On the first day of Christmas...
Title: The Christmas Bomber Case
Author: tailfluff
Theme: Day One: A Partridge in a Pear Tree
Series: Detective Conan
Pairing: Conan(Shinichi)/Ran
Rating: PG
Warnings: Remember kids- bombs are bad.
Disclaimer: Detective Conan belongs to the great and wonderful Gosho Aoyama.
Anything else: This is my first fanfiction for this series, but I love the show and have been following candy__chan & fyliwionvilyaer's awesome Conan and Magic Kaito stories over here so I thought I should throw in some Shinichi/Ran to go with their two lovely pairings. I'll hopefully be getting the others done before Epiphany (since it looks like I'll be doing the 2nd half of the 12 days)
Anyways, enjoy ^^
Japanese to know:
Keibu: Police Inspector
Otousan: Father
Tousan: Dad
------------------
Woman robbed by 'Santa.' Police searching for the costumed thief now.
Conan frowned as his eyes skimmed over the headline. Kogoro had fallen asleep at his desk, once again providing the shrunk detective the chance to read the newspaper without getting any odd looks. Looking at all the information, the clues added up easily. The holidays were simply a time of high-crime. Whether they were people desperate to have money for gifts or cold-hearted souls just wanting to use the chaotic hustle and bustle to their advantage, it wasn't uncommon to hear about such attacks under the ruse of the jolly beaded man.
But this year, Shinichi saw differently the same crime scenario he had analyzed many times before. This was in part to his current state trapped in the body of young Edogawa Conan. For it is only after being with the very children that look up to and admire Santa Claus that one can see how positively deranged these crimes could be. Through the eyes of a child who still believes, Santa was an icon of goodness and cheer and yet criminals everywhere would use him and the holiday season as means to do bad. It was a very sad state of affairs, Conan noted ruefully as he shoved the newspaper back under Kogoro's arm. How would such news be taken by a small child?
It would take a very pathetic person indeed, the teenage mind inside the youthful façade noted, to use an innocent man's face and name for the sake of crime.
"Conan-kun? Otousan?" Ran's warm voice echoed down the hallway.
Blinking himself out of his deeper thoughts, Conan looked up at her and smiled, "Ran-neechan, you're home early."
She pushed open the door, bags of groceries in her arms, "A nice young man helped me carry my things, wasn't that sweet of him?"
"How young a man?" Shinichi steamed inwardly.
Jumping up, Conan went to 'innocently' look out the window, "Where?"
"Oh, he must have left already. Once I got to the door I told him that I could get them up the stairs on my own. But still, it was very kind of him."
Conan pouted, while inside his brain Shinichi was turning green with jealousy.
"I can help next time, Ran-neechan!"
Smiling, Ran tapped the young boy on the nose, "I know. But you can only carry so much."
"Don't remind me," He thought wryly.
"But I did get this for you," She said, pulling out a warm, gingerbread cookie.
Conan's eyes lit up, he loved gingerbread cookies.
"Thank you!" He chirped, biting into one of the cookie's arms.
Ran laughed, "I thought you'd like that. Shinichi always liked them."
He paused, looking up at her as she reminiscenced.
"He'd always eat the right arm first saying, 'If he was an armed criminal- this way I've incapacitated his firing arm. Since I've noticed him favoring his right hand, the chances are he's right handed.'"
Glancing down at the cookie in his hands, Conan smiled. He'd bitten into the right arm, just like he had as a kid.
"Shinichi-niisan is funny," He remarked, biting into the other arm quickly before Ran noticed the similar trait.
As Ran walked over to rouse her Father from where he slept, the phone began to ring and Kogoro stirred awake.
"Ehh, Yoko not yet..."
"Tousan!" Ran reprimanded him. He jolted awake and groped about for the phone.
"Ahh- phone yes," He cleared his throat, "Hello, Mouri Detective Agency. How can I.... Megure-keibu? What? We'll be right there."
"Otousan, what's going on?"
"Talk as we go, we've got a case," He said grabbing up a coat and rushing them out the door.
"But shouldn't I stay here and cook dinner?"
"Ran-neechan, come on," Conan urged having jumped up and rushed to the door himself. He knew if he didn't follow quickly, Kogoro would leave them out of the case and nothing would get solved.
"Ah but--" She saw the small boy dart down the stairs and followed, "Conan-kun! Wait!"
---------------------------
They'd arrived at the scene in a few minutes. Kogoro was less than pleased that once again "the brat" had tagged along, but Ran defended Conan saying that he was just curious, although she'd leveled him with a rather scolding stare herself.
After being greeted at the door of the house by Megure-keibu, they walked down the hallway as Officer Takagi rattled off the facts.
