Floral Delights Ch.4

After two days of trying to keep attention away from his injuries, Conan had finally messed up. Big time.

"What if it had gotten worse!? And walking on it without crutches or even a cane, do you know how dangerous that is? You could have done permanent damage to it, and what if there was an accident or if someone tried to kidnap you?! You would have been completely at their mercy!"

It had all started when Kogoro had bumped into him when he'd been moving to set his empty cereal bowl in the sink. While he hadn't been hit very hard, in his tiny body it had been enough to set him off balance. He'd been forced to shift all his weight onto his bad right ankle. Unable to hold the whimper of pain completely inside, Ran had heard. And she was furious with him right now.

She'd been reasonable enough in that she hadn't called a doctor. After years of karate and seeing others get hurt, and occasionally hurting herself, she had recognized that the sprain was on its way to healing just fine. Which wasn't to say that she hadn't felt the wrapping job was done well as she had gone and rewrapped it herself, doing a much better job than he himself had admittedly done. The problem was that she had then destroyed what little pride he had left by carrying him to his bed and tucking him in tightly. Imagining what Hattori would say if he saw what was going on, he resolved to keep the sprain a secret. No need to give the Osakan more things to tease him about.

The only real problem was that he was now being forced to stay at the apartment. While going to kiddy school was boring and really a waste of time, so was being stuck in bed because of a sprain. Luckily Ran didn't intend to skip school herself, but with Kogoro in the apartment with him he wouldn't be able to get any actual work done in peace.

His hearing picked up that Ran's voice was getting quieter. Tuning back in he managed to catch the tail end of her rant just in time.

"Now I'll let Dad know that you need to stay in bed so don't even think of trying to walk around. If you need anything he'll fetch it for you."

Conan's eyebrows shot up at that and he could faintly hear Kogoro freaking out in the background. Something about how it wasn't his responsibility to take care of brats when he had work to do or some such. Right then, Ran was of a higher priority to pay attention too.

Besides, when did the man ever work?

"I'll be back around four, be good and if Dad gets a client make sure to stay out of their way. Leave a message on my cell if Dad has to leave somewhere and I'll come home right away okay?"

Only just managing to give her one of his best, innocent child grins, he replied with the wide smile, "Yes, Ran-nee-chan!"

Ran smiled kindly at him at that, the stern look melting away. Standing up Ran carefully smoothed the deep blue comforter, ruffling his hair right before walking into the main living room slash office, shutting the bedroom door behind her. It was thin enough that he was able to catch smatterings of what she said to her father, mostly threats about what would happen if he didn't properly take care of Conan.

When she finally left, Conan knew only by the fact that he could hear the tv being turned on. Okino Yoko's voice drifted into his room despite the shut door and after waiting patiently for several minutes to make sure Kogoro wouldn't have one of his random moments of thoughtfulness, he moved the covers off himself. Stepping gingerly onto the floor he padded silently towards a corner of the room to fetch his file of information on the Black Organization.

After Saturday's heist he had been going through the thick file, filled with old cases and newer ones that he thought could be at all related to the Organization. It was also filled with theories and thoughts he had about them and the file had easily grown to a couple hundred papers. He couldn't go through the file during school or when Ran was around, and because of that he hadn't gotten very far in his search for anything that might possibly be related to Kaitou Kid.

He had managed to contact Jodie though and relay his suspicions to her. There was definitely a connection between the Kid heists and the Black Organization, even if he didn't know what it was quite yet. With Snake's word that Vermouth was involved, they had until the next Kid heist to prepare. They would be able to strike then and if they captured Vermouth it'd be like getting the whole thing. There was no way she'd go alone for someone as infamous for escaping capture as Kaitou Kid.

It was frustrating, but with Kogoro focused enthusiastically, too enthusiastically in Conan's opinion, on the program featuring Okino-san, he would be able to get quite a lot done in the hours until Ran came back. Jodie would simply contact him when she had more information.

Settling himself on top of the covers he immersed himself in the papers, spreading them out around him so that he could easily reach whatever he was looking for. The search through it all became easier as the hours passes, the pile of unsearched papers starting to finally show a dent. He was forcibly dragged out of his focused state of mind by the sudden shouting coming from Kogoro in the other room though.

