The Journal of Conan Edogawa

I know that this chapter is really late! I've been really busy this past month and had some major writer's block! This is practically the 20th time that I've rewritten this chapter so hopefully it won't turn out too bad!

Chapter 15: Disappear

Entry #15

Ran's been acting a little differently lately. She doesn't scold me for being in the way during a case anymore. She hasn't asked me where I'm going every time I leave the house. And the few times that I have broken curfew, instead of getting mad, she cooks me something quick to eat and sends me off to bed. I know that I shouldn't be complaining about having more freedom but it's completely out of character for Ran to act like this! It makes me worried about whether she's really okay.

She seems to be happier than ever but I get the feeling that she's not as happy as she seems. Sometimes, I catch her giving me a strange look, almost as if she feels sorry for me. No…that's not it. It's more as if I remind her of something sad or tragic. Could it be that Conan reminds her too much of Shinichi!?

I don't want to see Ran with a look like that. I feel like I'm ruining her life! I try so hard to keep Ran safe and happy but am I really helping? Now that I think about it, aren't I the reason why Ran feels like this? I put her through so much just by being around her. I can't help but wonder if it's even worth it. Would Ran be better off if I wasn't around? She could fall in love with someone else, someone who is more worthy to be by her side. Would she be happier if I just disappeared?

Conan put his journal back in his backpack right as Ran came out of her room. "Conan? What are you up to?"

"Nothing, Ran-neechan! I was just about to watch some TV!" He hurriedly switched the TV on and pretended to be interested in the random episode of Kamen Yaiba.

Ran moved to stand in front of the TV. "There's no way you're going to watch TV all day! You already watch too much!" Of course, this wasn't really true but Conan couldn't really argue since he blamed TV for all the conveniently helpful facts that he knew. "Kazuha just called and said that Heiji was struggling with a case. I told her that we'll be boarding the train within an hour so make sure you pack everything you need for the weekend."

Conan nodded and headed off to his room. Kogorou was still half-way asleep as he placed his clothes into a small suitcase. "What sort of case is this that we have to rush to board the train?" Conan thought as he stuffed his own belongings into his own suitcase.

About fifteen minutes later, Ran, Conan, and Kogorou where in the back of a taxi heading straight to the train station.

About 4 hours later, the trio was waiting at Osaka train station. "Ku-Conan! It's nice to see ya!" Conan glared at the tall dark-skinned teenager as he answered back cheerfully.

"Heiji-niichan! Is it true that you need Uncle's help!?" Ran almost laughed to see the two detective tease each other. Even though Conan was still acting like a child, his words seemed to hold a secret meaning that only he and Heiji understood.

"Actually, Kazuha was the one who invited ya! I could take care of this by myself! I'll let ya tag along but only because I'm sure ya wanna learn from your mentor how real detectives work!" Heiji boasted. Conan's glare only intensified.

"How 'bout we go and get somethin' to eat?" Kazuha suggested. "I bet that you're all pretty hungry after that long train ride."

The group went to a small okonomiyaki restaurant and discussed the case over their food. "There have been a series of kidnappings all over Osaka. All of the victims are kids less than 10 years old." Kazuha explained. "Everyone in Osaka is worried and many parents have gone straight to Heiji since he's 'The Great Detective of the West'."

Conan was the first to ask a question. "How many victims have there been?"

"Six so far. There haven't been any bodies found yet but that doesn't mean anythin'," Heiji replied. "But now that I got my special little helper with me," He put his hand on Conan's head. "I'll be able to find those kids in no time!"

"You should just leave this to the professionals," Kogorou declared, gesturing to himself.

"You're not exactly professional yourself…" Conan thought with a small laugh. "So what do the victims have in common besides their close ages?"

"Not much. They were kidnapped from different parts of Osaka, go to different schools, and their parents have different jobs. The only thing they really have in common is the fact that they were all short for their age and have dark brown hair."

"That's not exactly much to go on." Kogorou responded. "There has to be something else that connects the victims! How were they taken?"

"They were all kidnapped from large crowds while the parents were too distracted to notice anythin' wrong."

"Is there any place that hasn't been hit yet where there's a large crowd?" Conan had gone back to asking the questions.

"A few. There's the Umeda Sky Building, Tennoji Zoo, and Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. There's probably a lot more other places too."

