Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan.

Chapter 3

"Ran! Is dinner ready yet?" Mouri Kogoro grumbled from his seat before the TV, a can of beer between his hands.

"Hai!" Ran announced, clearing the table and serving their rice and fish to each of them. Kogoro sat up, erect, and eyed the tantalizing food that his daughter presented to him.

His mouth watered as he took hold of his chopsticks. "Ittadakimasu!"

Ran smiled a little, biting into her fish slower than her father. It wasn't until later that her father looked up, confused, looking around.

"Ne, where is the brat? I haven't seen him all afternoon!"

Ran closed her eyes, swallowing her bite. "He went to spend the night at Agasa-hakase's house. He'll be back tomorrow afternoon."

"Sou..."

Ran looked over towards the window, deep down in her heart worried. She knew that he was making his move tonight. He told her himself the last time he called last week. She just hoped he was fine and that he wouldn't get himself killed in the process.

Shinichi, onegai, be safe...

-.-

The door opened wide.

The girl glanced at it curiously, seeing the tall, muscular man entering casually, motioning for the other man to close the door behind him. The man did, leaving both the girl and Bourbon inside the room.

Bourbon glanced at the girl quickly, scanning her from bottom to top before raising an eyebrow.

"You're the one that has been in our throats since the last five months?"

She grinned, amused. "Evidently."

"Too small. Too fragile." Bourbon mumbled to himself, taking out his pistol, making sure that the girl sees it before walking towards the table and laying it down, leaning his back against the edge of the table.

He crossed his arms.

"How could something so small do huge destruction? Be a big pain?"

"Looks aren't everything," she replied, casually.

"Indeed."

She looked around as he paused, still studying her. "Nice base, by the way. A little too empty for my taste, but really..."

She grinned at him.

"...gives you this creepy feeling all over your skin. Really cozy..."

"With a sense of humour too..." Bourbon observed, before sighing. "Why waste your life for something that would just bring you pain and death in the end?"

"Why waste your life in something that would end you up in jail eventually?" she asked back, carelessly, ignoring as his eyes flashed towards her.

"What do you know, Moonlight?"

"Not much."

In a swift motion that her eyes hadn't detected but her brain formulated, he had his pistol in his hand and had already fired the first bullet. It grazed her cheek, blood leaking through the semi-deep cut before the bullet embedded itself on the gravelled wall.

"We could either do this the easy way or the hard way, you're choosing."

She smiled, blood cascading down the curve of her hollow cheek, to her chin and the curve of her neck, pooling into her white, dirty shirt.

"Tempting options. No third?"

BANG!

The bullet easily embedded itself into her shoulder, making her bite her lip against the pain, not allowing the scream that was burning in her throat to come out.

"Don't...test my patience, Moonlight." Bourbon strode towards her, placing the pistol's head, which was still warm from the shot just now, against her forehead, making her flinch.

"What. Do. You. Know?"

Her eyes opened half-way as she panted the words.

"I...I know...that you're a crazy...crazy version of the yakuza. Maybe...even more...powerful. I...I know you're doing...something...illegal and...probably going after im-im-immortality too..."

Bourbon stepped away; eyes narrowed, but kept the pistol pointing at her.

"You know too much, Moonlight. Far too much..."

She grinned.

He glared at her. "As you know everything, Moonlight, where's Sherry?"

She raised an eyebrow, confused at the sudden question. "A liquor store?"

She heard the crack of her neck as it snapped to the side, the base of the pistol in his hand making contact to the side of her face. Blood leaked down her hairline edge to rest against the cut against her cheek.

"Don't play smart with me, Moonlight." Bourbon hissed. "I wouldn't hesitate to kill you!"

"Then do it," she challenged, eyes looking at him blankly. "Besides, I don't have a clue on who you are talking about! I don't know anyone named Sherry or the like!"

Bourbon's eyes narrowed even more before he abruptly turned around and headed to the door opening it and slamming it shut behind him.

She watched the door for a minute, hearing the hushed voices from outside before sighing and slumping back against the wall, exhaustedly.

"Now that didn't go on well..."

She rolled her eyes, closing them as the pain in her shoulder flared again.

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I'll probably just stay here for the rest of the night and bleed to death..."

She chuckled at her imagination. "Yup. And then, they'll throw me out and the dogs will hunt my flesh like a mad, crazed gang..."

She opened her eyes, watching the flickering flame.

"Now, that isn't a sweet sight," she pouted. "I didn't think I would die at seventeen anyway..."

She closed them again, smiling in spite of herself.

"It's all because of you, you mystery-otaku." She whispered.

"But I guess it will be worth it, ne?"

-.-

Kaito gaped. Forget Poker Face!

Even in his state of shock, he reached out and took hold of the small wrist of the shrunken detective that he had come to respect and admire.

"Chotto matte, tantei-kun. Please repeat it to me, because I have a feeling my ears are deceiving me! She's your what?"

"She's my cousin!" Shinichi hissed, before pausing. "Well, actually, my second cousin, you could say. My parents adopted her as their own after her mother and father died three years ago and she moved with them to America. We were still fourteen at that time."

