"Oh, Kogoro!" Yoko gracefully spun around to face him, holding what appeared to be a mouth watering piece of heaven. Cake. Delicately covered in white icing swirls with deep red strawberries decorating the top like a crown. "Your cake is ready!" She smiled at him and angels seemed to sing.

"Yoko!" His throat closed off the rest of his words and he swallowed hard. This was, he hadn't expected her to be so sweet and actually make him a cake! "Thank you."
Her smile only got brighter, dazzling him. "Of course my dearest Kogoro, you know I only make the best for you." She set the dessert on the table and patted the chair. "Come! Come. You have to tell me what you think." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, leaving a trace of powdered sugar on her cheek.
He grinned. Well there was no way he was going to say no to that! He eagerly sat at the table as she cut out a large slice and placed it on a plate in front of him. She leaned in, her eyes anxious as he took his first bite.

Kogoro closed his eyes, unable to properly vocalize how decadent the taste was. Sweet, savory, like eating food created by a Goddess. He swallowed, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. How could he have gotten so lucky? "Yoko-chan, this is beyond heavenly." He managed to say, lightly touching her hand.
Her smile of delight had his heart fluttering in his chest. She clapped her hands together. "You really think so-"
"Ojisan."

She asked, eyes lighting up. "-Should I get you another slice?"

Kogoro twitched in confusion. Ojisan? Why would Yoko-chan be calling him Ojisan? He looked down, surprised to find his cake was already gone. When had he eaten the rest of it? He shrugged, patting his stomach, and grinned. "I will always have room for another slice of your divine cooking, Yoko."

She laughed in delight and leaned in brushing his cheek with her lips. But instead of being a soft warmth, the touch radiated like a burning coal. Kogoro jerked away with a startled cry, rubbing at his cheek as the sensation of liquid fire seemed to radiate all the way down to his toes.

Yoko twirled away from him, seeming to not notice his reaction.

"Ojisan!"

"I'll just grab more from the oven!" she said.

There it was again. Ojisan. Why would Yoko be calling him that? Weren't they on a first

name basis now? Even if they weren't, she'd never called him Ojisan. It had always been Mouri-san before. "But...you just set the cake on the table…"

"No, silly, that one's the entertainment!" She said giggling, her back to him as she bent down to look in the oven.

He blinked and looked to the dessert, and sure enough, the cake was moving of it's own accord, alternating between spinning like a top and rocking back and forth like a seesaw. Huh, that was...weird. How had Yoko managed to-He jerked backwards with a startled curse as the strawberries on top suddenly spewed a shower of golden sparks right at him. The embers burning his clothes and his skin as they landed. He cried out, trying to pat out the burning flames, but his hands were slow to respond. "Yoko!" He called out to her.
She turned to him, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Mouri-san!"
"What's the matter dearest?"
"The cake!" Kogoro tried to explain, but got no further as the strawberries on top of it took off like little mini rockets, zooming around the room before targeting his face. Kogoro yelled, ducking under the table to avoid the mini missiles, his cheek scraping against the rough gravel floor.

Where had the tile gone?

"Mouri-san please! Get up!"

Yoko's voice pleaded with him, and he looked up to see her suddenly kneeling in front of him, gripping his shoulders. Tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she apologized. She tugged at him roughly, and he winced as his burning skin caught on the pieces of rock. "The cake wasn't supposed to do that!"

No it wasn't. But that wasn't her fault. How could Yoko have known?
"Otosan, Please! Wake up. I can't carry you like this!"

Her voice cracked as she reached out for him. She sounded so young now. Not quite herself. Again she tugged at his shoulders, trying to get him to move.

He frowned, not budging. Yoko shouldn't sound so young, the voice wasn't hers. He blinked and she'd shrunk in size. A child, bright blue eyes wide with fear as she reached out for him. For her father.
"Mmmmfine." he mumbled in response to her pleading tone. He had to help her. She didn't need to carry him. He would be fine. She was the one upset. He needed to comfort her. Save her from the exploding flying strawberries. "Don'na cry." He didn't like seeing her so sad, so helpless. He tried to grab her hands, but his own weren't responding. "It's not your fault that the strawberries were miniature rocket bombs."

Bombs? Why was that...

She bit her lip, blue eyes shimmering with tears.

"OTOSAN, WAKE UP!"

Yoko-chan vanished, the kitchen exploding in a series of golden red fireworks that blinded him.

