A/N: A lot later than I wanted, but I have been extremely lazy lately. I will have the next chapter up by this time tomorrow. It will be the end of the case that starts in this chapter, Ramen So Good.

I remember this being the case that got me to write this story all of those years ago. I was watching it and thought to myself, "What would happen if a ramen addict like Naruto was there?" From there, I had to figure out what kind of character I wanted my Naruto to be in order to fit into the Detective Conan world. The first part of the process was to figure out a girl to pair Naruto with because despite being a man (one that is now pushing 30), a do enjoy romance quite a bit. Of course, I had to go with my favorite girl, Ai. As for the being an immortal demon bit, that was the most popular theory and trope for Naruto back then, so I went with it as well. The previous chapter was one that was floating around in my head since the beginning as the start of the attraction between the two.

The aspect of the whole thing being a game between the Naruto and Conan stems from of course my own love of Holmes as well as Agatha Christie (And then there were None especially). I figured that this would be a more natural way to get Naruto directly involved with Conan as well as Ai since a temporary cure being the prize for each battle would definitely catch her attention as one that worked on the drug and had taken herself.

As I was typing this chapter (more like procrastinating from doing so), I was suddenly struck with inspiration for a scene where Naruto discovers ramen for the first time and falls in love. I was going to put it instead of the flashback with the Organization, but I had decided on that when I was still working on typing up the Inubushi case. If enough people are interested, I might put it up as an extra chapter later on.

Anyway, that's is enough of my rambling. Enjoy this chapter and as always, thanks for reading.

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 19

"What are we doing here, Gin-aniki?" Vodka asked as he and Gin parked in front of an empty parking garage.

"We were told to assist Cognac in his mission to take care of a traitor of the Organization," Gin replied as the two walked into the structure.

"I thought that a guy like that doesn't really need help with his jobs," Vodka replied.

"He doesn't," Gin replied, "But, he was strangely enthusiastic about taking this particular job. I was told to keep an eye on him and figured that this would be a good chance to introduce him to you."

"Should I be worried?" Vodka asked, with a concern look on his face.

"Only if he likes you," Gin replied with a smirk.

The two continued through the parking garage in silence, up five sets of stairs until they came upon a man with long, straight blonde hair, dressed in similar attire; black suit and pants along with a black hat. The only difference in his attire was his tie was a bright orange color. He was standing in front of a giant, metal pig.

"Ah, son-in-law, you missed the party," the man said, his bright green eyes shinning with mirth. "I was just about to dispose of the corpse. Did you come to make sure that he was dead?"

"I didn't think it was necessary, but He told me to come," Gin replied. "I figured that it was a chance to formally introduce you to my partner. Vodka, this is Cognac."

"Ah," Cognac replied with a grin. "I have seen you around headquarters before. Nice to meet you."

"You too," Vodka replied, hesitantly. "What did you mean by, son-in-law?"

"Drop it," Gin said, coldly. "What is this statue here for?"

Cognac's grin grew even wider. "Have you heard of the bronze bull that was used in ancient Greece to execute and torture criminals?" he asked. "Since this traitor decided to steal the last cup of tonkatsu ramen that I had at headquarters one day, I figured that this would be a fitting punishment for him. I locked him in there and filled it up with a few barrels of boiling ramen broth. Then, I continued heating the statue with fire until his screams stopped."

Vodka stared at Cognac with his eyes wide. Gin just sighed and shook his head.

"I wondered why you were so adamant about taking this job," Gin muttered. "So, is there a way to get him out of there so we can confirm that he is dead?"

"Sure," Cognac said, twisting the left ear of the statue. "You might want to step back a bit. The broth is probably still extremely hot."

The head of the statue twisted to the side and a torrent of steaming; brown liquid poured out of the opening. Along with the liquid, a man dropped out of the statue. His skin was bright red and peeling with his face twisted in agony. Vodka went completely pale at the sight and stepped back. Gin only showed a slight hint that he was also disturbed by the sight.

"You do have a way to dispose of the evidence, do you?" Gin asked.

"Of course," Cognac replied. "I have plenty of self-contained, incendiary devices all around the place. Once they are activated, everything, including the corpse and the parking garage, will burn away without a trace."

