The sun had begun to rise over the northern mountains Japan as a multi national plane began to descend in the Tokyo airport a short while after seven a.m. in the morning. Aboard the plane were a hundred tourists and businessmen from America for the summer months of March to August. Turbulence has been ordinary as the plane began to decline in speed along the airport runway near the central tower where anxious and irritated businessmen awaited the two and a half hour late plane. Slowly coming to a complete stop, it took a moment for the plane door to open while the loading escalator was moved into position. However, when the door did open, a young man in his mid-teens grinned as his eyes adapted to the morning sunlight.

Wasting zero time, he leapt over the railway and slid down to the ground in front of an airfield of workers who stared at him with an expression of disbelief. Shyly slipping a hand behind his neck he grinned while he thought of an excuse and glanced at his watch in annoyance. "Arg, five hours on a plane and you expect me to waste more time?" he grinned as he began to run off into the airport waving a hand behind him, "See you guys later, I've got a date with a detective named Kudo!" he called behind him as he disappeared into the entrance door and began dashing through the crowded airport. Sliding down one of the escalators down to the main floor the young man caught a familiar sight and spun around a pillar in the opposite direction.

Skidding to a stop in front of a news stand the young man smiled as he scooped a paper up into his hand and reached into his pocket for the required change. Using his free hand to flip through the pages with a finger until he paused on what he was after, an image of Jimmy Kudo and an article wondering where the legendary detective has gone. "Looks like America's number one detective, Lawrence Laru has himself a lost person case… And then I can finally prove once and for all who the best detective in the world is…!" he smirked while folding the newspaper up and placing it in the left pocket of his sweater. Slipping two of his fingers under his chin he began to think of where to begin searching and slapped his forehead when he pulled the paper out of his pocket and flipped to the image of the last person to see Kudo, Rachel More.

Turning back to the newspaper salesman he held up the page with Rachel's picture and pointed to it while he produced an American ten dollar bill. "Do you know where this woman lives? It's kind of important…" he bluffed as he handed the newspaper to the clerk hoping for a positive answer. The clerk examined the picture for a short moment while rubbing his chin, "Oh sure this is Richard More's daughter… They live downtown in their detective agency, the address should be in a phone book…" the elderly man replied a second later before snatching the bill into his hand and pulling a phone book out from under the desk he had been sitting behind. "Let's see…" the clerk said while he flipped through the pages until he found the address for the More Detective Agency and flipped the book around for Lawrence to note the address.

Removing a notepad and pen from his back pocket, Lawrence rapidly took down the phone number and address before placing both back in his pocket while politely bowing to the clerk. "Thank you sir…!" he said as he took off down the plaza hopping over an approaching cart of luggage while he made his way outside the main airport doors. Raising a hand to signal a cab he frowned when they all continued driving right past him for nearly a minute or two. "Duh… Its Japan not New York…" he said feeling a bit stupid when he slipped his hands in his pockets and realized he only had American currency for the time being. A fact he intended to remedy after catching his next clue to the missing superstar detective Jimmy Kudo from his childhood friend Rachel More. In America he was an ordinary high school student age seventeen, but now that school was out for the summer he intended to prove to who was the number one detective.

Fiddling around in his pocket for a map of Tokyo he had purchased while in America he produced it a short moment later and traced his location at the airport to the down town agency. Sighing quietly after figuring the walk would take at least five hours he slipped both of his hands back in his pockets and began to glance around until he spotted a shuttle bus. Rushing over he managed to slip into the doors right before they began to close and was greeted with a larger woman sitting at the driver's seat. "I'll trade you an American five for fare?" he said sheepishly sulking his shoulders with an innocent expression which caused the lady to merely scowl at him before pointing a finger out as she re-opened the doors. A sound of change clinking together caused both to turn to the fare box as an older man with a small straight grayish white mustache in a lab coat dropping a second fare into the box with a smile directed at both Lawrence and the driver.

"Now now… There is not need to make the young lad wait for the next bus, fairs all paid so how about you take a seat young…?" the elderly man offered and was greeted by a silent nod of approval from the driver before she closed the doors and began to drive away from the airport. "Lawrence… My name is Lawrence, and you are…?" the young detective replied calmly and bowed out of respect as he followed the elder man to an empty seat where he took the window side. "Professor Agasa is my name; you certainly did not come to Japan very prepared if all you have is American currency… I'd suggest stopping by a bank first thing…" he said playing with his mustache slightly like his observation was a profound revelation. Lawrence only managed a smirk and nodded his head in response until he remembered reading about Agasa in America.

Recalling the news article he smiled faintly, "Actually I've come searching for a detective named Jimmy Kudo, I heard he's your next door neighbor so you have any idea where he might be hiding…?" he asked curiously, rapidly eyeing an air of mistrust rise on the professor's face as he studied Lawrence. "Why are you searching for Jimmy?" Agasa asked calmly while he tried to recall the name Laru since it sounded all too familiar from something Conan had been talking about a lot lately. "Wait, you would not happen to be that famous detective from America?" Agasa asked with a faint pause while he folded his arms and studied the young man further not thinking anything was too untrustworthy beyond traveling halfway around the world to find Jimmy Kudo when he could have sent a letter for Conan to answer personally; odd indeed.

"Let's say I'm out to prove once and for all who the best detective in the world is… Heard he was quite a Holmes, although so was that kid from Britain I showed up last year…" he replied casually while placing both of his hands in his pockets and began to observe the scenery outside the window. The faint glimmer off a metal object, in one of the secluded alleyways, caught his attention in an instant as he pressed his face up against the glass to observe three figures in a fight. "Crap! I've got to run, I'll talk to you later!" he said as he stood up and grabbed one of the metal poles above his head to swing over the seat as the bus came to a stop a half block away from the scene. Opening the door he bolted off the bus in the direction of the alley leaving Professor Agasa staring at him with an odd look until he dismissed it as young love or something.

