The day had dragged on after the incident in her philosophy class, but her words had given her a serious topic to meditate on. After well over a year of waiting around for her childhood friend and love interest to return from his God-forsaken case, she needed to reassure herself that what she said in class was what she really thought. When her lunch break came around she sought council from the one person many would say was unfit to give it: Sonoko.

As they sat down at their usually table to eat, Sonoko realized her best friend had been more reserved than usual. To her knowledge, this meant one thing

"Ran what's wrong?" She asked in a matter-of-fact manner. Ran looked at her with widened eyes as she slowly placed the bottle of water she had brought to her lips back onto the table

"Sonoko why do you always have to say things like that?"

"Because I'm right. Now spill it, what's wrong? Is it Kudo? Did he hurt you again? When I get my hands on that punk I'm gonna-"

"Sonoko, relax I haven't talked to him today" Ran said reassuringly

"Then what is it? I may not be your beloved husband but I know you well enough to know when you're having a bad day, now, tell me what's wrong" Sonoko had always been protective of Ran, so this persistence was anything but surprising

"Do you remember earlier in Philosophy class when Matsuda-sensei asked me that question?" Sonoko looked to sky with a sarcastically thoughtful espression

"I believe I recall the incident, yes" she responded jokingly

"Okay, well the answer I gave has sort of made me think…" she trailed off. Up to this point Sonoko had been rather light-hearted about the situation, expecting it to be an emotional overreaction common to Ran. However the tone she had just taken altered her perspective drastically, changing her smile into a straight face laced with concern

"Think about what Ran?" she asked, trying to quickly identify the root of the problem

"Whether it's all worth it…" Ran whispered with her head facing down at the lunch she hadn't yet touched

"Ran…" the sincerity on Sonoko's voice was almost foreign to Ran's ear. It wasn't at all that she thought Sonoko didn't care, quite the opposite. Much like Shinichi, Sonoko tried her best to act as an emotional rock for her, even if that meant being bubbly and materialistic at all times, regardless of the situation.

"It's okay. I'm not sad or anything, he's just a mystery baka after all why would I care about him" Ran feigned a smile but Sonoko face was completely blank. She could sense that her friend's eyes were lost in a way they had never been. Ran had many times been sad, distraught, even depressed. But she had never been…doubtful.

"Ran I-" before she could speak the bell to signal the end of their lunch period went off and Ran hopped up and made a comment about needing to hurry to class and walking home after school. Sonoko rose slowly and watched her friend skip off. 'Yeah, I'll see you after school I suppose'.

Back in New York City, the clock struck eight and Vermouth, I mean Sharon Vineyard, sat patiently at the restaurant she and Yukiko had agreed upon. Looking around, there was still no sight of her friend. It didn't unnerve her too much, considering her personality. However, to guess her friend's actions based on her personality was a bad idea on this night for Yukiko had already stepped far outside the bounds of her usual behavior.

Yukiko had arrived at the restaurant twenty minutes earlier than the alleged Sharon Vineyard. She had immersed herself in the foliage outside the restaurant's large window wall. As 'Sharon' sat down, Yukiko's eyes sharpened, doing a careful inventory of her friend's appearance and movements. She had to admit, this person's imitative abilities were impressive. The resemblance to the actual Sharon Vineyard was uncanny, almost perfect. Yukiko continued to glare at the woman claiming to be her friend as she sat patiently at the table, instructing waiter to retrieve some sort of drink. When the drinks came, Yukiko was completely stunned. She fell backward in astonishment, rolling awkwardly out of the bush she was hiding in and onto the walkway in front of the restaurant. Thankfully she was not noticed and she ran stealthily to her car. She unzipped the black, full body 'Charlie's Angels-esque' jumpsuit she was clad in and threw it in the back seat, revealing the dress she had been wearing when she exited her house. She composed herself, adjusted her hair slightly and walked into the restaurant.

Sharon had now been waiting a good ten minutes and due to the circumstances of their meeting she had begun to doubt whether or not Yukiko would come at all. Her doubts were quickly squashed, however, when a radiant Kudo Yukiko appeared wearing a gorgeous red dress with ruby earrings. Sharon smiled and motioned for her to come over to the table she had reserved. Yukiko walked over and smiled her usual inviting smile. She sat down and looked at the drink her friend had ordered for her

"It's an Amber Dream" Sharon said, noticing the attention Yukiko has paying to the drink "You still drink these right?"