"I see," Gin replied. "I can see from here that this indeed the target. "Vodka, let's go. The mission is done."

"A.. Alright, Aniki," Vodka replied as the two turned to leave the parking garage.

Not long after Gin and Vodka got back to their car, the entire parking garage was consumed in a large fire. Gin looked back at it and sighed again before getting into the passenger seat of the car. Vodka got into the driver seat, started the car and drove off.

After a few minutes into the drive, Vodka turned to Gin with a confused look on his face. "Aniki," he said, "That was easily over a thousand liters of ramen broth that poured out of there. He did Cognac get all of that up there along with that huge pig? Where did he even get that pig from?"

Gin sighed again. "I told you before that it is best not to question how he does what he does," he replied. "It will only cause stress in the long run and make your hair turn gray."

With that, Gin closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, seemingly falling asleep.

"But I don't have any hair," Vodka muttered to himself.

"We really need to get you to learn how to cook, brat," Kogoro said as he and Conan walked down a surprisingly deserted street, early in the evening. "With Ran stuck at school overnight and Eri away on a business trip, we have to go out for food."

"Not that we would risk eating anything that Eri-obasan cooks anyway," Conan replied.

Kogoro paused for a moment. "That's true," he said before they continued walking. "If Ran let me have more money, we could have stayed home and ordered something to be delivered. All that money we got from Uzumaki and we can't even use any of it."

"What about your allowance, Oji-san?" Conan asked. "Don't tell me that you spent all of it already."

"Of course, I didn't spend all of it, you brat!" Kogoro exclaimed, defensively. "I have enough to get something for us to eat as long as it's something cheap."

'And you wonder why Ran and Eri-obasan don't let you handle the money,' Conan thought to himself.

"Hey! Here is a good place," Kogoro said, stopping in front of an old, run down looking shop. "Ramen is usually pretty cheap."

"We can't find another shop?" Conan asked. "I have a really bad feeling about this place."

"Don't be stupid," Kogoro said. "It's places like this that are super popular and tasty. Besides, ramen is good to eat on a cold day like this."

"Whatever," Conan replied before the two entered the shop.

Inside, the shop was empty except for two people scrambling frantically behind the counter. One was a large man that seemed to be in his forties while the other was a woman that looked to be in her late twenties.

"Welcome!" the man said. "You can sit anywhere you want except for the seat with the flowers in front of it and the seat beside it with the orange fox placemat."

'Orange fox?' Conan thought with a chill going down his back. "Oji-san," he said, tugging on Kogoro's sleeve. "I really think that we should be getting out of here. I have a really bad feeling."

"Shut up already," Kogoro replied, taking a seat to the right of the one with the fox placemat. He turned to the two workers. "What are those seats for?"

"The flowers and seat are a small memorial for one of our regulars that passed away not to long ago," the woman said. "The other is for our super regular who said he is stopping by tonight in about…" She paused and looked at her watch. "…five minutes! Tenchou[1]! He will be here any minute!"

"I hear ya, Sayo-chan," the man replied. "We are pretty much ready for him, so let's take care of these customers here. So, what will guys be having today?"

"What do you recommend?" Kogoro asked.

"From here, you have to get the Yama ramen," a voice said from the store entrance.

"Naruto-sama!" the two shop workers exclaimed, rushing to greet Naruto as he entered the store.

'I knew it was a bad idea to eat here,' Conan thought to himself. "I should have known that I would see a ramen maniac like you here, Uzumaki-sensei," he said aloud.

"I thought that I noticed some familiar faces," Naruto said jovially as he sat down at the spot with the orange fox. Conan sat to his right and Kogoro to Conan's right. "Turns out that it was Richard and Chibi-tantei. You guys really came to a good place. They easily have the best ramen in Beika City. Alright, Sayo-chan, Ogura-tenchou, start me off with ten Yama ramen along with another one for each of them on my tab."

"Right away, Naruto-sama!" the two saluted before rushing back to get started on Naruto's order.

"What brings you out here to this shop tucked in this random corner of the city?" Naruto asked as the three waited for their orders.

"Was looking for somewhere cheap and tasty," Kogoro replied. "The daughter and the wife are keeping a tight grip over the finances."

