup*! Ha... You are a... hiccup*! Three-headed monster!" blabbered Sonoko drowsily, even though that was only the second cup of her drink.

"Let's go... we'll see to your... WELL-BEING," whispered the two men with an evillish grin.

"Hiccup*! Whew ha! The whole room is spinning! Hiccup*!"

"Looks like your friend's in trouble," said the gentleman in white as he stepped out of the dance floor and went forward to confront the two guys.

Ran glanced over to the bar and saw what he meant. The two guys whom she had met earlier was trying to lure Sonoko out while she's in a drunkard state. Now, she too stepped out of the dance floor to provide assistance to the gentleman in white as she headed towards the two scums.

"What do you think you are doing?" boomed the gentleman in white.

"None of your business," retorted the two men, "Now scram before we beat the daylights out of you!"

"Oh yeah? Well, well, I am so SCARED that I am practically SHIVERING. Come on, I'll take on two jerks at one go if I have to!" challenged the gentleman in white.

"Why you..." said one of the men as he lunged forward with his fist.

His fist was easily intercepted and warded off and for that, he was given a "Wham!", "Bang!" and "Pow!", landing him on the ground.

Ran stared wideyed at all the action. 'Looks like this guy's an expert in karate.' With that, she rushed to Sonoko's aid and dragged her away from all the action.

"Now scram!" shouted the gentleman in white victoriously as the two men whimpered in fear and scrambled off.

"However did you get so drunk?" Ran frowned.

"I believe her drink was spiked by that two men... their intentions were definitely not good," stated the gentleman in white, as he begun to take off his mask.

Ran showed signs of surprise and uncertainty as the stranger slowly unmasked himself. Sonoko gasped as she slowly came to senses as she saw who was in front of them. Upon which, both girls slowly unmasked themselves to reveal their identities to the stranger...

(clue provided by Sherlock Holmes, a.k.a. T.Y.H.)