THERE IS ONLY ONE LIE PART DEUX

~Apologize for the wait. I present to you part 2 of There is only one lie. Big thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. Especially big shout out to my lovely beta reader DisconsolateMist without which this story would not be nearly as polished. :D

Standard disclaimer: These characters are borrowed. They do not in any way belong to me. Please support the original creator!

All that out of the way: Enjoy!~

Conan couldn't believe his own rotten luck. It really seemed like there was some god up there who hated him or something. Well, if he were so inclined to believe in such a thing. Dead bodies seemed to crop up wherever he went like some sort of messed up curse. Now, they were literally falling from the sky.

He glanced upwards at the apartment complex above him. He cursed inwardly as he turned back to the body beneath him. There was blood covering the pavement, and the body itself was contorted in a rather uncomfortable position. It was pretty clear the cause of death at this point. Though, any idiot with half a brain could figure out a near ten story drop was enough to kill someone instantly.

That said, there was something odd about the victim's head wound. He couldn't be completely sure, but there seemed to be something there that looked an awful lot like glass wedged in the wound. Before he could examine it closer, however, he felt a powerful hand pulling him upwards. Conan struggled under the iron grip he found himself in. "W-ah! Hey, let me go!" he tried to maneuver himself out of his assailants hands, only to find himself being dragged away from the scene. He glanced upwards glaring at the hooded figure who had ahold of him. He couldn't get a good look at the person's face, but he couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about it.

He suddenly realized who it was as a thick kansai accent spoke out. "Oi Kudo, isn't this your brat? You really should keep a better eye on him he's disturbing the scene!" He glanced upwards once more as he found himself being thrown into Shinichi's arms. Shinichi, who had been standing looking slightly dazed this entire time, caught Conan, stumbling backwards only slightly as he did so.

"Hattori?! What the Hell are you doing here?" Shinichi and Conan spoke in sync as they blinked at one another in surprise. Conan paused, continuing to glance between Shinichi and Heiji. Okay, this situation had once again taken a turn for the bizarre. He carefully watched Shinichi lock eyes with Heiji, readjusting his position so that Conan was still under his grip, but had a bit more freedom of movement.

For a while, they just stood there seemingly in stunned silence looking each other over as if in silent conversation. It seemed pretty clear that Shinichi hadn't expected Hattori to just show up out of the blue like that. Though, honestly, Conan himself was quite used to his spontaneity at this point. Still, he found himself questioning things once more as he remembered Heiji's words upon his arrival. What had he meant by "this brat."?

Heiji was the first to break the silence. "What, can't I come and visit my favorite rival from da East every once in awhile?" Heiji kept his eyes locked with Shinichi's, seemingly ignoring Conan now. ""Sheesh Kudo. Ya act as if yer upset dat I showed up here. Probably just worried I'll beat ya to da culprit." Heiji grinned wildly at Shinichi while Conan just continued to stare in wide eyed confusion. Not him too…

Shinichi chuckled, seemingly broken from his earlier reverie as he grinned right back at Heiji. "Of course you show up just as a body falls from the sky. I should have expected no less from you, oh great Detective-of-the-west." Conan heard Shinichi mumbling some other unsavory things under his breath, but he couldn't make out much of it. Though, it was strange because he could have sworn he briefly noticed something resembling relief cross Shinichi's features. Though it was gone in an instant, making him question whether he had saw it there at all.

Conan turned back to Heiji, watching as he waved Shinichi off. "From what I hear, yer the one dat alway's stumbles over da dead bodies. I just happened to be in da area this time is all." He paused as if contemplating something before shaking his head. "Dats besides da point though. Like I said earlier, ya need ta keep a better eye on dat brat apprentice of yers. He was disturbin' da scene again!" Heiji turned to Conan for the first time since throwing him at Shinichi. Conan shuttered a bit under the look he was giving him. It so resembled their first and second meetings with one another, just like before Heiji had discovered the truth. He was looking at him as if he were a child.

Shinichi sighed. "Seriously, why do people keep blaming me for losing track of the kid? For the thousandth time...he is not my apprentice! Though, it is kind of cool that he and his friends like to play detective. He and that gang of his remind me a lot of Holmes Baker Street Irregulars." Shinichi put his free hand under his chin, looking off into the distance.

Conan couldn't fault Shinichi's logic in this case. He himself had often had that thought when hanging out with the Tantei-dan. It was part of the reason he was always so willing to put up with them. True, their observational skills were lacking in comparison to his own, but they had a lot of potential. Conan got lost in his own thoughts as he did his own identical thinking pose beneath Shinichi.

