SailorStar9: With Chapter 1 uploaded, this is Chapter 2 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing, except this plot and potential pairing.

Pending pairing: Furuya Rei/Mizuno Ami

Chapter 2: The Dark Tower's Hidden Treasure, Part One

Time passes, at Café Poirot...

"Do you know what an urban legend is?" Conan posted a question.

"Rumors that spread little by little in a town and you don't know whether it's true or not." Mitsuhiko replied.

"I know." Ayumi piped in. "Stuff like 'Slit-Mouthed Woman' and the 'Human-Faced Dogs of Japan'."

"Yeah." Conan nodded. "And one of them is the Tower of Darkness. A mysterious tower with no entrance and windows."

"It's in Kyoudou Land, right?" Genta recalled. "It's completely black."

"Your voice is loud." Haibara stated.

"I'm sure Kyoudou is..." Mitsuhiko blinked.

"Now that you mention it, I heard her name is Kyoudou Nanami." Ayumi turned to the older woman at the other table.

"She's Ran-onee-chan's karate club senpai." Conan supplied. "Kyoudou is the company that makes these kinds of goods." he turned to the various kaleidoscopes and prisms laid out on the table. "It's a company that produces goods like lens and mirrors. See?" he held up one of the prisms and used it to refract the sunlight onto the roof.

"You shouldn't fool around." Ran chided.

"It's okay." Nanami assured. "I thought you guys might like it, so I brought a lot of them."

"Senpai." Ran started. "About that previous conversation, it sounds tough."

"The Kyoudou house is full of treasures." Nanami winked. "That's what you thought, right? Momoe-san is obsessed with money. She has her mother's maiden name right now. Recently, the relationship with my father seems cloudy. A rich house is full of complications. Is that what you thought? Now, even that money is dwindling away."

"It's be okay as long you as find that treasure, right?" Ran asked.

"Momoe-san believes it's real." Nanami frowned.

"Kyoudou-onee-san, did you come here to consult about where the treasure could be?" Ayumi inquired.

"That's not it." Ran chided. "Senpai just came to give some constructive criticism."

"It can't be helped if it's true." Nanami laughed. "Anyways, I see.. do you want to go treasure hunting?" she turned to the Detective Boys. "How about it, guys? Shall we go on an adventure?"

In the Kyoudou household...

"Sometimes, an unknown entity is heard laughing from the top." Nanami added, the group nearing the Tower of Darkness. "It's been 40 years since my grandfather, Kyoudou Seitarou, built it."

"He was a fastidious engineer and he puts lots of tricks in the mansion." Ran remarked.

"The Tower of Darkness is one of them, but Father is going to sell this land." Nanami sighed. "If that happens, then the treasure hunt will be gone."

"So, that why your mom is rushing." Ran realized.

"I refuse." Momoe snapped. "To selling everything including the treasure."

"It's not the time to be acting selfish." Kyoudou Nozomu barked. "It's the last chance to build the Kyoudou household. I can't keep up with your dreams."

"Don't say it's a dream." Momoe chided. "Tsutomu-san properly remembers, right?"

"It was just before Grandfather passed away." Tsutomu replied. "I can't take responsibility for remembering such an old memory."

"But you certainly heard about it, right?" Momoe insisted. "About the treasure."

"I did hear about it." Tsutomu admitted.

"They're always like that." Nanami sighed, outside the house, already hearing the loud argument from inside the house. "Sorry about showing you guys such a disgraceful scene."

"Adults have circumstances." Mitsuhiko nodded.

"My parents are like that, too." Genta agreed. "Mom is always fighting with Dad."

"Let's go look at that tower." Nanami beamed.

At the foot of the tower...

"I wonder why your grandfather built it." Ran mused.

"He wanted to hide his treasure in there." Genta declared.

"It's natural to think that." Mitsuhiko agreed.

"Then, there should be an entrance." Ayumi determined.

"Let's find it." Genta led the three around the tower base.

"Didn't you hear about the treasure from your dad?" Conan turned to Nanami.

"Not at all." Nanami sighed. "Probably because I was his daughter? My late mother might have heard about it. Maybe Nagase-san heard about it. He's an engineer and was grandfather's apprentice. He lives apart from the house."

In the Kyoudou house...

"I don't know." Nagase Kensaku insisted.

"Even a hint will suffice." Momoe pressed. "You can't recall anything?"

"No matter how many times you ask, I don't know anything about the treasure." Nagase insisted. "If that's all, I will take my leave now."

"He most definitely knows something." Momoe frowned.

"He's not very social, but he won't lie." Nozomu assured. "You should give up already."

"Without the treasure, I can't get a nice life." Momoe retorted. "It's okay to undergo the trial, right? The divorce trial."

"I will take my leave." Tsutomu made himself scarce.

In the backyard of the Kyoudou house...

"Even if there's no entrance, we could dig a hole and create a tunnel, right?" Conan proposed.

"We'll become construction workers." Ran joked.

"Grandfather might have done it." Nanami cut in. "For example, there's a lamp here, right?" she rested a hand on a lamppost nearby. "Now, look at the tower."

"My eyes got weird." Mitsuhiko gaped, he, Ayumi and Genta exclaimed in surprised when they saw the tower was inverted.

"A lens was put in-between." Conan sighed.

"Good job, boy." Nanami beamed. "That's correct." she stepped on the hidden button on the post base and the mirror slid back down. "This is one of grandfather's pranks. It won't be strange if there were tunnels."

