Kogoro had a rather large lump on his head to prove that Ran had run dry of patience as well as her temper, and restraint. As he nursed it with his hands, he grumbled incomprehensible nonsense that would shame that of a newborn babe. After a scolding from said teenage girl, he was left (without any alcohol) to reflect and recognize the wrongness in hitting the brat known as Conan.

Kogoro full heartedly agreed with the world's view on hitting children. The world viewed hitting children wrong, and it was right to view it as such. However, Kogoro was worried for the 'poor' boy. The very first day he had arrived, he was dragged into a case and beaten by a kidnapper. In the beginning Kogoro thought it was coincidental that the brat always wound up in difficult situations. There was nothing of it. It was all pure coincidence. However, seeing as he was in the line of detective work, he soon stopped dismissing it as such. There were never that many coincidences, and it worried Kogoro.

Conan had been surrounded by death and danger ever since he'd arrived at the agency. He had been beaten, threatened, held at both a knife's edge and at gunpoint. Conan was only a mere child and he had been forced to come into contact with the dark side of humanity. He'd seen the things people did when driven past their breaking point. When their fear, hate, anger and jealousy had taken over them. He'd seen people that had lost the ability to be called human.

Conan had grown on the old man, not that he'd ever admit it. When Conan had arrived he'd been nothing but a pest to him. He later became a form of therapy to his heart broken daughter. When Ran wasn't around, Kogoro took notice of Conan's desire to help with his own cases as well as his unique desire to help Ran's ever cascading emotions. He realized that Conan had a justice seeking, and law abiding heart, and all Kogoro could do was worry. He couldn't, even in the slightest, understand Conan.

Kogoro couldn't comprehend that the young seven year old had never held any remote signs of fear, discomfort, or simple uneasiness when stumbling upon the corpses that fell all too often. He was dumbfounded at Conan's passive attitude to his own injuries and uncanny number of kidnappings. Kogoro had seen the scars on the little runt's body. There had been too many. Too much for a child. Too much for anyone.

Kogoro did feel guilty for hitting the young child, regardless of what he would let on. That particular brat had kept his daughter's heart together better than Kogoro himself could. Conan was the one who kept Kogoro convinced that there was still some good in the world. Conan, in his own semi-childish way, protected him and his daughter. And while he did regret hitting the brat, at the same time he didn't. It was the only way he could find to express his worry.

Conan was curious when it came to cases. If Conan continued to get involved with cases, Conan would, without a doubt put himself in danger. Eventually, the danger wouldn't be escapable. The only time Conan was distracted from a case, if only temporarily, was when he was hit by Kogoro.

Kogoro didn't have any clue how to get it through Conan's thick (and rather hard) skull, that crime scenes were dangerous and not a child's playground. He didn't have anything to blackmail the little rascal with or to take away from him. Conan seemed to have no attachments to his secular belongings with the exception of his glasses that were required for him to see. All Conan seemed to care about was the well being of those around him. Conan was too mature and had emotions of unreadable complexity unfit for any brat. Conan was simply too much.

Kogoro's resolve didn't bend. The next time Conan interfered in a case, despite the fact that he may have helped the investigation, Kogoro would hit him again. If he happened to interfere again, Conan would be hit again before being thrown out of the room. If this pattern repeated again and again, he might have a nice, long, slightly harsh talk with the brat. But then again, Kogoro was never good at expressing himself. Kogoro was worried for the brat. Worried for Conan.

A/N

Okay, so this is my first authors note ever, so please bear with me. This idea popped out at me because it is shown on multiple occasions that Kogoro cares for Conan despite hitting him on more than one occasion. As such I thought about it and recalled how I hit my siblings to stop them from doing something incredibly stupid i.e. eating dirt, throwing a highchair, starting a fire next to a propane tank, throwing knives, choking another sibling.

...Looking at this, my families very aggressive...

Anyway, I thought this actually made sense, because Kogoro is still a parent and Conan is (or at least has the appearance of) a 7-9 year old child. Comments are always welcomed, especially critiquing ones.