As footsteps in the direction of his door started up, heavy, slow steps that let him know that it was in fact Kogoro heading his way, he quickly gathered all the papers. Heedless of the fact that they would all be mixed up now, he shoved them under the comforter just as the man let the door slam open with a harsh shove.

Conan looked at the man with the widest eyes he could, trying to appear like any other child that would most likely be frightened by the stupid man. And hoping he didn't look guilty like most children would.

"I've got a case! And no you aren't coming with me, brat!"

The triumphant look on Kogoro's face at the fact that Conan would not be able to come was irritating, but he wasn't about to argue. He had better things to do than lead the idiot around by the hand. Who knows, maybe the man had picked something up by now and would be able to handle the case by himself.

Snorting to himself, disguising it as a sneeze so the gloating fool wouldn't hit him, he nodded his head, hoping Kogoro would take the hint and leave already. Instead the man continued to rant, mostly to himself, about how the great Sleeping Kogoro would solve this new case with ease. Trying to contain the irritation Conan felt bubbling up within him he leaned back so he could see around Kogoro. A customer must have shown up at the agency, seeing as he hadn't heard the phone ring and the look on the unfortunate persons face might be enough to cheer him up a little.

Instead of seeing someone looking nonplussed, he instead saw an old man with a balding spot, mustache and thick, round glasses. The man was sitting down on the couch calmly, looking out the window while ignoring Kogoro's talking. He certainly didn't look like someone who desperately needed a detectives help, the way Kogoro was trying to make it seem. Narrowing his eyes slightly at the man, Conan thought it wouldn't be too far off to say that the man didn't act like he needed help at all.

Generally when people came into Kogoro's office, they all had some sort of nervous tick going. Whether it was tapping their hands against something, furrowing their brows when they normally didn't, walking around the office or talking constantly, there was always something that indicated they actually needed help. It wasn't the cheapest thing to hire a private detective and few people did it on a whim.

Watching the man while he waited for Kogoro to finish his self glorifying speech, he noticed that the man did have something of a habit. It wasn't so much a nervous one though, almost impatient. He kept checking a pocket watch, gold with something etched on the surface. It was too far away for him to clearly see what it was though. If the way he was starting to fidget after each time he looked at the watch though, Conan thought maybe the old man would hurry and get Kogoro out of there.

His prediction came true, as after his seventh time looking at the pocket watch, the man carefully cleared his throat in a manner intended to catch Kogoro's attention.

"Mouri-san, as much as I'm sure you would like to reassure your son," Conan and Kogoro both blanched at this, making frantic motions to assure the man this wasn't the case, as he continued on, " but there is a delicate time frame for this and we really must be going now if we don't want to ruin everything."

Standing up the man slipped the watch back into his pocket and made a grab for a plain, cherry wood cane that had been lying on the couch next to him. Walking with the slightest limp towards the door, he didn't wait to see if Kogoro would follow.

'Not that he needed to worry,' Conan couldn't help but think spitefully.

Kogoro had immediately run back into the main room to grab his own coat and shoes, running then out the door behind the man while shouting more nonsense.

As the door finally slammed shut, Conan let out a sigh. Peace at last. Lifting the covers back off of himself, he stared at the piles of paperwork that had been scattered under them. All his neat piles detailing whether something was of note or not were ruined. Now everything was just a big mess of papers, mixed together and some were crushed from his legs and the covers. Depressed at the thought of going through it all, he decided to take a break.

Just as he made it into the kitchen, the door was once again opened. Leaning backwards to see into the main room, all color left his skin. Ran was back.

"Conan-kun?"

Panicking he shot forward into the kitchen while cursing Kogoro for thinking to call his daughter back home. Of course Kogoro would have a thoughtful moment when it was least convenient for him! Sidling up to the wall edge he carefully put his head out a little bit to see where Ran was. She had taken her shoes off and was walking over to the bedroom, looking slightly worried.

Deciding to take the risk of getting caught he took careful steps in the direction of the bathroom. So long as she didn't turn around or anything he could fib that he'd only left to pee. As she started to turn the knob though he was struck with a thought. He'd left the papers in plain sight!

"Ran-nee-chan!! What are you doing home?"

Lady Luck was with him for once as Ran turned around at his words, a worried look on her face. She left the door to walk towards him.

"Conan-kun, what are you doing out of bed? You'll make your ankle worse if you keep walking around on it."