Running down the sidewalk, he slipped down an alley near the one he had seen the scene and headed at the far wall. Leaping at the wall with a kick, he used the pressure to send him up at an angel to the side wall and only a few inches below the rim of the low hanging store roof. Scrambling up the side, he ran over the tiled roof with surprising dexterity and paused at the tip allowing him to stare down into the opposing alley where two figures in black trench coats were looming over a man in his early twenties with a stab wound in his chest and a brief case laying at his side. "Idiot should have known to double-cross us… He got what he had coming, and we got what we have coming…" one of the men in black boasted while clicking open the briefcase to reveal row upon row of freshly minted bills easily over a million in American currency.

The man holding the knife casually whipping the blood stains off and in the process caught the reflection of a young man watching them from the roof top to the left. Eyeing his partner for a brief moment he made a motion with his hand eyes upward, causing the other man to stare up at the roof as Lawrence ducked back to avoid being spotted. "And that is my cue to contact the police…" he said quietly as he began crawling down the side of the roof he had come up and slipped down into the empty alley way. Starting to run out of the alley he was cut off by one of the men blocking off the exit with a small black gun held in his hand. His free hand gestured to his partner blocking the other alley to prevent any escape. "Tisk tisk now you have gone and seen too much kid, up against the wall…" the one holding the gun ordered casually as his partner arrived behind him and they began to advance upon Lawrence forcing him into the stone wall at the back.

"Hold him still…" the man holding the gun whispered quietly to his partner who began to advance upon the young detective who still had his hands in the air. "I would not try and resist kid, unless you want to learn how it feels to have hot metal rushing into your heart at a hundred miles per hour…" the one holding the gun commented coyly while he clicked the bullet into the shaft and aimed it towards Lawrence's chest with an emotionless expression. His partner, walked up to Lawrence and without warning delivering a hard uppercut to the teenage boy's stomach sending him to the ground in pain. "You should have kept your nose out of our business shrimp…" the man looming over Lawrence said dryly as he kicked Lawrence in the side sharply causing the young detective to cough up a faint trace of blood and hold his side in pain. The man with the gun reaching into his pocket and tossing a thin metal case to his partner who caught it with one hand and flipped it open while he used his other hand to put Lawrence to the ground forcefully.

Selecting a small red capsule from the container he sealed the case and tossed it back to his partner who had the gun fixed on Lawrence to prevent any heroic attempt for freedom. Sliding the thin pill into the young detective's mouth he used his hand to prevent Lawrence from spitting it out despite his squirming resistance to the foreign drug. "Relax kid, it will all be over soon…" the man holding the gun said as he kicked the teenager in the side hard enough for him to instinctively swallow. Grasping at his throat a half second later he struggled against the older man's hand without any success as an intense burning began to cover his entire body. His eye's dilated in pain as the drug spread throughout his body, attacking cells and genetic material to the point of sending his body into chronic shock or shutdown.

Lawrence was surprised when the older man released his hold on him and tossed a half-bloodied knife by his hands in an effort to frame the teenager for the murder in the other alley a few feet away. Wincing with blinding pain while he watched the two men begin running out of the alley, leaving him for dead while he writhed along the ground in unimaginable pain. "I-I'm dying…" he managed to say weakly, praying that somebody, anybody would see his suffering and come to his aid. The melting sensations across his skin causing him to cry weakly out in pain as his vision began to cloud over and grow dark. A few seconds passed before Lawrence passed out from pain, the chemicals within the capsule spread throughout his entire body destroying cells as his body tried to combat the foreign toxin invading every cell in his body.

The physical changes were slow at first, although gradually his cellular structure began to condense in an effort to combat the diminishing cells as the last remnants of the toxin destroyed themselves against other cells in his body without a trace. His physical structure slowly began decreasing in size until less than three feet tall amidst the piles of adult sized clothing. Long strands of vibrant hazel brown hair hanging over the child's face which had softer features than one might have expected. The last of the toxin disintegrating an hour later as the afternoon sun rose to its peak, casting shadows over the isolated alley. It took nearly seven hours afterword for Lawrence to gradually come to and blankly stare around the alley until eying a young woman kneeling off to the side with a rather concerned look on her face while she produced a cell phone.

"W-Where am I…?" Lawrence asked weakly, wincing in pain from the slightest movement. Although, the expression of pain rapidly turned into disbelief upon observing the pile of clothes acting like a blanket and nearly three times larger than normal. Cautiously eyeing the surroundings, the child's face turned pale in alarm as both eyes traced the outline of their new body in surprise. "I-I'm a girl…?" Lawrence asked with concern while raising both hands up to see and blinked at their size before cupping her cheeks to gain an idea of the physical facial features. Her mind racing for an explanation, the last thing she could remember was being given that odd pill and blacking out when her body had begun to burn intensely. Although, by the position of the sun setting over the buildings in the east, the time could not have been after seven the same day which means she had only been out cold for eight hours at the maximum.

The young woman stared at Lawrence with an expression of confusion while she flipped open her cell phone and brushed a hand over the child's forehead to see whether she had a fever. "Of course you are a girl sweetheart… What else would you be…?" she asked with a faint pause dismissing the comment as deliria based on her assumption the child was homeless and had collapsed for whatever reason. "My name is Sonoko… Sonoko Suziki, how about we get you something to wear and then I'll take you out for dinner and you can tell me where you came from, how does that sound…?" she asked softly and offered a hand to help Lawrence stand up while Sonoko estimated by the child's size she was around seven years old. Using her free hand to send one of her friends a text message asking her to meet at the clothing store downtown; after all she had zero clue how to handle a child and was not going to leave a little girl in an alleyway.

