Sorry I didn't update last night, I got home and for whatever reason my Wi-Fi wasn't working. Here's the next chapter, keep the reviews coming I love to see what everyone else is thinking. (Disclaimer: Blah…Not mine, yet…)

I only caught parts of what Nakamori and Jii were saying. I was too concerned with a new pressure on my stomach. Whatever it was, it hurt like hell and I wanted it to go away. I caught one last thing before I passed out.

"Hattori! Help me keep pressure on the more serious wounds!" I drifted out of consciousness.

Shinichi's POV

"Nakamori-san, Jii-san, if we don't get him treated now he really will die! At this point holding pressure won't do much good."

I didn't even try to keep the worry and urgency out of my voice. He wouldn't make it to the hospital, even if rushed it would take at least twenty minutes. Jii's place was much closer and Kaito had mentioned before that he had a pretty much stocked medical room.

"We'll take him to my house. By the looks of it he wouldn't survive a trip to the hospital. I'm only a few blocks away."

Nakamori looked slightly taken aback by the old man's statement, but went along with it.

It took less than thirty seconds for us to get him loaded into the car. Though, it seemed like we were in the car for hours. Kaito didn't regain consciousness, but he fell into a coughing fit soon after entering the car and before long his mouth was a bloody mess. Hattori and I knelt in the floor keeping pressure on his wounds, while Nakamori sat in the seat with Kaito's head on his lap.

When we arrived at Jii's, Nakamori was the one who carried Kaito into the pool hall, following Jii to the back room, and set him on the same bed that I had seen him on only a few days earlier. Nakamori, Hattori, and I moved to the corner opposite of the table to give Jii the space he needed.

We watched as Jii hooked Kaito up to several machines, one of which showed Kaito's heart rate. It was so low that there were times in which I wasn't even sure it was actually still beating, but I quickly got rid of those thoughts and trained my attention back on Jii. The old man would have made a terrific surgeon. I could see him giving Kaito several shots, probably for shock as well as an anesthetic.

"He needs a transfusion…I can't really keep a stock of blood in my freezer here. He has B blood, do any of you share it?"

"I 'ave O."

"I have B."

Hattori and Nakamori spoke at the same time, both eager to help the teen. I didn't know what to do, I felt absolutely useless.

"There is research to suggest that O blood may not necessarily be a universal donor anymore, it is just the least likely to react. To be on the safe side I'm going to use Nakamori-san's blood. Do you have any injuries?"

"As I told you before, Kaito pushed me out of the room and was hit with the blast. I only have a few scratches, nothing that will influence this in the least. Now Jii-san, if you don't mind?" Jii didn't hesitate any longer and soon had the transfusion set up.

After hours of cutting, mending, and re-stitching, Jii fell into a chair near the bed Kaito rested upon, now covered in pristine white bandages, with only trace amounts of that awful crimson liquid to betray what was underneath it.

No one moved as they waited for the old man to speak, but as he so often does Hattori got impatient.

"Well, 's 'e gonna be a'right?" Jii's gaze faltered for only a second before he looked up.

"I don't really know. He had some internal bleeding, one of his lungs was punctured by a broken rib, he has the old bullet wound in his right shoulder that was torn open again, and he has a new wound in his left abdomen, also from a bullet, which was still in his body, but I removed it. He most likely has a concussion, as well as quite a few other major lacerations. His body has never taken this big of a shock before. Not even after the first time he confronted the men who killed his father. I don't know how he will react to it. Considering the amount of blood he's lost, it doesn't look good. All we can do is wait to see if he will wake up."

"He will." Nakamori hadn't so much as sighed since he had taken his place at the end of Kaito's bed after the transfusion. Hattori and I had been pacing the room a bit. I looked around the room. If anyone had walked in at that moment, they would have called the police on us. Mine and Hattori's hands and arms were covered with blood from when we attempted to stem the bleeding coming from Kid. I shuddered at the memory. Compared to the amount of the teen's blood on Nakamori, ours seemed almost insignificant.

Based on what he had told us, Nakamori didn't have any injuries but he looked like he had just come from a blood bath. If it was all Kaito's it was amazing that he had survived as long as he had before the transfusion.

"I assume that everyone here knows who he is?" The question was asked to everyone, but it seemed to be directed more towards Nakamori-san.

"I know who he is, but nothing else. He promised to tell me later."

Seeing as how no one spoke out against Jii's assumption he turned to me.

"If I'm correct then, you are the young boy from before?"

Jii spoke, I nodded not wanting to talk, as I watched each shallow breath the teen took fog up the oxygen mask on his face.

"Okay, then I apologize for not being the best host, but you know where the bathroom is and you can show the other two. I will bring clothes out for everyone. I keep all sizes around, so I should have some that will fit everyone. After I bring them up, I am going to take a shower and I suggest you all do the same. I would appreciate it if you would inform me of any changes concerning the young master."

