SailorStar9: So, with Chapter 108 uploaded, this is Chapter 109 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 109: Whiteout, Part Two
At the ski resort...
"We're looking for some lost children." the receptionist voiced over the intercom. "Edogawa Conan-kun, Mizuno Fumio-kun, Kojima Genta-kun, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko-kun, and Yoshida Ayumi-chan from Beika City. Your guardian is waiting for you. Please come to the information desk immediately."
"Looks like they aren't coming." the female employee from before noted beside Professor Agasa.
"Where could they all have run off to?" Professor Agasa wondered.
"Shall I request the receptionist to make another announcement?" the female employee asked.
"Please do." Professor Agasa nodded. "Let me know if they show up here later."
"I'll call you on your phone right away." the female employee assured. "Don't worry."
"Where did you kids go?" Professor Agasa sighed, receiving yet another 'Out of Service' message on his phone.
In the woods...
"They're just kids." Ishibashi sneered, hunting down the Detective Boys with Tannai and Mori. "They didn't consider the footprints they'd leave behind.
"Sir, are you really going to kill those kids?" Mori was worried.
"There's no turning back now." Ishibashi insisted. "I've already killed a man."
"You're going to kill all of them?" Mori inquired.
"Every last one." Ishibashi declared. "If we bury them beneath the snow with Yokoyama, I doubt anyone will find them until early spring."
"Sounds like this job is going to weigh on my conscience." Mori sighed.
"If you'd captured them sooner, we wouldn't have to do this." Ishibashi rebuked as the trio trekked up the snowy slope. "Let's hurry. If we don't catch up before the snow starts falling heavily, their footprints will vanish."
"They're gone." Tannai gawked, seeing the pathway was cut off.
"Must've been that kid again." Ishibashi realized it was Conan's doing.
In the abandoned wooden cottage...
"It's a little cold." Ayumi shivered.
"But, it's better than being outside." Genta pointed out.
"But how long do we have to stay here?" Mitsuhiko wondered.
"Since we erased our footprints using my snowboard on the way up here, we'll probably be fine for a while." Conan reasoned. "But there's no telling when they'll catch up to us. That said, if we carelessly leave this place, it could be disastrous. The weather seems to be getting worse. It's hard to judge what's the right thing to do. I got through." he typed in Professor Agasa's number when he realized he had reception. "Please answer your phone, Professor. Professor, it's me." he spoke into the phone.
"Where... you?" Professor Agasa's crackled voice came over the phone. "Is every... okay?"
"Professor, my signal is weak." Conan commented. "Just listen. We're currently being ambushed by that Ishibashi guy and his goons. We're being pursued because Fumio saw Ishibashi kill a man while riding the lift."
At the ski resort...
"We're currently..." Conan's voice crackled over the phone. "Higher... cabins. Police... rescue team immediately."
"Sorry?" Professor Agasa requested. "Say that again? I couldn't hear."
In the abandoned wooden cottage...
"The police." Conan repeated. "Call the police and a rescue team to the cabins immediately. Ishibashi and his goons are nearby. It's no use." he blinked when the connection was cut off. "The call dropped."
"I'm getting kind of hungry." Genta noted.
"The snowstorm is getting stronger." Fumio peered out of the window.
"Fumio, is that an emergency panic button?" Conan spotted the small device hanging on Fumio's belt.
"Of course." Fumio nodded, and unattached the panic button from his belt before pressing the white button on the top of the device.
In the woods...
"The blizzard's getting stronger." Ishibashi stepped out from the forest.
"Where did those kids go?" Mori wondered.
In the abandoned wooden cottage...
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Fumio looked at the battered roof.
"Let's move." Conan decided. "I'm not sure if this cabin will stay standing. Honestly, I don't think it can withstand this blizzard. And our pursuers are closing in. Not only that, there is a landline in the other cabin."
"That's right." Fumio blinked. "I saw phone and power lines running from that cabin."
"At the very least, it has power." Conan added. "As long as we can reach that cabin, we'll be able to get out of this cold. This is no time to sit around chatting." he reminded, one of the wooden panels of the roof breaking off.
"Now we don't have to worry about getting separated." Mitsuhiko noted, Fumio tied the rope Conan found in the cabin to each of their waists using fisherman's knots.
"That said, there's a blizzard outside." Conan reminded. "Let's be careful." with him in the lead, he led the others out.
Meanwhile...
Amuro and Ami were awoken by the incessant beeping sounding from Ami's phone.
"Ignore it." Amuro stifled a yawn.
"Can't." Ami reached over for her phone on the side table. "It's from Fumio's panic button. What in the..." she turned on the table lamp. "Rei," she turned to her lover who was putting on his trousers. "Fumio did say he was going skiing with the Detective Boys, right?"
"Yeah." Amuro nodded.
"Take a look." Ami showed the taller man the red GPS dot blinking on the whiteout map.
"Did Conan-kun and the others get lost?" Amuro wondered. "Wait a minute, Fumio-kun's moving." he spotted the blinking dot shifting. "We have no time to lose."
"Right." Ami nodded.
In the blizzard...
"The other cabin is that way." Conan turned on his Criminal Tracking Glasses. "Let's go. Crap!" he cursed when the falling debris from the cabin they were in flew towards them, the impact splitting the group up.
Conan fell over his feet, the Criminal Tracking Glasses were tossed from his eyes as he landed face-first in the snow. "Guys, can you hear me?" he voiced over the Detective Boys Badge. "Stay where you are. I promise I'll come to get you." he barely managed to take a few steps before he winced from the pain of his injured knee. "You just wait." he got back to his feet and trudged through the snow. "All right." he dug through the snow and pulled out the Criminal Tracking Glasses, only to find it broken. "Ayumi." he located Ayumi first. "Sorry I took so long." pulling Ayumi along, the pair found the others.
"We're here." Fumio exclaimed, the reunited group arriving at the other cabin.
"Let's head inside and look for the heat and phone." Conan ran towards the cabin.
"Conan!" Fumio yelled out, Conan reaching out for the doorknob when the piled-up snow at the door fell on him. Sensing someone was behind them he turned and let out a relieved smile when he saw two familiar shadows. "Tou-san!" he flew into his father's arms.
Afterwards...
Conan awoke to find himself in Okuyama Central Hospital. "Guys, where are we?" he asked, from his hospital bed.
"Looks like you're awake." Amuro noted, slicing a peeled apple. "You're in the hospital."
"Professor, what about the case?" Conan sat up. "What happened to Ishibashi?"
"Don't worry." Amuro assured, handing the boy an apple slice. "We took care of it."
"After I got your call, it was quite an ordeal." Professor Agasa admitted. "I called the police, met up Amuro-san and Mizuno-san with the rescue team and rushed to that cabin. It's a fortunate thing Fumio-kun activated his panic button."
"Amuro-nii-san carried you into the cabin." Ayumi supplied.
"They found the victim where Fumio said he'd be." Professor Agasa added. "They were able to put up an APB for Ishibashi-san and his goons straight away. All three of them were arrested. The rescue team found them stuck in the mountains in the blizzard. Apparently, they gave themselves up."
"Conan-kun's asleep." Ayumi blinked, seeing Conan dozing off.
"After everything he's been through, it's only natural for him to be exhausted." Amuro remarked.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted, by the way. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.