Crisis In The Midst Of The Summer Sun

Beika District...

It was the day after the big storm that hit more than a third of Japan. So far, the storm left only minimal damage to the infrastructure and agriculture. And it stopped just before dawn. Miraculously, the sun shone brightly after that, revealing the beautiful scenery of the morning despite the visible effects of the storm.

And of course, the kids were happy because the storm was now over. As soon as the sun came out, the kids played outside.

Among those kids was a certain group consisting of 6 people known as the Detective Boys.

Well, originally they were only consisting of 5 members. The reason they now consisted of 6 was because of a new member who happened to be a transfer student and the cousin of Edogawa Conan... err... She was supposed to be the cousin of Kudo Shinichi but since he had been shrunk, she was now known as the cousin of Conan. This new member was 9-year-old 4th grader Shinomiya Kourin (a), more often called Rin by her family and close friends.

The Detective Boys were currently playing outside Professor Agasa Hiroshi's house since they agreed to have grilled barbeque as lunch for their "picnic".

Conan, Mitsuhiko, and Genta arranged the grill to be used for the barbeque grilling, while Ayumi, Haibara, and Kourin, along with the professor, prepared the ingredients for the barbeque. The kids were playing board games outside as the professor grilled the barbeque.

"I'm glad the storm was finally over. I got bored these past days," Ayumi said and then took her turn to play.

Mitsuhiko nodded as a sign of agreeing. "Tell me about it. I couldn't go out to go here so I can play with Conan-kun."

Conan just smiled with half-moon eyes. 'I was more than glad that the storm struck. I never have to spend at least 3 days with them,' he thought as he took his turn to play.

"What about you, Genta-kun?" Mitsuhiko asked.

Genta sighed and took his turn to play after Conan. "I just stayed inside the house sleeping almost all day. When I woke up, I always got hungry so I ate almost all the food in the house."

"Eh?! Almost all the food?" The girls exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah!" Genta proudly said that made the others laugh.

The girls shook their heads and smiled. "Oh, Genta-kun... you never change," Ayumi commented while giggling. She then faced Haibara and Kourin. "What about you two? What did you do these past days during the storm?"

Haibara and Kourin stared at each other and then smiled at Ayumi. "Both of us helped each other in our projects (b)," Haibara answered with a faint smile.

"Projects? What kind?" Genta asked.

Kourin wagged her finger. "That would be a big S-E-C-R-E-T." And then she winked.

The others were puzzled but only Conan and Professor Agasa knew exactly what kind of project were they working on.

Conan could only laugh in his mind.

'Haibara is still working on the antidote down in the professor's lab. Rin is trying to perfect her father's ultimate tennis technique that was never shown when he was still a professional tennis player. She's also helping Agasa-hakase create gadgets that could help her in her mission... although I still have no idea what was that mission that she's hiding from us ever since she arrived here.' And that mystery alone aroused Conan's curiosity that led him to deep thinking.

"Oi, Conan-kun! It's your turn!"

He was startled when Kourin called him. "O-Oh! Sorry about that." Conan just laughed and then took his turn to play.

He set his thoughts aside for a while. There was still time to think about it since Kourin would be staying at the professor's for a long time, that was for sure.

The lunch had started after the professor was done grilling the barbeque. Everyone had a very good time eating together outside like having a picnic. And when they were done eating, all of them helped wash the dishes.

The kids were having a rest in the living room while reading some comics and books. Then suddenly, Professor Agasa came from the kitchen.

"Ah, Rin-kun! Are you going to the hospital today?"

Kourin nodded and at that moment, she stood up from the sofa and returned the book she was reading to the shelf.

"Hospital? Are you alright, Rin-san?" Ayumi asked in a concerned tone.

"Are you sick?" Genta also asked.

Kourin shook her head. "No. The reason I'm going to the hospital is that today is my monthly check-up. Besides, I have to know if my elbow is okay now after that accident during the chase."

The chase that she was mentioning was about a robber that targeted Professor Agasa's house a month ago. During the chase, she fell into a manhole when she saved Mitsuhiko from falling into it and a trap was made by the culprit. The way she fell as she landed caused Kourin's left arm and left foot to be paralyzed for almost a month.

That robbery chase ended that night.

It was Kourin's second case together with the Detective Boys.

"Is that so?" Then Ayumi stood up from her seat and returned the comics she was reading on the shelf. "Then, can I go with you?"

"Eh?"