The victim was a middle-aged woman: Nikaido Fujiko, age 37, occupation: lawyer. Her wavy brown hair had fallen loose from its bun and she was being tended to by the paramedics. It was nothing that serious, just several minor cuts and a major scare, but the motive behind the crime still had yet to be discovered.
Looking at the scene of the explosion, Conan walked about and observed what he could without Kogoro noticing. The Christmas package she'd received had contained a small, home-made bomb that shot out pieces of metal when it was detonated. This wasn't a murder attempt, Conan noted, but more of a scare-tactic or warning.
The woman did have reason to become a person's target; she was a lawyer after all. Who knows how many people sent to jail because of her could possibly be out of prison now and back to settle some grudge. Luckily, Kogoro seemed to be thinking along the same lines and had asked for someone to get him a list of any cases tied to her and the names of any of those people who had been released.
"Probably has him a little more alert than usual," Conan noted to himself as he thought back to the victim, "That woman could have just as easily been Eri..."
---------------------------------
There was a long list of possible suspects, she was a formidable lawyer that was for certain; but there was no one on the list that didn't have an alibi or wasn't still securely behind bars. None of those in prison had sent out any packages in the last month, it had been triple checked. And the alibis behind the two who were out of prison were rock solid.
Kogoro was baffled, something that wasn't all that surprising; but this time Conan was as well.
Had it been delivered to Mrs. Nikaido by accident? Was it just some sort of sick prank by some punk teenagers and she was the unlucky target? Or was it a message meant to scare someone else?
A few days passed, and they were no closer to the answer than before. That's when the phone rang with a second case- another present, another bombing.
---------------------------------
The second victim was injured slightly more than Mrs. Nikaido. Hiroshi Matsumoto, age 27, current occupation: pizza delivery boy. He'd been taken to the hospital with a minor head-injury caused by the explosives. The paramedics on the scene assured the police he would be fine; but like with all head-injures, they wanted to play it safe and check him out further at the hospital.
The scene itself was very similar to the first case. Remains of what appeared to be a small Christmas Cactus, its pot and the large red-ribbon Conan surmised was probably wrapped around the pot prior to the bomb going off laid scattered on the floor outside Mr. Matsumoto's door. Like Mrs. Nikaido before him, the bomb had detonated moments after he'd answered the door.
By this, the deduction behind the method of detonating the bomb was simple. The bomber had to be able to know when the victim would open the door and take the package from the ground. Meaning- whoever it was had to have been nearby.
Rushing from the room, Conan ran out to the street and started looking about. On spotting an elderly man at a near by convenience store glancing at the police cars, he stopped to speak to him.
"Did you see someone come out of that building just now?"
"Ah, boy. It's not safe to be by yourself right now. Someone just got a bad gift and it's dangerous."
Conan laughed lightly, putting his hand behind his head, "I know. I'm helping Detective Mouri."
The man's eyes widened at that, "So you're that young boy that helps the famous detective?"
Conan nodded, "So did you see anyone come past recently?"
He paused, rubbing his chin as he thought, "No. Can't say I have. There was just the person who must have delivered that package."
"What did he look like?" Conan asked breathlessly. This was it, the bomber was hand-delivering his own bombs!
"I'm not sure, boy. He was dressed up as Santa Claus."
Shock etched itself on Conan's face and he mustered up a smile, "Ah- thanks Mister! I'll go tell Detective Mouri right now!"
Racing back towards the house, he looked around once more at the clues. Tugging at the pants leg of one of the officers, he played the innocent card.
"Hey, how'd the bomb go off at just the right time?"
"Ah, you see this?" The officer pointed to the pieces of red plastic in the bag.
Conan nodded.
"We think that like the first case, there was a cell phone or pager inside the gift used to trigger the bomb."
"Oh! I've seen them do that on TV. Wouldn't that mean that the bomber would have to be where he could see the person pick up the gift? Or be the person who brought the package?"
In the background, the information sunk into Kogoro's mind.
"Megure-keibu, have them ask people in the area if they saw the person who delivered the package. Chances are, that's our bomber."
Megure shouted out orders and several officers scattered to start asking around.
"Mouri-kun, do you have any idea who the bomber might be or what the motive is?" Megure said, turning to look at him.
Kogoro laughed nervously, "Um... I'm working on it?"
"Hmm, we'll have to look into what might be a connecting factor between Mrs. Nikaido and Mr. Matsumoto."
---------------------------------
By the third morning, both the connection and another victim turned up. Having gotten a phone call from Megure early that morning, both Kogoro and Conan groggily stood by as they observed the scene.
This victim had gotten the worst of it so far. A Christmas teddy bear loaded with explosives left the young woman in critical condition as they rushed her to the hospital.
Houko Kisaragi, age 25, occupation: waitress. Her data along with Mrs. Nikaido's and Mr. Matsumoto's though made the connection final clicked.
It all came down to a trial held around Thanksgiving with a man named Akira Ishimaru.
