This chapter became longer than I intended, but that's how it goes!
Onward to chapter 9
Chapter 9
As Daisuke Jigen-san and Ojisan parked their vehicles, Conan and the others waited on the friend near the restaurant. After parking the car behind each other, the group saw the trio stroll towards them, Jigen-san just hanging up his cell. Fujiko Mine-san, who was with Ojisan, gently hugged him, blowing kisses in his ear. He sighed in ecstasy.
"I just called him, telling him that we have more guests," Jigen-san said when they made it back. Conan noticed the annoyed look on his face as he stared at Mine-san and Ojisan. "I told him about you all," he added with some restraint.
"What's with the expression?" Hattori muttered to Conan. Conan, in turn, shrugged. Then he felt a surge of anger. He turned to see an angry Ran giving dark looks to the duo. Conan and Hattori slowly moved back. They felt as though Ran could have kicked that woman to Kingdom Come, following another one to Ojisan. They both seemed to notice Ran as Ojisan quickly moved away from Mine-san, who raised an eyebrow to this, and sighed.
"Mouri-chan," she asked. "Your father is a nice man, and I'm his biggest fan." If anything she grabbed Ojisan and pulled him closer, sending gasps from Kazuha to Hattori to even Conan himself. Is she trying to get herself killed?
"Ran! She's just kidding, Ran! Ran? Ran!" cried Ojisan as he tried to plead to his karate expert daughter to calm down, with little avail. They all could see veins popping out her forehead. She got into a fighting stance. Conan looked to see if Jigen-san and Ishikawa-san was going to save Mine-san. Jigen-san was actually grinning while Ishikawa-san took steps back himself, out of Ran's way. What are they doing?
"What are they doing?" asked Kazuha-chan. "Aren't you going to …"
"She got what she deserved." Jigen-san glanced at Conan, his smile growing bigger. Ishikawa-san only nodded. Mine-san eyes widened.
"You're not going to save me?" she cried, backing away. Passersby, noticing Ran quickly crossed the street.
"Dad will only be with MOM!" she cried. She ran, fast as lightening, and gave a battle cry, giving one swift kick to Mine-san's face.
"Oy, oy. What's going on here?"
Everyone turned to see a man dressed all in black as he lightly grabbed Ran's foot. There was stunned looks from everyone except Jigen-san and Ishikawa-san.
He stopped Ran's kick like it was nothing! Conan couldn't believe this. "Kudou," whispered Hattori, probably thinking the exact same thing. "He stopped her kick, and we didn't even sense him coming! Who is he?" Conan gave no response. The man, who wore black glasses, gently let go of Ran's foot. He stared at Ojisan, Hattori and Conan.
"Kogoro Mouri-san," he said to Ojisan, pointing at him. He then pointed to Hattori. "Heiji Hattori-kun." Then he walked to Conan, bending down and patting his head. "Conan Edogawa-kun."
Ojisan blinked. "Are you the friend we're waiting for?" He gave a 'thank you' stare to him.
Jigen-san chuckled. "How long have you been standing there?" He sighs a little as he muttered, "So close!"
The man stared at Conan, taking off his glasses. Conan at once felt uneasy. The man dressed in a black turtleneck sweater, black pants, and black shoes, somehow gave him a weird impression. In the back of Conan's mind, he was reminded that the Organization was marked by its members dressed in black. That uneasy feeling came back. Conan blinked to clear that thought. Another part of his mind noted that Conan was thinking too hard, like he occasionally does. That thought, for now, prevailed.
The black-clad man smiled, sending shivers down Conan's spine. The plain smile and his fun-loving expression completely contrasted with his eyes, which were totally unreadable and some what distant. The man scratched his short black hair, sliding down to his thick sideburns.
Rubbing Conan's hair again, he said, 'About the time Mouri-chan was in her karate stance." He looked at Conan again with those eyes. Conan shuddered slightly.
"WHAT?" cried Mine-san. She immediately ran to the man. "You were standing there as I was about to be killed by this girl?!" She tried to smack him, in which he dodged, going behind Hattori. Hattori, wide eyed, tried without success, to move out the way. Mine-san humphed and stood next to Ojisan, who was torn between helping the man and staying away from her or being near her and summon the wrath of his daughter…again.
