First Murder

Kourin wasn't sure if it was a good decision to bring along the other Seigaku regulars with her. But Conan insisted on the matter, especially since he was in a pinch at the time. Why would he be in a pinch? Well, the other Seigaku regulars demanded an explanation on the matter from Conan. She tried reasoning with them that it would be even more dangerous if they knew the truth. In the end, Conan was left with no choice but to explain everything.

And now, Conan had to think about three things. One, to keep Kourin safe no matter what. The same goes for the regulars. Two, to find out the truth behind the case as soon as possible before another murder took place. And three, to end this series of murders once and for all.

Right now, they were heading to their destination -- Hyoutei Gakuen.

Along the way, however, they had crossed paths with some other familiar people, much to Conan's annoyance.

"You guys! Didn't I tell you not to come here? You know how dangerous this case is going to get and I don't want any of you to get caught up with it," Conan insisted with an annoyed look on his face as he scolded the rest of the Detective Boys who were now grinning at him.

Kourin sighed at the sight. "You're acting as if you're not used to that persistent attitude of theirs. Of course, they'd come here since split them up along with Detective Satou, Detective Takagi, and Detective Chiba to gather any related information with regards to the recent tennis court murders," she said matter-of-factly. "And with that grin on their faces-" she paused before facing the kids with a smile. "-I bet they found out something interesting."

"Not just interesting, but disturbing, too," Haibara added placidly.

Of course, what the girl said caught both Conan and Kourin's attention.

But before they could even say anything with regards to that, they noticed some middle schoolers wearing gray and white tennis uniforms approaching them.

"Of course, we'll be running on with these guys. I should've known," Momoshiro suddenly blurted out.

"Who are they, Momo-chan?" Kourin asked in a child-like tone. "Are they tennis players, too?"

"Don't you know them? They're the tennis team of Hyoutei Gakuen. We had a match with them during the Kantou Regionals," Momoshiro answered.

"You're a tennis freak and yet you don't have any idea about them?" Conan commented with a frown.

Kourin glowered at her cousin. "And who said I'm a tennis freak, Holmes freak? Just because tennis is my sport doesn't mean I'm that kind of person. Besides, if I'm a tennis freak, I should've known that those guys-" she paused and pointed at the Hyoutei Regulars. "-were tennis players, as well. The only ones that are familiar to me so far are those from Seigaku, Fudomine, and Rikkaidai."

"Oi! you're noisy," Atobe suddenly said as soon as he saw the kids and the Seigaku regulars. "It's unusual for you to visit Ore-sama here."

"It's not you who we came to visit, Monkey King," Ryoma retorted before Momoshiro could even clamp the freshman's mouth close. He struggled to break free for some seconds before he managed to do so. "What was that for?"

"In case you're forgetting, we only came here to deal with the murderer and not the tennis team," Momoshiro whispered.

The other regulars could only sigh after that. Both tennis teams began to have their conversations. But the kids weren't sure if it should be called a conversation or otherwise since both teams were only exchanging retorts (at least some of them were while others were quiet). While letting them do what they wanted to do, Ryoma spotted something from afar that made him frown.

"Edogawa-kun, those are orange lilies, right?" Ryoma asked and then pointed at the aforementioned flower where he spotted them.

Conan's eyes narrowed as soon as he saw that. It was just near an incredibly large tree. He was about to go and see it closer when he froze from his spot all of a sudden because he heard something. Not just him but probably everyone in that school. Kourin faced the main building with wide eyes upon hearing a melody coming from the speakers installed in that school.

She managed to listen to the melody and decode it since it was another coded music.

"This guy's not going to stop until he kills Rin-san..." Haibara stated with gritted teeth, almost in a whisper. She then glanced at Kourin whose face turned from surprised to sober. "Rin-san?"

Conan faced one of the Hyoutei regulars-particularly Oshitari. "Ne, the speakers are operated from the broadcasting room, right?" Though confused, Oshitari nodded. "Where's that room?"

"Third floor, fifth room to the left," Kourin answered before pointing at a certain room on the third floor.

Before anyone could stop him, Conan ran toward the building.

"Conan-kun!" Kourin called out.

"Don't go near the building until I say 'clear', okay?" Conan said loudly before he entered.

Kourin could only watch her cousin disappear from her sight before she took a deep breath. 'I hate it when he orders me around like that. But... he's still older than me and he's my cousin.'

"It seems Edogawa-kun's emitting a different aura a while back" Haibara stated that making Kourin face the sandy brown-haired girl.

"What do you mean?"

But Haibara just shook her head and smiled at Kourin. "Never mind. By the way, how did you know that the broadcasting room is on the third floor?"

"The shadow of the devil made me know that. And there's another clue."

"Another clue?" Ryoma asked.

"The proof of his hatred toward the people who had helped me before," Kourin answered mysteriously before she pointed at a window on the third floor.

They all stared at the red flower dangling from the window that was later followed with a shocked expression.

"Red... lily?" Momoshiro muttered.

But Fuji observed it even further. "No, it's not a red lily. It's still an orange lily..."

