SailorStar9: So with Chapter 99 uploaded, we finally hit Chapter 100 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?
Pairings: Established!Furuya Rei (Amuro Tooru)/Mizuno Ami
Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing, except this plot and pairing.
Chapter 100: Stakeout
Time passes...
"He's buying a lot of stuff." Ayumi noted, seeing Detective Chiba shopping for groceries.
"Is he going to eat all of that by himself?" Genta wondered.
"Unlikely." Mitsuhiko refuted. "There must be a reason for this."
"Looks like we're mistaken." Mitsuhiko remarked, the Detective Boys having followed Detective Chiba to an apartment.
"It looks like he came here to hang out at a friend's place." Ayumi added.
"Seriously?" Genta pouted. "It wasn't anything after all."
"I don't think so." Conan corrected, entering the apartment with Fumio.
"Take a look." Fumio pointed to the letterbox at the entrance. "This apartment building was just built recently, that's why no one lives here just yet."
"The question now is: which floor is Detective Chiba staked out on?" Conan mused, leading the group to the lifts. "The button with the most scratches on it is..." he entered the lift and looked at the control panel. "This one." he nodded. "He's on the fourth floor. If we find a room with a lot of scratches on its doorbell, then..." he led the group out.
"In other words, this room." Mitsuhiko gaped.
"There." Genta pressed the doorbell. "Hey!" he greeted Detective Chiba who had answered the door.
"What is it, Chiba?" Detective Takagi turned the corner upon hearing Detective Chiba's gape.
"Detective Takagi is here, too." Ayumi pointed.
"We spotted Detective Chiba so we decided to follow him." Mitsuhiko supplied.
"You're on a stakeout, right?" Conan guessed.
"We'll help." Genta beamed.
"Oi, oi, oi..." Fumio facepalmed.
In the two detectives' rented room...
"Conan, you're not supposed to be here." Detective Takagi sighed. "You brought all your friends, too."
"How did you know we were on a stakeout?" Detective Chiba was impressed by the conclusion.
"We happened to see you doing a lot of shopping at a convenience store." Mitsuhiko replied. "It seemed unnatural, so we followed you."
"When you entered this apartment building, you stopped to look behind you." Conan added. "You seem interested in the apartment building across the street. That's the location you're staking out, right?"
"Well, yeah." Detective Chiba sighed. "But we don't have time for you kids right now. You can't stay here. We're working."
"The Professor will come pick us up soon." Conan reasoned. "Can't we stay until then?"
"What should we do?" Detective Chiba looked at Detective Takagi for help.
"We don't have a choice." Detective Takagi relented. "You can stay until the Professor arrives."
"Detective Takagi, is there a reason why you're focusing on the three middle rooms on the third room?" Fumio thought to ask.
"We're on a stakeout because we're looking for the person who robbed a jewelry store." Detective Takagi replied.
"Did that happen last week?" Mitsuhiko recalled. "I saw on the news that a robber entered a jewelry store in Haido City and ran off with their jewels."
"When the robbery took place, the residents living on either end were in the hospital or traveling, so they have alibis." Detective Takagi supplied.
"So, which of the residents of those three rooms did it?" Genta asked.
"We're on a stakeout because we don't know yet." Detective Chiba replied, on the other side of the widow, binoculars in hand.
"How did you know the culprit lives in the apartment across the street?" Ayumi wondered.
"Because, several days ago, a serial burglar was caught red-handed." Detective Takagi explained. "Inside the burglar's bag were rings stolen from the jewelry store. They found four total: one ruby, one sapphire, one onyx and one diamond. The burglar testified that they burglarized all the third floor rooms in the apartment building across the street and stole the rings."
"But he couldn't remember which room the rings came from." Detective Chiba added.
"Is he afraid of the phone?" Ayumi wondered, Conan focused on Kuwai Tsunahiko using the Telescopic Lenses.
"That's Kuwai Tsunahiko of Room 302." Detective Chiba supplied. "He's been like that ever since we started the stakeout. Of all the suspects, he moved here most recently. We don't have much information on him."
"The person living in Room 303 has returned." Mitsuhiko pointed out.
"That's Hanai Mitsuki of Room 303." Detective Takagi stated. "He's a salaryman who works at a trading company."