NO! YOKO! Kogoro wordlessly yelled in the darkness, his eyelids feeling like anvils were attached to them as he struggled to get them open. Yoko. He had to save her! He thrashed, cutting off another scream as the rest of his body cried out all at once, different parts suddenly competing for the prize of most injured. No, he would have to face that pain later. He couldn't succumb to it. He needed to help-

Kogoro reached out blindly, knowing he was supposed to be holding something… someone… protecting… who? Someone was in danger...him…and Yoko...no...Ko...ko...co...Conan! Kogoro inhaled sharply, forcing his eyes open just as his hand encountered another on his shoulder. "Conan?" He whispered hoarsely, struggling to get his eyes to focus on the face swimming above him.

Conan scrubbed at his cheeks, damp with tears and fresh blood, his hand covered by an oversized jacket sleeve. "Oto-" His voice cracked on the word as he tugged forcefully at Kogoro's shoulders, moving him half an inch if that. "We have to move. Now. Please!"

Kogoro stared at him uncomprehending. Why did they have to move? Why was Conan bleeding? There were no exploding strawberry rockets here. His eyes roved past Conan's trying to piece it together. Behind the boy was a large column of fire. It's crackling edges giving off heat. It was a bit large for a campfire. Those flames…flames...Wait, explosion. Explosion! That wasn't just a dream!

Kogoro jerked upright as memory returned, yelping as he jarred his legs, the pain sending him back to the ground again, struggling to breathe. His broken legs. Bomb, explosion, Shinichi, Conan. It all rushed back.

"Ojisan!"

The crack of another explosion shook the ground as a fresh column of black smoke climbed into the sky. Kogoro inhaled sharply. They had to move! Get away from the mansion!

He rolled onto his stomach, the sting of a thousand torrid cactus needles in his legs confirming that there was no way he would be able to walk again today. "I'm fine." He said, his throat feeling like sandpaper as Conan knelt in front of him, the jacket swamping his child's body.

Conan raised an eyebrow and Kogoro grimaced at using Shinichi's favorite turn of phrase. It was obvious he was not fine. "I'll manage." he corrected quickly. "Move, boy." His words were punctuated by another explosion behind them.

Conan flinched. "This way." He urged, tugging Kogoro's sleeve. "To the tree over there."

Kogoro looked up long enough to see which direction the boy was pointing before he pulled himself forward, once again army crawling through the grass. "Got it. Go brat, I'll meet you there."

Kogoro turned his attention to the large tree about twenty yards away from the mansion. He could do this. He'd crawled through a hole in the ground easily enough, this would be a walk-crawl in the park in comparison. Nice big open spaces, soft grass. But the tree only seemed to get further away whenever he looked up. Kogoro's lungs heaved for air, his arms shaking from the strain of dragging his body along the lawn. Come on. He could do this, Conan was probably already there, waiting impatiently for him to reach the tree as well. He looked up again, squinting to see the boy, but frowned, pausing in his own trek to the tree as his searching gaze couldn't locate him. Shouldn't the boy have gotten to there already? Where was he?

Kogoro whipped his head around, his heart in the throat, searching for the boy. There! A yard and a half behind him was Conan on hands and his knees, struggling to crawl in the oversized jacket. Well one hand and knees. Conan had one arm up to his chest holding it there, to keep from jarring his injured shoulder.

Kogoro mentally hit himself on the head. Why hadn't he remembered sooner! Shinichi had torn his feet walking barefoot in that debris field. The boy probably could walk about as well as Kogoro could at the moment and it was obvious the boy was worst off with crawling, with how he inched along, sweat dripping down his face..

"Here, boya." He reached out a hand to Conan. "I can carry you on my back." That would save the boy from having to struggle with the jacket.

Conan looked up, eyes glinting stubbornly. "I can manage just fine, Ojisan." He said jutting out his chin, edging past Kogoro.

Kogoro dragged himself in front of the boy. Oh no, not this time. He wasn't going to let Conan have his way. "Doesn't look like fine if you're behind me. Come on, I can carry you." He reached out again, but Conan leaned just out of his reach.

"You'd probably collapse if I sat on you." Conan retorted. "Your arms are hardly holding you up now."

Kogoro grimaced. Well that was true, but that wasn't going to stop him. "Brat, you don't have a choice. Come here."

Conan shook his head, trying to crawl faster, but the jacket was hindering his limbs. "I got this."

They both didn't have this. "Don't make me ground you from the next twelve murder cases, boya."

Conan hesitated, narrowing his eyes at Kogoro. "You can't keep using that against me."

Kogoro growled, using a surge of energy to lunge at the brat, grabbing him by the jacket. "I can if it works to get you to do what I want." He really doubted he could prevent the boy from getting into crime scenes, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. "Get over here son, and let me help you for once."

Conan stiffened, his soot streaked hair hiding his face. "I'm fine." he mumbled, reluctantly allowing Kogoro to pull him closer. "Better off than you."

Kogoro snorted. "With how much you've yo-yoed in height today, I highly doubt that."

