justonetruth | (no subject)

Conan was grinning about that all over again, but paused as Ran came to a complete halt, peering past him to look at the bedroom. It had something of the same, unoccupied look as a hotel bedroom and Conan smirked.

"Wrong turn?"

"Shut up," Ran retorted, not unfriendly, and backed up to look at the door. 402.

"...Wrong floor," he admitted, hunching his shoulders and turning around to head back to the stairs. He had been a little surprised that he hadn't been pounced by the ghost Shinichi yet. Where was everybody?

"I wonder where everyone is. It's almost never this empty," he commented.

So that was what -- Ran 3: Basic Geography 81? Conan's smirk was not going anywhere any time soon. "Don't tell me you've lost them too."

He got a smack on the head for his efforts -- though Ran always made sure to hold back enough to not seriously hurt 'Conan'. "They're here somewhere! Maybe they're all sleeping."

Not particularly believable, but more reassuring then 'Maybe they're all off dealing with 1412 because he went on a rampage'.

...Or maybe there'd been a murder. Considering who was occupying the hotel, that could easily gather together well over half the local population.

Conan figured that he had deserved that. Trailing after Ran as they went down the stairs again, he eyed the corridor they'd just left curiously -- it was big, but endless ... ?

"What would you say the population of this place is?"

Ran looked thoughtful. "Good question. I still haven't met everyone here, so it's hard to tell.

"There's Hattori-san, your mom, Sonoko, the Kid-you, the two real Conans, Kuroba, at least one Hakuba, 1412 and his Conan, at least two other girl-mes--" he grimaced slightly, " -- Minori, two more Conan-yous..."

"Seventeen, including you and me," Conan finished. "Sonoko's here? Can't imagine that the head of your fan-club will be taking the female you's very well."

As they turned down yet another empty corridor, Conan raised an eyebrow. "Where do you generally meet them?"

"Pretty much anywhere," Ran replied with a shrug. "There's a version of you that's staying across the hall from me..."

His tone was hesitant. Ran liked the ghost Shinichi, but he wasn't high on the list of 'people newcomers should be introduced to first'.

"Do you meet them individually or in groups?" Conan asked. Individually gave more scope for impersonation, and they both knew how good the Kid was at that -- though he generally stole objects, not people, and he surely wouldn't need an entire mansion to do that.

"Both. And most of them were just as confused as I was," Ran explained, turning down the right hall this time and breathing a small sigh of relief when the door he opened was indeed his bedroom. He tossed the karate gear on the bed with an easy lob and then eyed the door ruefully.

"We still need to find keys to this place."

Conan meanwhile was busy noting all the small messes and signs of occupation that corraborated Ran's statement that he'd been there over three weeks. He considered the door almost absently. "Do you need a key to lock it from the inside?"

Ran held the door open and clicked the lock into place by way of explanation. "Nope. It's just an ordinary deadbolt. Though there's a keyhole on the front side of it."

"So there should be a key." Conan left the room to cross the hall. "You said the room across from yours was occupied?" he said, not waiting for confirmation as he tried the door. "This one isn't locked either."

Crap. Ran realized a second too late what his friend was doing, and hurried after him, letting the door bang half-shut behind them on its open deadbolt.

"Oi, Shinichi-!"

Conan let go of the door handle, the door swinging open before him. "Don't worry," he told Ran, giving the room a cursory glance. "No one's home."

"That doesn't mean you can just barge into people's rooms!" Ran protested, grabbing Conan by the back of his shirt and hoisting him up without a second's hesitation. Hopefully he hadn't seen the shrine -- or at least not the name on the funerary tablet. "It's not like we're looking for evidence!"

"Ran! Put me down!" The room was instantly forgotten as Conan squirmed to free himself -- he hated when Ran did this. "And as a matter of fact, I was!"

Bingo. With Conan sufficiently distracted, Ran took the opportunity to kick the door to ghost Shinichi's study closed, still letting his friend dangle mid-air as he gave him an unimpressed look. "Evidence of what?"

"Evidence to collaborate your stories of alternates," Conan said sullenly, having come to the conclusion that he was going nowhere.

"If you want proof that badly we should go find someone instead of rummaging through their room," Ran retorted, lowering his arm and letting Conan drop to the ground. "Jeez..."

"What do you think I was trying to do?" Conan complained, dusting himself off as he walked back into Ran's room. "Besides ascertaining that whoever lives there hasn't found the keys either."

As Conan disappeared, the door behind Ran opened with a creak right out of an episode of the Addams Family.

"So what, you're just going to try each door we come across?" Ran asked skeptically as he followed. "That's a lot of do--"

creaaaaak

The sentence ended with a bitten-off yelp as Ran jumped about half a foot in the air, whipping around to face the door behind him. It was open. After he'd very firmly closed it.

It looked like ghost Shinichi was around after all -- though Ran's heart had yet to get the message, seeing that it was still trying to jump out of his chest. He was probably staying invisible, too, the jerk. The karateka scowled at the door, resisting the urge to make a rude gesture.

Shinichi faded into view to scowl back, looking like whatever the paranormal equivalent of sleep-tousled was. "It's rest-in-peace for a reason," he grumbled, muffling a yawn. "Do you mind?"

"Blame yourself for being such a mystery geek," Ran shot back in a low voice, hoping his Shinichi wouldn't overhear the conversation. "Just go back to sleep. Or-- whatever."

Shinichi looked very much like he wanted to argue that, but another yawn decided him against that. He shut the door with a quiet click -- just as the door on the other side of Ran was pulled open.

"Ran-niisan? Who are you -- there's no one here."

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Styx is trying to enable me to try adult!Heiji instead of adult!Shinichi. Save me!

Totally willing to save you! ShinichiShinichiShinichiShinichi also Styx owes me tags I think.

alkfha if we get any more in the DR he's going to have enough for his own soccer team. And she does.

All the more reason to app an adult Shinichi -- they'll need a coach.

You're a terrible person. :|

:/

You're an enabling enabler.

C'mon. Shinichi as a soccer-mom, it'll be awesome.

...Or a catastrophe. And yet both are tempting. lakfhalf STOP THAT

:D :D :D speaking of catastrophes 1. Heiji is using logic and 2. Ghost has a new friend!

1. Best logic ever and 2. actress!Aoko?

1. Very Heiji. Who needs to meet Ran. 2. Yes, that's the one!