"That's something I haven't had to worry about in my long, long life," Naruto replied. "Fortunate or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it."

"I understand," Kogoro replied.

"What about that woman staying you with you now?" Conan asked.

"Oh?" You have a lady in your life?" Kogoro asked with a teasing grin on his face.

"No," Naruto replied. "My adopted daughter had a fight with her boyfriend of the last twenty years and ran away to take over my place for the next few weeks of her vacation."

"Why would you adopt a daughter?" Kogoro asked. "The ones that are born are enough of a pain you know."

"I wonder what Ran-neechan would say to that?" Conan asked.

"You are definitely not telling her that, you brat!" Kogoro exclaimed, hitting Conan on the top of the head.

"She is a pain sometimes," Naruto said, chuckling at the two's antics. "Even now, she refused to come out to eat with me. She said she wanted to go to the spa. Instead of taking me, she went with a girl that she has hated for a long time."

"Wait!" Conan exclaimed, his eyes widening. "She went to the spa with Haibara?"

"It threw me for a loop too," Naruto replied. "My only guess is that ever since she had that falling out with Yuki-chan, she's been looking for a female friend to hang out with. They are probably bonding over facials and bashing Gin right about now."

"Women are just strange," Conan said, shaking his head.

"Agreed," Kogoro and the shop manager said in unison.

"I wonder how weird women will be when you are completing Naruto-sama's order by yourself," Sayo said, setting bowls of ramen in front of Conan and Kogoro.

"Take it easy on him, Sayo-chan," Naruto said as his bowls were brought to him. "Even after hundreds of years of study, I still don't understand women."

Sayo just huffed before wiping down the rest of the counter. Kogoro and Conan looked down at their bowls. They then looked up at Naruto and blinked at seeing three bowls already empty.

"What?" Naruto asked, pausing his eating for a moment. "I didn't poison it and I don't smell that they did either."

"I wasn't suspecting that there was any poison in the ramen," Conan replied.

"Of course not," Naruto said. "It is a crime against the gods to use poison in ramen to kill someone. Now, eat your food. It's good."

Conan and Kogoro looked back to their bowls and then went on to take a bite. Both their eyes widened.

"This is amazing!" the two exclaimed in unison.

"I've never tasted anything like this in my life!" Kogoro said.

"The secret is in the bamboo shoots," the manager said. "The recipe, of course, is a trade secret. Even from you, Naruto-sama."

"No worries," Naruto replied, adding his eight bowl to the stack of empty ones. "I've never been able to make ramen on my own anyway. That's why I leave it to the shops and cup ramen."

"I still can't get over the fact that you can't make ramen despite how good of a cook you are," Conan said. "Is it really that hard to make?"

"It's just boiled noodles with toppings added to it," a man said, entering the shop.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the manager shouted, angrily. "We don't serve your kind here. Go away!"

"Is that the proper way to speak to a customer?" the man, middle aged with glasses, said with a smirk. "I even made a special effort to visit this dying shop and give you some business."

"The only reason that we aren't getting that many customers is because of the guys from your place causing trouble here all of the time," the manager replied.

"We should have already compensated you for that," the man replied. "I also gave them an earful. I told them that if they were going to cause trouble, they should have made sure to seriously injure the manager as well."

"What did you say?" the manager demanded.

"Just a joke," the man said, sitting down next Naruto at the seat with the flowers. He then knocked the flowers over, spilling water all over the counter. "Whoops. Looks like I knocked something over. Can you wipe it up for me?"

"Wipe it up yourself," the manager said.

"What a shop," the man said, shaking his head. "I should just…"

Suddenly, a chill went down the man's spine. He turned to his right to see Naruto glaring at him with extremely cold eyes. The temperature in the entire shop seemed to have dropped by quite a bit.

"Desecration of a holy shrine to the gods of ramen is a crime punishable by an excruciating death," Naruto said in a cold, dark tone. "Is that what you are asking for, Saizu Tokumori, age 51, living at Hoshi no Beika Manor?"

The man, Saizu's, eyes went extremely wide as he continuously shook his head in fear.

"It's alright, Naruto-sama," Sayo said. "We can take care of him ourselves. Don't let him disturb your meal."