Kaito's hand went numb from shock, letting go of Shinichi's wrist. "I didn't know you had a cousin."

"We don't tend to tell people that we are cousins," Shinichi grumbled, crossing his arms.

Kaito's curiosity flared. "Doushite?"

The detective glared at nothing in particular, crossing his arms.

"She's a freak, embarrassing, down-right annoying, over-cheerful, infuriating, sly, hint-dropping, little irritating pixie!"

Kaito gaped. For the second time that night, forget Poker Face!

"That's...a pretty long name..." he finally offered, as the crickets of the night sung behind them.

Shinichi sighed. "Let's just go get her out, shall we?"

Kaito could do nothing but oblige.

-.-

The brunette pouted, looking around the empty room.

Boring!

She sighed, and decided to hum to herself. After all, she couldn't exactly do anything while being tied to the wall, a bullet nestling in her shoulder and blood still cascading down her hairline and cheek to her neck.

Soon, however, her soft, melodic voice could be heard...

If I was able to meet you again

I won't let go of your hand a second time

The hanamidou which informs us the end of spring

A misty flower petal

Loud banging on the door sounded, halting her voice.

"Oiy! Keep quiet!"

She pouted. "Boring people! Nothing to do! And it's not allowed to sing!"

She sighed, looking out of the window at the top of the room, noticing that it was already dark outside, and the moon was a crescent tonight. Her eyes softened a bit as she saw stars twinkling brightly and clearly in the night sky.

If she closed her eyes now, could she imagine herself sitting outside at the grassy land? Looking up at the stars, gazing at them?

No, she realized, looking down at the gravel floor. She couldn't do it. Because stargazing was never fun to do alone...

Alone...

A sad, nostalgic smile curled her lips.

Her head snapped up at the sudden, sharp shout that came from beyond the door. There was another two shouts before three hard thuds could be heard. She stared, not understanding what was happening.

She could hear two hushed, arguing voices outside the door.

Abruptly, it clicked open noiselessly and a triumph voice, unfamiliar and she didn't recognize was talking.

"See, tantei-kun? I told you I could do it without the keys!"

"What did I expect from a professional thief?"

"Jewellery thief, s'il vous plait. I have an image to behold, you know."

The brunette could do nothing but gap at the two figures—one tall and the other a child—entered the room nonchalantly, as if they did this every day.

"You're so full of yourself," Shinichi was retorting.

"Me?" Kaito raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms, grinning down at the child. "Where are your manners while talking to your elders, boya?"

"Why you—"

Cough. Cough.

Their head snapped up, meeting amused, crystal blue eyes.

"Well, if it wasn't Kudo Shinichi himself," she grinned. "Iie, gomen, it's Edogawa Conan, now, ne?"

"And if it wasn't Kudo Aya who has gotten herself into another stupid situation!" Shinichi crossed his arms, scowling at his cousin.

She grinned wider, showing her pearly whites, looking him up and down.

"Look who's talking, tantei-san."

He scowled more.

She chuckled, shaking her head before she looked at the thief, nodding. "Good evening, Kid-san. It's a pleasure, really. I heard a lot about you. Allow me to tell you, I absolutely adore your outfit."

Shinichi fell over, twitching.

Kaito grinned. "I like her already, tantei-kun."

"Thank you,"

Shinichi collected himself, walking over to the table, taking out the chair that was tucked at the other side and held it, walking towards the girl.

"What the hell are you doing, Aya?" he questioned, placing the chair at her right side and standing up on it, reaching to undo her wrapped wrists.

"Do you want to die?"

"For your information, tantei-san, I'm doing this for you. So the least you could do is say 'thank you' instead of lecturing me."

"Why should I thank you? For nearly getting yourself killed?"

"I did that to help you."

"No one asked your help."

Her once cool, careless, amused eyes flared with anger. "Why you little—"

"Ahem."

Kaito cleared his throat loudly, undoing Aya's left hand from the straps. "Could you please argue about this later? We are already running out of time."

"Sure." Aya shrugged, hissing as her shoulder throbbed. "Itai!"

"You okay?" Shinichi asked, looking at her with concealed concern.

"Fine..." she panted. "He just knows how to hit the bull's eye."

"It's okay. We'll get you to hakase and we'll extract the bullet from your shoulder."

Aya looked at him, eyes wide. "How did you know that there was a bullet in my shoulder?"

He gulped. He was getting it.

"I..."

"Long story, Kudo-san," Kid interfered, helpfully, projecting a cloth and a bandage from nowhere, cleaning up her face carefully. "We'll talk about it later. How about we get out of here first?"

Shinichi shot him a grateful look.

Eyes still narrowed at the detective, she nodded.

After Kid helped her into an oversized coat, which reached her knees—and she didn't know from where he got it, really, he just puffed it up from nowhere—they headed towards the door.

Aya took in the three members lying there in amusement, snoring to la-la land.

"What did you do?"

Kid smirked, holding a small ball between his fingers. "Sleeping gas. Works like a charm."

She nodded, still eyeing the sleeping figures.

After they lead her out of the abandoned house, they walked a couple of feet towards the tall, unkempt grassland that they hid in earlier, and sat down, probing Aya against the wall.