----------------------
Conan sat on the couch, intently concentrating on the voices being broadcasted through his earpiece. Unbeknownst to Kogoro, Conan had tacked a small transmission device onto his tie before he'd left for the briefing with Megure about the case.
Now, as he sat with a newspaper draped over his face pretending to sleep so Ran wouldn't ask why he was just sitting there, Conan listened.
"Mouri-kun, do you remember the case with Akira Ishimaru a few months ago?"
"Hmmm. Was that the robbery and hostage case?"
"Yes. We think this may be tied to it."
Shinichi's mind slowly pieced the full story together, coming to a startling conclusion.
Akira Ishimaru was a man down on his luck. He'd just lost his job and his girlfriend was threatening to leave him. Desperate to make ends meet, he robbed a bank- accidentally shooting the teller in his panic. Scared that he'd shot someone, Akira took a young woman hostage and demanded that he be given three million yen and a ticket out of the country.
Not sure where the man could be, the police were tipped off by Akira's friend Hiroshi Matsumoto as to a few places he could be hiding. And it turned out, the girl being held hostage was Akira's girlfriend at the time- Houko Kisaragi.
After that, all the pieces all fell into place.
Shinichi remembered the case. As Conan, he'd innocently suggested to Kogoro that of the hiding places the most likely was the one that coincided with a path that was not far from the bank he robbed and went past the dinner (where Houko worked and was kidnapped and taken hostage from.) It wasn't long before they arrived at the location and apprehended the man.
In Akira's eyes: Hiroshi betrayed him, Houko was about to break-up with him and Fujiko Nikaido was the lawyer who prosecuted him in court. How he was managing this when it was verified he was still in prison was another mystery altogether, but at least now they knew the motive and could predict the bomber's next move. But Conan realized, if these bombs were a warning leading up to a murder- there was one person that would be the final target.
The man who brought Akira in- Mouri Kogoro.
Quickly scrambling up and yelling to Ran as he rushed out the door that he was going out to play, Conan made his way to the nearby phone booth.
Twisting the dial on the bowtie, he got Officer Shiratori's voice and placed the call.
"Megure-keibu?"
"Ahh, Shiratori-kun. Did you find something else out?" The Inspector asked.
"I believe the bomber's next target will be Mouri-san."
"Why's that?"
Using Shiratori's voice, Conan reasoned the deduction he'd just made and his preposition to prevent it. It was simple really, no one would suspect a holiday trip right before Christmas and then they could have someone watching Kogoro at every second just in case.
Megure agreed and the plan was set into motion.
---------------------------------
They'd routed all packages and mail to Kogoro's holiday address. There was even a sign on the door reading, "Mouri Kogoro is not here right now. For urgent matters please contact him at the following address."
If the bomber didn't already know Kogoro was out of town, he wouldn't get past the front door without finding out.
Meanwhile, Kogoro was enjoying a vacation resort furnished with all the alcohol and pretty girls to keep him content. But nearby, there were officers watching him at every moment. If the bomber approached, they'd apprehend him in no time.
Little did everyone know, they'd misjudged their bomber.
---------------------------------
It had been nice and quiet at home without Kogoro's snoring or chanting at a Yoko concert on TV and Conan was enjoying it. It was paradise for the teen-turned-child, and he was eating it up.
This, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that without her father around, Ran was paying lots of attention to him. Nope, not at all.
Ran had just gotten home from classes and Conan had managed to escape the Shounen Tantei for the afternoon. He was all set for a nice evening having dinner with Ran, when a knock sounded on the door.
"Coming!" Ran called, walking her way over to the door. She opened it, but no one was there.
Glancing up and down the hallway, Conan saw her gasp in surprise on seeing something resting at her feet.
"Oh, it's a present."
Conan looked closer, noticing the small Christmas tree Ran held in her hands.
Flipping open the small card, Ran read it aloud.
"To Ran. From...Shinichi," Her voice rose to a pitch Conan knew all too well. It was the way she said his real name anymore- shocked, angered, worried, yet still somehow so touched. Deep down, it pained him to hear it sometimes- knowing that it was his fault that there was that anger and worry mixed in there instead of the playful bickering tone that they once used around one another.
But at that very moment, Ran voiced the exact urgent thought that rushed into Conan's mind.
"But Shinichi wouldn't send something like this," She said skeptically, turning the small tree about as confusion settled on her features.
"No, I wouldn't. That's just stupid. And what's with that large partridge on the side? It's ticking like it's a..."
Before he could ponder more on who would be sending a small tree with a partridge-clock to Ran under his name, he was struck with one ominous thought.
"It's not Kogoro that he's after. It's Ran."
Not wasting a single second, Conan rushed into action.
