And the next chapter of TBoK. I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter-- and that I didn't mess up too badly on Kazuha.
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Onto the chapter!
"Haibara?" Conan asked the next day, having just reached Dr. Agasa's house.
"Kudo," she acknowledged, her eyes not leaving the computer monitor.
"What's the good word?" Conan asked.
Chapter 4
"The source of all of the activity seems to be around one location. That's where you'll find the hideout I'd bet. According to this map, it's a abandoned warehouse in the shopping district,"
"The shopping district," Conan said. "Aw, man! It's too far to walk, and the doc won't give me a ride. And now it's too late to use my skateboard. I'll have to go tomorrow morning, but I'll need an excuse..."
"Something will come to you, I'm sure," Ai said. "It always does,"
"Okay then, which warehouse?" Conan asked, coming right behind Ai to the computer.
"Actually, it's one of the Sebastian's old warehouses," Haibara said, clicking on a page that showed a blinking red dot, indicating the tracker's position.
"Serena's father's company?"
"Yep. It's located at 34 Suzuki Place. Good luck with it, Kudo,"
"See ya, Haibara," Conan said, leaving.
Rachel had invited Serena and Kazuha over while Conan was out and her dad was at the police station. The teen was currently making dinner for the three of them.
"I love your sushi, Rachel!" Kazuha greeted, coming into the kitchen where Rachel was preparing just that dish.
"Thanks, Kazuha!" Rachel said.
"Maybe if I cooked, Harley and I wouldn't fight as often,"
"Maybe," said Serena, walking in. "After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach,"
"I highly doubt that your cooking has anything to do with yours and Harley's fights," Rachel said, throwing Serena a look.
A knock on the door interrupted them.
"I'll get it, Rach. Don't bother stopping," Kazuha said, leaving the kitchen and heading for the front door.
"Hello? Moore Detective-" she cut off upon seeing that there was no one there. "Uh, hello? Helloooooo?" she searched the hall once more. "Hmm," she said, about to close the door, but stopped when she spotted the slim package at the foot of the door.
Picking it up, the thing inside seemed to be floppy, and a letter fell off the package.
"Hey, Rach!" Kazuha called. "You got a package!"
"If it's for my dad, leave it on the desk!" she called from the kitchen.
"No I meant you got a package,"
All sounds from the kitchen stopped.
"Me?" she called, completely unsure of what anyone would send her.
"Yes, you!" Kazuha shouted back, bringing the package into the kitchen. "And it came with a mysterious letter too. I wonder if the Karate Queen has a secret admirer.
"Stop it, Kazuha," Rachel said.
"Totally!" Serena agreed with Kazuha. These two spent the next few moments both jumping up and down, and talking excitedly about the person Rachel's secret crush might be.
"What's this?" Rachel asked, flipping the letter over. Opening it, she found a very small note.
---
To: Rachel
I know my son better than anyone. Here is an advanced copy of the story in which Raya discovers Conan is actually Jimmy.
Booker Kudo
---
"No. He can't mean that Conan is-"
"No!" Kazyha shouted at Serena, breaking Rachel's concentration. "It wouldn't be him!"
"Come on! You can't see Jimmy sending Rachel a love package!" Serena fired back.
"Guys! It's not from Jimmy! It's from Booker Kudo," Rachel said, earnig their attention.
"Jimmy's dad?" Serena asked.
"But what would he send you a package for?" Kazuha challenged.
"Actually, he told me in the letter that it's a manuscript of one of the books in his new series,"
"The new popular one?" Kazuha asked.
"Please tell me it's not that one you've been reading. That children's book?"
"Well, yes actually,"
"Come on, Serena!" Kazuha said. "Not all children's books are stupid! Take that Harry Potter one for example!"
"Yeah, Serena!" Rachel agreed.
"Fine! You two go and read your little children's books. See what I care!"
"Fine," Rachel said. "But you won't get dinner,"
"What! Rach! No fair!"
"Raya!" he shouted, reaching out a hand toward the desperate teen. As he came over to her. He pulled at her ropes and chains.
Raya put up a struggle, trying to get away from the bonds that held her tightly. She had to save this little boy. He had become like a brother to her. Said boy came to her and removed the bandana over her mouth.
"Conan!" she shouted at him. "You have to leave!"
"No!" he shouted back.
"No use yelling," a man in black with long blonde hair came around the corner. "She's not leaving. Those bonds won't, and never will, break,"
"You wouldn't be able to release her even if you had a chainsaw," another man said, revealing himself behind a pillar of the abandoned warehouse.
"But that doesn't mean you won't try, eh, detective?"
The boy Conan immediately was on guard. They knew who he was. They were from the organization that turned him into this helpless child so long ago. But- Rachel!
'If they tell her,...' Conan thought, letting the rest of the thought drift.
To tell the truth, he didn't know what they may do to him- or to her. They had him in their grasp. His only option now was to sacrifice himself. He had to. He couldn't see Raya hurt. Not after all of the pain he'd caused her himself.
"Alright, what do you want?" Conan asked, straightening and looking at the ground. The glare from his glasses covered his eyes and the emotion they held.
"C-C-Conan?" Raya asked the boy. His voice had changed. He was no longer the same little boy.
"I'm sorry, Raya," he said, and pointed his watch at her.
Seconds later, the only girl he'd ever loved was slumped on the floor, asleep by tranquilizer dart that he had fired from his watch.
"Well, little boy, I didn't think you'd do that," the one with the hat asked.