Nakamori's fists were clenched tight enough that his knuckles were turning white. I didn't want to know what the man was feeling at that point. No one spoke as Jii returned with the promised clothes and left again.

"I don' know 'bout ya, but 'm startin' ta ge' a bit sick 'ith all this on me."

"Over there." I pointed to the bathroom that I had seen Kid go into the first time we had come here. It didn't occur to me that they were waiting for me to tell them where the bathroom was.

Hattori threw one last glance at me like he wanted to say something, but didn't. I was thankful for that, I didn't want to be lectured by him at the moment. I just wanted to be left alone. I took a moment to clean most of the blood off of myself in a small sink in the corner of the room, vowing to take a complete shower after Hattori and the inspector had finished.

"I'll be on the roof if you need me." I slipped through the hidden door without waiting for a reply.

It was cold and I hadn't bothered to grab a jacket, but I wasn't willing to go back downstairs to get one either. I sat on the pool hall's roof and stared at the sky. I hated feeling so helpless. I had long since pulled of the wig and bit of make-up that successfully hid my identity. I didn't know how long I was on the roof, but at some point I must have dozed off.

I woke up to the sound of the hidden door opening. I half expected Hattori to come out and try to cheer me up. The thought of that almost made me mad, I didn't need cheered up. I needed to feel like I was doing something.

"Who are you? Why are you helping him?" It wasn't Hattori's voice that resonated through the darkness.

"We are just two people who were caught in the same unfortunate circumstance, and decided to work together for a greater good." God that sounded like something from a movie, but everything that was happening recently seemed like something out of a movie.

"I know you won't tell me much, but will you at least tell me something…" I paused for a moment not really sure what to say, or if I should really say anything at all.

"I can tell you some of my story, not all of it, but I won't tell any of his. You said he promised to tell you." It wasn't my story to tell. I wouldn't tell him much about the organization; Kid could tell him what he wanted about that. He came to sit next to me.

"I don't need to know everything now. I just want to know why someone is trying to kill a group of teenagers."

"Keep in mind that very few people know that he is a teenager. There is a possibility that these people after him haven't realized that he isn't the original Kid. You didn't until recently, if I'm correct."

He let his silence be my answer and waited for me to continue. I told him my name and in as little detail as possible about being involved with some group of people and having to go into hiding. I left out anything about Conan and any details about the organization, we would have to fill him in later anyway if he was going to continue helping us. I kept it pretty simple; because I didn't want to accidently give away anything Kaito may have wanted to keep to himself.

"Saying that I understand would be a stretch, but I think I'm beginning to. I just wish that I would have been able to help him at least a little."

"You did. What if you hadn't been in that building when the bomb had gone off?"

He didn't reply. We sat in silence for a while longer and I could feel that my cold had gotten a little bit worse.

"Can I ask you one more question?" There was a hint of hesitation in his voice and it took me off guard. I had only met the man as Conan, but I didn't remember him ever hesitating before saying what was on his mind. In fact, most people knew him for the fact that he always said exactly what was on him mind, it didn't matter who was listening.

"You can ask anything you want, and I will be as truthful to you about it as I can."

"H-how do you know Conan Edogawa?" Most people would have thought it was a simple question, but obviously this particular group of people wasn't like most people.

"Conan is…well…" I guess there wasn't really a point in trying to keep anything from him. "You know how I told you that these people tried to kill me and that's why I had to go into hiding?"

"Yes." He had already figured it out. I knew he had, but he wanted confirmation. It was after all supposed to be impossible.

It seemed strange sitting here talking to someone I barely knew about things that I hadn't even spoken with Ran about, but it seemed easy. Nakamori was someone I could trust, but I didn't feel nearly as protective over him as I had Ran. So I gave him an answer. I told him about the drug and its affects, and how a cure had only been found recently. I left off anything about Haibara for the moment, but he would find out about it probably after Kaito woke up and we all discussed it together.

Nakamori remained quiet for what seemed like an eternity. Which was odd based on what I had seen and heard about the man. "I knew Conan wasn't a normal child. His eyes looked too much like Kaito-kun's…like they had seen and experienced more than any one person should."

Even if I had known how to respond to that I wouldn't have been able to. I fell into a coughing fit and Nakamori rushed to my side to see what was wrong. He placed his hand on my head out of a parents instinct.

"You're burning up!" My cold must have gotten worse than I thought, because he pulled his hand back abruptly before shrugging off his coat and wrapping it around my shoulders.

"Really? I guess I kind of dozed off a little bit. These past few days have taken a toll on all of us. That combined with the weather must have made my cold worse..."

Nakamori stood and held out his hand to help me up. I was stiff from the cold. I felt myself sway as I stood and almost fell back onto the roof, before Nakamori helped support me.