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard Heiji laugh. "Ya know, for a couple of distant relatives who don't see each other all dat often, ya really do resemble one another." Conan glanced up at Shinichi, who was indeed wearing a very similar expression on his face at that moment. It was uncanny. For the umpteenth time that day Conan found himself wondering just what sort of strange situation he had stumbled into. This Shinichi Kudo was so much like himself, if he didn't know better he would swear it was himself.

Shinichi himself seemed to be thinking something along the same lines, even as he stared down at Conan. "I don't really know if I should take that as a compliment or not." he smiled lightly down at Conan. "I do admit little Conan here certainly lives up to his namesake. Even if he could never quite be as good a detective as Holmes. Or me, for that matter." Shinichi chuckled lightly seemingly laughing at his own inside joke.

Conan watched as Heiji rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Holmes is overrated anyway." Heiji shook his head, ignoring the glares both Conan and Shinichi sent his way. "So, Ya up for a bit of a deduction battle again old friend?" he grinned at Shinichi, seemingly ignoring Conan's presence once more.

Conan glanced up at Shinichi who nodded casually, though there was something else hidden in his expression. "Sure. Though I should probably drop the kid back off at the cafe with his girlfriend. Sasaki's a reliable guy, he should be able to watch the two of them while we take a closer look at the scene here."

Conan's eyes widened in shock. Was Shinichi being serious right now? He ignored the 'girlfriend' comment, instead focusing on the fact that Shinichi was seemingly ready to leave him with a complete stranger just to get him out of the way for a while. Although it was true Sasaki and Shinichi seemed well acquainted, he himself didn't know the guy, let alone trust him. Not to mention the fact he wanted in on this little deduction match, if only to watch how Shinichi seemingly handled a crime scene.

No. He wasn't going to let this happen. He was here and he was going to make sure he was part of this, one way or another. "Shinichi-nii! I want to help! I'll be good, I promise!" Conan looked up at Shinichi, laying the cute kid act on thick. Shinichi stared down at him, his face stubbornly set.

"Cut it out, kid. You know that won't work on me…" Shinichi's face wavered ever so briefly. Conan could tell he was slowly breaking through. Seemed he really needed to turn up the charm to make this work.

"Please Shinichi-nii! I really do want to help." he widened his eyes a bit more, putting his lip out in a pout. He felt slightly embarrassed, acting this way, but he was not going to lose this battle.

"Gah! Okay. Geesh, you've been spending too much time with my mom. Turn down the acting skills a bit there, kid." Shinichi shook his head, sighing. "Your mom will probably kill me for this…"

Conan grinned a wide, toothy grin and grabbed Shinichi's hand. "It will be alright, Shinichi-nii! After all, I'm with two of the world's greatest detectives, right?" he continued to grin as they turned to face Heiji, who had been standing there waiting.

"Guess we've got no choice but to bring the kid along." Shinichi sighed once more, though Conan took note of the same strange sign of relief he had seen earlier. That was odd...

Heiji raised a skeptical eyebrow at them, then just shrugged. "Whatever. If ya think ya need the handicap, feel free ta use yerr 'not-apprentice'. Just don't come crying ta me when the kid get's nightmares."

Shinichi noticeably flinched at the word "nightmare", but it was as brief as the earlier expression. He nodded casually. "Believe me, it will be like the kid's not even there. I'll have this murder solved in no time flat."

Heiji chuckled "Dat's my line. Well let's go see what da police have come up with so far." He quickly ran over to the area where the body lay. The police had arrived some time in the interval of the conversation and were blocking off the area with the usual tape.

Shinichi and Conan followed closely behind. Conan took note of the fact that Shinichi's face had turned a bit pale though it may of just been the lighting. Yes this was the perfect opportunity to observe 'Shinichi' at work. Maybe now he would finally get some answers. Well after he solved this mystery of course...there was no way he was going to let Heiji just have this one. It would be a problem without Sleeping Kogoro around, but this Shinichi would surely make a good substitute in a pinch.

It hadn't taken long for the police to arrive. Megure-Keibu had, of course, been more than happy to see Shinichi at the scene. He had greeted him rather enthusiastically, and Shinichi had seemingly returned the enthusiasm. When Megure had inquired where Shinichi had been the past few months Shinichi had been rather taciturn in his reply simply citing the excuse of "I've been on a rather important and confidential case." to which Megure had just nodded knowingly and assured him that his help with this case would remain anonymous if he so desired. Shinichi had nodded "I'd appreciate that." he smiled, standing casually.