"But you're not really a little boy are you... Jimmy Kuzishi!" the one with the long blonde hair called.
"What do you want?" Conan sighed, his act was up.
"The same thing we've always wanted, Jimmy Kuzishi...
...Your life,"
"Rachel?" a voice asked from the doorway.
Rachel gasped, looking up from the manuscript she had been reading to see the startled face of Kazuha Toyama.
"We've been calling you for, like, five minutes," Serena Sebastian, who Rachel now noticed was standing next to Kazuha, said very annoyed.
"I told you children's books can be very entertaining," Kazuha said, looking at Serena out of the corner of her eye.
"Yeah, well-"
"Stop it you two!" Rachel said, very annoyed at their bickering.
"Jeez," Kazuha said under her breath.
"Grumpy much?" Serena whispered back.
"Look," Rachel started again, hearing their comments. "This book... It's very different from other books. It was written by about Jimmy by his own dad, and I think that should count for something. Maybe the book has some truth in it!"
"Rachel," Serena said. "It is physically impossible for a seventeen year old guy to turn into a seven year old kid," Serena said, with a healthy dose of reality.
There was a pause.
"But- what if it wasn't?" Rachel asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Excuse me?" Kazuha asked.
"You're out of your mind!" Serena shouted.
"What if- there was an actual drug that would do that- and Conan really is Jimmy,"
"Impossible!" Kazuha shouted.
"I've suspected it, Kazuha!" Rachel shouted.
Serena and Kazuha quieted, deciding to hear Rachel out.
"...When I first met Conan, I thought he looked a lot like Jimmy, only younger. And- after the first few cases my father solved, I started to notice little mannerisms that they both share. You know, the walk, the soccer, that thing where he holds his chin when thinking. And then I noticed that every time my father got a breakthrough in one of his cases, it was because of something Conan said. Conan was leading the investigation the whole time! So then I confronted him about it..."
"...AND?" Serena and Kazuha shouted.
"And he denied it,"
"But-" Kazuha finally ventured, "If he really is Jimmy, why wouldn't he tell you?"
"Well in the book, he can't because there is a crime organization after him. They hink he's dead, but if news leaked out that he were alive, everyone he knows would be hurt. And in the book, he's in love with me, and would do anything to protect me from them..."
"So what do we do?" Serena asked.
"Well, Mr. Kudo sent me a manuscript in that package. The manuscript was for the day Raya, who is my counterpart, finds out that Conan is Jimmy. I was thinking... maybe we could give it a shot?"
"And how where we do that?" Kazuha asked.
"Well, it's a warehouse in here-"
"Leave it to me, girls! I have just the warehouse!" Serena said confidently.
"Ngggggg," Conan moaned as he woke up. He was tired. Rachel had invited Serena and Kazuha to sleep over the night before, and he was kept awake by them and their girly stuff.
He yawned and sat up. Today was the day he was going to go after the black organization. Perhaps he would take them down once and for all.
He dressed and washed up, leaving his brrom-closet room.
A note from Rachel on the table explained the quiet in the house.
---
Morning, Conan!
Kazuha, Serena, and I had to go shopping this morning! Hope you don't mind. Dad's out on a case, so you'll be alone. There's some breakfast in the freezer. Pick up the mail at noon. Kazuha wants you to call Harley when you wake up.
Rachel!
---
'Harley?' Conan thought. 'Hey! Harley can give me a ride to the shopping district this morning!' Conan journeyed to the freezer where, just like she'd said, Rachel had placed some breakfast that he could heat in the microwave.
'What time is it?' he thought, glancing up at the microwave. 'Two to noon! Dangit!' he thought, dropping breakfast.
He ran to the wireless telephone.
'Come on, pick up!' he willed the thing.
"Doctor Agasa's resid-"
"Ai!"
"Conan?"
"Is the tracker currently at that warehouse?"
"Yes, why?"
Too late for an answer, he'd hung up.
Dailing again and starting to run to the mailbox downstairs, he reached a number he knew well.
"Hello? Kudo residence. I'm sorry, but the Kudo's aren't-"
"Harley!" Conan said, placing the key in the box and opening the door.
"Kudo?"
"Harley? I need a ride to the shopping district," he asked, picking up the solitary piece of paper that happened to be the mail. He closed the box again, locking it.
"Kudo! Is that all I am? Rides?"
Conan dropped the phone.
At the loud crash, Harley jumped.
"Kudo?... KUDO!"
---
Hey kid.
We've got your little girlfried.
You wanna see her again?
Meet us at 34 Suzuki place.
BO
---
Conan numbly picked up the phone again.
"Harley?" he called, his voice shaky.
"Kudo? Jeez! You were scaring me there for a minute,"
"Harley, they've got Rachel,"
"Well this is working out splendidly!" Rachel greeted as the three girls stood in the abandoned warehouse of their chioce.
"Rach! It's noon. Conan should be recieving the letter any minute now," Kazuha stood, her hair hidden from view with a black hat. She sported glasses too, and a black overcoat.
"Good!" she said.
"We should tie you up soon," Serena said. She was wearing a long blonde wig with a hat, glasses, and overcoat.
"Remember, we have to act the parts!" Rachel reminded, allowing Kazuha to bind her hands.
"Mhm!" Serena nodded. "Just watch. We'll be so convincing, we could give the Phantom Thief a run for his money!"
"Gin?"
"Yep?"
"Looks like we've got company,"
TBC!
HAHAHA! I do love doing this.
REVIEW PLEASE!
Next Chapter: Rachel's plan with some unexpected twists!
animebookworm