"Ran-neechan, watch out!" He jumped at her legs, knocking the gift from her hand and hoping it fell far enough away. The second they hit the ground, he protectively shielded her.
One final tick echoed down the hall before the bomb inside detonated.
-------------------------------
He'd hit his head, Conan noted, but the ache wasn't all that bad. Sitting up, he looked at where Ran laid beside him.
"Ran-neechan!" He said, shaking her lightly, "Ran, are you okay?"
"Conan?" She asked wearily turning to look up at him.
They both had some injuries from where the debris from the explosion hit them, but he'd gotten the bomb far enough away in time. Sighing in relief, he nodded to her.
"Are you okay, Ran-neechan?"
He saw her wipe a trail of blood off her cheek, "Yeah. But how did you know that it was a…"
Her words died on her lips and her eyes widened. Before Conan could react, she'd grabbed him and held him close as she shakily stood to confront the approaching figure.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to settle this one in person," The man sneered from the shadows.
Shifting in Ran's arms, Conan dropped to the floor and tried his best to shield Ran behind him.
"And how cute. The boy's trying to be a hero," The bomber stepped forward- red Santa suit hiding most of his features, "Sorry brat, but your girlfriend here has been a bad girl this year and Santa needs to give her some lead."
Conan gulped, edging back against Ran as he inwardly cursed himself for not seeing this sooner.
"It was never Kogoro that he blamed. It was Ran. She was the one who used her karate to get the hostage to safety and knock him unconscious. Akira would never have known that Kogoro was the one that discovered the location and would put all that blame on Hiroshi's tip-off. Damnit, why didn't I see this before now? How can I protect Ran like this?"
Desperately, he looked around for anything large enough to kick at the man- but there was nothing. They were trapped, plain and simple. About to recklessly attempt rushing at the man's legs, Conan paused when he felt Ran's hand on his shoulder.
"Who are you?" Ran asked, obviously trying to buy them some time.
"Ha! You should know after all the hell you put my brother through!" The man yelled, yanking the hat off. "It was you that turned my brother into the police. It's all your fault!"
He raised his gun and cocked it, aiming it directly at her heart.
"Heh, and not a soul will ever find out who did this. No one remembers baby brother Kenji. No one cares that he's been living out on the street since his brother got sent to jail!"
Conan could feel Ran's fingers tensing on his shoulder, and was once again about to try some vain attempt to save her when her light whisper caught his ear.
"Conan, don't move."
Kenji grinned manically, "Aww, how sweet. Protecting the kid, eh? Too bad for you there's nothing you can do to save your--"
Before his sentence was finished, Ran had kicked over Conan's head and knocked the gun from his hand. In his shock, Kenji looked around for it and gave Ran just the chance she needed to take him out. A few kicks and punches later- he lay unconscious, much like the brother before.
Slumping down to the ground, Ran placed a hand to her forehead.
"Conan-kun, please go call the police."
Not sure what else to say, and certain he'd lost a few hairs when she'd kicked above him- he quickly went and dialed the number. Moments later, help arrived and Kenji Ishimaru was taken into custody. The case of the Christmas Bomber was finally solved.
---------------------------------
That evening, Ran sat on the couch helping Conan put bandages on the small cuts they'd both gotten from the bomb.
"You know, Conan-kun."
"Hmm? What is it Ran-neechan?"
"You haven't happened to hear if Shinichi is going to give me gift this year, have you?"
Conan blinked. True, he often pretended that he kept in contact with the teen detective, but right now he wasn't sure how much money he could get together in time or how he'd give a gift to her without her yelling at him over the phone for not delivering it in person.
"No- uh, he hasn't mentioned anything."
"Oh…"
He noticed her face drop and quickly tried to cheer her back up.
"But he's probably just afraid that I'll slip and tell since kids always do that. I bet he's got a really nice gift ready for you, Ran-neechan. I mean- he really cares about you so I bet it's something you'd really want too!"
Ran smiled, blushing a little, "Well don't you tell him he has to, because that's not fair."
Repressing his own blush, he looked off towards the window.
"I'm sure Shinichi-niisan's thinking about what to get you right now. But well, if you're afraid he'll do something stupid like get you a potted tree with a partridge, I can drop him some hints."
Sticking a bandaid on Conan's cheek, Ran hugged him from behind.
"Thanks, Conan-kun. For earlier today and for this."
He smiled up at her, "Anything for you, Ran-neechan."
The room fell silent at that, both of them just enjoying the moment. But that was shattered as the door slammed open and Kogoro drunkenly stumbled in.
"Oi, Ran. Tell that boyfriend of yours not to send you anymore bombs."
"Tousan! Shinichi didn't send me the bomb!" She countered, then with a blush added, "And he's not my boyfriend!"
"Could of fooled me. Not that I approve mind you."
"Tousan!"
As the father and daughter continued to bicker in the background, Conan sighed.