"You were sick before all this? Come on; let's get you downstairs and out of these clothes. You still haven't even had a shower."

I hadn't even realized that Nakamori was changed out of the blood stained clothes he had been wearing earlier, probably due to the dark, but the sun was starting to rise now. He said I had been out here for hours, how long was that exactly?

I insisted that I would be able to walk down the stairs on my own and with some hesitation Nakamori let me go. I was a little shaky, but other than that and the dizzy spells when I moved to quickly, I was able to make it down the stairs.

"How is he Hattori?" I tried to keep my voice even, but it wavered just enough for him to notice.

"Are ya oka', Kudo? Ya don' look s' gud."

"I fell asleep on the roof…It's pretty cold out there."

I wanted to say, Of course! I'm perfectly fine, a friend of mine is fighting for his life and my stupid self went out a made myself even more sick, but I didn't want to worry him too much. "I will go see if Jii has any medicine after I take a shower."

He started to protest, but then looked at my clothing. "Yer right. Ya should take a shower first. Th' old man sa'd Kaito 's stable fer now. 'e still 'ants one o' us ta watch 'im in case anythin' changes."

"I'll watch him. You boys need to rest for now. I don't know exactly what you had planned, but I'm sure that this counts as it failing. You need rest so that we will be able to come up with a new strategy."

Both Hattori and I did a double take at the man. I wasn't really surprised at the fact that he was going to help us so much as the fact that I hadn't realized he was still right behind, and his voice seemed to have that influence on people.

"Kudo-kun you go wash up, Your clothes are still in the bathroom. Hattori-kun, you go see if Jii-san has any medicine for him. We don't want his cold getting any worse than he's managed to make it."

Without another word Nakamori took a seat next to Kaito and Hattori and I did as we were told. It was no wonder that he was the head of a task force. Even though he was no doubt worried, he immediately took charge.

The shower had made me feel better, until I got out. I leaned down to grab the towel I had dropped on the floor, rose to quickly, and found myself laying on the floor with my head swimming again.

I heard Hattori at the door asking if I was okay, so I quickly got dressed in the clothes Jii left for me and left the bathroom assuring him that I would be fine after I rested for awhile. There were three cots set out on the opposite side of the room from where Kaito was laying and I wanted nothing more than to curl up on one and fall asleep that instant, but I wouldn't let myself yet.

"Ya sure yer okay? Ya look really pale."

"I've been worse. I guess my immune system is still shot from my little incident the other day. It's not too serious." I was trying to be assuring, but I wasn't fooling anyone in the least.

"I don't know where you boys come from, but here having a cold this severe isn't okay. You need to take this and lay down."

Nakamori handed me the cold medicine I assumed Hattori had gotten from Jii.

"Okay, I will right after I call and make check on the girls. With everything that has happened, I forgot to call and update them. They are going to be upset."

"Damn…I forgot too. Kazuha 's gonna kill me aft' 'is is all over."

"So it is your girlfriend that Aoko is staying with?"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" I spat, too loud and harsh.

"Ah, I'm sorry. That is what Kaito-kun told me."

I turned to glare at the boy lying on the table. "She is just a friend, not my girlfriend; I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

I walked to the other side of the room, pulling out my phone as I did. Ran was going to be upset. I had finally gotten to see her again and I disappeared. We were supposed to call the girls and talk to them about our day. Naturally we weren't going to tell them what had really happened yet, but they did need to hear from us. Ring, ring, ring…

"Shinichi…Do you even know what time it is?" Ran answered in a sleepy voice and I glanced at my watch. It wasn't even seven yet.

"Ran, I'm sorry its early, but we forgot to call last night and we might not get another chance today. We are going to be really busy. How's everyone doing?"

"Kazuha is pretty upset about Hattori not calling. Aoko says it doesn't bother her, but I know she is lying."

"What about you?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't really sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"At this point, I'm used to you showing up and leaving again without telling me…"

It stung more than I could have imagined.

"R-ran, I'm sorry. In a couple of weeks I shouldn't have to leave anymore."

"I was right then. This case is related to you being gone this whole time." Perceptive as always.

"Yes, it is."

"Are you okay, Shinichi?" She sounded like she was finally awake and worry was evident in her voice, but I could tell she was trying to mask it.

"I'm fine." I lied; I was actually feeling worse since I'd gotten out of the shower.

"Please stop lying to me. You made your cold worse didn't you?" She didn't even try to hide the worry that time.

"Ran…I'm sorry, your right. No more lies. I did. We had a long night and we ended up at a friend of Kaito's. He owns a business; I went to sit on the roof for a little bit to think, and I fell asleep." I knew I had just given away where we were. All she had to do was ask Aoko what friend of Kaito's owned some kind of business and she could be there in less than fifteen minutes.

"Shinichi! It was so cold outside. You shouldn't have even been on the roof in the first place!"