"I haven't had one of these in years" she lifted the glass and took a sip, enjoying the sting of the fairly bitter drink "Hod did you…" she trailed off, answering her own question. 'Of course' she thought to herself 'she's my friend. Wait, no, she's claiming to be my friend. Sharon is dead.' She tried her best to remain resolute in her position

"So, Yukiko, how have you been?" Yukiko looked up, snapping out of her trance

"oh, um…fine. Not working too much, just enjoying life with my husband" she grinned at the words as they came out, appreciating the life she had

"That's excellent, that's how life should be. The public must miss seeing your face" Yukiko blushed at the flattering statement

"Oh no, they always find someone new to ogle at" they both laughed at the observation and each took a sip of their drinks. Once their glasses were down silence fell on the two "Sharon" Yukiko involuntarily called her by her name, still not fully convinced it was her name at all

"Yes?" Sharon asked excitedly. She was just happy Yukiko had agreed to come at all

"What are you doing here?" Sharon was taken back by the serious inflection in her voice but wasn't too surprised by the question

"What are you really asking?" Now it is was Yukiko's turn to be thrown off. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. She meditated on the question as she polished off her cocktail. She had to decide at that moment whether or not she believed this was really the friend she had buried. The friend she had shared much of her adult life with. Was this really her friend….

"Where have you been?" Sharon smirked confidently at the question

"You're going to need another cocktail"

As Ran and Sonoko walked away from the school, Ran decided it was best to keep the conversation shallow to avoid worrying her friend anymore

"So Sonoko, how's Makoto?" She asked with a curious grin on her face

"Same as always. Only calls every week or so, sends me little gifts every once in a while but I'm not complaining" She smiled and pulled out her key ring, which now had a small picture frame attached to it. She grinned and held the picture up to Ran

"That's so cute!"

"Isn't it? He found the only picture of us together from that night he came to our chalet for Valentine's Day and I dropped him off at the airport. We took a quick picture using his phone before he left" Sonoko pulled the picture away, admiring it once more before returning it to her pocket

"So what are your plans for the weekend?" Ran asked after a few moments of watching Sonoko daydream, most likely about something indecent between her and Makoto

"Oh, nothing yet. I wouldn't be opposed to a day of shopping with my best friend if she was up for it!" Ran was overjoyed with the suggestion

"Of course! Let's say tomorrow at eleven!"

"Sounds great, I'll pick you up here" Ran looked at her questioningly for moment before looking to her left and noticing the large sign that read 'Mouri Detective Agency'.

"Sonoko, you know missed your street right?" Ran asked mockingly

"What I-" after thinking on it for a second she laughed to herself "I guess I did. Oh well, I'll see you tomorrow then"

"Bye!" Ran was content with the plans she had made. She needed a distraction and this was sure to do the trick. As she entered the Detective Agency she first noticed Conan sitting on the couch watching television. She crept up behind him in an attempt to surprise him when she heard him say with little emotion

"Ran you really aren't as sneaky as you think you are" she stopped in her tracks, startled by a few aspects of his statement. 'First of all, I AM sneaky, thank you. Karate has made me very light on my feet. Secondly, did you just call me by my name? And that sounded exactly like something Shinichi would say' She was far too deep in thought to pay any mind to the eight-year-old that was now standing right in front of her "Ran-neechan?"

"Oh!" Ran was shot back into the real world as abruptly as she had left it

"Ran-neechan are you ok?" Conan asked with childlike innocence

"Oh, yes I'm fine I was just…uh….thinking about something. Anyway, how was school today?"

"Boring, although Shiratori-keibu came into class and visited Kobayashi-sensei. It's always funny to watch them. When he left he kissed her on the cheek and her face was really red" Ran and Conan shared a laugh before she went into her room, leaving him there to return to what he was watching. He thought for a second before realizing he had no idea what he had been watching. He had been waiting there for Ran to get home. He shrugged off the thought and went to his room to get the Sherlock Holmes novel he had 'rented from the library'. In reality, he had simply gone to his father's library at his house and retrieved it. He walked back to living room and began reading it, comfortably nestled into a pillow on the arm of the couch. As he submersed himself in the novel he failed to noticed a prying set of eyes watching him from the front door