"Heh, like I'd want your approval old man…"
THE END
Author: tailfluff
Theme: Day One: A Partridge in a Pear Tree
Series: Detective Conan
Pairing: Conan(Shinichi)/Ran
Rating: PG
Warnings: Remember kids- bombs are bad.
Disclaimer: Detective Conan belongs to the great and wonderful Gosho Aoyama.
Anything else: This is my first fanfiction for this series, but I love the show and have been following candy__chan & fyliwionvilyaer's awesome Conan and Magic Kaito stories over here so I thought I should throw in some Shinichi/Ran to go with their two lovely pairings. I'll hopefully be getting the others done before Epiphany (since it looks like I'll be doing the 2nd half of the 12 days)
Anyways, enjoy ^^
Japanese to know:
Keibu: Police Inspector
Otousan: Father
Tousan: Dad
------------------
Woman robbed by 'Santa.' Police searching for the costumed thief now.
Conan frowned as his eyes skimmed over the headline. Kogoro had fallen asleep at his desk, once again providing the shrunk detective the chance to read the newspaper without getting any odd looks. Looking at all the information, the clues added up easily. The holidays were simply a time of high-crime. Whether they were people desperate to have money for gifts or cold-hearted souls just wanting to use the chaotic hustle and bustle to their advantage, it wasn't uncommon to hear about such attacks under the ruse of the jolly beaded man.
But this year, Shinichi saw differently the same crime scenario he had analyzed many times before. This was in part to his current state trapped in the body of young Edogawa Conan. For it is only after being with the very children that look up to and admire Santa Claus that one can see how positively deranged these crimes could be. Through the eyes of a child who still believes, Santa was an icon of goodness and cheer and yet criminals everywhere would use him and the holiday season as means to do bad. It was a very sad state of affairs, Conan noted ruefully as he shoved the newspaper back under Kogoro's arm. How would such news be taken by a small child?
It would take a very pathetic person indeed, the teenage mind inside the youthful façade noted, to use an innocent man's face and name for the sake of crime.
"Conan-kun? Otousan?" Ran's warm voice echoed down the hallway.
Blinking himself out of his deeper thoughts, Conan looked up at her and smiled, "Ran-neechan, you're home early."
She pushed open the door, bags of groceries in her arms, "A nice young man helped me carry my things, wasn't that sweet of him?"
"How young a man?" Shinichi steamed inwardly.
Jumping up, Conan went to 'innocently' look out the window, "Where?"
"Oh, he must have left already. Once I got to the door I told him that I could get them up the stairs on my own. But still, it was very kind of him."
Conan pouted, while inside his brain Shinichi was turning green with jealousy.
"I can help next time, Ran-neechan!"
Smiling, Ran tapped the young boy on the nose, "I know. But you can only carry so much."
"Don't remind me," He thought wryly.
"But I did get this for you," She said, pulling out a warm, gingerbread cookie.
Conan's eyes lit up, he loved gingerbread cookies.
"Thank you!" He chirped, biting into one of the cookie's arms.
Ran laughed, "I thought you'd like that. Shinichi always liked them."
He paused, looking up at her as she reminiscenced.
"He'd always eat the right arm first saying, 'If he was an armed criminal- this way I've incapacitated his firing arm. Since I've noticed him favoring his right hand, the chances are he's right handed.'"
Glancing down at the cookie in his hands, Conan smiled. He'd bitten into the right arm, just like he had as a kid.
"Shinichi-niisan is funny," He remarked, biting into the other arm quickly before Ran noticed the similar trait.
As Ran walked over to rouse her Father from where he slept, the phone began to ring and Kogoro stirred awake.
"Ehh, Yoko not yet..."
"Tousan!" Ran reprimanded him. He jolted awake and groped about for the phone.
"Ahh- phone yes," He cleared his throat, "Hello, Mouri Detective Agency. How can I.... Megure-keibu? What? We'll be right there."
"Otousan, what's going on?"
"Talk as we go, we've got a case," He said grabbing up a coat and rushing them out the door.
"But shouldn't I stay here and cook dinner?"
"Ran-neechan, come on," Conan urged having jumped up and rushed to the door himself. He knew if he didn't follow quickly, Kogoro would leave them out of the case and nothing would get solved.
"Ah but--" She saw the small boy dart down the stairs and followed, "Conan-kun! Wait!"
---------------------------
They'd arrived at the scene in a few minutes. Kogoro was less than pleased that once again "the brat" had tagged along, but Ran defended Conan saying that he was just curious, although she'd leveled him with a rather scolding stare herself.
After being greeted at the door of the house by Megure-keibu, they walked down the hallway as Officer Takagi rattled off the facts.
