At first, he thought he was just hearing things because as far as he knew, he was possibly the only living being in this complete darkness. But he found himself thinking twice as he noticed the sound becoming clearer.

The sound of…someone cryng?

(…Who could it be?)

He stood up and wandered into the darkness in hopes of finding the source of this sound. As far and long as he remembers, he has been alone in this darkness for so long that he had already forgotten how he got here in the first place. When he realized it, he was already left stranded in this darkness. As he continued to walk, he noticed his pace was getting faster and faster. It was as though something was pushing him to reach the source as soon as possible.

(Who could it be?

Could it be another lost person like him?

How did he or she get here?)

He soon stopped at the sight of something he hasn't seen for ages. It was snow. Small, white crystals were falling out of nowhere. He wondered how such a thing could happen in a place like this where it's only a complete darkness with no such temperature control. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the crying sound again.

(Where is it coming from?)

For a moment, he just stood there straining his ears to locate the source. The sound seems to be coming from every direction. He then blinked his eyes when he saw a small, blue-ish light glowing a few feet away from him. He quickly ran to the light and kneeled down in front of it. There seems to be a small figure in the light but he couldn't make out the details. But as the light slowly faded, he slightly gasped at the sight in front of him.

Skin soft and white as the pearl.

Lips pale as the color of cherry blossoms.

Hairs silky and dark as this darkness.

He was especially shocked when the figure slowly fluttered its long, gorgeous eyelashes and opened its eyes.

And…

He looked straight into the mysterious figure's eyes and that instant an overwhelming feeling went across his body. For some reason, tears started to form in his eyes.

A pair of pure, beautifully glowing sapphire eyes.

(Celestial…Blue…) He softly whispered as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

The small, beautiful figure just tilted his head to the side at the sight of a stranger. As though not to scare the figure, he wiped away the tear and made a soft smile. He looked into those beautiful eyes again.

"Who…are you?" He asked.

"…"

"What is…your name?"

"…"

"Do you understand what I am saying?"

"…"

"You need to say something or I cannot help you."

"…ichi…"

"Hm?"

"…Shin…ichi…"

"Shinichi?"

"…My name."

"Shinichi is your name?"

The figure slowly nodded his head. He made a small smile and reached out his hand. "Shinichi. That is a very nice name. There's nothing here but darkness but I'm glad I met you. Why were you crying?"

"I'm…lost…"

"You're lost?"

"…I think."

"…Well, I'm not sure if I can be of any help…but do you want to come with me? It's better than being here covered in snow. Come to think of it, I wonder why and how it is snowing here. Something like this never happened before here."

The figure slowly took his hand. They both started walking into the darkness.

"What is…"

"Hm?"

"What is…your…name…?"

"Oh, haha, sorry." He smiled. "My name is…"

Chapter 4: Dream

Shinichi slowly opened his eyes by the sound of his familiar alarm clock ringing endlessly through the quiet morning. He reached out his hand from the comfortable blankets, frantically searching for the alarm clock on the counter nearby. But when his hand reached nothing, he kicked the counter so hard that the alarm clock flew and crashed onto the wall. With the annoying sound gone, Shinichi snuggled back into his blankets and went back to sleep. He slowly opened his eyes again at the sound of the entrance door at the first floor opening. But it didn't bother him and he ignored it since the only people who are allowed to enter the household without his permission were his parents, his childhood friend, Ran, Professor Agasa, and Haibara, the mad scientist (although he wouldn't dare call her by that nickname in front of her). He deduced easily that the person who entered the household could be Haibara since she is usually the only one who would visit at this early time in the morning. For a moment, he stayed still in bed fluttering his eyelashes repeatedly as he waited his brain to slowly start functioning.

"Haibara?" He called while yawning and lifting his head.

"I'm here, Kudo-kun…"

The small scientist walked into the room with a tray in her hand and sighed at what's left of his alarm clock at the end of the room. This is probably the fifth time he had broken his alarm clock. She started to think whether she should tie this detective onto the bed the next time.

She approached his bed with the tray as she knew that the detective's head should be fully functioning and awake by now. On the tray were two slices of toasted bread, a small bowl of salad, a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs, and a cup of orange juice. Something simple that Haibara made for the detective because she knew one of his usual routine was skipping breakfast. Well, if that is the case, while her eyes are shining, she wouldn't let such a thing happen. No matter how troublesome it may seem for her to wake up early morning just to fix a breakfast for this dorky detective (although she, herself, may not think of it as much of a burden as others think), she would deliver breakfast to the detective's room every morning. Whether he likes it or not… The beautiful detective may frown at the orange juice (because he would rather have a cup of coffee (straight as he likes it without any sugar and milk)) and the amount of food he has to eat in the morning (since he doesn't really have much of an appetite and was always a light eater), but the mad scientist did not care. She would shove the whole thing down his throat if she had to.

