With a strong premonition of doom, Ran raced to the kitchen and found that her worst fears had been realised.
Her father, Kogoro Mouri and their houseguest, Conan Edogawa, had attempted to cook dinner.
The kitchen looked like a war zone. Pots, pans and assorted foodstuffs were jumbled over all available surfaces. On the stove one pot was bubbling fiercely and Mouri was attempting to remove something from it as Ran stormed in. Conan, who was standing on a chair and trying to reach the microwave, turned abruptly.
"R-ran-neechan!" he stammered and lost his footing.
"Conan-kun!" Ran yelped and sprang forward, catching the little boy before he crashed to the ground. Holding Conan in her arms, she rounded on her father who was eyeing her nervously.
"Ah... Ran... We..."
Ran made an exasperated sound. "Honestly, Dad! Can't you do something this simple without making a mess? How HARD is it to reheat some leftovers?" she became away of the horrible smell again and wrinkled her nose. "What did you try to cook?"
"The meat sauce," Kogoro indicated the still bubbling pot. "I put it in, but..."
Ran closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. This was an instant mistake because she started to gag on the smell. "Ugh... let me guess, you didn't take it out of the plastic, right?"
"You never mentioned that on the phone!"
"DAD!!! It's COMMON SENSE!!" Ran yelled.
"Ran-neechan?" Conan piped up suddenly.
"What?" she demanded.
"The microwave..."
Ran's head whipped around and she became aware that the microwave was making ominous groaning sounds and... something... was sparking inside.
"Conan-kun... what did you put in there?"
"Well..."
Conan never managed to complete his explanation because, at that moment, the ominous sounds culminated in a full-fledged protest and the microwave door blew open with a tremendous bang.
Ran screamed and twisted around, hunching up and protecting Conan with her body. Something struck the back of her head and she saw stars for a brief moment before she blacked out.
***
The woman smiled as she looked into the pool before her. "The time is right," she said. "Now we must gather the energy we need to finally achieve out ultimate goal!"
Behind her, two figures knelt. One was dressed in white, sporting a top hat and cloak, he looked up as she spoke, his blue eyes burning with emotion. The other figure was shrouded in darkness, only his mask with its manic grin showing in the dim light.
The woman turned to them, her blond hair rippling down her back. "There are, however, a few who have the power to... annoy us," her eyes narrowed. "Flush them out! Discover their strengths and their weaknesses!" her lips curved back into a cruel smile. "We can play a very fun game with them...
***
Ran yawned and rubbed her eyes. She felt so tired and her head still ached slightly from the blow it had received last night. Luckily she had only been unconscious for a while and the Doctor had proclaimed her fit and healthy, apart from a painful bump. Then she had spent the rest of the evening alternating between yelling at her father and Conan (who had, it must be said, been very contrite) and cleaning up the mess.
Rubbing her eyes once more, Ran looked around. "Ready to go, Conan-kun?"
"Yes!" he ran up to her, backpack bouncing slightly. "Are you sure you're okay, Ran-neechan?"
She looked down into his worried eyes and her heart did a curious little leap, something that seemed to happen frequently whenever Conan was so concerned about her and reminded her of...
"Shinichi..." Ran sighed.
"Ran-neechan?"
She shook herself slightly and stuck out her tongue. "Heehee... I'm fine Conan-kun, don't worry!" she held out her hand. "Come on, let's go."
He smiled and took her hand, but there was still a faint edge of concern lingering in his eyes as they walked out of the door.
Ran chattered gaily about things as they strolled towards their schools. The Spring air was warm, but not too hot and there was a slight scent of cherry blossoms in the air. As they neared Teitan Elementary school, the Detective Boys and Ai Haibara were waiting and waved as Conan approached.
Ran smiled and gave Conan a little shove towards his friends. "Have a nice day at school, Conan-kun!"
He paused and looked back at her. "Are you really okay, Ran-neechan?"
"I'm fine!" she insisted. "Bye-bye!"
"Bye..." Conan watched her leave, but his vision was soon obscured as Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko crowded excitedly around him.
Ran continued on her way, looking at the cherry blossoms on the trees lining the street and humming softly to herself.
"'I will be with you. Wherever you are. Can you feel my heart? Can't you see...'* Eh?" Ran stopped abruptly as something scurried out in front of her. "KYAAAAA!!!" she jumped back and looked down at it.
"HUH?"
***
"I'm home!" Conan called as he entered.
Mouri looked up from his newspaper and grunted in acknowledgment. Conan looked around. "Where's Ran-neechan?"
"In her room," Mouri answered with a frown. "Settling in her new pet."
"Pet?" Curious, Conan went to Ran's door and knocked. "Ran-neechan?" he called and opened the door.
Ran was standing in front of her desk, an expression half-way between disbelief and anger on her face. On the desk in front of her was a cage and inside the cage was a hamster. A pink hamster. A pink hamster with a gold heart on it's back.