Blinking in alarm, Lawrence stared down at the formerly well fitting t-shirt which now had sleeves down to her wrists and covered past her knees in length with her standing. A faint growling in her stomach causing her to blush faintly while she stared up at Sonoko and down at the pile of larger clothes. "A-Alright…" she replied with a faint pause before getting an idea and dug through the massive pocket of the hoodie on the ground until she found the newspaper and map from earlier. "Do you know where I can find this person?" she asked producing the picture of Rachel More while using the distraction, and beneath the raised paper, to accurately use her finger nail to cut a hole on the map where they were located given how far she had been able to get into the city on the bus before spotting those the events in the other alley. The sounds of sirens a half block down alerting her to the fact that the dead body had been found, and she knew she had to get out of her fast or might have to try explaining why she was here when she knew it would sound childish.

Sonoko examined the picture for only a half second before ruffling Lawrence's long hair with one hand and smiled. "I'd have to be pretty dumb not to know where to find my best friend; in fact she and Conan should be meeting us at the clothing store. Oh Conan is a relative of Jimmy Kodo and is staying with her; actually he is around your age I think so you two should get along great!" she beamed happily and brushed a hand under her chin while she examined the child for a short moment and sighed. "Although, first let's get you something more proper to wear, then we can all go out for dinner together… Sound okay…?" she asked while placing her cell phone back in her purse after receiving a confirmation text message from Rachel saying they would be at the shopping center in about an hour which provided enough time to find this odd girl something nice to wear for dinner. She decided in her head to make Lawrence her new special project.

Listening keenly, Lawrence widened her eyes in surprise when Sonoko mentioned a relative of Kodo and his girlfriend both coming to one convenient place. She knew she had to find those men to find a way to return to normal, although, on the other hand she needed time to track down their identities and hanging around the best friend of a detective's daughter would prove quite beneficial. "Thank you… Thank you very much miss Sonoko-san!" she began, remembering she probably looked a lot like a child based simply on the height difference between herself and Sonoko and knew better then to give away too many clues of her true identity until she was certain what exactly she was dealing with regarding those two men wearing black suits who had administered the drug. "I mean… I would love to come, thank you very much… My name is La… Lyndsey… Lyndsey Laru…" she replied quietly, catching herself at the last minute and saying the girl name that came to mind which matched her last name to avoid any other suspicions.

Lightly folding the newspaper downward, and over the map, she made another fold sideways to hide the map entirely from view before offering it up to Sonoko innocently. "Could you hold this for me…? It's really important…" she said softly, trying to look as innocent as possible which was not hard given her rather adorable physical appearance and features. The drug, an experimental version of the APTX 4869 drug, designed to isolate DNA cellular structures and explode upon all matching cellular structures which would cause enough damage to the central nervous systems to force the body to enter a state of shock and shutdown ultimately ending in death without any detectable traces. However, the cells which the drug had initially come into contact with was a Y Chromosome, and the drug had replicated and spread throughout Lawrence's entire body eliminating all traces of the cell without any physical hazards beyond the obvious physical changes which resulted and had collapsed her body structure to cope with the cellular shock.

Smiling at the child, Sonoko nodded and accepted the newspaper before placing it carefully inside of her purse which she draped over her shoulder and offered a hand down to 'Lyndsey' to begin walking down to the shopping center which was only two blocks away from the alley off center street. "You have a really lovely name Lyndsey, and I think I know just the right color for your new outfit!" she gushed adoringly while they began to walk causing Lyndsey to simply blush deeply from embarrassment. The twin tower structures of the city gradually coming into full view above the shop roofs, including a large twenty, or maybe higher, story building which Sonoko identified as the Tokyo Metropolitan Shopping Center. The sun setting in the east, bathing the sky in a radiate series of red and orange hues which Lyndsey had to admit did look quite beautiful while her mind wandered from one question to another, the first obvious question being how she was going to start tracking down those two men or use this Rachel and Conan in her efforts to locate the renowned Jimmy Kudo who she was still positive she could beat even as a child.

The two girls arrived at the shopping center after a short ten minute walk, which had felt significantly longer for poor Lyndsey who was still adapting to the shorter legs and other physical changes. Double revolving doors appearing monstrous from Lyndsey's diminulative perspective, she cringed a bit and instinctively tightened her grasp on Sonoko's hand. Sonoko stared down in surprise when she felt the increase in pressure and sighed quietly while they stepped into the revolving doors and emerged on the other side without any problems. "See that was not so bad was it sweety?" she asked softly while also glancing around the main floor of the shopping center to get her bearings of a place she knew quite well after her numerous visits here with Rachel in the past. "Princess Designs is on the third floor, they should be open until ten so that leaves us plenty of time to find you something nice and then go out for dinner…" she added in spontaneously while glancing down at Lyndsey with a smile. "Do you know where your parents live?" she asked quietly figuring it was worth a shot although still figured the child was alone without any family in Japan or why else would she had been sleeping in an alley unless she simply ran away from home which would have the same result of her needing someone to care for her now.