"He returned home after buying dinner at a nearby supermarket." Detective Chiba added. "He returned exactly when he usually does, too."
"That's odd." Mitsuhiko noted, seeing Hanai walked out to his balcony. "Who goes out into their balcony as soon as they come home?"
"Look." Conan noticed Hanai sweep the scattered seed shells from the balcony.
"Could it be?" Detective Chiba gaped.
"Kids, move back." Detective Takagi warned.
"Come to think of it, Hanai went out into his balcony as soon as he got home yesterday, too." Detective Chiba reminded.
"Wait a minute." Fumio pondered. "Scattered seed shells on the balcony and an empty bird cage by the window... could he be waiting for his pet bird to return?"
"Hanai went back to his room." Conan peeked out.
"His neighbor is back in her living room, too." Ayumi added.
"Amano Kasumi of Room 304." Detective Chiba related. "She works as..."
"I know." Ayumi piped in. "She's a yoga teacher."
"Looks like she has a visitor." Conan frowned.
"We've never seen him before." Detective Takagi admitted.
"But how can we find evidence indicating who is the culprit?" Mitsuhiko wondered.
"The robber must've taken items other than the rings." Conan reasoned. "It's hard to imagine that they sold everything in such a short amount of time. The robber is probably panicking because they were burglarized. They probably want to get rid of the remaining evidence quickly. We'll just have to wait for them to give themselves away."
"There's no telling when that will happen." Genta whined.
"Any ideas?" Mitsuhiko inquired, Conan and Fumio walking off to collect their thoughts. "Good idea." he nodded after Ayumi whispered her plan into his and Genta's ears.
"Conan, Fumio, why don't we get going?" Ayumi suggested.
"Aren't we waiting for the Professor?" Fumio inquired.
"Then, the two of you wait for the Professor." Mitsuhiko remarked. "It's late for us, so we're going to go."
"Will you three be okay on your own?" Detective Takagi was worried.
"Yeah." Ayumi nodded and left the apartment. "Excuse us."
"See you two in school tomorrow." Genta bade Conan and Fumio farewell.
"Why do I get the feeling they're going to do something incredibly stupid?" Fumio moaned.
Later that night...
"Takagi." Detective Chiba whispered as the two detectives continued their stakeout.
"They're all ready to go out." Detective Takagi noted.
"Perhaps they are making a sale." Detective Chiba suggested.
"I can't believe they're all going out at the same time." Detective Takagi frowned.
"We can't follow all three of them." Detective Chiba stated. "Should we call for backup?"
"I don't know if they'd make it in time." Detective Takagi remarked. "In any case, get in touch with Inspector Megure."
"What are they doing?" Conan hissed, looking down and seeing Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi throw their toys onto the balconies of the three suspects.
"Those idiots!" Fumio growled.
On the staircase in the opposite apartment...
"Conan, Fumio, can you see us?" Genta contacted the two boys using the Detective Boys Badge. "Let us handle this."
In the stakeout room...
"What are you doing?" Conan barked. "Get back here immediately."
On the staircase in the opposite apartment...
"We'll be fine." Mitsuhiko assured. "We're just going to check out the rooms a little bit."
"We have an idea." Ayumi added.
In the stakeout room...
"Genta, stop right there!" Fumio ordered, the bigger boy was now running up the staircase of the suspect's apartment.
In front of Room 302...
"There's someone standing in front of Room 302." Genta reported.
"Genta entered the room." Detective Chiba informed.
"They're saying something pretty ominous sounding stuff about 'deadlines'." Genta answered after he entered the room. "I'm going to look around for the jewels." he headed off.
In the stakeout room...
"Genta, don't bother." Fumio spoke into his Detective Boys Badge. " Kuwai's visitor is most likely his editor. The reason why Kuwai is afraid of the phone is most probably because his editor has been pestering him for new updates."
"I see." Detective Chiba nodded. "Genta misunderstood what they said and the room doesn't feel lived in because..."
"He's renting it for work." Detective Takagi reasoned. "Mitsuhiko is missing." he spotted Mitsuhiko was gone from the staircase.
In front of Room 303...