"...only covered in red paint... or blood," Ryoma finished.

"How can you even be sure of that?" Gakuto asked.

"Kourin-chan said it earlier. The other clue was the proof of the murderer's hatred," Oishi answered seriously. "It hasn't been revealed to the media but besides the mini-CD, the orange lily was one of the clues that the serial killer leaves at the crime scene."

"Now you're starting to play detective, Oishi-san," Shishido commented.

"He's not playing detective. He's just stating his observation these past few days with regards to the tennis court serial murders. I'm sure you're aware of that. But it seemed you're not even bothered by it," Haibara said nonchalantly but Kourin could tell that there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice the little scientist managed to hide.

Atobe scoffed. "Why would we? It's not like the killer will come after the regulars, especially Ore-sama."

"You sure are going confident about this," Kourin stated as she walked a few steps away from the others. She then eyed the window of the broadcasting room where the hanging orange lily could be seen.

But then she suddenly saw a bullet and a soccer ball crash through the glass window from the inside, making the flower fall from its hanging spot. Her worries for Conan immediately intensified. Not only that, but they also saw two adults in that room from the broken window that was both familiar to her. One of them was undeniably the serial killer and the other was-

"Sakaki-sensei!" Ohtori suddenly blurted out.

But before any of them could move from their spot to go to the building, Ryoma saw the masked killer pointing a rifle toward them.

'No, not to us. He's pointing the gun at Rin!' He thought that horrified him. He was about to run to Kourin but the gun was then fired. At the same time, someone outrun him and knocked the girl to the ground. A second shot was fired and it barely missed Ryoma. He would've been dead if it wasn't for someone who knocked him down to the ground, as well.

When the firing had stopped, he looked up to see who saved him from the bullet. Much to his surprise, he saw Momoshiro as both of them got up. When the freshman looked around, he saw Kikumaru holding Kourin's body tight. The girl moaned just at the same time Kikumaru tried to stand up along with Kourin.

"Are you alright, Kourin-chan?" Kikumaru asked the girl who had just opened her eyes. She just let out an agreeing sound.

"What the heck was that?" Shishido could only ask in surprise.

"This is surely getting way too far," Kawamura said. "What are they trying to obtain by trying to kill Kourin-chan?"

"The death of the last surviving tulip; that's what Zeus was trying to attain by doing all this," Shouko said. They didn't realize that the woman had arrived from the station. But then they also saw a blue-haired guy along with her. He was probably just the same age as Shouko. "In any case, we need to head to the broadcasting room and check out on Conan-kun and Sakaki-san. The culprit must have escaped for the time being."

"But why is the killer even here?" Oshitari asked.

Shouko sighed as she faced the building. "This is the place where this horror began five years ago. Zeus has the intention of ending it here with Rin-chan as his last victim."

"I doubt if Zeus could even touch Rin-san," Haibara stated that only Shouko and the blue-haired guy heard. After that, they glanced at Kourin who was with the other kids and the Seigaku regulars.

"We'll see. It still depends on how far they're willing to go for her sake," Shouko responded.

"This is where it all ends..."

-x-x-

When they reached the broadcasting room, they saw scattered equipment all around the room. Shards of glass were all over the floor. Two people in there were unconscious worried Kourin and the others. Kourin went after Conan. Naturally, Oshitari and Ohtori checked out on their coach.

"Conan-kun, are you alright?" Kourin asked in an extremely concerned tone.

Conan winced for a few moments before he smiled at Kourin. "This is nothing. I'm fine." And then he tried to stand up but then ended up leaning on the wall because he staggered. "How's Sakaki-san?"

That was when both of them faced the said person who was trying to sit on the chair. They saw him clutching his right thigh.

"Sensei, are you alright?" Ohtori asked as soon as Sakaki sat on the chair.

The coach answered with a nod before he took something from his pocket and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness it's safe."

"That's the reason why you came here, isn't it? You protected that CD from Zeus," Conan stated and approached Sakaki. "What I can't understand is the reason why you're protecting that CD to the point that you're willing to risk your life for it."

Sakaki went quiet for a while after Conan said that.

"Oi, boy! Don't you think you're going out of bounds with your interrogation?" Atobe said firmly as he faced Conan. But the latter didn't pay attention to the Hyoutei captain.

"Zeus was going after that CD... because it contains the first victim's last message, wasn't it?" Kourin concluded. "That's why Zeus went to the broadcasting room first and tried to find it before playing the coded music."

"Now that you mentioned it, what was the message inside that music?" Ryoma inquired.

Gakuto laughed and Shishido soon followed.

"Do you think a kid could easily do something as complicated as to decode a coded music?"

" 'Before the sun dyed the world in red, I'll make sure the final princess will taint the earth with her blood. It will spill to the field, just like how the blood of the fire princess tainted the field of hatred and disdain...' That's what the coded music said," Kourin answered as she faced Ryoma. Conan and Haibara nodded to prove it.