Instantly staring down at the ground in embarrassment when she heard the name of the store they were going to be shopping at as they boarded the escalator, Lyndsey tried to hide her deep blushing. Thinking about the question for a short second she nodded her head, "My mother and father are both archaeologists excavating in the Amazon rainforest… I have a hotel room under my father's name though at the Tristinia hotel…" she explained working the details out in her head in case Sonoko proved too nosey. The end of the escalator approaching rapidly from her perspective, she had to jump forward a bit to avoid getting her long t-shirt caught in the treadmill giving her enough time to think over the remaining details. "My caretaker Mr. Sargori never came to pick me up at the airport though so I tried to find my way to the hotel on my own…" she bluffed with surprising eloquence while recalling the name of one of the individuals she had observed on the obituary page of the newspaper, a young man who had lived as a proctor without any living family members and therefore zero alibis to prove her story false, while she had been reading it at the airport.

Sonoko paused while she listened to the child's explanation and simply shook her head at the 'negligence' of the man to leave an innocent little girl like Lyndsey all alone at an airport. Unaware the man had died in hospital yesterday morning after having suffered fatal injuries in a car accident. "Hmph! Well in that case, you can come and live with me until we can contact your parents or this Mr. Sargori… I'm not about to let any child live on her own, this is a big city and a lot of bad people who would love to get there hands on a sweet girl like you…" she replied firmly not willing to take 'no' for an answer. She knew they had plenty of spare rooms at her house, rather mansion, and she doubted the caretaker's ability to care for Lyndsey if he had failed to even pick her up from the airport on time. Shaking her head she sighed as they approached a large double glass door shop decorated in adorable girly colors and designs. The store displayed row upon row of adorable clothes, of all colors and styles, for girls ranging from ages one to thirteen years old.

Lyndsey rapidly shook her head when she heard Sonoko's offer, although before she could speak she felt the older woman's hand cover her mouth lightly to keep her from refusing. "You do not even know me, why are you being so nice…?" she asked with a slightly suspicious tone of voice while the entered the brightly colored store and she felt a bit queasy while observing a couple of the clothes from the corner of her eyes unable to believe Sonoko actually expected her to wear such girly attire. Rapidly feeling stupid for failing to have realized before what else the older woman might have had in mind for a 'cute little girl like her' since Sonoko did not have a clue who she really was and she could not exactly tell for a number of reasons surrounding her own, and Sonoko's, personal safety. The thought of those two men searching for her if the drug had done this to her accidentally made her shiver and the prospect of building up a guise to hide her true identity did have appealing options given the present situation regarding her physical state.

Aware Sonoko was right never the less, and living on her own would be a whole lot more difficult than temporarily staying with Sonoko since she did appear to have a number of useful resources and she could pay her back when she got back to normal. Her family was quite wealthy after all, and she knew nobody would be able to get a hold of her parents when they did not wish to be found which would mean she was basically at the mercy of a city which would likely not be too friendly to a child of her age. "I promise my parents will pay you back for everything when they come back…" she replied modestly and bowed politely in an effort to show her appreciation for the offer and for Sonoko being stubborn enough to make her think the offer over more carefully to see the benefits. Besides, she certainly was not familiar with being female, and would have to at least make an effort to adapt until she was able to return to normal.

Ruffling Lyndsey's long hazel brown hair lightly she shook her head and smiled, "You do not need to worry yourself about the costs Lyndsey, my father owns the Suzuki Financial Group and I'm positive he would not approve of letting you live on your own so you can consider yourself part of our family until we can locate your parents or that caretaker…" she offered while glancing over the racks of clothing until she spotted a dress she thought might look exceptionally lovely on Lyndsey's slender form. Selecting a knee-high solid apple-red sleeveless day-dress with a white trimming in a flowery design collar along the neck, shoulders, and bottom hemline; while a baby pink colored ribbon threaded beneath the fabric on the front and was visible from the back in the form of a bow which draped two inches on each side with a height nearly perfect for Lyndsey's size as Sonoko held it up for examination. "And now that we've settled that, Rachel and Conan should be here in about a half hour so let's find you something cute… Will you go and try this one on? Or would you like some help…?" she offered with a soft tone of voice, not quite certain whether Lyndsey was used to changing on her own yet though figured she would allow the child to decide.

Blushing profusely when Sonoko offered to help her change she instantly lowered her head with complete embarrassment, shook her head, and clutched the dress in her tiny hands before running off in the direction of the changing room signs she could see along the back wall of the store. Freezing in front of the detailed white ladies' changing room symbol on the doorway she swallowed and glanced down at herself for a half second before shaking her head rapidly. Turning on her heels to leave, she was blocked off by Sonoko who was holding both hand's on her hips observing Lyndsey's clear signs of reluctance. "Well, come on then, I will come in and help you change if you want Lyndsey…" she said with a confused tone of voice, having figured the shopping trip would have been zero problem at all although Lyndsey was acting quite strange for any normal little girl she had ever seen. When she had been young she loved trying on new clothes, she still did, and she did not see anything embarrassing about a seven year old girl acting for help changing.

Blinking her eyes up at Sonoko in surprise she blushed deeply and her expression showed her anxiety. A faint glance at the dress, then over her shoulder at the changing room doors, and then Sonoko and she had made up her mind. "I-I'll be alright I think…" she replied sheepishly and demurely turned to run into the changing rooms to avoid any further suspicion. Slipping into one of the stalls with beyond embarrassment she paused to glance around the small room and the mirror. Her eyes catching the faint glint of glass from the ceiling camera positioned to prevent theft. Climbing up on the two-foot tall bench, which felt more like a small mountain she used the angle of the camera to hide from its view while she slipped the shirt off over her head and tossed it over the lens to prevent any further filming. Pausing for a moment to ensure she was alone now, she sighed quietly and climbed down from the bench to glance at herself in the large mirror on the wall. The reflection surprising her faintly at first until she touched her finger to the glass and watched the reflection repeat her motion in reverse confirming it was indeed her body being displayed.