"Ayumi-chan, aren't you just going to interfere with Rin's check-up when you go with her? It's a private check-up done to her because she's obliged to do so," Conan said without looking at anyone and just focusing on reading the book.

Ayumi became sad about this. Genta and Mitsuhiko glared at Conan which gave a cold, tingling shiver to his spines.

'Looks like I'm in danger.'

"It's okay if Ayumi-chan will go with me."

The others looked at her. She was just smiling.

"Really?" Ayumi became excited.

Kourin nodded. Ayumi hugged her in happiness.

Haibara also stood up. "Then... will it be okay if I go with you, as well?"

"Of course. I promised Miyuzaki-sensei (c) that I will introduce you to her during my next hospital visit. I'm sure she'll be glad to meet you all."

Genta and Mitsuhiko lively stood up and returned the comics that they were reading.

"I'll be glad to meet Miyuzaki-sensei. I heard she's an extremely intelligent person with a rumored IQ of 305 that's why she became a surgeon, a pharmacologist, and a chemist," Mitsuhiko said to the others.

"Is it true, Rin-san?"

"Ah, well..." she paused for a while as if thinking how to explain it. "It is true that she is a surgeon, a pharmacologist, and a chemist. But about the rumored IQ... It's just a rumor."

"Really?" Genta could only ask.

"Her real IQ is 270. She was a studious type of student back in her days, anyway. She's the one that you would call a tensai. And she's aiming to become one of those three, so there's so surprise with that."

"But in the end, she managed to achieve all three because many people persuaded her to do so. Is that right?" Haibara simply asked.

"I guess you could say it that way. But she did it to achieve her goals in life, as well."

The others were about to leave when Kourin noticed Conan was staring at her. "What's wrong, Conan-kun? Don't you want to come with us?"

"Eh? Umm... I'll go with you. I can't do a lot of things in this house, anyway." He then stood up and left the book he was reading. He followed the others, and he was behind Kourin.

'Rin... still has a lot of mysteries that I need to find out. Her eyes... her sad eyes told me that something bad had happened in Florida that made her stay here. And I'm going to find that out... for my cousin's sake...'

Conan sighed and ran to catch up with the others. But they never knew that this day would lead the way to know Kourin's past and the real reason behind her sad eyes.

No one knew that the simple hospital visit would lead to a day for them to meet and change one person's life upside down because of an incident.

XXXXXX

The morning practice of the Seigaku Tennis Club...

Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu, was standing on the fence outside one of the tennis courts, while the other regulars of the Seigaku were just watching the other members practice while waiting for a particular person.

Echizen Ryoma.

It was already nine o'clock in the morning but there was no sign of Ryoma anywhere on the school grounds.

"Where the hell did that Echizen go? He knew that there will be an early morning practice today. I know he tends to oversleep but this is the first time he didn't attend tennis practice at all," Oishi, Seigaku's vice-captain, said facing Fuji.

"You're right. Of all people out of the club, he'd be one of the most enthusiastic players here, especially now that we're going to another tennis tournament. It might not be obvious to the others, but we can see that to him."

"Did someone go to their house?" Momoshiro asked while watching the other members.

"Kawamura did. He went there to deliver sushi to Echizen but when he arrived, there was no one at home," Inui explained to them.

Most of them frowned at the data man's statement. "That is strange."

The others focused on the practice of the younger members. However, their mind couldn't seem to concentrate on it.

The same goes for Tezuka, although it was not exactly shown.

Ryuzaki Sumire, Seigaku's coach, could only watch them but she couldn't exactly do anything about it, as well.

'I can only hope they're alright. It is quite unusual for them to be out even after the storm. And Ryoma... why didn't he leave a message that he couldn't make it to the practice?'

Coach Ryuzaki could only think of a few reasons but it seemed that it didn't answer her questions at all.

xxxxxx

Beika City, inside the Beika Central Hospital...

"There seems to be no problem with your elbow," Doctor Miyuzaki Shouda happily stated after a few tests that she did as part of the monthly check-up. "Your wounds from then have healed already and it seems that your left leg isn't suffering from being paralyzed anymore."

"Is that true, Miyuzaki-sensei?" Ayumi enthusiastically asked the doctor.

The doctor nodded. She then stood up as soon as the kids were happily approaching Kourin.

"Thank you very much, Miyuzaki-sensei."

She was surprised at Mitsuhiko's sudden thanks. "Why are you saying 'thank you'?"