This distracted Conan somewhat. Now he knew very well the reason why he himself had been missing for quite some months. The "case" he was on was indeed both important and confidential, but he hadn't thought anything about this "Shinichi" being in similar circumstances. If this were indeed an alternate world where Conan and Shinichi coexisted then...had he ever even met the Black Organization here? Then there was Haibara's odd behavior earlier to consider… It was as if she herself were also a completely different person like...the Black Organization had never existed at all.

Conan felt a large headache forming once more as he tried to wrap his head around the facts presented before him. He was broken from his thoughts, however, as he heard his name being mentioned in conversation. "Conan-kun here will be acting as my assistant today. I hope you don't mind,, Keibu." Shinichi motioned down at Conan who trotted over to him curiously. Earlier he had seemed reluctant to have him helping him with the case.

Megure shook his head and shrugged. "I trust you Kudo-kun. Though make sure to keep an eye on him. Mouri seems to have a rather hard time doing that." Megure mumbled something under his breath that Conan couldn't quite hear, though he could tell it was nothing flattering.

"Well if he don', I will." came a heavy accent from the side. Megure, Shinichi, and Conan turned to find Heiji standing there having apparently been waiting for their conversation to end. "An' I bet I could do a better job at dat, too." he grinned, glancing briefly down at Conan before turning back to Shinichi, who was giving him a rather unpleasant look at the moment. "Kudo here's a pretty bad babysitter 'imself."

This received two equally vicious glares from the party of both Conan and Shinichi. Megure cleared his throat. "Oh, Hattori-kun! What a surprise to see you here." Conan couldn't exactly read Megures expression. As far as he could tell, the inspector was both relieved and a little annoyed at the Osakan's presence here.

"Yeah, I was in da area an' thought I'd offer my help. Can't let Kudo have all da fun." Heiji grinned wider, and both Shinichi and Conan groaned.

Megure sweatdropped and chuckled lightly. "Right. Well, I suppose we can use all the help we can get." his expression became more reserved. Megure motioned for the two of them to follow and the case and subsequent match of wits began.

...

As it turned out, Shinichi was a pretty observant detective on his own. Conan's doubts as to Shinichi's abilities were all but abated after Conan took note of just how absolutely dedicated Shinichi was to this case. He had proven his deductive prowess through being able to piece together the true culprit with only a few minor hints from Conan. Shinichi had acted almost identical to himself in every way, save for his initial examination of the corpse.

Conan recalled how strange and almost melancholic Shinichi's expression had been upon examining the body. It was almost like he was lost in some sort of memory. It seemed like he was empathizing with the victim in a way Conan couldn't quite put his finger on.

Conan had seen enough corpses that he himself had become rather numb to it all over the years. This didn't quite seem to be the case with Shinichi, though it was still clear in his eyes he had seen enough death before. Actually, Shinichi's expression mirrored Conan's own after the Moonlight Sonata and subsequent Bond's of Fire case. * He recognized it as a look of utter regret and frustration. It was surprisingly subtle, but it was definitely there.

He noticed it again after the culprit had been revealed, and the body officially removed from the scene. Shinichi's face was downturned in a frown,, his expression pained. Heiji was caught up in the follow up conversation with the police, so Conan felt now was was good a time as any to confront Shinichi. Using his best kiddiee act, he turned up the innocent level and pulled lightly on Shinichi's pant leg to get his attention.

"What's wrong, Shinichi-nii?" Conan asked, sounding as concerned as a young child possibly could. Sometimes, as much as it annoyed him, there were advantages to being a child. He had found people were much more willing to open up their secrets to him. Though, it was very possible that Shinichi would see through his ruse.

Still, it wasn't all an act. Despite the fact this Shinichi was still very much a stranger,, he couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him as he stared off at the retreating ambulance. This was never an easy situation for anyone involved. No matter how many times he had seen it, he could never understand a person's reasoning for murder.

Conan felt Shinichi flinch a bit under his light grip and child-like stare. Still, his expression remained difficult to read. Finally he replied, "It's nothing, kid. You're too young to understand yet but...I'll never understand why a person feels the need to commit murder. I just wish there were some way we could've stopped this." Conan watched as Shinichi balled his hands in fists before relaxing, his voice dropping to a barely audible whisper as if talking to himself. "I can't let my personal feelings get in the way." he turned and smiled lightly down at Conan, though his eyes betrayed him. He was really taking this case hard. Conan stared back at him, unsure what to say. It was really surreal seeing his own face look so upset. It was rather distracting... wait, what was it he had just said?