The victim was a middle-aged woman: Nikaido Fujiko, age 37, occupation: lawyer. Her wavy brown hair had fallen loose from its bun and she was being tended to by the paramedics. It was nothing that serious, just several minor cuts and a major scare, but the motive behind the crime still had yet to be discovered.
Looking at the scene of the explosion, Conan walked about and observed what he could without Kogoro noticing. The Christmas package she'd received had contained a small, home-made bomb that shot out pieces of metal when it was detonated. This wasn't a murder attempt, Conan noted, but more of a scare-tactic or warning.
The woman did have reason to become a person's target; she was a lawyer after all. Who knows how many people sent to jail because of her could possibly be out of prison now and back to settle some grudge. Luckily, Kogoro seemed to be thinking along the same lines and had asked for someone to get him a list of any cases tied to her and the names of any of those people who had been released.
"Probably has him a little more alert than usual," Conan noted to himself as he thought back to the victim, "That woman could have just as easily been Eri..."
---------------------------------
There was a long list of possible suspects, she was a formidable lawyer that was for certain; but there was no one on the list that didn't have an alibi or wasn't still securely behind bars. None of those in prison had sent out any packages in the last month, it had been triple checked. And the alibis behind the two who were out of prison were rock solid.
Kogoro was baffled, something that wasn't all that surprising; but this time Conan was as well.
Had it been delivered to Mrs. Nikaido by accident? Was it just some sort of sick prank by some punk teenagers and she was the unlucky target? Or was it a message meant to scare someone else?
A few days passed, and they were no closer to the answer than before. That's when the phone rang with a second case- another present, another bombing.
---------------------------------
The second victim was injured slightly more than Mrs. Nikaido. Hiroshi Matsumoto, age 27, current occupation: pizza delivery boy. He'd been taken to the hospital with a minor head-injury caused by the explosives. The paramedics on the scene assured the police he would be fine; but like with all head-injures, they wanted to play it safe and check him out further at the hospital.
The scene itself was very similar to the first case. Remains of what appeared to be a small Christmas Cactus, its pot and the large red-ribbon Conan surmised was probably wrapped around the pot prior to the bomb going off laid scattered on the floor outside Mr. Matsumoto's door. Like Mrs. Nikaido before him, the bomb had detonated moments after he'd answered the door.
By this, the deduction behind the method of detonating the bomb was simple. The bomber had to be able to know when the victim would open the door and take the package from the ground. Meaning- whoever it was had to have been nearby.
Rushing from the room, Conan ran out to the street and started looking about. On spotting an elderly man at a near by convenience store glancing at the police cars, he stopped to speak to him.
"Did you see someone come out of that building just now?"
"Ah, boy. It's not safe to be by yourself right now. Someone just got a bad gift and it's dangerous."
Conan laughed lightly, putting his hand behind his head, "I know. I'm helping Detective Mouri."
The man's eyes widened at that, "So you're that young boy that helps the famous detective?"
Conan nodded, "So did you see anyone come past recently?"
He paused, rubbing his chin as he thought, "No. Can't say I have. There was just the person who must have delivered that package."
"What did he look like?" Conan asked breathlessly. This was it, the bomber was hand-delivering his own bombs!
"I'm not sure, boy. He was dressed up as Santa Claus."
Shock etched itself on Conan's face and he mustered up a smile, "Ah- thanks Mister! I'll go tell Detective Mouri right now!"
Racing back towards the house, he looked around once more at the clues. Tugging at the pants leg of one of the officers, he played the innocent card.
"Hey, how'd the bomb go off at just the right time?"
"Ah, you see this?" The officer pointed to the pieces of red plastic in the bag.
Conan nodded.
"We think that like the first case, there was a cell phone or pager inside the gift used to trigger the bomb."
"Oh! I've seen them do that on TV. Wouldn't that mean that the bomber would have to be where he could see the person pick up the gift? Or be the person who brought the package?"
In the background, the information sunk into Kogoro's mind.
"Megure-keibu, have them ask people in the area if they saw the person who delivered the package. Chances are, that's our bomber."
Megure shouted out orders and several officers scattered to start asking around.
"Mouri-kun, do you have any idea who the bomber might be or what the motive is?" Megure said, turning to look at him.
Kogoro laughed nervously, "Um... I'm working on it?"
"Hmm, we'll have to look into what might be a connecting factor between Mrs. Nikaido and Mr. Matsumoto."
---------------------------------
By the third morning, both the connection and another victim turned up. Having gotten a phone call from Megure early that morning, both Kogoro and Conan groggily stood by as they observed the scene.
This victim had gotten the worst of it so far. A Christmas teddy bear loaded with explosives left the young woman in critical condition as they rushed her to the hospital.
Houko Kisaragi, age 25, occupation: waitress. Her data along with Mrs. Nikaido's and Mr. Matsumoto's though made the connection final clicked.
It all came down to a trial held around Thanksgiving with a man named Akira Ishimaru.