"I know. I just needed to think and well it's kind of ironic isn't it. I went out there to think, but I obviously wasn't thinking too well, or my cold wouldn't have gotten worse." It just dawned on me how stupid I was really being.

"You should get some rest." I chuckled to myself, even when she was angry, she still had time to worry about everyone else.

How long do you think that this case is going to take you guys? I'm having fun with Aoko-chan and Kazuha-chan, but I'm ready for you to be home, I miss you."

"I'm sorry Ran; it seems that we hit a dead end last night. It will probably be a while longer than we originally thought it was going to be. Kaito has already talked to Nakamori-san; she is free to stay with you until then." I glanced at Nakamori, and he nodded his head in approval. "As for Kazuha, we haven't gotten a hold of her parents yet. Their school is on a break I believe, so they shouldn't have a problem with her staying as well."

"O-ok." I heard the skip in her voice and knew that she was hiding tears.

"Ran please, I wish I could come back now. It's just…"

"It's dangerous, isn't it?"

"Wh-what makes you say that?"

"I don't know how I know, I just do…Shinichi…I have a bad feeling about this case, so I want you to be careful."

"Yes, it will be dangerous, but I will be careful. Ran, you have to trust me. I know I haven't done much in the past to deserve that from you, but this is important. Will you trust me just this one time?"

"You know I wouldn't doubt you, but that doesn't mean that I won't worry about you…" I could hear the tears behind her voice again.

"Ran, everything will work out. This case shouldn't take too much longer, after that I promise I will come back and I'll never leave again."

"I believe you. I had doubts all the times you told me that before, but this time, this time something is different. I believe you will come back, but I also have a feeling like something bad is going to happen. It really scares me Shinichi."

"…" What do I say to that? Nothing really…

"Kudo, it looks like Kaito 's wakin' up!" Hattori spoke low enough that Ran wouldn't be able to hear him, while still keeping the urgency in his voice.

"Ran, I really would like to talk to you some more, but I have something I have to do right now. I will call you again as soon as I can."

"O-okay."

We said our good-byes and hung up the phone. Jii had already made his way to the bed and was checking Kaito's vitals and his pupil's reactions to light.

"How is he Jii-san?" I asked, worry coating my voice.

"Well, his heart rate and reactions are a little slow, but that could be because of the anesthetic I gave him this time. I don't think he has really ever used them. Even though they are slow, they are steady and his pupils are reacting fine. When he's a bit more lucid he will probably have one awful headache for awhile though."

Relief clouded my mind; I had to keep my distance from Kaito to keep from getting him sick, stupid, stupid, stupid! Nakamori was the first to his side and began talking to him in hushed tones that Hattori and I could not hear. We didn't try to listen in either, Kaito was reacting to Nakamori's voice and that was a good sign. We didn't want to overwhelm him too quickly.

After a few minutes of his hushed speaking, Nakamori turned to us with a tired but relieved look on his face, and a rose in his hand. Why the rose?

"He will be fine." He stated. "But he won't be moving for a good while." He added a bit more sharply than would have been necessary.

"Wha' were ya' talkin' ta him 'bout?"

"When he saw me, I figured he would react badly, because of who he is, but he didn't. I thought at first it was because he wasn't lucid."

"Wha' does tha' have ta do with wha' ya talked about?"

I was curious as well, but I couldn't focus with the floor swimming the way it was. I settled for sitting on one of the cots to regain my balance. I realized I still had the medicine in my hand, and as Nakamori resumed talking I opened it and took the recommended dose.

"He didn't talk about anything really. He made this appear," Nakamori held up a red rose. "and mumbled Aoko's name."

"Tha's it?" Hattori asked kind of disappointed with the answer he received.

"Yep that's it. Even in the condition he is in, he still finds time to worry about Aoko…Wait…" Nakamori glanced back at Kaito who was already asleep again. He looked as if something had just locked into place. Then he looked mad.

"What is it Nakamori-keibu?" I asked.

"I just remembered something Kaito said when he showed up at my house before the heist. I told him to be careful and that he was the closest thing I had to a son. He said something along the lines of, when this is all over; we may just have to make that official."

I couldn't believe it had taken Nakamori so long to figure out what Kid had meant by that. Although it was kind of understandable considering all the commotion before, during, and after the heist.

Nakamori went into another one of his rants, though it was more hushed than anything I'd ever heard come from him before. I would even go so far to say that he mumbled it. I moved to lay down on one of the cots and heard Hattori follow behind me. The medicine worked fast and I was already starting to feel better, but that didn't mean I wasn't about to drop due to pure exhaustion. Nakamori must have noticed.

"You two go ahead and get some rest; I'm going to stay up with Kaito-kun for awhile longer."

Any anger that had been present moments before had vanished.

Hattori and I didn't hesitate at all, and within minutes we were both asleep.