And just to prove Haibara's theory was correct, she saw the detective frowning at the contents of the tray as she set it in front of him.

"…Cof" "No."

She firmly stated before the detective could even finish. "I told you, Kudo-kun. No coffee for two weeks."

"But…" Shinichi pouted as he poked at the eggs with the fork. Haibara wonders if he does these cute gestures on purpose or unconsciously because if it was any other guy doing it, she would inject a deadly poison to him without moving an eyebrow and without any hesitation. Her cold heart almost melted at the sight of the detective's scowling but still cute face, but she managed to hold her poker face. She made her firm decision not to give him any chances after she (and KID) found out this beautiful but dorky (when it comes to everyday life) detective had only been drinking coffee (and straight, black coffee that is) for breakfast the past few months (with no lunch or dinner at all on some days). The look on the detective's face when she threatened to inject him with a few (dangerous) drugs if he does not change his lifestyle was priceless.

She started to brush and fix his wavering hair as the detective reluctantly started on his breakfast. Haibara smiled and watched as his unsteady hair slowly turned into those beautiful soft and silky ones in her hand.

"You know, Kudo-kun…I bet there are a lot of girls out there who are jealous of you because you have everything what they've always wanted but can't."

"Hm? Why's that?" He asked as he popped a strip of bacon into his small mouth.

"Of course. You have this silky, black hair…smooth skin…a perfect body style…it's a wonder for me how you got this perfectly beautiful traits when you obviously live an unhealthy lifestyle."

Shinichi pouted again, "It's my life."

"Yes, it is your life. That's why I think of it as one of the seven mysteries of Kudo Shinichi."

"What are the other six?"

"You wouldn't want to know…" She chuckled softly as she continued to groom him. But she soon stopped her hand when she noticed the unusual silence from the detective. "Kudo-kun?"

The detective had his right hand over his right eye and seemed to be in deep thought.

"Kudo-kun?" A sliver of fear went through Haibara's mind. "Are you okay? Are you getting another attack?"

"No…"

"Then…"

"I just…had a dream."

"A dream? What kind of dream?"

"That's the thing. I can't seem to remember clearly…" He lowered his hand and stared at it for a while. "It's weird. I only remember a few details. For instance…RED."

"Red?"

"Yes, red. The color red. No, maybe a bit darker. Almost like the color of blood. I was in the sea of this red color. And for some reason, while I was drifting in it, I got this sudden urge to cry. It's like this swift wave of sadness and sorrow swept by me and I couldn't stop the tears flowing from my eyes. "

(Tears? From this detective?)

Haibara wondered if he was just playing tricks with her because as far as she knew, this beautiful but almost dumb (?) detective never cried for anything. Not even for his childhood friend. Maybe that is why some people view him as "heartless", "cold-blooded", and perhaps like a "lifeless doll". But she knew that those were all false. This detective may not shed a tear but that itself does not mean he does not feel anything. After many observations, Haibara deduced that perhaps the detective does not cry because he does not know how. Or he feels that there is no need to cry. She has heard stories from Professor Agasa that even as a child, Shinichi was never the type to cry. Even when he was bullied at school and came back home with cuts and bruises, he never cried or whined. In fact, the very next day, the bully's mother visited Shinichi's parents to apologize for what her son had done.

(It must be some dream for him to cry…) She thought as she stared into his beautiful face. Shinichi seemed to be in deep thoughts again so he did not notice her stares.

(Wait a minute…) She placed a finger under her chin. (Red…red. Could it be…? No, it can't be…)

"Kudo-kun…"

"Hm?"

"Just one question: Was there a full moon in your dream?"

"A what? Hmmm…come to think of it…I think there was. I remember seeing a bright, silver moon while I was drifting in that red sea. But I can't really remember if it was full or no-Hm? What's wrong, Haibara?" He looked back in confused when he saw her face slowly turning pale and her eyes widening in surprise.

"K…Kudo-kun…" She managed to whisper between trembling lips.

--Hikaru

No Kaito for this chapter. Heh…I know it's short and…what a cliffhanger.