Conan choked off a laugh. "Maybe you're right." He conceded, finally relenting, getting onto Kogoro's back. The boy's good arm wrapped around his neck, while his other hand gripped the back of Kogoro's shirt.

Kogoro reached back to adjust him so that Conan was more centered on his back so he wouldn't fall off. "Good, if I wasn't, I'd consider throwing you across the lawn. That's much quicker than you crawling at a snail's pace." Speaking of pace. Kogoro heaved himself into motion, working to move faster than that too. It wasn't easy. Conan, while usually light enough to pick up with one hand, had become heavy enough to make Kogoro feel like he was trapped under the rubble again. Kogoro gritted his teeth, forcing that memory away and concentrating on placing one shaking arm in front of the other. Nearly there. Nearly there. "Still hanging in there, Conan?" He gasped out.

Conan tightened his grip on Kogoro in response. "Yes."

"Good," Kogoro groaned, collapsing underneath the shade of the tree. "You're heavy, get off."

"I'm not that heavy!" Conan denied, quickly slipping off of him. "It was your idea in the first place for me to get on, Ojisan!"

Kogoro rolled onto his back, painfully pushing himself up into a sitting position to lean against the trunk of the tree. "If I hadn't you'd still be at the base of those stairs."

They both froze as a loud groan met the ears, the scream of metal shearing in half growing louder as the whole front wall of the mansion seemed to shift forward, it's blackened frame teetering in place before it fell outwards like a performer taking their last bow, plummeting onto the stairs with a crash that shook the earth.

Kogoro had Conan in his arms before he realized he'd grabbed the boy. "Oh, Kami." He whispered, wide-eyed staring at the huge cloud of dust the wall had kicked up. "We could have been under that." If Conan hadn't woken him up, if they'd decided to wait within.

Conan trembled in his grip, not protesting the tight hold. "You could have been on those stairs if I hadn't pulled you down them." He said, voice wavering. "If you hadn't woken up in time."

They both cringed as the other three walls followed the first in collapsing. The back wall falling into the burning remains of the mansion, while the two side walls fell outwards smashing bushes, decorative fountains and...

"There goes the car." Conan mumbled.

Kogoro stiffened and let out a groan. Why had he parked the car so close to the house! Though it wasn't like he could have driven them away from here in his current state. "The rental place is not going to like that." He ran a hand over his eyes. They'd already been barred from half a dozen other rental places in the city because of events like this.

"That's what? The seventh car we've damaged so far this year from them?"

"Something like that." Kogoro exhaled, wrapping the jacket tighter around the boy, ensuring he was protected. Hopefully the manager would be understanding...again. "At least we're alive to explain things to them, though." Kogoro leaned back against the tree, resting his head there. "Thanks to you, Conan."

Conan shifted in his grip, finding a comfortable position resting against Kogoro's chest. Snuggled up in the jacket as he was with his eyes nearly closed, he almost looked like he was peacefully sleeping. Almost. "It wasn't...I'm just glad you woke up." He whispered.

Kogoro smiled fondly at the boy, ruffling his hair again to Conan's mumbled protest. "Only because you called me Otosan." How could he refuse a child's call for father? "I never expected you to think of me that way, boya. Yusaku-san may not like that." He teased through a tightening throat. It was probably a slip of the tongue really, but thanks to that slip, he'd woken up in time.

Conan stiffened, and Kogoro nearly thought he could feel heat coming off of the boy as he ducked his head, hiding his face. "Yusaku-san is Shinichi-niichan's dad, not Conan's." he mumbled.

Kogoro raised his eyebrows, warmth rising in his chest. "I see…"

"And...I...I...I think...as Conan…" his hands gripped Kogoro's shirt, as sirens sounded in the distance. "You're an alright father to have…Otosan."

Kogoro blinked rapidly, fighting at the warmth that seemed to be filling him. Gently, Kogoro squeezed the boy as the first of multiple firetrucks roared onto the scene, screeching to a stop in front of to the burning remains of the mansion. "You're an alright son to have, Conan." He managed to say over the lump in his throat as he rocked the boy. He cleared his throat. "Just stop messing with my crime scenes and you might graduate to a good son."

Conan cut off a laugh, relaxing. "Guess, I'm stuck being an alright son then."

Kogoro smiled. With all that Conan had done to get the two of them out alive, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Chapter 6 Published: 9/14/2017

This Fic was Inspired by: "Snuggling with my jacket, peacefully asleep." Part of an 'I Found You' writing prompt list on AngelicSentinel's Tumblr blog.

Nikayla Speaks:
I just want to take a moment to thank you all for joining me in this fic experience! You reading, favoriting, following, and/or commenting on this fic has been such a delightful highlight to my days! Thank you all for taking the time to do so. I really appreciate it. :D
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Until next fic everyone!