Mitsuhiko was about to answer her when Genta suddenly interrupted. "Because... you were so nice to us and you're always there when Rin-san needs a reliable doctor. You did your best when healing Rin-san's paralyzed body."

The young doctor just smiled. "Why are you thanking me for? I'm just doing my duty as a doctor. And besides, I have to do whatever it takes for me to help her since I'm also acting as her guardian."

Conan and Haibara only watched the others talk to Kourin happily.

But Conan couldn't remove the thoughts he had about Kourin earlier. And Haibara noticed him being "unusually" quiet, though she remained acting like she never care.

Kourin noticed Doctor Miyuzaki putting her white coat on the hook attached to the wall. She also noticed her getting her bag and fixing her office table.

"Miyuzaki-sensei, where are you going?"

The doctor smiled at them. "I'm planning to treat you today since this is the first time I've met all of you. It'll be my pleasure if I could at least give you a little reward for being Rin-chan's friends. She's been a loner since that incident happened a year ago."

"Sensei..." Kourin pouted when Doctor Miyuzaki said that.

"That incident? What are you talking about, Miyuzaki-sensei?" Genta curiously asked.

But only a mysterious smile apparead on the doctor's face. It was one thing that Conan found weird. The doctor knew something that the little detective doesn't.

"You'll know soon. Anyway, does anyone of you want to eat ice cream and cake? It is summer."

Everyone raised their hands happily and Conan and Haibara smiled and went with the flow.

While they were walking out of the office, Conan remained silent and Doctor Miyuzaki noticed. And she already had a guess what the kid was thinking about. So she slowed down and kept up with Conan's pace.

"You must be wondering about the thing I said a while ago," she mumbled but loud enough for Conan to hear.

And Conan answered in the same way. "Yes. Miyuzaki-sensei, did something happen a year ago to Rin?"

Doctor Miyuzaki sighed and looked at Kourin. "This might not be the right time to tell you the truth. But don't worry, you'll know soon. Just watch over Rin-chan for a while until her predicament is over."

This left Conan even more baffled and extremely curious about Kourin. If Kourin's life was in danger, it only explained the gadgets that she was creating for herself to be used in something.

"Conan-kun, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

His thoughts were disrupted by that voice. He saw Kourin's worried eyes looking at him. He just laughed in return for her not to think about anything.

"I'm okay." Then he ran to keep up with Kourin and the others.

xxxxxx

The Detective Boys, along with Doctor Miyuzaki, drove around the town using the doctor's car.

The cake shop where they were heading was a little far from the hospital but it seems that they were not bored or hasty at all. The kids were having a fun conversation with the doctor.

Mitsuhiko, Genta, Ayumi, and Haibara were seating in the back seat while Kourin and Conan were seating at the doctor's side, who happened to be the driver.

Kourin was seating near the window so she had been looking out to see the view outside along the way...

...in which Conan took an advantage of to talk to Doctor Miyuzaki about what she had just mentioned earlier in the hospital.

The guys at the back seat were listening, as well, but it seemed that Kourin didn't notice at all. She was too engrossed in what she was looking at outside...

...until the car took a turn and a bridge came into the far view. The small grasslands on the riverside below the road were so beautiful even after a storm hit the country. Its green color calmed anyone who had seen it.

It was beautiful but that was not the only thing Kourin noticed outside. She noticed a cat... a Himalayan cat with a weird red spot all over it. And immediately, she called out Doctor Miyuzaki.

"Sensei, can you stop the car?"

"Eh? Why?" Doctor Miyuzaki asked but she was still driving and her eyes were focused on the road, though the car's speed had decreased.

"What's wrong, Rin?" Conan asked her.

"Please, just stop the car on the sidewalk near the bridge."

Though hesitating, the doctor did what Kourin had asked her. She stopped the car on the roadside. The moment the car stopped, the girl got out and ran to reach the stairs going down the riverside.

"Rin-san!" Ayumi called out but she didn't hear. So all of them had no choice but to follow Kourin to know what was going on.

Even the doctor followed her.

When Kourin was on the riverside, she saw the cat with red spots running from her. Determined, she followed it only for her to be stunned by what the cat was looking at.

She saw a person floating with the aid of a big tree trunk that was blocked by the bridge's consecutive poles erected below the bridge.

Fortunately, the river's water flow was extremely slow. She looked in the river but there were no other unusual things found. But still, the thing that bothered her at that moment was the red spot on the Himalayan cat.