"Excuse me." Mitsuhiko chimed in from the Detective Boys Badge. "My Frisbee is on your balcony."
"Give me a second." Hanai opened his door. "I'll go check."
"Wait a minute." Mitsuhiko stopped Hanai from shutting his door. "Are you perhaps worried about something? I saw you looking around from your balcony earlier."
"Come in." Hanai relented. "What's the real reason you came here?" he pressed. "Do you know something about my Daiya? What did you see on my balcony?"
"So, that's what happened." Mitsuhiko gave the living room a scan and realized Fumio's hypotheses was right. "When did Daiya go missing?" he asked, after making a cross with his arms to tell the detectives in the opposite apartment that Hanai wasn't the culprit.
"Three days ago." Hanai replied. "I was cleaning Daiya's room. I carelessly let him fly away."
In the stakeout room...
"Ayumi, too?" Detective Takagi exclaimed, the girl had vanished from her spot.
"Conan, Fumio, can you hear me?" Ayumi voiced from the Detective Boys Badge. "That man might not be that lady's boyfriend. It sounds like they're arguing in her apartment."
"Sell?" Detective Takagi echoed, overhearing the argument via the badge's loudspeaker. "Buyer?"
In front of Room 304...
"Good evening." Ayumi greeted Amano who had answered her door. "My stuffed animal fell on your balcony. Were you on your way out?"
"For work." Amano replied. "It's all right, though."
In the stakeout room...
"Work?" Conan echoed. "Is that man planning on going with her to her lesson?"
"He could be her manager or business partner." Detective Takagi suggested.
In Room 304...
"You have so many yoga mats." Ayumi gushed at the rolled up mats leaning against the wall.
"Try not to touch anything." Amano stopped Ayumi from moving the mats. "I use those for work. I sell them."
"They're yoga mats designed and produced by her." Koda Go explained. "She's on edge because she's worried whether they'll sell or not."
"I'm sorry I touched them without knowing the full story." Ayumi apologized.
In the stakeout room...
"He's her business partner?" Conan blinked.
In Room 304...
"Is this your stuffed animal?" Koda picked up the dolphin plush toy from the balcony. "Make sure you don't lose it again." he returned the plush. "It's late. You should hurry home."
In the stakeout room...
"Not here either." Detective Takagi, Ayumi making a cross with her arms to indicate Room 304 was clear.
"I didn't see anything particularly suspicious." Detective Chiba agreed.
"Enough guys." Conan ordered. "Get back here immediately."
On the staircase in the opposite apartment...
"Roger." Mitsuhiko responded.
"Got it." Genta answered.
In the stakeout room...
"Let's continue with the stakeout and see how things go." Detective Chiba suggested.
In Room 304...
"What was that voice?" Koda asked, hurriedly shielding the uncovered jewels Ayumi had accidentally revealed after she tripped over the carpet in the living room.
"What is this thing?" Amano picked up the Detective Boys Badge that had fallen on the floor. "I thought I heard a voice."
"It sounded like a kid." Koda noted.
In the stakeout room...
"You two, stay here!" Detective Takagi shouted, he and Detective Chiba dashed out of the stakeout room.
In Room 304...
"Hey!" Koda spotted Ayumi trying to flee out of the room. "Why are you running?" he grabbed the girl's wrist before she reached the door. "What did you come here to do? Why don't you tell us why you came here?" he pulled Ayumi back, Amano having dunked the Detective Boys Badge into a glass of water.
"Police!" Detective Takagi flung open the door. "You're under arrest for robbing a jewelry..."
"Stay back!" Kōda ordered.
"Don't you care what happens to the kid?" Amano threatened.
In the stakeout room...
"Detective Chiba!" Conan shouted, Koda was dangling Ayumi over the railing. "Catch Ayumi." activating his Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes and popping out a soccer ball from his Anywhere Ball Dispensing Belt, he sent the ball flying towards Kōda, hitting him on the cheek.
On the road...
Detective Chiba moved in, cushioning Ayumi with his body.
In the stakeout room...
"Case closed." Fumio nodded proudly, Detective Takagi putting Amano under arrest. "Oh, look who came back." he spotted Daiya fly back to Room 303 and perch on the railing.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted, by the way. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.