Conan blinked. "Uh...?"
Ran turned abruptly and saw him. "Conan-kun!" she looked angry now. "You should knock before you come in!" she scolded him.
"I did knock!" he protested. He pointed to the hamster. "Why did you get that, Ran-neechan?"
Ran looked at the animal, a look of annoyed disgust flickered across her face. "I don't know, just my bad luck I guess."
The hamster squeaked, it sounded almost indignant. Conan frowned. There was definitely something not quite right about this. "I didn't know you liked hamsters, Ran-neechan."
"I don't!" Ran cried. "Especially not now!" she tossed her head and Conan saw something sparkle on her ears. Ran was wearing earrings, she didn't normally wear earrings... certainly not sparkly gold ones in the shape of hearts. He opened his mouth to speak when Kogoro's bellow interrupted him.
"Conan! You have some visitors!"
With a start Conan remembered that he had been going to tell Ran that he and the other kids were going to the park and he had left them outside. "Uh..."
"Going out to play?" Ran mumbled in an abstracted tone, staring at the pink hamster again. "Have fun."
"Well..." Conan hesitated. He didn't want to leave when Ran was acting so oddly. However he was denied any choice in the matter as Ayumi burst in, apologised and began to tug on his arm. Genta and Mitsuhiko joined her and soon Conan realised that it was futile to resist the enthusiastic children any longer. As he was dragged away, he looked back to see Ran shaking her head and muttering. A fraction of her words caught his ears.
"Why me? This is stupid... this is unbelievable..."
***
"Is something wrong with her, Kudo-kun?" Ai asked in a low voice as she and Conan stood in the playground, watching the others on the swings.
Conan frowned. "I don't know... it's just..." he looked at Ai. "Haibara,
is it possible that someone could be hit so hard on the
head that they start doing crazy things?"
Ai lifted an eyebrow. "Is this related to the kitchen accident you mentioned?"
"Um... yeah," Conan rubbed his chin. "I came home and..." he stopped abruptly. A weird feeling was running through him, a tingly sensation that itched and tickled at the same time. Then he started feeling hot, very hot...
"Something wrong?" Ai asked coolly.
"M-maybe..." Conan swallowed. "I'm... I'm going to the bathroom!" he said and ran off unsteadily.
Ai watched him. "Strange," she murmured. "I wonder if..."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
Ai turned abruptly to the source of the scream. "Oh. The penguin slide is... moving..."
"Haibara-san!!" Ayumi ran up to her and grabbed Ai's sleeve. Genta and Mitsuhiko followed closely behind her. "Haibara-san! Do you see that? What's happening? Where's Conan-kun?"
"Yes, I see it. I don't know. He's in the bathroom," Ai answered in her calm fashion, although her right eyebrow was twitching slightly as she watched the penguin slide move slowly forward, the children on it scrambling off in panic. A man stood nearby, he was neatly dressed in a green suit and would have been totally unremarkable, except for two things.
"He's glowing," Ai remarked.
"That's Moriya-san!" Ayumi squeaked.
"I thought he was in prison!" Mistuhiko cried.
"Conan will know," Genta tugged at the others. "Let's get him!"
They all ran to the public toilets, Mitsuhiko poked his head around the entrance to the mens' toilets. "Hey, Conan-kun! Something weird is happening!"
"Ah... ah, really?" Conan's voice echoed from one of the stalls. "Uh... well, I can't exactly... uh... come out right now..."
Ai frowned when Mitsuhiko told her what Conan had said. "Hmmmm..."
There were more screams from the playground and they whirled to see two children struck by a beam that shot out from the penguin slide's 'mouth'. They feel over and a gaseous ball floated out of them and towards Moriya who laughed wildly. Ayumi clenched her fists and growled. "What are you doing to them?" she yelled before the others could silence her.
Moriya turned and faced her. "Oh... it's you and the other two brats,"
he sneered. "Where's your clever little friend with the
glasses? I'd love to take _his_ energy!"
"Energy?" Ai's eyes narrowed. "What do you want children's energy for?"
"So that my Queen can recreate the world... a perfectly symmetrical world!"
Ai and the others sweatdropped.
"That's... stupid," Genta said.
Moriya's face darkened. "You'll regret that!" he snarled and pointed dramatically. "Penguin get THEM!"
The kids went white and Ai moved herself ever so slightly in front of them as the penguin slide turned towards them.
"I don't THINK so!" a voice rang out across the playground and something whirled furiously forward and hit the penguin slide in the front, halting its advance. Ai blinked and looked at the object. It was a shuriken, a pink shuriken... with sparkles on it.
Moriya looked around wildly. "Who? Who is it?"
"Oh WOW!" Ayumi cried and pointed towards the jungle gym. "LOOK!"