The two Hyoutei regulars who laughed earlier could only look at the fourth-grader in surprise and disbelief. Fuji chuckled when he saw that. At that point, he figured out that it would be hard for the others to believe what Kourin had just done. But he knew her mind was a little advanced for a nine-year-old girl.

"It's just a simple melody despite being called coded music. But how could a kid like her figure out something from that music?" Shishido muttered.

"Is this kid for real?" Gakuto asked, most likely to himself. "How could she have a mind like that?"

Conan noticed that Kourin was observing the room. "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing in particular. I just thought it was strange for Zeus to destroy this room in advance before he played the coded music."

"I was the one who vandalized this room. That's because I need to protect Arisa's CD before he could take it from this room," Sakaki responded which made them all change their focus to the coach.

The blue-haired guy approached the injured coach. "What does my sister have to do with this?"

"Sister?"

"By the way, who are you?" Conan asked while frowning at the man's question.

"Azuraya Kenji, an alumnus of this school and the current head of the Azuraya family," Kenji introduced before facing Sakaki once more. "You said you needed to protect the CD that Arisa entrusted to you. What exactly are you trying to imply with that? You're not saying that my sister --"

"She's dead," Haibara suddenly said which stopped Kenji from talking. "She was the very first victim of the tennis court serial murder case that started five years ago. Azuraya Arisa was the 'fire princess' mentioned in the coded music."

Of course, that information was enough to surprise everyone -- especially Kenji. But Kourin and Conan's faces turned grave soon after. The bespectacled boy then approached Sakaki after a few moments, right when a realization struck him.

"Would it be okay if we listen to the content of the CD you're holding?" he asked innocently and in a child-like tone.

"Are you even sure that a voice or a music was recorded in that CD, Edogawa-kun?" Haibara asked back.

Conan smirked as he faced Haibara. "I'm not sure what was recorded in that CD. But after you told me that Arisa-san was dead and that she left the CD in Sakaki-san's possession, that's when I realized that the recent coded music and the orange lilies left at each crime scene had something to do with commemorating what Zeus did to her five years ago. And if I'm not mistaken, the recent victims' common connection to each other has a relation to the first murder, as well."

Haibara sighed after hearing all that. The others could only look at Conan in awe because of what they'd heard from him. But weird enough, both Conan and Haibara noticed that Sakaki was looking intently at the unmindful Kourin.

"Why are you looking at Rin like that?" Conan asked again.

Sakaki was somewhat startled at the question before glancing at Conan and back to Kourin. "She reminded me of someone. A special someone, that is..."

"Could it be an old flame?" Shouko inquired.

The coach just chuckled, albeit bitterly that Conan detected. "An old, untamed yet unrequited flame..." His eyes softened as he continued to look at Kourin. "Even though that girl's hair was held up by that hat, her hair color, eyes, and her mannerisms reminded me of the person I once loved secretly."

Conan's eyes narrowed after realizing something about Sakaki's statement. "Could it be that her name was... Kudou Rina?"

The boy's question took Sakaki aback. Not only that, even Shouko, Haibara, and Kenji were surprised to hear such a question from Conan. Conan smiled triumphantly at the sight.

"From the look on your face, I guess that means 'yes'. There couldn't be another person I know that would remind you of Rina-obasan's hair, eyes, and mannerisms simultaneously. Those three traits were inherited through genetics."

"You're not telling me that this girl is...?"

"That's right," Conan said with a nod before glancing at Kourin. "You're looking at Rina-obasan's daughter right now. Her younger version, if you want to put it up that way."

While continuing the conversation, it was unknown to them that Kourin could hear everything. Being the curious kid she was, she pretended to do her observations while listening to the revelations in that room. Though surprised upon knowing all of that, she didn't show it. maybe she could do her interrogation later.

"Alright. One question was already answered. Do you think it's about time we answer the questions with regards to the murders? We only have 3 hours left until sundown to stop all these before another death happens here," Kourin suddenly said as she faced her cousin with a serious face.

Conan just sighed and faced Sakaki. "Sakaki-san, can I borrow the CD that you're holding?" The man complied and handed the CD to him. The boy then faced Rin. "Do you have a CD player with you?"

"I brought my laptop." After that, she put her bag down and opened it.

"How many items can fit in that bag, anyway? Her rollerskates, her tennis racket, and now her laptop..." Kikumaru commented as he looked at Kourin. He then saw her take out a laptop from her bag.

Conan smiled as he took it from her hands. "Thanks."

"Agasa-hakase installed a mini-speaker there. Turn it on so I could listen to the message, as well."

The boy did what she had asked and placed the CD. While waiting for it to load and play, Haibara approached Kourin.

"I noticed that, even though Kikumaru-kun had knocked you to the ground to protect you from the bullet, your hat hadn't been thrown from your head."

Kourin smiled. "I adjusted it a while back so that it will hold my hair firmly in place. I guess most of my movements somehow secured this hat on my heart. Not to mention, my hair's a bit thick."

"I see."

That was when they heard a melody coming from the laptop. But then what they heard next was something they never expected.

"M-Mama..." Kourin uttered in surprise