At this point, everyone became more interested in the food than in kidnappings…everyone except Heiji and Conan. Ran noticed that Conan hardly ate anything as he thought over the information given him. "That's just like Shinichi to skip eating because of a case!"

As soon as everyone was done eating, the group decided to check out the Umeda Sky Building since it might be the culprit's next target. When they arrived, Ran was overwhelmed by the immense crowd, most of which were probably tourists. She did notice that parents were keeping their children close. She wondered if it was because of the crowd or because of the recent incidents. They went straight to the Floating Garden Observatory, which was 170 meters above the ground. Needless to say, Kogorou ended up waiting at ground level.

The first thing everyone noticed as they entered the open-air rooftop observation platform was that it was very windy. They ignored the wind and soon, Heiji was pointing out all the great landmarks of Osaka, proudly declaring each as Osaka's pride and joy. Conan rolled his eyes as the Osakan detective even pointed out the planes that were landing at Osaka International Airport.

While everyone else was enjoying the 360-degree view of the city, Conan was carefully observing the nearby people. Even though he had no idea how the culprit looked like or if he was even here, it wouldn't hurt to look for someone acting suspicious. Besides, the detectives' very presence meant that there was bound to be some sort of crime soon!

Heiji nudged Conan and pointed at a man standing not too far from them. The man was tall, wearing a hat which covered his face, and carrying a large duffle bag. The man seemed to be waiting for someone but as soon as the man noticed that he was being watched, he quickly went towards the escalator that would take him back down to the Floating Garden Observatory.

The two high school detectives made up an excuse about having something in their eyes and followed the man. When they exited the escalator, Conan turned to look up at Heiji. "We should split up to look for him. We'll meet up by right here in ten minutes if we don't find him."

For some reason, Heiji had a bad feeling about his smaller counterpart's plan. "Kudou, I think we should stay together this time. I got a bad feelin' 'bout this."

Conan stared at the Osakan questioningly. "We'll find him quicker if we separate." He pointed out. Heiji had to admit, Kudou had a point. Besides, he couldn't afford to lose more time because something didn't feel right! Heiji nodded.

"Just be careful," he instructed as he headed off in the direction of the glass elevators.

Conan sighed. "Even Hattori is being weird today…" He made a beeline towards the restrooms. He figured that the suspicious man might be hiding in there since it was obvious that he hadn't accomplished whatever reason he had for being there. It costs 800 yen to enter the Umeda Sky Building so he couldn't be leaving. However, judging by the way the man was wearing his hat, he probably didn't want to stick out in anybody's mind. Going back down to ground level and then back up to the observatory would make him more suspicious. Since the man knew that he was being chased by the two detectives, he would want to hide out in a place where he couldn't be seen. Thus, the reason why Conan was currently heading to the bathroom.

Conan entered the restroom and saw that it was surprisingly empty. "Was my deduction wrong? Did I miss something?" He was so busy thinking over where his deductive reasoning might have gone wrong that he didn't notice the door opening right behind him. A piece of cloth was pressed against his mouth and nose. "Chloroform!? Why didn't I see…" Conan's thought trailed off as the small boy lost consciousness.

Twenty minutes later, Heiji was pacing next the escalator as Ran and Kazuha came down. "Where's Conan?" Ran asked casually. Heiji looked at her, obviously panicked.

"He went to the bathroom. I'll go 'head and get him!" Heiji rushed towards the restroom, praying that the shrunken detective would somehow be there. He was discouraged when the bathroom was completely empty. Right as he was leaving, he noticed a familiar pair of glasses laying on the ground next to one of the stalls. He slowly picked it up, his eyes growing wide. "Damn it, Kudou! Ya just had to get kidnapped too!" When Heiji returned to the group, it was obvious that something was wrong.

"Where's Conan?" Ran asked again more slowly. Heiji handed Ran the glasses. As she held the plastic frames in her hand, her face became very pale. Then she collapsed onto the ground, holding the glasses to her chest as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"No! Shinichi! Please don't leave me again!" That was all Ran could think as Kazuha tried to comfort her.

I'm going to leave it right there! I just want to say that I'm very proud of myself because I actually did real research for this chapter! All of the places mentioned in this chapter are real places! Anyway, I'm sorry that there wasn't a lot of Ran's thoughts during this chapter. I promise that next chapter will make up for it though! Please let me know what you think and if you have any ideas or requests! Thank you so much for reading and waiting patiently for me to actually write something!