There was girl standing precariously on the jungle gym, her arms folded and her expression grim. However, her position was not the most remarkable thing about her. She wore pink high heels and there were ribbons wound around her lower legs. The short skirt of her pink dress was ruffled and beribboned, there was a big darker pink bow around her waist, the sleeveless bodice was tight and low-cut, with ruffles and ribbons adorning the edges. She wore elbow-length gloves and a choker around her neck with a gold heart on it. A v-shaped tiara encircled her brow, a gold heart in its centre and her long brown hair fluttered free in the wind, sparkles of gold glittering in the tresses.
Moriya stared at her. "Who are you?"
"I am..." the girl paused and glanced aside briefly, her lips moving
silently. Then she sighed and turned back to Moriya. "I am...
magicalgirlpinkorchid," she mumbled.
"Huh?" Mitsuhiko tilted his head. "What did she say?"
"I don't know," said Genta. "But check out how short her skirt is! You can see her..."
The girl glared at Genta. "Don't you even THINK about it!" she snarled.
Ai regarded the girl coolly. "I believe she said that her name was Magical Girl Pink Orchid."
Ran winced when the small, redheaded girl spoke up. As she expected the other children giggled slightly and Moriya goggled. She cast an exasperated look at the tiny being perched on the jungle gym beside her. "I told you this was a stupid name, Tan," she grumbled. "Almost as stupid as this stupid outfit! Are you _sure_ they can't recognise me?"
"I assure you, Orchid, the magic prevents recognition," squeaked the pink winged hamster. "Now pay attention! The penguin is moving towards you!"
Sure enough, Moriya had snapped out of his astonishment and was urging the penguin slide towards Ran. Grumbling, Ran leapt gracefully off the jungle gym as a bolt from the penguin turned it into a pile of twisted metal.
"Don't worry, Orchid, I'm fine!" Tan hovered in the air.
"Darn... I mean, great!" Ran sighed and glared at Moriya, punching her fist into her palm. "Right, now it's time to get rid of you!"
"Orchid! The speech, the speech!"
"If you seriously think that I am going to cough up that tripe..."
"Orchid, the kids, the kids!"
"AHHHHHHHH!!!" Mitsuhiko, Genta and Ayumi screamed and ran as the penguin turned in them. Ai looked mildly concerned.
"&^*%@!" Ran ran forward.
"Use the sceptre!" Tan did a little twirl in the air and a sceptre slapped into Ran's hand. She glanced at it. The sceptre was very... pink.
The penguin's 'mouth' glowed, preparing to fire a bolt at the kids. There was a sudden sound and a large, silver needle embedded itself in the penguin, halting it.
"Shinjitsu wa itsumo hitosu!"**
Ran screeched to a halt and whirled around. There was a man standing on the bough of a large tree, his arm outstretched, a wrist crossbow attached to it. He was well dressed in a dark blue tuxedo with a silver bow tie, and there was a silver mask concealing his face.
"Who are you?" Ran cried.
He bowed. "I am Great Detective Mask!"
"That's a stupid name!" Ran blurted before she could stop herself. Detective Mask looked offended.
"Not as half of stupid as _Pink Orchid_!" he countered. "Now, don't you have a penguin to pulverise?"
Ran fumed. "Why you arrogant... How dare you tell me what to do?" she cried. "If you're so wonderful, why don't you do something about it?"
"Not in my job description," he said with a smirk. "I'm supposed to stand here and look good while you do the work."
"Grrr..."
"I will destroy you BOTH!!" Moriya screeched. "Smash that Magical Pink girl!"
"Pink Orchid actually," Ran growled. She looked at the sceptre in her hands and then at the penguin charging towards her, then back at the sceptre. "Hmmm..."
"Use the sceptre!" Tan squeak urgently. "You have to!"
"No I don't," Ran tossed it aside and Tan fell to the ground in a shocked faint. Detective Mask's eyes narrowed and he crouched, readying his crossbow. Ran drew in a deep breath.
"Aaaaaaaaaaa...."
The penguin slide thundered towards her.
Ran drew back her right arm, her hand curled into a fist.
"Aaaaaaaa...."
The penguin slide was almost on top of her, the kids screamed, Detective Mask tensed, and Moriya laughed.
"TAKE THAT!!" Ran screamed and punched out with all her might.
Her fist connected with the penguin slide making a loud crunching noise and halting its progress. There was a brief stunned silence and then thousands of cracks appeared on the slide, starting from the point of impact they quickly ran over the slide and with an explosive sound the entire structure disintegrated. Ran drew back her arm and let out her breath.
"Ha!"
Detective Mask blinked and straightened. "Ooookay... that was... impressive."
"Wow!" breathed the detective boys in awe.
"Effective," Ai remarked.