Conan stared at Shinichi, wide-eyed. He had practically just quoted his own thoughts back at him. Okay...so, this wasn't the strangest occurrence that had had happened today, but it most definitely went further to prove that this Shinichi was exactly who he said he was. Conan paused, trying to calm his racing heart. Once again, he was faced with the impossible truth. The person standing before him was Shinichi Kudo in the flesh. So if that were true...then what did that make him?

This time it was Shinichi's turn to look concerned. "Hey kid, you sure you're doing alright? You look kind of pale…" Conan blinked up at him, trying his best not to focus on the fact that he was essentially talking to himself at this point.

"I'm...not sure." Conan replied, forgetting his kiddie act for a moment. "I feel kind of...dizzy." he held his hand to his head, swaying lightly.

"Woah kid, don't pass out on me!" Shinichi caught Conan and placed him back on his feet. "Seriously, your mom is going to murder me at this point. I never should have agreed to this."

Conan tried his best to concentrate on what Shinichi was saying, but he was still caught up in his own thoughts. His mother. Edogawa Fumiyo. The woman who wasn't supposed to exist, and yet somehow did. It was all just catching up with him now just how messed up this entire situation was.

"Agreed to what?" Heiji suddenly reappeared, nearly scaring Conan half to death and causing both he and Shinichi to jump. "Woah sorry Conan. Didn' mean to spook ya. We're all finished Kudo, but they need yer statement yet. I'll watch the kid fer a minute while ya go talk to the inspector."

Conan watched Shinichi nod lightly, though he still looked concerned over something. "Thanks. I'll be right back Conan. Hey, after this maybe we should get some ice cream."

Conan just stared at him, a blank expression on his face. He wasn't sure how to respond. Eventually, he just settled on nodding.

Shinichi shook his head and shrugged. "Okay, I'll be right back." He ran off towards the inspector and left Conan behind with a silent Heiji.

"Ya know, he really surprises me with his skills sometimes…" Heiji mumbled as he watched Shinichi's retreating figure.

Conan glanced up at him, still confused. It sounded like he was actually admitting defeat in some way. That was a bit out of character for the Heiji he knew. Still, everyone in this world seemed to be acting slightly out of character, so he should not of been so surprised in this case.

"Not dat I'll admit it ta his face, though. Guys got a serious ego. I doubt he would ever let me live it down." he shook his head, grinning.

Conan couldn't help but snort a bit at the accusation. He had to admit it was really odd getting to actually see himself...well...Shinichi solve a case. He hadn't realized before just how ridiculous he looked at times.

"Ya were pretty good back there by the way, kiddo. I was surprised at how well the two of ya worked together. If I didn't know better, I'd say yer the one that actually solved the case." he continued to grin down at Conan, his eyes sparkling with a bit of mischief. "I can't believe I lost to da two of ya. I'd almost call it unfair."

"You're the one that agreed to it." Shinichi reappeared behind Heiji this time, causing him to jump. "I beat you fair and square, so just concede defeat already."

Conan stared down at the ground, unwilling to look back up into Shinichi's eyes.

After recovering, Heiji waved Shinichi off. "Ya had an unfair advantage, and ya knew it." he motioned down at Conan. "Ya never told me just how smart yer little cousin was. I think he's da one dat did most of da work out dere."

Shinichi chuckled, walking over and ruffling Conan's hair. Conan flinched under his touch. "He's a real child prodigy. Suppose it has something to do with all the case's he has been on with old man Kogoro. Honestly, he's probably just as smart as I was at his age."

Heiji shook his head. "Whateva ya say, Kudo. Hey, didn't I hear you mention something about ice cream?"

Shinichi paused. "Oh yeah. I guess I did. There's this really great place nearby that serves the best chocolate parfaits…they also have lemon bars that are simply to die for. Err no pun intended, really." Shinichi grinned widely. Conan could see Shinichi's mouth practically watering.

Heiji shook his head "Well den, what are we waitin' fer? Let's go!" He grinned.

So the trio left the crime scene behind and began to walk away. All the while, Conan couldn't help the feeling in the back of his mind they were forgetting something...wait hadn't someone been with them earlier?

Suddenly something clicked in his mind. "Haibara!" he said abruptly, surprising both Heiji and Shinichi and stopping them in their tracks.