----------------------
Conan sat on the couch, intently concentrating on the voices being broadcasted through his earpiece. Unbeknownst to Kogoro, Conan had tacked a small transmission device onto his tie before he'd left for the briefing with Megure about the case.
Now, as he sat with a newspaper draped over his face pretending to sleep so Ran wouldn't ask why he was just sitting there, Conan listened.
"Mouri-kun, do you remember the case with Akira Ishimaru a few months ago?"
"Hmmm. Was that the robbery and hostage case?"
"Yes. We think this may be tied to it."
Shinichi's mind slowly pieced the full story together, coming to a startling conclusion.
Akira Ishimaru was a man down on his luck. He'd just lost his job and his girlfriend was threatening to leave him. Desperate to make ends meet, he robbed a bank- accidentally shooting the teller in his panic. Scared that he'd shot someone, Akira took a young woman hostage and demanded that he be given three million yen and a ticket out of the country.
Not sure where the man could be, the police were tipped off by Akira's friend Hiroshi Matsumoto as to a few places he could be hiding. And it turned out, the girl being held hostage was Akira's girlfriend at the time- Houko Kisaragi.
After that, all the pieces all fell into place.
Shinichi remembered the case. As Conan, he'd innocently suggested to Kogoro that of the hiding places the most likely was the one that coincided with a path that was not far from the bank he robbed and went past the dinner (where Houko worked and was kidnapped and taken hostage from.) It wasn't long before they arrived at the location and apprehended the man.
In Akira's eyes: Hiroshi betrayed him, Houko was about to break-up with him and Fujiko Nikaido was the lawyer who prosecuted him in court. How he was managing this when it was verified he was still in prison was another mystery altogether, but at least now they knew the motive and could predict the bomber's next move. But Conan realized, if these bombs were a warning leading up to a murder- there was one person that would be the final target.
The man who brought Akira in- Mouri Kogoro.
Quickly scrambling up and yelling to Ran as he rushed out the door that he was going out to play, Conan made his way to the nearby phone booth.
Twisting the dial on the bowtie, he got Officer Shiratori's voice and placed the call.
"Megure-keibu?"
"Ahh, Shiratori-kun. Did you find something else out?" The Inspector asked.
"I believe the bomber's next target will be Mouri-san."
"Why's that?"
Using Shiratori's voice, Conan reasoned the deduction he'd just made and his preposition to prevent it. It was simple really, no one would suspect a holiday trip right before Christmas and then they could have someone watching Kogoro at every second just in case.
Megure agreed and the plan was set into motion.
---------------------------------
They'd routed all packages and mail to Kogoro's holiday address. There was even a sign on the door reading, "Mouri Kogoro is not here right now. For urgent matters please contact him at the following address."
If the bomber didn't already know Kogoro was out of town, he wouldn't get past the front door without finding out.
Meanwhile, Kogoro was enjoying a vacation resort furnished with all the alcohol and pretty girls to keep him content. But nearby, there were officers watching him at every moment. If the bomber approached, they'd apprehend him in no time.
Little did everyone know, they'd misjudged their bomber.
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It had been nice and quiet at home without Kogoro's snoring or chanting at a Yoko concert on TV and Conan was enjoying it. It was paradise for the teen-turned-child, and he was eating it up.
This, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that without her father around, Ran was paying lots of attention to him. Nope, not at all.
Ran had just gotten home from classes and Conan had managed to escape the Shounen Tantei for the afternoon. He was all set for a nice evening having dinner with Ran, when a knock sounded on the door.
"Coming!" Ran called, walking her way over to the door. She opened it, but no one was there.
Glancing up and down the hallway, Conan saw her gasp in surprise on seeing something resting at her feet.
"Oh, it's a present."
Conan looked closer, noticing the small Christmas tree Ran held in her hands.
Flipping open the small card, Ran read it aloud.
"To Ran. From...Shinichi," Her voice rose to a pitch Conan knew all too well. It was the way she said his real name anymore- shocked, angered, worried, yet still somehow so touched. Deep down, it pained him to hear it sometimes- knowing that it was his fault that there was that anger and worry mixed in there instead of the playful bickering tone that they once used around one another.
But at that very moment, Ran voiced the exact urgent thought that rushed into Conan's mind.
"But Shinichi wouldn't send something like this," She said skeptically, turning the small tree about as confusion settled on her features.
"No, I wouldn't. That's just stupid. And what's with that large partridge on the side? It's ticking like it's a..."
Before he could ponder more on who would be sending a small tree with a partridge-clock to Ran under his name, he was struck with one ominous thought.
"It's not Kogoro that he's after. It's Ran."
Not wasting a single second, Conan rushed into action.
"Ran-neechan, watch out!" He jumped at her legs, knocking the gift from her hand and hoping it fell far enough away. The second they hit the ground, he protectively shielded her.