She kneeled down to pick him up, carrying him over towards the bedroom door. Thinking quickly he noticed the clock on the wall reading 12:30.

"Ran-nee-chan I'm hungry. Oyaji didn't make any lunch before he left. Can I have the left over salmon? I'm really hungry now and if I don't eat I won't get better so we can just stay in the kitchen right nee-chan?"

Conan paused as he finally realized that Ran had stopped walking towards the kitchen, having frozen in the doorway.

"Ran-nee-chan?"

Was something wrong? Glancing into the kitchen he didn't see anything out of place. No dead bodies, unusual bloodstains, notes in block letters or even any of Kogoro's finished work.

"Ah, I'm fine Conan-kun. How about some miso soup instead? Let's just have you sit on the couch, it'll take some time and the chairs won't be that comfortable."

Despite saying she was fine, Conan was able to feel the slight shaking of her hands. What was going on? He was torn from his musings as Ran deposited him on the couch before walking back into the kitchen. Sitting there, he wondered if it'd be safe to try and hide the papers. As he heard cupboards being opened and closed and pots clatter as they were set on counters, he decided the risk would be worth it. There was no way he could let Ran have a chance to see all those papers.

Ran started humming to herself after he took a few steps away from the couch. Clutching briefly at his heart from the shock that came from hearing her so suddenly, he moved swiftly across the room. Cracking the bedroom door open just enough to slip his miniature body through he made sure it was left open so he could hear if she called. Gathering the loose papers together haphazardly he stuffed them into the file folder.

Pausing just long enough to make sure Ran was still unaware of his having walked away from the couch, he shoved the file back into the space behind the room's dresser where he had previously hidden it. The space between the back of the dresser and the wall was small enough that Ran and Kogoro couldn't really see, but just wide enough for him to shove the file in with his fingers.

Once done he beat a retreat back onto the couch. Lying down he made a start of sorting through what he could recall off the top of his head about everything he'd managed to learn so far.

'Kid is connected to Snake, who's connected to Vermouth who's really Sharon Vineyard. If you look at it mathematically, that means Kid is somehow connected to Vermouth. But what does a phantom thief who returns most of what he steals, have in common with a killer obsessed with immortality?'

"Conan-kun, the soups ready! Do you want to eat it on the couch or at the table?" came a chipper voice from the kitchen.

Absentmindedly he replied that eating at the table would be fine with him.

'Maybe first I should figure out what it is that Kid wants? He doesn't seem like the type to risk his life just for some cheap thrills. He's done something to make that guy Snake mad. Can't question Snake though, killed by cellmate. At least that's the cover story. So assuming it was the Black Organization that he worked for, a separate branch maybe, that means Kid is somehow in the way of them…..wait, Ran was chipper?'

Looking up at the girl that had just walked into the room to pick him up to carry him to the table, he frowned slightly. Ran was humming and smiling. She'd been really mad this morning though. Unless it was that time of month, she should still be slightly irritated with him.

"Ran-nee-chan?"

He figured asking couldn't hurt. Perhaps he was simply being too paranoid. It wouldn't surprise him, he'd noticed he was starting to act more and more like Ai. Constantly jumpy at the sight of someone wearing black or if he felt someone was watching him at all.

"Yes, Conan-kun?"

There it was again, that unusually chipper voice. Ran tended to speak in a calm, slightly worried manner whenever he wasn't at his absolute best. Even then, he'd never describe her as being overtly chipper. Cheerful, but not quite chipper. That was reserved for Sonoko in his mind.

"Did something really good happen this morning? You're acting like you do whenever Shinichi-nii-san calls." And he knew that he hadn't made any calls to her in his Shinichi voice recently.

"How'd you know Conan-kun?! I got a text from Shinichi earlier today, he said he'll be back Saturday though he won't arrive until midnight."

Tensing up uncontrollably and knowing he was failing at hiding the anxiety he felt entirely, he still attempted to act as if that hadn't bothered him. This wasn't Ran. The real Ran wouldn't lie about something like that, ever.

The fake Ran acted oblivious to the sudden tension though, blissfully consuming the soup as if nothing was wrong. Breathing deeply, trying to keep his rational mind in control he followed the imposters lead. After several minutes of silence, punctuated only by the occasional slurp of them eating the soup, the fake Ran spoke.

"It seems India is a very popular place to visit lately. Ad's for it seem to be all over the place don't you think?"