Shinichi paused for a moment before reacting. "What about...oh...OH!" Shinichi face palmed. "I completely forgot. We left her at the cafe with Sasaki!" he shook his head.

Conan looked up in alarm. "You left Haibara alone at the Cafe with a stranger!?" he declared incredulously.

Shinichi practically glared down at him. "It's not like I had much choice. You're the one that ran away, remember?" he put his hands on his hips, standing his ground.

"That's not the point! Don't you understand how much danger she could be in?" he returned Shinichi's gaze, ignoring his own guilt for the moment only accented by the fact he was staring at the mirror image of himself.

Conan and Shinichi's anger and frustration were only broken by the sound of a camera shutter going off. They both turned to see Heiji whistling, his phone hidden behind his back. "If yer done arguin', dont cha think now's a good time ta go find the little nee-chan?"

Shinichi and Conan both glanced at one another then back at Heiji. Well, he was right… Shinichi sighed. "I guess you're right. Come on Conan-kun, let's get going. I'm sure she's just fine. Sasaki is probably watching her. I'd stake my reputation as a detective on it." he smiled down at Conan.

Conan nodded lightly. "Alright." Something just then struck him as odd though… "Nee, Heiji-san…" he turned to Heiji, who had been messing around a bit with his phone. "You called Haibara the 'Little Nee-chan' how'd you know she was a child?"

Heiji paused from what he was doing, glancing up at Conan. Conan noticed a bit of sweat forming at the edge of his neck though it was very subtle. Seemed Conan had managed to catch him off guard. "Is there something you're not telling us?" Conan looked up Heiji suspiciously.

Before he could answer, however, Shinichi cut in. "Conan-kun you should know nothing escapes a good detective's eye. He was in the cafe with us earlier, didn't you notice?" he glanced briefly at Heiji while keeping his focus on Conan's eyes. Something told Conan that he was merely diverting his attention, but there were no other indications Shinichi was lying here. Come to think of it, now there had been someone in the cafe earlier who was wearing clothing very similar to Heiji's. It was hard to miss due to the fact there were very few customers in the restaurant. Conan shook his head. He was obviously overthinking things again.

"Alright, now that the deduction shows over with, let's go catch up with Haibara-chan. Knowing her she's probably driving Sasaki crazy." Shinichi chuckled as the three of them went back in the direction of the cafe.

Conan shook his head. Suddenly, he felt as if he were being watched. He glanced around anxiously. What was this feeling all of the sudden?

Shinichi stopped in his tracks, seeing Conan suddenly looking very pale. Shinichi took a hold of Conan's hand. "Come on, let's get going. We don't want to leave your girlfriend waiting." Shinichi grinned down at Conan.

Heiji was also grinning at him, his hand on the phone in his back pocket. Conan quickly pulled his hand out of Shinichi's grasp. "Barou. She's not my girlfriend." He glared lightly at the two teenagers. "And I can walk on my own just fine, thank you." he began to walk away, though the strange sense of foreboding lingered with him. Something was definitely off here.

It didn't take long to find out what that feeling was about, as the minute they arrived at the Cafe they found a rather shocking scene. The cafe was empty save for the owner, Sasaki, who was laying against the side of one of the tables, unconscious, with a bloodied forehead.

Three pairs of eyes widened instantaneously as they nodded at each other and ran over to check on Sasaki. Thankfully he was still breathing, though it looked like he had some sort of head wound. Conan noticed that Shinichi had briefly disappeared and then reappeared with a wet kitchen towel in hand.

Heiji had begun examining the area, as if looking for clues as to who had done this. He also had his cell phone out, and was clearly in the process of calling the police once more. Conan himself was still in a bit of a state of shock. Just how bad was his luck today? By the looks of things, they were dealing with another murder...though, this one was a failed attempt at least.

Shinichi held the wet cloth against Sasaki's forehead, carefully applying pressure in practiced first aid. Under any other circumstance, Conan might have been impressed by his quick reaction, but right now that was hardly the priority. He could see Sasaki slowly stirring. "Sasaki-san! Sasaki-san, can you hear me?"

Sasaki stirred further, finally opening his eyes. "Co...Conan-kun? Is that you?" his eyes were glazed over with moisture, clearly a bit out of focus. Suddenly he jolted up "Haibara-chan!" he glanced around anxiously, causing Shinichi to flinch, even as he continued to hold the towel against Sasaki's forehead.