The others arrived at the scene. And like her, they were stunned when they saw the floating body.

Conan and Doctor Miyuzaki approached her, while Kourin approached and carried the cat that was wounded. That would explain the red spots she saw on it.

"Is this the reason why you asked me to stop the car, Rin-chan?" Doctor Miyuzaki placed her hand on Kourin's shoulder while the girl carried the cat.

"No. I saw the red spots on this cat and I decided to follow it to know. But it surprised me to see a body floating in the river clinging to a tree trunk.

"But how are we going to get him to the surface?" Haibara asked silently.

"I'm not sure if one of us could swim there-" Mitsuhiko abruptly stopped talking when he heard Ayumi shout.

Kourin and Conan dove into the river. Though the water was cold due to the typhoon's effect, both of them swam swiftly to the body's location.

When Conan surfaced above the water and touched the body, he could still feel the body's pulse but it was starting to faint. Kourin surfaced, as well, and they could hear the loud meowing of the cat on the riverside, carried by Ayumi.

"That must be this person's pet," Conan said. "Anyway, can you help me carry him until we reached the riverside?"

Kourin only smiled and Conan already knew the answer. Both of them released the person from holding the tree trunk tight. While doing that, Kourin noticed the pale face of the person.

After studying the guy's features, she was surprised that caused her to shout.

"What's wrong?"

Kourin covered her mouth and spoke softly. "I'm sorry. It's just that, I thought I know this guy from somewhere. Then I just remembered the tennis magazine I read about the results of the Kantou Tournament. He's the key figure of the Seigaku, Echizen Ryoma."

"Eh?! That Echizen Ryoma?" Conan was stunned and stared at her. "Are you serious?"

Kourin glowered at him. "I thought you're a great detective. Then at least you should've noticed that earlier." Then she continued to slowly release him from holding to the tree trunk.

"Well, I'm not focusing on tennis. I'd rather watch a soccer game than a tennis match. Tennis is more of Ran's sport, you know," Conan mumbled as he glowered at Kourin.

"Rin-chan, Conan-kun, are you sure you'll be okay? You need to get out of the water fast if you don't want to get sick," the doctor said in a loud voice.

"Catch this!" a person suddenly shouted and then threw a life preserver attached to a rope. Conan soon caught it and swam to get it when it was going to be carried by the river's water flow.

The person was someone that Kourin and Doctor Miyuzaki knew. He was Yanai Shingo (d), also a surgeon and a chemist of the Beika Central Hospital.

"Shin, what are you doing here?" Doctor Miyuzaki approached him as he was pulling the rope.

"I saw your car parked on the roadside so I thought I'll see you here. But I never thought you're saving a boy."

Kourin shivered because of the water's cold temperature despite the strong presence of the sun. Conan felt her shivering because he knew that she couldn't last long in cold water.

"Sensei, everyone, can you help him pull the rope? This person's pulse is starting to faint. We need to take him to the hospital!" Conan said as he felt Kourin. He noticed Ryoma's right sleeve was torn as if something had grazed on it.

"He was probably shot by someone's bullet." Conan glanced at her.

When they reached the shore, the two adults helped the two kids pull Ryoma's body to the riverside. Immediately, Doctor Yanai carried the body even though he was completely wet due to the water.

"I'll take him to the hospital. You can follow if you want." Then he ran to his car to take Ryoma to the hospital.

Doctor Miyuzaki sighed and looked at the kids. "Will it be okay if we go with Shin to the hospital? I feel worried about that person we rescued."

"It's okay, Sensei," Haibara said with a faint smile. "Even though we go to the cake shop, we might be still worried about that person we found." Ayumi and Mitsuhiko agreed. Genta was a bit disappointed but he understood.

Conan and Kourin just followed them.

"What do you think, Shin-nii? I can understand that he might have fallen from a broken bridge or onto a slippery road because of the storm. That's why he was washed away by the water. But there's--"

"I know what you're thinking." Conan glanced at her and looked to the river. "You're wondering why there's a gunshot wound on that guy."

"There are two gunshot wounds on him. The other one was on his right thigh."

"There's only one conclusion about that... for now. It might be that someone wanted to kill him. Only to get lucky to be washed away by the river."

Kourin glared at him for a while.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" he asked but most likely, he had already an idea.

Kourin sighed. "If we could call it lucky." Then both of them hurried back to the car for them to follow Doctor Yanai's car.