The wind howled, but the sun was bright.
Early in the morning, Kazuha dragged a sleepy Heiji out of bed.
"Heiji, why are you wearing so little?"
Everyone else was in a heavy coat, but Heiji was just wearing a sweater. It was a warm sweater, but still too thin.
Heiji glanced at Sonoko and shrugged. "It's fine. This is enough."
"Hmph, what do you mean, 'enough'? You just didn't bring a coat, even though you told me you did."
Kazuha held Heiji's arm, trying to warm him up.
Heiji sighed and pinched her nose. "Silly. You just need to keep your body warm. Wearing too many layers is a pain."
"You're just being stubborn. What if you catch a cold?" Kazuha said, pouting.
"Wait, I'll be right back."
Sonoko ran into the villa.
Just then, Chris walked out.
She wore loose, deep-red pants, a deep-red turtleneck, and a matching red hat.
Her face was mostly covered by large sunglasses, showing only her small, red lips.
"Chris-nee, why are you wearing so little, too?"
Sonoko, who was just coming back out, saw her and stopped in surprise.
"You just need to keep your body warm. Wearing too many layers is a pain," Chris smiled.
But then she noticed the atmosphere had suddenly turned strange.
"Is there something on my face?"
Chris calmly scanned their faces. If anything was wrong, she would leave immediately.
"Chris-nee, you just said the exact same thing as Heiji!"
Kazuha looked at Chris, then back at Heiji, shocked.
"Yeah! Did you two plan this?" Sonoko shouted.
"Is that so? Maybe Heiji and I are just on the same wavelength."
A charming smile appeared on Chris's lips, hiding a small flash of surprise.
[No... that's a habit from a specific line of work.]
Conan's gaze darted between Heiji and Chris. He felt like they were the same type of person.
"Miss Chris, why don't you borrow my jacket?"
Kogoro Mori eagerly stepped forward.
Ran, her face dark, pushed Kogoro away. Thump. He disappeared into a snowbank.
Conan shivered as he watched. Ran's strength is terrifying.
"Heiji, Chris-nee, these are some extra coats I left at the villa. Put them on."
Sonoko came out holding two red coats.
"Thank you, Sonoko."
Chris accepted the coat and put it on.
Sonoko looked at Heiji expectantly.
Heiji sighed and took the other coat.
"Let's go!"
Seeing Heiji put on the coat, Sonoko's mood brightened, and she led them to her family's ski resort.
The resort was on the mountainside of Mt. Fuji.
The slope was naturally suited for skiing, so the Suzuki family hadn't done major construction, just minor repairs and upgrades.
It was now a proper ski resort.
"Here's the gear. Pick what you want."
At the entrance, Sonoko pointed proudly at a rack of equipment.
Heiji didn't pick any gear. He walked straight onto the ski slope and started heading uphill.
"Heiji, where are you going?" Kazuha yelled.
"You pick out your gear. I'm going to check the slope."
Heiji's feet sank into the snow with each step. It was already halfway up his shins.
He frowned at this. He grabbed a handful of snow. A moment later, water dripped from his fingers.
He looked up at the sun. There were almost no clouds. The hot sun was beating down on the mountain.
He packed a snowball and threw it up the slope.
Whoosh...
The snow where the ball hit immediately slid loose.
Heiji's expression changed. He looked farther up.
The snow there was thick, and most importantly, there were no barriers.
"Damn it."
He turned and headed back down, but the thick snow made it hard to move.
When he got back to the entrance, everyone was gone. Kazuha was yelling from the top of the beginners' slope.
"Kazuha! Tell everyone to come back! I need to talk to them!"
Heiji didn't dare to yell too loudly.
Kazuha was too far away and couldn't hear him.
Heiji frowned and made a "phone" gesture.
"Hello? Heiji, what's wrong?"
Kazuha sensed something was wrong and answered her phone immediately.
"Kazuha, get everyone back to the entrance. The resort is dangerous right now. We can't ski."
"Okay, I'll get them."
Heiji's voice was serious, and Kazuha didn't dare to hesitate.
Heiji kept watching the snowpack up the slope. Small clumps of snow were rolling down, making him feel uneasy.
No matter how strong one person was, they couldn't beat nature.
Soon, Kogoro Mori returned, looking annoyed.
"Hattori! Why'd you call us back? I was just about to show off my skills!"
[Yeah, your skill at falling?] Conan thought.
"Dad, be quiet. Heiji must have a reason," Ran said.
"Heiji, what's wrong?" Kazuha had rarely seen him look so serious.
Chris stood to the side, arms crossed, watching Heiji quietly.
"Where's Sonoko?"
Everyone was back, except for Sonoko.
"She skied off in that direction right at the start," Ran said, pointing to a different slope.
Heiji's face paled. If that happened, all the snow would funnel down that steeper path.
"Hattori, what the hell is going on?" Kogoro was still complaining.
"Kazuha, all of you, go back to the villa. I'll find Sonoko."
"No one is allowed near this resort until I say so."
Heiji ignored Kogoro and sat down to put on his ski boots.
"Heiji, what's happening? Is Sonoko in trouble?"
Ran was getting scared by his expression.
"The snowpack is too thick, and it's melting too fast. If anything goes wrong, it could easily cause an avalanche."
"An avalanche?!" Kogoro shouted.
[An avalanche?]
Conan's face changed, and he started running up the hill.
Vermouth uncrossed her arms and looked up the slope, her eyes narrowing.
Heiji stood up and took the ski poles Kazuha handed him.
"Kazuha, go back to the villa. Now."
"Heiji... you be careful."
Kazuha was torn between her boyfriend and her best friend.
"I will. Let's hope I'm just being paranoid."
Heiji pushed off with his poles and shot forward like an arrow, fast and graceful.
"That kid... he's actually a great skier," Kogoro muttered.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a massive crack, like thunder from a clear sky, echoed from the peak of Mt. Fuji.
The sound vibrated the very air around them.
[This is bad!]
Vermouth's face paled. She snapped her head up to look at the snow on the upper slope.
RUUUUMBLE!
A huge sheet of snow broke free. It rolled down the slope, gaining size and speed.
In an instant, it became a massive wave of snow, roaring toward them.
"AVALANCHE!" Kogoro screamed in terror.
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