One final tick echoed down the hall before the bomb inside detonated.
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He'd hit his head, Conan noted, but the ache wasn't all that bad. Sitting up, he looked at where Ran laid beside him.
"Ran-neechan!" He said, shaking her lightly, "Ran, are you okay?"
"Conan?" She asked wearily turning to look up at him.
They both had some injuries from where the debris from the explosion hit them, but he'd gotten the bomb far enough away in time. Sighing in relief, he nodded to her.
"Are you okay, Ran-neechan?"
He saw her wipe a trail of blood off her cheek, "Yeah. But how did you know that it was a…"
Her words died on her lips and her eyes widened. Before Conan could react, she'd grabbed him and held him close as she shakily stood to confront the approaching figure.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to settle this one in person," The man sneered from the shadows.
Shifting in Ran's arms, Conan dropped to the floor and tried his best to shield Ran behind him.
"And how cute. The boy's trying to be a hero," The bomber stepped forward- red Santa suit hiding most of his features, "Sorry brat, but your girlfriend here has been a bad girl this year and Santa needs to give her some lead."
Conan gulped, edging back against Ran as he inwardly cursed himself for not seeing this sooner.
"It was never Kogoro that he blamed. It was Ran. She was the one who used her karate to get the hostage to safety and knock him unconscious. Akira would never have known that Kogoro was the one that discovered the location and would put all that blame on Hiroshi's tip-off. Damnit, why didn't I see this before now? How can I protect Ran like this?"
Desperately, he looked around for anything large enough to kick at the man- but there was nothing. They were trapped, plain and simple. About to recklessly attempt rushing at the man's legs, Conan paused when he felt Ran's hand on his shoulder.
"Who are you?" Ran asked, obviously trying to buy them some time.
"Ha! You should know after all the hell you put my brother through!" The man yelled, yanking the hat off. "It was you that turned my brother into the police. It's all your fault!"
He raised his gun and cocked it, aiming it directly at her heart.
"Heh, and not a soul will ever find out who did this. No one remembers baby brother Kenji. No one cares that he's been living out on the street since his brother got sent to jail!"
Conan could feel Ran's fingers tensing on his shoulder, and was once again about to try some vain attempt to save her when her light whisper caught his ear.
"Conan, don't move."
Kenji grinned manically, "Aww, how sweet. Protecting the kid, eh? Too bad for you there's nothing you can do to save your--"
Before his sentence was finished, Ran had kicked over Conan's head and knocked the gun from his hand. In his shock, Kenji looked around for it and gave Ran just the chance she needed to take him out. A few kicks and punches later- he lay unconscious, much like the brother before.
Slumping down to the ground, Ran placed a hand to her forehead.
"Conan-kun, please go call the police."
Not sure what else to say, and certain he'd lost a few hairs when she'd kicked above him- he quickly went and dialed the number. Moments later, help arrived and Kenji Ishimaru was taken into custody. The case of the Christmas Bomber was finally solved.
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That evening, Ran sat on the couch helping Conan put bandages on the small cuts they'd both gotten from the bomb.
"You know, Conan-kun."
"Hmm? What is it Ran-neechan?"
"You haven't happened to hear if Shinichi is going to give me gift this year, have you?"
Conan blinked. True, he often pretended that he kept in contact with the teen detective, but right now he wasn't sure how much money he could get together in time or how he'd give a gift to her without her yelling at him over the phone for not delivering it in person.
"No- uh, he hasn't mentioned anything."
"Oh…"
He noticed her face drop and quickly tried to cheer her back up.
"But he's probably just afraid that I'll slip and tell since kids always do that. I bet he's got a really nice gift ready for you, Ran-neechan. I mean- he really cares about you so I bet it's something you'd really want too!"
Ran smiled, blushing a little, "Well don't you tell him he has to, because that's not fair."
Repressing his own blush, he looked off towards the window.
"I'm sure Shinichi-niisan's thinking about what to get you right now. But well, if you're afraid he'll do something stupid like get you a potted tree with a partridge, I can drop him some hints."
Sticking a bandaid on Conan's cheek, Ran hugged him from behind.
"Thanks, Conan-kun. For earlier today and for this."
He smiled up at her, "Anything for you, Ran-neechan."
The room fell silent at that, both of them just enjoying the moment. But that was shattered as the door slammed open and Kogoro drunkenly stumbled in.
"Oi, Ran. Tell that boyfriend of yours not to send you anymore bombs."
"Tousan! Shinichi didn't send me the bomb!" She countered, then with a blush added, "And he's not my boyfriend!"
"Could of fooled me. Not that I approve mind you."
"Tousan!"
As the father and daughter continued to bicker in the background, Conan sighed.
"Heh, like I'd want your approval old man…"
THE END