SailorStar9: With Chapter 117 uploaded, I present Chapter 118 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 do not own Sailor Moon or Detective Conan, I only own this plotline and the pairing.
Pairing: Established!Furuya Rei/Mizuno Ami
Chapter 118: The Heartfelt Strap, Part Two
"If we go to that beach..." Genta beamed.
"We'll be able to retrieve Haibara's strap." Mitsuhiko was excited.
"Once that boy realizes the strap his father picked up wasn't his, I'm sure he'll hand it over." Conan was confident.
"Once we get it, we won't let anyone take it until we return it to Ai-chan." Ayumi declared.
"I'll go settle the bill." Amuro informed the kids. "You kids head to the car." he tossed the car keys to Conan.
At Chiyari Beach...
"There are so many people." Ayumi gawked at the gathered crowd.
"It's not even clam hunting season." even Mitsuhiko was astonished.
"We have to find them among all these people?" Genta whined.
"If we only knew their names..." Mitsuhiko sighed.
"I've got it." Amuro ended his call to Kazami. "His name is Yoshida Yuto-kun."
"That's the boy's name?" Conan blinked.
"My friend happened to be on that train." Amuro explained. "I had him breathe on the window and check what the boy wrote."
"Yoshida Yuto-sama from Tokyo, your friends have arrived." using his Voice-Changing Bowtie and its loudspeaker function, Conan made the announcement. "Please come to the beach house immediately."
"Excuse me," the elder Yoshida stepped forward with Yuto in tow. "Yoshida Yuto is my son. Are you looking for someone else by a similar name?"
"Ojii-san, you picked up a soccer player strap on the train, right?" Conan pressed.
"I thought it was my son's." Mr. Yoshida replied. "But it was of a different player."
"That's my friend's." Ayumi insisted.
"Your son's strap was at Chiyari Station." Mitsuhiko informed.
"I'm glad you came." Mr. Yoshida dug into his pants pocket and pulled out the misplaced phone strap. "Sorry about that, kids."
"Huh?" Conan blinked, about to claim back the strap when it was snatched by someone else who then instantly fled.
"WHAT?" the Detective Boys exclaimed in unison.
"Wait, why?" Conan gaped, losing sight of the thief. "It's just a phone strap."
"Come to think of it, I recognize that man." Amuro remarked. "He was standing near the Chiyari Station lost and found when we were there. I think he was sitting behind Ayumi-chan at the family restaurant we visited."
"But why?" Conan was confused. "It's just a Higo phone strap."
"Maybe, it's because of what was inside that strap." Mr. Yoshida piped in. "Yuto, there was something inside it, right?"
"It was hard when I squeezed it." Yuto nodded.
"That something must be a flash drive with top secret data in it." Mitsuhiko declared.
"We bought it was the stadium store." Conan reminded.
"Actually, the straps were sold out." Mitsuhiko informed. "Haibara-san asked the clerk to sell her the display product."
"Then, that's not an impossible scenario." Amuro pondered. "One person picks up the display product and puts something inside it while pretending to look at it. Once that product sells out, another person asks to purchase the display product. It's a way to secretly make a deal. Your friend bought the display product first; while following her in order to get it back, your friend dropped the strap when the train shook. He took advantage of the opportunity to pick up the strap, but it was the wrong one. When he went to the station's lost and found to turn in the strap, you kids appeared. Since it seemed like you'd find the strap he wanted for himself, he resumed following you and waited for an opportunity to steal it."
"We'll have to split up and find that man." Conan decided. "Amuro-san, watch the exits. He wasn't dressed like someone digging for clams."
As the sun was setting...
"I've been waiting for you, ojii-san." Conan smirked, waiting by the changing rooms. "Don't play dumb." he grinned. "You could immediately remove your hat and jacket, swap them out for something you bought here and stuff them into one of the bags bought at the store, but you can't change your pants without visiting the changing room."
"I just came to change into shorts so that I can go digging for clams." the man protested.
"It's late in the afternoon." Conan pointed out. "Everyone's getting ready to leave. You're going to start now? There's a price tag on your hat. That proves that you hastily put it on as soon as you bought it." besides, I can see the head of the strap poking out. So you are the man who stole the Higo strap from us." he grinned, seeing the man check his sling-bag to see if the strap was still in place.
"Damn it." the man cursed and took off.
Activating the Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes, Conan ejected an inflatable soccer ball from his Anywhere Ball Dispensing Belt and sent it flying to the back of the fleeing man's head, the stolen phone strap flew out of his hand and towards the ocean. Conan reacted and threw himself towards the falling strap, catching it before it hit the water.
"An engagement ring?" the Detective Boys echoed, after the man explained his situation.
"That's what you put inside the strap?" Mitsuhiko gaped.
"My girlfriend is a huge Higo fan." the man sighed. "I was going to surprise her tonight."
"It really was inside." Genta gasped, Conan pulling out the hidden ring.
"I splurged on it." the man added. "So, I was worried if it was actually inside there. While checking it on the train, I dropped it when the train shook. I went to pick it up right away but it was a different strap. I saw the father and son standing nearby pick it up. I thought I'd explain the situation when they got off and exchange straps, but Chiyari station was full of people there to dig for clams. I lost sight of them, so I thought if I turned in their strap to the lost and found and waited there, they might show up. That's when these kids arrived. They seemed to be looking for the same strap for some reason, so I followed them."
"In other words, three people dropped their straps when the train shook." Amuro concluded. "The father and son picked his Higo strap and he picked up the son's Sanada strap."
"Then, where's Ai-chan's strap?" Ayumi wondered.
"I found my Detective Badge, though." Genta spoke. "It was in the parking lot of the family restaurant. I put on my hood when it started to rain and it fell out."
"If it's not in here," Conan tugged Genta's hood back and finding the pocket empty. "Then Haibara's strap is in the family restaurant's parking lot."
Back at the Danny's parking lot...
Conan finally located Haibara's phone strap under a parked car.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