"Women are scary, right?" the man asked of Hattori. Hattori nodded, saying, "Yes," before flinching.
He turned. "Kazuha…." he asked with a weak chuckle. Kazuha-chan stared at him, arms folded.
"Scary, huh?" Kazuha-chan looked away.
Ishikawa-san chuckled. "Lupin, you're here and already you caused dissent." Conan blinked. Lupin? He looked at Hattori, who frowned himself, looking at the man behind him.
The man glanced at Ishikawa-san and smirked. "I guess so." He let go of Hattori. "Sorry about that, Hattori-kun." He looked at Ran. "I'm sorry that Fujiko did that," but then he shrugged slightly. "But don't worry, it won't go that far. He may be famous, but he's not rich. Her love depends on how much he makes… and I know detectives don't make much."
Hattori and Conan couldn't help but chuckle while Ojisan blushed a little. Mine-san's mouth twitched as she was about to yell at him.
"I do have some right to say that after you humiliated everyone here…" Lupin-san said harshly, cutting off any further argument from her. Conan stared at him. Was it him, or did Lupin-san's voice didn't match his calm face?
The three stared at him. Mine-san was the most surprised as she looked away in shame. They all heard a click and turned to see Jigen-san staring at his cell phone. "Lupin telling her off and Fujiko actually looking shameful for once. History in the making. This won't last but I'm glad that I was there to see it. Glad I took pictures."
"Umm, Lupin-san?" Conan asked in his most childlike voice, "Aren't we late for the reservation?"
"No," Lupin-san said. "We're fifteen minutes early. I reserved for 11: 30 am. And I called the restaurant after Jigen called me and changed the number of people from four to nine." He suddenly snapped his fingers. "We might as well, right?" He waved his hands. "Come on!"
The others started to walk in, with Hattori and Conan following Jigen-san and Ishikawa-san.
"What the hell was that?" Jigen-san muttered. "What the heck's with the black ensemble? Ya know, Goemon, ever since we got here Lupin just went a complete 180 in personality. I don't like it. This might bite us in the ass in the long run."
Ishikawa-san nodded in agreement. "Lupin didn't even flinch when he saw Fujiko and Mouri-san together. This is troubling."
Conan frowned. "Kudou," muttered Hattori. Conan knew that the two men weren't listening to them so Hattori could call Conan by his real name. "That Lupin guy… do you think that he's…?"
"Don't know, Hattori. Don't know." I need some time to think. Conan was too deep in thought to listen to anymore conversations. He didn't even notice the sitting arrangements and the ordering. Conan didn't even protest when Ojisan, for revenge, ordered a cheap plate for Conan.
"So, how long have you guys been friends?"
Conan snapped out of his thoughts to hear Ran's question, just as the food arrived. Conan was eager for their answers as well as the food. When the waiter placed his plate down…
"Ojisan, what's this?"
"Oh, that's the kiddy meal I ordered for you," Ojisan said fiendishly. The small plate contained nothing more than a mini hamburger, fries, and corn. Conan knew they had more fries than this and bigger hamburgers. He could tell from Ojisan's dark smile that Ojisan asked the waiter to bring Conan the smallest amount of fries and the smallest hamburger patty possible. "So, Conan-kun, do you like it?" Ojisan gave a mocking laugh as he purposely exposed his meal which made Conan's look pathetic in comparison.
Conan could have sworn that he heard chuckling from Hattori, who as Conan realized, was sitting next to him. He finally took a look at the table and the sitting arrangements. They were all sitting in a round table with Ojisan and Lupin sitting across from each other. Mine-san was sitting to the left of Ojisan followed by Kazuha-chan and Ishikawa-san. Jigen-san was sitting to the left of Lupin-san followed by Ran, Conan then Hattori.
Conan decided against faking a tantrum, for it would have also embarrassed Lupin-san and his friends. So he instead said, "Ojisan, this looks really good! Thank you!" I'm not going to let him have the last laugh!
