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The Magician

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"One bright day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
drew their swords and shot each other.
A deaf policeman heard the noise
and ran to save the two dead boys.
And if you don't believe it's true,
go ask the blind man, he saw it too."

It wasn't a proper skipping rhyme, but Ayumi sang it anyway as she skipped through the park. No one else could play today, but it was too beautiful of a spring day to stay inside. Mitsuhiko and Genta were on a family trip and at a birthday party, respectively. Conan was gone with Ran and Mr. Mouri, investigating whether the fire at a big manufacturing plant just outside of Tokyo had been an accident or arson.

She'd wanted to go with Conan, but it wouldn't have been the same without all of the Detective Boys. Besides, Mr. Mouri didn't like having them follow him around, and Professor Agasa was too busy with one of his experiments to take her. Ai was helping him, or else Ayumi would have tried to bring her along to the park even if they other girl didn't like playing outside much.

Ayumi sighed. Normal life had become a lot more boring after they'd started having adventures with Conan. She sang through the chant again, then fell silent at the sound of an older girl yelling nearby.

"Kaito, get down here before you break your neck!"

Curious, Ayumi wandered towards a tall, heavily-foliaged tree, where a girl Ran's age was glaring up into the leaves.

"Come on, Aoko, it's fun up here!"

She stamped her foot. "You crazy loon! Thirty feet in the air is not my idea of a good time!"

"Well… if you insist." The leaves rustled, and Ayumi gasped as an older boy jumped the last ten feet to the ground, landing in an easy crouch. This attracted his attention, and she blushed as he looked her way.

"Hello, little miss," he said amiably. Aoko saw her and smiled as well, earlier anger forgotten.

"Are you lost?"

"N-no," Ayumi stammered, looking at the ground. "I was just skipping, and then I heard you…"

The boy, Kaito, laughed. He had a nice laugh, unrestrained and full of amusement. Conan sounded like that sometimes, when he was laughing at something funny Ran said.

"Well, I'm sorry if I scared you. Why aren't you with your friends?"

"They couldn't play today…" she scuffed the grass with a foot.

"Oh, you're all alone?" Aoko frowned. Ayumi nodded. "Well, how about we play with you for a while?"

Ayumi's eyes widened. "Really?"

Kaito laughed again. "Sure. You want me to push you on the swings?" He nodded at the nearby playground.

"Okay!" she cried happily, beaming up at him.

"I bet I can swing higher than you can!" Aoko challenged, laughing.

"You're on!"

Ayumi scampered to the swing set, Kaito and Aoko trailing behind. She forgot about the others for the next few hours, enjoying her new friends' company. Kaito teased her (and Aoko) a lot, but he was always nice about it. And Aoko followed her lead, even learning the chant Ayumi had been singing earlier.

"It's so silly! Where did you learn it?"

"Conan-kun taught me," Ayumi announced proudly. "He said he learned it in America, and Shinichi-niisan taught him the Japanese translation."

"Conan?" Kaito's eyes gleamed. "Little kid with glasses, likes mysteries?"

"That's him! Do you know him too?" she questioned, eyed wide.

"We've met a few times," Kaito said with a mischievous grin. His hands moved and suddenly a white rose appeared between his fingertips, which he offered to Ayumi with a bow. Blushing, she took it, smelling the delicate fragrance. "When you see Conan next, tell him you met a magician."

"Thank you!" She paused, hesitating. "Could we play again sometime?"

Aoko smiled kindly. "We're usually really busy, but if we ever see you in the park again we'll be sure to say hello, all right?"

Kaito flashed another grin. "I'll keep an eye out for you and your friends, how's that sound?"

"Okay!" she declared, taking it on faith that Kaito knew who here friends were. He said he knew Conan, after all.

She looked up as the big clock in the center of the park chimed the hour. "Oh, no! I have to get home! Bye, Kaito-niisan! Bye, Aoko-neesan!" She dashed off, waving behind her.

She had so much to tell everyone tomorrow…

Fin.