The reflection unmistakably that of an ordinary seven year old girl, with long shoulder length hazel brown hair and facial features attributing an adorable child. Using the size of the door, which she knew was built standard to six feet tall, she estimated her height at 3'6" or 43 inches and around 50 lbs in weight based on a trick she had learned at a carnival a number of years ago. Drifting her eyes down to her legs she did not need to check with her hand to be certain she was one-hundred percent female now. Sighing quietly while she bent down to pick up the dress she held it in front of herself at next level for a short moment to see how it looked in front of the mirror. Contemplating the reflection for a long moment she groaned quietly as she studied the image deciding it was quite adorable, had she been an ordinary little girl, although freezing when she heard Sonoko poke her head into the changing rooms since she had been taking so long.

"Are you alright Lyndsey…?" Sonoko asked softly, aware there was nobody else in the stalls given the later time and since most little girls were in bed by now. "Do you need any help…? You have been in there for nearly ten minutes?" she asked after a moment and checked her watch casually wishing she was able to understand kids like Rachel; she rarely even understood Conan half of the time, in more ways than one. She was also a fair bit curious how the dress would look and she wanted to be certain Lyndsey made a beautiful impression on Rachel and Conan since the child would be staying with her for the next few weeks. Slipping into the changing rooms quietly, she walked over to the row of changing stalls and raised an eyebrow when she noticed the t-shirt hanging off a part of the ceiling; failing to realize the camera being covered. Softly knocking on the door she waited a moment, "Lyndsey…?" she asked quietly, wondering if something had happened to the child since she had been quiet for so long and had not answered her the first two times.

Stiffening in surprise when she heard Sonoko call the first time, she groaned louder and held the dress out in front of her trying to figure out how to put the awkward thing on given all the ribbons. She may have been the number one detective in America, although it still took her nearly five minutes to figure out how the thing slipped on over her head and tightened around the waist and along the back to fit on her shoulders comfortably. She nearly screamed in surprise when she heard the knock on the door followed by Sonoko's soft yet concerned tone of voice. "N-No I'm alright… I-I'm almost done…" she replied shyly while she slipped the adorable red dress on over her held and used her hands to smooth out the creases along her waistline, shoulders, and neck collar. She used the mirror to from a side view to guide her hands enough to fasten the three buttons along her back beginning at the neck and ending along her non-existent bust line while she straightened out the ribbon at the back and pulled the dress downward from her hips to ensure a snug fit over her entire body. "One minute…" she called while she turned to the mirror and brushed at her hair with her hands to straighten it out, hoping a lovely appearance would explain all of the time she had spent 'changing' while she had been dealing with the camera and making sense of her body to avoid any odd questions or problems which might arise suspicion in the near or distance future.

Lyndsey ensured everything on the dress and her hair looked perfect before breathing a sigh of relief nearly a minute later and thinking to herself that this was not so difficult. Swaying from side to side lightly, while she watched the ribbon at her back sway and familiarized herself with the gravity of the outfit; she nodded to herself in the mirror for confidence before smiling. Climbing up on the bench a second time, the loose-fitting dress provided a mild bit of difficulty, partially along her legs which were bound from moving too far to either side which made climbing hard. Reaching up from the bench, she pulled the shirt down from the camera and innocently waved at the ceiling with a smile before hopping down and folded the shirt on the bench as rapidly as she could to not make Sonoko wait any longer. She felt embarrassed about having spent nearly fifteen minutes changing into a simple dress, cringed at the idea of having to go through this kind of thing every morning until she found a way to return to her old body and size.

Nervously opening the lock on the stall and poked her head out, although was surprised when she failed to spot Sonoko until she managed to spot Sonoko's red shoes from beneath the changing room doors. "What do you know, being this size does have its perks…" she thought quietly to herself with a light giggle and made her way to the door, pausing to take in a deep breath hoping she had done everything properly, and would not arise any suspicion. Opening the door, she blinked in surprise when she saw an unfamiliar boy sitting on a bench, while an older girl was talking to Sonoko in a casual fashion. Her confusion lifting the instant she connected the other woman to Rachel More based on the picture in the newspaper and smiled while she concluded that the boy, maybe a few months older than her and a bit taller, was Conan and her prime suspect for tracking down Jimmy Kudo since they were relatives. "Um… I-I'm done…" she said in her quietest tone of voice, wishing to inform she had emerged although not wishing to gain any attention if it could be avoided since she felt humiliated wearing a girly dress and ribbons in front of two strangers.

Sonoko and Rachel both turned when they heard the low voice behind them and instantly gushed when they saw how adorable Lyndsey looked in the dress. Sonoko bending down to softly check the tightness on the shoulders and waist to ensure it would be suitable to casual activities. Rachel on the other hand turned over to where Conan was sitting with a hand on her hips while she narrowed her eyes slightly "Well young man, what do you think?" she asked teasingly, knowing Conan was not interested in girls yet since he was far too young although figured his manners could be improved a bit based on his lazy position laying on the bench, with his hands under his head while he stared up at the ceiling watching the fan. "Oh… Um…" he replied in surprise and turned to look at Rachel nearly falling off the bench in the process causing all three girls to giggle quietly at his antics. "She looks nice…" he said casually with both his hands behind his head while staring up at Rachel until he caught her eyes gesturing down towards Lyndsey. "I mean… That dress looks really lovely on you…" he corrected himself and stared over at Lyndsey in an effort to not be rude.

