Sorry, got caught up...so reset, it's going to be two weeks an update again. Forget that missing week or two. I realized I haven't done a case yet, so I decided to try my best to make a good one.


"Kuroba Kaito, magician," Kaito bowed, a red rose appearing in his waiting hands. Handing it to him, Shinichi couldn't help but think the guy as Kaito KID. He hadn't and would never forget the time Kaito KID dressed up as him, without a mask, and managed to pass. He had been so angry; he, the real Shinichi, was standing in front of him, and there a guy was, thinking he was safe. He had to be Kaito KID. There aren't that many people with the same faces. Kaito, sensing the icy glare on his head, grinned and plopped down, the poker face working its magic.

"Wanna eat breakfast together on this lovely White Valentine, Aoko?" He faked a plead at her so dramatically Hattori was sniggering behind his hand. Shinichi, however, hardened his glare. Aoko nervously looked at Ran. She smiled.

"Come on, Aoko-chan," She beckoned for her to sit next to her. Smiling herself, she plopped happily down, merry to find new friends.

"Arigato, I wasn't planning to spend this special day with that bozo anyway," she jabbed her thumb at the magician who was looking at the pink, sparkly ceiling of the warm bakery with his arms crossed and pout tugging at his lips. The facade did not last a single second. Kaito, in a literal flash, pulled up some chairs from a vacant table used for a reserved group. Since they were long gone, Shinichi didn't see the point why they kept it empty. The restaurant knew~at least he hoped they knew~that people were going to pour in today. So why not make some more profit and leave it public? But at least he now was able to have a good chat with Kaito KID...

"Ah!" Aoko's eyes widened. "Aren't you Kudo Shinichi? Just like Saguru-san! Meitantei-san!" Shinichi shushed her, not willing to direct dangerous and unwanted attention to himself.

"Except Hakuba's a pile of horse dung, and Shinchi's at least just above it, maybe the horse butt?" Kaito suggested with such innocence everyone except Aoko and Shinichi doubled over in silent laughter.

"Kaito!" Aoko scolded him.

"Gomen," she said apologetically to Shinichi, who had to crack a slight grin on his face. Maybe the bad day would be over now.

"It's alright," He reassured her.

"Okay..." she glanced at Kaito through the corner of her eye. When she turned away to chat with Ran, Kaito started pouring vinegar and salts, sugars and soy sauce onto a piece of warm toast. He added some things that to Shinichi were too fast to categorize. The result was an ashen, black face with two round white holes as eyes, glittering with an emotion only jokesters would have. Soot from the exploded toast wafted over to Shinichi, who frowned at Kaito.

"Kaito! Please don't ruin it!" Aoko begged with genuine sadness. Kaito rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, faked a thinking pose, then dramatically made his reply in slow motion.

"Oookaaayyy," He looked at her with a goofy grin. Aoko gave the teeniest smile that pulled her lips up.

"How come they two have practically twins, but I get no one?" Hattori muttered so the everyone could hear it at the table but no where else.

"Fate, mi amigo," Kaito replied from a sudden position of behind him. He clapped a hand on his shoulder, knocking the wind out of Hattori. Hattori glared.

"Ne, Aoko-chan?" Ran started. "Are you...the daughter of Nakamori-keibu?"

"Hai, Hai!" She clapped her hands cheerfully, happy someone finally figured it out. "Otousan, I tell you, will catch that Kaito KID the next time!" She immediately launched into her speech fondly about her 'failing' dad. As she gave her short speech, her fist was threatening to punch the image of Kaito KID, swinging violently up and down.

Kaito sighed and rolled his eyes. When would that girl learn that her dad was not going to catch him any time soon? Besides, if she knew he was right next to her...

Shinichi noted Kaito's behavior. Strike two, he was getting closer to the truth that he was definitely KID. Although somehow, he didn't have the grudge against him. He hadn't caused him any trouble, heck, he had barely even seen him before. He was also somehow a friend~he felt this bond, although he didn't know why. It just felt like the FBI. Everyone was family, because they all shared a secret and they all sought to protect it. It felt like glue and paper. Once you suck two papers together, waited for a short while, they would be permanently stuck. They would share a same body, same thoughts, same sanity. Kaito did nothing wrong to him. He was a friend. Somehow, he didn't care if he was Kaito KID anymore. He just had that burning sensation as another piece of his soul was put together. He felt like a brother, but Shinichi had to face the truth. He was a detective. He was supposed to lock the right people behind bars, not become friends with them. As the toast and jelly was put on the table, Shinichi took the time to get Kaito three pieces of toast. (As far as things are going, NO this is not going to be KaiShin. Nice guess, though.)

"Arigato," Kaito managed to mumble under the thick layers of toast and grape jelly as he sat back down.

"Iie, iie," Shinichi grinned back. Maybe he could somehow become friends and also be suspicious...

"What else did we order?" Ran hoped to break up the upcoming brothership, because frankly, she wasn't sure if they were ever going to meet again. And if they didn't, Shinichi was going to be heartbroken. Maybe.

"Um, we ordered...warm milk, toast, pancakes, with syrup, oh yeah, coffee, and I think...a chocolate cake...and specially served candy," Kazuha counted off her fingers. The words barely flew out of her mouth when the designated warm milk and pancakes (with syrup) showed up.