Ojisan's eyes widened. "I see," was his only response. A deflated look settled on his face as started picking his food. Everyone giggled with Hattori's the loudest. Conan gave Hattori a good kick to the knee. He yelped in pain.
"Are you alright, Heiji?" Kazuha-chan asked.
"I'm good," Hattori answered with a sharp gasp, giving a glare to Conan, who sat innocently on his chair, eating his pathetic excuse for a lunch.
"We've been friends for years," answered Mine-san after the giggling ceased.
"Oh!" said Ran, smiling nicely. "What do you do?" Conan pricked his ears, knowing Hattori would do the same. These people were interesting, especially Lupin-san. The two detectives would like to learn some things about them.
Jigen-san grinned as he lifted his hat, exposing his long bangs and one of his dark eyes. "I repair old guns. I travel around to people who house these rare weapons and fix and clean them. I know some big wigs that pay me big bucks to repair their antiques."
"Wow!" cried Ojisan. The deflation vanished as he heard all this. He began to eat his food. "What about you. Ishikawa-san?"
Ishikawa-san smiled. "Those two boys know my profession and I'll also tell you. I am a professional swordsman. Just as Jigen, I travel to hone my skills."
"That's so cool!" cried the girls together. Conan smiled. Being a traveling swordsman must be… he snapped out of that thought. He must listen to their stories.
Mine-san smiled. "I'm a secretary for a business." She sighed a little. "Nothing special like those two."
"Okay," said Ran. "I hope your company has success." Ran fidgeted. "I'm sorry I was going to kick you."
Mine-san looked surprised. "That's okay, Mouri-chan." With a wary glance at Lupin-san, she added, "I'm sorry, too." They heard a beep and turned to see Jigen-san staring at his cell phone.
"Fujiko actually apologizing! Another history making event. Good thing I've recorded it."
Mine-san glared at Jigen-san. "Would you just quit it?" she growled. Jigen-san grinned.
"What about you, Lupin-sa—," Ojisan began before staring at him. "Are you alright?"
Lupin-san was staring distantly at his food, which he didn't touch, muttering to himself. Conan mentally noted this. The moment Ojisan called him, he blinked and looked around at the table. Waving his hands, he said, "I'm a magician…of sorts."
"Magician?" asked Kazuha-chan.
Lupin-san nodded. "My parents named me after that famous thief, because he was their biggest fan. I became a magician because you know that he occasionally uses tricks to get himself out of situations, and magic is somewhat of a slight of hand, right?"
Everyone nodded. Conan joined as well. It's true that the 'gentleman thief' Arsene Lupin did use tricks that would have made Houdini jealous. "Then, Lupin-neesan, can you show us a trick?"
He suddenly smiled. "I'll show you three, Edogawa-kun." Lupin–san dug in his pockets and took out something. He place three items in the center of the table, "This is the first one…does these things belong to anyone?"
Ojisan, Hattori, and Conan rose from the table. "THAT'S OUR WALLET!!!" cried Ojisan and Hattori.
"And that's my watch!!" cried Conan. The moment that Lupin-san placed the items on the table, Conan realized that his watch was missing. How did he do that? Conan immediately grabbed his watch, putting it back on his wrist. Hattori and Ojisan grabbed their wallets and after checking to see if anything was taken, placed it back in their pockets.
Smirking, Lupin-san said, "Now for number two. Mouri-chan, Toyoma-chan, check your pockets. I left something interesting there."
The girls immediately rose from their chair digging in their pockets. They took out egg-shaped capsules. Staring at each other, they slowly opened it. Blue smoke burst from the capsules, surrounding the girls. They yelped
"Kazuha!" cried Hattori.
"Ran!" cried Ojisan. Oh no! Ran! Conan glared at Lupin-san. If he did anything to the girls, he swears he'd—. The air suddenly smelled sweet. Flowers? When the blue smoke cleared the girls' faces vanished behind large bouquets of flowers. Conan heard clapping and looked around. The people in the restaurant were looking at them and pretty much cheered. Lupin-san rose and bowed.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he said with a smile.