Awkwardly fidgeting while Sonoko adjusted her dress slightly along the waist-line, the adjustments gave the dress more flow rather then restrictive movement at her hips. Unable to resist from giggling quietly as she watched Conan nearly fall off the bench when Rachel surprised him she blushed faintly when she got a descent look at his face without his glasses for a half second while he fixed them into position. "Awe, do you really mean it…?" she asked, faking an excited tone, while she squirmed free from Sonoko and quite innocently slipped her hands behind her back as she skipped over to Conan and paused in front of him as she did a faint spin to allow the dress to flow like she had practiced in the changing rooms. "Well? Do you really mean it?" she asked a second time catching his hesitation, while she took advantage of the awkward moment to analysis him casually trying to figure out a way to get close to him and Rachel without coming across as overly presumptuous or suspicious since she had to find Kudo and those two men in black.

Conan blinked at her forwardness and catching his casual attitude towards her outfit he nearly stumbled backward over his feet in surprise when she leaned in close refusing to give him any time to think of any sharp-witted answer. "Of course…" he replied with a faint pause while thinking of something else, and noticing her baby blue colored eyes matched the pink ribbon. "The colors really match your eyes…" he added in quickly, staring over her shoulder with a pleading look to Rachel who simply smiled and gave Conan a nod of her head in approval for his cute response. "My name is Conan, what is your name…?" he asked shyly in an effort to change the subject knowing girls usually overreacted about appearances and he felt like any answer he could give might be turned against him in one way or another. He had not managed to understand teenage girls while he had been Jimmy Kudo, and certainly did not understand the younger girls like Lyndsey or Amy one bit based on his numerous experiences with them over the past few months.

Observing his pleading expression she smiled softly, feeling a bit sorry for him since she knew that she was making him uncomfortable, although she also knew he had zero clue how embarrassed she felt having to be the girl rather then answer the girl. "My name is L… Lyndsey… It's a pleasure to meet you Conan-kun…!" she replied, catching herself a fair bit quicker this time. Although, when she noticed him staring at her with a bit of confusion, after catching her slip-up, she blushed faintly and without a second thought she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping away a bit further. The mild blush turning into a red streak across her face while she lightly twiddled her fingers at her waist, out of his line of sight, certain that she had succeeded in changing the subject from any potential suspicion based on his expression of surprise while he held a hand to his cheek with an equally visible red streak across his entire face.

Disgusted with her impulsive trick to change the subject from her faint slip-up of names, she knew a detective had to do what they had to do in order to keep the tail cold on those who had vital information to solving a case. Although, on the other hand she was not entirely certain about whether that had been her only motivation, since she did think he was a bit cute, for a seven year old boy, and she wondered whether she might have responded in the same way if he looked a whole lot different. "S-Sorry… You just remind me of somebody…" she bluffed shyly, aware he did share a strikingly strong resemblance to Jimmy Kudo without the glasses although she dismissed that as merely a family relationship. Uncertain why she felt so awkward about the whole situation given she easily would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed to save her an embarrassing situation if she had been the boy; so why was it so awkward now.

Sonoko was the first to break the awkward silence when she clasped her hands together and grinned at Rachel while drifting her eyes to Lyndsey and Conan a few feet away. "Awe Conan! Looks like you have an admirer, and a lovely one at that, wouldn't you agree kiddo?!" she teased glancing over at Rachel who had one hand covering her mouth in an effort to reduce the sound of her laughter. Her comments caused both Conan and Lyndsey to blush even deeper, albeit for entirely different reasons. "Anyhow, how about we all head out for dinner and crash at my house… We can come back tomorrow for a few more things, although I think that dress should be fine for tonight…" she added casually while she reached into her purse for her credit card to pay for the dress while they headed to the checkout and Rachel removed the price tag from Lyndsey's rear collar and blinked at the price 700.00, and the silk polymer material.

Sighing quietly at Sonoko she shook her head with a smile and handed the price tag to the cashier who processed the transaction. The counter too high for Lyndsey or Conan to see the price, and she had not bothered to chest while in the changing room due to her preoccupation with other things. "Conan and I already ate at home though, so how about we head over to your house and make a snack for everyone, I will call dad on the way and let him know we won't be coming home tonight…" Rachel offered while glancing down at Lyndsey with a smile thinking the young girl really did look adorable in the dress and despite the cost it was well worth it given what she had heard from Sonoko about the child during their short conversation while Lyndsey had been changing in the stall. She could not blame Sonoko for that generous offer to take the child in based on her story, although she hoped Sonoko would not decide too spoil her badly beyond the first couple of days while she was getting settled in at the Suziki estate.

Slipping the receipt in her purse, Sonoko shrugged her shoulders and nodded in response to Rachel's new question since she knew she could have a cook make something special at home. "Sounds good, and that means Conan can spend some more time with his cute admirer!" she teased, loving being able to get under the kids skin the rare times she found something that bothered him since he usually came across as smarter than her and she hated being out staged by a pint-sized kid. Lightly bending down to hug Lyndsey who had gotten over the embarrassment by now, and they both grinned slightly at Conan after Lyndsey caught on to the game and figured it could not hurt to play along. The group making there way out of the store and down the escalator while Rachel checked her watch and sighed realizing Conan should have been in bed by now since it was past eight although she figured once would be alright since it was a special occasion.