Naruto stared Saizu down a moment more before smiling at a Sayo. "Alright then, Sayo-chan," he said. "I'll start on the next round then. Another five Yama and five miso."

"Coming right up," Sayo said. "And you," she turned toward Saizu and slammed down a glass of water, "If you are not going to order anything, get out of the store. People who don't order anything aren't considered customers; you know."

"Fine," Saizu said. "I'll just have that so good it's to die for thing." He turned to the manager. "Have you made up your mind yet?"

"Yeah," the manager said. "I've decided not to sell the shop. The people of this shopping district got together recently and decided that we're all for one and one for all. Besides, Naruto-sama here would be quite upset with me if I decided to sell out. He isn't one that you should upset."

Saizu took a quick glance at Naruto and shuddered. "I see," he said. "I'm not so sure about that all for one thing though. I was just getting my haircut at the barbershop next door and he was saying that this place is an eyesore."

"How dare you speak such nonsense," a voice said from the entrance. A tall, middle aged man walked in and took a seat on Kogoro's right. "I only said that Ogura should remodel the place once in a while so this business would be more prosperous."

"You know that I've been thinking about that for a while, Taniaka," the manager, Ogura, said. "Things are just tight around here. If it weren't for Naruto-sama, we would probably be in the red."

"As long as you keep making ramen this good, I will not let you go out of business," Naruto said. Even if the shop is just a single stool in the middle of a cave, I will go there if there is amazing ramen."

"This freaking ramen addict," Conan muttered as he continued eating from his own bowl.

"Anyway, back to this land shark here," Taniaka said. "It is truly disgusting to try to instigate a falling out between two friends just to wreck this shopping district."

"Enough!" Naruto commanded. "This is a holy place for eating ramen. Leave that kind of talk for when you finish."

The two grumbled as Sayo and Ogura continued working and placing bowls of ramen in front of the two and Naruto.

Saizu sighed as he broke apart his chopsticks and took a bite of ramen. "Even though this place is so run down, the taste really is amazing," he said. "On the other hand, my company is going down in flames. It makes me feel as if I want to die."

"Oh? You're left-handed, sir?" Conan asked as Saizu took another bite of ramen. "When you were sitting down, you used your right hand to pull the stool out."

"I was forced by my parents to use my right hand when I was growing up," Saizu said. "Because of that, I became ambidextrous. When I eat, I usually use my left hand. It doesn't feel right otherwise." He took another bite before setting his chopsticks down and picking up his bowl and drinking some of the soup. "Ramen so good it's to die for, eh? If someone really died after eating this, I bet this shop would go out of business immediately. If poison or something was put inside…"

"That's really enough out of you!" Kogoro shouted, jumping up from his seat, angrily. "I've been keeping silent, just listening the whole time and trying to enjoy this amazing ramen, but you've gone on and on being disrespectful and ruining my appetite." Kogoro grabbed Saizu by the collar and lifted him from his seat. "You should just get out of here or I'll give you a piece of my mind." Saizu didn't respond. "Hey! Are you listening? Hey!"

Saizu started to groan and fell backwards from Kogoro's grip. Kogoro stared in shock as Saizu collapsed onto the ground.

"An ambulance!" Kogoro shouted. "Hurry and call an ambulance."

Everyone except Naruto, Conan, and Kogoro began to scramble around. Conan and Kogoro went to check on Saizu while Naruto calmly continued his meal.

"Richard," Naruto said, after finishing another bowl and causing Kogoro to pause and turn to Naruto. "For your valiant defense of this shrine to the ramen god, I believe that you have the calling to be appointed as a bishop of the Beika-chou sect of the Church of the Ramen God. This is a prestigious position that comes with some great benefits. Do you accept?"

"We can talk about that later," Kogoro said, partially confused. "We have someone that might have been poisoned."

"Fine," Naruto said, sulking.

"You don't have to worry about this fool," Ogura said. "He and his people have done this before. They fall to the floor and pretend to have gotten poisoned after eating my ramen." He leaned down to wake Saizu up.

"Don't touch him!" Conan exclaimed, just before Ogura reached Saizu. "Oji-san, in addition to the ambulance, you'll need to call the police as well. I believe this man is already dead."

[1] The manager of a store.