"Nanami-san, you look lively." Momoe greeted.

"Mama." Nanami returned. "This is Mouri Ran, a year below me from high school. She's my mom, Momoe-san. You were talking with my brother, right? Did he remember anything useful?"

"He was talking about a blue button." Momoe recalled. "But he's not really sure. Who are these kids?" she spotted the Detective Boys.

"We are the Detective Boys." Mitsuhiko, Genta and Ayumi chorused.

"They will cooperate with the treasure hunt." Nanami supplied.

"She doesn't trust us." Mitsuhiko noted, after Momoe walked off.

"What a strong perfume." Ayumi winced.

"Also, she had long fake nails." Haibara added.

"How far does this pathway go?" Ran asked.

"It ends right over there." Nanami replied. "And it's connected to the building. Miso, soy sauce, and sake; it's just a warehouse now."

In the kitchen...

"Treasure hunting is hard work." Tsutomu was cutting asparagus. "So, did you find out about anything?"

"If there's treasure, we think it's inside that tower." Mitsuhiko replied.

"A tower with no entrance and windows is just too suspicious." Ayumi added.

"I agree." Tsutomu concurred. "But it can't be helped since there is no entrance."

"I wonder what they did during the construction." Conan piped in. "They can't build it without an entrance, right?"

"That's true." Tsutomu nodded.

"If we search, we will certainly find it." Genta insisted.

"So, that's their conclusion." Nanami nodded. "So aniki, please tell them the story."

"When I was 7, I had a fever that was almost 40ºC." Tsutomu related. "It was when mother and grandfather paid a visit. They were talking beside me. When I came to, those were not there. I tried to find them, even though I was dizzy. It seems I collapsed while searching for them. When I came to, I was with mother."

"Is that all you remember?" Ran asked.

"There's something I recently recalled." Tsutomu replied. "Grandfather talked about three buttons and said, 'If you press that button, that's the treasure.'"

"What color button?" Nanami pressed.

"The one grandfather pressed was blue." Tsutomu answered. "I remember one more thing." he added as thunder crackled across the sky. "When I was chasing after mother, I disappeared. I can't remember anything after that. But that has to be the entrance to the treasure. There's more: while crying and walking, I grew and shrank. After that, I multiplied."

"Stop." Nanami barked. "That's because you're seeing illusions from your fever. Anyway, the treasure exists. All we have to do is split up and search. I'm cooking vegetables. It's my important hobby."

"It's mama's voice." Nanami gaped, heading out when the group heard Momoe's scream.

At the foot of the tower...

"The kids can't come." Tsutomu stopped Nanami and the others from approaching.

"Momoe." Nozomu was beside his ex-wife. "Call an ambulance." he barked.

"I already did." Nagase dashed in.

"But this tower..." Tsutomu gaped.

"Is supposed to have no entrance." Ran stammered.

"She couldn't have gone up." Nanami muttered.

Some time later...

"Is this an accident or case?" Mouri had also arrived after Megure's team was on site, Ami having put the victim's body into the back of an ambulance and headed off to the autopsy theater.

"You're fast, Mouri." Megure was astonished.

"I called Ran about what dinner was going to be, and this is what happened." Mouri chuckled nervously.

"She fell from the tower even though you can't get in?" Ayumi suggested.

"Not necessarily." Mitsuhiko corrected. "The culprit could have put the corpse near the tower."

"We heard her scream." Genta reminded.

"It could have been a recording." Mitsuhiko concluded.

"A recording?" Megure echoed after Mouri told him about his suspicions.

"It's a simple trick." Mouri bragged. "The culprit hit her on the head and carried her here. It would make it look like she fell from the tower, right?"

"However, this dark tower doesn't have an entrance." Takagi supplied.

"In other words, the culprit didn't know this tower has no entrance." Mouri barked. "This is common sense for a mystery."

"All the Kyoudou household know." Takagi remarked.

"Then, the suspicious ones are the people that visited today." Mouri changed his tune.

"Takagi is right." Megure concurred. "Even the town must know about the rumor of the treasure inside the tower. But you can't get in."

"That's it." Mouri cut in. "The culprit made it look like the body was carried here. Then the police would investigate the tower. As a result, the treasure will be found."

"Is that the reason for moving the corpse?" Megure nodded. "So who is t he culprit?"

"All of the Kyoudou household are suspicious." Mouri insisted.

"Back to square one, huh?" Megure moaned.

"Inspector." Takagi whispered into his superior's ear.

"She had problems with work and the house." Megure noted. "And everyone has the possibility of being guilty, excluding that lady. However, the father and son are denying about the treasure, so Mouri's reasoning doesn't fit. Wait, there was one person who believed the treasure was real; the victim herself."

"What do you think, Conan?" Ayumi asked. "Did she die from an accident?"

"It has to be a case." Genta insisted.

"Unfortunately, I can't decide yet." Conan replied.

"We met her in the backyard." Haibara stated. "Moving the corpse is impossible within that time."

"That's true." Conan agreed. "It's most natural to think she fell from the tower, but..."

"So, the victim found the entrance after meeting us?" Mitsuhiko realized.

"Can we think of it like this?" a sudden thought came to Conan. "She was pushed off by somebody who knew about the tower."

"The culprit could be hiding inside the tower right now." Haibara concluded.

That decided, all five kids returned to the house to find a possible entrance to the tower.

SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.