Lyndsey clung lightly to Sonoko's hand when they approached the revolving door, Conan simply raised an eyebrow to her behavior although dismissed it simply as her being a girl. Upon exiting the shopping center however, the cool evening air brushed up against the group of four, sending a shiver down Lyndsey's spine while the cold air nipped at her exposed skin and under the thin silky soft dress. Conan was the first to take notice of her discomfort while they began walking down the sidewalk towards Sonoko's home; slipping his jacket off his shoulders he held it out to Lyndsey softly. "Here… Can't have you be freezing…" he offered which sparked surprised yet approving glances from Sonoko and Rachel who grinned at each other causing Conan to blush faintly when he realized the source of their smiles; namely his gift to Lyndsey after her kiss.

Pausing on the promenade slightly, while she rubbed her arms together for warmth she felt beyond guilty for teasing him earlier with Sonoko when he was being so sweet. "T-Thank you Conan-kun…" she replied quietly and accepted the jacket, slipping it on over her shoulders lightly. A bit surprised when the sleeves hung over her wrists, covering her hands slightly, she shook it off when she remembered he was a bit taller than she was based on age and being a boy. The cool air nipping at her legs never-the-less, she felt a whole lot more comfortable with the warm jacket shielding her from most of the wind; although she did want to get into shelter soon to avoid catching a cold. Unable to believe girls actually wore clothing like this during colder periods of the year like in fall, feeling beyond humiliated by having to be bailed out by the boy who she had kissed and been teasing only a half hour ago. The sight of the residential zone gradually came into view after they had walked for about fifteen minutes, leaving Lyndsey nearly out of breath from all of the walking and due to fatigue from her younger body beginning to catch up with her mental responses.

Rachel was on the phone with her father by the time the group approached the Suziki estate and Sonoko entered the password on the gate to open it and was greeted by one of the butlers. "Good evening ma'dam shall I have the kitchen prepare your evening snack…?" he asked dutifully until he noticed the other three behind his master and smiled. "I'll have three rooms prepared for your guests at once…" he said and after receiving a faint nod from Sonoko turned to lead the way into the house. The main lobby pristine white as polished tiles reflected the radiant light from the chandeliers, two twin spiraling staircases leading up to the second floor while three doorways rested at each wall, one leading to the kitchen, the second to the living room and dining room, and lately the third leading to the games room. Rachel and Conan simply hanging their coats up in the closet after having been here a number of times in the past, Lyndsey on the other hand simply stared up at the massive lobby with an expression of disbelief while she looked up at Sonoko.

"You mean I am going to be living HERE with you Miss Sonoko-san…?" she asked shyly, not feeling like she was worthy of such a gracious offer when the older woman had already done so much to help her out with the clothing and getting her out of the awkward situation at the alley with the police. "Of course, what else did you have in mind…?" Sonoko replied casually while she hung her coat up in the closer and bent down to straight Lyndsey's dress and hair a bit until the butler returned. "I have prepared two rooms on the east wing for Miss More and her ward Conan, as for your long lady friend she shall have a room in west wing next to your room ma'dam… Is that antiquate?" he asked formally and bowed upon receiving a new nod of approval from Sonoko before he turned to gesture up the stairways leading to the east and west wing of the estate. "An evening snack will be brought to each of your rooms shortly I bid you all a good night…" he added in quietly before stepping aside while Conan and Rachel headed up the right set of stairs.

Rachel turned at the base of the stairs to glance over at Sonoko and Lyndsey with a smile while hugging Conan close to her to prevent him from running upstairs to the library like normal. "Good night you guys, and you really do look cute in your new dress Lyndsey…" she added sincerely while nudging Conan a bit forward and frowned when he simply blushed faintly and bowed without a word. Sighing and shaking her head she and Conan began heading up the stairs to the second floor, leaving Lyndsey and Sonoko alone to talk for a bit before bedtime. However, as they made there way down the hallway to the east wing, both of the girls could hear Rachel scolding Conan for his rudeness and not saying goodnight, and his retorts which she rapidly silenced until their voices disappeared down the corridor and Sonoko reached down her hand to lead Lyndsey up to their rooms and give her a brief tour of the upstairs since she would be staying her for a while and figured the young child should know where everyone was located. Sonoko reasoned she could explain the situation to her parents in the morning, though knew they would not disagree to allowing a cute kid like Lyndsey to stay at the estate until they had located her parents or the caretaker.

Touring the upstairs, Sonoko began with the library which was a virtual vault of books from her father's private collection gathered from all over the world. The second room was the study, which she explained would be off limits since her father did most of his business work in there and would not want her playing in the room with most of his files. The third room was the bathroom, located at the end of the wing, which was across from Sonoko's own bedroom on the left. Lastly, Sonoko showed Lyndsey the right bedroom which would be Lyndsey's room for as long as she stayed at the estate. The room itself nearly twice as large as Sonoko's with virtually anything a girl could ask for in a bedroom suite. "So what do you think?" she asked at last, hoping it would be satisfactory for Lyndsey to call home. In her personal opinion, the room was too much which was why she had taken the smaller room on the left when they moved into the house in the first place; although it was the best room at Lyndsey was part of the family in her opinion.

Staring at the room in awe, Lyndsey had to resist the urge to begin crying while she lightly nodded her head and blinked her large baby blue eyes up at Sonoko in gratitude. "I-It's perfect…" she said quietly, thinking it was far too perfect for what she deserved given up until a few hours ago they were complete strangers in addition she felt the only reason Sonoko was being so kind was because she thought she was actually only an ordinary lost and confused little girl. A far cry from reality although she could not correct Sonoko either for fear of what might happen to both of them if the men in black found out she was living at the estate that could tarnish the Suziki Financial Group's name if the media got a hold of the situation. Silently making a promise to herself to repay Sonoko for her gratitude regardless what the cost, although she was not quite certain what she could hope to give the young heiress that she did not already have beyond her friendship.