"Arigato guzaimasu," Ran nodded politely at the already disappearing waitress.

"No problem," She called over her shoulder.

Immediately, the boys were drowning their pancakes in syrup and pouring glasses of milk. Everyone watched Kaito as he dumped his glass of milk onto the syrup and pancakes, poured them into a bigger bowl, then chopped the pancake up and mixed the solution around. Then he fished out lumps of the pancake and popped it into his mouth. With his fork, of course. Although no one was exactly sure where he got a red fork when they were all supposed to have silver.

Aoko elbowed Kaito hard.

He faked a groan.

"There goes another rib..." He doubled over in an imitation of a stomachache, at least to Shinichi he was. Then suddenly, he popped up, and sparkles rained down from the ceiling, and he gladly drank in the oohs and ahs from the enchanted audience. Throughout the sparkles, somewhere in the audience, a large shriek was sounded, accompanied by a crash of a bowl. They were done anyway, and deciding not to face humiliation and attention, (mainly Shinichi), they set out.

x

They stepped reluctantly into the bitter winds, where the perpetual snow blew down. Everyone had agreed: Kaito and Aoko would go over to Shinichi's house, and stay for the night. Oh, how they wished the warm wind would come rushing down with the self-flinging sunlight, and splash warmly at their feet. They wished that they could see the orchids and the wildflowers dance among the burly trees, playing a game of hide-and-seek. The glistening drops of warm rain would come diving down, and delicately dribble down the tenderly viridescent, joyful leaves of the crysthanthemum blooming on the trees. The wind would rustle the hair of the sakura, and they'd come home, to where they started, on the spring soil, sodden in the heart.

The glistening white snowflakes dabbed their rosy cheeks as each girl snuggled against the boy next to them, wrapping their jackets and sweaters tightly around them. They walked a few more minutes in complete silence, broken only when the boy quietly told the girl to hold on tighter; the might get lost~not that anyone could hear them. The wind was whooshing around, and snow was conjured from nowhere and thrown onto the couples. The storm deepened, and soon enough, each person wasn't visible.

Shinichi suddenly had the bloated feeling like something was wrong. Lashing around wildly for Hattori, he was lucky enough to have bumped into him.

"Glad you didn't lose your way and fall down a cliff," Shinichi poured sarcasm into his voice as best as he could without his voice quavering and dying out from the cold.

"Glad you didn't, either."

"Do you feel it?"

"You mean the feeling like someone's dead? Yeah, totally," Hattori sarcastically remarked, rubbing his gloved hands together.

"I was serious," Shinichi solemnly replied.

"I do," He grimly fit the puzzle pieces together.

"Let's go back, everyone!" Shinichi yelled into the growling wind. And so they set back, all of them disgruntled to have to go back again. Shinichi held Ran's hand, and prayed she wouldn't let go. There was a guarantee that she was going to freeze into a human popsicle if she did.

Shinichi squinted into the clouds of icy snow, hoping he could swipe them away with a flap of his arms. It was impossible to see ahead. They were trapped in a never-ending holocaust of wind and snow. The waves swirled around them, and Shinichi wondered if a hurricane of ice had made its way onto land and caused this horrible White Valentine. He would pay an arm and a leg to get out of this storm. Or maybe his own life to get the others out of the storm. Nah, he'd save his life for later. He crunched ahead, a hand in front of his eyes, gloved, with barely enough protection to prevent snow in his eyes. For several minutes, they suffered silently in the frosty grounds, whipping around in the tornadoes of now beautiful snow. Once you stay long enough, the dangerous turns into beauty.

They marched stiffly through the piles of snow. The blizzard had softened down into sprinkles of snow. It reminded Ran of a white windmill~making its rounds, gently fanning everyone, saving them from the summer heat.

Sometimes Shinichi recognized his life as a long movie. Everyday life was acting, acting, and more acting. How many years had passed before he had turned back into Shinichi again? Two? Three? Four? Four. Just think, he was twenty now. Yes, he went to university, although he never really payed any attention to it. Everyday was acting. Acting like he was Conan, acting like he wasn't in misery, acting like he was strong. He wanted to fall into someone's arms, have a break from acting once a lifetime. Just like going to the moon. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Just like falling into someone's arms. After breaking down, guarantee he'd be cursing himself and forcing himself to stand up. Then he would never get the chance again. It was just like that. No excepts. When the movie ends, how would he be? Dead? Withered? Depressed? He wouldn't know. Because the movie would never end. Never. Forever, it would just go on, on, and on. Some people think a few minutes seem like a forever. But think of definition. For always. No, not even a lifetime made up forever. Forever was forever. Forever.

Groping blindly like he couldn't see, because for certain, the snow had hardened its fall again, his hands painfully struck the side of the doorknob, freezing cold. Pretending nothing was wrong, he opened it, letting supposedly everyone in. Once inside, he realized that someone had died. A slit in the throat. Shinichi walked over grimly, and felt for a pulse. Nothing. Hattori had already set out the task of dialing for necessary people, and soon, the police were on scene. There was something not explainable, though. Due to the body's stiffening, Shinichi could tell it was half an hour ago. About when the sparkles were showered. Yet Shinichi had been staring at the audience when that happened. And he was sure the bowl had been crashed.

How had a person committed a crime right under the supervision of two great detectives?


Well, got it just in time for my birthday! Wow! Well...I'm out.