"What a ham!" muttered Jigen-san with a grin.
"Always the show off," said Ishikawa-san.
Ojisan joined the applause, apparently trying hard not to look stupid. Only Conan and Hattori sunk a little lower in their seats.
Ran and Kazuha-chan blushed as they took their flowers and sat down. Annoyed looks settled on Conan's and Hattori's faces.
"That was excellent, Lupin-san!" said Ojisan. Lupin-san bowed at all the applause. It died down and he pulled out his own wallet. Taking out a piece of paper, he gave it to Ojisan, who gave it a quick glance before looking serious. Conan saw this as Ojisan's 'business mode.'
"Who is this person? And why do you need my help?" Ojisan said. Mine-san looked at the paper and looked away
"So that's why we're here." she said.
"In truth she's a friend I've met long ago, so I don't exactly remember her name. I came here with my friends about a couple of days ago to look for her. I've heard she was in this area." Lupin-san leaned back in his chair and continued with his serious tone. "I've asked around but with no luck. I was wondering if you or your friends have seen or even met her."
Ojisan scratched his head, passing it around first to Kazuha-chan. She shook her head as she got up from her seat sharing the paper, which Conan assumed was a photo, with Ran. She also shook her head giving the photo to Conan and Hattori. Both boys' faces paled. Conan's eyes widened in shock. No! It can't be! He gave a quick glance to Hattori, who stared back, eyes meeting. A flash of panic crossed them. Both realized their shock and tried to hide it, weakly shaking their heads.
"We haven't seen her, Lupin-neesan," Conan said weakly. Conan gave the photo back to him.
"But you know," added Ojisan thoughtfully. "That woman looks exactly like a little girl in Conan's class. I think that girl's name is Ai Haibara." Ojisan's eyes brightened. "Hey, I think they may be sisters!" Hattori's and Conan's faces became even paler. Ojisan, you fool!
Lupin-san's eyes widened somewhat. "Is that so?" A small smile tugged at his lips. If anything, he gave a quick stare at the boys. "Are you two alright? You look flustered."
Shit! Did he see our expressions? Conan and Hattori nodded. "We're fine!" they said in unison.
Conan suddenly tugged at Hattori's jacket. "Heiji-neechan," he said, "I want to go home now." He gave a pleading glance at Ojisan.
Ojisan looked at Conan. "You're probably tired; we all are." With added annoyance, "We had to wake up at 5 in the morning to pick these two brats up!" He pointed at Hattori and Kazuha-chan. He sighed. "Now I have to pay for everything." He took out his wallet, pulling out some yen as he looked at the bill that was place on the table. He noticed some yen already on the table. Giving Lupin-san a 'thank you' glance, he paid for the rest. Ojisan, Ran, Kazuha-chan, Hattori, and Conan rose from their seats.
"It was nice to meet you all!" the girls said. The boys nodded. Jigen-san gave a small wave while Ishikawa-san just nodded and Fujiko waved as well. Lupin-san on the other hand smiled.
'Wait, Edogawa-kun," he said. "Didn't I say that I'll do three tricks for you?" Conan hesitated before nodding. He noticed Lupin-san's smile grew neutral. Waving his hand in the air, he flicked it once, showing a bowtie between his pointer and middle fingers. Flicking it again exposed a green tie between his middle and index finger. Then flicking it a third time, exposed a baseball cap between his index and pinky. "I'm sure these things belong to you."
Conan and Ojisan grabbed at their necks while Hattori patted his head. Eyes widening, they were about to protest when they saw that in their left hands were their respective possessions. With boggling eyes, Conan looked at Lupin-san who waved his hands showing that he didn't have them. "And that is number three."
Wowed beyond words, the boys were dragged away by the girls out the restaurant and to the white van. As the van drove away and the shock lessened, Conan muttered, "Damn that Ojisan! He may have put us all in danger!"
"Kudou, I hope that Lupin guy isn't…"
"I don't know, Hattori!" Why does he have a picture of Haibara? Please don't let us both be right about this, cause if we are… we're in danger, big time!!