A quiet knock on the door behind the two girls made them both turn slightly to a maid carrying a plate of snacks, and two classes of milk, which she set on the main table in the room; bowed politely and then left the two girls in peace to enjoy the snack before bed. "Tomorrow we can all go shopping together and find you the rest of the things you'll need like pajamas, some more clothes, and other stuff… Although tonight you may as well sleep in your new dress, and get a good nights sleep…" Sonoko explained quietly while making her way to the coffee table and pulled up one chair, while bringing the other chair by the vanity over for Lyndsey to sit on while they ate the biscuits and freshly baked cinnamon buns. "So, come on, what's your opinion of Conan?" she asked coyly, curious to find out what Lyndsey really thought about him since she had kissed him out of the blue at the mall and he did offer her his jacket on the way home.

"He is sweet…" she replied shyly, uncomfortable talking about things such as boys, especially with another girl when she was still getting used to her new body as it stood and she was uncertain her feelings. Though, she also did not want to tell Sonoko of all people any lies so tried to think of a middle ground answer, "He is kind of cute I guess, a bit too clumsy though…" she explained deciding to comment on both a positive and negative side of Conan she had observed in the short time they had known each other. Observing the expression of delight on Sonoko's face with her response she swallowed in relief and took one of the two cinnamon buns and held it close to her mouth in an effort to prevent any further questions. The size of the bun more than she felt she could eat, let alone before going to bed, although it did smell delicious so a bit would not hurt at all she figured and she sunk her tiny teeth into the soft bread as she smiled in delight.

Sonoko smiled mischievously while she listened to Lyndsey, and particularly keened in on her thinking he was cute and calling Conan too clumsy. "He is also a know-it-all, although I guess he is kind of cute after you get past all that other stuff…" she said sincerely not wanting to hurt Lyndsey's feelings while casually watching the child enjoy the cinnamon bun although only managing to eat half before setting the rest down at the edge of the platter clearly full and unable to eat the rest. Finishing her own cinnamon bun she smiled and stood up, lightly picking up the tray to return it to the kitchen while watching Lyndsey for a moment or two lovingly. "I'm glad you decided to stay here Lyndsey, Japan can be dangerous so you've got to be on your toes sometimes… Although, we can talk more tomorrow when we all wake up, we will probably leave for the mall around noon so until then we can all talk or play in the games room…" she offered while she watched the child softly rub her eyes and yawn despite the clear attempt to remain awake.

Heading to the door, she opened it carefully and stepped out into the hall, "I'll be right back, I'm just going to drop this off in the kitchen and then I'll be back up to tuck you in… Alright…?" she offered and smiled when Lyndsey nodded faintly and stood up from the chair. Sonoko took advantage of the brief silence to slip downstairs and drop the tray off in the kitchen before making her way upstairs. Surprised when she returned to find the door a crack open and the light already off; poking her head inside she saw Lyndsey already curled up under the sheets and the window closed with drapes half open. "Goodnight Lyndsey, I will be next door if you need anything during the night…" she replied quietly and closed the door behind her leaving it open a crack in case Lyndsey was afraid of the dark which she highly doubted by now.

Walking down to her room she could not help but smile lightly while she thought about how clever, lovely, and brave Lyndsey was to have been able to adapt so easily to the new settings. Aware most children would have done far worse, although she also was a bit concerned about how to contact the child's parents or what they might do when they found out their daughter was now staying with a virtual stranger. She was actually a bit worried Lyndsey's parents might rush to Japan to take her home where she might never get to see the child again; having grown fond of Lyndsey in the short time they had known each other, she thought of her more as the younger sister she had never had than a stranger. Slipping into her room she closed the door and changed into her pajamas before finally flicking off the light and crawling into bed, lost in thought for once in her life about what they were going to do tomorrow and how she could make Lyndsey feel special.

In the other room, Lyndsey was buried beneath the covers using the night-light at the side of her bed to study the map she had slipped out of the newspaper in Sonoko's purse while she had been downstairs. A keen eye tracing the lines to locate any familiar scenery between the Suziki estate, the shopping center, and the alley she had encounter those two men. Unable to determine any real significance of that spot compared to the rest of Japan, she sighed quietly wondering where she would begin searching for the two men and for the cure for her current affliction. Sighing quietly in dismay, she folded the map up neatly and reached over to slip it under her mattress between the wooden baseboard and the sheet to avoid anyone from discovering it while she was not around not that it would make too big of a difference. Switching off the night light, she cuddled her head against the feathery soft pillar and pulled the quilted sheet up against her tightly.

Shifting around awkwardly for nearly five minute in an attempt to find a comfortable position; she found it quite a bit harder to get comfortable than she had in her old body. Aware the changes would simply take time to get familiar with; although with school starting in four months time was not a commodity. In time, she gradually found a comfortable position on her side, and began her body's fatigue caught up with her at last as she drifted off into a deep sleep. The covers pulled up tightly to her chin she looked like an adorable angel sleeping in a bed she occupied only a tenth of the space. The quilt softly tucked under her whole body from feet to her clinging hands at her head level to ensure nobody could pull it away without her as well. A couple of strands of her hair blowing over her face as a result of the rotating fan on the roof, although she simply brushed them away with one hand instinctively while lost in a grandiose detective dream.

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, feel free to leave comments since it's the only way I'll know what needs to be improved upon and what to leave the same. As for plotline hope you were all playing very close attention to the details in the chapter, or you might not be able to solve the next chapter, "The Case of the Department Store Murder" and the introduction of two prominent characters in the Case Closed series. I expect chapters will be going up once a month, all with a minimum of 7500 words, ideally a fair bit longer.