"M-my penguin..." Moriya stuttered. "My perfectly symmetrical penguin... YOU DESTROYED IT!" his eyes began to glow bright green. "You will pay for that!"
Ran bit her lip. "I take it that punching him won't have the same effect?"
"Doubt it," Detective Mask jumped down from the tree. "You might have to use that," he pointed to the sceptre that she had discarded. "How _do_ you use it anyway?"
"Well, what I'd like to do is..." Ran coughed slightly. "Well,
nevermind that," she picked up the sceptre and faced the fiercely
glowing Moriya. "Hey, Detective Mask?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you close your eyes?"
"Why?"
"Please? This is embarrassing!"
"Why? Do you lose all your clothing or something?"
"PERVERT!" Ran kicked out at him, but he managed to dodge. "No I do NOT!"
"Okay! Okay!" he shifted out of kicking distance. "But in that case, I don't see why I should close my eyes."
Ran was about to growl at him again, but saw that Moriya was about to strike, there was no more time to waste. Resolutely she held the sceptre and began to chant, moving in an intricate dance as she spoke.
"Quest for love, quest for dream, quest for all truth!*** Magical Pink Orchid Storm Kiss!!" Ran pointed the sceptre at Moriya and a blast of pink and gold light burst out of it, heading straight for him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Moriya howled in bitter defeat as the light hit him. His form was briefly visible and then he vanished along with the bright light and all was silent.
The silence was broken by a howl of laughter and Ran turned to see Detective Mask bending over, laughing.
"_Storm Kiss_? Magical Pink Orchid Storm Kiss? Bwahahahahaha!"
"Oh, shut up!" Ran bonked him on the head with the sceptre. "This wasn't my idea!"
"Ow!" he rubbed his head, but stopped laughing. "Fine... sorry."
"Humph! That's better!"
"Excellent work, Orchid!" Tan flew up to her. "What a great debut! Despite the little hiccup with the penguin slide."
Detective Mask stared at Tan. "Whoa... a flying hamster... What's next? Pigs?"
"That was SO cool!" Ayumi cried running up to Ran, the others not far behind. "You're even better than Sailor Moon, Pink Orchid-san!"
Ran sweatdropped. "Ahaha... thanks... I guess."
"What was that all about?" Ai asked. "I gather that the Moriya we just saw was not the real one?"
"Well, last time I saw him, he wasn't glowing," Detective Mask murmured and Ran looked sharply at him.
"When did YOU meet him?" she asked. She looked closely at him, her eyes narrowed. By the light of the street lamps she could see him more clearly and he seemed very familiar. Her heart did a curious little leap. "Who are you really?"
"Ah..." he backed away. "I... I... am..." he stopped abruptly and put a hand to his chest. His face paled slightly. "I'm sorry, but I can't say anything now!" and with that he vanished into the night.
Ran made an vexed sound in the back of her throat. "What a guy! Just like Shinichi..." she paused. "Now _there's_ a disturbing thought!"
"Pink Orchid-san?" Mitsuhiko grinned hopefully up at her. "Can we help you?"
"Yeah!" Genta cried enthusiastically. "We're the Detective Boys! We can do anything!"
*Uh oh* Ran smiled weakly. "Ummm... thanks, but I... well, this is complicated. I'll... uh... I'll call if I need you!" she said quickly and fled, Tan fluttering after her.
"Wow..." Ayumi sighed again. "That was great... and Conan-kun missed it!"
"Yeah, he did," Genta looked slightly smug. "Heh, for once we got a piece of the action instead of him!"
"Here he comes now," Ai remarked.
Conan looked a bit subdued, but the kids didn't notice as they clustered around
him, recounting the recent happenings. Only Ai
stayed silent and watched him with slightly narrowed eyes.
Conan put on the appropriate expressions, but internally he was seething with confusion. *What happened? How did I...? And why...?*
***
Ran tiptoed inside the apartment and was relieved to be greeted by her father's familiar snores as she made her way to her room. She was back in her normal clothing now, only the gold heart earrings in her ears. She stepped inside her room and shut the door quietly behind her. With a groan she fell on to her bed.
"Please, tell me again WHY I am doing this?"
***
TBC ^_^
Notes:
Moriya is the villain from the first Conan movie "The Timed Skyscraper" - he was an architect obsessed (and I _mean_ obsessed, this man was nuts!) with symmetry and tried to blow up all the buildings he had built that he considered bad. Ai was not around at the time, but I would assume that she has updated herself on all Conan's cases.
Detective Mask carries a crossbow because that was the closest I could get to Conan's watch that shoots out the sleeping darts. (If you haven't guessed, Detective Mask is Shinichi)
*Lyrics from 'Secret of My Heart' by Mai Kuraki
** "There is only one truth!" - Shinichi/Conan's tag line.
*** From 'Truth ~ A Great Detective of Love' by Two-Mix