It was too cruel.
It was just too horribly and unspeakably and so unnaturally cruel.
It hadn't been his fault, really it hadn't, yet Ran had still delivered the verdict that sent him reeling every time he thought about it. He would have done anything; he would have taken care of Occhan for a month so she could go out with friends, he would have come home right after school and not left again until it was time to go back, he would have even surrendered his Sherlock Holmes novels for a whole year, he was willing to do anything, anything, but not this.
He stared at Ran completely speechless and she just stared back, her face set in a determined scowl. He swallowed thickly as he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened.
"R-ran-neechan, I…"
"Don't you Ran-neechan me mister, I know perfectly well what happened and there will be no more cases for you until you realize what you've done do I make myself clear?"
"But, Ran-neechan I didn't…."
"Do I make myself clear!" Ran narrowed her eyes dangerously at him as though daring him to try and argue with her. Conan's eyes searched around the room for anyone or anything that might help him. The Detective boys were cowering in a corner and even Kogorou was making himself as small as possible, though he shot the poor child a slightly sympathetic look Conan knew he would rather be hit by a semi then face his daughter's wrath. Seeing that he was all alone in this, Conan dropped his eyes to the floor, swallowed painfully and whispered as soft "hai" to the carpet.
Ran seemed to release some of the tension in her shoulders, but Conan could still feel her eyes burning into the back of his head, "Good, now you can go out and play but remember, if I hear from Megure-keibu that you've been anywhere near a crime scene then you're going to be in serious trouble got it?"
Conan's affirmative response was almost inaudible this time. Hearing his second confirmation Ran turned on her heal and heading into the kitchen to prepare dinner leaving the not-child alone to stare at the carpet as he tried to gather his composure enough to not snap at the first person that spoke to him. He wasn't allowed to work on cases for a month? It was almost too much for him to bear. If he wasn't allowed to work on cases then he could follow the few leads he had gotten about the black organization, and if he couldn't do that than they would soon disappear and be out of his reach forever. He could try to work on the case in secret, but Ran had said that he was not allowed to go anywhere without a really good explanation and there was defiantly no good explanation as to what a seven year old was doing at a strip joint.
The taste of copper and salt filled his mouth bringing him out of his thoughts just long enough to realize that he had bitten though his lip in his anxiety.
"Conan-kun?" Ayumi's tentative voice made him look up. She looked so timid and frightened that for a moment he almost forgave her, but then he spotted Genta in the background whispering something in Mitsuhiko's ear and his annoyance came back. Scowling and shaking his head, Conan turned and left the room and through the adjacent door and onto the roof. As the door shut behind him he could hear Ayumi's choked sob but for once brushed it off.
Walking over to the far corner of the roof he sat down and let his legs dangle over the side. He needed to think about what to do next and this was the only place where he could come to be by himself and to just let his mind focus on a problem.
He sat there for a long time pondering what to do and not even noticing the sun going down and the temperature dropping. Every time he thought he thought of a way to escape Ran's clutches a new problem would arise with someone either ratting him out or accidentally spilling the beans, not to mention the possibility of Ran coming to look for him and possibly being in the line of fire or never letting him out of her sight again. It would be better for him to stay and not make her even angrier, but he couldn't let them get away, not when he was so close, but what to do…what to do."
A sudden warmth draped itself over his shoulders causing him to jump violently. Before he could get away however the sides of a white cape wrapped around him body and arms circled his small fame to pull him back away from the edge. Hot breath tickled his cheek as the person behind him crouched over to protect him from a freezing wind that had started without his knowledge.
"K-K-Kai-to." He tried to say his rival's name but his teeth were chattering so badly that he could barely get it out.
"Shuu, Tantei-kun, don't speak," he whispered as he gathered the boy and cradled him in his arms. Conan immediately snuggled into the warmth suddenly acutely aware that he was shaking.
He felt himself being lifted into the air and he pulled the cape further around himself as Kaito made his way quickly toward the door and back into the detective agency. He ignored the looks and expulsions from its occupants as he bypassed them and headed straight for the bathroom. Gripping the child with one arm he carefully turned on the hot water before sitting on the toilet and beginning to rub the not-child's frozen body.
Conan snuggled his face into the thief's chest and listened to the frantic heartbeat pounding heavily against the ribs. He was so warm and comfortable here in his rival's arms that for a crazy moment he didn't want to move, but all to soon the thief had pulled him away from his chest, undressed him, and gently laid him in the bathtub. New warmth caressed his body as the water hugged his small frame and all at once exhaustion took him and he felt his eyes close in a peaceful sleep.
He awoke several hours later tucked in Ran's bed and a familiar phantom magician beside him. Sensing that the boy was about to speak, Kaito quickly covered the small mouth and put a finger to his own lips. "Everyone is already asleep," he whispered softly, "I was allowed to stay so that I could watch over you as long as I promised to wake Ran-chan up as soon as you did." Conan nodded slightly and the thief removed his hand. He suddenly leaned closer to the child with a sever look in his eye, "I know all about your recent trouble, but that is no reason to be so reckless with your health."
Conan nodded again
Kaito sighed and sat back in his chair knowing that no amount of preaching would get through the child's thick skull, but just seeing Tantei-kun awake and alert again was more than enough to forgive him. After a few minutes he stood up, leaned over, and kissed the boy's forehead smirking at the little blush that spread over the boy's cheeks. "Go back to sleep Tantei-kun, I have somewhere I need to be, but I will stop by later to see you." And he left the room.
Conan watched him go and a slight smile graced his lips. He knew that Kid was right and that he shouldn't have been out in the cold like that. He also knew that he no longer needed to worry about going to investigate his lead on the organization. With that comforting thought he finally allowed himself to relax and drift off to sleep once again.