She hissed, clutching her shoulder.

"Kudo-san?"

"Daijioubu." She whispered back, opening her eyes.

"I'm phoning hakase to come take us." Shinichi pulled out his cell-phone. "He's already waiting at the nearby cafe. So it won't be long."

"Ne, do you think that hakase could stop us at Beika City Hotel on the way?" Aya asked, curiously.

The two guys glanced at her. "Why?"

"I need the pack bag that I left in there."

"You can barely stand..."

"So?" she glanced at Kid. "Aren't you a master of disguse? Can't you impersonate me for a few minutes?"

"Well, I guess." Kaito scratched his cheek.

"See? You don't have to do anything though. You'll just walk up to the receptionist; ask for the key to the personal locker under the name Kudo. They'll give you the key; you look at the number, find the locker with the same number, open it and take out the bag that you'll find. You close the locker, lock it, return the key and check out under my name. Easy enough, ne?"

Kid nodded, glancing at Shinichi uneasily.

"What's so important about that bag, anyway?" Shinichi grumbled. "And why did you place it in a personal locker? You could have placed it inside your room with you!"

"Too risky." Aya shook her head. "If they had searched my room, which they did, mind you, then it would have been taken. They would have left all the things and taken this bag."

Shinichi's eyes hardened.

"What's in the bag, Kudo-san?" Kid asked, voice hard too.

"Data..."

She looked up at them, eyes serious for the first time tonight.

"Stolen data..."

-.-

The door opened and closed, noiselessly.

Bourbon took two steps into the room, seeing six members sitting comfortably around the rounded table. Taking out a chair, he sat himself down, before looking up at the long, blonde haired man before him.

Gin took a whiff of his cigar. "So?"

"It's as you suspected. She did hack into our system. She knows far too much for our liking."

Vermouth smirked. As expected from Cool Guy's cousin...

"Did she know where Sherry is?" Vodka asked, folding his hands before him on the rounded table.

"Iie." Bourbon answered.

"She might be lying," Chianti informed casually, inspecting her nails.

"I would have known."

"Hmm..." Korn hummed, polishing his rifle. "I hope you haven't killed her. Boss wouldn't be pleased if you did."

Gin stared at Bourbon.

The latter folded his arms across his chest. "Just a bullet into the shoulder. But she's not dead."

Under the table, Vermouth's hand clenched.

"So, what now?" Kir asked, looking around. "We're going to allow her to live?"

"Just for a few more days." Gin whispered, smirking. "I would love to ask her a few questions myself."

"About what?" Korn asked, confused.

Ignoring him, Gin looked at Vermouth. "You arranged the meeting with Antonio-san?"

"Yes." She puffed the smoke into the air, nonchalantly. "He'll be in Koyakejima Island next month."

"No mistakes, Vermouth." Gin warned, looking away from her.

"I know."

He looked at Chianti. "Anything new about Rye?"

"Gone with the wind." The punk member fluttered her fingers carelessly. "I swear, one minute he's before your eyes. The next, he's nowhere to be found. I can't keep up with him."

"Try." Vodka insisted. "He might be as immortal as Kid is."

"And that's another problem." Korn grumbled. "He hasn't appeared in a month now."

"It's not like there are any jewels around."

"But still, I wonder if Pandora really exists."

"Exists or not," Gin cut in sharply. "Kid has to be eliminated. He's a danger to our identity. He knows too much."

There was a beat of silence before Gin stood up.

"As you all know your assigned duties, get on with them. We can't tolerate mistakes."

One by one, each member stood up, walking towards the door and leaving Gin and Vodka inside.

"Aniki," Vodka looked up at Gin. "What are you thinking about? Tell me."

"Nothing."

"But why? Just yesterday, you were talking that Vermouth should be the one to question Moonlight and then, you sent Bourbon out. I don't understand..."

"If my suspicions are correct," Gin replied, evasively. "We have a spy among us."

"What? And you think its Vermouth?"

"No. I don't know who he or she is. But I just know that they're around."

"But who would...?"

"And if my other suspicion is correct, then Moonlight would know where that Kudo meitantei is hiding."

"Kudo?" Vodka exploded, standing up. "But we have already eliminated him. Weren't you the one who gave him the poison?"

"Yes." Gin answered, coldly. "But he's still alive."

"How...?"

"That's what I would like to find out..."

He looked towards the bulletin board, where three pictures could be seen pinned against the brown with white pins. The flame that illuminated the room flickered, casting light towards one picture of a brown haired girl, smiling, with her indigo-blue eyes shining brightly.

Above her picture, the codename 'Angel' could be seen written in bold.

Note: I have updated two chapters! :) I hope you enjoy! And I would like to apologize since I will be traveling for the next four to five days and I will not be able to update! But once I am back, I promise to provide more chapters on a daily bases.

By the way, Kudo Aya is my own character. I have always had this weird idea that someone close to Shinichi (which in this story happens to be his cousin) would help him from the outside. I don't know, it's weird. But I wanted to give it a try, so there you go! I hope you like it. If you don't, please tell me! :)

Thanks again. :D

Take care!