Conan's response was to stare. He couldn't quite believe someone had gone through the effort of impersonating Ran just to talk about advertisements featuring India. Though now that this person mentioned it, hadn't he read something a few days ago about some hotel hosting a star sapphire, with a name relating to India? What did this have to do with…..

"KID?!?!"

Shoving away from the table in shock, Conan fell off of the chair in a heap of little boy. The fake Ran was now grinning a grin he'd recognize anywhere. And all he could do was stare helplessly at the phantom thief that had been haunting his thoughts of late.

"You really must not be doing so well Tantei-kun, if it took you that long to recognize me. You're normally so much faster. Or are you just losing your edge?" was the snarky reply to his outburst.  

Kaitou Kid spoke in his normal voice, or what Conan considered his normal voice since it was the one he used at heists. It was creeping him out to hear that tone coming from Ran's body, or what looked like Ran's body at least.

The thief didn't even have the decency to give him a hand up, probably a smart move considering the mood he was in now. He'd been worried about Ran finding out about the Black Organization and then worrying about what an imposter was doing by catching him alone, and all for nothing!

A low growl under his breath went a ways towards expressing his displeasure with the thief.

"Now, now Tantei-kun that's just rude."

The smirk never quite left the thief's face as he stood up and slowly edged around the table to get a better view of Conan who had been in too much shock to straighten himself up right away.

"Don't worry so much though, I simply came to see if my favorite critic would be up for a match soon. And it seems you will be, so do make sure to give my thanks to the lovely Ran-san. Keep off your feet now or the game won't be as fun."

Turning on his heel Kid walked out the door, still dressed as Ran for anyone who might happen to come by. Conan pushed himself off the floor as the door clicked shut. Walking over towards the newspaper spread across Kogoro's desk, he flipped through it until he found the article he was looking for.

The article spoke of the Star of India, a star sapphire that many considered the second largest in the world. It had a rare double star and was on display only that Saturday at the Imperial Hotel in the 5th floor music room, on top of their famous Steinway piano.

The door was once again thrown open and Conan glared at Kogoro who came stomping in. Did the man have to be so loud?

"Stupid waste of time, what did the old man expect me to do, drive all over Tokyo looking for his stupid doves. They can't have been that specially trained if they just fly off on him!"

The man proceeded to grumble under his breath, shedding shoes and jacket while oblivious to the presence of Conan sitting at the desk. Deciding to just ignore the man, Conan took his mutterings as confirmation for one of his thoughts, that the old man had simply been a distraction to get Kogoro out of the house, and walked into the bedroom. Making sure the door was shut properly he picked up his phone and dialed a well memorized number.

As the phone rang he decided that she didn't need to know he'd met personally with Kid. Telling her he got a heist note would be enough. With luck there'd be an official announcement later today to confirm his story.

Finally she picked up her phone.

"Moshi, moshi cool kid."

Clearing his throat he relayed the information he'd gathered from Kid's rambling.

"Hello Jodie-san. I just got a heist note. It seems we have less time than I originally predicted. The next heist is this Saturday at midnight. He's after The Star of India which will be on loan for only that night from the New York Museum of Natural History," glancing down at the article he'd taken with him he continued, "They plan to display it at the Imperial Hotel here in Tokyo in the 5th floor music room on top of the Steinway piano."

Silence followed the information and after waiting a few seconds for a response of some sort he reminded her he was waiting.

"Jodie-san?"

"Think you can sneak away from Ran-chan tomorrow after she drops you off at school?"

Without pausing to think it through he confirmed with, "Of course. Where are we meeting?"

"There's a safe place we can meet. It's a store called 'Floral Delights' situated in Ekoda, so we probably won't meet anyone you know there. I'll send you the address in a text tomorrow morning at 6 am for you to memorize. When you arrive just ask for Hanako-san and tell her you're with me."

"All right. I'll speak with you tomorrow then."

Hanging up, he silently cursed Kid for making him work under even more pressure than before. Then another thought struck him. Assuming Ran even let him out of the apartment, she would escort him to his class most likely. Cursing Kid even more under his breath for getting involved with the Black Organization, however unintentional it probably was, he crawled into the bed. With the way his day had gone so far, he came to the conclusion that he might as well just sleep now. Maybe then things would start to go his way for once.