Conan looked down at Sasaki, concern welling over in his eyes he was unsure what to say. One thing he knew for sure from past experience, was he needed to make sure Sasaki stayed calm. He needed to make sure to stave off any of his own panic at the current situation in order to get a clear idea of what exactly had transpired here. He turned towards Shinichi, who nodded in return. Any words would sound far more reassuring coming from a near adult as opposed to a child.

Shinichi cleared his throat as he handed off the towel to Conan, leaning down next to Sasaki and looking him directly in the eye. There was something strangely reassuring in Shinichi's presence. He exuded a calm aura a practiced blank expression pasted on his face. "Sasaki-san, I know this is difficult, but I need you to remain calm. We will find her, but first things first we need to know what happened here." Shinichi motioned at the empty room. Conan noticed that Heiji had left the room, probably to go speak with someone outside.

Conan turned back his attention to Sasaki and the towel in his hand. Surprisingly, it seemed that the wound itself had stopped bleeding, though the towel itself was quite soaked through. He took note of Sasaki's eyes. They still looked rather moist though they were more focused than before. "I'm not sure… it all happened rather quickly I…" Conan had to readjust his position, as suddenly Sasaki stared down at the ground, his voice lowering practically to a whisper. "There were these two people dressed in dark suits and…"

Conan jumped in a start. No… This was impossible. D***, how could he be so careless? So it was them… Conan cursed wildly under his breath, trying his best to keep control of his emotions. Surprisingly, it was Shinichi who spoke up next. "Sasaki-san, I know it's hard but I need you to concentrate. Tell us, do you happen to know which direction these people were headed?"

Sasaki shook his head. "As I said, it all happened rather fast. There was a struggle, and I think the sound of the cop cars nearby spooked them. They left in a rather big hurry...the one knocked me out so I couldn't follow them. The last I saw of them they were headed in that direction." Sasaki pointed out the back door.

Suddenly detective Sato burst through the front door, panting heavily. "Kudo-kun! Is everything alright?" She glanced between the three figures in the room, catching sight of Sasaki on the floor and the bloody towel in Conan's hands.

"Sato-san! It's good you're here! I need to ask you a favor. Could you please look after Conan for me?" Conan glanced up at him, his eyes wide. Was he being serious? It sounded like he was going to…

Sato gazed curiously at him. "Umm, yeah, I guess. Why, what's going on?" she seemed genuinely confused.

Shinichi grinned. "Nothing I can't handle. Just please watch the kid for me, okay? He's already gotten into more than enough trouble today." He glanced down at Conan, a serious look on his face. "And you stay with Detective Sato, you got that? I've already lost one of you today, and if I want to have any chance of getting you both back safe, I need you to stay here."

Conan shrunk a bit under Shinichi's hard gaze. He could tell Shinichi meant well, but he had to wonder if he knew just what he was up against. If his suspicions were correct, then this was no random kidnapping. That meant danger, and he was not about to let his older self make the same mistake he did. He needed to be there. Still… "Alright Shinichi-nii, I promise." he grinned his best child-like grin up at his older counterpart. He just needed to trick him into thinking he wasn't following him, and then he could follow his lead. It was for his own good after all.

Shinichi didn't seem quite convinced, but he smiled down at Conan ruffling his hair. "Alright. I leave him with you, Sato-san. I've got a lead to follow!" With that, he took off running out the back door. Conan wasn't sure how he was going to follow the kidnapper's trail, but if it were anything like earlier, he knew his deductive prowess would be more than enough. On that note… "Sato-san, I need to go to the bathroom."

Detective Sato glanced down at him from her position next to the unconscious Sasaki. Some time during the course of their short conversation, he had passed out again, though it was probably exhaustion. It was understandable, given the circumstances. "Alright. I'll wait for you right here, okay?" she smiled lightly at him.

Conan nodded. "Hai." he said, and he quickly made a scramble for the boys bathroom. As luck would have it, there was a window just his size there and the sink was just close enough for him to climb up. Gymnastics had never been his speciality, but he had some experience with climbing and he was able to shimmy himself up to the window and get it open. Hopping out into the alley just behind the cafe he took off silently in the direction he was pretty sure Shinichi was headed.

Little did he know just what he was headed into.

...

~Thus ends another chapter. Again originally I had plans for this to be a ONE-SHOT! This chapter went through several rewrite before I ended up with this. Next chapter will hold the official "conclusion" to this tale followed by a slight omake chapter 4 taking place from some other characters perspectives.

If you enjoyed please leave a review! I seriously love getting feedback and it keeps me motivated to continue writing. Thanks so much for reading! See you next chapter!~